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Product Information:
Purchased this gun on Monday last week, got 3 day shipping, and received it on Thursday last week. Then, this weekend, I took it out for its inaugural run after having it re-wired from the battery contacts system to Deans (very easy to do).
My thoughts? It's a solid gun, and definitely one of the best M4s I have personally bought. It's not perfect, but it's definitely a top contender in the full metal M4 CQBR class for the price range. The split gearbox design is probably my favorite thing about this gun and the excellent hop up unit made it a good, though not quite great, stock performer in the accuracy and range department. The gun does suffer some hop up inconsistency due to having a very soft bucking and nub, and in my opinion spending a few dollars on a G&G bucking an Echo 1 H nub is definitely worth it. The stock inner barrel isn't a tightbore unfortunately, but it is very consistent and well made so I can't detract too many points there.
The quality of the gearbox internals was very impressive to me as well. The gun has a polished stainless steel cylinder and a metal core spring guide along with what look to be good quality polycarbonate components that include the piston, piston head, cylinder head, tappet plate, and air nozzle. The consistent velocity of 340-350 FPS with .2g BBs leads me to believe the gun has good compression on a stock M100 or similar spring. The shimming on the gears appears to be quite good as well and the inclusion of the ICS Turbo 3000 motor gives the AEG snappy trigger response and a good rate of fire of about 16-18 RPS on a 7.4V 15C buffer tube LiPo. I immediately swapped from the contact system in the stock to Deans connectors, so I can't comment on how it performs running the ICS proprietary battery.
The externals on this gun are good, but not great. The fore end has a small amount of play, nothing unusual for an M4 CQBR, but not something you see on the greats like VFC or G&P. The rails accepted a Bravo M900 clone and a UTG QD optic no problem though and tightening the delta ring assembly and the set screws on the barrel and front sight helped the flex in the barrel, but the rails still have some wobble. The fact the gun comes with a plastic orange tip was a bit disappointing, but a Madbull Noveske Fire Pig amplifier cleaned the look right up no problem. The receivers mate solidly though and everything has a good finish so the externals get a firm pass from me.
So overall, I'd say it's a good gun for the money. Who I would most recommend this gun to is to someone like me who plans to tweak it, because ICS guns are great tweaker platforms. Since fielding it, I installed a Madbull 6.03mm tightbore barrel, a G&G bucking, and an Echo 1 H nub and I plan on using this gun as a base to build multiple upper receivers for CQB, DMR, and field use. That plan made this gun the only logical choice and after fielding it stock, I am very excited to see where I can take it. So whether you want to run it with just a couple tweaks or if you want to overhaul it, I'd say this gun is a great platform.
Pros:
-Good upgrade platform.
-Split gearbox makes for versatile platform.
-Spring decompression feature is always welcome.
-ICS Turbo 3000 motor included.
-Excellent hop up unit.
-Quality of gearbox parts is quite good.
-Rails fit accessories well.
-Easy to convert to standard connectors from proprietary contacts.
-Mostly solid externals and good finishing.
-Easy to remove orange flash hider.
-Rear of crane stock held on with screws, won't pop off mid-game, but you should have a multi-tool in your kit.
Cons:
-Fore end and stock wobble and rattle.
-Stock hop up bucking and nub are not great.
-Orange plastic flash hider cheapens look and needs replacing.
-Buffer tube is short for running buffer tube LiPos, cannot fully collapse stock.
-If converting to standard connector from contacts, wires are short, may need extension.
Rating:  [4 of 5 Stars!] |
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