FAQ for Tokyo Marui Hi-Capa, 2011, 1911, MEU & Detonics type variants

[Slono]

Originally Posted by ILLusion

It's CNC machined aluminum. Couldn't tell you the specific alloy, as it's not advertised anywhere. I'd guess somewhere along the line of 6061 aluminum, based on how hard (easy?) it is to work the material. I'd also guess there to be no surface treatments applied to it.

Ah. That's why there's a premium on them darn expensive kits... sexy, but expensive. Are SD kits made from the same material?

[ILLusion]

Originally Posted by Slono

Ah. That's why there's a premium on them darn expensive kits... sexy, but expensive. Are SD kits made from the same material?

SD is advertised as 6061 aluminum. Most manufacturers in Asia, when faced with choosing a billet aluminum for hand or CNC machining, will prefer 6061 due to the relatively low cost to strength benefit ratio. The only thing lower is die-casting, which has a host of its own problems.

However, in my experience, SD parts do not fit together as well as Nova. Fitment is required to get SD to come together.

[Slono]

I didnt' know SD required work. I know their grips could be a pain, but their slides... good to know though.

As for right now I'm getting the urge to replicate the sexy grips in this photo... sandpaper and grip tape are the only materials I would need.

[RacingManiac]

it'd be nice for some manufacturer start replicating the new Infinity grips....

[Slono]

Originally Posted by RacingManiac

it'd be nice for some manufacturer start replicating the new Infinity grips....

I'll probably start working on it next week.

[TaroBear]

So this might seem silly, but I'm new to this, so here goes. I've been trying to price out parts and such, seeing what I can put in myself and what needs to be done by a pro. I came across these parts, and I'm wondering if item number one also includes item number two.

Item 1: http://www.uncompany.com/pageproduct...p?prodid=24036
Item 2: http://www.uncompany.com/pageproduct...p?prodid=23935

Obviously I don't mean those two exact items, my question is more specifically about the outer barrel also including the chamber. Or is there something I'm missing here?

My second question is, what are the recommended brands for metal kits? The main ones I see are Guarder, PGC and VFC. I'm going to discount PGC, since they're crazy expensive and rarely in stock. So between Guarder and PGC, any thoughts?

Finally, since I'm again new at this, how much of installing after market parts should I handle myself? Putting my gun together after my first assembly was an....interesting learning experience, to put it politely.

oh, and I'm working with a stock Marui right now.

[juicy]

Originally Posted by Slono

I'll probably start working on it next week.

Do it!

[ILLusion]

Originally Posted by Slono

I didnt' know SD required work. I know their grips could be a pain, but their slides... good to know though.

They don't always require work, but I have noticed variances in tolerances from one batch to another. Generally, their work is good, but there is more consistent and smoothing moving products out there.

Originally Posted by Slono

As for right now I'm getting the urge to replicate the sexy grips in this photo... sandpaper and grip tape are the only materials I would need.

TruGrip grip tape is the closest out of the package solution you can get for this application. Just a bit of shaping to bring down and round out the circumference will give you a pretty close replica.

Originally Posted by RacingManiac

it'd be nice for some manufacturer start replicating the new Infinity grips....

I got a quote done for a mould to create a plastic version of these.... I could buy a new car with that.

The metal ones I also got quoted for as a machined product, but because new R&D must be performed from scratch and with the low expected sales volume of said product, the price is actually higher than a real one. It's actually cheaper if I get you a custom frame machined that can accept real steel grips. The changes from a Marui based Hi-Capa system are minimal, and a new custom made mag catch button would also be required, but the upside of this is that it would also allow you to use most other real steel components (trigger, trigger bar, leaf spring, main spring housing, etc)

Originally Posted by TaroBear

So this might seem silly, but I'm new to this, so here goes. I've been trying to price out parts and such, seeing what I can put in myself and what needs to be done by a pro. I came across these parts, and I'm wondering if item number one also includes item number two.

Item 1: http://www.uncompany.com/pageproduct...p?prodid=24036
Item 2: http://www.uncompany.com/pageproduct...p?prodid=23935

Obviously I don't mean those two exact items, my question is more specifically about the outer barrel also including the chamber. Or is there something I'm missing here?

UNCompany's site is down right now, so without at least the exact product name/description or a link to another product page, I couldn't tell you. But based on your question, the answer would have to be "it depends on the manufacturer."

Some manufacturers (such as Shooters Design) create the barrel set in two pieces to give you an option for different chamber features. You'd buy the barrel you needed (4.3 bull, 5.1 bull, 5.1 straight, 5.1 compensated, 5" threaded, etc) and mate that up with a chamber style you liked (.45 ACP, BAR-STO .45, STI .45, .38 SUPER, INFINITY .45, Kimber style, blank, etc etc.)
The barrel option is then just screwed on to the chamber once you receive it.

Other manufacturers limit the chamber markings and sell a full barrel set in one go. It keeps their costs low (and the product cost is lower in return.) Cheaper versions of such sets are still machined in two parts, and then screwed/welded or pressure fit to each other.
More expensive versions are complete one-piece construction, very much like real steel barrels.

Originally Posted by TaroBear

My second question is, what are the recommended brands for metal kits? The main ones I see are Guarder, PGC and VFC. I'm going to discount PGC, since they're crazy expensive and rarely in stock. So between Guarder and PGC, any thoughts?

That depends on specifically which pistol you're working with... single stack or double stack? Although, I'm somehow assuming you're referring to a Marui 1911 (single stack) series.

Guarder is almost always a poor choice, but it's very cheap - you get what you pay for.

PGC is nice, but I'm not liking the finish of their single stack frames too much. They're wobbly and the finish seems to be more of a satin finish rather than matte. The colouration also tends to be more purple than blue-black. PGC doesn't create frames for the double-stack.

VFC's MEU conversion kit, I was very very surprised with. I did a head to head product comparison for MEU conversion kits. The brands covered were Nova, Shooters Design, VFC, Guarder and Hurricane. While the VFC kit wasn't the nicest (trademarks were not the same) out of all the reviewed kits, it installed together the easiest out of all kits, and featured extremely little wobble, even compared to the CNC machined kits and was also among the cheapest of all kits. Overall, the fit, finish and price received some of my highest marks among the group. The only kit I would place above it as far as finish and replica accuracy, would be the Nova kit, although it did require a bit more work to put together and was double the price.

Originally Posted by TaroBear

Finally, since I'm again new at this, how much of installing after market parts should I handle myself? Putting my gun together after my first assembly was an....interesting learning experience, to put it politely.

I get asked this all the time, and the answer is always the same: "I can't answer that for you, it depends on your personal skill, mechanical dexterity, and aptitude at figuring out pneumatic-mechanical systems."

With that said, considering the number of times I've seen botched GBB installs, I'd say that building a single stack isn't easy, and is only recommended by more experienced users.

I've even seen experienced AEG gunsmiths completely screw up and lose parts from a GBB build, so that might give you an idea of how difficult it may be.

[TaroBear]

I see. So generally the one piece pricer models including the barrel and chamber are better? In regards to metal bodies, most of the parts I've found for the Marui 1911 are made by Guarder, so I heard that fitting after market parts from the same company into the same gun build would make things much easier? But if Guarder is kind of shoddy, I guess VFC is a better choice. Is it going to be a serious problem putting different company parts together?

[juicy]

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh if you're shopping on eHobby, yes you'll find mostly Guarder parts.

And also... what's this about one piece barrels being better? As far as I can recall, nearly all aftermarket barrels are two piece - barrel and chamber, correct?

[TaroBear]

Well, I like to browse several websites. Usually I'm confronted with endless lists of parts for Hi Capas, and sometimes I find something for a vanilla 1911. A lot of the time it's Guarder. Sometimes it's SD.

[ILLusion]

Originally Posted by TaroBear

I see. So generally the one piece pricer models including the barrel and chamber are better? In regards to metal bodies, most of the parts I've found for the Marui 1911 are made by Guarder, so I heard that fitting after market parts from the same company into the same gun build would make things much easier? But if Guarder is kind of shoddy, I guess VFC is a better choice. Is it going to be a serious problem putting different company parts together?

Well, I didn't say the true one-piece inner barrels are better. They're not necessarily better, although there's no chance of the welding to break or the two parts to unscrew from each other (I've experienced the unscrewing with the Shooters Design setups) so in this regard, they're a bit better. You don't have to worry about it coming apart. Ever.

The true one-piece sets also have additional features. At this time, there is only one manufacturer of these barrels for airsoft, but it is sold under several brands.

So just saying it's "one piece" doesn't necessarily make it better... yes, it holds together longer, but a two-piece assembly that's fixed together properly won't come loose that often either.

If the only metal bodies you've found are made by Guarder, then you're not looking hard enough.

It's ALWAYS recommended to match brands... otherwise, nobody will guarantee you'll have any compatibility. But even if you match brands, it doesn't mean all the parts will go together like butter (look at Guarder, for example. I had to file rails right out of the box just so the slide could mate to the frame.)

When building GBB's, ALWAYS expect to do fitment work!

Originally Posted by juicy

And also... what's this about one piece barrels being better? As far as I can recall, nearly all aftermarket barrels are two piece - barrel and chamber, correct?

Yes, almost all are sold as two separate parts, OR they were manufactured as two parts and attached afterwards.

There is only ONE factory building true one-piece barrels at this time. One of the brand's it's sold under is ILLusion Kinetics.

Originally Posted by TaroBear

Well, I like to browse several websites. Usually I'm confronted with endless lists of parts for Hi Capas, and sometimes I find something for a vanilla 1911. A lot of the time it's Guarder. Sometimes it's SD.

There are plenty of parts that can be swapped on the 1911. Almost every single part can be swapped, but you'll need to consider compatibility issues between the oldschool Colt M1911A1 Government frame and the modern MEU frame. Ultimately, you can get all parts to work together, you may just have to do some work to the parts.

Many Hi-Capa parts are also compatible with the single stack series.

[Slono]

One out of three times I fill ANY mag they seem to leak. I don't know how to fix them either. I've tried taking out the fill valve and repositioning the o-ring but that didn't seem to help. Does anybody know why this is happening, and how I could fix it, or stop it from happening again?

[ILLusion]

It leaks from the fill valve DURING filling or after? and from where? The outer circumference? Or at the pin?

[fal]

Does MEU/Night warrior upper will fit and work with hi-capa lower?

Also what modification is involved to fit Nine Ball feather weight BBU to fit in MEU/Night warrior slide?

Cheers.