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I'm going to do this review slightly differnetly from normal. Usually I'd take the AEG to bits and talk about the good and bad parts but there are plenty of youtube videos out there comparing the GBLS to other platforms and very little on what it is like to use one. I'll cover the elephant in the room, the price, later on in the review and give my thoughts. So this is my GBLS and I bought the budget/skeleton kit for a couple of reasons. As much as the full rifle is nice I was never going to keep the supplied rail and was probably always going to make my own verison (Mk18 ish in my case however this might change to a MK16 or L119A2 depending on what I finally settle on). If you have been living under a rock a little bit about what the GBLS is might help..or not. It's not a GBB rifle but it uses a similar design, it's not really a typical AEG but it uses a similar design. Confused? Well the closest thing to it would probably be the TOP M4 shell ejecting M4 but the GBLS doesn't eject shells. Inside the lower receiver you will find the gearbox and in the pistol grip is the motor. In the upper receiver you will find full sized bolt. Inside the bolt is the piston head and spring. The way it works is you pull the charging handle to the rear and when you release it it pushes the bolt forward and chambers a BB in the hop unit. You pull the trigger and this releases the compressed spring which pushes air out the front of the bolt propelling the BB out the barrel. At the same time the gearbox kicks in and cycles the bolt again and loads another BB. If set to semi it does this once. If set to auto it does that until every BB is fired out the magazine and the bolt locks in the rear position and you then take out the mag, replace with a fresh mag and hit the bolt release which loads a BB in the hop. I'm going to be aiming these next comments to people who have been skirmishing a while and use PTW's, GBB's and NGRS's. You know that way on a PTW you can get a quick double tap off quickly and both BB's will mostly likely hit the target. On the GBLS that's not going to happen. Well it will but you are going to have to train with it to get a grip with the recoil as after the first cycle of the bolt your aim will be off by quite a bit. You know the way when you full auto a GBB rifle and the FPS drops about 30 or 40 from the first shot to the 35th shot. Yeah that doesn't happen. The FPS is consistant from BB 1 to BB 60. You know that sound and slight recoil you get when you fire a NGRS well that doesn't happen. You get a very nice kick and quite a loud sound as the bolt slams forward. I'm not having a go at these other platforms as I have them all and enjoy them but the GBLS is just a bit different and in a good way. I'll do a few more comparisons to the other platforms so that the more experienced players get where I'm coming from. On the GBB it's great to have the bolt lock back making you do a mag swap, slap the bolt release and get back in the game. When I run a GBB (MWS, GHK, VFC, or any of the others I run) I'm always concerned that the gas I'm using which was under the site limits at the start of the day is now pushing the BB's above the site limit because it's now the afternoon and it's 10 degrees hotter. I'm also concerned that in the colder months in the UK I'm not getting the best from the platform because it's cold so tend not to use them. The GBLS gives me the mag swaps and the recoil I get from my GBB's but at a consistant FPS the whole year. The recoil is probably just as good as my MWS running sub 350 FPS and if there is a difference it's hardly noticable. On the PTW or a NGRS with a Titan fitted I get some nice snappy shots off. I don't get this on the GBLS. My first shot is snappy and on target but the 2nd shot will need adjusting (GBB people will know what I'm talking about). On the GBLS the trigger pull feels very real. I've heard that the trigger pull was about 10 lb but mine seems to be about 8. It feels very realistic with a nice break and reset. It feels more realistic than my GBB's never mind the PTW and NGRS. My opinion at the moment is the GBLS DAS is more realistic than a PTW or NGRS and more reliable than a GBB. Before I move on to price I'll mention the following. I ordered 2 Nupol 11.1V 30C Lipoi batteries as I thought the GBLS might eat through a battery since it's shifting the heavy bolt back and forward. I used 16 full mags today on 1 battery and there is still plenty of juice left in it so it doesn't seem to be current hungry. I had zero jams, stoppages or feeding problems with the 8 mags I used (although I did loose one somewhere along with a Glock 19 but thats another story!). I took it out the box, set the hop with 0.3g blaster BB's and was easily hitting 55 meters with accuracy and the FPS is running at around 320 (on a 0.2g BB). To be clear I have done nothing to it, straight out the box if fires flawlessly and that leads into the price. So £1350 for a toy gun is quite excessive or is it? Let's have a look at the other toys out there. Let's start with the GBB as this is probably the cheapest platform when comparing it to the rest unless you look at the running costs over a long period of time. So a MWS is around £500 then you add 7 more mags at £45 a pop. Let's also remember that carrying 8 BGG mags is a chore as they weigh a ton. Let's say you want to get the best range out to 55/60 meters so you might chuck in a tightbore and maple leaf rubber and possibly a NPAS to control the FPS. So you are probably looking at about a grand now. TM NGRS can be a bit of a money pit when it comes to getting the best out of them. £550 for the AEG, £150 for the titan, 8 mags at £25 each, tightbore, S hop, new spring and spring guide and possibly reinforced gears to replace the soft TM gears. We are probably at around £1200 now. PTW's are anywhere from £1200 to £2000 depending on the model you buy but then you have spare mags, possibly get the hop sorted, have the electrics waterproofed and then maybe have the motor rewired. God knows the final price of a full tuned PTW. I hate to think how much I've spent over the years on them. At this point you might be seeing the point I'm trying to make. £1350 plus £35 a mag doesn't seem that expensive when you don't have to upgrade/replace/rewire anything and it justs works as advertised out the box and is more realisitc and reliably than the other platforms. Are there any negatives? I know of 1 and heard of another but never experienced it. The electronic board in the gearbox doesn't like to get wet or so I have heard. Tell me a titan or Systema board that does. My only slight gripe is the metal mags rattle a bit inside the magwell. This is genuinely the only negative I could find with the GBLS. Is it the best airsoft gun in the world? well no but it is the most reliably realistic one out there and it's very much a nice experience using it. I'll finish this review of with a couple of notes. I handed it to about 10 team mates today and everyone had a stupid smile on their face after that first shot. I think a few AEG's will be getting sold off shortly to fund a GBLS. I'm probably going to be one of the ones selling other AEG's as I see that there is now a HK 416 GBLS. I'm not in anyway associated with GBLS but if you want to send me the steel bolt and Type B buffer I'm not going to get upset. Just saying.

Re black gas, in freezing conditions its pressure is considerably reduced, yes if you are stupid and use it when warmer breakages will occur. You are correct Parker gun oil does not contain PTFE or any other modern slippery substance, it is a mineral oil of which its natural properties provide lubrication. It is also lightweight, so it penetrates, does not clog, and it cleans, it is not a one time treatment, it is meant to be applied and removed with each usage of the RIF just as you would a real firearm. I mean i havent run MWS's since they came out or anything.

Dunno about this, couple thousand through and my DE's nozzle is fine and I've been using TM mags, and most people recommend using the GM mags with the DE because the DE mags are based off the GM mags (The GMs are just better though). On the gas end, The max anyone should be putting through the MWS is red, black is overkill even in 0c, remember this gun was made to run duster gas in japan which has climates varying from scalding in the southerner areas to below freezing in the northernmost areas. Red is good for even 0c if you do your due diligence with sealing (Which is really required for running any gbbr in winter). Black gas is way more likely to break your gun (or even your mags, i found out). On the oil thing, I'll admit im not lubrication expert. So I'd never heard of Parker Hale gun oil, and after looking at it, it doesn't seem to contain anything that provides a boundary lubricant (e.g. PTFE/Syncolon my beloved). It's marketed as a rust preventer(?). What makes you recommend that?

Not owned 8fields kit, but I've never had a mag, pistol or rifle, fall out of those kind of pouches, so it's probably safe to assume you never had it adjusted tight enough, not a criticism just an observation. As a young squaddie literally 4 decades ago, one of the first things we were taught was once your kit was loaded up, have a good jump around in front of your mates, looking for anything that might make a noise & give you away, & that everything is secure. Good rule of thumb before your next game.

I have ordered the next bucking for the power of the gun, also ordered tight bore barrel, everything worked perfectly, then the gun Sat unused for like 8 months, could the bucking have gone or anything? Also noticed that since last playing 8 months ago, the shots curve right when they come out, could the barrel have gone or changed shape a little and not sealing properly?

Yes, biggest "issue" with the Marui MP7 that it's scaled to 90% of the real deal (if it bothers you). I never owned either WE or Marui but I have a VFC and every MP7 has the same issue more or less. Simply that constant bashing to the rear is gonna either crack the receiver or make it to explode whatever inside. Stock backplate is gonna give in over time. To my knowledge there is only one solution: aftermarket cnc'd backplate and any picatinny sling mount around the charging handle to make it more rigid. Well, that's what I did. I think getting spares for Marui is way more difficult. If I need anything VFC related, I can go to mlemart or wgcshop or any other HK based retailer. Yes, worst case scenario VFC itself but it takes time for sure.

Only kind of, and only with significant modification. The only thing I can think of that is potentially drop in, is hop up unit, but then you have to use GHK nozzles which is a ballache, because the nozzles need filing down to work with WA BCG's as they're dimensionally too big OOTB. Nozzle guides are also different, can again kind of work with some filing, but nothing is easy. God forbid you need anything in the FCG, as its a complete shitshow in compatibility, given GHK can't guarantee compatibility between their own QC and generational differences, let alone compatibility with WA.

@ak2m4Finally got around to sorting out my semi-boneyard CMYA MP5K, needed a v3 spring guide from you as I disassembled the gearbox last weekend and the ball bearing cage just fell apart So, running your brushless motor along with a GATE Titan v3, and I've now a nice little nippy SMG 😁 AB is set to manual and zero percent, but anything else you recommend for GATE Titan users with your motor?

Anybody heard anything about this thing_http://taap-shop.net/ Looks like a snappy AEP _ with 11.1 and precock. Might bee and old and maybe dead company but i cant tell web site in in Japan

Out of interest I have tried to do a field design based on this site, using the information available on the planning portal. Particularly I wanted to test whether the very linear layout of the existing mall could be made into something more playable. So I tried to implement some theories from video game level design and see if they can be applied here. The below is an illustration of a possible design and the steps I had taken. Step 1 Design preparations First we need to allocate space to the safe zone and game zone etc. There are two main existing entrances to the mall but the escalators to the south in my opinion will not be suitable because they cannot function as stairs nor fire escape, so if they are permanently turned off this entrance cannot be safely used. Therefore we can only use the north entrance as the main entrance, accordingly the safe zone (and its size requirement for 50 visitors) is placed next to the entrance lobby. The lobby has enough space for a small reception and waiting area and probably even a small shop. Staff and guest toilets are upstairs from the safe zone. My design is heavily based on the concept of "lanes" in game level design which refers to the overall pathing network of the map. The immediate issue is too many dead-ends, which is an absolute nono in level design, so before we can even design anything we need to eliminate these dead-ends by creating loops. This is achieved by demolishing the existing partition walls (where structurally permitted) to create openings near the end of these dead-ends, so they can continue their paths and loop back into the map. At the bottom space where it is only reachable via a choke point, I have walled off the path to effectively create another loop that can be meaningfully progressed from one side through another. This becomes the basic "topology" of the map that we can start to work on. Step 2 Topological interventions Looking at the topology it is immediately obvious the central lane is too connected and will attract too much action from everywhere, in game level design terms this is too many options for the player to choose from. Three precision cuts can prune this network into several distinct sectors with an acceptable number of optional paths to progress through. Due to the shape of how this is arranged, it seems natural to place the two team spawn points on left and right, so there are multiple optional sectors and paths for them to fight through. If the spawns are top and bottom it would appear too much choke points will be in the middle and the winding paths near the two spawns will not see too many action therefore wasted space. Step 3 Cover placement and distances With the schematic from the previous step we can start to sketch out where to put the covers and checking the distances. At this point I was only concerned with the gameplay itself and not think too much about scenic design, which will come later. For example I am only placing the high or low covers based on how the space can be progressed through, and trying to have a variation of tactical options for each situation. For areas near the two spawns I would also try to give advantage to the home team to try to help them progress back towards the middle. There are 4 Point Of Interests (for objectives) placed in each zone, and by measuring the distances from each spawn their positions can be tweaked for balance. By happy accident only two can be balanced and the other two is giving each of the team a slight advantage, which should be good for various game modes (e.g. bomb diffusion). This is also when fire escapes distances could be checked to make sure at every point from the map there is a suitable escape route for fire safety reasons and compliance with regulations (drawing illustrative only, not fire safety advice). (Disclaimer: This post is not professional advice. To comply with building regulations and dealing with planning conditions and other stuff please consult professionals.) Step 4 Scenic design Once we have the schematic of roughly how the tactical gameplay is conducted, we can start to make it pretty and immersive. The four "sectors" of the map makes a good template for different biomes or themes to take place. In this example I have made up some themes like "Mall" and "Factory" and "Office" and "Airfield". This can then guide how we can choose what objects to put up as cover, and what kind of non-functional decorative doodads to put up on walls and so on. For example in the "Mall" each of the rooms can be a different vendor with different themes e.g. restaurant or fashion shop or phone shop etc. which influences the atmosphere or feel or even distribution of covers of each space. Again for example the "Factory" can be heavily decorated with fake pipes or barrels. And in the "Airfield" with decorations associated with an airport like check-in counters or duty-free shops and so on. Notice I have put the "Airfield" to the south area to make use of the high level of natural lighting to suit the atmosphere, and the "Factory" in the middle so it is darker. Step 5 Detail designs and construction and so on (no image) The remaining steps are just realising the interior design, prop design, signage placement, lighting, etc. to generally follow the themes of each zone or room. I don't have a drawing here because this can be heavily influenced by the aesthetic taste of the business operator and their budget and so on. This is also where the practical and safety details to be added like fire escape signage, or transitional thresholds from safe zone to game area, or special floor markings etc. In this example there may also be visibility concerns because the glass curtain walling to the south (facing the high street) may need to be blacked out to prevent pedestrians from seeing the RIFs, so is the entrance lobby to the north. In terms of construction, the decorations and covers and props and other doodads can be simple pieces of woodwork or metalwork. There could even be interactive elements e.g. electronic or manually operated installations. It can be really creative and use savaged car parts or heavy machines and so on as cover or decoration. Once construction is complete and the necessary props added, the site should be functional and playable and rest is getting outside of the scope of map design. In conclusion, this is just a sketch exercise for me to dabble into airsoft field design but I think this map that I have drawn should play fairly well and look fairly immersive given some creativity and budget. Any criticism and suggestions are very welcome.

Sorry but with all those issues and the time you've spent messing with it you should send it back for a refund or the seller should at least offer a partial refund, they can't have been in the dark about its condition I'm fed up with people getting dicked over with sales. Even if the seller claims to not know anything is wrong with the gun and let's be honest the majority of the time they do and it's them that have fucked about with it and claimed they didn't know (not saying it's the case with this particular sale but it happens alot) How was the gun advertised? With just a minor thing that needs fixing?

Don’t buy anything until you have actually handled a few, and spoken to the owner on what they have had to do/fix etc see what people run at your local sites

I was going to say that if you're playing CQB, you can run a GBB pistol primary effectively, and if you get the right one, you can dress it up in any carbine kit you like. However, Apocalypse is a hundred acre woodland site, so I'd definitely go AEG there. And of course rent first and try airsoft out a few times before buying anything (except footwear and maybe eyepro). I suspect that OP may be listing what he wants, rather than what he has.

I ordered one of the WADSN PTTs from ali and it's been working great, just had to return the pair of Not Comtac IIs because I bought the non active version so it was just a microphone/headset and I couldn't hear anything with them on 😅, will order the slightly more expensive ones from there when I get the spondoolies in. Scope packaging gave me a good laugh. It is not scope. It is Vision King

If you’re just getting into the hobby, my advice as disheartening as it is, is simply - don’t. The maintenance and upkeep, as well as the cost of magazines, the limited ammo, the weather, the type of gas and play style differences are massive factors. Based on your budget, you’re already setting your sights low. However, I think one of the most forgiving and easier GBBR’s to get started with is a WE G36. Cheap, reliable, and mags are robust. Alternatively look through classifieds and see if you find anything that’s within budget.

Not true. If anything, the shorter the better for lifting heavy BBs. Jmason, you should give this thread on the airsoft sniper forums a read. Despite being nearly 15 years old, the principles are still very much the same https://www.airsoftsniperforum.com/threads/the-holy-grail-of-building-your-dmr-aeg.892/ Basically eliminating movement, vibrations, and air leaks to create the most consistent performance you can. And to be a bit helpful in a succinct way, you probably want a barrel of 300-400mm with a full cylinder for a good air volume ratio. You can work out your own cylinder's volume exactly with this calculator and ruler. http://airsofttech.dk/Calculator.cshtml

Hi bud. I've had a Google as I'm sure you have and not come up with anything. That's not to say there isn't custom slides around though. Why do you want a ported slide? Regards

This seems an option, thanks! I'd not come across them before. Still a touch on the pricy side, but might be a go'er. I am rather wedded to the 'proper' external knee pad sections, as my knees are made of cheese these days. I had a look on eBay for the genuine crye stuff, but sadly it's multicam or nothing (I should have mentioned that I generally go for anything but). Yes, years ago I actually went to the trouble of unpicking the knee pad sections of some arktis trousers and restitching them lower onto the leg. The joys of life before kids when I had such time to burn!

Anything from a few days to my worse was 6 weeks. I think I have heard of worse.

Yarp, it's entirely up to your local sites, you'll need to ask them. It's one of the most LARP-ish aspects of airsoft, as functionally, the BB doesn't give a stuff about what it came out of. Locked-to-semi is both a site issue and a legal issue, as anything capable of auto and over 1.3J is a Section 5 firearm, not an airsoft gun. It's easily enough achieved on most guns just by filing a small amount off the fire selector so that it can't push on the semi-auto cutoff lever. My local is fine with me running a long barrelled M4 with a scope and solid stock as a DMR. They are indeed super-exploitable, and enforcement is essentially non-existent. With the best will in the world, when you're presented with a juicy target in the open, it's hard to resist the reflex to send two[*] BBs at them in short order. My other local disallows them entirely, and only allows sub 1.2J auto guns, and bolt actions up to 2.2J, nothing in between. I actually agree with this. [*] Ten.