Side by Side - Well on top, Maruzen on bottom
Real Steel History (Courtesy of www.wikipedia.com)
The MP5 (short for Maschinenpistole 5 or "machine pistol model 5") is a 9mm submachine gun of German design, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the West German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K) of Oberndorf am Neckar. The company, encouraged by the success of the G3 automatic rifle, developed a family of small arms consisting of four types of firearms (all based on a common G3 design layout and operating principle), where the first type was chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO, the second—using the 7.62x39mm M43 round, third—the intermediate 5.56x45mm NATO caliber and the fourth type—chambering the 9x19mm Parabellum pistol cartridge. The MP5 was created within the fourth group of firearms and was initially known as the HK54.
Basic Information
The Well G-55 is the first clone of the classic Maruzen MP5k. Both guns are gas blowback airsoft replica's of the Heckler & Koch MP5k. This is a review of the Well G-55 as well as a comparison with the original Maruzen MP5k. The Maruzen in the comparison is an original production MP5k circa 2001. This means the Maruzen is lacking many improvements of the current production "Charger" models. In addition, the gun has obvious signs of it's wear.
Well Packaging
Product Description/first Impressions:
The gun comes in pretty standard Well packaging with a flat black box with an uncolored picture of the gun. The gun is protected with foam and comes with 1x 30rd "short" magazine and an extra set of magazine valves. I'm unsure if I should be pleased or worried about that inclusion. One side of me says: sweet, free valves. The other side says: are they expecting them to fail that quickly? Time will only tell which is the case.
Well trademarks - Left side
Externals
Externally, the gun is pretty standard by Chinese clone standards. The plastic is a bit on the cheap looking side, and the finish is a bit odd. However, build wise, the Well is significantly studier than the Maruzen. That said, the Well is also newer by nearly a decade. That obviously plays a part in the Maruzen's feel. The receiver on the Well is flat black and has a clearly plastic look to it. The receiver on the Maruzen by comparison is a grey, almost primer colored finish. The color is more accurate on the Well but the Maruzen's finish is a bit more realistic.
Maruzen trademarks - Left Side
The Well's grips are black and a bit on the flat side. Not necessarily bad looking, it just stands out as a bit un-natural looking. The markings on the gun are definitely it's weakest point. All of the trademarks and markings are just printed on the the gun as an after thought.
Well trademarks - Right side
The Maruzen's grips are black and rather glossy. While they look more natural that the Well's, they do come off as a bit over glossy. That said, age is also a factor here. The trademarks and markings really stand out compared to the Well. All of the markings are properly stamped into the gun including the selector which really jumps out in comparison even at a quick glance.
Maruzen trademarks - Right side
Internals
One of the joys of the Maruzen MP5k (and most GBB's in general) is the ease of take down compared to an AEG. No taking apart a gearbox, no springs shooting out, and no wires getting pinched. The Maruzen MP5k is probably the quickest takedown gun I own.
Maruzen - Starting the takedown
Take out 4 pins and you are halfway done. However, on the Well, you have a bit of a surprise. They've managed to actually make it a bit EASIER to take down. After removing the pins you can now pull the whole bolt assembly straight out the back.
Maruzen - Ready to take out the guts
On both guns, you take out the rear pins and you remove the back plate. Rotate the grip assembly down, and you can pull the whole bolt out. If that's all you need to do (and it usually is), great, piece of cake. With the bolt out you can lube it or replace the nozzles (which you will have to do on either).
Bolt comparison - Well on top, Maruzen on bottom
The bolts are pretty much identical, with two exceptions. Even just looking at it, you can see the Well has a stronger recoil spring. When cocking the gun, the difference is night and day. Once again, age somewhat plays a factor with the Maruzen but even when new, the spring wasn't as strong. Also, the material of the bolt itself is different as well. The Well feels a bit beefier, but the Maruzen is definitely better machined. Please note, in the above pictures, the Maruzen has a Guarder nozzle in it. The stock Maruzen nozzle is visible identical to the Well.
Recoil Springs, - Well on top, Maruzen on bottom
The Maruzen does have a longer recoil spring. So long in fact, that it's somewhat compressed even when out of the gun. This still does not off set the fact the Well has a much stiffer spring. This trend continues in the trigger unit.
Well bolt stop spring
That spring is several magnitudes stiffer than the Maruzen. Once again, even when new the Maruzen's spring wasn't that stiff.
Power/Magazines
This unfortunately is the biggest downfall of both guns. Maruzen manufactured two types of mags for the MP5k. 30 round "short" magazines and 50 round "long" magazines. The long mags were nice both for the extra BB capacity and gas capacity. However the mags had a tendency to blow in half. As in the lower half of the mag would blast off with a significant amount of force. For that reason, the 30 round mags were much more popular. This made the mags exceedingly hard to find. The Well ships with 1x 30rd "short" mag, however at this time Well's spares are no where to be found. A couple Hong Kong shops had them in stock briefly, but they are not listed anymore. To make matters worse, Well's long mags (at the time of this writing) are not expected to be available for about another month. This leaves you with a gun with only one mag. A mag which will be emptied in only a few seconds.
Mag valves - Well on left, Maruzen on right
Build wise, the mags bring another surprise. It seems the build of the Well mags are a bit better than the Maruzen with the exception of the actual finish. I have not removed the valve from the Maruzen mag, but I suspect the Well mags have a less restrictive valve on them. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for the seals to begin to leak.
Mag feed lips - Maruzen on left, Well on right
One issue I've had with the majority of my Maruzen mags are the feed lips are a bit on the wide side. To the point where a slight bump is all it takes to have BB's shooting all over the place. Age does play a part, but it seems the metal is a bit softer on the Maruzen mags than on the Well.
Performance Characteristics:
When looking at the gun (both the Well and the Maruzen), most people's response is along the lines of "meh". Upon first inspection, it appears to be a cheaply made MP5k. There's no shortage of MP5 AEG's that look far superior externally. However, first burst from the gun, quickly changes peoples attitudes. With it's metal bolt, the Maruzen MP5k is probably one of the most intimidating sounding guns you will ever hear outside of Escort based classics. I have yet to go to a game where I didn't have somebody come over after my first burst and ask to see it. The Well however, seems to fall victim to one classic Chinese clone fault. The seals on the gun leave something to be desired. The gun chrono's at right around 310-320 fps on Propane at room temperature. This is by no means bad for a GBB, but it is lower than the Maruzen. I have a feeling though, a little TLC would get that FPS up a bit.
It is in this regard however where the Well comes into it's own. While over all the gun appears to be a clone of the Maruzen, upon firing you realize all those seemingly minor differences have a big effect. The gun does not seem to have any issues using Green Gas/Propane right out of the box unlike the Maruzen. The rate of fire and felt recoil both are noticeably higher than the Maruzen. This is due at least in part to the spring on the trigger assembly shown above. With the stiffer spring, the bolt is traveling a shorter distance and returning faster than the Maruzen. As stated above, I also suspect the gun has high flow valves but I will have to take apart a Maruzen mag to confirm.
Accuracy unfortunately is not so hot compared to an AEG. However, this really isn't made to reach out and touch someone. This is made to have them running for cover. Unsuspecting foe's will often have a few choice words about the gun when getting mowed down by it. Fortunately, as this is a clone of the Maruzen, there are some internal upgrades available (if you can find them) including a tight bore barrel.
Accessories/Modifications
MP5's in general aren't really guns made to customize. If you want a gun you can customize, you should be looking at an M4. That said, even by MP5 standards the selection of accessories is pretty slim. The Well comes with an MPk style barrel cap which can be removed, however the threads are rather coarse. I'm going to have to pickup a PDW flash hider and see what I can find out. The gun cannot use most MP5 AEG accessories save for scope mounts. Because it's a gas blow back the stock plate is different than the AEG version.
Well G-55 with Tokyo Marui PDW stock
If you fancy yourself a bit of a do-it-yourselfer, this gives you a little bit more options as far as accessories go. Mounting a TM compatible PDW stock just requires drilling a couple of holes in the Maruzen back plate. You do however lose the rear sling mount in this process.
Upgrades:
There's not much that can be done for it upgrades wise at this time. Hopefully, the release of this gun will start the market back up for Maruzen MP5k parts. There's a few parts out there, but pretty much all of which are discontinued and/or very hard to find. That said, there's also not too much to upgrade. Tight bore barrels can still be found for the gun and the gun is already "upgraded" to some extent over the original Maruzen's.
Skirmish Results
Make no mistake, this is a CQB gun. It's accuracy is about the same as your average GBB pistol. However, it's spits out a stream of BB's with a sound that makes people stop in their tracks. At indoor fields, this gun will all but drown out the sound of AEG's. You will not mistake it for something else. The gun is plenty small to be slung at your side on a 1 point sling to use as a side arm. It's light enough to bring it up with one hand and fire off a quick burst in an emergency. The gun fires very reliably with no misfeeds or jams.
Conclusion:
While externally the gun falls short of the Maruzen with a price tag 1/2 that of a Maruzen (or less), it's really hard to fault this gun. Sure you look at it and go: I wish this gun looked better. Then you remember that the gun was under $100 and you go on your way. That dissatisfaction is soon replaced by a grin as you unleash the gun in full auto GBB glory. I can say in all honesty, this gun is probably the most enjoyable gun I own with the exception of my Sun Project M4. However, this gun is a fraction of the price and doesn't require a rig. I have not owned a gun that has more people asking to play with it just for giggles.
If need a good CQB gun/sidearm or just want a gun that's plain fun to shoot, you would be hard pressed to beat the Well MP5k.
End Notes:
At the time of this initial review, I have had not had single issue with this gun. I have been running on straight propane since I got it. I will update this review when the gun has a failure, but at this time I see no issue with running the gun on green gas/propane.
Written by XavierMace, 5/20/09
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