WE 1911 review

[TheLazyMarksman]

Before I begin this review, I suggest making a cup of tea and bring some biscuits to munch on; this is quite a fairly long review.

One thing to mention as well, I don’t have a chronograph or accurate readings for distance, in the foreseeable future when I can afford to buy one.

All pictures are taken by me, only used a K800i as a good, easy to use phone camera.



I’ve always been a fan of the 1911, for its looks, service and features – in my eyes a true pistol next to the hi-power pistol and a handful of Beretta pistols.

It has been a while since I've held a real-steel 1911, so I resorted to the next best thing, it's airsoft sister.

Like a kid in a candy store, in this case I was looking for some sort of 1911. – And found it, one of the most realistic replicas I’ve held, close to the real-steel, weight look. I will go into more detail later.

assuming everyone knows what a 1911 is, almost a century of a .45 legend. - So you don't really need to know the history behind it. The pistol probably has the longest serving time than any other pistol until replaced by the Beretta M9.

The 1911 has been in so many conflicts around the world and still is; different varieties and manufacturers to chose from, Dan Wesson, S&W and many other real-steel companies.



On to the review! I brought this replica second-hand on the forum for a bargain, £50 - more than half price comparing to retail price, which is £95 to Zero-one.

I'm not going to talk about Postman Pat and his Black and White cat, as I’m sure none of you are interested. If you are one of the lots that are interested, the parcel came in under 24hrs from Manchester to London, first class delivery.

The box looks like a cross-breed between a TM and WA box, nothing fancy really. At least it’s much better than earlier models of WE, a plain factory standard box - a bare minimum for parcels.




The box contains the replica (obviously), a manual and two single stack 15round magazines, which are of full metal construction, seem very similar to the real-steel, but not quite the size, the magazine and lower frame of the pistol are unfortunately not compatible with Tokyo Marui's 1911, but loading process is very easy, pull the spring down and load the BBs through a hole in the front of the magazine.

However, there are rumours that some of the internal parts in a TM work in a WE, but I have yet to confirm that.



The gun is full metal and quite weighty, close of which to the real-steel. Makes a satisfying 'click-clack' as you rack the slide, gives anyone a big grin on their faces; especially if they’re the ones doing it.

The slide is fairly heavy, giving quite a noticeable kick which is quite pleasurable. Although not as satisfying as the real-steel in terms of racking the slide, but I’m not complaining.

The pistol is the standard M1911A1, in a parkerized finish which I so adore.
There is a lanyard loop, so you don’t really have much of an excuse of losing your 1911.

As expected of the old school 1911, there is no full length recoil spring. Like the original 1911, a barrel bushing and recoil spring cap are present.

My one complaint against the pistol from the original 1911 is the barrel. The Barrel is not of a standard black 1911 barrel, but instead a bare metal finish, but will suffice.



The sights are the standard military sights, so aiming is slightly difficult, but does the job – I will come to that later.



It is indeed a full-sized 1911 replica, those with medium hands or smaller may slightly struggle – I have an in-between of medium and large hands, easily operational with just a hand, providing that the pistol is in your firing hand of course.



One thing which may be considered bad with this pistol is the lack of trades, no where to be found on the gun apart from a small WE engraving in the trigger-guard and a .45 ACP on the barrel.



Giving the pistol a quick shake, there is very little rattle, the slide rattles slightly because there is a chip in the left side of the pistol where the rear of the slide and frame rails meet, but does not affect the replica’s performance in anyway or form; other than that - a pretty solid pistol.

The wood 'wanna-be' grips are unfortunately plastic however, offers fairly good grip - but in the foreseeable future, one may replace with real-steel grips.
All three safeties do indeed work the 'half-cocked' position for the hammer, manual safety and the frame-safety grip.



Staying true to the real steel, there is a safety absent on the left side of the replica as well as chequered trigger, hammer, safety selector and spring housing below the frame-safety grip (someone has to tell me the proper name for it one of these days!).


There is very little evidence that this replica was an ex two-tone inside the frame. Take down is very familiar to a real-steel 1911.



The next section is how to do it for people who do not know. Images are small because it is easier to skip for ones that already know how to do this...
First of all, ensure that the gun is clear and remove the magazine.


Push that the recoil cap inwards (looks like a chequered button), then swing the barrel bushing anticlockwise, then simply lift it up and remove it.



Rack the slide then align the slide up with the second small notch on the slide, then remove the slide catch by pushing it on the left side of the pistol, which looks like a button.


Now, you’re free to let to remove the slide. Simply move the whole upper assembly forward, which separates the slide from the frame.

Take out the spring guide and spring by causing the tension to go forward and lift.

Then remove the recoil spring cap, now you’re free to remove the barrel; you do it by moving the inner barrel and hop-up forward until it lowers itself into the outer the barrel then remove from the slide by sliding it out the front.



Well done, you’ve fully disassemble your 1911. Do your usual business here; lubricate the rails on the frame to ensure less wear on the slide as well as the rail and the rubber in the blow-back chamber where it would meet the magazine.

Don’t bother with the spring, inner barrel or hop-up, as these parts become dust collectors and cause the gun not to function as intended.

For the frame of the pistol, pay attention to spray or apply a little bit in the hammer mechanism to ensure a smooth action.

Don’t get carried away with over-doing it, as it can attract grit and dust that would make it inefficient.

Now time to put it all back together, it is pretty much a reverse of what you did to break it down.

Slide the barrel back in the front, get the recoil cap and place it in the second hole for it – then get the recoil spring and spring guide and keep the end of the guide on the hop-up to give it tension as it blows back as you fire.



Then align the rear rails of the slide with the first on the frame and pull back, putting in the slide catch in the second notch as before and click it in place.



Get the barrel bushing and in a 45° angle; push in the chequered button (which is the recoil cap) and swing the bushing back into place.



Well done, you assembled your 1911.

Moving on now…
Performance wise, the gun fires about 300 on a quite a warm summer/spring day, depends what gas you use.

I personally use propane, but just make sure sure to lubricate your replica more often as well as the magazines.

(Apply some silicon oil into the insert valve as well as the rubber lips on top of the magazine.)

Accuracy-wise, I can constantly hit a coke-can at 65ft, which is quite accurate comparing to other GBBs, although not TM performance.

I’ve heard bad things about the gun, ‘it’s a gas hog’ is quite a common one; I can easily fire off a whole magazine and still have some spare gas at 17°C and fire off about another magazine’s worth of gas which is quite good for a full metal gun.

Again as I have mentioned before with the sights, they’re the bog-standard A1 sights so it’s a tad difficult to quickly aim in fire-fights, but prove to be accurate.

The sights are not adjustable; they’re casted onto the slide like the real-steel.



I have not tested this pistol in the winter, as it’s just the beginning of summer; but I’m not guaranteeing it to work as well as a plastic slide pistol.

Cooldown wise, I have experienced any problems – FPS drops a tad lower as you rapid fire the pistol, but not that noticeable.

Double-tapping it seems fine, although the magazine only holds 15 rounds – but you get two magazines to compensate that.

Looking around online there is very little aftermarket pieces for the WE 1911, but I cannot confirm that TM aftermarket parts are compatible with the WE.

I heard on a few sources that WE based their 1911 so close to their hi-capa series, some parts or if not all should work with each other.
Alas, I again cannot confirm this – But will hopefully get the chance to at some point during the week.

I think I’ve covered everything, tell me if I’ve missed anything – sorry for no images on a chronograph or distance, as I don’t have the equipment at this time.

bare in mind, I’ve got this second-hand as I’ve mentioned a few times before, there is a hint that the pistol was dropped before as there is a small chip in the left side of the replica, but this does not bother me.
A quick run-down overall: (nipped Arniesairsoft’s idea for overall stats)

Appearance and feel 8/10. Looks almost like the real-steel, Feels and weighs like the real-steel, parkerized finish, but the barrel and the look of plastic grips in different lighting makes it look odd, metal is okay, not the best nor the worst, but solid. Earning itself an 8.

Performance – 7/10. Accurate and comparable to most GBBs, pleasurable to use, but not on par with TM – due to it’s full metal construction, I’m assuming its not going to perform well in the winter. Only time will tell.

Value for money 9/10. Full metal construction, two magazines and accurate – What else do you want? - One may wish to replace the plastic grips and then you’ve got a pretty replica (I’m torn between Pachmyr and rosewood grips…), great as a wall hanger and great for skirmishing.

Upgradeability – 6/10. There isn’t much for this 1911, but there are rumours I have yet to confirm in terms of compatibility, but the replica doesn’t require anything really.

Overall – 8/10. Accurate, full metal, skirmish-able and a great replica. The pistol is a good value for the money if you don’t want to spend it on a TM and metal kit, furthermore will fulfill almost any load-out you so desire.



Thanks for reading the review; this is my first review of anything really.

Suggestions and comments are appreciated!

[Fabio]

Re: WE 1911 review

Great review matey!
it is a awesome replica and as you said in the review the clank of the gun when fired and racked is awesome.
i also found it to be a gas hog and kind of anoying when filling the mags up since you cant tell when it is full of gas like other pistol mags

[HuntR]

Re: WE 1911 review

The gas consumption is total dyer on these things, however they are nice to fire when working. All the upper internals can be replaced with upgrade parts that are compatible with TM. I had a PDI 6.01 barrel and a nineball hop rubber. Range was 150 feet easy with accuracy. But in the cold i could only get 3 shots off. So for a last ditch weapon it isn't recommended. Real steel grips fit it without modification.

[TheLazyMarksman]

Re: WE 1911 review

Cheers Hunter, I'm actually considering buying those American Legend ones, crossbreed between Pachmayr and wood!

Interesting that both TM and WE internals are compatible, perhaps I'll buy a plastic slide for winter as the metal one as mentioned in the review is quite heavy.

The other day I've forgotten to mention in the review as I opened up the magazines, the insert gas valves are a bit loose; some special gas-resistant tape under the O-ring and that makes the pistol more gas efficient.

Cheers information as well as comments!

[TheLazyMarksman]

Re: WE 1911 review

Took another picture, I think it will go quite well, sweeten the review.

[HuntR]

Re: WE 1911 review

There are 2 mods to make them have double the efficiency. Look on youtube mate they are also rather easy to do. As long as you don't mind stripping the mag. You can also buy winter piston heads and enhanced cylinder bulbs. They also help, and not awfully that expensive. But first thing would be to do the mag mods. It will make a huge difference

[TheLazyMarksman]

Re: WE 1911 review

Talking about opening magazines, done that today and repaired the one with a broken spring catch, works like a treat now. Need to get some gas-resistant tape.

Remove the O-ring then tape the stuff around the insert valve; apparently you could get much more gas from it.

[HuntR]

Re: WE 1911 review

The first mod is to PTFE the bottom seal yes, make sure you soak it with silicone lube as it'll then feed the o-ring. Also where you have the rubber gas router lip, if you rise that up it creates a better seal. Cut out around the router on en empty milk carton and then also shape the inside of it so it fits under the gas router. That will get you an extra 10+ shots instantly

[JMusa]

Re: WE 1911 review

i own a hicapa 5.1 also made by we.
when i was at thelazymarksman's house we wanted to see if the parts were interchangeable.
the slide and slide catch were.
the recoil springs aren't though.

[jfox61]

Re: WE 1911 review

Although these are not WE (KSC and KWA). These are my custom grips. Both from Thailand and both arrived withn 4 days. Wooden ones are really well made, and the black ones are Buffalo bone and Mother of Pearl inlay.

Both fitted with no problems too, so no need to worry there. Also The cost was relatively cheap. Bone ones were £32 including postage and the wooden ones were £23 inc postage.

I may be tempted to sell the Bone ones and get a differrent set from the same people, because as you can see, their looks are lost on a Black 1911 but would look awesome on a Parkerised, Nickel or stainless gun.

[No1_sonuk]

Re: WE 1911 review

Nice review, but this bit's not right:

The sights are not adjustable; they’re casted onto the slide like the real-steel.

On the real-steel, the forward blade sight is pinned and welded in after the slide is machined from a solid block, and the rear sight is adjustable for "windage" by sliding in a dovetail.

[TheLazyMarksman]

Re: WE 1911 review

Ah Cheers No1, I was meant to phrase that as they're casted onto the slide unlike the real steel

Good find on my mistake, didn't read over again like I normally do when I type/write up something...

[ColtChris95]

Re: WE 1911 review

Excellent review, and what a bargain for a gun like that. I wonder if they do other guns for that price.

[TheLazyMarksman]

Re: WE 1911 review

Hi Chris, look around on the forums - You're bound to find deals.

I've grabbed myself a WE hi-capa 5.1 on the forum, arrived today - I've fitted the slide on the 1911, it cycles but cannot feed as the nozzle in the hi-capa slide is simply too high.




Expect a review some point in the following term, possibly summer holiday. - As well as the Element eotech 553.

[Ammo]

Re: WE 1911 review

Anyone by any chance know if the triggers from TM models (or the WE hi-cappa) are compatable with the WE 1911? As you can see... I have 2 of them and am customizing them a little. :P Pictures will be up once their complete though.

Excellent review and very interesting read about the mag mods which I'll be looking into as well.