Tokyo Marui - Metal Slide Upgrade

[cbcsteve]

Tokyo Marui Hicapa 5.1/4.3 Metal Slide
This time before I ever get another metal slide for a TM 5.1 Hicapa. I just wanted to know the Do's and Don'ts of matching the internals to the metal slide. And I want to compile this information from the experts to help in the future.

Guarder Slides - Stay Away

So far I've encountered a lot of problems with Guarder slides, sure they are almost twice as cheaper and they look decent but they just never seem to fit on right. You have to file down here and there and takes a lot of guess work to get it perfect. And I don't feel like posting another TM 5.1 Help me thread in the doctor's corner.

Also if you do get a Guarder slide to fit on and work properly I found from my experience with Used TM 5.1 Hicapas with Guarders that a improper outer barrel to slide match will shear off bits and pieces off the hop up chamber making it wobble too much and eventually jam up the gun when shooting.

Shooters Design - Hunt for these

Well a few 5.1 users pointed me to Shooters Design as a reliable source for metal slides when the old plastic slide finally dies. Though I was wondering

Question 1:
Do you need a Shooters Design Metal Outer barrel to match the slide or is the stock TM one fine?

Answer 1:
Yes a Shooters Design Metal Outer Barrel and chamber is needed to avoid any smashing of any parts

Question 2:
What are the first things I should look for when buying one?

Answer 2:
Illusion:
"It just depends on where you bought it and when you bought it as well as when that supplier acquired that batch."

Knowing when where the supplier acquired the batch of metal slides is crucial since there are revision models out there and as long as your seller can answer those basic questions as well as teach you something new about them then you have a good purchase decision to lean on.

Take it from me, a metal slide may look sweet and shiny but if your seller cannot answer what material it is as well as what brand it is then stay away.

[Styrak]

The stock TM barrel is fine, but the slide might bash up the chamber area after a while.

[ILLusion]

Not "might". It WILL bash up the chamber after a short while, forcing you to get a new outer barrel/chamber.

I do recommend getting it though... there are benefits to having the heavier stainless steel (keeps muzzle flip down), and the added weight just feels friggin awesome.

[RacingManiac]

the mechanical clicking is awesome too...

[Styrak]

Originally Posted by RacingManiac

the mechanical clicking is awesome too...

Yeah, metal slide + metal barrel and chamber = awesome sounding gun.

[ILLusion]

All metal = boner

[cbcsteve]

I am assuming you cannot mix any other outer barrels/chamber with a Shooter's Design Metal slide?

[Styrak]

Originally Posted by cbcsteve

I am assuming you cannot mix any other outer barrels/chamber with a Shooter's Design Metal slide?

You can, but it's not guaranteed to fit.

[m102404]

Steve,

Don't mix brands...as a general rule.


However....

I have had 3 guarder slides work well with stock TM plastic barrels. I suppose the barrel "gives" when it needs to function with the slide.

I have also had a 100% headache free time with a SD slide/SD chamber&barrel setup. Just one example...(it's my go-to pistol for Open division CAPS)

I have had lousy luck with a SD Slide + 9ball/TK metal barrel. $500 later...still couldn't get the setup to work. 90% of the upgraded parts I bought for that build...and in the junker bin...what a waste...

I have had so-so luck with a 4.3 metal barrel (unknown make) and a guarder 4.3 slide...but I had to file a bit here and there on the barrel to get it to work reliably. If I wiggle or jiggle it a certain way...it will still jam up...sometimes/maybe.

Waiting on a nice 4.3 slide (STILL WAITING...you know who ) to give it a whirl to try out with that metal 4.3 barrel on a spanking new 4.3 lower. I won't hold my breath...but my fingers are crossed.

So...while my experience is limited...I'd say:
- stick to a plastic stock barrel...it'll probably work and at least won't destroy your slide by the time you figure out it's not working
- stick to the same make...still may not work...but you're hedging your bets
- be 100% prepared to end up with a lemon that's destroyed...then if it works you'll be happy.
- have at least one reliable pistol ready to go while you're messing around with the one you're upgrading.

Metal is metal and can't be beat for noise/sound/action...makes a plastic pistol as attractive as a nun's fart. But...stock plastic TM's work just fine...

Best of luck,

Tys

[Daiviet]

the more you stick within one companies parts, the better i'd say. Although thats not always the case, had to fiddle quite a bit to get my shooters design outer barrel and chamber to work properly with my shooters design slide.

Tanio Koba makes a good inner barrel, and like you've stated originally stay the hell away from guarder. Other than that, shooters design is really the way to go, with so many different chambers to pick, and a few barrels to choose from.

[RacingManiac]

I tend to stick with SD barrel+chamber, mainly because of their selection. I've managed to get a SD barrel to fit a Nova 1911 slide and a Airsoft Surgeon, though the latter is a bit....unconventional....Of course when I had the SD slide with the barrel it fits fine too. Only real trouble I've had was Guarder barrel, which doesn't fit anything and destroyed a PGC slide...though I think the slide had its problem in that case as well...

[Styrak]

Don't SD slides get bashed up after a while with a metal/steel barrel and chamber?

I have a Davidson Custom slide which is 7075 aluminum while the SD slides are 6061.

[RacingManiac]

SD's are 7075, and they don't get bashed up, at least not mine. While the AS and PGC ones does....Its a design issue with certain slide, which is what Illusion's batch of slide from ProG4 are designed to address....

[Styrak]

Originally Posted by RacingManiac

SD's are 7075, and they don't get bashed up, at least not mine. While the AS and PGC ones does....Its a design issue with certain slide, which is why Illusion's batch of slide from ProG4 are designed to address....

Oooooh yeah I meant Airsoft Surgeon ones I guess. Lower quality.

[ILLusion]

For clarification, BOTH Shooters Design and Airsoft Surgeon's OEM manufacturer produce slides in BOTH 6061 as well as 7075 aluminum.

It just depends on where you bought it and when you bought it as well as when that supplier acquired that batch.

It's possible to mix barrel/slide brands, although generally, it's not recommended. There have been rare instances where a Shooters Design barrel/chamber set did not work on a Shooters Design slide but swapping to a Tanio Koba outer barrel set fixed the problems I was encountering.

I have a bunch of one-piece ProG4 outer barrel/chamber sets here right now, but haven't had time to put them through their paces and try them in different combinations. All I know is that they're expensive as hell!

I've had mixed luck with Airsoft Surgeon slides and various brands of outer barrels/chambers. So far I've had the best luck with Shooters Design, but even that hasn't been a 100% solution, and even the ProG4 outer barrel/chamber didn't work well with some Airsoft Surgeon slides.