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Meatball's Featured Reviews |
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Airsoft Core |
By Meatball
Published: June 10, 2005
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This is the G&G GR-16a2 marking G&G’s entry into AEG production and the Colt series making it now five major manufacturers making the Colt series; Tokyo Marui, ICS, Classic Army, G&G, G&P. I hope to be able to get all of these reviewed on the site, as I know it will pose a very difficult decision for anyone looking to get a colt series gun as they all have their little problems and advantages. Above would be my G&G GR-16a2 with a few things added on. They include a weaver rail screwed into the hand guard, a bipod, a Rico Alpha 9 Tactical Light, and a laser on the carry handle. None of these will come with the G&G GR-16a2 as you will only receive the gun in all metal and a G&G 450 round hi-capacity magazine. Both the flashlight and gun itself came from Redwolf and this was my first time working with them, and I reccomend them for all the help that they gave me.
The Look
Right now I only have the Tokyo Marui M16a2 to compare to this gun and considering Tokyo Marui is the standard choice for nearly all airsofters, it is a good model to compare it to. In terms of looks, this gun is hands down better than the Marui. I have yet to see a Colt gun that had a better look than this one as the metal body, hand guards, and stock all look perfectly together. They have the trademarks painted in with white paint to make the metal body really sharp. Now I am not saying that other Colt guns are not very good looking and some may match this gun in looks, but this gun looks about as good as it gets. The big difference between the G&G and Tokyo Marui is that the Marui’s plastic does not come off as real as it is almost shiny at times. The G&G on the other hand has a more realistic (in material) body and hand guards, giving them a better duller look to them as can be seen in the image below:
G&G (top) has a more realistic “dull” kind of look to it while the Tokyo Marui (bottom) looks a little more like a toy with the shiny plastic
Feel & Build
To start off this gun from the start feels really solid in your arms, and has continued to feel solid to me through skirmishes. The gun has a lot of weight to it, 7.7 pounds with just the gun, and this weight really helps the solid feel. In my case I had a fully loaded hi-cap, 9.6v battery, rail and bipod on it while playing, and it became almost exhausting at times… A 3-point sling however would almost solve any weight issues. I am going to have to recommend for anyone young, short, small, etc. that you do not get a gun this large and just stick to the M4 variants as they will be lighter, and easier to handle. If you like the gun to feel realistic, this gun for the most part will do the job.
Rear Build
The build of the back part of the gun poses several problems which I would like to bring up. Luckily none of the issues are immediate threats to the durability of the gun (as far as I can see) but they are annoying and/or appear to be weak. First off, the gun is all metal with exception to the butt plate, which is plastic. I personally did not trust this plastic at all, as it did not even seem to be that durable of plastic, so I immediately switched the butt plates of my Tokyo Marui M16a2 and my G&G GR-16a2. The metal butt plate is so much better in feel, and is useful in heavy skirmishes as the butt of the gun does tend to bump things. I hope to see G&G replace the plastic plate with a metal in newer models of this gun, as it would be a great help to the build of the stock.
This is the replaced butt plate (the Marui) and you can see other problems with the stock, discussed below
As seen in the image above, there is another issue with the stock; it is two pieces that tend to want to separate at times. This could possibly be an issue with my gun alone, but the fact that the stock is two separate pieces attached scares me for future issues of durability. The problem is that if they ever separate (such as in the stock removal process) it may be difficult to impossible to get it back to one solid piece. Despite all of this, my gun’s stock does feel solid and does not scare me at the moment, but this could be a possible flaw in the build.
The other issue with the rear end of the gun is the way it is attached to the receiver itself. In the Marui M16a2 you will notice that from the top hole on the butt plate, there goes a long screw all the way into the receiver. This attached both ends of the stock together with one screw, and has proved over the two years that I have had the gun, to hold up against time, and the wear and tear that goes with it. Another issue is the way the stock is attached to the receiver of the gun. As can be seen in all the pictures below, there is a metal piece sticking out of the receiver which on the Marui version would receive the screw from the butt plate. On the G&G however the top screw on the butt plate screws into a piece of the stock itself, attaching the butt plate to the stock only, and not to the receiver. Attaching the stock to the receiver is a little cap, which is located pretty far into the stock. This is hard to explain with words, but if you know how a TM M16a2 is built, and look at the pictures you should be able to get it.
At the top is where the butt plate screws into, and the silver cap at the center of the picture is the cap I was talking about, which holds the stock in place with the rest of the gun.
This is the part sticking out of the receiver. You can see the spot where the stock slides on, and the cap goes onto this to lock the stock into place
This is the cap outside of the gun, up to a Marui mag for size comparison
The issue with this set up is that it makes it very difficult to take a part (which is a good thing for some people), and since such a small piece is holding the entire stock I think it may become loose over time. This is a concern especially when it comes to using a sling which does put some stress on positions like that.
Front Build
The front part of the gun thus far has been absolutely amazing in feel, realism and durability. From the metal body forward it feels as if nothing could go wrong. The hand guards are much more realistic (as mentioned) than Marui’s. They are much more heavy and solid, and also have the heat shields inside of them for realism. In the real gun this will try to keep the hand guards from getting too hot from a lot of shooting, which consequently heats up the barrel. Of course in the airsoft version, it is just for looks. These heat shields are removable, as I had to remove one in order to install the rail. It is a not a hard task; it pops out, and can be popped right back in with a little effort. It will be just as secure in there as ever. The hand guards are quite a challenge to remove, but can be done. You need to first pull down on the hand guard wring, and then yank the hand guard out. This may require a second person, but can be done alone. It is hard, but worth it considering they are on there tight enough to prevent any sort of shifting during use.
This is the bottom hand guard (removed) with heat shield revealed, and you can see the other hand guard (still on) as well as the reinforced barrel
The metal body is solid, and I really do not have much more to say than that. Looks good, feels solid and that’s fine by me. The next thing that really makes like the front part of this gun is the reinforced barrel. It can be seen a little bit above, and in the image below. This reinforced barrel is extremely useful for anyone, and necessary for anyone adding on parts as I have. For pretty much every company now (besides Tokyo Marui) this comes standard, and prevents the front of the gun from wobbling over time. If accessories are put on the front of the Marui’s, such as the M16a2, wobbling would begin almost immediately, as it can not handle the extra stress. With this barrel however, a lot of extra weight can be held, and there is never a need to worry. Since the front does not move (wobble), it obviously feels very durable and solid.
The G&G (top) has the reinforced barrel and better hand guards with heat shields, the bottom is the Marui to compare them to
The Little Stuff & Problems
I’ll take this opportunity to discuss the G&G magazine which comes with the gun, and compare it to the best hi-cap on the market, the Tokyo Marui. The G&G hi-cap is a little longer than the Tokyo Marui as the G&G is the actual size of the real magazines for the Colt series’. The G&G undoubtedly does hold more ammo than the Tokyo Marui and it this is convenient when you are used to only have 300 rounds (which is already a lot). The G&G however has had a lot of problems unloading all 450 of those rounds, as with about 100-50 left it will begin to skip. This leads me to conclude that one wind is just not enough to shoot 450 rounds. The magazine does work pretty well, with very rare misfires up until the end of the magazine. The magazine appears to work okay in my Marui’s but does have a little trouble being seated into Classic Army’s guns. The reason other magazines are not actual size is because they cut off the part of the magazine that has to go all the way up into the chamber on the real gun, so the magazines look the same while in the gun. On the G&G however more will stick out and will give you a different look. The Marui magazines are also a little more of a black shade, while the G&G’s are more of a grey.
The Marui (left) and G&G (right)
The G&G sticking out of the gun
The Marui sticking out of the gun
The hop-up system is pretty much the same thing as the Marui and the classic army. It is a different color (red) and this about the only difference. The only other thing I noticed is that it seems like it is harder to adjust exactly. It seems to fall into certain places, and if the perfect spot is in between two slots, then it may be harder to get to that spot… I can not tell if this is because it is new or what, but either way, not a really big deal. Also, the T-charging handle disappointingly, does not do anything. It is a cosmetic thing on the G&G, and you can pull it back, but nothing will actually happen. The dust cover is spring loaded, and is always shut, until you pull it open to access the hop-up. I must say Marui’s hop-up system and the way to access does beat out the G&G, since it is smooth, practical, and most importantly, it is very cool.
The hop-up, with dust cover being held open
The selector switch could possibly be a problem with the G&G’s as when I first got my gun the safety did not work at all so I basically had two semi’s and a full auto. The safe semi was a little harder to pull, but there was nothing safe about it. Then the selector switch fell off. I had to send the gun back to get this fixed, and it was done in a timely and efficient manner by Redwolf Airsoft. They informed me that this problem was appearing in a lot of the first versions, but they now make them with reinforced selector switches to stop the problem. The new selector switch does work, but is not nearly as smooth as a Marui as it does not click into place. There is no noise made or anything, but does not affect the actual use of the gun.
Performance
Now what you have all been waiting for; how the gun shoots. I know this may disappoint some, but I did have this gun upgraded on by Redwolf to 400 fps, with appropriate parts replaced. This allows me to see how well this gun holds up with an upgrade, but does not help so much those who want to get the gun stock. Well anyways, the gun so far has been shot very well. In my first skirmish with it, I got plenty of kills, and it did exactly what you would expect of an AEG at 400 fps, no more, no less. It was just like any other gun, plain and simple. Nothing extraordinary, but simply very solid. The gun’s accuracy was pretty good, but I have seen better. Now I am talking about only inches difference over a distance of maybe 75 feet. It is noticeable, but not a big deal unless you plan on being a sniper. It is not exactly accuracy, but consistency. I have some other guns which the bb’s will follow one another almost in a line, not necessarily a straight line however, and this gun just does not do it. The bb’s will shoot in a certain area, but not one after another. I doubt it will cost you a kill considering the amount of shots you will have at getting them inside a couple of seconds.
The ROF was very nice with a 9.6volt 3000 mAh battery considering it is shooting 400 FPS, but not quite as good as a stock Marui with an 8.4v and this is to be expected. The gun did run into one problem, and the cause right now is unknown. I will simply have to update you as the situation changes. Well a few times in the battle the gun simply stopped firing. No sound, nothing. Then the magazine was removed and put back in both times, and the gun continued to fire. Why? I have no idea. It could be the magazine (I think it was the G&G magazine every time it happened, but in the middle of a skirmish, that is not the first thing on your mind, so I do not know for sure… Another issue is that while putting the battery in, I accidentally pulled one of the wires out of the connector for the connection to the gun and had to put it back in. It was still kind of loose, and this may have been the cause. But that would mean the whole magazine issue was a coincidence. If someone could help me with this one, it would definitely be appreciated.
Trademarks
Yes, believe it or not it is worth making an entire section about the trademarks. Not only do they make a gun look realistic and sharp, but people care about them. The trademarks are not copies off of the real Colt series guns which is obviously why the gun does not carry the name 'M16a2' but rather the 'GR16a2'. We all know what it really is, but the name is the property of Colt, and therefore can not be legally used. Since G&G makes up their own trademarks, they are not destroyed or covered, and are there in all of their glory. For most I assume this is old news so I'll move on; the trademarks on this gun are no different than any other in that they serve their purpose of making the gun look very real. How G&G has them painted white against the black metal body is quite sharp, and gives the gun a very good look in my opinion. These guns are individually numbered with their own serial numbers which is really nice touch (mine is 0000122 in case anyone cares). Then you have basic G&G trademarks with a 'twist' I guess you could say... If you look closely at the trademarks in the pictures below you will read "G&G Armament Capital of Greedy Island" on both sides of the gun. Why Greedy Island? I have no clue, and I do not plan to read into it. I do think however that it does give a silly feel to the trademarks, which is just a reminder to me that it is a toy. I think they could have thought of something better than greedy island, but again, I am not going to worry over it. Maybe the translation crew messed up on how it would be read/accepted as it seems to be some sort of joke printed on the side of your gun... Not like the joke popsicle sticks of the past, these are fully automatic, all metal, and very heavy joke sticks. Well here are the pictures:
You can read....
Other side with serial number and other stuff...
Who Should Buy This Gun?
So far this gun seems perfect for anyone wanting a Colt and planning to upgrade. Thus far, as a general statement, the gun has been fantastic and the best I have had yet! It has the most satisfying feel, and thus far has shot just as good as any other gun upgraded to 400 fps. So if you plan on putting the extra money into an upgrade, this does seem to be a good buy so far, and I will update you as I go to let you know exactly how long the gun lasts. Since I do not have a stock version to review, I do not want to speak for those who want the gun and the gun only. I can say you will like the feel and look of it, but I do not know for the performance.
I also would have to reccomend that people new to airsoft entirely, and do not want any issues to possibly avoid this gun. This gun, like all new models of all products, could end up being high mantainence as the first round bugs have yet to be worked out. If you are new you may want to give any company some time to work out the issues, since you may spend time and money fixing up the little bugs if they happen to come out on you. Having said this, I would trust any newbie to airsoft with operating the gun I have, but I can not speak for all guns out there. This is just a guess, that as a new model from a new AEG company, that there may be issues to deal with, that are not good for a new airsofter to encounter.
In Conclusion
The gun overall to me is fantastic and I give it a 9 out of 10. It has it’s little problems with the selector switch, butt plate, and stock but all of these are pretty minor when it comes to using the gun in the field, and the guns actual look. I think the cosmetic durability of the gun is overall superior to that of the Tokyo Marui, due to the reinforced barrel, sturdy hand guards, and metal body. Though I see potential problems with the stock, those are personal ponderings and issues, and may not turn out to be problems at all. The only thing bugging me is the reason why it stopped firing those times during the skirmish…. I guess this review ends with a cliffhanger for now, as I just do not know the answer to that question.
Errors? Information left out? Questions? Post them or e-mail them, and I will gladly improve upon the review.
- Meatball
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