Very rare, very heavy, and very expensive, The shoei mp44 series is an Airsoft gun that few have seen in real life, but just about everyone who’s been airsofting for a few years has heard of.

 Once again Gordak races to inform the masses about these brilliant pieces of airsoft machinery. Here is my detailed information article!

Background

In WW2 the Germans were trying to solve the problem of the massive recoil of their 8mm cartridge, many troops felt it was overkill, especially in city fighting. Yet at the same time, 9mm submachine guns were hopeless against targets only 100+ meters away (compared to 800 meters of a kar 98k)

The solution? An intermediate cartridge, making a new 8mm round dubbed “8mm Kurz (short)” because it was less than half the length of the kar98’s 8mm round.

The worlds first assault rifle.

The new gun had an effective range 3 times the distance of a submachine gun, and MUCH lighter recoil than the full size 8mm.  It would go into action and revolutionize small arms for all time to come. Simply put, In critical combat time, a soldier could get off dozens more well aimed shots than he could with a full size round. The end product was the mp43/44 Yeah you can call it stg43/44, it all depended on the manufacturer, and the mass production guns (mp/stg) were all identical.

The Shoei Company has been making replica guns for 20 years, Many of their models have made it to collectors in all corners of the world. Highly praised for their accuracy and build quality (virtually the best in the biz) It was only a matter of time before Shoei would make an airsoft gun, and wisely, They chose to make an airsoft version of their mp44 model.

Their mp44 was painted in a chemical process similar to bluing (anodized?) thus the finish lasts a long long time. The metal is also a higher grade alloy than what you’re used to finding on Japanese replica guns. The magazines are stamped and blued. All together Shoei guns are much stronger than your typical airsoft gun.

The MP44 Air Electric Gun

Placing a Marui m16 gearbox into the gun took a lot of squeezing. Those familiar with real mp44s will notice many changes that had to be made to the gun just to get that gearbox in: 

 1. No room for a functioning bolt, it’s just a knob screwed to the body, worse yet, the bolt knob is in the wrong location, as the mp44 fires from the close bolt.

 2. No room for wood on the pistol grip, the handle is totally metal so that the motor can fit, you will definitely want to wear gloves on cold days with this thing.

 3. The lower receiver/trigger group has a lot of evidence of flattening and room making changes.

 Most ugly of the mods is the way the safety mechanism switch and turned it into a 3 way sliding selector switch, kind of like an uzi.

 The gun does have a custom Shoei designed hop up unit (plastic), which if you play extensively with the gun, you will notice gets beat up pretty good. I highly recommend installing the systema metal hopup for the m16 series.

The springfed magazines work so long as you don’t overload them. They can also miss feed a bit because of flex in your shoei plastic hop up (once again go metal if your going to play airsoft with this thing.)

Your mp44 should have range that is typical of the Marui series weapons. Nothing better.

It takes the Marui style stick batteries in the stock, which need to be careful placed so as not to damage the wiring on the sharp metal parts. There actually IS room for larger cells, but I have not yet attempted this feat.

Overall, better than no mp44, These seem to go in and out of production, if you get em while they’re is a batch available, they go for around $800 bux USD any other time, they can get even more pricey.

Sometimes kits are available to buy if you happen to have the gearbox and just want the body to build one yourself.

Enter the GAS mp44

At the time I heard Shoei was going to make a Gas mp44 that would be similar to their marvelous mg42, (using the heavy recoil “escort” system). I thought to myself, “that’s cool, it should be a bit better than the electric one, also more rugged… hopefully”

Only a few short months later, my Shoei gas mp44 came in the mail.

Just about every single one of my expectations were totally blown out the window, This gun is a work of art.

Its MUCH more like the beautiful models you expect from the Shoei family, Unbelievably rugged, built like the friggin real gun, I personally feel it is the strongest airsoft gun out there. Both internally and externally, this thing really is made to last a LONG time, I mean, Ill be dead when this gun gets worn out!

Using nitro air (like a paint gun), the power makes aeg’s look like the new “boys” series guns.  The first time I fired it, I flashed back instantly to my WW2 reenactment days, firing blanks out of a real mp44. It had the same weight and jumped around just like it! The sound and feel were like nothing else in the airsoft world. Even my shoei mg42, did not shake around this much. The sound is about twice as loud as an aeg, and louder than classic type gas guns because of the heavy metal bolt slamming into the breach bloc. Infact the entire gas rod moves back and forth along with the bolt!, That’s a lot of metal to have flying back and forth with each round!

I noticed the mags fit and feed a hell of a lot better now too, thou they are Identical to the AEG mp44. I did notice that the AEG mags had to be dremmeled down a bit to fit correctly, this does not effect them in any negative way. Further more like on the electric, a custom highcap would not be impossible to make.

As I said the power is amazing, Semi and full work great However when on semi you’ve got to give the trigger a good pull (all the way) so that the bb goes out at full power. A loose or slight pull will not open the trigger valve enough for a full power shot. If you see a bb roll out, and your snipping then just charge the bolt with your hand and chamber another round before you shoot. U don’t need to do this however, just dry firing a shot will chamber a round too.

The hopup looks strong and well made, Adjustments  actually make a difference too! Hehe

Shooting the gas mp44.

Unlike the mp44 aeg, (just like any other aeg). The Gas Mp44 it a totally new, awe inspiring experience.

BEFORE YOU READ FURTHER!

Realize that I just got this gun, This is not meant to be a full review on the performance, but rather just a record of my first experience with the gun, I have yet to even skirmish with this thing. If its anything like the mg42, and I think it is, its going to be awhile before I can come up with information that is truly useful to airsofters. But something is better than nothing, so here I what I observed so far.

First off, even with the hop up turned all the way off, the .25 excell bbs still went up a bit, especially on semi. This will either break in (like on a marui) or Might need to get checked out via disassembly.

One really interesting thing I noticed is that the power on semi is MUCH higher than when on full. Without touching the regulator, the fps was significantly lower on full auto. Adjusting the regulator to 180psi makes the gun do 410 fps on full, Semi must be evil at that psi!. So before you play decide whether to be on semi or full, the whole time. (ONCE AGAIN! This is not written in stone, this is simply my first experience with the gun, It might even be a lubrication issue!)

Accuracy on semi was excellent, I noticed a much larger group on full, but Because of the recoil, your aim obviously gets screwed up a bit. The gun surely has the potential to out range AEGs, But actually having to deal with recoil is an issue I've never really had to deal with before on an airsoft gun. (The recoil on the mg42 didn’t matter so much because of the sheer amount of bbs that were going out the muzzle). So I can’t say how accurate it is, but u will definitely get kills out to 100 feet on full. I recall that the Real WW2 Mp44, was usually set to semi, because it was just more effective when keeping aim, With 70 round mags in mind, I could end up using the gun on semi much more often than I previously thought!

Here is a movie of a lovely Lady trying to hit a can that was 50 feet away. She is firing short bursts in full auto mode. Just the insane weight, made it a huge strain for her to look down the sight. Even from ten feet away, you can see the recoil effecting her stance. The can got to live another day, and She admitted it was the most fun airsoft gun she has ever shot.

Conclusion

This gun is brilliant, I am very proud to own one, and plan on using it A LOT. To those who can afford them, I recommend anything shoei makes with an escort (gas) system.

 Additions to the Shoei Gas wish list

 Gas Fg42 late and early versions

Gas G 43 Sniper rifle

M1 Garand?

BAR,??  It would be godly

MAKE THESE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!

People, if you’re into WW2 airsoft guns, and you can afford it, GET THE GAS MP44 before it sells out, It’s amazing!! 

On a final and additional note, check this baby out! It’s a rare Shoei mkb42 non firing replica, that I had way back in the day, had to sell it, but I still have picts of it!! Incase your curious it sold for $1500. The mkb42 was the first assault rifle to make it to the front (in small numbers). You might notice one difference is the bayonet lug, but almost every part is slightly different. The biggest difference was the fact that the gun fired from the open bolt. I had to black out the serial numbers in consideration of the current owner (wherever you are you lucky dog). I think there is less than 200 of these in the world!  Yes If they make a gas airsoft one I WILL GET IT!!!!

-Gordak