TM have now released their long-awaited M&P GBB as of yesterday (August 1st). We should be seeing these outside of Japan really soon.
Worth sharing is this video is from a YouTube channel of a guy in Japan who posts videos of himself shooting airsoft guns:
I’ve heard that there were already aftermarket metal slides being built in other parts of Asia, prior to the release date. This should be good…
“Jetlag” and I have been anxiously discussing the upcoming release of the Cybergun FNX GBB that we’ve seen photos and videos of floating around over the past few months without a ton of background information… I know I’ve been very curious to see who the manufacturer of the GBB pistol would be revealed to be (release date in Hong Kong is supposed to be sometime next month). And here is a pretty big update on the Cybergun // VFC FN Herstal FNX-45 GBB, as just appeared on the Airsoft & Military ACE Blog from Germany: http://blog.airsoftcommunity.de/cybergun-vfc-fn-herstal-fnx-45-gbb
The following photos and video are posted in ACE’s article (these appear to come from Cybergun, which is huge over in Europe):
Exciting? Yeah, sure is… especially since it is the “tacticool” FNX-45 Tactical model – red dot mount compatibility built into the slide, suppressor sights to allow co-witness with optional red dot, and threaded barrel with thread protector the highlight features on the real FN model. Big plus – it is all in that good looking FDE package; I liked the early VFC XCR tan finish, but now I really, really like VFC’s recent tan finishes as they’ve gotten a little darker – really easy on the eyes, considering that most Airsoft companies fail to even get the Earth tone into Flat Dark Earth. Looks like snappy kick for a stock gun, should be lots of fun to shoot as most VFC GBB’s are. Probably the closest I will ever get to ever owning a real FNX, as the price point the “real steel” goes for is pretty high up there.
But those of you whom ended up this blog from links on other forums are likely to know that I’ve developed a bit of a reputation for being a VFC GBB hater – in terms of initial releases, and this is no exception. At best, I’m skeptical of the long term reliability & initial functionality of this gun for at least the first generation. As much as I want to get one immediately myself because it is really freaking cool as a tactical-practical pistol, I’ll probably end up waiting for in-depth reviews to pop up before purchasing.
A representative of Action Sport Games (ASG) from Denmark recently stopped by my workplace – they’re apparently starting to look into more Canadian distributors now. Oh, and the Scorpion EVO is going to be a product that will definitely making its way into Canada, largely due to the quick change spring system of the Scorpion. ASG is very proud to claim that this new AEG will be a European produced product, produced in Denmark, ASG’s home country.
But that’s not the most interesting point that came out of our conversation for me – as it turns out, he used to be a part of a company called 3P (part of Cybergun, huge airsoft company from France). 3P being a company from Montreal, Quebec, Canada – initially at least. 3P being one of the first companies to bring airsoft to Canada, starting back in 1994. That is, they were doing so until the RCMP caught up with them and wasn’t too happy with the whole airsoft thing of real looking toy guns. 3P initially was actually a company doing import of Japanese “Otaku” (weird obsessive hobbyist culture) products such as Manga, though when they caught wind of these Japanese airsoft guns, this became a thing that they started to work with. Hence why airsoft is now so big in Europe – Cybergun has been there for a couple of decades now.
3P was actually a distributor of Tokyo Marui products – interesting since when I was in Tokyo, Japan and visited Marui’s head office, the representative there mentioned a sole Canadian distributor from a long time ago that went by a name of something along the lines of “3P.” The sales rep, Mr. Sugimoto, from Tokyo Marui instructed me to contact them for parts orders and all other inquiries about Marui products within Canada, but upon my return home, I could not find a single thing about such a distributor with that name. This is because 3P actually packed up and left Canada after to a crackdown on the airsoft market by the RCMP (for you outside of Canada, this is essentially the Federal police here) instructing them to cease doing their business of airsoft products in Canada. This is why there is no more Tokyo Marui direct distributor anymore – all Marui products I’ve seen in Canada and have attempted to track where they came from all seem to be coming from wholesaler distributors who are not in fact exactly or a subsidiary of Tokyo Marui.
He mentioned that he was one of the earlier companies to work with licensing for airsoft products – back then there was Marui and there was KWC. He recalls visiting many of the real firearm companies (Colt, Springfield, etc) in order to approach them for licensing rights, which was always a little bit of a toss up. Usually, when presented with a Tokyo Marui airsoft gun that was a repro of the real firearm, that manufacturer would be thrilled that the “toy” version was approached with so much attention to detail and would generally be on board – free money for them anyway. As it turned out, H&K and SIG were the only ones not to resign contracts years later with Cybergun, and instead went ahead and created their own company – Umarex.
And of course, a little story about how Glock hates airsoft products – when Glock first introduced their model “17,” there was panic about the largely polymer construction of the gun about how it may become the next favourite terrorist’s gun, as many believed it could be snuck onto airplanes. Consequently, after seeing these plastic airsoft lookalikes to Glock products, Glock wanted these to be stopped. This has of course now resulted in Glock taking legal action against companies marketing airsoft products bearing the Glock name (namely companies from USA or Canada). On an interesting related note, ASG will not sell their Glock products to North America, though they may have them in their European catalog edition…
Another interesting note was that Cybergun was one of the first companies to bring airsoft out of Asia – initially to France, of course. This is why we now see European airsofters with some of the oldest player groups around.
Fun facts from this (otherwise anonymous) representative from Action Sports Games. It was a pleasure to meet him and hear his story.
He has chosen to remain unnamed in this article, due to fear that the RCMP may still come after him after all these years. I don’t blame him for this, as the RCMP has had a history of cracking down hard on airsoft every couple of years, prior to the loose legalization of airsoft products in Canada that we’re now seeing since 2-3 years ago. Even now, paranoia about this for Canadian airsofters involved in the industry is still relatively high, so even though I haven’t been around long enough to have known many of the guys who took the full brunt of force of enforcement from the RCMP, I still known enough to watch my step around certain topics.
Ace1 Arms from Taiwan is at it again, but for the WE M&P this time – Salient Arms International style slide sets and SAI flat-faced trigger groups are coming soon. News comes from Ace1’s Facebook page, where preview photos and videos of an installed slide set and trigger on a WE M&P have been released. CRW Airsoft from Hong Kong has the Ace1 SAI parts sets for WE M&P available for pre-order (estimated availability in early December).
Redwolf Airsoft in Hong Kong just listed these for sale online:
Orga Flat Hop Adjuster w/2 Flat Packing for PTW
As I’ve mentioned previously, this is a new product coming from Orga Airsoft – a drop-in hop up roller and cage flat hop-style upgrade for Systema PTW. I would assume that one would reap all the range benefits from the elongated contact patch, paired with the consistency of the PTW platform… I mean, it seems to be a recipe for something capable of pushing long range with a flat trajectory for just a plastic BB gun.
I’m not sure if I’ll get it right away since its $55 USD – I’ll wait till someone else has done some thorough testing on this and posts about it online somewhere. With the MAG Curve Roller only costing $16 USD it was worth buying and trying, but the $55 price point on the Orga is a little above my current budget for parts testing. So here’s hoping that someone buys one who is willing and able to produce a nice write up detailing any comparable and/or noticeable improvements.
Finally released… and this package ($128.00 USD) was sold out on eHobby in a day.
The ICS TAG Grenade System is an Mil-Sim 2-part 40mm grenade that actually launches a projectile (according to ICS, they go really freaking far, too). This particular projectile releases powder on impact. From the videos I’ve seen on YouTube at various ICS tradeshow booths over the past year that mention this, there are supposedly other varieties of projectile rounds coming out sometime later.
I could see these being very cool to use in Mil-Sim or scenario-based games… though the high price point for Grenade Cartridges is the biggest factor that will be preventing me from buying myself a set any time soon ($81.00 USD each on eHobby, or $410.00 USD for 6)… that is, until someone here who writes scenarios gets wind of this and starts integrating these into games. That being said, I find that the price on the Paint-Powder Grenades isn’t too bad ($70.00 USD for 10 on eHobby), as each grenade is actually cheaper than the Enola Gaye Smoke Grenades available locally ($9.95 CAD each).
Photos taken from popularairsoft.com and G-Code’s Website.
It’s not often that I get really excited about a new piece of gear but this popped up on Popular Airsoft today and my jaw dropped. For the past year or so I’ve solely run plate carriers and chest rigs and have never dabbled in low drag belt systems. I’ve always wanted to try out a belt or drop leg system but haven’t had the opportunity or free funds to acquire one. But today after taking a look at the G-Code HSP D3 Carrier I may be sold.
Photo taken from Popular Airsoft. Thanks to Driftinsti for sharing with me.
The highlights for me:
Top left looks like a Tavor – I was just asking James from WE if they have any plans to make a Tavor GBB (which WE is currently not). I’m not sure why I all of a sudden got a hankering for a Tavor of my own; perhaps its just the fact that I want a new GBB rifle. Here’s hoping that its a GBBR coming out from Marui, but if its a Recoil Shock AEG… just meh.
Bottom right is most likely a HK45. Is it a HK45 or HK45C? Either way, still exciting to me for sure – especially since I was about to pull the trigger on a Umarex/KWA HK45 even though I really am biased against KWA products. After firing the real HK45 while in the States with my buddy Eddie, I more or less fell in love with the feel of that gun. With Tokyo Marui products, I feel like I know exactly what I’m getting into.
Lastly, is that M4 a GBB or another Recoil Shock model; as Logan muses on this post to Popular Airsoft, could it be that Marui is finally releasing a GBBR AR to the market? It could very well be a game changer for some of us hardcore TM fanboys.
The following page from Orga’s blog is in Japanese (it also has some extra photos): http://orga.militaryblog.jp/e469106.html
Thanks go to “Kampfer” for sharing this on Facebook.
As I vaguely mentioned before, WE has completed their work on a GBBR that resembles the Remington ACR. Though I couldn’t show you guys the initial photos I’ve seen, WE now has official release photos and WE are calling it the “MSK” (MSK = MuSoKen).
WE MSK promo photos from WE GBB’s Facebook Page. These photos are not mine.
Many more photos after the break:
Overhoppers 