Difference between LCT, E&L and CYMA AKs74

[devross]

Hi people,

Is there any real major difference in external quality between LCT/E&L and CYMA aks74.

 

Also internally is there any difference, a lot of people have told me good things about the cyma, however i've heard some mixed things about both e&l and LCT.

 

Cheers.

[RebelScum]

My own E&L AKS74 is a pretty solid gun, although you need to look after the externals as they are metal and may rust if you don't .  I use a bit of Abbey Gun Oil 35 after a game, and it's survived Cold War games in some pretty awful weather for a few years now.  The furniture is all real wood and the selector is crisp, even after use.  My gun internals are still stock, and shoot 0.28 and 0.3 bbs perfectly adequately.  I bought an E&L AK74M afterwards for a more 90s look, as I really liked the gun.  E&L mags are OK, but I find they don't feed to the end to the last bb, which is slightly annoying, and part of the design of the mag.  The gun is also weighty, given all the metal.  I sometimes run a GP25 with the gun and it's very heavy and unbalanced as a result.

 

I have CYMA guns as well (although not AK74s) and they are also perfectly fine stock guns.  I think in the end it'll come down to cost and availability as I think all three versions are pretty good.

 

Anyway here is a pic of my E&L.

 

Edited December 9, 2022 by RebelScum

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

I've a CYMA AK74. It's one of the metal bodied versions.  Really solid rif.  

 

My lad has a CM 0.48 AKM from CYMA.   It's really solid out of the box, but you can feel the weight difference between it and the E&L.  

 

Unless you fancy teching it, and someone more knowledgeable than me recommended a particular model for technical reasons, I  would be happy with the CYMA.   

 

 

[Skara]

E&L has a very slight difference in quotes, but it's enough to make externals NOT compatible with LCT/Cyma and vice versa.

I've had an E&L, nice gun but the receiver was slightly off spec and it caused the gearbox shell to break, so I just replaced the whole gun with a Cyma.

Aesthetically though, they're fucking beautiful.

 

TL;DR can't go wrong with Cyma (VFC clones), they're solid guns at decent prices. LCT and E&L have better quality externals but their QC isn't the best. LCT in particular is overpriced.

[devross]

Thank you for replies,

Now in terms of pricing,

I can get a CM040 for £180, is that around the average price i should be paying?

Or is it better for me to wait until maybe after christmas and prices may drop?

 

Cheers.

[Lozart]

16 minutes ago, devross said:

Thank you for replies,

Now in terms of pricing,

I can get a CM040 for £180, is that around the average price i should be paying?

Or is it better for me to wait until maybe after christmas and prices may drop?

 

Cheers.

 

£180 in the UK is a pretty decent price. With stock levels the way they seem to be right now, I'd buy it while you can.

[Speedbird_666]

The only thing I don't like about Cyma AKs (having owned a CM.045) is the pot metal used in the folding stock hinge/rear trunnion. Really decent gun otherwise.

 

 

[EvilMonkee]

E&L better externals, decent internals, will rust

LCT, overpriced now, QC has gone down, good externals, decent internals (advantage of which is they are all standard V3 gearbox parts which are easy to replace or upgrade), won't rust.

CYMA - never owned one but good reports generally

Tokyo Marui not realistic externals as not steel, plastic handguards etc.  Shoot nicely but proprietary parts.

 

Having owned nearly every make bar CYMA, dependent on budget, I would go for an E&L then LCT

[Danno46]

Here’s my E&L Ak47

[Davegolf]

If you can get an E&L you will be very pleased, lemons are few and far between.

 

Otherwise I would go Cyma.

 

LCT as above - spendy now but not so great, I had one with a bent outer barrel from new!

[devross]

 

56 minutes ago, Davegolf said:

If you can get an E&L you will be very pleased, lemons are few and far between.

 

Otherwise I would go Cyma.

 

LCT as above - spendy now but not so great, I had one with a bent outer barrel from new!

Are lemons purely a failure in QC?

Sorry im new to airsoft, so i don't fully understand.

 

How much should i look to pay for an E&L if i do get one? 

Yesterday i saw a sale on gunfire it was £210 +shipping,

 

Is it safe to buy from gunfire or taiwan gun?

 

Edit:

Internally are CYMA and E&L equal or similar enough that i don't know the difference?

Edited December 9, 2022 by devross

[Stratton Oakmont]

14 hours ago, Danno46 said:

Here’s my E&L Ak47

 

Can’t even be bothered to correct this as I’m boring myself just thinking of the pedantry going through my mind

[Adolf Hamster]

8 hours ago, devross said:

Are lemons purely a failure in QC?

Sorry im new to airsoft, so i don't fully understand.

 

they can be qc issues like the recievers being a little off-square. usually not an issue. they can be a bit of a bear to work on at the best of times but once you have the knack it's not too bad (tbh maybe it's just me but i tend to find ak's are easier to work on than m4's once you know the process).

 

8 hours ago, devross said:

How much should i look to pay for an E&L if i do get one? 

Yesterday i saw a sale on gunfire it was £210 +shipping,

 

others can correct me on this, but afaik gunfire quit shipping to the uk thanks to brexit.

 

8 hours ago, devross said:

Internally are CYMA and E&L equal or similar enough that i don't know the difference?

 

cyma's will be cheap but effective parts, they're common choices of rental gun with a solid track record of reliability.

 

the e&l's (the platinums at least) are a bit nicer especially for air seal but realistically they're both gonna be fine to pew with ootb and they're both gonna have headroom to tinker with should you feel so inclined.

 

the way i'd put it is for general skirmishing the cyma is all the pew you'll need, with the e&l being the option for those who want to spend more for shiny things.

 

you might consider if you're not fully locked into the ak platform that money saved on the cyma will be money for either upgrades or for expanding the collection with something else.

[devross]

Thanks for the reply bro

[EvilMonkee]

Gunfire will ship to the UK but you will need to deal with the utter shitshow that is UPS.  That being said Parcelforce aren't enamouring themselves to me at the moment either....

[Adolf Hamster]

1 hour ago, EvilMonkee said:

Gunfire will ship to the UK but you will need to deal with the utter shitshow that is UPS.  

 

might as well not be shipping then

[Cannonfodder]

I had one of the pit metal bodied cymas a few years ago and it was am amazing little gun, till I went arse over tit and snapped it in two. I them replaced it with an E&L which was absolute crap. It kept jamming up every few shots. In the end I put the cyma internals in the E&L body. 

 

I'd say get the cyma, especially if its the one with steel externals

On 08/12/2022 at 23:35, RebelScum said:

you need to look after the externals as they are metal and WILL rust if you don't . 

Fixed. I didn't bother cleaning mine properly to get that knackered battlefield trophy look and it didn't take long