Tokyo Marui: MP7A1 SMG
I do not understand why the famous Japanese manufacturer progresses so slowly and half-heartedly with the development of gas replicas. There are very few companies who put this much effort into making such good products and they are one of the cornerstones of the industry. Maybe this is the reason for being so careful, or it could be the Japanese virtue, who knows? Still, we have to wait years for a new/better pistol to come out, we waited decades for a gas-powered shotgun and it seemed that a Tokyo Marui gas blowback carbine or SMG may never be reality. Then, we got some rumours going on how the MP7 will come out also in GBB version, we began to get our hopes up. Now, after reading this review, we will see that our wishes came true for the most part.
Before the arrival of the TM MP7, the main contenders were WE and KSC/KWA. TM and VFC joined the competition later. Interestingly, the Marui and KSC version did not match the dimensions of the real steel model, they are smaller. Meanwhile, the WE version has different externals and only VFC offers a replica true to the original dimensions. However, what is true, is that out of all four models, the Marui MP7 is the most skirmishable one, but only after some compromises.
The MP7 is a really compact, unique-looking PDW (personal defence weapon) firing a proprietary caliber. Its appearance makes it obvious that it is made for military and law enforcement purposes. Its use is extremely compact, but can be cutomised well and fulfills all the requirements expected of a modern submachine gun. Due to its compact size, however, it may not be comfortable for some people - especially depending on the users height. The replicas plastic exterior makes it lightweight, and I also liked the iron sights - a variable combination of pistol and PDW sights. Well, Tokyo Marui have deviated from the original dimensions, creating a significantly smaller replica.
We get the typical Marui externals with the MP7. The polymer parts are strong, they provide a semi-gloss finish and are rich in detail. A distinctive rough finish is everywhere. I had a slight plastic feel, which was somewhat balanced out by the weight of the inner frame part, fortunately it didn't give the "toy gun"; feeling I was afraid of. The markings are beautiful as usual. The ones around the fire selector are spectacular, although the inscriptions for the manufacturer, manufacturing location and distributor (ASG) are definitely obnoxious, they are unfortunately overly prominent. The markings on the grips matching the originals makes a big difference to the overall appearance, as does the serial number plate. The rails are made of metal and are very different in colour from the general colour of the gun. Their paintwork is not very durable or long lasting, the paint wears off very quickly, leaving us with a distinctive oxidised pot metal grey colour afterwards. What is surprising is that this model has a notoriously small, lackluster rear sling mount. This mount requires a matching sling, or, as a workaround, a keychain ring is a perfect solution - as you can see in the pictures.
The controls are also very unusual. At first, I had the feeling as if a USP had overdosed on steroids. Identical to said pistol is the magazine release, which is rather unpleasant to use in combat. One advantage to this solution is that it is certainly a fully ambidextrous magazine release, but everything else is a disadvantage. You almost certainly have to switch grips to push it, but it holds the magazine steady and you can feel it holding the magazine. The fire selector is huge and located on a prominent spot. The left side of the frame/receiver also wraps around it a bit (it fits into a separate arc, putting the safe position in a slightly more protected place). It is definitely easy to switch between firing modes, you can feel some difference between the different positions. I would expect a crisper feel here. The bolt catch is located above the trigger. It's in a very good place for use, easy to find and it is easy to pull downwards after inserting a new magazine. The charging handle is located at the back of the receiver, on top. It has to be squeezed slightly and then it can be pulled back. When disassembling, it can be a pain to get it in the right place. During usage, it has a small chance to be broken, but in order to achiece this, you kind of have to deliberately do it. Usually, someone encounters a problem with it, then it is because it was not put back in its intended place after re-assembly. At the end of the receiver, there are two more latches which belong to the stock. The latch on the left has to be pulled down to remove the stock completely, while the latch on the right is there to adjust the length of the stock. To be honest, this is a terrible solution, seems like a forced design. You have to change your grip to adjust it. The stock part itself is stable and doesn't feel like it's about to break or fall apart. The stock bar itself is quite flimsy, weakened and only widened at the adjustment spots. Unfortunately, it will wear out around these adjustment spots over time. By the way, the stock received a rubber coating, which does not last long, it peels off very quickly - also, the colour of this part is very different from the colour of the gun.
The iron sights, on the other hand, are very well designed on the MP7. Right away, there are two different sights built into one. First, the basic setup is a pistol-like solution when the sights are not flipped up. It is perfect for the purpose of fast aiming (or as a backup option). With this option, the cheek weld position is quite low, the user's face is very close to the line of the barrel. If you flip up the sights, you get a raised aiming option. It is a similar sight to the KAC M4 sights, which is a very good design as far as the front sight goes, but the rear sight is a bit small and uncomfortable. The rear sight can be adjusted left and right and the front sight can be adjusted up and down without tools. The sights add a great deal to the feel of a modern submachine gun, although most people will fit their own accessories - plenty of space on the MP7 allows for optics, lights and other things. It's a bit unusual that some people stuff such a compact and lightweight submachine gun with so much accessories that it puts carbines to shame.
The SMG has its own integrated foregrip. It can be removed, but the mounting place stays on the replica, so there is not much reason to take it down. A large lever has to be pulled back to flip it open or to fold it back. The lever itself is at an uncomfortable place and it is relatively difficult to use. Seems like a forced design, just like the stock.
The trigger has a surprising design, the idea clearly coming from the Glock or MP9 platforms. It is somewhat practical to get some extra protection against an accidental discharge. I don’t think Marui managed to successfully fine-tune this part though, the trigger safety is too big – but then again, it serves its function well. Interestingly, the TM MP7 trigger is awful to shoot. My first problem with it is the so-called „lazy trigger” phenomenon. The trigger bar does not have an adequate length, so the user has to pull it all the way to the end until it bumps into the frame, and even then it’s still necessary to pull even more with all your strength to even fire the replica. On some MP7s, this issue is more apparent, on others, it is less of a problem, but nevertheless, it is a well-known fault of the TM version – for more information, refer to my separate article about troubleshooting the TM MP7. The other problem is that the trigger is „mushy”, you can not feel the point where the trigger activates, nor do you feel the reset. In general, the trigger is not crisp and firing it is awful. There is one more surprising feature of this trigger. Pushing it forward towards the front of the receiver – practically opening it up – we can access the hop up adjustment. The trigger pushes the entire hop up chamber and the bolt backwards as well, to make way for adjusting the hop wheel that becomes
accessible through the shell ejection port.
By default, the gun comes with a flash hider having a quick-detach mount for muzzle accessories. You can buy a matching suppressor imitation in multiple options (hollow, BB tracer, and power-up versions).
During a partial disassembly, only the stock, the receiver end plate, the bolt carrier, the recoil spring guide and the charging handle can be separated from the main body. This type of disassembly is not enough for the user to perform cleaning on the internals of the replica. In case we accidentally drop the gun into sand during gameplay, the cleaning and maintenance can only be done by further disassembly.
The TM MP7 is not that different from the other models from VFC, WE or KSC. Many of the internal parts are clustered in an inner frame part. This is where the hop up chamber sits, this is where the trigger group is located and the bolt carrier as well, which moves on a rather fixed track. This inner frame is full of small, difficult-to-reach parts. The springs and the fire selector can give us a hard time, just like the trigger bar, which is placed inside in an unassuming manner. Removing the inner frame is difficult as well, and similarly difficult is a total disassembly – a trait shared across all GBB MP7s
unfortunately. The inner frame is made of pot metal, it breaks frequently along the line of the rear pins, even when used with green gas – it is heavily recommended to use a weaker gas in summertime. With the KWA/KSC/WE versions, the external receiver shell is the part that is going to crack. Meanwhile, the Marui version cracks more likely at the upper corners of the inner frame. The receiver end plate also likes to crack along the pinholes. Both are very unpleasant failures, and the solution is to search all over the internet for a spare part (usually for a lot of money, assuming you even find it in stock).
Regarding the bolt carrier, there were multiple issues encountered during usage – and not only on this specific replica, unfortunately. The first problem is that the bolt carrier is made of three pieces. The rear part is made of pot metal, the front part is plastic and the connection piece between them is another pot metal part. The nozzle stopper is on the left side, somewhere around the middle, fixed to the bolt carrier with a screw. The plastic part is held together by screws and another screw is used to connect it to the pot metal part. The front part is, in most cases, wobbling no matter what – usually this is a result from the connection piece failing and breaking. The bolt carrier houses a huge, but fragile nozzle. This nozzle, in some cases, can crack apart even from regular green gas. The nozzle spring is large and rather strong.
The hop unit connects to the inner frame by a rotating bayonet lock, a spring and the mechanism that is operated by moving the trigger forward. The two parts of the chamber are connected to each other via screws and a lever mount. The inner barrel has a very good quality, but the bucking is too thin and soft, and the hop up nub is outright awful. Unfortunately, the adjustment mechanism sometimes pushes the lever wrong, which results in premature wear and inconsistent hop effect. For more information about this, please see the troubleshooting article. I had many troubles repairing this problem. However, assuming that the user can fix the hop up issues, the accuracy and range will be more than adequate – it challenges carbine ranges, the TM MP7 is notoriously accurate and will lift BBs for a long distance.
The magazines are large, despite the compact nature of the replica. They are very heavy and made of pot metal, and come with a sealing block at the bottom that connect with pins. This block is frequently causing troubles, since there is very little material holding the pins. Even with green gas, it likes to deform and curve. Moreover, the sealing block fits behind the BB fedding channel with very little material and will most likely start leaking at this connection point. Changing the O-ring is rather problematic because upon trying to insert the block into its place, the new O-ring has a tendency to get caught and mangled. This part is a design failure, unfortunately.
The mags can be filled up with BBs easily through the widened feeding port. The feeding lip is a little tight, so filling the BBs here is a little uncomfortable and difficult. The magazine capacity is rather large, it takes 40 BBs, but I can not recommend to fully charge the gas tank, because it is risky. The filling valve is seated deeply and hidden at the magazine bottom plate. We can see the new version valves with the extension and the small thread – I do not like this solution, there are many issues with them. When faced with a larger pressure, the filling valve closes off very fast – knowing the deforming magazine sealing blocks, this may even be beneficial – and as usual, Marui filling valves are missing the sealing O-ring. Not to mention that the other O-ring (located at the head of the valve) likes to tear or deform.
Other than that, the operation of the replica is excellent. The kick is strong and distinct, the rate of fire is nice. Between shots, it is crisp and reacts fast. The replica is able to operate well even in relative cold temperatures, but does not like stronger gases. This type is not recommended to be used with normal green gas. The inner frame and the magazine can not withstand green gas in summer time, not even for shorter periods. Be prepared to use ’blue gas’ or 134a/144a type gases if you want to shoot it during the summer. As mentioned, the range and accuracy is rather good. It is ideal for CQB, if the ’lazy trigger’ issue is sorted out. It is also adequate for nighttime skirmishes. Spare parts are unfortunately scarce and expensive. If your goal is to have an MP7, my vote still goes to Marui, followed by KSC.
Text: Batmause
Translation: Yssomru
Photos: Batmause
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