Jeep's guide on Support gun replicas and mini multi review:
Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:23 am
This was one of my responses to another forums post on airsoft machine guns, I put some time into it and it turned out pretty informative so I am cross posting it here. In my opinion, for what its worth with either personal experience on the field with the replicas or I own them my self unless noted. I have done a whole lot of searching question asking a borrowing on the field before I bought my replicas. I realize that you only asked about M249s but here is a over view of what is available. It is my hope that this will answer any questions you have and anyone else that used the search function as well in the future.
TSD/SCR RPK, great if it fits your load out, the only issues I have had involve poor gearbox grease from the factory and the fact I have replaced the lower receiver four times as the stock keeps busting off if you look at it wrong. I have in excess of 50000 Bbs through it in the last couple of years. It has been been factory rebuilt once in that period of time. There is a review of this replica on this forum. Real sword, Classic army and Inokatsu all make RPKs as well, I have no experience with them.
STAR M60E4/ Mk43, (ARES) Fantastic replica, much better than the abortion they call a M249, Nearly all made of Aluminum with some ballistic nylon parts externally. It has a poly carbonate gearbox similar but NOT identical to the M249. this mech box has a two position spring guide, position one is longer and more relaxed, this reduces gearbox strain, increased ROF at the cost of some velocity. Postion two chokes the spring up to roughly the length of a "normal AEG" this increases velocity and slows the ROF down a little. It is suggested to run this AEG on a 9.6 battery. However it is blessed with the WORST sucktastic box magazine ever to grace a machine gun replica. It is BAD on a new level of BAD, making the replica all but unusable in stock form. The magazine feeds so intermittently that it will dry fire a lot. Quick fix is to run it on a 8.4 volt battery and run the spring choked up in position two. A more involved fix is a sector chip and gutting the boxmag and replacing internals. Good news they are a bargain right now for as low as $350, look at the STARthread on this forum to get a jest of what you are getting into. Just expect to spend some money on magazine repairs/ upgrades. This is a great budget support replica. My review is on going at c3airsoft
Ares is making the same replica but have improved it with a metal mech box, a new box magazine, they are also making these available as replacement parts for those of us with the STAR version in the near future. Either buy the ARES build or plan on rebuilding the STAR's powered magazine. ARES Representative has made it clear to me that ARES is the manufacture not a re brander of STAR replicas. They are well aware of the deficiencies on the replicas labeled by STAR and are taking steps to correct their products made from the same pattern, different but the same.
A&K/ECHO1 M249 Fantastic budget support (clone) replica patterned after the CA replica, may need some immediate upgrades to last the abuse a support gunner will put it through. Some feeding issues in the feed tube and trigger switch contact problems. Easy change out springs to quickly change velocity is a nice feature. These are the SAME replica, ECHO 1 just adds a extra layer of quality assurance to the product, A&K adds a gun spiffy gun case to hold your broken replica. Honestly, any support gun is going to need repair sooner or latter, most of them will need some upgrades right away, This Replica goes for as low as $250 giving you $220-$500 worth of upgrades before you start competing with more expensive replicas like CA and TOP and nearly $1000 before Inokatsu, VFC and Shoei start to compete price wise. Even if you get a lemon you are still way ahead money wise so they really are a bargain. So much so that I broke down and bought one for $180 at E hobbies Asia. I will amend my experiences in the future. In the mean time here is a fantastic review by Far East over at Arnies
Full stock
para stock
X Ranger stock (I have a image I just got to find it)
Classic ARMY, M249s, With out question, these are THE platform which most players build support guns, Much better than top or Star, more affordable than Inokatsu and Escort. My only concern is CA once again lost their quality control in the move to main land China. Still a bit pricey when compared to the clone M249. Box magazine that feeds reliable is a big plus.
M4 stocked M249 image goes here
STAR M249, Described as so bad at Arnie's, that anyone handling one should wash their hands in turpentine! I have only seen three of these, they were all broken, I don't have any trigger time because they were all broken. Wild monkey makes a metal mech box replacement but the largely plastic gun body tends to fail spectacularly.
It says something that ARES is not producing their own version of this replica M249 (FN MINIMI), because it has to many problems with it. They are however making a Mk48, Which is a Navy SEAL version that is chambered for 7.62x39 and a MK46 (Navy M249) and buried under a RIS I am not sure it is related to the older STAR M249 though as It is new and I have NO experience with the ARES MK46/mk48other than it exists. Look real careful at the front of the body you will see the difference between the M249/FN Minimi and the mk46/48 Also shown in the images is ARES replacement MK43/M60E4 components
STAR L86, like most STAR replicas, the guy I know had to put a lot of time and money into it. It still problematic. Reoccurring air nozzle problems causing a leak near the hop up chamber. Once again this replica is also available form ARES, which has tweaked it internally.
TOP M60, M249s EVERYBODY I have shared the field with that has one of these has ditched the bellows system for aftermarket AEG V3 mech boxes. Figure this into the cost of owning one as it is all but necessary for reliable operation. The bellows system is a strange concept that should have stayed a concept. Once the bellows tears (common) you are basically screwed. Bicycle inner tube rubber makes a good hop up bucking replacement. Nice externals and the only alternative to Inokatsu and Escort if you need a VN era M60. Airsoft Pacific has this TOP buyers guide that is pretty informative. Great externals, and most of the internal issues have been worked out with upgrade parts. Again this is a good budget support replica but there are cheaper alternatives.
Inokatsu, VFC, Shoei, ESCORT, and other very high end replica manufactures. lots of off the wall rare support guns here, M60s, M240 (FN MAG) , RPK, M249, MG34, MG42 but who can afford them? Not me. No experience using one of these.
Airsharp, Killbucket has made a lot of off the wall replicas, including a how too on how to make a hk21 out of G3, Airsharp markets plans, kits and ready to go support guns of the M1917, M1919 and M2 HMGs. Early replicas were AGM and CYMA M14s torn down and upgraded at the heart of the custom builds, latter builds are upgraded M249 mechanism (new not gun tear downs) He also has at least three types on miniguns.
There are several enthusiast that have built support gun replicas that are not available normally, if you search you can find M2 HMG (powder by compress gas) MG34, MG42s, Stoner 63's, and even PKMs or on the easier end of the spectrum, lots of MG36s (G36 modifications and Styer AUG LSW (a long replacement barrel on a AUG with bipod) have been done. Just beware that some larger airsoft events restrict machine gun type to more commonly used to differentiate the difference in replicas. the fact is HK21s, Mg36, L86, AUG LSW , and the M16 Shrike are just assault rifles with heavy barrels and a C MAG. In effect these are either low production or one off replicas that are complete custom builds.
A word on mini guns: echo and other manufactures, expensive, complex and WHY! Unless you are building a fortification, tank, APC or helicopter gunship these don't do anything but break in really cool ways. Overtly, complex, heavy and very very expensive. So expensive you could own any 4 other replicas mentioned above minimum for the cost of one mini gun.
Based on my experience, ANY of the above replicas can be made into good reliable high rate of fire BB throwers, ALL of them will need attention of some sort to stand the pounding of sustained fire. If you don't do some careful upgrading to be able to fire sustained bursts of at least 14 secs then you only have a big, heavy, awkward AEG just like any other AEG with a Cmag on it. Pay particular attention to magazine feed issues, big batteries and use of MOFSET switches, The mech boxes may not necessarily need high speed gears (may cause feed problems if the box magazine can't keep up) But your shimming needs to be spot on, maintenance is a must even more so than a normal AEG. Also look for metal (reinforced gear box cases and metal bushings or large metal 8mm bearings. bearing spring guides and padded piston heads are often suggested, Anything that can reduce stresses and increase the easy in which the mechbox cycles are good things. Crazy ROF and high accuracy while nice. If is far more important for a support replica to feed consistently and for long periods of time (15 secs or so per burst). The goal here is to patter BBs off the oppositions cover and keep their heads down while your own team moves or to but a hail storm down of BB fire into a beaten zone between the enemies cover so they DON"T move around. In the end unless you do a lot of extra upgrades a AEG will perform the same regardless of what funny looking shape it is in. As far as upgrades go you need to decide that load out and role you wish to portray and how you want to AEG to perform in that role keeping in mind and field rules and any laws you must obey if your happen to live in one of the many Peoples Democratic Republic Workers Paradises of Unspecifiedistan. (PDRWPofU)
TSD/SCR RPK, great if it fits your load out, the only issues I have had involve poor gearbox grease from the factory and the fact I have replaced the lower receiver four times as the stock keeps busting off if you look at it wrong. I have in excess of 50000 Bbs through it in the last couple of years. It has been been factory rebuilt once in that period of time. There is a review of this replica on this forum. Real sword, Classic army and Inokatsu all make RPKs as well, I have no experience with them.
STAR M60E4/ Mk43, (ARES) Fantastic replica, much better than the abortion they call a M249, Nearly all made of Aluminum with some ballistic nylon parts externally. It has a poly carbonate gearbox similar but NOT identical to the M249. this mech box has a two position spring guide, position one is longer and more relaxed, this reduces gearbox strain, increased ROF at the cost of some velocity. Postion two chokes the spring up to roughly the length of a "normal AEG" this increases velocity and slows the ROF down a little. It is suggested to run this AEG on a 9.6 battery. However it is blessed with the WORST sucktastic box magazine ever to grace a machine gun replica. It is BAD on a new level of BAD, making the replica all but unusable in stock form. The magazine feeds so intermittently that it will dry fire a lot. Quick fix is to run it on a 8.4 volt battery and run the spring choked up in position two. A more involved fix is a sector chip and gutting the boxmag and replacing internals. Good news they are a bargain right now for as low as $350, look at the STARthread on this forum to get a jest of what you are getting into. Just expect to spend some money on magazine repairs/ upgrades. This is a great budget support replica. My review is on going at c3airsoft
Ares is making the same replica but have improved it with a metal mech box, a new box magazine, they are also making these available as replacement parts for those of us with the STAR version in the near future. Either buy the ARES build or plan on rebuilding the STAR's powered magazine. ARES Representative has made it clear to me that ARES is the manufacture not a re brander of STAR replicas. They are well aware of the deficiencies on the replicas labeled by STAR and are taking steps to correct their products made from the same pattern, different but the same.
A&K/ECHO1 M249 Fantastic budget support (clone) replica patterned after the CA replica, may need some immediate upgrades to last the abuse a support gunner will put it through. Some feeding issues in the feed tube and trigger switch contact problems. Easy change out springs to quickly change velocity is a nice feature. These are the SAME replica, ECHO 1 just adds a extra layer of quality assurance to the product, A&K adds a gun spiffy gun case to hold your broken replica. Honestly, any support gun is going to need repair sooner or latter, most of them will need some upgrades right away, This Replica goes for as low as $250 giving you $220-$500 worth of upgrades before you start competing with more expensive replicas like CA and TOP and nearly $1000 before Inokatsu, VFC and Shoei start to compete price wise. Even if you get a lemon you are still way ahead money wise so they really are a bargain. So much so that I broke down and bought one for $180 at E hobbies Asia. I will amend my experiences in the future. In the mean time here is a fantastic review by Far East over at Arnies
Full stock
para stock
X Ranger stock (I have a image I just got to find it)
Classic ARMY, M249s, With out question, these are THE platform which most players build support guns, Much better than top or Star, more affordable than Inokatsu and Escort. My only concern is CA once again lost their quality control in the move to main land China. Still a bit pricey when compared to the clone M249. Box magazine that feeds reliable is a big plus.
M4 stocked M249 image goes here
STAR M249, Described as so bad at Arnie's, that anyone handling one should wash their hands in turpentine! I have only seen three of these, they were all broken, I don't have any trigger time because they were all broken. Wild monkey makes a metal mech box replacement but the largely plastic gun body tends to fail spectacularly.
It says something that ARES is not producing their own version of this replica M249 (FN MINIMI), because it has to many problems with it. They are however making a Mk48, Which is a Navy SEAL version that is chambered for 7.62x39 and a MK46 (Navy M249) and buried under a RIS I am not sure it is related to the older STAR M249 though as It is new and I have NO experience with the ARES MK46/mk48other than it exists. Look real careful at the front of the body you will see the difference between the M249/FN Minimi and the mk46/48 Also shown in the images is ARES replacement MK43/M60E4 components
STAR L86, like most STAR replicas, the guy I know had to put a lot of time and money into it. It still problematic. Reoccurring air nozzle problems causing a leak near the hop up chamber. Once again this replica is also available form ARES, which has tweaked it internally.
TOP M60, M249s EVERYBODY I have shared the field with that has one of these has ditched the bellows system for aftermarket AEG V3 mech boxes. Figure this into the cost of owning one as it is all but necessary for reliable operation. The bellows system is a strange concept that should have stayed a concept. Once the bellows tears (common) you are basically screwed. Bicycle inner tube rubber makes a good hop up bucking replacement. Nice externals and the only alternative to Inokatsu and Escort if you need a VN era M60. Airsoft Pacific has this TOP buyers guide that is pretty informative. Great externals, and most of the internal issues have been worked out with upgrade parts. Again this is a good budget support replica but there are cheaper alternatives.
Inokatsu, VFC, Shoei, ESCORT, and other very high end replica manufactures. lots of off the wall rare support guns here, M60s, M240 (FN MAG) , RPK, M249, MG34, MG42 but who can afford them? Not me. No experience using one of these.
Airsharp, Killbucket has made a lot of off the wall replicas, including a how too on how to make a hk21 out of G3, Airsharp markets plans, kits and ready to go support guns of the M1917, M1919 and M2 HMGs. Early replicas were AGM and CYMA M14s torn down and upgraded at the heart of the custom builds, latter builds are upgraded M249 mechanism (new not gun tear downs) He also has at least three types on miniguns.
There are several enthusiast that have built support gun replicas that are not available normally, if you search you can find M2 HMG (powder by compress gas) MG34, MG42s, Stoner 63's, and even PKMs or on the easier end of the spectrum, lots of MG36s (G36 modifications and Styer AUG LSW (a long replacement barrel on a AUG with bipod) have been done. Just beware that some larger airsoft events restrict machine gun type to more commonly used to differentiate the difference in replicas. the fact is HK21s, Mg36, L86, AUG LSW , and the M16 Shrike are just assault rifles with heavy barrels and a C MAG. In effect these are either low production or one off replicas that are complete custom builds.
A word on mini guns: echo and other manufactures, expensive, complex and WHY! Unless you are building a fortification, tank, APC or helicopter gunship these don't do anything but break in really cool ways. Overtly, complex, heavy and very very expensive. So expensive you could own any 4 other replicas mentioned above minimum for the cost of one mini gun.
Based on my experience, ANY of the above replicas can be made into good reliable high rate of fire BB throwers, ALL of them will need attention of some sort to stand the pounding of sustained fire. If you don't do some careful upgrading to be able to fire sustained bursts of at least 14 secs then you only have a big, heavy, awkward AEG just like any other AEG with a Cmag on it. Pay particular attention to magazine feed issues, big batteries and use of MOFSET switches, The mech boxes may not necessarily need high speed gears (may cause feed problems if the box magazine can't keep up) But your shimming needs to be spot on, maintenance is a must even more so than a normal AEG. Also look for metal (reinforced gear box cases and metal bushings or large metal 8mm bearings. bearing spring guides and padded piston heads are often suggested, Anything that can reduce stresses and increase the easy in which the mechbox cycles are good things. Crazy ROF and high accuracy while nice. If is far more important for a support replica to feed consistently and for long periods of time (15 secs or so per burst). The goal here is to patter BBs off the oppositions cover and keep their heads down while your own team moves or to but a hail storm down of BB fire into a beaten zone between the enemies cover so they DON"T move around. In the end unless you do a lot of extra upgrades a AEG will perform the same regardless of what funny looking shape it is in. As far as upgrades go you need to decide that load out and role you wish to portray and how you want to AEG to perform in that role keeping in mind and field rules and any laws you must obey if your happen to live in one of the many Peoples Democratic Republic Workers Paradises of Unspecifiedistan. (PDRWPofU)