Page 51 - Airsoft Action Issue 126 June 2021

RED CELL

CLASSIC AK

beautifully finished externally with extensive use of “The E&L AKM… Now this is a gun that, like Bill, I
steel parts, but inside things are equally precise. With love! It has the best full metal body for an AK I have
the distinctive slanted muzzle brake along with quality ever had my hands on, not surprising as the steel
woodwork it almost has that factory-fresh feel about stampings are made in the same factory that makes
it, and it arrives very lightly oiled so you even get “that the real thing (or so we’re told)! The woodwork is
smell”. E&L go as far as supplying a green plastic oil great, well-made and finished and the gearbox is a
bottle as part of the deal, which indicates to me that solid model that works well - but there is a downside.
the externals will need to be kept maintained. With Out of the box you should use a 7.4 AK stick battery
a retail price iro £300 this is one hell of a performer! in it, mainly because the piston is a one-metal-tooth
Okay, I am biased because I love the AKM so much as reinforced plastic version and really doesn’t appreciate
a model, but after owning many I have to tell you that the high rate of fire an 11.1v battery can produce.
this is genuinely one of the very best AEG versions I’ve The other downside to this one is where the battery is
ever encountered. The externals are absolutely spot housed, which is under the bolt cover (a throwback to
on, the internals are the very best they can be, and the original TM AK47 days back in the early 1990s) so
the performance is first rate. you need to use a long thinner style of battery. If you
“Lastly I’ll touch briefly on the recoils; I do love don’t mind that and you don’t mind the price tag then
recoil in an AEG and both the BOLT and the TM are this could be the gun for you as they are superb .
things of engineering beauty! I’ve been lucky with “The BOLT SU is another recoil gun, and it really
my own BOLT AKS74U but then I’m careful with my is a great gun with bags of kick! But there’s another
AEGs and maintain them regularly, as I’ve heard from 800lb gorilla in the room… That recoil comes at a cost
Marcus that he’s seen some issues with this model. and that is the battery, a small 11.1v 800MAH Lipo
Mine continues to work well, although I’d suggest you battery that is housed in the lower front grip and,
take a look at his comments later in this test report; quite frankly, this is way too small a battery for any
bottom line is that the BOLT is beautifully made and recoil gun and it shows! The gun I had from brand
looks stunning! Unlike some, I don’t believe that new managed three mid cap mags before the battery
everything that TM make is sheer airsoft perfection was dead and when I recharged it and tried the gun
and although there are features in the classic AKS47 again, the gun had a heart attack and did a gear! I
NGRS that I love, like the cutoff/recock, the AEG feels sorted that with a new set of BOLT recoil gears but
very fragile to me and I hate the fact that they still then it completely destroyed the recoil main spring!
insist on using “fake wood”. With both the BOLT and After I replaced that, the gun worked fine other than
the TM the battery compartments are small too, the the battery life is crap. I may of just had a “Friday
smallest of any of the AEGs on test, and although Afternoon” gun, who knows? Bill is more than happy
battery technology has improved vastly, I’d still like to with his own and all that said, when the gun works it
see space in both for a battery that would last me an is awesome on full-auto and you will struggle to keep
entire gameday!” the gun on target - just like the real thing!
Marcus: “The TM AKS47, now this is a
great gun as long as you can deal with it
only pushing about 290/300 fps - but come
on guys this is a TM! It may not have FPS
but it certainly makes up for it with range
and reliability as long as you use a 7.4 volt
battery; TMs don’t like 11.1! The build
quality is what you would expect from TM,
which is excellent, but the recoil is… well…
a bit like an anaemic wet fart! It’s not that
good but it’s a TM... If you want a really
good AEG out of the box and you don’t
mind the FPS then the NGRS could be the
gun for you but don’t mess with it, if you
start it’s a money pit! If you want FPS and
11.1 v batteries then this gun is not for you
but I would be more than happy to use this
in a game.

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