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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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1
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48278
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20/12/06
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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None indicated
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9.0
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Description:
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Tokyo Marui's latest addition to the M14 family
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Keywords:
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TM M14 CQB SOCOM
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Staff Writer
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FarEast
Staff Writer
Registered: May 2005
Location: Yokohama Japan
Posts: 2,907
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Review Date: 20/12/06
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Positive aspects of the product (pros):
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High Quality, ready to go out of the box, excellent price
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Cons:
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I tried to find some! Honestly i really did!
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Tokyo Marui M14 SOCOM
C.Q.B Rifle .308
Tokyo Marui has kept this latest offering under wraps for a while now and finally it’s been released. Rumours here in Japan was that it was supposed to be released shortly after the original M14 was released, but decided against it due to internal marketing strategies here in Japan. Never the less it has finally been released just in time for Christmas, or for you Asians out there, New Years!
Packaging.
Again, Tokyo Marui has really thought about the box and how the item is presented on the shelf. Sporting a matt black box with the lettering in a gloss black really makes the box stand out from the crowd and the presentation is inline with that of the original M14 and the new M1911A1, although saying that I really feel that it was a different company who released the Glock 17 as it was packaged like previous pistols released by Tokyo Marui.
Upon opening the box you are presented with the rifle on a very stylish satin style backdrop, with the manual, BB’s, new catalogue and muzzle cap hidden away in a box made to look like a display plaque.
The Rifle.
The first thing you notice is the finish of the stock. Tokyo Marui seems to have listened to the customers critique about the tacky feel of the previous M14 in both OD and wood finish. The Socom feel a whole lot more sturdy and the seam lines are a lot harder to detect with the naked eye. It is also made out of a much higher quality polymer than the previous model thus adding slightly more weight.
The Sand Stone finish is excellent, which is present on both the stock of the gun and also the heat shield and is very robust. After a heavy day’s game playing in a dried riverbed there was no heavy scaring on the finish and where there were markers needed to be looked for carefully before being detected.
Another excellent feature is the textured fore grip area and also the trigger grip; these really offer a non-slip grip to the weapon compared to that on the original OD finish.
As mentioned before the heat shield also sports the Sand Stone Finish and is also made of the high quality polymer as the stock of the rifle, the Scout style mount is also very robust and is well made.
The bolt, rear sights, trigger guard and trigger are the same as the original M14 and even have the same markings on the ejection port and the block just behind the rear sights. The internal workings are also identical to the original, but some of the issues reported with the original model have been addressed. The only real difference is the markings on the cocking handle which proudly sports the “SOCOM” markings.
The front of the rifle as you can all well imagine is very different to the original, sporting a shortened barrel length thus reducing the total length of the rifle to 946mm compared to the originals 1,127mm. Now some of you are saying that “It’s as long as my M16A2, so how can it be a CQB weapon?” Well to put it in layman terms, this is the CQB version of a M14 which fires 0.308 Cal. So no compared to your MP7A1 or your Patriot, it’s not as practical for CQB. But for players who need both the accuracy of a rifle but also something that is practical for indoor use, the M14 SOCOM is going to be high on your wish list.
Although compared to an MP5A2 there is only 170mm difference.
The micro ported muzzle break also matches the high quality finish of the rest of the gun and I especially like the crescent style front sights, although Tokyo Marui
could have gone the extra mile and designed it with the luminous style front sight.
Balance.
The balance of the Tokyo Marui is excellent, and with a large capacity battery at the back thee gun is perfect with a very fast response when you snap the rifle up into the firing position.
Conclusion.
I have to say that the Tokyo Marui M14 SOCOM is probably the only gun I have bought that doesn’t seem to yearn for accessories or upgraded external parts. From the high quality stock with the sand stone finish to the metal parts this gun is screaming high quality. The only thing really missing is the Aimpoint M2 comp, but in a way I’m glad Tokyo Marui didn’t taint the gun with their Pro Sight red dot.
Another thing to point out is the brand image of Tokyo Marui, as we are all aware they hold a very high regard to their quality control and also their hop-unit. All these things are sure to put a huge dent in the demand for the G&G M14 variant especially with the QA issues they have been having along with the $150.00 USD price difference between the two. Also the amount of clones that a swamping the market recently stand no chance against the latest Tokyo Marui rendition.
Pros
• Great packaging
• Very High Quality finish to all parts.
• Tokyo Marui gear box.
• Tokyo Marui Hop unit.
• Requires no upgrading to finish the look of the gun.
• Requires no power downgrading for UK or Japanese players.
Well it’s hard to find fault with this rifle, and the points I make below if altered could have possibly raised the price of the product.
Cons
• Came little to late for the M14 fan boys, who custom built their SOCOM.
• Tokyo Marui could have changed the serial numbers on the bolt.
• Could have come with luminous front sights.
• Could have come with Tokyo Marui’s Pro sight red dot.(Even though I do hate it!!!)
I hate to admit it guys and gals but there really is nothing you can fault this product on apart from the fact it was released around a year too late to compete with the initial drive of G&G’s version. It’s not to everyone’s tastes but for those looking for a CQB weapon when they played the designated marksman or a rifle not as long as the original M14, then you can’t go wrong.
Total 9/10
Keep posted for the performance review right here.
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S.T.O.R.M: Bringing the Honor back to Airsoft
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Registered: May 2005
Location: Yokohama Japan