Trasher Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 (edited) Fortress M40A3 stock for VSR short review Airsoft is a hobby where we happily pump hundreds of dollars into a new project, parts, accessories - and expect some kind of satisfaction or improvement in return. In the case of the Fortress M40a3 stock all we get is the looks of the USMC sniper rifle, everything else is worse than the original VSR. No "happy hormones" here, just a lot of swearing when we encounter one problem after another. I ordered my specimen from fire-support.co.uk after reading the all the available reviews (airsoftsniper.co.uk for example), knowing well these stocks have a nasty tendency to break (at the charging handle area) even before they hit the field. I expected bad, but it was even worse... For the sake of simplicity, let’s see the pros and numerous cons of this very unfortunate design: PROS - Good weight and balance - Adjustable length of pull and cheek rest - Solid, integrated trigger guard (no squeaky VSR trigger guard) - Looks great (OK, at arms length) - Unique (out of production, no other M40A3 stock ATM) - Arrived steel mesh reinforced from UK dealer (respect to fire-support for trying something) - Ambidextrous QD sling points CONS - Reinforcement work by dealer is shoddy (white glue marks, runs, drops inside the stock) - Only 2 stock screws included instead of 3 (and only 1 is the correct size) - Stock material is soft - Visible seam lines all over the stock - Large molding leftovers, seams inside the magazine well - Magwell has no ribs/spacers to align magazine (mag falls through magwell) - Air bubbles in the molding - Absence of material at mag release area (see bubbles) - Various molding imperfections, misalignments (lines, seams not meeting correctly) - No sling/bipod studs (and no stud holes) - Misplaced markings for sling stud holes - Spring guide stopper is not fully secured by the trigger guard (stopper has a lot of play) - Adjustable cheekpad interferes with operating the bolt (with strong springs) - Cheekpad material is too thin, has sharp edges - Cheekpad misaligned with axis of stock - Copper screw nuts (for the cheek- and buttpad screws) eject from stock when screws are tightened (easy to lose screws, extremely bad design) - Buttpad and butt spacers do not align correctly - Buttpad is hard plastic with razor edges - Recessed mag well, hard to remove magazine, sharp edges - Stock deforms, flexes when screwed to receiver/barrel assembly - Stock deformation can cause mag release and trigger binding - Soft stock material flexes, creaks, wobbles under weight of receiver/barrel assembly (pistol grip area is very weak) - Stock material is too soft for heavy duty sling carry (throwing the rifle on sling might break it) Conclusion To put short, the Fortress M40A3 is the biggest POS I ever bought for airsoft. You basically get $50-80 of worth for $330-340. Only recommended to those who like modding, working on guns (a lot). The stock must be reinforced in some way (metal inserts, fiberglassing, plating, etc) to eliminate the annoying flex. Let's hope the ACM manufacturers will come out with better designs for the fraction of the price. Two valuable lessons learned: 1) avoid Fortess products by a mile (now they also have the M24 VSR stock out for $340), 2) never belittle the original Marui VSR stock, it's a wonderful piece of engineering compared to the M40A3... You have been warned... Edited January 2, 2009 by Trasher Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Utty Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 Wow. And it costs $340? How is that even possible? 2) never belittle the original Marui VSR stock, it's a wonderful piece of engineering compared to the M40A3... Not to mention the stock you find on a ~$50 Well VSR, which is a little cruder than the Marui, but otherwise just fine. Seems to me that the Fortress stock is some kind of garage production, perhaps made in a jungle workshop. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trasher Posted January 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 (edited) The Fortress stock looks more like a pre-production prototype than a "for sale" replica... Sad thing is, the molding blocks must have costed a small fortune for a low series "garage production" like this. Edited January 2, 2009 by Trasher Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zero69r Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 Wow never knew it was that bad! Thanks for this review Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trasher Posted May 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 Here is an update to the review... Today the stock snapped in half under his own weight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
docs90 Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 Thats shocking , i would if i was you try and get intouch with fortress (i know you got it 2nd hand )but still thats ###### Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trasher Posted May 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 The rifle was resting on the ground, and I lifted it by the sling. The material is simply too soft and rubber-like to support the weight. I'm not sure what will be the fix... Maybe building parts of this POS around a VSR/BAR stock. Maybe forwarding the whole thing to the trash bin. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Whan Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 Wow, that sucks bro. Can't believe it costs $350, when a RS one costs $500... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Warning Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 (edited) IDEA!!! put it back together just so you could make a mould of the thing and then make a better quality stock and make moneys i'd buy a moulded stock thingy version Edited June 8, 2009 by Warning Quote Link to post Share on other sites
iWiLL Posted June 11, 2009 Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 This is really shocking. From now on I am going to handle it with more care. We wrote a review in german with a lots of pictures: Fortress USMC M40A3 Schaft/Stock Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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