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AK47s
The Stock on the AK47s is a skeleton stock made from metal and able to fold away. The stock folds by pressing a button on the side of the reciver, the stock then fold under the forgrip, the butt plate also folds to flattern out. The plate is designed so that you can fold the stock without it and still not catch it on the rather large Mag. This stock has it's advantages and it's disadvantages.
Firstly it can make the AK47 very compact when folded which is excelent when used in CQB, it also looks very nice (personal oppinion but I like the look more than a full stock). However the issues are that it has no place for a large battery (unlike the full stock AK47) and uses the stick type battery. And has some problems with the strength of the metal. The metal is cast not stamped and is quite weak as a result, after a couple of years you are gaurenteed to snap the stock off while skirmishing.
Receiver The reciever is is a 2 part affair. The bottom part is made from plastic, although it is hard to tell as the colour and texture is the same as the metal. It is incredably strong with no bending at all. This part also has the button for the stock and the rear sling mount. The buttin can fall off, but a little superglue will hold it nicely.
The top part is metal and covers the battery compartment. It actually strips like the real thing, press the button on the back of the top and pull the metal part up and away. This makes changing the battery in the field very easy (which is handy considering the stick type battery power).
Pistol Grip The rear pistol grip is pretty nice and functional. It is easily strong enough to be held on its own. I actually find it very comfortable, more so than the M16/M4's and G3/MP5's. It's made from some very nice wood effect plastic, but I'll go into that later.
The all metal slector switch is a great piece of Russian design, rugged, solid, functional and takes no account of the fact that a person has to use it. What I mean is it does it's job well but is placed so badly as to be only be used by the non-trigger hand or hand tacken off the grip. The selector switch is on the right side but it really doesn't make any difference, it's just as had to use if you hold it left handedly.
It has 3 setting, safe, full-auto and semi, in that order. This suprised me the first time I fired it as I thought "I'll try semi first" put it on the middle setting and almost ripped a hole in the wall with a stream of full auto BBs! This again is how the real thing works, so there's no faulting it. The last word on the selector switch is that after a while it does start to rub a groove in the reciver, but as you see this on the real steels I suppose it just adds to the authenticity. Mag release The mag release is simple but effective. Made from a very solid chunk of metal with a large spring holding it close. You just pull it towards the mag and the mag slips out. This is greate for 1 handed mag changes as you can press the release with your thumb and have you hand holding the mag with a full grip. Also placing it at the bottom work well for left handed and right handed alike.
Mag The start of the AK is it's distinctive Bannan clip, the large rounded mag that sticks out the bottom like some skorpion read to strike. The hicap version of this mag holds more BBs than any other standard hicap mag in Airsoft, so you don't tend to run out of ammo in a hurry.
Some people do have a problem going prown with such a large mag sticking out of the
bottom of the AEG, but I have never really worried about it. Another masterpiece is the rear sight, it's a V type plate but has a fully working range adjuster. By this I mean you press the button in the side of the rear sight, slide it forward and it changes the hight of the V in the back. This is very handy in airsoft when the BBs start to dip at the end of thier range.
The front sight is a simple sick with a thick guard at each side. The stick is adjustable for hight too with the help of a small tool that comes with the package. Not that you need to change this with BBs that way they are.
This AEG would be nothing if the wood furnature was wrong, fortunately Marui has done an amazing job on reproducing wood. I'm not kidding, if you don't touch it you won't spot that it's plastic! Some have commented that the wood is too good as real steel AK's have wood furnature that look like a badger has chewed it and the Marui stuff look perfect.
As for the drip itself it's very comfortable to hold and works very well. The only problem I have is that the Stock whenfolded rubs on the forgrip making a little mark on the underside after a while. But this is a tiny gripe compared to the "Has to be seen to be believed" wood effect. Hop Selector The hop selector is hidden next to the battery and can be got to by pulling the cocking lever open. It works well and can easliy be changed while fireing (so long as you get the hang of holding the cocking handle back).
Cocking lever This is another very sturdy metal part. It pulls back nicely and if let go has a lovely Kuching noise.
Barrel The barrel is very nicely reproduced and all metal. This include the gas chamber on top, the 2 different textured parts of the barrel, the fake cleaning rod and front sight. It all feels very solid and nicely Russian. It also has the front sling attachment. The AK is easily strong enough to be slung and with the weight of all those metal parts you will want to have a sling.
Flash hider The flash hider on the AK is a 14mm reverse thread so will fit any flash hider or silencer that will fit an M16/M4 AEG. There is a nice little button in the top part that stops flash hiders from unsrewing too.
Scope and scope mount It's worth noting that the AK is a bit tricky to find a good mount for, you can go for the real Russian mounts but you will have to drill holes in the reciver to fit them (plus they usually aren't weaver type rails). Or you can go for an airsoft one made by many of the 3rd party companies that make accessories for the AK47, but again some need work on the body to fit. This is one thing that can put people off the AK. Conclusion My personal feeling is that the AK47 in any of it's varients is the best AEG Marui produce. It's covered in metal, has great wood effect plastic and is a superb skirmish AEG. The only thing I would say is get the full stock version over the skeleton stock as it holds a Large battery. Some people don't like it because of it's looks or the fact that they like to put loads of addons on thier AEGs, but personally I love the look and think it's better with no addons at all (even if I do own a real Cobra scope that was built for the AK). See what you think:
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