HK11/HK21: A question for the hivemind

[Cocha]

Hello ladies and gents, it's a year since I started brainstorming about building an HK11/HK21.

 

It will never be as cool (and as expensive!) as the one made by Dave's Custom Airsoft, but the idea is building something to make your head turn to.

 

I find myself stuck on a rather simple but important question: which AEG to start from?

 

From my point of view the choices are two, maybe three:

 

1) LCT G3: heavy, realistic, super cool. The cons? Price and magazines. Perhaps hop up, too? Please enlighten me regarding this RIF;

2) Classic Army G3 (CA010M) : cheaper, metal body (even if it's zinc alloy isn't much appreciated), TM compatibility. This would be my go-to choice since having standard gearbox and parts, but the potmetal body is sometimes referred as very weak and generally not worth it;

3) JG G3: This isn't much of a choice for me since it has a plastic body, but it could be worth it for building a lighter LMG while not breaking the bank on the base gun.

 

What to keep in mind: while I don't want to break the bank and find myself living under a bridge guarding my beloved RIFs from rats I think I can invest in this kind of unique project. LMGs don't get much love here in Italy, but I play for having fun and an HK11/HK21 would be A LOT of fun.

 

 

So here we are to the question: what would you choose and why? I'm particularly interested in listening to first hand impressions on the LCT G3 and CA G3 since I never hold them in my hands nor know people who have those.

Thank you in advance,

 

Cheers!

[Baser]

I have the LCT and I've played with the JG.

 

The LCT is a lovely thing

• really realistic
• solid
• reasonable to shoot out of the box
• Real steel parts fit so can style it to look exactly as you want

but......

• It weighs a ton, its a beast to carry for a few hours
• Mid cap mags feed unreliably (can be fixed but needs modding) 
• Only reasonable to shoot, needs work to make it shoot well
• Expensive

I have had mine upgraded to a DMR @ 1.88J, in this configuration it's well worth the weight penalty (in my opinion).  I carry 3x high cap mags into game and it shoots very consistently, has great range and punch. 

 

• Locked to semi only 
• 6.02 mm maple leaf barrel 
• 4uantum hop rubber and nub
• m130 spring
• Warhead base brushless motor

To me the LCT is worth the extra spend and that's why I chose it but I wanted a big heavy, chunky DMR to upgrade and keep in the collection to pick off players out of range of the typical site automatic rifle/SMG.  If I want to go light and full auto I would take a SMG.

 

The JG is significantly cheaper and lighter but I wanted a G3 that felt like a G3 and shot like a 7.62 rifle should compared to a 5.56 or 9mm (in Airsoft form and within site limits)

• Very light
• Reasonable to shoot out of the box
• Very cheap
• Significantly easier to carry all day

but......

• Feels cheap, it creaks and flexes 
• Only reasonable to shoot
• Didn't want to spend the same as the rifle cost on upgrades