calimero Posted October 6, 2009 Report Share Posted October 6, 2009 I post here a translation of my review on France-Airsoft miscellaneous useless info : ordered on RSOV, delivered within a week without customs fees ( a first!). The packaging is well made. The gun is held in a formed foam piece covered with another foam cover, all in the cardboard package. Inside you'll find : The sten One MP40 mag Lipo charger LiPo balancer Lipo battery tools (hex keys and screwdriver) Real Steel : See wiki or world guns.. Description : Almost all gun is folded sheet steel and tube. only a few mechanical parts and inner body (hopup/barrel holder part) are machined Main parts are well adjusted and held together by a single screw. that can seem light, but as clearances are tight in the cylindrical parts, the screws only prevent axial movement, not all efforts. But that can be easily reinforced by making a new hole/thread and fitting a larger screw. apart from the stock that moves a bit, all the gun feels solid, provided you tighten a it all screws upon reception Use : handling is surprisingly good for a cheap-design weapon ! very special indeed, but less awkward than expected The trigger has no hard point and shoots fast. that is due to the extreme simplicity of the trigger mechanism (see pictures). Magazine change can be difficult sometimes, because of the rotating magwell. you need to find the good position when it aligns with the hopup chamber. so dont force, slightly move the mag inside if needed and it will click in place gently. on mine, the magwell has to be pushed down on its clamp, so after the position is found, it's fast. Hopup setting is done by removing the magazine, rotating the magwell on storage position and using the small hex screw in the hole seen on the top. very easy. range is good, once the barrel and hopup chamber are cleaned from that well known green slime The sten produces a distinctive shooting sound thats a good point in game as germans can identify you instantly and run away in fear ! gyahahaaaa !! Détails : Gearbox access is special, as you have to take the whole gun into pieces, but it's a sten.. that means not so many parts ^^ first, remove the front part.. under the gun : second screw starting from the front. that will allow you to slide forward the whole barrel assy, and facilitate gearbox reassembly, as the nozzle will bump on the hopup chamber if you dont remove it.. remove the stock, then its adaptor (the part holding the rear sight). then remove the trigger cover (in fact, the gearbox cover), by removing the 6 screws, 3 on each side of it. be careful, the gearbox has the same dimension as the slot where it's fitted on the tube body, so it will scratch a bit, but you can take it out once out, ready for opening : the first bushing pair is made out of brass, which is good for long term reliability. next 2 pairs are nylon, which is far enough for the spring used. think of a replacement set if you plan to upgrade. The gearbox is full, and i mean FULL of grease. it almost glues the spur gear to the box ^^ A good cleaning to do.. Shimming is fairly good, but can be improved. Check it anyway. warning : the motor cage is fixed, means you cant move in or out the motor to set a good position on the gear. the only way to get it done is to play with the bevel gear shimming to raise it or lower it on the motor gear. this means, if the setting is incorrect, you may have to reshim the whole gearbox. Take that into account if ou change the bushings and have to redo the whole stuff or you may end up with a flat motor gear after some time. About the trigger mechanism i talked about earlier : Cant be simplier ! a part of the aluminium trigger is not painted. When you pull it, it closes the circuit (two spring steel blades) and shoots.. thats about it ! good point is, its easier to clean if it gets eroded by electrical current.. Once the gearbox is modded to your taste, the easiest way to put it back in is to put it together with the gearbox cover then sliding it into the body (careful with cables). The barrel assy will be installed last. Miscellaneous : -The STEN gives lots of opportunities for custom work/modding thanks to its simple design. The new stock allows to fit stick batteries (20mm diameter available) for those not liking LiPo. Using LiPo batteries, you can fit pistol grips, skeletton stocks, or even make a MK5 (already seen one ) -At last a gun without HiCap and with reasonable power + - + A working STEN, out of the box + Good power/range + Adjustable hopup ! + Fully compatible with stick batteries (new stock.. but you can still receive the older design..) + Easy to find magazines (MP40), and very cheap + Simple design. easy access to everything, easy maintenace. + All steel body = welding possible = easy repair and heavy modding - Handling, mostly for "modern" players used to some comfort (not an armalite ^^) - Difficulty to fit the magazines sometimes - Greasy internals to be cleaned, barrel included - not-so-solid aspects.. small diameter screws.. we will see with time - Barrel shroud to be modified in order to use slings.. has to be glued in place or it will go away. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kroot Posted October 6, 2009 Report Share Posted October 6, 2009 Good review there. Had loadsa fun using mine as Free French forces. KA mags do fit these but it will be a tight fit! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calimero Posted October 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2009 Do you use KA mags? where are they tight? magwell, or hopup side? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Yith Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 (edited) or even make a MK5 (already seen one smile) Where did you see a MkV? I'd be interested to see how it's done as the grip goes where the trigger is on the mkii. Edited October 7, 2009 by Yith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calimero Posted October 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2009 (edited) on our last Cobra operation event.. a brit paratrooper had one.. if i can find pics, i'll show you, but the has not said how he made it. Edit : he posted no info, i'll try to ask him if he can tell me how he made it. Edited October 8, 2009 by calimero Quote Link to post Share on other sites
harborne blue Posted October 8, 2009 Report Share Posted October 8, 2009 Do you use KA mags? where are they tight? magwell, or hopup side? The metal MP40 lo-caps click in very nicely but the KA plastic mid caps need a real whack to get them in. It's the same when you use them in an MP40 - they're not 100% the same as the lo-caps and need a (very) firm slap to make them fit. Once in, they work flawlessly though and slide out easily enough. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calimero Posted October 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2009 with the rotating magwell, it may get quite annoying, especially when being shot at by a bunch of nazi ^^ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hakkon Posted October 8, 2009 Report Share Posted October 8, 2009 Must resist buying! How reliable does the gearbox look? Will it last multiple games, or does it look fairly shoddy? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calimero Posted October 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2009 it's chinese, so i cant guarantee it will last forever, but according to what i saw, it should work quite well it doesnt use a truck shock spring, and it's fairly well shimmed. for me it's a good gun Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kroot Posted October 9, 2009 Report Share Posted October 9, 2009 The mag well is solid and won't present any problems. It makes the mp40 feel like a rickatey piece of tin in comparison. Never had any feed issues at all with 50rnd or 100rnd mags. It will now let me down at Op Alsos just to spite me I have gone and sourced a new stock so I can use stick batteries if needed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calimero Posted October 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2009 yesterday i glued the stock adaptor with metal araldite, now the stock is stiff ^^ doesnt wobble at all ! i will only use stick batteries, so it allowed me to solve all the weaknesses i had on mine. Cant wait to try it on the field Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jon L Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 Bit of a necro I know but i have a question about the rotating magwell. It rotates from the storage position facing down to the 9 O'clock position for shooting. Can it be rotated to the 3 O'clock position for shooting? Im a leftie, and love the look of the gun but would not buy one if this could not be done, or easily adapted. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calimero Posted February 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 the hopup chamber feeds from the left.. you cant put the magwell to the right sorry.. well.. its not worst than using a bolt action rifle left handed i practiced a bit, left handed.. i think, a good way to change mags is to rotate the gun, mag up when empty, then you can grip it and release using your thumb.. its quite fast Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oikoik Posted February 20, 2010 Report Share Posted February 20, 2010 possibly of not much info, but i have a sten mk5. its the smokeys version, using the tm ak-47 gearbox. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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