Page 52 - Airsoft Action Issue 126 June 2021

RED CELL

CLASSIC AK

“If you want a great AK with no whistles or bells, through them but the ICS was a fair bit lower in FPS
then the CYMA AK74 could be the one for you. It’s when compared to the Specna.
simply a great full metal, great working AEG. Let’s be “Starting with the Specna right off the bat I almost
frank, all we ultimately want is a gun to shoot straight drew blood! The trigger guard was larger than
and work reliably and this gun dose all this. It’s just anticipated and rough in its appearance to the point it
great and at half the price of some of the other guns nearly skinned me alive!! This has always been an “AK
on the market, the body is a steel stamping like the gripe” of mine and I wasn’t disappointed, lol. Build
real thing and well-made and well put together, with quality was okay but it felt a bit “loose” and the pistol
woodwork that is nicely made and finished. The hop grip needed a good tightening up. ROF was fine and
unit is a nice full metal variant and works well with hit the targets consistently.
the gear box, and also works fine with the barrel “Now onto the ICS. This version had a very
and hop rubber which are both okay. All could be “classic” feel to it, which I strangely appreciated. I had
upgraded for a bit extra which would be worth it, no issue with my knuckles being skinned as the fatter
but that could be said of most out of the box AEGs! motor grip sorted out the issue. I really liked the fact
The side folding stock is nice and pretty strong but the top cover was easy to access. It had a very solid
again, as with a lot of AKs out at the moment, the feel to it and I felt that of all of the AKs on test, this
only downside that I can see is the battery that (like would have been the one I’d take out to a Skirmish
the E&L and to be fair a large proportion of AKs) is Field. ROF was fine and I was hitting the steels with
housed under the bolt, cover forcing you to use AK good accuracy.”
stick batteries. Not a major problem but it can be a Jimmy: “A day of AK. I knew this day would arrive
pain to get in sometimes and not damage the wiring, and I knew I would have to keep an open mind as,
which would be a bad thing if you are using a LiPo! ultimately, it isn’t about me, me, me but about you.
Other than that, if you don’t want a to pay the high It’s no secret that I’m no fan of AK style rifles and I’m
prices for some of the other AKs then this AEG is not one to hide it either. When it comes to AK I’m not
highly recommended, as they simply just keep going a lover of the early look. I hate the thin pistol grips
and going if looked after.” and I don’t like the wooden parts, they just look old.
Chris: “AK’s, like AR’s, come in many guises “But onto the guns! The LCT range are really quite
nowadays. However, classic AKs, like Classic ARs, are perfect in all honesty and, from what I understand,
simple, smart and the combination of metal and wood LCT use the same solid reliable internals across the
is sincerely good looking. Out of the bunch we tested range of different variations. The workings of the
my favourite was the E&L AKM, purely for the reason LCT were spot on, as I was expecting it to be sluggish
that it has that quintessential AK style rifle with the with an overly long trigger pull when, in actual fact, it
real version firing the equally quintessential 7.62x39 was quite the opposite! It was really very responsive,
round. For those into their historical kits it’s perfect for allowing quite a fast ROF on semi auto and a very
Vietnam era loadouts (the NVA being issued the AKM respectable ROF on full auto. Not being an AK guy, I
and Chinese Type 56 rifles over the much rarer AK-47) kept getting full and semi mixed up which is a pain;
“For those into playing as OPFOR (much like myself) I can’t understand why they continue to use that
the classic AKM is again ideal for that “bad guy” look configuration on the fire select! I’m used to safe,
western culture has ingrained in our minds. The E&L semi, full. OOTB though, the LCT was spot on and a
itself is extremely robust with no movement in any real mind-changer on my opinions of AK’s. This isn’t a
parts and it shots smoothly with a very fitting rate of budget AK, as it does have quite a high price tag, but
fire on a 7.4v LiPo, and that’s all you can ask for from you are getting one mean AK!
an Airsoft AK Replica!” “The E&L AKM. What a beast of a rifle this thing
Jase: “With my Mother’s 70th birthday going is! A heavyweight contender and it actually feels
down on the Red Cell test day, I could only give an like you are holding the real deal! Everything about
hour to help test out the AKs. So, with that in mind, this screams “Soviet”! It’s an actual pleasure to hold
I was very selective in what I took to the range. What and shoot and whilst the E&L AKM is not the most
would I spend my money on and the answer was the responsive, it isn’t a “slug-head” and I’m not going
ICS AK74 and the Specna J08. Now, truth be told, to worry about this thing failing on me as everything
I’m not an AK guy, too agricultural for my taste. Both felt solid. Fire select was very precise yet easy to select
went through the chrono without issue and gave very with one finger, although I still kept mixing up semi
consistent results for RIFs that have had a fair few BBs and full. I’ll get there eventually! Velocity was up there

52 JUNE 2021