armoury
CYMA 132S
ELECTRIC
PISTOL
BOOGALOO
AFTER ASKING THE AA TEAM WHY AEPS ARE SEEN AS THE POOR RELATION OF THE
FAMILY, STEVE T GETS HIS BLUFF CALLED WITH A CHALLENGE TO REVIEW ONE...
I
set the cat amongst the pigeons at AA Towers recently,
when I suggested that Automatic Electric Pistols (AEP)
are the poor relation to their Gas BlowBack (GBB)
counterparts. I’d never had an inclination to own one,
based on universal comments from other players about
their disappointing performance.
But others on the team quickly set me straight, with
reports that many airsofters have seen good results from
ever-so-slightly modding their AEPs to run LiPo batteries,
with a decent boost to performance. After a couple of
disappointing outings with GBB pistols in the depths of
winter this year, I was interested to find out more. Then
TaiwanGun gave me the chance to review CYMA’s new AEP,
the CM.132S MOSFET Edition that comes ready to run with
LiPos from the factory.
LOVEHUNTER
I don’t know about you but the first thing I do when I get
a new pistol - after checking it’s clear of ammo - is rack
the slide. Of course, you can’t do that here, so the next
best thing would be to cock the hammer. It’s clearly not
moulded into either the slide or frame and easily moves
under your thumb, so why not?
Yeah - don’t do that! Now it just flaps and clacks about.
There’s no instruction manual to warn you in advance and
a flappy hammer is a bit embarrassing in anyone’s book.
There’s a small spring at the base of the hammer that you
can use something like a jeweler’s screwdriver to poke back
under the frame so it doesn’t happen again - just be sure
to tell anyone not to move it before you hand the 132S to
them and be prepared in advance to take the jokes on the
chin.
Even though this moving part makes is easier to seat the
non-functional slide, it would have been smarter to lock the
hammer in place - or even mould it as part of the frame - to
avoid the problem entirely.
SLIDE IT IN
CYMA’s 132S comes in a cardboard box and a foam insert
with cutouts for the pistol itself, a speedloader and charger
as well as two - yes, TWO - LiPos that are included. That
means that right out of the box, you can have one on
charge while the other keeps you in the game.
Did we say LiPos? As standard on an AEP? Why, yes
we did - and that’s one of the main selling points for this
M9A3-inspired model.
Despite the tight space for batteries, fitting them is a
straightforward affair. Simply depress the “slide release”
to remove the whole thing slightly forwards and mostly
up to reveal the concealed wiring within. Insert one of the
“FOR ITS RELATIVELY BUDGET PRICE, THE MOSTLY PLASTIC 132S IS ACTUALLY QUITE
SOLIDLY BUILT, WITH LESS CREAKING THAN YOU MIGHT EXPECT. THE RAIL UNDER THE
BARREL WILL HAPPILY TAKE STANDARD LIGHTS AND LASERS, ALBEIT WITH A TOUCH
MORE SIDE-TO-SIDE MOVEMENT THAN WE’D LIKE.”
12
MAY 2020