Speedbird_666

It's actually pretty simple to wire them up. Don't forget heat shrink, you don't want to accidentally short circuit the battery. 16AWG is what I use. Not all wire of a given gauge can be considered equal though.

Almost all Airsoft M4 receivers generally only contain about 4% Aluminium. Most are made from a Zinc alloy called Zamak-4 as it's easy (and cheap) to cast. Specna Edge bodies are very light - the Edge I have is lighter than my plastic-bodied guns of similar size. It implies that they either are thinner and have less material in places for structure, use a lesser grade of casting material, or a combination of both. On their sales blurb they say this: The only steel on the gun will be the body pins, dust cover, screws etc. The receiver, rail, outer barrel and buffer tube are likely to be Zinc Alloy. So to OPs question. Pretty much any Airsoft M4 receiver, unless explicitly stated, will be likely made of the same or similar materials to the Specna although the quality obviously varies between manufacturers. G&P, Guarder and Madbull sell aftermarket receivers, and they will likely be stronger and nicer than the Specna. If you look to vendors in Asia, you can pick up other manufacturers offerings such as King Arms. But if you really want strong and sturdy, then RetroArms produce a receiver milled from a solid block of 7075 Aluminium. It's eye-wateringly expensive, It'll set you back far more than what the gun cost itself and then some. I would just use the stock receiver until it breaks, it's not worth spending 60-70% of the gun's value on replacing the receiver if the original is unbroken. For what It would cost to replace the receiver, you could buy a lower-end Specna Core as a backup gun to keep in your kitbag should your main gun go down.

I use Paintball googles (Empire E-Vents) and Fogtech wipes these days. I don't get much in the way of fogging issues with this setup. Tried everything else, including Rx inserts and Polycarbonate prescription glasses from (the now defunct) Tactical Optician. Unfortunately, after 10 years of contact lenses, I can't use them anymore. Tried nearly every brand of disposables but my eyes just won't take them at all.

Yep, you're right. But I've have always charged at 1C with no ill effects for the last 15 or so years that I've doing RC and Airsoft. I have edited to post slightly though.

Charging currents for your LiPos: 1.4 amps 1.1 amps 1.3 amps This will mean they are charged at or very close to 1C, which is what you want. Charging over 1C of the battery's capacity will reduce it's lifespan and damage the cells. Go mad with the Amps while charging, and you potentially have a fire to deal with. The 'C' Rating in the number of Amps, compared to capacity, that a battery can safely deliver in operation. So for example, a 1000mAh (1000mAh = 1 Amp) Lipo, rated at 20C, can deliver up to 20 Amps of current constantly. So your 1300mAh LiPo at 15c is good for 19.5A (1.3 x 15) constantly while in use. Your 1100mAh at 20 is good for 22A (1.1 x 15) constantly while in use. Many LiPos will give two 'C' numbers, for example 20-40C. The lower number indicates the constant power that can be delivered without harming that battery, the higher number representing the short-duration (~10 seconds) maximum Burst power that the LiPo can safely deliver without significantly degrading the lifespan of the LiPo. All LiPos degrade with use over the years, you are looking at 200-300 charges before replacement is needed. They start to degrade from first use onwards. So to get the best life out of your batteries: Never charge at more than 1C of the battery's capacity. When you get home from playing, always 'Storage Charge' your LiPos. There will be a setting on your charger that will makes sure that the cells on you LiPos are either charged or discharged to around 3.85V. Use the same Amp setting as charging the LiPo. If you have a full battery (4.2V per cell) that you haven't used and you don't storage charge, you might find that it will either degrade quicker (i.e. lose capacity), or eventually 'puff', where the gases created within the LiPo cause it to expand like a balloon. Never let the LiPos over-discharge (below 3.5v per cell), that'll kill them fairly quickly and can also cause puffing as above. Change smaller batteries (below 1500mAh) at least once during a game day, maybe twice if you are heavy on the trigger. Beyond storage charging, make sure you LiPos are stored in a cool place. Heat can kill them too (again, puffing). Some people use an ammo can from a surplus shop with the seal removed, which is OK-ish for smaller batteries. If you can, store well away from your living space (a shed or garage for example). Hope the above helps. Here's a handy video - RC based but identical theory:

If you get stuck, give me a shout.

I got it. Yeh, it's a 5-10 minute job to change the wiring. Do you have a soldering iron? Here's a video on how to do it.

@C-Diddy I’m confused, is the issue that you can’t get the mini tamiya connector through the hole in the stock? edit - I see what the problem is now. I’d solder up new wiring and connector myself, but if in doubt get a tech to do it for you. Edit 2 - found a couple of vids on YouTube. Seems like a 5-10min job if you’ve got a soldering iron. Remove the lower rail from the buffer tube to expose the wires, unscrew the power plate, desolder the existing wires and solder on some new ones with a connector, not forgetting to add some heat shrink over the joins.

Are those AltaContours? I think it can be agreed that Alta makes really good products.

Took me a full 5 seconds to work out what you were on about until I spotted the Haribo. 🤣 If you don't like the stock, I'll have it off you if you choose to sell it.....😜

I didn't frequent these forums much at the point when things kicked off with him, but I've heard he's quite a character.

Your picture's dead - what did you buy?

I think @Tacklenailed it with his idea. Four of these ITW Nexus Square loops sewn onto the outside of the trousers for each leg (two a side). Pass the knee pad strap through them, means no way to slide down. Clever and very cheap if you are handy with a sewing machine.

Yep. And Viper Elites Gen 2s can be had for £55 here.

Viper is hardly pricey, it's very much at the lower end of the price scale for those style of trousers, although the quality is reasonable for the money paid. Good enough for most people's LARPsoft/BBWarz.

Fire-support states that the JG lever is compatible with TM, so in theory a TM lever should work with a JG. But this is airsoft.....nothing ever quite 'works' between manufacturers as it is supposed to.

Have you tried Altaflex knee pads? I've had good luck with them, and own several (different colour) sets. They're amongst the best I've come across. https://www.military1st.co.uk/ok-afl-cd-34-alta-tactical-altaflex-knee-pads-multicam.html

Are you going with another LCT?

@TheFull9 posted a link to this document on his FB page many moons ago, and unfortunately said link is now dead. By pure luck I've been able to find this document again. Originally put together for the HKPro community, it's a presentation by a former (and now deceased) employee of H&K, Jim Schatz AKA 'G3Kurz' on the HKPro forums. It focuses on the turbulent '90s and early '00's for the company, and has some excellent pictures of the XM8 Prototypes, the H&K 'Pattern' room and a bunch of other really cool stuff. If you like H&K - or firearms in general, it's a really interesting read. I thought I post it here so others can take a look. TheHKDecades.pdf

@ChublukeSorry - missed this last night - Yep, you might find it easier to remove the rail from the gun. It's only held on with two screws at the receiver end of the rail: Remove those, the rail will slide off. It'll give you access to the outer barrel to undertake your repairs.

That single grub screw holds the fake gas block on. Loosen that screw and wiggle the gas block off the barrel. Once removed, you’ll see the other two screws that I highlighted.

There are grub screws at both the receiver end of the out barrel, and at the front where the two peices of the outer barrel meet, make sure they are tigthened down, but don't go mad, you'll strip them out: It's literally those four screws that hold the three parts (Receiver stub, thin mid piece and fatter decorative end piece) together. A bit of a weak spot on these guns. I do know of people that have literally epoxied the pieces together. Not that I would normally recommend such a course of action, but if you are just shoring up a gun you intend to bin off later, it might tide you over if there is a problem with the grub screws. Do so at your own risk.

Yeh, the barrel is not supposed to touch the rail at all. Bin off those self tapping screws. There is no screw between the rail and the barrel on the stock gun.

https://www.airsoftzone.co.uk/cnc-metal-hop-up-chamber-and-nozzle-set-for-ak-series-combat-union.html

This was must of been a few years ago....what happened?