Airsoft Action - August 2023

WE STAND WITH THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE 

ISSUE 152 - AUGUST 2023 

ISSN 2634-9515

CONTENTS 

8 ARMOURY: ASG STEYR L9-A2 

At IWA earlier this year we had a superb meeting with the new UK 

team from ACTIONSPORTGAMES (ASG). The first result from that 

meeting has been the all-new STEYR L9-A2 GBB that we’ve had in 

testing for a while, and now Boycie lands his verdict! 

WE STAND WITH THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE 

ISSUE 152 - AUGUST 2023 

ISSN 2634-9515 

16 ARMOURY: LCT LC-3K AEG 

LCT have released their much awaited LC-3K shortened, specialist 

battle rifle AEG, and our “Man in Taiwan”, Stewbacca, has been 

on point again! 

Editorial Director: Bill Thomas 

Deputy Editor (Asia): Stu Mortimer 

Graphic Design: Calibre Publishing 

Ad Design: Deadshot Design 

Publisher: Calibre Publishing 

26 ARMOURY: RA-TECH EMG/GHK NOVESKE 10.5 GBBR 

Stewbacca managed to get his hands on the latest and greatest 

from one of Taiwan’s high-end custom component and turnkey 

solution manufacturers, Red Alert Tech (RATech) of Hualien on the 

East coast of Taiwan, to put it through its paces! 

Web: www.airsoftaction.net 

©Calibre Publishing Limited 2023 

All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be 

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted 

in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, 

photocopying, recording or otherwise without the 

express permission of the publisher in writing. The 

opinion of the writers do not necessarily reflect those 

of the publisher. The editor reserves the right to edit 

submissions prior to publication. 

FIND US ON… 

38 ARMOURY: CYBERGUN/BOLT BRSS SCAR-SC 

We’re always pleased to see a new replica AEG coming onto the 

market, especially when our friends at BOLT are involved, but as 

we’ve delved deeper into the story of the SCAR-SC things are not 

quite as clear as they might initially seem, as Bill reports... 

LETTER, IDEA OR 

QUESTION? 

Got something to say? A question for our 

experts? An article or article idea? 

Drop us a line and let us know. Either email the 

Editorial Director: bill@airsoft-action.co.uk, or talk to 

us on Twitter or Facebook. 

56 ARMOURY: DELTA ARMORY MK18 ALPHA AEG 

We’ve recently added a new “Mk18” AEG from DELTA ARMORY to 

the long-term test pool, and it’s proving to be quite a conversationstarter! 

Bill takes an in-depth look at a new take on one of his 

favourite AR platforms.

Contents 

AUGUST 2023 

44 THE CAGE: DEDICATED COMP 

BELT KIT 

As we come to the end of another 

sequence in THE CAGE, the AA 

LEGION and a very welcome “guest” 

are going to explain all things 

“dedicated” as competition belt setups 

are a very different beast to what 

we would usually use in a skirmish 

situation, but we’ll show y are an 

investment that can serve you ably for 

many years! 

76 TECH: LAMBDA DEFENCE MK48 

MOD 1 OPTIMISATION 

Dan has something of a “rep” within 

the AA Crew now when it comes to 

getting the very best out of AEGs, and 

this time he takes on the beast that is 

the LAMBDA DEFENCE MK48 MOD 

1 to see if he can get it to reach the 

potential it promised from the outset! 

48 RED CELL: HK146/MK18 UPDATE 

It’s time for another mid-point RED 

CELL UPDATE and this time for a 

couple of platforms that are very 

dear to our hearts! As the long-term 

test pool continues to grow with 

the commitment and inclusion of 

numerous manufacturers for our 

ongoing program, we’re turning our 

attention this month to our HK416 

and Mk18 “NSW” models! 

84 AA LEGION: JAPAN 

As word of the AA LEGION continues 

to spread, “Tama” approached 

Stewbacca online to submit a debut 

review and share his experiences of 

the OPS “Survival Game” Field in the 

Tokyo area, and thankfully he brings 

another player perspective from 

our growing contingent of friends 

overseas! 

62 TECH: MAPLE LEAF 

In the first of many planned 

collaborative articles with “Military” 

Anny Wu who Stewbacca introduced 

in our inaugural “Getting Personal” 

feature back in Issue 148 of April 

2023, he sat down with her to get the 

scoop on her previous visit to Maple 

Leaf Tactical’s recently established 

‘Creative Workshop’ facility open to 

visitors in the Southwest of New Taipei 

City. 

88 AA LEGION: TAIWAN 

Over the past few months, as the 

summer heat in Taiwan intensifies, 

Stewbacca and his expansive group 

of compatriots in Team Taiji have 

similarly been ratcheting up the action 

and preparation for their next big 

MilSim event; POLK3 will be held in 

the same area as last year’s POLK2 

but the planners have secured better 

camping facilities and a more open 

play area which will hopefully be 

less of a nightmare to play through 

than last year’s efforts… although it’s 

being held in mid-July so the heat and 

humidity are definitely something they 

also need to prepare for! 

68 TECH: RATTLECAN CAMO 

We spend a lot of time, effort 

and money putting together our 

camouflage system of clothing and 

gear, but whatever pattern you prefer 

you still end up with a darn great 

black rifle sticking out in front of 

you unless you take some very direct 

action! This is an area that we’ve 

covered before, but as it’s a question 

we get asked time and again Bill 

gets his trusty rattlecans out again 

to give the pool ROSSI NEPTUNE SAS 

a proper field-expedient “O.W.N” 

spray-job! 

94 RELOADED: VFC BCM 

Back In 2021 Bill took a really good 

look at the then-new BCM MCMRs 

from VegaForce Company (VFC) and 

fell back in love with AR platforms 

all over again! These two premium 

airsoft platforms have proved to be 

the foundation of the VFC “BCMAIR” 

program so now he looks back on his 

experiences so far, and looks to the 

future!

ARMOURY 

ASG STEYR L9-A2 

STRIKER... 

BUT NOT AS 

WE KNOW IT! 

8 

AUGUST 2023

ARMOURY 


AT IWA EARLIER THIS YEAR WE HAD A SUPERB MEETING WITH THE NEW UK TEAM FROM 

ACTIONSPORTGAMES (ASG) AND WE WERE VERY GLAD TO SEE THAT THEY ARE OBVIOUSLY FULLY 

BACK ON TRACK WITH THEIR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR 

LICENCED REPLICATIONS THAT WE’VE ALL COME TO KNOW AND LOVE OVER THE YEARS! THE FIRST 

RESULT FROM THAT MEETING HAS BEEN THE ALL-NEW STEYR L9-A2 GBB THAT WE’VE NOW HAD IN 

TESTING FOR A WHILE, AND NOW BOYCIE LANDS HIS VERDICT! 

The newly designed STEYR PISTOL A2 MF 

is the newest member in the STEYR ARMS 

product family. It is available in 3 sizes – 

(L-Large; M-Medium and C-Compact) with 17rnd 

magazine, a real picatinny rail (MilStd. 1913) 

at the forend and a fully adjustable grip. The 

back strap as well as both sides of the grip are 

adjustable with different sized inlays. The grip 

also features a funnel for a quick magazine 

change. Our pistols are all IPSC-listed. 

That’s what Steyr say about the A2 pistol on their 

website and in their marketing blurb for the “real 

deal”, and I have to say that it is an exciting design, 

and one that I’m very glad to see ably replicated by 

ActionSportGames (ASG) under licence! 

The real Steyr M series is actually a family of semiautomatic 

pistols developed by Steyr Mannlicher in 

Austria for both professional and civilian shooters. 

Online research tells me that “design work on the 

new pistol began in the early 1990s and the final 

product known as the M9 (adapted to fire the 

9×19mm Parabellum cartridge) was officially unveiled 

in the spring of 1999. The M40 version chambered in 

.40 S&W was developed before the M9, followed later 

by the M357 (chambered in .357 SIG) and two smaller 

variants of the M9 and M40 designated the S9 and 

S40 respectively.” 

Apparently the first pistols in the “family” were 

developed first and foremost for concealed carry 

and therefore had a shortened barrel, slide, smaller 

frame and a reduced magazine capacity. In 2013, 

the Steyr M (Medium) and S (Small) pistol models 

were joined by the L (Large) and C (Compact) models 

both available in 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W 

chamberings as the L9-A1, L40-A1, C9-A1 and 

C40-A1. In 2019 though Steyr introduced the A2 MF 

series in 9×19mm Parabellum in three sizes; the Large 

L9-A2 MF, Medium M9-A2 MF and Compact C9-A2 

MF, where “MF” stood simply for Modular Frame. The 

revised grip frame featured a STANAG 2324 Picatinny 

rail, more aggressive surface texturing, a lengthened 

beaver tail and was adjustable to user preferences 

with different sized back-straps and side grip inlay 

panels. 

Hammerless and striker-fired, the current Steyr M 

features a double action only (DAO) pre-set trigger 

mechanism marketed as a “Reset Action” trigger. 

Noteworthy on the Steyr M series is the unique 

“trapezoidal” sight picture of its fixed, and this 

sighting setup consists of a triangular front sight and 

a trapezoid rear notch that leads the eye to the target 

for quicker target acquisition and allow for instinctive 

aiming. Optional adjustable or non-adjustable 

tritium-illuminated three-dot low light situation sights 

can also be fitted to the “real”, and these have a 

conventional rectangular profile, although I’m certain 

that further development will come! 

The L9-A2 has been faithfully replicated in airsoft 

form by the OEM, which ASG are keeping close to 

their chest for now as they don’t want to give too 

much away, and they have presented us with what 

looks to be a great looking airsoft version of the 

“real”, a GBB that thankfully I’ve been able to spend 

some serious time with thanks to the lovely guys at 

ASG UK. 

GETTING INTO IT 

The box is really nice, with an outline drawing of 

the L9-A2, and the usual warnings and licensing 

information. On opening the box, there’s a well 

presented pistol in a clear plastic bag. As with most 

pistols boxed this way there are the bags with 

“HAVING SEEN THE REAL PISTOL THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL OF THIS AIRSOFT 

VERSION IS JUST BRILLIANT, RIGHT DOWN TO THE TEXTURE ON THE FRAME, SIDE 

PANELS AND BACK STRAPS, THE LATTER TWO BOTH BEING INTERCHANGEABLE. THE 

MARKINGS AS YOU WOULD EXPECT WITH THE OFFICIALLY LICENSED PISTOL ARE 

EXACTLY AS ON THE REAL STEEL VERSION” 

www.airsoftaction.net 9

ARMOURY 


accessories and parts under the inner packaging. 

The first thing I did, which is habit of mine and not 

a bad one, was to remove the pistol from the bag, 

removing the magazine and checking the “chamber”. 

Having seen the real pistol the attention to detail of 

this airsoft version is just brilliant, right down to the 

texture on the frame, side panels and back straps, the 

latter two both being interchangeable. The markings 

as you would expect with the officially licensed pistol 

are exactly as on the real steel version. 

This is a pistol which feels really nice in the hand 

and has quite a unique look, but with echoes of other 

pistols on the market; for example, the back straps 

have a pattern that is reminiscent of a Gen 3 Glock, 

with a similar type of trigger. The grip angle is similar 

to that of an H&K P8. The front of the pistol is quite 

blocky like that of the USP. The trigger guard reminds 

me of that on the Beretta M9. Looking down the 

slide from the rear, there is a similar profile to that of 

a S&W M&P9, as is the beavertail. Side on the slide 

has similarities to that of a SIG 226E2, but with a 

vastly lower profile. There are also echoes of an XDM 

but without the safety in the back of the grip. The 

method of takedown is of a similar type to that on the 

SIG 226 and other variants, but on the right side, not 

the left as on the SIG. And the rounded muzzle end 

of the slide is like that on the Gen 5 Glock. The side 

profile also reminded me somewhat bizarrely of the 

Krytac Maxim 9! All of these features are superb, and 

it’s like Steyr have searched around for all the useful 

and attractive features on some of the most popular 

models out there and melded them all into one 

aesthetically pleasing and highly functional handgun 

design of their own! 

Things that I personally like about the L9-A2 

immediately… there are a few! The grip angle and 

“THINGS THAT I PERSONALLY LIKE ABOUT THE L9-A2 IMMEDIATELY… THERE ARE A 

FEW! THE GRIP ANGLE AND “PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE” TEXTURE COMES FIRST, CLOSELY 

FOLLOWED BY THE REVERSIBLE MAG RELEASE WHICH IS GREAT, ALTHOUGH THE SLIDE 

LOCK RELEASE IS ONLY USEABLE BY A RIGHT HANDER” 

10 


ARMOURY 


“BEING A STRIKER-FIRED ACTION I WANTED TO SEE WHAT THE HAMMER SPRING WAS 

LIKE AND LIL STU SAID “HOLEE HECK THAT IS STRONG”, WHICH I AGREED WITH. SOME 

OTHER BRANDS OF STRIKER FIRED RIF PISTOLS HAVE A QUITE WEAK SPRING BUT 

THIS, TO ME, FELT MORE AKIN TO THE STRENGTH OF WHAT I WOULD EXPECT ON A 

REAL STEEL FIREARM” 


ARMOURY 


“passive aggressive” texture comes first, closely 

followed by the reversible mag release which is great, 

although the slide lock release is only useable by a 

right hander. This won’t be a problem for me as I use 

the ‘grasp the slide’ slide lock release method. Even 

though I could swap the mag release over to the right 

(as I am left handed), I still favour the “right handed 

option” as it means that my finger is most definitely 

off the trigger during reloads. The interchangeable 

palm swells are really good as well, being able to 

change them around to suit your hand size. Lil Stu 

pointed out that “for his tiny dabs” having a slim 

panel on the right and the medium on the left, allied 

to the medium back strap provided a bespoke set up 

that suits him. Faithfully replicated in the airsoft replica 

is the flared magwell which really makes the loading 

of the magazine really easy. 

What I REALLY like is that the outer barrel has the 

appearance of hexagonal rifling, and the addition of 

a brass section around the inner barrel/hop unit just is 

fantastic. In a sport where a majority of people want 

realism, this brass ring gives the impression of a real 

round being chambered; this for me is such a simple 

thing, but has really impressed me and just caps the 

attention to detail found in this replica. 

DOWNRANGE 

Stripping the pistol is simple once you get to grips 

with pushing the button down, rotating the latch and 

holding the slide. JB from ASG UK told me that they 

had test fired this L9 before it was handed over to 

me and this, I found, had rendered it a little dry inside 

so before I started the firing tests, I fitted a bulb into 

the mag and went to the range to see how many 

shots it would deliver in the dry state. Unsurprisingly 

it only lasted 10 laboured shots before the dreaded 

“hissssss” of the bulb. Being a striker-fired action 

I wanted to see what the hammer spring was like 

and Lil Stu said “Holee heck, that is strong!”, which 

I agreed with. Some other brands of striker fired RIF 

pistols have a quite weak spring but this, to me, felt 

more akin to the strength of what I would expect on a 

real steel firearm. 

So to the testing; loading up the magazine with a 

CO2 bulb and ASG Blaster BBs it was time to hit the 

range and chronoing on a .20g came in pretty much 

bang on iro 0.83 Joule/300fps as ASG state, although 

I then upped to .25g. I’m lucky as I have access to an 

indoor range and for the most part skirmishers will 

use their pistol at shorter ranges like up to 25m so 

this was ideal for me to get some initial testing going. 

I started holding the L9-A2 at low ready and snap 

shooting from approximately 7m; the grouping was 

tight, all BBs landing within an A6 size group (1/4 a 

sheet of A4). Moving back out to 15m and taking 

more time to line up the shots, as you would expect 

the group expanded a little and then back at 20m I 

was still able to hit an A4 sheet sized group! This for 

me is a good guide as to being able to hit the target 

in a CQB environment where you may only have a 

small gap to get your shot through. 

Before the firing tests I properly lubed the surfaces 

and blowback unit, and this made all the difference. 

The L9 was really snappy and completed 30 effective 

shots from the bulb before the slide didn’t travel far 

enough to re-cock the striker. As is usual the ambient 

temperature and how well the pistol is lubed plays 

a big factor in how many shots can be taken from a 

single bulb. 

So to summarise; this is one pistol that I really 

enjoyed using, so much so I actually asked JB if it had 

to go back to ASG and “could I buy it”, to which 

he said he’d prefer that I get a spanky new one and 

a purchase will be arranged in the not too distant 

future, and from Lil Stu’s comments I am pretty sure 

he’s looking at getting one as well after being part of 

the review. This is really the highest recommendation 

we can give to any new model that we test, when we 

say that we’ll buy it ourselves; we get to play with so 

many airsoft models through the RED CELL long-term 

testing program that we’re often spoiled for choice, 

but for me, and for Lil Stu too apparently, the ASG 

STEYR L9-A2 GBB is most definitely a “keeper”! 

My thanks go to JB at ASG UK for letting me get 

my hands on the evaluation sample L9-A2, to Lil Stu 

for his input and assistance, to Mally and Richard for 

helping me with the photos and to Glenn at Phoenix 

Range for allowing me to use the facilities for the 

test shoots. Finally, there is so much more that can be 

written about the L9-A2 but that will only come after 

extensive testing in the field and in Action Air comps, 

so watch this space for a “RELOADED” feature down 

the road… AA 

“THE GROUPING WAS TIGHT, ALL BBS LANDING WITHIN AN A6 SIZE GROUP (1/4 A 

SHEET OF A4). MOVING BACK OUT TO 15M AND TAKING MORE TIME TO LINE UP THE 

SHOTS, AS YOU WOULD EXPECT THE GROUP EXPANDED A LITTLE AND THEN BACK AT 

20M I WAS STILL ABLE TO HIT AN A4 SHEET SIZED GROUP!” 

12 


ARMOURY 



ARMOURY 


14 


ARP9 2.0 

EGC-ARP-9V2-BNB-NCM 

7” M-LOK Handguard. 

Combat Machine Airsoft Gun. 

New GOS-V9 Retractable Stock. 

170 

5 POSITIONS 

RETRACTABLE 

Stainless steel material 

RAPID DEPLOYMENT 

EXTENSION UNIT AVAILABLE 

[G-05-062] 

ARP9 2.0 ST 

EGC-ARP-9V2-SST-NCM

ARMOURY 

LCT LC-3K AEG 

16 


ARMOURY 

LCT LC-3K AEG 

REGIMENT 

READY 

CAST YOUR MINDS (OR INDEED EYES, THANKS TO OUR ONLINE REPERTOIRE OF FREE TO READ 

BACK ISSUES!) TO ISSUE 150 FROM EARLIER IN JUNE THIS YEAR, YOU’LL NO DOUBT RECALL 

STEWBACCA’S ASSESSMENT OF THE HIGHLY MODULAR LCT AIRSOFT H&K G3 STYLED SERIES OF 

LC3 AEG RIFLE PLATFORMS AND THE WEALTH OF ATTACHMENTS THEY SENT HIM TO TRY OUT; THIS, 

ALONG WITH EXPOSURE FROM THEIR OTHER MEDIA PARTNERS ELSEWHERE, WAS A REFRESHER OF 

OLDER MORE ESTABLISHED PRODUCTS AS A TASTER OF THINGS YET TO COME. WELL, AS OF THIS 

MONTH THEY HAVE RELEASED THEIR MUCH AWAITED LC-3K SHORTENED, SPECIALIST BATTLE RIFLE 

AEG, AND OUR “MAN IN TAIWAN” HAS BEEN ON POINT AGAIN! 


ARMOURY 

LCT LC-3K AEG 

The G3 “K” of the real steel world is another 

famed Heckler & Koch answer to the question 

of how do you cram maximum firepower 

into a handier package; with UK Special Forces’ 

experiences in Northern Ireland highlighting the 

continued effectiveness of 7.62x51 ammunition in 

certain anti-vehicle or ambush situations, many had 

concerns about its over-penetration in urban settings 

or fighting in and 

around buildings which 

like with so many 

others eventually lead 

to the adoption 

of the 5.56x45 

to reduce the 

short-barreled variant of the hugely successful more 

standard full length G3 system in hand, I have their 

whole range of H&K variants in my collection, and 

with the LK-33 and LK-53 5.56mm platforms having 

found a home on my gun wall much earlier, the arrival 

of their larger calibre siblings rounds things off nicely 

for the moment… while the MP5 and HK21 platforms 

have been teased previously I haven’t yet heard 

anything more definite about them, but of course we 

all wait with baited breath! 

numbers of holes in walls 

with holes in the wrong people between them. 

Regardless of these issues, the desire for special 

purpose-use cases for the venerable and reliable G3 

platform in a shorter “Karabiner” or Carbine variant 

pressed “The Regiment” (as well as others later 

such as undercover surveillance units who needed 

something that made a statement when fired, but 

otherwise went more unnoticed in their vehicles, 

and also the Royal Marines’ fleet protection groups) 

to adopt the G3KA4 allowing them to continue 

deploying the heavy-hitting round in a more compact 

format than the L1A1 SLRs the grunts had to navigate 

the troubles with. Thus the LC-3K is a perfect addition 

to the collection of anyone looking for the “Brit Kit” 

angle and we’ll no doubt see it being adopted in the 

airsoft arena as fervently as it was in the real steel 

realm as a result… I might even direct you towards 

the LK003 triple-rail picatinny handguard option 

part in LCT’s line-up if you want to replicate the 

aforementioned modernised Royal Marine setup! 

A few weeks back (at the time of writing, at least) 

yet another long, suspicious package made its way 

swiftly to me in Taipei at the behest of Bella at LCT 

Airsoft down in Changhua; having already received 

their LC3A3W AEG along with the aforementioned 

box-load of stock options, rail mount systems and 

other accoutrements I was already well prepared 

for its arrival! Now with the LC3K ‘SAS’ specialist 

JUST LOOKING, LOTS TO SEE 

HERE! 

Eagerly opening up the outer package 

I was confronted with a slightly shorter 

but somewhat more detailed box art for 

the new LC-3K shortened G3 model, 

with LCT’s familiar green and white 

crest emblazoned on its top middle and 

flanked by the equally familiar array of 

product photos pointing inward from all 

angles. There’s also a small indent picture of 

the specific model within the box on the bottom right 

corner, a slight departure from the schematic image 

outline of the earlier LC-3 model. 

Inside lurked the new object of everyone’s 

affection, the LC3K is in reality only around 120mm 

shorter than its full tilt older sibling which tops out 

at 1026mm with a fixed stock fitted, and the front 

furniture of the G3 has been swapped out for that of 

the HK33 and the reduced overall length of 900mm 

stock extended, effectively amounting to the exposed 

length of the barrel of the full length variant being 

lost, with the front of flash hider of the LC-3K ending 

around where the frontsight post of the LC3A3 would 

be. Of course as a result you also lose around 115mm 

from the inner barrel length in the process, not that 

“ANOTHER LONG, SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE MADE ITS WAY SWIFTLY TO ME IN TAIPEI 

AT THE BEHEST OF BELLA AT LCT AIRSOFT DOWN IN CHANGHUA; HAVING ALREADY 

RECEIVED THEIR LC3A3W AEG ...I WAS ALREADY WELL PREPARED FOR ITS ARRIVAL!” 

18 


ARMOURY 

LCT LC-3K AEG 

the remaining 400mm is anything to sniff at in an SBR 

laden world! 

Not a massive overall difference, you might 

think, but the grip thickness of the LK-33 furniture 

is a lot less hefty than that of the LC3 to boot, 

so it immediately feels more handy to grip and 

manoeuvrable despite the apparently minor changes. 

It has to be said, however, that you don’t seem to 

lose much weight from the equation… in fact 

if anything it seems 

they managed to 

of a stable shooting platform when being used while 

in game or during range testing in a prone position; 

having to cradle all 5+ kilograms of the base rifle 

and all the attachments on my elbows didn’t seem 

too appealing. I first managed to field it at the next 

session of IPSC practise at team SPPT’s new training 

facility, running drills with the VTAC barricade I 

recently put together for our team, as well as running 

the gun live in stages on paper and poppers against 

the clock. 

As always such exploits garnered raised eyebrows 

from my teammates, although many of us now 

intersperse regular rifle training 

alongside our more typical 

make it even 

heavier somehow! 

Although that 

might be as I once 

again obtained 

the telescopic 

stock variant 

as standard 

(Bella knows how 

I like my guns 

these days, always 

nice when 

they remember the 

details!). Thus 

I was comparing it 

to the fixed stock 

weight of the LC-3A3 as I left it configured since 

the last write up. 

The cross-compatibility of the identical receivers 

allowed me to immediately swap the LC034 picatinny 

adaptor rail mount section from the LC3-A3 over 

to the LC-3K with the minimum of fuss; this time 

I elected to set it up as a bit more of a close-in 

weapons system, given its original fame at the hands 

of special forces operators, so I slapped an EoTech 

clone along with a flip to side magnifier combination 

I’d just happened to acquire from a teammate earlier 

that day, and the initial look seemed fairly swish. 

RANGING IN 

Adding the LK010 folding bipod also added a little 

more to the weight, but also the usefulness in terms 

competitive pistol exploits, given 

the increasing prevalence of TSMOC 

rifle competitions since our previous 

exploits in Kaohsiung that I recounted 

in March’s Issue 147. Suffice to say 

using such a hefty platform on fast 

paced, close-range and varied layout stages was a bit 

of a workout! 

I initially set up with the VTAC and a paper target 

at the end of the range to one side while everyone 

else was busying themselves with the usual ‘dry fire’ 

practise on static targets, and went about zeroing 

my new EOTech clone to the point of impact, albeit 

at a somewhat close range of around 7-8m, so while 

I was drilling neat holes in the paper and moving up 

towards the centre ‘A’ as I adjusted, the extreme close 

quarters setup would come back to bite me later on 

the practical stages; height over bore at even closer 

targets saw me aiming at the tops of targets obscured 

by no-shoots and inevitably picking up some penalties 

as the BBs strayed into the white below. Nonetheless 

it was a fun and informative first outing, and at least 

it allowed me to get to grips once again with the 

rock and lock reloading and handling of the chunkier 

7.62mm sized magazines, the LC-3K being supplied 

with an LC012 slab sided plain 140 BB midcap variant, 

rather than the ‘waffle’ style ribbed LC010 pair of 

midcaps I was sent with the LC-3A3. 

Having the extra magazines lying around certainly 

“THE CROSS-COMPATIBILITY OF THE IDENTICAL RECEIVERS ALLOWED ME TO 

IMMEDIATELY SWAP THE LC034 PICATINNY ADAPTOR RAIL MOUNT SECTION FROM 

THE LC3-A3 OVER TO THE LC-3K WITH THE MINIMUM OF FUSS” 


ARMOURY 

LCT LC-3K AEG 

“FIELDING THE LC-3K OUTDOORS AT THE TEAM’S NEXT HUTOUSHAN MOUNTAIN AND 

JUNGLE SITE GAME ALLOWED ME TO STRETCH ITS LEGS SOMEWHAT AND SEE WHAT, 

IF ANY, DIFFERENCE THE SHORTER INNER BARREL AND OVERALL LENGTH MADE TO 

PERFORMANCE” 

22 


ARMOURY 

LCT LC-3K AEG 

helped with keeping on top of ammunition during 

the stages, as normally we have tens of hits at most 

to be made, so I tended to just use one magazine 

over several stages, although occasionally I had to 

emergency reload on the move having lost track 

and spent all the rounds even in the reasonably high 

capacity midcaps; all good practise for more lively 

encounters on the skirmish field, at least! The trigger 

itself seems even more responsive in this instance than 

the previous LC-3A3 I got to grips with, even though 

the motors and gearboxes are apparently the same 

specification; perhaps it’s a function of getting used to 

the break-point and handling from earlier experiences, 

or just my feelings operating it against the clock 

showing through! 

Nonetheless, with my preference towards the 

telescopic stock variants I once again hampered myself 

a little bit with regards to the aforementioned LK- 

33 handguard dimensions; the LK-53 has a rounder 

profile with a little more internal space, allowing 

for a small battery to be fitted with greater ease, 

but the LK-33 full-length furniture incorporates 

the indentations for the bipod to fold up into and 

in general is longer and narrower feeling. With a 

reduced volume between it and the outer barrel 

to contend with, it took some juggling to get my 

somewhat blocky 11.1v 1100mAh LiPo battery pack 

wedged in securely and connected up to the contacts; 

again, if you have the opportunity a fixed rear-wired 

stock, or external battery mounting solution may be 

an easier option, I just like everything compact due 

to my own personal transportation requirements for 

getting around in as ‘grey man’ a manner as possible 

out here. 

I managed to make do, at least, resting the triple 

stacked cell battery pack against the internal bulkhead 

of the handguard and arranging the wiring loom and 

connectors in between the outer barrel and charging 

handle tube to make best use of the space. Using 

separate cell nunchaku-style battery packs arranged 

around the outer barrel radially might be easier, 

unfortunately my own one used in the previous 

LC-3A3 review process seemed to bulge and fry… 

perhaps it took a BB while somewhat exposed in 

the battery bag on the gun during testing in CQB 

environments, so I had to dispose of it! 

The internal bulkhead style clamp that aligns it to 

the outer barrel does have spaces around it suitable 

for routing wiring through, so an extended wiring 

loom might be a worthwhile approach if you have to 

use a front wired variant for similar reasons as myself. 

I’ll no doubt experiment with different setups and new 

battery units as I get the chance to in future, but do 

be mindful of stripping or catching the wiring when 

installing the batteries and re-affixing the handguard. 

Rearward of the front furniture the LC-3K is 

basically identical to the LC-3, with the same receiver 

and modular fire control groups, although the LC-3K 

comes with a later plain ‘Navy’ style pistol grip instead 

of the integrally ribbed finger grooved classic version 

on my LC-3. The fire selector remains the SEF style 

large left side only lever I like, at least, despite the 

modernised plastic grip format. The telescopic stock 

once again includes the familiar welded sling loop 

that allowed me to readily attach my usual QD Fastex 

buckle to interface with my integrated single-pointedsling 

system of my various customised plate carriers, 

while the FASTMag pouches of the placards allowed 

ease of acceptance of the G3 7.62mm magazines 

that my PSG-1 also use (albeit those are heavier gas 

versions) but having all the gear in place to readily 

switch between different ‘calibres’ of real steel 

platforms certainly makes the reviewing process less 

troublesome and breeds familiarity at least. 

IN GAME, FULL ON 

Fielding the LC-3K outdoors at the team’s next 

Hutoushan mountain and jungle site game allowed 

me to stretch its legs somewhat and see what, if 

any, difference the shorter inner barrel and overall 

length made to performance and if the changes in 

handling were more effective in tight and entangling 

environments. The LC-3K was surprisingly consistent 

like its longer-barrelled predecessor and quite capable 

of hurling 0.3g BLS rounds out to 30-40m without 

much if any deviation once the HOP unit was tuned 

in a little, and even at further ranges the cone of fire 

didn’t open up a huge amount and I was shredding 

branches off small bushes with it during the firefights 

that ensued during the somewhat sweltering Sunday 

morning out in the mountains. 

The overall weight definitely made me notice it that 

day too; if people are looking for an ultra-realistic AEG 

that’s made in a manner very similar to the real deal, 

“I FIRST MANAGED TO FIELD IT AT THE NEXT SESSION OF IPSC PRACTISE AT TEAM 

SPPT’S NEW TRAINING FACILITY, RUNNING DRILLS WITH THE VTAC BARRICADE I 

RECENTLY PUT TOGETHER FOR OUR TEAM, AS WELL AS RUNNING THE GUN LIVE IN 

STAGES ON PAPER AND POPPERS AGAINST THE CLOCK” 


ARMOURY 

LCT LC-3K AEG 

and want the full weight of pressed steel that can 

throw rounds downrange in quick succession and look 

the part doing it, I imagine they need look no further! 

The rough raw weight of 5kg was pressed up to 

around 6kg by the time I added the optics mount rail, 

EoTech and flip to side clone optics and bipod, and it 

really made me feel it lugging it up hill and down dale 

in the tropical heat and spider-infested bushes west of 

Taipei! 

Retracting the familiar folding charging handle 

against its substantial return spring allows once again 

for the faux bolt to be locked rearward and the drum 

style HOP unit to be accessed through the open 

ejection port for adjustment, and of course given the 

full steel construction of basically everything besides 

the fire control group and furniture you can “HK 

slap” away to your heart’s content without any worry 

of damaging the reassuringly chunkily put together 

AEG; it gives a satisfying and loud return slam 

forwards after all, again with an identical length of 

pull to the LC-3 full sized model. 

The rear and front sights again follow the same 

format of the LC-3 and indeed all the other H&K 

models; fixed front post in an enclosed ring, and the 

windage and elevation retention screw adjustable 

four position angled rotary drum sight of the rear 

sight allowing for various peep sight hole sizes or 

the open notch to be selected. Truth be told on this 

occasion I went straight to optical sight usage for the 

testing to make best use of the EoTech and magnifier 

in the mixed range engagements of the hilltop jungle 

environment. 

As usual, removing the butt stock via the standard 

H&K style push pins allows you to access the quick 

release spring retention 

24 


ARMOURY 

LCT LC-3K AEG 

mechanism at the rear of the gearbox and change 

the mainspring with ease to suit your local or national 

power limits. Being a domestic Taiwan-usage model 

mine was kicking out 120m/s (390 FPS which again 

makes the Taiwan ready variant a bit toasty compared 

to the UK’s power limits) and it was shooting very 

consistently with as little as +/- 1m/s when using 

0.20g BLS BBs for chrono testing over a string of 

around 15 BBs; the trigger response also felt a lot 

better in game, with me able to make rapid follow-up 

shots through the treelines. 

So with another in the ever-growing line of LCT 

Airsoft’s fantastically, and ultra-realistically, constructed 

H&K AEGs in hand (no doubt already winging its way 

to dealers near you at your time of reading) I can 

certainly recommend it for the German engineering 

and cold-war-era weapons system fans among your 

ranks. Build quality and attention to detail are, as 

usual, something to behold and the ever-growing 

range of numerous spares and accessories allow you 

to once again personalise your LCT AEG to suit an 

array of historic or personal preferences and really 

make it your own. 

My thanks as always to Bella and the wider LCT 

Airsoft team for arranging the sample LC-3K ahead 

of its release to allow me to get to grips with it and 

share my thoughts before they start filling the market; 

no doubt they’ll find their way into the hands of many 

similarly impatient fans! AA 

“THE LC-3K WAS SURPRISINGLY CONSISTENT LIKE ITS LONGER-BARRELLED 

PREDECESSOR AND QUITE CAPABLE OF HURLING 0.3G BLS ROUNDS OUT TO 30-40M 

WITHOUT MUCH IF ANY DEVIATION ONCE THE HOP UNIT WAS TUNED IN A LITTLE, AND 

EVEN AT FURTHER RANGES THE CONE OF FIRE DIDN’T OPEN UP A HUGE AMOUNT” 


ARMOURY 

RA-TECH EMG/GHK NOVESKE 10.5 GBBR 

ON HIGH 

ALERT! 

AN EVER-GROWING ARRAY OF HIGH-END REAL STEEL WEAPONS SYSTEMS ARE BEING FAITHFULLY 

REPRODUCED IN AIRSOFT INCARNATION ALONG WITH ALL THE LEGITIMATE LICENSING AND 

TRADEMARKS INTACT, AND TO AN INCREASINGLY REALISTIC DEGREE USING THE SAME 

MATERIALS, PROCESSES AND FINISHES AS THEIR LEAD FLINGING COUNTERPARTS! STEWBACCA 

MANAGED TO GET HIS HANDS ON THE LATEST AND GREATEST FROM ONE OF TAIWAN’S HIGH-END 

CUSTOM COMPONENT AND TURNKEY SOLUTION MANUFACTURERS, RED ALERT TECH (RATECH) OF 

HUALIEN ON THE EAST COAST OF TAIWAN, TO PUT IT THROUGH ITS PACES! 

Those of you who saw my coverage of MOA 

2022 back in February’s Issue 146 along with 

the various online media and videos covering 

the event, and indeed those of you who make use 

of customised GBBR platforms in various corners of 

the world will no doubt have come across the name 

“RATech” ( Red Alert Tech) based out here in Taiwan, 

who for quite some time now have been churning 

out near indestructible upgrade components for an 

array of GBBR platforms, building on their earlier 

experiences of making gas nozzle components 

for imported Tokyo Marui guns to allow them to 

operate in Taiwan’s physically (and FPS-wise) hotter 

environments effectively. Myself and Military Anny 

went to visit them prior to me receiving the sample 

of their latest licensed product, and the full story of 

26 


ARMOURY 


our visit and the company and its history will follow 

in a subsequent issue; however for now I’d like to 

introduce you to their turnkey GBBR solution, the 

EMG licensed Noveske N4 GBBR 10.5” 300 BLK 

carbine with GHK magazine-fed compatible internals 

of their own producing. 

As per my MOA 2022 coverage, RATech were 

the first stall at the entrance to the show, and Anny 

happened to be working with them for the 

full weekend, helping extol the virtues 

of 

their high-end products in her usual 

skilled-at-arms 

manner, so 

MWS compatible platforms, RATech have certainly 

been busy behind closed doors putting together a 

real treat for fans of top tier ARs the likes of which 

are seen in the hands of household names in the real 

steel firearms industry as well as units that operate in 

extreme environments or circumstances. 

It isn’t just the overall looks and minor details of 

the real spec Noveske N4 that are replicated, the 

physical construction methodology also gets the 

RATech attention to 

detail treatment, 

with the upper and 

lower receivers being 

realistically produced 

from CNC finish 

naturally I 

spent some 

time chatting 

with them and 

handling their 

various offerings 

to get an idea 

of what upcoming products 

they had in the works. In particular 

the licensed Noveske products got a 

lot of attention (and indeed a picture 

of “Lil Mike” of Team Taiji handling 

one of them for my photographic 

exploits emblazons one of the 

pages of my review coverage) 

but many others’ interest was also 

piqued by the faithful replication of the 

much sought-after real steel equivalents. 

Being made available in various configurations 

(to suit both 10.5” and 14.5” variants), and with 

5.56mm and 300BLK variants being offered with the 

suitably accurate variations of gas block positioning, 

faux gas system length and barrel profiles being 

similarly faithfully replicated in great detail, as well 

as being produced with both GHK and Tokyo Marui 

machined 

forged aluminium blanks, as well as the free float 

MLOK compatible handguards being produced from 

CNC machined extrusions and heavy profile external 

barrels turned and surface finished in a manner as 

identical to their real steel counterparts as can be 

managed with access to Taiwan’s whole island array of 

manufacturing methods and sub-contractors available 

within relatively easy logistical distances given the 

relatively small size of our island home. 

HANDS ON 

When you first lay hands on an RATech Noveske 

N4 GBBR, or any of their full gun products for that 

matter, you can immediately feel the difference 

between them and some of their more mainstream 

but economically and mass produced competitors; 

the fit and finish are superb and really sing to the 

horrendous engineering nerd in me. One of the things 

I was immediately appreciative of when handling and 

operating them at MOA 2022 was the smoothness 

of their mechanisms; the bolt carrier groups feeling 

like they are running on glass beads or roller bearings, 

there is a slight metallic grating noise of the carrier 

moving, but there is no real resistance like you might 

experience in other products, particularly in the 

middle of their range of movement. Many other GBBR 

“IT ISN’T JUST THE OVERALL LOOKS AND MINOR DETAILS OF THE REAL SPEC 

NOVESKE N4 THAT ARE REPLICATED, THE PHYSICAL CONSTRUCTION METHODOLOGY 

ALSO GETS THE RATECH ATTENTION TO DETAIL TREATMENT” 


ARMOURY 


“I DECIDED TO SEE WHAT THE RATECH WAS CAPABLE OF WHILE I WAS AT IT, PUTTING 

A MIX OF 0.45G AND 0.48G BLS BBS THROUGH IT WHILE I HAD IT WITH ME FOR 

ITS FIRST OUTING, AND IN ALL HONESTY IT WAS PERFORMING AS WELL AS, IF NOT 

BETTER, THAN MY PSG-1 AND FAL WOULD AT THOSE RANGES” 

28 


ARMOURY 


platforms, especially those with AR configuration 

internals, tend to ‘hang up’ midway at times or give 

more resistance to manual operation or during the 

firing cycle as their hammers will start resisting the 

movement of the bolt carrier groups as they get 

overridden. 

This fairly typical phenomenon is noticeably absent 

from RATech’s N4 GBBRs and other products, as is the 

‘sproingy’ operation of the buffer tube and its spring, 

which to me sings to the quality of the components, 

their realistic surface finishes interacting, as well as the 

fine tuning of the internal mechanism, as the hammer 

rests perfectly in the cocked position to not put too 

much upward pressure on the bolt carrier that results 

in that resistance. 

The next thing you are likely to notice (and literally 

everyone who’s handled my example has commented 

on) is the trigger; it’s just beautiful, worthy of a 

Garand Thumb ghosting segment! With a very short 

and realistic overall slight forward travel upon cocking 

the action, coupled with around a 4lb short and crisp 

pull and break and similarly excellent reset that occurs 

right at the front of its resting state with no slack or 

take up, in a similar manner to the H&K style triggers 

of the PSG-1, MP5 and HK53 I have, but on a much 

shorter travel. It makes it ridiculously easy to let off 

multiple BBs in a rapid string, which, coupled with the 

general build quality and consistency has allowed me 

to stack rounds on paper at IPSC practise sessions to 

the point where it’s drilling one large contiguous hole 

in the perforated ‘A’ letter of the A-zone. 

Being GHK compatible you can definitely feel 

the difference in its operation as well; there’s just 

something about GHK’s AR PMAG system that seems 

to deliver “Good Hard Kick” The action cycles with 

great impulse and speed, and of course the very 

enjoyable recoil and noise to accompany it, the whole 

system working together just pounds BBs downrange 

and the buttstock into your shoulder in a very 

reassuring and repeatable manner, with little or no 

cool down even when dumping all the BBs through it 

in semi auto strings. 

After first receiving the RATech Noveske N4 GBBR I 

took it out to our Yangmei Dormitories outdoor CQB 

site along with my PSG-1 which I was going to do 

some paper printing work at 10, 20 and 30m to test 

some new ammunition and get some measurable 

“THE N4 GBBR OBVIOUSLY HAS THE BENEFIT OF RATECH’S UPPER INTERNAL GAS 

COMPONENTS (WHICH THEY’VE LARGELY BUILT THEIR NAME AND BRAND UPON) 

WITH THEIR MORE RECENT INJECTION MOULDED POLYMER INCARNATIONS OF THEIR 

MAGNETIC LOCKING NPAS GAS NOZZLE AND BOLT CARRIER SYSTEM” 


TAP/CLICK IMAGES FOR MORE INFORMATION

Available at all good retailers

ARMOURY 


results prior to trying some internal upgrades. On 

the day I was throwing BLS 0.48g BBs, the heaviest 

I have found which aren’t the black colour like the 

0.5g BBs which are therefore nigh on impossible to 

see downrange, and was happily lobbing rounds out 

to 50m with little or no effort, even knocking over a 

leftover coffee cup at that range. 

I decided to see what the RATech was capable of 

while I was at it, putting a mix of 0.45g and 0.48g 

BLS BBs through it while I had it with me for its first 

outing, and in all honesty it was performing as well as, 

if not better, than my PSG-1 and FAL would at those 

ranges, peppering the cupboard that the coffee cup 

was resting on with a surprisingly narrow cone of fire 

at such a reasonably long range given that it’s basically 

an SBR sized rifle with a much shorter inner barrel 

than the PSG-1’s monstrous 650mm one and 7.62mm 

scale internal gas system. 

Again a line of teammates was forming to get 

hands on, especially some of my fellow GBBR 

appreciators who recognised the platform and the 

GHK magazine I was feeding into it; many knowing 

and appreciative noises and grins all round as we 

threw BBs downrange in the light rain from the cover 

of the prep area inside one of the buildings. 

I’d already taken the liberty of using the MLOK and 

picatinny top rail of the handguard and upper receiver 

to stick an ballistic protected Aimpoint T1 style red 

dot sight on the top, as well as the replica LA5 unit I 

got from TMC for the Archwick GHK L119A2 dressup 

bit I’d done way back for its release a year or so 

earlier but had since been languishing in a bag not 

seeing any use. This platform is perfect for such coolkid-toys 

and it really completed the look, as well as 

finally giving me a mounted illumination solution for 

the darker parts of the corridors and buildings, and 

I was soon reliably throwing BBs all the way down 

the length of the corridors with a consistency and 

accuracy that surprised myself almost as much as my 

teammates on the receiving end! It was a good day… 

I’ve also added the leftover two point sling from 

the aforementioned “Obi Wan Nairobi” attempt, and 

also added on some QD Fastex buckles and a proper 

QD attachment MLOK point to the rear left slot of 

the handguard as well as a stub BCM style vertical 

foregrip angled forwards on the rearmost bottom 

MLOK slot as that allows me to comfortably clamp 

“I’VE CHRONOGRAPHED THE N4 GBBR PUTTING OUT AROUND 1.5J MUZZLE VELOCITY, 

WITH 0.20G BLS BBS GIVING A VERY CONSISTENT 122-125M/S RANGE OF SHOTS 

WITH VERY LITTLE VARIANCE FOR THE MOST PART” 

32 


ARMOURY 


grip the whole lot as well as actuate the on-board 

or remote switches for the LA5 to give me torch or 

green laser capability. The latter mode is not permitted 

for use in game within our own rules in Taiwan, but 

nonetheless it’s useful for co-witnessing the point of 

aim with your red dot during zeroing or against paper 

or popper targets on the range. However, it’s also of 

limited use at times after the first BB flies downrange 

as the sheer recoil impulse tends to shake the LA5 

and its axially mounted battery with such force that it 

interrupts the metal contacts inside and cuts out the 

light or laser if you have it stuck on continuous on 

mode! 

Of course I won’t let this minor inconvenience 

detract from my great enjoyment of the system 

- thankfully my optics these days mostly have 

transverse batteries to avoid them blinking out 

during the inevitable recoil of the vast majority of 

my gun collection out here. The RATech N4 GBBR is 

just obscene amounts of fun to use as well as being 

genuinely applicable in a snap-shooting style thanks 

to the sheer consistency of its inner workings and 

the results they bring you on both paper and meat; 

I’m also planning on fielding it at the next ‘Ding Ding 

Cup’ action air competition coming in early August, 

as it will no doubt serve me as well in a competitive 

environment as it has on the skirmish field and 

running action air drills thus far. I’ve also acquired a 

further three GHK PMAGs for it to give me a total of 

160 BBs so I can also take it to the upcoming POLK 

3 Milsim as an alternative to my primary FAL setup 

which can carry nearly as much ammunition but in 

fewer magazines thanks to the 40 BB capacity of the 

GHK PMAGs over the 25ish balls of fun of the eight 

FAL mags I have. 

Fielding it against living targets at the recent game 

at our new airport side brushland outdoor site, I was 

once again pleasantly surprised to see it throwing 

heavyweight BBs out towards the 70-80m mark with 

ease, almost letting me pick off individual leaves on 

trees… if my eyes or optics were good enough for 

that! And again, it was rivalling the FAL for range and 

consistency which I’d taken along for further testing 

and fielding on that same occasion. 

IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS… 

In terms of output, the N4 GBBR obviously has the 

benefit of RATech’s upper internal gas components 

(which they’ve largely built their name and brand 

upon) with their more recent injection moulded 

polymer incarnations of their magnetic locking NPAS 

gas nozzle and bolt carrier system, a more economical 

and accessible variation on their older full CNC steel 

setups which found their way into my WETech HK416 

and/or T91 to resolve a lot of the issues I was having 

with them, but which cost around the same as the 

base guns! These newer polymer alternatives give you 

all the same adjustable and position-retaining NPAS 

benefits but in a much more affordable guise. 

Without adjusting it myself thus far I’ve 

chronographed the N4 GBBR putting out around 

1.5J muzzle velocity, with 0.20g BLS BBs giving a 

very consistent 122-125m/s 

range of shots with very 

little variance for the most 

part; joule creep does tend 

to come in to play a little 

even though the barrel is 

comparatively short (the NPAS 

system enables the N4 to kick 

it up to 2J of muzzle energy 

when running the 0.48g 

BLS BBs) so, your mileage 

may vary depending on local 

temperature conditions as 

well as restrictions, but the 

obvious ease of adjustment 

and reliable retention of 

settings for RATech’s magnetic 

locking NPAS allow you to be 

sure that you can get your 

own N4 singing at the right 

note for your situation and 

keep it there. 


ARMOURY 


The magazine well has a slight flaring around 

it to allow for better funnelling of magazines into 

it during reloading, and the ‘marine’ style pingpong 

double paddle makes it very easy to reliably 

release or manually lock open the bolt with its twin 

control surfaces that are heavily chequered to ensure 

positive thumb positioning and actuation, even with 

sweaty hands, although the magazine release is 

fairly standard right side index finger only and the 

other controls. Bolt release, charging handle and fire 

selector are non-ambidextrous as well, but I haven’t 

found this to be a huge hamper to my use thus 

far but will see how I fare in more intensive urban 

environment use where I’ll be transitioning shoulders 

more in the longer term. 

The very upright grip angle of the MOE pistol grip 

coupled with texturing of its outer surfaces makes 

it very easy and comfortable to control and handle, 

while the side-flapper-locked MOE stock is easy to 

adjust and comfortable to cheek weld on. It also 

affords an integral sling-mounting loop, although 

there are no QD sockets as standard, nor is there any 

mounting furniture on the rear of the castle nut plate/ 

lower receiver buffer tube extension, so I have just 

wrapped a stringed QD fastex around the castle nut 

for now in case I want to not make use of the two 

point sling at any point and clip in to my integral one 

point sling setup of my plate carriers. 

34 


ARMOURY 


So, with all that said would I recommend the 

RATech Noveske N4 GBBR to you? It certainly doesn’t 

come cheap, with unit prices in the 30,000 Taiwan 

Dollar mark it’s in the same territory as Archwick 

or Viper Tech products of a similar ilk, but, you are 

getting something very special out of the box at that! 

Having fielded and owned innumerate GBB rifles 

and SMGs at this point in my adventures out here in 

Taiwan, if I had to do it again or narrow down my 

collection to a few nice things just for me (as Bill did 

when he went to live in the USA and I did back in the 

UK in the years before I left) I would be highly inclined 

to pick up one of these and sell off a few other lesser 

platforms to offset it. 

Just having something that performs to this level, 

with the consistency and user experience, as well as 

the fit, finish and operation really speaks volumes 

to the “you get what you pay for” aspect of airsoft 

equipment. If you love Noveske products, and want 

a licensed replica that will put BBs out in a tight cone 

of fire and look the mutt’s nuts, I certainly wouldn’t 

dissuade you from picking up one of these. It’s likely 

going to become my go-to ARs given the track record 

of the others I have and all their malfunctioning 

woes… AA 


TOKYO MARUI 

L119A2 CUSTOM BUILD 

NEXT GEN RECOIL SHOCK CONTACT US FOR DETAILS 

THE L119A2 IS JUST ONE POPULAR 

EXAMPLE OF OUR CURRENT RECOIL 

MODELS, BASED ON TOKYO MARUI’S 

FANTASTIC SYSTEM - FITTED WITH 

THE ANGRY GUN RAIL SYSTEM AND 

REAL STEEL MAGPUL FURNITURE

ARMOURY 

CYBERGUN/BOLT BRSS SCAR-SC 

BATTLE 

SCAR’D 

WE’RE ALWAYS PLEASED TO SEE A NEW REPLICA AEG COMING ONTO THE MARKET, ESPECIALLY 

WHEN OUR FRIENDS AT BOLT ARE INVOLVED, BUT AS WE’VE DELVED DEEPER INTO THE STORY OF THE 

SCAR-SC THINGS ARE NOT QUITE AS CLEAR AS THEY MIGHT INITIALLY SEEM! BILL REPORTS BACK 

AFTER TESTING THE NEW CYBERGUN-LICENCED BOLT VERSION AND DIGS A LITTLE DEEPER… 

38 


ARMOURY 


Sometimes when it comes to writing a review of 

a new AEG after testing you think you have a 

clear vision of where you’re going to go with 

the story; any airsoft writer will look for a “hook” to 

hang their story from, and for me when it comes to 

the Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle 

there’s a lot of in-game-history as the SCAR-L was one 

of my key primaries when I lived and played in the 

USA, and that little tan Classic Army AEG performed 

like an absolute trooper after just some very minor 

fettling! 

Like many “USthemed” 

AEGs in 

my armoury though 

that found a new 

“forever home” with an 

OC-16 team-mate when 

I returned to the shores of 

blighty, although I still think of it 

any time I speak to my old mate 

Luke… building clearance at Camp 

Blanding, FL, brother, what a day! 

I’ve not had a SCAR for some time although 

I’ve had a few in for testing and evaluation over the 

intervening years, so when it came to talking about 

the new “PDW” version of this venerable platform I 

honestly thought “Happy days, I’ve got this nailed!” 

However, when I started digging deeper things started 

to go in a slightly different direction altogether… not 

about the platform itself (which I’ll get on to soon, 

I promise!) but in relation to the industry in a wider 

context! 

Now, we all know that the licencing power 

behind the new SCAR-SC comes from the mighty 

powerhouse (thankfully once again!) that is 

CYBERGUN, and the AEG itself in my opinion is allthe-better 

for coming under their FN HERSTAL licence 

agreement. Although it’s no surprise to see a good 

AEG-style replicated by different manufacturers, in my 

experience it’s “usual” practice for the licence to go 

initially to a single manufacturer… although the first 

SCAR-SC I saw was in collaboration with BOLT this has 

been almost immediately followed by releases from 

both ARES and CYMA… all of them licenced by 

CYBERGUN! 

Why do I make a “thing” of 

this? Well, it’s very much a case 

of “caveat emptor/let the buyer 

beware” as if you search for “SCAR- 

SC AEG” online you’ll come up with 

three options (at the moment!) that 

actually don’t make it particularly clear which 

manufacturer is behind each specific replica! They 

all say “CYBERGUN SCAR-SC”, but when you delve 

deeper there are different price-points (obviously the 

CYMA is way cheaper than the ARES or BOLT) so you 

may think that you’re getting a bargain when in fact 

you’ll end up with an AEG that’s possibly not from the 

manufacturer you thought it was from! 

I am not saying for a moment that the CYMA 

or the ARES are in any way deficient, far from it as 

I’ve not had a chance to evaluate either of those 

models, and both appear to share very similar external 

bodywork with the BOLT; they look almost identical 

externally, but if you were expecting the Bolt Recoil 

Shock System, or BRSS inside your spanky new AEG 

then you really need to be careful when it comes to 

ordering! 

PDW FTW? 

As much as I do actually have a very soft spot for the 

SCAR, in both L and H configurations I have to admit 

that being a big guy, 6’2 and with long old arms I 

have somewhat of a “love/hate” relationship with 

“I’VE NOT HAD A SCAR FOR SOME TIME ALTHOUGH I’VE HAD A FEW IN FOR TESTING 

AND EVALUATION OVER THE INTERVENING YEARS, SO WHEN IT CAME TO TALKING 

ABOUT THE NEW “PDW” VERSION OF THIS VENERABLE PLATFORM I HONESTLY 

THOUGHT “HAPPY DAYS, I’VE GOT THIS NAILED!” HOWEVER…” 


ARMOURY 


very short PDW models that seem to have become 

dominated by the minimalist sliding stock design. I 

accept that in terms of engineering the sliding stock 

design in its now myriad forms is a thing of beauty, 

but as I have what is known as a “positive ape index” 

(which means my arm span from fingertip to fingertip 

is greater than my height), really short, small platforms 

are usually uncomfortable for me to wield. 

I do appreciate that for physically smaller players 

than I that the PDW style can be a godsend, and that 

in a CQB environment this style also comes into its 

own in a major way! I know a number of players who 

totally rock their PDWs, and of course with effective 

airsoft ranges being somewhat more balanced than 

those in the real world, having a big old rifle gives 

you no added advantage other than that of personal 

comfort in terms of manipulation. 

And the SCAR SC is SHORT! It benefits largely from 

the “superior ergonomics” of the SCAR concept and 

design, but in a very, very compact package… with 

the sliding PDW-style stock in the closed position the 

SC is only 535mm long, and this rises to just 655mm 

with the paddle-operated stock fully extended! Let me 

put that in perspective for you as an MP5 comes in 

at 535mm-655mm too, so you’re getting a replica of 

a “556 operators” platform that’s almost identical in 

length of that classic 9mm MP! 

But unlike the MP5 the SC is also HEAVY! The 

BOLT has a lot of alloy and steel going on in the 

construction (a good thing IMO as that makes it 

superbly robust!) so it weighs in at a hefty 3248g 

which is actually heavier than the real thing; FN 

HERSTAL’s website quotes 3150g for the .556mm 

model without magazine! Now this is something 

that I’ve noted before, that the replica is heavier than 

the “real”, and it should really come as no surprise 

given that an AEG, and especially an EBB with a 

solid recoil system actually has a lot more going on 

inside the receivers than a real rifle or carbine. The 

fact is though, that small and compact as the SC 

undoubtedly is, it is no lightweight and this should be 

a consideration for some. 

However, the fact is that The BOLT replica of the SC 

licensed by CYBERGUN is an exact replication, and in 

that respect it is beautifully finished. The collaboration 

has allowed the creation in a licensed model that 

“KNOWING THAT THE INTERNALS ARE THE LATEST ITERATION OF THE TRIED AND 

TESTED BRSS, AND THAT I’VE HAD A FAIR AMOUNT OF EXPERIENCE WITH BOLT AEGS, 

I WAS CONFIDENT THAT OUT-OF-THE-BOX PERFORMANCE WOULD BE IMPRESSIVE, 

AND IT WAS INDEED!” 

40 


ARMOURY 


offers great quality and super external components 

at a reasonably sensible price. Similar to the original 

SCAR AEGs, the SC is primarily made of steel, 

alloy and polymer… a LOT of polymer! The upper 

receiver, barrel, stock, rail systems, and other smaller 

components are all metal, while the lower receiver, 

pistol grip, and stock pad/riser are made of polymer. 

In the real world the SC was created as an 

ambidextrous platform to meet the requirements 

of those “operators” to provide flexibility in the 

battlespace, and the BOLT offers that too with an 

ambidextrous fire selector lever, magazine release, 

sling attachment points, and a reversible charging 

handle. Rail space is obviously “challenging” on such 

a short platform, with 8-slot rails at 3 and 9, a 13- 

slot at 6, but thankfully a full-length rail up-top! I 

struggled a little to fit my usual CQB setup of EoTECH, 

PEQ-15 and scout light, as with the irons in place (I 

like to keep the irons for “redundancy” and the stock 

ones fitted are actually pretty good!) even a full-length 

rail gets crowded mighty fast! 

I will admit though to being a big fan of BOLT, as 

their AEGs are designed with that Bolt Recoil Shock 

System, or BRSS, at the very heart of things; this is the 

core around which other things revolve! The BRSS is 

“Stage One” of any BOLT AEG design, and with my 

old mate Tomy Lee’s knowledge the development 

team at BOLT Airsoft have created a powerful recoil 

system which uses an outstanding design using 

kinetic energy produced by the piston’s movement, 

transferred to a recoil weight in the rear of the AEG 

which subsequently generates a recoil simulation, and 

that is awesome! 

This gives you a great recoil “feel” without having 

to resort to a full-travel-bolt gas system, which 

although are becoming more reliable still don’t 

quite give you the usability of an AEG for most. 

All BOLT BRSS models feature a reinforced piston 

which actuates a recoil mechanism in the back end, 

giving you a nice “felt nudge” in the shoulder every 

time things cycle; trust me, this is WAY different to 

a “standard” EBB system (which I also dislike to be 

honest due to the way most interact directly with the 

piston), as the BRSS gives you the feeling of some real 

“felt recoil”, whilst keeping you in the game as BOLT 

AEGs can still use Hi-Cap magazines like any other 

AEG. 

Of course it also means that they are necessarily 

front-wired, and in the case of the SCAR SC that 

means that the battery compartment is pretty tight! 

However, as we’re all using LiPos and LiFes these days 

it’s a lot less of a problem than it used to be, and I 

easily got one of my NUPROL 11.1v short-sticks in. 

The compartment itself sits under the 6 o’clock rail 

section and is easily accessed by simply removing 

two short screws; another solution would be to use 

a battery-foregrip as there are slots in the rail which 

allow you to access the battery connection directly. 

KICKIN’ IT BABY! 

Okay, well-made, neat and compact, as close-to-thereal 

externally as you can get in AEG form, but what 

of performance? Knowing that the internals are the 

latest iteration of the tried and tested BRSS, and that 

I’ve had a fair amount of experience with BOLT AEGs, I 

was confident that out-of-the-box performance would 

be impressive, and it was indeed! Using .20g BBs 

the SCAR SC registered a properly consistent chrono 

reading of 1.06 Joule/339fps which is absolutely 

perfect for me, and for a CQB environment. I did 

try the BOLT with a number of different brand AR 

magazines, lo, mid, and hi-cap (it looks awesome and 

properly “CP” with shorty P-MAGS styles!), and it 

seemed perfectly fine with all of them. 

With the 140 BB STANAG-style mid provided 

topped off with .28g BBs it was time to set the hop 

and sling some plastic downrange! The riser above the 

sliding stock allows a very comfortable cheekweld, but 

the ambi fire selector takes a little getting used to as 

of course it’s a 45 degree-increment throw rather than 

an AR-standard 90; with semi engaged though the 

BOLT cranked off BBs crisply with a sweet jolt in the 

shoulder, sending them straight downrange to target 

at 30m. Cranking up to full-auto didn’t faze it at all, 

and on the 11.1v Lipo stick the SC literally spat out 

BBs; accuracy was still bang on, and if anything the 

thump in the shoulder intensified on full-chat! 

As you’ve probably worked out, once again I really 

like what BOLT have created. BOLT Airsoft have made, 

to me at least (and replicated via CYBERGUN) one 

of the best-realised “military PDWs” out there, not 

only benefitting from their outstanding recoil system 

but also through value for money in terms of quality 

parts and construction. If you love a PDW but want 

something that looks super-cool and shoots very well 

indeed, then the SCAR-SC could well be the one 

you’re looking for when it comes to tools for close-in 

battles… but just make sure you get the BOLT! 

Sincere thanks go as always to the guys at 

ww.iwholesales.co.uk who provided the test AEG. AA 


THE CAGE 

DEDICATED COMP BELT KIT 

THE CAGE: 

GETTING COMP 

READY 

The much-loved and well-respected Malcolm 

Dowding in full flow at the 2014 Airsoft 

Surgeon Championship. 

44 


THE CAGE 


AS WE COME TO THE END OF ANOTHER SEQUENCE IN THE CAGE, THE AA LEGION AND A VERY 

WELCOME “GUEST” ARE GOING TO EXPLAIN ALL THINGS “DEDICATED” AS COMPETITION BELT 

SETUPS ARE A VERY DIFFERENT BEAST TO WHAT WE WOULD USUALLY USE IN A SKIRMISH 

SITUATION, BUT WE’LL SHOW THEY ARE AN INVESTMENT THAT CAN SERVE YOU ABLY FOR MANY 

YEARS! 

Over the past few issues the AA LEGION 

members and I have explored how you can 

use your existing skirmish kit when it comes 

to a little “friendly competition”. Having a shoot-off 

against your mates is a fun thing to do, and practicing 

for this also adds to your ease of manipulation and 

overall effectiveness with your chosen platforms too! 

If you look at the history of practical competition 

there’s most definitely an element of “training” 

behind many of the disciplines that we acknowledge 

these days as “dedicated”, although most have now 

evolved forward to become entities in their own right. 

Different types of competition shooting will have 

different rulesets, and from my own experience these 

can be both daunting and off-putting. 

However, I believe it’s important to remember that 

these rules are based ultimately around safe shooting 

practice, both for your own safety and that of others 

around you. They may at first seem overly “picky” 

to you as a skirmish shooter, but once you look at 

them closely you’ll see why they are in place… let’s 

face it, these rules have been drawn up by massively 

experienced shooters, many of whom use a real 

firearm “in the line of duty” so who are we, as 

recreational shooters, to disagree? 

As this is a specialist area once again I delved into 

the vast pool of experience that I’m blessed with 

within the members of the AA LEGION, but in this 

instance I’ve also reached our further and “called 

a friend” so that I, and we can give you the real 

information you need if you’re looking to make the 

jump to full-on competition shooting and need to 

right kit, so I’d like to express a very big “thank you” 

to Tim Wyborn, my direct contact at iWholesales, 

award-winning shooter and UKPSA Action Air 

National Squad Director, for agreeing to chip in this 

month! 

TEAM TALK 

So, this time I told the members of the AA LEGION 

that I’d like to head into specialist territory to conclude 

our current theme, so this was directed mainly at 

Stewbacca and Boycie who do actively compete 

regularly. I also roped in Tim as someone who has 

been a practitioner in this more specialist field at the 

very highest level for many moons, and asked if he 

could give all of us some pointers! I asked the guys 

if they could tell me about their dedicated practical 

shooting belt setups, what they are, what are “must 

haves”, and why they set things up the way they do! 

Stewbacca: My current setup is quite a lightweight 

rig just for the pistol; when it is working I’m still 

running the Clarence Lai Project Design upgraded KJ 

Works CZ Shadow 2 (in which basically everything 

but the frame has been replaced at this point...) on 

a Double Alpha Academy Alpha X holster specific to 

the Shadow 2, on a Double Alpha Academy Lynx belt, 

with just four or five plastic hard shell pistol magazine 

carriers on the left hand side, behind the hip line for 

production division rules compliance. The only other 

thing I have on it is my QD clips on the front right 

side for my Chewbacca plushie (for morale reasons 

you understand) and a self-retracting chamber flag 

for helping to push out BBs after finishing (although 

the Shadow 2 tends to throw them out in a realistic 

extraction manner anyway). I also hang my shooter 

ID tag from it at competitions as well as hanging my 

GoPro off my magazines or gun when off-stages 

Besides that, I don’t really need anything further on 

my belt for pistol-only competitions, when it comes 

“SECOND TO YOUR GUN AND MAGAZINES, THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF 

KIT IS YOUR BELT RIG. IT HAS TO CARRY OUT A NUMBER OF ESSENTIAL JOBS; HOLD 

YOUR GUN SECURELY, YET GIVE IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO IT. HOLD YOUR MAGAZINES 

FIRMLY, SO WHEN YOU’RE RUNNING, CROUCHING OR LEANING THEY STAY SECURE, 

BUT ALSO GIVE EASY ACCESS TO THOSE MAGAZINES” 


THE CAGE 


to rifle I use a totally different rig on the same base 

velcro inner belt which is my EDC belt anyway. 

Boycie: As my belt has to conform to IPSC rules, 

the one I use is a stiff velcro over belt and a lighter 

semi-rigid underbelt that goes through the belt loops 

and then the outer “sticks” to. My preferred belt is 

the Magload “Stiffy”. As a left-hander my holster, 

for whichever pistol/revolver I use is on the left 

(surprisingly!). For Open I can wear it forward of my 

hip bone but for production I sit the holster on my hip 

around the seam that goes down the outside of my 

leg on jeans/shorts. After that for open I run 8 moon 

clip holders followed by a dump pouch (for used 

moon clips) on my right hip and then first aid kit on 

the back right side. In production I use 3 mag pouches 

on my right hip with a “first in” mag in my back 

pocket. For Open Division I use a 6 shot revolver and 

for Production I run a Glock 17 Gen 5. Both of these 

set ups I can use for either Action Air or RS so there’s 

no problem with muscle memory. 

Tim: Second to your gun and magazines, the single 

most important piece of kit is your belt rig. It has to 

carry out a number of essential jobs; hold your gun 

securely, yet give immediate access to it. Hold your 

magazines firmly, so when you’re running, crouching 

or leaning they stay secure, but also give easy access 

to those magazines. The rig has to be as comfortable 

as it can be, as often you are wearing it, fully loaded 

with gun and 4 or even 5 magazines for long periods 

of time. Finally it must comply with the rule book. 

“MY CURRENT SETUP IS QUITE A LIGHTWEIGHT RIG JUST FOR THE PISTOL; WHEN IT 

IS WORKING I’M STILL RUNNING THE CLARENCE LAI PROJECT DESIGN UPGRADED KJ 

WORKS CZ SHADOW 2 (IN WHICH BASICALLY EVERYTHING BUT THE FRAME HAS BEEN 

REPLACED AT THIS POINT...) ON A DOUBLE ALPHA ACADEMY ALPHA X HOLSTER SPE- 

CIFIC TO THE SHADOW 2, ON A DOUBLE ALPHA ACADEMY LYNX BELT” 

46 


THE CAGE 


The belt is the basis of the rig; practical shooters 

utilise a two-piece belt system, the inner belt which 

goes through your belt loops and where you need 

it to holds up your trousers, has a Velcro outer. Your 

main belt which holds the load bearing holster and 

magazine pouches attaches to this with Velcro. The 

inner belt is quite flexible, but the outer belt is very 

stiff. This gives the attached kit huge amounts of 

stability and doesn’t move or deform when your gun 

is drawn or a magazine removed. This in turn gives 

stability, predictability and consistency… all aspects 

you are trying to maximise. 

For years the go to belt manufacturer has been 

Double Alpha Academy. Their belts have been the 

foundation of most practical shooting rigs I have seen. 

Their latest offering is a modular outer belt made of 

segmented plastic sections, held together with metal 

pins. It gives stability but more flexibility. My Double 

Alpha Academy belt purchased in 2016 is still going 

strong, but when it does give up the ghost it will be 

replaced with a Magload Stiffy. They have taken the 

concept of a soft inner and stiff 

outer belt and maximised it, and 

from trying one I personally 

think it’s the best belt on the 

market currently. 

There are many offerings 

of holsters out there, but 

practical shooters have 

migrated towards speed 

holsters that encapsulate 

the trigger guard to hold 

the gun. The vast majority of 

UK shooters use the Double 

Alpha holsters. My Range 

Master model purchased in 

2016 has exactly the same 

DNA as the current Alpha-X 

series. They utilise a frame and 

holding system and within that 

run interchangeable blocks for 

different gun frames. There are 

hundreds of inserts available and 

over the years I have collected 

several for all the different guns I 

shoot, airsoft Action Air and real steel. 

The only significant changes are the system used to 

hang the holster; I wouldn’t change my Range master 

holster for a newer model unless mine broke, but 

it’s been in constant weekly and often daily use for 

seven years and is showing no signs of wearing out. 

The only change my holster has from original is fresh 

anodizing (had to be green to match team colours!), 

and an extended Magload lock lever. The lock does 

exactly what it sounds like it should do, it locks the 

gun into the holster so it can’t even be shaken out if 

it’s upside down, and originally I thought the extended 

lock release was a bit of a gimmick, but using it, it’s 

hugely better in operation and well worth looking at if 

you run a Double Alpha 

holster. With the lock 

removed, you can take 

the gun out of the 

holster with minimum 

effort, just what’s needed 

for a fast draw! 

My magazine pouches 

are all Double Alpha 

Academy Range Master 

pouches. They are an 

aluminium case with 

plastic retention inserts 

and have a retention dial 

that adjusts retention 

for the perfect hold on your 

magazines, not too loose 

and not too tight. I have never 

had a magazine fall out or 

dislodge from one. They have an 

attachment system that allows 

you to angle them whereever you 

want. The latest offerings from 

Double Alpha are very similar, and 

like the holster I won’t replace them 

unless they break, and even after seven 

years of constant use, that looks unlikely. 

Quality Belt rigs are not cheap, a 

Double Alpha holster, Belt and four 

pouches will cost upwards of UK£500, but 

it is a long term investment; mine has ran 

flawlessly for seven years so far and still has 

many years left in it! AA 

“AS MY BELT HAS TO CONFORM TO IPSC RULES, THE ONE I USE IS A STIFF VELCRO 

OVER BELT AND A LIGHTER SEMI-RIGID UNDERBELT THAT GOES THROUGH THE BELT 

LOOPS AND THEN THE OUTER “STICKS” TO. MY PREFERRED BELT IS THE MAGLOAD 

“STIFFY”” 


RED CELL 

HK146/MK18 UPDATE 

RED CELL 

NO EASY DAYS! 

IT’S TIME FOR ANOTHER MID-POINT RED CELL UPDATE AND THIS TIME FOR A COUPLE OF 

PLATFORMS THAT ARE VERY DEAR TO OUR HEARTS! AS THE LONG-TERM TEST POOL CONTINUES 

TO GROW WITH THE COMMITMENT AND INCLUSION OF NUMEROUS MANUFACTURERS FOR OUR 

ONGOING PROGRAM, WE’RE TURNING OUR ATTENTION THIS MONTH TO OUR HK416 AND MK18 

“NSW” MODELS! 

48 


RED CELL 


It would appear that once again there’s a lot of 

players we know that are back on the Naval Special 

Warfare (NSW) or SEAL kick, so this update midway 

through our testing is well-timed it would seem! 

The availability of “good and righteous kit” may go 

up and down a bit, with CRYE-cut AOR1 and AOR2 

going from in to out of stock seemingly overnight, but 

for those that choose to take the long path to amass 

the correct gear for their loadout there’s a treasure 

trove of cool kit out there, and the “patient watchers” 

will be able to find most things that they need (like 

Stewbacca’s recent acquisition of AOR2 trousers in 

“big boi” size!). 

Of course at the centre of any good loadout is an 

appropriate AEG or GBB, and for a good NSW one 

you actually have quite a viable choice of “primaries” 

such as the M4A1, MK 18 CQBR, MK 16 SCAR-L, and 

the HK416 (to name just the main carbine models!) 

that have all been seen at some point in the hands 

of SEALs both real and make-believe, and that’s way 

before you get into some of the more esoteric stuff or 

SMGs/MPs and DMRs! 

When it comes to the 416 it makes sense then that 

these “operators” will be using the latest iteration of 

the Heckler & Koch carbine, and what we’re seeing 

now is the HK416A5, the “next evolution in assault 

rifle technology” as it’s described. The A5 moves 

along the development of the HK416, with numerous 

technical improvements to maximize operator safety, 

reliability, ammunition compatibility and durability 

during, and I quote directly here, “over the beach 

(OTB)” operations. 

But of course the mighty “stock AR” is still 

apparent although not in a standard configuration for 

close-in work; the Mk18 CQBR especially is a platform 

that works perfectly for NSW, and, at least to me, 

the absolute epitome of what makes a good “shorty 

CQB AR”! “IRL” this is exactly what the platform was 

designed for, and as Daniel Defense don’t do things 

by halves at any point, their “shorty” has undoubtedly 

become one of the most successful “SF” AR designs 

out there! Yes, again of course we do still see the 

MP5 and the MP7 in the hands of USN SEALs for CQB 

purposes, but it’s the Mk18 that really sets the tone 

for USSF hard chargers and door kickers! 

So, with all of this in mind it’s time for RED CELL to 

return to all the models of both the HK416 and Mk18 

that have been with them for an extended period; all 

models have been chrono’d using VORSK .20g BBs 

and lengths given are in the stock-closed position. 

Although there are other 416 and Mk18 out there, 

these are the models that we’ve been working… 

HARD… there’s “no easy days” for the platforms that 

we continue to test! This is what the guys and I have 

to say… 

Boycie: I’ve had a VFC 416 AEG for some years 

now and it has to be one of my favourites, especially 

after Marcus used it as a test fit for the Jefftron 

Leviathan in issue 121 back in January 2021! Out of 

the box I just liked the VFC416 but felt something 

was lacking and we’d (Marcus, Jimmy and myself) had 

already chatted about cooperating on a project and 

so I put my rifle and money where my mouth was and 

paid for the Leviathan and a tune up. 

Before the fit of the Leviathan it was good but 

the work done by Marcus and report by Jimmy, but 

afterwards it just was at a totally different level. Zippy 

and accurate, plus being comfortable to shoulder and 

easy to manipulate it is a regular out skirmishing when 

I get the opportunity. I really like the build quality 

externally and since the build I have swapped out 

the foregrip for a Geissele style rail for a bit of extra 

comfort over the standard quad rail normally found 

on the HK416A5. Writing this update has got me 

thinking and planning when our next outing will be! 

Bill: I’ll second Boycie on the VFC 416 as I had one 

of the very first GEN1 AEG models to hit the market… 

and I still have it pumping out BBs to this day! It’s fair 

to say that I have a bit of history when it comes to 

the HK416 in airsoft terms; back in 2006 the 416 was 

the golden child of the special ops community and 

when it came to “up-gunning” after my move to the 

USA the VFC had just arrived at retail, and it was an 

obvious choice for me. It’s performed superbly with 

just some re-wiring and new hob rubbers needed over 

the years… and I STILL love it! 

The fact is though that the Gen 1 VFC 416 is one 

hell of an AEG with very little work needed to get it 

performing solidly. The “real deal” is still seen in SEAL 

hands pretty regularly, and of course has become 

“THE MIGHTY “STOCK AR” IS STILL APPARENT ALTHOUGH NOT IN A STANDARD 

CONFIGURATION FOR CLOSE-IN WORK; THE MK18 CQBR ESPECIALLY IS A PLATFORM 

THAT WORKS PERFECTLY FOR NSW, AND, AT LEAST TO ME, THE ABSOLUTE EPITOME 

OF WHAT MAKES A GOOD “SHORTY CQB AR”!” 


RED CELL 


TOKYO MARUI MK18 MOD 1 GBBR 

Price: iro UK£620.00 

Age: Two Years 

Weight: 2960g 

Length: 715mm 

Magazine Capacity: 35 BBs 

Cold Chrono: 0.99 Joule/328fps 

Hot Chrono: 0.97 Joule/324fps 

Taclite Compatibility: Good 

Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW 

Supplied By: www.landwarriorairsoft.com 

VFC MK18 MOD1 GBBR 


Age: Four Years 

Weight: 2500g 

Length: 696mm 






Supplied By: www.vegaforce.com 

SPECNA ARMS E19 MK18 AEG 

Price: iro UK£270 

Age: Three Years 

Weight: 2675g 

Length: 700mm 

Magazine Capacity: BBs 





Supplied By: www.gunfire.com 

DELTA ARMORY MK18 AEG 


Age: New 

Weight: 2600g 

Length: 690mm 






Supplied By: www.deltaarmory.co.uk 

TOKYO MARUI MK18 MOD1 NGRS AEG 


Age: 18 Months 

Weight: 3210g 

Length: 715mm 

Magazine Capacity: 82 BBs (Bespoke) 





Supplied By: www.fire-support.co.uk 

50 


RED CELL 


“de riguer” for fans of “SIX” and “SEAL Team”; 

therefore, for players with an “NSW bent” the 416 

is a pretty obvious choice in airsoft form, and now 

widely available as we’ve shown here. 

Stewbacca: When it comes to the HK416 I’ve 

largely only had direct experience of the WE Tech 

GBBR variant (with mixed and storied results, as 

per my full review in Issue 125) which I got second 

hand from a teammate who barely used it as it was 

too heavy for his liking. I had a lot of fun times at 

close quarters with it and it worked very well initially 

but eventually, like most WE guns I’ve experienced, 

started to show signs of wear and malfunctions. It is 

a reasonably punchy AR platform in terms of recoil 

and had a fairly good range and consistency certainly 

within CQB usage and medium weight ammunition, 

and the recoil impulse is sufficient to shake the 

batteries in my Eotech 552 clone out of contact and 

cause issues with it going off during firing. 

It handles fairly nicely, although the earlier quad rail 

setup of the HK416D variant I have is fairly chunky 

and cheese-grater like compared to the more up 

to date MLOK versions; MLOK is the way, fellow 

shooters! My teammates however have the VFC 

HK416A5 ambidextrous setups which we’ve all had a 

much better experience with in terms of the integral 

NPAS adjustment allowing for use in a wide array 

of situations thanks to the ease of power restriction 

to suit indoor or outdoor use, and the recoil of the 

VFCs just seems more powerful and deliberate by 

comparison, albeit my teammate did have some issues 

with the magazines not engaging the bolt hold open 

at times on empty. The later generation magazines 

from VFC seem to be more reliable in this aspect. 

As for the AEG side of things I would nod back to 

the G&G CMF16 they were good enough to send 

me for review back in Issue 122, which is an M-LOK 

handguard HK416A5 styled series AEG which was 

lightweight, easily handled and extremely impressive 

in terms of its out of the box accuracy with its nice 

included iron sights, creature comfort features even 

including the ambi bolt release which allowed for 

access and closure of the faux bolt covering the 

excellent HOP unit, while the responsiveness of the 

trigger and on board electronics allowed me to wipe 

the floor against CQB players that were used to me 

going up against them purely with GBBR platforms 

beforehand. The thing is a handy and nice looking 

laser beam of an AEG and well worth a look if you 

want a reasonably priced but very capable HK146- 

esque AEG without the full trades, but with all the 

features. 

Dan: In the realm of premium grade HK 416 and 

MK18’s, you probably have heard of the Tokyo Marui 

Next Generation Recoil Shock series. Considered the 

flagship line from TM, these rifles feature full metal 

externals, simulated recoil and last round cutoff 

features in addition to a fully operable bolt release 

and charging handle, and are fed from proprietary 82 

round magazines. 

TM produces the 416 in several variants, all of 

which are technically the older “D” model receiver 

416’s. Specifically we’ll be covering the DEVGRU 

and the DELTA models respectively. The primary 

difference between these two is DEVGRU sports the 

classic full picatinny rail, whereas the DELTA version 

uses a more modern replica of the 10.5” Geissele 

HK Super Modular Rail. The DELTA is also available in 

the popular FDE colorway, while the classic DEVGRU 

model is only found in black. Both feature accurate 

trades and beautifully exquisite bodywork. Included 

accessories are a set of back up irons and black metal 

flash hiders. Interestingly, the DEVGRU model actually 

sports a copy of the early AAC SCAR-SD suppressor 

and 18T flash hider. The DELTA version simply comes 

with a clone of the old Surefire WARCOMP closed-tine 

flash hider with the V-Notch. 

The MK18 has a fully traded Colt receiver and 

sports the venerable Daniel Defense MK18 RIS II rail, 

which is probably the most color-accurate version in 

Airsoft. These also come equipped with a set of FDE 

KAC style folding irons, and a traded replica of the 

Surefire 4-prong SOCOM flash hider. An FDE Crane 

style stock and classic A2 style motor grip round out 

the furniture. Speaking of the grip: this is technically 

the only NGRS model that is compatible with standard 

AEG grips. The 416, SCAR, etc. are all completely 

proprietary. 

Speaking of internals: the MK18 largely shares 

the same components as the 416 series, with TM’s 

usual proclivity for making parts and assembly 

uniquely complex and utterly proprietary. Like most 

TM products, these also are unfortunately a bit 

‘neutered’ out of the box owing to velocity restrictions 

in their native Japan. All of these will shoot around 

0.74 J / 280 FPS to a T, which makes them generally 

serviceable in countries that have lower velocity limits, 

but downright anemic in places like the US where one 

is typically allowed to run up to 1.5 J / 400 FPS. 

When it comes to upgrading the NGRS platform, 

bear in mind that aftermarket (and even stock!) parts 

typically run as much as 25 – 75% more expensive 

than traditional AEG parts do. You can and will easily 

exceed the cost of the base model with a fully fleshed 

out internal upgrade package. TM unfortunately is 

not known for their parts support, either, which can 


RED CELL 


ICS DD MK18 AEG 

Model: ICS DD MK18 AEG 


Age: 18 Months 

Weight: 2877g 

Length: 726mm 






Supplied By: www.icsbb.com 

BOLT B4 MK18 MOD1 BRSS AEG 



Weight: 3200g 

Length: 718mm 





Suppressor Compatibility: 14 CCW 

Supplied By: www.nuprol.com 

UMAREX /VFC HK416 A5 GBBR 


Age: New 

Weight: 2900g 

Length: 710mm 






Supplied By: www.davescustomairsoft.co.uk 

TOKYO MARUI 416 DELTA NGRS AEG 


Age: New 

Weight: 3365g 

Length: 711mm 

Magazine Capacity: 82 BBs (Bespoke) 





Supplied By: www.fire-support.co.uk 

UMAREX/VFC 416 CQB V3 AEG 


Age: Five+ Years 

Weight: 2870g 

Length: 710mm 






Available From: www.landwarriorairsoft.com 

52 


RED CELL 


make servicing these in a timely fashion problematic. 

Whether fully or lightly upgraded, these rifles are 

intrinsically accurate hitters, owing largely to TM’s 

excellent hop up chamber designs and tight build 

tolerances. 

Despite the costly price of admission, if you 

are desiring a 416 or MK18 platform that has the 

triumvirate of recoil, last round cutoff and functional 

controls (and one that isn’t a gas blowback platform) 

then the NGRS is generally going to be the first port 

of call for many. 

Miguel: I remember when the Mk18 started 

being the AR platform that a lot of players wanted, 

used by several special forces and easy to customize, 

a dream to every Airsoft player. And when Specna 

Arms launched the E19 within the EDGE 2.0 range... 

Oh boy! It’s been my main replica for pretty much a 

year and a half, and it has seen me through major 

nationwide games and even MilSim events, I haven’t 

changed a single internal, it comes out of the box 

with a great performance and when partnering with 

the Aster, and all other goodies of the 2.0 range, it’s 

hard to find a better price/quality ratio. 

That said, I’ve always been a sucker for the HK416, 

I just can’t resist that THICC stock! And the Specna 

Arms H-20 was just love at first sight. These were 

the first replicas that were presented when the EDGE 

2.0 range was announced, and I got one soon after 

that! After changing the hop up rubber and started 

using some heavier BBs I was really pleased with the 

range and accuracy, and still am to this day. The only 

downside is that it’s a lot heavier than the Mk18, 

other than that it has seen a lot of action, and it never 

let me down. 

Bill: Specna Arms certainly had an undoubted 

success with their E19 “MK18 CQBR” at the back 

end of 2020 and they’ve moved things along nicely 

with new models that step firmly into the NSW 

replica arena whilst keeping things real when it comes 

to pricing. The SA-H11 and H-12 are without any 

question “416-alikes”, and as they’re both priced 

sensibly which puts the “operator primary” well 

within the reach of those on a budget, and that is 

fabulous! 

The H-11 I’ve had in testing is pretty much a 

“standard” A5 with the usual railed HK system with 

integrated flip up sight, whilst the H-12 takes things 

up a notch with an “SMR” system, and it’s a fabulous 

slimline rail that brings down the front-end weight 

and bulk of the carbine. Both models from there out 

are similar externally and internally, benefitting as 

they do from ambidextrous operating controls; bolt 

catch, magazine release, safety/fire selector lever 

and charging handle, the rounded “winter” trigger 

guard for use with gloves and cold weather clothing, 

contiguous top rail for use of optics and aiming 

accessories, a redesigned ergonomic pistol grip (there’s 

no storage compartment for a field stripping tool of 

course!), an enlarged bolt catch lever and protective 

barrier against accidental use, and the latest slimline 

multi-position sliding stock; all in all they are both 

VERY tidy packages, and the H-11 is working very well 

still, even after extended use! 

Jimmy: The 416 has to be my favourite of all the 

5.56mm platforms if I’m honest and I’m a sucker for 

the A5 with its modern Geissele rail and slimline stock; 

they just scream operator! For a long time I wanted 

one and this year I bit the proverbial bullet and built 

my own. I could have just brought one off the shelf, 

but it had to be different and different is what it is but 

that’s for another day! 

A couple of years back though I discovered the new 

range of Double Bell AEGs and they had just released 

a line of 416’s; even though they were a budget rifle 

they looked fantastic, the external quality for the 

price bracket was surprisingly nice (although sadly no 

trademarks, but to be honest trademarks don’t really 

bother me), and for me the bronze version begged to 

be taken home. With no hesitation I snapped one up 

and couldn’t wait to get it out. 

On the inside there were some choice parts which 

to most platforms would be considered upgrade parts; 

for example, full metal rack piston, double o-ring 8 

vent piston head, aluminium cylinder head, o-ring 

nozzle all of which are clearly MAXX knock-offs… 

but still they worked well and looked very well made. 

Out of the box the 416 (812s) sported pretty good 

performance but it soon became apparent that the 

performance was not here to stay. This is something 

we have found on many of the Double Bell rifles 

“I REMEMBER WHEN THE MK18 STARTED BEING THE AR PLATFORM THAT A LOT OF 

PLAYERS WANTED, USED BY SEVERAL SPECIAL FORCES AND EASY TO CUSTOMIZE, A 

DREAM TO EVERY AIRSOFT PLAYER. AND WHEN SPECNA ARMS LAUNCHED THE E19 

WITHIN THE EDGE 2.0 RANGE... OH BOY!” 


RED CELL 


DOUBLE BELL M416 AEG 



Weight: 3060g 

Length: 700mm 






Supplied By: www.iwholesales.biz 

EVOLUTION DEVGRU 416 ETS AEG 


Age: Three Years 

Weight: 2900g 

Length: 690mm 






Supplied By: www.evolutioninternational.it 

SPECNA ARMS SA-H02 ONE 



Weight: 2680g 

Length: 700mm 


Cold Chrono: 1.07 Joule/340fps (after spring change) 





SPECNA ARMS SA-H12 ONE 



Weight: 2800g 

Length: 730mm 







BOLT B4 DEVGRU BASIC BRSS AEG 


Age: Two Years+ 

Weight: 3000g 

Length: 715mm 






Supplied By: www.nuprol.com 

54 


RED CELL 


recently; initially they work fine but very soon after 

a little use they lose a fair chunk of power and the 

ability to hop a BB becomes non-existent! 

This is largely due to a low grade hop rubber and 

the power loss is due to soft springs which collapse 

very easily; don’t fret though because they have 

installed a quick change system that doesn’t require 

you to remove the gearbox from the lower receiver. 

These are relatively minor problems and are easily 

rectified at a fairly low cost which is great; because 

the rifles are reasonably priced you don’t mind footing 

and extra UK£25-£30 to bring them back on par. To 

date I have carried out custom builds on five of the 

Double Bell rifles and they accept upgrade parts very 

well! The likes of Perun, SHS, ZCI all work, and you 

can end up with a 100% kick-ass AEG with very little 

spend and effort! 

Bill: I’m going to wrap things up this month and 

express my undying love for the Mk18! As much as I 

do love my old 416, of all the ARs out there the Mk18 

is the one that has suited my “direct action” style 

of play best, and I will admit there are now several 

different makes, both AEG and GBB in my armoury. 

From the GBBR side it has to be the VFC Mk18 

that takes pole position for me; the gas airsoft version 

from VFC replicates the “real” very well indeed, and 

although it lacks the “trades” of a fully licenced 

model it’s obviously a Mk18, right down to the super 

“SF Bronze” 245mm rail system on the sharp end 

which interestingly IS trademarked and may give a 

clue as to where the Taiwanese manufacturer may be 

casting their effective licencing efforts in the future; I 

certainly hope so! 

Made of high quality alloys and steel components 

throughout, the VFC MK18 is exceptionally well made, 

but I expect that from VFC. The gun is extremely 

solid, weighing in at 2319g feels great in hand, all 

the parts fit together beautifully, and in fact the only 

things I would change on this carbine are the CRANE 

stock and the A2 pistol grip; thankfully virtually any 

aftermarket parts will fit, so the choice of “furniture” 

can be totally down to you, the final setup as you like 

it. 

Essentially the VFC is as close to the real deal as 

you’ll find in airsoft form, and everything is nailed 

down to look and feel exactly as it would on the real 

thing, including the operating system. Internally the 

gun runs the latest VFC GBBR system which makes it 

extremely efficient, and the internal construction also 

ensures added durability as well, providing a recoil 

impulse is solid and consistent, which makes the 

shooting experience fun and immersive. 

And AEG? Well, as much as I do love all the 

offerings from Specna Arms, BOLT, Evolution, and 

now DELTA ARMORY (you’ll find my take on this AEG 

on the pages following!) my heart has been stolen 

completely by ICS! In a collaboration with EMG ARMS 

in the USA, the new ICS DD MK18 has been created 

under the EMG Daniel Defense Licence and as such is 

100% fully-branded, and I do mean FULLY, even down 

to the correct font in the trades! It’s genuinely, dropdead 

gorgeously RIGHT! 

Everything is where it should be on both the upper 

and lower receivers and 9.55” RIS II rail, right down 

to the NSN numbers, and along with these the overall 

finish of the AEG is just splendid, replicating the 

“chocolate tan” of the receivers and furniture, and 

the “SF Bronze” of the rail is impeccable. 

In what I believe still to be a first in airsoft, the ICS 

Mk18 features some super replications of the latest 

ergonomic DD Buttstock and Pistol Grip, both of 

which are colour-coded to the receivers, but with a 

two-tone black inset that frankly looks the absolute 

business. Once again the finish if these parts is 

splendid, but with the grip accommodating the motor 

and the buttstock giving lots of battery space that is 

easily accessed via a “twist and turn” buttpad; the 

MK18 is rear-wired with Deans. ICS call their take 

“ZETA” and the “20°-Vertical” pistol grip offers both 

comfort and control; the QD bottom cap allows you 

to perform motor maintenance easily too. With the 

real deal “iron” sights are sold separately, but ICS 

have fitted their excellent flip-ups as standard so that 

the AEG just needs a battery to be field-ready. 

I have to commend ICS for once again for creating 

something that sings to me in every way possible, and 

if the need for a bang-up-to-date Mk18 is strong with 

you, then this is one AEG, albeit an expensive one, 

that you will most definitely want to own, and if this 

is the shape of things to come from ICS in the future 

then I’m super-excited to see what they come up with 

next! AA 

Red Cell is supported by: 


ARMOURY 

DELTA ARMORY MK18 ALPHA AEG 

EASY DAY 

ALPHA! 

WE’VE RECENTLY ADDED A NEW “MK18” AEG FROM DELTA ARMORY TO THE LONG-TERM TEST 

POOL AS YOU’LL SEE IN OUR RED CELL UPDATE THIS MONTH, AND IT’S PROVING TO BE QUITE A 

CONVERSATION-STARTER! BILL TAKES AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT A NEW TAKE ON ONE OF HIS FAVOURITE 

AR PLATFORMS AND EXPLORES IF IT REALLY DOES BRING SOMETHING NEW, INTERESTING, AND 

UNIQUE TO THE (DOOR-KICKING) PARTY… 

In 1994, the U.S. military officially accepted the XM4 

into service as the M4 carbine to replace M16A2s 

in certain roles, and this platform, of course 

fundamentally based on the mighty AR, has become 

prolific both in real-world-use, and is undoubtedly 

the “MacDaddy” of all things airsoft! The original M4 

carbine started being issued to regular line units in 

the 90’s, but of course it had been in the hands of the 

“Spec Ops” community for FAR longer! You can easily 

find most of the information online these days in open 

source but if you’re looking at the M4 specifically 

then the Special Operations Peculiar MODification 

(SOPMOD) program to provide elite warfighters (those 

“operators” we all apparently love to emulate in 

airsoft!) with a truly modular weapons platform dates 

back to September 1989! 

Digging back into what I’ve written about the 

Mk18 before, the role of NSA Crane is worthy of 

mention again here; for those that know only of the 

“SOPMOD or CRANE” stock fitted to many AEGS 

it may interest you to know that the Naval Support 

Activity Crane (NSA Crane) is, amongst other things, 

the home of the Naval Surface Warfare Center 

(NSWC). NSA Crane was originally established in 

1941 under the Bureau of Ordnance as the Naval 

Ammunition Depot for production, testing, and 

56 


ARMOURY 


storage of ordnance under the first supplemental 

Defense Appropriation Act, and the base was at its 

height the third largest naval installation in the world 

by geographic area and employed thousands of 

people! 

Now whilst personnel at NSA Crane do a lot of 

“interesting jobs”, it’s the work done there on the 

SOPMOD program that most interests me, and us, 

as Crane produced what would essentially become 

the “blueprint” for what we now refer to as the 

“Blocks”. The Mk18 concept was a part of the Crane 

Program of “M4 enhancements”; I’ve said it before 

but I believe the Mk18 was, and is, the “unsung 

hero” of the Naval Special Warfare program! Even 

shorter-barrelled than the M4A1 SOPMOD carbines 

with a 10.3 in (262 mm) barrel, the upper receiver 

was designated the Close Quarters Battle Receiver 

(CQBR), while the entire weapon system with the 

drop-on Daniel Dense quad-rail was designated the 

Mk 18 Mod 0 by the United States Navy, and became 

a common sight amongst the USN VBSS units, NCIS, 

and USN SEALs. 

The purpose of the original Mod 0 CQBR was to 

provide operators with a weapon of compact size, but 

one still capable of firing a rifle cartridge, intended for 

urban warfare and other close quarters battle (CQB) 

situations. However, as one of two proposed “special 

mission receivers” that were planned for inclusion into 

the SOPMOD Block II kit, the CQBR proved incredibly 

popular amongst its users. The CQBR has been pretty 

much owned by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, 

Crane Division following the CQBR’s eventual removal 

from the main SOPMOD program, and the complete 

CQBR-equipped carbine was type-classified as the 

M4A1 CQB/R Block II, or what is commonly known to 

us as the “Mk18”. 

The Mk18 I’m talking about though differs from 

the original Mk 18 Mod 0 in that it utilizes a Daniel 

Defense rail system (as did the original), but this 

time the RIS II free-float rail, often with a low-profile 

gas block; as with the M4/M4A1 Block II, the Mark 

18 Mod 1 was a product of the SOPMOD Block II 

program which had its own parts list. There’s a little 

confusion though, as for some reason Daniel Defense 

also made the decision to call the RIS II the “Mk18”! 

It’s beyond doubt that the RIS II was designed at the 

request of the United States Special 

Operations Command (USSOCOM) for 

the Block II program, as they had a 

specific requirement for a free float 

M203 solution, and Daniel Defense 

responded, designing a revolutionary 

product to meet the government’s 

and user’s need. However, this does 

cloud the entire “Mk18” story a little, 

and that’s why I’ve spent some time 

here explaining things again. 

GOOD TO GO 

If you fancy an “off the shelf” Mk18, 

then you’ve got GREAT choices for 

both AEG and GBBR bases, some of 

which you’ll see in the preceding RED 

CELL update as we’ve been putting 

these super little ARs 

through their 

paces for some time 

now. However, another 

of the gems that 

we came 

across 

at IWA 

earlier this 

year was 

the “Mk18 

ALPHA” from 

DELTA ARMORY (DA)! 

If AEG is your preferred 

choice of “OS”, then the Mk18 

models that are being offered 

to us by DELTA ARMORY are 

great models to look at! The 

Mk18 sits among the 

DA ALPHA and 

“IF AEG IS YOUR PREFERRED CHOICE OF “OS”, THEN THE 

MK18 MODELS THAT ARE BEING OFFERED TO US BY DELTA 

ARMORY ARE GREAT MODELS TO LOOK AT! THE MK18 SITS 

AMONG THE DA ALPHA AND BRAVO RANGES THAT WE 

DETAILED IN OUR INTRODUCTION TO THE BRAND IN ISSUE 150” 


ARMOURY 


BRAVO ranges that we detailed in our introduction 

to the brand in Issue 150, with slightly different 

specifications, and this again gives more choice to 

“we, the players”. The guys at www.deltaarmory. 

co.uk very kindly sent me the AR15 MK18 ALPHA 

to have a look at, and this is now in the RED CELL 

Test Pool so we’ll be returning to it down the road; 

running stock from the box though it’s proving to 

be a really budget-friendly way of getting into the 

whole “NSW/SOPMOD-thing” if you fancy taking that 

direction. There are no frills, no bells and no whistles, 

just a solidly made short AR AEG that’s immediately 

ready to BB-up and get out onto the field with! 

Every part of it appears to have been made and 

fitted with the utmost care and attention to detail. 

Internally the Mk18 is what I was promised by the 

DA team, and for a “stock gun” that’s not bad at 

all! Staring with a 6.03mm precision inner barrel and 

a metal modern-style CNC A-type, flat-face trigger, 

inside there are solid high-quality internal parts with 

an SHS piston featuring full metal teeth, SHS delayer, 

8mm bearings, rotary hop chamber, and a reinforced 

gearbox that I’m told can handle a 120-130 spring 

with no problems! The guys at DA told me that; 

“We ran several long-term tests with our Delta 

Armory Springs, but please note that different brands 

have different strength of springs even when they are 

named with same number; M120 from SHS can have 

the same strength as our SP140!” 

Thanks to the DA QRS system, you can easily 

change out the spring in few minutes without 

disassembly of the entire AEG; DA have even gone as 

far as to create a quick simple video tutorial that can 

be accessed via their website, or by hitting the DELTA 

ARMORY YouTube channel direct. There’s also a Quick 

Motor Change function that’s pretty straightforward 

given the DA B5 type motor grip (more on this later). 

The AEG has a very distinctive full-metal body 

with unique serial number; and I do mean “VERY 

distinctive”! Although it may cause some raised 

eyebrows among the “stitch-bitch” fraternity I have 

to say that I really quite like the approach that DA 

have taken with their receiver sets; you’re definitely 

not going to mistake this for anything other than 

a DA AEG as there are deeply engraved logos 

beneath the magwell fence and also inset to the 

“THANKS TO THE DA QRS SYSTEM, YOU CAN EASILY CHANGE OUT THE SPRING IN 

FEW MINUTES WITHOUT DISASSEMBLY OF THE ENTIRE AEG; DA HAVE EVEN GONE AS 

FAR AS TO CREATE A QUICK SIMPLE VIDEO TUTORIAL THAT CAN BE ACCESSED VIA 

THEIR WEBSITE, OR BY HITTING THE DELTA ARMORY YOUTUBE CHANNEL DIRECT” 

58 


ARMOURY 


forward assist housing! There’s also some hand-assist 

grooves machined into the front of the magwell, an 

aesthetically pleasing touch that will also please those 

that favour a “magwell grip”. Controls are 100% 

AR-norm so no issues there, and there’s a singlepoint 

sling-plate fitted as standard. 

The DA Mk18 upper has a standard 22mm RIS 

rail for optics, and this continues forward to the 

very nicely achieved CNC metal “DD-style” quad 

handguard, again with 22mm RIS rails; unlike 

others out in the wild this take on the RIS II has no 

spurious trades, just simple T, B, L, and R placement 

markings… as this is not a licenced replication of the 

rail system it’s refreshing to see (or not!) the absence. 

The metal outer barrel is finished with birdcage flashhider 

which is mounted on a 14mm CCW thread, so 

if you want to run a suppressor or tracer unit then 

you’re good to go. 

Now comment have been made to me, and I have 

noticed myself that certain external elements of the 

DA AEGs do resemble those of other brands out 

there, and in honesty this is true. However, we all 

know that airsoft manufacturers tend to buy certain 

elements “off the shelf” from the factories in the Far 

East, and the use of “COTS” parts is something that 

happens in the real world, and not just in airsoft! 

Personally I see this as no bad thing as if certain parts 

are as good as they can be, then why re-engineer 

them and incur/add massive cost which inevitably we 

pay for as consumers? The Mk18 has flip-up front and 

rear sights which do undoubtedly resemble others 

out there, but ultimately they come as a part of the 

standard package, and THEY WORK! Ditto the pistol 

grip; looks familiar, but it’s a great, modern ergonomic 

design so no problem for me! 

The stock however is excellent, pretty darn solid on 

the buffer tube and resembling a mash-up of the best 

features of the BCM Mod 1 and the Magpul MOE SL 

with the DA logo thrown in! It’s not a copy of either, 

but has a similar cheekweld profile and an easy-toadjust 

pinch release; I like it a lot, and the simple, soft 

rubber “squeeze-to-release” buttpad makes changing 

out batteries in-game an absolute breeze! 

DOWNRANGE 

With everything looking good it was time to give the 

DA Mk18 a few good hammerings on the ranges; I 

wanted to see how this performed both in CQB and 

woodland settings as it should be able to handle both 

well, so I had two sessions on the 10m steels before 

moving up to the 30m woodland range. The ALPHA 

model I received had been set to 1.07 Joule/340fps 

and this remained pretty constant through the 

chrono. As I’m a midcap player I was delighted with 

the polymer 120 BB model as standard, and this fed 

flawlessly throughout testing; I did test the Mk18 on 

all my usual AR mags, both STANAG and other, and 

I’m pleased to tell you that these all fed perfectly too. 

In terms of accuracy at 30m things were great, and 

I’m certain this will improve even further once the 

Mk18 has had time to bed in properly. As I prefer to 

shoot on semi-auto the ROF was of little interest to 

me (although on an 11.1 I had zero complaints on 

that score, dumping a few mags-worth of BBs happily 

and at great spped!), but the trigger response is VERY 

crisp, especially important when clanging the shorterrange 

steels…. the Mk18 is predominantly a CQBoriented 

design, and that’s where it will always excel, 

and it certainly does make each and every session an 

“easy day”! 

To round things off, after I’d finished on the range 

I took the Mk18 down to my local shop to again 

hand it around and see what “the guys” thought; 

my local store is actually stocking DELTA ARMORY 

AEGs and indeed providing the basic “M4” variant 

as a rental option at one of our local sites with no 

issues. Probably just like you “the guys” are keen 

airsofters that play nearly every weekend somewhere 

or other, and they are constantly tweaking their own 

RIFs to get better range, more consistency, and more 

performance from them, and these, I find, are the 

harshest critics of any new AEG I show them; after 

much nodding, and approving “oohs and ahs” as to 

the build quality and overall fit, finish, and “feel” of 

the Mk18 there were quite a few comments of “yup, 

better get me one of these”! 

So, at the end of the day the DELTA ARMORY 

MK18 ALPHA AEG is a carbine that you can buy for a 

sensible price that looks utterly superb, feels so solid 

that you could use it to hammer nails, and is more 

(way more!) than adequate in terms of performance. 

If you’re in need of a cheeky new CQB tool then the 

Mk18 ALPHA is most definitely worth a look, but 

with the very latest ETU models from DELTA ARMORY 

hitting stores now though, a few extra bucks will get 

you even more performance, and I’m REALLY looking 

forward to seeing what this enhancement brings to an 

already very capable performer! 

My thanks go to www.deltaarmory.co.uk for 

providing the test sample, and please do go and check 

out what www.delta-armory.com have coming with 

their new ETU series… which is A LOT! AA 



TECHNICAL 

MAPLE LEAF CREATIVE WORKSHOP 

MAPLE LEAF: 

MAKE IT SO! 

IN THE FIRST OF MANY PLANNED COLLABORATIVE ARTICLES WITH “MILITARY” ANNY WU WHO STEWBACCA 

INTRODUCED IN OUR INAUGURAL “GETTING PERSONAL” FEATURE BACK IN ISSUE 148 OF APRIL 2023, HE 

SAT DOWN WITH HER TO GET THE SCOOP ON HER PREVIOUS VISIT TO MAPLE LEAF TACTICAL’S RECENTLY 

ESTABLISHED ‘CREATIVE WORKSHOP’ FACILITY OPEN TO VISITORS IN THE SOUTHWEST OF NEW TAIPEI CITY. 

Anyone who’s ever been interested in upgrading 

their airsoft platform and particularly kitting 

one out with a well-regarded barrel and HOP 

bucking selection are undoubtedly familiar with the 

name “Maple Leaf”, a name that’s been growing in 

popularity and proliferation worldwide within the 

airsoft community based on the strength of its ever 

increasing lines of option parts and more recently 

systems immediately ready for use in sniper rifles as 

well as gas blowback systems. I can’t personally recall 

using any of their products myself as yet (although 

others among the AA crew most certainly have!), but 

then I only really dabbled lightly in bolt action sniper 

rifle platforms many years ago when first starting 

out in the woodlands of the UK’s Midlands, and 

since coming to Taiwan it’s been more a case of get 

a new gun and run it into the ground for…science… 

#IBreakShitSoYouDontHaveTo, after all! 

However, those who spend more time and money 

tuning their personal gear for the best performance 

in bolt action (and more recently other types of 

platforms) already rely on Maple Leaf’s products, 

among a few alternatives, to make sure their BBs land 

consistently and repeatedly where they expect them 

to. I had become aware of their physical workshop 

space being made open to the public a while back, 

but, being me I’ve been too busy myself with other 

concerns and hadn’t made time to go and see them at 

the far end of the MRT line I live on; Anny, however, 

made a point of heading out there previously for 

her own Taiwanese language report for her website 

https://anny.cc/maple-leaf-creative-workshop/ so 

I found time to meet and we went through what 

Maple Leaf have been doing out there. 

Hidden in the Industrial zone of Xinzhuang on 

the outskirts of Taipei, resides one of the leading 

lights of Taiwan’s domestic airsoft manufacturing 

base; Maple Leaf, in the guise of their “Maple Leaf 

Precision Creative Workshop”, and this is not only a 

final assembly and testing plant for their more recent 

developments in complete guns, but a workshop, 

option parts store and meeting area open to the 

public, allowing local players to see Maple Leaf’s latest 

products for themselves and choose or configure 

the right individual or sub-assembly components for 

their personal gun builds, as well as meet the people 

behind the products and give direct product feedback 

or experiences. 

Despite being basically a household name 

in present day airsoft and the field of upgrade 

components, Maple Leaf at present has a relatively 

long history that lead them to their current place 

“HIDDEN IN THE INDUSTRIAL ZONE OF XINZHUANG ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF 

TAIPEI, RESIDES ONE OF THE LEADING LIGHTS OF TAIWAN’S DOMESTIC AIRSOFT 

MANUFACTURING BASE; MAPLE LEAF, IN THE GUISE OF THEIR “MAPLE LEAF PRECISION 

CREATIVE WORKSHOP”” 

62 


TECHNICAL 


in the industry, over twenty years in fact, with the 

origin story of the company being somewhat of an 

oddity compared to others either of us have visited. 

The founder of Maple Leaf, Mr Lu MingDe, or “De 

Ge/Brother De” in local Taiwanese parlance, never 

actually intended to enter the airsoft market, literally 

stumbling into it by chance! 

Originally working in the telecommunications 

sector, Mr. De had initially made a name for himself 

by opening his own service provider in the shape of 

“Maple Leaf Communication lines”; however one day 

back in 2000 he was about to head out on business 

for the day but bumped into two employees of a 

“survival games” (airsoft) store across the street, 

chatting for a while at the time and striking up a 

continuing friendship over the course of a week or so. 

However shortly after the unexpected happened; one 

of his new-found friends came across to his current 

telecoms business to inform him that their airsoft shop 

boss had suddenly deserted them and disappeared for 

some reason, not only failing to pay his employees, 

but using their name to take out a half a million 

(Taiwanese dollar) loan! 

Mr. De decided to help them out and provided 

a workspace in his existing business for them to 

organise themselves and continue making their 

living repairing and servicing airsoft guns, as well as 

encouraging growth in themselves and the industry 

in general. After a while the young employees also 

upped and disappeared never to be heard from 

again… evidently there’s “nothing as queer as folk”, 

especially here in the wild west, out east! 

NEW BEGINNINGS 

As a result Mr. De was left somewhat holding the bag 

in terms of a cottage industry growing within his own 

larger business, but not one that he had a particularly 

in depth knowledge of himself. Thus, leaning on this 

“MOVING REARWARD INTO THE MAIN OFFICE SPACE YOU WILL FIND THE OPERATIVES 

ASSEMBLING COMPONENTS AND SUB-ASSEMBLIES FROM BASKETS OR BINS OF 

PARTS, AS WELL AS TESTING THE PARTIALLY COMPLETED GUNS AND THEIR PRIMARY 

OPERATING MECHANISMS PRIOR TO FINAL ASSEMBLY” 


TECHNICAL 


64 


TECHNICAL 


odd twist of fate, he decided to dedicate a lot of 

his own time and energy developing both his own 

knowledge of airsoft guns and components, and the 

industry and market at large, founding Maple Leaf 

Precision Creative Studio in 2001, and the rest, as they 

say, is history! 

Working out of their four-floored office and 

workshop building on a side street just off the main 

drag travelling through from Taipei to neighbouring 

Taoyuan, Maple Leaf Precision’s Creative Workshop 

has an airy environment with floor to ceiling 

windows on all floors giving a comfortable and welllit 

workspace, which also makes all their activities 

somewhat literally transparent to the outside world.- 

Almost like an attraction in itself, anyone wandering 

by can see the experts at work assembling, testing 

and putting the finishing touches and considerations 

into their products; somewhat of a departure from 

the typical secured facilities and closed door or 

nondescript factories hidden away from public view. 

The ground floor street facing area also provides 

ample outdoor and indoor parking for the employees 

and visitor’s motorcycles or scooters, with Mr. De still 

regularly making deliveries to distributors personally 

on his own motorbike, just to help cut down on costs, 

delays and literally cutting through the traffic, in 

favour of sending things by vans or trucks of typical 

local couriers. Evidently the personal touch is both a 

pragmatic and effective approach. 

This space also functions as a comfortable meeting 

and business space during office hours, with a fullystocked 

fridge of complimentary soft drinks and even 

beers, as well as a well-prepared snack cart to help 

facilitate commerce and conversation. However the 

place really comes alive at night, with it functioning 

as a small bar stocked with harder liquors and is 

used as a general social space after hours, as well as 

the employees enjoying lunch in the area at noon 

on weekdays, with Friday lunchtimes seeing the 

“Lady of the House” herself in the form of Mr De’s 

wife providing delicious home cooked meals for the 

employees; providing such creature comforts for 

employees is fairly typical in Taiwan, however this is 

usually more “phoned in” somewhat literally in terms 

of complimentary lunches, rather than taking such 

a personal approach that makes them feel more like 

family. 

Moving rearward into the main office space you 

will find the operatives assembling components and 

sub-assemblies from baskets or bins of parts, as well 

as testing the partially completed guns and their 

primary operating mechanisms prior to final assembly. 


TECHNICAL 


66 


TECHNICAL 


One of the large walls features 

a roller shutter enclosed product 

display alcove that features an array 

of complete guns as well as the 

most common separately packaged 

upgrade components, available 

for public viewing by existing or 

prospective domestic and foreign 

customers or even purchasing them 

by appointment via private message 

prior to visiting. 

This area also showcases upcoming 

offerings and present work-inprogress 

or as yet incomplete 

products that Maple Leaf are already 

most of the way to completion with, 

or otherwise comfortable releasing 

information about publicly (no 

doubt offering an insight into them 

earlier will drive increased interest in time for their 

more general release) with (at the time of the visit) 

unfinished and part-complete 3D printed prototypes 

of the Maple Leaf MLC-LTR (Light Tactical Rifle) during 

the visit, which has since been released to market. 

MOVING ON UP! 

Moving on from the middle of the first floor (ground 

floor for most of you out there… yes, it’s highly 

confusing at times living out here!) the rearmost 

area encompasses the “processing area” and is kept 

immaculate in a more clean room style environment, 

rather than some airsoft manufacturing facilities. 

Thanks to the fastidious approach of Mr. De, his 

private army of sweeping robots thoroughly sweep 

every inch and corner on a regular basis to ensure 

cleanliness and quality of the product, as well as 

providing a nice working space for the employees. 

The comfort, cleanliness and consideration also 

extend to the “his and hers throne rooms” which 

are immaculately kept and stocked with products for 

comfort and convenience. 

The second floor (again; first floor for most!) 

encompasses the considerable main warehouse, 

decked out with numerous tall storage racks 

adorned with endless tubs, baskets and cardboard 

boxes of well labelled and organised and protected 

components; of course for commercial confidentiality 

we couldn’t release too many pictures or details of 

what goes on here, but enough to give you an idea 

of scale and whet your appetites, with the majority of 

precision components such as the much vaunted inner 

barrels being manufactured, finished and packaged 

ready for delivery to awaiting distributors locally or 

further afield. 

Finally the next floor up comprises the brightly lit 

and spacious Quality Control and finished packaged 

goods department, where Mr. De’s meticulous 

attention to detail extends with the continued almost 

clean room style environment with the feeling of a 

highly organised and well-oiled machine; it’s very 

apparent that the care for products and people 

extends floor to ceiling on every level like the 

windows, and judging by Maple Leaf’s ever growing 

range of precision components, complete guns, and 

their well-regarded reputation and continued market 

penetration of their products worldwide, they’re 

clearly doing something right! 

Many thanks to Anny for doing the background 

work on the site visit and article, as well as Mr. De 

and his team for accommodating her on site and 

facilitating her hard work; having seen and handled 

some of their more recent and upcoming releases at 

their stand at MOA 2022 I’m quite interested to see 

what more they have to bring us all soon. AA 

“IT’S VERY APPARENT THAT THE CARE FOR PRODUCTS AND PEOPLE EXTENDS FLOOR 

TO CEILING ON EVERY LEVEL LIKE THE WINDOWS, AND JUDGING BY MAPLE LEAF’S 

EVER GROWING RANGE OF PRECISION COMPONENTS… THEY’RE CLEARLY DOING 

SOMETHING RIGHT!” 


TECHNICAL 

RATTLECAN CAMO 

BLENDING 

IN 

WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME, EFFORT AND MONEY PUTTING TOGETHER OUR CAMOUFLAGE SYSTEM OF 

CLOTHING AND GEAR, BUT WHATEVER PATTERN YOU PREFER YOU STILL END UP WITH A DARN GREAT 

BLACK RIFLE STICKING OUT IN FRONT OF YOU UNLESS YOU TAKE SOME VERY DIRECT ACTION! THIS IS AN 

AREA THAT WE’VE COVERED BEFORE, BUT AS IT’S A QUESTION WE GET ASKED TIME AND AGAIN BILL GETS 

HIS TRUSTY RATTLECANS OUT AGAIN TO GIVE THE POOL ROSSI NEPTUNE SAS A PROPER FIELD-EXPEDIENT 

“O.W.N” SPRAY-JOB! 

There’s always a bit of a debate as to whether 

camouflaging your precious AEG is a good thing 

or not. I’m quite happy to be the first to say that 

some people look on this practice with horror in their 

eyes and I do understand why; ultimately there is no 

such thing as a “cheap” RIF, so do you really want 

to cover all that black and shiny awesomeness with 

paint? If you want to resell said RIF at a later point will 

a paintjob devalue it? 

I have to say that in my opinion the answer to 

question one in some cases is “yes”, and to question 

two “no”. Let’s address question one first. When you 

embark on putting together your RIF there are some 

fundamental points to look at; if the RIF is intended as 

a practical shooting tool for the range then leaving it 

black is 100% fine, and in some cases you may even 

want to “bling it up” with a nice silver chrome flash 

hider or one of those gucci bolt covers. If however 

you’re building something for woodland environments 

then you’re probably going to want to do something 

as black really doesn’t occur naturally and stands out 

like a sore thumb. 

In the woods, just as we apply can cream to break 

up the outline of our face, so too should the outline 

of our rifle or carbine be muted as well. When I look 

to build a woodland rifle I will immediately think 

about both the specific environment and the time of 

year I’m going to be using it; if it’s high summer and 

I’m going to be playing in dense, sun mottled foliage 

then I’ll look to a fairly “bright” palette of colours 

with more green in it than anything. If it’s autumn use 

though I’ll look to more browns, and if it’s a “catchall” 

then I’ll go with a blended mix. 

Consider this though. If you just paint your rifle in 

one block colour, although it will be better than plain 

black, it’s still just going to be a block of colour, again 

something that rarely occurs in nature. What you need 

to look at is blending colours effectively and picking 

up highlights so the overall shape becomes distorted. 

Think about those clever people that actually design 

camouflage patterns and you’ll come across words 

like “fractal” and “pixelated”; good camouflage is all 

about the “blend”. 

Now to question two; many folk I speak to do 

believe that painting your RIF will affect its resale 

value negatively if you want to sell it at a later date, 

and again I would be the first to say that a botched, 

badly achieved paintjob most certainly will. A good, 

well achieved piece of work though (like some of 

the airbrushed and stencilled masterpieces we all 

“IN THE WOODS, JUST AS WE APPLY CAN CREAM TO BREAK UP THE OUTLINE OF OUR 

FACE, SO TOO SHOULD THE OUTLINE OF OUR RIFLE OR CARBINE BE MUTED AS WELL. 

WHEN I LOOK TO BUILD A WOODLAND RIFLE I WILL IMMEDIATELY THINK ABOUT BOTH 

THE SPECIFIC ENVIRONMENT AND THE TIME OF YEAR I’M GOING TO BE USING IT” 

68 


TECHNICAL 


see online!) can actually increase the desirability of a 

replica; it’s all in the eye of the beholder at the end 

of the day so if you like the paintjob then it will just 

mean you want “that rifle” even more. Real world 

“shooters”, especially but not exclusively snipers, will 

camouflage their rifles for a reason, so why should we 

in our wide-ranging world of airsoft be any different. 

There are lots of matt finish spray paints out there 

on the market, some easier to get hold of than others 

and I’ve used pretty much all of them over the years. 

This time I’ve worked with the range of “Ultra Flat 

Paint” (UFP) from the old NUPROL range; the team 

there, airsofters themselves, recognised that certain 

“big name” brands of paint are both expensive and 

hard to get hold of so they went out and sourced their 

own. That said, this is now harder to come by and 

KRYLON is still a go to for many… even the Halfords 

“camo” paints available here in the UK will do the 

trick as they’re actually prey good. 

DO IT RIGHT, DO IT ONCE! 

Doing your first paintjob can be a nervy affair, and 

many players I know shy away from doing it in case 

they get it wrong; my first time I certainly took a long 

while to pluck up the courage, that’s for sure! With 

any team or group of players though there are always 

complementary skills; I can work with wiring but I 

have a friend who’s far better at it than me. I have 

another friend for whom finding the ultimate hop-up 

arrangement is his “holy grail”. I’m more than happy 

to pass my RIFs over to them for jobs they will do 

better than I because I want my own guns to work 

as perfectly as possible. When it comes to painting 

though, I am a “camo nerd”, and as long as friends 

provide the paint I’ll happily get the job done for 

them; my style is “field-expedient” rather than “artist 

studio” as the effect that I want to achieve is that of 

a platform that has been created “in theatre” from 

paints available. 

Over the past couple of months I’ve been working 

up the ROSSI NEPTUNE SAS and gathering the parts 

to create an L119A2-style carbine inspired by that of 

“Obi Wan Nairobi”; after finally finding a SIG-style 

RDS and a stubby foregrip (my choice as Mr Craighead 

didn’t have one mounted on his 119) thanks to www. 

davescustomairsoft.co.uk everything was in place; it 

is the classic base for a painting project as you’ll see 

from the pictures with original black parts throughout. 

Due to the inspiration for this build I decided I wanted 

the finished item camouflaged as per the ouststanding 

“real deal” so I made a plan. 

This is a key part of the process that needs to take 

place before a can of paint is even rattled, to look 

at what the rifle or carbine needs to work alongside 

and in this case it was based on many images sourced 

online in the public domain so I knew it needed to be 

finished in reasonably mute tones that would work in 

both scrub and an urban setting. 

With this established STEP 1 was to mask all the 

areas that need to remain paint free, in this case the 

muzzle (I normally leave the flash hider in place but as 

“THERE ARE LOTS OF MATT FINISH SPRAY PAINTS OUT THERE ON THE MARKET, SOME 

EASIER TO GET HOLD OF THAN OTHERS AND I’VE USED PRETTY MUCH ALL OF THEM 

OVER THE YEARS. THIS TIME I’VE WORKED WITH THE RANGE OF “ULTRA FLAT PAINT” 

(UFP) FROM THE OLD NUPROL RANGE” 


TECHNICAL 


the rifle was going to be used with a black suppressor/ 

tracer unit as per reference so I removed it), any 

exposed wiring, and the magwell; do not let paint 

build up in here as it can effect smooth magazine 

release. I left the “irons” in place, but also masked up 

the optic as this will remain dedicated to this build. I 

then took a clean paintbrush and thoroughly brushed 

any dust away; it’s actually a good idea to use the 

paintbrush between coats throughout the process as 

you do tend to get a “dust” forming as you go along. 

Preparation really is your friend when painting. 

STEP 2 is to apply a thin, even base coat which 

holds the overall pattern together; in this case tan. 

Always follow the directions on the can and apply 

multiple thin coats rather than one heavy handed one, 

and always try the spray on a separate area first to 

see what the coverage is like. Most importantly don’t 

rush things; some people like to hang their painting 

project but I prefer to do mine on an old workmate 

as hanging implies a roof which in turn means that 

paint fumes don’t disperse so easily. Spray to create a 

slightly uneven but full coverage of the base tan. 

Once the base coat is touch dry (again follow the 

instructions on the can as they are there for a reason!) 

70 


TECHNICAL 


STEP 3 is to apply the first of the blending lines and 

I chose to use green for this. You don’t need to be 

too precious with these as you still have a way to go! 

Spray on some bold green streaks at diagonals, and 

then mist with the green from a distance to build up 

the colour differentiation against the base tan; you 

should end up with a slightly greener hue overall at 

this stage. 

want ultimately is a nice, even “snakeskin” pattern 

that really does blur outlines and shapes well. Once 

this is done and everything is touch-dry return to the 

green for a final misting coat which nicely brings the 

whole project together, and tones down the harshness 

of the lighter colour “snaky-ness”. 

STEP 4 is to apply the third coat, tan again this 

time, in a light misted coat to start filling in the gaps 

between the initial blending lines; it doesn’t matter if 

you overlap the green slightly as this is where things 

start to come together and the overall outline and 

shape of the rifle starts to blur. Leave this overnight 

for the hardening process of the base coats to take 

place. 

The next part of the project, and the finishing touch 

for me, is to “weather” the whole rifle; some folk 

don’t like to do this and leave their cam-job to wear 

STEP 5 is to take an old scrim net and lay this 

over the carbine, return to your tan and green and 

spray through it; leaving the coats beneath to cure 

off overnight means you shouldn’t get any “smears” 

when you lay the net over the carbine. You do need 

to get the scrim net as close to the surface you’re 

painting as possible so as to avoid “bleed”; what you 

naturally, but if you know where a carbine should 

wear you can induce this to achieve an immediate 


TECHNICAL 


“battleworn” effect. If you do want to take this 

step then it’s as simple as taking some very fine 

grade sandpaper or wire wool and gently “knock 

back” the areas you want to take back close to 

bare metal (again, reference images usually give 

a good indication of where this occurs). 

Then it’s simply a case of removing the 

masking tape and materials, giving the rifle 

another brush down to remove any final dusting, 

and refit any parts that need it; I refitted the PEQ 

box and taclite, along with the SF-style Angry 

Gun suppressor, although I can easily swap this 

out to a tracer unit of a similar style for low-light/ 

night games. 

THEN LEAVE IT BE!!! 

Although the paint can will undoubtedly tell 

you that everything is completely dry after a few 

hours the fact of the matter is that the longer 

you leave things to stand, the better the paint 

itself will “cure” or harden. I normally bank on 

standing any finished job in the workshop for at 

least three days to allow full curing and for any 

residual fumes to completely disperse. 

Whether or not the “painted operator rifle” 

is for you is down to personal preference. What 

I will tell you is that good quality paints are easy 

to work with, go on very effectively, and blend 

together perfectly. If you’re not confident in 

having a crack at spraying something yourself 

then speak to people who have good examples 

of what can be achieved; in many cases they’ll 

help you take your first steps to creating a 

masterpiece of your own. Don’t be reticent in 

asking for advice, and be confident when you 

approach the project from the outset…. take 

your time and do it right, and do it once! 

I’m pretty happy with how the finished 

NEPTUNE SAS has ended up so far; I’d still like to 

add a SF-style drop light mount, a dual pressure 

switch for the PEQ and taclite to neaten-up 

cable management, and a tan ERGO-style 

motor grip to finish things off to my liking, but 

as this is an “inspired by” build rather than a 

complete replication I think I’ll then leave it there 

and dispense with the RISR on the stock…. 

probably… 

Bottom line though is that the ROSSI NEPTUNE 

SAS is proving to be a great little AEG so far, and 

relatively inexpensive as it is, in its new “party 

clothes” I’ll be happy fielding this in any style of 

game! AA 

72 


TECHNICAL 

LAMBDA DEFENCE MK48 MOD 1 OPTIMISED 

UNLEASHING 

POTENTIAL 

DAN HAS SOMETHING OF A “REP” WITHIN 

THE AA CREW NOW WHEN IT COMES TO 

GETTING THE VERY BEST OUT OF AEGS, AND THIS 

TIME HE TAKES ON THE BEAST THAT IS THE 

LAMBDA DEFENCE MK48 MOD 1 TO SEE IF 

HE CAN GET IT TO REACH THE POTENTIAL IT 

PROMISED FROM THE OUTSET! 

76 


TECHNICAL 


In the early 2000’s, United States Special Operations 

Command (USSOCOM) was 

seeking a suitable replacement 

for their aging fleet of 7.62mm 

M60 General Purpose Machine 

Guns. 

The M60 was more portable 

Designated the Mk 48 Mod 0, this proved itself to be 

more reliable than the M60 platform, while also being 

lighter weight and having the benefit of sharing the 

same manual of arms as the M249. 

Naturally, the airsoft market will always desire 

anything fielded by US Special Operations, but for 

many years there was not an airsoft equivalent to the 

MK48 series to meet the demand. 

and 

ergonomic 

than the much 

heavier M240 

series, which clocked 

in at a hefty 27.5 lbs. 

and measuring over 49” 

long, but was not without 

its flaws in the reliability 

department. Despite several 

variants that improved upon the 

original design, it was determined 

that fielding an all-new machine gun 

would be a more desirable option. 

In 2001 USSOCOM solicited a request 

for this new machine gun and Fabrique 

Nationale Herstal submitted for trial a 

scaled-up version of the M249, which had 

already been in service since the early 80’s. 

Honorable mention should go out to 

Killen Customs for pioneering the first 

retrofit kits that could be fitted to the 

Classic Army / A&K series M249. These 

were custom CNC machined components that 

were largely bolt-on and intended to be fitted 

with surplus MK48 box magazines. Owing 

to their limited production run, they were 

expensive, scarce and generally out of reach 

for many. As nice as these were, they also 

couldn’t quite overcome some of the 

more fundamental design differences 

between the M249 and the MK48, 

simply because of the base gun it 

was using. 

It wouldn’t be until many years 

later that a fully fleshed out 

MK48 would finally be offered: 

enter Lambda Defence with 

their MK48 MOD 0 and 

MOD 1. Perhaps one 

of 

the most accurate and 

true- 

to-form replicas offered, 

this is 

an absolute unit of 

a gun; 

built of solid steel 

throughout and 

weighing in at massive 22 

lbs. with 

the magazine 

attached. 

Outside of Real 

Sword, I have 

yet to find 

“THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE UNIT OF A GUN; BUILT OF SOLID STEEL THROUGHOUT AND 

WEIGHING IN AT MASSIVE 22 LBS. WITH THE MAGAZINE ATTACHED. OUTSIDE OF REAL 

SWORD, I HAVE YET TO FIND ANOTHER AEG REPLICA THAT FEELS QUITE LIKE THE REAL 

THING AS THIS DOES” 


TECHNICAL 


78 


TECHNICAL 


another AEG replica that feels quite like the real thing 

as this does. The model specifically covered here is the 

MOD 1 version, which features a retractable stock and 

lower profile handguard and heat shield arrangement. 

Full disclosure: this replica was sent to me on behalf of 

one of Amped Airsoft’s employees who had purchased 

it new, but reportedly had issues with the gun straight 

out of the box. Despite some efforts at remedial 

teching, it still never fully ran 100% and had a gamut 

of problems. Everything from spitting BB’s, to poor 

feeding, low FPS, and various other assorted maladies. 

At this stage in its life, it was a veritable US$825 (and 

quite heavy) paperweight. 

Admittedly, I don’t normally like to work on LMG 

platforms (oh REALLY, what about THAT PKM??? – 

Bill) because they often require an inordinate amount 

of time compared to what one can realistically charge 

for the labour to get them running smoothly. The crux 

of the problem is it always boils down to them having 

low-quality internals with sloppy tolerances. Therein, 

my major gripe with LMG platforms as a whole is the 

price-point they command does not really align with 

the lackluster internals they are typically outfitted 

with. Complaints aside, I wanted to at least get some 

familiarity with the Lambda so I could speak from a 

position of experience next time someone wants to 

send one in for work or get an opinion on the viability 

of the platform. 

GETTING INSIDE 

So, all that being said, despite its lofty price tag the 

Lambda does not defy norms and expectations and 

comes equipped with... an A&K M249 gearbox. Cue 

the salty sigh of resignation… 

The first order of business would be to pull the 

gearbox and rebuild the foundation. This was supplied 

with a few upgraded internals as part of the previous 

effort to fix it. Since those components were largely 

still in new to like-new condition, they were retained 

for the purpose of upgrading this. Anytime I rebuild 

a gun, it gets a full teardown to the individual 

components. This is mainly so I can start from a 

“known base” – which is to say, it’s always beneficial 

to start from scratch with the full knowledge of what 

you have installed and how you installed it as opposed 

to making an assumption those parts were installed 

correctly before. With respect to LMG builds, my 

philosophy is to build them to be durable and to last. 

These see a volume of fire that far exceeds that of a 

typical AEG - sometimes in a single game day even. 

Disassembly of the Lambda MK48 is sublimely 

simple, and mimics the A&K version nearly identically; 

save for one less screw to remove and not needing 

to remove the charging handle either. On that latter 

note, the charging handle does not interfere with 

the closing of the feed tray cover like it does on the 

A&K SAW. Just like the A&K, depressing a lever will 

handily remove the outer barrel and hop up assembly 

too. I will say that the spring for the barrel takedown 

lever is remarkably weak. You have to be careful 

about ensuring the barrel assembly is properly locked 

in place as it is possible to not quite get it indexed 

and have it fall out of the gun. This is probably the 

only area where the A&K trumps the Lambda design 

since the spring for the barrel retention lever is much 

stronger. 

The plan for this build was to use a Warhead 27K 

Base brushless motor and a set of Rocket 17.28:1 

gears for the drivetrain. I quickly found out there 

wasn’t really enough room for proper shimming of the 

bevel gear, even with the supplied 7mm FLT bushings. 

The bushing shoulders just sat too high and the gears 

were simply too tall. I ended up taking both shell 

halves to my mill and milled in some recesses for the 

bushing shoulders so they would sit flush with the 

interior of the shell. The FLT’s were pressed in place 

with some Loctite 638 retaining compound, which 

is designed for press-fit applications such as this and 

would ensure the bushings would never spin out in 

their recesses. Now that there were enough clearances 

to work with, the gears could be properly shimmed 

out, starting from pinion to bevel, spur then finally the 

sector gear. 

On the compression side, the ever-excellent Angel 

Custom KRATOS piston was installed with a Lonex 

POM ported piston head, which was itself fitted 

with a 70D Viton O-ring. I switched to using these 

as a matter of course some years ago as they are 

vastly more durable and longer lasting than anything 

supplied with Airsoft parts. Then I added a 70D AirPad 

to the SHS CNC cylinder head, which was installed 

into a MAXX unported stainless steel cylinder. For the 

“THE PLAN FOR THIS BUILD WAS TO USE A WARHEAD 27K BASE BRUSHLESS MOTOR 

AND A SET OF ROCKET 17.28:1 GEARS FOR THE DRIVETRAIN. I QUICKLY FOUND OUT 

THERE WASN’T REALLY ENOUGH ROOM FOR PROPER SHIMMING OF THE BEVEL GEAR, 

EVEN WITH THE SUPPLIED 7MM FLT BUSHINGS…” 


TECHNICAL 


80 


TECHNICAL 


tappet, I replaced the stock A&K with a Guarder Ver. 

2 tappet plate. Initially the air nozzle I selected was 

a G&P 21mm CNC nozzle. This was based on what I 

now believe is erroneous reporting of what the stock 

Lambda nozzle uses (the original nozzle was missing, 

so I wasn’t able to verify its length). But also because 

a straight-wall nozzle design is required in order to 

fully index into the hop up chamber. Anything with 

a stepped base will simply not fit into the chamber 

otherwise. 

The last bit was to rewire the gun for a Gate 

WARFET MOSFET. I built a custom wiring harness 

using 16AWG AlphaWire EcoWire and hooked up the 

trigger microswitch with the supplied dual-signal wire. 

This was set up to sync the box mag to feed when the 

trigger was depressed. A Guarder SP130 spring was 

dropped in to start with for baseline testing. Since 

these gearboxes have a true quick-change spring 

guide setup, it would be a simple matter to swap 

spring to bring the gun inline to our desired LMG limit 

of 450 FPS. 

While in stock form the gearbox is fully A&K, the 

hop up chamber is definitely not. This is basically a 

near clone of the Bullgear CNC chamber, albeit made 

from casting. Much like the Bullgear chamber, it places 

the hop up nub in a more optimal horizontal position 

as opposed to the hard vertical cylinder used in the 

A&K SAW chambers. This was outfitted with an EdGi 

stainless steel barrel and Maple Leaf MR Hop bucking 

and Omega nub. This chamber is a good improvement 

over the original design, but is nearly impossible to 

adjust when the barrel assembly is locked into place. 

This is because there is a spring-loaded detent that 

prevents the hopup wheel from being rotated, sort of 

a ‘lockout’ device. In order to easily adjust it, I found 

it was necessary to pull the barrel release latch so 

the chamber could be cocked forward and not have 

undue resistance from the detent. This is somewhat 

inconvenient and can be complicated by the fact that 

it is occasionally possible to experience what I call 

“BB lockup” which is where you have a BB sitting in 

between the entrance to the hop up and the internal 

feed tube. This can prevent you from removing the 

barrel entirely unless you remove the box magazine 

too. 

TESTING TO PERFECTION 

On first testing, I immediately determined the air 

nozzle was far too short… erroneous reporting 

indeed! On the chrono, the gun was turning in a 

piddly 238 FPS / 0.52J! Now I had moved to the 

stage of testing different nozzles to land on the 

perfect combination of both feeding well and sealing 

perfectly. There are some techniques to determining 

what you might need with good approximation, but 

obviously nothing is the arbiter of truth like actually 

firing the gun and observing what happens. I initially 

bumped up to a Retro Arms 21.40mm, which was too 

long to feed well, but did fit the chamber. I eventually 

ended on a Raptors RTQ CNC nozzle, which had the 

stepped base turned down and modified to 21.31mm 

in length. Now we were feeding! Albeit quite hotly, as 

the SP130 was sending them out there at a massive 

535 FPS / 2.6J. An SP110 seemed to do the trick and 

allowed for a comfortable safety buffer with the joule 

output of the heavier .32g this would normally be run 

with. 

Against my expectations, I was encountering some 

mild premature engagement issues with the piston, 

however. After another dive back into the gearbox to 

short-stroke two teeth from the sector and bumping 

the spring up to an SP120 to adjust FPS again, we 

were back in business and purring… well, almost. 

The Lambda has a reasonably well-built 5000 round 

box magazine, but a woefully anemic and tiny motor 

to power it. Many users have reported their MK48’s 

simply do not feed well unless set to “constant on”. 

I personally do not like the idea of having a box mag 

constantly running whilst not doing things like actually 

shooting. The toggle switch is also in an inconvenient 

location on the underside of the magazine, which 

has to be accessed via a zippered flap. I would have 

loved to drop in a Bullgear box mag insert, but none 

exist for the Lambda yet. It is reportedly possible to 

modify a SAW insert to fit, but owing to the location 

of Bullgear in Russia, their products have been quite 

difficult to obtain lately. Here the WARFET came to the 

rescue with its handy ROF reduction feature. Turning 

it down 10% seemed to do the trick and allowed the 

box mag to keep up with the gearbox. 

Related to the feeding issues, one of the big 

things inhibiting feeding is the internal feed tube 

“THE LAST BIT WAS TO REWIRE THE GUN FOR A GATE WARFET MOSFET. I BUILT A 

CUSTOM WIRING HARNESS USING 16AWG ALPHAWIRE ECOWIRE AND HOOKED UP THE 

TRIGGER MICROSWITCH WITH THE SUPPLIED DUAL-SIGNAL WIRE. THIS WAS SET UP 

TO SYNC THE BOX MAG TO FEED WHEN THE TRIGGER WAS DEPRESSED” 


TECHNICAL 


that sits inside the body of the gun. Unlike the A&K 

M249, which feeds in from the side, the MK48 feeds 

from the underside, much like the PKM or G&P 

M249 series. There is a short feed tube that bridges 

the space between the feed port and the hop up 

chamber. This tube is kind of weirdly placed and it 

makes a tight little S-curve owing to the fact that it’s 

only held in place with tension. During assembly of 

the gun, you have to be very careful not to knock it 

out of alignment. There is also an alignment bracket 

for the hop up chamber that can also cause problems 

if the screws holding it in place are over tightened. 

This will essentially cause the chamber to not fully 

index into the gearbox, which creates an air gap 

between the nozzle and bucking. I found it was best 

to just leave those screws slightly loose. 

At last, we now had a fully functional MK48… and 

I must admit this beast absolutely dazzles with range 

and accuracy now! While it took a fair bit of work, I 

was happy that I was able to make this a skirmishable 

platform. My arms were also bit thankful for finally 

being allowed to put the gun to rest too. Carrying this 

hulking beast up and down the stairs from my shop to 

get it outside to test fire it was a physical exercise unto 

itself! 

Overall, my impressions of the Lambda MK48 

MOD 1 are admittedly a mixed bag. On one hand, 

I definitely appreciate the quality of the body 

construction and attention to detail therein. Even the 

screws and hardware used are much higher quality 

than the soft and easily stripped bits you normally 

encounter. It’s simply beautiful to behold and gives 

one an appreciation for what it must actually feel like 

to pack a (admittedly light for its type) machine gun 

around. The disassembly process to pull the gearbox is 

simple and quick and the stock can even be removed 

without the need for hammer and punch like so many 

of the overly-tight A&K and Classic Army variants 

require, all of which makes changing springs a breeze. 

The bipod is also frankly one of the best-built replicas 

out there and doesn’t feel like the flimsy brittle steel 

that one is usually acquainted with. 

On the other hand, there are definitely some 

problematic areas with this gun that I hope will be 

addressed with future revision. The barrel latch spring 

is weak, as is the carry handle; the latter of which 

actually arrived broken. The trigger is a spectacularly 

floppy affair that hangs off a single roll pin. Then you 

have the internals, which are frankly disappointing 

to say the least. Why such an expensive gun comes 

outfitted with a gearbox from a manufacturer that 

hasn’t produced a lick of innovation for decades now 

is an unfathomable mystery. 

Would I recommend the Lambda? If you want a 

MK48 replica, it absolutely is the only game in town. 

For the most part it is an excellent replica on the 

merits of the body alone, but like any other existing 

production, or for that matter, any discontinued LMG 

platform out there, you should expect to sink some 

time, money and sweat into making it a competitive 

gun on the field. 

Many thanks goes out to Izaac from Amped Airsoft 

for giving me the opportunity to work on his MK48 

MOD 1… it’s been an experience! AA 

82 


AA LEGION 

JAPAN 

TOKYO OPS 

AS WORD OF THE AA LEGION CONTINUES TO SPREAD, “TAMA” APPROACHED STEWBACCA ONLINE TO 

SUBMIT A DEBUT REVIEW AND SHARE HIS EXPERIENCES OF THE OPS “SURVIVAL GAME” FIELD IN THE 

TOKYO AREA, AND THANKFULLY HE BRINGS ANOTHER PLAYER PERSPECTIVE FROM OUR GROWING 

CONTINGENT OF FRIENDS OVERSEAS! 

84 


AA LEGION 

JAPAN 

Tama (@FNWaifu) is an Indonesian airsofter who’s been studying and playing in Japan, rubbing shoulders 

with the likes of Maydaysan and Defrowe (having also appeared on his podcast) in the Tokyo area over 

the past few years as another of the growing foreign player contingent in the area. He approached 

me to share his experience of a “local” site that play year-round, even in the snows of the snowy Japanese 

winter, and this is what he had to tell me... 

The OPS Survival Game Field is one of the best outdoor fields in the Tokyo-area; located in the city of 

Inagi in Tokyo prefecture, it’s pretty close to the metropolitan area of Tokyo, and thus is one of the easier to 


AA LEGION 

JAPAN 

access fields if you live in the city. It’s a one and a half 

hour train ride from my home which is in the outskirts 

of Tokyo, and for people living in the metropolitan 

area, it’s a 45 minute train ride from Shinjuku, the 

biggest station in Tokyo. But since the field is located 

on top of a hill, from the nearest station you have 

to take either a bus or a taxi, which takes another 

20 to 30 minutes. So it’s recommended to come 

with a car or take a taxi. It’s typical for an outside 

airsoft field in Japan to be located in a pretty remote 

area; fortunately, the nearest station which is on the 

Odakyu line and Shinyurigaoka station is a pretty big 

station, so getting a taxi is not going to be a hassle. 

Also most of the local taxi drivers are well aware of 

the OPS Survival Game Field, so you won’t need to 

help them with directions to the venue! 

After you drive or walk into the field, you will be 

greeted with a sign that says “OPS フィールド” and at 

the bottom “MTB コース”, don’t be alarmed; you’re 

in a right place! The field shares the area with a MTB 

course, called SBP Smile Bike Park, which is the only 

MTB Park in the Tokyo area. You’ll be greeted by an 

old guy and a woman who are the receptionists for 

the morning. After you are done with all the usual 

formalities at the reception, you need to walk through 

the parking area and the MTB course. After a short 

walk you’ll arrive at the Safety Area, where you’ll find 

the marshals for 

the field, and the 

field itself. They 

also have two 

smoking areas, 

both of which are 

close to the field 

reception area; 

one is a small hut, 

with seats and 

an ashtray in the 

middle. The other 

one is just a small 

ashtray, this one 

is a smoking area 

for the airsoft 

field and the 

MTB course. For 

me as a smoker, 

two smoking areas is a really helpful thing, you have 

more freedom on smoking in the Safety Area when 

you’re taking a break. You can also sit around and talk 

with other players in the small hut, where you can 

make more Japanese friends and further practise the 

Japanese language. 

THE TWIN FIELD SYSTEM 

For those who have never been to OPS before it 

can a bit of a hassle to understand how the field 

runs; for starters, there are two reception areas, the 

aforementioned one in front of the MTB Course 

and the further one in the safety area, so when first 

entering and signing in for the game, you pay and 

provide your personal information in the MTB Course 

reception, then you receive your ticket with numbers 

on it, which is needed to join the game. After you 

have finished up at the front reception, you progress 

to the one in the field, to put your ticket inside a box 

and be added to the game roster! Do ensure you do 

this and don’t forget to leave it with the staff and take 

the ticket home as a souvenir; many of my friends 

who have been have done that, so do be careful 

with your ticket, it might make a nice aide-memoire, 

but do consider the poor field staff who have to 

administer things! 

It might be a bit of a hassle for first timers with 

the double reception system, but there’s an upside 

to that; on most days, they usually do no-limit or big 

attendance games, where they won’t put any limits 

on how many people can attend, which is pretty rare 

for an airsoft field in the Tokyo-area. Usually in Japan 

you need to reserve a place in a game in advance, 

especially for very well-known fields in the Tokyo-area. 

In most cases, you need to reserve a week or at least 

three days before the game. Meanwhile at OPS you 

won’t need to worry about not being able to join the 

game because you didn’t reserve in advance, you can 

go whenever you like which is a pleasant departure 

from the norm. 

The fee for joining the game is pretty normal for 

an Outdoor field in the Tokyo-area; for male weekend 

tickets its 3,700 Yen (about 25 bucks US) or 2,700 

Yen (under 20 bucks US!) for women, but on normal 

working days, it’s 2,700 Yen for men and 2,200 Yen 

for Women. If you’re a student you can get a 500 

Yen discount, and since I’m still a university student I 

can make use of this discount; of course remember to 

bring your student cards for proof! They do at least 

allow non-Japanese student cards, so for foreigners 

there’s nothing to worry about on that front. 

If you have a vehicle, you will have to pay the 

parking fee; 500 Yen for a car and 200 Yen for 

motorcycles of all sizes. Also do pay attention to the 

fact that OPS doesn’t offer you any lunch, so you 

will need to make preparations for yourself or buy 

something in the train station before you head to 

the field. To that effect there are two McDonalds, 

bakeries, a convenience store, and a variety of 

restaurants in the area where you can pick up food 

86 


AA LEGION 

JAPAN 

before you go to the field, so there’s nothing to worry 

about if you’re a picky eater. There’s also a vending 

machine for beverages on the field where they sell 

soda, tea, and sport beverages as well as a vending 

machine for ice cream down near the MTB Course! 

Looking back at the mention of the ‘two field 

system’ you might think I was referring to both the 

MTB Course and the airsoft field, in fact OPS Survival 

Game field has two separate outdoor fields, one 

which is a normal game field and the other which is 

for rental games. This is a very rare thing even in the 

Kanto area; having two separate fields at one site. In 

most fields they either prioritise rental games to play 

for an entire day, or split the field in half and allow 

two games to run at one time, but you won’t be 

getting the full experience when that happens, as you 

miss out on half the field, yet you still have to pay the 

full price…- OPS have two fields, so they can do two 

games in one day without having to bother the rental 

users or the normal game players. 

MISSION ORIENTED 

The field itself comprises a shallow hill with dense 

trees and bushes, a lot of natural barricades, and the 

field also uses a lot of short wall barricades, sandbags, 

small trenches and human-size bushes. There’s also 

one small CQB area, and one small killhouse; it’s a 

rather nature-based airsoft field which is typical for a 

Japanese outdoor airsoft field, basically using empty 

land or in this case a shallow hill with a lot of greenery 

and gravel. This brings out a “real warfare” feeling, 

you feel like you’re in Vietnam fighting the Vietcong, 

it makes the experience much more engrossing. 

Mostly the games are of unlimited respawn formats 

that allow you to use full auto or burst mode, but 

they also have casual elimination games, where they 

only allow you to use semi-auto, which is the norm in 

Japan. They usually hold one special game, normally 

after the lunch break, but 

the game mode is random, 

so it will be a surprise. When 

I attended we had a medic 

game, where they choose 

five people to be the medics 

who’ll be given a white band, 

which they have to give to a 

downed player, when you give 

the white band to the downed 

player, they’ll automatically 

become the medic and they 

have to revive another player; 

it’s like a game of tag, but 

you have to tag the downed 

players. This is fun when you have a team, where 

you can pass around the white band to other team 

members and it’s a constant cycle of reviving your 

teammate. 

OPS operate games well and by the book, there’s 

nothing bad about their organisation, and the staff 

are well-trained, they’ll readily call out people who 

didn’t call their hits politely. OPS also allows the use of 

grenade launchers, which is becoming an increasingly 

rare thing in Japan, so you can put out as many BBs 

toward the enemy player as you want, and that’s what 

I did. Do bear in mind that most of the staff don’t 

speak English, so if you are visiting then please do 

bring someone who can translate the rules for you! 

Overall, OPS is a really fun field, with the ease 

of being able to come to the field with no prior 

reservations, and their two field system that makes 

it a huge plus point; either you can just play with 

the people you know and make a game however 

you like, or you can just join the normal game and 

have fun with a lot of players. The big Japanese 

wilderness gives off a vibe of fighting in a real jungle, 

places to run around, bushes to hide with either 

your camouflage or ghillie suits, and the freedom 

of blasting BBs with full auto or grenade launchers. 

The access to the field might be a hassle, along with 

the confusing two receptions system, and the lack of 

lunch provided in the area is a minus point. But the 

fact that it’s located pretty close to the heart of Tokyo 

is what makes OPS Survival Game Field a worthy 

airsoft field to put into your go to list. 

If you’re visiting Tokyo and want to get an airsoft 

fix then you can find more information by visiting 

http://svg-ops.jp Our sincere thanks go to “Tama” for 

telling us about his own airsoft experience, and if you 

have a site you’d like to tell us about then simply drop 

Stewbacca or Bill a message… the AA LEGION needs 

YOU and we’d love to share YOUR experience with 

other players around the world! AA 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

TEAM 

TAIJI TOOL 

UP FOR 

MILSIM! 

OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS, AS THE SUMMER HEAT IN TAIWAN INTENSIFIES, STEWBACCA AND HIS 

EXPANSIVE GROUP OF COMPATRIOTS IN TEAM TAIJI HAVE SIMILARLY BEEN RATCHETING UP THE ACTION 

AND PREPARATION FOR THEIR NEXT BIG MILSIM EVENT; POLK3 WILL BE HELD IN THE SAME AREA AS LAST 

YEAR’S POLK2 (COVERED IN ISSUE 144 LAST YEAR) BUT THE PLANNERS HAVE SECURED BETTER CAMPING 

FACILITIES AND A MORE OPEN PLAY AREA WHICH WILL HOPEFULLY BE LESS OF A NIGHTMARE TO PLAY 

THROUGH THAN LAST YEAR’S EFFORTS… ALTHOUGH IT’S BEING HELD IN MID-JULY SO THE HEAT AND 

HUMIDITY ARE DEFINITELY SOMETHING THEY ALSO NEED TO PREPARE FOR! 

88 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

Recently I’ve been regaling my Team Taiji teammates with all my old war stories from MilSims past in the 

UK and Spain, having only returned to the fold for weekender gaming last year at POLK2 for the first 

time since moving to the Far East, I have had a bit of a hiatus on that front, and fondly remembered 

hanging out of attack buggies, skulking around the FOBs and crawling through the long reeds at Copehill 

Down FIBUA training centre on the numerous occasions my old teammates would amass there for Brit Tac 

events back home. 

We needn’t wait much longer for another fix, however, as this year’s POLK3 MilSim is less than a week 

away at the time of writing; Anny and I will be covering it in the next issue of Airsoft Action as she’ll be 

helping out with a lot of the in game photography and reporting on the experiences of the OpFor while I 

get stuck in with the action among my BluFor compatriots. Over the past year or so, Team Taiji’s numbers 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

have swelled a little, with many 

foreign players as well as local 

Taiwanese folks joining our 

ranks due to our approach to 

gameplay, strong use of tactics, 

communications and squad 

structure as well as just our 

all-round quality of gameplay 

and apparent good-natured 

teamwork and (to the best 

of our abilities!) eradication 

of foul play or bad apples in 

environments we play. 

As such, having seen the 

internal roster for our team, 

which has around 90 members 

in total, but some of whom 

are less active or semi-retired 

but nonetheless are welcome 

additions at our annual Chinese 

New Year celebratory meal or 

‘WeiYa’, we have 45 members 

signed up and prepared to do mock battle, comprising 

the majority of BluFor with a total of 80-odd players 

per side, and with an existing command structure and 

squad arrangements finalised along with transport 

and camping figured out to get ourselves to Northeast 

coast of the island, we’re all chomping at the bit to 

don our kit, so to speak. 

Most game days over the past year or so we’ve 

had between 20-40 players turning up from our team 

on a regular basis, with us running our own skirmish 

games almost every Sunday aside from when there 

are other events getting in the way of such things. 

We’ve developed a solid core cadre of foreign and 

local players who increasingly work well together, 

communicate and deploy effectively and make good 

use of the tactics, and we sometimes do additional 

training sessions after midday when the morning’s 

games tend to draw to a close. With an array of 

foreigners, most of us English teachers, hailing from 

America, Canada, Ireland, the UK, Turkey, Russia, 

South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, as well as 

the local guys it’s a pretty cosmopolitan cluster of guys 

who love banter and flinging plastic in equal measure, 

and having regular game days and a very structured 

approach to how we do things is certainly starting 

to show dividends in how well we all work together 

regardless of who we are, or where in the world we’re 

from. 

90 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

TEAM KIT CHOICES 

With many of us acquiring the 

standard team BDUs of AOR2 

or Multicam which are then 

decided upon for most game 

days it’s also helping us stand 

out as a unified team along 

with our similar gear setups and 

team ID patches and unified 

communications equipment; 

with many of us running 

the PRC152 style Baofeng 

reproductions after a huge 

bulk order supplied basically all 

of the core cadre with them, 

and we have all since been 

experimenting with different 

noise cancelling headsets, throat 

microphones, in-ear and bone 

conduction headsets as well as 

extension antennas to see what 

works best in field conditions… 

especially given the variety of the 

sites we play at, and the general 

terrain in Taiwan. 

Hopefully all of this 

background work is going to 

pay off; last year the sheer 

murderous terrain and slow 

movement somewhat put 

paid to our ability to deploy 

effectively and quickly and 

make best use of the command 

structure we were otherwise 

using quite well, although 

at least communications and 

discipline largely held up and 

we managed to win the second 

day after exhausting the OpFor’s 

ammunition and resolve. 

Personally I’ve been on 

somewhat of a journey in terms 

of my own equipment; long 

gone are the days of carrying 

way too much and trying to 

‘look the part’ now, especially 

for prolonged games or all day 

wear. It’s all about comfort, 

practicality and sustainability 

for me, and many of the team 

follow that same line of thought, 

especially given the tropical 

conditions we have to contend 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

with, and a variety of AEG, GBBR or spring operated 

platforms we have preferences for and requirements to 

support. 

Since being in Taiwan I’ve basically exclusively used 

TMC JPC 1.0 style plate carriers in various camouflage 

patterns to suit the gaming environments, mostly just 

a Kryptek Black affair for the first few years when I was 

almost exclusively playing indoors, but since joining 

Team Taiji back in September 2021, I’ve adopted the 

team uniforms as best as possible… although until just 

this week I hadn’t managed to source AOR2 BDUs in my 

size! Thanks to my teammate Kiran for finding those for 

me, but TruSpec Asia (covered by myself and Anny back 

in Issue 148) at least furnished me with some Multicam 

trousers in large and in charge size. I did at least manage 

to get MC and AOR2 variants of the JPC and have 

since set them all up with a custom placard system that 

allows me to rapidly switch out the main front panel for 

a variety of quad or trio pistol/SMG/556/762 magazine 

pouch units, using the TMC scorpion FAST mag units 

which are loose enough to take either 556 or 762 mags 

without needing adjustment but also avoiding retention 

failures in my experience. 

For my AOR2 rig for the MilSim, I did add a further 

four of them, because I decided in my infinite wisdom 

that I want to run my VFC FAL with ACOG and all 

eight magazines I have for it on me (albeit uploaded 

slightly to 25 BBs each to give me a nice round 200 

BB total) as well as having my VFC Walther PPQ NPA 

in my Safariland 579 on my right belt line as a sidearm 

for close in or desperate times, with 4 magazines total; 

three of the TMC pistol fast mags on my left belt line to 

carry the ones not in the gun. My radio will be on my 

back left, moved further round to stop it digging in my 

side as well as to make more room for the additional 

magazine pouches, and a new throat microphone, 

in-ear bud and PTT switch setup arriving just in time 

to integrate into my rig. As a backup gun I’ll be taking 

the RATech EMG Noveske N4 GBBR with 4x 40 BB GHK 

PMAGs as it is just excellent. 

92 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

STAYING POWER 

For longer term sustainment I picked up the hydration 

plate last year for POLK2 which holds around a litre 

and a half of water in a rigid plastic shell with a hose 

attached to the bottom to feed out of the bottom 

of the plate carrying pouch closure. This worked 

well last year but I moved it to the rear plate pouch 

instead of the front as it makes it a bit too rigid and 

uncomfortable to have it in the front one. I also 

recently got hold of the TMC1067 field backpacks in 

AOR2 as well, which I immediately decided to try and 

better integrate into the basic plate carrier. 

Having done numerous long or weekender games 

before, and having had to make use of additional 

straps for backpacks causes headaches to my mind, 

inevitably tangling with comms cables, antennae, 

slings or just the environment around you, so I made 

use of three large QD Fastex buckles to directly clip 

on the backpack to the existing shoulder straps of the 

JPC and fix the bottom end in place to stop it flapping 

around or flying forwards when going prone. 

This setup is already proving very convenient to 

use, easily allowing me to unclip it from the plate rig 

and get access to it without disturbing the rest of my 

loadout. This will carry my 3 litre Camelbak bladder 

and additional bottled sports drinks, a can of green 

gas, as well as additional ammunition and speed 

loaders to keep my guns resupplied, snacks, and other 

longer term requirements. My team leader has already 

taken the same approach with his identical pack 

so it’s good to see others benefiting from my past 

experiences too. 

With all my own frontline gear squared away 

and my camping and support equipment and other 

arrangements sorted, I’m really looking forward to 

getting my teeth into a good weekend of shooting, 

squadwork, barbecue… in particular the traditional 

spit roast suckling pig that I can already smell… as 

well as a good time camping out on the coast and 

escaping work and the city life! 

Keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming event 

report, fellow shooters! AA 


RELOADED 

VFC BCM MCMR GBBR/AEG 

THE 

GUNFIGHTER 

ROCKS ON! 

94 


RELOADED 


BACK IN 2021 BILL TOOK A REALLY GOOD LOOK AT THE THEN-NEW BCM MCMRS FROM VEGAFORCE 

COMPANY (VFC) AND FELL BACK IN LOVE WITH AR PLATFORMS ALL OVER AGAIN! THESE TWO 

PREMIUM AIRSOFT PLATFORMS HAVE PROVED TO BE THE FOUNDATION OF THE VFC “BCMAIR” 

PROGRAM SO NOW HE LOOKS BACK ON HIS EXPERIENCES SO FAR, AND LOOKS TO THE FUTURE! 

Okay, it’s all true, I am just a HUGE VFC fanboi! 

VFC are a company that I’ve got to know very 

well indeed, and I’ve got to know Ray at VFC 

as a personal friend; it was awesome to actually be 

able to meet him in person again at IWA earlier this 

year, and we spent as much time catching up as we 

did talking new products… of which there are many! 

As I’ve before, and indeed said in my initial reviews 

of the MCMR (M-LOK Compatible Modular Rail) 

AEG and GBBR, I absolutely adore an airsoft platfom 

that’s gone through all the checks and balances preproduction, 

thorough torture-testing, design and 

re-design, and a carefully controlled manufacturing 

process before I part with any cash. I also like a 

properly licenced replica as I know then what I’m 

getting is going to be as close to the “real deal” as 

possible, and VFC are past masters at conforming to 

all of the aforementioned processes. 

And I have to say that both versions of the MCMR 

have proved to be every bit as good as I had hoped 

they would be. Over time (perhaps now because I’m 

looking more carefully!) the MCMR has really found a 

place in my heart not just because of the quality and 

performance in 6mm form, but for “Black Powder Red 

Earth” and “Terminal List” reasons! It’s always cool 

when you find a couple of good inspirational ideas 

around which to create a new loadout, and I “may” 

be working on a “Crisis Team Scorch” set of gear… 

The BCM MCMR AEG is undoubtedly a bloody 

fine skirmish tool and will always be “the thing” for 

Sunday Skirmishes with a short-load of midcaps, and 

I absolutely adore the styling, balance and how it 

shoots… which is brilliantly BTW! However, as more 

and more I am driven towards the purity of my airsoft 

experiences with gas platforms and “realcaps”, the 

GBBR ultimately sings the loudest to me, and I adore 

it. 

TRADING UP 

As I told you all before, you may have noticed in all 

the reviews I carry out on replica firearm models that 

I regularly make use of the words ‘Fully Licenced’, 

and it’s something that is very important to me. 

There are many ‘replicas’ out there that may on first 

glance look like the original that they are designed 

to resemble, but in many cases it is just that, a 

‘resemblance’ rather than a true reproduction. Whilst 

this may seem unimportant, in fact it’s a vital part of 

how the industry works. Development of any firearm 

takes years, and costs many thousands of buckeroos, 

and both aftermarket parts and accessories form yet 

another part of the process. Trademark infringement 

is a serious matter, and failing to work with real world 

firearms manufacturers could see them withdrawing 

their products altogether from the replica market. 

VFC have worked hand-in-hand with BCM under 

their “BCMAIR” program, even down to using the 

original design specifications of the “real deal” to 

provide a replica with a completely authentic look 

and feel. Each MCMR, both AEG and GBB, comes 

with authentic BCM markings throughout, on the 

unique “MOD 1 SOPMOD” stock, the ergonomic 

and nicely-stippled “MOD 3” pistol grip, both upper 

and lower receivers, on the rail itself, and even on the 

“MOD 0 - 5.56” compensator at the sharp end, all of 

which means that this is a fully tried, tested and FULLY 

licenced replica! The MCMR, as both a superlative 

AEG and also as a high-performance GBBR, just looks 

fabulous, literally now as real as it gets in airsoft form! 

Overall the fit and finish of both MCMRs is utterly 

first rate, right down to the tidy trademarks, and I’d 

go so far as saying that that the gasser somehow just 

feels “better” than the AEG. Everything about both 

models is utterly righteous though, and just having 

one in your hands makes you feel that you’re holding 

“THE BCM MCMR AEG IS UNDOUBTEDLY A BLOODY FINE SKIRMISH TOOL AND 

WILL ALWAYS BE “THE THING” FOR SUNDAY SKIRMISHES WITH A SHORT-LOAD OF 

MIDCAPS, AND I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THE STYLING, BALANCE AND HOW IT SHOOTS… 

WHICH IS BRILLIANTLY BTW!” 


RELOADED 


something 

pretty darn 

special! 

I believe that for me it’s the fact that the GBBR 

version is as close to the real deal as you’ll find in 

6mm form, and that everything is nailed down to 

look and feel exactly as it would on the real thing, 

including the operating system. It has a full-travel 

“bolt carrier group (BCG)” with some real “oomph”, 

and once again this replicates exactly the operation 

of the military rifle so your drills need to be 100% 

the same; for instance the VFC “V-Mags” only 

hold 30 BBs so your reloads need to be on point. 

In addition to luxurious build quality and superb 

components, the MCMR also offers realistic takedown; 

by splitting the receivers you can remove the 

BCG for cleaning and maintenance, again, just like 

the real thing. 

And talking of being “right and real”, I have 

gone back and forth a little on 

the accessories I’ve mounted on both 

platforms, and I’ve set them both up EXACTLY 

the same for obvious reasons, although the 

removable “battery-access-buttpad” on the 

AEG makes everything a few mm longer than 

the GBBR… that I can live with as I don’t think 

it will affect muscle-memory overly! Otherwise 

it’s an ASG B&T QD suppressor, short BIG 

DRAGON foregrip (these are cheap but I 

love ‘em!), NUPROL PEQ-15 and SF-style 

taclite with a WADSN Dual Remote Switch 

controlling both (and which is awesome for 

cable management!), Eo 886-style holosights, 

and an Eo-style 3x Magnifier on 

QDs that I can switch between the two. 

And that’s all she wrote as that setup 

pretty much covers all the bases for me! 

96 


RELOADED 


DOWNRANGE 

In terms of 

power I get a 

consistent 1.35 

Joule/382fps 

for the 

GBBR and 

1.07/341fps for 

the AEG on 

a .20g VORSK 

BBs and 

using VORSK 

V8 in the 

GBBR. I still have 

a custom 

A-Plus hop and 

inner barrel 

setup to fit to the 

gasser thanks 

to his awesomeness Mr Clarence Lai, so I 

will finally address the power-issue when I get round 

to that. With .30g VORSK BBs the accuracy of both 

platforms is amazing at 50m now, and acceptable to 

iro 80m, although they both send BBs out further… 

I believe there is still room to improve the range (yes, 

really!) so I’ll have another word with Jimmy and Dan 

on this eventually. 

I honestly love both the MCMRs; they are by no 

means your average “airsoft gun” and for this reason 

I don’t believe you’ll be seeing either regularly at 

Sunday Skirmishes; going head to head with hi-cap 

players on a normal skirmish day with a GBB and 

30BB mags certainly adds a little “something” to the 

day, but the range, accuracy, and reliability of the 

BCM makes this viable. However, the AEG is perfectly 

at home in ALL airsoft territory. 

In my mind the VFC BCM MCMRs haven’t been 

made for the mass market. In the case of the GBBR it’s 

been designed and made for those that truly want a 

platform that operates exactly like the real thing, but 

that fires safe and simple 6mm BBs, not live 5.56! Yes, 

it’s been designed for the MilSim player, but also for 

those that want to test themselves to the limit in any 

game or on the range, with real-like operation and 

real-world magazine capacities… basically it’s been 

designed 

for people like me, 

and to that end I can 

only recommend it to you 

if gassers are your thing. 

I also have to say that the 

AEG MCMR was everything 

that I hoped it would be, and 

for those of you that want a platform that is a unique 

game-day tack-driver you will not be disappointed; 

from my “modern-shooter” perspective I love it in 

every way possible! 

The MCMR in both GBBR and AEG form is simply 

a stunning airsoft replica, so if you fancy an AR that’s 

different, that’s high quality and really delivers on the 

performance front, then I’d urge you to check out 

the MCMRs, and I am excited to see what my old 

friends at VegaForceCompany do with the “BCMAIR” 

program next! 

My sincere thanks go to my good mate Ray at 

www.vegaforce.com for getting the BCM MCMR 

models over to me from Taiwan, and please do keep 

an eye on www.bcmair.vegaforce.com for further 

developments in the program! AA 

“I BELIEVE THAT FOR ME IT’S THE FACT THAT THE GBBR VERSION IS AS CLOSE TO 

THE REAL DEAL AS YOU’LL FIND IN 6MM FORM, AND THAT EVERYTHING IS NAILED 

DOWN TO LOOK AND FEEL EXACTLY AS IT WOULD ON THE REAL THING, INCLUDING 

THE OPERATING SYSTEM” 


TAP/CLICK IMAGES FOR MORE INFORMATION

Airsoft Action - August 2023

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?