Review and disassembly of a custom Tokyo Marui GLOCK19 GEN3.

This time, I'll be reviewing the Tokyo Marui Glock 19 GEN3, including its disassembly and customization.

As of the time of writing, Tokyo Marui has announced the release of the Glock 19 GEN4, so this might seem a bit late, but I own one, so I'll introduce it anyway. I think the internal mechanism is almost the same except for the recoil spring, so it should be useful as a reference for disassembly and customization.

Incidentally, I purchased mine in May 2021 (release date October 2018), so it doesn't seem to be from the first production run.

Since I've already customized it, this won't be a purely out-of-the-box review, but I'll try my best to describe it from memory.

Let's begin the review.

appearance

As usual, let's start by looking at the overall exterior from the side.

Other side

This is a fairly compact model.

According to Tokyo Marui's description, it's suitable for concealed carry, but I don't think it's that small.

The main concern with something this small is whether it feels cramped to hold, but surprisingly, it didn't feel that cramped at all.

My hands aren't particularly large, but my fingers are on the longer side, so compact models are usually quite cramped for me, although this one just barely fits. However, it's not exactly roomy, and if you're simply looking for a comfortable grip, the full-size Glock 17 is better.

Let's take a look at each part.

Looking at the muzzle, you can see that it has rifling that resembles polygonal rifling.

Next, let's try holding it open.

The hop-up adjustment mechanism is located inside the ejection port when the gun is held open.

This is the mainstream type from Tokyo Marui these days. There's a dial where the white arrow is pointing, and you can adjust it by turning it.

You can adjust it with your bare hands, but I use a hop-up adjustment lever from LAYLAX to make it easier.

As I'll explain later, this is an almost essential item for adjusting the hop-up on Tokyo Marui's gas blowback M4 MWS, M4 CQBR BLOCK1, MK18 mod.1, and other models.

You can easily adjust the hop-up adjustment dial by using this as shown in the following picture.

It's quite convenient.

LAYLAX Hop Adjuster
This is useful not only for Tokyo Marui M4 series gas blowback pistols but also for handguns.

Next is the site picture.

The stock rear sight is a U-shape turned on its side, but I don't like that design, so I've installed the dot-type luminous sight that came with the Glock 17. This doesn't fit directly and requires some modification, which I'll explain later.

Next are the control components: the magazine catch and the slide release lever.

The slide release lever is fitted with Garter's extension release lever.

Next, we measured the weight with and without the magazine.

This is a very lightweight model.

Finally, let's look at the presentation box and accessories.

The included accessories are two follower stoppers for the dry-firing magazine, ammunition, a nozzle cap, and a barrel cleaning rod.

Furthermore, it comes with a parts list that serves as both an instruction manual and a parts order form.

Actual firing performance

I checked the shooting performance right out of the box, but I apologize that I don't have any photos or detailed performance records, so I will introduce it entirely from memory.

I believe I filled the magazine completely with gas and raised the surface temperature to about 27°C.

Measurements were taken using Tokyo Marui 0.2g bio BBs.

The initial velocity at that time was fairly stable, at approximately 65 m/s.

The feel of shooting it was quite sharp and the blowback was very quick, as you'd expect from a gun with a 15mm cylinder diameter.

However, as expected for a compact model, the slide is lightweight and doesn't have the same weight as other companies' heavyweight models. Also, looking at reviews on other sites, I saw that under similar conditions, the muzzle velocity was around 70 m/s, but my unit settled at around 65 m/s.

If you're interested, please also check out my review of the chronograph.

Since it's a compact model with a fairly short barrel, I'm satisfied with this muzzle velocity, but it's a little disappointing, so I wanted to increase it.

We will proceed with the customization taking those points into consideration.

Furthermore, I personally prefer a blowback system that prioritizes sharp speed over weight, so I will accommodate that as well.

From here, I'll introduce the process, including disassembly and customization.

Tokyo Marui Glock 19 GEN3 Gas Blowback
GEN3 also has its own unique appeal, so I recommend it.

Tokyo Marui Glock 19 Series Spare Magazine
This is a magazine for the Glock 19. Magazines from Tokyo Marui's Glock series should generally be compatible.

Disassembly and customization

Now, let's go over the disassembly and customization details.

First, remove the slide from the main unit.

Tokyo Marui's Glock series uses an internal hammer system instead of a striker system like the real gun, so you have to pull the slide back first to lower the internal hammer before you can remove the slide.

Once the internal hammer is in a reclined position, remove the slide forward while lowering the slide takedown lever.

The removed slide assembly looks like this.

Now, remove the return spring and barrel assembly.

This is a barrel assembly.

Next, remove the blowback engine from the remaining slide.

First, remove the screw indicated by the red circle in the following photo.

Now, we need to remove the blowback engine, but it's fitted into the slide and is quite difficult to remove.

The method involves opening the slide to the side as shown in the following picture while pressing the feeding nozzle of the blowback engine.

The trick is to hold the slide as shown in the following picture. With the index fingers of each hand, spread the ejection port sideways while pressing the feeding nozzle with your thumb.Applying too much force to the feeding nozzle can break it, and opening the slide too far can cause it to crack, so apply force gradually.

You have to remove it this way, otherwise you won't even be able to replace the rear sight, so do your best. The removed blowback engine looks like the one in the following picture.

The spring in the red circle is simply placed there and can easily come off, so be careful not to lose it. Also, it can be difficult to assemble because it tends to fall off or shift, so I personally use a tiny bit of super glue to fix it in place. Applying just a little glue doesn't affect the operation and makes assembly much easier, so I recommend it.

Next, the ammunition feeding nozzle can be easily removed.

If the disassembly was done correctly, the following parts will be found.

This part, along with the plate attached to the back and the rear sight, can be removed (there was no photo).

The diameter of this circle (piston cup) is 15mm, which generates a powerful blowback.

Basically, the mechanism of gas guns that use negative pressure, other than those made by Western Arms, is almost the same; generally, the larger the diameter of this circular mechanism, the stronger the blowback becomes.

Recently, Tokyo Marui has been promoting a 15mm diameter for their products as a key selling point. Incidentally, my favorite KSC System 7 also uses a 15mm diameter.

The photo already shows the lightweight aluminum breech installed (the piston cup is also a custom part).

Comparing the weight to the original, it's significantly lighter (left is the custom part, right is the original).

While the custom version has some extra parts, which puts it at a disadvantage in comparison, it is significantly lighter at 23g compared to the original's 48g.

Installing this part dramatically improves blowback speed and efficiency. However, it will also lighten the blowback force, so you should consider installing it based on your preference.

Guarder Lightweight Aluminum Breech for Tokyo Marui Glock 19 GEN3
Please note that this is a product specifically for the Tokyo Marui Glock 19 GEN3. It is separate from the GEN4 version.

Incidentally, there are also nylon versions available that are even lighter, but they aren't nearly as light as aluminum, and I'm worried about their durability, so I don't use them very often.

Next, remove the valve attached to the feeding nozzle that switches between firing and blowback.

Remove the pin indicated by the red circle in the photo.Please note that the valve is spring-loaded and can fly off, so be sure to put your finger in the hole to prevent it from flying away.Remove it by doing this.

This will result in the following part (flow valve) (the photo shows a custom part).

This engine has a custom part called a Rocket Valve from Firefly installed to increase the initial velocity.

This product is a component that increases the muzzle velocity by increasing the amount of gas flowing to the firing side. The only drawback is that it slightly worsens fuel efficiency, but it's not at a level that would be a concern.

・Fierfly Rocket Valve for Tokyo Marui Glock 19
The initial velocity increases slightly.

I think this product is a bit expensive, so if you want to increase your muzzle velocity more cheaply, you can just replace the spring.

Using a stronger spring than the original will increase the muzzle velocity, so you can look for a spring of the same size at a home improvement store, or you can use one of the springs with different loads that Strike Arms carries.

I won't post a link because I don't have permission from Strike Arms, but you can easily find it by searching for "Strike Arms".

Please note hereIn the case of gas guns, the muzzle velocity changes significantly depending on the temperature, so be sure to keep it within the legal limits of 35°C and 0.989J.It's rare to exceed the limit with a gas blowback handgun, but it's the law, so you must obey it.

Incidentally, the genuine float valve and piston cup look like the ones in the following picture. The float valve in the bottom picture is broken because it cracked when I was filing it down during my flow rate adjustment experiment.

I was hoping to find a good machining shape for this flow valve, so I kept grinding away, but it cracked. It's disappointing.

This is getting a bit long, so I'll stop here for now. In the next installment, I'll cover the remaining disassembly, customization, and actual shooting performance.

If you're interested, I've included an explanation of the gas blowback mechanism, so please take a look.