Still excited after quite a few days
In fact, I prefer modern weapons more than WWII one
but it is really hard to say no to a real wood toy
if you know a little bit about WWII weapons, then you definitely know this M1 Garand
During Korean War, our People's Volunteer Army also gave excellent comments on the seized M1 Garand
From the prototype last year till the final release now, this toy has been experienced a lot of trouble
this is the first semi-auto shell ejecting WWII model on the current market
Most importantly: Real wood stock
Steel clip
and the soul of this weapon: Ding~
Most of you may not be familiar with this company HYX
Their main business is producing movie models
This Garand is their first product for the commercial toy market
The first round of pre-orders provides three clips and shells
a battery as well
Need some basic assembly out of the box
barrels and handguard go into the stock
then the gas block
WWII weapon with real wood finish
how should I put this
it's elegant, authentic
Dopamine starts to fill your body when holding it
Compare to other bolt action rifle in WWII
Semi-auto Garand looks fatter than others
it's because integrated magazine takes space
and the gas tube structure under the barrel
Based on the shape of the gas block, this toy is replicated from the version after 1940
The wood stock is made out of white oak
Dark red paint, looks like furniture style finish
it is not bad on the surface
but you can see a lot of wood textures and scratches
Realistically, this is how wood should look like
but when making it into a stock
those scratches can be polished and removed
not sure if they intended to do that
the receiver and the bolt carrier are made of one-piece nylon
pair with the real wood stock, this nylon receiver is a downside
This one I got is a prototype that has been tortured a lot, the finish on the receiver isn't great
barrel, gas tube, charging handle, trigger, safety
and some small parts that take force are all made of aluminum
stamp steel clip is just like the real thing
it's a plus
The overall weight is about 2.2kg
it is a decent weight for a toy, not too light at all
do have some feeling in my hands
there is no added weight inside the model
it is balanced as well, no front or rear heavy
1107mm for the overall length, consistent with the real thing
you might say it looks a bit small in my hands
I'd not to say the reason... the scale of this model has no problem
(Translator: this dude is 185cm tall so the gun looks small)
There are lots of detail worth taking a look on this model
according to the manufacturer, this model can definitely be used for movie action
you can see the Cal .30 and Springfield markings on the receiver
the font is also correct
The ghost ring rear sight is fully adjustable for windage and elevation
you can hear the clicky sound when adjusting
There is a long exposed rod that connects to the charging handle
it also connects to the gas piston
the recoil spring is inside as well
Pulling the charging handle, you can see the bolt carrier has a rotation action
which simulates the locking mechanism on the real steel
full travel bol, it will lock back at the end
However, Garand doesn't have a separate bolt release button
you need to manually press down the feeding plate to release the bolt
or you can reload a new magazine
There is a movable guide on top of the feeding plate
the guide for the clip is also functional
the extractor and ejector are all metal
The entire bolt structure is highly simulated to the real thing
the only awkward thing is the spring inside the bolt which you can see from the outside
not a big issue tho
The aluminum mag release is on the left side
it helps to manually release the clip when it is not empty
For example, I shot a few rounds
but there are remaining rounds inside the clip
I played a lot of CS so I got this habit
I need to make sure my clip is full
so I need to press R, no, is this button
then the clip just flies out
mechanical trigger, good feeling
safety is inside the trigger guard, push it back to lock the trigger
The trigger housing and magazine base can be quick-detached like the real steel
it can be opened without tools
very convenient for troubleshooting and maintenance
you can also see the gearbox and gears inside here
Three sling swivels on the receiver
which matches to standard 3-point sling used by the US Army in WWII
Still nylon, not really good
sling mount needs to be strong
There is a small door on the buttplate
it can be used to store the brushes and gun grease on the real thing
for an electric toy, it becomes a battery compartment naturally
Tamiya connector out of the box
the given battery is a bit small, but the compartment space is large
A part of the front handguard is exposed underneath
and inside is the gas tube which powers the semi-auto function
there is a recoil spring inside this toy
the bayonet mount under the barrel is also simulated
but it is hard to get a real M1 bayonet
The aluminum gas block is in front of the front sight
it also stabilizes the front handguard
Garand uses .30-06 Springfield cartridge
7.62x63mm in dimension
a little bit longer than the 7.62 NATO
I got 7.92 Mauser rounds for 98k
and 7.62 NATO model for M24
you can see the difference here
the plastic shell is alright
but the metal version should be released soon
At last but not least, the stamped steel 8-round clip here
it looks rough, black surface finish
but the style is faithfully replicated
including the texture under the clip and the little bump on the side
very authentic
Inside the receiver
especially the structure of the magazine is simulated to the highest level
so all functions including reloading, bolt release, shell-ejecting, and ejecting the clip
are very real and effective
Of course, if you are not careful when reloading, it will cause "Garand Thumb" as well
but since the recoil spring on this tool is not as strong as the real thing
so a little bite won't hurt you too much
All these functions I mentioned are purely mechanical without motor and gears involve
so you don't need battery to operate those function
Therefore, aside from semi-auto, you can manually cock it, fire, and get the shell ejected
a real “Manumatic”
it is fun to play with for just a model display
A fully loaded clip, insert the clip in the correct angle
remember to pull out your thumb first
then release the bolt
shells are ejecting nicely, the entire action is smooth
I thought the gear noise would be annoying due to the gearbox structure
but surprisingly, the motor noise isn't too loud during shooting
probably it is covered by the bolt slapping sound
The bolt travels more than 110mm on this Garand
which is a pretty long travel for electric design
the official data for blowback delay is 300ms
seems like it almost reaches the limit of the motor/gearbox structure
in practical use, the blowback is fast and clean
no visible "slowback" motion
if you still feel like it is not fast enough, then only the gunpowder will satisfy you
This semi-auto blowback system achieves shoot first then blowback
but the bolt is light, and the real wood stock is heavy
so it doesn't have noticeable recoil during shooting
Of course, the most important thing is that "Ding"
this is the function that everyone expects from a Garand
The sound isn't as loud as the real thing
but it is clean and crispy enough
This "Ding" sound comes from Garand's interesting structure
when the clip is empty, the bolt will lock back
the feeding plate goes up to the original position
the locking mechanism releases the clip
then the clip gets ejected from the receiver
Since it uses stamped steel clip
it will produce resonance like a tuning fork when it gets ejected
which causes this "Ding" sound
The real steel clip is heavier, and the ejecting force is larger
so the sound will be bigger
for a toy as I said, it is good enough
All those functions powered by the electric system
I am also curious about what kind of structure inside is designed for this Garand
Disassembly is not as hard as I imagine
remove the front handguard and barrel
Detach the trigger housing, then you can take out the upper receiver
The recoil spring and the piston rod are also simulated inside
of course, it does not have the real function
unscrew a few bolts here, you can see the gearbox internals
metal gears inside the aluminum gearbox shell
microswitch and mosfet
two motors to power the blowback and bolt lock
in order to cooperate with the mechanical charging bolt
there is even a clutch for the front motor
the manufacturer says this double-motor system is designed independently by their own
you can see how much effort they put in here
Many of you are wondering if this Garand can actually shoot
well, theoretically it can
coz it has spring and cylinder/piston inside
but the stock shell does not have o-ring on it
so I put the o-ring from the 98k shell on this one, fits just fine
it uses 7mm foam dart
you know what I mean
the velocity is just fine
don't expect perfect performance, the accuracy isn't great either, but it does shoot something out
This Garand is currently the best toy that makes me excited
it is literally the feel of "Turn me on"
without mentioning the most important weapon in WWII
this real wood stock in your hand, you will want to hold it when sleeping
Perfect level of simulation both externally and internally
8-round En bloc clip, semi-auto shell-ejecting, and Ding
very amazing that all those functions are achieved on an electric-powered model
If I have to say the downside, then it is the nylon receiver
not a perfect deal for its 1688 bucks price
On the other hand, WWII style, real wood stock, full travel blowback, and shell-ejecting
there is no competitor in the current market
For this super classic model, I think it is worth everyone's collection
WIth this Garand, plus 98K and Mosin–Nagant from GQH
A whole set of light weapons from the US, Germany, and the USSR is complete
Please comment below for any other play style of this Garand
At last, stay healthy, I will see you next time!