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Online Now: 96
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TriggerBOF, jse57
Most users ever online was 5808 on June 25, 2008 at 05:34 AM.
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Meatball's Featured Reviews |
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Airsoft Core |
By Rifleman2424
Published: June 9, 2009
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Real Steel History:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thompson_submachine_gun
Reason for Buying:
I bought the Thompson for a few reasons. The first and foremost was necessity. My TM MP5 had been bouncing back between me and trinityairsoft down in Virginia for a while because I tried to upgrade it myself and had a few minor problems (don't laugh, they said I did pretty well for my first time upgrading  ). At any rate, I had a TM M1911 GBB which I forced myself to sell, realizing what one wise user once said on this forum "Airsoft pistols are 30% sidearm, 70% cool thing to have." (I'm sorry I can't give true credit to that user, I've forgotten their name.)
The other reasons are that I love WWII guns, I love the Thompson, and I've always wanted one. Back when I was buying my MP5, the TM version was the only airsoft electric Thompson out there. It was also considerably more expensive than the MP5, so I couldn't get one. Now, I seized the opportunity (after doing research of course) to finally have an airsoft Thompson AEG.
First Impressions:
I ordered this gun off kapowwe.com because they had a sweet deal. A refurbished Thompson, (basically a used one that's been fixed up and tested) for $110. $70 off and still with a 30 day warranty; how could I pass this one up? When the box finally came, I tore it open and was double slapped across the face with two polar opposite emotions. One was awe and glee at how beautiful it was, and the other was disgust at the HUGE orange tip. I spent 15 minutes getting that thing off because either kapowwe, or whatever idiot last owned the gun had superglued it on. Once off however, the gun looked nothing short of spectacular.
A new model of this gun will have a cleaning rod, a poor quality sling, a small bag of potentially crappy BB's, an 8.4v 1100mah battery, a manual, and a 380rd high cap. My refurbished model came with everything minus the sling, manual, and sample BB's. Also, mine is the older version, so it came with a 50rd low cap.
Look and Feel:
The gun is a great weight at about eight pounds. It's heavy enough to feel great, and light enough to not wear you down too much during hot summer battles. The faux wood finish is in three levels of quality: the best being on the butt stock, the middle being on the handgrip, and the worst being on the fore grip. Still, many have mistaken the faux wood for real wood, which always makes me smile. The trademarks read:
Left side:
THOMPSON SUBMACHINE GUN
CALIBER 6MM M1A1
No. XXXXXXX (serial number)
Top:
U.S. PROPERTY
(Thompson logo)
Right side:
AUTO ORDINANCE CORPORATION
WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS
MADE IN CHINA
The trades are cool, and I was able to remove the "Made in China" lettering with the careful application of Q-tips and rubbing alcohol. My only complaint after that was that the trades say that it's a "6mm caliber" gun, which I suppose is true, but who wants airsoft specific trades on their gun? Not a real problem though.
Performance:
Hello there, and welcome to the review. I greet you here because you've likely skipped to this part of the review. GO BACK AND READ THE REST. Just kidding of course, do what you want .
Anyway, the controls are smooth and easy to operate, there is a switch for safe/fire, and a switch for semi/full auto. Both click in place decisively. The mag release is a little lever that moves up and down, and the mag slides along a rail into place. The system holds the magazine in place very firmly, and it is near impossible to slide the mag in without holding the release for the first few uses. All of the controls are on the shooters left of the gun. Normally, one would think this would make it difficult for a left handed shooter such as myself to operate. So far however I have run into no problems with this, so for lefties out there don't be discouraged.
Not having a chronograph, I did a poor man's chrono on a coke can. I loaded her up with some ICS .2g's and plugged in my 8.4v battery. A satisfying crack and the BB pierced both sides of the can, hit my garage wall about 12 ft behind it, bounced back and nearly hit me. Pleased at this, I tried the bottom of the can, WHAM, right through. In disbelief, I shot the bottom of the can again. Another clean punch through. According to Redwolf, that's an fps of 420-450 with a .2g BB. I was shocked, as this gun is normally advertised as 360fps, and am suspicious to this day.
The rate of fire on this gun isn't as bad as some reviews say. I read one review by a moron who I suppose got a bad battery and said his was firing 200 rpm. I have been using an 8.4v 1100mah from trinity (I haven't tried the one it came with, because I'm guessing trinity's is of better quality) and the rate of fire is not NEARLY that slow. Personally, I'm fine with the slightly slow rate of fire, because the real steel had a very similar rate of fire.
The range on this gun is very impressive, I'd say it can accurately hit torso sized targets at 180 ft. I don't know if there's a tightbore barrel installed stock, but it sure as hell seems like it, because the barrel is shorter than that of an M4. The hopup system is also very accurate, and allows for the gun's excellent range.
The only minor problem I encountered was that the battery clunked around in the stock quite a bit when I first got it. I stuffed some tissue paper into the stock, and with some tweaking I now have a tight and silent fit.
Accessories:
So far, I've purchased two full metal high capacity magazines, each holding 380 rounds. They look and feel better than my 50 round low cap, and have not ever jammed as they are reputed to by some.
There is also a 450 round drum magazine out, which I have considered buying. I haven't got my hands on one yet mostly because of the $60 price tag, but also because there is a slight historical inaccuracy. The M1A1 could not use drum magazines. The M1928A1 could, and these two looked very similar. The only notable difference being the charging handle was on the top in the M1928A1, while it was on the right side in the M1A1. Also, some models of the M1928A1 had a ribbed flash hider. This seems to me that it would only matter to strict WWII airsofters, but I think it's worth noting.
Other than extra magazines, there seems to be little to do as far as accessories. Keep in mind however, that we are dealing with an old-fashioned weapon. I got a good sling from a friend who didn't need his, and this has proved helpful during games. You could put a real wood kit on I suppose, but I don't think it's worth the money.
Conclusion:
This gun is an excellent weapon for it's value. It's really what you expect from CYMA, but the trades from Cybergun are a nice touch. So far it has proved such a good gun that I am weary of how long it will last. For the money, you get a great looking AEG with outstanding performance and overall bad-assery (or bad assness, whichever it is). I've used it in three skirmishes, and have gotten far more kills than my stock TM MP5A4. I'd probably even recommend this over the TM version, because of the significant fps and consequent range advantage. My take is that you could spend $100 more stock, and probably $200 more with upgrades for virtually the same thing. I'd recommend this AEG to anyone looking for a great stock AEG, or an awesome WWII era weapon.
See you on the field!
--Rifleman2424
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View Comments (1)
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You do know that it is against federal law to remove that ugly orange plastic cap from the muzzle of this or any airsoft gun?