ARCHWICK USW CHASSIS

IS IT REAL - OR IS IT ARCHWICK?

HAVING “BOOTS ON THE GROUND” IN NUMEROUS COUNTRIES MEANS AIRSOFT ACTION CAN PROPERLY SUPPORT OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS AROUND THE WORLD. “STEWBACCA” REPORTS FROM TAIWAN, WHERE HE HAS BEEN IN ALMOST DAILY CONTACT WITH THE GUYS AT ARCHWICK AS THEY PUSH AHEAD WITH THEIR LATEST PRODUCTS.

Having spent time getting to know Nelson online before MOA 2020 and during the show itself, and with Archwick’s facility being a short distance away from my own abode in New Taipei City, it’s been very easy to work more closely with Archwick on a near daily basis. Before I head to work I chat with them about their products, see how they work and what their design ethos and company ideals and goals are. There will be a more in-depth article in Airsoft Action once I’ve seen the full gamete of their in-progress product line come to fruition, such as their much-awaited GHK based Colt Canada L119A2 GBBR. Currently their facility being abound by the first batch of their also anticipated ASG sub licensed, B&T authorised and marked Glock USW Carbine Chassis Kit.

As a result of Nelson and Ray being busy pioneering a whole plethora of products you will already be aware of (and some you won’t be for some time), as well as balancing family life and the operational requirements of their rapidly growing business, there’s one thing they are both very short of - time to actually get out and play airsoft anymore! Thankfully, I still spend a lot of time training weekly in Action Air/ Airsoft IPSC, as well as skirmishing most Sundays if I’m not doing any shooting competitions.

Thus, our interests once again aligned quite nicely and the gents were all too happy to let me get hands on with their prototype Glock USW carbine chassis kit - with a Marui Glock 17 replica already fitted and ready to rock. Initially, I took it to a Tuesday night session at Team SPPT’s Action Air training, to measure my own performance in terms of a standard pistol run versus the use of the carbine kit, both off hand using the replica ACRO red dot at arm’s length, as well as with the stock deployed - and there was definitely a noticeable improvement in my runs in terms of aiming and transitioning between targets. I allowed my teammates to have a blast with it and feedback was very positive in terms of the form, function and fun factor. Even at the full length of the training area - around 15m - it was near impossible to miss with the setup.

ON SITE

Following this initial outing I was then also allowed to take it out once again and put it to task against OpFor targets, in the shape of the regular players at Linkou CQB - just beyond the hills West of Taipei and where the local police and SWAT teams spend their weekdays training for entry operations and other such things. With my XCortech XT301 tracer mounted and BLS 0.3g green tracers loaded, I went to work and managed to get quite a few eliminations, with the initial one being one of my early actions in the first round. As I rounded the far right corner of the mock up building in the centre of the site I managed to eliminate one of the opposing team with a rapid double tap, before moving on further down the right of the slightly more open format killing house style layout.

One of the few downsides I have found thus far was encountered at this point. As a result of the loan pistol Archwick gave me already fitted in the chassis being somewhat new or otherwise unfamiliar, I hadn’t set up the HOP unit to deal with the heavier ammunition, so the range was a little hampered and the rounds were dropping off pretty quickly, albeit with a consistent arc. I would certainly recommend ensuring your own Glock of choice is well tuned with the ammunition you intend to run prior to insertion, as it’s not a simple matter to remove it from the carbine kit once installed. However, if you have a Umarex licensed VFC produced Glock, your HOP is conveniently adjustable using the spring guide.

With that in mind, I managed to get quite a few eliminations in the rounds we played and enjoyed running the kit to the point where I didn’t touch my AAP01 sidearm - or even pick up my otherwise much beloved PP2K GBB PDW - I was just having too much fun with the Glock kit! During my earlier IPSC session I encountered a few stoppages during stages but chalked that down to not lubricating the host Glock replica properly prior to using it. Bad drills on my part, I was just too enthusiastic to start putting rounds downrange!

LICENCED REPLICAS

The Archwick Glock USW is a very close replica of the B&T original for use with real steel Glock pistols. With the closely matching external appearance and realistic markings, as well as being made from the same high grade, lightweight aluminium primary chassis, machined in basically the same manner, plus the right-side folding stock being reinforced polymer in construction, it is almost indistinguishable when laid beside it. This gives the user the closest possible replication of the appearance and experience of the genuine article, although some compromises had to be made internally to accommodate the realities of dealing with an ever-growing range of Glock replica pistols, with different standards.

Umarex authorised VFC produced Glock replicas of course closely match the external appearance and dimensions of their real steel equivalents, however, earlier reproductions such as Marui and others based off their original designs and dimensions such as WE or Double Bell products, vary slightly - as many airsoft or Action Air shooters will know if they’ve ever tried using real steel holsters. My own Double Bell Glock 34 TTI John Wick style replica required my genuine Safariland 6379 holster to be heat gunned and loosened a bit to fit the front end of the slide and frame in properly when I first acquired the setup.

To counter this, Archwick had to resort to including separate pistol rail mounted adaptor shoes, which fit to the appropriate brand of replica pistol’s lower accessory rail and are then themselves retained in the front end of the chassis kit with an adjustable tensioning unit. This is adjusted once the rear retention and stock mounting tongue at the rear end is installed and then the beaver tail of the replica is backed towards it with the adjuster.

Similarly, the original real steel carbine kit includes a reversible folding charging handle that runs in suitable cut-out slots on both sides of the chassis to connect through to the rear of the host pistol. On the real steel variant this replaces the standard sized retainer panel fitted into the rear face of the slide but, considering their options and again the potential differences in tolerances of pistols from various manufacturers and that some models don’t even have separate removable rear panels either, they elected to make use of the rear sight as the point for affixing the charging handle.

These cast rear sight replacement charging handle mounts and the front rail mounting shoes will also be made available separately to enable users to run multiple guns from different manufacturers with the carbine. Another amendment from the real steel version is that Archwick are also providing a Glock 18C compatible version, with more material removed from the rear left side to allow sufficient clearance for the selector lever to move within. This wouldn’t be achievable with a real steel pistol due to the much higher stresses and the real steel equivalent hasn’t been released in a suitable variant due to the much lower prevalence of real G18Cs, compared to in the realm of airsoft. Archwick’s offering has been extensively tested to ensure the relieved structure is still more than sufficient to deal with the lesser

stresses of the replica.

One final difference between the replica and original real steel format, is that the charging handle is not quick release, due to the cap head bolt fixture method. Again a relatively minor consideration, given the fact it isn’t intended for genuine duty use and the likelihood is players will setup a suitable pistol within the carbine, achieve a proper zero with their chosen optic and leave it installed for the longer term.

With these minor detractions and practicalities considered, the Archwick ASG sub licensed B&T USW Glock chassis offers a lightweight, easily carried and fielded force-multiplier ready carbine kit to compete with any others within the market. Sporting all the trimmings and trademarks of its real counterpart and boasting the same attention to detail and materials makes it ideal for both the collector’s market, or those who seek a useful but compact sidearm. Airsoft sniper rifle users, CTM Airsoft (the local distributor of Archwick within Taiwan and a close partner), already provide a trigger guard internal surface locking sideways releasing holster, which I made use of during my IPSC runs. Although I ended up using the included rear slinging point during my skirmish games, due to the fact I was running it as my primary weapon and not against the clock with draw times.

The rear optic mount machined into the upper surface of the chassis is to the same dovetail specification as its real steel counterpart and is ideal for an Aimpoint ACRO or similar replica as the one I used was provided with. This provides an excellent and clear field of view with a crisp red dot easily zeroed to the trajectory of the rounds headed downrange. If, however, the user would rather affix a different optic of their choice, an adaptor stub section picatinny rail can be fitted over the integral dovetail with twin socket head screws, all included in the kit.

With all of these considerations and given the increasing prevalence of pistol calibre carbines (PCCs) in US competition shooting, police and home defensive use, the Archwick ASG B&T Glock USW chassis presents an easy solution to turn a sidearm into a force multiplied platform. With the ability to use fully auto capable Glock 18C models, a true machine pistol can be fashioned out of a simple sidearm, plus be able to use 50 round longer magazines, which are much easier to carry and have a significant gas and ammunition capacity over most of the more conventional AR or similar carbines and SMG/PDWs.

Having spent some time at Archwick doing my own photography work and getting some insight into their operations and their plans, I’ve come to realise that the team behind the products are a very experienced, dedicated and fastidious group who really want to provide the pinnacle of boutique collectable but also very much usable close replicas of the high end real steel weapons systems that dominate the market. Their current USW offerings are very much adhering to this philosophy and I look forward to getting some time behind their Glock 18C variant in the immediate future, as well as getting hands on with their GHK based Colt Canada L119A2 GBBR kit in the next month or so.

I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to Nelson, Ray and their team for accommodating me so frequently and allowing me unprecedented access and insight into how they have already achieved what they have -and what they intend to get done in the near future -as well as trusting me to put their products through their paces (especially knowing how I usually break most things at some point). Thus far their products very much get my seal of approval! AA