Hatchet

I think the grip is good. Front screw is largely without thread, but the back seems to do the bulk of the work. I might see if I can see a second hand original from someone who's fitted an aftermarket instead. I have a CA High Torque (allegedly) motor kicking about, which I *think* I tried to the same effect, but I may have another crack at that tomorrow.

At this rate mine'll be up for a bargain price. Jammed it after about 10 rounds today. Mnng. It has to be motor depth/position, because if I hold it in fires fine, but I cannot for the life of me get it right otherwise. I've shimmed and reshimmed it to death. I'm seriously considering buying an old TM AK47 and just using that. Bah. On that note though, anyone know if it's possible to fit a motor cage (of any sort) to the sopmod? I realise you wouldn't use it long term, but it would at least help try to remove some of the possible problems for troubleshooting purposes.

I shall bear that in mind. Although given the mess I've made just with gears, etc, using superglue might be asking for trouble.

No, I may have jumped the gun on that a bit. It looks like the sopmod ARL does look different from standard - a flat end rather than curved. Suspect I should probably replace the pinion gear though, mines a little shagged. I think the smaller of the two screws in the pistol grip may have threaded its hole a bit too. Any fixes for this other than getting a new grip?

I really should know that by now shouldn't I? Yet somehow the promise of more accuracy or velocity or consistency always persuades me to start tinkering... Thanks to all who contributed. I have incorporating winding the stock tube back a notch and that's probably helping. Also improved shimming and AoE. Oh well, it's all knowledge hard earned.

You know what? I have no idea what I'm doing. However, somehow, despite repeating exactly the same steps as every time before, I've managed to fix it. I'm not going to call it permanently fixed until I actually get through an entire day of gaming with it, but RoF is drastically improved, and fps is now bang on 350, which is much better than previously. Now all I have to do is never touch it again...

I *think* I might have identified the problem. I started testing parts as I went and found I was still having locking issues before I even put the stock tube on. Broke it back down even further and was getting them without the piston in place... It looks like the tip of the anti-reversal latch has sheared off at some stage, which as well as meaning more stress all round, meant it was possible for it to become reversed (as it was short enough to go past the bevel gear) and effectively act as an anti-forward latch. I have a couple of spare ARLs in the parts bin, although not sopmod speci

Well, I shall let you know the outcome. Once more unto the breach dear friends... Incidentally, with regard to replacing the pistol grip, is this likely to have any unforseen consequences, being as it is looser than the standard Marui one?

I've got three different springs and am getting the same results with all of them. They're all Eagle6 springs 90/100/110. I am running the bearing guide (prometheus I think), so I could try it without. I might be in agreement with you on the wiring. It's fine in the gearbox, but tight as hell in the grip. That said, I was having the same problems on the standard wiring. Changing the bevel gear sadly didn't make any difference. I reckon I've got enough patience for about one more crack at this before it ends up getting sent for someone else to look at. Which is annoying.

Still no joy. Looking at it, I'm beginning to suspect that the bevel gear is warped. Don't know how this is possible, but when the box is locked, there's no up/down play in it. When it's free, there's slight maybe 1mm. So I looked at all the gears and when I spin the bevel I can see it oscillating (like watching a record go round). The original gear doesn't do this. I'm going to stick the original back in and see what happens. Also managed to rewire it all to 16AWG, but the motor is tight as anything in the cage.

No, I'll look into giving that a go today. I think I've got another motor I can try too. Not that it should be making any difference, but ruling out as much as possible can't hurt.

Replacement hornbill piston fitted - eventually. Obviously wanted to do things properly and get the correct AoE this time round. Sadly, it appears to be made out of similar metal to that used in wolverines claws, so I had to wait a while for a diamond file to turn up. All has now been fitted... and I'm still getting random lockups which I'm currently at a loss to explain. Although I suspect the heat and having been at it for a good few hours are probably not helping. All appears okay when tested by hand, but when firing normally it will cycle for a short while and then lockup, which is puz

That problem I mentioned earlier does appear to be shimming, at least in part. Now, having destroyed my piston, I understand a lot more about it than I thought I did before. I suspect the original issue, before I started messing around, was probably down to power transference and slightly poor shimming. The trigger contacts were tan all over with dirt, and when I cleaned this away I can actually see through it in parts, so I suspect that's part of it. That with the shimming meant that at random points during the day there wasn't enough power to fully turn the box and you effectively got the "s

Right. Have taken 1mm shim out. I think the shimming is actually largely ok, but we'll see. M110 downgraded to M100. More importantly, air leak identified between cylinder and cylinder head. Wrapped with PTFE. Intermittent electrical fault when trying to fire, tracked down to the fuse holder having been stretched by the ghetto fuse, hence making intermittent contact. While identifying this also noted melted plastic in this area, which is most likely the smoke (judging by blueing on the fuse holder). Reassembled and tested, 325-330 on stock barrel, 335-345 on 6.02 407mm barrel, which is mu

Cheers for the suggestions. I'll take another look at the shimming. I did spend a while on it last time round and followed the guide, but I'll freely admit it's probably not my greatest strength. Not certain what I can do if there's an air leak from nozzle to hop - I can't exactly move it closer. I did forget to mention I have a complete spare hop/barrel assembly that I also tested it with and got much the same fps, which is why I didn't suspect leaking hop, etc as a cause. Oh well, nothing on this morning, I'll break out the screwdrivers...

I've been having issues trying to get the power up on mine. Stock it was as expected (280 ish?) and compression seems good when tested, but I'm not seeing the results expected from the springs in it. I've had an Eagle 90, 100 and 110 in it and currently it's got the 110 (allegedly 380-400) doing 330fps. Sadly I think this is too much spring for a standard gear set (hornbill) as it keeps blowing fuses at a rate of knots. It's using exactly the same setup electircally as it has the last year or more, it's just the spring that's different. Ghetto fuse modded it in the field on Sunday with the

Hardboiled - difficult to say without seeing it, but could the silver cylinder be part of the fake gas tube assembly? The front part is more obvious, but the rear part of it sits just behind the delta ring on a little spigot.

Yes, I understand the principle. It's more to confirm that it does actually work as advertised.

On a battery related note - just fitted the Prometheus gold Stock Terminal Conversion Kit and there was a notable RoF improvement (using Eagle6 lipo). Thought it worth noting since a lot of the time with upgrades it can be questionable if they're of any value or not. It may be that if you do direct wiring it's even better, but for those who want to keep the stock.. errr, stock, it's nice to know.

I'm guessing lots of places. Just Google on Marui EMOD stock - for example http://www.redwolfairsoft.com/redwolf/airsoft/Accessories_Grips_and_Stocks_AEG_Tokyo_Marui_EMOD_Stock_Flat_Dark_Earth.htm I don't own the SOPMOD, but I'm going to go with "Really easy" on installing the EMOD. Should just be a question of pulling down on the stock adjustment lever and sliding the whole thing off. I'd have to re-read this thread for the standard stock answer. My initial response would be that you can't, although I know some people have. I *think* these were with SOCOMS though.

Voxcaster - The EMOD stock (as used on the CQB-R) doesn't need the hard block stock.

£53.28 shipped from TT, + £22.78 customs/parcelfarce. so £76.06 all in. Which is expensive, but always the way with orders from the US unfortunately.

No, but those carrying the LAM are - in my view few and far between (note, there may not be a great deal of Science! to back this up...). It requires you to have upgraded the LAM so it's actually useful and have a scenario in which to use it, which is basically urban. I would suggest a higher proportion of those using the MK23 are woodland players who don't require that feature. If you do, you're probably going to have to stick to the big black drop leg bag type holster.

Marui's MK23 SOCOM is largely viewed as the best Non-Blowback pistol going. It shares the same hop rubbers and barrel cut as the highly regarded VSR and makes for an excellent silent backup weapon for snipers, or reliable cold weather pistol. It's main disadvantage (other than its large size) is the lack of decent holster for them. It's possible to get a safariland that will fit, but you cannot carry it with the suppressor fitted. This is a major drawback for the sneaky beaky types among us, because of the hassle involved in attaching it, etc. under pressure. For this reason (and the cost

I don't have a decent camera or the skills to use it, but you can get an idea...