G&G LevAR 15

[HuttArmouries]

Here is the pic of the inside of the grip. That looks like a plastic too brittle problem to me but I dont really know. the fact its blown out like that around where I assume the bolt was 

View attachment 134021

 

[Airsoft World]

For the record: There are other LevAR rifles that have had the same issue, so it’s not restricted to the one dealer and only one of the three rifles that ‘exploded’ was two tone painted. We rarely dismantle guns for two toning as was the case with this one. So just to clarify; none of the three rifles we sold were tampered with or altered in any way, other than one, which was simply masked and spray painted.

We also received a response from G&G later today (Sunday) telling us that they knew of this issue last week. They also asked us to remove our Facebook post, which we obviously refused to do. So, have a think about what’s happened here please as these are the facts, which is very important. 

 

[HuttArmouries]

For the record: There are other LevAR rifles that have had the same issue, so it’s not restricted to the one dealer and only one of the three rifles that ‘exploded’ was two tone painted. We rarely dismantle guns for two toning as was the case with this one. So just to clarify; none of the three rifles we sold were tampered with or altered in any way, other than one, which was simply masked and spray painted.

We also received a response from G&G later today (Sunday) telling us that they knew of this issue last week. They also asked us to remove our Facebook post, which we obviously refused to do. So, have a think about what’s happened here please as these are the facts, which is very important. 

Ok. Thanks very much for the clarification. I believe one of the people who reposted your facebook post stated that it was only guns you have modified which is clearly incorrect then.  Id certainly believe it was a design issue. That grip should not have shattered like that. That break does not look right for decent quality polymer. 

Added an edit to my previous for anyone reading through this post later. 

 

[MrTea]

Damn. Hopefully it's only a small batch that are identified to be suffering from this. Can you imagine if all of the RIFs are all prone to this same failure?

 

[Airsoft World]

We agree. The grip is too brittle and should be either more flexible (nylon or polypropylene) or a rigid engineering polymer like Delrin. Or a decent metal/alloy. 

It is obvious that the stresses on the bolt that secures the grip is vastly increased with the weight and leverage physics of the stock and possibly the longer upper on the 15” model. There has been no reports of the shorty failing at all, which backs this theory.

All three of our failed rifles were on green gas. The first one we filled, the other two verified by the customers, who we know and trust. Plus there were witnesses who confirmed…

We did have the foresight to quadruple check all avenues before broadcasting such a damning post. We have no desire for being sued by G&G for one. Secondly, we now have 59 rifles to micro-manage towards a solution. 
Fun days!

 

[Connorthescot]

Hey folks, 

Thanks @Airsoft World/ @airsoftworldfor spotlighting the issue!

Having had a LEVAR in bits today to source the location of a gas leak, and then spotting the post on Facebook - I am curious if this is a pressure issue whereby the stresses on the pistol grip does cause the single bolt to loosen, making the seal to the inlet nozzle at the top of the grip to loose its seating. 

Without that seal and correct seating of the gas inlet nozzle, is there a possibility for gas to migrate into the cavity between the metal gas chamber and the plastic outer grip case - I cant imagine that tiny volume handling 120+ PSI!

Best of luck with the issues, and hopefully G&G issue some guidance soon!

 

[Rogerborg]

I really want one, but I'm going to wait for some reviews. 

Well, that strategy was more solid than the guns.  Particularly disappointing as G&G were actually praised for their plastics, even on the basic Raiders.

Good on AirsoftWorld for getting out ahead of it, and especially for keeping the Facebook post up: hopefully it's resolved to everybody's satisfaction.

 

[Fatboy40]

Not as big a problem as the above, but a LevAR user on Sunday was a little unhappy with it having so many mag release buttons and their placement, all too easy to accidentally press and drop the mag on the floor in the heat of battle.

 

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

Never buy gen 1 ?

Yep.  Motorcycles, airguns, boilers(!), PCs, literally anything these days uses the Gen 1 buyers as the R&D department!

 

[Cannonfodder]

Latest from airsoft world's faceache page

Update to G&G LevAR situation:
G&G has confirmed there is a problem with the pistol grip design and has tested and replicated the same failure at G&G HQ with the 15" LevAR. They are working on a solution as I type which will rapidly be deployed to all current owners and dealers.

For those of you that have not followed yesterdays post, we confirm that ONLY the 15" version has failed in this way. The additional stress forces of the stock being attached to the grip (and possibly the longer upper receiver) is what is causing the grip to crack at the point where the bolt secures the grip to the lower receiver. If the rifle is gassed, the gas pressure then expands the crack, ending in an explosive breakage. In other words, the grip blows off the receiver - pardon the expression.

So don't sweat it guys and gals, these things do happen on occasion and in this case, it's being approached with a rapid solution. The positive side of this incident is this was discovered and reported literally hours before the main shipments left the G&G factory, so we have helped to avoid a massive global recall situation, which would have taken far longer to resolve and incurred huge costs.

Vive La LevAR! Or whatever ? Hmmm, I feel an airsoft patch coming...

 

[Rogerborg]

It's been really great the way that AIrsoftWorld have handled this, and I hope they don't get hung out to dry by G&G.

However, my primary concern is owners, who are out £400 for a paperweight that they've been told not to use until-and-if a fix is rolled out, while the clock is running on their right to reject.

And a gen 1 (or 2 or 3 or 4) fix for gen 1 problems is often pushed out by marketing rather than engineering, so I'd be hesitant to trust anything rolled out in haste now.

Frankly, I'd hope to see a recall of all guns sold, and (at minimum) a retailer fix applied.  Because if they send out new grips to owners, and they still fail, then it might become a "Well, you must have fitted it wrong" wrangle. The longer you hang onto it, the harder it'll be to get your money back.

tl;dr - if I'd bought one, it would be on the way back for a refund, no reasons given.  Which suck for retailers, but it sucks more for owners.

 

[LMKipper]

Be interested to see how this pans out. I work at a vehicle OEM and we test things like you wouldn't believe but we can't simulate every possible outcome. When something a bit unexpected happens that results in a product failure, and we can replicate it, everyone in R&D is mortified.

That said, checking it still works after it falls over seems like a basic test...