Rejuvenating a 20-year old AEG

[The_Original_Twig]

So after a two-decade airsofting break, I have decided to make a return. I’ve taken my primary AEG (a Tokyo Marui-based AR15-type shorty) out of storage (at my peak I owned 20+ AEGs!) and I’ve done the following to it:

 

- Fitted a new spring (now firing at 340 to 350 fps).

- Fitted a new HOP & cleaned the barrel (working very effectively).

- Regreased the gears and cylinders.

- Bought 2 x 7.4v and a 1 x 11.1v LIPOs (it was only Nicads back in my day).

 

It’s currently fitted with a standard TM gearbox with upgraded spring, spring guide, cylinder, cylinder head, piston head, piston, gears, bearings, and an EG1000 motor running standard Tamiya small connectors. I’ve only got standard TM 300 rnd M16 hicaps.

 

My question is: in 20 years of change, is what else should I upgrade on it? Is it still competitive? Should I just buy something new to play with?

 

Many thanks,

Twig

Edited July 8, 2022 by The_Original_Twig

[Speedbird_666]

1 hour ago, The_Original_Twig said:

[snip] Is it still competitive? Should I just buy something new to play with? [snip]

 

Welcome back.

 

Whilst the halcyon days of plastic-bodied Tokyo Marui's being the de-facto standard for Airsoft AEGs is long over - we are still shooting tiny plastic BB's at each other in much the same fashion as 20 years ago.

 

If your gun is shooting 340-350fps, reasonably accurately and reliably, at a rate of fire you are content with, then it's all good - take it out and play a day with it. It'll also give you the opportunity to see what other people are using and benchmark your gun's performance against something more contemporary. I think your gun, if all is working correctly, will be absolutely fine.

 

But I would avoid the 11.1v LiPo for now personally - it might be a bit much for the gun.

 

 

 

 

 

[The_Original_Twig]

Thanks Speedbird, glad to know it’s still gameable, although I am sure I’ll be tempted into buy something new. This AR15 is thankfully metal-bodied; I dropped a small fortunate into it ‘back the day’.

 

Anything new I buy will need to be as light and compact as possible - the best skirmish gun I ever had was a standard plastic MC51 (internally upgraded though) running a 10.8v battery in the foregrip… Small but deadly. I need to find something similar to replace it with; very compact, big battery and magazine, hi-rate of fire, and 350fps on-the-nose. Suggestions welcome, price or looks irrelevant!

 

I am intrigued to see how long the gun will last on the 11.1 lipo - I’ve stripped hundreds of gearboxes over the years, so I am not afraid of cleaning a few gear teeth out or swapping a piston!

[Hatchet]

Welcome back...

 

Sounds fine as it is, like Speedbird says, just go out and run it. Only change I'd go for personally at this point would be switching the connectors out for Deans. - easy job and might get you a little free performance. I'd also stick to the 7.4s, but opinion differs.

 

Slightly longer term, if it's all still running well and you don't feel the urge to buy something new and shiny, then you could consider chucking some form of mosfet in (whether that's a basic one or more complicated) for the improved response.

 

[Impulse]

5 hours ago, The_Original_Twig said:

So after a two-decade airsofting break, I have decided to make a return. I’ve taken my primary AEG (a Tokyo Marui-based AR15-type shorty) out of storage (at my peak I owned 20+ AEGs!) and I’ve done the following to it:

 

- Fitted a new spring (now firing at 340 to 350 fps).

- Fitted a new HOP & cleaned the barrel (working very effectively).

- Regreased the gears and cylinders.

- Bought 2 x 7.4v and a 1 x 11.1v LIPOs (it was only Nicads back in my day).

 

It’s currently fitted with a standard TM gearbox with upgraded spring, spring guide, cylinder, cylinder head, piston head, piston, gears, bearings, and an EG1000 motor running standard Tamiya small connectors. I’ve only got standard TM 300 rnd M16 hicaps.

 

My question is: in 20 years of change, is what else should I upgrade on it? Is it still competitive? Should I just buy something new to play with?

 

Many thanks,

Twig

 

Thing that stands out to me outside of that is get deans connectors fitted to it and the 7.4v batteries and you should be good to go, as the steps you've taken are pretty much what I would have done too. I like low/midcaps myself, so I'd get magazines, but a single TM highcap and a bag of BBs is perfectly skirmishable (and probably more practical than carrying several midcaps).

 

Otherwise it looks pretty good! I imagine it'll shoot nicely on that.

[Tackle]

Welcome back, I've got a tm m4s that's probably been in regular use for 18+ years, never even serviced, & still performs great (I've just jinxed it haven't i😭), so if it's doing what it's supposed to, get out there & use it, I just hope that the "upgrades" you've already done didn't allow the TM pixie dust to escape 😉

[The_Original_Twig]

Do dean connectors really make that much difference? I did order a packet, but I hate soldiering, so I’ve put it off for now.

Mosfets were only just becoming a thing when I quit playing; most were garage-made and had a tendency to melt themselves! Any manufacturers you’d suggest (the smaller the better as space is at a premium in the stock)?

 

Don’t worry on the hi-caps front, as I’ve kept 10-odd TM 300 rnd ones, as well as a stash of 30k Excel bbs. Although, surely magazine technology has improved by now? Does anyone manufacture a hi-cap that can clear it’s entire capacity without winding mid-way through?

[Tackle]

Dean's are a definite improvement over "baggy" tamiya's, & can be bought with about 4 inches of wire already attached, much easier than soldering the actual contacts.

Mags I'm sure are fine, but be aware that pretty much all bb's will degrade or swell if not kept 100% airtight & out of the light, sunlight or artificial, they're more temperamental than gremlins lol.

[Hatchet]

My experience is that deans connectors make a small but noticeable difference, but YMMV. If you want easier but better you could try XT60's but they're a bit bulkier and harder to reuse.

 

For Mosfets, Gate do a range of them, from the very small that fit in the stock tube, to the more complicated/expensive (Titan) that go inside the gearbox and provide a whole bunch of features like pre-cocking, burst, shot completion, etc. Black Talon Concepts are also well regarded.

[Speedbird_666]

23 minutes ago, Hatchet said:

Black Talon Concepts are also well regarded.

 

BTC have all but disappeared with UK vendors - especially compared to Gate Aster/Titan and Perun Hybrid which are readily available.

 

They seems to be one of those manufacturers that have 'had their day' and struggle for relevance in the current market.

[The_Original_Twig]

I like the look of the Jeffron V2 one; no fancy gizmos, and it lives in the gearbox allowing maximum free space in the stock for batteries. Best of all, no soldiering!

[Rogerborg]

51 minutes ago, The_Original_Twig said:

Mosfets were only just becoming a thing when I quit playing; most were garage-made and had a tendency to melt themselves! 

 

I've made a few basic trigger-protectors myself just for the "pleasure" of it, but even following the best Redditard instructions and carefully testing everything, every one of them has let the magic smoke out.  Given the price and tiny size of modern mosfets - and the features - here's really no need to go that route any more.

 

I haven't pushed the boat out as far as optical / in-gearbox mosfets, but the Perun AB++ unit works well for me, and as a bonus gives you the Deans connector "free", so to speak.