Review of Tokyo Marui

Colt M4A1 carbine

First things first

This is the fifth Marui electric gun Iīve bought, and this time I ordered  from Swedish toys and tools. Let me just say that this retailer is very nice to deal with. The prices are higher than any Hong Kong dealers, but on the other hand it is much safer and a lot easier to buy from someone who is in the same country as you. Also T&T gives you a one year guarantee, that HK dealers normally canīt provide. Right after I got the gun in the mail, I had a perfect opportunity to try it out thoroughly in the field as I was going to a special campaign style game hosted by BSR.

Well I had ordered two 300 round hicaps along with this gun. The clips, battery and charger were all crammed in the box along with the M4, and everything fitted quite nicely, almost as if Marui had designed the box so that it would be able to take some accessories...

Looks

Okay, the M4 is without a doubt the most popular gun available today. Why? Could it be the looks of the gun? Iīd say thatīs very possible. The overall finish of this gun is better than the older guns. The plastic looks more convincing and it also feels better. (less like a toy)

There are a quite a few metal parts on the gun, although nothing unusual, just the standard stuff like barrel and sights etc. This gun has plenty of  fancy details like the sling mount and the removable carry handle. These things add to the impression of the gun, and they are more or less useful.

The M4 looks like an XM177 with lots of heavy metal instead of light plastic. As far as looks are concerned the metal is of coarse a good thing. The telescoping stock locks in four positions while the XM stock only locks in three. The M4 stock also looks better. It simply shows that this is a newer model. Although, I must say this telescoping stock with four positions is completely unnecessary, and Iīd be happy if it only locked in the two extreme positions.

There are many crisp markings on the gun, including the Colt logo. The barrel is marked "5.56 NATO 1/7", and the receiver has several markings such as "PROPERTY OF U.S. GOVT. M4A1 CARBINE CAL. 5.56 MM." and "Made in Japan"!

Function

When I test fired this gun before the BSR game to set the Hopup, I just couldnīt help but to waste an entire batteries worth of BBs at the targets and trees around. First of all the sights are easily adjustable without any tools, you just turn two wheels for elevation and windage. The rear sight also has two quick settings for short range and long range. The entire carry handle is removable to reveal a rail mount for scopes or other stuff. I think it is too low to be usable with a mask though.

The gun can fire at semiauto and fullauto. When firing at semi there is very little sound from the motor and there is an unusually short time between the trigger pull and  the BB being fired. A BB will fly straight around 40-50 meters with 0.20 ammo and proper hopup.(as I learned in the BSR game my hopup was NOT proper, and much too low!)  Accuracy is average.

Fullauto is alot more fun than semi and the M4 has a pretty high rate of fire. On fullauto there is not much more sound from gears and the motor, than on semi. The 300 round hicaps will give you around 30 shots before you must spin that wheel again. I think this is worse than on most other hicaps.

In battle

So how did the M4A1 fare in an actual gaming situation?

Excellent, I couldnīt be happier with it. I canīt complain about anything, itīs got nice ergonomics, itīs small enough not to get in your way while moving, the sights make quick target acquisition easy, it has satisfying power and ROF, it simply has no real weak spots, however it is not specialized for any one task either. Itīs just a great alround weapon.

I got kills both from long ranges as well as close range fighting, however I never got involved in any prolonged fire fights and was never bothered by the unpredictable hicap magazines.

As the opposing side all had M4s I was never outranged or anything either. (the other team from Örebro were the coolest guys Iīve ever seen by the way)

Conclusion

Well the M4A1 is simply a good gun and you wont go wrong with it. I donīt really understand the M4 craze though, to me the XM177 is every bit as good as the M4, and I think it looks better too.