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Meatball's Featured Reviews |
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Airsoft Core |
By J360_Thunder
Published: December 11, 2003
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Story
Ahh.. The Tokyo Marui Steyr AUG Civillian. This is my first AEG, after watching my friends play with airsoft springers, and move up to AEG's themselves, I figured that it was my turn to make the upgrade to an AEG. I already was set on a Marui, since they are the best quality around, and that really is not debated. They are the best AEGs. I love to play Counter-Strike on my PC and to my amazement, I found every Counter-Strike gun, in an airsoft version. I have always liked the looks of the AUG, even thought a lot of people feel otherwise about the looks, I genuinely love the looks, and think it is very unique for the airsoft field. I mean sure you can get a Colt like everyone else, but then you wouldn't be unique and stand alone. That had nothing to do with my decision, but is rather an after thought.
I bought my AUG from Plycons Armory, and was disappointed to find ount that it took a mini battery. But thanks to a friend, I soon found out about their large custom battery that required no modifications what so ever. So I bought the battery for $35 from www.onlybatterypacks.com and it was a 8.4 volt 1500 mAh battery. I'll tell more on this later... Also part of my decision making was the bullpup design that this gun comes with. Since hte magazine is inserted underneat the stock, it has a very long barrel, in a small package. This gun is quite small, and I would say it is acceptable for CQB use, though there are better options for CQB. This gun is very underrated when it comes to versatility. I don't see another AEG on the market that is as versatile. I chose the Civillian version, since I did not want to be stuck with a crappy scope, and I like the idea of being able to mount any optics that you want, on the rail that it comes with the gun. So after a year of airsofting with this weapon, I give you this review:
Looks
This gun is very sleek, and stealthy looking. It is completely black, no acceptions, and looks very smooth. It sports the translucent greenish tinted magazine that allows you to see how many rounds are remaining with out taking the magazine out. This is a good feature, but I will admit, most skirmish situations do not allow for this, since you are always under fire. The sight mount is slanted backwards as seen in the pictures below and above, which really looks cool to me. The whole front of the gun is metal (from above the trigger to the end of the barrel), which gives it good looks, and weight. The back stock is completely plastic, but very solid plastic. I don't see this stuff breaking. The butt of the stock is rubber, and can be removed to reveal the battery compartment.
Feel of the Gun
A lot of people describe this gun as "awkward" and hard to handle, with a general bad feel to it. I will say that this is not the case, however it does take some getting used to. The hand on the trigger can not sit under the stock, since the magazine is there, which can cause some problems if you don't know how to properly hold a gun. If you hold this gun properly, this is in no way a problem, and you can actually lean your arm on the magazine if that's the most comfortable for you. If you look at the trigger, it has a huge opening for your entire hand, and still serves as a trgger guard. This is quite nice, especially for wearing gloves, since you have a lot of space for them , and they won't get tangled up in the small space, like what tends to happens with the Colt series.
Look at all that nice space to put your hand in!
Another concern of this gun and its feel is the front handle. There are three positions for this handle to make you feel the most comfortable. The first position, is the handle hanging vertically down. This is the most popular, and well known of the positions. This feels quite comfortable if you ask me, and gives you good control of the weapon. This however may cause problems if your really tall. It kind of keeps your arm jammed up if you have long arms. Its fine fro me being 6', but if you are tall, or like to have your arms spread out, you may not like this handle in that positon.
There is is completely vertical
The Second position can be accessed by pulling the handle out away from the gun, and then freely shifting it. This handle can be positioned at a 45 degree angle from the gun, which does make for an odd feel, and look. I personally would never use this position, and I don't see who would. But I guess it can't hurt to have it.
The 45 degree positon... If you like that sort of thing
The third in final position can be reached the same way as the second, and is your regular rifle feel. The handle will fold right up to the barrel, so you can hold it like your everyday assault rifle. This is a pretty comfortable position too, but it really depends on preference for you. Both this and the first position are good.
Regular rifle position / Horizontal position
Then you have the magazine release, and the exchange of magazines... This is where practice is needed to get it down, but not all that much. One day of skirmishing will give you nearly flawless exchanges. I find the best way to release the magazine is remove the hand on the front handle, and take the hand on the trigger, and pull the gun into your shoulder. So you will still have the gun completely shouldered. The left hand comes back, and pushes the button, and pulls out the magazine, and this is quite quick, and easy to do. Just as fast as any magazine transition if you know what you're doing.
Here you'll see where the magazine goes in. The button to release the magazine is at the bottom, which is towards the stock. You can also note that where the BB's go down is deeper into the gun, and there is a higher platform
Here you can see the magazine design, and the words and numbers inscribed into it. You will also notice that the top is designed perfectly to fit in the shape pictured above.
I have one issue with the feel of this gun, and that is the stock. It is curved, and it fits quite nicely when your shooting around with a T-shirt on. But I find that it is not as comfortable as a straight butt plate, when you are wearing layers of clothes, or a vest. It does feel kind of awkward. This has never for me, affected my performance, but it is rather a picky problem. This could be because of the custom battery, bulging the rubber out slightly, if I don't install it perfectly.
The Battery
For those who are not as familiar with airsoft AEG's and their batteries, this is probably something you want to read. Both the AUG Civ and Mil are designed for the mini batteries, not the large. Some people just assume that the gun takes a large since it has a full stock, but since the gearbox is back by the magazine, there is not enough space for a larger battery. I did not want to have to buy multiple batteries, so I got the custom battery... The battery is not shaped like other batteries, so that it can fit in this speciffic gun. The battery is shaped more like a block. It has 7 cells, and is 8.4 volts. Four cells are stacked in a 2x2 block in the back, and the remaining three in the front are stacked two on the bottom, and one on top in between them... Kind of like a pyramid. Check out the picture below.
I was assuming that the battery would be a tight fit, but the first try seemed like it was going to be impossible. It is really a tight fit, and you have to arrange it perfectly. There are a couple ways of doing it, and it is just too hard to explain on the internet. But just really think about what your doing. The key is to keep the wires in a position, where the whole thing will fit. Here is a picture with it in.
You're everyday mini 8.4 volt 600 mAh battery fits perfectly, and easily. It is much easier than the custom battery, but won't last you nearly as long. Here is a picture of your everyday mini battery inside of the stock.
If you are not familiar with batteries and their different sizes, here is a comparison picture for you.
On the far left you'll see the large sized battery (8.4 volt 1300 mAh by Sanyo), the middle one is the mini that you see above in the gun, and the far right of course is the custom one.
Guns Function
This gun has a unique function, that is only used by this gun. There is no switch on the gun, that switches it from semi-auto to full-auto, which is what appears on almost every other Tokyo Marui AEG out there. Instead it has the safety button, that turns on and off the safety, and you switch from semi to fully automatic by the trigger pull when the safety is off. If you pull it down part of the way, it is on semi. If you need full auto, you can push it past a certain pressure point, and it will go right into fully automatic. This is the easiest, and most efficient semi to full auto transition, that I have seen, or can think of, since it only requires you to pull the trigger harder or softer. It is very easy, and obvious which mode you are in. Tactically it can't get better since you'll never find yourself stuck on semi when you need full auto! This is also a great feature for left handers. Some guns will have the selector switch designed for right handers only, but on this gun is doesn't matter.
Picture with the safety on... The white dot is showing on the right side of the gun
Safety is off, with the red dot showing on the left side of the gun
Now for the hop-up....
This gun comes with the hop up, that is like a cylinder in the same direction as the barrel. You can push it up or down, to give it more hop, or less. Giving it more hop will cause the BB to go up, and taking it away will make it go down. The idea, if you don't know of the concept is for the BB to go as straight as possible for as long as possible. The hop-up is right above the magazine, on the right side of the gun, and can be accessed by pulling back the charging handle, on the left side. The charging handle is easy to pull back, and is on the left side of the gun. It will lock back, so you can adjust the hop-up. When you pull it back, the plastic sheild that covers the hop-up slides out of the way so you can adjust it. The hop-up is right where the shells would come out of on the real gun.
Here on the left side of the gun again you see the charging handle charged backwards, and you can clearly see the path that it is slid back upon.
so now you're ready to shoot the gun...
The Shooting
Finally I get to the good stuff! This guns shooting capabilites. This gun of course shoots like other stock guns in the 270 fps range, which is where it shoots, no matter what retailers tell you. It has some decent range, and accuracy, that beats all other stock AEGs, or is exactly the same. With long barreled guns like the M16a2, or G3a3, you'll see the similar performances in range and accuracy, but against smaller AEGs like the M4a1, or M1a1 Thompson you'll see that this gun is clearly more accurate, and has a little more range. I have found that the longer barrel makes things a lot more consistent, and a little more range. It also makes it more accurate at longer ranges.
Random picture for you...
I use this gun, like most airsofters do, out in the local woods and playing field. It has served me very well, and I have gotten a lot of kills with this baby. I use the 330 round hi-cap most of the time, which works pretty flawlessly, and I hold my own against all AEGs. The ROF of this gun is just like any other Tokyo Marui, gun, and that means it shoots very fast on fully automatic. The EG 700 motor has no bad affects, since it is stock, and it shoots just as fast, or faster than the EG 1000 motor guns. This gun is also very quiet outdoors. The enemy has a lot of trouble hearing the gun, especially on semi-auto, out in the field. This makes for an awesome tactical advantage, for obvious reasons. And it comes through here, since it looks so stealthy, and can be used likewise.
Another random picture for you...
Accessories
This gun is okay when it comes to accessories. The basic accessories are supplied, such as magazines, pouches, slings, optics, silencers, etc. These can all be obtained somewhat easily in the airsoft world, but you may need to look a little harder, then if you wanted a Colt series accessory. Like any gun this can be customized, but it would take some work, and a skilled person, but you will see AUGs around with grenade launchers, and cool modifications.
This gun already comes with two metal sling swivels for mounting a sling. This is very useful, since the gun is quite heavy, and only gets heavier as you play. The sling can also help you from dropping the gun, and getting it dirty and such.
The sling swivel on the stock (left side)
The front sling swivel, on te front of the gun, directly in front of the scope mount. You can see the mount going to the left in the picture.
Conclusion
I really love this gun! This gun has proved to do perform perfectly for a year now, and I have thus far had no reason to upgrade the gun. I admit it would be nice to do, I just don't have the need just yet. The gun is very solid in feel, and has sustained some accidental drops from myself. It holds up very well, and there really isn't anything on the gun that can break, or get lost, like in other gun series.
If you are looking for a unique, versatile, good performing, or good looking gun, this can work for you! It has all four! If you want to get a gun, and customize it yourself, and add a bunch of stuff, this may not be for you. Since it is difficult to add a lot of accessories. Good luck in your purchase search, and I hope you liked my review!
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