Jump to content

Initial impressions of the VFC/Umarex HK417 AEG


Recommended Posts

Alas, many Airsoft prayers have been answered, someone (Umarex but MADE by VFC) has finally made an Airsoft replica of the HK417.

However, does the world of Airsoft rejoice and marvel at this chunk of metal or will there be collective groans of another missed opportunity....... I'll let you know how it goes B)

 

Before I get into reviewing this thing, just a couple of notes

 

a) I have never written a review, ever, please forgive me if there are some glaring inadequacies contained within this review.

B) I have never come into contact with the RS HK417, therefore, I can't comment on how faithful this is to the real thing, other than what I can see from internet pictures.

c) This has not been skirmished with due to no spare mags available to purchase right now, plus, I only got this last Tuesday.

d) I was going to take more pictures, but I live in London, where it rains 363 days of the year. On the remaining two days, it snows and the country shuts down.

 

Externals:

 

Let's get straight to the point, this is one boombastically rock solid, well made AEG.

Hats off to VFC for engineering something that exceeds my own personal benchmark for top notch externals, the G&P LMT MRP.

From the rear, there is almost zero wobble between the the stock and the stock tube. I have OCD when it comes to wobbles on Airsoft RIF's so If I can tolerate this, I'm sure you can too.

The battery connection is rear wired into the stock tube but this is much wider than the usual AR ones. It swallowed up my 7.4v 800MAH lipo with ease so I guessing a 1300MAH should be no problem.

Currently, the connector is a mini Tamiya.

 

Onto the receiver, there is no discernible wobble between the upper and lower. There is also no gap which annoyed me so much with the VFC HK416.

The paint finish is exemplary, and the trades are very nicely done all etched in white. Umarex seems to have listened the collective moans of the Airsoft community and toned down their marketing blurb.

The only reference to 6mm bb's are etched in white and placed on the edge where the pistol grip meets the receiver, and it is TINY.

Speaking of the grip, it seems to me (from what I could gather from the H&K website) that they used the one from the RS HK416 which has more curve. This doesn't bother me, but if you're a die hard H&K fan, you'll probably feel a slight twinge of disappointment. One thing I didn't understand was the dust cover was made of polymer.

 

The front end is where all the heft is at due to the way its built. When you dismantle the RIS by unscrewing the two big bolts up front, it reveals the outer barrel and the gas block and gas tube set up.

And it is a very impressive sight in the way it's been out together, rock solid, zero flex.

I haven't poked around that much since there's very little reason to tinker about here, but I'm hoping they bring out a 16" outer barrel as an upgrade part or accessory.

 

Magazine:

 

What can I say other than it's huge and just about fits into a single HSGI TACO. It's well made from a very tough polymer, it holds 100 rounds and seems to feeds well.

 

Internals:

 

Again, apologies for the lack of pictures, and I'm only going to say a few things about this as i haven't had a chance to take this apart.

Firstly, the gearbox does look like a traditional V2 design and I would be very surprised if the gears, pistons & cylinders etc were not standard V2 parts.

 

The hop unit is not a traditional M4 design, it's very similar to a G36 unit which can only be a good thing as you can adjust the hop using the big wheel whilst wearing gloves.

Land Warrior Airsoft tell me that the inner barrel is a 6.04.

 

 

Handling:

 

This is weighs about 4kg with all the accessories I put on. It's about 80cm long with the stock fully retracted.

If you're used to AR's, handling this should be second nature to you.

I'm biased as I love the AR platform, so this is very comfortable for me to use.

 

Performance:

 

This was shooting 360ish FPS out of the box, RoF was around 13bbps.

 

The hop will need some fine tuning, trajectory was a bit all over the place. As with all AEG's, I will experiment with different TBB's and rubbers and nibs.

 

Initial conclusion:

 

From the outside, it simply is my new new benchmark for external finishing. The overall feel of this is pure quality, I have never owned a Airsoft RIF as well made as this.

Internals, this is an unknown right now for me as it simply has not been used to gain a meaningful evaluation of how the guts of this will perform week in, week out.

 

Overall, I'm glad I purchased this. At £425, it ain't cheap, but like many Airsofters, I'm just glad they finally made the HK417.

 

Any questions, please feel free to ask.

 

vfchk417.jpg

 

vfchk4172.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • Replies 63
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Posts

Sorry for necro, but this is some updated info.     Made a video review talking about the updated internals of this gun. The gearbox 2.2. A follow up video already uploading about piston compa

Alas, many Airsoft prayers have been answered, someone (Umarex but MADE by VFC) has finally made an Airsoft replica of the HK417. However, does the world of Airsoft rejoice and marvel at this chunk o

Not sure how many people have seen this:     Preview of, as I remember it, a limited edition version of the 417 released by Elite Force a few days ago.

The outer barrel is also 2 piece and ccw threaded so those that want to can turn it into the 16 inch version easily enough. Provided they can get their hands on a outer barrel extender. The Hurricane HK 416, outer barrel extension fits very nicely.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Can someone who knows H&K real steel tell us what's up with the front sight and the pistol grip?

 

This is from H&K's USA website:

 

lg_hk417.jpg

 

But then on Google Images I also find examples like this:

 

2151831.jpg

 

Also this MR762A1:

 

MR762A1-LEFT-iron-sights.jpg

Edited by mimesis
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
One thing I didn't understand was the dust cover was made of polymer.

 

Because in the real one is in made of polymer

 

For the pistol grip two version is available :

 

jeejq.jpg

 

operation-blacksmith-s-hammer-15.jpg

 

Like for the stock is available in sniper version and assault version.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and the use of session cookies.