The TK VP70M Set

Introduction: The initial purchase of the product

After price hunting at 3 different shops; Dentrinity (HK$1480), Guns N Guys (HK$1400), Modern Model Company (HK$1360). I got the gun at the cheapest place. I got the gun the third day it was out as I just couldn't wait any longer and I didn't have to reconsider; after all, I've waited for this replica for 6 years! I've fell in love with this gun ever since I played Resident Evil 2, a game by Capcom featuring the VP-70, with the burst stock an attachment option that can be found during game-play! I have to say that this handgun is rather expensive though. It's double the price of the Tokyo Marui Desert Eagle Black Edition.

History:

A brief introduction and history of the replica.

Tanio Kobayashi, the designer and producer of this replica, has in fact designed this item before and the gun was released 22 years ago (1982). Back then, he had released the VP70 for MGC and it was sold for 4900Yen (+3500Yen for the burst stock). However, due to new legislation governing the use of model guns in Japan, MGC was unable to mass produce the VP-70. After a few years, Kobayashi left MGC because the president of MGC was getting tired of the business as more manufacturers entered the competition for market shares. MGC went out of business for good shortly after Kobayashi left and the VP70 ceased production, making it a rare collection piece nowadays. However, at 67 years of age, Kobayashi has once again retaken the project of recreating the H&K VP-70, this time with higher precision as a European friend of his provided him the real stock to copy the dimensions and textures from it. Kobayashi has redesigned the mechanism of the gun, making the burst fire more reliable and correcting the failures of the VP-70 he released 22 years ago. This time, Kobayashi has also included the very rare stock belt holster which allows you to attach your holster the stock to your belt by your waist, by a sling across your back or by your leg. The gun is actually stored inside the stock itself.

A brief introduction and history of the real steel.

So why is it called VP-70? VP actually stands for "Volkspistole" which means civilian pistol in German and 70 is simply the year of production of the gun. The H&K VP-70 is renowned for being the first polymer pistol, and the Glock was the next that followed it. The VP70 has 3 models, the VP-70, VP-70M where M stands for Militär or Military in German, and the VP70Z where Z stands for Zivilversion or civilian in German. The VP-70Z is the only model that cannot accept the burst stock. When in burst mode, the gun can fire up to 2000 rounds per minute. The gun uses the common 9mmX19 rounds just like the MP5 series. It should be noted that even the real steel is very rare as production of the VP-70 has ceased long ago.

Differences between the MGC and the TanioKoba VP70.

The main difference between the 2 models is that the MGC is a model gun which is non firing but instead, eject shells. The new Taniokoba VP-70M however, is a firing airsoft model. Other differences include the modeling of the gun itself. The MGC was modeled after the VP70Z where as the new model from Taniokoba is modeled after the VP-70M.  Differences include the design of the handgrip, in which the VP-70M lacks the a groove for the finger rest. The slide SHOULD be different too, however, the VP-70M  also has the slide replicated under the VP-70Z model. The stock is said to be replicated using almost the same material as the real stock too!

MGC VP-70Z on the left, Taniokoba VP-70M in the middle and on the right.

What's in the box: What do you get for your money?

Inside the box you will find the following items:
1. The Koba VP70M (stored inside the burst stock in the package)
2. 3 burst Stock
3. Harness plate (or the stock belt holster)
4. A magazine loader
5. Allen wrench for adjusting hop-up
6. Instruction Manual (only in Japanese)

However, it's missing target sheets and a back of BB which is usually present in other packages. The box design is rather funny, a carton box with only a piece of bumpy cardboard to protect the gun, unlike other manufacturers which usually use Styrofoam boxes. I'd say that the box is rather fragile and will fail to protect the gun if mailed through long distances. The only reason why I think TK would use such a packing is to be environmental friendly!

How it works: A discussion of how it works

First, you must take the gun out of the stock. This is done by pressing down near the catch at the end of the stock and then pulling the storage door open. Hopefully the plastic tab that holds the door shut will not bend over time, or else the door will fail to stay closed.

The VP-70M, like the Glock series, houses an internal hammer design.

 
The Internal Hammer design

The only safety is the safety button located near the trigger which locks the trigger itself. Note that in other guns, the position of this button is usually the button for releasing the There is no way to lower the hammer once the gun is cocked except by pressing the trigger.

 
The only safety on the gun, with the slide release switch above the trigger.

To release the magazine, you must press the button back towards the back of the gun. This design is way better than the other magazine lock design as it locks the magazine tighter and will not wear out as much over time. There is also a low possibility of accidentally pressing the button and dropping the magazine onto the ground.

The bottom view of the gun with the magazine catch.

Once you've loaded the magazine with gas and BB, load it into the gun and then cock the gun. Now you're set to go trigger happy! However, after firing the last round, the slide will not lock back as this mechanism is missing. This is also true for the real steel version. For burst capability, you must attach the stock onto the gun. The stock attaches simply by sliding it into place onto the back of the handgun and locks in place by pressure between the 2 parts and a pin that locks into the grip of the gun. It fits on really tight and will not fall off.

The connection points on the stock.

Connection point at the back of the gun under the slide.

So how does the burst work? I don't know the full mechanical details behind the design, but there seems to be a mechanical counter on the stock. There is a piece sticking up that gets pressed down whenever the slide blow's back.

Top view of the mechanical counter on the stock.

When in burst mode, the counter will allow the hammer to knock the gas valve with the trigger depressed after the 1st and 2nd shot. However, the hammer will stay in the cocked position after the 3rd time that the hammer has knocked the gas valve. Taping down the protrusion of the mechanical counter part of the stock will actually enable the VP-70M to fire full auto! Single shot mode can be obtained by simply flipping the switch on the stock. When you switch the gun to burst mode, a metal piece protrudes from the stock into the back of the gun under the slide. The warning label on the stock actually says that you MUST switch the stock to single shot mode before you attach or detach the stock. Leaving it on burst mode while detaching the stock will simply destroy the mechanical part (circled in red in the picture below)!

Circled in red is the part that will stick out when the selector is at 3 (burst mode). Circled in blue is the part that locks onto the lower part of the gun's handgrip and prevents the stock from sliding off or moving around. Circled in green is the button that you must pull back to attach or detach the stock from the gun.

It should be noted that if the gun is properly attached to the stock, the selector will be able to switch to burst fire mode, if not, the selector just won't budge. DO NOT fire the gun if the selector switch does not budge, check that the attachment is correct and tight first. Removing the slide is also easy. Just pull down a button above the trigger, pull the slide back and lift up from the back. Then slide it off the barrel of the gun. Please note that the recoil spring is on the barrel itself. The gun also uses the TanioKoba patented pre-shoot oneway gas blowback system. BB's are shot out of the barrel before the blowback of the slide, and gas escapes only through a one-way design. The slide also has vents on the side for letting the gas out. These vents, of course, are smartly hidden to the naked eye on the outside of the slide.

Gas vents inside the slide (circled in red).

Usability: How useable it is

The VP70-M is not the only gun that is capable of burst fire. The Beretta M93R from KSC is also capable of burst fire, and also full auto! The Glock C models are also capable of full-auto so I'd say usability is low in terms of compact design. However, since the VP-70M is rather heavy, the stock does lower the stress on the arms while aiming so aiming is a lot steadier with the stock attached. Blowback is quite powerful and the stock will help to suppress blowback (but only slightly). I found the stock to be rather awkward to aim with as it's hard to position your face properly on the stock to look into the sights. The sights on the real steel is actually created by using two highly polished metal ramps to create a optical illusion of a protruded black sight at the tip of the gun, but this is not reproduced on the replica. The sight is simply two plastic ramps with white paint.

Sadly, the fronts sight is not replicated and consist of 2 plastic ramps painted white.

They are hard to aim with and hard to see in poor lighting places. Sights are non adjustable as well. The gun is really loud for one that runs on HFC-135a and this seems to be amplified with the stock attached as the stock is hollow. Due to the hard kick back from blowback, it is really difficult to aim if you fire the gun rapidly. The gun is also rather large, even bigger than a Beretta.  However, this gun wins in terms of stability and reliability in single shot mode. Each round is fired with the same solid power and gas handling is great; no gas ruptures, no stuck hammer or slide. The burst mode seems to be not that reliable. A full fill of gas will be just enough to fire all 27 rounds off in burst mode. usually, the last 2 bursts are quite weak, and sometimes the slide fails to fully blowback and the gun turns into full auto! The magazine also seem to freeze up quite quickly at a operation temperature of 21 degrees Celsius.

The magazine, TANIO-KOBA is etched on the side.

Trigger pull is nothing like the real steel's 20 pound trigger. It's easy to press just like any other airsoft handguns. Accuracy at 10 meters is super accurate and grouping of burst firing is a radius of less than an inch! As a single shot handgun, this weapon would make a great sidearm due to it's reliability and high capacity magazine if you don't mind it's size and weight!

Blowback and Power Comparison

This is probably the first time someone has ever compared this feature of a gun. Blowback on the VP-70M is extremely powerful for a gun that uses HFC-135a gas. It's more powerful than a upgraded Glock 18C (metal slide, barrel, recoil spring) using Top Gas and on par with the WA Speed Comp II (upgraded with metal slide) also using Top Gas. Top gas won't work on the VP-70M as the hammer springs are too weak. However, due to the lack of the slide lock-back mechanism after firing the last round, it will be very unlikely for the slide to crack even after using Top Gas. The peeps at Modern Model company told me that upgrade parts should come out in about a month. In terms of power of the gun, I haven't been able to test it on a can yet but it's even a bit more powerful than a Tokyo Marui MP5K PDW. This is yet the most powerful gun I've seen using HFC-135a gas. Blowback is crisp and awesome!

Looks: How does it look and feel?

The looks of the gun is quite disappointing. The slide looks quite plastic and it feels very plastic too! Obvious mould detachment points can be seen on the stock and on the trigger guard of the handgun. Instead of having the words Heckler and Koch on the slide, it says WARNING: REFER TO READ INSTRUCTION MANUAL with the TanioKoba logo next to it.

The ugly wordings, not to mention the poor grammar!

The only proper markings is on the handgrip which says HK VP-70M.

The Mod.VP'70 on the slide is not as it appears on the real steel.

The slide design is actually from the VP-70 first version and not that of the VP-70M.

The shell ejector port door has the number 03402, I don't know if it's actually a real production number or the same on every gun. Under this number, there are the words TK with the logo next to it. On this side of the slide, the words DESIGN & PRODUCED by TANIO KOBA/Japan can be seen. Fans of Kobayashi may rejoice on seeing this, but fans of HK will not be pleased. There are no markings on the stock except for the number 1 and 3 near the selector switch to indicate single shot or burst shot. The grip texture feels very nice and so does the stock. It seems that both parts are made from nylon reinforced plastic, which makes it harder yet slightly bendable. This real steel grips and stock seems to be made from the same material too. However, all of you should know that when two pieces of plastic comes together, it usually leaves an ugly line. These lines, to my disappointment are very visible on the slide, and stock. The grip however, does not suffer from this problem. Weight of the gun is well distributed and quite heavy. The slide is a lot heavier at the back making the kick very hard during blowback. With the stock attached, the gun is quite rigid. I could swing the gun around holding the stock and then gun won't creak or wobble around. Attaching the gun to the gun is easy, although it will be harder for the first few times. Removing the stock is hell! The gun is attached to the stock by two bits, one at the top of the gun and stock and the other at the bottom. The stock attachment parts simply slide into the gun and is locked by a protruding metal pin at the bottom. Removing the stock requires you to press back the pin via a button at the bottom of the stock and then sliding it off the gun. The first time I tried to get it off I had to knock the stock against the table! Later on, I was able to slide it off using the way the instruction manual showed me but I had skinned my right hand thumb! It actually bled! But now that I've attached and detached the stock for 10 to 20 times, I can easily slide it off the gun. 3 out of 4 of the attachment points are metal, with the one at the back of the slide not metal but plastic. It seems that the plastic gets mowed off the gun by the stock. Hopefully the plastic tabs won't break off since it's on the grip part of the gun and replacing it would be expensive! The stock feels really solid, and the inside of the back storage door is padded to prevent the gun from moving around while stored inside. The hinges of the door is actually white nylon pastic, which looks a bit weird but it seems that the plastic has great elasticity, and you must hold the door open to take the gun out or it will try to close bang shut again. With the stock attached, the weight of the gun is concentrated at the back. A little wheel at the back of the slide is present where the slide actually runs over the mechanical counter, but as the plastic part of the slide hits the counter first, it will become chipped and dented over time, the little wheel only helps it run smoother over the counter. The selector switch seems to be harder to switch when the stock has just been attached, but will become a lot easier to switch once you've succeeded switching it once. The magazine is also really rigid when loaded into the gun due the the design of the magazine catch. Unlike the KSC Glocks where the magazine catch is plastic, the VP-70M's catch is full metal. Other metal parts include the internals of the slide except the sealings and nozzle, trigger, slide release switch, the whole magazine, and all mechanical and attachment parts on the stock except the storage door. Sadly, the ejector port and outer barrel is completely plastic.

Features: What does it come with, what does it do?

An accessory worth mentioning it the magazine loader. This is simply a metal rode with a O-ring at the end that allows you to press the BB retention spring down while loading the magazine. It's simple, but effective. Without this tool, it's rather hard to press the retention spring down. KSC Glock magazines also feature a similar design where the retention spring can be held down without a tool by a spring on the follower that pops a button up to hold it down. But that was unstable and became unusable over time. The loader tool is much better!. The gun also comes with a belt holster (referred to as Harness plate in the package) that allows you to holster the stock by your side, but as the whole set is quite heavy and and big, it feels very awkward to have it holster by your side. This is a rare piece and since Kobayashi aims for collectors for the VP-70, it's really nice that he had reproduced this accessory as well. The allen wrench included is simply used for adjusting hop-up which is accessible by removing the slide. The hop-up unit is located on the ejector port. Many people have been wondering what exactly is the "koba twist-barrel", so let me explain what it is. The twist refers to rifled marks inside the barrel of the gun. You might ask, what good is a rifled barrel on a airsoft gun that has a hopup unit? According to Kobayshi, the marks can actually give the BB bullet a clockwise spin. When the hopup is too strong, the BB presses against the barrel, which then produces a gyro effect. The BB will start spinning in a clockwise direction making the BB hitting a target a little to the right of the aimed spot instead of flying way up into the air. When the hop-up is not turned on, the gyro effect is not in force. The twist barrel can actually increase the accuracy of the gun. Actually, I've never tested if this is true. The safety switch on the trigger guard simply locks the trigger so it can't be pressed. So overall, there are quite a few smart features on this gun that is absent on others.

Summary

This gun is more of a collector's piece than a skirmish weapon. Sadly, the slide is not replicated exactly like the real steel. Care should be taken when detaching and attaching the stock to make sure that the fire selector is not on burst mode. For those that don't have silicon oil, it's time that you get some as you'll need to add it to the attachment places on the stock and the gun to ensure smooth attachment and detachment. Kobayashi warns in his manual that you should use nothing apart from pure silicon oil. Concluding the above points, the VP-70M is one solid piece, and the burst mechanism is quite reliable. It's worth noting that TanioKoba is the only manufacturer who has produced this classical airsoft model. 

Accessories/upgrades: What else can you buy to go with this?

Since the gun hasn't been released for a long time, custom parts are limited. A custom slide with fiber optics is available from Freedom art. Fiber optics will help you to aim even in low light conditions. A flash hider and silencer adapter is also available from Freedom Art. Rail options seem to be impossible so you're only way of attaching tactical lights and lasers will be attaching some sort of adapter to the trigger guard. As the VP-70M has only been out for a week at the time of writing, other accessories are unavailable.

Conclusion: Pros and Cons - was it worth it, does it do "what it says on the tin"?
The VP-70M is worth it since it comes with a harness plate and stock. Being the most reliable gas gun I've ever handled, the money was well worth every penny.

Pros: Reliable, crisp and powerful blowback, nice texture and sturdy stock and handgrip, simple attachment of stock, comes with useful tools and                  accessories, high quality and metal internals, well designed, burst feels awesome, heavy.

Cons: Burst unreliable for the last few rounds, one full fill of gas only last through one mag, not exactly replicated slide and missing H&K trademarks, seaming lines on ABS slide very obvious at the bottom and at the back.
 

Links:

Preview on Renegade Recon: http://www.renegaderecon.com/article_details.php?id=33

Interview with Tanio Kobayashi (designer of the VP-70M): http://www.renegaderecon.com/article_details.php?id=11

MGC VP-70Z review: http://www.dentrinity.com/NelsonChen/Collection/pistol/VP70/VP70.htm

Real steel H&K VP-70 information: http://www.hkpro.com/VP70.htm

Videos of the TanioKoba VP-70 firing (by Tanio Koba himself): http://www.taniokoba.co.jp/vp70test.html

Video of the real steel VP-70 firing: http://www.hkpro.com/video/VP70Z-VP70M.mov

News of the VP-70M from Tanio Koba: http://www.taniokoba.co.jp/vp70news.html