Airsoft Action - October 2023

ARMOURY
ICS CXP APE SE AEG
and again about the MasterMods upgrade parts that
he reviewed back in Issue 123, and the SE arrives
with some of these as standard! Unseen, but most
definitely there are MasterMods Aluminium Cylinder
and Piston Heads, Piston with Full Steel Teeth, and a
Metal Air Nozzle, all of which adds up to even more
durability and assured performance!
DOWNRANGE
In use the CXP is on the money! All the ergonomics
come into play when you bring everything together
and it handles well and is easy to manipulate. All
the controls are easy to use once you get to know
them, and the magazine setup is similar enough to
a standard AR that mag changes are instinctive and
straightforward. The SE comes with ICS’s own 300-BB
high capacity “T” magazine which provides maximum
firepower, and is designed with a transparent
“window” so you can see at a glance how many BB’s
remain in the magazine. The grippy magazine shell
also provides excellent grip in all weather conditions,
although it has very specific dimensions so you may
find that certain “aftermarket” magazines won’t fit
the SE.
After an initial chrono that saw the test model
kicking out BBs well above the UK legal limit (a bonus
for players in countries with higher power levels!) it
was straight off to the workshop to change the spring
out; thankfully this is simple with ICS AEGs and I was
soon back at the chrono station! With the magazine
loaded with my usual .20g test BBs and fitted with a
7.4V 1450 mAh LiPo battery in the stock (nice feature,
easy to change batteries quickly with no tools needed
and the SE comes DEANS ready!) it was time to get
down to business.
As stated earlier the SE has a flip-up front sight
incorporated into the top rail, and ICS provide a
detachable rear flip site as part of the deal; these
are adjustable for windage and elevation and are
perfectly acceptable should you not wish to attach an
optic. The CXP comes into the aim surprisingly easily
and with a quick “click” it’s safety off and onto the
target. With the new spring the SE chrono’d in at a
very respectable, consistent and sight-friendly 1.03
Joule/334fps using .20g BBs and once the hop was
set it was accurate enough for me! At 10m groupings
were tighty-tight, whilst at 30m I was happily hitting
my sandbags; the BB trajectory was pleasingly flat,
with .20g just spinning off at around the 50m mark.
This was easily rectified by moving up to .28g BBs and
re-setting the hop, which resulted in “flat to fifty”.
Switching up to full auto gave a crisp response
from the excellent flat-face trigger and sent the bolt
cover (the electronic blowback component) clattering
happily back and forth; in my opinion this blowback
area is something that ICS still need to improve as it’s
a little insipid against my GBBRs, but this is an unfair
comparison really, and knowing them they will keep at
it, and it does definitely provide some tactile response!
The ICS CXP APE SE will come in black or a mix
of grey and black which is actually a superb as you
can see. Are you getting an ACR-style rifle with a
fancy M-LOK system with the APE SE? I’d have to say
actually “yes” as the similarities between them are too
obvious to overlook. That said, if you like the ACRstyle
and want to have something quite different then
the ICS CXP APE SE is most definitely worth a look.
The CXP APE SE is a really solid and tight AEG that
shows the maturity of the CXP program, illustrating
to me at least that longevity and experience are
worthwhile traits if you continue to develop them,
and use that knowledge wisely! Once again ICS
have delivered an AEG that is stunning in its look,
beautifully put together and finished, is filled with
the very latest technology and state-of-the-industry
parts… and it shoots accurately over distance even as
new. ICS have upped their game yet again with the
CXP APE SE, and their constant devotion of resources
into product design continues to provide their
customers exactly what they need to play airsoft. As
they put it, “This is the mission of ICS: Innovation,
Competition, and Satisfaction.”
I’d say with the CXP APE SE it’s definitely a case of
“Mission Achieved”.
My sincere thanks go to ICS Airsoft for once again
kindly providing an early test model, and please do be
sure to visit www.icsbb.com to check out the other
models from the brand and much, much more! I
understand that both colour models should be landing
with your favourite ICS retailer round about the time
you read this, so keep any eye on ICS/Retailer updates
for more information on this! AA
“THE CXP APE SE IS A REALLY SOLID AND TIGHT AEG THAT SHOWS THE MATURITY
OF THE CXP PROGRAM, ILLUSTRATING TO ME AT LEAST THAT LONGEVITY AND
EXPERIENCE ARE WORTHWHILE TRAITS IF YOU CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THEM, AND
USE THAT KNOWLEDGE WISELY!”
30
OCTOBER 2023