Rogerborg

Huh, it's impressive that the seller managed to sneak it past the eBay "not allowed" commissars. But it does rather sound like you've been deliberately sold a pup, maybe out the back door of a retailer. If @Convert doesn't manage to sort you out, they're super easy to open up and then it's a case of looking for whatever's not engaging. Easy to do if you have a working example to compare it to, a bit of a mare if you're going in blind. But a few high quality pictures or a video of the internals might let us spot what's broken or missing.

I like to act as a firebreak for those by saying "It's airsoft, he's probably saying the same about you."

Is this for a milsim that mandates real-caps? I ask because if you want to shoot 30 rounds from a magazine, you can buy any midcap and put 30 (well, more like 34) BBs in.

"has worked perfectly" They usually do, until they don't. I love that he provides so many pictures of what he's not selling, that's a nice touch.

I'd ponder on whether you're being invited to do something that's almost, but not quite, entirely unlike the thing that you enjoy being good at.

Nice, that's pretty committed. Loving the shinobi shoes. Inspires me to get a bayonet or stabber or chainsword.

And £60 plus postage for the AAP-01C at JustCos AirsoftWorld, if you want a stubby version. In stock, I don't know why "pre-order" is in the URL. https://www.airsoftworld.net/action-army-aap-01c-shinobi-gbb-airsoft-pistol-black-pre-order.html

We'll await the update in 48 hours.

Sorry to hear that. While I have no problem repairing airsoft guns after a reasonable amount of use, and have just bought an AAP-01C on that basis, I'd say broken-out-of-the-box is more of a case of haggling over whether you or the retailer is paying the return fee. If you don't like the answer, you can just start down the chargeback route with your payment processor, which can result in a retailer suddenly remembering your consumer rights. If you do want to investigate, I'd also suggest doing it with their agreement and under their guidance. It may be something simple that they can send you a part for, but if you go poking and prodding around, it might result in a warranty rejection. One thing, can you see any signs that you've been sent a "pre loved" gun? It wouldn't be the first time.

I hear a few of those cases are still being argued out.

Quiet, over AEG power levels, no cocking issues? Lightweight as well, right? How about going down the Mk23 route? Buy (e.g.) a mid-range ASG, feed it the heaviest BBs it will hop and see what power and consistency you get with and without the silencer / barrel extension, then start tinkering. There's no end of uPgRaDeS that you can do to them. Or skip to the end and buy an SSX303 carbine. One thing, if he's using something hotter than an AEG, then he should be carrying a sidearm as well anyway. The Mk23 is very popular for that purpose, so you could get it, run it without the extension as a secondary for close quarters (although it will shoot as far as most long guns) and then think about upping the power and using it as his primary. I mean, technically he could run a high power Mk23 primary, with a sub 1.2J VSR as his close-quarters secondary.

I would be a bit careful, as the plastic on the CM.5xx series is easily desiccated, even by isopropanol, let alone brake fluid.

After an unfortunately long hiatus, I finally got back indoors again, at Biohazard in Ardeer. What a blast, CQB is how I got into airsoft, and it's where I have the most fun. It's a small site, but with well thought out buildwork, and they know how to get the best out of it. Slightly overcrowded, and a bit too much "You all know what you're doing, right?" ass-u-me-ing at the briefings (turns out many people didn't), but a very good natured day with fair play all round. Top laughs when I found an alcove in the wall just big enough to fit an Imperial Guardsman, and started capping fools[*] as they walked past unawares, then popped grenades until they started to wonder out loud if I was spawning them from a magic bag. [*] With my delivered-last-night AAP-01C. Quite liking the little snappy boi, might throw some money at it.

Fairy power spray (before they changed the recipe) used to be recommended for "cleaning" paint to the point where it wasn't paint any more, so I suspect that might be a bit of a ...

UK police training weapons, circa 2009. I've seen (but can't now find) them using blue G36s now.

D'oh, yes, I missed that. One hail-Mary to try is drilling a very slight detent into the top of the hop chamber, directly above the feed tube. A few gentle-pressure turns with a 6mm drill bit put up the feed tube, just enough to create a little inverted dimple that BBs can seat into. This fixed, or seemed to fix, a similar issue on my MP5K, although as with anything airsoft it might just have been sorted by another round of disassembly-reassembly. (Detouring...) No worries, and you're right to ask because it's not obvious. What your gun is telling you is that the motor can draw enough current to over-spin, and will do so if the battery can supply it. By using a lower-C battery to fix that, you're now in a situation where the motor is trying to draw more current than the battery can provide. It's probably marginal, and many players are likely in the same situation without even realising it. However, you might find is that the battery heats up with use. It's not likely to become seriously toasty, but it'll be shortening its life to some extent. I mean, it's really not a huge deal in the grand scheme of airsoft lifetimes or costs, but I'd keep an eye on it for any signs of puffing up or alarming overheating. The tl;dr version is that ideally you want a battery that can comfortably supply more current than the motor can draw, and that you fix the double-shots another way, e.g. checking for a worn cut off lever, using an active-brake mosfet (although this then increases strain on the motor), or even by a mechanical bodge like limiting the trigger travel so that the trolley can disengage faster (I've used a blob of hot-melt glue between the trigger contacts to achieve this).

Urgh, tell me about it, by the time I pulled the trigger on buying an XR-5, I could only find it in DayGlo Blue, and the paint and varnish keeps wearing through on the rub points. I'll likely just start taping over it. Thomas, the legal position is that it's a strict liability offence to modify a non-realistic imitation firearm into a realistic imitation firearm, even temporarily, in private: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/38/section/36 However, it's a defence to do so for the purposes of playing airsoft at a site with 3rd party liability insurance: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/38/section/37 as amended by https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-violent-crime-reduction-act-2006-commencement-no-3-order-2007-firearms-measures There's no age limit on the defence, or particular criteria to claim it. The UKARA-style 3-games-over-8-weeks scheme providing the level of evidence that retailers considered necessary. You can make your own decision on it. Practically speaking, it's only going to come to the attention of the state if you do something silly with the gun out in public. At that point, Firearms Act 1968 Section 19 applies, and it doesn't matter if it's a realistic imitation or not. Since you already have the gun, and haven't gone on a rampage with it, I think you can be trusted not to do so if it happens to get blacked out. However, I'd agree that the lowest risk option, particularly while you're under 18, is to use sniper tape, which comes in solid colours or camos. If you tape up on site then remove it at the end of the day, then you're satisfying the letter and the spirit of the law.

Hmm. It's cheap because it has a plastic gearbox, and is running at under half the power of a typical metal gearbox AEG, which likely means a light spring and a cheap motor. However, as you only need it to get the dimensions right then it should do the job. It even sounds like it has a modern rotary hop unit rather than the older dial style - both types of unit are interchangeable, and taking TM mags is a good sign. One consideration is that even the cheapest CYMAs come with a basic NiMh battery and charger, which will let you test the shooting performance. The Double Bell does not, so you'd have to spend extra on a battery and charger, which will push the price up by a surprising amount. It's a pity you're not in the UK or I'd have sent you a M4 from the spares box. That 42K LARP looks amazing, I'll look into that - thanks!

Except that you're trying to draw more current than the battery can provide, which will, best case, heat it up and shorten its life, or worst case spark it up.

And bear in mind that the incoming fire that you're trying to emulate could be coming from a hot gun, or a DMR being trigger-spammed.

Sadly corrected, "interruption" gets you the jail.

Yes, utter spacktads, but the arrest is nonsense. Highways Act 1980, Section 131 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/66/section/131 "If a person, without lawful authority or excuse discharges any firearm within 50 feet from the centre of a highway which consists of or comprises a carriageway, and in consequence thereof the highway is damaged, he is guilty of an offence." Whether an airsoft gun is a firearm for the purposes of the Highways Act is neither here not there. Still, the process is the punishment, and I'd expect the charge will be changed to Firearms Act 1968 S19, or something else that they can make stick.

The shooting parts of airsoft M4s are mostly compatible and interchangeable, being based on reverse engineering Tokyo Marui guns. All[*] M4s use the "V2" gearbox, which is as close to a standard as anything in airsoft, and the lower receiver, pistol grip, motor and hop units and barrels are also largely interchangeable. That's why it doesn't particularly matter what you use as a base for development. If the printed parts fit on any M4 lower, then they should fit on every[*] M4 lower. I suggested CYMA as they're cheap, tough, globally available, and a de facto standard. It's easy to get lost in airsoft makes and models, and get decision paralysis. However, as adjustable power is a (sensible) goal, as an end user I'd be more likely to choose something with a quick change spring system as a base. Since half the base gun is going to be discarded anyway, a Specna Arms SA-F03 FLEX (for example) would do fine. It's really down to local prices and availability where you are - I mention Specna Arms as those are cheap and readily available in the UK, but it really won't matter what you get as long as it's TM / CYMA compatible. This really is relevant to my interests, by the way, I play in Astra Militarum gear and have long been on the lookout for exactly what you're proposing to replace my current half-arsed solutions. [*] There are exceptions at the higher end, like Systema, but the bulk of M4s are TM / CYMA compatible.

Oh, hello. This is very relevant to my interests. I'd agree that an M4 makes sense as the base. All you really need to retain is the lower receiver and gearbox, plus the hop unit and inner barrel, ideally as a complete unit. Those are the shooty bits. It shouldn't matter which M4, but with it being airsoft, it might, due to slight differences in dimensions. CYMA would be the default choice to use for development as they're an actual OEM and should (there's that word again) be consistent across the range, from their cheapest plastic CM.5xx guns, up to the metal receivers with trick gearboxes and electronics. However, there are many (many, many) other affordable options: Specna Arms, Lancer Tactical, Double Eagle, all of which have quick change springs (which the cheapest CYMAs don't) and any of which ought to be workable with perhaps some slight modification to the dimensions, either before printing or with some filing or filling afterwards. What you'd want to print is the upper receiver. What matters is that it mates up with the lower - specifically keying into it at the rear, and at the front pin - and that the interior matches the original just above and in front of the magwell, where the hop unit seats. That part is crucial to get right, as any misalignment of the hop unit, or inability to slide forwards and and backwards slightly, will result in misfeeds and/or magazines not seating. You'll also need some sort of flip-or-slide-to-open window to access the hop unit dial, although it needn't be as big as the ejection port on the original receiver. I'd suggest binning off the outer barrel and just run the inner barrel directly inside the printed receiver. The outer dimensions of airsoft inner barrels are fairly consistent, but I'd make the void a fraction bigger than your development gun's inner barrel, as the barrel can be (and commonly is) shimmed up with tape to fit snugly, on a case by case basis. It's fine to have an inner barrel that's shorter than the outer, as long as it's not excessively so, and the BBs's don't impact the outer on the way out (which is another reason to make the void slightly oversized). After that, you can go hog wild with the externals. For example, the CSI XM-5 is an M4 / V2 gearbox and hop unit inside a particularly funky plastic shell that... some people... already use as a space plasmalaser gun. For the avoidance of doubt, I mention this as an example of what can be done with a full external factory do-over. I would not use this as the base gun for a kit! It's not readily available now, and while the internals are V2 they're very sub-par. In theory it takes STANAG / M4 mags as well as its stock magazine, but the receiver halves and buffer tube are nothing like M4 compatible. For all that it's just a hollow shell, it's a weighty boy too, and nobody wishes their gun was heavier come the end of the day, and it an absolute nightmare to take apart and work on. It's a swing and a miss, you can do better by sticking with a stock lower and a simple one-pin takedown. Oh, buffer tube. Some M4 have bolt-on buffer tubes, but the cheapest CYMAs don't, they're moulded to the back of the lower receiver. However, the dimensions of the buffer tube itself should be... similar... and so you should be able to come up with a printed stock that secures onto most tubes. Airsoft gearboxes can be front or rear wired. With front wired, the wiring goes out past the hop unit (this can sometimes be a bit of a squeeze) to a battery somewhere in the upper receiver. Rear wired, the wiring runs inside the buffer tube to a battery in the stock. Rear wired is most common in generic M4s, and I'd suggest sticking with rear wiring, and keeping the battery inside the stock, with as much empty space as possible. On magazines, I wouldn't sweat that just yet. There are a plethora of various short / low profile mags available, but magazine fitting and feeding is one of the common issues that airsofters encounter. If you do get feeding issues, the most common cause is front to rear misalignment of the hop unit, or the nozzle protruding too far into the hop rubber, all of which is dependent on the magwell, magazine, hop unit, nozzle and hop rubber - it's a problem to solve on a case-by-case basis. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with. For development purposes, you don't even need a working gun, any boneyard basket-case should do, as long as it has all the external parts so that you can get the dimensions right.

Yarp, you'll want to create an ad here, there's no obvious best subsection as you're flogging a job lot. If you don't name a price, expect to get offers / "offers" from chancers or fantasists wanting to get most of it as "free gifts". You'll also want to consider and specify postage or collection, and how you'll want to be paid (and who's paying the fees for that). Best of luck.