Marui FN P90 – Review.
The FNP90 – a wonder of modern weapons technology, built from space-age materials, and fashioned to look even more… well, space age. In fact, if you’ve ever seen Stargate SG-1 you’ll no doubt know what I’m talking about!
This gun is certainly a rival for the H&K MP5K, and PDW range of weaponry, however the P90 is considerably shorter than the K or PDW, but doesn’t lack comfort and ergonomics.
First conceived in 1989, and scheduled for production the following year, the real steel P90 has undergone many modifications and minor adjustments. It is true that this gun has been used by armed forces for many years, and the concept has been around even before the British Army’s SA-80 went into active service. Marui somewhat behind with the times, but waiting for technology to advance, managed to shrink down further they’re incredible electric system to fit this tiny weapon. It would have been easy to produce a “Gas Blowback” version of this gun some time ago, and the P90 has existed in Airsoft form, albeit limited numbers, in the form of a custom design by a company called ToyTech.
Now, our favourite Airsoft manufacturer has got its thinking caps on, and have came up with a very simple but effective design, crammed with some very new and exciting features. Making this weapon a 1st class CQB gun, and in my opinion will be the favoured weapon over the MP5 K and Steyr TMP for some very good reasons…
The overall dimensions of this gun are amazing. At first sight, it looks far too tiny to be shouldered comfortably, but this all changes when you take the gun out of the box. Measuring only 504mm long (that’s slightly over half a metre) and only around 2.5″ at its widest, the gun is certainly compact to say the least. But housed in this robust casing is a new style gearbox, an EG1000 motor and a mini battery.
In theory the gun is “Bull-pup” in design, whereby the magazine is inserted behind the fore-grip. Although the magazine on this model runs almost 2/3 the length of the gun, the actual feeder mechanism for the BB’s sit far behind the trigger, giving you an overall barrel length of 247mm. This is far longer than an MP5-A5 and very good with regards to increasing this gun’s range and accuracy. I have been told that the barrel on this gun is a tighter bore than what is found in stock gun’s, although not being able to measure it, I would presume its probably around 6.04mm – which accounts for its consistency. Once you take the time to sight the thing properly, it hits in the same place almost every time, without fail.
The weight is very good, 2.2kg fully loaded – and is nicely balanced. The huge grip doubles as a carrying handle when holding the weapon inverted, with no tendency to tip “butt-heavy”. Whilst we are on the subject of ergonomics one of the most noted features about this gun is it’s pure ambidextrous design. Everything on this gun works for right handed shooters and you lefties!
Plastic is used vastly in the construction of this gun, however a fair few metal parts are located around its frame. The rails which the cocking handles are mounted to, the chunky flash eliminator, 20mm option rail and the red dot sight are all constructed of metal. Not a gun for those of you who thrive on metal parts… but cleverly weighted and very robust. The good feature is that there are no “sticky out parts” which could be easily damaged, and the plastic used is of very high quality, with none of that nasty plastic shine! It’s a compact cannon.
Normally, I am the type of person that likes to grab the gun out of the box,
load it full of BB’s and start shooting. Not a problem for most gun’s, they’re all styled on the same principle and easy to operate. This one required some thought. The first thing that caught my attention is the well constructed red-dot sight, after hunting down where the batteries go, trying to find the power switch seemed impossible. A quick glance of the instructions revealed its underneath… ah!
Also, the hop-up, which is bound to need adjusting… could I find it? Nope. Another brief look of the instructions shows that it is cleverly hid underneath the body of the gun, using a little sliding trap door to conceal it. If you’re one for gadgets and buttons this gun is packed with `em.
The magazine is a work of art in itself. Sold with a standard 68rnd magazine, the casing is packed with dummy 5.56mm rounds. Very realistic looking indeed! Especially with the detailed markings, and wording “Mod. P90 50-Round Magazine 2001 Restricted Law Enforcement / Government Use Only” written down the side. Loading this magazine is really simple. It sits nicely on the floor, so you quite easily plug the loading rod in, pour 68 BB’s down the tube, and charge it quickly. The magazine is removed from the gun easily with one hand, pushing two small buttons either side and pulling it out with the same hand… With practice you could change mags within 5 seconds easily.
The gun itself has some nice markings on it, the words “P90 cal 5.7×28” found in numerous places, as is fake serial numbers. Fake bolts, along with the real ones are also dotted around the tiny frame. The trigger is one piece, and made of plastic. Its operation is clever… it doesn’t actually connect to the gearbox’s switch mechanism directly, it operates a push rod inside the gun, unfortunately this does make the trigger a little bit “creaky” in operation, but nothing you’d notice unless you were really fussy. Directly mounted underneath the trigger is the clever safety dial, which is fully ambidextrous as mentioned earlier. The markings indicate an “S” for safe, a “1” for single shot, and an “A” for fully automatic operation. 
The single shot mode on this weapon is very quick and responsive, better than an MP5 – slightly less that the recently reviewed SR16.
When firing full auto, the gun appears to be fairly loud, this is because your ear is sitting on the internal workings in effect. No louder than the MP5 K, yet certainly more ROF thanks to the hi-torque EG1000 motor. The battery easily provides around 2000 shots before recharging and various upgrades are now available including a box mag, and a mod which lets you use a larger battery.
The review model was Chronographed using 0.2g Excel BB’s… the average being… an awesome 297.61fps. Bearing in mind that the maximum legal limit in the UK is 328fps at skirmish sites, you wouldn’t need much of an upgrade to get this gun churning out that. (For the figure hungry, that’s 90.71 m/ps or 0.82 Jules of energy).
Couple this with the long barrel, for the overall length of the gun… and you’ve got quite a payload in your hands. Marui quote 850rnds per minute – I’d say it wasn’t far off this, if not more. My test cardboard box was ripped to shreds, simply because of the sheer number of BB’s hitting the same place… I practically drilled a hole through the thing.
The included Red-Dot sight provided requires 2 AAA batteries, and provides the shooter with two light intensities. I tested the gun in low light and sunshine, both proved fine. The sight is fully adjustable, for windage and elevation and comes with a little tool to aid this. I would highly recommend taking the time to set this up properly once you receive it. Calibrating it for around 25yrds to allow for greater or lesser distances with only minor adjustment. The gun also comes with a handy 20mm option rail on the right hand side of the gun, this can be used to mount laser pointer’s etc… and I’m sure accessories will be available soon.
The battery sits very snugly in the butt of the gun, aided by sliding off the panel with the push of a button. Also in here is the motor adjustment grub screw, for when those gears start to wear in… The butt plate is rubber coated which ensures it sticks to your shoulder like glue.
Another extremely nice feature of this gun is the simple take down capability. Pressing a button allows you to slide the whole front section out, give you access to the barrel and hop-up assembly and trigger guide rod for cleaning purposes. This makes it easy to clear jams in the field without the need for tools – very handy!
Concluding the review is always the most difficult part, and one draws from experience with other weapons to give the reader an impression of what he/she is getting for their money. This gun speaks for itself, both in terms of performance and value. For £170, you are getting a very capable CQB and Urban weapon, which is equally at home in woodland. Maybe not pulling off the range of the upgraded M16’s and G3’s, but still packing a welt on the end. Also, the Red-Dot is really of high quality, and this is included in the price.
I can foresee a lot of these seen on Skirmish sites around the country, and if it weren’t for aspirations of my G3/SG1, I would have purchased one of these… just too late in being released for my budget to allow purchasing two guns…
Overall an excellent buy, and something new which the Airsoft scene has needed for ages. I just wonder what weapon they’ll chose next, to recreate in Airsoft form… I’m still waiting on that Shoulder Launched Bazooka!
