Review - Star Full size G36

[p.phresh]

I just received my Star G36, with bi-pod and dual optics. But first to make this review a little more credible, i'd like to state that i've owned a TM G36c and handled the CA G36C, K and E, numerous times, and have a fairly good feel for the rest of the G36s being produced.

First off. When i received it, i didn't get the hard rifle case with it, like i thought it would, just like the rest of star's lineup. So it showed up in a plain brown cardboard box, with no real markings on it.

I opened the box to find the AEG packed in laser cut foam to exact fit of the rifle with the stock out. At first glance, it was a beautiful looking gun. I picked it up out of it's foam casing. It had some good heft to it. Felt a little heavier than CA's G36. But the extra weight no doubtedly came from the additional bi-pod.

The build quality is very nice, as well as build material. In comparison to CA, it has the same texture, but felt far superior to CA's. The gun seem to have been built more solidly. As well the optics on the Star G36 are a 3.5x scope, whereas the CA one works as a 2x scope.

The size of the Star G36 is a little bit bigger than the CA one, and the TM G36 being similar to the CA36. The foregrip of Star's G36 is also noticeably larger than CA's making battery changes much easier.

So upon putting the battery in, i proceeded to fire off a few rounds past the chronograph. Also, i'd like to note that it will accept both CA and TM mags. It maintained 350+fps never dropping below 354fps, and had a high of 365fps. Its rate of fire at 10rps. Perhaps it was the battery, but i couldn't fit anything bigger than a 9.6 600mAH mini battery into the foregrip.

After testing the ROF and FPS, i took a high-cap and proceeded shoot it to adjust the hop up and start adjusting the 3.5x scope. Before i could finish the one midcap (140rds), provided with the gun, it began acting up. The motor seemed like it was seizing up and something was binding and it didn't want to turn.

The first day and something is wrong with the gun... tsk tsk.
I've taken the gun completely apart and found that when the mechbox is not in the gun, this doesn't happen. But as soon as it's back inside the upper reciever, it begins acting like the battery is too weak and the motor can't push the spring.

I haven't yet contacted the seller, nor star directly but i will be shortly, and will keep you all posted for a more complete review and analysis.

But so far, the build quality is nice, but the mechanics are terrible.



updates...
March 3
I've contacted the local retailer, and he's contacted WGC. And WGC is taking an active role at the moment in trying to find a solution.... so at least that's good.

To add to the review, the finer points of the gun. The Star G36 has full trademarks on it. The trades also seem a bit deeper than the TM version and CA version. Another nice touch they've added is a full metal bolt.

Other than the little knob that swings back and forth, from the hinge back, it's all metal, even the chamber cover is metal. So when you cock the gun and release you get a wonderful metallic "KLINK".

The foregrip is much sturdier than the CA ones, which are prone to cracking. he Star's foregrip had much less flexing than the CA foregrip, while it was off the gun. Just inside the foregrip of the Star, there is a piece at the end, where the barrel goes through. CA doesn't have this on their full-size foregrip. So when you need to take the foregrip off on the star, you need to remove the bayonet holder and the flash hider. The bayonet holder is secured by two grub screws, and the flash hider simply threaded on. The base of the flash hider has a spring to create on the barrel so it doesn't come loose. If you don't keep your bayonet holder on it's not a big deal when you have to take the foregrip off. The CA foregrip doesn't have this piece at the end, so you don't have to remove the flash hider or bayonet holder to remove its foregrip.

All the parts and components line up very well, making take downs very easy as well as fitting them back together.

The star G36 also gives you 4 points to attach a sling to. One near the end of the buttstock, one on the body of the gun at the folding buttstock, one point at the front pillar of the carry/optics handle and one at the very front of the gun, at the end of the foregrip where the bi-pod connects.

The bi-pod is made of hard plastic, the same plastic used to make the gun. It doesn't appear to be flimsy, and looks pretty rugged. It was mentioned that a bi-pod would rattle on the field, but this bi-pod doesn't make any contact to the rest of the foregrip. When the bi-pod legs are up, it remains in a firm and steady position with no movement, when the legs are down the rifle is able to pivot along its X-axis about 15degrees on either side.

more review to follow, and pictures to follow... eventually.




March 6:
ok here's a few more updates:

ltanzil: The piece you're referring to
http://www.airsoftcanada.com/attachm...achmentid=2239
is made up of plastic, but the CA36 i worked on last night did not have that piece in metal either, it looked like metal but was plastic when i pulled it off the body.

Is the RDS on the carry handle any good?

Well, since i have yet to zero it in to test it otherwise, it's ok. It's not dim as some people have heard, when you look past it, it does get a bit blurry because it is just a pin point. But it's at a good height. When you bring the gun up it's just at the right level.

The bipod can be removed, correct?

Yes it can.

Does it come with a midcap mag?

Yes it does, 140round star mag. But will also accept CA and TM mags. And the mags actually fit better in the Star gun than they do in the CA gun.

And finally, is the body worth owning? Generally I plan to replace most of the internals on my guns anyways, so if the body is good enough that can be a huge selling point for me.

Although everything else seems to have gone wrong, the body is one of the only things it has going for it. As opposed to the CA gun, it DOES have full trademarks. It reads:
HK
Kal 5.56mm
etc..

Whereas CA reads
CA
Kal 5.56mm
etc..

The build material does feel sturdier than CA, has a better texture and has less gloss, and is more of a flat grey... hard to comprehend but it does. And like i said earlier, it has a metal cocking handle/bolt. And again to reiterate, the body fitment is better than CA, less pounding, parts slide in place better.


to add:
I transplanted a CA mechbox last night, it was a straight drop in, so everything lines up the same except the motor plate.

The Star motor plate's center hole which secures the lower part of the mechbox does not line up with the CA mechbox, but using a CA motorplate will work, however, the two screws that hold the motor plate to the grip do not line up, one screw does but the other one doesn't. The CA motor plate is smaller than the Star one.

As well, the nozzle on the CA mechbox does not line up with the hop up/loading nozzle. I believe it's too short. So swapping the CA nozzle with the Star one would solve that issue. Other than that, it's a straight drop in, no major changes needed.


March 9
Well folks, i've got it working now. It's in perfect shape.
I swapped the stock Star motor with a CA High Torque motor found in their AK and Aug series guns, and it worked like a charm!

Someone suggested it might be the motor, and i can't remember who it was that said it, but i owe you a coke!

It runs great, on a mini 9.6 battery, its ROF is 14. I haven't has any issues since putting in the new motor, except that the battery dies cause i fire it too much.

The only thing left to do is get some pictures up for you all. I'll try and take them tonight and put them up before the weekend.

[mcguyver]

Is this gun using their new-fangled plastic mechbox? Just wondering if there is some kind of lateral loading being placed on the mechbox by the upper receiver. This may be adding some resistance to the piston as is moves in and out of the cylinder. Just a thought.

Nice review.

[p.phresh]

no this is a full metal mechbox. It appears to be a copy of the TM, but i haven't tried to interchange parts yet, nor transplant the entire mechbox.

[Raygis LasVegas]

I'm suspecting that there is a weak connection between the battery plug and the "mechbox battery input plug".

Maybe when you insert the lower into the upper and then connect the battery, the shitty tamiya connectors are stretched and therefore not enough current is passed through.

Solution:

Re-solder the battery connectors or completely change them to Deans plugs.

[ltanzil]

Is the front end (part that hold the metal outer barrel) made from metal like in the CA?

I heard that the front end on the TM offten break because i was not made from metal.

[p.phresh]

I'm not too sure which part you're talking about, i don't recall seeing this metal part you're talking about on the CA one. But i'll double check it later tonight.

[Aaidin]

As much as I'll probably go CA for my G36 series I was wondering a couple things. Is the RDS on the carry handle any good? The bipod can be removed, correct? Does it come with a midcap mag? And finally, is the body worth owning? Generally I plan to replace most of the internals on my guns anyways, so if the body is good enough that can be a huge selling point for me.

[Kwokwai]

A slightly off topic point but in case anybody's interested apparently Escort is going to be producing a GBB version like their old YE MP5, new Escort MP5 and SP M16 with a reciprocating bolt based on the Star body soon. So if you don't mind going external gas while still being able to use AEG mags...

[Kid]

Originally Posted by KwokwaiWu

A slightly off topic point but in case anybody's interested apparently Escort is going to be producing a GBB version like their old YE MP5, new Escort MP5 and SP M16 with a reciprocating bolt based on the Star body soon. So if you don't mind going external gas while still being able to use AEG mags...

Isn't that the one that is semi auto only?

Though really, that would be awesome... especially if it ran on air.

[Bender]

Originally Posted by Aaidin

As much as I'll probably go CA for my G36 series I was wondering a couple things. Is the RDS on the carry handle any good? The bipod can be removed, correct? Does it come with a midcap mag? And finally, is the body worth owning? Generally I plan to replace most of the internals on my guns anyways, so if the body is good enough that can be a huge selling point for me.

Go CA!!! Trust me, I have a G36C and it is the best gun I own, I love it. I've had no problems whatsoever, and it outperforms TM guns hands down. I will be getting another CA G36 in the future.

[The Saint]

Originally Posted by Aaidin

As much as I'll probably go CA for my G36 series I was wondering a couple things. Is the RDS on the carry handle any good?

The Star G36 RDS, assuming it's the exact same as the ones they sell separately before, are not that good. The reviews I've read complained of dimness for the RDS and poor eye relief for the scope. If you want good optics, you really should just get them separately.

[Kwokwai]

Originally Posted by Kid

Isn't that the one that is semi auto only?

Though really, that would be awesome... especially if it ran on air.

Nope, you're thinking of the Madbull mechbox replacement from Taiwan. I'm talking about a select fire system straight from Escort of Japan.

[ltanzil]

This is the picture of the front end that i was talking about

[p.phresh]

editted first post to answer some of these questions, and included new info to the gun.

[Aaidin]

Thanks for the update, sounds great. I'll definitely keep this bad-boy in mind when I start working on my G36 series!