By Sky
Published: March 2005
Introduction
I was watching Band of Brothers on HBO a couple of years ago and I always loved seeing when the men of Easy company drew their m1911a1s. So I promised myself that one day I would own a Western Arms m1911a1 Military model. Of course the Magna series m1911a1 military model was next to impossible to find at any retailers and I eventually moved onto to other airsoft guns.
Fast foward to the winter of 2003, when WA came out with their new S.C.W. line of GBBs. In this new line of pistols was my long sought after m1911a1 military model. Seeing as I had no money, I could not buy the gun. Finally, a few weeks ago I found an excellent deal for the SCW m1911a1 on ebay and purchased it immediately.
First Impression
The gun arrived in less than a week of purchasing it. I cut open the package and was presented with the black SCW box. I ripped through the packaging and pulled out the pistol. It felt perfect in my hands and looked twice as good as it felt. Cycling the slide was smooth and the magazine fell out of the magwell without snagging. The trademarks were carved into the gun with extreme precision and care. The orange paint was easily removed with my fingernail and left no scratches on the outer barrel. The gun came with the standard hex wrench to adjust the hop-up, a small warning tag, generic single stack 1911 SCW manual, paper targets, a WA warranty card, a generic ASGK paper, 200 WA 0.22g bbs, and the disassembly tool.
Performance and Function
I loaded the magazine with 15 Inertia .25 bbs and attempted to fill it with HFC134a. Unfortunately I forgot about how with Western Arms magazines have a sliding plate below the release button which must be in the down position to fill. As soon as I pushed down on the can, the gas just shot through the gun and out onto my leg. Realizing what I did wrong, I pushed the tab down and loaded the mag with gas. I inserted the magazine into the gun and racked the slide. I took aim at the target which was 15 feet away from me and slowly squeezed the trigger. I was amazed at power of the blowback! It was clearly more powerful then any of my other GBBs. I managed to get the majority of the bbs into the 8, 9, and10 rings from 15ft. I didn't experience a single misfire or jamming incident.
After the test firing I decided to disassemble the gun. First thing to do is remove the magazine. Next you pull the slide back to line up the disassembly notch with the slide lock pin, and knock out the pin. Now that the slide is removed from the frame you can use the provided tool to take the barrel bushing off of the slide. With the barrel bushing off you can remove the outer barrel/chamber assembly, the recoil spring, and its guide. The pistol is now disassembled into it's main componet parts. A quick spray of silicon lube on the moving internal parts was enough maintainence for now. Putting the gun back together was just a reverse of taking it apart.
The 1911 has two safeties on it. The first is the beavertail, which must be pressed in to allow the gun to fire. The second is a lever safety that can be engaged simply by moving your thumb upwards. For this the safety to be engaged you need to have the hammer cocked back. The sights are low profile and easy to line up. The hammer is checkered allowing the thumb to get a good grasp on it.
Appearence
The 1911 comes complete with all the trademarks you would find on the real pistol. The left side of the slide reads "Patented APR.20.1897.SEPT.9.1902.DEC.19.1905.FEB.14.1911.AUG.19.1913" with the Colt horse logo present, then continues "COLT'S PT.F.A.MFG.CO.HARTFORD.CT.U.S.A." Below the slide lock lever there is "G.H.D.". "P" marks can be found next to the mag release button and infront of the rear sight. On the right side of the frame it says "UNITED STATES PROPERTY M1911A1 U.S. ARMY", with "WA ASGK" directly below it. There is a small triangle with a "P" in it on the left side of the trigger guard. The final trademark is a small "55" on the right side of the trigger guard.
The entire gun is in a military parkerized grey finish. The metal and plastic parts blend together flawlessly and it's hard to determine which is which. The grips are a dark brown checkered plastic that simulate wood grain fantastically. The slide and frame are made of WA's Heavy Weight material. This material is cold to the touch and can easily be mistaken for metal. The metal magazine is painted in the same parkerized finish of the rest of the gun. The mag also has five holes on each side to simulate the holes on a real 1911 mag that allow you to see how many rounds of ammo you have left.
Problems
Nothing is perfect and the SCW m1911a1 is no exception. The most notable problem with my 1911 is that ocasionally the slide will not always lock back upon firing the last round. I do not know if this is true to all SCW m1911a1s or if mine is just a fluke, but it is annoying all the same. The next problem is the paintjob. The paint itself looks beautiful, but the more use it sees the more the paint begins to wear off in high movement areas such as the chamber, magazine, and outer barrel. The sights on the 1911a1 could use some white dots but WA is hardly to blame for their absence. My final complaint is that the slide lock lever, which must be removed to disassemble the gun, can be hard to remove. You have to line up the lever exactly with the disassembly notch on the slide, hold it there, and knock out the slide lock lever. That can become quite frustrating.
Upgrades and Accessories
Western Arms 1911s have more aftermarket accessories than any other airsoft guns short of TM AEGs. The most notable accessories would be metal slides and frames. With a metal slide higher powered "green" or "Top" gases can be safetly used to produce higher FPS and a greater blowback kick. A metal frame can increase your gun's durabilty and will keep it working longer. Internal uprgades include steel outer barrels, steel chambers, high flow valves, and all kinds of reinforced recoil and hammer springs. On the cosmetic side there are slim pickings. Real Hogue and Pachmyre grips as well as real wood grips are a straight swap. With no weaver rail taclights and lasers would have to be mounted via a rail attached to the trigger guard. The m1911a1 will use all WA single stack magazines which are easily attainable at HK dealers, but with a hefty price tag.
Conclusion
The Western Arms Colt m1911a1 Military Model is the best looking and hardest hitting GBB I own. WA managed to blend the beautiful classic look of their Magna series m1911a1 with the excellent SCW system. It will give you a greater kick and better performance then you could have ever hoped for. The SCW m1911a1 is the perfect choice if you're going for an American WW2 or Vietnam loadout. It will also work great in a BHD Delta kit. Regardless of what look your going for you will not be dissapointed with the Western Arms SCW Colt M1911a1 Military Model.
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