MP5 RAS EB Custom

Millennium Vertical Foregrip WeaponLight (M900A-WH): Lets start with the most obvious bit, the new vertical grip. This is SureFire's latest grip, their latest baby, and boy does it really show. Aside from the fact that the grip looks gorgeous there's a host of buttons and pressure pads on it.

The grip is basically a vertical RIS grip with a lamp system built into it, featuring two sets of illumination sources.

To either side of the grip you'll find carefully placed ambidextrous pressure pads, so the grip can be operated by the left or right hand, and to the rear you will find a pressure pad at your thumb, and a lever switch at the rear of the lamp itself.

Okay so what do all the switches do? Firstly the rotary switch at the bottom of the grip turns the whole unit on and off. In the off position - nothing works at all. In the on position well... you get the idea.

The two pressure pads activate the main light, whereas the smaller pressure pad activates the two low wattage 'navigation' white LEDs at the front of the grip. The low wattage lamps are designed for 'covert' use, in situations where the main beam is just too bright and will really give your location away. The rotary switch gives and always on main light beam.

Fixing the M900 to a rail is so easy it's unreal. Pull the lever on the LHS back and align with the rail you wish to attach it to, then simply press the lever down with your thumb - that's it! The grip can be detached and refitted in a matter of seconds by simply pulling the lever back up again.

Batteries are stored in the grip, unthread the graphite coloured grip base to find/replace the batteries.

Here's the beef from SureFire's own pages:

"...The Millennium M900A Vertical Foregrip WeaponLight attaches to Picatinny rail interface-equipped weapons via a built-in A.R.M.S. throw-lever mount. Each unit is equipped with five separate switches: (1) two pressure-sensitive momentary activation pads to control the main battle light -- one on each side of the grip for ambidextrous operation (2) a constant-on switch (3) a system disable switch to lock the light in the OFF position for covert operations or to eliminate accidental light activation during storage, and (4) a third, smaller momentary switch to control two low-output LEDs that are useful whenever there is a need for a very small amount of light (stealth navigation, nighttime breaching operations, etc.)

The M900A is powered by three lithium batteries and produces 125 lumens for one hour of runtime with the high-output lamp, or 225 lumens for 20 minutes with the included ultra-high output lamp. A 1.625" diameter bezel provides the optimum beam spread for close to medium range engagements. The M900A is designed for peak performance in the harshest environments and has proven its reliability and performance in combat. Constructed from impact-resistant Nitrolon® polymer and featuring a shock-isolated bezel and lamp assemblies, this light features the highest degree of shock-isolation available to ensure reliable function in high-risk situations.

Fits most Picatinny rail interface-equipped weapons including, Colt Carbine, Colt Rifle, G36, G36K, and UMP40/45..." (Source: SureFire)

Ergonomically the grip is a pleasure to hold, and the fact that the lamp is built into the grip itself means that it is placed close to the muzzle, and therefore the lamp will shine more accurately in the direction of the target. The pressure pads are also large enough to be very useable with gloves on.

A lot of 'quick detatch' gear tends to fall off just as easily. A simple example is the HK claw mount, which is rock solid apart from when you traverse concrete, at which point it will take it's leave from your rifle and take your very expensive scope on it's final short journey.

This is happily not the case with the M90 grip, even though the attachment system is very simple it is incredibly effective, and only going to come off when assisted by a user.

The one thing to beware of is that the M900 grip secures itself on only one slot in a RIS mount, so therefore will snap plastic rails in two and fall off if abused. If you are planning on fitting this grip to your rifle - spend that extra few pounds and grab yourself a nice rail to mount it on. I found that after moderate use that TM's RIS grip began to undo itself from the frame. This is not the fault of the M900, merely down to the fact that this really isn't a real MP5, and therefore not able to take as much abuse as the real thing.

Two areas on the MP5 that will need tightening up and a small application of loctite are the rear supports inside the TM MP5 grip that hold the back of the grip to the receiver. The QD flashhider also has a habit of unscrewing, so best to keep an eye on that as well.

Happily fitting something like the Guarder QD MP5 silencer to the unit is simple to do, and is the perfect addition to the M900 equipped MP5. There is just enough space to fir the silencer and to maneuver it on and off the mounts.

The navigation LEDs are spaced far enough apart to be well out the way of any extended muzzle breaks or barrel additions.

Advanced Technology stock recoil pad: Next up is the Advanced Technology stock recoil pad .Technically this model is called the 'SKS or Shotgun Folding Stock Butt Pad Slip-on style' (#SKS0500). The pad adds 1 inch of length to stock, and is designed to fit the Ultralight Fixed Sporter, Folding Shotgun stock (and more).

The folding stocks of the real steel somewhat lack in comfort due to their lightweight nature. The extra padding will help with recoil effects, but there's no real 'recoil' to Airsoft because of the staggering low velocities involved, but the added length makes folding stocks more comfortable for people with Yeti arms (long).

The recoil pad simply pushes over the end of the butt and is held in place by sheer friction. Fitting the pad is rather difficult to describe, but it's rather like putting on those thick washing up gloves.. yeah I know weird analogy there ^_^. For longer or more permanent fitment, you may want to consider a velcro style modification or some light glue. I find the pad is held on well enough so as to not go walkies at inopportune moments, and adds a different look to the RAS.

Visible Red Laser Sight (L72): The next addition to this piece is the SureFire Visible Red Laser Sight (L72).

First a serious warning. This is a mil-spec laser, and well above the specs of the pen lasers, and el-cheapo addons you'll find some people making. Don't get me wrong this is a very powerful laser, so due care should be taken with it's use. For more information I would highly recommend reading the pages over at laserinstitute.org.

The L72 can be fitted the the standard SureFire universal housings, and is a straight swap for a lamp head unit. As such it can take the momentary switches and other accessories, which is a major bonus for anyone with a cupboard of SureFire parts.

Here's the full brief from SureFire themselves:

"... Description: A laser sight gives you the ability to shoot accurately and effectively in many low-light situations. A laser sight also has applications as a non-lethal deterrent or intimidation tool. The L72 Visible Red Laser Sight is a continuous-beam laser that can be mounted either in a Millennium Universal System modular housing (for Picatinny rail mounting) or into a SureFire WeaponLight ™ housing.

Features:
Wavelength 635nM
Power 5 milliwatts
Runtime 24 hours (approx.)
Length 1.95 inches
Diameter 1.25
Weight 4.6 ounces

We highly recommend mounting them in a Millennium Universal System modular housing or into a SureFire WeaponLight. Contact a SureFire technical representative at 800-828-8809 during regular business hours (8am-5pm PST) to identify the best mounting option for your application ..." (Source: SureFire)

The laser features two adjustment dials, one for the X-axis and the other controlling the Y axis. This style of adjustment certainly beats the rather cheap allen key adjustments that you find on cheaper makes. The other advantage is that not only does the laser not undo itself but it's dead easy to adjust in the field. The force required to adjustment/move the dials is handily, just not quite enough to make them difficult to turn, and not too little so as to make the dials susceptible to accidental nudges.

In the package you'll also find little milar stickers that can be fitted over the lens window to protect it whilst in 'practice'. In the real world these little windows stop gases and debris from munitions fire clogging up the window, but for us Airsofters they provide additional protection to the odd stray BB if needed.

Aimpoint ML2: The Aimpoint ML2 is possibly one of the most copied milspec red dot scopes out there, up with the infamous ACOG units, the AimPoint is somewhat of a legend. To really appreciate this piece you really need to have a copy of the ML2 handy. Cunningly the MP5 RAS come with a TM copy of the Aimpoint in the box.

As you can see the TM copy lacks the covers for the adjustment caps (to prevent them falling off and getting lost), the dimensions although similar are not particularly accurate, and well.. it just lacks the quality. You have to bear in mind that the Aimpoint comes with the a 2 year warranty, 30mm mounting ring, lense caps in the box, and is full metal and individually serial numbered into the bargain.

Suffice to say I think you'll be stunned at the differences.

"...Heavy-duty variants of the CompC built for extreme conditions. This sight has a special hard-anodized surface and the specification for water tightness is equivalent to a depth of 75 feet. The high quality requirements are designed to cope with frequent professional use on those types of guns that are typically used by the police and the military or for hunting under extreme conditions.

The inner tube is suspended in a unique spherical joint – large view, greater (+/- 2.5 meters) adjustment range at 100 meters with repeatable, accurate click adjustments.

Guaranteed submersible to 25 m without tightening the adjustment caps. Tests have been successful down to 100 m.

CompML2 red dot sight can be mounted on almost any type of rifle and with the co-witnessing (applicable to many small calibre weapons) the iron sights are visible through the sight as a back-up. There is also a quick-release ring for Picatinny or Weaver bases, allowing the sight to be rapidly detached and remounted without zeroing..." Aimpoint

Heavy duty you say? What do they mean by heavy duty? Well the ML2, after 18 months of testing, was the only the Aimpoint red dot sight to earn the U.S. Army's seal of approval (one of only a few makes I gather). Tests including being baked at 160 degrees, dropped 12ft, being frozen down to minus 50 degrees, and being submerged at 80ft - tests that I'm sure most GIs would find tough enough to survive under!

The ML2 is a 4MOA reddot scope (MOA [Minute Of Angle], 1 MOA = 30 mm at 100 meters = 1" at 100 yards), and is 1x magnification. Popular mounting positions on the MP5 and M4 series allow "co-witnessing", where the steel sights are visible through the scope itself.

The AimPoint can be mounted at any angle - so it's good for lefties too, simply slacked the mount and carefully rotate the scope to have the adjustments on the LHS rather than the RHS. A more 'tactical' method of mounting is to have the scope mounted at 45 degrees, thus the adjustment dials protrude less, giving a reduced chance of them snagging. Also of note is the 'cap strap' - this piece of rubber ensures that the battery cap, and end covers stay attached if they work loose, and ensures that you don't loose them if you happen to want to remove them for adjustment in the field. the RedDot has 10 positions, complete-off and 9 daylight, of which 1 is 'Extra Bright'.

So how long do you recon the battery in the ML2 lasts? 10 hours of constant use? A whole day? Nope.. not even close, the CET (Circuit Efficiency Technology diode) battery system in the ML2 offers an exceptional battery life giving you 1,000–10,000 hours on average. Yes folks that's 6 weeks to a year's worth of battery life! You must use the following battery type in the ML2: DL1/3N (Duracell), 2L76 (Ucar, Varta), 1pc, 3-volt, Ø11.6x10.8 mm, Lithium. Although other makes are substitutable on other Aimpoint models, this is not the case on the higher spec ML2.

The Aimpoint ML2 here is fitted to a B-Square mount, that to most seasoned Airsofters will be familiar as the "Hurricane mount". Clamping onto the frame and tightening up - it's a darn sight (excuse the bad pun) more stable than the HK claw mount, and as an added bonus, you can still use the stock sights though it:

Although the ML2 is built stronger than any scope I've had the privilege to test, it seems only fair to help protect the lense a bit further, after all it may be designed to last, but there's no need letting BBs or other flying debris risk scratching your lovely scope lense now is there?

Aimpoint killFlash: Fitted this this model you'll see a killFlash adapter. This cunning device is basically a honeycomb wire mesh that eliminates potential reflections from the surface of the outer lense that could compromise the user's position.

"The patented geometry of the CC-A’s honeycomb shield maintains a clear, bright view through the sight and does not interfere with target acquisition." killFlash

The idea is simple - direct light can pass through, but somewhat like a polaroid lense, light from angles slightly off Centrex cannot get it, and therefore you will not get glare, as sunlight is effectively trapped behind the kill flash. In these two images following you can see the killFlash looking dead on, and then from a slight angle.

For such a large piece of metal inset into the scope you'd think that it would obscure your vision though the scope, but it doesn't. The image is slightly darker (around 15%), but much like waving your finger/hand in front of the lense, you really don't know that it's there. The killFlash will save your lense from passing BBs, but be warned it will get dinted if the BBs are going fast enough, then again the killFlash is significantly cheaper than the repair bill for an AimPoint. See here for an explanation of how killFlash works. (reference killFlash specs -PDF)

MP5 sling: The real HK sling is somewhat sturdier that the copies that you see around. The quick release buckle is certainly built to last, and as new is really anything but quick release. The good news is that the buckle system does wear in, and it's more than likely to out wear your AEG ^_^. Length adjustment is achieved though some cunningly stitched in velcro.

If you look at some of the shots, you'll notice a Guarder MP5-N silencer, possibly one of the nicest silencers I've ever fitted or used. The effect of silencing an Airsoft replica is open to endless debate, but the Guarder piece fits like a dream to the stock TM MP5 RAS muzzle, being a snug fit, and adding to the look somewhat.