curlyboy Posted May 2, 2009 Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 (edited) For the last couple of months i have been looking for an M16A3 or 4 with a RIS if possible but i did not want to pay lots for a ICS,CA etc so i went down the avenue of clones but found that not many suppliers stocked M16's (or if they did they were A1's and VN which was no good) the brand i wanted was a JG but these are like hens teeth and the only one i could find was a Kalash/D boys. I have owned a D boys armalite before and it was awful the upper and lower recievers wobbled, bits fell off and the build of the gun was not great which obviously left me with a bit of apprehension on if i should buy one again, i read on the news section though about the improved Kalash line which is apparently a direct clone of VFC guns (which is good) but i did check and could not find a VFC M16A4??. Anyway to cut a long story short i found a Kalash/ D boys M16 on land warrior and the price was right (£140) so i ordered it, now i have never bought from them before but their service was excellant and the next day i recieved the box now the packaging of the gun is very good with the box being very secure and the gun was in a foam cut out (the old D Boys were in just cardboard and could move around a lot in the box, the gun being zip tied in place) in the cut out was The gun (obviously) Mag (Hi cap) PEQ box (actually looks better than my ICS one) Sling (Also a very well made 3 pointer with metal clips <unlike the old ones>) Battery (wont use but might make as paperweight) Charger (in bin already) Vertical handle (better made than the old ones) BBs, cleaning rod etc Now i must say i was amazed at the build quality of the front of the gun the RIS is solid the markings correct and well cut out and it looks the biz, then as you move back the picture deteriates as the body (compared to the old D boys) is very solid with no wobble and the correct FN marking are there even though they are a little shallow but the only bad part is the colour (see pictures) as the body is a very poorly painted grey colour and makes the gun look awful (i shall be painting mine soon to rid it of this colour) and the stock also looks really poor with obvious mould lines etc but for this price i am quite impressed with the weight and balance of the gun, i used to own a ICS M16A3 and this feels heavier (due to the RIS) but also as solid with no detectable wobbles anywhere. Now one other feature the gun has apparently taken from the VFC is a working bolt, and this sounds cool and i have seen it used on VFC HK416 and SCAR and they look great but are just a gimmick but unfortunately on this gun you need to be careful or you could loose a finger tip, if you pull back the cocking handle the ejection port cover opens and the bolt cover slides back revealing the hop like on most guns the problem is if you aren't quick changing the hop the bolt cover slides back very quickly and could lead to a painful nip, i have already started to change the hop while holding back the cocking handle which is not very practicle. also the bolt cover release is not the bolt realease bar (the long bar on the magwell) but is actuated by the body guide which is odd? Anyway to wrap this up as most of you have probably just looked at the pics anyway i have not yet skirmished it or chronoed the gun so i cant help with that but when i do i will post up some more info. If you any questions or opinions post up as i have probably missed something. The mag in the gun is an ICS not the one that came with the gun curlyboy Edited May 2, 2009 by curlyboy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DarkLite Posted May 2, 2009 Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 The grey finish is actually very true to the real steel - which has a grey receiver. Also, with the bolt catch issue, it can be made a bit more reliable by shimming the upper receiver lips which lock into the lower receiver - There's maybe a millimeter of play which can be eliminated and this helps the bolt catch hold a little better. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The S.C.A.R. Posted May 3, 2009 Report Share Posted May 3, 2009 For the last couple of months i have been looking for an M16A3 or 4 with a RIS if possible but i did not want to pay lots for a ICS,CA etc so i went down the avenue of clones but found that not many suppliers stocked M16's (or if they did they were A1's and VN which was no good) the brand i wanted was a JG but these are like hens teeth and the only one i could find was a Kalash/D boys. I have owned a D boys armalite before and it was awful the upper and lower recievers wobbled, bits fell off and the build of the gun was not great which obviously left me with a bit of apprehension on if i should buy one again, i read on the news section though about the improved Kalash line which is apparently a direct clone of VFC guns (which is good) but i did check and could not find a VFC M16A4??. Anyway to cut a long story short i found a Kalash/ D boys M16 on land warrior and the price was right (£140) so i ordered it, now i have never bought from them before but their service was excellant and the next day i recieved the box now the packaging of the gun is very good with the box being very secure and the gun was in a foam cut out (the old D Boys were in just cardboard and could move around a lot in the box, the gun being zip tied in place) in the cut out was The gun (obviously) Mag (Hi cap) PEQ box (actually looks better than my ICS one) Sling (Also a very well made 3 pointer with metal clips <unlike the old ones>) Battery (wont use but might make as paperweight) Charger (in bin already) Vertical handle (better made than the old ones) BBs, cleaning rod etc Now i must say i was amazed at the build quality of the front of the gun the RIS is solid the markings correct and well cut out and it looks the biz, then as you move back the picture deteriates as the body (compared to the old D boys) is very solid with no wobble and the correct FN marking are there even though they are a little shallow but the only bad part is the colour (see pictures) as the body is a very poorly painted grey colour and makes the gun look awful (i shall be painting mine soon to rid it of this colour) and the stock also looks really poor with obvious mould lines etc but for this price i am quite impressed with the weight and balance of the gun, i used to own a ICS M16A3 and this feels heavier (due to the RIS) but also as solid with no detectable wobbles anywhere. Now one other feature the gun has apparently taken from the VFC is a working bolt, and this sounds cool and i have seen it used on VFC HK416 and SCAR and they look great but are just a gimmick but unfortunately on this gun you need to be careful or you could loose a finger tip, if you pull back the cocking handle the ejection port cover opens and the bolt cover slides back revealing the hop like on most guns the problem is if you aren't quick changing the hop the bolt cover slides back very quickly and could lead to a painful nip, i have already started to change the hop while holding back the cocking handle which is not very practicle. also the bolt cover release is not the bolt realease bar (the long bar on the magwell) but is actuated by the body guide which is odd? Anyway to wrap this up as most of you have probably just looked at the pics anyway i have not yet skirmished it or chronoed the gun so i cant help with that but when i do i will post up some more info. If you any questions or opinions post up as i have probably missed something. The mag in the gun is an ICS not the one that came with the gun curlyboy Are you interested in upgrading ? Chinese clones (especially the ones from Jing Gong or D-boys/Kalash) can be very versatile for upgrading to gain the performance of a TM AR weapon or even a King Arms AR weapon . I have a D-boys M4A1 myself, and I upgraded this weapon to a standard that it out-performed a Guarder M4 on performance . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
curlyboy Posted May 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2009 The only upgrade i will probably do is change the hop rubber, but i am running 2 ICS M4's so this gun is more for show than for use, but i am still thinking of spraying the body. One thing i should also add is that the gun says it has BURST but it does not, there was discussion of this in the news section and i can confirm it is regular AUTO. curlyboy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spence52490 Posted May 4, 2009 Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 Beat me to buying one.... Hows the performance? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
curlyboy Posted May 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 I have not skirmished the gun yet but i have had a plink with it and the range and ROF are pretty good, until i can get it on a range though i cant really test for accuracy. But from what i have seen so far it seems like a good gun and the built is a light year away from the D boys of old. curlyboy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
curlyboy Posted May 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 Ok i took it out for a skirmish today and the performance it very good, before i played with it i had it chronoed and it was shooting just over 300fps (better than the 400+ you normally get) and it was very accurate and i only had to touch the hop once which is another plus as you normally have to change the rubber but this one seems ok? The most impressive thing i noticed was the rate of fire which was very quick even for a 8.4v battery which then leads to a small downside which is the battery bounces around in the stock so i might have to find a way to pad this out. All in all for the price the performance of this gun is pretty good. Pro's Good Performance Superb build quality in the fore end and RIS Good weight and balance Con's Poor build in the stock which does not line up. poor painting on the receiver curlyboy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vercingetorix Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 To stop the battery wobble take some bubble wrap or some sort of packing foam and stuff it into the stock or wrap it around the battery. Easy fix. I had to do that on my M14 because I had a small LiPo and I sure as hell didn't want that bouncing around Quote Link to post Share on other sites
1st Commando Posted May 10, 2009 Report Share Posted May 10, 2009 The body finish is actually perfect compared to pretty much any other aeg i have ever seen ! The grey finish is identical to the FN M16 and the burst markings are correct for the model . I think you may be too used to the fake black finish of airsoft guns I might have to pick one of these up at some point Quote Link to post Share on other sites
curlyboy Posted May 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2009 The body finish is actually perfect compared to pretty much any other aeg i have ever seen ! The grey finish is identical to the FN M16 and the burst markings are correct for the model . I think you may be too used to the fake black finish of airsoft guns I might have to pick one of these up at some point Yes, the issue i have with the body is not the overall colour but the finish of the paint which is not that good if you look carefully at the bottom but one photograph you can see where the paint on especially the upper reciever is not that well applied. But for the money and performance it is a good buy. curlyboy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Speed= Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Is that body metal or plastic? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
curlyboy Posted June 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 It is a full metal body as is most of the gun which gives it a great weight. curlyboy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DyNo! Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Any chance you could open the mechbox for the review? You can't tell a lot just by reviewing the externals... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Snowbeat Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 does it really have three-round burst functionality? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
curlyboy Posted June 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 does it really have three-round burst functionality? Unfortunately no it does not have burst it is normal full auto. Sorry DyNo! but i only open my guns up if something breaks but the good news is you dont need to change the hop rubber as it shoots great with the stock one. curlyboy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DWells55 Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 The grey finish is actually very true to the real steel - which has a grey receiver. Not that grey: I've never handled an A4 (thus the above image for reference), but I have used an Army-issue A2 and I can assure you it wasn't as grey as these photos. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
2dgreengiant Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 pretty nice, how heavy is it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dr Pepper 6pk Posted June 26, 2009 Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 can u tell if the full metal parts are steel or pot metal? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
curlyboy Posted June 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 The metal on the body looks like whatever they make clones out of, it looks good quality with no marks or defects i can see. All in all the gun weighs (with an empty mag and no battery) about 4kgs so almost on par with the real one. curlyboy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.