Classic |
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Introduction:
When I opened the Tokyo Marui (TM) catalogue for the first time after
buying my Mk23 springer I instantly fell in love with the MP5SD series,
I think this is mostly due to reading Tom Clancy and playing on Rainbow
Six Rouge Spear too much. After browsing the net trying to find the best
deal on one of these guns, I soon stumbled across the name Classic
Army (CA)
in my searches. I read that they were all metal, upgraded to 350fps and
came with a hi-capacity magazine as standard and were only marginally more
expensive than the TM ones, too good to be true?
After asking about and
reading some reviews of the CA
MP5 I came across some very mixed views of these guns, opinions seemed split
50/50. Some people said things to the effect that the guns were rubbish
and they wouldnt touch them with a barge pole, yet others said they had
one or know someone who has one and they are great guns, the same happened
with the online reviews I read.
I
soon found out that there were different versions of the CA
MP5 out there and that indeed the version 1 and version 2 guns were indeed
not very good (although when I picked my MP5 up from Airsoft
Kit I spoke to Tree and found out he uses a version 1 MP5 and has
had no problems). However the latest versions were meant to be greatly improved,
I came to the conclusion that a lot of the negative views of the CA
guns originated from these earlier versions and this then started rumours
and a general doubt as to the guns reliability.
I researched into the
CA MP5 from February 2002 I finally took the plunge/risk and bought one
in July, my first AEG, below are my thoughts and findings on this gun.
Name: MP5SD2 The gun |
Classic
Army call the gun a MP5SD5, but I always thought that a MP5SD with
fixed stock and a SEF grouping was a MP5SD2, but then again, the MP5 numbering
system is a mystery to most. Perhaps a MP5 buff out there can confirm this
for me, until then, I will continue to call it a SD2. (Arnie’s note:
I have filed this review under CA_MP5SD5, as that’s what the manufacturers
call it)
First
Looks: The first thing you notice when looking at the gun
is the metal body, it makes the gun look solid! The only plastic parts are
the lower receiver, stock and the fore grip, just like the real thing. The
rest is in metal, which has a slightly dulled look to it, I am not sure
how realistic this is, not having seen a real MP5. I rubbed some silicone
oil into all the metal parts and then cleaned it off with a clean cloth
and the metal now has a very slight shine to it and is a little darker,
it looks like I would expect the real one to.
When picking the gun
up the weight is reassuring and the whole thing is solid, the only loose
item on mine was the front cap of the silencer, but that is threaded so
I just twisted it with my hand and it is now solid. There is absolutely
no flex or wobble on any part of the gun, including the fore grip, it is
solid! Both CA and TM magazines make a very nice click as they are inserted
and both have a slight bit of wobble sideways, but only a tiny amount. The
SD front end is lovely, CA have opted to make it totally smooth and with
the matt black paint it looks very nice, the moulding lines on it are so
good you really have to look closely to notice them. As mentioned above,
this MP5 has the SEF fire grouping and a G3 lower receiver, this means that
the grip is contoured to fit a right hand, it is very comfortable for me,
but I dont know how a leftie would find it.
Another advantage of
the metal construction is that you can use the cocking lever and be confident
that it will not break if you release it too fast or slap it down. The
pictures below show the lever in the forward and locked position.
I am not a fan of lots
of accessories on a gun, in reality 1 or 2 is the most you will find in
real life, so that is all I would put on a replica, and any more makes a
gun look overcrowded, especially a small gun like the MP5, however some
people like this, it is personal preference. I decided that I would just
put a laser on, some people who have seen it dont like the look, but I
do, I think it gives it a nice, simple addition to the gun which is also
a helpful aiming aid when I am to lazy to use the iron
sights.
Grouping tests: The following pictures show the grouping (not how well I can aim) the gun gives at 17 and 30feet, on semi and full automatic. 10 shots were taken on semi automatic and around 30 on full automatic. The gun was placed on a workmate to keep alignment but the shaking from the gun may have caused slight movement. The black circle is just under 3 in diameter.
AUTO: |
Long term:
So far, the gun has had about 7000 BBs through it with no serious problems
occurring, that makes for a short section here as I have mentioned the only
2 problems I had above.
I have skirmished with
it once so far and it performed faultlessly all day with no jams or breakdowns.
It outranges most stock TM AEGs as would be expected and has a good ROF
too. The magazine fell out of the gun once, but this was while I was falling
over a fence (deliberate tactic, to confuse the enemy), I dont think I
had it secured in place properly as that is the first and only time this
has happened.
Conclusion
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What can I say, you
get a heavy, all metal MP5 that is upgraded for around the same price as
a TM one, and once a little oil is rubbed into the body it looses that,
dry, grey finish that it comes with and looks very nice. The only let down
is the CA hi-cap magazines, which are temperamental, and that is the only
reason I gave the gun 4/5 for build quality. Since buying the gun I have
never looked back and thought why did I spend all that money on this so
I guess I am pretty happy with the value of the gun, in fact the only thing
I do think when I look at it is Its mine
mwuhaha. A very satisfied customer
heres
hoping that the CA M16A3 will be up to this standard by its 2nd or 3rd
generation as I now have a craving for an all metal assault rifle.
by
Rob Andrew (aka Rob_A)
External
Links:
www.classicarmy.com
– manufacturers of this equipment
www.airsoftkit.com
– the retailer that sold this specific item
Internal
Links: TBA
Comment
on this review in the forums
Last modified:
Wednesday, May 9, 2001 9:37 AM copyright 2001 ArniesAirsoft