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Unicorn ASK74U Review


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For all it's faults i think i've adopted my AKS74U like some pet,unfortunately it's a pet i can't take for a walk unless it's around my house.Yes it has faults,it's finish doesn't match up to my Cymas finish but to me that makes it all the more endearing.Personally i can't wait to shoot a few enemies of the revoloution when i take this gun out to play.It's already cost me £60 for the heavy weight metal reciever & wood kit for my Cyma AK47 & it's going to cost me another £80 + postage to get the Cyma rewired,reshimed,tight bore barrel,new hop up & it's still not going to look as cool as my Unicorn.

aks74u2s.jpg

aks74tiger2s.jpg

aks74uwithCymaak47mag.jpg

aks74uandak47s.jpg

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from quick look thus far from the front

 

set screwed barrel threading adapter (but as per unicorn no set screw to retain it tightly before the muzzle break goes on)

 

pinned front sight block

 

lower handguard mounts like real steel/VFC

 

frotn trunnion hasa pin going thru it

 

looks to be a set screw hidden away under the gas block where the upper cover latches

 

trigger guard is riveted on

 

bolt is much closer to real steel shape but still lacks the aksu specific cocking handle (as per every other one out there)

 

contrary to the one someone else got a chance to handle fire select on this one is very positive in terms of feel and clicks

 

bolt stays in place with minimal wobble even when theres no battery

 

Im convinced the mag retainer lip at rear of the mag is too thin and the mag latch on trigger guard is oversized to compensate - if RT can try the mag from his unicorn in his other AK and finds the unicorn one fits and latches into place without problems then will definately be a dBoys issue (easy fix to remove the mag latch and shave a couple of mm off the top of it but folks would need to be aware that the supplied high cap would wobble like crazy then)

 

top cover looks to have taken a knock while shipping so is a little twisted at the rear but wont take moe than a min or so to knock back into shape

 

top cover retaining latch is the stepped design as per the VFC AKSU and has the set screw in one side of it to secure the bolt spring guide rod.

 

straight out of the box the stock latches into place with no wobble or up and down play at all is rock solid.

 

front trunnion (and front sight block) are both cast alloy with a fine surface finish and a very dark flat grey colour to them Rear trunnion from what Ive seen so far could be cast steel or cast alloy not had a chance to run a magnet over it. Rear sight shroud is pressed steel as per upper and lower receivers.

 

finish is a sort of semi gloss not quite as super-glossy as the original VFC AKSUs.

 

hop adjustment lever is quite wel thought out with plenty of support behind it to avoid wobbly slider

 

handgrips like every AK bar guarders need more varnish (Im not sure if theres a varnish shortage in that part of the world lol)

 

inner barrel isnt spring loaded like the VFC

 

rear of gearbox looks like it has a hole for spring guide not a great idea when that area is going to be exposed to the elements due to the open backed nature of side folder AK receivers

 

fire select screw has traces of rust

 

markings are clear and well defined but I'd need to go dig it back out of its box to check fire control markings are at proper positions

 

weight wise same as the guarder v VFC v real deal ie the Unicorn is a teeny bit heavier than the unloaed real deal (few ounces at most) while the dBoys is a few ounces lighter than the unloaded real one. Its more noticeable with unicorn in one hand and dboys in the other than it would be with real one in one hand and either of them in the other.

 

bolt issue and fettling on the unicorn aside its really going to come down to wether you want an AKSU that has the guarder way of doing things an easily aged finish and steel front sight block or wether you want the VFC way of doing most things and more of a gloss finish.

 

Oh and box for dboys lists a whole range of Ak variants so we may be sign more from them

Edited by snorkelman
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aye definately sounds like an issue with the dboys magazine latch then

 

Trying to fit the unicorn mag into the dboys the gap above the mag latch on the dboys is so narrow (3.5mm clearance versus 6.5mm on unicorn) there just isnt enough room for the lip on the unicorn mag to slip in and catch in it)

 

Fit the dboys mag on to the unicorn and the lip on the dboys mag is so thin that the gap in the unicorn latch i so large it doesnt hold it tight so it wobbles around like a sail in the wind.

 

time to get the mill fired up :) I got no use for the dboys mag anyway (hicap)

 

oh and plasticmag, the pin on the dboys for the rear over bracket is a very tight fit (almost as tight as the trunnion pin) Looks like it will take a bit of heat to loosen it if anyone has to strip that side of the gun down (my VFCs all have/had loose sliding fit pin for that assembly)

 

edit took 2mm off the end of the latch and then refitted it so mag is now a very snug fit against the latch with next to nil wobble

Edited by snorkelman
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stripped1.jpg

 

dBoys stripped (even with pin and grub screw removed from front trunion the outer barrel is a tight fit so I left it where it was rather than have the hassle of lining it back up)

 

Mike - nopes front and rear sights are seperate same as VFC and unicorn etc and side mount is riveted onto side of the receiver

Edited by snorkelman
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The CYMA is a strange one - it's very solidly built and still a good contender, but it's an amalgam of TM and VFC AKs. On the outside it looks like a AKs74u, but on the inside it's closer to a TM AK, especially with the lower trunnion, bolt and reciever latch. I'll try and get pics to explain on saturday.

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alloy.jpg

 

areas highlighted in purple are alloy on dboys but steel on the unicorn (front sight block, front trunnion, side mount plate for optics and possibly/probably rear trunnion)

 

outer barrel is alloy on both

 

the alloy looks reasonable quality (as does outer barrel on unicorn) The only one of any real concern on the dboys is the front sight (the two sides that surround the sight pin) if anything was ever going to take a knock amongst the alloy parts it would be those

Edited by snorkelman
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do all the Unicorn AKS74U's have the same problems? like the wobbling flashider and stock needing to be welded

 

any without a grub screw in the thread adapter will have a wobbly flash hider until its either padded with PTFE tape or has the grub screw fitted to allow it to tighten down.

 

the stock issue looks like a one off on crimsons thus far (on mine the welds are fine and RT etc havent mentioned any issue on theirs)

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any without a grub screw in the thread adapter will have a wobbly flash hider until its either padded with PTFE tape or has the grub screw fitted to allow it to tighten down.

 

the stock issue looks like a one off on crimsons thus far (on mine the welds are fine and RT etc havent mentioned any issue on theirs)

I used the PTFE tape because i didn't have a suitable screw lying around to use as a grub screw though i did notice that the flash hider needed one.My stock is solid in construction with no faults.Over all i'm still very happy with my gun & the Battery i bought to go with it.I bought a firefox 8.4 1400MaH & fully charged up it's showing no signs of slowing down dispite the gun only being used occasionally over the past week.

Edited by rolling-thunder
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