Looks

When deciding to buy one of these things, I had no idea how mini they actually are. This one is a foot long, maybe a little longer, I believe it is the biggest of the minis, and it is a pretty sturdy little thing in terms of cracking and such. Of course I haven't dropped it much, but it hasn't had any durability problems. I bought this gun along with my cousins who got an MP5, XM-177, and AK47 along with my AUG. They were all about the same in looks, and build.

Function

There is a safety on each of the guns, which you have to hold down, while you fire. You can see the AUG's safety in the picture above, on the top of the handle next to the trigger. They are a bit of a hassle to start off but you get used to your safety button. The AUG has hop-up along with the XM-177, and M16a1 minis. The others do not have hop-up (at least its not said on their box that they do).

This thing shoots kind of slow, and batteries probably last for about 2000 rounds, which go by pretty quick when you’re plinking around. I believe it advertised to shoot 300 rounds a minute, which seems to be about accurate. The XM-177 does seem to have a higher rate of fire then the others I have seen. The MP5 and AK47 both slowly decrease in ROF until breaking, but my AUG held its ground.

Performance

Well this thing shoots pretty slowly in terms of FPS, but it WILL hurt at close ranges to bare skin, but that’s about the only time it will hurt. It shoots about 50-60 feet maximum. But that doesn't mean you can skirmish from that distance. This is something you should not buy if you would like to skirmish with it. It is something to plink around, and in the house with, and you can have a good time doing that. Since it is full auto, you can have fun whipping it out on friends, and things of that sort. But you will still need eye protection.

Out of the 4 minis, two remain. My AUG, and the XM-177. Which are the only of the four with hop-up. I have not looked into this, but I believe buying a non-hop up mini means it will break. Mine is working just like it was new, and so is the XM-177. We used them A LOT when first buying them, going through thousands of rounds. Now that I have an AEG, they aren't in use anymore.

Conclusion

Good for plinking, not skirmishing. Worth $20, and no more, I have seen them for $15 so that should not be a problem. It can be fun to have one of these around, but I recommend getting one with hop-up so it lasts longer.