Bren Ten "Miami Vice" & Military/Police Airsoft Pistols

While the Bren Ten pistol was only produced in limited numbers (approximately 1500 guns or so) and run in the neighborhood of $1200 to $1600 when you can find one, it is now possible for just about anyone to add a Bren, or two, to their collection for only about $100 a copy. How is this possible you ask? Well, the Japanese airsoft company of Marushin has added two highly detailed and quite accurate reproductions of the Bren Ten to their product line.

Both guns are 5" full-sized models with one being the all black Military/Police version and the other an all "stainless" Miami Vice-style gun. Both guns appear to be excellent copies of the real thing and in pictures are difficult to discern from the actual gun. The finish on the Military/Police looks quite good, but unfortunately the Miami Vice Bren wears a uniform high-gloss silver finish. It's still a good looking piece, but the actual gun used by Don Johnson had a satin hard chromed slide on a stainless frame with brushed flats and media blasted curved surfaces. Not quite the same...

All in all though, both airsoft guns give the collector a relatively inexpensive means of adding one or two Bren Tens to their collection!

Marushin "Miami Vice" Bren Ten Review

As the Marushin Bren Ten Maxi is still relatively new not too many have made it into the hands of the public. Even fewer have come into the possession of individuals who have a true appreciation, understanding and working knowledge of the real Bren Ten. Rob Ward recently acquired one and was kind enough to give us a review. The pictures used for the review come from Peko and Austin.

Out of the box and in the hand the Maxi is a near identical copy of a full-size 10mm Auto Bren Ten as produced by Dornaus & Dixon. It is immediately clear to see why any collector of the Bren Ten would want to buy one. Every important and unique feature of the Bren Ten is imparted to the Maxi copy. From the slide down you will find all of the markings and stampings found on a real Bren. The famed Gunsite raven is there, as is the crown barrel, and the raised rear slide covering the rear sights. There is also a working hammer, trigger and safety and the Maxi can be cocked and locked. It also has a working magazine release button, as well as a removable magazine. Sadly, the slide does not move backwards more then a few centimetres, the crossbolt safety is for show only, the magazine selector also does not work, nor is the safety reversible.

To compensate for this however, the whole gun field strips just like a real Bren! Simply pull the slide back a few centimetres and release the slide stop (this is usually very stiff so you may need to use the tip of a pen to get it moving but be careful not to scratch the side of the Maxi). The slide can then be pulled completely off the front of the frame. Be careful here, as there is a small piece of plastic trim that rests against the barrel. This has a tendency to fall off as soon as the slide is removed; you need to keep it balanced in place when refitting the slide. The fake recoil guide spring can also be removed by pulling it away from the lug of the barrel. You can even remove the barrel away from the slide. Refitting is in reverse order.

But the single most astounding thing about the Maxi happens when you look inside it when field stripped. Apart from minor changes to allow the pistol to function as an airsoft weapon, it is exactly the same internally as a real Bren Ten! The trigger system, draw bar, hammer connector, etc., its all there. This is a testament to the workmanship and dedication of the people at Marushin and an unexpected surprise. One can only presume that there were more then a few headaches in adapting the Marushin soft air system to function reliably. But they have done a stirling job. It is such an extremely accurate replica in size, weight and feel that only someone with experience of a real Bren will note that it feels slightly lighter, and that there are subtle differences in the feel of the controls. None the less the whole replica is so close to the real Bren Ten, that at least one owner has matted the maxi frame to a Bren Tens slide and vice versa. (NOTE: It is impossible for the Maxi to cycle a 10mm Auto round, in any configuration with a real Bren Ten in case anyone is foolish enough to attempt it.)

The Maxi used for this review is to be a display piece only. However in light of the fact that some will buy it as a dedicated airsoft weapon, it was loaded and test fired. The magazine is the heart of the pistol, holding both the Freon type gas and the 8mm bbs. The bbs are loaded in the front of the magazine. The magazine is then loaded with gas from its base via a gas port. The Maxi is then ready to shoot. If like me it, has been a few years since you shot an airsoft weapon be ready for a pleasant surprise. Gone are the days of unreliability and bbs just managing to dribble out of the barrel! The first few shots were at a range of just seven feet, against a suitable backdrop to catch the pellets. I was amazed at the power of the bbs leaving the barrel and moved back to 20ft to try again. Again the bbs all struck the backrest with surprising power, and all the shots were accurate. I then moved back to 50ft and took a pot shoot at a far distant object... and was incredulous when it not only hit the target, but also struck it with enough force to leave a dent in it! At this stage I ran out of room to test the pistol but was suitably impressed. The bbs are bound to arc badly the longer they have to travel, but for "skirmishing" this pistol would be excellent.

The Maxi comes in two styles, either all black just like a Military/Police Bren Ten or all silver. However, Dornaus & Dixon never mass produced a full-size Bren Ten in silver, so this is a copy of the most famous of Bren Tens, the special one-off pistols produced for Miami Vice. Whilst not entirely accurate to the standard model which came in two-tone only, it is accepted that what everyone really wanted at the time, and even today, is that all-silver Bren Ten pistol as used by Sonny Crockett.

Thanks to Marushin everyone now has the opportunity to have one. The price of the pistol was £96.00 ($145.00) but I expect that price to be much lower in the U.S.

Bren Ten Maxi Airsoft Gallery

Below you will find a picture gallery of Marushin Bren Ten Maxi Airsoft pistols. These are pics of personally owned guns that have been sent into me to display here on the website. If you would like to contribute some of your own Bren Ten Maxi photos just email them to me and I'll add them to the gallery.

Austin's Miami Vice rig.

Close-up of Austin's rig.

Right side of Austin's Marushin Bren Ten.

Left side of Austin's Marushin Bren Ten.

Muzzle view of Austin's Marushin Bren Ten.

Marushin Bren Ten Maxi Retailer Info

I have been getting more and more emails asking where the Marushin Bren Ten Maxi airsoft replicas can be purchased. I have not bought one myself as of yet so I can't give any first-hand recommendations, but I can list some of the websites I've found on the internet that list the Bren Ten Maxi.

I have no connections with any of these companies and so this list is in no way an endorsement of any of them. It is simply for reference purposes for those who are researching information about the Marushin replica.

Airsoft Dynamics (Great Britain)

Airsoft-World.com (Canada)

UN Company (Hong Kong)