Second up: Tokyo Marui
The Tokyo Marui (Japan) version of the
Glock 17 is fully plastic, though it does
feature the proper trademarks.
Plastic isn’t always a bad thing – the lighter top slide
means you have less weight to move so it will work better all year
round – and the finish is still superior to the KJ Works version. Despite its construction it does still feel hefty and tough.
TM are often seen as one of the top producers of pistols, although I believe that KWA are
slightly better. There are loads of upgrades for the TM Glocks, inside and outside.
This version
produced 280fps in
our tests.
Expect to pay around £110-115
(spare magazines around £25)
In conclusion:
And
Finally: KWA
The final version we
looked at is the KWA
(Taiwan) Glock. Like the
KJ Works model it has a metal top slide and a
plastic lower frame, but the quality and overall
finish is very high.
These pistols use the System 7 gas flow, which
basically means it is uber-efficient. KWA (and the
re-branded versions for KSC in Japan) is often thought
to be TM’s main rival – personally I favour KWA. They
boast greater power than any other version tested,
reflected in the marginally higher price, although they don’t have
the trademarks. Again, there are a large number of upgrades
possible to give you a very high-end pistol.
This version provided 310fps.
Expect to pay around £105-115
(spare magazines around £30)
052
November 2011
KJ Works’ Glock 17 is nice and wellpriced. Better performance in warmer
environments than full-on winter games.
Bearing in mind there are no trademarks
this pistol gives you something that
looks the part and will be great for the
odd bit of use.
Tokyo Marui is the long standing
favourite of airsoft players all over the
world, and quite rightly so. If you want
a good all-round and accurate replica of
the Glock 17 then it doesn’t get much
better than Tokyo Marui’s. Don’t be put
off by the plastic construction – it’s still
pretty tough.
KWA boasts the System 7 (aka NS2)
system, so its pistols are efficient and
often work slightly better than TM’s. You
do not have the accurate trademarks but
it does have a metal top slide and more
power. Certainly the one I would buy! n
To purchase any of the pistols tested,
or enquire about prices, check out the
advertisers in this issue or flick to page 82
to contact a UKARA-registered retailer.
Many thanks to Land Warrior
Airsoft for providing the consumables
used to test these guns:
www.landwarriorairsoft.co.uk