[TaroBear]

Originally Posted by ILLusion

MEU Force Recon still uses the MEU(SOC) pistol. The official designation for the MEU(SOC) pistol, is the M-45.

The majority of the ones in existence are re-conditioned stock, and a lot of them actually shoot like crap and jam all the time because they've been cobbled together by piles of old stock parts that have been refinished and recycled back in to service for the better part of half a century now.

This is why a lot of people wonder why the Springfield Armory logo is cut in half by front serrations on the slide: armorers had taken old slides from inventory and cut new front serrations in as requested by the Marine Expeditionary Unit. That was one of the few modifications that were done to cobble together and assemble functioning guns to meet a modern demand.

While the MEU(SOC) pistol was generally disliked by most of the guys who actually used them, they are still in service and can be seen from time to time. Geardo nerds have a major hard on for anything that's actually issued, which is one of the reasons why this airsoft model was created.

As operators from MCSOCOM DET-1 were selected from Force Recon, the requirement for a .45 carried over to that detachment, and they had their own special requests at around the same time as the late model M-45. From here, the lineage of the build split off after the early model conception to create the ICQB. Coined the ICQB Pistol (Interim Close Quarter Battle Pistol), it became the cousin of the late model MEU. The basic exterior requirements of the gun were similar to the MEU, but there were a few other functional requirements that meets the ICQB designation. One of the requirements, was that this gun were to be built brand new by Kimber America. This ICQB later descended in lineage to what folks now know as the Kimber TLE/RL II series, and the Kimber Warrior.

Through direct lineage, there are five major revisions of this pistol during it's stages of development:

1) Colt M1911A1 Government Military Model
2) MEU (Early Model)
3) ICQB
4) MEU (Late Model)
5) Kimber TLE/RL line (including the Warrior) <-- Civilian models

A split occurred after the MEU early model in to the ICQB and MEU late model, which would deem them to be brothers. The Kimber TLE/RL line is a descendent of the ICQB lineage.


As far as airsoft goes, the two guns are functionally exactly the same. They shoot the same, perform the same, kick the same, and share magazines. It comes down to whether you want to replicate a particular unit's load out... but in any case, it's a great platform. Piles of upgrades available, and finding any replacement/upgrade parts is easy as pie, due to great aftermarket support. You can't go wrong with either model.

Me personally, I like the ambidextrous safety levers and the Novak combat sights used in the MEU more than the fixed blade sights of the 1911 Military Model.

I've always wondered about that logo thing on the slide...I thought all the aftermarket companies were being lazy and just reusing their old 1911 stuff with a serration.