(click for a larger image) images and review by Arnie

Stock Specifications FPS 280fps (stock fps may vary) Length: 1040mm Weight: 3.2 Kg (heavy) Ammo capacity:   500 rounds (Hi-Cap) 70 Round (Standard Mag)

NEW! The SG1 has been upgraded

NEW! The G3SG1 Image page

So why the SG1? When I started airsoft I borrowed a friends (upgraded) AK47, and became instantly addicted to the game. I decided there and then, that when I had the money I'd get myself a rifle and a good pistol. I was looking for a decent rifle that could double as a sniper rifle. I've trained as a marksman (I feel most at home with a Parker-Hale 7.62 Swing action match rifle), so the ability to snipe was important to me. The possibility of laying down suppressing fire was also something I was looking for. As I couldn't afford to get an automatic weapon, and a sniper rifle at the same time, I had to choose a single all round rifle.

The sensible choices I came up with, were either the G3SG1, the M16A2, or the AK47. It was important to me to have something different, and the M16 seemed to be very common, a good friend already had the AK, so I plumped for the Tokyo Marui SG1.

The decision was made to buy the SG1 from WolfArmouries. The basis for the purchasing decision was that although Wolf Armouries may not be the cheapest suppliers out there, they are well founded and provide good after-sales support. As my first airsoft purchase, I wanted the best support I could get.

So what's it like ? The rifle doesn't have the futuristic looks of the FAMAS or the Steyr, it's a tidy practical rifle, and that's what I was after. It's very comfortable to hold, and the rifle comes with a bipod fitted as standard. (As I've said) With a background in marksmanship, from my point of view, bipods are only for keeping the rifle out of the mud if you have to put it down. It's just a personal opinion, but the bipod makes the rifle rather unstable and unbalanced when it's extended, as when you swing the legs down, it shifts their weight forward. That said, it adds a distinctive look to the rifle when folded up or down.

( I pulled these images from my VHS copy of Heat, here Val Kilmer lays down support fire from about 100 yards, hence no scope is needed or used)

As for realism and looks, the outer barrel past the foresight is made of solid metal, as are the foresight, backsight, bipod and the stock fitting. The rest of the rifle is made from a tough matt ABS plastic. The rifle is built very solidly, there's just a few things to watch for, (some bits gradually come loose) but I'll list those issues further into the review.

The rifle comes with a cheek piece that fits on the top of the stock. It should be noted though, that when the rifle comes out of the box, it's only held on temporarily with some small sticky pads. The cheek rest is intended for use if you plan to attach a scope. I'd recommend taking it off and dumping it in the box for safekeeping if you intend to use the steel sights. If you wish to use the cheek piece with a scope (as I do) there are some decent strips of sticky tape in the box. To get the rest in the correct place I'd recommend trying the cheek rest attached with something pliable like Blu-Tac You'll should to zero your scope (I have some targets in the garden for such a purpose), and make sure you are comfortable with the feel of the rifle. Stick it down after you are happy with it's placement, as once you've stuck it down with the big sticky pad that comes in the box, it's a real pain to get off again.

As with most Tokyo Marui rifles access to the hop-up is gained by use of the cocking handle. As you move the handle back, against a hidden spring, the shell exit cover comes open, to reveal the hop-up. It's very easy to access, and I've tweaked it many a time in the middle of a fire-fight, even with my fingers (they look like Frankenstein's hand-me-downs) I can still twiddle the adjustment dial with ease. The cocking lever returns quickly and snaps back thanks to the retaining spring. At the front of the barrel near the foresight, there's a pin that snaps across, which retains the cocking handle, and stops it rattling around when you're on the move. Although the sound of BB's rattling around in the mag, somewhat overpowers any rattles anyway (mental note: look into ways to suppress this churning sound created when you run with a hi-cap bb mag).

Upgrade details: As a boggo 'stock' setup, the rifle is relatively indifferent from another other similarly sized airsoft AEG. This is where where a few 3rd party companies come to the rescue. After several skirmishes, I decided that the power and range were not sufficient. I really wanted to give people with PSG1's and APS sniper rifles something to worry about. So after a small conversation with my wallet, I decided to outlay the cash to buy the UK Systema Pro Power FTK. - please note the UK kit has had the spring replaced with one within the legal limit (an M100 rather than an M150). I have a separate page concerning the details and problems I encountered while performing the upgrade here. The power of the rifle immediately after the upgrade was a rather worrying 360-380fps, this seemed to be artificially high as the new gears and silicon grease (which I used plenty of) settled in. The power is now a reliable 320-328fps, which is right on the 1Joule limit. You can also upgrade the EG700 motor that's in the rifle to an EG1000 (which in theory will turn the gearbox faster, as it's more powerful), and there's a TN 6.04mm inner barrel available, which will increase power and accuracy.

I have been told that the TN inner barrels can cause feed jams (as they are slightly tighter than the stock barrels). There seems to be two resounding solutions to this - REMOVE the staples from your ammo bags religiously (don't let them fall into your magazine or ammo bag); and do not under any circumstances use either cheap (read inferior) ammo, or 'recycled' ammo (stuff that's been fired once before).

There is also a high speed FTK from Systema available. - Personally I wouldn't recommend fitting these unless you know what you are doing. A collegue of mine has been through 2 sets of gears after various problems caused them to strip teeth off themselves.

As you can see though, I'm not crazy about putting any more upgrades in until the power drops lower, as I don't want to break the 1Joule (328fps) limit.

Accessories! - Just when you thought you'd emptied your wallet... This rifle needs several things to make it complete. From personal experience, I'd recommend picking up the following bit and pieces:

A scope, preferably a 1" 4x40 (4 times zoom, with a 40mm front lens). I have a rather nice Illuminated cross-hair scope, that I've grown rather fond of. Now here's the minor problem, in order to fit the scope you'll need 2 things.

The first is the Marui Claw mount which is what you attach to the rifle to provide a scope base. The second thing is a pair of Weaver scope rings (or a good copy of them). The Weaver mounts are very expensive for what they are, and come in at about £35

The claw mount is about £35 from most UK shops. I picked my Weaver Mounts from a rather nice gun-shop in Portsmouth, near the Navy base (which we turned the car round in when we got lost - they don't make it easy to leave Portsmouth!).

Here you can see the back of the scope with the cross hair illuminated	The rifle with scope and claw attached.	Ahh the sign of quality.. these little bits of steel cost a small fortune, but were worth it.

You'll also need at least 3 hi-cap magazines (trust me) . The standard mags, are effectively useless (70 rounds get's emptied in a few seconds), unless you like the advantage of not having to wind them, or you want the realism of restricted ammunition. Each Hi-Cap costs around £25 in this country.

Another essential is a decent carry bag. I've got a long rifle bagmaster bag (It came with mine when I bought it), it's big enough to hold the rifle, scope and a few magazines. You really should get one to protect the rifle when it's not being used. I have seen the damage first hand that can happen to a rifle it it gets left lying around out of a bag.

Another accessory that's nice to have is a 3 point sling. You can use a simple SA80 sling (you can get them from most decent army surplus stores for about £8). I built mine from an old sports bag carry-handle I got from a friend. There is a current theory that using a sling can be damaging to your rifle, as it has a habit of putting a strain on the rifle and breaking it in half. I've never seen this happen (yet..).

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Performance in the field Well what can I say ? - After you see people walking along merrily at a skirmish thinking they are out of range of AEG's... Until you fire - then they run like startled chickens. As a stock issue weapon (not upgraded) it's still a beauty to fire, the range isn't great as it comes, and until you upgrade the rifle, there's little point in buying a scope, unless you want the good looks that is. It's also worth remembering that a scope is of little use in dim or poorly lit conditions.

As the weapon comes out of the box, it's great for CQB, admittedly it's a little large, but I'm used to it now, and it'll normally outgun an MP5 variant (if only for the fact that you can fit a bigger battery to the SG1). Oh.. not forgetting that the SG1 Hi-Cap carries 500 rounds.

Small issues to be aware of Most of these issues are common to most Tokyo Marui AEG's in some form or other, so as such they are not drawbacks to this rifle. However I thought that people really should know which bits of the rifle to keep an eye on.

Sling Pin - there's a small pin that's found in the stock of the rifle, that holds the sling on. This has a nasty habit of falling out when you least expect it, usually into a mud hole, or a large pond. The universal fit/bodge it tool 'gaffer-tape' comes to the rescue here. Simply place a strip under the hole the pin is placed through, and it should keep it in place for many a skirmish. You may wish to add something like "Lock-Tight" to the thread as well for that extra secure fitting.

Screws - there are several screws to watch, which need regular tightening. The outer barrel grub-screws, need regular tightening, as does the screw that holds the flashhider on. The bipod also needs tightening, not really to stop it falling off, rather to keep it from rattling around too much.

Fire-Selector - The fire selector switch is unfortunately the weakest part of the design, and quite possibly the most annoying part of the rifle I have discovered. It really doesn't feel up to the job. Compared to the fire selector of such weapons as the MP5, it really isn't built well enough. Now that's to say it's something I dislike, it's not a great issue, but it's one I hope to fix shortly, with a metal replacement from an MP5. It's also worth pointing out that I am unaware of anyone breaking the fire-selector, so maybe my worries could be completely unfounded.

Foregrip 'Creak' - The foregrip creaks a little when gripped tightly. Not a great issue, but I fixed it by removing the grip and 'wadding' it (packing between the barrel and the grip) with some black material cut from an old T-Shirt.

The Butt-Plate: The butt plate is very difficult to get off the first few times. In case you can't remember which way to push it, push it 'down' (i.e. towards the pistol grip). The easiest way to ease its movement on and off is to coat it inside with silicon spray, before you put the cover back on. After a few months, you'll find it comes off much more easily.

Conclusion Appearance 4/5 Build Quality 4/5 Performance   4/5 (stock) 5/5 (upgraded) Value for Money 4/5 I didn't buy it from the cheapest place though Overall Potential 5/5 I really can't fault this gun as it is my personal assault cannon, as stock it's nothing unusual, with performance similar to that of any other similar sized AEG. After it's been upgraded though, it's the most fun weapon I have used so far. There are possibilities to add reinforced 'Radish' backbone kits, to improve rigidity, and full metal parts to replace the receiver and cocking tube cover. I'll have to fit these sometime after I win the lottery though, as they ain't cheap =).

Site Links:
The SG1 has been upgraded - read how to do this yourself
The G3SG1 Image page
G3SG1 Review 2 - by Andrew Wagstaff (akaThe General)

External Links:
MovieWeb page for 'Heat' - contains casting info, some nice images and the theatrical trailer
HEAT fan site - contains links, sound files, interviews and more...
SecurityArms.com - the big daddy of firearm image archives, here you can find an image for the real-steel weapon from HK
NEW! Classic Army G3 "Metal-Body" - a fitting review over at Airsoft Players

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All images that have been photographed, edited, and produced by myself are copyright 2001 ArniesAirsoft.
All images from 'Heat' are copyright 2001 WarnerBrothers
arnie@arniesairsoft.co.uk