Airsoft / Clearsoft - Long Term Reliability Study

[slans]

The key points are as follows:
1) Manufacturer: Classic Army M15A4 CQB

2) Date Obtained: Recently opended the box!
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3) Initial Cost: 750$
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4) New or Used: New
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5) Mechanical Problems (Gearbox issues, hopup issues.. basically functional performance related -- supply date of issue): None
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6) Esthetic Problems (Paint damage, cracks in body, loose parts.. physical construction related -- supply date of issue) : None
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7) Rounds fired between failures (think how many bags of BB's used before it failed. If no failure, list rounds fired up to this point) 2500 Fired no failure
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8) Changes to Internals and Externals (upgrades, mods, dates): Stock
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9) Resale Date and Value if applicable.
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10)Notes and Comments (Optional)

[G.I. Joel]

1) Make and Model
-- Aftermath, Kraken
2) Date Purchased
-- Oct. 2007
3) Cost
-- $185
4) New/Used?
-- Brand new
5) Mechanical Problems
-- minor pellet jam in over winding the magazine. Dec, 2007
6) Esthetic Problems
-- Lost 1/3 (loose screw) from reciever that bolts to stock. Butt plate cracked during rough handling.
7) Rounds Fired Between Failures
-- None
8) Changes to Internals
-- Bone Stock, Oiled with silicone oil.
9) Resale Date and Value
-- Sold in Apr. 2008, for $150

Gun was bought at Bass Pro Shops (Vaughn Mills) and shoots (as advertised) 370fps, I have a few pellet guns and belive this is true. I have not put this gun on a chrono. It is made of deecent grade plastic (could be ABS) and has metal Barrel Front Sight,Bolt and Reciver cap. it also has the spin up feature. Battery is only for use in short game senarios, and the gun came with a wall trickle charger. As far as I know I was told that this AEG is TM AK compatible for most of the internal & external parts.

[Inade]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name: Stunt Studio's M4.
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2) Date Obtained: March 2nd, 08'
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3) Initial Cost: 140$
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4) New or Used: New
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5) Mechanical Problems: None as of yet, but the mech box is plastic (ABS) so it won't last as long as i want it to.
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6) Esthetic Problems: Though the body is plastic, the mexh box, and even the 203, they're all made out of ABS so atleast they're decent quality. I just spray painted it black, (body used to be see-through) yet to see stratches ect.
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7) Rounds fired between failures: No failures. Estimated 400 BB's fired.
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8) Changes to Internals and Externals: Externals i've added on a 23$ (from ebay) 6-point adjustable stock, spray-painted the body black, bought an ACOG rifle scope (50$ off ebay) and a red dot reflex sight (20$ off ebay). I will replace the gears with new metals ones and probably upgrade the bushings too.
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9) Resale Date and Value if applicable: Might re-sell on ebay maybe next season. 120$ (taking into consideration the stock i put on, fresh coat of paint, and the sight i bought, bushings and gears i'm going to buy all adding up to be about 100$)
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10)Notes and Comments: FPS is 310, it's perfect, 203 is dead-weight though, but extremely good hop-up system) Def. worth it's money. (Amazing starter's weapon.)

[Inade]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name: Crossman P30 (springer pistol)
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2) Date Obtained: March 1st 07'
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3) Initial Cost: 40$ (bought two of 'em)
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4) New or Used: New
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5) Mechanical Problems: None. Slide eventually broke off when i got bored and decided to dissect the poor thing. Though the second one still works. (amazingly well too.)
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6) Esthetic Problems: Slide broke off, not reliable. (Poor quality plastic.
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7) Rounds fired between failures: 500?
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8) Changes to Internals and Externals: Externals got a nice coat of black paint.
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9) Resale Date and Value if applicable: Might sell to a friend in need for 15$ because i can. But seriously, the paint job on that thing looks like metal IMHO, so it looks like it's worth more than 15$.
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10)Notes and Comments (Optional) FPS is 280, (5FPS over the advertised price. Bro has a chrono.) Really good, reliable. Served me well in hundreds of back-yard skirmishes, and a few huge-battles.

[Inade]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name: DPMS Kitty-Kat M16.
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2) Date Obtained: Summer 07'
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3) Initial Cost: 110$
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4) New or Used: New
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5) Mechanical Problems: Ate up a shitload of batteries in a shitsecond. (really fast. ) Eventually stripped it's gearbox and sold on ebay for 20 $, sold it's (METAL WOOOT, i was surprised) magazine to a friend for 8$ and a popsicle
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6) Esthetic Problems: None, but with a coat of spray paint it looks like an ICS's full-metal m16.
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7) Rounds fired between failures: No failures, about 40,000 (yes, i went through 2 bag's of 20k bb's. XD)
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8) Changes to Internals and Externals: None.
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9) Resale Date and Value if applicable: Rofl, it's all gone. Scavanged parts for some moolah (money)
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10)Notes and Comments: First AEG ever, served me well for a few months. And it served me well especially with my ebay auctions. (mechbox, motor, and a mag to a friend.)

[Paladinia]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name (name of weapon on box, and weapon replicated if different from model name)

• UTG MK96, Maruzen Type 96 Clone

2) Date Obtained

• Feb, 27th, 2008

3) Initial Cost

• 150 (gun) + 110 (scope)

4) New or Used

• New

5) Mechanical Problems (Gearbox issues, hopup issues.. basically functional performance related -- supply date of issue)

• Hopup needs to be worn in before it becomes useful.

6) Esthetic Problems (Paint damage, cracks in body, loose parts.. physical construction related -- supply date of issue)

• Plastic is not completely put together and there is about a 1mm gap just below the hopup. The bipod is also wobbly but can be fixed by applying hot glue to the bolt.

7) Rounds fired between failures (think how many bags of BB's used before it failed. If no failure, list rounds fired up to this point)

• Fired 4000 rounds, no failures

8) Changes to Internals and Externals (upgrades, mods, dates)

• Purchased a Bushnell 3-9 x 40 mildot scope

9) Resale Date and Value if applicable

• N/A

10)Notes and Comments (Optional)

• Chrono'd at 470 fps on average with .2g BB's, 435 with .28g BB's and is effective up to around 60 meters stock(using .28+g BB's and shooting at a torso sized target). This gun is very reliable for its cost and very much alike with the Maruzen Type 96 clone it's modelled after except for the plastic body which is made of ABS plastic.

[Andres]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name (name of weapon on box, and weapon replicated if different from model name)
- Tokyo Marui M1A1

2) Date Obtained
10 or so months ago

3) Initial Cost
-530 for gun itself

4) New or Used
-new

5) Mechanical Problems (Gearbox issues, hopup issues.. basically functional performance related -- supply date of issue)
-Nothing, but apparently it's having accuracy problems and needs a few things replaced.

6) Esthetic Problems (Paint damage, cracks in body, loose parts.. physical construction related -- supply date of issue)
-After about 3 months of use, barrel wobble occurred, this was fixed by tightening an allen key hole on the top of the barrel.
- Eventually after decent amount of use, wobble turned into a full fledged broken metal piece which attached the barrel to the upper receiver (this happened as of a couple weeks ago) and I will be gluing things back into shape soon.
- If charging handle is racked too much/hard the plate it uses to slide back and forth may warp and cause bolt issues
- Bolt on charging handle is wobbly, fixable with tightening screw

7) Rounds fired between failures (think how many bags of BB's used before it failed. If no failure, list rounds fired up to this point)
- Rounds fired is somewhere between 10,000 - 12,000

8) Changes to Internals and Externals (upgrades, mods, dates)
Nada

9) Resale Date and Value if applicable.
- Not for a loooong time.

10)Notes and Comments (Optional)
- Although it has its issues, I love the bugger.

[AngelusNex]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name (name of weapon on box, and weapon replicated if different from model name)

* JG HK 416 ver.2

2) Date Obtained

* early March, 2008

3) Initial Cost

* 360
4) New or Used

* New

5) Mechanical Problems (Gearbox issues, hopup issues.. basically functional performance related -- supply date of issue)

* inner barrel was approx 5 degrees turned to the right, front sight was approx 5-10 degrees turned in the opposite direction.

6) Esthetic Problems (Paint damage, cracks in body, loose parts.. physical construction related -- supply date of issue)

* paint on metals (ris, mag, sights, pins, etc.) very easily worn

7) Rounds fired between failures (think how many bags of BB's used before it failed. If no failure, list rounds fired up to this point)

* No failures after approx 1000-1500 outside in the winter
though the batteries connectors at one point did break, simple soldering job fixed it thought.

8) Changes to Internals and Externals (upgrades, mods, dates)

* fixed inner barrel alignment, fixed front sight alignment. then personalized.

9) Resale Date and Value if applicable

* N/A

10)Notes and Comments (Optional)

* Cronyd at 375 after 600+ rounds (break in period on spring) others cronyd 400+ before break in however and 380 after.

[Crunchmeister]

1. Manufacturer, Model Name

• Real Sword Type 56 rifle

2. Date Obtained

• Feb 2008

3. Initial Cost

• $890 Cdn

4. New or Used

• New

5. Mechanical Problems

• None.

6. Esthetic Problems

• None.

7. Rounds fired between failures

• About 1200 rounds to date and no problems

8. Changes to Internals and Externals

• upraded to an aluminum spike bayonet to replace the stock plastic one. Otherwise, the gun is totally stock.
• Plan to eventually upgrade the spring to an MS110SP since stock performance is only about 301 fps

9. Resale Date and Value if applicable.

• Not likely to ever sell this gun.

10.Notes and Comments

This is THE AK variant to own. Real steel externals, tough as nails reinforced internals. For all intents and purposes, this is a REAL Type 56 with AEG internals and a few mods (a few holes drilled into the gas assembly) to ensure it can't be modded to fire live rounds.

This is the PTW of AKs. And in terms of externals, it actually surpasses PTWs in terms of realism and authenticity. You can't get any more real than real steel parts. And it's about 40% the price of a PTW.

So if you want the most realistic, best AK on the face of the planet today, don't buy some $600 TM and spend another $500+ to increase performance and to upgrade to metal and wood. Buy one of these.

See my review here: http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=52250

EDIT: Oct 5, 2008

The selector switch developed a problem where it no longer switches to semi-automatic. I haven't tried taking it apart to fix the problem yet. Since I never use semi with that gun, I don't really see it as being a problem anyway. Will update when I get it repaired.

[max.power]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name

UTG AK47PE (AK47s - Para Model)

2) Date Obtained

JAN 2008

3) Initial Cost

$150

4) New or Used

USED

5) Mechanical Problems (Gearbox issues, hopup issues.. basically functional performance related -- supply date of issue)

Worked right out of the box, for about a week, until gears were stripped

6) Esthetic Problems (Paint damage, cracks in body, loose parts.. physical construction related -- supply date of issue)

Body is still great. Solid.

7) Rounds fired between failures (think how many bags of BB's used before it failed. If no failure, list rounds fired up to this point)

500 or so between failures
6000 or so total fired

8) Changes to Internals and Externals (upgrades, mods, dates)

After initial gear failure, upgraded:
New Gears (regular ones from eHobby;
New nozzle; and
New bearing spring guide.

9) Resale Date and Value if applicable.

N/A

10)Notes and Comments (Optional)

Other than a few mechanical problems to begin with, it's a good gun. Good FPS and ROF. Definitely worth the 150 plus 30 or so extra in parts

[ww2warrior]

1) Make and Model
-- KJ Works P226
2) Date Purchased
-- October 2006
3) Cost
-- $300
4) New/Used?
-- New
5) Mechanical Problems
-- Magazine started to leak early
6) Esthetic Problems
-- N/A
7) Rounds Fired Between Failures
-- N/A (Less than 100 rnds before Mag leaks)
8) Changes to Internals & Externals
-- N/A
9) Resale Date and Value
-- March 08 for 230$
10) Good pistol, accurate, solid construction. Only Weakness is the mag.

[Oerlikon]

1) Make and Model
-- TM M4
2) Date Purchased
-- March 2006
3) Cost
-- $400
4) New/Used?
-- Used
5) Mechanical Problems
-- Spring needed to be cut on delivery, fall 2007 internals ground to halt - cleaned gears & relubed now working
6) Esthetic Problems
-- scratches to metal, thread wear and tear on barrel. Body broke at flat rail during play (fixed with epoxy)
7) Rounds Fired Between Failures
-- 5000
8) Changes to Internals & Externals
-- PDI 120% spring, new metal bushings, aimpoint red dot
9) Resale Date and Value
-- n/a
10) Good first gun for me, beat the heck out of it (and it was used when I bought it) and all it needs is a yearly tune up to keep on ticking.
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[Oerlikon]

1) Make and Model
-- TM G3 SAS
2) Date Purchased
-- October 2007
3) Cost
-- $100
4) New/Used?
-- Used
5) Mechanical Problems
-- None so far
6) Esthetic Problems
-- sliding stock is broken, will not stay deployed
7) Rounds Fired Between Failures
-- N/A
8) Changes to Internals & Externals
-- N/A
9) Resale Date and Value
--
10) Great backup gun, and for $100 it was a steal, came with a hi-cap and low-cap too.
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[G.I. Joel]

1) Make and Model
-- CA M15A4
2) Date Purchased
-- Mar. 2008
3) Cost
-- $360
4) New/Used?
-- Brand new
5) Mechanical Problems
-- None in its short service life
6) Esthetic Problems
-- None.
7) Rounds Fired Between Failures
-- None
8) Changes to Internals
-- Bone Stock, Oiled with silicone oil.
9) Resale Date and Value
-- This AEG was KIA.

Gun was bought at from Mopic. Worked extremely well, probably shot about 370-380 fps bone stock. I fell down a gravel pit wall 50ft and shattered the gun...Some of the parts were salvagable.

[G.I. Joel]

1) Make and Model
-- G&G GR16 light carbine
2) Date Purchased
-- Mar. 2008
3) Cost
-- $400
4) New/Used?
-- Brand new
5) Mechanical Problems
-- None in its short service life
6) Esthetic Problems
-- I thought that the extremely short barel looked rather pussy-ish.
7) Rounds Fired Between Failures
-- Never failed once
8) Changes to Internals
-- Bone Stock. re-enforced gearbox, bore-up cylinder, High strength nylon fibre body, and tighbore barel all factory! , Oiled with silicone oil.
9) Resale Date and Value
-- This AEG was Damaged in service.

Gun was bought at from Mopic. Worked extremely well, probably shot about 380-ish fps bone stock. The lower reciever front mounting pin was damaged by me forcibly and neglegently hammering in the body pin, cracking the loop hole. Heavy Duty construction, but Mag has 1-1.5mm more depth than any TM/CA mag