Post by WANCHO on Jun 22, 2006 15:50:07 GMT 8
This looks like a good project gun. So you think.. i still like my m14(when i get one) classic looking. Read along guys, who knows this might start an arms race in delta... hehehehe... seriously, this is a good read.(halatang walang ginagawa sa office!)
Review by: Matt Bond
taken from: Arnie's airsoft
I was interested in this gun as soon as the word was out that Star/Guarder were developing one, so when they became available (albeit in very limited numbers, only in Japan) I jumped at the chance to get hold of one. The only place I could find that had them in stock was Echigoya International over in Japan; hence that was my port of call. I sold my Minimi, placed an order and after some phone calls and faxes to sort it out, the postman delivered my parcel, eager to know himself what was inside…
The Sopmod is now available from Zero one airsoft in the UK (cheaper than what I paid for mine, but what you gonna do…)
First impressions…
Upon opening the cardboard box, I realised why shipping was so expensive, included with the gun is a rather large aluminium effect rifle case. (Now swapped to a plain black plastic one in the current release)
It seems that Star have now started shipping all there AEG’s with case of similar design. I had no need for the case, as I already own several other storage cases and bags but never the less it is a nice storage solution and completes the package nicely. Be warned though the case weighs about 4.5kg and so really bumps up the postage costs when shipping from Japan etc.
There is no manual included in the box, which is annoying, instead the complete set of instructions and the take down diagram is available from www.starairsoft.com on the Sopmod M14 page.
Upon opening the case I took my first look at the rifle itself. It’s very nicely finished and looks the part. Externally it is neat and clean, no sign of unsightly seam lines etc. and the whole thing looks good.
It lacks the correct Troy Industries logo or text, which on the real steel rifle are engraved on the thingying handle plate, but does have US RIFLE, 7.62mm M14, SA 56756 laser engraved behind the rear sight.
The rifle itself…
Picking up the rifle, you realise it’s heavy… roughly weighing in at 4.6kg it weighs less than a Minimi, but more than most off the shelve rifles. It is not something you’ll want to carry round all day without a break.
• The main stock is made from what appears to be a heavy weight nylon fibre reinforced ABS, the surface is an even satin dark grey (almost black) colour with a dimpling texture very similar to the look of the real Sopmod. The pistol grip is very similar and has a nice firm rubbery texture to it, allowing for a good hold.
• The folding stock is mainly steel, with a rubber butt pad and fake leather effect adjustable cheek pad. The joint between body and stock appears to be made from cast aluminium with the catch smoothly locking the stock firmly in position. There is some wobble to the stock, about that of the sliding stock on the Marui MP5 series. The cheek pad can be raised and lowered by undoing a screw wheel located on the front of the butt plate, allowing the cheek pad to be adjusted to suit the user, and utilise either the iron sights or a mounted scope.
Note: the cheek pad must be raised quite high to clear the back of the main receiver when folding the stock in.
• The main receiver, complete outer barrel, thingying handle, trigger guard, mag release section, expansion chamber, flashider and gas block are all metal. I think there aluminium but I can’t say for certain. They are neatly cast with a smooth even dark grey (look a like parkerised finish) colour to them. One point of discussion is whether the thingying handle was fixed or not… it is fixed and thus non moveable, as is the ejection port cover. This may bother those who aim for realistic M14 replica, like those from G&G or Marui.
• The flashider is threaded in two places, the gas expansion block (on the real thing) can be unscrewed and the flashider itself is also removable from the gas block. Both are 14mm negative threads and so those who want to fit a silencer can easily do so. With the gas expansion block removed and the inner barrel sticks out slightly from the outer barrel by about 1.5 inch.
The inner barrel fitted for those who want to know is 420mm long, and finishes about 2 inch short of the end of the flashider, so you can fit a slightly longer barrel if required.
• The upper heat shield is supposedly made from carbon fibre. I have yet to establish whether this is true, it feels more flexible than normal ABS plastic, but does not look anything special.
The Sopmod has RIS rails, lot’s to be precise. All rails are metal and firmly attached. The top rail is a whacking 380mm long, the bottom 210mm and the two side rails both 110mm. There’s easily enough room for anything you can imagine (within reason).
I chose to mount a reflex sight on top, a vertical grip below and possibly a torch on the side. Mounting too much though will raise the weight on an already heavy rifle…
The Sopmod only has a rear iron sight, no front sight so I would say an optic of some sort is a good idea, I went with the Guarder Red Dot Reflex sight, a good easy to sight with, choice. I believe the lack of a proper front sight is true to the real steel rifle though as well.
Gearbox wise, it’s a new design, supposedly compatible with marui gears and pistons, should you need to do repairs or go for higher FPS. The motor is different to most standard ones, in that the shaft of the motor is far longer that of say the AK, G36C or similar so finding a replacement may prove very difficult should the motor fail.
The safety is on the trigger guard, in front of the trigger as on all M14 rifles, forward to fire, and back to engage the safety.
For those who wondered whether or not the Sopmod was select fire… it is Not, there is no selector switch. The rifle is SAFE and AUTOMATIC only…
The real world M14 Sopmod is based around the semi auto variants of the M14 and so has no external selector switch, so equally the Star version does not.
Trigger pull is light but long, especially long for an AEG. Some have said the trigger is much like that of the AUG or P90, in that half pull is semi and full back is auto, I have not found this to be the case. You can quickly pull and release the trigger to fire a single round quite easily, but really it is just full auto only.
If you had intents of making a sharp shooter out of this rifle, you will be disappointed.
Rate of fire with a 9.6v battery (recommended) is pretty high, higher than a stock G36C or CA M15 series with the same 9.6 battery. The magazine does not last long at all.
The mags are folded steel and nicely finished, they each hold 90 rounds standard and are not the same as the G&G or Marui ones, and are definitely not compatible. They are however the same (exactly the same) as the previous Airsoft Club Custom M14 AEG rifles mags. Therefore those with a AC m14 will be able to use there own mags and those who need spare mags can purchase the AC ones from Den Trinity or Tokyo Model Company still (until Star releases new mags).
Zero One in the UK now have the high cap mags (470rnds) listed at £24.99 each.
Locking the mag in also take some practice as it has to be tilted forward to clear the magwell and then angled back (straight) to lock in place. I imagine this to be the same with the G&G and Marui M14’s also, as it is the way the real steel mags are fitted.
Firing the gun…
The first time loading and firing the gun, the mag did not feed smoothly, and dry fired several times. That said a good squirt of silicon oil and a good working through has loosened the mag follower and from there on, it has fed flawlessly.
Power wise I have had not had a chance to chrono it, nor test it with the coke can FPS test, but it fires harder than a stock Marui rifle, I would guess at a push around 350fps give or take. Zero One have the stock FPS quoted as high as 400fps but I do not believe mine is firing that “hot”.
Hop up is adjusted via a grub screw through a gap within the top RIS rail and is based off the APS style hop up unit, whatever that means (I have not had it apart that far to examine as of yet). The hop was easy to set though and seems to hold position well.
There is no fuse on this gun either, despite the fact there is plenty of room to have included one. Perhaps as the Sopmod is designed to utilise a more powerful battery ideally (9.6v is suitable) they chose to forego the fuse system.
The biggest problem encountered is the battery placement. There is plenty of room for a battery (the whole front section of the fibre stock part is hollow enough to fit a largish battery, easily one of the newer G&P 1100mah 9.6v batteries) but getting the battery in and out is tiresome.
To insert the battery the way you are supposed to (according to the manual) you undo the hex screw below the gas fake gas regulator, this then swings out the way and allows you to slot in a battery. This is ok in theory but in practice, especially in the field this would prove to be difficult, and would most likely end in you loosing the hex screw.
If the screw is not replaced (tightly holding the fake gas regulator in place) the whole outer barrel can wobble and could throw off your aim.
There are two alternatives, you can use a PEQ2 battery box, which I do when I need a larger capacity battery, or you can permanently fix the battery into the battery space and just leave the connector sticking out, meaning you have to charge the battery in place. This works when, like me you fire small amount each game, but not for those who like to spray away.
Summation…
I love the look of the Sopmod M14, whether you agree or not, is personal taste. Those who like the clean look of the original M14 rifle will probably not like the new Sopmod, those who like tactical looking modern weapons will probably love it.
The price is still higher than most AEG’s (around £400 with the case and battery), but you get a lot for your money, full fibre reinforced plastic and metal construction.
If you want select fire and quick change batteries, this is not for you. The difficulty in battery changes (for those spray and pray fans) and lack of presently available locap mags (for those realistic gamers) limits the appeal of the Sopmod, while having no semi setting means no casual sniping…
If you want a heavy weight, full metal and fibre rifle, that feels strong and has no body flex, something that will set you apart from the other M4A1 Sopmod and special forces rifles, then the M14 Sopmod is for you.
Pros…
• Unique rifle, will set you apart from the crowd
• Full metal and fibre plastic, with practically no flex or creaking
• Plenty of rails to mount accessories
• Large battery space for custom batteries
• High rate of fire and approx 330 fps out of the box.
Cons…
• Battery is difficult to change
• No semi auto setting
• Mags are limited to high caps at present
• Lack of replacement motor etc.
• Lack of correct trademarks
• Higher up front cost
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of review
personally, the general look of this gun needs to grow more on me before i sell my soul to the devil for this riffle. and even if i get the liking for this mutant m14, i might go for something like this.
i mean, thats just me... i know Wolf has his eyes on one of these... hhhmmm.... is Wolf starting an m14 collection depot?
Review by: Matt Bond
taken from: Arnie's airsoft
I was interested in this gun as soon as the word was out that Star/Guarder were developing one, so when they became available (albeit in very limited numbers, only in Japan) I jumped at the chance to get hold of one. The only place I could find that had them in stock was Echigoya International over in Japan; hence that was my port of call. I sold my Minimi, placed an order and after some phone calls and faxes to sort it out, the postman delivered my parcel, eager to know himself what was inside…
The Sopmod is now available from Zero one airsoft in the UK (cheaper than what I paid for mine, but what you gonna do…)
First impressions…
Upon opening the cardboard box, I realised why shipping was so expensive, included with the gun is a rather large aluminium effect rifle case. (Now swapped to a plain black plastic one in the current release)
It seems that Star have now started shipping all there AEG’s with case of similar design. I had no need for the case, as I already own several other storage cases and bags but never the less it is a nice storage solution and completes the package nicely. Be warned though the case weighs about 4.5kg and so really bumps up the postage costs when shipping from Japan etc.
There is no manual included in the box, which is annoying, instead the complete set of instructions and the take down diagram is available from www.starairsoft.com on the Sopmod M14 page.
Upon opening the case I took my first look at the rifle itself. It’s very nicely finished and looks the part. Externally it is neat and clean, no sign of unsightly seam lines etc. and the whole thing looks good.
It lacks the correct Troy Industries logo or text, which on the real steel rifle are engraved on the thingying handle plate, but does have US RIFLE, 7.62mm M14, SA 56756 laser engraved behind the rear sight.
The rifle itself…
Picking up the rifle, you realise it’s heavy… roughly weighing in at 4.6kg it weighs less than a Minimi, but more than most off the shelve rifles. It is not something you’ll want to carry round all day without a break.
• The main stock is made from what appears to be a heavy weight nylon fibre reinforced ABS, the surface is an even satin dark grey (almost black) colour with a dimpling texture very similar to the look of the real Sopmod. The pistol grip is very similar and has a nice firm rubbery texture to it, allowing for a good hold.
• The folding stock is mainly steel, with a rubber butt pad and fake leather effect adjustable cheek pad. The joint between body and stock appears to be made from cast aluminium with the catch smoothly locking the stock firmly in position. There is some wobble to the stock, about that of the sliding stock on the Marui MP5 series. The cheek pad can be raised and lowered by undoing a screw wheel located on the front of the butt plate, allowing the cheek pad to be adjusted to suit the user, and utilise either the iron sights or a mounted scope.
Note: the cheek pad must be raised quite high to clear the back of the main receiver when folding the stock in.
• The main receiver, complete outer barrel, thingying handle, trigger guard, mag release section, expansion chamber, flashider and gas block are all metal. I think there aluminium but I can’t say for certain. They are neatly cast with a smooth even dark grey (look a like parkerised finish) colour to them. One point of discussion is whether the thingying handle was fixed or not… it is fixed and thus non moveable, as is the ejection port cover. This may bother those who aim for realistic M14 replica, like those from G&G or Marui.
• The flashider is threaded in two places, the gas expansion block (on the real thing) can be unscrewed and the flashider itself is also removable from the gas block. Both are 14mm negative threads and so those who want to fit a silencer can easily do so. With the gas expansion block removed and the inner barrel sticks out slightly from the outer barrel by about 1.5 inch.
The inner barrel fitted for those who want to know is 420mm long, and finishes about 2 inch short of the end of the flashider, so you can fit a slightly longer barrel if required.
• The upper heat shield is supposedly made from carbon fibre. I have yet to establish whether this is true, it feels more flexible than normal ABS plastic, but does not look anything special.
The Sopmod has RIS rails, lot’s to be precise. All rails are metal and firmly attached. The top rail is a whacking 380mm long, the bottom 210mm and the two side rails both 110mm. There’s easily enough room for anything you can imagine (within reason).
I chose to mount a reflex sight on top, a vertical grip below and possibly a torch on the side. Mounting too much though will raise the weight on an already heavy rifle…
The Sopmod only has a rear iron sight, no front sight so I would say an optic of some sort is a good idea, I went with the Guarder Red Dot Reflex sight, a good easy to sight with, choice. I believe the lack of a proper front sight is true to the real steel rifle though as well.
Gearbox wise, it’s a new design, supposedly compatible with marui gears and pistons, should you need to do repairs or go for higher FPS. The motor is different to most standard ones, in that the shaft of the motor is far longer that of say the AK, G36C or similar so finding a replacement may prove very difficult should the motor fail.
The safety is on the trigger guard, in front of the trigger as on all M14 rifles, forward to fire, and back to engage the safety.
For those who wondered whether or not the Sopmod was select fire… it is Not, there is no selector switch. The rifle is SAFE and AUTOMATIC only…
The real world M14 Sopmod is based around the semi auto variants of the M14 and so has no external selector switch, so equally the Star version does not.
Trigger pull is light but long, especially long for an AEG. Some have said the trigger is much like that of the AUG or P90, in that half pull is semi and full back is auto, I have not found this to be the case. You can quickly pull and release the trigger to fire a single round quite easily, but really it is just full auto only.
If you had intents of making a sharp shooter out of this rifle, you will be disappointed.
Rate of fire with a 9.6v battery (recommended) is pretty high, higher than a stock G36C or CA M15 series with the same 9.6 battery. The magazine does not last long at all.
The mags are folded steel and nicely finished, they each hold 90 rounds standard and are not the same as the G&G or Marui ones, and are definitely not compatible. They are however the same (exactly the same) as the previous Airsoft Club Custom M14 AEG rifles mags. Therefore those with a AC m14 will be able to use there own mags and those who need spare mags can purchase the AC ones from Den Trinity or Tokyo Model Company still (until Star releases new mags).
Zero One in the UK now have the high cap mags (470rnds) listed at £24.99 each.
Locking the mag in also take some practice as it has to be tilted forward to clear the magwell and then angled back (straight) to lock in place. I imagine this to be the same with the G&G and Marui M14’s also, as it is the way the real steel mags are fitted.
Firing the gun…
The first time loading and firing the gun, the mag did not feed smoothly, and dry fired several times. That said a good squirt of silicon oil and a good working through has loosened the mag follower and from there on, it has fed flawlessly.
Power wise I have had not had a chance to chrono it, nor test it with the coke can FPS test, but it fires harder than a stock Marui rifle, I would guess at a push around 350fps give or take. Zero One have the stock FPS quoted as high as 400fps but I do not believe mine is firing that “hot”.
Hop up is adjusted via a grub screw through a gap within the top RIS rail and is based off the APS style hop up unit, whatever that means (I have not had it apart that far to examine as of yet). The hop was easy to set though and seems to hold position well.
There is no fuse on this gun either, despite the fact there is plenty of room to have included one. Perhaps as the Sopmod is designed to utilise a more powerful battery ideally (9.6v is suitable) they chose to forego the fuse system.
The biggest problem encountered is the battery placement. There is plenty of room for a battery (the whole front section of the fibre stock part is hollow enough to fit a largish battery, easily one of the newer G&P 1100mah 9.6v batteries) but getting the battery in and out is tiresome.
To insert the battery the way you are supposed to (according to the manual) you undo the hex screw below the gas fake gas regulator, this then swings out the way and allows you to slot in a battery. This is ok in theory but in practice, especially in the field this would prove to be difficult, and would most likely end in you loosing the hex screw.
If the screw is not replaced (tightly holding the fake gas regulator in place) the whole outer barrel can wobble and could throw off your aim.
There are two alternatives, you can use a PEQ2 battery box, which I do when I need a larger capacity battery, or you can permanently fix the battery into the battery space and just leave the connector sticking out, meaning you have to charge the battery in place. This works when, like me you fire small amount each game, but not for those who like to spray away.
Summation…
I love the look of the Sopmod M14, whether you agree or not, is personal taste. Those who like the clean look of the original M14 rifle will probably not like the new Sopmod, those who like tactical looking modern weapons will probably love it.
The price is still higher than most AEG’s (around £400 with the case and battery), but you get a lot for your money, full fibre reinforced plastic and metal construction.
If you want select fire and quick change batteries, this is not for you. The difficulty in battery changes (for those spray and pray fans) and lack of presently available locap mags (for those realistic gamers) limits the appeal of the Sopmod, while having no semi setting means no casual sniping…
If you want a heavy weight, full metal and fibre rifle, that feels strong and has no body flex, something that will set you apart from the other M4A1 Sopmod and special forces rifles, then the M14 Sopmod is for you.
Pros…
• Unique rifle, will set you apart from the crowd
• Full metal and fibre plastic, with practically no flex or creaking
• Plenty of rails to mount accessories
• Large battery space for custom batteries
• High rate of fire and approx 330 fps out of the box.
Cons…
• Battery is difficult to change
• No semi auto setting
• Mags are limited to high caps at present
• Lack of replacement motor etc.
• Lack of correct trademarks
• Higher up front cost
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of review
personally, the general look of this gun needs to grow more on me before i sell my soul to the devil for this riffle. and even if i get the liking for this mutant m14, i might go for something like this.
i mean, thats just me... i know Wolf has his eyes on one of these... hhhmmm.... is Wolf starting an m14 collection depot?
