G&G
GR4 G26
With a proven gearbox at its heart, a Magpul-inspired
design and an affordable pricetag, it’s hard to think of a
reason not to love the new G&G G26. Scott Allen tells us why
G
&G has two product lines for
customers of all budgets to
own, love and play with. Think
of it like an Audi: you can have
a 1.8L engine basic model, or
the 4.8L with all the trimmings. Both are
perfectly good cars. It’s all about choice,
and G&G provides this (sometimes too
much).
Top Tech is the high-end range. With
full-metal construction featuring blowback
and higher quality internals, this range
is around double the price of the entry
level range. The quality of the parts is
generally higher and therefore
should perform better and
for longer… Should!
The entry level
Combat Machine range
is where the G26 resides,
although it is creeping up
into the Top Tech price
bracket. Read on and you will
understand why.
Let’s start with the internals, which
are almost completely polymer. I find it
amazing that people baulk at polymer/
ABS rifles, believing them to be a lesser
product. I’ve seen more metal than
polymer break on airsoft rifles. The metal
in airsoft rifles is not, in most cases, CNC
steel but a light alloy and therefore not as
strong as it appears. So the fact that the
flash hider, outer barrel, receiver (the main
body), front handguard and stock are all
074
Xmas 2011
polymer should instil some confidence
– not dissuade you.
At just under 2.5kg it is lightweight and
available in black or desert (which is the
polymer colour, not paint, so it will never
scratch). It’s a nice and compact rifle, coming
in at 700mm in length, and comes with a
funky 300-round high-cap magazine.
External features include: a stylish flash
hider, polymer handguard (similar to the
Magpul MOE handguard), polymer body with
snazzy Combat Machine logo, polymer pistol
grip (similar to a Tango Down grip), polymer/
rubberised stock and metal buffer tube
(again in Magpul MOE style). The stock can
also hold spare CR123 batteries. But there’s
more…
Reinforced polymer enhanced trigger
guard; Flip up front sight which folds into
the top rail to allow seamless rail access;
Flip up metal rear sight, which is removable;
A rubberised grip high capacity magazine;
A pneumatic blow back system; Built in red
Laser; Built in flip up LED torch.
That’s a fairly impressive list! Part of the
appeal of the G26 is all the little touches that
G&G has crammed into this design. A great
deal of thought has gone into the package,