Tokyo Marui M4A1, adding rails?

[jcheeseright]

Hey, newbie here getting back into airsoft post VCRA, thankfully I still have my old M4A1 from way back in 2001 (!!!) in a box under the bed.

Only problem being it looks a little bit dated:



I'd like to fit a sort of RIS handguard to the front, but that's where the battery lives at the moment (a measly 8.4v 600Mah small type, Lipo inbound):



Is it possible to get a rail system attached to this without resorting to a crane stock/battery box and all the rewiring nightmares that go with it? The foresight is not an issue, as it can be removed quite simply by knocking a couple of pins out and undoing a small bolt.

Many thanks in advance,

James

 

[TheFull9]

I cannot see any quad-rail metal handguard fitting to that while still allowing you to put a battery in there, not with the amount of space that fuse rig is taking up. Unless you went for about a 12" rail with no gas block at all and had the li-po really far forward, but that's a really rough guess and I've no idea if it'd actually go together or not. Even if it did, the amount of strain a rail like that would put on that old type TM plastic would ruin your receiver in double time.

If it's aesthetics you're mainly concerned about, just grab yourself some Magpul bits (including an MOE handguard primarily) and there you go, sorted. You'll have space for your battery, you can add rails if you want any (amongst other specific accessories), it'll put less weight on the plastic, take seconds to install and cost a lot less than a metal rail as well as causing you less ache in your left arm.

 

[Hudson]

It'd also be possible to simply use a PEQ box for battery storage too.

You might also need a different delta-ring fitting, depending on the RIS you get.

As an aside; If you do manage to get one, and fancy selling the standard handguard I'd be interested!

 

[jcheeseright]

Thanks guys, super fast replies! Though it's entirely expected that the RAF would be able to reply on a Friday afternoon... it is nearly the weekend after all. (joking, I promise)

The MOE foregrips sound like the best plan for the short term, though I've read that they don't fit into the d-ring and front ring on the standard marui M4?

Also, what would you guys recommend to replace the standard fore sight, was looking at a vltor gas block/flip up sight replica, just wondering if the front ring will attach to that, or would I need to drill out and tap a hole in it?

 

[TheFull9]

Thanks guys, super fast replies! Though it's entirely expected that the RAF would be able to reply on a Friday afternoon... it is nearly the weekend after all. (joking, I promise)

1 week in to 3 weeks of PODL.

The MOE foregrips sound like the best plan for the short term, though I've read that they don't fit into the d-ring and front ring on the standard marui M4?
Also, what would you guys recommend to replace the standard fore sight, was looking at a vltor gas block/flip up sight replica, just wondering if the front ring will attach to that, or would I need to drill out and tap a hole in it?

You may well be right on the fitment, your barrel nut (part which [in the real world and on most AR AEGs] holds the outer barrel to the upper receiver and is surrounded by the delta ring) is strangely lacking in the 'teeth' it should have all the way around:

Not sure why this calls the delta spring 'weld' or the C-clip a 'barrel snap' because I'm pretty certain that's incorrect, but the other two parts are at least labelled correctly for demonstration purposes.

Anyway, I can only presume the smooth nature of your barrel nut is an odd feature off those old school TM designs. Have you ever tried to take your outer barrel off? I'd usually say you could just buy an after-market barrel nut/delta ring set which would sort the issue, but I can't be certain whether it would actually be compatible.

The VLTOR block with the flip-up BUIS and the dual-QD sling swivel points are an excellent option for pretty much any AR, I use them (King Arms replicas) on at least 3 of my rifles. The handguard cap (metal plate that fits just behind your stock A-frame gas block/front sight) can sit behind the VLTOR block just the same as normal so no drilling required there; provided TM hasn't put some kind of weird cap on that has a spigot sticking out of it that is...

 

[jcheeseright]

Yeah the oldschool tm m4 has a weird delta ring, it's definitely removable (did it today without issue when cleaning/greasing the gun).

External barrel is similarly removable, though as you can see in the above pictures the outer barrel is in several parts, with the bit around the fuse being much narrower and quite low quality plastic. I'd ideally like to not replace the outer barrel as of I do that and other bits, I may as well just buy a new gun with the amount I'd have to shell out! Granted, I'd like to get a new gun anyway (the magpul Masada looks awesome) but for now, 'budget' is the word of the day!

Ref the flip up sight, that's sold me on it, I've already ordered a (replica) eotech holographic to whack on the rail on the receiver, so I need to get rid of the standard foresight, or it'll get in the way.

 

[TheFull9]

If you have a watch of this:

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=10339/g...An_AR_15_Barrel

That'll show you how a real AR goes together in terms of the attachment of the barrel and the threaded portion that protrudes from the front of the upper receiver, pretty much all airsoft AR-15s are built the same as the RS in this respect. Long as your upper has the same threaded portion for a barrel nut then you should be able to pick up an aftermarket one to facilitate the attachment of other handguards no worries. If you did want to get a more sturdy outer barrel then pretty much any brand should work, although I've never seen plastic ones sold as individual items and I'm not certain how that plastic receiver would hold up to a metal barrel.

 

[jcheeseright]

Having looked around at prices of parts, the possibility of those parts being incompatible and the fact that I may just be polishing a turd, I've decided I'll probably sell it and use the proceeds to subsidise the purchase of a gun with all the features I want already there.

I'm thinking either a G&P LMT MRP GP909:

http://www.landwarriorairsoft.com/acatalog/M4_Rifles.html

Or, the slightly cheaper G&G T4-18 LIGHT *blowback*:

http://www.landwarriorairsoft.com/acatalog..._M4_Series.html

G&P reputedly have the edge regarding quality and the one piece rail and upper receiver is a seriously attractive feature as it'll be super sturdy. Although, G&G has that pneumatic blowback system which makes the gun sound nice and meaty (at the expense of some RPS), as well as being £70 cheaper!

I'm about 90% settled on the G&P, as it's quite obviously the higher quality gun, but it is a LOT more expensive and that extra £70 could be spent on other things, like magazines, or some new webbing/plate carrier etc.

As you can probably tell, I'm Mr Uncertain in my time off from being Captain Indecision.

Also, how much would an old TM M4A1 fetch? They go for about £230 new, so after nearly a decade sat in a box and a few scrapes on the stock from skirmishing it's probably not worth all that much?

 

[TheFull9]

Do you have your VCRA defence sorted out yet?

Anyway, the LMT is a lot of gun for the money considering it's based of a very gucci RS weapon and a very accurate replica at that, plus those 1-piece uppers are not cheap to make at all. So overall a pretty good deal indeed considering that some of the Viper models which just scream "airsoft!" are a lot more money. The G&Gs by comparison have rather ugly, fictional trademarks and their blowback system is fairly weak and tinny when you look at it compared to all the other systems out there.

Depending on how fussed you are about being able to pimp out your rifle, an ICS would be a good option:

http://www.fire-support.co.uk/product/ics-...airsoft-gun-aeg

The after-market parts options are a lot lot smaller than with a G&P but it'll be solidly built out the box anyway and they're a reliable brand internally. Plus, most importantly, £100 less than the G&P. In the unlikely event something did go wrong then Fire-support is run by a great bunch of people (though LWA do also have a very good rep amongst the UK retailers).

 

[jcheeseright]

Vcra defence will be sorted by this time next month, as you said, the LMT is hugely Gucci and quite a lot of bang for the buck. Had a look at a few more reviews for the g&g gun and I'm now convinced the g&p gun is the better choice despite the additional cost.

Not overly fussed about pimping options, as if I want something significantly different I'll just buy a different gun entirely. The full set of rails on the front and top gives me plenty of room to add extra rubbish if required.

 

[jcheeseright]

So I got bored and decided to do some stuff to the old M4 anyway, still planning on replacing it but as I'm being deployed for 7 months in september I don't really see much point in spending now, when I can just save for 7 months and get something rock solid when I'm home (magpul masada I reckon, it looks super awesome).

Added a MOE foregrip, replaced the carry handle sights with a replica eotech (not quite parallax free, but close enough for government work) and have an angled fore grip, new gas block, a FTS magnifier (Call of Duty tacticool kit, lolz) and a new charging handle latch on order. Once it's all added it should look pretty pimped, and not at all like a gun anyone would ever use in real life!

Looking at maybe replacing the receiver also, as the plastic one is kinda letting the whole thing down for now, any recommendations?

Pics of the new magpulized M4 (with rail underneath, mission accomplished!)

 

[jcheeseright]

So, I think I'm pretty much done with the Marui M4 now, it's had quite a lot done to it, new receiver, front handguard, added a CQB sling plate at the base of the buffer tube, internally it's now got a Madbull ultimate hop and a Modify air nozzle, 6.03mm barrel is on the way.

Unfortunately in the frustration of fitting the metal receiver I managed to break the charging handle, cheap Marui pot metal, so have ordered a sturdier steel one to replace it. The charging handle is EXTREMELY stiff with this receiver though, could it be rubbing on the gearbox?

Oh, and while on holiday in Spain I found a shop/armoury with literally hundreds of guns/accessories and couldn't help but buy an ACOG sight, 4x magnification and red/green illuminated reticle. Not too shabby for 110 euros! Keeping the eotech holographic for CQB games can't fit it onto the receiver with the magnifier though, so it'll be a CQB only job for now until I get another gun with a longer rail on top and then it'll get some use.

Anyhoo, photos of the nearly complete rifle below:

 

[Hibernator]

Pretty cool - a mix old old and new skool

Personally I don't get on with the angled foregrip and prefer a vertical or magwell grip, but each to their own

 

[contentcontrol]

Hi, ive got exactly the same m4 and im having problems getting the magpul moe foregip to fit, on here people have said about buying a new delta ring? is this what you did in order to get it to fit and if so which one did you get?

Cheers