August 8th 2006, I was informed by my local airsoft retailer that there was a new pistol coming in.  I'm not a big pistol fanatic, meaning I have an airsoft pistol that I purchased over 3 years ago and still use to this day, why do I need another?  Add that to the fact that I have a Western Arms 1911 that I purchased and have yet to take it out of the box.  But when the pistol was described to me.. I was thrown for a loop.  I was told.. "Did you hear about the new 8mm pistol?".. This sparked my interest and I asked for more information.  I was then told, that it was a GBB (gas blow back) and I was sold.  This was even before I knew who made it.

So, what is this weapon you ask?  It is the M1911-A1 8mm gas blow back airsoft pistol from Marushin.  If you guys recall, we did a review on the M500 Marushin shotgun, also 8mm.  So far we have ordered this weapon and 'hope' to be the first in San Diego to possess it, as we have already purchased it.. we're just waiting for the shipment to clear customs.  I'm glad because I wanted the "Bren Ten", also a Marushin Gas pistol, but I didn't like the non blow back feature.  So, I opted not to purchase one and I am glad that I didn't, because now we have the blow back version.

We will have a full and complete review of the Marushin 8mm gas blow back airsoft pistol as soon as we can.  We do though have the magazines, so we will start by reviewing the mags and edit this review when we finally get the weapon. 

The first thing that I noticed about the magazines when I got them was their construction.  As opposed to the Western Arms 1911 mags that I have the follower for the BB's is made out of metal.  I am not sure if this is a purpose design because of the larger BB's or if it was just something that Marushin decided to do.  But it is good to know that the follower shouldn't break.  But.. with basic physics... for every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction.  And that 'reaction' is the BB catch... also known as the 'top' of the mag.  It is made out of plastic and is a bit flimsy if you ask me.  This has proven to be a problem on EVERY airsoft pistol magazine as if you incorrectly load a magazine.. or accidentally 'release' the follower as you are loading, you will snap this piece, rendering the magazine useless.

The follower is located on the side of the magazine which doesn't necessarily help or hurt the magazine, although it does make loading the magazine a little easier.  Well, at least the way that I do it.  Speaking of loading, for all you 1911 enthusiasts, you may be a bit happier to know that the capacity on these mags are about as realistic as you can get.  The absolute MAX amount of BB's you can stuff into the Marushin 8mm gas pistol magazine is 10 rounds.  BUT.. I'd recommend against 'stuffing' the magazine to capacity.. because the 10th BB actually put pressure on the BB catch (the plastic top we talked about) and 'bows' it out to the side.  Which.. if it is is hit in the wrong way, could end up snapping it off. 

Marushin 8mm Gas magazine with 9 rounds:

Marushin 8mm gas magazine with 10 rounds, notice the 'bowing' of the plastic.. BAD!!:

So with the above numbers shown, the magazine capacity for the magazine is pretty realistic and was one of the selling points for me.  I didn't want to have a super large magazine because that would mean that I would have an abnormally large pistol grip.  So the recommended capacity  would be 9 rounds.. plus one in the chamber, very realistic in my opinion. My Western Arms 1911 holds 25 max rounds.  Not quite realistic as far as capacity is concerned.. but this is airsoft.

The overall construction of the magazine is pretty solid and I would 'assume' that if you were to drop the mag on anything EXCEPT the top, it could survive a decent impact.  But I am not about to drop my magazine just to prove a point.  So.. take it with a grain of salt.

Also.. for those of you that want to know.. NO.. the Marushin magazine will NOT fit into a Western Arms.. yes.. I've tried.  It gets stopped by the follower.

That is all I can really say about the Marushin 8mm airsoft pistol at this time.  When I actually receive the pistol, I will chrono it and update this review, but until then, know that there 'is' an 8mm shooting GBB out there.

Here are some pictures of the Marushin 8mm magazine next to a Western Arm 6mm magazine for comparison to tide you over though..

FULL MARUSHIN 8mm GAS BLOW BACK REVIEW HERE !!

August 18th 2006.. I get a phone call from the salesman at the local airsoft store where I had been waiting for the Marushin 8mm gas blow back airsoft pistol to clear customs.  It finally came in, but I had to wait until the end of the day to pick it up.  I was a bit anxious.. but after work.. I drove calmly down to the airsoft store to pick up my new airsoft pistol... So.. here is what I found.

Now.. I normally don't do a 'pros' and cons' review.. I normally tell you how it works and whether or not you should buy it.. Well.. this new gas blow back from Marushin.. has me at some 'mixed' feelings about it.  So, I will start my review by saying this... if you have some extra money to spend.. or if you are an avid 1911 fan... or you are a collector.. then this pistol isn't a bad purchase.  But, if you are looking for a primary sidearm.. or even a back up sidearm.. I'd recommend waiting until either Marushin addresses some SERIOUS problems and issues or I'd look for a different weapon.  with that said.. you can probably figure where this review is headed.

I'll start with the good points (the 'pros').  The price that I paid for the weapon wasn't too bad at $165.00.  i am sure that if you look around a bit, you could find it for a bit cheaper.  We all know that you can order it over seas.. but then factor in shipping.. you'd probably end up paying the same.  Plus you'd have to wait for it to come to you.  I am an 'impulse' kind of buyer so I don't like to wait for shipping unless I really have to.  The prices on the spare magazines aren't too bad.  Personally I think that they should be cheaper.. but.. I'm not a manufacture and I am sure there is a reason for the price of $40.00 each. OUCH.. buy 4 spare mags.. you just bought a new weapon.

The 'best' thing that I liked about the Marushin 8mm airsoft blow back pistol was the FPS (feet per second).  Remember folks, we are shooting an 8mm bb.. that weighs in at .34 grams.  At least the ones 'we' used were.  There are some .45 gram 8mm bb's but we didn't want to use those.  I filled the magazine up with green gas.  Yes.. we're probably supposed to use 134... but.. we don't always play by the rules.. remember the M500 shotgun review?.  So.. we loaded up 9 rounds in the magazine with a full charge of green gas.  The temperature that we took these measurements at was about 76 degrees.. so obviously if you're playing outside the FPS will change.  Yes.. I'm stalling.

The numbers..

The very first shot I made with this pistol was 209 FPS.  Again, remember we are using an 8mm BB that weighs in at .34 grams.

The next couple of shots I watched the FPS go down a few points after each shot. By the forth shot.. it shot 177 FPS.. WHOA.. what the heck?  I was actually worried that this weapon was going to continue to get worse..
     

But then.. 196 FPS.  I was relieved.. The weapon pretty much hovered around the 195 +/- mark for the rest of the testing.  So.. I'd say that it is safe to assume that the FPS with this weapon is about 195 FPS on average using .34 gram 8mm bb's.

The next thing that I wanted to see was how many rounds I could get out of a single charge of gas.  Some of you may have read our review on the KJW 1911 single stack.  Click here if you haven't.  Well in that review, we found that the single stack magazine.. hardly held enough gas to get through the 12 rounds in the mag.  We wondered if this would be the same.  So.. we reloaded the magazine to see just how many round it would take to completely 'empty' the gas.  We were pleasantly surprised to see that we were able to get off 22 shots with one single charge of green gas.  Here is a picture of the remaining 5 rounds from the third load.

Another good thing about the magazine and gas charge.. is that the VERY LAST SHOT that the Marushin 8mm Gas Blow Back was able to make.. still shot at 194 FPS.  Not bad in my opinion.  We noticed that all the way till the end of the gas charge, we had pretty consistent readings around 195 FPS.  But once that last shot had fired.. the mag was done.. nothing left.

The next thing that I wanted to test was how the FPS responded to a rapid fire.  So.. this time I loaded 9 rounds in the mag and one in the pipe (barrel).  I then took aim and fired as fast as I could.  To my surprise.. the FPS on the chrono read 194 FPS.  Wow.. pretty impressive considering that I just fired a bunch of condensed gas which cools the magazine.. further condensing the gas.. thus bringing down the charge pressure.. thus... Oh never mind.. you understand what I'm getting at.

The next thing that I liked about the Marushin 8mm blow back was that it has some markings.  Now.. I'm not going to say 'trades'.. because really.. it didn't.. but it has some markings that look pretty cool and add to the 'look' of the weapon.  A lot better than the dremeled out trades and markings you normally find on a weapon from over seas.
 

There is also an integrated rail on the frame.  Very useful if you use a tactical light or a laser of some type.  Here is a picture of the rail and another with my Stream light M3 tactical illuminator.  The M3 actually fits very 'firmly' on the rail and up against the trigger guard.  Although.. there is a little bit of 'wiggle'.. but I'll get into that and why... in a second...
 

Packaging from Marushin is 'pretty'.. practical..?  NO.. but pretty.  Not really sure what they were going for.. the cut out in the card board doesn't even fit the weapon.  But it's a box.  The outer box is nice.. if you're into boxes... and then.. when you take off the top.. there's another cover.. Why?  I don't know..  but when you finally get to the pistol.. it is seated in a 'velvet type' cloth.. I suppose it is to give the weapon the 'AAAWWWW' factor... I guess.
   

The last thing that I am going to list as a 'Pro'.. is that the thumb/slide lock is ambidextrous.. meaning you can use it with both hands.  This point is mainly in concern that you use your thumb to engage or disengage this particular safety.  Saving you valuable time when holstering or drawing your weapon.  In addition allowing you to keep your weapon on safe for a longer time for that 'split' second of threat assessment.

Okay.. now for the bad stuff that I didn't like (The cons).  Please take this time to grab a drink and stretch your legs.  If you are dead set on purchasing this weapon.. I suggest you quit reading now.  Here are some general pictures that we took of the weapon while we take short break.

Okay.. if you've gotten this far, you must want to know what's wrong with the weapon.  Now, just to be fair, I'm going to say this... MAYBE.. just MAYBE.. the first batch of Marushin 8mm Blow backs to be made were 'test' pistols.  I sure hope so.  And, to be fair.. it is a POSSIBILITY that Marushin might already be in the process of fixing some of these 'issues' that I am about to discuss.  So.. if you read this review.. a year after I have written it.. and the issues no longer exist.. please DO NOT email me telling me that my review is incorrect.  I'm reviewing the weapon as I got it... and being such.. I am confident to say that I am one of the first few to possess this weapon in the States..

First thing that I noticed when I picked up this weapon was its LACK of girth.  Also known as weight.  The pistol was very light and felt VERY 'plasticy'.  I was really disappointed in just the 'feel' of the weapon as I was expecting this 1911 airsoft pistol to at least feel some what like a Western Arms.  And if you have ever held ANY of the other Marushin pistols or shotguns, you will know what I mean when most of the time.. they feel solid.  Well... the M1911-A1 Marushin 8mm feels FAR FROM anything like the other weapons they have produced. 

The feeling of this weapon is so bad, that I literally feel as if the Y&P spring pistol that I have is more solid.  The spring pistol even feels heavier if you pull out the magazine on the Marushin.  So if I had to score the Marushin 8mm on 'feel' alone.. I'd give it a ONE (1) out of a possible ten.  Seriously.. I honestly felt as if I were holding a 'toy' airsoft gun at the local Toys-R-Us store.  It was pathetic. 

Next, I racked the slide a few times to get a feel for the action of the weapon.  Not too bad.. but again, I felt as if I were holding a 'toy'.  I play airsoft because I like the 'realism' of the weapons.  Maybe I am a little too critical because I own a few Western Arms 1911's and maybe I am comparing this to them.. but if you've ever held an airsoft pistol.. ANY airsoft pistol.. it will feel ALOT more solid then this one.  Now.. again.. to be fair.  The pistol still works and it works well.  It just 'feels' like a toy.

As I was testing the safety's and all the other functions of the weapon, I noticed that the slide lock was almost always engaged when I went to rack the slide.  Now.. I'm all for putting your weapon on safe when you holster it.. or when not in use.. but.. I really don't remember engaging the slide lock.  That's when I paid a bit more attention to it and found that it engages.. WAY TOO EASILY.  Meaning.. this should be a deliberate action... not an action that happens by the slightest touch of the lock.  Not only is this annoying.. but in a situation such as a breaching or other CQB (Close Quarters Battle) maneuver.. for your weapon to end up on safe without your having 'put' it on safe.. could mean the difference between you completing your mission.. or you being the mission.  So.. I didn't like how easily the slide lock safety engaged.  I am not sure if the 'spring' can be replaced or upgraded but from a stock stand point.  This is, in my opinion a point of concern regarding the reliability of the weapon.

In addition to the weapons safety's being too 'touchy'.. the trigger itself is also WAY TOO TOUCHY.  You'll notice in the videos at the bottom of the page that I am BARELY touching the trigger to actually fire the weapon.  The trigger pull on this weapon would be comparable to that of an high speed competition shooter.  I don't know the exact weight of the trigger pull.. but I'd guess that it is around 2 pounds.. or possibly even lighter.  This is NOT GOOD from a tactical stand point as it could result in a round being fired off accidentally.  Imagine coming through a door to see someone standing in front of you.  So you place your finger on the trigger ready to fire as you assess the threat.  But the trigger pull is so light that you accidentally squeeze off a round and end up shooting a hostage.  Although in your mind you were 'sizing' up your treat.. while getting ready to fire if need be.. the weapon was just too 'touchy' and ended up firing.  Not good, so this is another point of this weapon that I don't like.  Again, being fair.. this issue 'may' end getting fixed.. or there may be a way to fix it.  But.. I've had the weapon for less than 6 hours.. and 4 of them is taking pics and writing this review.  If I fix it.. or find a 'cure'.. then I'll edit this review.

The sights also pose a problem for me.  There is NO SIGHTING on the sights.  By sighting.. I mean any marks such as white dots or sighting marks.  This problem is some what easy to fix with a little white paint, but I shouldn't have to do this.  It's just another thing that I believe should have been done in a manner to make the weapon more realistic.

The frame...HHHmmmmmm... Well.. let's just put it this way.. A magazine contains more metal in it that the rest of the ENTIRE pistol.  The lower frame and the slide are both made out of plastic.  Even the grips are made out of plastic.  I would have at least expected that the lower frame would have been metal.  But it's not and the gun really disappoints when it comes to the frame.  Now.. the Tokyo Marui Sig226 is also a plastic frame and slide.. but honestly.. it feels as if it is a composite type.. The Marushin frame and slide feels like formed plastic.  The same type of plastic you'd find on any toy gun at your local super market.  What this means is.. even if they were to come out with an upgrade kit.. we'd have to break down the ENTIRE weapon and swap EVERYTHING over.  I'm not a big fan of this.

What else could be wrong with this airsoft gun?  Well.. I'm not quite done yet.  Not only does the weapon 'feel' flimsy.. it is flimsy.  The slide and the frame have a very poor tolerance.  They literally 'shift' on you from side to side.  Again adding to the 'toy' like feel of the weapon.  You can push the slide side to side approximately 1mm right to left.  Now.. above ANYTHING ELSE.. this causes an accuracy concern.  The reason is.. that the barrel is 'in' the slide.  So if the slide is moving left to right.. that means that the barrel is also moving.  So.. back to the room entry.  You come through the room toting your pistol.  You catch a glimpse of a suspect out of the corner of your eye.  You turn and weapon up to sight in on your target.. You fire.. the round misses to the right and then suspect fires... YOU'RE DEAD.  Why?... because the barrel on your pistol was 'moved' to the left.. causing the barrel to be 'misaligned' with the natural muscle memory of your arm and hand and eye coordination.  In addition to moving right to left.. the slide also moves up and down. 
       

Overall.. I feel as if there are too many NEGATIVE issues about this weapon for me to sign off on it.  Personally.. I wouldn't purchase this weapon 'over' any other weapon I was considering just because of the "8mm" caliber.  The weapon just doesn't feel right to me.  It literally feels like you're holding a toy.. and yes.. even though an airsoft weapon is 'technically' a toy... in my eyes.. it doesn't even categorize itself as an airsoft weapon. 

BUT... if you were to factor in that the weapon fires 8mm bb's at a consistent velocity of 195 +/- FPS all the way until the magazine is empty... it's far beyond a toy and definitely makes up for the lack of 'realism of feel'.  The capacity is realistic.. or as realistic as it's going to be.  Also add to the list that the weapon isn't very expensive.. about the same price as a KJW, KWA or Tokyo Marui.. it's not a bad purchase. 

I still would not recommend this weapon to a beginner or to someone that is looking at purchasing a primary sidearm or even a back up.  This weapon should only be purchased by a person that is looking for another weapon to add to his or her collection.  Or to an airsoft player that plays mainly pistol games.

So.. if I were to give this weapon a letter grade with an "A" being a very nice weapon more than worth the money spent.. and "F" being a weapon that serves a better purpose as a paper weight.. then I'm going to give this weapon a "B-".  Now.. the ONLY reason this weapon gets a grade that high is because during the testing.. it never failed to fire once.  Never jammed.. never ran out of gas.. had a consistent FPS reading.. sounded great.. and is moderately priced.

The weapon weighs in at 770 grams... of which 242 of that is the magazine.. leaving the weapon it self weighing in at 526 Grams.  So.. fully loaded with one in the pipe/chamber/barrel... the total weight we found this to be was a mere 772 grams.

We took some video of this weapon.. take a look and make up your minds yourselves:
* Video's will open in another window*

- Short video firing the weapon... Click here

- Video showing movement of the slide and a quick 'shake down' test... Click here*
*Low quality video to due to bandwidth issues*

- Video of the side to side movement of the slide... Click here

- Video of the shaking of the frame... Click here