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alxndrhll

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Everything posted by alxndrhll

  1. LCT versus E&L in terms of a ‘gucci’ AKS74U? I’ve gathered together all the pieces to upgrade the internals and throw some repro Zenitco parts on a Krink, the original plan being a relatively budget build using a Cyma (which ended up not being so budget). However, I’ve just had an unexpected bonus from work so I’m toying with upgrading the repro Zenitco parts to RS ones and jumping up from the Cyma to either an E&L or an LCT.

     

    I’ll caveat that the most important element is probably how well either/or plays ball with real Zenitco parts, I’m expecting some fitting/fettling to be needed, but having no slop is ideal. Given I already have a pile of internal parts to hand for swapping out anything that warrants it I’m generally slightly less arsed about work needing to be done in that department.

     

    Thanks in advance!

    1. Show previous comments  6 more
    2. Adolf Hamster

      Adolf Hamster

      it's just part of ak life sadly, guess maybe i don't find it so bad as i'm not so big on the taccing out.

    3. alxndrhll

      alxndrhll

      It's also just different elements of modifcation versus what I'm used to. Fettling a barrel nut or the like to get everything sitting flush on an AR is just a less daunting prospect versus taking a lump off the back end of rail and filling out a bit of outer barrel to get the latch working right. Largely because a barrel nut is generally going to be cheaper to replace than an entirely new handguard or outer barrel if you entirely botch it.

       

      In other news, my first order from Zenitco arrived this morning, so that all went fairly smoothly. More than happy to order from there again for the handguard itself (and anything else that takes my fancy).

       

       

    4. Adolf Hamster

      Adolf Hamster

      i know what you mean, very daunting having to take a file to a brand new and pricey rail/stock to get it to fit.

       

      on the flip side, internal work on the ak's is much easier than the m4 platform so it's got that going for it.

  2. Turned up entirely unopened and everything is present and correct. Though I imagine it's more luck than judgement I will note that I have not contacted UPS at all throughout the entire process bar when I had emails from brokerage to supply whatever it was they were after. However, I did email TG twice. No response the first time, second time I implied I would be getting PayPal involved if I wasn't to hear anything. Unsurprisingly got a fairly swift response saying they were going to contact UPS, that was on March 30th (roughly 4 weeks after my order shipped, shipping date being February 25th).
  3. Mine arrived this morning, I’ll pop a screenshot up of the last few tracking updates. For those still waiting, I wish you luck!
  4. Link to the stock here for your convenience. Worth noting there are replicas of the stocks available from various airsoft companies, for the generally not huge difference in price I'd likely be inclined to go for the one I've linked but just wanted to mention there are cheaper alternatives. And link to the slim grips here, again I imagine there are cheaper replicas available. I just happened to have the links buried in a folder somewhere from when I was toying with doing something similar, of which sourcing the upper receiver ended up being the deal breaker. I wish you luck if you hope to see it through .
  5. The main thing you'll struggle with is finding a matching/close enough upper receiver complete with carry handle. If you can tick that box the rest should be relatively simple. Brownells do a Car stock which is manufacturer by B5 Systems (which means it's probably very good quality), may as well order the slim handguards from there while you're at it. Then it's just a question of how accurate you care to be with the gizmo's you attach to it.
  6. I wouldn't even dare speculate, I work in board games which is a fairly similar hobby/market in that it's niche (though not as niche as airsoft), and tends to lead to large spends (I'd say airsoft spends are higher, so in my brain the 2 points somewhat cancel each other out). And I know from the sales folks at our company that the number of variables when making those sorts of decisions far surpasses my understanding when considering various taxes and the like. We don't ship to Brazil for instance, because the cost to do so is astronomical and ultimately cost is king. Granted that's a very extreme example... but I don't think they'd actually see enough of a decline in sales to the UK to push a decision of either changing supplier or stop shipping here full stop. Length of contract plus whether there is an 'inadequate service' (or words to that effect) clause they'd want to trigger meaning they can leave the agreement early without cost would be another contributing factor, should it ever be a realistic thing to review. My best guess is it simply isn't worth it for them, folks will still order from them despite the aggro for the list of reasons which have been stated in here on multiple ocassions. And then the fact, by my understanding, they're a distributor so I've tended to assume their own store is more of a 'side gig for pocket money' than it is the bread winner... and only contributing further to potential limitations on their logistics agreements because they need agreements that enable them to send distribution sized orders without it annihilating their profits. I'm in the fortunate position of not really wanting any more airsoft bits for the foreseeable, so it's hard to put myself in a situation where I'd have to choose whether it was worth it or not.
  7. Ohh sure, I'll assume it's absolutely down to a contract they've signed to get the cheapest price but I refuse to believe UPS are their only option... which is what TG are currently claiming. There is a difference between 'we won't change because it works out the cheapest/best for us' versus 'we can't change because there is no other option'. The latter being their claim, and one which I believe to be disengenuous. Assuming that's the case I guess they'll have to weigh up whether the savings they make on shipping are worth the cost of orders they miss out on from folks that won't use them because of the UPS fuster cluck.
  8. UPS is the short answer. UPS and a combination of general logistics things being all over the place courtesy of Brexit and COVID being the longer answer. Other couriers have demostrated far less issues, hence UPS footing the bulk of the blame. Honestly, there isn't enough information to support how long this'll be the case. Being able to use a courier that isn't UPS would likely help, but TG have said multiple times that they aren't looking to change... or rather that they don't have the option to. Though I don't at all believe that UPS is the only courier they could get a contract with. I'm sure there are folks that have had much less of an issue, but purely down to luck.
  9. At £40 (give or take) a mag these are actually sitting right around, if not slightly below, the going rate. They’re highly desirable, for a popular platform and discontinued so though that price looks insane, for 8 of them it’s that not bad at all. Very much a case of ‘find me another’.
  10. Cannot unsee ? (the below image is literally the first image on Google images if you search 'speedsoft team')
  11. To answer that part, it's largely the fact that Marui's are set up purely for the Japanese market and they couldn't give a rats about anywhere else. The fact they come in 'low' FPS wise by the laws over here means many want to get that additional 70 FPS (give or take) out of them. But doing so puts additional strain on other gearbox components and such the 'upgrade' train starts-a-rollin'. Do you need to? As covered earlier it's, for some reason or another, hotly debated... but that's the reasoning. Ultimately 'adequate' is very much a subjective term, having been around the hobby for a long time it's easy for me to forget that stock parts from other manufacturers have come a long way... but I'll never trust brass barrels ?.
  12. Why would spend that much money on a RIF? Because you want to and/or you can. Why wouldn't you spend that much money on a RIF? Because you don't want to and/or you can't. It's the one repeatedly occuring topic I'll never understand alongside gucci gear, not that it comes up... I absolutely understand that part. But how it can turn so personal/vitriolic. Said it before and I'll say it again, stop caring about what other people do/don't do with their hobby money (for me that extends to just 'in general') unless it actually affects you in a negative way. Given what's in/on it I don't actually think the price is a million miles away from reasonable. That's a long ol' list of not particularly cheap things. I imagine that pair of p-mags alone isn't far off £100 by todays rates. Will it take someone in the market for those exact things (or close to) to pay that? Sure, but that's the case with RIF that's had internal/external work. Edit: Just priced up what I'd consider the 'extras' (basically anything that isn't the RIF with the hi-cap) and that comes to about £750. A stock NGRS is £500ish? Plus the seemingly £1000 worth of stuff put in it by KoA. Not just saying it seems like a reasonable price to be a contrarian, by the usual given pricing advice on here it falls well within reasonable. Just because it's expensive doesn't mean it's over priced purely in financial terms. Would opinion lead some to believe it's over priced? Sure. But I think every P90 I see is overpriced because free is too expensive for what I'd pay. One thing I would say though, for the asking price the ad is nowhere near fleshed out enough. There should be a detailed listing of what is actually in it rather than a 'go look it up yourself'.
  13. Aye, that's entirely fair... and that's not to say they're the worst I've ever dealt with (JK Army comfortably hold that crown). As I was when I placed the order I'm still not overly arsed with how long it's going to take (even once we get the 'good to go' form councils I'll probably be holding off attending until I've had my vaccine), but the fact no one in the chain seems to have a clue what's going on is just irritating. That being largely where I land, the reason both UPS and TG are so hard to communicate with is because neither of them have any clue what's going on. I imagine someone in the chain of operations does, but they aren't the folks you'll be talking to. So I'm willing to acknowledge that not getting a response ultimately has the same result as getting a response, but not getting a response feels like significantly worse customer service than getting a response which doesn't say much of anything... if that makes any sense at all?
  14. That'll be my next course of action, largely because I don't think 'reasonably decent' is a fair summation of TG. Cheaper? Sure. But their customer service has been pretty attrocious, no response until the threat of PayPal disputes was presented and even then the response was about as useful as email that said 'Hi. Sincerely Taiwan Gun'. Is the issue with the slow down with UPS? Yup. Have TG handled resolution well? Nope. I was less bothered when they'd stopped taking orders from the UK again because it, to me, demonstrated they were holding off until the shit show with 'wave 1' was largely sorted. Once they started taking orders again without having done so, that puts them on my naughty list. YMMV, but that's my take.
  15. Russian EMS tracking updates are precisely as Russian as you'd expect and I am absolutely here for it. 'Released from Russia', ohh so very good. It's the simple things.

    1. Show previous comments  4 more
    2. Druid799

      Druid799

      Few wks ago I bought a tourniquet to rap my AK stock with and a few other AK bits’n’bobs from the Ukraine and was here in 4days , tracked all the way from Kiev to my front door no problem ?

    3. alxndrhll

      alxndrhll

      I've heard mixed things in regard to Russia EMS post, folks seem to advise DHL if it's an option (which it wasn't in this case). Generally speaking I'm not overly bothered how long things take to arrive when ordering from abroad, as long as the tracking is accurate I'm pretty happy. Granted in this day and age patience seems to be a rarity, so I get I'm not the 'average shopper'. Sooner is always better than later, but I get that giving accurate shipping estimations isn't the easiest thing when the world is 'normal' let alone with everything going on right now.

    4. Hatchet

      Hatchet

      Doing better than Navalny then...

  16. I’d be more inclined to understand that point if airsoft drum mags that end up on pistols were somewhere close to the sizing of 9x19 drum mags. However, for the most part, they seem much closer to the 5.56 counter part by my eyes thus rendering that reasoning somewhat moot. Which is likely where my confusion stems from on the assumption that was the weird airsoft logic reason. Granted that’s largely from photos so I could be off when it comes to sizing, at which point I’ll accept I’m wrong and though it’s a flimsy reason... it’s more of a reason than nothing.
  17. I went through what feels like 400 different things trying to find the right one. My favourite was a Flyye MAP pack mounted to a PC (though I don’t overly like running PCs), after that the Tasmanian Tiger TT Essential MkII felt like a decent solution (I have a totally unused still with tags in black that is on my ‘sell this at some point list’ if your interest is piqued feel free to message me). I’ve gone through countless different backpacks trying to find one that’s just right and that’s about as close as I came, everything else felt either just too small to the point I was paranoid about zips popping from strain... or far too big to the point the additional bulk was just irritating.
  18. I found getting anything out of TG difficult until I dropped the phrase ‘I’d really rather avoid having to get PayPal involved if at all possible’ at the end of an email having not had a reply in 5 days from my first email to them. Mines still marked as held in warehouse so I can’t say anything TG have done, assuming they’ve done anything, has had any effect... but that’s what I ended up needing to do to get something close to a useful response.
  19. Then: 'So, how come you only use a pistol in CQB?' 'Means I can be nimble navigating through, often means I can nail folks before they even have their RIF ready to fire back.' Now: 'So, how come you only use a pistol in CQB?' '... ?‍♂️' Caveat, I have zero issues with anything going on here. Though it does baffle me slightly that the general concensus seems to be drum mags are 'less of a sin' than AR mags in pistols ?. I hope you enjoy it, but I certainly don't envy lugging a tank, line and drum mag around. I'm sure it'll be great fun, and a conversation starter at the least. But I dare say the conventional reasoning behind running a pistol only in CQB might be a tad removed at this point ?. Edit: Forgot the wrap the post up, that reasoning is why I think running a HPA adapter (be it MP5, which is probably my preference, or AR mag) is the way I tend to lean. You retain a bit more of the reason running pistol only can be such a boon. Also, please get 'Novritsch Fun Cannon Fuel' engraved on that drum mag to truly complete the cycle.
  20. The other benefit alongside how consistent HPA is, is with tuning your trigger. That consistency means you don't have to account for cool down leading to it suddenly wanting to run away from you, so to speak. I tried it and simply found it wasn't for me, with the reasons being very much specific to me, the big two being: It just felt weird to hold both because of the bulk of the adapter and the AR mags themselves. I find the same with extended pistol mags (tapped or not), I just can't get on with something protruding that far out of the grip. Having to run a tank on my kit. In general I like to run chest rigs with nothing bulky on my back, and that never felt like an option with HPA and is largely the reason I've left it behind. Can't fault the benefits when it comes to overall performance, and the 'downsides' are well documented at this point. Edit: I tended to use a 36" line with HPA'd stuff, when using a pistol 42" felt like a better length. Just gave a bit more freedom of movement. Mileage will likely vary based your exact set up but felt worth mentioning/thinking about.
  21. Generally somewhere between 20-25% of the cost of your order plus £10-£15 'brokerage fee' (the nonsense couriers throw on there to take their slice). Mine worked out at bang on 23% of my total order (including postage), plus £11.50 brokerage. So about £50 extra on a £170 order, still saved well over £100 versus ordering the same in the UK. With the addition that some of the items I ordered aren't carried by any UK retailers (at least not that I could find). Mileage will vary based on what it is you're ordering of course.
  22. It's between this and the Infinity for me, though for my tastes I'd be intrigued to see what a black barrel and recoil guide rod would look like (not that my tastes count for anything!)... though I guess that would ruin the 3-tone. Filling on the markings looks cleannn ?
  23. Sometimes a shit day and pay day coincide, and you make some potentially questionable decisions. Let's see how this plays out ?‍♂️.

     

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    1. Show previous comments  10 more
    2. Adolf Hamster

      Adolf Hamster

      at the risk of getting a bit philosophical, i think it's more of a doctrine/culture thing when it comes to the russians insofar as their focus seems to be more "close enough for government work", at least outside of special forces.

       

      the thing i notice with the russian stuff is what often doesn't necessarily seem the most comfortable if you're sitting thinking about it (eg if you're messing around at home just holding the thing) just fades into the background when actually on the field.

    3. alxndrhll

      alxndrhll

      For sure, outside of something being obscenely heavy I don't think many of the things we mess around tweaking do much once you're playing... but I definitely think they have an impact on how you feel afterwards. Much the same as a pair of ill fitting boots, you don't notice anything when the adrenaline is going and you're focused on other things. But then you sit down at lunch and realise your heels are throbbing. In that instance, unless you're a dope, you probably look at getting some new footwear because you know what the root cause is... and the same applies to me for attachments and the like. Though without intentionally trying to sound like a 'elit3 0per8r' (because I'm certainly not), many throw these things on RIFs for looks and don't actually know what they exist to aid with and with that, know what they could improve in terms of comfort by changing things out. We have the luxury of not having to consider a whole host of stuff that comes with real firearms to largely follow whatever list of priorities we have for our RIFs.

       

      All comes with the caveat that folks should do whatever the hell they want, as long as they're having fun and not putting anyone (including themselves) at risk of any injury or grief.

       

      (Thank you for saving my Saturday afternoon with a natter about ultimately useless shit, Christ I am so bored)

    4. Adolf Hamster

      Adolf Hamster

      yeah i do agree. whilst i'd be the first to advise new starts not to cover their gats in superglue and drag them through wal-mart i also don't do super-light guns. the latest krink build is verging on sa80 heavy and that's just an optic, suppressor and 2dp :P in my defence, it's mostly for the exercise and my crippling addiction to blued steel.


       i'm not against putting carbon fibre on an m4, to make it light but that m4 will have an alloy reciever. its a weird philosophy i know.

      i can see your viewpoint on the whole comfort thing, maybe my views are centred around my build just suiting most standard length stocks.

       

      plus ofc arguments about effectiveness with this sort of thing in airsoft are kind of moot anyway given if we really cared about performance we'd be running those stupid m4 pistol things the speedsofters use :P

  24. Largely as @Wo1f said, a good option if it's solving an issue you have. Biggest plus being space saving for transport/storage. If that was something I felt I needed/wanted I'd probably be inclined to wait to see if it impacted performance.
  25. First delivery of repro Zenitco parts for the Krink arrived today. Extremely excited for this all to come together, fingers crossed fitting the hand guard won’t be too much of a pain! And y’know, praying the Krink itself turns up at some point when it’s released from the clutches of UPS.
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