Help! Which MP5?!

[Hotweeweejef]

Evenin’ all. 
 

I’ve been trying to ignore the urge but it’s just inevitable…I need an MP5 in my life, so come the new year (when I’ve hopefully recovered from the financial stress of Christmas) I will be buying one. But which?!

 

Ideally I’d like a full metal A5 variant with the sliding stock. 

Will be looking to build it up with a slightly modern twist - thinking m-lok hand guard to allow for a light and stubby fore grip, suppressor, top rail with RDS etc. so needs to be a model that will be compatible aftermarket accessories. 
 

The obvious choice would be the TM NGRS MP5A5.

I know you get what you pay for and it will be the most realistic option with the ‘recoil’ and the dead click on empty, but I think the TM is going to probably out of my budget unless I can get a good deal on one second hand.

 

Ideally don’t want to spend more than £300 (even that could land me in the dog house 😬😂). 

 

So I guess my question is, what would your recommendations be given the above criteria?

Seems there are a lot of options out there and I’m still relatively new to the the hobby, so still learning which brands/models are worth bothering with and which aren’t. 

 

Any help is greatly appreciated 🙏

 

 

[DanBow]

Its only an aeg, with no blowback, but I've recently bought a Cyma Blue version. Polymer lower, full metal upper with metal cocking handle that opens the ejection port to give access to the hop unit, snd it locks back so you can slap it. 😁

[Hotweeweejef]

2 minutes ago, DanBow said:

Its only an aeg, with no blowback, but I've recently bought a Cyma Blue version. Polymer lower, full metal upper with metal cocking handle that opens the ejection port to give access to the hop unit, snd it locks back so you can slap it. 😁

I probably should have specified an AEGs, although that may well be self explanatory given my budget 😞

 

Thanks for the recommendation, will go and have a look at these 🔍 

[RostokMcSpoons]

I believe the ICS ones are well thought of too. 

 

I'm very much in the market for one as well, though I really shouldn't (especially having just bought a G3), so I'll be watching this thread with interest 🤗

[EDcase]

As far as I know all AEG MP5's have polymer lowers.

I think your best option for your budget is the CYMA blue which is a good performer.

 

EDIT: This looks good CYMA MP5 CM.041J (davescustomairsoft.co.uk)

 

Edited December 19, 2023 by EDcase

[Speedbird_666]

If I was in the market for an MP5 AEG - I would be looking at the ICS CES-P series - when they are back in stock. They have stamped steel welded receivers, and spares are readily available from Fire-Support. I wouldn't bother ICS' cheaper metal offerings (pot metal) as they are pretty easy to snap in half with the crap design of the front end.

 

Other brands, like JG and Cyma are ok for the money, but I've seen lots of threads on broken mag releases and stocks over the years - and spares can be tricky to find in stock with UK vendors.

 

Classic Army might be a good shout now they are flowing more freely into the UK. It seems that CA have now have remembered that they are actually an Airsoft manufacturer, having spent over a year exclusively making PPE for Covid.

 

Zero One recently added Classic Army guns to their stock inventory:

https://www.zerooneairsoft.com/products/Classic-Army-MP5-A5

[Hotweeweejef]

23 minutes ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

I believe the ICS ones are well thought of too. 

 

I'm very much in the market for one as well, though I really shouldn't (especially having just bought a G3), so I'll be watching this thread with interest 🤗

Likewise. I really shouldn’t, but they’re just so freaking cool! I must own one! 😆

[Hotweeweejef]

37 minutes ago, Speedbird_666 said:

If I was in the market for an MP5 AEG - I would be looking at the ICS CES-P series - when they are back in stock. They have stamped steel welded receivers, and spares are readily available from Fire-Support.

Interesting, I will have to look into these. 
Any idea when they might be available again? A little over my budget from first glance but may be worth the extra for the superior materials.

 

37 minutes ago, Speedbird_666 said:

Other brands, like JG and Cyma are ok for the money, but I've seen lots of threads on broken mag releases and stocks over the years - and spares can be tricky to find in stock with UK vendors.

This is the exact thing I would like to try and avoid.

 

39 minutes ago, Speedbird_666 said:

Classic Army might be a good shout now they are flowing more freely into the UK. It seems that CA have now have remembered that they are actually an Airsoft manufacturer, having spent over a year exclusively making PPE for Covid.

I’ve not come across Classic Army before (probably my noobishness), so will certainly have a look into these. 
I’m guessing you would place this somewhere in the middle between the ICS and say the Cyma offerings?

[EDcase]

I have a Classic Army MP5 and really like it but I thought they stopped making airsoft toys years ago.

 

EDIT: Did find this one which I assumed would be old stock Classic Army AEG PM5 A5 with Flashlight Handguard - Zero One Airsoft

 

 

Edited December 19, 2023 by EDcase

[Krisz]

ICS CES-P S3 is one of the best MP5 out of the box in my opinion.

Classic Army CA5A3 with built in mosfet wouldn't be a bad choice either if you can source one.

[Speedbird_666]

 

6 hours ago, EDcase said:

EDIT: Did find this one which I assumed would be old stock Classic Army AEG PM5 A5 with Flashlight Handguard - Zero One Airsoft

 

Nope - I believe these are freshly imported from CA. Chatting with staff a few weeks back at the Z1 shop - they are trying different manufacturers and/or going back to old ones that they've not used in years to diversify their offerings. Latest CA guns should have a Mosfet, but in typical Z1 fashion they have not included any kind of product description.

 

7 hours ago, Hotweeweejef said:

Any idea when they might be available again? A little over my budget from first glance but may be worth the extra for the superior materials.

No Idea - but Fire-support have near monthly deliveries from ICS so it's worth asking them. These guns also have an electronic burst fire mechanism (S3 Trigger unit) which separates it from most of the other manufacturers.

 

7 hours ago, Hotweeweejef said:

I’ve not come across Classic Army before (probably my noobishness), so will certainly have a look into these. 

I’m guessing you would place this somewhere in the middle between the ICS and say the Cyma offerings?

 

Classic Army are one of the 'old guard' manufacturers, along with ICS. Obviously they came onto the scene well after TM, but they were pretty much the first to sell M4s (or in their marketing 'M15' with their Armalite licensing) with metal bodies as standard in an era when you would buy a TM and spend a small fortune on metal body kits. They kind of fell away in recent years to manufacture other things (hence my PPE comments) however for the last 12/18 months or so they have been pumping out new guns again. I've had a few CA guns over the years (got a UMP at the moment), I would say that they would sit in that middle ground you mentioned.

 

[EDcase]

4 hours ago, Speedbird_666 said:

Nope - I believe these are freshly imported from CA. Chatting with staff a few weeks back at the Z1 shop - they are trying different manufacturers and/or going back to old ones that they've not used in years to diversify their offerings. Latest CA guns should have a Mosfet, but in typical Z1 fashion they have not included any kind of product description.

That's great news!

All the Classic Army toys I have are really nicely made and perform well.

[Hotweeweejef]

11 hours ago, Speedbird_666 said:

No Idea - but Fire-support have near monthly deliveries from ICS so it's worth asking them. These guns also have an electronic burst fire mechanism (S3 Trigger unit) which separates it from most of the other manufacturers.

Will drop them and email and see if they have anything on the horizon. 
Looking at the price on the Fire-Support website, looks like the ICS might be a little over budget, especially considering I will need to get a few mags etc. but the burst fire might be quite nice to have… 🤔

 

12 hours ago, Speedbird_666 said:

Classic Army are one of the 'old guard' manufacturers, along with ICS. Obviously they came onto the scene well after TM, but they were pretty much the first to sell M4s (or in their marketing 'M15' with their Armalite licensing) with metal bodies as standard in an era when you would buy a TM and spend a small fortune on metal body kits. They kind of fell away in recent years to manufacture other things (hence my PPE comments) however for the last 12/18 months or so they have been pumping out new guns again. I've had a few CA guns over the years (got a UMP at the moment), I would say that they would sit in that middle ground you mentioned.

I see. Good to hear they’re making a comeback, and hopefully their new stock will be of the same quality as the old, tried and tested units 🤞

I think this might be the way to go if I can’t justify stretching to the ICS - it’s within budget, so allows for a few mags and a couple new batteries, and maybe a few extra little niceties…

Parts look to be pretty easy to get hold of like you say. 

[CrackCommandoUnit1972]

Just throwing in my two penneth to add to your confusion

 

I have had a G&G top tech MP5A4 for years and can't fault it. Plenty of vids of them in action online.

 

Doesn't seem to be many on sale though

 

[BigAl]

On 18/12/2023 at 23:00, EDcase said:

As far as I know all AEG MP5's have polymer lowers.

 

 

Nope I have an old ACM MP5 with a metal lower, not sure if its a JG or Dboys. 

[EDcase]

10 hours ago, BigAl said:

 

Nope I have an old ACM MP5 with a metal lower, not sure if its a JG or Dboys. 

Interesting.

Well I'm pretty sure that all currently available MP5's have polymer lowers.

 

[BigStew]

11 hours ago, BigAl said:

 

Nope I have an old ACM MP5 with a metal lower, not sure if its a JG or Dboys. 

JG did have metal lowers on some models they weighted a tonne. 

Edited February 8 by BigStew

[EDcase]

They must be rare now

[BigAl]

MIne is probably gonna be for sale.  Could be your chance to own rare collectors piece.  

[EDcase]

I'll keep my eye on the classifieds.

Unless you want to PM me first 😉

 

 

 

Edited February 9 by EDcase

[Sewdhull]

Metal upper mp5s weigh 3 to 4kg. A plastic lower weighs little, I wonder what a metal one weighs.

 

Once I field mine I'll be able to tell whether I made an error.