Exclusive
news from the Black hole Show Japan, 2002: Smith
and Wesson have always had a strong association with
firearms, but in Airsoft, they've always been less popular
then stronger brand names such as the Big three "Colt"
"Beretta" and in recent years "Glock"s
Having
said that S&W revolvers have always been popular,
not least, the M29 series, inclusing the NATO green
629 that was released last summer to much popular acclain
by Tanaka, Then again, everyone loves a .44 Magnum :)
but
what about AutoPistols? In the real world, S&W were
one of the first manufacturers to spring forward with
new Autopistol designs to replace the revolvers in Police
service, after all a Smith and Wesson Auto pistol must
be as good as the revered .38 Service revolvers that
were de riguer since the beginning of the centuary,
thus Autopistols such as the M4504 M5904 M5906 M645
quickly made there way into Police service, but never
caught the publics imagination like their Revolver brethren,
such as the M19 , did. As such, almost all of the afore
mentioned S&W autopistols have thus far only appeared
as springers. Having said that, the M59 series of autopistols
were the first of the "wondernines" Pistols
that carried massive amounts of 9mm ammunition compared
to other pistols of the period.
So
S&W quietly went about their work in the real world,
Introducing the first 10mm Automatic pistol for FBI
service in 1989, the M1006, Innovations such as the
first Double Action Only mass production pistols, where
there is no main Safety as such, just a single FIRM
trigger pull, that cocked and then fired the pistol,
that meant the gun wouldn't go off if it was dropped,
Just like a S&W revolver (in fact this was one of
the selling points!) And quite unlike the Colt 1911
Single action trigger, where the gun is cocked before
hand, and the safety held the gun in a safe condition
until it was thumbed down. A system that some Police
Departments did not like.
About
5 years ago, Smith and Wesson made shockwaves by introducing
a new model, the S&W99 a polymer framed ergonomic
"space gun" that would knock the spots off
other poly pistols like Glocks and Sigs. There was a
distinct Deja Vu around the S&W99 and wry commentators
pointed out that it was actually a Walther P99 with
a Smith and Wesson Barrel Unit and slide! Essentially
it was an American P99! The only big difference was
the fact that it came fresh from the S&W factory
with big grips as standard for our chunkier american
friends hands!
During
the 1980's Smith and Wesson also developed the mighty
.40S&W cartridge, which replicated the power of
the 10mm FBI cartridge, but on a smaller scale, that
could be built into existing 9mm frames, the resulting
M4006 sold like hot cakes, and the .40S&W is fast
becoming one of the most popular cartridges in the world.
Fast
forward to today and competition in the firearms world
is still tough, S&W have become sidelined in the
autopistol world, Glocks, Beretta's, Colts, and Sigs
all seem to be more in the public eye, then a Smith.
Still at least in the world of revolvers, the S&W
crest still counts for a lot.
But
then again, there is a light in the world of S&W
Autopistols. the Smith and Wesson PERFOMANCE CENTER.
This
is a special part of the Smith and Wesson Factory that
takes the best pistols, be they revolvers or Autopistols
and customises them to the nines, to produce the classiest,
fastest, most accurate, and there I say it, Prettiest
pistols in the world. When the words PERFORMANCE CENTER
are stamped on the side of a pistol, You know it comes
from good solid stock and is going to be one of the
best shooting fireams this side of Mars ;)
So
KSC have seen fit to announce that they will be bringing
out the PERFORMANCE CENTER M945 Auto pistol.
Just
like a real PERFORMANCE CENTER pistol, KSC have lavished
a lot of time and careful attention on the pistol, including
the amazing VAROQUO FISH SCALE slide, This is where
instead of the boring grooves that are usually cut into
the rear of the slide (Used to provide purchase when
you are racking it) an intricate pattern of raised "Scales"
are carved into the slide.
The
M945 also features some special "race" additions
including a set of fully adjustable BoMAR sights. Essentially
its a .45 Caliber Smith and Wesson that mimics a lot
of Colt 1911 style features, including the grip safety
and the Single action trigger. also included are , Ambidextrious
thumb safety, beavertail grip safety, black laminated-checkered
grips, and of course the front and rear fish scale slide
serations.
The
history of the 945 is a potted one and it is based on
the M645, This was a design produced by S&W as a
repalcement for the Colt 1911 in Military service, however,
history was unkind, and the 9mm cartridge was adopted
instead, bringing the Beretta 92f into service as the
"M9" However, It is known that a few M645's
were adopted by special forces.
KSC
have spent a lot of time with this pistol, and as such
it has some pretty amazing points, First of all, it
is dimensionally very accurate in comparison to the
Real 945, It also features "true to life"
internals, that mimic the real internals of the 945,
down to the Trigger springs and the transfer bar, as
Clarence says, "If the real parts are 100% quality,
I think the KSC parts are 60% and in a Model gun, thats
something special"
All
in all this is going to be one special GBB when it is
released, and a break from the monotony of Colt 1911's,
It looks like it will be making an impact at your local
skirmish site AND IPSC shoot, very soon!
Information
and pictures supplied by Airsoft
Surgeon AKA Clarence Lai, pictures taken at
Black Hole July 2002 Tokyo. http://www.airsoftsurgeon.com
