Wicke revolver, model 320 "Rocky"

I would like to offer you a review of a great cap-firing revolver that I have recently purchased.



Manufacturer
This model comes from a German company called "Wicke". Given track record of Umarex/Walther and other German companies, this should not come as a surprise that they have experience in making replicas. Wicke carries many models of cap guns, apart from revolvers they also have western rifles and even P99 "Agent" model. It is refreshing to note that this replica is not manufactured in China, but in Thailand (!)



Packaging
Revolver is packed in a simple cardboard box, with a cutout in front where you can see the actual replica. Box is yellow-red. Front features company logo, series name "Wicke Western", model type "Western revoler" and name "Rocky". There is also logo of "Best Action with w Caps", promising to get most effect. Sides of the box show revolver silhouette and number "320". Back contains silhouette of a cowboy with revolver, simple loading instructions and warning text. You can also find CE logo, "Der Grune Punt" ecological logo as well as address of Wicke and their UK importer.



Replica
Inside the box you will find the revolver. I got a black version, meaning it is completely black. Front of the barrel is closed with a simple red plug fixed inside the barrel. This is not a problem because sparks will go off near the hammer anyway.
On the left side you can find Wicke company logo (in gold) as well as name "Rocky". Right side has the same Wicke logo in gold, as well as CE mark and "W.Germany".




Build quality
Replica is constructed from ABS plastic with metal parts.
It is made of two molded halves (left/right), barrel plug, trigger, hammer, swing-out cylinder and inside mechanism
Frame, barrel and trigger assembly are plastic. Hammer, strike plate and inside mechanisms are made of metal. Hammer is painted black. Overall build quality is surprisingly good, with fine details, although seam lines are visible between the halves.




Features
This is a double action revolver.
It can operate in single or double action mode, although double action is strongly preferred as it advances cylinder to the next round of ammo. In single-mode it has to be done manually between the shots. Upon press of the trigger hammer rises, next cap is moved under the hammer, and hammer falls, making a "shot". Hammer can also be cocked manually, but this is used mainly for loading ammo.
Cylinder, or rather its left half, swings out of the frame to facilitate loading of ammo. As the rest of the cylinder stays in the frame, you can say that it opens rather than swings out. After opening cylinder you place ammo belt inside the cylinder, and pull initial bit under the hammer.



Ammo
This revolver operates using ammo belt, combining the best of revolvers with the best of machine guns. Single cap belt contains 100 caps, and all of them can be fired in quick succession, depending on how fast you squeeze the trigger. If a cap doesn't fire, you can just pull the trigger again, like in a real revolver, and usually get the next shot correctly. After caps run out, you have to swing out the cylinder and replace the belt. Used part of the belt moves out of the top of the replica, obscuring the sights. In any case you would probably not use sights ;-) It is wise to remove periodically excess of the used belt.





Large ammo roll contains 10 belts (rolls) with 100 caps each. To open large roll you break it in two, and then push out individual belts/rolls from side.




Shooting experience
Upon pressing the trigger you will hear a weak "bang", see smoke and some sparks flying around. "bang" is of good quality, as it will not disturb your neighbours or even folks in another room. The smoke is of good "gun-just-has-been-shot-here" quality, with a nice smell to it.
Attention! some of the sparks will usually end up on your hand! They are not hot enough to burn you, but you can certainly feel them.
Warning! smoke smell is addictive!

After shooting remember to clean the replica, as the caps leave a lot of dark brown/black deposit on hammer, striking plate and around it.



Availability
This replica is manufactured for German company "Wicke" and is distributed to many other European countries. Judging by a warning text on the packaging, it is distributed in Germany, UK, Norway, The Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and France. I have bought mine in Poland, there is an additional sticker with the text in Polish. It is imported to UK by "J.M. Enterprise, Melmerby, Ripon HG4 5NB"
Pricing is very affordable, I got my revolver for about 3 GBP. Rifle and P99 are slightly more expensive, but you can save money to collect full set of those toys.
Caps are sold in a pack of 10 belts (100 caps each) for 1 GBP, giving you an amazing low cost of just 0.001 GBP per shot.
You can't beat it! Especially in these hard economic times.

I hope you enjoyed reading this review :-)

PS: photos are done in style similar to Francky photos, as I enjoy his work a lot. My technique is far from Francky quality, but I've tried to emulate him a bit.

Hi smootik,

Thanks for your efforts and time to give us this detailed review. Very well written, very informative and good clear photos too

A toy cap gun it may be, but for £3.00 and caps as inexpensive as that I'd have one myself Would that red plug pull out easily If the barrel was open would you get smoke and sparks out of the muzzle

There's nothing quite like the smell of gun smoke is there

Cerwyn,

The plug is glued into the barrel, but even after removing it there would be no path for smoke/sparks to get into the barrel. Cap is held between hammer and steel plate (silver, seen inside after opening the cylinder) , so all "effects" go up, down and sideways, without any path into the barrell.

I originally planned to post it early morning on the 1st of April, but the package arrived very late, I barely had time to take pictures and write something

Still, even such a toy gun is fun to use :-)

April Fool's joke or not smootik, Reviews have been a bit thin on the ground lately

Hehe

When i was a kid, eh? younger! gun enthusiast me and my friends bought capguns like this and carefully drilled out the "barrelwall" so we'd get sparks from the cylinder.

Everything to gain "realism"! Then we discoverd true modelguns (LS kits) and it all went downhill... look where i'm now!!

Hell, it took me over a year to find this great review. I really enjoyed it and had to chuckle a lot.

Besides the funny aspects it brought back a lot of memories when I was a kid. Being in my mid 30s now it really left a strange feeling.

You may have noticed that I am not around here a lot lately. So many other things keep me occupied but I am still a big fan and collector. I hope I can do a nice review soon.

Glad you liked it :-)

On-and-off relationship with the hobby is pretty normal, I guess everyone here has these periods when modelguns just have to go to the background.

Please do write a review!
Even if it is for a model that has already been reviewed, another view is helpful.

Hey there guys! Just one question, since nowadays it is almost impossible to get japanese caps, would these caps work on a model gun? Mine is a mgc Thompson. Thanks!