The G&P Lewis Machine & Tool Co. Monolithic Rail Platform CQB Carbine

[hwagan]

The G&P Lewis Machine & Tool Co. Monolithic Rail Platform CQB Carbine Automatic Electric Gun

Make: G&P Laser Product
Price: £394.99 from the fantastic chaps at www.landwarriorairsoft.com (Ignore the pics, they show a blank receiver - The one you'll get has full LMT markings)
Factory specs, from LWA's website:
Magazine Capacity: 130
Length: 710mm / 790mm
Weight: 3kg
Built Material: Metal & ABS
Inner Barrel Length: 11.5"
Muzzle Velocity: 325-335fps (1.2-1.3J)(0.25bb)
Gearbox: 8mm Bearing Gearbox
Motor: G&P M120 Hi-Speed
It comes with: 3 x G&P Ladder rail covers; 2 x QD sling studs; Rifle; 130 round magazine; removable, non folding LMT marked sights; Manual.

Disclaimer: I love firearms and replicas of, and i like to think i've got a half decent basic knowledge of them. However, i'm not an expert - Anything relating to real firearms in this review is simply what i know - Please, correct me if i'm wrong - It's how i learn things about my favourite toys and their real life counterparts.

Anyone who knows me on this forum will also know i'll happily shout G&P's praises from the rooftops, and with good reason. In my 9 years of airsofting, i've seen ONE lemon come from G&P (wasn't mine, thankfully). ONE! I know it should be zero, but let's be fair - Everyone is human. A guy having a bad day at the other end of the world might forget to tighten a screw because he's in a bad mood. Overall however, buying a G&P AR15 will not dissapoint unless you're seriously unlucky.

HOWEVER - If G&P have messed this one up, they'll be paying for it - I've given them my money and my praises, and if they sell me a bad gun, i'm going to be ticked off about it, and i'll sure as hell tell all of you about it. Onto the review...

Introduction

So, i hear you scream - Another frikkin' M4!? Hell no. To the AK fans, and the average untrained eye, this is merely a slightly prettier, lego coated M4. To anyone with a fanatical devotion to everything related to the AR-15 platform, this is something special. This is something really, really special.

Lewis Machine & Tool Co, according to their website, are a manufacturer of Firearms and accessories. For a start, they're about to begin supplying the British Army with 440 new 7.62mm Designated Marksman's Rifles - L129A1 is the Army's designation - LMT Call it the LM7, so wikipedia tells me.

The MRP (Monolithic Rail Platform) is an upper receiver assembly designed to fit onto an AR15 lower receiver. It features a piston system as opposed to Direct Impingement - From some of the threads in here, i've learned from chaps in the US that this is apparently a good thing. It's also got a quick-swap barrel design. The main thing, here, is that the upper receiver and rail system are one solid piece of metal. No delta ring, barrel nut, nothing. Not a weld or a bolt to join the rail to the upper receiver. As well as giving a much more solid feel, a one piece upper is the sensible option - Added stability, no interference with the barrel and generally a better idea. Hopefully i'm correct in thinking this leads to better accuracy, reliability and overall goodness.

Here's a picture to show what i'm on about:



See how monolithic it is? It's totally monolithical. It monoliths, all over your face, like some kind of beastly monolithic beast. Ahem.

That'll do for the intro i reckon - Basically, it's a fairly standard AR lower, with a fancy new upper receiver assembly, and G&P have made a replica of it. The best replica they have ever made, of anything - I'll try my best to explain how and why below.

First Impressions:

Have you ever noticed something in the Airsoft world; How all the Clone guns have fantastically designed, colourful, pictographic boxes? There's a reason for this - Because they NEED to catch your eye, and draw you into the product, so you'll buy it.

G&P AEG's, on the other hand, all come in the same box. Just a standard G&P logo on plain cardboard. There is next to nothing to indicate what the box contains, except for the black sillhouette of a bog standard M4, and a tiny gold sticker on one corner, stating simply 'MRP'. There's a reason for this as well - You don't buy a G&P AR while casually browsing, unless the salesman points it out or there's one on display; You wouldn't even notice the box. Basically, there's no need to glamourise the box - If you're like me, you'll already know G&P's reputation, and you'll go and actively look for that plain cardboard box over the colourful ones.

So, nothing special about the box - You don't skirmish with the box. The box is for shooting at, not shooting with. Lifting the lid will reveal the same complete lack of effort - You'll be greeted by a standard 'M4 suite' 3 page manual, that contains barely any useful information. No cleaning rod, no BB's. Underneath that, you'll find what appears to be a large rectangle of bubble wrap. Within this bubble wrap, readers, is what you're after - Frantically tearing, clawing and biting at the wrapping will reveal a sinister, almost jet black but not quite, beautifully finished powder coated winstick.

So it's a bit good, then?

It sure as hell looks it. EVERY PART of the externals of this rifle scream fantastic quality. The finish of the gun is stunning - As earlier, it looks like a powder coating of some sort - Very, very difficult to scratch. The finish is even, no bubbles, burrs, nothing. The engraved trademarks are as clear and sharp as can feasibly be made, the laser engraved ones are of equal quality. All the markings on this gun are crystal clear. From what i can see from t'interwebz, they're also pretty damn accurate to the R/S counterpart. Gas piston system is very accurately replicated, as is just about everything else.

Engraved receiver trademarks:



The included LMT Iron sights are also lovely; Just as nicely finished as the rest of the gun, and with the nice touch of LMT logos on both front and rear (forgot to take a picture of the rear sight logo, it's the same as the one on the front sight, on the left hand side instead of the right):





So. The finish is beautiful, the trademarks are stunning, the machining is flawless. From the end of the stock tube to the flash-hider, G&P haven't missed a beat on this. I've always said G&P make some of the best externals in the airsoft world, and plenty of people agree - This is another perfect example of that external quality.

The plastics used for the Stock and Pistol grip (the only plastic on the outside of this thing, bar the ladders) are of excellent quality. A lovely nylon fibre looking and feeling job, lovely matt finish, and no big ugly seams or anything. Nothing half-assed here, the plastics are as good as the metalwork.

The ladder covers are a bit of a nuisance to fit due to the design, but they're very nicely made - A flexible but solid, thick rubber. The QD sling studs are finished just as nicely as the receiver.

A little more detail then...

I'll start from the back. The first thing you'll find with the MRP is that it isn't designed for any kind of NiMh battery pack; The LMT Sopmod crane stock is pretty much the same deal as the R/S. There's no holes for cables, no space for battery packs. The front caps twist off to reveal 2 tubes, designed to hold AA batteries. You won't get a NimH/NicD pack in this stock without some fairly serious modification. It's a very nicely made stock, and features an ambidextrous mounting point for the included QD sling studs. I've ditched mine because i don't like the looks, but the quality is fantastic - If you like the crane stock, you'll also love how well made it is.

However, G&P have designed the buffer tube fantastically. This gun is built to take a Lithium Polymer battery in the buffer tube. If you're not doing so already, you should be using these batteries. Ignore the scare stories - I'm a lazy git, i don't have a cell alarm or anything. I've got a simple, cheap turnigy balance charger. Plug the battery in, wait til the light goes off, blast things, repeat. Basically, if i haven't ended up as a corrosive pile of bone and battery acid, you won't either. The buffer tube has plenty of space for a Lipo - I use 7.4 800MaH packs, and there's space to spare. It's also nicely marked 1-5, to show the position of the stock through the little hole in the top of it. Here's a view of the battery space:



The bolt/plate for attaching the stock tube are as far down as possible without compromising strength. The wiring is as flexible as spaghetti, and very thick. It's marked as 18AWG, and fitted with a small tamiya connector. It's cut to an easy to use length which doesn't make fitting the battery annoying, and doesn't take too much space. The stock also has as little movement as possible on the buffer tube; It barely moves at all. Were it any tighter than it is, it'd be a pain to adjust length of pull. It feels solid against the shoulder, there's barely any side to side movement. It's damn fine.

As i've stated, the lower receiver is beautifully marked and finished. But what about what's in it? Well, i don't open gearboxes. Externals, hops and barrels i'm fine with, but i leave the fiddly bits to my gunsmith. To cut a long story short, i currently own 4 G&P AR15's, this one being the 4th. The gearbox in EVERY SINGLE ONE is flawless. The G&P M120 motor is an excellent motor - Very high speed, and a great amount of torque. Out of this particular model, a 7.4 800Mah lipo delivers around 950 RPM, and lasts about 1500 rounds. The out of the box FPS of my particular rifle is 345fps, +/- 3fps with 0.2 gram ammunition. Perfect for my site, and i have no need to fiddle with the box until it breaks - Even if it does, LandWarrior give an 18 month warranty with every G&P rifle - Testament to their quality, and LWA's excellent service - So excellent, in fact, that they usually end up with 60% of my paycheque on a monthly basis.

Here's the great thing about G&P gearboxes - Don't mess with them, don't use a ridiculous battery, and decompress the spring after use. It's the only maintenance i do to my gearboxes - If kept stock, a G&P V2 gearbox will give you thousands upon thousands of rounds of happy blasting. Now, obviously around the world site limits are different. Will a G&P stock gearbox handle a 450fps spring? No idea, i've never tried. Maybe, maybe not. If you're in the UK however, a G&P box will give you all the performance you could reasonably need for an average UK skirmish site - If you want crazy RoF or a semi-auto DMR, that's past my experience and knowledge.

Here's some pictures showing the top of the box, and also G&P's use of quality lubricant in the right places;



Note also G&P have used a self-retaining front locking pin in this rifle - Hopefully they'll start doing that as standard throughout the range.



Basic field stripping is as standard here - Tap the front pin out, slide the upper off the lower. May require a little wobbling of the charging handle. To replace, simply reverse the process. Nice and easy for basic maintenance.

So what's so special about this one piece upper?

Well, for a start - It's the most solid feeling AEG i've yet held. Nothing wobbles, and i mean NOTHING. Well alright; the bolt catch does a little. That's what a tiny bit of blu-tac is for, and it's the same on any AR AEG that doesn't have a bolt catch system of some kind. The thing is as solid as a solid thing that's been solidified with a solid solidifying solution. It's also a very aesthetically pleasing design - It really does have noticeably cleaner lines and looks than your usual AR. This thing just looks like a much better, more thought out design.

With the rail system being free-floating from the barrel, this should mean a greater level of accuracy. I'm sure that's true in the real world, but in the world of airsoft i doubt it makes a massive difference. The main thing here, is that it looks and feels an awful lot better. You've also got a completely uninterrupted, dead level rail along the top of the thing for any optics you like.

To top it all off, there are 5 well placed mounting points to attach QD sling studs, allowing a variety of slinging options. One at the front of the rail on the left, right and bottom sides, and on the back of the rail on the left and right hand side. Annoyingly, there isn't a mounting point around the back of the receiver, which is where i like them to be. Ah well; A minor nuisance, and a one point sling plate is cheap and easy to fit.

So, a big question on the lips of everyone who's considering one of these...

Have G&P replicated the R/S quick-swap barrel design?

I didn't know at first - I didn't know the R/S even had one (or that it existed), until more knowledgeable folk mentioned it in the thread posted about it. While i'm here - I wouldn't have had a clue about this thing existing if it wasn't for USCMCorps posting the thread, and everyone else in said thread which led to me buying one, so thanks go to him and everyone else for paying more attention than i do. As soon as i saw aforementioned thread, i started to research a little more, and harassed LWA to put some on their next order, which they did. I'm rambling and not answering the question here...

Long story short, i went on the LMT website, and found the .pdf instructions on how to remove and install the barrel on the R/S version. Tentatively applying the exact same method to my beloved new replica resulted in this happening:





So that'd be yes, then. Like i said, i used the R/S instruction manual to figure this out - This means 2 things. Unfortunately, the LMT barrel is proprietary to the gun. However - G&P are almost guaranteed to release different length outer barrels for this. I'm hoping for a 14.5 first, but time will tell - I'll be asking LWA soon if they know anything about it. The barrel is a very tight fit, mind - Once you remove the 2 bolts, you'll need to give it a few good taps from inside the receiver (top picture). I used a plastic rod of some sort, put it on the collar of the barrel on the inside of the receiver, and hit the end of it with an old GBB mag. This then allowed me to simply take the barrel clean out. Stupidly easy, stupidly simple, and requiring only basic tools. Now i've broken the original 'seal' as such, i can take the barrel out and re-install it in less than 2 minutes. G&P have even used the same size Torx bolts to secure the barrel as the R/S.

Performance, shooting, all that stuff...

I won't bore you with the details. Mine has a very crisp, sharp trigger response. Rate of fire is around 950 rounds a minute. Mine chronographs at around 345FPS, with a high of 347 and a low of 342. Very consistent, very smooth, good RoF. The hop unit is about as good as it can get with the standard TM Design - One piece metal design, very stiff adjustment, no unwinding.

Hop and barrel:



As i write this review, i'm recovering from a full day of using the MRP - It didn't skip a beat. At all. Excellent accuracy, i mean really excellent - I doubt that's down to the barrel and one piece design, but i like to think so. I was landing rounds on people at around 60 metres, pegging people with quick bursts very easily at 50 metres, and single shots are within about a 15" group at about 40 metres, assuming the wind is good. For an AEG, that's excellent - Especially considering the 6mm .2 gram plastic ball it fires doesn't exactly have amazing ballistic properties.

No hop unwinding, only one lock up on repeated semi-automatic fire (inevitable now and again), nothing fell off, nothing broke. And everyone was suitably jealous.

To Summarise...

I've really tried to fault this gun. I mean, i really really have. Lots of people know i love G&P, but as i said - If they'd messed something up on this gun, i'd be even more mad than someone who's never used a G&P, because i'm used to them building me awesome AR's. The only fault i can find is the bolt catch and lack of a sling point where i want it to be, and that's so laughably insignificant i don't even know why i'm mentioning it. To be fair, i'm not an internal tinkerer at all, so i can't say much about the upgrade potential should you require higher FPS or RoF - All i can tell you is that in stock form this gun looks, feels and shoots in a way that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. It's light, easy to use, stunning to look at, and at a very reasonable price.

I hope i've covered most of what you'll need to know in this review - Should you have any comments or questions, or anything to contribute, please feel free to ask/comment away. I'll try and answer any questions as best I can. Edited February 28, 2010 by hwagan

[hwagan]

And here's some pictures of how mine looks now;

 

 

 

 

 

I love it. I love it with unrelenting monolithic love.

[mr.systema]

it's very good gun--------- g'p brand is good quality --------------

[hwagan]

Alternatively, if you've already got a gearbox and a motor....

 

 

http://www.gp-web.com/en/productspop.php?pid=2509

[hugh_b]

Fantastic review! This was on my shopping list until i spent a ridiculous amount on building an l119a1 (mainly from g&p bits).

 

Something i've noticed, this batch now has a brass cylinder again, my m4 from LWA came with a black coated cylinder and i think the sentry's did as well. Probably something that doesn't make much difference but odd that they have changed again!

 

What is the rate of fire like using the li-po?

 

Thanks

 

Hugh

[aznriptide859]

Alternatively, if you've already got a gearbox and a motor....

 

 

http://www.gp-web.com/en/productspop.php?pid=2509

 

 

Oh, I just JIMP'ed.

 

Any word on those appearing on a HK website? You can't buy directly from G&P unless you're a reseller IIRC.

[hwagan]

@ Hugh; I've noticed that too, i've got one with a Polycarb cylinder (black one) and this one with a brass one. I'm not sure if there's any reason, but it doesn't seem to affect the performance. RoF is good for around 950-1000RPM on a 7.4 800 battery.

 

@ Azn: They weren't on any retailer websites yesterday, but i reckon they should be pretty soon... The MRP itself took about a week or 2 to go from G&P's website to everyone elses, if i remember rightly.

[uscmCorps]

Great review! I'm excited to see they retained the quick swap nature of the barrel assembly. I'm perfectly fine with and happy to see they're using the traditional M4 hopup over the one BestGun designed (which I abhor). I've always liked G&P guns and I'm glad to see this one is also well done.

 

I placed an order for one, but it'll probably take a while to reach me (getting it through my wholesale contacts). I'll be setting mine up probably the same as my shorter Bestgun MRP:

http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/inde...i&img=11694

 

One thing I'm curious about is the fact that because this is a G&P gun ... if the lower is the same as G&P regular lowers? Because if it is, then I could use any of my other G&P spec'ed lowers on the gun which is something I couldn't do on my BestGun replica.

[hwagan]

The lower receiver is standard G&P Spec - I can put the MRP upper assembly on any of my other 3 G&P lowers, and the LMT lower works just fine with all of my other upper receiver assemblies

 

To be honest, i've never had a problem with M4 style hop-units, except the bog standard TM version. Not the greatest design, but there's nothing really wrong with it - As long as it's a decent one piece metal version i've found them to be fine, as long as you keep the adjustment wheel screw nice and tight.

 

Overall, i think if G&P had gone with a proprietary hop, you'd lose the cross-compatibility. Assuming G&P get round to releasing different length barrels, it's not difficult to chuck another inner barrel & hop unit in to meet the added length.

 

 

*edit* Just noticed 'n all - The Bestgun kit doesn't have the QD sling stud points on the rail system.. is that accurate to some earlier version of the MRP? Nice set-up on the shorter one as well.

 

*and another* It seems these have individual serial numbers - I've seen a fair few different serial numbers on manufacturer's websites, and mine is different to all the pictures i've seen; 20778. Anyone else who's getting/got one, i'd be interested to know if anyone else's has a different serial.

Edited March 1, 2010 by hwagan

[uscmCorps]

*edit* Just noticed 'n all - The Bestgun kit doesn't have the QD sling stud points on the rail system.. is that accurate to some earlier version of the MRP? Nice set-up on the shorter one as well.

The BestGun MRP was of an earlier version of the LMT MRP. A few months after BestGun came out with their replica, LMT changed their MRPs to incorporate the design you see in the G&P version.

 

The thing that impresses me the most about this gun is that they're able to do it so cheaply. I know a lot of manufacturers were wanting to do the MRP but the molding to do the full length rail+upper receiver was very expensive. DYTac was able to do the VLTOR VIS's because they did it the same way VLTOR did it: machine the upper receiver and rail separately and weld the two together. I'm curious if G&P does it the same way as LMT: rough cast the whole thing then machine it down to the details ... or the less expensive method of just casting the whole thing with the final details included. Either way, it's impressive it's as cheap as it is.

[Jin15]

Great review and sweet jebus that is one beautiful rifle!

Pretty darn expensive as far as AEGs go, but for all you get and all the unique casting work G&P had to do it's not a bad price at all. There certainly may be one of these MRPs in my future... after I acquire the Surefire M500A & EOTech XPS3-0 for my LE style carbine and the Masterkey setup and crane stock for my SOPMOD style M4 that is

 

So it's gonna be a while on the MRP for me, but it's certainly on my "To get at a future unspecified date" list

 

 

[uscmCorps]

Pretty darn expensive as far as AEGs go, but for all you get and all the unique casting work G&P had to do it's not a bad price at all.

Keep in mind, while it might be expensive compared to the many other brands of AEG AR's out there, the price is about average for a G&P AR. You get what you pay for.

[Bane]

I have never, ever, EVER been a fan of AR's, of any kind, ever since their conception (Or spawning?)

 

This, however, actually seems to sit somewhere quite "Right" with me. It looks PROPER. Gone are all the niggly little details that always bugged me about the AR platform.. even the LR300's retained some of the basic flaws to make them aggrivating..

 

this has everything the AR always seemed to say but never acheived, Simplicity. The combined rail-to-receiver, the simple quick-detatch barrel.. its all LOGICAL and SIMPLE!

 

All in all, F'N NICE RIFLE! i would actually buy one! In fact, i think i will!

[hwagan]

Cheers for all the kind words guys - Much appreciated.

 

I know what you mean Bane - Losing the delta ring assembly and some of the other fiddly bits definitely gives it a cleaner look... Personally i reckon it's the nicest looking AR i've seen or used, there's a lot of really nice little details all over this thing.

 

And as USCM says, it's definitely good value for money... Considering G&P will have had to do some re-tooling at the very least, it's all made out of decent quality aluminium and alloys, with really nice plastics and everything else... You do indeed get what you pay for - I use nothing but G&P AR's, and i've got no intention of ever changing to anything else.

[uscmCorps]

Tested my gun a few days ago. Not a fan of the hopUp and rubber they used. The setup as it was, didn't maintain it's setting. On that same day I chrono'ed the gun at 345-352 fps on G&G 0.25g Bio BBs. That was good to see.

 

I got around to working on my gun tonight. On the agenda was installation of a Madbull HopUp Unit, KM Tightbore barrel, Magpul ASAP. Re-chrono'ed it again tonight before I made any changes to the hopUp (I always try to get a FPS baseline before I make changes internally). Same results as from two days prior.

 

First thing I noticed was when getting the upper off ... the upper was on there super tight. Had to use a rubber mallet to tap from the rear (on the charging handle) to get it to budge. Before I assemble a new hopup, I always test to see how it fits in the outer barrel. Not too surprised to see the Madbull hopUp wouldn't initially fit in the rear of the outer barrel. This tends to happen with a lot of G&P outer barrels with other brands of HopUp unit. The culprit is sizing differences between the fins on the side of the HopUp and the corresponding slots in the G&P outer barrel. You can either file down the top and bottom surfaces of the side fins on the HopUp, or you can widen the slots at the rear of the outer barrel. I typically prefer to remove the outer barrel and widen the slots. I could NOT get the barrel off. It just wouldn't budge. It was really annoying. So I filed the Madbull HopUp. Took a little while, but finally got it installed.

 

After installing the Magpul ASAP, I still can't understand why they cut slots into the side of the buffer tube. They're so unnecessary, and if anythng they're more likely to cause trouble than a straight lipo buffer tube (which the MRP one was adapted from).

 

Once done, I re-chrono'ed the gun and it was shooting at 355-357 FPS consistenly on 0.25 g BBs.

[hwagan]

Tested my gun a few days ago. Not a fan of the hopUp and rubber they used. The setup as it was, didn't maintain it's setting. On that same day I chrono'ed the gun at 345-352 fps on G&G 0.25g Bio BBs. That was good to see.

 

I got around to working on my gun tonight. On the agenda was installation of a Madbull HopUp Unit, KM Tightbore barrel, Magpul ASAP. Re-chrono'ed it again tonight before I made any changes to the hopUp (I always try to get a FPS baseline before I make changes internally). Same results as from two days prior.

 

First thing I noticed was when getting the upper off ... the upper was on there super tight. Had to use a rubber mallet to tap from the rear (on the charging handle) to get it to budge. Before I assemble a new hopup, I always test to see how it fits in the outer barrel. Not too surprised to see the Madbull hopUp wouldn't initially fit in the rear of the outer barrel. This tends to happen with a lot of G&P outer barrels with other brands of HopUp unit. The culprit is sizing differences between the fins on the side of the HopUp and the corresponding slots in the G&P outer barrel. You can either file down the top and bottom surfaces of the side fins on the HopUp, or you can widen the slots at the rear of the outer barrel. I typically prefer to remove the outer barrel and widen the slots. I could NOT get the barrel off. It just wouldn't budge. It was really annoying. So I filed the Madbull HopUp. Took a little while, but finally got it installed.

 

After installing the Magpul ASAP, I still can't understand why they cut slots into the side of the buffer tube. They're so unnecessary, and if anythng they're more likely to cause trouble than a straight lipo buffer tube (which the MRP one was adapted from).

 

Once done, I re-chrono'ed the gun and it was shooting at 355-357 FPS consistenly on 0.25 g BBs.

 

 

I didn't have any problem with the hop retaining it's setting on mine, although i've since added a Madbull H-nub. I'm still using the stock bucking and barrel, and i'm getting very very good accuracy results; I'm considering a tightbore for a bit better groupings, but i don't really want to have to downgrade it to keep it in UK limits.

 

As for the parts not moving, I've noticed that a lot with G&P's products - Everything is rock solidly secured; Generally that's great to see, but it can be a bit of a pain to get things to budge first. To remove the outer barrel, i removed both bolts and used an M4A1 gas tube against the upper edge of the back of the outer barrel from the back of the receiver, and whacked the bloody hell out of that with the pommel of a K-bar. Took a few whacks, but once it's shifted it becomes a lot easier to remove and replace in future, mine is now pretty easy.

 

As for the buffer tube, i believe it's because it's the same buffer tube on some of G&P's newer guns such as the Sentry; Using the crane stock the cuts in the buffer tube give the wires a bit more room to help the stock extending and whatnot. It's a bit of a nuisance, but i just put a strip of electrical tape on the cut-outs; makes the wiring a lot less noticeable. I did have a slight nick in the wiring from first installing the battery, and a straight tube definitely would have been preferred, but it's something i'm happy to live with as it doesn't cause me any huge issues.

 

How's the madbull hop unit perform? Mine at the moment is fine as it is with the H nub (saying that, it was pretty accurate before), but if they're really that much better than the normal design i might have to give one a try.

 

Chrono-wise, i got 306 with a .25; roughly 330-340 with a .2, which is perfect for UK limits - That suggests to me G&P are fitting different springs for different markets? I could be wrong on that, but 50-60fps difference between the UK and US version seems quite significant.

 

Overall though, barring the issues mentioned, what's your impression of the rest of it? Personally, i think it's the best thing G&P have made so far, but i do love mine an awful lot..

[uscmCorps]

I like the gun. It's perhaps the best G&P I've gotten out of the box before any modifications were done. I'll have to test the range and accuracy tomorrow morning before I leave for work. Regarding the FPS, the gun was sold by G&P locally to my HK wholesaler who then shipped it direct to me. So I'm guessing the spring strength was setup for HK use (though it could just be that they have two standards: EU & Japan standards, and the rest of the world standards which includes HK and the US).

 

The gun's solid and I've no regrets about buying it.

[hwagan]

That makes sense to me; Seeing as the EU and Japan have similar limits it sounds logical. Now i just wish G&P would get around to releasing different length outer barrel assemblies, i'd quite like a 14.5 to have the option of changing it around.

[uscmCorps]

Quick change barrels would be nice. It may be a while though, as I'm not sure the MRP is selling that well, even though it's one of the best guns G&P has made so far. It's all about popularity of niche guns I guess. On the plus side you'll see less of them on the field.

 

So I tested my new hopup setup this morning (KM inner barrel, Madbull HopUp, Guarder clear bucking, Element H-nub), the results were VERY good. In truth I can't expect anymore out of it than what I got. It gave me incredible range, and all BBs were shooting consistently, staying on a straight path.

 

It really boggles the mind. G&P's have been well known for issues with their hopUp setups. They're just okay, but they could be so much more. To anyone that buys a G&P I always recommend that they at the very least swap out the bucking and nub for a cheap and immediate improvement. They're two small things that make huge positive changes to a gun. I can't comprehend why they don't make those factory standard.

[hwagan]

It really seems odd to me; I seem to have been somehow blessed! I've always found G&P hop units to be excellent. That may be down to the generally lower FPS in the UK and therefore causing less of an issue, but mine have always retained setting - Saying that, once i've set the hop i give the screw a half turn to ensure it's locked down nice and tight. As for the rubbers and nubs, i wouldn't say the G&P ones are bad as such, but as i said, the simple addition of an H nub has given me excellent results. Again, that could be down to the G&P rubber coping better at lower FPS.

 

With regards to the barrel, i'm a little surprised at the lack of MRP's selling - I specially reserved one at my UK dealer expecting it to sell out on the day, but they still have several of the original shipment in stock. I guess it's a pricey gun when a similarly spec'd M4 with some sort of RAS system runs about £100 cheaper, but even so. As you said, more uniqueness and bragging for me. Hopefully the sales will pick up, as i really, REALLY want a 14.5 to have the option there.

 

Pics of yours? It'd be nice to see one with a different set up - Mine is starting to feel a bit lonely!

[BaBaBooey]

I personally feel an airsoft MRP in the $400 range is an excellent deal. It might not be selling because you don't see the popular military units and "celebrities" using monolithic receivers. Also, from my experience, G&P is still hit and miss. Granted, it's been a while since I purchased a G&P gun (it was the Mk18 if I recall correctly) and it was a COMPLETE mess. They may have improved like the way CA has improved...back in the day, CA use to release one useless piece after another and I found their newer releases pretty good. For now, I'm staying away from all G&P products (although their old CNC'd SR-25 kit was extremely nice...the best airsoft SR-25 I've seen).

 

As for the barrel options, I have a feeling that various lengths will be released. There are various barrel lengths for the PRIME kit for sale (mainly because the PRIME kit has some significant flaws in my opinion). These barrels might fit the G&P kit...I'm not sure as I don't have the G&P version.

 

Otherwise, I'm a fan of the MRP and I think it looks better than other monolithic uppers out there.

 

Sorry for the useless post; good luck guys!

[Panoptes]

Great review!

 

G&P must be the ones to do the L129A1.

 

 

[uscmCorps]

Pics of yours? It'd be nice to see one with a different set up - Mine is starting to feel a bit lonely!

 

 

 

I haven't messed with it much externally:

Swapped out the G&P LMT BUIS for real KAC front and rear micro BUIS.

Installed a Gear Sector Handstop, TangoDown rail panel, and Magpul Ind. Rail ladders.

Real Docter Optic on an ARMS mount.

Magpul PTS ASAP

Magpul PTS EMAG

 

Shot the gun again tonight. The HopUp setup is one of the best I have right now. It's solid.

[hwagan]

Looks nice - I had a KA docter sight on a G&P replica of the same mount for a little while, but the KA sight didn't really have enough brightness to be of much use. Have to say i'm not much of a fan of the SOPMOD stock... Looks a bit too bulky for the clean lines of the upper, but it's not mine so that doesn't matter

 

E-mag looks awesome with the fake rounds; I wish i could justify buying a load.

[uscmCorps]

It's a simple setup currently. Hadn't really decided on what else I might do to it. I'm torn between the SOPMOD and a different stock. I like the ACS, but I think it might be too much for the gun. I'm leaning towards a MOE stock and MIAD grips.

 

Regarding the RDS, that's part of the reason why I like RS RDS. They are typically made to work in all lighting conditions, whereas many replicas struggle with anything beyond indoors.

Edited April 23, 2010 by uscmCorps