Pet peeve - how the term FMU is thrown around in sales threads
 

First off, this is just a bit of a rant on my part. I'm not usually one to post rants. And even less likely to start threads. But I've come close to being bitten by this a couple of times by the misuse of this term and I find it almost borders on advertising a painted clear / cansoft as "full black gun" for sales purposes. I think the term needs clarification.

First the terminology - FMU = FULL METAL UPGRADE. This means that the gun is NOT stock and was FULLY upgraded to metal where metal should be. And the 2 key words are FULL and UPGRADE.

The term FMU should NOT be used for:

1. stock guns that come full metal (KJW, WE for example) out of the box. Those are NOT FMU. Those are stock, pot metal guns that come that way. FMU suggests the gun has been UPGRADED with aftermarket metal parts, not stock with factory parts. This also applies to stock high quality metal guns like G&P AEGs. Advertising them as FMU suggests stock parts (even though they're high quality) have been replaced with aftermarket, which is not the case. If one of these guns was fully upgraded with an aftermarket body / slide kit, then sure, call it FMU. Otherwise, it isn't.
   
   
2. stock plastic guns that have had a slide replaced with metal. Such a gun is NOT FMU. You put on a metal slide to replace the plastic one. FMU is to be used if both the slide AND frame have been replaced with aftermarket parts. I'm a bit on the fence about using the term FMU on Glocks or other guns that are part plastic on the real steel (P90, 5-7, etc). Technically, FMU can apply to those if all parts that are metal on the real thing are metal on the gun. I'm ok with that, although I'm sure that will get some noobs who don't know better and expect a full metal Glock with metal frame too, even though there is no such thing in the real steel world.
   
   
3. lower end metal guns that have had their slide replaced with a quality aftermarket slide. One example I remember was a KJW P226 that had an aftermarket metal slide installed. This is not FMU. This is a stock metal frame with a metal slide. Yes, the gun is FULL METAL with aftermarket slide, but not FMU.
   

So yeah, to me, FMU is the wrong term in these circumstances and it's misleading, even though it may not be intentional deception. I see this more and more in the classifieds as of late. A few times I've inquired about such guns. Once it was a TM P226 advertised as FMU and had "guarder kit" advertised, but still had its plastic frame. All it had installed was a Guarder metal slide. Other times, I've inquired and found it was a stock gun with no upgrades, and still incorrectly advertised as FMU because it's full metal out of the box. I'm sure the people posting this don't intend to mislead. They just don't truly understand the true meaning of the term. But it's still misleading nonetheless.

Anyway, that's my rant for the day. I just figured I'd put this out there because I saw it again in the classifieds today and it just irks me. Just had to vent on this issue to a crowd that would understand, and perhaps people will read this and stop using that term (ok, not likely, but worth a shot).

these couple years I always thought FMU was

Full Metal UNIT.

So if someone sold G&P M4 FMU, I would have interpreted as stock full metal gun.

at any rate FMU = Full metal gun, whether aftermarket or stock externals. That's how I saw it for the whole time.

Accurately describe your ads people. Don't use Acronyms as a sole describer ever.

Well, Full Metal Unit can be an interpretation. As I said, I'm sure no one is intentionally trying to mislead people (like the "black gun" ads for painted cansoft). But it's been spelled out as Full Metal Upgrade in many ads I've seen in the classifieds when trying to sell a stock metal gun or a gun with a plastic frame and metal slide.

lol, Cansoft's being sold as full metal because the frame was painted black and the slide/barrel is metal. KJW M9's - I've seen that in the short time I've been here on ASC. Tactical facepalm, anyone?

and you would be wrong

I've never seen a Cansoft advertised as full metal. I have seen them painted and advertised as "full black" with no mention in the ad that they were painted cansoft though. To me, that's deliberatley misleading.

Thank you. I've known from the very start of my interest in airsoft what FMU means, and it's always irked me to see it thrown around so liberally, and no one ever said anything about it.

Pet peeve - how the term FMU is thrown around in sales threads
 

Thanks for clearing that up very informative!

As for cansoft sold as metal... Tisk tisk... ;)

FMU has always been Full Metal Upgrade.

It should only apply to stock plastic guns that have received a full metal makeover. Using it for Glocks and stuff with synthetic lowers... through technically correct, is kinda cheesy.

Either way, a full description should be given in the sales thread (or asked for by potential buyers).

As always, it's Buyer Beware; perform your due diligence.


edit: you know, I'll tag on my own peeve on the matter.

Adding a metal receiver to a plastic (such as TM) gun isn't a "full metal upgrade" if you're leaving behind a bunch of plastic bits that should be metal (such as controls). A TM Beretta, for example, also needs a new lanyard loop and mag release.

Thank you Drake. I see you seem to have a bit of an issue with the FMU term used for guns with synthetic frames. I agree. A Glock with a metal slide and metal mag catch is technically "full metal" in terms of comparing with the real steel, but it still doesn't ring right to me when half the gun is plastic.

And hey, a quick look in the classifieds right now will show a few such ads that advertise FMU for stock metal or partly metal guns. So it happens quite regularly, and I'd personally like to see that term NOT used except when appropriate.

+1 to this

The better you describe your items the less questions you might get, the faster it might sell and less problems (if any) will come in the end.

pictures are also a pet peeve for me lol, when I see and add and it says pics to come later, then you see 2 or 3 bumps and still no pictures....but hey thats just me

even more annoying when they use stock photos or a link to redwolf...


personaly I always thought FMU was full metal upper. How ever I never really put all my eggs in one basket with stuff like that and always asked questions. Dumb sellers can only be countered by smart buyers.

Not aure if it was mentioned, but don't forget outer barrels. A TM hicapa is not FMU with just a metal slide, the outer should be metal too!

If you think that's bad Crunchy try answering multiple PM's on what battery does the GBBR take? from my sales thread or the epic fail question of "will your GBBR take a Lipo??"

Ooh man, name names!