RED CELL GAS GODS

IT’S ABSOLUTELY TRUE THAT AIRSOFT IS STILL DOMINATED BY THE AEG, AND IT’S COMMONLY KNOWN THAT GAS RIFLES AND CARBINES ARE EXPENSIVE, TRICKY TO MAINTAIN AND COAX THE BEST PERFORMANCE FROM, AND OFFER LIMITED AMMO CAPACITY, SO WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU WANT TO RUN ONE AS YOUR PRIMARY? THE RED CELL CREW HAVE TWENTY GOOD REASONS, GBBRS THAT HAVE BEEN TRIED, TESTED, AND FOUND WORTHY, AND THIS MONTH THEY SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS ON THEM!

to get any real performance from, and that they don’t perform when the temperatures plummet, and that now “HPA is king”.

Once upon a time I may have agreed with them, and even I have to admit that there are huge benefits from the latest HPA systems; the old systems that were first available certainly had their “moments”!

Let’s not forget that once upon a time “gas guns” and springers were IT though… until in the 1990s along came Tokyo Marui with their commercial electric gearbox, and the rest, as they say, is history.

GBBRs strode off into the wilderness for a LONG time, but thankfully like the prodigal son they returned to our world (in truth they never REALLY went away), and, as I’ve written many times before, they are now a viable airsoft tool. Not only have the platforms and their magazines evolved and improved, but the very essence of the GBBR, the gas that drives them, has also got better and better, and the understanding of different gaseous properties and how this affects performance is more thoroughly understood than ever before.

But as I’ve also said before, players have also gained understanding that running a GBBR is mostly not an individual, lone-wolf choice (although many “gas snipers” will do so, but that’s another story entirely!), but truly as a team one, and you REALLY need to pay attention to cover and concealment, along with your fieldcraft, skills and drills, accuracy, and above all teamwork! Yes, you CAN run a GBBR on your own given their range and consistency once dialled in, but it’s going to be a whole lot more fun if you do it as a team that has trained hard together and is truly cohesive and effective in game!

shut up now and give them their voice!

Boycie: When I got one of the first LM4D’s into

But for many that’s what airsoft is all about, right, and who doesn’t love that moment in a game when ammo runs low and you need to pull something amazing? Just remember to make sure that your team magazines are compatible, just sayin’…

Team Talk

So, let’s get into the meat of things, and as always RED CELL have picked models that they have been using regularly and know intimately to update on… I’ll

LM4D, for me, was the best GBBR at the time and I quickly started playing with different accessories to include tactical illuminators, lasers (not my favourite thing) and also things like rail covers, flash hiders and sight units. I got out to use the LM4D a few times and then unfortunately work and family life meant that I ultimately had to “mothball” the rifle. Not long after starting work at a local range, one of my colleagues expressed interest in it and so the rifle found its way into a new owners hands... but I still see it regularly and it’s still strong going after approaching four years.

Ben: The WE M4A1; so I think the perfect way to start this off is by saying WE is very much like Marmite to the airsoft community, you either love it or you hate it! Me, I like WE overall but it really comes down box, and in with the new. The other common fault is the wear on the bolt and bolt release catch; now issues which in my opinion is exactly why I see the WE M4A1 as that middle class level; the hop grubscrew is in the most annoying place above the mouth of the barrel which just makes it awkward to get to especially if you’re having to do some in-thefield-hop adjustments. However, if you spend some time setting your hop sensibly then this is less of a problem, you just have to take into account the day with uncontrollable conditions like the weather and its effects on your platforms performance, Trigger box parts with WE M4A1 are also known to wear out fairy quickly, but this is an easy fix as it’s as simple as out with two screws, pull out the trigger regimen after each game. The only changes I’ve made to mine have been to change the pistol grip (one bolt) to a STORM model, and to install a full-length rail, and I run it simply with an EoTECH up top.

WE’s gas system really came into its own with the M4A1 in my opinion, especially when they released their open bolt technology; this particular model came with the open bolt system pre-installed. The M4A1 is a full metal and polymer carbine, and it feels very solid and robust. The build needs to be utterly solids as unlike AEGs the receivers are built to contain the real mechanical forces of a fully functional bolt and are not just there to hold a gearbox. The finish of all

“ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I REALLY LIKED WAS THE “DRY FIRE” FEATURE OF THE MAGAZINE. YOU COULD LOCK DOWN THE FOLLOWER SO THAT YOU COULD STILL INSERT THE MAGAZINE AND FIRE THE RIFLE WITH THE BOLT MOVING BACK AND FORTH GIVING THE RECOIL FEEL WITH NO BB EXITING THE BARREL. THE LM4D, FOR ME, WAS THE BEST GBBR AT THE TIME”

Vfc Bcm Mcmr

Price: iro UK£600.00

Age: Three Years

Weight: 2142 g

Length: 710/790 mm

Magazine Capacity: 30

Cold Chrono: 1.28 Joule/372fps

Hot Chrono: 1.2 Joule/368fps

Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK

Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW

Supplied By: uk.redwolfairsoft.com

Ghk Urgi

Price: iro UK£700.00

Age: Three Years

Weight: 2750g

Length: 690/770mm

Magazine Capacity: 30

Cold Chrono: 1.34 Joule/381fps

Hot Chrono: 1.31 Joule/377fps

Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK

Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.iwholesales.co.uk

Vfc Sr16

Price: iro UK£360.00

Age: Five Years

Weight: 2740g

Length: 758/870 mm

Magazine Capacity: 30

Cold Chrono: 1.24 Joule/367fps

Hot Chrono: 1.18 Joule/358fps

Taclite Compatibility: Picatinny

Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW

Supplied By: uk.redwolfairsoft.com

We M4a1

Price: iro UK£350.00

Age: Nine Years

Weight: 3050g

Length: 768/850mm

Magazine Capacity: 30

Cold Chrono: 1.16 Joule/354fps

Hot Chrono: 1.13 Joule/349fps

Taclite Compatibility: Picatinny

Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.nuprol.com

Kwa Lm4

Price: iro UK£450.00

Age: Four Years

Weight: 3260g

Length: 730/815mm

Magazine Capacity: 40

Cold Chrono: 1.17 Joule/356fps

Hot Chrono: 1.04 Joule/336fps

Taclite Compatibility: Picatinny

Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW

Supplied By: store.kwausa.com parts throughout is very nice indeed; with a mixture of matte black and grey metal and well finished black plastic in the pistol grip and “LE” style sliding stock the carbine really stands out from the crowd.

At 10m this thing drills holes in a target like you’re hitting it with a laser as 10mm groups are achievable from a supported position. This widens out slightly when firing unsupported but is more than adequate. At 30m it’s possible to hit a sandbag unerringly and I know now that the M4A1 can reach out even further… on semi-auto the trigger is still nice and crisp on mine, and switching up to full chat sends BBs downrange with a satisfying little thump in the shoulder.

Stewbacca: The VFC Cybergun-licensed Colt M733 GBBR was my first introduction to their AR platform aside from briefly dabbling with teammate’s HK416s at game days. Unusually, I didn’t buy the review copy at the time two years ago when I covered it in ISSUE 139 as I couldn’t really justify it to myself at the time due to my gun wall space and financial situation. Fast forward two years, however, and I decided to revisit it and buy myself an M733 from VPSC after I got the M16A1 and already had the FNC and T91 SOC on hand, especially once Ning joined our team as she likes the AR platform and the M16A1, but is a much more petite player than me, so I found it as an excuse to purchase the M733 I always wished I had. As with the M16A2, the more recent batches seem to have solved the sear geometry binding issues of the example I reviewed, as well as softening the handguard retainer spring, nonetheless the performance and HOP unit adjustment and consistency out of the box is just as good as it was when I first encountered the M733 for the first time.

I still maintain it is one of the most fun rifles I’ve ever run, because it is so easy to wield, lightweight and short with the front end, receiver and buttstock basically being equally proportioned and the performance matches the longer variants despite the slightly shorter 275mm inner barrel - it still throws rounds out and hits the wall 70m away at our Sanzhi abandoned tile factory site, and similarly it was taking names at our Yangmei CQB site as well. With the carry handle mounted picatinny rail and an Aimpoint M2 or M3 replica on top it’s just the epitome of the

“DO I RECOMMEND THE WE M4A1....YES! FOR THOSE THAT WANT TO GET INTO GBBRS AND HAVE THAT TINKERING EXPERIENCE WITH A LITTLE PROBLEM-SOLVING AND UPGRADING LEARNING CURVE THROWN IN THEN THIS IS THE PLATFORM FOR YOU”

VFC VR16 CQB II (MK18)

Price: iro UK£365.00

Age: Four Years

Weight: 2500g

Length: 696/777mm

Magazine Capacity: 30

Cold Chrono: 1.01 Joule/330fps

Hot Chrono: 0.92 Joule/315fps

Taclite Compatibility: 14mm CCW

Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW

Supplied By: uk.redwolfairsoft.com

Golden Eagle Mc6595m

Price: iro UK£170.00

Age: Three Years

Weight: 2700g

Length: 720/800 mm

Magazine Capacity: 50

Cold Chrono: 0.48 Joule/228fps

Hot Chrono: 0.43 Joule/216fps

Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK

Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.allagesairsoft.com

S&T M4 KEYMOD 13”

Price: iro UK£185.00

Age: Three Years

Weight: 2600g

Length: 770/850 mm

Magazine Capacity:50

Cold Chrono: 0.62 Joule/259fps

Hot Chrono: 0.57 Joule/248fps

Taclite Compatibility: KeyMod

Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.nuprol.com

Tokyo Marui M4a1 Mws

Price: iro UK£420.00

Age: Nine Years

Weight: 3470g

Length: 777/854 mm

Magazine Capacity: 35

Cold Chrono: 0.89 Joule/310 fps

Hot Chrono: 1.06 Joule/339 fps

Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail System

Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.fire-support.co.uk

VFC VR16 URG-I 14.5”

Price: iro UK£420.00

Age: Three Years

Weight: 3050g

Length: 823/903 mm

Magazine Capacity: 30

Cold Chrono: 1.29 Joule/374fps

Hot Chrono: 1.20 Joule/361fps

Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail

Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.vegaforce.com rear end, but I’m happy enough with the standard telescopic butt stock myself, although as always I haven’t made much use of the three round burst or full auto… it’s nice to have to surprise people with or get people interested in GBBRs more!

The optics setup I have on mine now is a plain T2 style clone red dot on a unity riser with the unity fold to centre arm and a clone Eotech G33 magnifier; in theory this is an ideal setup, and I have used it effectively at Yangmei CQB on typical game days. However, if you read my article regarding the PengHu islands MilSim I went on, the stacking of so many lenses and protectors coupled with the dire wet and humid weather at that event made it very combat ineffective with fogging of the replica G33, which was a bit disappointing; I have another one lying around so I might switch out magnifiers and see if it’s just a QC issue on that one example. Nonetheless the rifle itself has been flawless thus far, enduring our tactical shooting training day at Pewniversity, as well as numerous outings on regular game days. I usually carry it or the M733 as a backup gun now with the shared VFC AR mag ecosystem meaning I can have a backup gun without a whole separate support system in terms of different magazines.

The RATech Noveske N4 10.5” hasn’t seen anywhere near as much use as I would like, given the sheer number of awesome products I’ve had to review and add to my gun walls this last year or two. However I know I can still always rely on it when I need something that will just run like a sewing machine and have the absolute best performance when called upon! I’ve used it a few times at Pewniversity since my last check in about it, and it never disappointed in terms of loud heavy recoil funtimes and reaching out and slapping people at 50m or so with .48g BBs with ease. Similarly I gave it to our resident Irishman Colin when he joined us at Pewniversity for the tactical shooting training day; he hadn’t had any real experience of GBBRs and was toying with the idea of getting his own, and suffice to say he had lots of swear words for me afterwards, not only on how well the N4 had performed for him and how much he enjoyed it, but also how much he now hated me for being the typical enabler and deacon of the gas blowback life…

10M THIS THING DRILLS HOLES IN A TARGET LIKE YOU’RE HITTING IT WITH A LASER AS 10MM GROUPS ARE ACHIEVABLE FROM A SUPPORTED POSITION. THIS WIDENS OUT SLIGHTLY WHEN FIRING UNSUPPORTED BUT IS MORE THAN ADEQUATE. AT 30M IT’S POSSIBLE TO HIT A SANDBAG UNERRINGLY”

Tokyo Marui Mk18 Mod1 Mws

Price: iro UK£540.00

Age: One Year

Weight: 3210 g

Length: 715/790mm

Magazine Capacity: 35

Cold Chrono: 0.83 Joule/300fps

Hot Chrono: 0.87 Joule/306fps

Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail System

Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.allagesairsoft.com

G&G MGCR 10”

Price: iro UK£460.00

Age: New Weight: 3135g

Length: 730/773mm

Magazine Capacity: 30

Cold Chrono: 1.24 Joule/367fps

Hot Chrono: 1.27 Joule/371fps

Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK

Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.guay2.com

RATECH NOVESKE N4 10.5”

Price: iro UK£750.00

Age: One Year

Weight: 2500g

Length: 725/810mm

Magazine Capacity: 40

Cold Chrono: 1.5 Joule/403fps

Hot Chrono: 1.5 Joule/403fps

Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK

Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW

Supplied By: http://en.ratech.com.tw

We M4 Pcc

Price: iro UK£3380.00

Age: One Year

Weight: 4000g

Length: 768/850mm

Magazine Capacity: 45

Cold Chrono: 0.88 Joule/309 fps

Hot Chrono: 1.01 Joule/331fps

Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail System

Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.iwholesales.biz

King Arms Tws9

Price: iro UK£550.00

Age: One Year

Weight: 2111g

Length: 690mm/772mm

Magazine Capacity: 30

Cold Chrono: 1.01 Joule/331fps

Hot Chrono: 1.06 Joule/ 338fps

Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK

Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.airsoftworld.net majority of the competition; it’s definitely worth it to buy once and cry once in this aspect, and I can’t say enough good things about it.

Bill: Likewise for me “the one small god” in this batch has to be my VFC BCM MCMR! I just downright love this thing, both for its performance and its “Black

(albeit from gas and BBs in each magazine rather than bullets and propellant) like a real carbine for the same price I would love to hear about it!

The steel components include a full-travel CNC Bolt Carrier Assembly with a stronger steel bolt cam pin to mimic the “bolt carrier group (BCG)” of the real BCM, and licencing agreement with Bravo Company USA, Inc (BCM), and after thorough and extensive rangetesting this magnificent carbine has proved to be everything I’d hoped it would be… and more!

I absolutely adore a GBBR knowing that it’s gone through all the checks and balances pre-production, thorough torture-testing, design and re-design, and a carefully controlled manufacturing process before I part with any cash. I also like a properly licenced replica as I know then what I’m getting is going to be as close to the “real deal” as possible, and VFC are past masters at conforming to all of the aforementioned processes.

Overall the fit and finish of the GBB MCMR is superbly, gorgeously first rate, right down to the sharp and crisp trademarks, and I’d go so far as saying that it somehow just feels great, to me at least. Everything about this replica is utterly righteous, and just having it in your hands makes you feel that you’re holding something pretty darn special! So what, to me, makes the VFC replica of the MCMR “real”, and the answer is simple! If you can find a 6mm replica of a specific “AR” that is 100% exactly like its real world counterpart, that feels, can be adjusted, and operates something more akin to a real firearm in your hands rather than a 6mm version! There are many gas rifles and carbines out there now that “simulate” the real thing, and many of them are very, very expensive beasts; having now shot the MCMR on a sustained basis I can tell you that it will perform as well as the best.

Now of course there are many models that we haven’t commented on here, as obviously we only have so much space within the monthly magazine! However, by going to our BACK ISSUES section via the search function on the AA website you’ll be able to find each and every one in the list reviewed, and in some cases re-reviewed after time and use.

As we head towards the fundamental end-goal of the RED CELL PROGRAM I can say that thanks to certain manufacturers in recent years (VFC and VORSK, looking at you!) the GBBR agenda is stronger than it has ever been, and the models available to us will continue to grow in terms of both out and out “replicas” and new, innovative designs.

In my mind the future of GBBRs is set on a path of true excellence, and the time to own one is NOW! AA

Umarex Hk416 Gen Iii

Price: iro UK£600.00

Age: Three Years

Weight: 3100g

Length: 810mm/899 mm

Magazine Capacity: 30

Cold Chrono: 1.01 Joule/331fps

Hot Chrono: 1.06 Joule/ 338fps

Taclite Compatibility: Picatinny

Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.iwholesales.biz

DOUBLE EAGLE NOVESKE R4 10.5”

Price: iro UK£350.00

Age: Six Months

Weight: 2260g

Length: 705mm/790mm

Magazine Capacity: 30

Cold Chrono: 0.96 Joule/323fps

Hot Chrono: 1.02 Joule/ 332fps

Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK

Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.iwholesales.biz

Apfg Mcx Rattler

Price: iro UK£650.00

Age: One Year

Weight: 2800g

Length: 400mm (minus suppressor)/740 mm

Magazine Capacity: 30

Cold Chrono: 0.87 Joule/306fps (no suppressor)

Hot Chrono: 1.05 Joule/337fps (suppressor fitted)

Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK

Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.iwholesales.biz

Vfc M733

Price: iro UK£460.00

Age: Two Years

Weight: 2270g

Length: 685mm/770 mm

Magazine Capacity: 30

Cold Chrono: 1.04 Joule/335fps

Hot Chrono: 1.06 Joule/ 338fps

Taclite Compatibility: No, standard handguard

Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.vegaforce.com

Vfc T91 Soc

Price: iro UK£540.00

Age: Six Months

Weight: 2640g

Length: 800mm/880mm

Magazine Capacity: 30

Cold Chrono: 1.20 Joule/360fps

Hot Chrono: 1.21 Joule/ 362fps

Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK

Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.vegaforce.com

“THERE ARE MANY MODELS THAT WE HAVEN’T COMMENTED ON HERE… HOWEVER, BY GOING TO OUR BACK ISSUES SECTION VIA THE SEARCH FUNCTION ON THE AA WEBSITE YOU’LL BE ABLE TO FIND EACH AND EVERY ONE IN THE LIST REVIEWED, AND IN SOME CASES RE-REVIEWED AFTER TIME AND USE”