OriginUK Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 After seeing the price of this GBBR, with the amount of upgrades installed, I just couldn't resist testing it out and giving it a review. I've had it so far only 1 day, and I've put roughly 10 mags through it for testing purposes. The gun is based on the WE OB M4, however it has not 1 single stock WE part. From the trigger group, to the buffer, receiver, stock tube, and even the dust cover is an after market part. The parts list: RA-Tech Precision Inner Barrel (225mm) Maple Leaf Hop Up RA-Tech CNC Forged Receiver (Upper and Lower) with AAC 300 markings RA-Tech Buffer Tube New Age Butt Stock Fixing Ring RA-Tech Steel Bolt Stop New Age Receiver End Plate New Age Butt Stock New Age Steel body pins New Age Ejection Port Cover New Age Charging Handle RA-Tech Enhanced Recoil Buffer set New Age Steel Hop Up Chamber SVOBODA AAC 300 Black Out Rail RA-Tech full Trigger Assembly RA-Tech new style Bolt Carrier RA-Tech new style Aluminium nozzle The first and most interesting part of this rifle has to be the new CNC Forged Receivers. There are plenty of examples on YouTube starting to show up of these going through torture tests, and wow do they look strong. No worry at all about these ever breaking. The finish on them feels excellent, there are no visible impurities. Its hard to describe how good the receiver feels, but there is an immediate difference between this and any stock body. Although I no longer own any Prime receivers, my first impressions would be to put this in the same league. The engravings are nice, and accurate to the real AAC 300 Blackout trademarks (except for a small spelling error in "Lawrenceville"). The laser engravings are done well, and again are accurate, even down to the logo engraved on to the steel bolt. The front receiver is made by a company I have no experience of, SVOBODA. Seemingly new to the airsoft world, and exclusive to AST. Despite that, the quality of the rail feels great, and certainly not a budget line (also available for WA, and KWA GBBRs). A slight disappointment was instantly noticeable when holding the rifle, the rail was not secured well, and had a small amount of wobble. Certainly not rock solid as in the RA-Tech videos, however I think that is due to assembly and should be a quick fix one I get it off. The WE MSK (PMAGS) magazines are a very tight fit in the forged receiver. They go in, and work, but will need slight modification if you don't want to be struggling to remove them on reloading. The normal STANAGs fit perfectly. The body seems to be finished really well, and has not marked by testing out different scopes. However only time will tell as to how well it stands up. One minor annoyance is that the steel dust cover does not close while the bolt is in battery. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OriginUK Posted August 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 (edited) You can see here the marking that indicates a forged receiver, and the forge lines at the front of the mag-well. Internally the gun uses Ra-Tech's full set of upgrades, including the full trigger set. Now this gets a lot of varying opinions, with the general consensus being that the steel is good, but they fall short in their design of the hammer, with many opting to use the CWI or Hephasteus steel hammers instead. This is due to the Ra-Tech hammer sitting slightly higher and therefore putting more pressure on the bolt, causing more wear, and in extreme cases preventing the bolt from returning to battery. Personally I have never had a problem when using them in the past, but it is something to consider. However given the price, if it was a concern, I would be inclined to simply buy the Hephasteus hammer for $25. The buffer and spring have also been replaced with the RA-Tech Enhanced set. There are several discs at the end of the buffer tube, which increase the return rate. The recoil on this gun is STRONG, it kicks harder than my WE Scar. Given the use of the steel bolt, a faster return can only be a good thing. The steel bolt with engravings. The bolt comes with the newest version of the Ra-Tech aluminium nozzle and NPAS. There are a lot of people who prefer to use plastic nozzles, especially for winter use, and going on some past performance of the earlier models I couldn't blame them. I will try and do a video showing the FPS differences soon, however from my testing so far at 21 degrees over 30 shots my highest reading was 408 FPS, and lowest 381 FPS. It is also worth noting the new steel hop up chamber. I won't review this in full, but needless to say it has much more durability for the steel bolt and aluminium nozzle. A link to a good initial video review for this by MaximusMJG is here: Overall I am very impressed with the build of this GBBR. It just oozes quality. WE have been around a long time, and have a lot of aftermarket support, and if your considering a full steel build, I couldn't recommend this more. Given the inclusion of the CNC Forged receivers, and RA-Tech buffer tube the durability seems unquestionable, and for $660 USD, the price is great. From testing, I was able to get a maximum of 65 shots from one fill of propane in the MSK magazines (without spamming the trigger, but 1 second or less between shots). For winter use I would consider a lighter bolt, and maybe a plastic nozzle, however that'd be something I'd want to try out more, and the RA Recoil kit certainly helps whilst using the steel bolt. Overall I think this GBB really raises the bar for external quality, whilst offering some of the best that WE aftermarket has for internal upgrades (personal preference of hammer aside). Edited August 15, 2014 by OriginUK 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thatguy404 Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 Hey dude, do you still have this. How is it going? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OriginUK Posted September 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 Holding up nicely at the moment. Changed the rail system out but that's more for looks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kagami Posted September 30, 2014 Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 SVOBODA = Guarder/Intruder Shop Also its nice to see close up pictures, just sad it says Lawrencevelle instead of Lawrenceville Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thatguy404 Posted September 30, 2014 Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 Aye, i'll be replacing the rail and outer barrel fairly quickly.Going to be my first GBBR (minus MP9's and pistols)Was wondering if this was a good starting point. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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