M1911 MEU(SOC) - ArniesAirsoft

Author

Review Date: 24/10/09

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 8

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Full metal, full trademarked, good performance, good internal and external qualities
Cons:	hard Pachmayr grip, some slight finishing issues

-Introduction

Being a die hard 1911 fan, I find it hard not to be interested in any new 1911 variant that had just gone out.

However, Army Arnament�s new pistol, the customized MEU(SOC) pistol, stood out from all. Having used my friend�s Tokyo Marui MEU(SOC) I found the MEU to be much more user-friendly than an M1911. Being a pistol from the Mainland was a big concern to me. Their Bell M9 has caused me to stay away from Mainland GBBs because of the unreliability and poor finish. However, as I read more and more reviews about the Army�s MEU, I began to develop an interest on it, and in April 2009 I took the plunge/risk and bought it.

-In the Box

A plain silver box arrived at my home. On the cover are �M.E.U. PISTOL� and �PISTOL.CALIBER.45,MEU(SOC). Below are �ARMY ARNAMENT AIRSOFT GUNS & ACCESSORIES�. At the top right hand corner of the box are �HI-KICK Hi-Grouping� (straight from TM) and �GAS BLOWBACK� as well. Adorning the box are also more logos including Army�s initial for this gun: R27, and some warnings as well.

Inside the box are three foam pieces. The first one is just for covering the inners, but the second one consists all the compartments: One for you pistol, the other for accessories and one more for another magazine. The gun can also be stowed inside with the magazine inside the grip as well.

The box consists of the gun, a small bag of BBs, Barrel plug, a spare magazine and a manual, which is non-surprisingly, in both Chinese and Chinglish.

-First Impression

Being the Late version, it has some newer parts than the old version, including the Novak low-mount combat sights, sloping forward cocking serrations, and a new skeletonised hammer.

The gun looks excellent from a distance, and feels quite well made surprisingly. At first sight, the Pachmayr grips look great.

The only non-metal part on this gun are the grips.

-Closer Look

This gun features a very dark grey finish, which is dull, despite being as realistic as the real-steel version. No seam marks visible � a nice feature indeed.

Markings are reasonably sharp and deep. I would not be commenting on the accuracy of the trademarks as I�ve never seen a real MEU.

The slide features the wording �MODEL 1911-A1� and �CAL. 45� below it. The chamber is marked �NW7125.45 ACP�.

Below the chamber are �SPRINGFIELD ARMORY� and a Springfield Armory logo next to it (this is the only part where I can prove the trademarks are correct).

The right side of the frame is marked �UNITED STATES PROPERTY� and a serial number below it. Right below the �SPRINGFIELD ARMORY� wordy are �M1911A1 U.S. ARMY� and �1245� below it.

The Pachmayr grips are both an excitement and a disappointment. It features the correct Pachmayr trademarks and the correct medallion as well. However, unlike Meister but like TM, the grip consists of three parts (real steel consist of only one), and worse, the plastic used to construct the grip are very hard. At the base of the grip is a simple lanyard loop.

The Novak low-mounted combat sights on the gun feature Novak trademarks. Unfortunately, unlike Meister but very much like TM, the sights are unmarked and therefore hard to see in dark places. Both sights are dovetailed in.

The barrel is nothing really special, just a simple black tube and a 6.08mm diameter inner tube inside it. It�s secured by a bush on the front of the slide.

The buffer on the Wilson Combat magazines doesn�t restrict gassing, and the magazine can hold 27 BBs like their TM counterparts. Emptying a full magazine on propane is not a big deal, but since the magazine�s gas storage is not really high, it�s highly recommended to re-gas the magazine after emptying it.

The ambidextrous thumb safeties are definitely a plus for left handers. The hammer is skeletonised for lightness. On the surface it features some serrations to aid cocking. Below that is the extended beaver-tail grip safety.
The silver, 3 hole competition style trigger features vertical grooves to aid shooting as well.

-Shooting Impressions

Surprisingly, the Army�s MEU shoots quite well.

At 6m, the MEU put all 6 rounds into a 30mm diameter (5 rounds in a 27mm diameter), which is quite accurate compared to other GBBs from Mainland China and is on par with TM�s M1911A1, although lagging a little behind TM�s MEU.

The fps is good too. At 20 degrees it�s about 300 fps, good for a GBB. The kick is harder than both TM�s M1911A1 and MEU, but still not much of a match for WA�s M1911s.