Missing Links in Airsoft?

[THE CHIEF]

Airsoft is a funny old game. I got into it purely by accident. I'm a model and prop maker by trade and picked up a couple for projects well before the vcra. It was a way to get hold of otherwise unobtainable firearm replicas or certainly much cheaper than deactivated weapons. Over the years they have covered most of the mainstream weapons but there are quite a few missing links in the chain. Now with a sea of armalite derivatives and G&G's campaign of 9mm everything its looking like the mainstream manufacturers are perhaps tightening their focus. But in a world of so many guns I wonder why some have been ignored. Examples... 

Modernised FA-MAS, or at least a stanag version. 

Any HK machine gun

British Gpmg or bren

Now I'm not suggesting that Marui start turning out calico's by the thousands but how about a TM makarov or PPK? Would these not sell? I have perhaps a bias to historic weapons but I'm sure there are other modern weapons that are ripe for replicating. So what's missing? 

 

[GenuineGerman]

I would love to see a GMPG/FN MAG 

 

[DerDer]

SKS rifle, whether it be an Aeg or GBBR, seems sorely missed. 

 

[Adolf Hamster]

tbh it's a wonder there's as much variety as there is in airsoft, but there are plenty of guns that aren't catered to.

the bren is a good example (although afaik there is a zb26 out there) and the sks.

the makarov at least has a decent offering in the WE version, doesn't like the cold but with a little tweaking it's a very passable gat as a holster-filler.

not just guns either, optics, especially russian ones (that aren't a PSO) are quite poorly covered with only a couple of decent clones for the likes of the PK-A or Kobra. fortunately this is balanced by the real ones being both available and not insanely expensive as RS optics go.

i think the problem is it's just so easy to do AR variants, mill out a worn-out mould to a chunkier style, change the handguard/stock and bam you have a "new" gun (psst, it's still an AR....)

also how has nobody done a G11? that must surely be one of the easiest wacky aeg's you could make.....

 

[Cromulon1994]

tbh it's a wonder there's as much variety as there is in airsoft, but there are plenty of guns that aren't catered to.

the bren is a good example (although afaik there is a zb26 out there) and the sks.

the makarov at least has a decent offering in the WE version, doesn't like the cold but with a little tweaking it's a very passable gat as a holster-filler.

not just guns either, optics, especially russian ones (that aren't a PSO) are quite poorly covered with only a couple of decent clones for the likes of the PK-A or Kobra. fortunately this is balanced by the real ones being both available and not insanely expensive as RS optics go.

i think the problem is it's just so easy to do AR variants, mill out a worn-out mould to a chunkier style, change the handguard/stock and bam you have a "new" gun (psst, it's still an AR....)

also how has nobody done a G11? that must surely be one of the easiest wacky aeg's you could make.....

Asahi made at least one G11 in the late 90s.

Obviously there was no interest. Black ops hadn't been released.

There's lots of cool guns out there. 

The Japanese market where most designs originate is a little different to ours. The Japanese don't really care what someone in Europe or the US want.

Also Tokyo Marui is the equivalent in Japan of JG or Cyma. Budget entry level.

It does appear there are fewer options out there now. I started Raresoft and honestly we can't get the stuff in quick enough, there's blatantly a demand for it.

However... as a community I feel people have  become very accustomed to "raven glock price tags" and it's almost become a race to the bottom with some retailers/manufacturers.

There are some things that should be made as they would sell.

AR18s, a gas spas 12 with more metal parts, a metal micro uzi pistol, FG42.

 

[Adolf Hamster]

Asahi made at least one G11 in the late 90s.

Obviously there was no interest. Black ops hadn't been released.

yeah, this is my thinking with the g11, prominently featured in a mainstream video game is enough to get a lot of guns made (eg the ww1 surge after bf1 released) but despite the g11 being surely an easy gun to mass produce being literally a plastic box it hasn't happened.

However... as a community I feel people have  become very accustomed to "raven glock price tags" and it's almost become a race to the bottom with some retailers/manufacturers.

i do agree there, the budget end is extremely well catered for but it seems the higher end stuff can have quite the limitations.

but then i suppose what premium stuff is on the market (like the higher end gbbr's and systema's) proves the market really doesn't want to support such things.

 

[THE CHIEF]

I'm surprised there aren't more type 56's around, I believe it was just the real sword available. 

There are some truly iconic gun missing. It's a pity no one cloned the TM uzi. I know there is a gas one coming at some point but AEG's will always sell better. 

A newly tooled gas spas would be lovely!

Im thinking more along the lines of mass produced weapons like the sks rather than a G11 or AN94. 

I was rather hoping after marui gave the MP7 the gas treatment they would do the same for the mac10. But there appears to be no interest in it. 

 

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

JAC made an AR18.

I'd love an SKS, and the Type 56 would be great as an AEG.  I suppose that an AK47 passes the 'close enough to do' test for many though.  

I'd love an M44 Mosin. Not sure that anyone does an airsoft version.  

 

[ak2m4]

Massive production costs together with low margins I imagine.  Also licensing costs for the Taiwanese and Japanese perhaps.  

 

[PopRocket123]

What I wouldn't give for a Ruger mini 14. And if GHK could make a GBBR FAMAS that'd be great. 

 

[Tackle]

+1 on the mini 14, I'd be all over that.

 

[rj1986]

I want more:

- retro handguns - Jericho 941, S&W 4506, more slab sided revolvers.

- LMGs - decent m240's, mk48s

- Gas shotties that aren't just a m870 with rails - spas12, M3, M4

The fact there's now a GBB PSG1 gives me a glimmer of hope

 

[Crazy_Crystal]

For me it's a general lack of S&W pistols besides the really rare WA ones... Something like the 5906 for example... 

But it's unlikely to ever happen unfortunately.

 

[Speedbird_666]

What I wouldn't give for a Ruger mini 14. And if GHK could make a GBBR FAMAS that'd be great. 

Yeh, but it's got to be finished in silver, a folding stock, and come with a cigar in the box.

View attachment 70408

 

[Cromulon1994]

JAC made an AR18.

I'd love an SKS, and the Type 56 would be great as an AEG.  I suppose that an AK47 passes the 'close enough to do' test for many though.  

I'd love an M44 Mosin. Not sure that anyone does an airsoft version.  

I know JAC made an AR18... I have one, but an AEG version is needed. The JAC is plastic whereas a stamped steel one would be nice.

 

[DerDer]

Umarex/VFC are coming out with a MG4. Perhaps we will get a Negev or a HK21 down the line? 

 

[PureSilver]

Any HK machine gun

VFC have just announced an MG4.

British Gpmg or bren

I would love to see a GMPG/FN MAG 

There is obviously the gorgeous, albeit very elderly, Inokatsu FN MAG and M240. You can still easily get the significantly less expensive "Echo1" M240.

What I wouldn't give for a Ruger mini 14. And if GHK could make a GBBR FAMAS that'd be great. 

I'd kill for a GBB Mini-14. If GHK's quality control and manufacturing departments could get their f***ing act together that'd be great too.

 

[EvilMonkee]

JAC made an AR18.

I'd love an SKS, and the Type 56 would be great as an AEG.  I suppose that an AK47 passes the 'close enough to do' test for many though.  

I'd love an M44 Mosin. Not sure that anyone does an airsoft version.  

 Wingun do a M44 Mosin in Co2 - its actually quite good but has a fixed hop up - Google for retailers.  Costs around £250

 

[Ebeneezer Goode]

***Warning - SciFi geek alert***

-The Snow Wolf M41A is crying out for a functional MOSCART launcher (relocate battery elsewhere - block/crane instead). It's just not the same without one... plus more ergonomic and practical mags! Current ones are a faff which puts me off getting what's probably my dream rifle (stocks non-existent anywhere anyway).

-MG42-based M56 Smartgun. With articulated arm & breastplate of course.

-Generally more sci-fi stuff. Was watching Deep Space 9 the other night, some tasty looking laser rifles in use. Crying out for airsoft versions. As nice as they are, there's just too many M4/16/AR15s and AKs!

 

[FreeFrag.UK]

Wishlist.

At the moment I'd love to see a return of a decent line of FAL's, specifically an L1A1 SLR. If the Ares was half the price then I'd probably grab it simply due to a lack of options but given the plethora of known issues it's a firm pass.

Admittedly I wouldn't mind picking up an M-16A2 but these seem nigh impossible to find, especially with trades.

I'd love to see a GPMG/FN Mag but if I'm being completely honest I probably wouldn't buy one myself.

I'd like to see a decent Browning Hi-Power but based on the most recent WE Hi-Power Mk.3 I suspect it's another case of keep on dreaming.

I can think of a few other hand guns I wouldn't mind seeing (be it due to them not being produced or due to wanting to see it from a better manufacturer) such as a Tokyo Marui Sig P228 or P229.

Beyond that the main stuff on my wishlist would be accessories such as an LLM 03 (maybe we'll see one from Element in the not so distant future?) or the accessories required to throw together late 80's to early 2000's impression kits. That's not to say that these accessories can't be found, at least the early 2000's stuff, but it is very challenging to find at times.

I'd also like to see the UGL front end for the L85 re-released, even if it came from Angry Gun (think it's AG) who currently make the RIS for the L85 platform.

The boring stuff.

I think part of the issue is that as soon as you start to stray out of the immediate realms of your average Nato/Russian grunt or "Tier 1" Operator then options start to diminish rather rapidly.

While there is certainly a demand for airsoft kit that falls outside of the last 10 - 20 years of usage, this demand seems to diminish rapidly as you move further back across the years and/or as you move progressively further away from the big NATO countries and Russia in terms of armaments. Thus creating products outside of this range gradually increases the likelihood of incurring a loss.

I think some other major issues worth considering are clashes in terms of trademarks, design copyright, import/export issues and distributors. Another growing trend in recent years is the seeming increase in various unnamed companies pursuing the purchase of licensing rights which in turn only further hampers things, be it through companies facing potential lawsuits or due to inferior products at a premium price all for the sake of a name.

I'd also argue companies such as Nuprol are a major issue in the UK/Euro market at the moment as they seem to be causing significant price hikes while simultaneously throttling supply.