CA Sportlines...

[waxxer]

just saw pedro041484s post about the CA SA58 OSW and just clicked through to see other new posters...SPORTLINES WITH METAL BODIES? whutta...am I missing something?

 

 

http://www.classicarmy.com/catalogue.jsp

[Abelius]

Not that amazing actually. They still have inferior internals and a multi-piece outer barrel for instance.

[pedro041484]

yup I saw that too... i don't get it sportline + metal body=?? i bought a ca sportline before and it worked fine for less than a hundred rounds.. LOL maybe a lemon..

[Spiderpig]

WHAT

 

 

 

IM

SO

######

OFFF

 

I mean, now their almost nothing like sportlines. Only the 3-piece barrel and the internals are different.

 

Oh jesus im so mad. Stupid realistic neck joint on stupid plastic body.

[waxxer]

Not that amazing actually.

well, I dont think theyre amazing either (though nice reifles for beginners), but Im following news on airsoft pretty strictly and I didnt hear, or see this coming.

the question is, why did CA do this shortly after releasing the plastic ones? ..and will the production of the plastic ones be ceased? ..or whut? weird...

[Abelius]

Yeah, I mostly meant that it's not amazing or unbelieveable that they released them after all.

[Gigueand]

I was just thinking about this the other day.

 

JG is now moving a lot of their plastic bodied guns over to being "full metal."

CA's response to these plastic bodied guns was the Sportlines series, which now has to move to being metal bodied to compete, once again, with the JG guns.

 

I love the way the "clone wars" are driving the market. Hopefully in the long run this will mean better, cheaper, more authentic guns for all of us, clone lovers and clone haters alike.

[Magsz]

CA sportlines have two piece metal barrels i believe, not three.

I wonder if there is going to be a price difference, i wouldnt be surprised if there was.

 

Im guessing 170ish for these.

[Inq Eisenhorn]

Soooo...whats to stop people confusing / selling these "Pro line" weapons....

 

I think its quite sad that a company like Classic Army feels so threatend by the new upcoming Chinese companies....and rather than simply upping its game, it choses to get down in the mud and "beat" them at their own game, only to be bamboozled by them and have to chase them back up the ladder

 

I think the whole sportline thing had the potential to be a good idea (plastic bodies) but this just looks like Classic Army eating away at itself.....

[waxxer]

CA's response to these plastic bodied guns was the Sportlines series, which now has to move to being metal bodied to compete, once again, with the JG guns.

'kay, if you look at it like that, thats reasonable.

but CA surely knew about newer metal clones coming. I mean, even I did before the new (plastic) Sportlines were out. why not release the metal bodied Sportlines in the first place? (if the price is right) nobody will want the plastic version over the metal.

externally the plastic body was one of the most important things that distinguished SL from PL.

metal receiver sportline = semi-proline?

 

anyways, if CA decides to keep all of their Lines, there will be a lot of guns to choose from.

[Crazy_Harry]

Waxxer- exactly- beginners will have the option of plakky bodied aegs, metal bodied but not quite as good aegs, and top-range guns, dependent on their own price range.

 

Not a bad move, imo, and something I wish TM would do, quite frankly. however, i do get the point that they're trying to beat the Chinese at their own game, rather than simply playing a different one. The reason fro this, I would guess, is that CA started life, and have for the most part continued life as a clone manufacturer (yes, putting a stronger body on a TM or G&G design does not make you an innovator. Sorry, but it doesn't- ICS is more innovative than CA in terms of what they are at least trying to do for airsoft), and are having trouble moving away from that.

 

Just a thought...

[Stealthbomber]

I'm confused cos, back when CA sportline guns were plastic, everybody was saying they were regular CA internals in cheaper, plastic, receivers.

 

Now they have metal bodies, we're to believe the proline guns are still superior cos the sportline internals are now inferior to the proline ones?

Geez, these guys need to make their minds up.

 

I wouldn't mind betting they deliberately stick a weaker spring in the sportline guns just to make the difference obvious.

In the mean time, I'd just buy the sportline gun, stick an Element steel barrel on it and spend the difference on beer.

[Gigueand]

I'm confused cos, back when CA sportline guns were plastic, everybody was saying they were regular CA internals in cheaper, plastic, receivers.

 

Now they have metal bodies, we're to believe the proline guns are still superior cos the sportline internals are now inferior to the proline ones?

Geez, these guys need to make their minds up.

 

I wouldn't mind betting they deliberately stick a weaker spring in the sportline guns just to make the difference obvious.

In the mean time, I'd just buy the sportline gun, stick an Element steel barrel on it and spend the difference on beer.

 

 

Right, so what separates these new, metal bodied sportline guns from the "proline," full-price guns? Were the internals of the sportlines ever different from the standard CA proline guns? Or did they only differ in body construction? I feel the need for an excel spreadsheet listing the distinguishing features of the proline and sportsline. Do we even know what the differences between them are?

[waxxer]

when CA sportline guns were plastic, everybody was saying they were regular CA internals

 

thats not true, these parts differ between a pro and a sportline CA M15

 

(specs of the plastic sportline, which I have tested)

 

- two piece outer barrel

- blue aluminum inner barrel

- plastic receiver

- one piece plastic hop-up chamber

- non reinforced gearbox (radiused though)

- blue aluminum cylinder

- pot metalish, alloy sector gear (others are steel)

- reinforced blue plastic bushings (quite nice)

- junky high torque Sportline motor

 

 

so, im pretty curious whether CA changes the internals of the metal SL, or just slaps a low(er?) quality metal body on them.

[Magsz]

Lower quality metal body onto the sportline gearboxes im going to assume which is pretty sad considering the pro-line metal bodies from CA are fairly...bad.

[Revenge Seeker]

This makes....no sense...

[Magsz]

This makes....no sense...

It makes perfect sense in the assbackwards world that is airsoft sometimes.

 

Here's the timeline.

 

1. Chinese clones cut into CA's market and eventually began to overtake it.

 

2. CA responds by releasing sportlines to compete with plastic bodied chinese clones.

 

3. Chinese clones see the demand for better materials and release metal bodied AEG's.

 

4. CA rushes to compete despite the fact that they ALREADY HAVE METAL BODIED AEG's.

 

Its so confusing its not even funny lol.

 

CA is now officially the king of the Cloners. Instead of stepping up their game and innovating they take steps backwards in the evolutionary scale that is airsoft and they disregard their pro-line series of weapons for more cost effective entry level guns.

 

Having said all that, i do give them props for being aware of what the market desires and catering to it.

[Panzergraf]

So CA clones the clones of themselves which were originally clones of something else.

lol whut?

 

If I was into guns in that price range, I'd still go for something chinese.

I guess the sportlines will still sell just because they're CA, I know some who bought them for just this reason.

 

I think CA should rather fix their shoddy pistons and go back to the good type of steel gears they used before, (these new ones with the CA logo on the bevel gear aren't as good) and thus try to stay a level above the clones as a "high quality brand".

[Abelius]

Wait, they are or have been a high quality brand?

[Mr.Hyde]

So...................did CA just re-release the first M4 they made? Basically, thats what it sounds like. I remember reading a old review of one of the first CA AEGs, sounded a lot like these lol.

 

CA could be such a good company if they would just branch out a bit. Have they EVER made something all their own? As in truly, not using so other design and fixing it.

 

Hopefully CA will step up soon, I am interested in the P90 and MP5K that are coming out. Otherwise, there is really nothing that CA make that I want.

 

I wonder if CA are really losing sales to ACM brands, or just trying to steal that market. I remember the first sportsline sold out fast, but the newer have not done as well.

 

 

 

[Magsz]

SA58 is a CA product as is their SCAR.

 

Granted the SA58 suffers from minor niggles with the trigger and the CA scar is just a hideous replica.

 

Other than that they actually HAVE created something from scratch lol.

[Inq Eisenhorn]

The CA SCAR should have been so much better than it was, but the gearbox was awesome...thats true.

 

I think if CA arn't careful they will lose their rank in the AEG manufacturers chart.....I know that I don't tush to buy CA products, and I certainly feel more excited by products from manufacturers like ICS, VFC, STAR etc.....

 

I did have issued with the Sportlines I bought (did that to death) but I also feel the novelty has worn off for a lot of people in terms of these sportline rifles......they just arn't that exciting.

[Magsz]

Eisenhorn, you need to remember that to alot of players its not about whats exciting.

 

There are so many new players that a VFC or a Real Sword seems like a dream. They dont care what the outside of their gun looks like as long as their gun shoots and it cost then 130 dollars.

 

Long gone are the days of being proud of what you've put onto and into your rifle to make it an efficient machine.

[Zombie13]

might as well buy a regular CA

[Panzergraf]

The CA SCAR should have been so much better than it was, but the gearbox was awesome...thats true.

 

I think if CA arn't careful they will lose their rank in the AEG manufacturers chart.....I know that I don't tush to buy CA products, and I certainly feel more excited by products from manufacturers like ICS, VFC, STAR etc.....

 

I hear ya,

With the large number of available upgrade and replacement parts, including complete gearboxes, I and many other don't care so much for how a gun shoots stock as what it looks like on the outside and its potential as an upgrade/project platform.

 

For me, CA has lost its place as the quality full-metal replica manufacturer, even though their internals are pretty good except for a few bad parts.

 

As for some of the newer players who just want something that "shoots and it cost then 130 dollars", well the CA sportline series is too little and too late against the likes of CYMA and JG.