I finally decided to do a review on the Cybergun Thompson, as I see only a few reviews, and of those reviews, they are not that in depth inside the gun and actually how to disassemble it. Considering that this gun is a potential newbie gun, seeing as it can be bought at big5, this could be useful. Also, most of the reviews I see are merely describing the gun looks and abilities, but this gun, being a non typical gun, needs opinions about it, and comments that will helpfully help you decide whether this gun is right for you. It is split into two posts as one post can't contain all the awesome pictures (which I feel are all helpful in the understanding of the gun and its innards)

Real Steel History from world guns (abbreviated)
The first Thompson experimental submachine gun appeared in 1919, and first production model appeared in 1921; it was manufactured under contract by Colt Firearms Manufacturing Co, as well as later M1928 models. Production of M1928A1 and M1 submachine guns was carried out by Auto-Ordnance and Savage, and some licensed copies were manufactured by B.S.A. in Great Britain. This design was influenced from the experience of WWI where a "trench broom" was needed so that a man could jump into a trench, and take down the enemy with a powerful enough cartridge in fully automatic fire, but with a gun lighter than a machine gun
The first Thompson gun to see some military use was Model 1928, used by US navy during its expedition in Nicaragua. The so-called "Navy" model 1928 was distinguished by a horizontal forearm that replaced the front grip, and by added sling swivels. With the start of World war 2, US Army procured a large number of Model 1928 submachine guns in "Navy" configuration, marked as US Model 1928A1. These weapons were rather expensive to make, and in 1942 Army adopted a simplified version of M1928A1, known as M1, later simplified to the m1a1. Thompson submachine guns served in US Army well into the Vietnam era, although in limited numbers. American police used Thompson guns until 1970s or 1980s, and few still could be found in some police armories in USA and several other countries of the world.
Thompson submachine guns were widely exported commercially prior to and after WW2; Many guns were supplied to Britain and USSR through Lend-lease program during WW2. It must be noted that Soviet troops generally not liked Tommy guns, not because of excessive weight and lack of bullet penetration, compared to 7,62mm submachine guns such as PPSh-41 or PPS-43, but becuase their propaganda painted the Thompson as an inferior gun, due to tensions between the USSR and USA.

All Thompson submachine guns fired from open bolt. The cocking handle was located on the top of receiver on Models of 1921 and 1928, ad on the right side of the receiver on models M1 and M1A1. Separate manual safety and fire mode selector levers were located on the left side of receiver, above the trigger. Barrel was usually partially finned, and on model 1928, fitted with so-called Cutts compensator (not present on M1 and M1A1). Feed was from double-row box magazines containing 20 or 30 rounds, or drum magazines holding 50 or 100 rounds. Box magazines were inserted into the magazine slot from below; drum magazines were inserted into the same slot from the side. Drum magazines were not available for M1 and M1A1 submachine guns.
Furniture included pistol grip, detachable wooden shoulder stock and either a detachable forward grip or a horizontal forearm. Sights on pre-war models included front blade and protected rear, which combined a fixed open-notch blade and raising diopter, which was adjustable for both windage and range (up to an optimistic 500 yards). Wartime models (M1928A1, M1 and M1A1) used a simple fixed aperture (diopter) rear sight (airsoft ones are finger adjustable), with or without protecting side "ears".
One thing there is not correct, find it if you want.



Ordering

You can find it most places online, as either the Cybergun one (Stateside) or Cyma (overseas). Generally, the price works out to be the same for the Cybergun or the Cyma, with the cyma being a little cheaper, but you run the risk of losing it during shipping from overseas, and surprisingly, if you wait for the sales, Big 5 is pretty competitive (and if you sign up for their mailing list and get 10% it is one of the best prices). A list of in-store vs. online

In Store
Can inspect the gun (ask the person before you buy it)
you can return it if needed
you can get a good price for the sale
you have to pay tax (bad)
you have to actually talk to someone, and they will try to sell you other lower quality things
Online
you can buy other things for a decent price
Good price year round
Harder to return it (bad)
I mention returning it, becuase since it is a clone (and not a brand spanking new one) the lemon rate is probably a decent percentage

Opening the box

Taking it home, I was greeted with a pretty picture on the front (Cybergun really decorates their boxes well) and I was excited to unwrap it. Although I never bothered to take pictures when taking it out of the box, the gun is basically nestled in a styrofoam box with a cardboard cover, and plastic wrap around that to keep it in. Personally, I find this one of the best looking airsoft guns out there, guaranteed to be at least the second best m1a1 AEG out there (see if you get the joke here), with only a few blemishes noted, it has the classic lines, that can't be adulterated with red dots and lasers. I was mildly surprised at the weight, as it weights a hefty 8 or so pounds fully loaded (my scale is not particularly precise), but it is well balanced.

Everything in the box includes:
The m1a1 Thompson
47 round Stick mag (although I can only get 40 or so rounds in it)
Really Cheap sling
Speedloader
Instructions which I read (they weren't too helpful)


First Impressions

I liked the metal content, as the whole upper receiver is metal, although I was disappointed to find the lower receiver is plastic. It has a nice paintjob on it as well. Overall, this gun balances and points well, and I can understand why many gi's loved it.

A pretty picture of the overall gun:


From back to front externals

Stock
Plastic wood, but has a decent color to it. Holding it, the seams can be seen, but from a foot or two, you wont notice them. It has a nice black metal buttplate that rotates to reveal the battery compartment. It is pretty shiny, but not more shiny than brand new varnished wood. Also, it has a weird foam thing in the stock which prevents the installation of a larger battery. I screwed a drywall screw into it, then used pliers to pull it out without destroying it (it may have a purpose some day). Now I can have up to 3 mini batteries in my stock at once, or I could store bb's, tools, etc in there, but having a spare battery ready to be connected in the field is a plus for me.


Large hole, a bit hard to see into, but is cavernous. The only reason I wouldn't get a real wood kit would be I would miss this storage.

Pistol grip
holds the motor. Decent quality, although a casting dimple is visible on the bottom of it


Lower receiver
Plastic, disappointing, but not too bad. The trigger is metal, and so are the selector switches and magazine release. I don''t like the fact that the mag groove is plastic though, as I don't want it to break (it holds the mags in). The nice part though is that this gun is solidly built and as such, no small pieces stick out to be broken. Seems are somewhat visible on the bottom of the trigger guard


Selector Switches
Yes, switches. they are metal and you have one switch for safe and fire, one for semi and full. Although many don't like this, I found that I don't mind, as I can leave it on full or semi, and just be worried about taking it off safe, not hitting it into the right place. They aren't easily thumb switchable unless you have long thumbs though, and are attached to the gun with small set screws. Thankfully, the ridge where the upper and lower receiver mate protect them, as if they didn't, the could be one of the first things to be broken. Sadly, the click will slowly disappear, as the nub that clicks seems to wear away quite fast.

Mag well
ummm, what magwell? Well this is a make or break part of the Thompson, it has rails that you have to line up on the receiver and the magazine. It provides a really secure fit, but takes a lot of practice to switch mags quickly. As noted, the guides are plastic, but thick enough that they shouldn't break any time soon. The release is also odd. Instead of your typical mp5 or g36 push down release or m4 push in release, the Thompson release is located on the left side, and is pushed up while you pull the mag down and out. This is almost impossible to do while shooting lefty, so lefties beware.


Upper Receiver
Fully metal, and has trademarks. Realistic other than saying Caliber. 6mm and Made in China. Disappointing. I may paint over the made in china, and 6mm, and make it .45 ACP. It appears the metal is strong enough, although I am not going to do any destructive tests. Also, the paint is wear resistant, as I have fielded it twice, for a total of about 6 hours and nary a scratch (and I didn't exactly baby it nor did I try to scratch it). The bolt slides back and forth, and is really only a piece of sheetmetal. I have found that through futzing with it, I can jam it down in the back position (real steel is open bolt) and with the first shot it will fly forward. The hop up remains uncovered the whole time, and sits in the ejection port. It is nicely blended in, but some respected members of this forum consider that "poopy"



Note the cheesy Made in China and 6mm

Horizontal Foregrip
one of my least favorite things, it had a seam, and I immediately ditched it (and summarily lost it in my room in my other house) in favor of a vertical foregrip

Barrel
Quality barrel, no complaints, CYMA seems to have fixed the TM problem of cracking front barrels as they have thickened the reinforcement of the attachment. Heavy duty metal, same as the upper receiver, and attaches to the upper by 2 Phillips screws on the underside of it, and 1 set screw on the top. Also something I liked is that the end of the barrel is widened to .45 caliber width, and has "rifling" giving it a realistic look.

Orange Tip
easily removable, merely slide a knife between the two halves of the cap, and it is off. And if needed, you can put it back on for safety.
I should have a picture here, but my dad took the camera before I could get to it

Sights
Front blade and Rear peep sight with a v-notch on top of it. I use the v-notch for Kentucky elevation, and with it I can lob shots out to 200+ feet decently accurately (I can hit in about a a 5x5 foot rectangle at about 225 feet most of the time when wind is minimal) The rear sight is adjusted for windage and elevation with fingers and clicking it, so I can get kind of pissy when people mess with them, as I then have to reset it, instead of merely rotating knobs back to zero.


Sling
long story short, unless you plan on rarely slinging it, and not putting any stress on it at alll get a new one
Sling swivels: seem to be decent enough, but don't plan on using them like in Die Hard (puts an mp5 across a entrance and then uses the sling to help him climb down an shaft in case you wondered)

This post has been edited by CMP: Nov 17 2008, 06:56 PM