standard AEG to a blowback?

[proffrink]

So here's what I'd say for the complete thing:

Kit

$475 + VAT + import tax*

*You can get TNK to quote it on the package a bit lower so you only pay about £30-50 tax

Lube (DGs have a recommended lube called GetSome 1000)

~$14 per bottle (you'll want two or three as they're impossible to get over here)

Delrin crush ring, spare bucking, Delrin ball (and spares) for hop

~$25 total

Rig

88/4500 tank (on the M249 you kind of want two but one at a minimum)

~£170

Red Line Firebase or their new reg (coming out in a couple of weeks), the SFR. SFR won't be available in the UK for a bit I wouldn't have thought, so you can slap VAT on that too

~$155

Wide bore line

~$40 (can be bought in the UK for £36)

So really you're looking at about £670.

 

[Lozart]

So here's what I'd say for the complete thing:

Kit

$475 + VAT + import tax*

*You can get TNK to quote it on the package a bit lower so you only pay about £30-50 tax

Rig

88/4500 tank (on the M249 you kind of want two but one at a minimum)

~£170

Red Line Firebase or their new reg (coming out in a couple of weeks), the SFR. SFR won't be available in the UK for a bit I wouldn't have thought, so you can slap VAT on that too

~$155

Wide bore line

~$40 (can be bought in the UK for £36)

Lube (DGs have a recommended lube called GetSome 1000)

~$14 per bottle (you'll want two or three as they're impossible to get over here)

So really you're looking at about £670.

Sheeeeeit!

What about the Wolverine Inferno? Any good? Beesting are selling the kit around £415 for an M249...

 

[proffrink]

I wouldn't be able to comment - that's a solenoid-base HPA engine like Polarstar and the like so it's very different in the way it works, sorry.

 

[Lozart]

I wouldn't be able to comment - that's a solenoid-base HPA engine like Polarstar and the like so it's very different in the way it works, sorry.

Pardon my ignorance but what's the difference?

 

[proffrink]

Everything but the power source really.

I'd put HPA engines into two main categories (works with 90% of them): Solenoid and non-solenoid/fully pneumatic

Solenoid ones have an electric valve that blocks the airflow (or unblocks it temporarily when you want to shoot). Think of it as a tap, but an electrically powered tap. This is why Polarstar, Valken, Kuba, SMP etc. need a battery to operate (and can use an FCU). In this way they are more similar to your standard AEG and fit into AEG bodies much more readily because they're shaped like gearboxes but - more importantly - the electric triggers in an AEG work with them.

Fully pneumatic/mechanical systems just use sheer mechanics to block or unblock airflow. Again, it's like a tap, but an actual tap this time. Daytona Gun, Escort and Sun Project (the latter two being very old tech now from the days when airsoft was basically paintball and most people ran HPA before TM came in with the first AEG - the FAMAS). They're all big chunks of metal that fly about much more like GBBRs than solenoid-based engines. This has a huge advantage for me because they can - and do - include reciprocating parts that can mimic recoil comparable to a lot of GBBRs. They are slightly less functional than solenoid-based engines because the valve cannot open and shut as quickly as a solenoid can operate one so rate-of-fire wise they are less competitive (this is kind of a moot point though because some DGs can shoot up to 30rps anyway, which is more than enough).

For me, I really like the fully pneumatic ones. An absolute joy to shoot (proper and crisp pneumatic blow-back), but consistent because they use HPA and very reliable because there's no electronics - in fact they're waterproof. That's why Daytona Gun costs more than even a Polarstar right now.

Edit

Like I say, this doesn't cover everything. For example I'd class Tippmann as also being a purely pneumatic blow back system but something like the Mancraft PDiKs may look like a solenoid-base engine but in reality it uses no electronics but also has no blowback (a kind of middle-ground for the two categories in that it's really simple, but also it doesn't have the advantage of blow back - like with most of the other solely pneumatic systems, but also doesn't have the insane rate of fire that some of the solenoid-based designs have) - basically it's great for DMRs.

Here're two images. The one at the top is my A&K M249 with its dirty (I cleaned it after the pic, I promise) engine. Bottom is a Polarstar Fusion engine modified slightly to fit into an A&K M249. They're basically chalk and cheese yet both run off HPA.

 

[Lozart]

Brilliant, thanks for that!

Having seen a few videos of them in action the DG sounds like the one I'd go for but not right now having just moved house! That's almost a month's mortgage payment!

 

[proffrink]

No problem.

Yeh, Daytona Guns are really quite spectacular once they're broken in and R-hopped properly. Worth saving for for sure.

 

[Pricey-1991]

I'm definitely going to save to get a Daytona gun may have to do it in stages to ease the blow on the old ban account but will be worth it when I finally get it all done and go and play for the first time with it and scare the living shite out of everyone with 6mm plastic pain lol

 

[proffrink]

If you're still interested, the M249s are back in stock after Lunar New Year. They tend to sell out within a month of them being restocked.

 

[Sacarathe]

Polarstar are working on a non electronic HPA gun - but I wouldn't expect it in the next two years.

That was a nice read proff, what gun are you bringing to the mall on the 27th?

 

[proffrink]

MP7. No semi on the 249 so there's no point in bringing it unfortunately.