emilianoksa

I once asked Mike Cripps at the sadly missed Elite Shooting Centre if I should lightly coat parts in the hammer unit of my hi capa with the synthetic oil I bought from him. His answer was an emphatic NO. He told me only to use the oil on the slide rails and leave other areas alone, apart from using silicone oil for o rings. And yet I see people spraying a little oil into hammer blocks on a regular basis. And it is usually silicone oil which is not a good lubricant for metal to metal parts. Do you clean your hammer units, or just clean them and leave them dry?

Thanks a lot to both of you.

Yes, I understand where you are coming from. But plenty of people still run pistols with metal slides during the summer months. The weather may still be shit, but at least the temperatures are higher. Two of the VFC pistols - the FNX45 and HK45 Compact - get pretty good reviews. And lots of people buy their Glocks for the trades and nice external appearance, though I have stuck to the WE G series, which I trust more.

Until recently I had no idea that VFC made a USP pistol. I knew about the VFC HK45 Compact, but, until the release of the TM USP full size, I thought the only USPs available were the USP 45 and USP Compact from KWA. So I was surprised to discover that VFC also makes a USP 9 as well as its military variant, the HK P801. Common sense tells me that he TM version will be the best, and I have never been drawn to KWA pistols, but I wondered why the VFC isn't talked about much. And not that many retailers seem to stock it. Has it not been a popular product? VFC pistols have had their problems but they tend to be better made than the KWA ones. I have googled TM USP vs VFC USP but can't find a comparison anywhere. I just wondered if the VFC was a viable option for airsofters who want a USP with a metal slide.

Apart from your hop problem, how has your TM M9 held up over the last two years? It is one of TM's most impressive looking guns IMO. Put it on display and it looks like the real steel. Are you still happy with its appearance or does it scratch easily?

I came across the item below which was exactly what I needed for displaying my pistols on a pegboard protected by glass. https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/uppspel-glass-door-cabinet-dark-grey-90507636/ The pegboard itself is metal (unlike the fibre board of the Skadis) and there is room to fit three (at a pinch four) pistols on each side. The glass slides into the front of cabinet. IKEA's own hooks are not suitable, but I found 3-D printed compatible ones of various sizes on ebay. The only problem is that the Uppsell pegboard is a very dark grey - almost black - so the pistols I have do not stand out. Therefore I have decided to paint it a medium to light grey. The black surface of the pegboard is nicely done in what appears to be a baked on material. It would be a pity - and probably a long job - to try to remove it. Is there any reason why I could not just wipe it down with isopropyl alcohol and paint directly over it? Should I spray it with a primer first or just go over the black with two coats of grey? What sort of paint would you recommend? I also want to paint the white plastic hooks black. Again, can I just spray them black or should I use a primer first? I would appreciate advice from anybody who is knowledgeable about the sort of paints I would need.

Thanks. That is encouraging.

Detonator slides for TM pistols are known to be very expensive. A slide and barrel for the HK45 is twice as expensive as the gun. So you could have three TM pistols for the same price as one TM pistol with a Detonator slide and barrel. Nova and Prime are also pricy.. Shooters Design kits are considerably cheaper. Is that because they aren't much good? They are advertised as cnc aluminium. Does that mean their slides are a straight fit like Airsoft Masterpiec/Gunsmith Bros are on TM hi capas. Has anyone ever fitted one to an HK45? Or any other Marui for that matter? If so, I would be grateful if you could let me have your opinion.

That would normally be the case. However the TM M9A1 is one of the best looking plastic guns out there. It weighs a ton, and the external finish mimics metal very well. It is certainly good enough to put on display. On a wall or in a display cabinet it would fool almost anyone into thinking it was the real steel. The trades may not be accurate, but they look good. The WE has no trades at all. Personally, I like both.

Have they really stopped stocking TM Glocks? Or are they just having to wait a long time for resupply like everybody else? Quite a few retailers are sold out of many guns at the moment.

I have always liked the look of the USP Compact, but imagined that it would feel very light in the hand. However it gets such good reviews that I decided to look at it again , and check some weight comparisons. It weighs 685 grams, so it's heavier than the G19 ( 640 g) even though it is 17mm shorter. And the full size USP is only 40g heavier than the Compact. The full size G17 is only 23g heavier than the USP Compact, though it is much bigger. TM's Glocks however do have a reputation for being very light. Does this mean that, given it's small size and respectable weight, it feels quite substantial in the hand? I have no problem with a plastic gun as long as it doesn't feel really light.

You said yourself you have never owned the WE M9. Which WE pistols have you owned? The WE Beretta is not the worst ever. Those who collect M9s will probably tell you the Gen 2 WE version is more reliable than the KJW, KWA, ICS or G&G. The WE Glocks and Sig P226/ P229, are also better than the KJW. Granted many of their pistols are crap. But not all. TM certainly makes the best gas pistols, but the WE Berettas, Glocks and Sigs are pretty much TM clones. And they are very affordable and have decent magazines that are also cheap to buy. KWA and VFC pistols generally cost more and look a bit nicer, but they get slagged off just as much on a regular basis for breaking or just being unreliable. Maybe that is because they don't copy Marui designs and their own designs have flaws. And if they do break, good luck getting replacement parts.

Thanks for that insight. But why H&K and not Glock?

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I know it comes down to licensing. Marui gets away with because their products are not made for export. As far as British retailers are concerned they get their TM guns from third parties that buy them from TM and then export them. It would appear that some of these third parties, or certain retailers, don't want to run the risk of getting into trouble with manufacturers of the real steel guns by using their logos, and others are prepared to take the risk. Could I ask anyone who owns, for example, a TM HK45 with trades, which retailer they got it from?

One of the reasons that contribute to the popularity of TM gbb pistols, is the fact that they have trades. However pictures of some models in UK adverts do not show the trades. I have noticed this with H&K pistols in particular, but even on some 1911s. Strangely Glocks don't seem to be affected. One retailer actually warns customers that trades on H&K pistols have been "tastefully" removed before export. I just wondered how widespread this is. Do all UK retailers do it, or only some. If the illustration shows no trades does that mean they are absent from the gun, or are they just blacked out for advertising purposes, to avoid trouble.

Thanks for that.

Thanks to you both. So, if the three I mentioned all the same internally I will just go ahead and choose one on looks - probably the MEU because of its rear sights.

Yes, I know the 1911s are not recommended for skirmishing. Marui make several different models of 1911, and they often introduce improvements into later models, like the M9 series. I just wondered what might be considered their best 1911. The latest are the ones with rail in tan or black with the fancy grips, but I don't like rails on 1911s. So these and Desert Night Foliage Warrior are out. So that just leaves the WW2 one, the Mk IV Series 70 and the MEU. As far as I know the MEU is newer than the others, so I wondered if it had any improvements, or if all the three were pretty much the same internally. Can standard TM grips be used to replace the Pachmayr copies on the MEU?

Thanks Bert.

Thanks for the response.

What makes the other ICS pistols garbage? Serious question. I'm not sticking up for ICS pistols. I have been considering getting their Beretta M9 clone, but something keeps stopping me.

Are you happy with the ICS BM9? There's still not much in the way of users' reviews on the web. How does it compare to the other M9s in your collection?

Thanks.

The latest M9 and M9A1 pistols have metal inserts behind the grip panels and a metal sleeve over the inner barrel. This makes them weigh more than some all metal replicas. The 1911s also have the grips weighted with metal inserts. Is this done simply to add weight for the sake of realism, or is it meant to strengthen the gun, or protect plastic parts? The TM M9 feels really meaty and the plastic used actually looks like metal. It looks more realistic than say the KJW imo and seems built to last. I understand that only pistols with removable grip panels can get the metal inserts behind the panels. But metal sleeves on inner barrels should in theory be possible on all the newer TM pistols. Why don't they use them on other guns?

A different question, I know, but is the WE version recommended over the alternatives?