Tanaka USP versions and other questions

*** Originally posted by ooga ***

Hi, I'm new here but as of late have been avidly reading these forums and absorbing every grain of information I possibly can about modelguns. I come from a pretty solid airsoft background (though I know not to talk much about it here ) so without a doubt I'd eventually end up with an interest in the more realistic modelguns. I've recently just ordered the Marushin M16A1 kit which I'm dying to take a crack at though it might be a challenge. But now I'm looking into the pistols which brings me to my questions...

I enquired to www.modelguns.co.uk about why their Tanaka USP was almost double the price of the ones at Dentrinity, Redwolf, Guns n Guys (yea...airsoft...i know). I wanted to buy from modelguns.co.uk because of their reputation...and the fact that they only sell caps to modelgun customers. When they responded I got this:

The USP requires some modding (don't expect it
to fire all too good straight out the box).
We all so include a good supply of cartridge O rings
with our USP's (included in the price).
Your also aware there is three versions of the USP all varying
prices.. We only stock the top of the range version.
Maybe your looking at the cheaper versions which we would not
stock. Visually all three versions look similar. Its in the handling and quality
you notice the difference.

I've almost memorized every page refering to the USP on these forums trying to validate this information. I'm sure they're creditable, but first hand experience from forum-goers are always best imo. Is there really a difference in quality? I know they tune their guns with tender loving care, but how much better are they compared to other dealers? According to everybody on this site, the USP is a very nice and well built gun but it was stated that there are small parts that might break over time. Other than that, this modelgun seems top-notch. modelguns.co.uk says otherwise. O-rings drying up and breaking i was expecting...but the price difference is huge.

modelguns.co.uk: $320 USD
gunsnguys: $167.64 USD
redwolf: $155 USD
Den: $190/220 USD

Den has two prices...which brings me to my next query. modelguns.co.uk says there are 3 versions of the gun. From what I've seen and read, Tanaka only has " Tanaka H&K USP Frame Heavy Weight" ($190 from Den) and " Tanaka H&K USP Heavy Weight" ($220 from Den). I'm assuming the 190 is the ABS and the 220 is the HW. What is this third version of the gun? (excluding the GnG custom metal slide one). Am I missing something that's so basic that it wasn't mentioned? (happens sometimes )

While I'm on my soapbox, I might as well shoot out another question although I know it should probobly go in the caps forum...but why waste bandwidth. I live in the US, and caps are, of course, rare. I plan on ordering caps from Unique Canes which seems to be the only US retailer. Modelguns.co.uk says they still ship caps in the same amount of time they ship regular packages (I asked them) which seems unlikely since they should have to ship them by sea mail like wwii guns does...I would assume Modelguncollector.co.uk would have a similar policy to modelguns.co.uk but i have yet to ask.

I've had tons of questions dancing in my mind but I can't quite seem to remember them all at once. Any advice or comments are definately welcome. (especially about the m16a1 kit though I guess only time will tell about that one). Glad these forums exist. Thanks in advance!

*** Originally posted by mark ***

Hi ooga,


Again, welcome to the forums!

The Tanaka USP is one of the most asked about modelguns that I can think of as of late. So far, I have only owned the ABS version and while I have wanted to buy the HW version, they have been too expensive for my taste. (that and my collection of modelguns has been changing to select-fire or full auto only)

The Tanaka USP that I had was fairly reliable and I did enjoy it but, I ended up selling it. The difference in quality of the USP's that are offered from the www.modelguncollector.co.uk as well as www.modelguns.co.uk is that they actually tweak the guns and make them reliable. The others just typically just sell the modelguns and do nothing other than packaging and shipping them.

The Pound Sterling to U.S dollar rate is terrible for us in the United States but, the Japanese yen or Hong Kong Dollar rates are low in comparison and their prices are lower. So, as a consequence, we pay far more for modelguns from the U.K. than from Japan or Hong Kong..

Yes, the USP's barrel,slide as well as the trigger has been known to break occasionally but, the truth is all of these modelguns as well as other airsoft and replicas are weak due to their originating countries laws.

The Tanaka cartridges are really efficient and the really operate the actions with authority! So, they are not really the problem it's just that they use the 5mm caps instead of the 7mm caps that are more commonly used. The main "problem" with the 5mm caps are the small diameter O-rings that have to contain the extreme pressures that the cap generates. These pressures usually causes the O-rings to break after a few shots if they are not cared for properly.

The $190 version is the ABS version and the $220 is the HW...The HW is nicer to most people as it feels far more realistic than the light ABS and I really don't think that the extra money for the HW is really "worth it"

The ABS version is far more common and I think it is stronger. Do I prefer it over the HW? Not really...Mostly just due to the (you guessed it) weight

As for the caps..As I also live here in the States, I have the same problem but, I have some solutions to that problem. (P.M. me for details.)

*** Originally posted by ooga ***

Wow, thanks for the quick, thorough replies!
Well for me, personally, I wanted to get a 9mm USP replica as tanaka also makes an airsoft version of this gun. Me being a fan of the USP, or any H&K gun for that matter, am insearch of every caliber USP. I've got my KSC .45, and thought I might go the modelgun route with the 9mm

sorry had to. Now back on topic.

Well if modelguns.co.uk includes extra o rings and tunes the guns with extra care, I guess it would be worth the extra $100-200.
I too have been a fan of HW replicas, so I guess this would be no different.
Just out of curiousity, how many cartridges would you recommend on getting in general for model guns? (ie. enough for one mag, one mag + extras for replacements, etc.)

Thanks again

*** Originally posted by spencerman ***

Personally, I intend to get another USP, only this time I am only considering the metal slide version available from G&G after asking away for info on it here:

http://mp40modelguns.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?t=992

As you can see, it looks pretty good. The other version I have is the heavyweight version, and like many others on here, I got a real look cartridge conversion kit for it, but after sufferring the same problem as others, where it starts to jam every single round, I whipped it back out again and went back to the tanaka rounds (which are great, but I keep loosing them due to the bloody top not coming back off again!). So stick with the normal carts, they are very reliable. Due to my problem I seem to get (I definately do not want to take some pliers to them, so they end up as display only, and I do really only have about six of these) I would get loads! Depends on how much you intend to shoot it. If you plan to shoot it loads, then get a couple of extra mags and shit loads of extra rounds, you can get them sold by the 15 at dentrinity and so on, relatively cheaply, so just look around for the best deal. When I get my next one, I plan to get at least one extra magazine worth of ammo more than I intend to use, so that if I loose a few, I still will have the number that I want plus a few spares.

You may also want to consider this:

http://mp40modelguns.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?t=977

Francky has lots of praise on here and is worth buying from if you want a very good deal. Just drop him an email if you want one, and he will give you a price (normally very good one at that!), but as I am sure that you can see just be reading up, he is very busy on here!

*** Originally posted by ooga ***

Yea, the GnG metal version looks very enticing and it's at a pretty reasonable price. The man who owns GnG, Peter Chan, is a very nice guy, and I too can't say enough good things about him. If you decide to order from there, you'll get a reply email with all the typical shipping quote information, but the only option offered is Bank Wire. If you send him a reply email requesting to pay by Paypal, he'll gladly do that too. Just an...FYI

Assloads of stock Tanaka rounds it is then. That was exactly the information I needed for determining whether or not to get the Mulberry real kit. Thanks Spencerman

The USP that Francky is offering looks sleek!..too bad I'm not a fan of dualtone. I just got back from reading his 7 page sticky thread and he's quite a guy. I'll definatley consider asking him!