As recent the past two decades the name Glock has become synonymous with quality and reliability. Glock pistols come from the factory with many options that are standard rather than options like many other firearm manufactures. Thus, it is no surprise that pistols from this particular company is one of KSC’s most successful GBB lines. A few years back, KSC introduced their Glock line up with the 17 and 34 models. These were well received, but had durability issues concerning a particular part. This now infamous part is numbered 19 in the KSC instruction booklet. Still, sales were good enough to permit a much anticipated release, a full auto model, the Glock 18C.
A widely held misconception about the C designation is the fact that it is considered a fully automatic model. However, this is simply not true. Instead, the C after the model number designation stands for compensated. Thus, the Glock model 19C signifies that there are ports cut into both the barrel and slide in order to reduce the felt recoil, and is mainly intended for younger or less experienced shooters. Next on the line up was the release of the Model 19 and 26 models, as per their real steel counterparts, these are compact and sub-compact models respectively. Unlike their real steel counterparts, the KSC paid particular attention to the bugs found in previous Glock’s.
This meant that purchasing a reinforced Barrel Ramp, and other particular reinforced parts within the G18C and G17's, was an option rather than a requirement.
The idea of gutting the palm swell from the Glock frame is not a new one, and some real-steel owners have been modifying their Glock in this same way for years. The concept behind this modification is to create a straight line from the grip to the slide, meeting at about a 120° angle. This makes the Glock “feel” more like the venerable 1911, and allows shooters with a larger hand or palm swell to comfortably and accurately shoot the Glock.
Although KSC is one of Japan’s premier gun manufacturers, their products seem overshadowed by Western Arms. Many of their models, especially the HK pistol line incorporate all of the features found on the real steel (this even goes as far as the key-lock for the USP), and the fit and finish on most of the parts is top notch.
The general consensus is that the KWA and KSC models are the same, the only difference is that the former is missing the trademarks found on the real-steel models, however there are a few out there that find a not only a higher amount of quality control, but overall a better product with the genuine KSC models.
Like most Japanese made gas operated blow back pistols, the KSC Glock 19C Straight Frame (from here on shortened to Straight Frame) comes from the factory with a plastic slide and barrel. The quality of the plastics for the slide and barrel is somewhat sub-par when compared to the weight and general feeling of most Western Arms pistols. As with any combat-oriented pistol, keeping the stock plastic slide and barrel is simply not an option. The frame is, thankfully, a completely different story. The Heavy Weight materials greatly enhance the Straight Frame’s visuals, and when compared to the Non-HW frame of the older pistols like the early 17s & 18s is a most welcome change. The finish looks more like a real Glock, rather than the shiny plastic which resembles a toy. Other than the ports on the slide and barrel, and the removal of the palm swell, the only other change is that the back-strap of the Straight Frame has straight cuts down to the bottom of the magazine well rather than the “cross stitch” that are found on the traditional Glock 19. These outward differences are the only things that separate the Straight Frame from any other Glock 19, and thus if you can comfortably and accurately shoot a regular Glock, then there is really no point in spending more on this “Limited Edition”
The performance of a stock/un-modified Glock 19 is completely sub-par. With the plastic slide in place, one may risk using higher power “Green Gas” however durability is severely compromised. Add to this the frustration that for years American Airsofter’s either had to settle for underpowered (when compared to true Japanese Gas) HFC134a or more powerful but destructive “Green Gas”. Suddenly one was stuck with either a gun that wouldn’t perform at optimal levels or one that needed reinforced parts just to shoot without fear that the whole thing wouldn’t blow up. Fortunately, one can now acquire “proper” HFC134a through Abbey.
For plinking, performance with Abbey HFC134a is perfectly acceptable, and your Glock should function fine for many years. However, for serious performance, a metal slide and barrel upgrade is a definite must have.
The sight picture is standard Glock fare, with a boxed “U” for the rear sight, and a single dot for the front. When upgrading to a metal slide, it is important to secure the front sight, as it may not hold after taking it off the plastic slide. Thankfully, most aftermarket sights will work, and offer not only a better fit, but also may include nice additions like tritium, or adjustability for windage and/or elevation.
Glock Upgrades and Accessories:
Fortunately, most of the parts available for the Glock series are interchangeable, with the exception of Model specific parts like recoil guide rods. Items like hammer springs and other miscellaneous reinforced parts like floating valves can be shared through the KSC Glock line up.
As mentioned above perhaps the weakest link of most Japanese produced GBBs is the plastic slide. Fortunately, there are many HK and Chinese manufacturers that compensate for this. “Metal” slides are currently being produced by a number of companies. Shooters Design slides are pricy, but CNC milling and custom trademarks make up for this. Although I personally don’t own one, many fellow teammates do as seen in the “Caspian type”, and durability and ease of installation are top notch. A new comer to the production of metal slides is G&G Armament. The niche that G&G has carved out is in the process of magnesium casting. Magnesium has been used in the production of wheels for years, and is most notable for its strength to weight ratio. Under the right conditions, magnesium is a very strong metal, however under certain circumstances it can crack. Unlike aluminum or steel which will give or bend under stress, if too much force is exerted in the wrong place the entire section will crack. As stated before, the supposed trade off is in weight, but personally, I don’t believe that there is a significant amount of difference. A positive aspect of using magnesium is in its finish. A nice, textured matte finish is clearly apparent on the G&G slide and excels even over the higher priced SD slide.
Rating the fit and finish of the slide barrel combo would be a 7 out of 10. Initial instillation took about 5 minutes, but this was just to put the slide and barrel on the gun. However, the fit was a little gritty, and not to my liking. Working the slide with a little heavier grade silicon oil (I used 80wt), racking the slide about twenty times then wiping off the oil, the slide became much smoother. For comparison, instillation for a SD slide is usually drop-in with minimal work needed for perfect fit. Another gripe about the G&G slide is the finish of the extractor. This particular part seems as if G&G placed a blob of molten metal instead of machining an actual piece. What is worse is the fact that unless one wants to drill out the cotter pin holding in the extractor, this piece is fit, from the factory, permanently. The question of the durability of the slide can only be answered with time.
Along with green gas and a metal slide and barrel, one of the best upgrades for the Glock series, is an upgraded recoil spring. A local store had one on stock, thus the choice was easy. Instillation was a cake out the old, and in with the new. One of the nicer features of the Guarder recoil spring & guide rod is the fact that the muzzle end of the recoil rod is flat, unlike the stock spring guide which is tapered to a cone. This gives the Glock a small, but nevertheless a more tactical feel. The main function of the recoil rod and spring is to return the gun to battery after the blowback forces the slide back. Thus, any spring with a higher compression rate will help the rate of fire, and generally, give a stronger recoil effect. Other manufacturers of recoil guide rod and spring combos include G&G Armament, KM/Head 1950, and a couple others. All should work equally well, as long as the tension of the upgraded spring is stiffer than stock.
Perhaps the best overall upgrade to any gas gun is a KM TN or otherwise tighter bore barrel. Most manufactures of any airsoft replica uses a inner barrel with a less than optimal inner bore. There are many reasons for this, and include the fact that looser bores are less affected by dirt, allow deformed, misshapen, and lower quality bbs to be used, and are generally cheaper to produce. KSC stock barrels seem to be of higher quality than stock Tokyo Marui ones, with a shiny smoked chrome appearance, but from informal testing, have a larger bore than a KM 6.04. In any gas gun, the tighter bore will allow less gas to escape behind the bb, thus giving the bb more power. The tighter bore also allows the bb to gain more accuracy in its general tightness around the bb, thus allowing less deviation. Unlike AEGs, GBB and GNBB have the advantage of being an open system. This means that after the initial jet of gas has been released into the barrel, there is no suction from a returning piston (like in an AEG) so theoretically one can have as large a barrel (as practicality denotes) as one wants, without fear that length will decrease performance.
Other power adders include hammer springs, and upgraded valves. The concept behind these parts is simple. A stronger hammer spring will allow the valve knocker harder, thus allowing the valve to stay open longer, thus allowing more gas into the cylinder. The valve operates on an even simpler idea, simply making the opening of the valve itself bigger.
The Glock does not excel in any one category. It does not have the raw piercing power of the Western Arms non S.C.W. Series or Tanaka Revolvers, the range or the accuracy of the Tokyo Marui Glock 26 or Hi-Capa 5.1, however rather than excelling in one factor, the Glock competes on all levels never lagging nor excelling in any one of them. It may not reign as a primary, as a secondary, when all else fails, when it hits the fan, I’ll be glad to have a Glock by my side.
