MODERNIZIRIVANNY LCT: PHASE 2!

LOOKING BACK TO THE NOT TOO DISTANT PAST TO ISSUE 160 STEWBACCA BROUGHT IN PHASE 1 AND HIS INITIAL THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCES USING THE LCT AIRSOFT ‘Z SERIES’ ZENITCO-THEMED ACCESSORIES FOR THEIR LCK PLATFORMS, SPECIFICALLY THEIR EXCELLENT LCK74MN MODERNISED AK IN THE 5.45MM FLAVOUR IN TERMS OF REAL-STEEL FOOTPRINT. GIVEN THE SHEER VARIETY OF COMPONENTS THEY SENT TO HIM WE KNEW THIS WOULD BE A LONGER TERM PROJECT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, AND NOW HE LANDS THE SECOND PHASE OF HIS TESTING AND THOUGHTS.

In my initial review I mentioned the issues I’d been having with reloading under stress as a result of the potential to over-insert the magazines at an angle and catch the lower lip of the front of the magazine’s top ends; as it happens I was informed of a solution on the part of our own man in the US

- Dan - who told me of the already available insert component Part No. PK170, which is a simple fix to properly align the top edge of the magazine during insertion to make the whole loading process a lot more repeatable and smooth.

Bella was good enough to immediately send me one of these upon my request, along with a pair of magazine clamps to provide an alternative ammunition organisation option as well.

To my mind it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make this a standard included component to alleviate any such issues with the AK platform, although I’m not sure if it has any adverse consequences in terms of magazine compatibility with any other existing products, but it’s a very easy installation which just snaps into place with its stamped steel sheet construction and integrated front lip which that latches into the barrel trunnion area around the HOP unit and feed tube and then snaps in at its rear end.

As for the magazine clamps, I initially tried to install them onto my two magazines side by side facing the same way, and while they fit together perfectly like this, at the time of testing at home I didn’t realise the

DIDN’T REALISE THE FACT THAT WHEN SWITCHING THEM OVER FROM HAVING THE RIGHT HAND MAGAZINE IN THE GUN TO MAKE USE OF THE LEFT, THE NOW OUTSIDE RIGHT MAGAZINE WOULD ACTUALLY PUSH UP THE FIRE SELECTOR LEVER FROM THE SEMI AUTO SETTING TO FULL AUTO…” fact that when switching them over from having the right hand magazine in the gun to make use of the left, the now outside right magazine would actually push up the fire selector lever from the semi auto setting to full auto… which I of course had to go and find out right in the middle of an intense game where we were holding a ridgeline! After reloading I realised I was stuck in auto, so had to reload the right magazine instead given our semi-auto-only game rules, bad drills on my part!

Back at the safezone area I decided to try and fix the issue by raising the left hand magazine within the clamps so that the right one would sit lower after reloading and clear the fire selector. However then I had the problem of the left hand magazine then interfering with the sight mounting shoe on the left of the receiver. D’oh. So, the upshot is, if you want to use the standard magazine clamps (Part No. PK300) you have to put your magazines ‘top-to-tail’ so that the feed ends face away from each other, and rotate the set around vertically during reloading. In the UK using my previous AEG AK102, I taped my magazine pairs together with a foam spacer to ensure they sat far enough apart to keep clear of the fire selector lever but also allow them to be attached in the same orientation for rapid reloads by just shifting sidewards. If you don’t want to have to flip your mags, then maybe a traditional homemade ‘jungle’ or ‘W-Mag’ configuration is perhaps a more flexible option; I used to just tape the bottom end couple of inches so that the main body could be clear to insert one side into magazine pouches and use one pouch to hold each pair, otherwise separate mags might just be easier, using them with the feed facing down is not ideal in outdoor/ dirty environs.

Sticking with the subject of magazines and reloading, I’ve really been enjoying using the PK343 extended magazine release component which not only has the elongated vertical release lever behind the magazine, but also features the extended horizontal paddles either side of the trigger guard which makes it very easy to release the magazine with your trigger finger while grabbing it with your support hand allowing for less overall movement. That said the only drawback I’ve found is that the cross pin it rotates on sticks out either side and somewhat prevents easy installation of the screws used to retain it, forcing you to use the thin allen keys at a bit of an angle that tends to cause cross threading or angled insertion of the screws. The screws are also a bit prone to stripping their hex socket heads too; while I’m changing things

REALLY BEEN ENJOYING USING THE PK343 EXTENDED MAGAZINE RELEASE COMPONENT WHICH NOT ONLY HAS THE ELONGATED VERTICAL RELEASE LEVER BEHIND THE MAGAZINE, BUT ALSO FEATURES THE EXTENDED HORIZONTAL PADDLES EITHER SIDE OF THE TRIGGER GUARD” around a lot for the purposes of testing and do have spare fasteners, I’d advise caution and install it yourself very carefully or use some manner of short or ratcheting fashion of driver to install the screws without the angling or cross threading.

WHAT’S IN STOCK?

In my initial review I didn’t get around to switching out any of the butt stocks from the original side folding ‘solid’ variant supplied with the LCK74MN, and some of the reason for this was the sheer difficulty I had in trying to remove it!

Despite watching the youtube video on LCT’s channel (one of many very helpful instructional videos, easily accessed via the numerous QR codes among their literature that take your phone right to the videos) I just could not hammer the retaining pin out of the receiver and stock connection. Bella was good enough to rush out their own specialist tool for just this job, the “C32 utility buttstock replacement tool” which is formed from fibre reinforced nylon and has four shaped bays in it to accept a wealth of LCT & GHK AK or VAL platforms; this allows you to remove your receiver top cover and faux bolt return spring and rod that it rides on, then insert it upside down into the appropriate bay; be mindful to keep the wiring loom clear of the retaining walls when inserting it.

Then it’s simply a case of using a pin punch and knocking out the retainer pin which will be captured in the corresponding vertical cutout in the tool.

At least it should be that easy, but despite having everything as it should be I just could not shift the retaining pin in my example; the stock had never properly closed and latched fully from the outset, so the pin or related retaining stamping on the stock itself must have been slightly out of spec as it was very tight and wouldn’t allow the stock to align exactly right in the open or closed position.

Eventually I resorted to drilling it from both ends with a pillar drill to alleviate the annular stress on it, which allowed me to finally beat it out!

“FIRST UP WAS THE VERY COOL LOOKING PT-1 TELESCOPIC SKELETONISED FOLDING STOCK (PART NO. ZPT-1, WEIGHT: 505G) WHICH IS CRAFTED FROM 6061 ALUMINIUM AND ALLOWS THE USER TO ADJUST THE OVERALL LENGTH OF PULL BETWEEN 180280MM BY VIRTUE OF THE FLIP-UP LOCKING LEVER”

The replacement pins included with the other stocks thankfully work fine, but I’ll be sending the stock and original pin back to LCT for further assessment; again, it’s unusual for me to encounter any quality control issues, but they will no doubt look into it based upon my feedback.

With that finally resolved, I managed to easily switch between two of the four additional stocks they supplied during this phase of testing.

First up was the very cool looking PT-1 telescopic skeletonised folding stock (Part No. ZPT-1, weight: it home.

Similarly the very comfortable moulded rubberised plastic cheek piece also offers a great deal of adjustment, with three countersunk bolts sitting in one of six provided levels; loosened off with a 3mm hex allows the user to remove them far enough to shift the cheek piece up or down into other adjoining countersink cuts which overlap at 5mm intervals allowing the user to choose the appropriate height offset for their preferred sighting system.

It arrived with me at the second lowest setting once set. The array of small holes in the non-moving portion’s spine are spaced at 5mm centres allowing twenty different positive positions to lock it in along its range of motion; you can hear the ratcheting mechanism soft-locking into each position as you unlock and extend it, before settling on a decided length and using the full locking lever to seat easily attach a sling that can run around to either side of the buttstock in a minimal-fuss-manner allowing for easier shoulder transitions without as much tangling.

One last note on this stock is to again ensure you understand how to install it properly; please watch the appropriate videos on LCT’s youtube channel via the

YOU UNDERSTAND HOW TO INSTALL IT PROPERLY; PLEASE WATCH THE APPROPRIATE VIDEOS ON LCT’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL VIA THE QR CODES ON THE LITERATURE AS THERE IS A SPRING LOADED RETENTION BUTTON ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE STOCK TANG WHICH MUST BE DEALT WITH”

QR codes on the literature as there is a spring loaded retention button on the underside of the stock tang which must be dealt with to allow the stock to fold without causing damage.

The whole thing is excellently constructed, with minimal wobble or rattle despite its wide array of adjustment, and really looks the part with its herringbone cutouts and black finish.

The other stock I tried out was the AK12 AR tube style adaptor tube (Part No. PK340; 380g) and K16 telescopic plastic stock (Part No. PK353, 306g) which gives the user the opportunity for a familiar AR pattern stock with the tube itself sporting four separate locking holes in the protrusion underneath, each spaced apart around 20mm.

The K16 stock slides over and latches on very positively the flapper lever allows the user to unlock and adjust the stock before it automatically latches into the nearest hole under spring pressure. To initially install the stock itself onto the tube, you need to unhook the two front end loops of the flapper from the stock tube and then reposition the flapper’s loops afterwards for normal use.

The body of the K16 is comprised of very sturdy and comfortable to handle ABS plastic along with steel components for the moving parts. It includes a QD sling mounting insert which has retention cutouts accessible on both sides and works really well with standard spec QD units; the only thing to be aware of is that although they are ‘freewheel’ inserts rather than having lands in the detents to allow limited rotation, the sling loop I used interfered with the front end loops of the adjustment lever anyway, so it prevents the sling loop rotating more than 180 degrees anyway.

The rubberised butt pad can also be removed by pulling forward the retention slider in the front lower face of the stock body, which has a helpful finger cutout beneath it to allow you to pull it forward; you can then slide the buttpad up or down off its retainer dovetail to access the open rear of the stock body.

There is naturally a little bit of play in the whole setup, with the tube to receiver joint and tube to stock interface leaving a little wobble but this is fairly par for the course on many AR styled plastic over metal tube constructions.The receiver mount itself does feature a 2mm hex actuated grub screw which allows you to really drive the tension in of the stationary part of the hinge once it’s installed. To close the stock, simply pull the moving part of the hinge downwards and swing the body of the stock out left and back in towards the right, the standard stock release button on the left of the stock still enables

Getting To Grips

I also took the opportunity to swap out the pistol grip from the standard variant to the very cool looking (and to the touch, due to its 6061 aluminium construction) ZRK-3 ergonomic pistol grip (140g). This not only adds a great aesthetic with its slab sided construction and ‘golf ball’ dimpled side grip panels, but also has finger grooves on the front that are perfect for my bear mitts at least; this is easily switched out by unscrewing the large flat head bolt on the underside that attaches the grip to the motor cage of the gearbox inside.

In addition I mounted the longer variant of the foregrip (Part No. ZRK1, 165g) which again is made from 6061 aluminium and is long enough for me to get a full hand hold on it for a more traditional vertical grip, rather than the short grip’s C-Clamp style usage; installed further out along the front picatinny rail so that it’s well clear of the magazines when reloading, it’s very rigidly installed over the rail with two 2.5mm hex head bolts that clamp it solidly, as well as having a base plate which can be unscrewed to allow access to the small storage space inside.

leaf retaining slot to attach it with a cross bolt allowing you to fit a red dot or other small sight reasonably far forwards. It took a bit of cajoling into place, and you need to be aware of which part of the slotted hole the cross bolt is sitting in, and also ensure it is tight enough to avoid it loosening off and messing with your zero once installed.

If you plan on using it as a permanent replacement I’d suggest a dab of threadlocker to make sure it doesn’t come loose, I think some form of packing shim to sit under the front end of the rail to prevent it levering upwards unwantedly, really locking it down will make it a great solution, It’s possibly my favourite sighting set up yet, with a T1 style replica red dot mounted, it gives you a great snap shooting solution for short to medium ranges and CQB use, without causing any woes in terms of changing battery under the rear cover or sighting issues as with the earlier side shoe mounted scope rail or replacement rear receiver cover with integral rail. It also allows you to maintain more situational awareness than eyeballing through an ACOG or other magnified scope if you tend to play in closer range encounters or places with more avenues for you to get flanked.

The final switch I made was to remove the rear sight leaf (and its flat spring which has to be unseated and pulled out rearwards) to install the stub Picatinny rear rail (Part No. PK218; 42g) which uses the sight

So, that’s my experience of this next set of components I’ve been working through. I still have another two different butt stocks to try out, as well as some other handguards and small tweak components for comfort factors but I’ll have at least another article of testing, and perhaps a final preferred setup rundown of what I like best and a recap on why before the end of the year.

As always, many thanks to Bella and the wider LCT Airsoft team for supporting my experiences of their products. AA