Replicas of Polish designs in airsoft are a rarity, if not real precious gems. Among those we have so far received replicas of the Beryl carbines produced by Ares Airsoft and FB Radom, as well as the even rarer replica of the Wz.63 Rak submachine gun from Tanaka Airsoft.
Fans of that last design — co-created by Piotr Wilniewczyc (co-designer of classics such as the Vis wz.35, Mors wz.39 and Ur wz.35) — will certainly be pleased by the news of a new replica. Like the Tanaka Airsoft product, this time the PM-63 Rak replica is being made in the homeland of airsoft, namely Japan, as a project made by a user known under the nickname sleepworker819. The new replica was produced using 3D printing based on PA12 nylon. Since the author did not have access to the original, the replica was built based on photographs and the aforementioned Tanaka Airsoft version. Due to the rather limited availability of original parts, magazines from the Ingram replica by Maruzen were used, as well as internal parts such as the inner barrel, hop-up chamber, nub and nozzle from Tokyo Marui replicas.
Delicate elements such as the folding grip, the front “spoon” of the bolt and the sliding stock were also successfully reproduced, and all functional controls were implemented. One should also appreciate the Japanese attention to detail in reproducing the two-stage trigger, which allows firing single shots when partially pulled and in full-auto when pulled completely. The replica is said to be fully functional, with performance around 60–70 m/s muzzle velocity and a rate of fire of about 1100 shots per second.
Due to Japan's restrictive regulations, the replica is available only from the author on the Japanese Ebay platform. Does this mean the end of the project for us? We hope not, and we will be following its further developments.
Photos: @sleepworker819
