Airsoft Canada - View Single Post

Sgt Stiglitz · March 26th, 2013, 19:32

Hey fellas,

First I'm totally new to this, so I hope I'm posting in the right section (I'm a newb, so I suppose I'm right where I belong!).
I want to gear up and go play airsoft asap, it looks and sounds like a hell lot of fun. I've been checking out lots of videos, reviews and forums for the past months to try to educate myself in order to be able to make the best decision regarding what's available out there, and what to buy to get the best for my dollars. But there are so many manufacturers, models, pros & cons to every single one of them...I'm still not sure what I should purchase as my first blowback pistol...

I just found a specific model online, the TM Glock 17 Custom for 240 bucks, and I'd like to have enlightened opinions on this. I like the Glock 17 a lot and I've kept reading that TM is always the best way to go overall, unless maybe you want metal externals and don't have the budget to buy these costly external TM metal parts. My main issue is that this gun's frame is frosted (clear) foliage colored plastic. It's kind of ugly as you can imagine, but I guess it's possible to take the gun appart and spray paint the frame (provided you use the right paint, I found a guy on a forum who said he used a specific spray paint that worked great on his) which I would probably do. But is it real hard to completely tear down and put together that pistol back together? FYI I'm handy and hopefully smart enough to go online and figure out mecanical stuff, but I have no experience whatsoever with airsoft... I wouldn't feel comfortable dissecting AEG gear boxes just yet for example... More importantly, I read somewhere that this kind of clear frame might crack shortly if this gun runs on green gas? Is that true? Because if it is, there's really no point in going through all this at all... I also heard that TM guns generally don't shoot hot (under or around 300fps) but still have good range and better accuracy than most by having great barrel, hop up and better internals all around. But it's probably not great if I end up having to run it only on dust gaz (and reduce fps even more) to keep this clear frame from breaking... Unless opaque TM frames are available in the country without costing an arm and a leg..? Also are the mags easy to find(or compatible with other available brands) in Canada?

I had initially planned on buying one of the KWA pistols cause they come full metal stock and are supposed to be great. I like best the ATP, M226, MK23, M93, M9, USP and 1911PTPs probably in that order. But these models are pretty much all out of stock now anyways, as well as the mags on most canadian websites I found, except the MK23 and USP/USP tactical that are currently in stock (the extra mags aren't though). What bugs me is that the mags are all quite expensive (55-65$+tax for most KWA models), and fact is, they have not even been available at all for a little while (I guess importing mags from foreign stores is not more legit than buying the gun itself, so I have to go with what's available here unfortunately)... I hear these KWA guns have a really nice crisp blowback though -which I fancy- and all have the NS2 system as well as good quality mags that make them really good on gas, but it basically doubles the gun's price if I wanna get 3 or 4 spare mags with it...If I can find them that is... There's that, and the fact that KWA is not TM compatible as far as I know, which might be a bitch when certain KWA stock parts will have to be replaced or if I want to upgrade at some point...
What about the KSC ones? I know that KWA is like the U.S version/distributor of KSC and that they are compatible, but that KSC might still be better? But does that make sense to buy KSC instead of KWA if you live in Canada (part-wise etc...). KSC products do not seem to be that available in Canada anyways compared to other brands.

To the point that I'm now also considering buying a KJW full metal instead, like the P226 for 170 bucks (the gun AND extra mags are available), and maybe just buy a few better (TM?) quality parts to upgrade it precision-wise (a better inner barrel and hop up I assume? Or would it take a lot more work on the internals to get a satifying accuracy?). The green gas/propane mags are about half the price of the KWA ones, which is great... On the other hand, I hear the KJW handguns suck about twice as much gas a KWA gun would to shoot the same amount of BBs (for KJW slides are quite heavier I suppose?)... Which is not so great, as gas cost must certainly add up down the road and compensate quickly for the mags price? What do you guys think, is spending on upgraded internal parts worth the money?

WE pistols, which are widely available and relatively cheap, are out of the picture I guess, as I've mostly heard bad things about them? They make a Glock 17 with metal slide, but is that really worth buying even if it's available now and ''cheap''? Probably not...?

To summarize, unless I buy a (TM) Glock 17, I'd rather buy a full metal pistol that has a bit of weight and recoil, and that is solid. FYI I don't give a shit about trademarks really (I actually wish the KWA pistols had less of them), all I want is a good pistol that feels sturdy with a decent blowback, that can perform alright, last a while, and be eventually upgraded a bit as I go without being a total money pit... Only question is, which one?

What would you guys advise? Thanks in advance for you help ladies and gents, most appreciated!

March 26th, 2013, 19:32	#1
Sgt Stiglitz Trader rating Join Date: Dec 2012	TM Glock 17 Custom? Or KWA, KJW pistol? Hey fellas, First I'm totally new to this, so I hope I'm posting in the right section (I'm a newb, so I suppose I'm right where I belong!). I want to gear up and go play airsoft asap, it looks and sounds like a hell lot of fun. I've been checking out lots of videos, reviews and forums for the past months to try to educate myself in order to be able to make the best decision regarding what's available out there, and what to buy to get the best for my dollars. But there are so many manufacturers, models, pros & cons to every single one of them...I'm still not sure what I should purchase as my first blowback pistol... I just found a specific model online, the TM Glock 17 Custom for 240 bucks, and I'd like to have enlightened opinions on this. I like the Glock 17 a lot and I've kept reading that TM is always the best way to go overall, unless maybe you want metal externals and don't have the budget to buy these costly external TM metal parts. My main issue is that this gun's frame is frosted (clear) foliage colored plastic. It's kind of ugly as you can imagine, but I guess it's possible to take the gun appart and spray paint the frame (provided you use the right paint, I found a guy on a forum who said he used a specific spray paint that worked great on his) which I would probably do. But is it real hard to completely tear down and put together that pistol back together? FYI I'm handy and hopefully smart enough to go online and figure out mecanical stuff, but I have no experience whatsoever with airsoft... I wouldn't feel comfortable dissecting AEG gear boxes just yet for example... More importantly, I read somewhere that this kind of clear frame might crack shortly if this gun runs on green gas? Is that true? Because if it is, there's really no point in going through all this at all... I also heard that TM guns generally don't shoot hot (under or around 300fps) but still have good range and better accuracy than most by having great barrel, hop up and better internals all around. But it's probably not great if I end up having to run it only on dust gaz (and reduce fps even more) to keep this clear frame from breaking... Unless opaque TM frames are available in the country without costing an arm and a leg..? Also are the mags easy to find(or compatible with other available brands) in Canada? I had initially planned on buying one of the KWA pistols cause they come full metal stock and are supposed to be great. I like best the ATP, M226, MK23, M93, M9, USP and 1911PTPs probably in that order. But these models are pretty much all out of stock now anyways, as well as the mags on most canadian websites I found, except the MK23 and USP/USP tactical that are currently in stock (the extra mags aren't though). What bugs me is that the mags are all quite expensive (55-65$+tax for most KWA models), and fact is, they have not even been available at all for a little while (I guess importing mags from foreign stores is not more legit than buying the gun itself, so I have to go with what's available here unfortunately)... I hear these KWA guns have a really nice crisp blowback though -which I fancy- and all have the NS2 system as well as good quality mags that make them really good on gas, but it basically doubles the gun's price if I wanna get 3 or 4 spare mags with it...If I can find them that is... There's that, and the fact that KWA is not TM compatible as far as I know, which might be a bitch when certain KWA stock parts will have to be replaced or if I want to upgrade at some point... What about the KSC ones? I know that KWA is like the U.S version/distributor of KSC and that they are compatible, but that KSC might still be better? But does that make sense to buy KSC instead of KWA if you live in Canada (part-wise etc...). KSC products do not seem to be that available in Canada anyways compared to other brands. To the point that I'm now also considering buying a KJW full metal instead, like the P226 for 170 bucks (the gun AND extra mags are available), and maybe just buy a few better (TM?) quality parts to upgrade it precision-wise (a better inner barrel and hop up I assume? Or would it take a lot more work on the internals to get a satifying accuracy?). The green gas/propane mags are about half the price of the KWA ones, which is great... On the other hand, I hear the KJW handguns suck about twice as much gas a KWA gun would to shoot the same amount of BBs (for KJW slides are quite heavier I suppose?)... Which is not so great, as gas cost must certainly add up down the road and compensate quickly for the mags price? What do you guys think, is spending on upgraded internal parts worth the money? WE pistols, which are widely available and relatively cheap, are out of the picture I guess, as I've mostly heard bad things about them? They make a Glock 17 with metal slide, but is that really worth buying even if it's available now and ''cheap''? Probably not...? To summarize, unless I buy a (TM) Glock 17, I'd rather buy a full metal pistol that has a bit of weight and recoil, and that is solid. FYI I don't give a shit about trademarks really (I actually wish the KWA pistols had less of them), all I want is a good pistol that feels sturdy with a decent blowback, that can perform alright, last a while, and be eventually upgraded a bit as I go without being a total money pit... Only question is, which one? What would you guys advise? Thanks in advance for you help ladies and gents, most appreciated!