Custom builds

[kstinson]

Ok, I've been wondering, is it generally cheaper to save up and buy a gun pre-built and ready to go, or to spread the cost out, buy the pieces individually and assemble it yourself? Money is a little tight at the moment...

Cheers,
Kevin

[viraL]

Generally it's much cheaper to buy the gun as is, rather than individual pieces. It's also easier as these things are toys, sometimes not made at the same spec as something else = things not fitting together and you getting frustrated. It's not like computers where it's cheaper and easier to DIY.

You can buy decent chinasoft guns for ~300 bucks these days.

[Styrak]

Usually cheaper to buy a premade gun.

But if you're just going to tear it apart anyways, you might as well buy the specific parts you want and put it together yourself.

[ILLusion]

lol, it's WAY more expensive to build from the ground up, unless you manage to find parts here and there from other people's junk bins for dirt cheap garage sale prices.

[Shirley]

It is way more expensive building it your own.
Plus, you have to pay shipping for each parts, then you would have to see if they fit or not, or if they work together.

Having it built already, saves you the shipping, and saves you the work.

[Crunchmeister]

As everyone said - it's cheaper to buy what you want. Now, if you like to tinker and upgrade, you can get a base gun and spread out the upgrade / mod costs over time instead and have a fully working and evolving gun through the whole time. Just be aware it'll end up costing you more in the long run, but spread out over time.

[lemegacool]

i built my sniper m16 out of upgrade parts... the price is in the 4 digit range...

[Amos]

Hell I just priced out a Magpul M4...

I don't even have the gun yet and I've already spent over a grand in externals.

[m102404]

Whole cheap guns aren't worth starting with if intend on building a FMU uber l33t sopmod mk whatever. You'll end up with 99% of the original rifle in the parts bin by the time you're done.

BUT...you do get the option of having something that does spit bbs out while you're buying/scrounging/waiting for that next part.

Buying a whole good FMU rifle to start with...is much the same as the above but you've just jumped $300-400 up in the start price (and consequently the cost of the parts that are rolling around in your spare parts bin).

BUT...the parts that you have left over have some resale value because they were decent to start with. Who wants a cheapo M4 barrel with a front triangle sight molded right into it? Nobody. Who wants a solid CA M15 outer barrel and front triangle sight? Lots of people.

BUT...if you intend on doing nothing to it (and about 90% of people start out thinking that...), buy a whole good FMU rifle. Get the internals looked over (unless you know what you're doing) and hit the fields.

BUT...most of the above applies to M4/M16 variants. If you're getting an AK, G36, MP5, PSG1, G3, etc... buy the best whole rifle you can (if the model you like has a metal body version get it). Then have the insides checked out and go have fun.

BUT...and this is most important....
If you can't afford it...don't do it. The rifle itself is just about a third or quarter of what you'll spend on other stuff. That stuff can be pieced together...but there are some things that you need right out the gate. Save up. Use the time to carefully pick out what you want (unless you want to end up with bins and bins of stuff you hardly use...)

Best of luck,

Tys











But...custom builds are more fun!

[AngelusNex]

Custom builds are waaaay harder as well as more expensive.
A: individual parts minus their cost of shipping will cost you more than a whole gun + mags +shipping.
B: Different brands are not 100% cross compatible, for example, when i threw a bunch of JG and modify internals into a CA mechbox I had to break out my dremel. And when I threw a new outer barrel on my 416 it took me about a hour or careful dremelling.

[Azathoth]

You can build one of these yourself for 2-3 times the cost of what the full gun is costing. The gear box + motor would run you 300-400 CDN from a retailer. In Canada the body would be another 300 etc. Unless you have a source in asia that can get you parts for what people are paying for them over their don't bother custom building your first gun.

http://airsoftglobal.com/product_inf...oducts_id=9344

[Forever_kaos]

Well, I JUST got finished building my custom AKM.

To sum it up.

Finding the right screw to fit - a bitch, even with some old AK parts and screws, I still had trouble finding a perfect fit screw to fit here and there.

You run into fitment issues, never expect anything to fit exact, always some modding here and there.

Cost is really a bugger, I could've just bought a Cyma AKM in Canada for 350-400$.
I'd say I've spent $600-700 ish, and it still requires a small little more.

If you really want something unique, and to keep you busy, go for it.
I love not having a specific brand gun. And to boot, seeing it start as just little peices here and there come together, it's amazing.

[lemegacool]

Originally Posted by Forever_kaos

Well, I JUST got finished building my custom AKM.

To sum it up.

Finding the right screw to fit - a bitch, even with some old AK parts and screws, I still had trouble finding a perfect fit screw to fit here and there.

You run into fitment issues, never expect anything to fit exact, always some modding here and there.

Cost is really a bugger, I could've just bought a Cyma AKM in Canada for 350-400$.
I'd say I've spent $600-700 ish, and it still requires a small little more.

If you really want something unique, and to keep you busy, go for it.
I love not having a specific brand gun. And to boot, seeing it start as just little peices here and there come together, it's amazing.

hehehe for the screw thing... i got myself 80$ worth of metric screws from m2 to m5, self tappers, stainless, hex head bref i'll never have a screw proble again! lol