riporto di seguito un articolo trovato su internet che analizza tutti i marchi presenti nel panorama internazionale.
purtroppo e' in inglese e proprio non ho voglia di tradurlo.:-d
airsoft guns - manufacturers
many airsoft gun manufacturers can be found on the internet. but in most cases, they're in the internet purely for branding purposes only. however, retailers of their products can be found in the internet and physical stores nationwide. airsoft guns are also found in flea markets which are usually chinese made, non-branded airsoft guns. in the united states, companies like daisy, crosman, palco sports and cybergun are considered manufacturers even though the product is actually made at one of the many factories listed below. it is important to note that while these factories manufacture the guns, consumers will have very little success in regards to support after the sale if they purchase the items in a factory box. the advent of 'rebranding' in most cases allows the consumer a resource for service after the sale.
high-end airsoft gun manufacturers
mid-level airsoft gun manufacturers
- classic army - a chinese company that is often seen to rival marui. ca products were an instant hit because of its metal body during 2003. however, sometimes their products have been criticised for lacking the quality control of marui aegs. ca has some minor issues with their wiring.
- echo1 usa - a new airsoft brand. released in january 2007, they have quickly become a low price alternative to a tokyo marui and classic army. echo 1 guns are said to be made in china by the jin gong (jg), but some people have reported opening jg and echo1 guns and finding differences.
- g&g (guay guay gunshop) – specializes in internal and external upgrades and accessories. g&g has recently released higher end guns such as the rk103, umg, and m-14. arguably one of the best airsoft manufacturers due to quality guns and high customer service skills. they tend to cost a little more than ca or marui but use better stock gearbox material.
- g&p - specializes in aftermarket upgrades and external accessories, also make a variety of high quality ar-15 series aeg's along with an m249.
- hudson - produces reenactment grade, shell-ejecting, gas-operated airsoft guns, mainly of wwii replicas.
- ics (i chih shivan) – ics is considered as one of the "big 3" most popular gun manufacturers (including classic army and tokyo marui). their guns usually come with metal bodies and trademarks. they manufacture olympic arms, m4s, mp5s, and an ak-74m replica. their mp5 series feature quick takedown bodies. they also came out with the split gearbox design in which the upper gearbox (which includes the cylinder and spring assembly), disconnects from the lower gearbox (which has the gears) for easier repair and upgrade. they have recently updated their entire line to make them more reliable. they will be releasing the sig rifle, l85, and another series of ak soon.
- inokatsu – famous for their full metal m60 machine guns and ak47/74.
- ksc/kwa – largely a pistol manufacturing company, though endeavors to rifles have been made. ksc manufactures an hk33 aeg line that features manual cocking in the event of a dead battery.
- madbull – makers of many types of airsoft grenades, grenade launchers, tight-bore barrels, triggers, mines, and various other parts.
- marushin – known for some of their guns to use an 8mm bb instead of a 6mm.
- maruzen – one of the first airsoft companies that came out, known for its p99 nonblowback.
- olympic arms – these guns are basically ics armalites with licensed trademarks by tsd.
- realsword - a hong kong-based company manufacturing replicas of chinese assault rifles - type 56, qbz-95 and qbz-97. realsword boasts about high quality of those replicas.
- sheriff – who assemble full metal custom pistols using western arms based components, as well as building maruzen based bolt action rifles. sheriff also made gas airsoft rifles for a time, including the now discontinued highlander magnum.
- star – specializing in more expensive, highly realistic, easy-to-disassemble airsoft guns. there are doubts over the reliability of their aegs, such as gearbox problems in their sa80 series.
- sunproject – known for their m203s and c02 driven gas blow back m-16s.
- systema engineering – which specializes in high-end training weapons as well as also internal and external upgrades.
- tanaka works – which specializes in high-powered gas gun revolvers and rifles.
- top - specializes with manufacturing light and heavy machine gun airsoft replicas.
- tokyo marui – possibly the very pinnacle of airsoft technology and durability (while kept stock), created the first automatic electric gun (aeg), the famas f1, and the invention of the 'hopup'. they have manufactured almost every model of aeg and several aeps. they also have invented the speed loader and many other great advancements in airsoft. however, due to japanese law, they are required to have only plastic receiver, which has put them in tight competition with ca and ics. as an investment they last for many more years than other competitors, and with their reliability make for one of the best platforms for an upgrade gun. tokyo marui is the biggest airsoft manufacturer woldwide, and the airsoft "standard" for which nearly all after market products are tailored.
- vfc/gb tech (vega force company) - recently began production of rare and unique aegs.
- western arms - largely specializing on the 1911 .45 and its derivatives as well as beretta, s&w and sv.
produce lower budget alternatives to higher priced guns. usually fire at a lower power, use cheaper materials and have less detail.
others
- a&k - its m4 s-system with metal ris (rail interface) has become a big winner in a market saturated with m4a1s. the s-system was followed by other rifles from the m16 family: m16a4, m4, m933 and m4 cqb and a m249 clone was announced to for release in july 2007.
- agm - a latecomer that surprised the market with its surprising accurate and powerful springer rifle, the mp001 aka vsr (since it is a visual replica of the tm vsr10). while its mp004/s ak 47 version did not gain popularity mainly due to the headstart gained by cyma and the agm offering nothing new, its mp007 (mp40) was an instant hit as an alternative to expensive and fault-prone top mp40 and mp008 (m14) surprised the market with its use of the version 3 spring guide and stock gears.
- aim - aeg series manufactured by ics but lacking the full metal bodies.
- army - little known manufacturer only known for product is a full stock aeg version of the ak-47 and an l85 aeg.
- both elephant (be) - manufactures copies of the steyr aug, xm8, g36, and the sl8 sniper rifle. most of their aegs are offered with either a plastic or metal gearbox, the latter being more reliable. however, even the metal gearbox versions are inferior in quality to similar models produced by jin gong (jg). they are often light weight and lack the same quality of finish and trademarks.
- boyi/dboys' - makers of aeg m4 and m14s
- cyma - earlier models include the cm027 mp5j and cm028s ak47. their release for 2006 includes the cm031 which is externally a ca slr-105 clone but internally similar to its version of the ak47 with a different hop up chamber and inner barrel. they also recently released a tm clone g18c aep, however their products lack the quality and precision of higher end brands. they also manufacture lpegs, which are quite popular among beginners.
- double eagle (de) - the company that revolutionized lpegs with its famous m83. double eagle has been proven to make exact copies of tokyo marui's weapons with small upgrades, which results in greater durability and utility. their version of the ak47 and spetsnaz were met with lukewarm enthusiasm as most other chinese companies, many unknown, were able to come up with better performing aegs. their m50 springer rifle was quite popular and easily "upgradeable" to 400fps by simply wrapping the inner barrel and hop up chamber area with teflon tape to seal air leaks. in early 2007, double eagle released a version of m4 s-system (the m88) and g&g-based ump (the m89).
- hfc (ho feng corporation) - taiwanese manufacturer of spring- and gas-powered guns, mainly ksc and tokyo marui copies. the company was made famous for their hfc m190 gas blowback model. the gas pistol was a replica of a beretta 92fs but included a tactical mounting rail. the pistol was released in an abs or full metal version (excluding grips). the pistol could also be purchased in full automatic, semi automatic, or both.
- jieke/well - the chinese company that revolutionized the mpeg market with the release of their r5 mp5 and r6 m4a1 in mid 2005. its gearbox and motor proved to be surprisingly durable although both guns suffer from air compression problems. they later released the r7 or m4a1 with full stock and r8 g3sas which surprised many with its robustness and accuracy.
- jin gong (jg, also known as golden bow) - jg's first normal-power aeg release was the first series of m5 - mp5 replicas (mp5a4, mp5a5, mp5-sd5, mp5sd6) based on plastic bodies of their earlier lpegs, fitted with a modified v2 gearbox and non-standard hop up system. those replicas, prone to breaking and having poor performance, were soon discontinued. the next series of jg aegs, the ak47 series – built around a copy of tokyo marui v3 gearbox and ak47 hop up system – proved more successful. aside from standard ak47 and ak47s, the series included a copy of tm beta spetsnaz ak, a folding stock variation of the beta spetsnaz and a copy of guarder "ak-to-svd" kit (able to achieve velocity in 380-400 fps range after replacing poor quality cylinder and barrel). in late 2006, jin gong introduced its m16 line (consisting of m4a1, m16a2, m16a4, m4 s-system), the second, revised series of mp5s, steyr aug a2 and a g36c, all capable of bb velocity of 350 fps and more. jin gong are often referred to as "tokyo marui of chinese aegs" due to high quality of their products.
- jls - producer of the airsoft scar and two full metal hk33 variants and a fn f2000.
- kart/new star - this company, commonly linked to a&k, has débuted with releasing a m14 copy soon after the tokyo marui model appeared. other models include m1a socom rifle, m40 and steyr aug (although the last one was discontinued due to poor build).
- kjw (kuan ju works) - taiwanese manufacturer of high powered metal-constructed replicas. (takes 'top' green gas right out of box) most kjw guns do not carry replicated trademarks, so the accuracy of the replicas is limited. some of kjw products are sold under the brand "y&p" in the united states.
- kwc (kien well corporation) - taiwanese manufacturer known for its co2 powered mini uzi, classic m16 gas rifles and spring-power guns retaining fully licenced trademarks.
- modify - taiwanese manufacturer, specializes in designing and manufacturing internal airsoft upgrade parts.
- src (star rainbow company) /stti - taiwanese company manufacturing m4/m16 and ak47 replicas, copied from tokyo marui designs. they now release full metal versions in addition abs plastic versions that fires around 300-330 fps out of the box. their first gun, an m4a1, had reliability issues and broke after a few thousand shots. their newer guns are said to be far better, and they currently produce the only rpk on the market, as well as the only marui-compatible xm8, which also is the only fully assembled xm8 with a working scope.
- techpro - a japanese owned company in taiwan, specializes in manufacturing innovative parts to give your aegs more power. very limited parts produced so far. most popular products is the double o-ring piston head.
- we taiwan (wei-e tech) - brand belonging to hfc, known for their range of metal colt m1911 and hi-capa pistols (based on tactical sti 1911 .45 series)
- academy - south korean company best known for their dpms kittycat, l85, and a-15 rifles.
- khc - famous for their maverick bullpup shotgun and spring pistols.
- omega - famous for their beretta 93r.
- unicorn hobby company (uhc) - offering very reliable, yet economical alternatives to higher-end companies. have produced a variety of well known spring guns including the mp5 sd3, the m1911a1, m92fs, as well as the super 9. also have released gas pistols including the h&k usp.