9 minute read
RELOADED: ICS MK18
A DEFINITE KEEPER
IT REALLY SEEMS THAT WE’VE BEEN SPOILED FOR CHOICE WHEN IT COMES TO MK18 CQBR VARIANTS, AND BOTH RED CELL AND THE LEGION MEMBERS HAVE BEEN LOVING EACH AND EVERY ONE! BILL LOOKED AT THE NEW, BANG-UP-TO-THE-MINUTE MK18 AEG FROM ICS IN ISSUE 141, AND NOW JIMMY HAS JOINED HIM IN OWNING ONE! FOUR MONTHS INTO CONTINUED TESTING AND IN-GAME USE, WHAT DO THE BOYS HAVE TO TELL US?
BILL’S TAKE
Wow! If you’re a lover of the MK18 CQBR as a platform then the last couple of years will have made you every bit as happy as me! We’ve seen some fabulous takes in both AEG and GBBR form from some very god manufacturers all working under the auspices of the EMG Daniel Defense Licence, and all of them have been top-notch!
However, this year has ended on a high point for both Jimmy and I as we are both now proud owners of the ICS Mk18 AEG version, and what a beauty this carbine is! It is beyond doubt that ICS make some of the finest, high-performance AEGs out there and I’ve been a fan for many, many years. Okay, like all manufacturers they have made the occasional misstep and I’d be less than honest if I didn’t say this, but overall their AEGs have always delighted me, and again if I’m honest I’ve had a fair few of them in the armoury during my long association with airsoft.
To re-iterate from my initial review, ICS have collaborated with EMG ARMS in the USA, and the ICS DD MK18 has been created under the EMG Daniel Defense Licence and as such is 100% fully-branded, and I do mean FULLY, even down to the correct font in the trademarks and the DD logo on the mockBCG. Everything is where it should be on both the upper and lower receivers and 9.55” RIS II rail, right down to the NSN numbers, and along with these the overall finish of the AEG is just splendid, replicating the “chocolate tan” of the receivers and furniture that I was so taken with when I first saw it on the real models, and the “SF Bronze” of the rail is impeccable.
And after some pretty intense use the finish has stayed absolutely perfect; I can see some points where I’ve “barricaded” it showing the odd mark here or there, but nothing significant, and the finish is obviously durable enough to stand up to hard, regular use… knowing airsofters this is a must! I’ve not done anything too fancy with my Mk18 as frankly it looks good enough as new just to add your favourite accessories, and it’s ready for duty.
I’ve fitted just a few things that I like, namely a NUPROL NPQ15 LIGHT/LASER BOX (PEQ-15) that offers all the functions I need, an NP NX600S
PHOTO COURTESY KRIOS PHOTOGRAPHY
WEAPON LIGHT, a replica XPS holosight, shorty foregrip and some ladder rail covers. This to me is a functional, tried and very-much-tested setup that I run on all my Mk18s, and the only thing that I’d add to the mix is a NUPROL “SF-style” tracer unit for lo-light/ night games.
Jimmy is going to talk more about internals shortly, so I’ll cut straight to the chase… in terms of performance I wasn’t sure what to expect straight from the box, but I was genuinely pleased when I first set up on the range. The model I received came in at 1.03 Joule/334fps and this has remained pretty constant so far. As I’m a midcap player I have been using N-MAG 30/125 models and these have fed flawlessly throughout testing and use which now totals some 3,700 BBs. I’m happily hitting the small steels out to 70m-plus consistently on .30g. As I prefer to shoot on semi-auto the ROF, although exactly where claimed, is of little interest to me, but the trigger response is indeed crisp… SUPER crisp!
I concluded when I looked at this new Mk18 that “I have to commend ICS for once again for creating something that sings to me in every way possible… this is one AEG that you will most definitely want to own. If you’re in the market for a new AEG generally though, then I would certainly take a very good look at the ICS DD MK18; if this is the shape of things to come from ICS in the future then I’m super-excited to see what they come up with next!”
My opinion HAS NOT changed, the ICS Mk18 is 100% a keeper!
JIMMY’S TAKE
You may remember some of my previous reviews on the latest and greatest to come from the awesome people at ICS… and it doesn’t stop getting better! Back in August I had the immense pleasure to join Bill on site at the UK National Airsoft Festival and I took with me what I feel is the nicest MK18 on the market.
Yes, a fully licenced Daniel Defense MK18 from ICS and licenced by EMG. I bagged the battleship grey version and DAAAAMN it is a very sexy rifle; it replicates almost identically its real counterpart. Having had time to put it through its paces and get up close and pretty intimate with it I can honestly say it is perfection, and I can only find one small thing to question, the magazine; they made a STANAG design mag whereas I feel it would so much better with something more modern, but that said, the supplied mag does its job well, so looks aren’t always everything.
This is truly an out of the box high performing rifle sporting premium quality, reliable parts, and has a rapid response thanks to the SSSIII trigger system and the high quality evolution motor; with reinforced MasterMod internals to ensure longevity, everything is nestled nice and neat in the now-iconic split gearbox which from a techs standpoint is a joy to work on.
Depending on your velocity (different models for a global market!) you can choose between 7.4v or 11.1v batteries and there is plenty of room in the butt stock with an easy access butt pad; just pull and twist it’s as easy as that. The battery you choose is entirely up to the user ultimately but ICS recommend up to 360fps use a 7.4v, and over 360fps use an 11.1v; I personally have been using a 15c 1300mah 11.1v with no problems at all.
Looking at the externals they are flawless and offer some nice little features in the way of trades. DD trades, a serial number on the handguard, and this also offers four complete rail sections, plenty of real estate for a plethora of attachments. Another thought they have taken with the rail sections is smoothing the edges unlike some which can be quite sharp to the touch. The upper receiver has been etched with a bullet logo containing the calibre of the real counterpart 5.56 and toward the rear an etched MK18 just to let everyone know you have good taste.
PHOTO COURTESY KRIOS PHOTOGRAPHY
The lower receiver has been deeply engraved with the full Daniel Defense logo. Sadly there’s no ambi selector for mag release but then I am a righty so nothing wrong there (sorry lefties). The dual tone grip has a perfect angle of dangle and is semi-coated in rubber which is bears the EMG logo.
Moving rearward there’s a full metal five point buffer tube which houses the wiring in the under tray, allowing for oodles of room in the tube for batteries. A polymer stock with rubber cheek pad again bearing the EMG logo is a nice touch and has minimal wobble on the buffer tube (no one likes a wobbly stock!).
Performance-wise I can’t fault it and for an out of the box AEG it will supersede most others on the market, pushing BBs out easily to around 70m, and very effective at 50mtrs all thanks to the fine tunability of the rotary hop unit, 6.03mm barrel and the MasterMods CNC brass tension nub which will lift 0.30g beebs with ease. Semi-auto response is instant thanks to a short trigger pull and great electronics and follow up shots are lightning fast; this is due to pre-cock so that after the first shot the piston sits fully pre-cocked. This is where the piston sits fully rearward laying in a state of readiness just waiting to slam forward sending the next BB out toward your opponents.
Once finished ICS have a nifty little feature; the spring tension release. By doing this you disengage the pre-cock, alleviating any pressure on the spring and piston as a spring that is sat under tension can in fact lose power meaning a drop in velocity. If your opponent isn’t calling hits you can quickly flick to full auto and give them a short burst, and on an 11.1v the MK18 will send around 20rps which is very acceptable in my opinion. After a quick burst I’m certain the player on the receiving end will call their hits after that! If you are in the market for a premium platform I seriously recommend you give ICS a thought you honestly cannot go wrong and will not regret it.
Our sincere thanks as always go to the lovely team at www.icsbb.com for providing the Mk18 AEGs as early as they did for Airsoft Action, and it is genuinely a pleasure to work with people that have such a passion for airsoft! Thanks also to AA LEGION ASSOCIATE Josh from www.kriosphotography.com for working with us on this article, and we’re looking forward to working with him more in 2023!
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this RELOADED sequence as next month Jimmy and Bill will be looking at the VORSK HI CAPA models they chose to run alongside their ICS Mk18s, as there’s a few very good reasons why they did! AA
