YankeeDiv26
Staff Sgt.
Frustrated Mac Owner
BDM<33
Posts: 2,462
|
Post by YankeeDiv26 on Oct 20, 2007 11:29:35 GMT -5
The Story When I went looking for a second gun to take the place as my primary weapon to replace my TM thompson, I took the path commonly untaken and decided to buy my first truly custom gun. I decided on getting one of 2nd bat's AEG m1 Garands, because it offered a weapon very common on the real battlefields of WWII but seldom seen in airsoft. Also, it's aeg base design seemed much more superior to the GBB operation of the Marushin m1 Garands. First Impressions I got my package about 1 week after ordering it, a time considered very very quick for a custom gun that requires a lot of work to produce...and made by only 1 man in his home! The packaging was in the standard box for the agm m14 but it was turned inside out so it appeared just as a plain brown box. The gun was firmly in place by a styrofoam cutout and there was no damage whatsoever. The contents included the rifle (pre-tested), a speedloader, standard charger, standard 8.4v large battery, a standard m14 hi-cap, the shortened magazine, instruction kit to make more magazines, a correct canvas sling (not the crappy standard ones), and a owners manual printed to look like a vintage field manual. Contents vary slightly from order to order. "My m1 Does My Talking" Pricing and Avalable Models 2nd bat uses a variety of m14 models as options for base guns. The two most popular are the agm m14's as well as the Tokyo Marui m14's. Last time I checked the Mauri based models are $725, while the AGM models are in the $560 range. They aren't the cheapest gun to ever hit the market, but they will get you on the field with a good aeg garand, for just a little more than the Marushin Garand. Build Quality and materials I won't get into the build quality of the base gun, since they vary from model to model and there are other reviews elsewhere on them (see airsoftretreat.com). I'll focus on the build quality of the conversions. I'd give them about an 8/10, the reason being that somethings do require a lot of work, and were meticulously worked on, where other parts seem somewhat inadequately done. Pro's- The fixing of the "upper" handgaurd (above the bolt) fits like an absolute glove, the wood quality is very well matched, and all it's hardware is in good condition. Also, modifying the butt of the rifle to look more authentic adds a lot to the look of the gun and came out very well. 2nd bat puts a lot of work into matching the real steel and wood parts appropiatly with that of the base gun, and currently offers them in 3 general shades. Light, Medium, and Dark (see pictures). Also, the metal comes with a light or dark parkenized finish. - Come's with a shortened magazine (holds approx. 13rd's and feeds 8-9 in the agm model), which adds to the realism and look of the rifle. - Good deal of real steel parts used in build: "forward" hand gaurd, "upper" hand gaurd, complete forward gas assembly and Sling, along with misc. hardware. -Lots of work put into each gun. Cons- My single biggest issue is how the entire front end of the gun (gas assembly and handgaurd) is attatched. The only thing that kept mine on was electrip tape wrapped around the end of the barrel and the gas assembly rammed over it until it held tight. When I picked it up the first time by the forward hard gaurd, the entire forward end just slipped off. My sollution was quick and easy though. I simply tapped a hole in the gas assembly and barely through the outer barrel, put in a low profile set screw (not even noticeable) and that's it. Only took a few minutes of my time and the forward end hasn't budged an inch. - the gun, albeit very good looking, isn't 100% an m1 garand. the biggest give away is the magazine well, as long as a few other small touches. But there is only so much you can do to convert it, and in no way is this thing a "frankengun". - The lower stock wasn't aligned with the real wood components perfectly, and is a hair too short. Again, not a deal breaking issue, but could (and probably is) done a little more carefully on some of the other models. I did a little extra work and with the dremel and put on a correct sling swivel ferule, adds to the look and makes it fit much better. Cost about $10 for the part (check out ebay) and 15 minutes with the dremel. Performance Performs exactly the same as a standard AGM m14 (or other manufacturer depending on model). www.airsoftretreat.com/reviews/showcat.php?cat=69 Review of AGM m14. This is a custom gun, so obviously there are some slight differences to each order. These aren't stamped out by children in a factory in asia. 1 person makes these (although some other entrepenuers are just starting to) and said person does have a life to live with outside of his workshop. Rest assured you won't be getting a cookie-cutter weapon that's the exactly same as your buddies, but thats one of the things I love about mine. My m1 gets a lot of looks, and stands apart from the typical airsofter, WWII or not. The "cool factor" of this gun is way up there in my opinion, and really adds a lot to an impression. I love mine, and so far haven't had any regrets since buying it 8 months ago. So there it is, a review of my garand. Hopefully this will help with the decision making process. For additional information see the "Responces to PM's on the Garand" thread located in garand tech section. Thanks for reading
|
|
|
Post by gunfreak on Oct 20, 2007 11:50:17 GMT -5
thanks, i've asked Gordak to up both of them up on the main site
|
|
|
Post by ukkolzi on Oct 21, 2007 15:55:28 GMT -5
I was surprised to find out that the front end was held in place only by friction, because it was so tough to pull out and would have definitely endured well in airsoft use. I mean, I have lifted the rifle countless times by holding from the handguard, no problems. But I like to be sure and the "screw through the gas tube" -solution seems to be the best one. The rifle was also lacking the barrel end that comes out from under the front sight, so I made one from a piece of aluminium pipe that I found lying around. It was just tight enough, I rammed it in and it's not coming out without considerable force. It goes deep enough, so it also prevents the very front piece (the one which the gas tube "plug" holds in place) from moving sideways. And of course, looks nice. Also, the outer barrel was a bit wobbly. I remedied that by putting some tape to where it connects with the receiver to tighten it. With minor improvements such as these, the rifle can be quite easily made more durable, making this piece even more cool. Edit: Oh, and the hop up adjusting dial might be a bit stiff, at least mine was. When I applied enough force, it rolled nicely.
|
|
YankeeDiv26
Staff Sgt.
Frustrated Mac Owner
BDM<33
Posts: 2,462
|
Post by YankeeDiv26 on Oct 21, 2007 16:13:18 GMT -5
Good improvements ukkolzi. I did a few things myself (cosmetic as well as structurally) that really improved the overall quality of the gun with relatively little work.
|
|
2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
|
Post by 2nd Bat on Dec 4, 2007 14:04:48 GMT -5
I have now added a small section of "barrel" to the muzzle tip. I honestly never noticed the tiny detail prior to your comment. It is any easy fix and a nice additional enhancement. The manner in which I now finish off the alterred stock front and further connect the lower stick to the barrel group has also been changed. I copied an idea submitted by one of my customners using an alterred front ferrule off the M-14. It works very well and is good and solid and looks great as well. I still don't put a set screw in the gas assembly (unless asked) but it is an easy step and adds to the strength. Some people don't like it visually though.
The last 10 rifles have enjoyed these enhancements.
|
|
|
Post by ukkolziasd on Feb 3, 2008 14:54:05 GMT -5
I decided to replace the AGM M14 workings with a TM M14. The AGM version was a bit of a disappointment. The hop-up didn't work properly, I could never make even .2g bb's fly upwards and range was less than a stock TM AEG. The double feed also annoyed me, effectively wasted 2 bb's of every already low capacity magazine. Power was good, though.
This being a semi-auto rifle with ~14 rnd magazines (they feed 10-11 bb's), I decided that it must be accurate, reliable and have a good reach. The TM M14 filled all the requirements, and a friend was selling one for a good price. Well, I didn't think twice and bought the gun from him. Definite plus was that the gun was completely stock, gearbox has never been opened. The only modification was a Madbull tight bore barrel, which is nice. ;D
OK, so now I had to ram the TM workings to the AGM stock. I didn't bother to modify the TM stock, because 2ndbat's work with the AGM stock was very good and I don't have the skill to make it look as good as his. The installation was surprisingly painless, although the trigger guard/magazine release lever -part was a bit stiff, but with The Force I managed to get it in. Wiring had to be inserted through the main compartment of the stock, and the fuse box prevents the use of a normal large-type battery. No problem, I have some nice 9.6V 1100 mAh batteries, and if necessary, the fuse box is easy to remove. I did the same minor "Garand" mods to the TM receiver and put the thing together. I also added a small screw to hold the front handguard and gas assembly in place.
Today I tested it and well, it shot very accurately and very far. No double feeds or anything. It's also a lot more sturdy than with the AGM receiver. Couldn't be happier with it. The only thing I regret was the decision not to originally order the gun with TM M14 as a base. Don't know how good the Cyma M14 is, but TM's quality and technical reliability is VERY hard to reach, let alone surpass.
|
|
2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
|
Post by 2nd Bat on Feb 3, 2008 15:03:01 GMT -5
There is no doubt that if one can afford the extra money, the Marui (especially if upgraded) is a nice enhancement. As mentioned in several posts the hop up is superior and precision and tolerances are still superior to the Clones. I have found for my purposes the CYMA M14 is slightly superior to the AGM which is considerably better then the TSD, UTG, Kart and other copies of the Marui. The Marui at more then three times the cost is definitely better then any of them although I'd put the percentage increase at about 20% better. To Ukkos point that 20% can be considerble in the course of a game with such a low capacity clip. At 365 FPS right out of the box the CYMA is extremely impressive when compared to the Marui at 290 FPS and the tight bore barrel in the CYMA is very very good. Right now 3/5ths of my sales have been built on the CYMA 032 as the base rifle and they have demonstrated excellent reliability. The AGMs and Maruis of course were very good as well.
Definitely problems noted with the Airsoft Clubs, UTGs, TSDs and especially the Kart M14s.
|
|
|
Post by grasshopper257 on Feb 24, 2008 21:07:35 GMT -5
i can never understand how do you get extra mags for it? are they custom mags or what?
|
|
YankeeDiv26
Staff Sgt.
Frustrated Mac Owner
BDM<33
Posts: 2,462
|
Post by YankeeDiv26 on Feb 24, 2008 21:22:35 GMT -5
Try reading the articles. He mentions it clearly.
|
|
2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
|
Post by 2nd Bat on Mar 1, 2008 23:56:24 GMT -5
There are currently flush mounted 15 round magazines available that require very little modification and are under $8.00 each. There are additional details on the flush mounted clips in a seperate thread on this board. They are working extremely well and are available from various sources. The modification is fairly simple and complete details on how to do it are provided.
|
|
2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
|
Post by 2nd Bat on Jul 19, 2008 12:53:41 GMT -5
Each Garand conversion I sell comes with three 15 round clips and packages of six extra in a WW2 bandoleer are available as an option. They fit flush in the version one base model with the modified M14 stock and a somewhat recessed in the version two which comes with an all wood, thicker stock.
|
|
|
Post by maverik on Oct 20, 2008 17:42:43 GMT -5
hate to bring this up but yankee what shade of wood and metal was your M1?
|
|
2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
|
Post by 2nd Bat on Oct 22, 2008 21:25:51 GMT -5
Yankees stock and wood parts were medium shade. Most of mine are slightly darker. The metal in his rifle appears to be the flat black. I mostly do mixed metal finishes as the Dark Walnut and Mixed metal is the most common appearing weapon in the US Military during WW2. Yankees conversion was an early effort and with his an other customers input I have made numerous refinements and improvements. The last 30 produced rifles have reflected these changes which are chiefly in the bracketry used to hold everything in place. My current clips are flush mounted and effectively feed 12 of the 15 rounds held. The 2 or three lost Bbs are due to normal BB drop and the end of a mag or clip. (The gap between the top of the mag and the tappet plate inside the rifle)
|
|
YankeeDiv26
Staff Sgt.
Frustrated Mac Owner
BDM<33
Posts: 2,462
|
Post by YankeeDiv26 on Oct 22, 2008 21:42:56 GMT -5
Yankees stock and wood parts were medium shade. Most of mine are slightly darker. The metal in his rifle appears to be the flat black. I mostly do mixed metal finishes as the Dark Walnut and Mixed metal is the most common appearing weapon in the US Military during WW2. Yankees conversion was an early effort and with his an other customers input I have made numerous refinements and improvements. The last 30 produced rifles have reflected these changes which are chiefly in the bracketry used to hold everything in place. My current clips are flush mounted and effectively feed 12 of the 15 rounds held. The 2 or three lost Bbs are due to normal BB drop and the end of a mag or clip. (The gap between the top of the mag and the tappet plate inside the rifle) 2nd bat hit it right on the money. <YD>
|
|