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The  E&L AKS74 Review.

Being an owner of plenty of AK variants and having sold plenty more , I was not actually in the market for another . However the Izmash AK was advertised earlier in the year and their adverts and videos interested me . This however was not to be as the factory suffered financial issues and the project was put on hold /stop.

So when I heard of E&L and their intention to make airsoft AKs on the tooling of their firearms line and with real materials , I was intrigued .....

 

I was asked to downgrade the first five when they landed in the UK and my interest quickly turned to “need” once I saw how solid they were .

Seeing all these stunning replicas with real wood furniture put me in a bit of a position in choosing which one to buy . Especially when I found I actually really liked the polymer stocked AK74MN too .

In the end I chose the AKS74 as it was a model I owned in the past and sold (Kalash/Dboys)

 

On to the replica I choose

All E&L Aks come in a cardboard box with only a label on the front and on the ends , stating the model number and some information about E&L themselves .

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Inside the box you find the rifle packed in a grease bag (both box and bag are the same ones they pack the realsteel in). The package is cable tied to the inner box as is the Lonex type hicap magazine . Also in the box you find a plastic envelope containing an instruction manual and authenticity certificate which has the individual serial number for the rifle( which is also stamped into the receiver) along with QC stamps from each stage of product and a series of velocity readings from final QC which are also stamped and signed . This certificate is the same as the ones the parent company supply with their firearms .

Upon removing/undoing the cable ties and taking the rifle out of the grease bag you will notice one thing above all else ..........Grease , this rifle is coated in it . They supply real AKs the same way to protect them in transit and storage .

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I used  soft ,lint free cloth to remove the excess grease from the externals of the rifle and this revealed the most realistic finish on any airsoft Ak I have ever seen . For good reason , the materials and finishing are exactly the same as the real counterpart from the factory . Steel is the order of the day and this extends to everything that is metal including the cleaning rod , trunion, barrel , gas block ,gas tube , muzzle break , receiver ,top cover and stock (as well as all pins and ancillary furniture) !

The wood is laminated ply and is taken from factory stock for the real rifle. As such the varnish is only applied to the outside of the grips leaving the inside as bare wood .

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The overall rifle is as solid as a very solid thing . holding the rifle out by either muzzle or butt (even with folding stock) will find no flex or weakness and this was evident when balancing the rifle over two stools (muzzle one end, butt plate on the other) and a man weighing over 11 stone sitting full weight in the middle with no damage incurred !

The folding stock locks solidly in place in both extended and folded positions .

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The selector ,while still a little mushy compared to ARs (just an AK trait) is way more solid than any AEG i’ve handled or owned before (including LCT, VFC, Cyma, Dboys,TM, WE etc).

 

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A note on the solid stock models , they use the real stock with the trapdoor and spring for oil bottle and are attached the same as the real thing .

The magazine supplied was a Lonex type “flash mag” and typically with hicaps I found was noisy ,annoying to use and occasionally did not keep up with feeding. It was of the 5.45mmR type in orange and has since been retired to my box of chrono mags in favour of a selection of G&P, Star and MAG midcaps (the best feeding mags by far in any gun).

As stated earlier , I downgraded these for the retailer as they were all doing 435 fps on arrival . However even at that power we found the gearbox turned over effortlessly so I was looking forward to seeing what was in there......

Internally the Gearbox casing is very strong , V3 type but with reinforcing lumps on the casing at the corners of the cylinder (this would take some serious upgrades if you so wished).The motor cage attached very firmly , with no movement . The casing has E&L/LandForce markings as does the high torque motor which seems very well finished and capable (that explains that )

The bevel and flat gears spin within  7mm(i think as i  forgot to note down) bearings while the sector gear has solid steel bushings . The tappet plate is of decent quality and draws a metal nozzle . Gears are steel and typically of XYZ brand and should last a good while .

The piston is of polycarbonate with 3 steel teeth and has a piston type piston head (no bearing) which provides excellent compression .

The spring is a very short (m120) steel linear spring and was removed ;)

The spring guide is a bearing type and seems perfectly fine for the job .

Wiring seems of good quality and sturdy but flexible and is wired with mini tamiya to the top cover (all E&L AKs have battery in top cover like this one )

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Hop unit is a metal type and is secured in position very well . This includes the front/top screw of the gearbox actually securing the hop to the front of the gearbox. I have not opened the hop unit or barrel as all 5 we tested gave amazing range and accuracy on both 0.25 and 0.28g once downgraded to around 350 fps (measured with 0.2g)

As I mentioned above the internals give great compression , probably due to a combination of the gearbox itself and the fact the hop unit is firmly held to the front of the gearbox .So much so that in order to get 350 fps I had to cut an inch from an M100 and reform the end to ensure reliability. I do not like cutting springs but short of a batch good M85/M90 springs I had no choice . regardless the rifles gave excellent shot to shot consistency over the chrono after bedding with 100 rounds or so after downgrading . Once downgraded the rifles ran super smooth and completely un stressed on a 7.4v 1200 mah lipo.

One of my team already managed to run his for a game and was absolutely taken by the performance despite being another collector of many RIFs including a large collection of AKs, up to and including Real Sword.

I will continue to add to this and if you have any questions , feel free to ask and I will try to oblige

Edited by 1st Commando
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Did you experience any cases of the oxidized finish coming off? Lots of reports of crude stamping, spot welding and construction,finish coming off,piston failing and even an air bubble in a pistol grip on rus.mil.pl and a few other eastern european webbies.

 

How does the overall construction quality compare to LCT,Dboys and VFC? Do the E&L justify their VFC & LCT level price or should we stick to steel Dboys? let's not put RealSword into this as they are in a completely different league!

 

To me,in all honesty,it looks like an LCT clone with a few differences,such as proper selector spacing and larger stock hinge.

Doesn;t really live up to the ''1:1 spec +Better than RealSword'' hype by Gunfire.pl as it's still the usual marui spec stuff.

 

Check out these links off rus.mil.pl too,they offer some alternative perspectives:

 

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?act=url&depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=pl&tl=en&u=http://rus.mil.pl/forum/discussion/5123/1/vfc-lct-el-foto-porownanie/&usg=ALkJrhiIaUgSNO8bhseXYPNOCqXsoevOvw#Item_0

 

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?act=url&depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=pl&tl=en&u=http://rus.mil.pl/forum/discussion/4741/1/repliki-el/&usg=ALkJrhiqjH5gPa2eW6HGr7E32BkVhaRNzA#Item_0

Edited by White_Death1
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Finish is identical to the real one so there are imperfections . Price wise they are actually much cheaper than LCT at £331.95 in the UK. 

 

Putting the real sword next to it , they are both great and I like the better dimensions of the RS but the materials are certainly stronger and more genuinely finished on the E&L.

 

If you want a perfect paint job i'd advise going for one made by an airsoft company . If you want all the rough and tumble finish of a real AK i'd go E&L or RS (if they ever start producing again)

 

Not seen a piston fail yet but being an AEG i have no doubt that it will happen sometime . I'll photograph one next to the VFC tomorrow to compare (The VFC is even £100 more)

 

Other AKs just look and feel way more toy like when put side by side ,I'll put a pic up of all my AKs when i get chance 

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Surprised you say stronger materials on the E&L,I've held a RealSword and that felt stronger than any LCT or VFC I've seen,steel looked better quality and better stamped. 

 

Do you think the build system on the E&L is new or VFC/LCT based? Looks like LCT base to me.

 

I'm concerned for the finish staying on the gun,not really looks as I tend to abuse guns a lot,rolling through mud and other wet things ;) ,etc.. so I am worried about corrosion. I've already had a KJ M9 hammer and some VSR screws rust away on me.

 

Also,I may sound mean,but is there any actual proof of these being made by Norinco/Real weapons factory other than marketing hype? Norinco's quality cert looks nothing like E&Ls.

Edited by White_Death1
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It's new build mate . My LCT is no where near as solid and i think a lot of that is down to the outer barrel .

 

In regards to rust , it's the same steel as the real one so if left unprotected you will get rust . They are packed in the grease bags the same way they do with their real ones and are apparently intended to be greased the same way every so often to ensure corrosion does not set in .I would advise having a hold of one before you purchase if you are not sure as they are not your typical AEG 

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So It's fully pinned like VFC? LCT still has the half pin/half screw construction since they were OEM'ing the Inokatsu kits,this may be a step up. 

 

But just be sure,I'd say check the outer barrel for them pesky screws. I'm gonna try find some info on the build style via other forums.

 

I'm a bit conflicted on these. The Polish are saying it's ######,but it looks really good here,it's still more expensive than LCT in Ireland(At the moment). Must have been a bad day in QC in whatever factory E&Ls are made :P

 

I still need to wait before some guy at the local site picks one up so I can fondle it.

Edited by White_Death1
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Yeh,about 275€/230£ for a TK105. Probably retailer assembled with bodykits though. 

 

I think I'd rather wait and see with the E&Ls,far too much conflicting info,maybe due to poor QC on E&L's part. The ones I saw on rus.mil.pl looks like big casts of scrap metal compared to yours which looks just as good as VFC/LCT,finish wise.

Edited by White_Death1
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well the production version only came out a couple of weeks ago so maybe that had early examples or something . That is a great price for LCT !

 

Either way I think I will be replacing more of my AKs with these as I like the confidence of having something so strong that I can literally use them as ladders , even if the finish does require looking after unless I like rust ;)

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It's new build mate . My LCT is no where near as solid and i think a lot of that is down to the outer barrel .

 

 

Well... I have 2 VFC, 1 LCT and 1 EL right on my desk and  OR you have other EL OR this is all marketing bull....t . Here are detailed pictures of all replicas compared:

http://rus.mil.pl/forum/discussion/5123/1/vfc-lct-el-foto-porownanie/

 

and LCT has LESS loose parts than EL. The EL stock has some play as well as gas tube lock and foregrip lock. That air bubble in the grip was jsut a kick in the balls.

 

I'm not a hater. I just cant stand that marketing fluff about "the real thing" "the best AK ever" - just buy it and compare to others and junde by yourself.

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I can honestly say mine has no loose parts and I did not notice any on the other 4 i handled but each to their own . Marketing bull ? HA  Ha i'm not selling mine for anything 

 

Oh and I have compared them directly as I have most variants of AK here which is why I took a photo with some of them together 

Edited by 1st Commando
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To me it looks like OP got one of the pre production versions. Spot welding,stamping and riveting look far better than williards example,which is a production version that looks like it was rushed out to flood the market.

 

There's no real proof E&L are made in a real weapon factory,their quality cert looks nothing like Norincos, all other info this is made by a real steel company is marketing. 

 

Judging from production versions bought by the polish,it looks like a steel Dboys lemon in LCT system.

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I have emailed asking for photos and documentation that I can post . I have seen pictures posted by a director of a retail company that toured the factory but i'll not share them until I have permission .

 

I have arranged for a deactivated AK to be photographed alongside mine in the next few days so I will put those up :)

 

Oh and mine is a production one , the best way to tell would be the serial numbers which are unique and in sequence . My SN and another one from the batch are in the photos above 

Edited by 1st Commando
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