Airsoft Action - December 2023

RED CELL
MP5 UPDATE
cocking handle if doing this extensively. Time will tell,
of course.
In true Marui form, these are exceptionally accurate
AEG’s. TM lately has been departing from the norm a
bit with some of their newer recoil shock releases and
has been dabbling with AEP cut barrels and buckings.
On the MP5, you will find this same adoption here,
which have been fitted to a rotary style hop up
chamber. Fortunately the AEP bucking and barrel
market is quite replete with options, and with a few
choice parts selections you can truly set this gun to
“sail” mode. Of any NGRS model made, I find the
MP5 the most simplistic and quickest to disassemble.
While a lot of parts contained therein are proprietary,
some of the critical components can be upgraded
with existing solutions, namely the nozzle, piston
head, piston, gears, bushings, spring guide, spring,
etc. Thusly, it’s not a hurdle to set these up for higher
field limits where permissible.
Firing operation is controlled through TM’s
proprietary ETU. While this does work quite well if
used strictly within its operating parameters - namely
running 7.4v LiPo’s only - it is also the weakest link in
an otherwise robust system here. This ETU is harshly
unforgiving of mistakes; be those shorts, reversed
polarity, or 11.1v’s. It’s also practically unobtanium
should you happen to wreck it, with repair costs
settling somewhere between “extortion” and well...
“extortion.” This is a platform that is just begging for
a large scale ETU manufacturer such as Gate or Perun
to come in with a better option.
Moving over to one of the other key features (the
recoil!), I would say this is not going to be the main
selling feature, personally. The recoil is more of a
lightweight patter, as opposed to the more positive
impulse produced by the M4 series, and it certainly
falls far short of that produced by KWA or BOLT.
I’d say it’s more of a complimentary effect to the
reciprocating mock bolt which makes a satisfying
clack when firing. Undoubtedly there were design
constraints that limited what is possible here. There
is a rack and pinion style setup that the recoil weight
travels over which has proven to be a bit of a mixed
bag in the durability department. The rack specifically
has been known to shear, even on stock guns
that have not otherwise been upgraded to higher
velocities. A CNC’d aluminium rack (and maybe a
pinion?) would solve this for good, I believe. In the
meanwhile, users have had success getting their
broken racks repaired by jewellers who can perform
laser welding.
Aside from this, the only other things I have
observed have been screws backing out from the
vibration produced by the recoil assembly. It would be
a good idea to periodically check these and use loctite
or VC3 Vibra-tite where appropriate on some of these.
There is a long screw deep inside the cocking tube
that holds this area together that should be thread
locked straight away. Once it works free it will result
in one being able to flex the front end of the gun.
Otherwise, I have observed these to be fairly robust
guns as long as they are not abused or configured in a
manner ill-befitting a recoil shock series. These are not
a platform you can DSG or turn into a high ROF build,
as an example.
Admittedly I am not a NGRS fanboy, but I have
found the Marui MP5 NGRS to hit that H&K fanboi
itch in all the right spots, and it’s in my opinion the
finest NGRS product to date. You can tell TM put forth
a lot of effort and attention to detail when developing
this AEG. It requires a bit more care and attentiveness
than competitor AEG’s, but it’s simply beautiful to
behold, especially the SD6 version which you can
find listed in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary under the
definition of “sexy!”
Bill: The other model (make that models, plural!)
which I personally believe need a mention in this
update are the latest AEG takes from CYMA as
this brings things right up to the modern day, and
I feel gives the venerable MP5 a new lease of life!
Given that the MP5 has SUCH a strong heritage and
pedigree I thought it would only be a matter of time
before someone gave the platform a bit of love, and
although there have been some stabs at it, I have to
admit I didn’t think it would be CYMA that actually
went the whole hog and did the job properly, but in
the past couple of years the elusive brand has been
doing some downright righteous things when it
comes to AEGs, so why not “update” the MP5?
Now of course the CYMA takes (yes, multiple!)
look like MP5s but are rightly unbranded as there is
no licence agreement here; again, I know I say this
“IT REQUIRES A BIT MORE CARE AND ATTENTIVENESS THAN COMPETITOR AEG’S,
BUT IT’S SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL TO BEHOLD, ESPECIALLY THE SD6 VERSION WHICH YOU
CAN FIND LISTED IN MERRIAM-WEBSTER’S DICTIONARY UNDER THE DEFINITION OF
“SEXY!””
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