Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaun655
I thought the only true hi-capa is the Para series of 45's, and the only real mechanical difference was the fact that they off set stack the ammo allowing up to 14 rounds vs the Springfield Operator which is a single stack of ammo up to 7 and classifies it self as a 1911-A1. Otherwise I thought the term Hi-capa in airsoft started with Tokyo Marui and its 1911 hi-capa series in order to avoid using trademarks from companies such as Springfield, and any other airsoft company follows suite for the same reason.
If you have anymore info on it though please post it, can't get enough information on 1911's
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The term "Hi-Cap" first occurred with the Western Arms "Hi-Cap" series, which were replicas of real steel 2011 type pistols by Strayer Voigt Infinity Firearms. STI International (Strayer-Tripp International) was another real steel firearm manufacturer that created similar 2011 type pistols.
Tokyo Marui later released the "Hi-Capa", slightly different name to identify itself from it's Western Arms competition, but it still did create some confusion.
The Tokyo Marui release did not identify itself as either an STI or SVI type gun, but more of a tactical hybrid, which STI was known to create. However, for all intents and purposes, the design of the pistol, the way it broke down was very similar to an STI 2011, regardless of the markings on it.
Although the original simplified identifying feature that stood a 2011 apart from a 1911, was the shape of the trigger guard, where the 1911 was round and the 2011 was square. Now that manufacturers of real steel 2011s are creating grips that also have rounded trigger guards, the line has been blurred, and the only REAL way to differentiate the two was to look at the basic fundamental difference between the two pistols - how the receiver and grip integrate:
1911
Receiver and grip are all integrated in to one piece. Grip panels are then attached on to this integrated frame:
2011
Receiver (upper frame / mid frame) and grip are two separate pieces. The grip does not utilize grip panels, and instead, is one complete piece that includes the trigger guard assembly.
These differences all carry over to airsoft as well.
The KJW KP-05 is an unmarked hybrid replica of the Kimber Custom TLE/RL II, that takes similar styling of the mid-frame and the slide and merging them to a 2011 platform. The style is quite familiar to me, as I was designing the components for such a build before KJW released them on the market. Here was a prototype:
