WE 1911 MEU, the good, bad and the ugly

[DoctorBadVibez]

I caught myself slobbering at one of these. I know, I know, TM's are the go to brand, however, I can't help but want to buy one of these. So how's about you ladies and gents chime in on where this pistol stands in terms of being skirmish-able, what's great on it, what about it makes you want to toss it at the opfor, etc. So far, I like the weight, size and just the somewhat classic lines, but I want to know more, such as is it really TM compatible as they advertise it? I've heard that single stack TM meu mags will fit as well and I know that the WE mags are rather fragile if dropped, but I would like your feedback....

[Boyso]

Nothing is 100% TM compatible.

However, I haven't tried a WE MEU, but I did try a Army MEU. It's a full metal 1911 with the same gas consomption problems. More metal, equals more weight, equals more gas used.

I can however say that I digg my TM pistol :P

[DoctorBadVibez]

HA! This is what I'm looking for more hardcore truths rather than the fluff that some retailers use. What do you usually need to add a metal slide to a TM anyway?
TM supporters welcome, I freakin' love my TM SR16 I've fallen asleep cradling that thing..

[Boyso]

I'm not personnally the pistol expert (Ask Illusion!) but I'm just gaming my guns.

My TM is an Hi-Capa with some Tanio Koba grips, and I'm being told it looks like a MEU, but without its problems.

I'm not saying however that a metal-slide gun cannot be game'd, but with clones, you always risk having a lemon and not 100% true tolerances.

Oh and my pistol still runs with a plastic slide on propane. No issues so far, kick is strong !

[Styrak]

WE 1911's are NOT TM compatible.
Not even the mags.

Originally Posted by LastSpartan

My TM is an Hi-Capa with some Tanio Koba grips, and I'm being told it looks like a MEU, but without its problems.

A TM Hicapa is completely different than a WE 1911.

[Boyso]

Never said it was one.

My point is if the OP was looking for a pistol to be game'd that could "remotely" looked like a MEU, an Hi-capa is awesome.

[Zaphod]

Ive got a WE MEU. There are a few tricks you can do so that they run better, increased gas efficiency etc. The only times ive had issues with it are when i haven't maintained it properly.

Its reliable without too much work, mine has decent range and accuracy, nothing outstanding but definitely gameable. In saying that if i could afford a mauri MEU id take it, simply for the extra performance they offer out of the box.

[pusangani]

Originally Posted by LastSpartan

Never said it was one.

My point is if the OP was looking for a pistol to be game'd that could "remotely" looked like a MEU, an Hi-capa is awesome.

Where did he say that?

@ OP

If you want to game it heavily get a TM, single stack skinny 1911/MEU mags have a hard time with gas efficiency especially when running a metal slide

to fully metalize a TM 1911, you would require a metal slide as well as a metal frame.

WE 1911 are more similar to a TM hicapa internally than a 1911

however the better alternative would be a TM hicapa

[Boyso]

Just a suggestion. I've seen my friend game an (Army) MEU.

The slide never locked back.

I can shoot 1.5 mags with one fill. I'm happy.

[pusangani]

That is true about the Army version, horrible gas efficiency

I'm happy with my TM hicapa too when it's all dressed up in Noobkiller 5000 config. Or when I run it stock, it never disappoints!

[DaRkCoMmAnDo]

I might be a lucky one here, but I love my WE. The gun itself never failed me in any way, just the mags leaked because I wasnt filling properly and was using a madbull propane adapter (no more, got an AI adapter, WAY better). AND my mags last about a 1.5 mags too

[juicy]

In my experience:

WE equals crap quality, fail cloning, and the worst mags ever (leaks, fill valves die, output valves aren't that consistent... at least the followers don't wear down, though). My experience with WE was Socom Gear rebrand of 1911 Tactical. Was crap, to say the least - there could be a factor of abuse from previous owner, though. I estimate that less than 50% of the parts were TM 1911/MEU compatible.

Army equals fairly accurate cloning, half-decent quality, crap mags (but at least they're compatible with TM's). Needs some parts to make it shoot somewhat like a TM with metal kit. Needs more parts to make it as reliable as a TM (like stock TM parts, lol).

TM equals... well, its not a clone; reliable, yet not full metal (doesn't seem to matter unless you REALLY abuse it, the one I've seen and helped maintain lately has seen a lot of shooting over time and seems to be totally fine with stock parts); best mags available for TM/TM compatible GBB's.

IMO, go TM. Metal kit is nice, but isn't necessary out of the box. TM will last longer than clones or half-clones, as well as shoot better than clones.

Originally Posted by pusangani

Where did he say that?

@ OP

If you want to game it heavily get a TM, single stack skinny 1911/MEU mags have a hard time with gas efficiency especially when running a metal slide

to fully metalize a TM 1911, you would require a metal slide as well as a metal frame.

WE 1911 are more similar to a TM hicapa internally than a 1911

however the better alternative would be a TM hicapa

TM Hi-Capa because better gas consumption with larger mag. Larger mag seems to result in less cool down, when completely full, too.

Originally Posted by LastSpartan

Just a suggestion. I've seen my friend game an (Army) MEU.

The slide never locked back.

I can shoot 1.5 mags with one fill. I'm happy.

Army MEU mags have crap followers that tend to die. Stick a TM mag in there and you're golden, presuming you don't fill the mag completely with BB's (metal slide on Army MEU's means there isn't enough gas in there to cycle through all the BB's and STILL lock back the slide - same is true on TM's in non-summer temperatures).

Originally Posted by pusangani

That is true about the Army version, horrible gas efficiency

I'm happy with my TM hicapa too when it's all dressed up in Noobkiller 5000 config. Or when I run it stock, it never disappoints!

Oh wait, same deal as blurb I stated after previous quote.

[Spawn28]

+1 For the WE HiCappa mines been runnin for 4 years without issue and is used almost nightly for basement plinking, this gun has seen more bb's than most of my AEG's. Ive even dropkicked it twice and it still worked. Sure the slide is a little loose now but hey whaddya want for over 4 years and 50,000+ rnds


Soory yes it had 1 issue the leafspring thingy in the grip got bent outa shape and caused the gun to shoot full auto by itself,I re-bent it all is good.

[DoctorBadVibez]

Looks like the single stack mag issues can cause more gaming issues that I simply don't need. I have seen almost half a bag of bb's go through a marui 1911, it was gobsmackingly good. Thank you so much for the responses every one for the input. This is true of the WE 1911's then the slide won't lock back, I've seen one in person, the gas issue with their mags really puts this WE 1911 to the "do not buy" list for me. What bothers me is the spotty quality issue, Dark commando has one that works perfect, but knowing my luck, I'm going to get the Friday gun...
edit: Heck, the KSC P226 X-Five is beginning to look better than this eh...

[juicy]

Depends on temperature, too. Single stack-sized mags of all sorts suffer the same problems due to cool down, be it WE, TM, clones, or WA, KSC/KWA. Not sure about WA, KSC/KWA TBH though lol.

KSC makes a P226 X-Five? Neat! I've only seen the mystery one that is a rebrand... think Cybergun or something like that? Can't remember now, lol.