Full Featured Review

Well, after looking long and hard for a good GBB, I decided on the HFC M190. But having had bad experiences with HFC gas replicas, I decided against it. Then I wanted a G19. But...glocks are too popular. Then I saw this little baby on Hot Spot Airsoft. I read the stats, and looking at Marui's other replicas, and how good they were, and decided to buy it. I was going through the ordering process, and looked back at the replica, and it turned out that somebody ordered the last one before me. Bummer. But then I found it at AEX, Airsoft Extreme. Tried to order it, and I needed to send a fax or something stupid. So I canceled the order, and looked for another site. Found it at DEN Trinity, and they didn't take the credit card I was using. So I looked again, found it at Powered for $115 , and everything worked out this time. The replica came 3 days later.

The art on the box is awesome, but I didn't get a pic of it, sorry. I opened up the box...and laying there was the Tokyo Marui Hi-CAPA 4.3, along with a barrel de-jamming rod/cleaner, and 100 or 200 Mari BBs. I picked it up. It was light. Too light. Of course the magazine/clip (for people who want to call it that, I call it a mag and will continue to for the rest of the review.) wasn't in though. The mag is full metal, and holds 29 easy with regular BBs and you can squeeze 30 in there, but squeezing extra BBs in is not good, it can cause jams, and is not healthy for the mag. Very good mag capacity for a pistol. A four second fill fires the whole mag and about 20 extra shots after that.
The mag makes up a large portion of the weight of the replica. I find that annoying, but its even more annoying when they find cavities in the replica, and put chunks of metal in. The frame is metal, and the slide is plastic. But not cheap plastic of course. The sights are non-adjustable, and have white dot on the front post, and spaces on the back sight for more paint. I didn't paint any more though, I like it fine the way it is.



There are quite a few trademarks on the replica. The left side of the slide reads "OPS-Tactical- .45", then below that; "NM-2020-04A1/2133SOPS-3728110" (the lower ones were much smaller letters and numbers.) On the top of the slide chamber cover, there are small letters reading ".45 ACP". The right side of the slide reads "Tactical .45" below the chamber cover. Above the trigger on the right side of the replica are the trades found on any Marui replica, "Made in Japan", then below that "Tokyo Marui", then a little over to the right, "ASGK" in these weird letters. To the left of that, above and to the right of the right side grip there is yet another "OPS Tac .45". So, lots of trades.

The hop up is inside the slide; you have to take the replicas slide off to get to it. To take the slide off, you line up the slide lock/release lever with the half circle, about a centimeter farther back than the slide lock notch, like this:

Then, you turn the dial to adjust the hop up. I find when the arrow is pointing straight down is the best for .20 g.

So, now that the hop up is adjusted to where I want it, I'll fill it up. It has really good seals by the way, they are quiet. Load the BBs...put the mag in...and fire. Fire again. Hmm, slow recoil, not what I was expecting. Fire again and pomf, pshhhhh. Now, your probably thinking, "Oh man that sucks for him, his gun is messed up." But that isn't the case. I have been waiting to run out of gas for a while, and it finally happened. Ok get the new propane tank, fill it again, and fire.

Dang....What an awesome feel, now that it has good gas in it. It has the fastest recoil of any gun I have ever seen or shot. It sounds MEAN too. This gun preformed great in the cold, it was still shooting normally in 45-50 degree weather. It also has NEVER jammed yet, and I used the worst BBs once, scratches and dents all over them. I stopped once I inspected them and saw how bad they were, but its not my fault, my buddy said they were the best BBs, and I believed him   )

Range tests were done inside, at 20 ft and 40 ft.
These are with Airsoft Elite .20 g. and propane (if that matters). Note that these are pretty high quality BBs. If you use lower grade BBs, like crossman, you could get different results. I couldn't get the range test pics to come up, so I will just tell you the results. At 20 feet, the groupings were 4 inches, and at 40 feet, they were 7 inches. Not the most accurate, but the results never changed. This is seriously the most consistent gun I have ever owned or shot. This gun shoots ropes, not a stray BB in the whole mag. That's probably what I love most about this gun. Consistency.


The pop can chrono test

Using the "poor man's chrono test" that can be found at redwolfairsoft, I found out the gun had about 350-370 fps. It went through both sides cleanly and made a big dent in the center of the bottom. I was very surprised at these results. I was using propane, with .20 g. BBs.
(Note, I understand propane isn't very good for your gun, but if you lube it, I don't believe it dries out the seals or anything evil propane is known to do to your gun. I also know propane and green gas are very similar in chemical properties, but are not the same. However, both give almost the same exact power when you use then in a GBB.)

So, in conclusion. (If you skipped the review to see the conclusion, you're out of luck, its not very long, read the whole review.) The Tokyo Marui Hi-CAPA 4.3 is an excellent replica. It is a very good sidearm, and a great main weapon if you backyard airsoft most of the time. Honestly, I do not see any flaws in the replica so far, I have owned it for 3 months; I just see just pros, no cons. That's rare for me. 10 stars.

Its all good.


-Fireflak

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