Speedbird_666

The EVE-9 will come with a PTS EPS stock. I doubt very much that anything other than the KWA 2.5 gearbox will fit as it's very much integrated into the structure of the body itself, shaped subtly differently to a standard V2, and the ambi controls just will not work with anything else due to a proprietary selector plate.

A quick look at the internals... Well..... the switch isn't going to last long on 11.1v - there is clear indicators of burning/arching/pitting on the trigger shuttle already after ~30mins of use. Problem is - the switch is proprietary. It'll probably be easier to source a Gate Titan than try to find a replacement KWA switch here in blighty. Great. The switch is not a complete write-off yet,so I'm going to try clean it up and fit a simple Mosfet for now. KWA should of shipped the gun with one fitted - they are not exactly expensive these days. The rest of the gearbox is fine. Gears seem tough, the shimming is a touch tight, but with the shell being so thick and less openings in it to test each gear individually, it'll be tricky to re-shim so I'll leave it as-is for now. The shell really is a chunky beast. I have no concerns about it's long term durability. There is a proprietary tappet and nozzle which is a characteristic of all KWA 2.5 guns. The Piston and Piston head are best described as mediocre so I've ordered replacements from @ak2m4 . There is so much potential for this gun - it is a few component choices short of truly excellent but ultimately penny-pinching by the manufacturer has let it down. As-is, would I recommend it? Well, if you are confident at teching your own guns, then yes, I think I do. But for a beginner player? - Good god no. And that's a real shame.

Well, first game day ended bittersweet. It made it through one game before the smell and heat from the motor/grip made be throw it in the bag and grab a spare gun for fear of doing some serious damage. The gun also started to lockup as the heat/smell got worse, so I'm guessing the motor is just...well...shit. Curiously, the anti-arching diode is absent from the motor that KWA normally fits to all their other guns. I had an intermittent low velocity issue as well, where one shot in 20 would be noticeably quieter and the BB drops well short. Initially I thought the hop-rubber needed bedding-in, but the sound change became more pronounced. So time to check the gearbox - the stock piston is largely an all-plastic rack from what I have seen with an un-ported lump of metal for a head (which might be part of the problem). But the first 20-30mins of game play use were glorious even with the odd low velocity shot. The ergonomics, balance and feel were top notch, and it sounded great with a slight amount of over-volumising to give a nice, but not obnoxious 'pop'. It felt snappy, very 'pointable' and was very easy to put BB's on target. Sooo...time to sort the gremlins and say bye bye to the warranty. The guns strip relatively easily - no harder than a standard M4, just with a few some extra screws. The mag release and ambi controls do not require removal for disassembly, they remain attached to the lower. The upper slides off with a single pin removed at the front (M4 style), but you don't need to jiggle charging handles or dust covers, it's smooth and precise and the fit between the upper/lower is excellent. This is helped by the fact that the front pin lug on the upper is part of a metal trunion/outer barrel assembly. The lower receiver has a removable receiver stock mount/extension, and this screws into a co-molded metal threads in the lower - clever stuff. The entire back end of the lower is heavily reinforced and in places it around 5mm thick to support the stock. That, coupled with the fact that there is no rear receiver pin hole - which is a weak point on many guns, means that I would honestly place this well above any metal-bodied gun in a similar price bracket for durability. The hop unit is again decently made from plastic, the outer barrel on my example is nicely finished brass and I have no compulsion to replace it. The hop rubber is a split mound type, which to be fair worked well enough in the time I used it, but ultimately will be replaced with a ML/Omega combo. I'll cover the Gearbox internals another time - but it's a heavy beast of a thing and I have no doubt the shell it as tough you will ever need. The bolt release issue I had was rectified with a slight tweak of the mock-bolt - it is quite thin metal. I will be tackling the gearbox later, but based on a few videos I've seen for KWAs, the Piston and Piston head would be worth replacing from the outset.

Thank you @Shamal for showing me the ropes today at the Bunker - never been to a site with 'you are here' maps because the layout is so complex. I'll be back later in the year! I want to hit UCAP Valiant at Dorchester next.

Allegedly the Maxx ME is KWA compatible. Not cheap though. And airsoft, being airsoft, means that there's no guarantee that it's a drop-in fit even if it says it should.

Slightly hyperbolic thread title....but anyway... The 1.8k PSI Burst disk is for the regulated air - which should be around 750-800psi in normal operation. The fact it burst implies that either the regulator isn't...well...regulating or that the Burst disk was in some way faulty from the factory (it can happen). Either way, if you purchased new - contact the vendor and request a return/replacement.

Fatboi aint fat enough - it's a 3mm too shallow for my 2200mAh batteries....D'OH! Also experimenting with 'Fuzzy Skin' finishes in the slicer hence the texture: Dusted off my old Solarforce lights (remember them?) to mount to my gun for CQB. I'm too tight to buy any of the gucci new lights you can get these days just for the odd bit of CQB, the Cree T6 drop-in Surefire clone units I've got may be chunky, but they are super bright. Anyway - I knocked up a tape-switch rail mounted holder: My print quality is proper shit at the moment - been chasing down inconsistent extrusion issues for a few weeks now...😭 Picking up a 2nd hand 3D printer tonight (£35!) so will be able to stand-down my Ender 3 for a week or two whilst I hunt down these gremlins.

That's a pretty stonking deal for 200 notes - well done. I would be well chuffed with that haul.

Not a lot has *massively* changed in the last 4/5 years. At lot of the same companies that were around back then are still around now. The low-end market is by far the most active in terms of new models, added features and quality. Many are equipped with Mosfets or some kind of basic electronic trigger unit right out of the box. The Double Eagle (yes, that company that made those really cheap spring shotties) kinda blew the market wide open with the M90x series of guns. G&G are slowly pricing themselves out of the market - CM16 Raiders are now over £200 which is mental when you can buy better spec'd guns for a lot less money. CYMA have increased their line of models a fair bit, their quality has improved noticeably and the blue internals on the new guns are solid out of the box. The market has been muddied in the low-to-mid range from new upstarts such as Specna, who - on paper - offer very good value for money. Shame the QC has been a shambles - but I hear they are getting better. TM are still a go-to for the mid-to-high end market for many people with the various NGRS models. The likes of Krytac and KWA are still about too. The MWS GBBRs are very popular, indeed there are some huge owners-group threads on here with stacks of information. The Super-high-end market is no longer dominated by Systema PTWs - indeed they are becoming rarer beasts these days out in the wild, but then there are other manufactures such GBLS with their eye-watering DAS models. LiPos (as mentioned above) are pretty much standard fare now. Brushless motors are becoming a practical option with performance and efficiency gains to be had from them - Warhead currently holds that market, but it's only a matter of time before other manufacturers will jump onto the brushless wagon and the prices drop. You will see a lot more players with air hoses to backpacks and Dye Paintball masks. Speedsoft is gaining traction in the UK, and HPA is currently their method of choice to dispense their BB's - at least that's what the cool kids tell me. Not everyone's cup of tea. But the reality is, a decent gun 5 years ago is still a decent gun now. Sure, the newer stuff can do some cool things, but if your gun can shoot 300-350 fps, at a reasonable ROF, with reasonable accuracy, you won't have a problem at most skirmishes.

Next up on the printer - the 'fatboi' under-slung battery extension/compartment for the KWA Ronin PDW stocks. Should be able to able to put pretty much any type of battery in it I need.

What's the worst that's gonna happen? A slight drop in FPS perhaps and a trashed piston? There will be a lot or stress on the last plastic tooth though when the final sector tooth releases it. For the cost of a full-metal racked piston I would replace at the point of short-stroking the sector gear.

Here’s what it looks like this at the moment: I don’t intend to use any FDE coloured parts for this gun, so I’ll pick up a new black PTS EPS shortly. Wiring is currently too short for use in a buffer tube.

That sums it up rather neatly. I think the only compelling reason to order from Europe now is if the vendor stocks something that's genuinely unavailable/impossible to source from UK retailers - a situation that is slowly improving recently. There's very little/no financial incentive to do so otherwise.

Made a mini-review here - things didn't start well: I love nearly all the ergonomics (not a huge fan of the stock) - it's lovely to hold and the external build quality is amongst the best I have ever seen. But I do have some quibbles over the stock motor, the PDW stock and the mock bolt release. BUT - it's a keeper. I test fitted a Buffer tube/PTS EPS stock last night and that's the way to go for me - just need to extend the wiring. I also have to remember that G&G Raiders are now very close in price (£210-220) to these guns since the price hike. Frankly this shits all over G&G plastic bodied range of guns and makes them feel very cheap to hold. The PTS iron sights alone that ship with the EVE-4 cost £40-50 to buy separately, PTS Rail sections £8 a pop (of which you get 2), the vertical grip is damned near perfect for my tastes and would benefit from having 'PTS' stamped on it rather than 'KWA'. Overall it's very good value for money for what you get in the box.

Tear out all the internals and fit an HPA engine. You seem intent on building a top-tier wanker gun with that setup, so why bother with all the hassle of AEGs in the quest for performance when you can just drop in an HPA engine, make a few tweaks and call it done? I mean, all the cool kids roll with air hoses these days, right?

Ok, fuse swapped. Out of the box it ships with a 20A fuse, I put a 25A in for now. So - performance: Chrono: 325-328fps, pretty consistent with 2-3fps variance. ROF (Fully charged 7.4v 1200mAh 25c): A pretty disappointing 14.1 RPS and it didn't sound happy doing it. ROF (Fully charged 11.1v 1300mAh 30c): A very surprising 23.4 RPS. So, the motor is obviously wound for flat out speed (and volts) and not torque. 23 RPS is a bit spicy for my tastes, I would have preferred something more balanced, giving better performance on a 7.4v LiPo. So a motor swap it is i think.

It's KWA's marketing-speak for 'proprietary gearbox'. It uses a standard V2 cylinder. Not related to anything fitted to an SR-25 style gun.

TLDR? Great on the outside, a bit crap on the inside. Here's a quick 2 hours of ownership first impression...... Right - to start. Packaging was fine - typical KWA fare from what I've seen of other guns in their Ronin lineup. A bag of accessories was also included which includes QD sling mounts, M-Lok rail sections, T-Handle Allen keys, and a KWA branded Speedloader. Nice touch. Being the ICE limited edition version, it also comes with a Ice-blue 120rd mid cap in the box. The gun is fitted with a really quite excellent M-Lok vertical grip along PTS Backup sights out of the box. Externally, it's the best plastic I've seen on pretty much any airsoft gun. Think PTS EPS stock plastic quality, but the whole gun is made of it. It really is very nice to pickup up and hold. That is, from the pistol grip forwards. Where it falls down is the stock. Again, it's very high quality, but much like any other PDW-style stock it is limited in terms of storage capacity (which can be mitigated to a degree with an extension) and adjustability. It only has three positions, fully closed (thus useless), fully open (which is a bit wobbly), and somewhere in between which is still a touch too short for many. If I keep this gun (more on that later), It'll get a buffer tube and a PTS EPS Stock - much like KWA's still unreleased EVE-9. The gun is well balanced otherwise, and the pistol grip (basically a PTS EPG) is an excellent fit for my hands. The gun is largely ambidextrous, with fire controls, bolt and mag release on both sides. Problem is, the bolt release stopped working after the third time engaging it (and I was being gentle), so the bolt will not lock back. Disappointing to fail almost instantly. The charging handle, being up front does get in the way when holding the gun if you like to wrap your hand around the rail, but it can be easily switched to the other side to move it out of the way - so no biggie. But what's it like to shoot? I don't know really. I tested it briefly on a 7.4v LiPo, but the motor lacks torque and I could lock the box up quite easily. Performance was a laboured 14-15rps, trigger response not great at all. The gun sounded laboured generally and the gearbox loud (which I've heard is a trait of the v2.5 GB thus 'normal'). Ok, well, KWA themselves say it's good on 11.1v LiPos, so I switched to a 20c 1300maH 11.1v. It blew the fuse within 30 shots. *Sigh*. The trigger response was nice enough and I'm guessing a ROF of around 19-20RPS in the 10 seconds it functioned for. Soooo.......I'm on the fence with this one. I could fix the niggles easily, swap out the motor and stock, probably sort the bolt release too - and the rest of the gun feels amazing in the hands otherwise. But I can also send it back to the vendor before any more gremlins pop up. Hmmm.....watch this space.

New gun day.

And import duty.

Weight, balance, side picatinny rails that can't be easily removed, realising that it's pretty much just a G36 in a different body with a price premium, the stock comb, the pistol grip and trigger pull. Basically, it wasn't an M4. So yeh...I think that just about covers it. Shame, I loved it based on the photos alone. I'm just glad that I didn't blow a wedge of cash on it (learnt from hard experience with the Proline Beretta ARX-160). But in a classic case of not following my own advice - I just ordered a gun on impulse purely on it's looks. It arrives tomorrow. I'm a fucking idiot.

Downloaded a KWA Ronin battery extension model from Thingiverse, but it was a bit shit and Fusion 360 is pretty rubbish editing STL files. Ended up using the measurements and designed a new one that can take a chunkier RC LiPo of which I have many knocking about. (Left = Thingiverse left, Right = mine)

If you can get to an airsoft shop, try a few guns before committing to a 'non-M4' platform. The reason why: - I desperately wanted a CZ Bren 805. Nearly ordered one online. Thank god i didn't because when I checked one out at the Zero One showroom, I hated it. - As above for the APS UAR - As above for a Tavor - As above for an AUG - As above for the ICS Hera Arms Saved me a frikken fortune in the end. Your bio say 'West London', there might be a couple of airsoft shops that you could visit - Bespoke Airsoft springs to mind. You don't have to buy from them, just have a fondle of the RIFs before parting with your cash.

I think I need to retract this comment. 😲 I have a KWA arriving tomorrow due to a moment of weakness. Admittedly it's the KWA EVE-4 with an all-polymer body, so retails at £245 instead of £350+, but it's pretty much the same internally as all the Ronin series guns.