Airsoft Action - December 2023
Another month flies by and here we are as always with a new monthly issue of AIRSOFT ACTION cram-packed with all the airsoft content we know you love! Kicking off proceedings this month with our cover and headline review Dan gets his teeth firmly into the latest OPFOR goodness from ARCTURUS in the shape of the PP-19-01 PE Z-TAC SP1, quickly countered for BLUFOR by Miguel with his initial field notes on the all-new SPECNA ARMS SA-FX01 FLEX, and we round out our main reviews this month by sticking with all things “9mm” as Bill heads to the range with the awesome CYMA CM106A PLATINUM! RED CELL stay on the SMG-track as they land their mid-term update on FIFTEEN MP5 VARIANTS, whilst the AA LEGION delve into the glories of AOR1 and 2 and what makes these patterns so special. There’s also a look at new eyepro from the EDGE tactical range that we’ve had in test for a while… We then turn our attention to airsoft around the world with our international coverage as Stewbacca lands an interview with the mighty NONOCAT from New Zealand, and then reports on his recent experiences at a Level 1 Competition shoot in Tainan! Miguel brings home his now-annual look at ANA Portugal’s SALAMANDRA game, and we wrap up this month with our report on the awesome 2023 G&G CQB WORLD CUP shoot in Taipei! You want airsoft? We’ll bring you airsoft stories and news from all over the globe, and we hope you’ll enjoy our content this month just as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it!
Another month flies by and here we are as always with a new monthly issue of AIRSOFT ACTION cram-packed with all the airsoft content we know you love!
Kicking off proceedings this month with our cover and headline review Dan gets his teeth firmly into the latest OPFOR goodness from ARCTURUS in the shape of the PP-19-01 PE Z-TAC SP1, quickly countered for BLUFOR by Miguel with his initial field notes on the all-new SPECNA ARMS
SA-FX01 FLEX, and we round out our main reviews this month by sticking with all things “9mm” as Bill heads to the range with the awesome CYMA CM106A PLATINUM!
RED CELL stay on the SMG-track as they land their mid-term update on FIFTEEN MP5 VARIANTS, whilst the AA LEGION delve into the glories of
AOR1 and 2 and what makes these patterns so special. There’s also a look at new eyepro from the EDGE tactical range that we’ve had in test for a while…
We then turn our attention to airsoft around the world with our international coverage as Stewbacca lands an interview with the mighty NONOCAT from New Zealand, and then reports on his recent experiences at a Level 1 Competition shoot in Tainan! Miguel brings home his now-annual look at ANA Portugal’s SALAMANDRA game, and we wrap up this month with our report on the awesome 2023 G&G CQB WORLD CUP shoot in Taipei!
You want airsoft?
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RED CELL<br />
MP5 UPDATE<br />
cocking handle if doing this extensively. Time will tell,<br />
of course.<br />
In true Marui form, these are exceptionally accurate<br />
AEG’s. TM lately has been departing from the norm a<br />
bit with some of their newer recoil shock releases and<br />
has been dabbling with AEP cut barrels and buckings.<br />
On the MP5, you will find this same adoption here,<br />
which have been fitted to a rotary style hop up<br />
chamber. Fortunately the AEP bucking and barrel<br />
market is quite replete with options, and with a few<br />
choice parts selections you can truly set this gun to<br />
“sail” mode. Of any NGRS model made, I find the<br />
MP5 the most simplistic and quickest to disassemble.<br />
While a lot of parts contained therein are proprietary,<br />
some of the critical components can be upgraded<br />
with existing solutions, namely the nozzle, piston<br />
head, piston, gears, bushings, spring guide, spring,<br />
etc. Thusly, it’s not a hurdle to set these up for higher<br />
field limits where permissible.<br />
Firing operation is controlled through TM’s<br />
proprietary ETU. While this does work quite well if<br />
used strictly within its operating parameters - namely<br />
running 7.4v LiPo’s only - it is also the weakest link in<br />
an otherwise robust system here. This ETU is harshly<br />
unforgiving of mistakes; be those shorts, reversed<br />
polarity, or 11.1v’s. It’s also practically unobtanium<br />
should you happen to wreck it, with repair costs<br />
settling somewhere between “extortion” and well...<br />
“extortion.” This is a platform that is just begging for<br />
a large scale ETU manufacturer such as Gate or Perun<br />
to come in with a better option.<br />
Moving over to one of the other key features (the<br />
recoil!), I would say this is not going to be the main<br />
selling feature, personally. The recoil is more of a<br />
lightweight patter, as opposed to the more positive<br />
impulse produced by the M4 series, and it certainly<br />
falls far short of that produced by KWA or BOLT.<br />
I’d say it’s more of a complimentary effect to the<br />
reciprocating mock bolt which makes a satisfying<br />
clack when firing. Undoubtedly there were design<br />
constraints that limited what is possible here. There<br />
is a rack and pinion style setup that the recoil weight<br />
travels over which has proven to be a bit of a mixed<br />
bag in the durability department. The rack specifically<br />
has been known to shear, even on stock guns<br />
that have not otherwise been upgraded to higher<br />
velocities. A CNC’d aluminium rack (and maybe a<br />
pinion?) would solve this for good, I believe. In the<br />
meanwhile, users have had success getting their<br />
broken racks repaired by jewellers who can perform<br />
laser welding.<br />
Aside from this, the only other things I have<br />
observed have been screws backing out from the<br />
vibration produced by the recoil assembly. It would be<br />
a good idea to periodically check these and use loctite<br />
or VC3 Vibra-tite where appropriate on some of these.<br />
There is a long screw deep inside the cocking tube<br />
that holds this area together that should be thread<br />
locked straight away. Once it works free it will result<br />
in one being able to flex the front end of the gun.<br />
Otherwise, I have observed these to be fairly robust<br />
guns as long as they are not abused or configured in a<br />
manner ill-befitting a recoil shock series. These are not<br />
a platform you can DSG or turn into a high ROF build,<br />
as an example.<br />
Admittedly I am not a NGRS fanboy, but I have<br />
found the Marui MP5 NGRS to hit that H&K fanboi<br />
itch in all the right spots, and it’s in my opinion the<br />
finest NGRS product to date. You can tell TM put forth<br />
a lot of effort and attention to detail when developing<br />
this AEG. It requires a bit more care and attentiveness<br />
than competitor AEG’s, but it’s simply beautiful to<br />
behold, especially the SD6 version which you can<br />
find listed in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary under the<br />
definition of “sexy!”<br />
Bill: The other model (make that models, plural!)<br />
which I personally believe need a mention in this<br />
update are the latest AEG takes from CYMA as<br />
this brings things right up to the modern day, and<br />
I feel gives the venerable MP5 a new lease of life!<br />
Given that the MP5 has SUCH a strong heritage and<br />
pedigree I thought it would only be a matter of time<br />
before someone gave the platform a bit of love, and<br />
although there have been some stabs at it, I have to<br />
admit I didn’t think it would be CYMA that actually<br />
went the whole hog and did the job properly, but in<br />
the past couple of years the elusive brand has been<br />
doing some downright righteous things when it<br />
comes to AEGs, so why not “update” the MP5?<br />
Now of course the CYMA takes (yes, multiple!)<br />
look like MP5s but are rightly unbranded as there is<br />
no licence agreement here; again, I know I say this<br />
“IT REQUIRES A BIT MORE CARE AND ATTENTIVENESS THAN COMPETITOR AEG’S,<br />
BUT IT’S SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL TO BEHOLD, ESPECIALLY THE SD6 VERSION WHICH YOU<br />
CAN FIND LISTED IN MERRIAM-WEBSTER’S DICTIONARY UNDER THE DEFINITION OF<br />
“SEXY!””<br />
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