Q&A Between Two Hicapa Builders On Quality VS Budget Parts.

Quality, fitment and performance three words that define what you look for when upgrading your Tokyo Marui based hicapa build. Price also being a very important defining factor when choosing parts for your build, there are parts on the market that easily hit all 4 keywords but not all manufacturers are equal. Join us for this  Q&A discussion as we dive into the best parts we have worked with, parts we want to try and issues with other parts that are in the market.

 
Greg, " What is your favorite hicapa build right now in your arsenal?"

Mike, " My favorite Hicapa in my arsenal currently would be my 6" DVC that's 2 tone black and silver chrome. It's been super reliable, doesn't skip a beat, highly modified with Airsoft Masterpiece/edge/GSB parts, consistent, powerful, and smooth operating. It's built using the original grip from the very 1st hicapa ever purchased back in 2021."

Greg, "Nostalgia, quality and performance. That would be a hard one to put in storage between games."

Greg, "For me its a hard choice between my 4.3 TM based Combat workhorse and my Infinity IMM Open division action air build. The Open build is just so well built and tuned that a failure is extremely rare, it doesn't let me down, its got the best parts possible in it and it looks amazing!" The 4.3 has a unique camo pattern, runs on a KJW red nozzle, has an Edge Speed cat slide and packed full of reliable goodies from a few different manufacturers like Guarder, Lambda and Nine Ball."

Mike, "Who to you, feels like an underrated or unnoticed brand and needs to be used more?"

Greg, "That is a tough one as I've tried ALOT of parts. Savia is new to the market but I haven't built anything with them. Nova and FPR have produced some absolutely stunning kits. I think for a high end collector they would be the go to vs Gunsmith Bros and Airsoft Masterpiece kits. For modding and upgrading I'm not sure if anyone is underrated in the game right now."

Mike, "I believe Savia is pretty underrated but Revanchist would be my first pick.  They don't have a ton of big parts out there currently, but they are innovating with their 3d printed parts like slides, rmr slides, bbu's, etc. Haven't played with much of their internals but externals are super nice with maybe only a bit of fitment depending what you were using them in.

Greg, "I guess I can confidently agree that Revanchist is a bit underrated, I think I see them as mainstream but they really aren't. Their triggers fit exceptionally well, the roll pin is actually good quality, the "open division" gas pedals are REALLY clean with machining and anodizing" Yeah, I think Revanchist would be the best answer here."

Greg, " What is a parts brand you avoid when choosing parts for a build."

Mike, "Unisoft, unisoft, unisoft....absolutely the worst brand I've had my hands on and tried to build with. Doing a build for my buddy and unisoft parts were chosen because of cost and color options not available anywhere else at the time. Unisoft slid in to the market quick to capitalize on the lack of colored parts at the time but their fitment overall is horrendous. You need to modify each part no matter what just to make it work. Their v.1 hammers were too tall that you had to use a charging handle due to the hammer striking the rear sights! Just stay away, take my advice, avoid this brand. I've tried the frames, hammers, grip safety, thumb safety, and slide locks (which have some sharp edges on them) but I'll give them small credit for trying to please the market. They just should of really gone under more testing and fitting versus trying to rush them to market. Instead they made a name that not many really want to touch."

Greg, "That sounds pretty bad! I would rather have something just slightly out of tolerance where you could file or sand it down for a precision fit and not something that is just so completely out of spec you have to do some serious modification, measuring and testing to get it to work."

Mike, "Who holds the best bang for buck in your opinion?

Greg, " Guarder. Not the highest quality at times but with minor work they are great as a "budget" build platform. As an OEM replacement for worn parts, yeah, really good. I've built almost complete replica's using their parts and have had great success (not without adjustments and fitting though)."

Mike, "I can agree with you on that, Guarder does have some good replacement parts including their polymer parts. Their nozzles are 1 of a few favorites of mine.
 I am leaning a little towards ZCI, another brand who hides behind a curtain most of the time. Cheap inner barrels that are actually half decent quality vs buying a PDI, EDGI or even Maple Leaf. I've messed with some ZCI safeties for replacement parts and they all have worked great. I'm going with ZCI myself."

Mike, "What has been your most difficult build or tech problem?"

Greg, "Tuning out double trigger issues. Its the most annoying thing! Trigger ring tolerances, sear tension, disconnector movement, grip to frame tolerance and the sear itself. So many factors can make the repair or diagnosis a complex time consuming task." "Most hicapa issues I find easy to fix. The double trigger gets a solid sigh out of me when it presents itself."

Mike, "I can 100% agree with you on all that!"

Greg, "If you are looking for a part online, who is the manufacturer you are putting into the search box?"

Mike, "Airsoft Masterpiece, Edge, Gunsmith bros to start, because I know those parts work with basically any frame combo. The innovations and designs are super clean and not over skeletal. They offer a wide range of versatile parts and for a reasonable price for the quality. Airsoft Masterpiece is expensive, but you are paying for a quality product.