King Arms M1A1 Thompson

Thanks the Stephen who likes to have other people spend their money, he informed me of a sale at Tier One Tactical for the King Arms Thompson.  At $160, this is the cheapest AEG i have ever bought.  The KA version of this gun is highly rated by those who use it so I jumped at the chance.  I was hoping that if I bought this, Stephen would too and I would have someone to go into WWII airsoft with.  Sadly, he didn't and left me disappointed.  But at least with the Thompson and a 1911, I now have all the weapons for the WWII scene.

Upon opening the box, I was surprised with how long and heavy the gun is.  In the movies, it looked small, compact, and light.  It is not the case.  After handling it for a few minutes, I must say that the rear stock makes this gun really awkward to shoulder properly.  As someone who is used to the Armalite and AK platforms, the Thompson felt overly long in the rear.

The other aspect is that upon playing around with the controls of this gun, I felt like I am learning how to use a gun again.  The controls are just too different from anything I have ever used before.  There are two switches in the side of the gun, one for Fire and Safe. And the other is Semi and Full fire selector switch.

The other drawback is the mag release.  It is very difficult to near impossible for me to change mags from having the gun shouldered.  I have to take the stock off my shoulder and switch the gun to the side for my thumb to be able to switch the release up to pull the mag out.  The gun doesn't have a magwell in the conventional sense either, so changing mags quickly is also difficult.  The back of the mag have a rail that would have to be inserted into a slot until the mag catch engages.

Physically, the gun is made of metal on the upper receiver and barrel with ABS plastic for the lower.  The furniture is the fake wood variety.  The midcap mag that came with the gun is also plastic.  The gun came with the usual unjamming rod, a large battery and a cheap wall charger.  I have seen a metal lower receiver replacement part on RedWolf for $70 and Tokyo Marui metal mags retail for around $30.

I have yet to actually game this gun or even fired it.  I would like to have it chronied before I use it.  Until then, I will search and browse sites to find deals on the rest of my WWII kit to complete the look.  Stephen, I am waiting for you.