Help with choosing new RIF

[steverebo]

Ok I'm stuck between 3 guns that are within my current budget they are:

G&G warthog GC6 9"

Action Army nemesis LS12 

Ares type X M4 9"

I wanted to also know if the action army is easy to upgrade with titan or perun with faster gears.

If I went for the warthog I have a perun v2 hybrid I can install in it.

I know the Ares is a nightmare to upgrade so that would stay stock.

 

[Speedbird_666]

Action Army? You mean Classic Army right?

I wouldn't buy any of them TBH.

Reasons:

- G&G. Pretty much a mildly-upgraded £150 Combat Machine stuffed into a metal body with a stupid price tag. Desperately lacking in features for the cost (no QC Spring for example). G&G are rapidly pricing themselves out of the market, especially as they have recently announced new price increases across the board.

- Classic Army. Struggling to stay relevant in a world full of decent replicas. I hear that the compression parts on the higher-end models might be 'bore up' sized, if so upgrade/replacement options might be limited. Not 100% on that though, so I suggest a bit of research first.

- Ares is just, well, Ares. Proprietary wank with questionable reliability on the internals. Looks good on the outside though .

For similar money you could be buying Kytac, KWA, or higher-end ICS - each admittedly have their own proprietary 'quirks' but have better support than Classic Army/Ares.

If you are planning to perform serious upgrades to any gun you buy, there's not much point pitching your budget where you are at the moment. May as well buy a cheaper gun from the outset and build it how you want it.

But you won't do that. Because this is Airsoft. And people never want to hear sensible ideas.

 

[steverebo]

Action Army? You mean Classic Army right?

I wouldn't buy any of them TBH.

Reasons:

- G&G. Pretty much a mildly-upgraded £150 Combat Machine stuffed into a metal body with a stupid price tag. Desperately lacking in features for the cost (no QC Spring for example). G&G are rapidly pricing themselves out of the market, especially as they have recently announced new price increases across the board.

- Classic Army. Struggling to stay relevant in a world full of decent replicas. I hear that the compression parts on the higher-end models might be 'bore up' sized, if so upgrade/replacement options might be limited. Not 100% on that though, so I suggest a bit of research first.

- Ares is just, well, Ares. Proprietary wank with questionable reliability on the internals. Looks good on the outside though .

For similar money you could be buying Kytac, KWA, or higher-end ICS - each admittedly have their own proprietary 'quirks' but have better support than Classic Army/Ares.

If you are planning to perform serious upgrades to any gun you buy, there's not much point pitching your budget where you are at the moment. May as well buy a cheaper gun from the outset and build it how you want it.

But you won't do that. Because this is Airsoft. And people never want to hear sensible ideas.

Nope I am well up for that idea I've just struggled to find an all metal RIF with a decent gearbox that I can gut and upgrade myself but i am open to any recommendations.

I had bad experiences with specna arms so I have pretty much ruled them out. I absolutely love the look of the classic army and Ares and love the locking back bolt catch but they are at the upper end of my budget and the ares is proprietary and I have been told the internals might be a bit shite.

Ideally I want a nice shell with gearbox that isn't made of paper that I can install higher end parts in

 

[Skara]

Ideally I want a nice shell with gearbox that isn't made of paper that I can install higher end parts in

Then Ares needs to fuck off..

G&G's new combat machines have really good polymer bodies that look decent too! Internally, while not on par with Specna/Evolution/Saigo they're still standard V2 so you can upgrade them as you like.

 

[steverebo]

I had a specna edge 1st gen and the gearbox cracked and blew the piston out after a few skirmishes which is why I kind of ruled them out. 

Is the edge V2 any better or does it still use the shit gearbox?

The Classic Army in dark bronze does look beautiful and the body locking mechanism is nice I have just never touched one before I've only ever teched in a cyma, specna arms and g&g u can get the Classic Army for around £350 with a discount I have for surplus store but I ideally want to rip it all out and upgrade it so a cheaper one would make more sense 

 

[Lozart]

I had a specna edge 1st gen and the gearbox cracked and blew the piston out after a few skirmishes which is why I kind of ruled them out. 

Is the edge V2 any better or does it still use the shit gearbox?

Get a Specna One series instead. Way better.

 

[Speedbird_666]

Is the edge V2 any better or does it still use the shit gearbox?

By all accounts minor component changes, but I think the shell is the same.

E&C produce some of the Specna line (maybe the One or A series?). E&C-based guns are pretty good. My Specna V1 Edge now has been running an E&C 'box for a while. With a couple of shims and a re-grease it's working pretty nicely and a worthy upgrade base.

 

[steverebo]

So I have done some looking around and I have found the specna arms SA-H12 that is all metal with E&C gearbox.

Has anyone had a play with this and what do they think of the quality? 

 

[Velaryon]

Get a Specna One series instead. Way better.

What's the difference internally? Better grarbox shell or something? I thought that the new Edge 2.0 were the current top-tier for Specna, but I've seen contradicting reports saying that ONE series are still above them in terms of quality, both internal and external. It's a mess.

 

[Lozart]

What's the difference internally? Better grarbox shell or something? I thought that the new Edge 2.0 were the current top-tier for Specna, but I've seen contradicting reports saying that ONE series are still above them in terms of quality, both internal and external. It's a mess.

The One series is the original range that established Specna as worth looking at (I have an SA-A03 I've had since 2016). They were made by E&C and branded by Specna Arms. When the later series of guns like the Edge and Core came out they switched OEM manufacturer and went with the Orion gearbox that should have been great but early models suffered from a lot of issues.

Through decent engagement with their customer base and feedback from their fairly extensive endorsement program they addressed a lot of the issues with the gearbox but there are still a number of niggles. That said a lot of the "don't buy SA they're shit" comes from people that bought the original Edge series or heard things about them on the internet and repeated them as fact.

Strictly, yes the Edge 2.0 is their "top tier" model but the remaining niggles do make it worth considering the One series (which I believe is still OEM'd by E&C) as it has a more "standard" gearbox that is less prone to issues and is cheaper/easier to fix if it does have problems.

So I have done some looking around and I have found the specna arms SA-H12 that is all metal with E&C gearbox.

Has anyone had a play with this and what do they think of the quality? 

Mate had one for a while before HPA'ing it. It was pretty decent, certainly on a par with my SA-A03. I don't seem to recall it having feeding issues like the Edge 2.0 versions either.