Initial Impressions of the TM SOPMOD M4 AEG

[AustinWolv]

Somebody really wanted to use regular AEG mags: http://nekoneko.militaryblog.jp/e49028.html

[The Saint]

Thus defeating half the reason of getting a SOPMOD? I'm surprise he didn't disable the blowback instead.

[AustinWolv]

Yeah, I don't really get the desire to have P-mags work that badly, but to each their own.

[L4byr1nth]

Anyone know the cheapest price for this in the UK yet?

 

Cheers.

 

Ben.

[vidar_haland@hotmail.com]

I am having big problems with lockups with both my two 9.6v batteries.

It seems that the cold temperatures here are rendering the batteries useless

What can I do about this? Are the marui cells realy so horible in cold weather?

 

I have played airsoft for many years, and this is the first time I have hade this kind of problem with a batterypack.

[elanaiba]

Were the batteries you used before Nicad by any chance?

 

The Marui batts are Nimh - type which is affected by cold.

[vidar_haland@hotmail.com]

Yeah most of them where Sanyo standard airsoft batteries.

 

I just hope someone will make a custom pack for this gun

[Magsz]

Yeah most of them where Sanyo standard airsoft batteries.

 

I just hope someone will make a custom pack for this gun

 

Only a matter of time.

 

Take it upon yourself to make your own battery or have one custom made for the "harness" that comes with the marui batteries.

[Magsz]

Here are my impressions:

 

Pro's.

 

1. The gun is solid. Its metal, there is no wobble. There is a VERY slight bit of play in the RIS but its hardly noticeable.

2. The blowback is absolutely, positively, awesome. It feels very real, i was genuinely surprised. I was expecting alot less feeling than what im getting on my shoulder. Im really, really loving this system so far.

3. The lower receiver is very nicely put together. Its pot metal but its been CNC"d in certain parts, ie magwell and it feels sturdy. TM seems to be the ONLY company that can get magwells right. No one elses metal bodies feel real in that area but the TM is positively THICK and features a correct flare.

4. The battery solution is really well thought out. Very slick little setup.

5. Fairly decent rate of fire with the included 8.4 I will be bumping it up to 9.6 volts once spare pistons are released.

6. Charging handle is a dream to operate. I was actually practicing malfunction clearing earlier with the gun.

7. Performance is good for a gun shooting 296 fps. Easily hitting 10X12 targets at 100 feet.

8. Bolt lock provides tactile feedback when actuated. Essential for improving muscle memory during reloads.

9. Magazines are sturdy enough. Ranger plates fit no problem.

10. I would imagine it would be possible to take the internals and fit them into Pmag shells but given the relative rarity of Pmags these days i will not be attempting the conversion.

11. Takes aftermarket pistol grips no problemo. MOE fit on with nary a hiccup.

12. Trigger pull rocks face. Its short, its light. Unfortunately, it doesnt "break" but neither do any other AEG's so no harm no foul.

 

 

Cons.

 

1. My real steel MI castle nut sling adapter would not fit over the castle nut. I have no way of slinging the rifle currently as i do not want to take apart the buffer tube area just yet to fit a sling plate.

2. Real MOE heatshields wobble a bit. They require a little bit of "shimming" in order to correct the wobble.

3. I have concerns about the durability of the overall system over the course of its life. The gun shakes, jolts and generally moves quite a bit. I wonder how sturdy the actual receivers really area. They sure as hell seem sturdy but im just going to have to test the gun thoroughly and see. The good news here is that im 99% certain there will be aftermarket receivers for this thing in no time.

4. Stock barrel nut blows. Its TM's own design and quite frankly im disappointed that they did not replicate the real barrel nut design.

 

Ive honestly got to say that im supremely impressed with this design. Its just plain fun, really fun. That is the name of the game too so im supremely psyched to see what the future holds as far as upgrade parts for these things goes. I simply cannot wait to start abusing this thing and will begin tomorrow. TM hit the nail on the head and the ball out of the park. This IS the way forward for AEG's. Never before have i felt a more realistic airsoft gun that is still easy and cheap to operate. These things are efficient and freakin FUN.

 

Buy one today...seriously.

[AnakChan]

Magz,

 

Excellent review, & I agree except for the accuracy since I've still -not- range tested mine .

 

AC

[pat.l]

For those in the UK who are gonna add a cell to the battery pack, the link below leads to a cell thats the right size and all

 

http://www.strikalite.co.uk/viewproduct.as...=2&cat=NiMH Tagged Batteries&search=31&offset=

 

Ive now fitted it in my M4 and it works a treat.

 

I also upgraded the spring using a systema M100 cut down about half an inch below the tighter coils at one end got me about 320fps.

 

Now to skirm it tomorrow.

[elanaiba]

Pat, how exactly does one fit it to the battery ? I've never customized batteries except changing from tamiyas to deans etc.

 

Magsz, what sling are you using ?

[Gunfighters808]

magsz,

haha, can't put that gun down now, right?

 

well, tried out the TK (363mm) in there, I"m really liking it a lot. better than the PDI 05 375mm. (those who know me, that's saying a lot)

it has the same range as the PDI, but with a flatter trajectory when the hop engages. I lost about 10fps (gun's at 278fps with TK in)

generally, chest hits at 130ft and 'anywhere on body' at > 160ft. -as long as it's not too windy.

those with the 1J limit games might want to seriously consider this. have yet to try the PDI 08 and see comparison.

Anakchan, anyone in your group use PDI 08?

[The Saint]

6. Charging handle is a dream to operate. I was actually practicing malfunction clearing earlier with the gun.

 

Does pulling the charging handle back release the bolt catch after reloading with a full mag?

 

7. Performance is good for a gun shooting 296 fps. Easily hitting 10X12 targets at 100 feet.

 

Any comment on the hopup? It's the biggest hopup unit ever, I think.

 

12. Trigger pull rocks face. Its short, its light. Unfortunately, it doesnt "break" but neither do any other AEG's so no harm no foul.

 

Star has a mild trigger break, due to use of microswitch. Can't remember if PTWs do.

 

2. Real MOE heatshields wobble a bit. They require a little bit of "shimming" in order to correct the wobble.

 

Airsoft MOE heatshields slightly wobble on my Star, I can't imagine the airsoft and real MOE heatshields differing that much in tolerance. I suspect it's an issue with the heatshield rather than any specific gun.

[AnakChan]

Anakchan, anyone in your group use PDI 08?

 

Nah, everyone in my team's still old fashion and believe in the 01 (and the additional FPS) over the 08.

[Magsz]

Im currently using a two point with the gun since i have yet to mount a sling adapter to the gun.

 

Also, i shimmed the headshield with a number 14 o-ring cut into three pieces and its now rock solid. It is NOT the heatshields, it IS the gun. The MOE grips mount up rock solid on real ar15's.

 

Also, as far as powerstroking the gun in order to chamber a round no, that does not work unfortunately, at least i dont think it does. I will test it out tomorrow and report back here after my first skirmish with the platform.

 

I simply cannot wait to use this thing in a game, i am so excited by the design and despite what the awful thread in the general section says, we DO want blowback and this IS the way forward. This thing is the most fun ive had with an AEG in 11 years.

 

 

[elanaiba]

Re: Powerstroking -> there is no way to lock the fake bolt back. In fact the bolt doesn't lock back on an empty mag, it's just the bolt release that pops out. The charging handle pulls the fake bolt back (very cool) but thats that. And btw, our limited skirmish experience (two guns) is that the gun doesn't stop firing all the time. Perhaps its the cold: 0 to 10 degrees celcius, here. A little unreliable

 

Re: skirmishing -> I think the hop is very good but not for cold weather... its a pain in the a**: cold gun underhops, adjust; shoot a couple of rounds, suddenly it overhops. Need to test some more but maybe the rubber is too hard?

 

Re: sling -> I'm running a VCAS sling, on an ACE rail mounted sling loop (forward) and through the slit in the stock (rear).

 

This AEG is a "grin machine". Give it to anyone and let him shoot Full Auto a little bit. Watch the grin grow

[AnakChan]

I've managed to install the Madbull DD AR-15 lite 9" on the Sopmod with ease. Just requires a little shimming. Here's what my Sopmod looks like now :-

 

 

 

[The Saint]

My question was whether powerstroking disengaged the bolt catch (so the gun may fire), as an alternative to hitting the bolt catch. I know the bolt's fake.

[Magsz]

Saint, powerstroking will not "chamber" a round, ie drop the bolt catch and allow it to shoot.

 

All i will say for now is that this gun was FUN, REALLY fun. My first day of skirmishing was unreal with this thing.

[elanaiba]

Magsz, more details on how you fit that ? What kind of shimming did you do?

 

(I'm thinking to put one of the DD RIS II clones on it, and the mounting solution should be similar)

Edited February 16, 2009 by elanaiba

[Magsz]

The RIS 2 clone uses its own barrel nut so you wont have any problems adding that front end to the gun.

 

I merely took an o-ring, sectioned it and put it on the channels on the MOE handguard that goes around the barrel nut.

 

When the delta ring is pulled back and the handguards put in place the o-ring is scrunched down around the teeth on the nut. Its acting as a spacer/tensioning device.

 

Very ghetto fix and only temporary until i decide where im going with this gun as far as accessories goes.

[elanaiba]

Forgive me, my comment was misdirected. I actually meant to address my question about the Madbull DD AR-15 lite 9 to AnakChan.

 

But thanks for the feedback though

[Magsz]

For anyone that speaks Japanese, could someone tell me what is going on in this video?

 

Some notable inclusions are the short barrels and the fact that obviously, the PEQ Equipped M4 is wired to the front.

 

Someone previously mentioned that Echigoya was offering mosfet installs. Does anyone have anymore info on that?

 

EDIT:

 

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?d...TrUrl=Translate

 

I found this. Check that out guys, pretty neat. I would like some more in depth photos but i doubt they're going to go ahead and do that for us since they do afterall have to make money.

 

Pretty cool that this system is capable of this.

 

One more link. A gent that i talk to quite frequently on the internet wrote some pretty interesting impressions of his new Sopmod. Here's a link for your viewing pleasure.

 

http://www.6milspec.com/?p=8

Edited February 17, 2009 by Magsz

[AnakChan]

Magsz, more details on how you fit that ? What kind of shimming did you do?

 

(I'm thinking to put one of the DD RIS II clones on it, and the mounting solution should be similar)

 

Most of the shops in TK would say using the G&P Defender (DD RIS II copy) with the G&P delta ring.

For my MB/SG AR-15, I used the delta ring that came with the RIS, had a few spare shims (about 5

rings worth). It really wasn't too hard.

 

Now trying to figure out wiring for Gandolf's AB-Long...

 

For anyone that speaks Japanese, could someone tell me what is going on in this video?

 

Some notable inclusions are the short barrels and the fact that obviously, the PEQ Equipped M4 is wired to the front.

 

Someone previously mentioned that Echigoya was offering mosfet installs. Does anyone have anymore info on that?

 

Sorry, can't see the video from the office. But yes Echigoya and a whole bunch of other airsoft shops now

offer FETting and barrel shortening. I don't know about FETting only if the battery gets moved to the front,

I have a feeling -not- and battery stays in the stock. But they do offer front mounted batteries too and

would guess FETting for that would be easier.

 

Check this out, my friend put on a CASV and CTR on his Sopmod. Rewired to the front, using Gandolf's Cheetah and plans to use a 7.4V Lipo.

 

http://www.tkoverkill.com/showthread.php?t...id=3171#pid3171

Edited February 19, 2009 by AnakChan