ARMOURY: ARES G39 EBB IDZ

WHEN JIMMY FIRST STARTED PLAYING AIRSOFT, JUST LIKE MANY OF YOU ONE OF HIS FIRST AEG PURCHASES WAS A G36, AND THAT SAME RIFLE IS TILL WITH HIM TO THIS DAY! NOW OF COURSE HE’S HAD HIS HANDS ON JUST ABOUT EVERY AEG MODEL YOU CAN THINK OF, BUT WHEN HE HAD CHANCE TO GET HIS HANDS ON THE MUCH NEWER, MUCH MORE “TACTICOOL” ARES G39 EBB THOUGH, YOU CAN BET HE JUMPED AT IT!

Upon my daily peruse through the internet I happened to come across a platform I had never seen before, the ARES G39 EBB IDZ which looked suspiciously similar to the newer HK233! Instantly grabbing my attention I just had to know more about it, so I sent in a request with HQ to see if we could acquire one

for the purpose of review.

Now I know some of you may turn your noses up at this as it is a Heckler & Koch G36 variant and the G36 is a very common platform. The real world version of the Gewehr 36 5.56mm, designed back in 1990, was the Bundeswehr replacement to the very well-known G3 7.62mm battle rifle and would serve its purpose well both with police and military across the world right up until 2022 when it was announced that the HK416A8 (but most definitely, and somewhat controversially NOT the Haenel MK556!) would replace it following the System Sturmgewehr Bundeswehr program. I think had the G36 not suffered from overheating and related issues it probably would have served a lot longer.

In the airsoft world every mother and her son has a G36 of some flavour and they are a very common platform used by sites as rentals. There is a reason behind this they are cheap but they are also very reliable, especially the JG branded models. This is not a JG model under scrutiny, but an ARES so I had to wonder if it would be as reliable? Well, sit tight you’re about to find out exactly what I think.

I do appreciate a G36 and I also like ARES products so the two go hand in hand naturally. This is an ARES and it has EBB, it has the EFCS, and it is

fully trademarked, so what’s not to like? I guess being an H&K fan, Mr Stewbacca may like this also even though it isn’t gas blowback, but judging by his last H&K review I believe he secretly likes an EBB!

My initial impression was ‘it’s a bit longer than I first thought’ and at 980mm, nearly 1 metre, yes it is long! It is quite slim in comparison to other G36’s, the handguard significantly slimmer. The polymer used is a stiff rugged polymer and sports the worldfamous Heckler and Koch trademarks which some airsofters strive for. From research and what others users have found there is a sticker on the side which is physically covering up one of the main H&K markings. As we do not own the rifle cannot remove said sticker therefore I am unable to confirm 100% this to be true.

The handguard does look great, sporting both 20mm picatinny up top and giving up to 300mm-

“I DO APPRECIATE A G36 AND I ALSO LIKE ARES PRODUCTS SO THE TWO GO HAND IN HAND NATURALLY. THIS IS AN ARES AND IT HAS EBB, IT HAS THE EFCS, AND IT IS FULLY TRADEMARKED, SO WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE?”

plus of rail, and the KeyMod offers up a vast amount of room for tactical accessories; being made of CNC alloy makes it much stronger than the standard plastic counterpart. Because the handguard is much thinner than normal, battery choice is crucial as there isn’t much room in there. I struggled to fit a Turnigy 1400mah 7.4v in and get the handguard back on, so maybe a dummy PEQ battery box might be a good option here.

NIGGLY THING

Removing the handguard to access battery storage is done by way of a flat tool to remove one screw and the handguard simply slides off. Housed in the handguard you get a 450mm one-piece aluminium outer barrel featuring a realistic mock gas block and piston. The inner barrel provided in this is a whopping 500mm which is made from brass, so let’s talk barrel shall we? Now it always pains me when I find problems with items that I like because I expect them to be good, and it is difficult knowing that I have to report my findings.

Now what I found was a niggle that truly amazed me, that this could and did in fact happen! When test firing I discovered that the BBs were immediately dropping with little to no distance, so I attempted to adjust the hop up. To my dismay I was getting no change in the BBs trajectory which I found a tad odd seeing as though this is a box fresh item. I had to see what would cause this, and what I found was not a flaw in materials nor was it a flaw in the design, but, and this is a first for me, I have to say the barrel and the hop rubber were installed upside down strangely!

There could be several explanations here, but it obviously happened during the manufacturing process. A part or parts like these will be handassembled, so it is human error sadly. We are humans after all, and we are not perfect, with the exception of me of course! It was a simple solution just spin it 180 degrees and reinstall; unfortunately due to the mishap the original hop rubber had been slightly damaged and for the purpose of testing I had to fit a new hop rubber which I conveniently had available. After discussion within the team and subsequently with the guys at iWholesales, we believe this to be a one off and no other stock item has been affected like this… it seems like even the mighty ARES suffer from “Friday Afternoon Syndrome” just like the rest of us mere mortals!

NEATLY FEATURED

The CNC KeyMod handguard in conjunction with the unique and interesting IDZ adjustable stock gives the dated design a much more modern twist, I think that is why it appealed to me as much as it did with its modern appearance. The IDZ stock gives two- way adjustment both in length and height so you can tailor

the overall length and set the cheek rest. You can still fold the stock but even with folding the stock it’s still fairly long. As I said earlier, perched up on top you get that 330mm of 20mm picatinny section, so there’s plenty of room for all manner of sights/dots/ optics and incorporated are iron sights, although these are very basic and non-adjustable so I would recommend

“I HAD TO SEE WHAT WOULD CAUSE THIS, AND WHAT I FOUND WAS NOT A FLAW IN MATERIALS NOR WAS IT A FLAW IN THE DESIGN, BUT, AND THIS IS A FIRST FOR ME, I HAVE TO SAY THE BARREL AND THE HOP RUBBER WERE INSTALLED UPSIDE DOWN STRANGELY!”

a red dot of some form at the least.

There are lots of features I do like on this platform, one of which is the EBB (electric blowback). Although opinions differ, even within the AA Crew, I personally think all AEG’s should have it for that added bit of realism, something all airsofters dream about LOL! This for me is a first on a G36 variant, a locking bolt, and it took me a while to figure it out but it works and makes hop adjustment easier. Just rack the charging handle and push the little button in the trigger guard to lock it open and to release pull the charging handle and let go, quite satisfying actually!

Another little feature I appreciate is the fire mode which many platforms do not offer, and that is the two BB burst; this is made possible due to the ARES EFC System which unlike the Amoeba platforms sits on the exterior of the gearbox. The gearbox being a V3 design looks to be quite a solid construction, almost over-engineered, and has a quick change spring for easy velocity adjustment, although it does require some level of disassembly to get to the spring, but it is very easy and comes apart just like the real thing.

This is powered by what ARES claim to be a high torque flat motor, but upon inspection is just a standard ARES short shaft motor. Velocity stated was 0.8 Joule which is equates to around 290fps, but again this was not the case. Due to the barrel and hop rubber being incorrectly inserted it was down to around 230fps. After I had reinstalled a new hop rubber and got everything in the right way thankfully it was up to 315fps on a 0.20g Bushido BB.

DOWNRANGE

Using a 7.4v 1400mah LiPo battery it is pretty responsive due to the EFCS making semi-auto shots faster and on full-auto it will pump out 15 BBs per second. The two BB burst is great giving a double tap on one trigger pull, and is convenient just in case that first BB doesn’t contact. When firing there is the very satisfying electric blowback which operates the mock bolt; it would be nice if it were a bit louder and heavier like the EBB on my ARES UMP45; now THAT is very satisfying and gives a nice metallic sound.

I haven’t been able to game test this yet sadly but the testing I have done in a controlled environment has shown that even though there are areas I am not 100% happy with, but even with the little issues surrounding the barrel and hop rubber it actually performs very well once properly set up. Due to the 500mm barrel it can really stretch a BB out there; on my 50m range it will easily hit a man-sized target all day long, but the downside is the 45BB magazine supplied as standard runs out very quickly which is very annoying! I am unsure at this stage as to whether there are higher capacity mags available. Range testing was done using 0.25g and 0.28g bushido BBs and both performed well, both finding the target although the 0.28g was considerably slower due to the amount of hop needed to get it flying straight.

Would I own an ARES G39 EBB? Yes, it would make for a great outdoor rifle and with a little work I could squeeze much more distance from it and really utilise the length if the 500mm inner barrel. A massive “thank you” to the guys at www.iwholesales.co.uk for letting me check out this platform, and thanks for listening to my feedback as always when I reported the barrel/hop issue!

I know it isn’t a “new hot” release, but as a G36 user already I liked the look of it; if you do too and you’re in the neighbourhood then pop on down to Bespoke Airsoft and check one out for yourself! AA