)I thought it would be a good opportunity to see just how much of a "clone" these new guns actually are. This review will be in two parts. I am presenting the first part here, which stops at pulling apart the gearbox (since I would never have the time or patience to figure out how to put an AK gearbox back together). My esteemed colleague will take us thru the internal portion of our tour at a later date (like, when he finds out about the project
). Let's get started, shall we?The Packaging
Sure looks like a Marui box to me! At the time of the raffle, it was unclear by glancing at the box just who made the gun. Heck, after I got it home and opened it, and paged thru the manual, I still couldn't figure out who it was from! In fact, I am still fairly clueless as to the "brand name" of this particular release at the time of this review. The closest I've found is over at airsplat.com, where they have it branded as an "XL AK47 Beta Spetsnaz." Alas, moving on...
What's in the box?
As you can see, the packaging is similar to market standard: styrofoam molded and compartmentalized. I pulled off the lid to surprisingly find a metal body inside. But more on that later. In the box were:
- The AEG
- User Manual
- The ever-ubiquitous "HOP UP" Tag
- Industry Standard Swabbing/Unjamming "Tool"
- Industry Standard Loading Tube
- Industry Standard Flimsy Sling
- 8.4v 600mah NiCd mini
The User Manual:
It looks like they snatched the TM manual out of a TM box, covered over any TM logos or trades, and re-printed them.
The Battery:
Yeah, that says "600mah." Its a mini battery with a full sized Tamirya connector on it. Enough said.
Here it is, on my wall, clad in the fund-raising killrag from the event I won it at (By the way, I think Kerrik still may have some rags left...)
Now to the table. It came with a 30 round standard magazine. I went down to the local store and picked up a Marui 250 round hi-cap for it, which fits in and feeds the gun flawlessly. The funny thing was, he had a 600 round CA magazine, but it wouldn't fit. There was just a bit more substance to the magazine lip, enough to keep the magazine release latch from clicking into place. Go figure.
I had a charged battery laying around, so I loaded up the hi-cap with about 100 rounds and fired them off at my indoor target. My indoor target is a 1'x1'x1' cardboard box with a hole cut out of one side to hang a paper target over, and I fill it with bubble-wrap. I apologize, since at this point in time I do not own a chronometer. What I can tell you is that at approximately 15 feet, 4 shots out of 10 were bouncing off the bubble wrap guts of my box - yeah, as in not penetrating the uber-thin plastic, air-filled bubbles. As a point of reference, my GBB M93R (340fps-ish) shreds this stuff from 35' (the length of my basement). Needless to say, I think that airsplat.com's quote of "350 FPS w/ 0.2g BB!!!!!" might be a bit exagerated.
Loading the Battery
Loading the battery into this thing is certainly not "combat-friendly." It is a several step process, the most annoying- and totally impractacle on the battlefield - are 2 screws on the butt.
These need to be removed to reveal the "sliding-off" portion of the battery compartment.
This is by far one of the weakest points of the gun. The 2 little inner tabs are going to break, probably sooner rather than later. I can just feel it. The plate made out of a very hard, brittle appearing plastic.
Note the Large Tamiya plug? Also note the foam on either side of the battery compartment? They make it VERY snug for a mini battery in there, and will probably have to come out for a big battery.
Removing the Stock
3 screws hold the stock onto the body. 2 on the bottom, 1 on the top.
Removing them allows the stock to just "slide away," leaving 2 metal tabs sticking about 1-2 inches off the back of the body.
The "Upper"
Having mostly M4 and MP5 body styles (and a G36), I am used to the Upper and Lower Receiver halves to a gun. The "upper" on this one is pretty much just a cover. A cover for a large cylinder of "dead weight." It is released by pushing in the big button on the back of the body, and sliding it up and back.
The Grip
The grip is another part of the gun which makes you realize that you didn't pay for a "brand name." Right out of the box, it was creaky and felt like it would come off, given a good, twisting yank. It is held on by 1 screw at the bottom, which screws into the ............................................wait for it..................................PLASTIC GEARBOX!!!! <que cheesy "B" movie horror music>
Yep. it's plastic. Yep, that's how they can make the gun less expensive. Yep, that means that while it may be "Completely Tokyo Marui Compatible (Magazine and Upgrades)" , it probably wouldn't survive an upgrade, short of gutting it and putting in a metal gearbox. Does this mean its a "Cheap POS?" While it is tempting to cast it aside as imitation garbage, I'm going to have to say that the rest of the gun isn't so bad. The body does have metal parts to it, and the foregrip and stock plastic is solid and sturdy (minus the battery door). Even the stock connection to the body is stable.
I am going to have to hold off on my final judgment until after Part 2 of this review is released.
STAY TUNED!
Reviewer : Downslide
Reviewed : 19 Sept 2006
It looks like they snatched the TM manual out of a TM box, covered over any TM logos or trades, and re-printed them.
The Battery:
Yeah, that says "600mah." Its a mini battery with a full sized Tamirya connector on it. Enough said.
Here it is, on my wall, clad in the fund-raising killrag from the event I won it at (By the way, I think Kerrik still may have some rags left...)
Now to the table. It came with a 30 round standard magazine. I went down to the local store and picked up a Marui 250 round hi-cap for it, which fits in and feeds the gun flawlessly. The funny thing was, he had a 600 round CA magazine, but it wouldn't fit. There was just a bit more substance to the magazine lip, enough to keep the magazine release latch from clicking into place. Go figure.
I had a charged battery laying around, so I loaded up the hi-cap with about 100 rounds and fired them off at my indoor target. My indoor target is a 1'x1'x1' cardboard box with a hole cut out of one side to hang a paper target over, and I fill it with bubble-wrap. I apologize, since at this point in time I do not own a chronometer. What I can tell you is that at approximately 15 feet, 4 shots out of 10 were bouncing off the bubble wrap guts of my box - yeah, as in not penetrating the uber-thin plastic, air-filled bubbles. As a point of reference, my GBB M93R (340fps-ish) shreds this stuff from 35' (the length of my basement). Needless to say, I think that airsplat.com's quote of "350 FPS w/ 0.2g BB!!!!!" might be a bit exagerated.
Loading the Battery
Loading the battery into this thing is certainly not "combat-friendly." It is a several step process, the most annoying- and totally impractacle on the battlefield - are 2 screws on the butt.
These need to be removed to reveal the "sliding-off" portion of the battery compartment.
This is by far one of the weakest points of the gun. The 2 little inner tabs are going to break, probably sooner rather than later. I can just feel it. The plate made out of a very hard, brittle appearing plastic.
Note the Large Tamiya plug? Also note the foam on either side of the battery compartment? They make it VERY snug for a mini battery in there, and will probably have to come out for a big battery.
Removing the Stock
3 screws hold the stock onto the body. 2 on the bottom, 1 on the top.
Removing them allows the stock to just "slide away," leaving 2 metal tabs sticking about 1-2 inches off the back of the body.
The "Upper"
Having mostly M4 and MP5 body styles (and a G36), I am used to the Upper and Lower Receiver halves to a gun. The "upper" on this one is pretty much just a cover. A cover for a large cylinder of "dead weight." It is released by pushing in the big button on the back of the body, and sliding it up and back.
The Grip
The grip is another part of the gun which makes you realize that you didn't pay for a "brand name." Right out of the box, it was creaky and felt like it would come off, given a good, twisting yank. It is held on by 1 screw at the bottom, which screws into the ............................................wait for it..................................PLASTIC GEARBOX!!!! <que cheesy "B" movie horror music>
Yep. it's plastic. Yep, that's how they can make the gun less expensive. Yep, that means that while it may be "Completely Tokyo Marui Compatible (Magazine and Upgrades)" , it probably wouldn't survive an upgrade, short of gutting it and putting in a metal gearbox. Does this mean its a "Cheap POS?" While it is tempting to cast it aside as imitation garbage, I'm going to have to say that the rest of the gun isn't so bad. The body does have metal parts to it, and the foregrip and stock plastic is solid and sturdy (minus the battery door). Even the stock connection to the body is stable.
I am going to have to hold off on my final judgment until after Part 2 of this review is released.
STAY TUNED!
Reviewer : Downslide
Reviewed : 19 Sept 2006