Walther Arms PPQ +2 Mag Extension Black Aluminum

I've been trying to get hold of these for a couple of years. I grabbed a couple as soon as I got the email that they were back in stock. They arrived quickly, and are each packaged in a separate box from Walther, showing the item along with the typical printing for any sort of off the shelf accessory or product. I expected them to arrive in just a plastic zipper bag, but the box was a nice touch; though I would rather Walther have saved the cost of the box and printing and sold them at a lower price. They are marked as PPQ accessories, but they work on the PPQ/PDP compact mags. I am using these with my PDP compact. The eggshell/satin finish of the black coating on the aluminum is very well done, with no blemishes or unevenness in the coating. There is a Walther logo on the bottom of the baseplate. Assembly was easy, though instructions are not provided. You will reuse the magazine body and follower from the stock magazine. The included parts will replace the spring, spring keeper, and baseplate. The spring keeper plate is an L shape, giving to the need to sit lower in the new baseplate versus the factory spring keeper. Make short the "short side" of the "L" goes OUTSIDE of the magazine body; then press the keeper down flush with the bottom of the magazine body, compressing the spring, and slide the new baseplate on. Wear safety glasses and keep the magazine pointed away from you because if the spring slips out before you get it assembled and it hits you in the face, you're gonna have a bad day. Also, pay attention to the orientation of the spring. The front top end of the spring needs to go into the front of the follower. Both of the ones I ordered had the magazine follower on backwards and needed to be put further onto the spring by one half rotation to make sure the spring was in the correct orientation for the follower. All assembled, these baseplates add an additional ~1/2" to the height of the magazine. They are a hair narrower and a bit shorter than the plastic baseplates on the factory mags, but are a hair wider and longer than my 0 baseplates from Taylor Freelance that I use in IDPA competitions. The spring is notably longer and stronger than the factory magazine spring. If you want to add a couple rounds to your PPQ/PDP compact mags, but don't want to use the other Walther option (plastic baseplate with odd looking finger extension wannabe); then these are a great choice. Would be 5 stars, but subtracted one star for the lack of assembly instructions and the extra cost for the printed box.