Tokyo Marui Colt M1911 Government HG Airsoft Gun Disassembly and Mechanism: Slide Section

Last time, I reviewed the Tokyo Marui Colt M1911 Government [HG/Hop-Up] airsoft pistol.

This time, we'll be disassembling it. In addition to disassembling it, I'll also give a brief explanation of the mechanism.

The internal mechanism of this model is simple yet profound, and it shares similarities with the basic mechanisms of not only Tokyo Marui's air cocking guns but also their electric guns, making it very interesting, so I will do my best to write about it (from what I could tell from disassembling it, it was a collection of the basic mechanisms of airsoft guns).

Personally, I think this book is packed with the fundamentals of airsoft guns other than gas blowback guns, so I'll put my heart and soul into writing it.

We will remove the slides.

Slide removal

First, pull the slide back slightly and align the notch in the slide with the center of the axis of the slide stop lever, as shown in the picture.

While maintaining this position, pull the slide stop lever towards you.

After pulling out the lever, you can remove the slide by pulling it off the main body, just like with a Gasbro.

Let's look at the contents of the slides.

The airsoft gun's firing mechanism is efficiently arranged. I think the person who designed this layout has incredible design skills.

This completes the removal of the slide.

Next, let's break down the contents of the slide.

Disassembling the slide

We'll start by removing the spring and spring guide, which are the main components for firing the projectile.

Incidentally, I previously applied silicone grease myself, so it's not pre-applied in the original box.

The spring guide is simply pressed against the rear end of the slide, so it can be easily removed.

Shifting the spring guide results in the following picture.

Let's lay out the disassembled parts.

I think it's pretty amazing that it's producing 0.4J of power with such short springs.

We will proceed with the disassembly.

Removing the spring and spring guide will allow you to access the cylinder.

This cylinder is a very well-designed component, serving as the air-cocking cylinder, nozzle, and tappet all in one.

The nozzle's shape is carefully designed to facilitate feeding and eliminate hop-up jams.

Next, we will remove the barrel and chamber.

This disassembly is a bit tricky.

The chamber is fitted into the slide, so you need to spread the slide apart to remove the chamber. This requires a fair amount of force, so you'll need to do it yourself, or if you have someone to help, it will be easier if you do it together.

As it says in the picture, the key is

Let's take a look at the removed chamber.

A cam mechanism is used for the outer barrel's movement. You can really feel Tokyo Marui's dedication to this aspect of the design.

Now that we've disassembled the basic components of the slide, let's lay them out (recreating their positions during assembly).

Incidentally, if you're installing reinforced springs like the "Kanbane" sold as airsoft custom parts, you can replace them with this level of disassembly (they should basically come as a set of a return spring and a spring).

It's fun and easy to customize without needing any tools (and it's easy to revert back to the original). However, be careful, as using a stiff spring will make cocking difficult.

Chamber disassembly

We will now disassemble the chamber.

First, we'll remove the outer barrel.

Disassembling the outer barrel is tricky; it's held in place by the elasticity of the resin, so you have to carefully widen the chamber while removing it.

The important thing to remember is to apply force gradually to avoid cracking the outer barrel.

This is a photo of the disassembled part.

Next, we will disassemble the hop chamber.

The chamber is held in place by the two bolts shown in the photo (it's amazing that virtually no tools are needed up to this point).

Open the chamber.

Now you can remove the guide, packing, and inner barrel.

Incidentally, the bump shape of the packing was the traditional type used by Tokyo Marui.

The shape of the packing is unique and differs from that of electric and gas blowback guns. It seems similar to that of the company's shotguns and compact electric guns, but it is unclear whether it is compatible. It appears to be sold as a custom part by Miyagawa Rubber.

Therefore, the inner barrel is made of aluminum and has a unique hop-up window shape (the inner diameter is probably 6.05mm).

This completes the disassembly of the chamber.

For reference, I'll list the parts in the order they appear when assembled.

This completes the disassembly of the slide.

My impression after disassembling the slide is that, based on my personal experience, the assembly process wasn't a factory line assembly, but rather it seemed like each worker was assembling it by hand (since essentially only one type of tool was used, it was clear they were assembling it on a small assembly table).

Therefore, it seems that the assembly quality and assembly costs depend entirely on the quality of the factory workers.

In the case of Tokyo Marui, production is basically done domestically, so I think they probably employ Japanese people (who are generally more educated and diligent compared to people overseas), resulting in high quality, but at the same time, I think this is reflected in the cost (automated production lines have high initial investment costs but relatively low operating costs).

I suppose it's inevitable that the price of this series has gone up from 1900 yen when I was a child to 2500 yen and then 3500 yen.

Next, since we're on the subject, let me briefly explain the air cocking and firing mechanism.

Air cocking mechanism

Let's review the basics of component placement.

I borrowed some parts and drew a transparency diagram of them.

Initial state

First, this is the initial state before cocking.

Although the parts are not shown in the photos, the image shows the frame (sear and hammer only) and a loaded magazine attached.

In its initial state, as you might expect, there are no bullets loaded in the chamber, and the springs are not compressed.

Slide pulled back (cocking in progress)

Next, the slide is pulled back to cock the gun.

When you pull the slide, several parts move.

The mechanism by which the piston is fixed to the sear and hammer is exactly the same as a ratchet mechanism and is the basic movement of the machine (similar to the clicking sound of a ballpoint pen or mechanical pencil).

As can be seen from the diagram, the cocking load is determined by the compression load of the return spring and the compression load of the main spring.

The force required for cocking = return spring load + main spring load

When the slide is moving forward (second half of cocking)

Next, the cocking action is complete, and the slide is in its original position.

At this point, the slide has finished being pulled and returns to its original position.

As the compressed return spring expands during cocking, the slide returns to its original position, simultaneously feeding the BB towards the hop-up packing.

Launch preparation complete, launching state

Next, it's ready to fire (the slide is fully returned to its original position).

In this state, as the bullet is set in the chamber, the piston is fixed in the retracted position and the main spring remains compressed.

Pulling the trigger here releases the piston's lock, pushing air and firing the bullet.

This is the basic mechanism of air cocking.

This mechanism is used not only in Tokyo Marui's airsoft spring-powered guns, but also in their bolt-action guns, and by extension, in their electric guns, which use almost the same mechanism (gas blowback guns are completely different).

In bolt-action rifles, there is no return spring, so the slide must be returned by manually pushing the bolt handle forward. Therefore, the load required to pull the bolt is roughly the same as the load of the main spring used for firing (in airsoft guns, it's the main spring plus the return spring).

While the specific mechanisms may differ, I believe that airsoft guns from any manufacturer basically use almost the same mechanism.

Summary

This time, I explained how to disassemble the slide of an airsoft gun and the basic firing mechanism.

Because it's inexpensive to begin with and requires no special tools, I think it's a pretty good model to take the first step towards trying your hand at disassembly and customization (essentially, all you really need is a Phillips head screwdriver).

I think the mechanism is packed with the fundamentals of airsoft guns other than gas guns, so if you're interested, disassembling it while thinking about it will make it easier to understand and more enjoyable.

When customizing airsoft guns, not just spring-powered ones, understanding the mechanism makes it easier to predict which parts to replace and what the results will be depending on how you modify them. I highly recommend it.

Next time, I'll introduce the chassis and its mechanism that remained after the disassembly.

Thank you for your company.

Tokyo Marui Colt M1911 Government [HG/Hop-Up] Air Cocking Gun
I believe this is the ultimate product, the origin of both airsoft guns and real automatic handguns. I highly recommend it.

Special Magazine
Since it's an air-cocking gun with a 25-round magazine, I don't think it's really necessary, but I'll include it just in case (it might be useful to have one or two).