Tokyo Marui Desert Eagle .50 AE Hardkick Edition, Black review.
By WhiskeyJuliet (Will Jayne.)
Agent Smith, about to shoot some punk kid for saying "Jeez is that gun big enough or what!"
Have you ever muttered two words at a passing Lotus Elise driver, the words being a shorter version of “the deliberate elongation of the human male reproductive organ?” the same could be said about the desert eagle, in both its real steel and airsoft forms. Do not say it to me, or I will shoot you square in the nuts.
The Deagle is a hefty, powerful magnum calibre handgun. It is possibly one of the most iconic guns of 21st century culture. I’m still feeling lazy, so again here comes the Wikipedia cavalry:
The Desert Eagle is a large-bore gas-operated semi-automatic pistol designed by Magnum Research in the U.S., and manufactured primarily in Israel by IMI (Israel Military Industries, now Israel Weapon Industries). Manufacturing was moved to Saco Defence in the state of Maine from 1996 to 2000 which carried the XIX designation, but shifted back to Israel when Saco was acquired by General Dynamics.
Due to its easily recognizable silhouette and large-calibre cartridge, the Desert Eagle has become an almost archetypal weapon in popular culture.
Magnum Research has marketed various versions of the short recoil Jericho 941 pistol under the Baby Eagle name; these have no functional relationship to the Desert Eagle and bear only a moderate cosmetic resemblance.
The gun is not practical for everybody, and it’s size and weight in airsoft form make it a tricky gun to skirmish with.
With my not so trusty KWC Glock 17 in its late 70’s, it was way past its retirement age. There’ll be no pension for it either, the thing was bloody useless - not that they all are, just mine.
So the search for a new gas pistol began. M9’s and all their derivatives were out, they just aren’t unique enough for me. Plus I always see them as a copper’s weapon, and being a bit heavy on the role-playing side of airsoft it didn’t suite me. The Sig P226 was a close favourite, and if there were a decent USP out there that would have tickled my fancy. A Mk.23 Socom under £150 would also have been attractive, but no such beast exists, at least in GBB form. You can’t beat the clickedy clacks of GBB’s, you really can’t. In the end what decided it was one of my first guns: a springer Desert Eagle. I don’t know the make, or model, but I got more kills with it at Spectre Urban than I did with my AEG. Remembering how comfortable and ergonomically pleasing I found it, along with how much I hated the bite sized Glock, convinced me to go for the TM Deagle.
When I got the box home, I paraded it for inspection. The box art is sexy and proffessional; like the rest of a TM gun. The thing that struck me immediately was the sheer weight of the box; this is a very heavy gun. I doubt any other plastic GBB’s weigh as much. This is a real heavyweight monster from head to toe, and I really can’t see Ronnie Corbert looking good with one.
Upon opening the box you are greeted with quite a few bits and pieces. Housed in black polystyrene you will find:
· Desert Eagle GBB.
· Metal magazine (27 bb capacity.)
· Barrel protector
· Unjamming/ cleaning rod
· Small bag of bbs.
· Manual.
· TM catalogue.
· Paper targets.
· Random bits of paper with Japanese on them.
The most important bits with the gun aside are:
Magazine:
This is full metal, heavy and very robust. It will hold 27 bbs, but a full reservoir of gas will be enough for about two mags full at room temperature. In summer you may well get three or more.
Manual:
Most of it is in Japanese, but there are plenty of diagrams that show you the path to true wisdom. I strongly recommend reading (if you can) it before using the gun.
The Gun:
There is not that much metal on the body of the gun. In metal you get:
· Hammer
· Mag release catch
· Slide release catch
· Rear slide catch.
Not much, but it’s not too important. All the proper markings are there, which is nice. The only difference being where it says made in Japan, presumably in place of made in Israel. Also there is a small TM logo and some little numbers. Other than that it all look extremely authentic. Mould lines are crisp and discreet. The grip is textured with the IMI logo bevelled into it. The plastic has a lovely smooth finish, and no imperfections or “melt mantles” meaning small strata of bad plastic. All of it came from the same batch, which is good. Even without the mag it’s heavy, when you put the mag in it really weighs. However I really like this, as I like to feel as well as see where the gun is pointing. The whole thing is nicely balanced too, and is surprisingly easy to handle. The sheer size of the grip can take some getting used to. Especially trying to reach the mag catch. I nearly dislocated my thumb trying to do it without shifting the gun in my hand a bit. I got an instant super dose of pins and needles accompanied by a loud click coming from the inner workings of my poor paw. So yeh, it takes a bit of getting used to. How agent Johnson did it one handed while driving a car I will never know. But he’s an agent; he can do anything, right?
All in all, this gun is a thing of beauty and superb craftsmanship, and I don’t care what academics tell me, this stuff is craft.
Firing:
Gassing the mag was hassle free, and using the entirely innocent “when it starts spitting – pull out” rule will make sure you fill the mag to full capacity without wasting gas or damaging the reservoir.
Slip the mag in, give the slide a pull and you’re ready to go! An extremely nice feature of this gun is just how secure the mag catch is, many guns drop their heavy mags on unsuspecting toes frequently. Not this gun, not once has the mag fallen out, and I can’t pull it out for the life of me without pressing the mag catch either.
So the NHS would save millions of tax pounds if we all got these guns, as the plummeting demand for podiatric surgery would mean they could lay off thousands of chiropodists. But they’d probably just give the bosses a bigger salary and deny more nurses their pensions.
All politics aside, this is thing is a joy to fire, an absolute joy. Just as Jeremy Clarkson seemingly senselessly defends Alpha Romeos, I will defend this gun to my grave. It’s pure, unfettered GBB pleasure. The “kick” really is “hard.” I know your 8-inch full-uranium-body super Infinity kicks harder. But this is plastic, PLASTIC!!!
Again, I have no chrono, but I’d estimate this thing is firing at about 250-270 fps at room temperature using 134a gas. That’s not bad at all. Now, about green gas, this gun can probably take it but not to excess. By that I mean don’t bother with it. It won’t shake itself apart that’s for sure, and one or two mags of green won’t harm it too much. But if you use it even fairly often my guess is you will start getting micro and progressively not so micro cracks in the slide. I just don’t think it’s a good idea, if you want something that shoots at 330 fps use an AEG. There are ways to get it comfortable with green, which I will come to later.
Grouping is average, but I suspect this is due to human inaccuracy due to that shire horse-kick than anything else. The inner barrel is long and precise, and if the gun was fixed I think we would see quite remarkable accuracy for a gas pistol. But this gun is so much fun to fire, I don’t give a rats bum.
Upgrades:
Go to somewhere like Redwolf and you will find legions of really nice upgrade parts for this gun. Just make sure that the part is for the TM gun, and not for the KWC or whatever. You can get the usuals; precision barrels, high flow valves yaddah yaddah yaddah - all good stuff. But the real jewel is a fully machined aluminium body and catch set form Guarder. This will put you back about £116.25 with current exchange rates. But can you really put a price on beauty? Buy this, and then my child, you may use green gas to your hearts content. There are lots of choices out there, and I do think this is a gun worth spending some money on upgrading. Nine ball do a very nice scope and rail base too, it’s another £50 but again well worth it.
Conclusion:
This is an excellent gun, one that defies the plastic haters and gives you a real bang for your buck. However, it’s not for everybody. The size may mean its uncomfortable for people with smaller hands. It is a big gun; the bigger you are, the more comfortable it feels. I would highly recommend buying a large holster, ideally one designed for the MP7/VZ 61/Mac 11 as these will fit it properly. Don’t buy one that “says” it can fit it, sure it can, but barely. The thing will wobble like buggery, so a large holster held high on your thigh is the only way to carry it in a skirmish. Boy does it look good though!
This is in my opinion, the best GBB gun out there for me. It offer superb quality, joyously good performance and it’s not too heavy on the wallet either. A stupendous gun, I doubt I will ever like another pistol more.
Final Score:
Looks: 95%
Build quality: 96%
Firing (as stock): 89%
Upgradability: 80%
Price: 75%
I give this gun an easy 9/10. The only complaints I can think of are the cost of the necessary holster, and that there are any mould lines at all on it. Other than that, it’s simply great.
Hear that? That is the sound of inevitabilty, and my Desert Eagle...."
Will.
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