Japan Arms Collection
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Japan Arms Collection, more commonly JAC, was one of the early pioneers of the airsoft industry. This era of guns is commonly referred to as classic airsoft. In the beginning they worked in conjunction with the Asahi Firearms company, but ultimately branched out to make many of their own products.
[edit] History
JAC had a long and illustious career, making many types of guns. Their "Battle Master" system appeared in many guns such as the M3A1 Grease Gun, AR-18, L2A3 Sterling, FN FAL L1A1, and UZI. The JAC Uzi DX was once considered the gold standard of skirmish worthy airsoft guns and many still exist today. JAC's later years saw the development of guns such as the M1A1 Thompson, and the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) which sells for upwards of $2000 and is considered to be one of the finest pieces of model gun craftmanship ever designed.
Unfortunately in the early to mid-1990s, the Japanese economy hit an all time low and fell into a recession. Prior to this time, JAC, Kokusai and other large companies had invested in large real estate ventures, factories, and machinery. After the economic bubble burst, these companies were unable to survive the debts they incurred and were forced to sell their holdings. Unfortunately, prior to the economic downturn, many of these companies took on large risky projects. This spelled the end for gas driven airsoft in the '90s.
Many of the older companies lost business and had to close their doors. The most famous of these closures was that of JAC. The common consensus is that JAC's ambitious "World War II" line of guns (featuring only two guns, the BAR and Thompson, both made of metal and wood and even using a few real gun parts like mag shells), cost so much to make that, combined with slumping sales, it destroyed the company. However, to this day, concrete evidence has not been discovered to support that idea.
[edit] A complete list of JAC airsoft guns [1]
- Battlemaster
- M3A1 Grease Gun
- Sterling L2A3
- FN FAL L1A1 [2][3]
- Armalite AR-18 rifle
- IMI UZI [2][3]
- IMI Micro UZI
- IMI λ UZI [4]
- Ingram MAC-10 [2][5]
- M60E1 [6]
- M16A1 [7][8][9][10][11]
- M16A1 [12][8][10][11]
- M16A2 [9][10][11]
- M16A2 [13][9][10][11]
- M653 [14][7][8][10][11]
- XM177E1 [10][10]
- XM177E2 [10][10][11]
- AR-15A2 rifle [9]
- AR-15A2 Delta HBAR Sporter [9]
- Heckler & Koch MP5A3
- Heckler & Koch MP5A4
- Heckler & Koch MP5A5
- Heckler & Koch MP5SD5
- Heckler & Koch MP5SD6
- Steyr AUG A1 Military
- Steyr AUG A1 P Carbine
- Steyr AUG A1 SMG
- M1A1 Thompson [15]
- Browning BAR M1918A1 [16]
- Browning BAR M1918A2 [16]
- FN Browning High Power M1935 Military model
- FN Browning Hi-Power MK.3 black model
- FN Browning Hi-Power MK.3 half-silver model
- FN Browning Hi-Power MK.3 stainless model
- FN Browning Hi-Power MK.3 Novak sight type model
- FN Browning Hi-Power MK.3 Target-1 model
- FN Browning Hi-Power MK.3 Target-2 model
[edit] References and Notes
- ^ Additionally, the following model variants were available on a special order basis through Frontline, JAC's inhouse custom shop:
-MP5 Series: MP5SD4, MP5SD3, MP5SD2, MP5A2
-AR-18 Series: Carbine, SMG
-UZI Series: Carbine, Sniper Carbine
-M16 Series: M655 Barnes, M633, M733, M648, M748, M635 9mm SMG - ^ a b c Standard Grade
- ^ a b Deluxe Grade
- ^ Nu UZI
- ^ MAXIMUM Grade
- ^ General Purpose Machine Gun
- ^ a b Export Grade
- ^ a b c Normal Grade
- ^ a b c d e Heavyweight Grade
- ^ a b c d e f g h i DX Grade
- ^ a b c d e f Limited (only 1000 Limited models made)
- ^ Vietnam type
- ^ Carbine type
- ^ "Barnes" Carbine
- ^ Limited edition of only 500 made
- ^ a b Limited edition of only 250 made
