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Introduction This is the review of the Tokyo Marui 1911a1 which is to be given away in mid-August, for our ASC 3.0 kickoff contest. We received the gun from www.trinityairsoft.com who is sponsoring the contest, and we must say that the gun arrived two days after being shipped, well packaged, and we would like to thank them for providing us with excellent service. You also may be able to catch them in our forums, as they have a member account here.
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I must start the review by discussing how much I love this model. I do not know why, but I have always thought of the 1911 model to be very genuine looking, especially the a1 model. Maybe it’s the World War II video games or movies, but I just like the gun’s style, its look, its history, and pretty much everything else about it. I guess it is a mystery then why I do not own one myself, but I guess it is about time I have my hands on one for review. I do however have experience with other 1911’s as I have a close friend who is also into 1911’s and actually owns one! I was very excited to check out this gun, and was even more excited when I opened the box to see this beautiful piece snuggly placed into a packing, which was covered by an olive drab cloth (pictured above). From this point on the gun only got better too, and I must say I am going to be sad to give this up… even if it is given to one of our very own loyal members. I am glad I was able to check the gun out however, and maybe when I am finished the review I’ll have to get one for myself as well.
First Impressions 
As I began with in the previous paragraph, the gun was impressive in its packaging. The above picture shows the olive drab box which the trademarks removed, as well as the manual with comes packaged with the gun. In addition to the manual the package also contains the typical Tokyo Marui product line booklet, some paper targets, instructions on using the gun (and if your lucky they are in English too), as well as an un-tool. As can be seen in the first picture the gun also comes with an olive drab box of BBs, which I will let the winner of the gun open for them self.
The looks of the gun sitting in the olive drab packing were incredible. The past two guns I have reviewed (both new models; this and the ICS AK74) have had very impressive packaging which really cause the first impression of the gun to be an experience. Not to mention making the box that much more appealing to store the product. I did not waste anytime, I quickly picked up the gun and the magazine, and after a brief examination put the magazine in to get the full feel for the gun. The gun weighs in at a little less than two pounds according to Trinity Airsoft, which is a pretty comfortable weight. It is about what you would expect from this pistol, solid weight, but nothing surprisingly heavy. The weight is distributed well too. This makes it very easy to move around, aim, and hold the gun steady. Until you have a gun that is not balanced, you may not appreciate this feature, but it is a big deal, and luckily there is nothing to worry about with this gun
Whenever I describe this gun to someone in person, I use the word “smooth”. This is simply because the gun feels and looks great, has a great feel to it, all the moving parts move easily, and I just can not find a problem with the gun. Like most Marui’s, they do not overwhelm you with flash, like full metal guns (this gun is a very solid plastic by the way), but simply give you a solid and smooth product. A product that always feels finished and reliable. It is very hard for one to describe in words, as I am trying to do, that this gun has a great feel to it, and therefore deserves the word “smooth”.
The gun as mentioned is almost all plastic, the plastic parts include the slide, receiver, and brown grip. Behind the grip however is a metal piece, about where you would put the base of your palm and thumb which is metal. The safety feature that gets pushed in by your thumb is metal, and below that is metal too which adds to the weigh significantly and really makes it feel solid. In addition to that the trigger and hammer are metal, as well as the magazine, slide catch, safety, magazine release, and internals.
As can be seen in the image above the trademarks which are not legal in the United States (because they use the marks of real companies such as Colt in this case) are covered up with a sort of tape. I will be making no attempt to remove these. I will inform you however of what the uncovered trademarks say
Top Line: APR.20.1897.SEPT.9.1902 [black tape]PT.F.A.MFG.CO.
Bottom Line: DEC.19.1905.FEB.14.1911.AUG.19.1913[black tape]HARTFORD.CT.U.S.A Click here to see a larger image of the side of the gun yourself! (Large Image File) Even with the tape over the trademarks, the unhidden marks on the gun add to the genuine feel of the gun, and give you the real Colt 1911 feeling. 
The other side contains some Tokyo Marui trademarks above the trigger, as well as some realistic trademarks farther up the barrel, with only a small portion taped over as can be seeing above. Top Line: ASGK Tokyo Marui Made in Japan [SPACE] M1911A1 [TAPE] Army Bottom Line (serial number): No.871072 Click here to see a larger image of this side of the gun yourself! (Large Image File) Operation 
The gun operates like pretty much every other gas pistol out there, you put the loaded magazine in, fill it up with gas, and pull back the slide and fire. The gun when out of BB’s will catch the slide when it comes back, not allowing the gun to be dry fired, and letting you know it is empty, just like on the real models. Even when this model airosft gun is loaded with BB’s and gas, in order to fire at all, the hammer must be back, and you must be holding the gun correctly (the metal piece on the back the pistol grip must be pushed in to pull the trigger). In addition to this, there is a safety which you can put on, which prevents the slide from going back at all, which therefore prevents the gun from firing. 
Safety in place, holding the slide in place. Lower right also reveals the safety feature, requiring the gun to be held properly to be fired. The operation of the gun is just as smooth as the looks and feel of it. The slide moves very smoothly, with a very nice sound to it if I do say so myself. The gun operates like clockwork; so far every little feature has been bullet proof. It never fails to catch the slide when empty; the safety systems all work, the BB’s never fail to load, so far… so awesome. Performance The performance of this gun, like everything else above, is solid and above average. The gun shoots very consistently, and has quite a bit of pop, and range for a sidearm. I was surprised when I put my .25g BB’s in there, to see the BB go swiftly and accurately, for a good distance. I did not measure it out, but I would say the gun can shoot pretty effectively for 75-100 feet, and has more range than that obviously. The gun has a good ROF for a pistol, of course it is a semi-automatic, but there is not much delay in fires, you are able to get your entire 26 round magazine off pretty quickly, and accurately as well. The gun as mentioned above has a good weight distribution, which is fantastic for quick aiming, and action, which is obviously a huge part of the game of Airsoft. Click here to see a 10 second clip of the gun shooting! Clip not taking to show accuracy (was holding a gun and a camera), just to see it in action a little bit. Who is this gun for? The gun comes in at a very reasonable price for what you are getting; an upper end, reliable, gas blow back pistol. The gun carries the Tokyo Marui brand name well, as you always get a reliable and solid product and get what you pay for, and deserve. So this is definitely a good choice if you are simply looking for a solid and reliable side arm to accompany your AEG or whatever your primary weapon may be. This is also a good product for those of you who may want a legit Airsoft gun, but do not quite have the budget to reach an AEG. This thing would definitely be a fun product to shoot around, and can even compete with the AEGs (if you are good of course). Also in that same group are those who just want to shoot around the house or backyard Airsoft if you will, as it is not too high of a price, and is quick and easy to use. Does not need to charge anything, just load the gas, and go shooting. This product also has the unique quality of being a very popular and good looking product. It is a very nice looking gun, comes in a very nice looking package, and would be a very good addition to anyone who likes collecting Airsoft guns for their genuine look. The gun has a great look to it, does not have the actual metal parts as the real gun, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that until you got really close to it, or even flicked it once or twice. Conclusion As you would expect from a new Tokyo Marui Airsoft product, the gun is an all around winner. It does not do anything flashy or crazy for you, but simply gets the job done, and gives you what you want. The gun looks fantastic, feels solid, is realistic, and performs as a good gas blow back should. What more could you ask for? I am really glad I got the opportunity to finally be able to use a 1911a1 model, and the Marui was a great one to try. As you can probably tell I had a hard time finding a flaw with the gun, I usually can find at least something to say I did not like, or simply got on my nerves… but nothing. The gun is solid. If you are looking for a Colt M1911A1, or any GBB for that matter, this is a good choice. I may even have to get one for myself =) - Meatball |
