mightyjebus Posted September 26, 2006 Report Share Posted September 26, 2006 This is a review of the recently released Star FN FNC Shorty. I received mine about 10 days ago and I have had a chance to have a good play with it to see the pro's and con's. the review that follows is based on my experiences with my Shorty. first up some pictures because everyone loves pictures. the boxed weapon My example didn't come with any documentation, which made stripping it down a bit of a pain, but you can download the manual from the Star website now. as you can see the box contains a FN FNC shorty, a Midcap Magazine and a loading rod. it is held in place by heavy duty black foam and nothing rattles about. Well done star for producing a no nonsense box that does the job of securing the AEG for transport. Next up is a couple of picture of the AEG out of the box, in both folded and unfolded configuration. My first impression of this gun was "wow! this is one heavy well built AEG". No joke it is all metal and a lot of that is cast so as you can imagine it weighs quite a bit. bottom receiver, stock and front sight block are cast in metal and are very thick which gives the AEG it's weight. the rest of the gun is mostly metal. The only parts that are plastic are the foregrips, the pistol grip and the gearbox. OK NOW FOR A WARNING. Do Not Cock This AEG and Let The Cocking Handle Shoot Forward!! If you do this the cocking handle will most probably snap off. This is the only bad design of this AEG but it's a bit of a bugger.(come on Star sort it out) As you can probably guess mine snapped off. I cocked it about 4 times and the screw that holds the cocking lever to the bolt snapped off and I had to drill it out to fit a new screw which proceeded to do the same thing. so off i went and cast some more in white metal. (I am waiting on a replacement from the company that I bought it from, who incidently told me over the phone that mine wasn't the only one with this problem). The replacement Cocking handles Here are a few more pictures of the AEG Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mightyjebus Posted September 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2006 (edited) Now the only difference that i can see between the Shorty and the full length version is the Barrel length. the front of the shorty can be removed and a Full FNC barrel could be added to swap between the different models. The thread is a +14mm one and heres a picture of it removed the magazine is a Midcap and i managed to squeeze 100 BB's into it. it's very similar to the Star L85 mags but has a different base plate which can be seen below. It is armalite type magazine and i can confirm that all my M4 mags fit and feed well in the Shorty. One thing of notice was how loose the magazine was in the magwell. it's loose enough to rattle about so for skirmishing a bit of tape around the mags wouldn't be out of place. Ok well thats the externals. How does it shoot? what is it like to fire? what is the gearbox like? Mine is firing at 380 FPS out the box and looks like it could be downgraded quite easily as the Star plastic gearboxes usually are. It's a bit of a dream to fire, the 3 round mechanical burst feature is excellent. I can't stress this enough. it's Friggin Brilliant. Not only is a good for conserving ammo but it's great fun aswell. The gearbox is another Plastic one from Star and I have two other AEG's with this gearbox and I have had no problems what so ever with any of them so I can't see this one being any different. The selector switch is a real smooth operation. it's switches into all the firing positions with a nice click and is solid. I have never used an AEG with a selector switch which feels so good. Overall I like the Star FN FNC Shorty. If Star can resolve the cocking handle issue then in my eyes they have a winner here. It looks great, Fires great, weighs a ton but just remember to not cock it. Well that's it, any questions then feel free to ask! Edited September 26, 2006 by mightyjebus Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WickedBassie Posted September 26, 2006 Report Share Posted September 26, 2006 (edited) The hop seems kind of weird and fragile, but is it? -:EDIT:- Nice gun BTW Edited September 26, 2006 by WickedBassie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mightyjebus Posted September 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 my first thoughts where similar but when you field strip the AEG you have to flex the barrel to get the front part off. this doesn't seem to have any effect on the hop although only time will tell. I'm sure a company will produce a metal one soon enough though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ColSanders Posted September 28, 2006 Report Share Posted September 28, 2006 (edited) But it was supposed to be a metal gearbox... Edited September 28, 2006 by ColSanders Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fly'n Brian Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 What size battery can you fit in it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fnfr3ger Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 i see too many mistakes to my liking : it looks something between a sporter version and a military one , so that is not good but for the rest it doesn't have to many mistakes of appearance so anyone want comparison pics with reel one ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mightyjebus Posted September 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 The FNC takes small batteries. I use a 8.4V 1300Mah battery. these are fitted into the front foregrip like a M4. you pull the delta ring back and pull the foregrip down. you then have access to the tamiya mini connector. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fnfr3ger Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 a quick question : how much does it weigh ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Xeno-Morpheus Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 so anyone want comparison pics with reel one ? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hell yeah! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fnfr3ger Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 (edited) are you sure the admins/mods aren't going to bad mad cos it's not airsoft ? if they agree with me posting pics of a rs : sure i'll post some , but i don't want to upset the admins and mods or i could just send you some real steel pics via pm if that is possible and you want me to and i think i said something unclear : what i meant to say is that would anybody like some pics of a rs one to compare with the star one Edited October 1, 2006 by fnfr3ger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Xeno-Morpheus Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 I'm very familiar with the swedish version of the FNC (AK5). But it would be nice to see some RS-pics of the FNC and compare them with the AS-FNC, as I'm sure there are diffrences. Would be nice to have the pics in the thread for everyone to watch. If that's ok with the admins/mods. Otherwise I would very much appriciate a few RS-pics via PM. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fnfr3ger Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 finally i think that i've found someone who likes the fnc as much as i do and i will take some more pics for you , but remeber it is the military version but from what parts do i have to take a pic for you ? greetz from another fnc (and all of it's versions) lover Quote Link to post Share on other sites
T.P.Evan Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 Question, What version gearbox is it, or is it some gearbox that only STAR uses? ...Yes I know it is polycarb... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HaVoC Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 I wonder this too. Does it have the quick-change spring system of the other STARs, or am I gonna have to strip it all down as soon as I get it to switch the spring out? I watched Heat again last night (fatal...) so guess what my next AEG may very well be Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nightfire6 Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 (edited) By seeing part of the gearbox, im pretty confident to say that it has a quick spring change mechanism. Edited October 22, 2006 by nightfire6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hustie Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 This may sound silly, but where did you buy your FNC? I can't seem to find them in any of the online shops I go to. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HKG36 Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 Its only available in the UK for now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jagdraben Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 That's ironic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Xeno-Morpheus Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 Firesupport and Zero One has them for about £320 or something like 600 USD. WGC or Gunnerairsoft will sell them for less, much less, like 400 USD. I was hoping that Star would release them all at the same time or allmost at the same time at least. And as, to me, Star seem reluctant to sell them by not shipping to any of the asian retailers. I might as well just go for the VFC- or G&G-versions due sometime next year. Hopefully they will put them on the market in a more ordinary fashion. Besides Star has a plastic gearbox. Don't know about the other manufaturers just yet, but a plastic gearbox just sounds wrong in the sence that I would presume it'll break easier... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wraith18A Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 I might as well just go for the VFC- or G&G-versions due sometime next year. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Care to share where you got this information? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HaVoC Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 Yeah, maybe the G&G will feel as good compared to the STAR as their version of the L85 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wraith18A Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 I just noticed that the last post here was my 500th post. Woot! Go me! PAHTAY IN TEH THREAD! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Xeno-Morpheus Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Care to share where you got this information? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> http://www.gb-tech.com.tw/VFC_Coming%20Soon(E).htm Mailed VFC some time ago and asked. They said "sometime next year". There's a swedish company called Unreal Steel, which have very good relations with G&G. According to US, G&G have a FNC in progress. http://www.airsoftsverige.com/forum/viewto...ht=ak5&start=60 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maple-Leaf Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 At last! I've been dying of curiosity to know more about this AEG.... The cocking handle issue seems like a pretty stupid thing - but then the question is, why would you want to pull it back and let it fly forward? Is that where the hop-up adjustment is? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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