Custom Hi-Capa. Where to Start?

[Cilantro]

Awhile back, I wanted to complete my H&K set by getting a KSC USP .45 as my sidearm. Absolutely fantastic gun, but I got it mostly stock, and never ended up getting any extra mags or metal slide, and now it's all overpriced or System-7 stuff, which led me to the flimsy pretense of finishing my PMC set with a sidearm. Long story short, I love ILLusion's TLE/RL II but the pricetag's a little steep, and I don't really need to shoot a gnat's wings at 40 paces anyway, and I'd love to tweak the look to make it personal. I love the two-tone, and I'm pretty sure Hi-Capa's the way to go rather than MEU/1911, but I also know very little about these gasguns.

I guess the first question is: WE or Marui. I know WE are all metal, but I'll be replacing a lot of the parts anyway (grip, frame, slide, barrel, hardware like slidestop, beavertail, etc...), and I know Marui has quality but again; I'll be replacing a lot of the furniture and innards. The next question is that Shooter's Design has a really great looking ported slide, but I can't find any ported barrels. I guess I'd have to send a barrel in to a machine shop to line up the ports, but if someone could shed some light that'd be great.

So basically, I've got the idea, and some of the parts I want lined up, but I'd like some advice on how to proceed. Thanks in advance.

[cbcsteve]

Yeah Hicapas are the way to go as basically the gas resevoir in the magazine is greater and allows for more capacity for shooting. Whereas when I had my MEU I was always worrying if I topped up the mag or if its going run out on me halfway

No do not get WE, their parts shred and die

I am unsure about KJW so I cannot comment

Choose the Marui base to build off first. Why? Because if your upgrades ever die then you still have some stock parts to fall back upon whenever you game.

Number one thing though stick with one brand when upgrading the furniture as it will allow it to function better as sometimes other brands may not necessarily work well with each other

[The Saint]

If the point is to build a custom gun, start with a TM if possible. WE and KJW are for people who want a metal gun out of the box, not for people who want to do a lot of physical changes.

Of course, a TM might be a little hard to find. The KJW KP-whatever would suffice for your purpose, and is affordable.

[RacingManiac]

Get this barrel: http://www.dentrinityshop.com/pr_details.jsp?pid=8176
Get this chamber: http://www.dentrinityshop.com/pr_details.jsp?pid=7994

Get that slide you want, get a TM Hi-Capa 5.1, get a set of upgraded spring, and get this: http://www.dentrinityshop.com/pr_details.jsp?pid=9832 to save the trouble down the line, and you are set....

[ILLusion]

I have or can get all the items you need. Hit me by PM.

Custom pistols can be built to cheaper prices than *THAT* TLE/RL II you're linking to, while retaining the same look. Part of the reason why the price tag is so high is due to the number of internal upgrades as well as the combat sights, frame, slide, stainless steel barrel set and grip. There are very few stock components left in the gun.

But if you're on a really tight budget and like the style, just get the KJW KP-05 from 007Airsoft. The quality is a far cry in comparison, but it suits the general look and will get you up and running on the field for less than 1/3rd of the cost that I can build it for, especially if you don't need to be able to "shoot the wings off a gnat."

Secondly, I also recommend a Marui over a WE. Not only are the externals of a Marui built to higher quality than a WE, but the internals are also better on the Marui. If all you're doing is change the externals, stick with the Marui, you'll have less headaches down the road, especially considering the fact that ALL aftermarket upgrade companies design around the Marui, whereas WE, KJW, etc are all clones of the Marui. Once you start stacking tolerances, you're going to get in to some funky situations where some parts which would normally work on a Marui wouldn't work on a clone. Or there are instances where WE have created a part that is completely off spec from Marui.

... as for your want to replace your controls, I'm not sure I see why you want to do that. The style the Marui Hi-Capa 5.1 (and even the 4.3) uses are already quite modern controls. If you start going as far as to changing the controls of your gun as well as the grip, frame, slide, barrel and internals, I can guarantee you will have no problem surpassing the price of my TLE/RL II in the long run. lol. It only looks like less when you go bit by bit. Even my TLE/RL II is using stock controls, safeties and buttons.


As for finishing off your PMC look, if you're a die hard mil-simmer looking for a very authentic look, get an MEU or build some other type of modern 1911 variant. The Hi-Capa may be a great skirmishing gun, and even my "Kimber TLE/RL II" replica may look very combat oriented, it's not accurate for many reasons that I won't get in to here. If your PMC look is just a general look and you're looking for a very skirmishable gun, then the Hi-Capa is always a very very good choice.

[Mudder]

Originally Posted by cbcsteve

No do not get WE, their parts shred and die

Really? their seven inch Dragons without trades look so good
I once thought I wanted a pair for props.

[ILLusion]

lol. I wouldn't go so far as to say they're guaranteed to "shred and die", but there are many WE's that break within a couple of magazines of shooting, despite being brand new. They do tend to have a higher lemon rate, due to poorer (and cheaper) materials, poorer (and cheaper) production, and poorer quality control (time cost savings).

You get a cheap product... but that's exactly what you get. A cheap product.

You can be lucky and get one that works well. But it's a gamble, especially if you just want to get something that works and don't want to have to deal with the hassle of troubleshooting a gun.

If it's going to sit on a shelf, there's nothing wrong with their 7" Dragon.

But if you want a REAL prop, I can build you one completely out of steel out of high end precision parts... at a price. LOL!

[Cilantro]

Thanks for the info guys. It's great to get advice from the Kings of Hi-Capas. it looks like I'll be heading toward the Marui option for a start. Huge thanks to RacingManiac for the ported barrel. It looks like i have the externals pretty much sorted out. As for the look, if anyone's seen my ongoing MP5K project, you'll see that a unique look is really what I'm trying to go for, rather than authenticity.

Now comes the part I really know nothing about: the insides. I see ILLusion's got an amazing amount of upgrades, but I don't know what they do, or what I need to make this gun a good skirmishable gun. Thanks again for all your help so far, I really hope I can get this started soon.

[Daiviet]

Hey Omega, theres a fantastic write up on a website that myself and racingmaniac frequent. Heres the link:
http://community.tradersairsoft.com/...ad.php?tid=488

Fantastically written, explains everything and will push you in the right direction for where you want to start upgrading.

[Cheeseman]

Yea I wouldn't recommend a WE unless you want to take a chance. I use to own a brandspanking new WE Hi-Capa myself before it went bad after a few magazines. After concluding that there was something wrong with the nozzle I replaced it with an enhanced nozzle and sold it. I ended up buying another WE handgun though.

This time I got lucky and got a perfectly fine pistol, but the only reason I took a risk for a 2nd time was, because of my craving for a fully metal Para-Ordnance P14 and WE was the only one I could get.

[ILLusion]

A Marui Hi-Capa is fine for general skirmishing.

My parts mostly increase durability or other characteristics... if you don't even know what to look for, you won't even know what you're missing anyways. 90% of skirmishers are perfectly fine with a bone stock Marui Hi-Capa. "As long as it works", is pretty much the motto when it comes to a stock Marui Hi-Capa.

It's like... the guys who are perfectly fine drinking regular bar whisky at $6 an ounce. If you don't know what to look for with a $14 ounce of single malt scotch, then there's no point in going that much further if you can't appreciate what it has to offer. Time is required to learn these characteristics. Theory can only teach you so much. Actually getting trigger time behind a finely tuned piece will be the best way to figure out what characteristics are put in to that piece, and only after getting trigger time behind such a piece, will you be able to figure out where a bone stock piece is lacking.

Another analogy is the guy who just needs the beater to get from point A to B, whereas a more refined and discerning buyer would be more likely to get the luxury sedan or finely tuned sports car.

[Cilantro]

So, having played PM tennis with ILLusion, I figured I'd update and also direct some more questions to the general public (ILLusion could use a break :P). I've got the grip and frame sorted, and working on a slide, but externals aside, what should I look for in terms of general upgrades for power/efficiency/speed? The link that Daiviet provided has been invaluable, but I'd still like to hear from other users.

[Thenooblord]

Best internal upgrade for any gun in my opinion, is a Tanio Koba twist barrel, ask illusion about it ;p

[Daiviet]

only problem with the TK twist barrel is that it's only rated for guns shooting 350 fps or below. anything more and accuracy starts declining. But for guns shooting under 350, you're right, its a fantastic upgrade.

Speed, I'd have to say the Illusion Kinetic hammer set's. It just feels much better, giving you a cleaner, lighter break when pulling the trigger.
Illusion Kinetic lightweight blowback chamber, cycle faster, less recoil so better for staying on target as well.
150% hammer and recoil spring, for faster cycling time.

power..... PDI 6.01 tightbore, and the nineball hop-up chamber, plus hi-flow valves on your mags.
Illusion has some rocket bulbs, with a rubber o-ring... goes inside the nozzle, those increase power as well..
Plus upgrading the nozzle works too. The Shooters Design POM one works great, supposedly the Airsoft Surgeon one is supposed to create a better seal and add power. I've got one in my setup now, doesn't seem to be working any more efficiently.

iunno, can't think of anything else right now, too tired.

[RacingManiac]

Upgrade the stock nozzle to SD POM set. If I do nothing else, thats the least I'd do. Stock one will break after not that many shots...

AS one, I've had bad experience with it, in that it cracked after ~20 shots...