I have always been attracted to miniature guns, ever since the days of Armodelli, a collection of 20 1:2.5 scale toy guns made of die-cast metal in the 1970s by MAM-Uniwerk – a fully Italian firm in spite of the name. Today I want to talk about the "wave" of gun miniatures arriving from Asia (China and neighbouring countries) which today offer miniature firearm replicas whose quality and precision range from very bad to excellent. And in this article I want to present two models purchased from Hong Kong from Targetprice2010, an online shop specialising in theis kind of miniatures. I chose this shop because it had both the miniatures I was looking for, but many others are available online – and I must say that I was happy with the package, which arrived relatively quickly.
The gun miniatures I have chosen are replicas of the Beretta 93R and the Colt 1911A1, both of which are slightly different from what I expected: the 1911 is literally exhilarating while the 93R could be better. It is always worth enquiring and asking before buying. The price of each miniature fluctuates according to the exchange rate, euro against Hong Kong dollar, and is around 40 euro plus shipping which covers a weight of up to 1 kg. The shop also has an account on Ebay, where costs are slightly higher though.
The 93R select-fire machine pistol miniature model
Let's start with the Beretta 93R miniature gun. Made by Taiwan-based Swordfish, the presentation is excellent: a tiny case with the model, instructions (in Chinese only) and a bag with all the spare parts that could be lost or broken, such as springs, pins etc.
The model includes the magazine and folding buttstock, the whole replica is made of very decently finished die-cast metal, and unfortunately lacks any lettering or engraving on the sides and grips gun gun – although this is understandable as it would be a copyright infringement. The grips are an unlikely bright yellow colour and the finish is glossy blued. Where the miniature model excels is in replicating the operation: action is single and double, with the hammer and trigger working perfectly; the safety works and the magazine (which is another minor disappointment, as it is die-cast) holds a number of turned brass cartridges –three are supplied; additional cartridges can be bought separately. Racking the slide, the miniature gun strips a round from the magazine and feeds it into the chamber of the (plugged) barrel, and racking the slide again it pulls it out and ejects the round; when the magazine is empty, it remains open.
The 93R model can be disassembled in the same way as the original gun (more or less), there are very detailed drawings in the instructions, and frankly, there is not much need to translate the writings. In the end, a fine product, which really does look good in a display case; the standard is much higher than the much-vaunted GoatGuns in my opinion.
The Colt 1911 A1 semi-automatic pistol miniature
This miniature gun is made by the renowned Alloy Empire, and I must say that I was amazed by the quality of the replica, you only have to take a look at the photos to see why. The presentation is just enough, a clear plastic box like many others, no instructions and only two small spares for the spring and the plunger of the safety/disassembly lever.
There are six cartridges, also turned from brass. But let's start with the magazine, made like a real one: perfect. It works and has a capacity of 7 rounds. Then there is the miniature gun, also made of die-cast metal but of the highest quality: every part fits together almost seamlessly, the finish is excellent, too bad it is chrome-plated; the lettering is excellent, and the parts slide and work in the smallest detail like the original. As in the 93R, the miniature gun can cycle the slide, chambers and ejects; trigger and safety work, and when the last shot has been "fired" the slide is retained open. What is surprising is that it really is a miniature 1911: the locking system actually works! You start with the hold open lever, remove it – watch out for the safety plunger and spring... The barrel link is there and lowers the barrel to unlock it from the slide, every tiny part is identical to the original, for disassembly you must rotate the bushing by pressing the recoil spring plug and pull the barrel out from the front after tilting the barrel link forward... The trigger is like the original and I spent a whole afternoon marvelling at every detail. A truly excellent 1:2 scale replica, fun and truly "collectible" as any of these things should be.
In conclusion, I have been wanting a scale miniature of the 93R ever since I had the opportunity to try the real one in the Sala Azzurra many years ago, at Beretta; and the 1911, strange as it may sound, because it is a gun I do not own.
Both of these scale models – the term "toys" is reductive – have interesting features and I have to say that Swordfish's 93R would be excellent on its own, but compared to Alloy Empire's 1911A1 it does pale a little.
Both are priced at around 40 euros each plus insured shipping which costs around 26 euros; the package took a good five weeks to arrive.
