Almost after two years from the time we started the Airsoft Project (an effort to see if the airsoft 1911s can be used for training in the use of the real firearm) I decided that I needed to add a new 1911 pistol in my collection. As most of you know, the Greek laws are not exactly flexible, so owing a WWII 1911 A1 pistol would be rather difficult for me, so the airsoft alternative seemed a good solution. Especially when I noticed the Tokyo Marui 1911A1 in a European store (Safara Softair, in Italy), which meant no customs hassles etc. The price was very attractive, so the credit card suffered and soon a small parcel was delivered to my front door.

I have heard good words about the Tokyo Marui 1911A1 from my friend Andrew at Airsoft Extreme, who thought very highly of it. So it was with great anxiousness that I opened the parcel from Italy.



I was pleasently surprised from the TM box, instead of the usually uninspiring Western Arms grey box, here was a very military-looking olive drab box with wording reminding of that era. Opening the box revealed an even bigger surprise.



The inside of the box consists of pieces of cardboard one on top of the other, cut for the pistol, a spare magazine and a small box (which externally immitates the ammo boxes of that era and which contains a small bag of BBs, a red plug for the barrel and a ... bushing wrench). The cardboard pieces however are covered with a ... luxurius silk-like cloth giving the impression of an expensive pistol box!! Congrats TM, presentation-wise this pistol is a winner.






I started examining the new pistol. The first impression is that of ... lightness. If you had ever used a Western Arms 1911, the Tokyo Marui one will surprise you by being light. While my Western Arms MEU Early Model tips the scale at 900 gr., and the Wilson Combat SDS at 920 gr, the TM is about 760 gr, all pistols weighted with their magazine in place. TM has included some weights under the grip panels, but these are not enough to give the correct feeling and the pistol still feels very light.

After getting used to the light feeling, further examination of the pistol reveals a very authentic-looking WWII 1911A1. All the right wording is there.



The serial number inscribed on the pistol makes it a 1943 Colt one. Please note that the UNITED STATES PROPERTY marking has been replaced with the marking of the airsoft manufacturer. A nice touch, since it saves the pistol from an additional marking, somewhere else, which would destroy its authenic looks. It also eliminates the possibility of some idiot charging the owner of the replica for stealing Government property.



The Ordnance Acceptance mark is again correct for the gun.



The left side features the usual Colt inscription on the slide and the various inspection marks on the frame.



The trigger is a milled, checkered, short one, which is appropriate for the era.



and so is the mainspring housing. The grips are plastic ones, again they are correct for the period this pistol was made, featuring the wide rings around the screw holes. The sights are typical military ones (i.e. short and useless for my eyes). The hammer is the wide, spure one, correct for the period this pistol is supposed to represent. Finally the pistol is painted in a scheme which immitates the parkerizing of the WWII period, but the controls (thumb safety, slide stop etc) appear to be like blued parts.





The orange paint on the front sight was applied by me, in an effort to make those tiny sights visible to my aging eyes.

The only things which are potentially not correct for that period are the sights and the barrel. The gun features the square notch rear sight and the slightly angled front one, which were not typically used until after serial number 893,000. However it is not unheard of to find a pistol in the range of the replica with the newer sights. These Colt pistols were not completed in the exact same order they were serial numbered. The specific small parts were not produced and installed in exactly the same order the slides and frames were numbered. As for the barrel, the pistol has a P and H barrel, which is correct for serial numbers in the 85,000 to 450,000. According to its serial number, this pistol should have a "Colt 45 Auto" barrel instead of the P&H one.

Overall, the pistol looks very very nice and authentic. If it was not for the extra-light feeling, it would be a perfect airsoft rendition of a military 1911A1.


Operation

The pistol operates just like a 1911 or to be more precise just like any other Gas Blow-Back 1911 airsoft pistol. In other words, you load the magazine with some BBs (the maximum is 23 I believe) and you also charge it with gas from the valve at the bottom of the magazine. You then insert the magazine in the pistol, rack the extra-light plastic slide and you are ready to shoot. The blow-back action is quite strong and perfectly satisfactory.

One area that this pistol differs from the real ones, is that even though it has a half-cock notch, the hammer can not be released from it, even if the trigger is pulled and the hammer slightly pulled back. In other words, this is a ... very captive half-cock notch, from where you can not lower the hammer to the at rest position. You need to fully cock it and release it by pressing the trigger. If you use your thumb to slowly lower the trigger, the hammer doesn't go all the way down, but it is stopped at the half cock notch. A minor discrepancy from the real 1911 operation, but still something which experienced users will notice.

Another remark about this TM airsoft 1911A1 pistol is the fact that it has what is called a "rolling trigger". In other words, the sear does not release the hammer instantly and crisply like in the Western Arms pistols I've tried, but you can feel the sear dragging against the hammer hooks for a very very short distance, before the hammer is released. Not unacceptable, some people like their 1911 triggers that way, and surely not contrary to what one expects from a military pistol.

Finally, contrary to most Western Arms 1911 pistols we have tried, which were a tight fit in leather holsters due to their slightly wider slides, the Tokyo Marui 1911A1 was a perfect fit.

Proceed to the second page to continue reading our review.