English version translated by Roy
Original Chinese version is here
 

The HK MP5 Sub Machine Gun has always been a favorite amongst military-police/airsofters, and I no exception to this: my very first airsoft gun was a Tokyo-Marui MP-5A5 which i still own today.

One of the most unique qualities of the MP5 series I've noticed is, the more you throw onto it, the better it looks: be it red-dot scopes, laser sights, scope mounts, or a RIS, everyone can customize their MP-5s to their own personal needs/taste. However, the one thing that almost everyone seems to have on their MP5s is the Tactical Hanguard.

 

The MP5 Series has always been one of Tokyo-Marui's more better selling models, and it was only a matter of time until Tokyo-Marui released a tactical hanguard, which of course, they did. Unfortunatly, their version of the MP-5 tactical handguard had a few serious faults

• It was made of plastic, had a very shiny finish.
• The included flashlight was relatively crude.
• The flashlight activation switch was only 1cm in length and width, unlike the "strip" activation swtich like the real deal.

But despite these drawbacks, airsofters still picked up these handguards like crazy, all happily opening up their wallets for this Tokyo-Marui's interpretation.

 

Later, a Hong Kong based company, G&P set their sights on this market, and released a slightly improved version of the tactical handguard. A big pro on this model though, was that it could used SureFire bulbs, and had the same amazing lighting power like the real deal. This version quickly dominated the market, with a few players even modifying their Tokyo-Marui tactical handguards quite crudely to accept the G&P produced flashlight.

 

Not too long ago, Classic Army, the producers of the popular metal bodies decided to produce their own version of the MP-5 series tactical handguard themselves. In order to gain an advantage over the G&P version which had dominated the market for quite some time, Classic Army made a few important design decisions:

• The flashlight was made to resemble the real SureFire version much more closely, one of G&P's version's drawbacks, and
• adjusted their price in order to agressively attack G&P's domination of the market. One Hong Kng based website even hailed the Classic Army Handguard as the "Cheaper version of the G&P".

Classic Army's tactical handguard had quite a few improvements, but because of the aggressive pricing, there were a few negative results.

• The quality of the work on the handguard was mediocre, and a clear copy of the G&P version (used same molds?)
• The Flashlight only had the same diameter as the real steel. Texturing and other physical traits were completely ignored. (Patent problems? Production Costs?)
• The finish on the product was not that good: too shiny, and the texture was nothing close to the real version's.
• The internal wiring is a mess: The wires are hot glued or just stuffed into the handguard.

The Intruder Shop long ago announced it was going to make a version that would deal with all of the problems in the other versions, but it was a good 8 months before the final product was finally created. It is said that they had to prolong production/design of the product three times in order to create a handguard that would live up to it's promise of being the best ever produced in the airsoft world.

Well after all this time, have they produced something worth the wait? Two days ago was given some time to get a few looks at their product, and take a few exclusive pictures.

 

Jimmy Fan, the president of the Intruder Shop (which designs/produces all products of the Guarder lines of products) noted a few unique characteristics of the tactical handguard.

• The flashlight mimics the real deal version extremely closely, without infringing on patents/copyrights. Compared to other version of the tactical handguard, the Guarder version beats them hands down.

  
  From left to right: SureFire, Guarder, ClassicArmy, and G&P version

  
   

• The handguard itself is made to mimic the angle and curve of the SureFire tactical handguard. Previous version by Tokyo-Marui, Classic Army, and G&P all do not mimic this. G&P and Classic Army's version were copied off the Tokyo-Marui version, hence they inherited the weakness of the Tokyo-Marui Version.

  
  From left to right: SureFire, Guarder, ClassicArmy, and G&P version

  
   

• Guarder's texturing of their handguard makes it impossible to distinguish it from the real deal with the naked eye. Mr. Fan noted that SureFire's texturing is especially detailed/expensive, and increasing production costs a great deal (please note the enhanced digital pictures below comparing the textures of the hand guards).
  G&P's Texturing
  ClassicArmy's Texturing. Notice how it seems to be less detailed/thorough?
  SureFire's Texuring
  Guarder's texuring: Only with extreme magnification can you note the differences between this version at the SureFire's.
   

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  Only after taking pictures and listening to Mr. Fan did i see the careful and thoughtful design concepts incorporated into this product.
  
  Also, the flashlight can be seperately purchased, and due to the design, it is possible to unscrew the body of the flashlight from the handguard, and attach a seperately purchased (available from SureFire) button switch, during it into a easily carried 6P for personal use.
  
  Also, people who already own the G&P version will be delight! This modified flahlight body can also be mounted on the G&P handguard, upgrading the power of G&P immediately!
  
  Finally, the handguard is made of FRP(Fiber Reinforced Polymer, unlike the plain old plastic of other brands). Initially it was planned to use the same nylon material as the SureFire real deal version, but due to difficulties in producing that type of material along with high costs, this was dropped in favor of FRP. (It is rumoured that more than half the time spent on this project was devoted to in the attempt to use this material)
  
  The Guarder produced tactical handguard which I've introduced to you will be introduced to the market at the 2001 Taipei World Trade Center Toy Exhibition, and trust me, I'm not gonna miss my chance to pick up this product!
  (Note:At the time of this translation, this product has been on the local market for 3 months already, and is available from most international dealers)
  
   

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  by Mustang / If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me. Thanks! =)