2023 New Year's Akabane Frontier Lucky Bag (3 yen) Review

Happy New Year 2023, everyone (I'm quite late with this greeting).

As is my annual tradition, I went on a tour of airsoft gun shops (around Akihabara) during the New Year's holiday.

My usual route is mainly around Akihabara, but this time I visited Frontier, a long-established shop in Akabane, Tokyo, for the first time in a while (I've been a customer for quite some time).

There was a limited-edition 30,000 yen lucky bag available in the store (only the 30,000 yen course was sold), so I bought it (it seems that more stock was added on January 5th).

Since it's a lucky bag, I'd like to open the lucky bag from Akabane Frontier.

Akabane Frontier lucky bag exterior

This is what the lucky bag looks like.

The appearance is very much like a traditional lucky bag, which is surprisingly stylish and satisfying.

It was a fairly large size, about 50cm wide and 70cm high.

Given its size, it's obvious that it doesn't contain any long items. However, it's incredibly heavy, so I have high hopes for what's inside.

By the way, it was so heavy that my hands hurt on the way home, and the bag kept falling apart under its own weight, which was a real hassle (traveling by train and on foot).

Let's take a look inside.

Unboxing a lucky bag

Since we're here, let's start by looking at the smaller items.

Small items, part 1

The first item was a pressure-sensitive paper target for APS Cup Bullseye.

I don't use it much since I mainly play airsoft and not competitive sports like APS, but I think people who do competitive sports would appreciate this kind of product as it's a consumable item.

I feel like Akabane Frontier has always been a shop that puts a lot of effort into APS-related products.

Small items, part 2

The second item was a Frontier original polycarbonate plate.

At first, I had no idea what it was used for, but after doing some research, it seems to be used to attach the pressure-sensitive paper (item number 1) used for APS cup targets.

Apparently, to properly transfer pressure onto the pressure-sensitive paper of the target, it's best to use something as hard as polycarbonate as a base.

Small items, part 3

The third item was a Frontier Original APS muzzle cover.

It appears to be a collaborative product with shooter Mac Sakai.

These days, it's becoming common practice in airsoft games to put on muzzle covers during breaks as a safety precaution, so I think they're quite useful.

Small items, part 4

The fourth item was a Frontier original rubber patch.

This patch also appears to be a collaboration product with shooter Mac Sakai.

I don't usually wear Velcro patches, but if there's any empty space on the Velcro of your BDU, body armor, or chest rig, you might want to try attaching some.

Small items, part 5

The fifth item was a general-purpose nylon holster.

From the looks of it, it seemed large enough to fit something like a 1911 (Colt Government) or a Glock 17.

Small items, part 6

The sixth item was two 400g cans of Tokyo Marui Gun Power HFC-134a.

The price of gas keeps going up year after year, so I'm very grateful for this. However, the weight of these two 400g gas canisters (800g total) was a major factor in making it difficult to carry home.

Small items, part 7

The seventh item was a bottle of SⅡS 0.2g Bio BBs, 2800 rounds.

Since ammunition is a consumable item, this is a small but appreciated detail.

What personally concerns me is the bullet diameter, which is 5.94±0.01mm. The diameter of the bullets I often use from Tokyo Marui and G&G is 5.95±0.01mm, so the nominal value is different by about 0.01mm.

I don't think it will have a major impact, but I feel like the hop adjustments might change slightly.

Small items, part 8

The eighth item was the AUTOart MAZDA MX5 TURND BY MAZDASPEED. In short, it's a model of the Mazda Roadster.

At first glance, the roof isn't a metal top, so it appears to be the previous generation MX-5, not the current model.

I have fond memories of borrowing and driving the 1.8L and 2.0L models of the Roadster from a friend. We used to play around with both of them at autocross tracks, so I remember their handling, and they were quite fun with their straightforward, rear-wheel-drive-like handling that was true to the fundamentals.

The overall impression of its handling is basically linear, but with a slightly strong understeer tendency. The rear tires are a bit finicky when they start to slip, but the controllability during drifts is quite good.

However, since it doesn't have much power, if you want to forcefully throw the car around, it's difficult to do so with brute force, so you need to increase the car's speed and use inertia.

So, while critics often recommend the Roadster as an entry-level sports car, I wonder if its strong understeer and somewhat peaky initial slip-up make it truly suitable for beginners.

Also, as a personal memory of the Roadster, the 1.8L model was an older type with the battery in the trunk, and when I was driving it around on a gymkhana course, the battery fluid spilled out and soaked the trunk with acid, which was quite an ordeal. Later, on a rainy day at a circuit (I'll keep the location a secret), I spun out in a medium-speed corner and became friends with the wall, among other incidents.

Another friend's Roadster was dented after he dropped it off a cliff in the mountains just one week after taking delivery (the legendary one-shot total loss incident).

By the way, none of the accidents were my fault. However, all of them happened while we were playing together.

Putting that aside, and returning to the topic of lucky bags, this item reminded me that Frontier is a general hobby shop, not just an airsoft gun shop.

That concludes the introduction of the accessories. There are already 8 items included, so it's quite a substantial amount.

Booklet Part 1

The first booklet was a catalog from Nobel Arms, a company that deals in optical equipment (I couldn't tell when the catalog was published).

Since I had the chance, I opened a random page.

That's quite a lineup.

I only found this out while flipping through the catalog, but it seems they carry genuine AIMPOINT, EOTECH, and ELCAN products, not replicas.

A while ago, the only way to get so-called genuine optical equipment was through secondhand sources or personal import (which was very risky), so I'm grateful for this (in any case, it's still too expensive for me to buy).

Booklet Part 2

The second booklet was the Tokyo Marui 2022 All Lineup Catalog and a prize giveaway booklet.

Marui's catalog is great because it lists all of their currently sold products (although you can also view it online).

Marui generally doesn't discontinue products from their catalog very often, but because of their long history, there are times when products that you assume are still being sold are actually no longer listed, so this is helpful for checking.

The prize booklet is for a campaign that is valid until March 31, 2023, but since the target products are rated 10+, I personally didn't think it was very relevant to me. However, since the SAA is now being sold as a 10+ model, I'll keep it just in case.

Booklet No. 3

The third booklet was the July 2015 issue of the magazine "MilliSma".

I've never heard of this magazine before, but after doing some research, it seems to be a sister publication to Combat Magazine, published by Military Photo Press, the company famous for publications like Mono Magazine.

Since we're here, let's take a look at the table of contents (it should be within the scope of copyright permission).

It appears to be a feature on women working in the military of various countries.

I investigated, but I couldn't determine whether this magazine is currently discontinued or on hiatus.

Incidentally, World Military Photo Press used to publish a wonderful series called Military World Illustrated, and the series included interesting books such as F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle, F-4 Phantom stories, and nuclear submarines, so I really hope they can keep going (as of 2023, some of this series are apparently being sold by Kobunsha).

As the name "Illustrated" suggests, this series is very easy to get into and highly recommended because it focuses on photographs rather than complicated explanations.

This concludes the booklet.

We've already covered a lot of products, but now we'll finally introduce the main items: airsoft guns.

big game

Big Shot #1

The first item was the Sightron Japan TR-X 1.25-4.0×24 IR CQB scope.

Since I have it, I'll open the box.

It appears to be an illuminated scope with a magnification of 1.25 to 4x. It's somewhat large in size.

Apparently, there are two grades of Sightron's TR-X series, and it seems I got the best one.

I plan to write a detailed review of this scope in the near future.

Big Shot #2

The second item was the Tokyo Marui Compact Carry Gun CURVE.

Since I have it, I'll open the box.

This is a fairly compact gas gun.

I plan to write a detailed review article about this airsoft gun soon.

Thankfully, it even came with a spare magazine.

However, since this airsoft gun is positioned as a last resort for self-defense, I wondered if spare magazines were really necessary.

Big Shot #3

The third item was the Tokyo Marui Gas Blowback Airsoft Gun Detonics .45.

Since I have it, I'll open the box.

The interior is quite elaborate. The main body is like a compact 1911 (Colt Government).

I'll be writing a review article about this soon as well.

Incidentally, the Detonics did not come with any spare magazines.

That's everything that's inside the lucky bag.

Next, we will tally the results.

totalling

Personally, I buy lucky bags to experience the excitement, so I don't really care whether I ended up with a good or bad deal unless it's really that bad, but I'll try it anyway.

Prices are calculated based on retailer prices, not list prices (some unknown items are priced at market value).

The total price was 62,918 yen, but I purchased it for 30,000 yen, so I effectively saved 32,918 yen, which is roughly half price overall.

I think this is quite a bold move.

Summary

I've now shown you everything that's inside the lucky bag.

As expected from a long-established airsoft gun shop, the contents felt like a great deal. Also, the fact that they include a gas gun, target, ammunition, and gas in the set means you can play with it for a while without having to buy anything extra, which is a nice bonus.

One of my personal memories of Akabane Frontier is from around 10 years ago during the New Year's holiday. They had a special venue with sales, raffles, and lucky bags, and it was so popular that I remember lining up for 2-3 hours from JR Akabane Station to the sales venue. Moreover, the lucky bags were limited in quantity (though I think there were around 300?), so it was quite difficult to get one. I'm deeply moved that I was able to purchase one this time.

I also remember that, outside of New Year's, Frontier held an event called White Hole (around June every year) as a counterpoint to the Black Hole military event.

As of 2023, Frontier has shrunk a bit in scale, but I hope that they will regain their former momentum someday, and I will continue to use their services.

Thank you for sticking with me through this long explanation.

I previously introduced Airsoft97's New Year's lucky bag, which also celebrated the first anniversary of their Kobe store in 2021.