Airsoft / Clearsoft - Long Term Reliability Study

[Khaz]

1) Make and Model
ICS MP5A4 (not sure if V2 or V3)
2) Date Obtained
Late 2006
3) Initial Cost
$600
4) New or Used
Used
5) Mechanical Problems
None
6) Esthetic Problems
Front stock wobbles due to the plastic rails that hold the stock being worn down at the ends.
7) Rounds fired between failures
About 2 bags and still going strong
8) Changes to Internals / Externals
Before purchase:
TM EG1000 motor
Promethius Piston
Promethius High Speed gears
Stock barrel replaced with Systema M4A1 6.04 barrel
Hurricane Claw Mount with RIS
Custom 20mm rail added to bottom of stock foregrip
March 2007: Greased internals
April 2007: Replaced foregrip with CA MP5 RIS
9) Resale Date and Value if applicable.
Probably wont sell, but if I do it will probably be over $1000 (getting more internal upgrades in the short future for it)

[Bissa]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name
Crosman Stinger
2) Date Obtained
october 2004
3) Initial Cost
About $60
4) New or Used
Brand spanking new
5) Mechanical Problems (Gearbox issues, hopup issues.. basically functional performance related)
every once in awhile it would somehow get a bb into the gearbox kind of area
6) Esthetic Problems (Paint damage, cracks in body, loose parts.. physical construction related)
none that i noticed
7) Rounds fired between failures (think how many bags of BB's used before it failed)
15000-20000
8) Changes to Internals (upgrades, dates)
september 2006 streched the spring to about 3x the origanal size
9) Resale Date and Value if applicable.
it is now in about 400 peices spread about in my basement
10) notes
the gun shattered after maybe 100 bbs after the upgrade and shot he barrel through 2 peices of drywalland kept going
you can strech the spring, but not that much
goggles helped alot in that case to keep my eyes in one peice

[Lakonian]

1) Manufacturer
Western Arms (model: 4.3 SVI Expert)
2) Date Obtained
3/1/07
3) Initial Cost
450
4) New or Used
New
5) Mechanical Problems
None
6) Esthetic Problems
None
7) Rounds fired between failures
200
8) Changes to Internals
none
9) Resale Date
NEVER!
10) Optional - Notes and Comments

Amazing craftsmanship, and very reliable design. Western Arms manages to uphold their hard earned reputation yet again in this model.
(Thanks Jeff )


1) Manufacturer
KSC (taiwan) USP .45
2) Date Obtained
6/8/06
3) Initial Cost
350
4) New or Used
New
5) Mechanical Problems
None
6) Esthetic Problems
Plastic chips easily.
7) Rounds fired between failures
21,000. Yes. 21,000
8) Changes to Internals
none
9) Resale Date
NEVER!
10) Optional - Notes and Comments

Hard hitting, and decent accuracy. Not a WA, but close to. It was my first pistol, and probably one of my favourite. Nothing has broken despite a 7ft (yepp..) mag drop. No leaks. No blown/cracked chambers. Oiled religiously.


1) Manufacturer
TM M4
2) Date Obtained
12/29/06
3) Initial Cost
500 (without mags, about 400)
4) New or Used
Used (lightly internally)
5) Mechanical Problems
None
6) Esthetic Problems
Plastic bodies SUCK!!! Tabs broke in two days.
7) Rounds fired between failures
1000 no failures.
8) Changes to Internals
none
9) Resale Date
... This one's staying in the family.
10) Optional - Notes and Comments

TM's older models suck. Their tabs suck, the plastic sucks, but the fact that you have a piece of history (lol ) is kinda cool... *cough*

[Korneil]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name
G&G GR16 R5 / M16A3 RAS replica
2) Date Obtained
Oct. 2005
3) Initial Cost
800$
4) New or Used
Used but not much use
5) Mechanical Problems
Slippery Hop-up due to oil on rubber sleeve (Oct. 2005)(minor)
Piston jammed due to cold weather (O-ring stretched needed replacement)(Oct. 2005)(major)
1 Electrical wire disconnected from motor (June 2006)(minor)
6) Esthetic Problems
Ring-shaped screw connecting the stock to the body is striped it is not affecting the stability of the stock.
1cm long crack at the base of the stock due to overthightening of the butt plate.
7) Rounds fired between failures
400-500 bbs before piston jam (First use)
None since
8) Changes to Internals
Lubing, greasing and Shiming(sp?) Jan (2007)
9) Resale Date and Value if applicable.
N/A 10) Notes and Comments
Some premature wear and tear on the gears caused by the piston jam due to cold weather and lack of maintenance from former owner but nothing bad. Overall sturdy gun. A bit expensive compared to quality-like guns (ICS, CA) currently on the market.

[Styrak]

Manufacturer, Model Name
HFC HG-185 (Glock 17)
2) Date Obtained
*Date Removed to protect the innocent *
3) Initial Cost
$200
4) New or Used
New (BuyAirsoft.ca)
5) Mechanical Problems
Jammed once. Never happened again. (March 2007)
Gun does not have a stabilizer o-ring, so it originally did not fire straight.
*EDIT*: Gun was a getting a little stiff/sluggish to shoot and it wouldn't lock back the slide all the time. I have just given it a good lube job for the first time and it seems to be
working smoothly now
*EDIT*: Gun broke. Slide has problems.
6) Esthetic Problems
Few marks off the paint from being played with.
7) Rounds fired between failures
1200-1500, gun/slide borked
8) Changes to Internals
Tape added around inner barrel to stabilize it. Now shoot much straighter.
9) Resale Date and Value if applicable.
N/A
10)Notes and Comments
First Airsoft gun, and I'm fairly happy with it.



Manufacturer, Model Name
KJW P229
2) Date Obtained
*Date Removed to protect the innocent *
3) Initial Cost
$275
4) New or Used
New, on ASC classifieds
5) Mechanical Problems
Absolutely none, mag leaks if you leave it empty for a few days and you have to replace the o-ring. Keeping gas it in fixes this.
6) Esthetic Problems
Tiny spec of paint came off when i accidentally hit the gun with the magazine
7) Rounds fired between failures
500, no failures
8) Changes to Internals
None
9) Resale Date and Value if applicable.
N/A
10)Notes and Comments
Second Airsoft gun, and I'm very happy with it. It's very heavy (full-metal) and powerful.
Seems that the hopup on the lowest setting is still making bb's fly a tiny bit upwards. Perhaps BB's heavier than .20 would help that.
EDIT: Heavier BB's do help

[Bravo One-Six]

All posts updated. General conclusions drawn for Crossman Stinger.

[Graham]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name
TM SR-16
2) Date Obtained
late summer 2006
3) Initial Cost
roughly $500
4) New or Used
Brand spanking new
5) Mechanical Problems (Gearbox issues, hopup issues.. basically functional performance related)
barrel wobble (like most TM armelites)
6) Esthetic Problems (Paint damage, cracks in body, loose parts.. physical construction related)
none come to mind
7) Rounds fired between failures (think how many bags of BB's used before it failed)
never failed in the time owned it (6 or so months)
8) Changes to Internals (upgrades, dates)
stock
9) Resale Date and Value if applicable.
early 2007, sold for $550 (but included $60 or so of mags, so $490 rougly)

[Porkchop]

1) Make and Model
-- G3A3, TM
2) Date Purchased
-- Mar 1999
3) Cost
-- 598
4) New/Used?
-- New
5) Mechanical Problems
-- cracked Mechbox 2006, replaced with same model mechbox
6) Esthetic Problems
-- none
7) Rounds Fired Between Failures
-- 55,000
Changes to Internals / External
-- Systema FTK, Classic Army Mechbox, TN barrel, Metal body ( all incorporated at time of purchase)
9) Resale Date and Value
-- N/A

[Pony Head]

Manufacturer, Model Name
TM Sig552
2) Date Obtained
~Summer 2005
3) Initial Cost
$450
4) New or Used
Brand new
5) Mechanical Problems
None to date.
6) Esthetic Problems
The front upper handguard is starting to crack , Squeaky body.
7) Rounds fired between failures
20000+ , no failure
8) Changes to Internals
Stock.
9) Resale Date and Value if applicable.
Never going to sell.
10)Notes and Comments
First gun, its been consistent in terms of performance. No big complaints.

[Bravo One-Six]

Updated. Organized TM list.

[Amazing KG3]

1) Make and Model
-- G36K, Classic Army
2) Date Purchased
-- October 2006
3) Cost
-- $580
4) New/Used?
-- New
5) Mechanical Problems
-- Charging handle Snapped
-- Tore the secondary stage wire with the fuse removing handguard.
-- Hop up is biased to the left.
6) Esthetic Problems
-- None
7) Rounds Fired Between Failures
-- None
8i) Changes to Internals
-- None
8ii) Changes to Externals
-- Metal Charging handle
-- CA36K RAS with enhanced gas tube and barrel
-- TM Type C Rail
9) Resale Date and Value
-- April 2007 @ 650 with upgrades and battery. (80%)
10)points of mention
-- Stock Scope carry handle is known for bad eye relief. I rather like it however. no optics mounting point.
-- Minis only : P
-- magazines are to clunky, hard to store
-- K RAS needs a 3mm Hex to change batterys.
-- Extremely nice body however the black texture is only color compatible with real steel.

[Minjinracing]

1) Tokyo Marui Beretta M9 Tactical Master

2) Date Obtained: I think it was fall 2000.

3) Initial Cost: $220

4) Used

5) Mechanical Problems: 1-After a few years use, the gun tended to vent gas horribly when I was using duster. Switched to propane and the gun works perfectly again. 2-Slide lock notch wore out fairly early on so the slide no longer locks back when the mag is empty. 3-After many thousands of rounds, the trigger spring broke. Replaced with a realsteel spring.

6) Esthetic Problems: Just the lack of locking slide

7) Rounds fired between failures: This gun has had thousands of rounds through it. My first season was almost exclusively played with the GBB. The slide lock wore out within 1000 rounds of when I got it, but I don't know how much the previous owner used the gun.

8) Changes to Internals: Changed the small springs out when one of them snapped. 2005.
-
9) I have no plans to sell this gun.
-
10)Great workhorse gun. Lots of bang bang for your buck.

[Cheesevillage]

1) Make and Model
-- MP5 A4 HG, Tokyo Marui
2) Date Purchased
-- 2005
3) Cost
-- $475
4) New/Used?
-- New
5) Mechanical Problems
-- Had to tighten up motor - it wasn't catching (approx 1.5 years in)
UPDATE: 3.5 years in and 40 000 (huge estimation) BBs later. I have experienced a failure with this gun. Trigger related. Further update to follow.
6) Esthetic Problems
--Broke the cocking tube with HK bitchslap
--magwell separates slightly (related to but not the sole cause of the mag wobble)
7) Rounds Fired Between Failures
--probably 16000 rounds before the motor had to be tightened
8) Changes to Internals: none
-- Added low mount
9) Resale Date and Value
-- N/A
10)Notes:
--have been using 3300 8.4v the whole time
--Mag wobble - yeah there is some
--the highcaps suck - use mids

[Naerah]

1) Make and Model
-- Crosman Stinger R30 (Old version without metal reinforcement)http://www.airsoftcanada.com/attachm...achmentid=3645
2) Date Purchased
-- July 2004
3) Cost
-- $50
4) New/Used?
-- New
5) Mechanical Problems
-- the trigger mechanism was defective right out of the box, had to mod it in order to get the thing to shoot
-- the plastic of the whole gun was so cheap, putting the screws back chipped and cracked the plastic.
-- didnt knew anything about airsoft at that time so i took the spring that was in the front and twisted it inside the other one(the spring that pushes the piston). the increased pression made the dual spring and spring guide pass throug the rear of the gun(while it was laying alone on a table, eard a bang then look on the table to see the spring and spring guide 2 feet behind the gun itself with bits of broken plastic everywhere)
6) Esthetic Problems
-- again due to the cheap plastic it was creaking like someone walking on dry leaves
-- its a clearsoft (being clear was a problem by itself)
7) Rounds Fired Between Failures
-- maybe 100 before it exploded
8i) Changes to Internals
-- doubled the spring (like 4 days after getting the gun)
-- removed the weight in the foregrip
8ii) Changes to Externals
-- none
9) Resale Date and Value
-- July 2004 sold it to the nearest trashcan for the cost of the calories it took for throwing it in, let's say 25 calories
10)end word
-- is there really a good point about that gun, exept the fact that it didnt exploded WHILE i was using it? DON'T EVER BUY CROSSMAN ,here's the link to that shit
http://www.compasseco.com/index.php?...10&prevstart=0

edit added a link i just found here to the exact gun i had

[CalvinTat]

1) Make and Model
-- Tokyo Marui
-- M4A1 - Version 1 (Non-reinforced)
2) Date Purchased
-- September 2005
3) Cost
-- ~$575
4) New/Used?
-- New
5) Mechanical Problems
-- None to date
6) Esthetic Problems
-- Scratching on metal body, some from installation, most from game time
-- Dust Cover does not function thanks to G&G metal body design not leaving enough room,
-- Issues with meshing between gearbox and upper receiver.
7) Rounds Fired Between Failures
-- ~10,000 rounds by me, no failure yet.
8) Changes to Internals/ Upgrades
-- G&G One Piece Outer Barrel - March 2005
-- G&G M4A1 Metal Body (came with one piece metal hop-up) - April 2006
-- TM 6 Position stock from M4-S - Replacement due to losing essential screw for stock adjustment from original 6 Position stock during game.
9) Resale Date and Value
-- N/A