Sear's Hobby Page

The guys at RA TECH are at it again, this time, some useful information about the internals of the G36c and their NPAs kit.

With the trigger assembly removed, I got to see how well the copper plate that engages the tappet is holding up after non-use. they usually change in color due to exposure but this one seems fine. I took a closer shot of the spur gear bushing. It's full of old grease and the black color is due to shavings or bits of metal most likely from the shell. You can also see a faint circle that marks the diameter of the spur gear.



The selector looks surprisingly good. In my first gearbox, a part of the lever broke after a month  resulting in the loss of the semi-automatic function when pulling the trigger. In terms of the metal this part is made of, it looks just the like the shell although it could be of a slightly higher grade.



Anti- reverse latch. This is about the most hated part among airsofters who work on their own guns. When I was a the bottom part of the learning curve, I could easily spend two hours trying to close the gearbox shell while keeping this part from springing out. Eventually I learned from a fellow player a neat trick: all purpose grease. Dip one end of the axle into a container of automotive grease until the axle is generously covered. When you install it in its respective hole, the grease will act like glue to keep it from popping. At first, I was worried that excessive grease will gum up this part but after countless games and about a six-month hiatus, it still functions properly.

Below is the "trigger" assembly of the gearbox. A fairly simple design, when the two copper contacts meet, an electrical charge can pass from the battery through this mechanism and onto the motor. The copper points are slightly corroded and will need to be brushed or even replaced. The wires are still intact so no need to re-solder or replace them.





And so this ends my posts on the gearbox. I am in the process of searching for an upper and lower m4 receiver with a price tag that won't break the bank. I would prefer a metal version though I can resort to a plastic one if funds or supply is short. From there, I need to work on the front end, get a new hop-up and inner barrel. Cosmetics will come last as I am more concerned with the overall performance first. One does not need floating rails and fancy attachments to make a aeg fire after all.

RA Tech has been in the thick of the GBBR scene and since I have been contemplating on getting one myself, I wanted to see what other type of adjustable NPA system they had. This one is for the KSC/KWA MP7.

I have been following Jarek4's reviews on a variety of different AEGs and GBBs. This time I saw a review of the WE G36C GBBR. When I first learned of this guns existence, I thought WE came up with the carbine version. So for now, I'll wait and cross my fingers for the time WE comes up with the "K" version.

A slow motion vid of the G36C:

This time the reveiwer checks the accuracy of the G36C:

Lately I've been noticing an increase in the prices of ACM AEGs. Yes, in terms of quality they have improved compared to the time I bought my first JG about three years ago. Despite criticism on the quality of the material they use or the accuracy of the model, the use of these guns have grown to dominate the field. But now things are different. When I last logged on to the FAS forum, I was surprised to see ACMs with price tags that rivaled that of branded models from Taiwan and Japan.

It has been awhile since I built a gun from parts. So I decided to build one from parts I already have. My goal would be to build a replica of the Knight's Armament SR-16 with a 10-inch barrel for CQB. I had a spare version 2 gearbox (from my M4) to use so I took it out of my parts bin to see what could be used and what I would need to buy ( second hand to lower the cost). With the exception of an air seal nozzle and better wiring, my old gearbox remained intact.



Considering the fact that it hasn't seen use in more than a year, the internals looked pretty good. As I will be using an old spring, I was confident that the shell would be able to handle it.




The right side of the gearbox looked pretty good too. One can see the imperfections in the casting due the flashes and uneven color of the metal. If you scroll down a bit more, you'll see why the prices of ACM were so cheap back then.




Here are some close ups of gears and anti-reverse latch. For this picture I wanted to see what the parts looked like before taking them out to be cleaned. There is a lot of crud and old grease on the ARL, but no damage.




The trigger block looks well worn and may need replacement of the contact points or at least a good cleaning. Back when I was using an M4, two to three rounds bursts instead of prolonged fire was how I played in the field. Better to shoot and scoot rather than spray and become a target for another player with an equally heavy finger.


If your're wondering what that fiber on the trigger block is, it's hair from my ever-shedding dog. Overall, everything seems intact.


The tappet plate works in the sense that I could move forward and backward. The copper contact points show no outward signs of discoloration from exposure so I think they should be fine.





I took a shot of the sector gear with the gearbox closed to see if it would wobble when turned. As far as I can tell right now, there are no major problems that I should fix, at least internally. About the only problem I need to address would be the loosened threads at the bottom of the gearbox that is used to secure the pistol grip.



As you can see, the holes for the threads are much larger than they should be. Because of the quality of the metal, the threads easily loose their teeth from repeated opening and closing of the gearbox. I addressed the problem by drilling a bigger hole to accept a thicker screw.




If you look at the hole on the upper left, that is how the thread originally looks. A part of the original screw broke off so I would need to drill it out and then make a new thread. The hole on the lower right had been worked on and is using a much larger screw. So far, it works but I need a long term solution for this. Another thing you may notice is that the seam lines running through the thread holes. Based on this photo, it appears that each side of the shell was not casted as one piece but two. Whether this had something to do with the loosening of the threads I can't say now.




This is outside of the right side of the gearbox. These lumps may have been caused by oxidation from neglect and I would need to sand off the paint to see what really happened.

So that's it for now. I have a working gearbox that needs some repairs so I don't have to worry about the pistol grip coming off during a game and I need to see what lies beneath the paint in order to assess the real state of the gearbox.

Despite the shrinking number of ACMs in the country, I stumbled on this video of one of the first ACM manufacturers, Well, come up with their own version of the WA-style M4 Gas Blowback. I'll let you be the judge on this.

Just a thought that came to my mind while watching some reviews: how important is the packaging of a product or an aftermarket part?

I've grown accustomed to seeing plain old cardboard boxes when it comes to AEGs. I like the fact that more attention is paid to making sure that the gun is safely packed it with tie downs, Styrofoam, and even bubble wrap. For  me, what's inside is what counts the most so I don't really understand how the outside would matter when someone does  a review.

For spare parts, it doesn't really matter for me as well as long as the parts are not damaged in any way. I even like it when they come in clear plastic so that I can easily see it without having to open the packaging. But hey, that's just me.

Yesterday I was busy doing some work on my wife's JG G3 A3 as I needed to install a new piston body to replace the one with the torn teeth. When all was done I put in my battery to see how well the new piston was working. Only when I was done testing did I notice this on one of the battery leads:

As you can see, the rubber insulation of the black wire was torn open. My thinking is that since the lead is quite long, it may have torn itself after being installed and removed  from the battery compartment. This is not  a major problem since I had no plans of playing this weekend and the extra time I had allowed me to fix the issue.



A close up shot of the wire revealed that not only was the insulation torn, but also the individual wires themselves were shearing. This resulted in having to shorten both wires to prevent further damaged. I also made a mental note to be more careful when putting the battery inside the compartment.

What I am surprised about is the flimsiness of the rubber insulation. It is soft and quite flexible, making me think that it could be bent without worrying about it tearing. Had I played this weekend without noticing this, the cells themselves could be damaged forcing me to buy another battery.

This is the reason many buy bar type units instead of the triple-chuck version. With so many wires, something like this is bound to happen. The one main advantage of this version is it allows each cell to cool down between shots, which in turn leads to longer life.

Our aegs basically use air to push a bb out the barrel. Can't get any simpler than that.

Yet there are times when we have our guns chronographed, we see a variance in the measurement giving us a smile, a shock of delight, or downright disappointment. And the order of those emotions also vary depending on what we see in the LCD screen first.

Ever since I started opening and upgrading my own guns, I always wondered what actually happened inside our gearboxes to understand how it works and how it affects the results we see when we measure them.

The thing about air is that it is a force of nature we need to work with and not something we can really control. True, with the correct cylinder-to-barrel ratio, coupled with a good spring, shimming, and the so-called gunsmith's magic (I wish I had this!), we can get the performance we seek.

I had a very informative discussion about this topic about a year ago with another player. Based on our talk, we learned that air moving in a barrel does not move like air that was compressed, rather it is air that is pushed by a spring and piston. Its movement can be likened to a wave or waves hitting the shoreline of a beach. Think of the beach as your inner barrel. the depth, and the width of this beach will influence how fast and how large the wave can be.

Now think of the inner barrel of your gun. Since the air is not compressed, it moves like a wave and the length and inner diameter can influence how it moves. This explains why some barrels give the bb high fps and range. Now I know that there are other factors but let's just focus on the barrel itself. There have been studies in the past regarding how a barrel's length can increase or decrease fps. One such study was made by a Japanese enthusiast who goes by the callsign Gunner Engineer. His website is unfortunately not working now (no page is displayed when I search using his old url). His findings show that the right barrel length can yield the best performance regardless of whatever spring you use (Out of respect I cannot show the saved web page until I get permission from the owner but I will type out his findings on my next blog).

So what have I learned so far? Air cannot be changed but we can the "path" in which it travels more efficient and understanding this can also help us in another department: the cost. Without having to spend so much, we can optimize what we already have to get maximum performance. To sir Zen Taurus, if you chance upon my blog, like you, I am still deep in meditation.

Here is "part 2" of WE's presentation of the G36C:

WE is really coming up with very interesting products. Now that the G36C is in production, can a K or full-sized version be available soon? Let's keep our fingers.

As promised, I finally got some shots of my G3's inner barrel and hop up assembly. The barrel's inner diameter is at 6.08mm. It has remained free of scratches or any sort of debris from BBs or dirt. Because of its 506mm length, it's relatively easy to outrange an M4 carbine and the BB's flight is quite accurate without having to resort to a tight bore barrel.







Hop up assembly. This is the left and right side of the hop up unit. The large drum is the adjuster. When turned, it adjusts the height of the hop up arm concentrically instead of the traditional gears found on most M4s. Sensitivity depends largely on the hop up nub. With a stock nub, I would say a few turns going up gives the BB a good spin. Incidentally, I use Golden Ball BBs. Aside from price, I noted that they tend to fly straighter compared to ICS, the first brand of BBs I used when I started playing. With ICS, the BB tends to fly upwards when they reach their maximum effective range.





Close up of the hole where the air seal nozzle goes in. One thing I noticed with the G3, the inner barrel assembly tends to "follow" the gearbox when taking the gun apart. I have two G3s and this happens on both guns.




This is where the BBs enters. Because of it's one-piece construction, one doesn't have to worry about air leaks from this part of the hop up. At the most, you just have to make sure that the hop up rubber maintains its shape while inside the hop up chamber.




Even after a year of use, no signs of wear and tear are visible.





I tried to get a shot of the inner barrel but I couldn't get the right angle. From this shot you can slightly see the end of the hop up rubber. It's in need of replacement by the way, as there is a small bit of the rubber sticking out from the top left side of the chamber.

Overall, I am very pleased with how my gun has worked. Except for its size, its very user-friendly even in CQB gamesites. I have been playing in CXG for the past couple of weeks and aftter getting used to tight spots and corners, I can say it's playable.

On the other hand, this is a gun built for the field. If you like taking long range shots as a sniper or machine gunner, in its stock form this gun won't disappoint. The range does depend on the state of your hop up and the quality of the BBs that you use. My only regret for this review was not being able to compile any sort of performance data to give me a better picture.

With the stock gearbox, I have used TU (125 and 130 versions) and Guarder (110 and 120) springs without any problems with cracks due to the use of strong springs. The only issue I currently have is that one of the threads for the screws used to join the gearbox and pistol grip has loosened.


NOTES:

As I stated earlier, I also own a G3A3, the non-RAS version. Yesterday I decided to open the gearbox to see how the internals were doing. Like the RAS, no visible damage can be seen on the gears, the gearbox shell, or the electricals so it seems that all is well and good....








...After I test fired it with a lipoly battery. This gun has not seen action in the past couple of months and since this G3A3 has been with me for about 2 years, my theory is that the plastice piston body became brittle from non use. I cannot say that this is the only cause of the damage. As you can see, I removed the second and third tooth to prevent pre-cranking. Is it possible that I have shaved too much material to the point I compromised the structure? I don't think so since the RAS also had this same treatment on its piston body.





Even though the piston body is no longer usable, the fact that it lasted two years with a variety of springs is a testament to the gun's durability. Would I recommend this aeg? If you're tired of using US weaponry and want to try something else, YES. Some would say it belongs on the field but for me, it all boils down to where you want to play and how you adapt to the environment. To those who have read this review, I would appreciate your comments and opinions.

After several posts, I realized that I cannot keep everything in one blog so I am moving some of my posts to a new one I am setting up. For those who wish to see more than just my hobby, please follow the link below:

http://benji-transistor.blogspot.com/

NOTE:  Right now, things are a bit of a mess. If you go to that new blog of mine, the movie order got mixed up. This is what happens when you create something new at 3:55am Philippine time.

One of the things I enjoy about the weekend is playing airsoft. Earlier I spent the day exchanging fire using plastic bullets. I also spent the better part of the day getting hit rather than getting some under my belt. When that happens I ask myself what went wrong and how I could've prevented such a mistake.

During one of the briefings prior to each scenario, the marshal would remind us of calling ourselves "out" whenever we get hit or even suspect we got hit. It's a basic rule in the hobby: when you get hit call it. One thing I can never understand is why some don't call their hits and continue to play. Yes it can hurt but it's not a real kill and the only thing that can hurt is your ego.

I am writing this because we tend to forget that this is the best way of improving. When you make a mistake it's a very effective way of learning. Knowing where the shot came from and what you did to make yourself a target makes you think of what you did and what you shouldn't have done. In the end, everyone one wins. You improve and you up the ante in the level of the game.

Let's put it this way: at the end of the day, I can assure you that you will be sharing more laughs and insights about what happened. You make  friends instead of enemies and you are left with a feeling of anticipation for the next chance to play to apply what you have learned.

Masks down my friends, lets all have fun.

Last weekend I decided to give my gearbox a once over and to show what it looks like after a year of use. Since I started using a lipoly battery, I wanted to see how the internals stood up after about 1500 bbs.





Left side of the gearbox. It still uses the stock cut-off lever and has worked without any problems. Normally, the semi-automatic function goes away pretty quick but fortunately, the lever showed no visible cracks or fine lines. By the way, the gearbox originally used plastic bushings, 7mm in diameter. This was strange since the G3A3 uses 6mm bushings. Like the cut-off lever, no cracks were seen. About the only problem is that one of the threads for the screws that join the pistol grip to the lower part of the gearbox has lost its "teeth" so only one screw works.  It's good to know that on the G3, the pistol grip also slots onto a groove on the back of the trigger guard.




The right side of the gearbox. If you look at the lower right, you can see a circular mark made by the bevel gear. I believe this is due to a worn shim and needs to be replaced. Also seen is one of the 7mm bushings. Despite the grimy look, it still in good shape. It's also worth noting that the hole where the bushing is placed is slightly tighter therefore when the gearbox is opened, the bushing stays in place. On the left side, I noted the same case for the spur gear's hole. Also included in the shot is the tappet plate spring, which has maintained its tension with no visible signs of stretching.



The Spur gear. From the picture itself, one can note wear at the edge of the gear just before the teeth. The teeth themselves appear rounded. I'm not sure if this is because if this has anything to do with the fact I stuck with the stock battery for a year and switched to lipolies simply because the I wanted to use stock components for as long as possible.


The Sector gear. The stock sector gear comes with a sector chip to control how the tappet plate is pulled during the compression stroke. The metal bushing is shown on the gear's axle. The marks are not from use but rather from times the gears were being aligned to their respective holes. Don't ask me how many times I've opened gearbox as I would classify myself as constant tinkerer.



The Bevel gear. This is the only gear that did was changed. Although not pictured, this gear comes with ball bearings on the left side of its axle. It came from my old M4 and didn't see that much use until I transferred it to the G3.  There are some slight marks on the teeth but not real wear or damage. How is this gear compared to one without any bearings? To be honest, I did not note any significant difference in performance.


Spring and spring guide. Originally I thought that the RAS model came with a metal spring guide until I remembered yesterday that came with a plastic version which I switched out the first time I opened it. The spring in the picture is a Guarder SP110. As I mentioned earlier, the G3 has gone through more than one spring upgrade. First it was a Tactical Unlimited 125, which gave the gun an average of 435 fps using the stock barrel and type 2 cylinder. At that time I was playing in the field with open fps rules. Then there was the TU130. I don't know exactly how strong this spring is. I once fired at Gatorade metal bottle cap at point blank. It made a hole though the bb did not go completely through. In some local airsoft forums, the TU130 did not get any stars as it was said that there were some issues regarding quality control. As I do not have any solid evidence to support or counter this, I won't go any further than what I have said. Suffice to say I have no problems with TU springs, they are reasonably priced and friendly on stock gears.


Tappet plate. Again no visible signs of stress or breaks. Same goes for the air seal nozzle. One thing I noticed when I first took the gun apart, the inner barrel and hop up assembly would move with when I slide the lower receiver out from the upper. I guess that means there is a good seal with no issues with air leaks.


Cylinder and cylinder head. After about 4 games, I switched to a type 0 cylinder. The original unit had a square hole. Stock fps using this and the original spring was at 380. Since the SP110 has already settled, I got 390 fps using the type 0 cylinder.