Tokyo Marui SOCOM MK23 HG Air Cocking Handgun: Disassembly and Mechanism Explanation

Last time, I reviewed the Tokyo Marui SOCOM MK23 HG air cocking handgun.

In this video, we'll explain the mechanism while disassembling the device and examining the parts and assembly quality.

Disassembling the slide

First, let's perform field stripping to separate the slides from the frames.

As shown in the picture below, pull the slide back slightly to align the groove on the slide with the slide stop lever.

While maintaining this position, remove the slide stop lever.

This will separate the slide and the frame.

Now we'll break down the slides.

Disassembling the slide is very easy, and the parts come off without any trouble.

Let's lay out the parts that we removed.

The parts configuration is almost identical to the Tokyo Marui Colt M1911 Government HG that I reviewed previously. Basically, the slide firing mechanism seems to be the same across Tokyo Marui's air-cocking gun series.　

The function of each part will be explained later, so let's move on and disassemble the barrel.

To disassemble the outer barrel, widen the chamber section as shown in the picture below and remove it. Be careful not to widen it too much, as this may damage the chamber.

Now you can disassemble the chamber. There is a small spring inside the chamber that simulates short recoil, so be careful not to lose it.

Next, disassemble the outer barrel and remove the inner barrel.

First, the outer barrel is a split type, so position it as shown in the picture, lift the parts, and remove them.

Now you can remove the inner barrel. The inner barrel has a weight and hop-up attached, so remove those as well.

The hop packing remains inside the sleeve, so remove it carefully.

Now the inner barrel has been disassembled.

Let's take a look at some of the parts here.

This is the inner barrel.

The inner barrel was made of aluminum in the M1911, but it was made of brass in the SOCOM. Because it's a model with a longer slide, the barrel is also longer at 115mm. The inner diameter is 6.08mm, and the hop-up window has a unique shape specific to air-cocking guns.

This is a hop packing.

The hop-up packing has a unique shape that differs from electric guns and gas blowback guns, so they are not compatible. Judging from its shape, it looks the same as Tokyo Marui's air cocking shotguns, so it is likely that they have made it compatible with fixed hop-up (specifies 0.25g BBs). However, the shape is different from the fixed hop-up compact carry gun fixed gas series which specifies 0.20g BBs.

This completes the disassembly of the barrel.

The slide disassembly is now completely finished. Surprisingly, I was able to disassemble it this far without using any tools.

Slide operating mechanism

Since I've gone to the trouble of completely disassembling the slide parts, I'll explain the slide mechanism using the actual parts. I've explained this before with Tokyo Marui's M1911, but I'll try to make this explanation more creative.

First, let's look at the arrangement of the parts, which replicates the assembled state.

Here, I will explain the key components. I will explain how they actually function later, so for now, just remember the function and name of each component.

1. Cylinder

The cylinder has multiple functions, including a nozzle that blows out air, a tappet that pushes the bullet into the barrel, a cylinder where the air is compressed, and a positioning part that is in relation to the slide, as shown in the following picture.

The cylinder can move back and forth because it engages with the slide as shown in the following photo.

2. Piston

The piston has a part that compresses the air, a part that cocks the hammer, and a part that engages with the hammer to hold its position.

The part that cocks the cylinder is cocked by pressing the hammer, as shown in the following picture.

The piston and hammer are locked in place by the following latches.

3. Recoil spring guide

The recoil spring guide serves to secure the frame and barrel together.

Based on this, let's consider how each component moves and functions during each stage of the launch procedure.

Initial state (uncocked).

The key point here is that the barrel, recoil spring guide, and spring guide are fixed to the frame.

This is the state when the slide is pulled back slightly, before a full load is applied to it.

The key point here is that, considering its position relative to the frame, the cylinder remains stationary while only the slide moves.

The reason is that the cylinder can move back and forth relative to the slide, allowing the slide to move without moving any of the internal components. Therefore, the main spring does not compress, and the only load on the slide is the force of the recoil spring compressing, meaning that not much force is needed to pull the slide back.

This slight slide pull makes it easy to disassemble the field strip.

From the state where the slide is slightly pulled back to the state where cocking is complete.

Here, the mainspring compresses, so a considerable amount of force is required to pull the slide back. The load is the sum of the recoil spring's compression force and the mainspring's compression force, so a fairly large force is needed.

If you pull the slide all the way back, the piston and hammer will engage and the piston's position will be fixed.

This locks the piston in the retracted position and keeps the main spring compressed.

The slide is being returned.

The key point here is that the tappet in the cylinder pushes the bullets out of the magazine. This action is what feeds the bullets.

When you push the slide back, the bullet climbs the chamber's slope and enters the hop-up packing.

Ready to launch

When you pull the trigger, the hammer returns, releasing the piston. The mainspring then compresses the air, pushing the bullet out and sending it flying.

Hopefully, this has given you a better understanding of how the slides work.

As expected from a mechanism that Tokyo Marui has been selling for many years, it's very well-refined, and you can feel the skill in its design with only the bare minimum of parts. In particular, I think the design that incorporates multiple functions into a single part is an excellent design.

What's also interesting is that the mechanism is almost identical to that of an electric airsoft gun, and it's clear that it's the basis for the mechanism of Tokyo Marui's airsoft guns (excluding the gas system, which is a separate system). Electric airsoft guns simply have a motor and gears added to this mechanism.

Considering the order of development, it's natural that air-cocking guns evolved into electric guns, but it's interesting to see how similar they are when you look at them again.

That concludes our explanation of the slide operation mechanism and firing mechanism of an air-cocking handgun.

Disassembling the frame

Now let's start disassembling the frame.

The frame is split into left and right halves, so we'll find the part that holds the left and right halves together and disassemble it.

First, let's remove the screws on the front. These aren't directly related to splitting the unit into left and right halves, but let's remove them anyway. Incidentally, this is the first part of this product that requires tools for disassembly.

Remove the screw at the base of the grip.

Finally, remove the pin that secures the magazine release lever.

The removed magazine release lever has a spring attached to the back, so be careful not to lose it.

Now that the left and right sides are released from their fixed positions, we can carefully separate the frame.

The left and right frames have multiple pins pressed into them, so the trick is to apply a little force.

Now the frame can be disassembled.

There are more parts than I expected.

What I personally find interesting is that the SOCOM's grip is integrated with the frame, so instead of putting weight in the grip panels, they've thickened the front serial plate to act as weight, and embedded weight inside the back panel of the grip to give it a sense of weight. You can see the effort they put into it.

While lighter would be better if only practicality were considered, this product has a strong model-like quality, so this kind of effort is appreciated.

Now we'll disassemble the trigger and hammer mechanism unit.

The trigger and hammer unit are also split into left and right halves, so we'll start by removing the screws that secure them in place.

This allows you to split the unit.

I removed the parts from this state and laid them out.

Despite being a double-action pistol, it has relatively few parts. While it's normally quite complex, the omission of the thumb safety and decocking mechanism likely contributes to its simplicity.

With this, all the frame components have been disassembled.

Hammer and trigger mechanism

Here, we will explain the hammer and trigger mechanisms using actual parts.

Let's take another look at the overall layout of the components.

Here, we will explain while focusing on the movement of the hammer, which is a key component.

First, when you pull back the slide, the piston retracts, and the retracted piston pushes the hammer, causing the hammer to rotate.

If the piston continues to push the hammer, the piston will lock in place using the mechanism shown in the picture below.

At this point, the hammer is secured by the shear.

This mechanism allows the hammer and piston to be fixed in place, thereby keeping the main spring compressed.

In this state, pulling the trigger will cause the trigger bar to move forward and tilt the sear.

When the sear falls, the hammer is released, which unlocks the piston and releases the mainspring.

In a double-action gun, the hammer and trigger bar are connected by interlocking grooves, causing the hammer to move in conjunction (in an air-cocking gun, this is just a gimmick and has no relation to operation).

It has a fairly simple mechanism. Despite being a double-action pistol, it might even be simpler than the M1911 I introduced previously.

However, while the M1911 had a structure close to the real thing, the SOCOM's mechanism was considerably simplified for use as an air-cocking gun.

Finally, let's look at the safety mechanism.

The safety mechanism utilizes the protrusion on the back of the slide release lever.

When the slide release lever is assembled into the trigger and hammer mechanism unit, a protrusion will appear in the position shown in the photo below.

When the slide release lever is raised, it looks like the picture below, and acts as a safety by preventing the trigger bar from moving forward.

It's a rather simple and clever safety mechanism.

The instruction manual includes a warning that says, "Do not pull the trigger hard while it is in safety mode," because, as you can see from this structure, it is only blocked by a small protrusion on the trigger bar, and pulling it hard will cause that protrusion to break off.

Be careful, because if this part breaks, you'll need to order replacement parts and disassemble the device to this extent, which can be a hassle.

Summary

My overall impression after disassembling it was that, as expected from an air-cocking handgun that has been on the market for many years, it was an excellent product with a well-refined mechanism, high precision parts, and high assembly quality.

Although it was released in 2002 and has likely been produced many times, the molds and other maintenance seem to be quite thorough, as the molding of all the parts is exceptionally clean.

The assembly quality was excellent, and the moving parts were thoroughly greased, giving the impression that no detail had been overlooked (it didn't look like it had been applied haphazardly).

What I personally found amazing was the incredibly small number of screws and pins needed for disassembly and reassembly: just six and one (a small number of screws and pins significantly reduces assembly costs). I imagine the designers must have racked their brains over this.

Thanks to this design, disassembly and assembly are extremely easy; I'd say it can be done in under an hour, with disassembly taking about 20 minutes and assembly 30 minutes. The sliding parts can even be completely disassembled without any tools.

In addition to its clever design, its simple mechanism makes it one of the best models for your first disassembly, assembly, and customization project. So, if you're interested, please use this article as a guide and give it a try. You'll probably enjoy understanding the mechanism as you disassemble it and planning your customization.

This concludes our explanation of the disassembly and mechanism of the Tokyo Marui SOCOM MK23 HG air cocking gun.

Tokyo Marui SOCOM MK23 HG Air Cocking Handgun
With its ease of cocking, high performance, and being the latest model, this is my number one recommendation in the series.

Tokyo Marui SOCOM MK23 HG Spare Magazine
It holds 26 rounds, so you'll rarely need a spare, but having one can be fun because you can enjoy changing magazines.

I also post reviews, disassembly guides, and customizations of other airsoft guns, so please feel free to check them out if you're interested.