Thompson M1A1 submachine gun replica [Cybergun]

I've owned a couple of Airsoft Thompsons and the King Arms real wood versions are by far and away the best in terms of external appearances. The metal has a lovely matte (anodised?) finish, with crisp, engraved trademarks and markings, contrast to the black paint with white painted trades on other versions. The wood is glorious, maybe there is some variation because mine looks a little different to the product photo, being a bit darker and with a rich grain. All parts of the replica are rock solid with no wobbles or creaks.

The "polymer" midcap it comes with is a bizarre let-down in the box as it is a shiny, flimsy, cheap plastic and it makes me wonder why they'd choke on something so simple, especially since I know for a fact that you can just buy nice metal magazines.

The gun sounds nice to shoot and the stock shimming sounds pretty good. Although it comes with a MOSFET, I found my one has a tendency to double-feed and jam on semi if I use an 11.1V battery so I'll be using it on a 7.4V battery. On consideration however, mine was reduced to <1J for Irish law, which would definitely contribute to this problem this so perhaps it would not be an issue for countries with less stringent laws. Short stroking the gears and using a heavier spring might be my path forward to resolving this. The takedown is trivial and the QD spring is a welcome addition so it shouldn't be too difficult.

Overall:
+ Excellent quality metal and wood, easily best externals on the market
+ Solid, no wobbles or issues
+ Comes pre-upgraded with MOSFET and 6.02mm barrel
+ QD gearbox and very simple takedown

- Comically ugly plastic magazine included
- Deans "conversion" is just an adapter
- Low joule spring causes irregular semi performance on 11.1V battery
- Expensive

People will naturally compare this Cybergun/King Arms Thompson to the cheaper Cyma version and will ask themselves what justifies the price difference. I can tell you that this replica is worth every penny!
As far as looks go, you cannot beat this replica. The outer surface of the metal isn’t just painted, it is coated in a material that closely resembles the phosphate layer that is added by parkerization. It doesn’t scratch easily, and any wear that does eventually build up looks extremely realistic.
The wood isn’t some cheap light colored wood that gets a surface coat in a darker color, it’s actually a high quality dark solid hardwood. That means that it will age realistically, as any bumps, dents and scratches that eventually appear will still be dark colored, and will add to the character of the replica. All you need to do for maintenance is oil the wood every once in a while with a neutral color, this protects the wood and as an added bonus any scratches and dents will immediately take on the color of the rest of the wood again.
Another bonus point that this replica has over cheaper alternatives is the amount of trademarks present on it. Since this replica falls under the Cybergun license it has Thompson trademarks all over it, and they aren’t just painted on or etched into the surface finish. Instead, they were laser-etched into the metal before it was coated, so this means the trademarks actually look realistic. Previous versions of this replica had the markings mechanically engraved instead of laser-etched, which means they used to be slightly deeper, but even now they look incredibly convincing. This effect will be even more dramatic as the replica starts to age a bit and the surface wears off around the markings.
Internally the replica has some nice features. It has a quick-change spring system, ball-bearings on the gears, and there is a mosfet wired in to protect the trigger contacts. Unfortunately this isn’t an active-braking mosfet, so sometimes there is some overspin on semi, which you can check if you look down the opening near the charging handle and look into the ported cylinder. This is most likely an effect caused by downgrading the spring to 340fps. Even though there is some overspin the replica hasn’t locked up yet and trigger response is normal, so I am not worried about this. At the end of a day playing airsoft you just need to make sure that your spring has reset properly to ensure it lasts for a long time.
As far as wiring goes, there are several connectors in the wiring loom that are of note. Between the receiver and the stock the wire is connected with mini-Tamiya connectors so you can easily take off the stock for maintenance. In the rear of the stock where the battery is placed there is a large type Tamiya connector, and to this there is an adapter connected that adapts the large type Tamiya connector to Deans. This might be a bit much for some players so they will probably want to rewire part of it to remove some unneeded connectors. I myself have opted to remove the large type connector and replace it with a mini-Tamiya connector, because this is the connector I use on all my batteries. I use a Titan power 3000mAh 7.4V stick type, and this battery fits easily through the oiler hole on the back of the stock, which means I don’t have to remove the buttplate every time I want to remove my battery. This battery easily lasts me the entire day.
The replica has a 6,02mm tightbore barrel straight out of the box, and it is very high quality. Just make sure you clean it straight after you receive your replica to remove any dust and debris from transport. I cannot give my opinion on the hop-rubber, as I always immediately replace this on new airsoft replica’s, force of habit. I have replaced it with a Prometheus purple hop rubber and nub, and the range is at least 50 meters with 0.28g BB’s. During my last WW2 game I could easily compete against players with K98’s, so just changing the hop-rubber makes it a very competetive replica. What I did notice was that the original nub that was inside was a lot harder than other nubs that I have come across. Not sure if this is positive or not. The hop-unit itself is an easy to use rotary type, and it is always exposed, so no need to hold open a dust cover to adjust the hop-up. This means you can even change it during a firefight without having to fumble with the charging handle.
The last game where I used this replica was on a very wet day, with heavy rain during the entire day. The replica still performed flawlessly, even though it was soaking wet. However, because of the way a Thompson is built, rain can seep in between the parting line between the lower and upper receiver, so it is highly recommended to take the replica apart after a wet day and dry it out with a cloth. I also recommend to remove all wood pieces from the replica as soon as you get it, and to coat the insides with oil sparingly. This is because water will also easily seep in between the handguard and the barrel, and the receiver and the stock. The oil will prevent the water from getting sucked into the wood and this will make sure your replica will keep looking amazing for a very long time.
Overall I am extremely pleased with this replica and can highly recommend it over the Cyma version any day, even with the higher price. It just is an extremely accurate replica, both in looks and performance, and it is built very solidly. In fact, the first time I played with it I just wanted to test it for one round before switching to my main replica for the event, but I ended up using it for the rest of the day because it just performed that good!