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Star L85

Hissing_Sid

By Hissing_Sid,
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DarkLite

DarkLite

Posted
Posted
What he said.

 

FWIW, I'd just like to point out that I never, ever criticise any gun in comparison to a real-steel gun.

 

Maybe it's just me but that's the reason why I honestly don't give a flying f**k about the ICS M4 receiver being 10mm too long.

For me, the important thing is that the dollop of metal and plastic in my hands works well for the purposes of playing airsoft.

 

The same thing, however, applies to the Star SA80.

I pretty sure I've said it before but I reckon the SA80 is the best looking, strongest, gun you can take to the airsoft field with.

 

I think the SUSAT is a spectacular piece of kit. It's freaking awesome.

I don't think it's any good for airsoft though.

I don't give a toss if it's authentic or not. Real Steel engagement distances are much greater than airsoft.

 

Actually, on this topic, I wonder what the Brit army is currently doing about CQB training.

I'd hate to be patrolling the streets and houses of Basra with a SUSAT bolted to my SA80. I imagine most squaddies are either shooting from the hip or relying on the EBS.

I'm sure it's great for shooting at people 200m away but useless for aiming at people on the opposite side of a room.

 

It occurs to me, if the Brit army can only use the SUSAT then that's probably why I see so many pics of squaddies with torches attached to their guns. A Surefire makes a decent enough aiming device, I guess.

 

ANd of course the AFV, which is INTENDED for CQB/tank/REMF duty, has a SUSAT too.

 

Hmmm.

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Ad_Enuff

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My way of looking at it is this

systema PTW you expect it to be far and above an ICS M4 for the price you paid (which it is) , this is how i see Stars SA80 the personally outrageous price for something that isn't that different from whats out there already.

 

So what you’re saying is that although I want and SA80 I should buy a M4 or a M16?

 

I know, I'm typing from a padded cell, by the seems of it, you need to join me!

 

You can’t really compare a gun that has tons of manufacturers making the same weapon all of which desperate to have your business. Every airsoft manufacturer makes an M16 and M4 and others even make full metal replacement parts.

 

When currently considering buying an SA80, how many options have you got?

 

The ONLY reason why I have purchased the STAR SA80 L85A2 is that I have wanted a British gun, its hardly seen on skirmishes even in Academy form mainly coz nobody wants to play with an Airfix plastic kit that’s no better quality than what I played with as a child and cost £20. STAR’s seem to be the best option right now if that’s the gun you want i.e. an SA80 L85.

 

If you want a higher quality designed gun but don’t care about the gun itself as a replica, of course there are many many other guns out there that are more suitable and of course better designed internally.

 

If you bought this as a first AEG, I think it’s worth every penny. Not only do you get a full steel gun, but you get a hard carry case as well to protect it, something of which most people forget until it’s too late and scratches appear to the horror of the owner.

 

Simon is right that the case is not worth £70, but it’s definitely a nice accessory, as is the SUSAT cover and hard carry case that comes with the SUSAT itself.

 

How many guns come like this? Not many, if any at all….

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Sysoosi

Sysoosi

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When currently considering buying an SA80, how many options have you got?

 

The ONLY reason why I have purchased the STAR SA80 L85A2 is that I have wanted a British gun, its hardly seen on skirmishes even in Academy form mainly coz nobody wants to play with an Airfix plastic kit that’s no better quality than what I played with as a child and cost £20. STAR’s seem to be the best option right now if that’s the gun you want i.e. an SA80 L85.

 

 

This absolutely right. It's going to be the same with SL8/9, I hope. Well of course you have the option 'buy a TM G36C and install a STAR SL8-kit' but that means work and all that, a bit same with a custom Academy SA80. It is customized and because of that it's not so standardish and the quality may be much lower.

 

I think the SA80 replicas that are or have been better cost like over 1000 quid? So don't complain about the price of this one. And yes, for 400 quid I except some steel, nothing else. Just try and compare this one with a Guarder all steel AK-kit.

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To be honest when a gun is only available in 2 options currently and thats even a tad debateable as even the Academy can be hard to get hold of these days, price isn’t even part of the equation.

 

You either want it or you don’t what ever the price maybe.

 

A good example of this is that both Simon (Hissing Sid) and I was prepared to buy the SA80 Workshop version at U$ 1600.00 plus shipping.

 

And if I did so, I’m sure most people on here would call us mad and that the gun wasn’t worth the money.

 

By comparison, STAR’s isn’t bad value for money vs. build quality/accessories (tools, case, SUSAT cover etc).

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does any one know how much longer till the LSW an the AFV will be comining out?

 

There's nothing on their website, my guess is early 2006, simply down to getting the standard L85's out first.

 

The next hot topic is bound to be the LSW SA80 L86 and its price! Although this time nobody makes a version of it other than STAR.....

 

I await the thread with anticipation! :D

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acornman

acornman

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Can I make a fair point as I have a STAR L85A2 now complete with SUSAT?

 

Although there are many of us that have waited for a decent SA80, we do have one although most people have lost what teh meaning of decent is.

 

Decent for me, is above average and this gun certainly is above average in every category.

 

The SUSAT although does have problems as Simon has pointed out, it does work very well and more imprtantly looks the biz on the gun! Beautuful in fact!

 

For most British Army squaddies on here that have had the pleasure of actually "playing" with a real SA80, it must be slightly disapointing that certain innacurracies are still there and I agree some of them are a shame, BUT we are talking about an Airsoft weapon not a real firearm so some of those can be taken on the chin.

 

Some people obviously want realism and the minutest details of the real gun emulated here, but some of which I find are just being picky and go back to my point of Army boys knowing what these are.

 

As a whole, the STAR SA80 L86A2 is a fine and decent Airsoft weapon that I highly recommend to any SA80 fan out there that wishes to purchase their final gun before the VCR bill finally kills off the sales of guns.

 

Yep the gun aint cheap, yep some niggles on accuracy of detailing, but really, isnt it quite refreshing to see a different gun for sale? and reasonbly good quality?

 

All I know is that I love mine. The only thing that would sway me to sell, would be that another manufacturer make the SA80 L85A2 in STEEL and better STAR's version.

I agree totally I have owned an HFC springer for a long time it is a pretty good rendition of the SA80 but it is mostly plastic and converting to an AEG would not have been easy. The SA80 is different from all the other gun "families" So I was thrilled to discover thta Star were making a Metal version AEG that works out of the box, no DIY messin' . I am now the proud owner of a Star SA80 ,Ok the susat may not be so practical in skirmishing terms but the gun ain't complete without it. The Susat also is at least useable , which the ones supplied with the Academy and HFC are certainly not! The weight is so near to the real thing that I am not sure I would want to skirmish with it . Some of us like to own guns that are "real" with out being real and have the bonus of shooting BB's . :flamed:

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snorkelman

snorkelman

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Sid if you've got access to a set of calipers you might want to check the inner barrel's bore?

 

I cant be sure as Im sat in our flat with minimal tools (other half has banished me from the house for the duration lest i give her the flu lol) but the barrel seems tighter than an average m4 barrel

 

eg a 6mm dowel seems to have more sideways play when popped into a stock CA M4 barrel than it does in SA80, and a cone shaped dremmel bit goes in the m4 barrel slightly deeper too (That said its a CA inner thats been knocking around in spares pile for ages anyway so im not exactly sure hwo tight that one is in first place lol)

 

 

i see what you mean re the fire selctor :( as a short term fix I'l probably stick a small glob of chemical metal in to take up the slop in this one

 

In long term im not sure wether to just re make it in a harder material or go one further and add an extra key'd slot on the curved section of the shaft at same time, with a cam thats tabbed to fit it (so it locates more positively with the cam and doesnt rely on just the flat section to take the strain)

 

(as well as the thru screw that holds it to the reciever I noticed they included a drilled and tapped hole in the selector lever itself, but it'd be a ###### to try and fit a grub screw into it as theres not much of a gap between side of the reciever and the gearbox to reach it)

 

stevie

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Hissing_Sid

Hissing_Sid

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Regarding the barrel, I measured it but I'd like to say something about the results...

 

I have facilities for calibrating my calipers so I'm pretty sure they're accurate.

 

TBH, I never get accurate readings when I try to measure an AEG barrel.

Ideally, you'd stuff the calipers in the muzzle and then jiggle them around until you get the widest possible reading. Doing that in a brass AEG barrel isn't a smart idea cos you'll scratch it all to hell.

I put them in, try to get them as square as possible and then wind them out until they're firm against both sides. I repeat this in 2 or 3 other orientations to get an average.

 

Having done this, you still don't have a definate answer. The barrel may be slightly oval or it might simply be that the end has been "crimped" slightly during the manufacturing process. It could simply be a burr on the edge.

 

I gotta say that I found the Star barrel to be pretty poorly made. The finishing is nothing special. It's OK but, as I say, nothing special. The grooves machined for the hop-up and barrel clip are pretty roughly cut.

The muzzle is squarely cut and then roughly chamfered, hopefully to remove any burrs.

The metal, itself, seems to be pretty poor quality. It's got a lot of discolouration in it, indicating impurities, and there are quite a few surface imperfections on the outside although the inside looks OK, once I cleaned the swarf out of it.

 

To be brutal, it looks like the barrel off a springer.

If you don't believe me, take a look at a Prometheus 6.03 barrel which retails at £30. It's surface finish is perfect internally and externally and the cuts, grooves and ends are finished beautifully.

 

For the money I would have like to see Star buying barrels in for this gun.

 

Anyway, I measured the barrel as 5.98mm at it's widest point and 5.76 at it's narrowest.

As I say, I have no way of knowing if this is due to a burr or due to the barrel being oval or crimped. I did poke a rag down the barrel to clean it and it never seemed to snag on anything when it was removed.

 

By way of comparison, I also measure the 6.03mm barrel of my MSG90.

This came out at 5.94mm in one direction and, well, 5.94mm in the other direction as well.

 

I noticed the hole for the grub-screw too.

Looks, to me, like they had an idea for how to attach the fire selector and then decided against it and moved on to something else.

I'm guessing the mk1 version had the fire selector attached to the shaft and all coming out in one go. That'd be the only way a grub screw would fit. It's impossible to use one to fix it in after the lever is in place.

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snorkelman

snorkelman

Posted
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rifle version barrel shows similar issues with finishing on the grooves at breech end though muzzle end is properly finished rather than a quick straight cut and chamfer (more so than the CA m15 barrel sat beside it) I'll check its ID once i get allowed back out of quarantine

 

Ive got visions of someone sat in a corner at star cutting down the inner barrels on some of the first batch of rifles to get some carbines out the door - could explain the swarf in the cylinder and hop up lol

 

the weird thing is it kind of defies its own limitations and is surprisingly consistent when it comes to shooting it versus my M15s and sticks out a much tighter grouping on auto in comparison (Im tempted to stick a decent tightbore on it)

 

Ive left gearbox alone for just now have penciled in bushing change for the bearing ones and i'll redo the motor wiring for push on connectors rather than hard soldered so might as well just do the lot in a oner

 

stevie

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Hissing_Sid

Hissing_Sid

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What spring is in the carbine?

 

Don't forget that a gun shooting at 400fps is gonna be more accurate than a gun shooting through the same barrel at 328fps.

 

What I mean is that the guns range and accuracy can be thought of as a "cone". The "range cone" of a 328fps gun might be 40m long. The "rnage cone" of a 400fps gun will be 60m long.

So, effectively, you'll gain accuracy simply because of more power.

 

So far I've only shot the carbine at 20m ranges and it does seem pretty good. I'm gonna see what sort of long-range results I can get tommorow.

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