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Real Steel History:
In the 1970's the Colt manufacturing company devised a new assault rifle known today as the M16. While a perfectly effective rifle, the USOCOM needed a lighter, more maneuverable weapon for there operators. So in 1994, the first "Carbine" version of the M16 was designed, the M720 selective fire assault rifle. Then, a refined model, the Colt Commando was released and was popularized by the film "Black Hawk Down ". Then the final model, the M4A1 was designed. It was a rifle equipped with a 4 position stock, shortened barrel, and removable carry handle. It was soon adopted by Special Forces and other front line operators. It is also available in the SOPMOD kit in which various sights, rail systems, lasers, lights, grenade launchers, and other items can be quickly added or removed depending on mission specifications. Enough on real steel, lets get to the review!
Real Steel SOPMOD Kit:

Ordering:
After a long few months I finally was able to purchase a gun of my choice. I had originally wanted the TM M14 in OD from Trinity Airsoft. That dream soon faded with my parents disapproving of buying such an expensive gun. So, my second choice, the TM M4 New Type popped up and I was Okayed to purchase that. I was surprised though; I am really not much of an Armalite person. So, I placed my Order with Trinity Airsoft at a good price of $280USD plus an 8.4V 1200mah out battery which brought my total up to $301USD. I must praise Trinity for there fast and reliable service. I would recommend them to anyone.


First Impressions:
When I got home the day of December 3rd form a skirmish at a friend's house I ran inside to check my order tracking and found that it was "Out for Delivery". So, I ran back down the hall and asked my parents if a package came. Then, my dad comes out with a fairly large box and gives it to me. I go grab a knife and tear off the clear packing tape. I then dig through the pile of packing peanuts and pull out the beautiful Box with the "M4" in M4A1 and any "Colt" words cut out with a pen knife or something. I rip off the lid and gaze at my beauty. I am stunned by the wonderful look of my new weapon. I pick it up, noticing the hefty weight, and that only the threads are painted orange and my flashider is black. A little sigh of relief. But not for long. Looking closer I see tape covering the trades. I remove and my heart sinks, NO TRADES! Oh well. The other things in my box are 200 Mauri BBs, 3 Targets, Manual that has no English, Catalog, Some other stuff I don't understand. Anyway, I plug in the battery, and load up the 68 round standard magazine and go outside. I fire on semi first. The accuracy is less than great. I adjust the hop-up and it is much more accurate. Then I switch to auto. Smooth firing and excellent rate of fire.

Build Quality:
What can I say, it is a Tokyo Mauri. The plastic on the body is fantastic. Without touching it gives it the appearance of being metal. But in reality it is plastic but very good quality plastic. It does not feel like crappy Chinese plastic **cough WELL cough** but like a high quality ABS. Like the kind of stuff TM (Tokyo Mauri) is known for. All total the plastic parts are: Receiver, Pistol grip, stock, foregrip, forward assist, carry handle (everything except actual sight). A good portion of this gun is metal. And it isn't crappy pot metal like on my CM028S. It feels great to touch and adds some heft to this already hefty gun. The external metal parts include: Outer Barrel, Flashider, sling mounts, front sight, delta ring, forward grip ring, magazine, bolt stop, mag release, dust cover, carry handle knobs, body pins, trigger, trigger guard, charging handle, stock pipe. All that metal makes for a pleasant gun to hold.



Externals:
From the first look you can see the contrast in the colors. The major plastic parts such as the stock foregrip are a black color. The stock is a nice even Matte black while the foregrip is sort of shiny. The metal parts such as the stock pipe, controls, and outer barrel are all a satin black (not quite matte, and not quite shiny). The paint does seem to scratch easily on the metal parts. It's been through 2 skirmishes and already paint is coming off of the stock and metal parts such as the sight, bolt stop and selector. And I can scratch it with my finger nails to make more come off. Moving on, the body has a nice dark grey color to it and at first glance it looks a lot like metal. I've been asked before if I've put a metal body on it. The color and texture of the body is amazing. It almost makes me not want to put a metal body on.

Internals:
I am not going to go into the internals because I haven't delved into the internals of an AEG and don't want to ruin this gun.

Performance:
After charging the battery for a good six hours I took it outside for a test run. I grabbed my speed loader and some TSD .20 gram BBs and filled up the 68 round standard magazine that came with my rifle. I shouldered it and fired. No BB hit my mutilated pop can hanging on the fence 30 feet away. I removed the mag and looked, everything seems fine. I looked at the ground and noticed one white BB beneath my feet. My first thought was that something was wrong. Then I remembered that I had turned off my hop-up the night before. I adjusted the hop-up which is very smooth and easy to use, when you don't have gloves on. It is impossible to adjust the hop-up with gloves on. And, in the field it is a hassle to take the gloves off to just adjust the hop-up. Anyway, I fire about 30 rounds on semi and I'm amazed by the accuracy. I was hitting a pop can hanging on my fence form 75-80 feet every time (my backyard isn't long enough to stretch it out to 100 feet) I remove my mag and refill the mag with BBs. Then I set another generic "DR. Skipper" can out on my fence and open up on auto. I was struck by the rate of fire on it. It is quite amazing granted my only other experience with AEGs is a G&P Commando, CA36K and CM028S but it was still quite good for an 8.4 1400mah. Next, I was surprised by how loud it was. Not quite as loud as my friends G&P Commando but still louder than my CYMA AKS. When I finished emptying my 68 rounder in several short bursts on the can, it was barely still in one piece. That is quite amazing if you ask me. Overall, I was quite impressed by the performance of this gun and made me believe in TM's (Tokyo Mauri) performance.

Upgradeability:
Well, this is a TM and an Armalite. Those two aspects put together makes for a package with unlimited upgrade parts both external and internal. I myself might get a 350 fps upgrade and an Aimpoint RDS, GB Tech RAS, PEQ unit, Gemtech silencer, and maybe a grenade launcher.

Changes in Version 1 to Version 2:
Since this is the version 2 of the TM M4A1 there have been a couple changes. Most notably are the new hop up design which will increase accuracy because the V1 I have heard had a screwy hop up which would cause the overall accuracy to plummet. Also, the barrel wobble problem has been repaired with the new 1 piece barrel that virtually eliminates barrel wobble because it is imbedded into the plastic receiver. I believe it works but then again I haven't had enough time with this weapon to prove the 1 piece barrel idea. Also, from some pictures I have seen it appears the body color was darkened slightly to make it look more on with the real steel. Also, the stock feet per second (FPS) has been raised to slightly above 300 FPS unlike the V1 where the stock FPS was around 275 or so. Lastly, the stock has been changed to the 6 position LE (Law Enforcement) style. While having more positions than the V1, it lacks the ability to accept butt pads and cheek rests made for the old style stock.


Skirmish Report:
The last skirmish I went to (Dec. 16) I used this weapon. It performed very well. I was using it with the standard mag and STAR low caps. I could empty a STAR mag in a very short amount of time. Probably under ten seconds. Where we where fighting there was a deck on the outside of a house facing a gradually sloping lawn probably 100 feet long where the other team was starting. When the whistle was blown we could start engaging. Using cover fire to keep the OpFor's heads down, I could easily pick off moving, human sized targets at 85-100 feet away at the bottom of the yard. Once the remaining OpFor's had made it to the top of the hill the fighting went from long-medium range woodland combat to short range house to house (or actually shed to shed) fighting. This weapon was easily dominating in CQB. The rate of fire made it perfect for clearing out rooms with pesky OpFor's. In one instance I and two other teammates were tasked with clearing out a large garden shed to act as a command building. I had to go in first. Two of the five OpFor's where standing in the center slightly to the right. I emptied approximately 10 rounds in to them and shot one more as he nearly made it out the back door. Under covering fore I quickly reloaded with a STAR and engaged the remaining OpFor armed with only a UTG shotgun. Once again, only a burst was needed to dispatch him because of the superb rate of fire. All in all I would say this is one of the most skirmish effective weapons I have ever seen or used.



Pro's and Cons:


Pros:


* TM reliability
* huge amounts of upgrade parts
* Decent stock FPS
* fair amount of metal parts
* Accurate in relation to its size
* HOT Looking



Cons:


* Way to common (everyone and there grandma has an Armalite)
* Plastic body
* Big color contrast between metal and plastic parts on body.
* Can only take a mini battery


Conclusion:
The Tokyo Mauri Colt M4A1 is reliable, tough, durable weapon for any airsofter from a new player graduating up from springers or and experienced vet looking for a reliable project gun, this weapon would be a perfect match. The Tokyo Mauri M4A1 is a prime example of the reliability of the Tokyo Mauri Airsoft weapon series.

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