WAA FAQ v2.0 - Please put Serious Thought into Posts

[Downslide]

I take these next few steps with heavy trepidation. I do realize that I am a new member to the forum, and I am not currently even a member of the WAA (soon to be corrected). I have been doing a healthy amount of searching and reading about airsofting as a sport and a hobby since Feb of ’05 at the insistence of a friend on the east coast who has been involved since a while before that. At that point I was hesitant to invest if I would not be able to enjoy, being prevented to by time, finances, family, and so on.

I finally pulled the trigger (no pun intended) and found that this sport is well worth the investment. I have quickly become hooked, and find myself impatiently pacing in anticipation for the next skirmish. But I know I am no expert, nor do I believe that I have the tenure in the sport to point fingers or compose the “Canon of Airsoft.”

With that said, I have offered up my services humbly to the WAA to research, gather, scour, (insert thesaurus excerpt here), and collect as much USEFUL information as I can for both a new Frequently Asked Questions post and the guts of a “please review these guidelines and acknowledge” sort of form. The actual use of such a form will probably be discussed at length, but something tangible to discuss will be helpful.

As the title states, “Please give Serious thought.” If you have something that you feel would be helpful in a FAQ, post it. And that’s it. Everybody has the right to their own opinions, and all SERIOUS, constructive ones will be welcome here. They will be reviewed by WAA Officers, staff, and members, then compiled into the new FAQ. If you read through the post, and you think someone else’s contribution is erroneous, please PM a WAA Officer (or me) and we will clarify appropriately. PLEASE DO NOT POST IT HERE. If you feel the overwhelming need to make your opinion about someone else’s opinion public, create a new thread in the Newcomer’s area or somewhere else. This is not the place for flaming, grandstanding, strutting, or narcissistic back-patting. If you want to talk about how big your gun is, or how little somebody else’s is, do it somewhere else. Any non-constructive posts will be deleted.

[Professor]

I thought the content of a post provided by Texx would be appropriate here -
Pistol Magazine Interchangeability:

KJW M9 and TM M9 - mags work
KJW G27 and TM G26 - mags work
KJW Mk23 (STTi) and TM Mk23 - mags work
KJW Para mags are not interchangeable with WA Para, nor with TM Hicapa
KJW 1911 mags are not interchangeable with WA single stack or with KSC/KWA single stack 1911.
KJW S&W 6009 NBB is not compatible with WA S&W 6009 GB

TM Hicapa Mags are interchangeable with the Wei-E-Tech FMV Hicapa
TM M9 springer and UHC M9 springer mags are interchangeable.

UHC USP NBB mags are not compatible with any other existing USP in production.
UHC Sig 226/8 NBB mags are not compatible with any other exitisting Sig 226 in production.

KJW USP is said to be a copy of the Tanaka P8 even down to the leaky mag issues.

Generally speaking, KSC/KWA mags are interchangeable, but there are some minor fitting issues between some models as there are some descrepancies between some of the "Taiwan" and "Japanese" versions of some of the guns.

KSC 2011/STI series is not compatible with WA 2011/STI series.
KSC MK23 mags are not interchangeable with TM/KJW Mk23
KSC-KWA M945 mags work, KSC 945c mags wont fit.
KSC-KWA M9 - mags work, is not compatible with TM/KJW, KWC/Cybergun, WA, or Y&P mags.
KSC-KWA M11A1 - Mags work, Maruzen M11 mags are not compatible, WA M11A1 mags are not compatible.

KSC-KWA glock line is not compatible with TM/KJW Glock magazines, nor with Tanaka or KWC glock mags.
KSC-KWA G26/G26C - G34 mag, G18C, G17, G19/19C/23F, G26/26C mags work
KSC-KWA G19/19C/23F - G34 mag, G18C, G17, G19/19C/23F mags work
KSC-KWA G17 - G34 mag, G18C, G17 mags work
KSC-KWA G18C - G34 mag, G18C, G17 mags work
KSC-KWA G34 - G34 mag, G18C, G17 mags work

KSC-KWA M93r - mags will work, not sure if its compatible with Omega 93r mags, not sure about maruzen 93r <-- extremely rare classic
KSC-KWA Cz75 - mags will work, not compatible with Tanaka Cz75
KSC-KWA USPc - mags will work, it is not compatible with KJW USPc

HFC GBBs are generally a copy of KSC and TM designs. This includes compatability with metal slides, barrels, and other items.

HFC G17/Darkeagle mags will work with KSC/KWA Glocks
HFC G26 mags are said to be interchangeable with KJW/TM G26
HFC M11A1 mags are said to be interchangeable with KSC/KWA M11 mags
HFC 190 (M9 Vertec clone) mags are said to be interchangeable with TM/KJW mags.
HFC FMV Desert Eagle is said to be a copy of the TM Desert Eagle.
HFC 1911 NBB series is not compatable with any other 1911 NBB in existance

WA guns are a propreitary design that are not interchangeable with other models. Many of the guns will not interchange mags between similar items in their own product lineup.

KWC/Cybergun guns seem to not be interchangeable as well.
KWC/Cybergun P99 (K99) GBB is not interchangeable with the Maruzen P99 GBB.
KWC/Cybergun Desert Eagle Mags are not compatible with TM, WA, Marushin 8mm (obviously) or Digicon Desert Eagle (NBB).
KWC/Cybergun 1911 series is not interchangeable with any other 1911 in production.
KWC Sigma 40F GBB mags are not interchangeable with WA Sigma 40F GBB.

Maruzen P99 NBB magazines are not interchangeable with Maruzen P99 GBB magazines.

Tanaka Sig 226/8 series is not compatible with KWC/Cyber gun or TM Sig 226 GBB
Tanaka Browning Hi-Power is said to be compatible with Jac Browning Hi-Power Mags <-- another rare classic piece

[Professor]

When wondering which aeg, gbb or aep to get I greatly suggest that you first -

1) Use google to search for airsoft guns to see which you are specifically interested in.

2) Then ask if anyone has personal experience with 1, 2, or even 3 of the ones you are interested in.

3) It is also suggested that you ask the person to give the pros and cons of their individual experience with the gun.

4) Make sure you ask for people's input who actually has owned and used one of the guns in which you are interested.


DO NOT ask a blanket questions as to "which gun you should buy". Everyone has very different tastes. I may not like something someone else just loves and for varying reasons.

DO NOT ask "which ic better...TM, Classic Army, ICS, etc" as that too seems to be VERY oriented to personal taste.

It is best to simply ask someone's opinion of a specific gun.

[Texx]

Before asking people where to find something, you need to:

(1) Use Google to look for the item you are looking for. Look for reviews, look for retailers, look for discussions, pictures, anything and everything you can educate yourself on this particular item(s).

(2) Find two overseas retailers which ofer a widely diverse product line. Find two stateside retailers which offer a diverse product line. Bookmark these four retailers to get an idea of how much you will be spending for an item. Make sure to get price quotes including shipping. Write these numbers down.

(3) Goto eBay and do a broad search of airsoft, militaria, sporting goods, etc. There are several retailers who sell through eBay.
(3.5) Visit the various hobbyist forums looking for their Private "For Sale Ads/Trading Post/Etc." Section. Appy these criterion to private sales:

(a) Make sure to read the description to make sure you are getting what you are supposed to be getting.
(b) Take note of where the item will ship from and how much shipping you will need to add to the overall price.
(c) Pay close attention to the seller's rep, how many people have bought from them, how long they have been in business, and all feedback given and recieved to look to see if it seems legit. You might even research the individual buyers to see if they are legit.
(d) If you have any questions about the item, ask before you bid. If there are any problems with the item you recieved, contact the seller immediately - assume nothing until the seller has a chance to offer a reconciliation. If he does not, then leave feedback.

(4) Shop around the various retailers. If necessary, you may have to make individual purchases to get the very best price on items. Buying everything from one retailer saves time, but it does not always get you the very best prices on everything. Accept that retailers have a limited supply of items and never assume they will have them instock until you recieve confirmation your order shipped with all the items you ordered.

(5) Share your experiences with others. Let them know how the transactions went, how customer service was, and if you would give them repeat business.