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 

 

[Cocha]

On 27/08/2025 at 16:03, Baser said:

[...]

 

 

 

Thank you very much for your information, it is very much appreciated.

 

I have a question regarding the LCT internals: how is it compatibility-wise? Parts such as hop up have an aftermarket counterpart or am I limited to the factory one?

[Baser]

In my research I found a couple of upgraded hop up options but they are very limited. I still have the standard LCT rotary one in my gun with the nub, rubber and barrel change it shoots very consistently so I haven't spent a lot of time looking into the options as I don't think it needs it (for now).

 

The Gearbox is a standard type 2 and is available for around £130 new (in the UK).  The newer V2 LCT gearbox has a quick change spring which is different to the earlier gearbox in my gun. 

 

They take long shaft motors.  I changed mine to the brushless Warhead base motor as the standard one was getting very warm with the M130 spring.  It also gives it a snappier trigger response, I might go to a Gate Aster at some point in the future as the optical trigger is so quick and adjustable. 

 

If you get the fixed stock they have plenty of battery space and can run on 7.4 or 11.1 Lipo/Lion batteries.  As standard I did OK with the 7.4 but the bigger spring really needs the 11.1. 

 

Only other things to add are

 

It's very long and heavy I know I said this before but don't underestimate it.  I wanted a chunky DMR so it works for me but a few others I have spoken to bought them to use a 1.3J automatic rifle and you really have to want one to carry the thing, try and handle one before you buy.  Picture attached to compare it to my MP5 and MP5K. 

 

The mid cap mags don't feed well, there are guides to modify them but I went straight to high caps which work perfectly (apart from the battle rattle) 

 

Make sure you insert the mag properly into the gun, they are like the AK where you need to clip the front in and rock it back into the mag well.  I've thought I got the mag in a couple of times but its dropped out when I started running.