The Western Arms box includes the following items:

1 SVI Xcelerator 5" LE
1 high capacity magazine (30 round)
3 extra interchangeable triggers (of different styles and shapes)
1 metal loading tube with metal pushrod
2 allen keys (for changing the trigger and adjusting the hop up)
1 Japanese manual
1 Japanese safety leaflet
1 Japanese product registration card
1 short range paper pistol target
1 baggie of 100 bbs

Colors: Nearly the entire Xcelerator series are quite colorful, as most IPSC guns are, either airsoft or real steel. This model is no exception. The 5" LE comes standard with:

"Tactical Purple"* magwell and trigger(s)
Black lower frame, front/rear sights, grip and trigger guard.
Silver slide, hammer, safety lever, palm safety and slide release.
Gold outer barrel and chamber shield.

Metal Parts: This replica is nearly entirely metal, and as such, it weighs quite a bit. The metal parts include:

Slide
Spring guide
Outer barrel
Hammer
Rear sight (almost positive that's metal)
Slide release/takedown lever
Ambidextrous safeties
Palm safety
Chamber shield
Lower frame
Trigger(s)
Mag release button
Magazine

As far as I can tell, the only plastic on this gun is the grip and trigger guard, and the front sight.

Trademarks: When I first opened the box, the gun had putty obscuring all the SVI trademarks. The putty came off of the slide and upper frame trades easily enough, but I had a slight problem removing the putty from the grip trades. You see the "SV" in the grip are merely metallic sticker plates, and when I tried to remove the putty, the sticker backing gave way first and I had to peel the putty and the sticker apart, then replace the stickers back into the grip. One of the SV grip logos was damaged in this process, I hope to be able to replace it later on.

The replica has the following trademarks:

"INFINITY" engraved on both sides of the slide.
"SV" logo engraved in the right side lower frame just above the grip.
"SV" logo metallic stickers recessed in the grips on both sides.
"Infinity 45 ACP" engraved in the chamber shield
"WA ASGK" engraved just above the trigger guard on the right side.

Barrel Paint: In accordance with US regulations, I had UN Company paint the barrel tip orange. They did a great job with it, only painting 1/4 inch of the outside of the outer barrel (not the slide) and they masked it perfectly. With this particular gun, the color of orange isn't too different from the gold barrel, so it doesn't really look that bad. I may just decide to leave the paint, rather than try to remove it, and damage the great finish on the gold outer barrel.

Fine Details: One thing that really catches my eye, is the outer barrel's simulated rifling. The thickness of the metal outer barrel is such that, they machined VERY realistic looking rifling in the front 1.5 centimeters of the outer barrel. The inside of the outer barrel is even .45 inch ID.

A note about "Tactical Purple": After first showing this gun to my business partner Biggie Nick, the first words out of his mouth were "Its Purple?, or is that Tactical Purple?". So henceforth, this gun shall be referred to on the field as the "TPCP", or "Tactical Purple Combat Pistol"

Magazine Loading: The WA high cap mag that comes with the Xcelerator 5" LE, is the standard SVI high cap mag. It holds exactly 30 bbs in a side by side pattern. The mag has the normal spring slide to hold the spring down while loading manually, but the included loading tool is a much better option. I would say that this is the best working loading tool I've seen for a pistol mag. It consists of a metal tube with a plastic "foot" that interfaces with the top of the magazine, and a metal push rod with a plastic handle. All you need to do is hold the loading tube against the top of the mag, fill the tube with bbs (it holds exactly 30) and push them into the mag with the push rod. You will feel the resistance of the magazine spring as you push, just as you do with the TM AEG standard mag loaders. So far I have been able to load a mag in less than 20 seconds.

Magazine Changes: The oversized magwell on the gun is chamfered on the inside edge, effectively a square funnel, making fast mag insertion a breeze. The mag locks into place firmly with a nice click and is very stable in the handle. Pressing the mag release on the left hand side of the frame results in the magazine falling out fast and smooth, to the point where you had better have your hand there to catch it before you press the button, or you could end up with a mag on the floor. The mags are nearly all metal, with a plastic shield covering the bottom of the mag. With this shield, it could possibly stand up to hitting the floor from arms height, but I'm not about to test it. I am positive that a mag could handle that drop in an outside area with grass or dirt. But I don't recommend it.

Ambidextrous safety: This gun has a dual safety mechanism. It has the palm safety, making it impossible to fire the gun unless it is held properly, with your palm against the back of the handle. It also has the ambidextrous thumb safety. In order for these safety levers to be used, the hammer must be in the cocked position. This allows for you to have the gun locked and loaded, ready to fire, with the safety on. Then when you draw the pistol, all it takes is a flip of your thumb and your ready to fire.

Trigger Pull: The trigger pull on this pistol is possible the lightest I've seen on an autoloader. Definitely lighter than the KSC Glock 19 owned by my teammate, and lighter than the KSC Glock 18C and the Infinity compact carry. (Owned by a Chicago area player) All of the Xcelerator series pistols come with 4 different interchangeable triggers. I ended up changing to the lowest profile trigger because it fit my small hand better, allowing me to curl my trigger finger comfortably over the trigger. You can see the other 3 triggers in one of the pictures above.

Test Firing, Slide Cycling and Recoil: When I finally got to shoot this replica, I couldn't help myself. I had received it more than a week before and had no gas to shoot it with. On the way to my teammate's house for the new year festivities, I stopped at an airsoft retailer that was on the way, and picked up some Green Gas. After arriving at my teammate's house, I had some lunch then immediately got into the garage. I had no targets printed up, no cans to shoot at, I just wanted to squeeze off a mag or two to get the feel of the gun. I quickly loaded the bbs and gas into the magazines and squared off 25 feet in front of one of the bb traps. I manually cycled the slide and flipped the safety on. I raised the sights towards the empty target trap. I quivered with ANTICI.......PATION as I squeezed the trigger for the first time. WOW, impressive recoil. I would say it has as much recoil as my real steel Ruger MKII 22/45 .22LR pistol had. It doesn't raise your forearm, but it definitely snaps the wrist up. The metal slide moves back and forth quickly and smoothly, with a little metal on metal sound. I plan to put a little silicon lube in the guide grooves to lessen that sound. I then finished off the remainder of my loaded mags in various levels of controlled and rapid fire. While in rapid fire, I noticed that sight recovery is definitely more difficult than in the KSC glock 19, which of course is both good and bad. Good in that it adds a TON of realism to shooting this replica, bad in that it makes accurate rapid fire slightly more difficult.

Accuracy: After a few magazines worth of shooting the pistol myself and a few magazines worth for my teammates, I did an "official" accuracy test. The conditions of the test are as follows:

Type of gas used: Taiwanese "Super Power Green Gas"
Number of rounds fired: 30
Ambient Temperature: 40 degrees F
Lighting: Shooter and target lit by 100 watt fluorescent light
Distance: 25 feet
Stance: Combination of standing and kneeling
Target type: Self printed IDPA style

Results:

I used a combination of standing and kneeling, slow and controlled rapid fire for this test. The resultant grouping was around 3 inches, slightly up and to the left of center. A simple adjustment of the sights will fix this easily.

Considering the all metal construction and precise fit of the parts, I see this pistol being able to withstand any amount of normal wear and tear for an indefinite amount of time. Both for bbIPSC and Skirmish use. I would even hazard to say that it could even put up with some reckless abuse in the field, assuming that it is properly lubed and maintained when not in service.

The number of available accessories and upgrades for this gun is astonishing. Just about anything you can think of:

Different colored magwells
Different colored triggers
Custom machined hammers
Custom machined safeties
Stainless steel outer barrels
Stainless steel chamber covers
Stainless steel breech
Ultra high capacity magazines
Different colored grips/trigger guards
Tactical sight rails

You name it.. You can probably get it for this gun.