FAQ for Tokyo Marui Hi-Capa, 2011, 1911, MEU & Detonics type variants

[ghiromax]

Sorry guys :-( trying to better format the chart I ended up sending the post before adding Title and finel review, hope it's clear anyway ...

Max

[ILLusion]

Originally Posted by raiderZY

Is there a way to decrease gas consumption, because mine only gets 17 bbs a fill all stock

To do that, you'll need to find the source of the problem that's causing your excess consumption, because it looks like you do have a seal problem somewhere. Find that first, and fix it before you try patching it up with something else.

Originally Posted by raiderZY

The best I can get is 30 with a Nine ball dyna piston head. Sad part is I busted my loading test while testing all my piston head. Which brings me to my next question, does the shooter design pom cylinder set for marui 5.1 work with the MEU?

What is a "loading test"?

Yes, the Shooters Design POM Cylinder Set for Hi-Capa will work with the MEU.

Just make sure you don't use the floating valve it comes with. I've actually found that one of the few piston heads that works best with the SD POM nozzle, is the SD piston head, due to the slightly larger piston head o-ring. You could have some friction causing your excess gas consumption.

[ILLusion]

Originally Posted by ghiromax

Hi guys,

I’m almost new to airsoft. I decided to buy a TM MEU to train IDPA style.

The goals of this build are the followings
• Maximum Accuracy within 15 / 20 m max
• Weight 980-1.030 grams
• Maximum recoil
• Trigger Pull around 1300-1500 grams
• High reliability for high number of shots/year
• Built after IDPA (Real Steel) CDP division specifications

After reading the whole thread I decide to divide the build in 3 different steps.

Step 1: Functional / Performance improvement
Step 2: Increasing Real Steel feeling
Step 3: Cosmetics
In the following chart the parts list for each step:

Step Part Manufacturer

1 M1911 MEU Tokyo Marui
1 Inner Barrel Tanio Koba Twist 5.1
1 Hop-up Rubber Firefly (Soft Medium ?) / Nine Ball
1 Recoil / Hammer Spring Set Guarder 150% / Guarder 150% Oil Quences
1 Loading Nozzle + Piston Head Kit Airsoft Surgeon
1 High Flow Valve KM
1 Steel Valve Knocker ??? I didn’t find so many info on it ???

2 MEU Late Model Frame & Slide Nova K-013
2 1 Piece SS Outer Barrel Illusion Kinetics SS / VFC Steel Black / Shooters Design SS Chamber+Barrrel
2 Bushing Nova Type 3 Caspian B-03-SS / B-03-SB
2 Full Length Guide Rod Nova H-01-SS / LCT FM26
2 Recoil Spring Plug Nova D-03-SS / D-03-SB

3 Checkered Slide Stop Nova N-02-SB
3 Ed Brown Ambi Safety Nova E-02-SB
3 SFA Beavertail Grip Safety Nova A-01-SB
3 Checkered Extd. Mag Release Button Nova Q-02-SB / LCT FM20BK
3 LA Vickers Main Spring Housing Nova F-05-SB
3 Aluminum 3 Holes Adj. Trigger Nova C-01-BK or SV / LCT FM37 or FM35BK / Tanio Koba PIR195BK
3 Hammer / Sear / Disconnector ProG4 AR1598
3 G10 / Wooden Grips ??? Real Steel: Davidson G10 / Herrett Wood ?

What do you think about ? Do you have any suggestion, changes to propose ? Some ideas where to source the parts at good prices will be welcome as well (just for info I’m living in Czech Republic - Europe)

I’ve read the whole thread since the beginning (yes 103 pages !!!) To better understand terms and have an overview of various topics / parts, I’ve started copying and pasting the most interesting topics related to my goal (under my personal only judgment obviously ) in a word file, a bit of editing, adding some parts pics here and there, some info on the RS MEU plus an index I ended up having kind of e-booklet of about 40 pages.
To avoid possible misinformation in case I’ve got something wrong, after having its contempt hopefully checked by some experts here, I will be happy to make it freely available to anybody interested, more later…

Happy shooting

Max

Max,

Sounds like a pretty epic build you've got going there. A few notes:

1) I would recommend the new PDI W-Hold or "A+"/"Devil" hop up rubbers over the Firefly one or Nine Ball. I just received a bunch of these, haven't had a chance to test them yet, but initial reviews are very positive and the product looks to be very good.

2) Good luck finding KM high flow valves. From what I understand, they are a discontinued product. I'm on the hunt for my new favourite valve. In the past 2 years, Nine Ball has released TWO new iterations of their high flow valve (the first one was absolute garbage.) I haven't had a chance to test the new Nine Ball ones, but I do have them in hand, and am looking forward to seeing if they offer any improvement.

3) Steel valve knocker: I have piles of them in stock. Contact me. Don't forget, you MUST match this with an equivalent material hammer... and if you do that, you must also match with an equivalent material sear. Typically, users upgrade all hammer components at once, or you risk increased wear to the softer part. ILLusion Kinetics sells complete hardened steel hammer sets, which includes the hammer, sear, hammer strut, and valve knocker.

4) If you're looking to build a cosmetically accurate MEU(SOC), you should go with a black barrel, such as the VFC one. However, there is no guarantee this recommendation will function well with the Nova kit. I do have VFC barrels here, and my own Nova kit. If I have time, I can try the compatibility. Otherwise, some modification will be required to get it to function. Otherwise, if you want something very solid, you can't go wrong with the ILLusion Kinetics fixed barrel set, as it will increase the life of your slide infinitely as well as reduce contact friction.

[mr_nuts31]

Here's a good question to ask, I used to have a Hi-Capa a while ago and found out that the WE open bolt NPAS fits inside where the cylinder valve used to be. It worked without a problem but I'm wondering if there's any side effects of using an NPAS in a pistol like a Hi-Capa?

[ILLusion]

Originally Posted by mr_nuts31

Here's a good question to ask, I used to have a Hi-Capa a while ago and found out that the WE open bolt NPAS fits inside where the cylinder valve used to be. It worked without a problem but I'm wondering if there's any side effects of using an NPAS in a pistol like a Hi-Capa?

Yes. Reduced velocity.

Additionally, there is a Hi-Capa specific NPAS... not sure why you're using the WE open bolt NPAS... it's probably heavier than it needs to be. I can't say what the downside of using an improperly sized unit would be.

[danhay]

May I ask if anyone knows the sizes of the various o-rings which may be found in a TM Hi-Capa magazine? I happened across this kit but I know that and o-ring is an o-ring and paying to ship across the pond seems silly.

And before you jump on me, yes I have searched (both this thread and the interwebs) and I did not find any answers to this query.

Thanks very much in advance for any assistance any of you may offer.

[jordan7831]

Maybe a trip to canadian tire is in order. They sell O ring kits there of various sizes.

[jordan7831]

Originally Posted by ILLusion

Yes. Reduced velocity.

Additionally, there is a Hi-Capa specific NPAS... not sure why you're using the WE open bolt NPAS... it's probably heavier than it needs to be. I can't say what the downside of using an improperly sized unit would be.

I would also like to ad:

Although you can reduce the velocity of the hi capa. Its quite a pain to do so. I would recommend setting it at a level you like and then leave it a lone.

Its a pain because although it comes with the little tool to adjust it. Since the npas is a round cylinder like the stock valve it will just spin in the blow back housing if you try to adjust the power with the tool. Only way to really change it effectively is to disassemble the blowback unit.

If you know a trick to do it easier please tell me. I have one installed in my WE dragon.

[MultipleParadox]

The Tool I have for the NPAS is two part, a cylinder in which the "allen key" goes. The tip of the cylinder is shaped like an hex key as well and fits in the tip of the valve, locking it in place and allow you to adjust the whole thing. (that's the NPAS kit for the KWA NS2 sys.)

Not sure they're all the same though

[danhay]

Originally Posted by jordan7831

Maybe a trip to canadian tire is in order. They sell O ring kits there of various sizes.

Been there done that. The closest I could find was O-ring kits at Princess Auto but it does not have a great selection of sizes. Most plumbing stores carry a decent selection of O-rings but tend to carry the sizes most often used in faucets and fixtures. Hence the odd sized rings used for airsoft applications are not as easy to find as one would think.

I have come to the conclusion that it would be better of to order a schwack of the necessary O-rings from an appropriate online retailer (McMaster is the first that comes to mind but I'd like to try and deal with a Canadian business). I thought perhaps I wasn't the first person to wish to re-build a mag with O-rings purchased economically.

I guess I'll tear apart a 5.1 mag and get out the calipers and see what I can come up with. I have made the assumption that TM mags will use metric size O-rings.

[e-luder]

http://www.ebay.com/usr/leesprecisionengineering

That place has some decent O-ring sets.Some specifically for Marui magazines. Plus a few innovative things in his shop. Don't know if o-rings and a few $8 to 10$ parts would be worth it to deal with shipping though.

[Basic-Wedge]

Hey fellow Hi-Capa fans, I just recently bought a pre-owned WE Silver Dragon 5.1, and by studying this thread I've gained quite a bit of insight into how it should function.

When I bought my Dragon, I knew it had damage within its plastic frame - the previous owner was completely upfront about that - and I knew it wouldn't be in firing condition. I was fine with that, knowing I could easily get a replacement metal frame, and I mainly wanted the top-end as a shorter alternative to the long slide on the full metal Silver Dragon 7 I'm planning to order.

⇪ The cause of my Hi-Capa's demise: the hammer pivot, being made of plastic, broke at its mid-point.

Before I order a new metal frame, I thought it might be fun to attempt a repair of the original frame. Plastic is simply not a sensible material for such a high-stress part as a hammer pivot. I chose, as my fix, to simply drill out the old plastic molding then install a piece of drill rod as a replacement. A 13/64" drill bit proved to be a perfect fit for the hammer.

⇪ Boring out the old pivot point. The left/rear side of the mid-frame is cast aluminum, the rest is brittle, translucent plastic (in this case, spray painted silver by the previous owner). The same drill bit was later cut down, dressed, and used as the new hammer pivot.

The repair was mainly successful. The hammer sits, once again, in its proper position, held securely by just enough material on both the left and right sides of the mid-frame. Unfortunately, the hammer isn't locking back properly, and the gun fires in full auto as long as the trigger is depressed. I'll eventually get that sorted out, but the less than one pound trigger pull tells me there was more going on inside this pistol than just a broken hammer pivot.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to learning more about Hi-Capas, in general, and building a couple for competitions and theme games. Thanks for all the info that's been provided thus far, and I hope my little contribution helps someone else out there.

[jordan7831]

Less than 1 pound trigger pull suggests a sear spring that is wayyy to light. I was messing around with trigger pulls and found that if you mess around and bend the leaf spring (middle prong) back too far you can get full auto by accident. Try bending it forward ever so much.

Im just guessing and sharing what I know causes full auto. My particular case was that the leaf spring wasnt putting enough pressure on the sear which caused the sear to catch on the hammer reliably causing full auto fire.

[Styrak]

Basic, perhaps you didn't center the drilling exactly? If its loose or off-center, maybe that's the source of your issues?

[Basic-Wedge]

Originally Posted by Styrak

Basic, perhaps you didn't center the drilling exactly? If its loose or off-center, maybe that's the source of your issues?

No, I managed to get it right. I used a machinist's square to measure the final result, and it measured at a perfect 90°.

I'll describe my methodology: As they're the center point for all potential accuracy, I used the frame's rails as my basis for measuring everything. I secured the frame into a machinist's vise, getting it perfectly flat top to bottom, front to back, by using a dial gauge on a magnetic base. I then inserted a laser emitter into the drill press' chuck, lined up the frame, checking to ensure the cut would be on target. When I was sure everything was properly set, I installed the cutting bit and measured it for zero run-out. I also set a wooden block under the plastic right side of the frame, which was on the bottom in this case, to prevent it from flexing. I went ahead with the cut at moderate speed, taking my time to ensure a clean bore.

As I said, the new hole for the hammer pivot is true, but you might not be able to say that for any of the other holes molded in at the factory. There's too much stress in this application for any frame made of plastic. I'm sure some of the other holes and grooves are becoming elongated from the force of firing the pistol.

Jordan, your suggestion of checking the leaf spring is quite valid. Either it was an amazingly lucky fluke, or someone has honed the engagement surfaces within this pistol's action. Either way, this gun has a beautiful, crisp trigger action! I can't wait to drop everything into a proper frame to see its full potential.

Working on this plastic frame isn't just a waste of time for me; I used to build IPSC race guns - for myself and fellow shooters. Airsoft is now my sport, so I'm applying what I learned with real steel to airsoft pistols. ILLusion, your YouTube videos have been a huge help too.