Maruzens |
|
KG9 Full Auto
NonBlowBack
| KG9 Full Auto GasBlowBack
Firstly a big thanks
go out to Josh Horowitz of
WinKong.net
who kindly supplied the movie screen caps and stills for this review. You
can find links to buy Big
Trouble in Little China here
(I highly recommend purchasing it). –Arnie
Introductions
Ok, so ‘KG-9 CQB Assault Carbine‘ is a bit of a gobful, but short
of glorified monstrosity I couldnt think of a better moniker.
Besides thats what it is: not quite the machine pistol it started life
as, and not quite the Assault rifle it aspires to be. Its also a NBB, external
feed gasgun.
Thats right, one of
the airsoft throwbacks. One of those obsolete weapons that the Tokyo
Marui-ites want you to forget about. Well knackers to that, because this
thing is every bit as good as, and in terms of build better than anything
TM produce today.
The model in this review
is my personal skirmisher which is equipped with an extended barrel and
a folding stock, and is now the only KG9 in my collection (having let the
KG-9 GBB go to a better home where its
not used for shooting cockroaches; be nice to her, Taeko)
Construction The internals The folding stock |
Operation
After the fashion of all BV guns, the KG-9 operates on a short-stroke blow-forward
principle. A follower picks up a bb, gas pressure forces the bb against
an o-ring forming a seal(3).
The whole barrel is pushed forward until the o-ring reaches a slightly broader
point in the barrel guide, allowing it to expand and the bb to progress
(rapidly) down the barrel. The barrel returns, picking up the next bb.
The KG-9 has a selective
fire trigger(4)
and therefore is incredibly simple to operate in both semi and full auto.
Also, due to a rather sweet valve system, this is actuated in line with
the trigger, so no nasty linkages to mess around with(5).
Magazines
are spring fed and hold 80 rounds. The gun has a slight recoil due to the
reciprocation of the barrel, which increases with the extension fitted,
although it remains almost insignificant in terms of affecting accuracy.
The beast will feed
off pretty well anything you choose to pump through it(6).
I personally use either regulated C02 or Compressed air fed from
a proprietory airsoft tank (Sherman M4) at a feed pressure of 8-9kg cm-2.
Performance
Right, this is where all the sage and wise AEG owners nod
their heads and mutter about hop-up. Un-hopped, the KG-9 custom shoots straight
for 35-40m, before dropping off (stock performance is probably about 25m).
Yes, that far. The gun was chronoed at 88ms-1 using 0.25g bbs,
at a feed pressure of 8kgcm-2. Thatd be about 0.97 J. Oh lordy.
In
the field, the gun consistently outperformed all of the Marui SMGs and a
good proportion of the Marui longs. Accuracy is excellent, perhaps due to
the lack of hop. Admittedly, lugging a gas supply into the field isnt everyones
idea of fun, but once you get used to the feel of the tank being there,
the only real disadvantage in skirmishing is the magazine capacity.
Hi-caps can be fabricated(7),
however, and frankly with two spare clips you have 240 rounds to play with.
In CQB, this should be more than adequate. I prefer this gun to my electric
rifle(8) already, and will
probably rely on it as a primary from now on. These things are not to be
underestimated.
One delightful chap
who described me as the strange foreigner with the obsolete gun
was so confident that he broke cover 25 yards in front of me thinking hed
be ok. Naturally, the 9 was pointable and accurate enough to draw a line
up him, and then pop his mate who stuck his head up to look from 5m behind
him. Marvellous!
Conclusion
Cons:
-
External
feed: clumsy. -
Parts
are relatively tricky to obtain -
No
hop-up -
No
hi-cap mags -
Stock
version makes you look like a pimp
Pros:
-
Solid
construction (85% metal)] -
Excellent
accuracy (due in part to lack of hop, ironically) -
Very
pointable -
Incredibly
easy to maintain -
Stock
version makes you look like a pimp
Footnotes:
1 The
Interdynamic KG-9, and its stablemate the Tech-9. A pair of guns aimed
at the criminal end of the market, one feels, when you consider the advertising
blurb included such features as a muzzle that could fit an improvised suppressor,
and finger-print proof grips. Fortunately for me, Taeko covered all the
detail in her review TOP
2 Beautifully
made, but relatively sparse in number: Extension kits, folding stocks and
silencers, mainly. TOP
3 As
in an airtight seal, not the popular marine mammal. Pay attention at the
back! TOP
4 Half
pull for semi, long pull for full auto. TOP
5 I
am currently in the process of writing a book entitled Why all you bastards
went bankrupt detailing the decline of the Japanese NBB airgun industry
due to crippling development prices incurred by using an industry-wide standard
minimum of 98 inches of cast zinc linkages in their trigger assemblies.
TOP
6 Disclaimer:
any injury, loss or dismemberment arising through the use of pure oxygen,
butane, etc. in classic airsoft guns is not my responsibility. I may find
it in my heart to supply a jam-jar for the burial. TOP
7 But
its a hassle, and chopping up a rare mag, to build a useless new one is
not a good plan. TOP
8 Possibly
because my electric rifle is a Famas/shotgun combination which weighs 5kg
and is a sod to lug around indoors. TOP
-1, -2 Those werent
footnotes, you muppet, they were SI notation.
Comment
on this review in the forums
Last modified:
Wednesday, May 9, 2001 9:37 AM copyright 2001 ArniesAirsoft
‘Big Trouble in Little China’ imagery is copyright John Carpenter.