TECH: SHADOW 2 UPGRADES

THE SURGEON IS IN!

STEWBACCA HAS FINALLY BEEN MAKING PROGRESS ON THE LONG OVERDUE OVERHAUL OF HIS LONG SERVING AND SUFFERING KJ WORKS CZ75 SHADOW 2 COMPETITION GAS BLOWBACK PISTOL THAT HE’S USED SINCE HE ACQUIRED IT IN LATE AUGUST 2020, AND REVIEWED HIS OPERATIONAL WINS AND WOES RELATING TO IT IN MORE DEPTH BACK IN ISSUE NO. 129!, IN LINE WITH OUR ARTICLE ON SHIELD SPORTS HE NOW SHARES THE UPGRADES HE’S COMPLETED WITH THE SUPPORT OF CLARENCE LAI, “THE AIRSOFT SURGEON”, THROUGH CL PROJECT DESIGN, AS WELL AS KIC AIRSOFT WHO HELPED HIM WITH THE EXCELLENT EXTERNAL REFINISHING WORK!

As anyone who’s followed my “Fresh Prince of Action Air” exploits either in Airsoft Action or on my social media will know, I’ve been staunchly resistant of my teammates continued cajoling to “just buy a HiCapa” or at best “get a Glock” and be like everyone else in the local circuit! Successful, I suppose, but, I’ve always had a leaning towards European pistols and particularly service weapons from the likes of H&K, Walther and CZ, with a plastic fantastic modernist mentality, and just want to avoid “fudd guns” (forgive me Bill!) and just do my own thing in general; as with Jon’s own PAMG efforts, I want to add more to the sum total of knowledge, and try something different and learn something new that I can also share with the community at large through my efforts, rather than just win through already thoroughly treaded paths. As a result I’ve always tried to stick to ‘service

sidearms’ in both my skirmishing and my action air exploits; yes, the Prague police run Shadow 2’s, apparently, so I can still get away with that one! Until Clarence recently released his turnkey Shadow 2 solution, it seemed me and only one other competitor in the entire of Taiwan have been fielding them for Production division, but since Clarence arrived and I told him all of the problems I’d been having with the stock pistol he’s set about diligently working the same magic he’s applied to HiCapas and Glocks for a lot longer, and has been very generous in supplying me with an array of his prototype and production components to try out in my own weathered example and ensure product effectiveness and suitability; increasingly I’m getting the idea that if I can’t break it, nobody can, and perhaps that’s my calling in life… #IBreakShitSoYouDontHaveTo!

INTERNAL SLICKNESS

So, what has the Airsoft Surgeon done to the original platform that KJ Works released?

Clarence has produced an evergrowing array of internal upgrade components that address the extreme wear and tear I informed him about experiencing with mine, addressing issues such as the double action system failure, magazine bumper plates flying off when dropped and the more difficult to acquire stock front sight which doesn’t have a true fibre insert as such but a plain plastic version. He’s also lightened and strengthened a lot of the internal components, adjusted and optimised spring rates, and worked his magic to improve accuracy and efficiency.

CLPD reinforced CNC machined steel hammer connector hook

This is Part No.11 on the parts diagram and is a hook that is connected to the right side of the main body of the hammer and interacts with the trigger transfer bar to enable double action functionality, Clarence has created a reinforced steel version with a better surface finish that should hopefully reduce the wear and tear on it seeing as my original sheared off during one training session and unceremoniously dropped out of the magazine well upon unloading.

KJS2ISS: complete factory internal spring set

Clarence was good enough to give me not one but two entire sets of the internal springs which obviously will fatigue over time and lose their ability to exert the required force on the components they’re fitted to for reliable functioning; each set includes Part Nos. 64 - trigger return spring 65 - sear return spring 66 - trigger transfer bar support spring 67 - magazine release spring 68 - striker arm return spring 69 - striker head return spring 70 - magazine release retention spring 71 - safety selector lever retainer spring 75 - gas valve return spring 92 - gas nozzle return spring

KJS2TRGB: reinforced CNC machined steel trigger transfer bar (‘bow’)

One of the early issues I encountered with both my Shadow 2 and earlier SP01 was wear on the trigger transfer bar or ‘bow’ as Clarence terms it, Part No.10 which is the stirrup device that goes around both sides of the magazine and connects the trigger to the sear system behind. This is initially a shiny cast alloy component that soon wears out on its rear upper faces and then lessens the effectiveness of the double action function coupled with the breakage of the hammer axle bearing chassis, Part No.4, and the weakening of the transfer bar support spring, aorementioned Part No. 66 as well as Part No. 11 all of which break or wear down and prevent the double action functionality from working properly. Since replacing all these parts it has returned to full functionality so now I can use the Shadow 2 properly in production division.

KJS2CTRIG: CNC machined competition trigger

“...AN ARRAY OF HIS PROTOTYPE AND PRODUCTION COMPONENTS TO TRY OUT IN MY OWN WEATHERED EXAMPLE AND ENSURE PRODUCT EFFECTIVENESS AND SUITABILITY; INCREASINGLY I’M GETTING THE IDEA THAT IF I CAN’T BREAK IT, NOBODY CAN, AND PERHAPS THAT’S MY CALLING IN LIFE… #IBREAKSHITSOYOUDONTHAVETO!”

Along with the internal functional components Clarence has also produced a new flatter form of trigger for competition use - to replace original Part No. 9 - which dramatically improves the general feel

of the trigger pull as well as allowing its travel to be controlled through use of the twin grub screws in its face. The lower grub screw mimics the action of the original trigger’s similar screw Part No. 113, which allows control of the over-travel of the trigger after the break point by screwing it in or out. The additional upper grub screw can also be installed if desired to allow the user to limit it to single action only by preventing the full forward return movement of the trigger to its point of reset, so for standard or open divisions the trigger pull can be made a lot shorter and faster as a result. Available in both black (BK) and silver (SV) versions.

KJS2SSS: reinforced CNC machined steel slide stop/ release lever

The slide stop release lever in the Shadow 2, like in a large number of Browning action style pistols, holds the barrel and slide onto the frame, and can thus experience quite a bit of wear as the slide cycles rearward and the barrel tilts up and down out of engagement with it, so Clarence has designed a reinforced steel replacement equivalent for the original Part No. 13 available in both black (BK) and silver (SV) variants.

KJS2ALSLBBH: enhanced CNC machined lightweight anodised aluminium blowback unit

The original blowback unit in the Shadow 2, Part No. 15, is a single die cast piece, which is somewhat heavy at 28g, so Clarence has provided a 75% reduction in component weight with his 7g CNC machined aluminium equivalent which is in fact in two separate pieces which are then held together by the insertion of the replacement firing pin channel bolt Part No. 76. This allows for a much lighter overall slide weight and thus reduced gas consumption and

a smoother and faster cycle time due to the lowered reciprocating mass involved, especially in conjunction with the optimised magic recoil spring and magazine feed lips. He’s also given me his re-contoured rubber piston seal unit that fits on the front of this unit and provides a better seal effect due to its more complicated front geometry where the gas impinges upon it during firing.

KJS2INB: CLPD A+ Studio 6.01mm inner barrel and HOP rubber

One of the easiest and most immediately effective upgrades to basically any airsoft gun is the HOP and internal barrel, and in conjunction with A+ Studio, a well-known name in Taiwan whose HOP units and rubbers are well regarded here and also used by the likes of Archwick and other high end manufacturers in their own OEM products, the 6.01mm tightbore brass inner barrel and the A+ revolution HOP rubber are undoubtedly going to improve your range and consistency, judging by the use of similar components in the CLPD 10/22 and Archwick L119A2 GBBRs I’ve experienced. I will of course do further more in depth gun science tests over the long term comparing the

stock barrel and HOP rubber with and the CLPD/ A+ setup with with both standard BLS and CLPD Bushido rounds for comparison, but this should certainly be high on your priority list for easy and early upgrades should you run a Shadow 2 competitively.

KJS2CUK: CLPD magic recoil spring

To further improve gas efficiency and cycle speed of the top slide in general, Clarence has redesigned the main recoil spring to use a progressive or noncontinuous pitch of spring along with a different softer overall rating to allow for lesser force to push the top slide rearwards and cycle the action, improving efficiency and cycle time for faster double taps - however please note that this MUST be used in conjunction with his hand polished OEM feed lip units to allow proper function as these have a lower resistance to rounds feeding from them.

KJS2HPML: CLPD hand polished OEM magazine feed lip units

In conjunction with the softened magic recoil spring, Clarence has given me enough of his hand polished OEM feed lips to replace all of my 8 magazine’s original Part No. 34, which have noticeably widened front apertures where the BBs feed from during the loading cycle - this increased opening drastically reduces the friction and resistance to feeding and thus allows a weaker recoil spring to overcome such resistance and thus allow for higher gas efficiency.

KJS2BPAD: CLPD CNC machined 7075 aluminium anodised magazine baseplates

One of the most common and irksome failings of the Shadow 2, particularly in a competition and training setting is the magazine baseplates or ‘bumpers’, Part No. 37, which are fitted to the bottom of the magazines and are retained by Part No. 38 in the bottom of the magazine’s ammunition channel and have a tendency to fly off or break all too readily when they are dropped on the floor during rapid reloading, thankfully Clarence has come up with anodised alloy replacements that are not only retained positively by a grub screw that locks into the magazine feed channel, but also have a much better geometry and texture with slide serration style ridges that allow for easier handling during reloading, which are available in black (BK), silver (SV), red (RD), gold (GD) and purple (PP).

KJS2ALMB: CLPD CNC machined 7075 aluminium anodised magazine release button

Along with the base plates and slide stop/release Clarence also has replacement magazine release buttons, in anodised aluminium available in black (BK), silver (SV), gold (GD) and purple (PP) - while these are primarily aesthetic and just a replacement for the original Part No. 145 they nonetheless add a finishing touch along with the other coloured control components.

KJS2ALGRP: CLPD CNC machined 7075 aluminium grip panels

As with the magazine release button, the grip side panels are largely an aesthetic choice but do provide a further personalisation to your competition gun - personally I went with the purple finish for these and the magazine release button and baseplates although I have always liked the original electric blue of the side panels - Parts No. 30 & 31.

KJS2FFS: CNC machined 7075 aluminium front sight blade with 1mm fibre insert

A final functional addition to the KJ Shadow 2 is the replacement front sight blade and insert, which replaces the original Part No. 84 and 84-1 which actually has a narrower 1mm fibre collimator insert provided, with both pink and yellow-green inserts provided to allow the user to fit and crop their preferred colour upon installation. This improves the aiming capability of the Shadow 2 by using a finer but more visible front dot on the front sight post.

BUSH: CLPD Bushido Master Grade BBs

One final but readily transferable upgrade to the Shadow 2, or in fact any of your airsoft guns is what you feed it - Clarence has released a whole range of Bushido master grade BB rounds of various weights - 0.20g, 0.30g, standard types, 0.32g, 0.40g bio BBs, and 0.20g and 0.25g tracer BBs there’s something for every end user, personally I standardised the vast majority of my guns on 0.3g as I can get BLS white, black and tracer in the same weight, so I acquired some sample packs of CLPD Bushido in 0.3g for a direct comparison, these all have a much tighter of 5.95mm +/- 0.01mm tolerances allowing for much better consistency.

BACK IN THE GROOVE

So with all of these components made available to me as Clarence was developing and releasing them I finally found time where I didn’t need my Shadow 2 for competitions and could detail strip it on camera to produce my own maintenance video before sending the frame, slide, rear sight block and all eight magazine bodies for shot blasting and cleanup as well as Cerakote refinishing in matte black thanks to KIC Airsoft where I tend to buy the majority of my guns and components these days.

With the external finish redone to a very nice degree and all the required upgrade internal and external components from CLPD I set to work reassembling my own gun on camera to produce detail reassembly videos for my channel, and will soon be back to regular practise with my IPSC team following a few injuries and having to move place and workplace over the last few months; I’m very much looking forward to fielding it again and getting back into the swing of things.

I’d like to sincerely thank Clarence for not only taking on board all my concerns, ideas and experiences of using the Shadow 2, but also furnishing me with so many of his excellent upgrade components for trial and evaluation, as well as KIC Airsoft for supplying my gun and magazines in the first place but also refinishing them to such a great standard after well over a year of utter abuse in my competition exploits. Feel free to visit them at https:// kicbbgun.com.tw/; KIC are also the local dealership of CLPD parts, as well as selling internationally, but for a local supplier local to yourselves please check https:// clprojectdesign.com/ for dealers. AA