CYMA Thompson M1A1 AEG

[DarkLite]

It's finally here!

 

Well, this particular gun has been a long time in coming – Announced late-2006, it has taken nearly half a year for this to come out, due to CYBERGUN buying the rights to sell the gun outside of China.

 

Hmm...

 

Unfortunately, CYBERGUN are somewhat unpopular with most airsofters, due to their aggressive corporate ethics and unreasonably high profit margins – seen in the fact that the CYBERGUN M1a1 is identical to the CYMA one – they are the same gun, but in different boxes.

 

People don't like CYBERGUN.

 

Yet the CYBERGUN M1a1 is sold for nearly as much as the TM, whereas the identical CYMA is sold for less than half of that price.

 

Now, some airsofters who have been away from the scene in a while might remember CYMA as the manufacturer who made those abysmally ###### springers. And they’d be right.

 

However, some clever chap over at CYMA twigged to the fact that producing rubbish wasn’t a terribly good PR move, and made the CYMA CM027 – the first TM clone AEG from China, followed quickly by WELL and starting the “clone” movement amongst Chinese manufacturers.

 

Still, CYMA has now a range of models, including the ever-present AK47, the AK74, the MP5 and MP5-J, the M14, the Glock 18 AEP and most recently, the M1a1.

 

Some call the clones “MPEGs” but I prefer “ChiMEGs” or Chinese Manufactured Electric Guns. Keeps it simple, and stops people from asking how we can pelt plastic at each other with a series of compression codecs.

 

 

 

That’s the last nerd joke, by the way. You can stop running away in fear.

 

Gunner of GunnerAirsoft was kind enough to provide this gun for the review, which he somehow managed in between moving his warehouse, his shop, tending to several new kittens and a hoard of people wanting to cop a feel of the new Thompson.

 

I expect that there will be a lot more WW2 themed loadouts about, the next time I skirmish.

 

Now, onto the meat of the review!

 

First Impressions:

 

The contents of the box.

 

The box is bloody heavy. Which is good. As Bullet-dodger-Boris says, “Weight is a sign of reliability. If it does not work, you can always hit him with it.”

 

Not that I’m going to be bludgeoning people with this thing, but sometimes you just need to drop a Snatch quote in.

 

The box I got from Gunner is the blue CYBERTOSS one – there is also a stylish black CYMA box, but the contents are the same, so I’m not too fussed.

 

Still, the box is a bit garishly bright. Also, it’s odd they’d put the word “Thompson” superimposed on a rifle bullet, given that the real M1a1 chambered pistol rounds.

 

The box contains a lowcap, the gun, a cleaning rod, a small speedloader, some bbs, a manual, a large battery and a charger.

 

Anyhow, onto appearances.

 

Appearances:

 

Sexah.

 

Initial appearances are good. The fake wood is a bit, well, fake, but it’s about as fake as the TM’s, so no faults there.

 

This wood is not real. Just like Jordon Price's boobs - they look nice, but don't feel as good as the real thing.

 

I was expecting a good gun – CYMA is one of the highest quality Chinese Manufacturers around – as they’ve recently revamped all of their models with better gears, better shimming, better motors, better gearboxes, better QC, better external finishes and better inner barrels and hop-ups.

 

Immediately, upon picking up the gun, the weight and length of the thing become apparent. It’s a heavy bugger of a gun – but it’s solid as hell, and that is pleasing to me, as I usually find that I have troubles with weedy guns that are too small for my man-hands *cough P90 cough*, and the Thompson is suited more to the larger amongst us. Although the Thompson is as long as an AK, the stock is a lot longer.

 

As long as an AUG and a L85.

Edited June 26, 2007 by DarkLite

[DarkLite]

The Upper receiver, rear sight, outer barrel, front sight, cocking handle and fake ejection port are ALL METAL, just like a TM.

 

Metal.

 

Also Metal.

 

Also Metal too.

 

Johnathan Creek.

 

The gun is 81cm long, which is a bit silly for a SMG – but most of the length is due to the stock, which is massive, and has quite a bit of a LoP problem, especially for the younger players.

 

Speaking of which, the stock takes a large 8.4v battery no problem – though people with really big high-capacity battery cells should be aware that TM are apparently still using silly NiCads. Rule of thumb, anything about 3000mAh and below will fit – above that (like my 3800mAh) and you’ll need to do a bit of modding – nothing a few minutes with a long-shaft dremel bit won’t sort out. The stock holds the battery firmly and is very securely locked open and shut. A 9.6v could fit, but again modding would be needed.

 

Place on shoulder.

 

Pull this out...

 

Pull the stock plate away from the stock...

 

And twist 90 degrees!

 

Interestingly, the stock is wired for a small connector, even though it can take a large. The included battery is also a small connector.

 

Need to change that to a large.

Edited June 26, 2007 by DarkLite

[DarkLite]

The cocking handle on the right side is simple, and fun. It makes a clank noise.

 

Forward.

 

Back.

 

More guns should make clank noises.

 

Clank noises are fun.

 

The ejection port has the hop-up wheel on display, as on the TM. Easy to adjust, simple and effective.

 

Hop-up Unit, seen from magwell.

 

The mag included is a lowcap, and CYMA hicaps are en route already, so no need to worry there. The lowcap is plastic, which is a shame, but is very solid, which is not. A nice suprise - the Lowcap feeds EVERY SINGLE BB. No need to turn it upside down to get the last few shots out.

 

Lowcap.

 

Now, the biggest problem I have with the gun.

 

Mag changes.

 

This is the mag catch. You push it up to drop the mag. Notice the track the mag catch has scratched in the grip already.

 

Mag catch, seen inversely for a short time only.

 

This is the mag. Notice the fins on the back.

 

Whee guiding fins.

 

This is the magwell. Notice the guide.

 

Whee magwell.

 

This is annoying. Notice the annoying.

 

Gar.

 

The mags take a bit of practice to get in. First, you have to line up the guide fin, then push it up past the catch – which is difficult, as the mag catch is not easy to release – and then you have to make sure NOT to slam it home, or you’ll kill the hop-up unit.

 

All of this is not TMs fault (the TM M1A1 suffers the same issues) but the fault of the nearly 100 year old design.

 

Once you get used to it, it’s no longer a problem. But it’ll throw the people who are used to the faster ways of today, what with those newfangled bolt-catches and thumb paddle release systems and all. You kids today don’t know how lucky you are, guns these days, no recoil or hard-to-reach controls or dodgy ergonomics… But I digress.

 

Onto Performance.

Edited June 26, 2007 by DarkLite

[DarkLite]

Performance:

 

Upon firing, you immediately notice that the gearbox is smooth sounding. Not at TM levels, but it’s pretty close. The gearbox noise is actually amplified by the design of the gun – the upper receiver is essentially right on top of the gearbox.

 

The RoF on the included battery is poo – the battery of course being terrible, as they always are.

 

Mah battery's biggah, foo.

 

But putting a 8.4v INTELLECT mini in the stock yielded much better results – the RoF is around TM levels – about 14-15rps – and the mag fed perfectly.

 

Stock battery fits easily.

 

Large battery fits not so easily.

 

The iron sights are good too – though only the rear sight is adjustable, as with the TM, and adjusting it is a simple matter of pushing it in the direction until it clicks. A bit crude, but it works.

 

The accuracy is good – on a stock TM level. With KSC 0.2g bbs and the irons dialed in I could hit a coke can every time from 10m.

 

For power, I haven’t access to a chronograph at the moment, but from the rather crude coke can method, I know it’s definitely around about 1J, perhaps a tad higher.

 

The hop-up is easy to adjust, and stays adjusted, which is nice, not like some Armalites I’ve played with, and the hop-up is very effective.

 

Not so the selector system. As with the TM and the real gun, there are two selectors.

 

Upside down again, just to mess with your mind. You are now hypnotised and under my complete control. Send me Jaffa Cakes and Hobnobs. And Pork Scratchings.

 

One for Safe/fire and one for Auto/Semi. Best to use the left hand to use these – they are not easily reached with the firing hand.

 

Now, if the gun was mine, the first thing I’d do is strip her down and get a set of metal bushings in there, a reshim and numerous other mods.

 

As it is, I don’t have any version 6 bushings, but I took her apart anyway.

 

Take the stock off.

 

Undo the connectors.

 

Press this down with a screwdriver.

 

The entire lower receiver slides back an inch.

 

You should have something like this.

Edited June 26, 2007 by DarkLite

[DarkLite]

Take the grip off.

 

Then the motor cage.

 

Remove the selectors with small allen keys, then unscrew the two shafts they link to. Kinky.

 

Now lift the Gearbox out. Use this picture to remember how the selector plate fits.

 

The Ver 6 gearbox.

 

The shimming is good, again, not quite up to TM levels, but it’s alright.

 

Bit messy.

 

The gears are Chinese steel gears, marked XYT. I have no reservations about these gears – I’ve seen a set of XYT gears running a M150 spring on a 10.8v battery with no problems.

 

XYT gears. Steel.

 

The grease is nice – unlike JG and their brown car-engine grease, CYMA uses this nicer, TM style stuff. Only problem is, they used faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar too much, as you can see in the picture. I cleaned that out with a high pressure hose and reshimmed the gearbox before putting white lithium in there instead.

 

Ported piston head.

 

Plastic bushings, alas, but the quality of the plastic seems good. The wiring is

alright – about on a par with TM. I’d still rewire it, just to be sure.

 

More lube in this gearbox than a porn star gets through in a year.

Edited June 26, 2007 by DarkLite

[DarkLite]

Conclusions:

 

This is yet another great AEG with an affordable pricetag (as long as you don’t get the CYBERGUN-branded one). It’s powerful, accurate and solid as hell. It loses a few marks for the difficult mag changes, but apart from that it’s a great gun.

 

For the WW2 (or even Vietnam) re-enactor on a budget, or someone who just really likes the Thompson, this is the AEG for you.

 

Overall mark: 9/10

Edited June 26, 2007 by DarkLite

[DarkLite]

Next chinese gun to review? Any suggestions?

Edited June 26, 2007 by DarkLite

[lineman66]

bravo DL, would love to see a full on review of the new (or rather not so new in HK) D-Boys Full Metal M4s... I've read in the ACM forum that the first run body's really thin and weak, and the metal receiver in the review sample unit actually cracked! Would like to see a comprehensive review of one nonetheless.

 

btw how much did this run you?

Edited June 26, 2007 by lineman66

[Sarge133]

Nice review DarkLite. I really want to pick one of these up now with a WE 1911 for alittle WWII action.

[massacreman]

Great review Darklite, are you going to try installing a real wood kit on this, perhaps the China one?

Edited June 26, 2007 by massacreman

[Yith]

Nice review. I have one question that perhaps you can answer though.

 

The TM gun has a major weakness around where the barrel screws on to the receiver. There is a bar that the foregrip attaches to and then this continues ans screws onto a plate on the underside of the receiver just in front of the mag well. I see that this is all the same as the TM version.

 

On the TM version this bar is prone to breaking in half when a sling is used with the gun. This is because of an angled change in the bar which acts as a stress point. As a result the barrel then comes off as its only attached by a small grub screw on the top.

 

I was wondering if this was the same on this clone.

 

To tell, you'll have to take the foregrip off. A picture from the side of the gun with the foregrip removed would be helpful.

 

Thanks!

Edited June 26, 2007 by Yith

[-FIDO-]

hey thanks for the review

i had the marui one, and sold it... (stupid me)

btw: the logo is correct: thompson inside a bullet

you can see it on top of the reciever...

 

i have a question:

is the rear sight plate metal?

on the marui version it was a plastic plate that could be moved around (up and down, left and right)

Edited June 26, 2007 by -FIDO-

[Fader]

Do the mags work on the TM M1A1??? Silly question I know...

[DarkLite]

Nice review. I have one question that perhaps you can answer though.

 

The TM gun has a major weakness around where the barrel screws on to the receiver. There is a bar that the foregrip attaches to and then this continues ans screws onto a plate on the underside of the receiver just in front of the mag well. I see that this is all the same as the TM version.

 

On the TM version this bar is prone to breaking in half when a sling is used with the gun. This is because of an angled change in the bar which acts as a stress point. As a result the barrel then comes off as its only attached by a small grub screw on the top.

 

I was wondering if this was the same on this clone.

 

To tell, you'll have to take the foregrip off. A picture from the side of the gun with the foregrip removed would be helpful.

 

Thanks!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Like these?

 

 

i have a question:

is the rear sight plate metal?

on the marui version it was a plastic plate that could be moved around (up and down, left and right)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That's the same as the CYMA then.

 

Do the mags work on the TM M1A1??? Silly question I know...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Yes, and vice-versa.

[chowiez]

Great review darklite! and yes.. its me!

 

also, the thompson is one of my favorate DOD gun! it is very sexy!

[my_plague_666]

just one fault i can find in this review: he's called boris the bullet-dodger or boris the blade. nice to see another big snatch fan here

 

but anyhoo, great review. soooo makes we want one, but bloody cybergun makes that very difficult in the UK form what i hear...plus there are other guns higher up on my priority list

[evilliboba]

Next ChiMan to review... How about that A&K M249 when I comes out?

[Grease Monkey.]

Nice review Darklite!

[DarkLite]

Next ChiMan to review... How about that A&K M249 when I comes out?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

FarEast is getting a preview on one soon.

 

The next one on the list is the ARMY R85 - I know FarEast has done one of the prototype one, but I'm apparently getting the production version - It'll be interesting to see if any changes have been made.

[evilliboba]

FarEast is getting a preview on one soon.

 

The next one on the list is the ARMY R85 - I know FarEast has done one of the prototype one, but I'm apparently getting the production version - It'll be interesting to see if any changes have been made.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh! That's right...

Carry on.

[the_viral_phantom]

Nice review,it would be good to get a be mp7 review up.Also Jaffa Cakes, Hobnobs and Pork Scratchings are on there way to you now.

Viral.

[Morden279]

Excellent review and disassembly guide.

 

May I ask what type of spring guide the version 6 gearbox takes? I've looked everywhere, but the gearbox doesn't actually seem to have one of its own. (Ie. there are no aftermarket/replacement "Version 6" spring guides.)

[my_plague_666]

correct me if im wrong but im pretty sure it uses V3 spring guides

[Alakdan101]

nicety DL

[DarkLite]

Uses V2 spring guides.

 

Standard gears, standard Anti-reversal latch (BUT NOT STANDARD ANTIREVERSAL SPRING!!!) and standard cylinder.

 

Only things non-standard are the bushings, tappet plate and the cylinder head.

 

Still, all the parts in this gun are compatible with TM parts, so hey.

Edited June 26, 2007 by DarkLite