Post by Demolition Lover on Jul 30, 2006 17:18:34 GMT -7
Tokyo Marui AK-47
First Impressions[/b]
Upon recieving this gun, I, of course, proceeded to open it. This is the package it was shipped in.
The box looks like most any other Tokyo Marui box. Lots of foreign characters, the real steel caliber, so on. It also appears that TM likes to make it known that this gun comes with hopup, as it was stamped all around the box. It came like any other Airsoft gun comes, in a chunk of styrofoam. It also came with some doccumentation.
The pamphlets are from bottom right to the far left, and some are self explanatory. The first is a Tokyo Marui catalogue, full of lots of nice other guns by TM. The second, labeled "AK-47 & AK-47S," holds all the information you need to keep your gun in great condition, as well as real steel history on the back, and complete takedown diagrams of both guns. Then, the slightly yellowed paper is simply a safety insert with pictures of people shooting guns incorrectly, animals firing back, so on. Above that is what appears to be either a registration or feedback form, but is entirely in foreign characters and thusly pointless. The thing next to it is some paper targets, which come with every TM gun I've seen. The pink sheet is another unreadable page, with illustrations as to proper gun care and such. Finally, the "8.4V Super Commando Battery" flyer tells me I shouldn't wrap babies in the cord, I should know the proper time (which I can't read because it's not in English) and not to cut the cord.
The gun itself came with a single midcap metal magazine, a cleaning rod (beneath the gun), a loading tube, a forward sight adjuster (beneath the magazine), a slot to hold an 8.4V battery, a pack of .25 BBs, and a barrel cover to use if you unscrew the orange tip.
Whew! Now, after observing all that stuff, I finally hefted the gun around a little and looked it over. Now, I've had my AK upgraded, so it came with a free battery, but I couldn't find that package. I began to become convinced I got ripped off, until I opened up the stock. The back of the stock simply clicks down then comes off, and leads you to this.
The strange black object poking out of the stock is apparently a 'fuse case,' as far as I could understand by the manual. I haven't opened it though, and I don't intend to do so. Now, cosmetically, the gun is wonderful. People say Marui is the best at moch wood, and I agree. It's been done very nicely. As for the body, the upper reciever is the only metal part. However, you wouldn't guess it at a glance. It's done very nicely as well, and feels very smooth and not that plasticky. The gun has no wobble. The only shake you feel is the forward grip slightly moving, but I didn't notice it when I wasn't trying to feel for it. The front of the gun is all metal. Like everything else, it is a very, very nice reproduction of the real gun. The cleaning rod below the barrel is the only unfaithful reproduction. It's hardly longer than the hole it goes in, and there's a hole drilled straight through the front to allow easier access to unscrewing the front sight. Now, about the reciever/magwell area. These three pictures illustrate it best.
The reciever also looks very real, and here's an example of the metal-like plastic I was talking about.
This is the magwell itself. Notice the BBs are loaded from essentially the centre of the magazine, and not the front or back.
This is a slightly difficult shot, but there are a few things to notice here. In the bottom left corner of the reciever 'well' is the hopup. If you look closely you can see the notches for hopup level and the word "Hop." Finally, the iron sights. They're just like any other AK sight, nothing remarkable here. Can be adjusted for altitude/windage.
Feel
This gun feels very real. It has a very heavy weight, around six pounds, I believe. The moch wood grips feel very comfortable, and don't get very slick with the added factor of sweat. The weight feels very even, and the gun tucks nicely into your shoulder. As I shouldered the gun it felt very natural and I had no real qualms with the way it set. The sight alignment is a bit difficult the first time, but once you get the feel for the sights it comes very naturally. The sling mounts are on the left side of the gun, and a sling is very easy to hook in. Some people complain that the gun is too long to use comfortably in CQB. I politely disagree with them. This gun feels very natural to hold and easily swings around, and the sights are quick to line up on a target. I see no problem with using this gun in CQB.
Performance
Now, my gun will be different than any other stock TM AK-47 out there. With my order I purchased a 325 FPS upgrade, so the accuracy, hitting power, and hopup all will work differently with my gun than any other. I've noticed that the gun has a tendency to go left commonly with no wind, around one inch or so off the mark. However, this may be (as many people say) the gun needing to be broken in. Besides that, full auto fire stay within about two inches of previous shots, and I'm confident I could hit a human-sized target 50-75 feet away with this gun 8/10 times.
Quality of Materials
Most of the gun is made from high-quality plastic designed to mimic metal or wood. It feels very rigid and difficult to break. The sling mounts are also metal, and feel very strong. The upper reciever is made of metal, and it feels very thin and of lower-grade. However, the front barrel feels a lot like the sling mounts, in type of metal and sturdiness.The only serious problem with this gun is the screws used to secure it. They come loose occasionally, and cause the stock to wobble and the handgrip can come off if you don't re-tighten the screws. Besides that, a very sturdy gun.
Upgradeability
The AK-47 is a very upgradeable gun, contrary to what's been said about it. A sling is a very basic upgrade for the gun, but very helpful. The forward handgrip can be replaced, as can the pistol grip and stock. A scope rail can be added to the top of the gun. The forward handgrip has a replacement that includes three rails. So, I find this gun to be easily upgraded, because besides the replacement of a couple parts, people have done many things involving cutting the gun or building additions to the gun.
Now, one problem common to people who get this gun. That orange tip. I have been granted the knowledge as to how to remove it. Tokyo Marui appears to have super glued it into place on construction of the gun. You could theoretically force it off, but that would take an insane amount of pressure. Instead, start by unscrewing the front sight. The screw is located on the bottom of the barrel, between the cleaning rod and the barrel. After you find and unscrew this, it should look this way.
Now, leave the whole front sight together and take it to the nearest sink. Fill the sink with the hottest water you can get.
Leave it there for around four minutes, then remove it. Be careful though, the metal sight will be very hot. Now, get a pair of plyers, and twist the orange tip clockwise from the front, counterclockwise from behind the sight. It should begin to slowly but steadily come loose. After that, you have a small thread to put anything that fits on.
Overall
Overall, this is a very nice AEG. If you are a fan of the AK series of weapons, I would reccommend this to you. Despite a few small problems, the gun excels in most other categories.
Pros
- Sturdily built
- Great accuracy
- High ROF
- Many upgrade options
- STAR makes locaps for them, if you want real-sized mags
- It's all over the world, you can find repair instructions/ mods almost anywhere
Cons
- Screws come loose commonly
- Some models shoot far to one side
Leave feedback on this review, I'd appreciate it.
First Impressions[/b]
Upon recieving this gun, I, of course, proceeded to open it. This is the package it was shipped in.
The box looks like most any other Tokyo Marui box. Lots of foreign characters, the real steel caliber, so on. It also appears that TM likes to make it known that this gun comes with hopup, as it was stamped all around the box. It came like any other Airsoft gun comes, in a chunk of styrofoam. It also came with some doccumentation.
The pamphlets are from bottom right to the far left, and some are self explanatory. The first is a Tokyo Marui catalogue, full of lots of nice other guns by TM. The second, labeled "AK-47 & AK-47S," holds all the information you need to keep your gun in great condition, as well as real steel history on the back, and complete takedown diagrams of both guns. Then, the slightly yellowed paper is simply a safety insert with pictures of people shooting guns incorrectly, animals firing back, so on. Above that is what appears to be either a registration or feedback form, but is entirely in foreign characters and thusly pointless. The thing next to it is some paper targets, which come with every TM gun I've seen. The pink sheet is another unreadable page, with illustrations as to proper gun care and such. Finally, the "8.4V Super Commando Battery" flyer tells me I shouldn't wrap babies in the cord, I should know the proper time (which I can't read because it's not in English) and not to cut the cord.
The gun itself came with a single midcap metal magazine, a cleaning rod (beneath the gun), a loading tube, a forward sight adjuster (beneath the magazine), a slot to hold an 8.4V battery, a pack of .25 BBs, and a barrel cover to use if you unscrew the orange tip.
Whew! Now, after observing all that stuff, I finally hefted the gun around a little and looked it over. Now, I've had my AK upgraded, so it came with a free battery, but I couldn't find that package. I began to become convinced I got ripped off, until I opened up the stock. The back of the stock simply clicks down then comes off, and leads you to this.
The strange black object poking out of the stock is apparently a 'fuse case,' as far as I could understand by the manual. I haven't opened it though, and I don't intend to do so. Now, cosmetically, the gun is wonderful. People say Marui is the best at moch wood, and I agree. It's been done very nicely. As for the body, the upper reciever is the only metal part. However, you wouldn't guess it at a glance. It's done very nicely as well, and feels very smooth and not that plasticky. The gun has no wobble. The only shake you feel is the forward grip slightly moving, but I didn't notice it when I wasn't trying to feel for it. The front of the gun is all metal. Like everything else, it is a very, very nice reproduction of the real gun. The cleaning rod below the barrel is the only unfaithful reproduction. It's hardly longer than the hole it goes in, and there's a hole drilled straight through the front to allow easier access to unscrewing the front sight. Now, about the reciever/magwell area. These three pictures illustrate it best.
The reciever also looks very real, and here's an example of the metal-like plastic I was talking about.
This is the magwell itself. Notice the BBs are loaded from essentially the centre of the magazine, and not the front or back.
This is a slightly difficult shot, but there are a few things to notice here. In the bottom left corner of the reciever 'well' is the hopup. If you look closely you can see the notches for hopup level and the word "Hop." Finally, the iron sights. They're just like any other AK sight, nothing remarkable here. Can be adjusted for altitude/windage.
Feel
This gun feels very real. It has a very heavy weight, around six pounds, I believe. The moch wood grips feel very comfortable, and don't get very slick with the added factor of sweat. The weight feels very even, and the gun tucks nicely into your shoulder. As I shouldered the gun it felt very natural and I had no real qualms with the way it set. The sight alignment is a bit difficult the first time, but once you get the feel for the sights it comes very naturally. The sling mounts are on the left side of the gun, and a sling is very easy to hook in. Some people complain that the gun is too long to use comfortably in CQB. I politely disagree with them. This gun feels very natural to hold and easily swings around, and the sights are quick to line up on a target. I see no problem with using this gun in CQB.
Performance
Now, my gun will be different than any other stock TM AK-47 out there. With my order I purchased a 325 FPS upgrade, so the accuracy, hitting power, and hopup all will work differently with my gun than any other. I've noticed that the gun has a tendency to go left commonly with no wind, around one inch or so off the mark. However, this may be (as many people say) the gun needing to be broken in. Besides that, full auto fire stay within about two inches of previous shots, and I'm confident I could hit a human-sized target 50-75 feet away with this gun 8/10 times.
Quality of Materials
Most of the gun is made from high-quality plastic designed to mimic metal or wood. It feels very rigid and difficult to break. The sling mounts are also metal, and feel very strong. The upper reciever is made of metal, and it feels very thin and of lower-grade. However, the front barrel feels a lot like the sling mounts, in type of metal and sturdiness.The only serious problem with this gun is the screws used to secure it. They come loose occasionally, and cause the stock to wobble and the handgrip can come off if you don't re-tighten the screws. Besides that, a very sturdy gun.
Upgradeability
The AK-47 is a very upgradeable gun, contrary to what's been said about it. A sling is a very basic upgrade for the gun, but very helpful. The forward handgrip can be replaced, as can the pistol grip and stock. A scope rail can be added to the top of the gun. The forward handgrip has a replacement that includes three rails. So, I find this gun to be easily upgraded, because besides the replacement of a couple parts, people have done many things involving cutting the gun or building additions to the gun.
Now, one problem common to people who get this gun. That orange tip. I have been granted the knowledge as to how to remove it. Tokyo Marui appears to have super glued it into place on construction of the gun. You could theoretically force it off, but that would take an insane amount of pressure. Instead, start by unscrewing the front sight. The screw is located on the bottom of the barrel, between the cleaning rod and the barrel. After you find and unscrew this, it should look this way.
Now, leave the whole front sight together and take it to the nearest sink. Fill the sink with the hottest water you can get.
Leave it there for around four minutes, then remove it. Be careful though, the metal sight will be very hot. Now, get a pair of plyers, and twist the orange tip clockwise from the front, counterclockwise from behind the sight. It should begin to slowly but steadily come loose. After that, you have a small thread to put anything that fits on.
Overall
Overall, this is a very nice AEG. If you are a fan of the AK series of weapons, I would reccommend this to you. Despite a few small problems, the gun excels in most other categories.
Pros
- Sturdily built
- Great accuracy
- High ROF
- Many upgrade options
- STAR makes locaps for them, if you want real-sized mags
- It's all over the world, you can find repair instructions/ mods almost anywhere
Cons
- Screws come loose commonly
- Some models shoot far to one side
Leave feedback on this review, I'd appreciate it.
