OK I noticed i hadn't done a review for a while so here we go....
Finally and after much indecision I got myself the latest pistol from Marui, the 4.3 Warrior. Basically its a Marui 'take' on the 'Kimber Desert Warrior 1911' currently being issued by the Spec Ops guys in Iraq and Afghanistan. A very wide of the mark 'take' at that as you will see when you read below....
- Warrior custom RH.jpg (66.23 KiB) Viewed 625 times
The pistol:
I wont go through a full review here as you only have to check out the Marui 5.1/4.3 reviews of mine or others elsewhere on these forums to get what this little guy can do, all I will say is, great little pistol with a nice tan colour which seems a good colour match to real steel, good kick, good accuracy and will have Marui's legendary reliability.
- Warrior custom LH.jpg (55.33 KiB) Viewed 568 times
But, yes there is a but, its a single stacker (MEU type magazine) so it wont have quiet the gas power or reliability during the winter months of the standard 4.3, though you will have the ability to use real world 1911 moulded magazine holders on your Tac vest or belt and add the Dytac 'Wilson Combat' mag bumpers to the magazines if you so wish.
A holster on the other hand will have to be an adjustable type as this pistol is very awkward in its design at the front and wont fit standard 1911 style moulded holsters (unless you do away with the RIS and change the slide to a standard 1911 type!)
In regards to the RIS its... well...odd in its style, as its a bit heath robinson in design, as if Marui couldn't be bothered to do a moulded to frame RIS (which would have been far better and more life like) and just came up with a daft stop gap measure, which makes the frame look awful when its removed as there are twin holes on both sides of the dust cover..!?@#! WHY MARUI WHY????
It does do the job however and most Tac lights will fit it, my M3 clone fits very snug.
If you should decide to remove it be careful as there are not just the two Allen key screws holding the RIS together, there is an additional metal grip plug near the front which you must prize apart with a strong but delicate action just enough to slide the RIS down and over the locating lugs either side of the frame dust cover.
- Disassembly of RIS.jpg (76.97 KiB) Viewed 538 times
- Grip pin position on RIS.jpg (58.93 KiB) Viewed 541 times
The frame itself is the MEU all the way only just in tan colour, black furniture (including the trigger which is nice) and with different grips, which are more slippery in use than trying to catch fish whlist wearing a gimp suit covered in grease! So not the best for skirmishing but the 'Gear-do's' will luv them as they are a good rendition of the real steel 'Kimber' variety with 'Allen key' style locating screws, nice touch. I replaced them with standard Marui MEU Pachmyer grips.
The slide is as baffling in its redesigned internals as the RIS to the frame. I was under the impression that it would follow the after market manufacturers in its internal layout with a additional infil within the 1911 single stack frame (as per the Tanio Koba slide spacer) for the mating of Hi capa type slides to single stack 1911 frames BUT Nnnoooo!
Marui have inexplicably decided to remachine their 4.3 slide so as to make it fit the 1911 single stack frame by adding the long metal part (Part No:DW5) found in all single stack 1911 slides, WHY? Well the only reason I can think of is Marui only want you to use this slide on single stack 1911s which is a bit stupid as you can remove it and it will mate with Hi capa frames no prob, defeating the point totally, so why have a new mould made causing cost increases in manufacture???? Baffling to say the least!
The barrel is silver which as per 'Kimber' is correct, yet it isnt a bull barrel type on the 'real steel' pistol, so one step forward and one step back again Marui! I removed mine and replaced it with a standard black type so as to be all black and tan.
Conclusion:
Overall its a nice little buy with a few nice touches but at the expense of 'real steel' accuracy in design as the 'Kimber warrior' is a full size 1911 and doesn't sport a STI style slide with a Bull barrel or have a daft looking RIS add on to the frame. Gear-do's will feel cheated by its half hearted attempt but it is a good reliable pistol and has Marui's rock solid ruggedness built in.
That said however, I have to say.... Marui come on, be more attentive to your customers and considering your recent FN5.7 pistol which was excellent in use and design correctness, this seems as if you just wanted to make a quick buck on the back of the 'real steel' Warrior band wagon.
So with that in mind I would rate this as 7/10.
Review by Mr Maniac.
