Ares RDB - First look and impressions. Buyer beware.

[Asomodai]

Heya all. 

 

I just picked up one of the new Ares Kel-Tec RDBs. 

 

This is the first and probably only generation of these AEGs. I am always loathe to be the first to buy a brand new just released rifle ever since the KWA Tavor GBBr disaster. But... It's a bullpup, and I must have it. 

 

With the Ares RDB I was mostly right to be reticent. 

 

Looks: Great, the box is similar to the real Kel Tec rifle ones. The Replica looks fantastic. Quite accurate to look at. The Plastic is of very high quality Nylon Fibre. The metal feels like standard Ares Pot metal. 

 

Internals: Usual Ares Trash, not that I expected any less. This essentially took the standard Ares Soc-AR gearbox, Quick change spring system, Ferrite motor, innards and mosfet, replaced the cylinder with a one piece cylinder/cylinder head type and called it fine. To be fair the Ares Mosfet is a monster, hall sensors everywhere, whilst it has no real additional functionality, it is made of quite substantial components. 

 

The proprietary hop unit is.... meh. The plastic used is sturdier then it's orange appearance would have you believe. Unlike other Ares hop units, this one probably wont adjust by itself upon firing. Sadly the arm has a built in plastic nub, so you will need to modify it to use a rubber nub. The standard bucking is the usual ultra soft Ares rubber which tears easily. I replaced this with a Prommy Purple straight away. Hop adjustment is made in the magwell (So have to remove the magazine) by a small flathead screwdriver supplied within the RDB's pistol grip.

 

The stock barrel is an awfully made 450mm brass barrel with a small hop window. This was changed out for a ZCI 420mm straight away. 

 

Fit and Finish: This is where the problems were very close to me returning it. The Outer Barrel and gas tube/Top Rail do not align, much like the 1st gen G&G GK5's and 1st gen Krytac M4's. I had to take the outer barrel apart to align it close enough to shoot straight. Sadly this also means trying to get the handguard pin back in is a nightmare as the pin hole on the gas tube/outer barrel bracket is now at a slight angle. I suspect this is actually an inherent design flaw rather then something specific to mine. 

If you want to see if your RDB has this issue, just look from the top down at the front of the rail and see if it aligns with the outer barrel extension, my extension is cockeyed to the left. 

 

I cant get the flash hider off from the barrel extension. Its stuck on fast and I need to get the heatgun out to see if that will shift it.

 

The gearbox shimming is awful as per usual for Ares. the motor is weak, but the mosfet bullies the AEG into having reasonable performance on 11.1v. As per usual I will be replacing these bits ASAP.

 

Performance: It's not particularly awful, I need to spend some time with the hop unit to get it working as best as it could, even with the prommy purple and ZCI barrel, its performance is lacking a little, range falling short of most of my other AEG's. ROF is fine. FPS was 330 out of the box with a stock M90 spring, dropping to 320 when I installed the shorter ZCI barrel. It's a quick change spring system so I put in a spare M95 to bump the performance up to 347 fps. At least it shoots straight after being beaten into shape by yours truly. 

 

Would I recommend it?: Like most bullpups, you have to love the system, be prepared to invest some physical labour and Teching to get it working to an acceptable standard. So for your average user... no. I do LOVE the look of the rifle and the way it feels in hand. If you insist on buying one, try seeing it in person beforehand to see if it has the barrel misalignment issue that I had. Frankly, it's Ares, and I got what I expected, good ideas, good on paper, but woefully implemented. 

 

Dissasembly Guide: 

 

ARES/EMG KEL-TEC RDBを分解していきます（分解手順、バレル、メカボックス内部紹介） | エボログ (evolutor.net)

 

Here she is, along with my KSG. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 30, 2021 by Asomodai

[noctu]

I picked up mine for pretty much the same reasons! Got frustrated at the UK retailers not having any in stock, waited a while, finally pulled the trigger and imported one only for the retailers to start stocking it whilst mine was delayed in customs.

 

Not had a chance to fire mine yet (I went for the OD version too because obviously), but here's the offending rail/barrel. There does seem to be a left bias, but I'm not sure if that's just because I'm expecting one and held the camera like a fool. How cockeyed was yours in comparison? When I've actually had a chance to take it outside I'll let you know if it flies off target and hits the neighbour's cat instead of the target.

 

Edited August 6, 2021 by noctu

[Rogerborg]

10 hours ago, noctu said:

There does seem to be a left bias, but I'm not sure if that's just because I'm expecting one and held the camera like a fool.

 

That's leaning further left than Jeremy Corbyn going into Beckett's Hairpin.

 

[noctu]

12 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

 

That's leaning further left than Jeremy Corbyn going into Beckett's Hairpin.

 

 

Surely you're not suggesting I add a touch more Farage?

[JackG]

Just ordered myself one of these, did you manage to adapt the hop arm to fit a nub or just ran it with the prommy rubber and the standard plastic hop arm/built in nub? Got myself a purple rubber and a barrel to put in it when it arrives so was just wondering.

 

Also will ask, did you stick with a 7.4V or attempt the 11.1V, as I've seen a lot just saying use 7.4 for UK limits.

 

Cheers,

Edited August 24, 2021 by JackG

[Northman]

I'm quite keen on trying a bullpup platform as I have always run AK's so looking for something a little more ergonomic. Buyer beware doesn't make good reading but if the performance is at least entry level then it would be fine with me and some of the Youtube reviews do say this - and yes I know they may be paid for! 

 

My query is with all these proprietary parts could it make sourcing replacements an issue?