Airsoft Action 05 - Jan 2012 | Page 13

THE ARMOURY “Taking the gun out of the box and rigging it all up, you cannot help but feel that it’s a very well put together AEG.” The third thing you notice is all the little bits and pieces that come in the box. You do get a metal M16 A2 style flash hider to replace the orange thing, a PEQ box to house your battery and also a short length vertical grip. Not a bad little package! With the gun out of the box and all rigged up, it has the definite feel of a very well-put-together AEG. Mostly full-metal construction, it weighs in at just less than 2.7kg without a magazine fitted. Still light enough to lug around all day but solid and robust enough to take some pretty rough usage. It has a side folding stock which swings around to the right hand side of the receiver. The stock itself has a soft coating across the top and is fitted with a rubberised butt pad, making it comfortable to use. Folding the stock in or out is a smooth and definite movement, again adding to the overall feel of rigidity. With the stock folded the overall length is only 52cm (20.5in); with it extended it’s still only 73cm (28.5in). Layout on the receiver is familiar, and is pretty much a cross between the Armalite series, SCAR and Masada models. There is the licensed Robinsons Armament Co logo on the side of the magwell as well as its own unique serial number. The cocking lever is located on the left hand side of the receiver and, when used, pulls back the dummy bolt, located on the right hand side of the receiver. This locks back to reveal the hop-up adjuster in the ejection chamber. The bolt release catch is a Masada ambidextrous style, located beneath and forward of the trigger guard. When released the bolt snaps forward and sounds great, which I thought was a really nifty touch. The pistol grip is comfortable and the safety catch/fire selector is the same as you would find on a SCAR. It rotates a total of 90° from safe (vertical), semi (45°) and full-auto (horizontal). The mix and match continues too: the whole upper is one piece, similar to the SCAR. Running along the whole top length of the rifle is one continuous 39cm (15in) rail, which allows you to mount all manner of scopes or sighting systems without the annoyance of gaps or uneven rail spaces. On the front end there are a further three 15cm (6in) rails located at the usual positions. This means you can mount the vertical grip it comes with and the batter