ARMY – AK-47 Review
Ordering and Delivery:
This will be my first ownership of an AK47 AEG. I have used them previously at skirmishes as mainly borrowed guns but never owned or had one in my hands for that long. However, in those short times I was impressed by the TM versions I had hold of and used and in particular the “dakadakadakadaka” retort they make when being fired… very nice.
Over a period of time I had become bored with my NATO based loadout, TM G36C and CA M15. In particular I just couldn’t see the advantages of my CA M15, yes, it was exceptionally well built but it was heavy (this is a game people! I do not want to lug lots of metal around) and only seemed to have the same range as my standard TM G36c, even though the CA are meant to be upgraded out of the box. So, I sold it. Now I had the money to buy that AK47S I’d been interested in for so long.
After much thinking and reading of forums and reviews, I decided to look into buying one of the ARMY made AK47 models available from RSOV.com, however, I was (and still am) more interested in the folding stock or AK47S. To my consternation though, ARMY are no longer doing any production runs of this model as, according to Keith at RSOV, they “did not sell”.
Still, I was unimpressed with the reported power out-put from the CYMA AK’s (quoted 280fps) and not happy with the non-standard hop-up system they use. So, ARMY it was and ARMY it was that I ordered.
Since my purchase I have been advised that CYMA now have a TM compatible hop-up unit in their AK47’s which makes them a good purchase but still down on my list.
The whole purchase was: 1 x ARMY AK47 (which includes: 1 x Hi-Cap, Large battery, charger and sling) & 4 x ACM “quick winding” Hi-Caps.
All this came to, including carriage costs, only just over (and I mean pence) £100. Cheap as chips!
Throughout the following days, Keith patiently responded to all the emails I sent him (some relating to the sale and carriage details, some not). As always, when you’re waiting for something time seems to drag but seven days later including one weekend i.e. only five working days later!, I got confirmation from Parcel Force that it was on the van to be delivered.
Oh curse my cautious soul! I’d specified delivery to my home, so here I sit, at WORK…wishing even more than usual that I was at home.
Well, delivery went perfectly and even though I specified to Keith to put the full value of the goods on the shipping details (and he did), I have was not hit with any import charges (which would have been about £21). In short “ME AM WIN!” and I’m already thinking about my next purchase from RSOV.
Service, communication and delivery times are nothing short of outstanding for a HK retailer. I’ve even had Keith answer emails from me at 4am his time! How’s that for dedication?
The Packaging & AEG itself:
First stop, before getting home to inspect the AEG, is a quick trip to InStore (used to be Pound Stretcher). For the Princely sum of £1.50 I get a travel/shaver socket adaptor.
Whilst I already have a UK purchased slow charger, the charger that comes with the ARMY AEG (and all ACM AEG’s) has a two pin plug. If I ever consider using the supplied charger I need this adaptor and £1.50 isn’t that much to pay.
My impression is that the supplied charger is a “fast charger”, I’m not friendly with these – 2hrs and a full charge. Just seems not very conducive to extending battery life to me and as I’m not in THAT much of a rush to fire the AK, I’m going to first ensure the supplied battery is fully discharged (something people often forget to check as they do sometimes have a residual / test charge in them) and then charging it on a nice, slow eight hour charge over night.
The AEG arrived exceptionally well packaged, plenty of bubble wrap and shrink wrap all round sturdy brown paper, so it was out with the craft knife to get it open…carefully mind you.
First impressions were good. ARMY had even seen fit to add packing around the charging handle to ensure the box didn’t collapse around it. Upon lifting it out it was a decent weight, though most of the construction is plastic, I could carry this all day without a sling if I wanted…which is just as well… as the sling supplied is impossible to use for any grown man. Whilst it IS of a sturdy nylon weave construction it just isn’t big enough for me to sling the weapon and shoulder properly if using it as a 2-point.
…back to the AEG.
Finish is very good, no scratches and the only seam that I can see is on the top edge of the stock. The stock was very wobbly when I first took it out but this was just due to the bottom stock screws being loose, a problem all makes of AK47’s have I understand. A quick tightening up with a normal pozi driver and the whole AEG is firm as a rock.
No wobbles or squeaks anywhere that I can find. This is a very well made AEG externally, from quality plastic and mouldings and though it isn’t up to the build quality of a Classic Army rifle it’s at least equal to any Tokyo Marui I’ve had (and actually better than my old P90).
There is quite a high metal content for the forward assembly. Whilst the forward grip is replicated wood in plastic with a decent finish and feel, it seems that just about the rest of the front half of the AEG is metal.
Front sights, who also adjust for height/range using the supplied key, dummy cleaning rod and outer barrel are all pretty heavy metal. They are heavily coated in black paint and there are no signs of corrosion etc anywhere (that goes for all the metal parts I’ve so far seen on it).
Other notable sections of metal are the trigger and trigger guard as well as the rear sliding sight point and fire selector switch.
This is a rugged AEG. The only “weak” spot I can find is the stock itself, I believe the type of plastic used is quite brittle and if you drop it on, say, a concrete surface I think it would break but then….wouldn’t most AEG’s break under the same circumstance?
I am confidant in the build of this AEG.
The hop-up unit was firm and responded well to my adjustments and didn’t look like it would unwind during a skirmish.
The supplied battery stated it was an “ARMY 1800mAh Ni-CD”, and it looked quite a well constructed unit.
Ready now, I put it on charge.
…next day.
I fully cleaned the barrel, using at least 4 fresh “rags” and silicon spray. It has been noted that the barrels of the ACM aeg’s are usually pretty dirty and I didn’t want this to detract from any testing.
The rumours were correct, the inner barrel was utterly filthy. Even using all the rags I had I don’t think I got it absolutely clean but as this is just a test I let it go.
Taking the large battery supplied I inserted it into the stock. To say it’s a tight fit is an understatement! I really struggled to get the wires flush so I could re-secure the butt plate, eventually I did it but I was not happy with this turn of events.
I switch the AEG from safety and… nothing. No movement at all. Several tinkerings lead me to not panic though and I put the supplied battery back onto my discharger (it had a charge ok) and put one of my Sanyo 600mAh mini Ni-Cd’s on charge.
After a mornings charge I tested the AEG with my Sanyo and it worked perfectly. No issues with the AEG then, on further testing of the battery I cannot fathom why it is not working. It has a full charge (intelligent charger says so), and discharges fine but it will not, absolutely ever even turn this AEG over.
Large free battery duly junked.
So, with my Sanyo in her it was time to fire test the AEG. Using one of the ACM “quick winding” hi-caps I had a look at the curious make up of it, not only has it got the normal winding wheel on the base but it also has a small hole on one side and is supplied with a butterfly key. Insertion of the key into the hole means you can wind it this way, at first I wondered why this was but when I tested it I found that to obtain a full wind only took me a quarter of the time it would if I used the base wheel! This is a great innovation I think, and the company we have to thank for this is Jing Gong who manufacture these Hi-caps.
Hi-cap filled and fully wound it was time for business. The magazine fitted perfectly, didn’t unwind on insertion like many TM ones do and there was minimal wobble. First round through the AEG was without hop and this fell at about 20 feet. Swift hop-up adjustment and the next round was hitting my target at 30ft. Next aimed shots hit the target with excellent accuracy so we moved to the 60ft range.
Again, accuracy was exceptional. On Semi I attained groups of within 7cm’s. On full auto 7 out of 10 rounds still hit my 6” square target within a decent grouping.
The trigger is light and I found it difficult to give out controlled bursts of 3-4 rounds on full auto though. See this as an advantage/disadvantage as you wish.
Now we took the AEG for a power test. My “poor mans chronograph” was set up (a coke can) and we tested power. This was my first disappointment.
No penetration.
It appears that the AEG has a power out of the box far less than that advertised, I would estimate it to be around 280fps which isn’t bad in itself but was not what I was expecting. To be honest the instruction manual only places the power at 90m/s which is just over 295fps…again, far lower than the website oft quoted 345fps.
However, the gun performs well and has what I can only describe as really exceptional accuracy over the test range I was using. This is obviously due to the Clone practice of installing “tight” barrels, I have found that generally all ACM manufacturers fit a tighter inner barrel than the more mainstream manufacturers.
Front disassembly and Hop-Up discovery.
Due to the low power I decided to start stripping the AEG for closer examination. Last night it was removal of the front end. Closely following the instructions from mechbox.com I removed the front.
I found the reason the Hop-Up is so stiff and doesn’t move loose. A small spring is located behind it and fits within a groove in the front assembly. Lucky for me I spotted this before I’d removed the front fully otherwise it would have got lost. The spring is at tension behind the hop slider always pushing against it, its only a weak spring (papermate pen spring type) so doesn’t force the slider forward only stops it moving back towards the “off” position.
I have no idea if the Tokyo Marui AK’s have this feature, its not mentioned in the Mechbox tutorial so I assume they don’t but not having a TM unit to compare means this is conjecture on my part.
Also not mentioned in the mechbox tutorial was the fact that the retaining screws around the mag well are, in fact, bolts and the nuts fit into recesses in the front assembly. This was another thing I found out by accident as one of the very small nuts fell on the floor (luckily found again).
The Hop-Up unit itself looks completely TM standard, made from white plastic with a black rubber hop itself.
I have no plans to remove the barrel itself yet, and the next part of the take down will be the stock (which I know needs some dremmel work as I want to make the battery compartment larger) and the removal of the gearbox itself.
Initial FPS results given to me by ASCUK user Ad on his new ARMY unit indicate that the AEG should be hitting at least 308fps. Whilst my unit is now “field stripped” (i.e. all furniture off and ready for mechbox removal), I’m inclined to clean the barrel and hop even more than I did before testing it previously, put it back together and retest my unit.
Thank you Ad for the additional information.
I cleaned the barrel out further, yet more gunk was inside but this did not improve the power. I believe I have a slight “dud” unit but it is still performing well and has not mis-fed or jammed in any of the tests I have done… thus far I have put around 1,000 rounds through it. One point of good news is that the supplied Sling IS usable.
You have to attach it as a single point sling but it works and this means I no longer have to spend £5 on a sling (every penny counts in Cheapsoft!).
Summary so far…
This is an immediately woodland capable AEG with exceptional accuracy out of the box. Whilst I have expressed upset at the power displayed, faulty supplied battery and useless sling I think I have to compare it directly with is “off the shelf” counter part made by Tokyo Marui.
Whilst I haven’t owned their AK I know that the stock power of this is at least equal to (if not greater than – see Ad’s figures above) the TM version. From the limited time I’ve had a TM AK in my hands I think the general build quality of this ARMY unit is superior and I am beginning to think that the barrel is a tight-bore version as standard as accuracy is far greater than my other TM AEG’s.
The Hop-Up unit, whilst being plastic, is mechanically excellent and allows a fast “on point” adjustment. The fact that both hop and barrel are aftermarket compatible rates this, to me, higher than the CYMA units (though I still wish there was an “S” version).
For just over £70 for the AEG + Hi-Cap this is exceptional value for money.
From the testing I have done so far there are two failings on this AEG that are sufficiently annoying that I want to do something about them.
1 – Low FPS. Whilst others who have the ARMY AK have proven that they “should” be firing 330fps out of the box…clearly my unit isn’t.
2 – Battery capacity. A big battery, even the one supplied just will NOT fit into the stock in a manner that I’m happy with (far too much scrunching of wires for my liking).
So, to solve these issues…
Low FPS – this I’m putting down to poor compression and as I can’t see any flash or issues with the nozzle I believe I need to replace the piston, piston head/nozzle and chamber. I’ve had these parts on order from RSOV but so far they have not arrived. It seems RSOV have been slow to despatch my order. This will be the third stage therefore of this review.
Battery Capacity – I ordered and received a Kings Arms black ABS furniture kit from WGC in HK (three day delivery! Outstanding!). I didn’t want the black version and would have STRONGLY preferred to keep the furniture in a wood effect but economics came in to play as well as practicality.
The Kings Arms furniture kit was of a reasonable cost ($67USD) and promised the ability to fit a 9.6v battery should I choose. Unfortunately, they didn’t have listed a wood effect version of this, so black it was.
After a quick Q&A on ASCUK on how to remove the fore grip, I got to work. The fore grip fitted well (though I did scratch the outer barrel removing the old one) and looks nice. The stock is CAVERNOUS and I’m going to have to think of putting bubble wrap in there if I use an 8.4v large battery, however, this didn’t fit so well and needed some pretty strong persuasion to make it marry up with the pre-drilled holes.
Problem – the ARMY unit comes with mini-plugs, as did the large battery that came with it! Seems that now I have to get some new plugs and pins in… not expensive but annoying.
The pistol grip…now we fail completely. This would not, did not, could not fit. It seems the ARMY motor housing and wire arrangement is preventing the Kings Arms grip from seating at all, not an easy thing to remedy.
If I didn’t have a “plan B” I would get my dremmel to the inside of the grip and sort this out but I DO have a plan B…
Plan B – I have a JG AK47 Beta-F on order (in the same order as my mechbox internals) from RSOV. Plan B depends on the Beta’s grip fitting the ARMY unit nicely, if not, then its dremmel time!
Currently this ARMY unit is partially disassembled but it seems I need it for a skirmish in two weeks so I’m going to make an effort to assemble it and test it again before I use it in action.
Battery Update – I’m going to give the battery another go. Seems that people who have charged their ACM batteries VERY slowly (i.e. at only 50mAh) have had good results, perhaps this will condition the battery and it can be used. I will update.
Post Skirmish Update:
Well, I was very happy with this AEG after a woodland skirmish day at Airsoft Commando. It it light, exceptionally accurate and has easily the range (even with this low power) to cope with the combat I encountered.
One minor setback prevented me using this AEG more, basically it stopped working! No nasty grinding noises or anything just nothing happening when I pulled the trigger.
Immediately I understood it was an electrical issue. Unfortunately I didn’t have my tool kit with me so couldn’t investigate.
Proves that I was correct. In fact all it was, was an issue with the wiring. I found a partial break in the wires, this was re-secured and I have experienced no further electrical issues.
Can’t wait to use this AEG again and I may even reconsider my internal upgrades that I had planned for now. I’m not outranged by other more powerful AEG’s after all.
Rankings:
Build Quality – 8 (it’s still mostly plastic)
Performance – 8 (if it had hit past 320fps it would have got a 10 without question but its accuracy lifts it to an 8)
Reliability – 8 (rugged design and build plus non-excessive FPS all add to an AEG that should out last more expensive versions. The score is only 8 due to the minor wiring break I found, this is poor QA but meant it had to sit out of half a skirmish day)
Value for money – 10 (you just can’t fault this level of workmanship for the price paid!)
Overall – 9
The only things letting this AEG down are the ancillaries in the package such as a bad battery and sling, the stock power and one or two very minor niggles. I don’t understand why the ACM manufacturers bother with the ancillaries, having to buy battery and charger isn’t usually the worse consideration for an AEG purchase and it would be wrong to assume that the items provided fill that gap.
For the cost a UK buyer can purchase a decent large battery a charger and a high specification sling and still be at least £80 better off than buying a mainstream AEG in the UK.
£80 is a lot of money. In fact it’s just enough money to buy ANOTHER Chinese made AEG!
