IT’S TIME FOR THE CORE MEMBERS OF RED CELL TO WRAP UP YET ANOTHER CATEGORY AS WE MOVE TOWARDS THE END OF OUR LONG-TERM TESTING, AND THIS MONTH THEY TURN THEIR ATTENTION TO A GROUP OF AEGS AND GBBS THAT MANY OF YOU OUT THERE LOVE… THE SMG AND MACHINE PISTOL! WITH SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM WE THOUGHT THAT WE’D CLOSE THIS CATEGORY BY LOOKING AT A FEW OF THE MODELS THAT ARE A LITTLE MORE “ESOTERIC”! AS ALWAYS, BILL LEADS OFF…

Over the course of the past few years both as a group and individually the members of RED CELL have shot a huge number of AEGs and GBBs, and both our knowledge of the platforms themselves and their idiosyncrasies has expanded. When you “live with” a bunch of airsoft platforms day in and day out you come to know them in intimately, and by sharing our knowledge with each other on a regular basis we have come to truly know what makes “bestest gnu”, and what to look for.

I’m pleased to say that, for some of the models, overall nigh-on five years of continuous testing has actually resulted in very, very few “catastrophic failures”, and with a modicum of maintenance virtually all the original platforms we started out with are still going strong! This says an awful lot for the quality new now get, and expect, from the manufacturers, and bodes well for the future of airsoft in years to come.

But as usual I digress as we’re here this month to talk about our SMGs, and although the category has grown considerably we’re going to concentrate on the models that are either newer, or generally for some reason get less attention than the attention-grabbing “headliners”. And as I have said before, an SMG or Machine Pistol is worth its weight in airsoft gold, and a well-tuned one can be equally effective in the woods as in an urban setting, and for the smaller player the sheer lack of weight and physical size means that the SMG is something you can run all day with, and hold your own in any setting.

In my opinion everyone should own at least one airsoft SMG, and although I’ve owned SMGs in AEG form these days I find myself increasingly drawn to GBBRs across the board, and let’s face it there are some awesome models out there to choose from! GBB SMGs are getting better and better, and whether you use more conventional gas or an HPA system, the truth of the matter is that the “motive force” driving these platforms along is of better, more consistent quality, giving performance that we once only dreamed of! So, bottom line? Whatever you prefer to power your SMG, the fact is that you’re going to end up with something pretty darn cool if you add one to your armoury… but that’s enough from me, and I’ll now hand over to the members of THE CELL to talk more…

Team Talk

Boycie: I still have the first (I think) MPX in the UK which I managed to source via a friend in HK. I liked it so much that I wrote a review of it for the magazine. I really like it as it’s compact and almost the newer type of the MP5 style of “machine pistols”. It was a bit sluggish when I first got it but that was down to the motor; once I fitted one of my Warhead motors, the performance was hugely different. When I went out to play I did think a 50 BB shorter mag (replicating a real 15rd mag) would have been really fun. I got a sling point which could go in the 1913 rail at the back where the stocks attach, this would allow me to use a holster type harness and carry it pretty much concealed under a jacket. It brought a smile to my face when I did that as I would be going round the sites with a pistol and when the opposition thought that they had me cornered “He’s only got a pistol”, I would quietly put a 100 BB mag in the MPX and then wait for the fun to commence. Frequently I would get calls of “Oh hell there’s more than one of them in there!” and during one game I held off 10-15 players for around 20 minutes, before a lucky pyro throw got me.

I’ve said to Li’l Stu on several occasions that the MPX is one of the AEG’s that I’ll keep for those days when I want to just go “slick” running a basic plate carrier, mags on the belt and a pistol. I’m yet to try out one of the GBBR variants but even if I do then I will retain the AEG variant as it’s, for me, an all-weather platform.

Stewbacca: The KWA MP7 has to be one of my all-time favourite platforms, although I have barely touched mine in fairness since began acquiring a bunch more product samples! It was the first GBB SMG I ever owned which I bought second-hand off a teammate here in Taiwan after my first Christmas in country, otherwise only having had the HK45 for my first four or so months of gaming in country.

Purchasing additional magazines to bring my total up to four, I rapidly became addicted to fielding the KWA MP7, largely because I was playing almost exclusively at Action Bunker in very close quarters, although I had to resort to throttling the gas nozzle with a sliver of plastic glued on its inside face to drop the muzzle velocity down to 115m/s or less for their field limits! You can get ‘CQB Bolts’ separately to achieve the same restriction and make it interchangeable to readily suit different field limits.

The KWA MP7 in general has been an awesome platform in my experience; of course it is at around 80% of true scale being based upon the dimensions of the earlier original (rushed) Marui AEP system which was apparently scaled incorrectly from a photograph where it was being held by an atypically large demonstration guy. Nonetheless it works brilliantly with a distinctive sharp, barking report on firing and it lobs BBs out to a reasonable range and accuracy, coupled with 40 round magazines and ease of handling, although the trigger is perhaps a little Glock like with a longer and somewhat creepy trigger which tends to have a rolling break, albeit quite light at around 1.5lbs or 700g of weight. I have no experience of the VFC or WE variants but they are at least at true 1:1 scale; I may look to replace my somewhat worn KWA with a VFC at some point but it isn’t really a priority as such.

The ambidextrous controls are very convenient especially for my hand size, with HK pistol style flapper magazine release levers on both sides at the bottom rear of the trigger guard where it meets the pistol grip, as well as bolt release levers on the receiver sides above the trigger, and convenient thumb actuated fire selectors on both sides at the back upper corner of the trigger guard space, the trigger also features an inertial safety ala Glocks and the only other controls in reality are the stock release and the sliding buttons on the integral fold down front grip which latches up under the receiver and fits flush with the bottom edge of the trigger guard allowing it to be holstered conveniently in a dedicated thigh or waist rig setup which makes it a very portable and compact system giving you more capability than a pistol without a much larger profile and similar carrying options. This makes it ideal for snipers or other roles to sling on their thigh/waist/slung over their back relatively unobtrusively.

This arrangement overall makes it a very rapid to operate system, pulling a magazine from your gear, grabbing the one currently in the gun in the same grip, dropping the magazine and ‘hot swapping’ them by pivoting your hands to present the fresh mag, inserting it, and re-indexing your spent magazine in your gear as you push up on the bolt release with your strong hand trigger finger, giving a minimum down time or otherwise allowing for speed. Magazine pouches can be a bit of a pain at times; I use the same TMC FMA Skorpion pistol fast mags which carry the vast majority of my pistol and SMG magazines out here, but there are more specialised options available, especially if you require fully enclosed or more stable pouches for field use rather than running them on a plate carrier as a primary weapon in CQB environments with less prone or crawling related magazine retention loss issues.

The top full length rail allows for an array of sighting solutions; personally a simple T1 clone on a built in riser has resided on mine all the years I’ve had it and proved perfectly effective for my use case, but it’s a very popular platform in Taiwan. At one point EIGHT of us turned up to one game at Action Bunker with them, probably half the players in one round! I’ve seen people running them with longer barrels hidden inside suppressors and using long telescopic sights, or dot and magnifier combinations alike. The flip up iron sights have pistol-style dot arrangements when folded down for convenient arms-length use in a pinch like a pistol, but when time permits deployment of the stock (using the top rear right nub on the back plate beneath the butterfly charging handles) you can fold up the BUIS which follow a more AR pattern windage adjustable rear peep sight and front blade which is elevation adjustable for zeroing between themselves.

The threaded barrel replacement for the original muzzle device allows you to fit a suppressor or tracer unit for increased funtimes in CQB or night games, or to allow the aforementioned secretion of an extended inner barrel… although doing so can raise the muzzle energy to the - 150-170m/s region on 0.2g BBs, so do be aware of that! Doing so turns it into somewhat of a sniper SMG in most of my experiences of going up against such setups, making it a very wieldy but effective setup, and especially ideal for smaller framed or female players; I see a lot of them including that of my competitive shooter and skirmish friend out here Mia , although she has the full scale VFC variant.

The telescopic stock extends the overall length from 370mm out to 570mm in short order, giving a very comfortable firing grip and shouldering that the grippy buttplate makes easy, comfortable and consistent for repeat indexing. This system is prone to wear however, and mine tends to collapse under loading. You may need to file the locking cutouts somewhat to address wear to their surfaces which tend to lead to such buckling.

The rear of the receivers are also known for cracking due to the sheer bolt velocity and

LAMBDA DEFENSE GHM-9 GBB GEN II

Price: iro UK£180.00

Age: One Year

Weight: 1550g

Length: 365mm

Magazine Capacity: 48 BBs (MP9 Compatible)

Cold Chrono: 0.92 Joule/315fps

Hot Chrono: 0.92 Joule/315fps

Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK

Suppressor Compatibilty: Dedicated Extended Version is best

Available From: www.airsoftworld.net

Ksc M11a1 Gbb

Price: iro UK£185.00

Age: A LONG Time…

Weight: 1315 g

Length: 255mm/455mm

Magazine Capacity: 48 BBs

Cold Chrono: 0.95 Joule/320fps

Hot Chrono: 1.01 Joule/330fps

Taclite Compatibility: N/A

Suppressor Compatibilty: Dedicated

Supplied By: One to search for!

G&G SMC9 GBB

Price: iro £UK£285.00

Age: Five Years

Weight: 2125g

Length: 420mm/630mm

Magazine Capacity: Gas, 50 BBs (Will accept 27 BB GTP9 pistol mags)

Cold Chrono: 1.04 Joule/335fps

Hot Chrono: 1.04 Joule/335fps

Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK

Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.guay2.com

Ksc Vz61 Skorpion Gbb

Price: iro UK£140.00

Age: Five Years

Weight: 1570g

Length: 273mm/518mm

Magazine Capacity: 20 BBs (40 BB extended mags are available)

Cold Chrono: 1.01 Joule/330fps

Hot Chrono: 1.04 Joule/335fps

Taclite Compatibility: Dedicated

Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.wgcshop.com are still showing a few in stock!

Tokyo Marui Mp7a1 Gbb

Price: iro UK£295.00

Age: Four Years

Weight: 2200g

Length: 381mm/586mm

Magazine Capacity: 40BBs

Cold Chrono: 0.95 Joule/320fps

Hot Chrono: 0.92 Joule/315fps

Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail

Suppressor Compatibilty: Dedicated

Available From: www.alphadeltaairsoft.com ferocity… this system can slowly erode your hearing with it going off right next to your ear a lot of the time and barking loudly about it; your teammates and opponents can usually work out where you are based upon it! That same ferocity also tends to lead to the front end fasteners of the bolt breaking or eroding the front end of the bolt carrier side walls and breaking through it as the gas nozzle extends forward as the BCG retreats under gas pressure on firing, then suddenly slams into its retainer block bolted into the side walls up front; I’ve chewed through two standard bolt carriers in heavy use of it as a result, and the cracked rear receiver is a running repair on mine that continues to fracture more with each use! Similarly the main piston retainer bolt in the rear of the BCG tends to strip and eventually get eaten up by the mechanism causing a very hard stoppage mid game in my experience.

Field stripping is very easy, popping the two push pins in the rear of the receiver, and pulling back plate, butterfly charging handles and bolt and carrier all out as one unit as such, however any issues with the HOP unit require detail stripping out the front end of the whole system - I’ve taken the fire control chassis out of mine once and had to use tape to carefully retain all the springs, I would avoid field stripping that mess unless you absolutely had to… Mine has seen a good few years hard use earlier in my time here, but more recently I’ve barely touched it or loaned it out to my female teammates as a more convenient and wieldy platform to allow them to try gas guns and their management and manual of arms, without lugging a comparatively big AR or heavy MP5 system around - the magazines tend to leak from the bases as they have the same annoying cross pin retention design rather than a vertical bolt that allows for continuous or adjustable pressure to be applied to their seals, so when I do want to field it I typically have to reseal all the magazines as they sit around disused for too long most of the time.

All quibbles aside, nonetheless, the KWA MP7 has brought me endless fun and eliminations over its use, and consternation to my foes, I might suggest trying the full scale VFC version as a preference, although I haven’t had a chance to get hands on with that as yet.

Dan: I am still rocking one of the Arcturus PP19-01 variants as one of my ‘daily drivers’; specifically the PE Vityaz Z-TAC SP1 model which I reviewed back in the November 2023 issue. This has remained an exceptionally reliable AEG and I have yet to experience any failures or hiccups throughout its use. I rarely tend to leave a stock gun “alone”, but this has been the exception to that rule.

The only major changes I have made was to drop in a Warhead 30K Black brushless motor and a Gen. 3 TruHop bucking (with a slightly thicker nub so I can lift the diet of .32g’s it consumes).

The Warhead motor paired with the stock 13:1 ratio gears, makes this a snappy beast, and with the upgraded bucking, it has no problems competing for range with the best of them. I have also slightly modified the delayer chip and tappet fin on account of the higher ROF produced, but everything else inside the gearbox remains entirely stock still.

While the Z-TAC edition tends to invite dropping all manner of accessories on the platform, as I’ve gotten older I’ve started to appreciate lighter weight guns. So I’ve eventually stripped some things off in the interests of slimming the whole ensemble down. First of these was the Delta-Tek linear style compensator, which while very cool in the aesthetics department, stacked 12oz off the front end. I still keep this in reserve as a host for a tracer unit, but for the general daytime use I just run the stock muzzle brake and keep things short. I still run a Surefire Scout on a modified Arisaka M-LOK mount, which I opted to do to eliminate one additional mount / adapter between the

“I AM STILL ROCKING ONE OF THE ARCTURUS PP-19-01 VARIANTS AS ONE OF MY ‘DAILY DRIVERS’; SPECIFICALLY THE PE VITYAZ Z-TAC SP1 MODEL WHICH I REVIEWED BACK IN THE NOVEMBER 2023 ISSUE. THIS HAS REMAINED AN EXCEPTIONALLY RELIABLE AEG AND I HAVE YET TO EXPERIENCE ANY FAILURES OR HICCUPS”

Asg Scorpion Evo A1 Aeg

Price: iro UK330.00

Age: Seven Years

Weight: 2300g

Length: 425mm/625mm

Magazine Capacity: 75BBs (Hicaps available)

Cold Chrono: 1.07 Joule/340fps

Hot Chrono: 1.07 Joule/340fps

Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail

Suppressor Compatibilty: Dedicated

Supplied By: www.actionsportgames.com

Modify Pp2k Gbb

Price: iro UK£300.00

Age: Three Years

Weight: 1350g

Length: 360mm/580mm

Magazine Capacity: 22 BBs (56 BB extended mags are available)

Cold Chrono: 1.0 Joule/310fps

Hot Chrono: 1.2 Joule/330fps

Taclite Compatibility: Dedicated

Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW

Available From: www.modify-tech.co

Sig Air Mpx Aeg

Price: iro UK£330.00

Age: Four Years

Weight: 2540g

Length: 635mm (stock collapsed)

Magazine Capacity: 100BBs

Cold Chrono: 0.92 Joule/315fps

Hot Chrono: 0.89 Joule/310fps

Taclite Compatibility:

Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW

Available From: www.redwolfairsoft.com

S&T AVENGER BIZON AEG

Price: iro UK£220.00

Age: Seven Years

Weight: 2900g

Length: 485mm (Stock Folded)

Magazine Capacity: 300 BBs (Silverback Midcaps available)

Cold Chrono: 1.07 Joule/340fps

Hot Chrono: 1.07 Joule/340fps

Taclite Compatibility: None, but you can easily fit a rail section

Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.nuprol.com

LCT PP-19 AEG

Price: iro UK£400.00

Age: Seven Years

Weight: 3220g

Length: 480mm/705mm

Magazine Capacity: 50 BBs (Double Included, Hicap available)

Cold Chrono: 1.01 Joule/330fps

Hot Chrono: 1.01 Joule/330fps

Taclite Compatibility: None (Aftermarket rails are now available)

Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW

Available From: www.fire-support.co.uk

Zenitco Basis system and the Surefire’s picatinny attachment method. But this has proven to be very handy for those buildings on the local field that get rather dark inside. Aside from that, I have also modded a stubby style Tango Down M-LOK foregrip to the rail. Again, in the interests of omitting extra weight and mounts.

Aside from that, I eventually purchased the original style smooth motor grip which feels more comfortable to my hands than the more squared off RK-3 grip that originally came with the gun. And as cool as the PT-1 stock is, at some point I always end up stripping these off and rocking the bog simple triangle on my foldy AK’s. This also shaves a lot of weight off the gun too. So with these changes, the Arcturus is now my lightest AEG. My old PT-1 eventually found its way over to the UK by way of a mutual friend

Ben: Well, I’ve covered both TM MP7 and G&G SMC9 a few times so I’ll give my slice on the LCT ZK PDW PP19 EBB! First thing I have to say is how deceptively heavy this little beast is when you pick it up for the first time, and you’ll be shocked at just how heavy such a little SMG/PDW can be. Just the weight alone is convincing enough to feel like the real thing.

This PDW is the Russian version of an MP5 with the modern tactical-looking collapsible three stage stock and the banana style stick mags; it comes with the double-stacked quick-reload style of 50 BBs a mag, so be sure to buy yourself more mags if you plan on getting this CQB Russian terrier!

The EBB is really rather satisfying and gives a clear distinctive sound of the bolt slamming back and forth and being such a weighty piece it has a decent recoil feel for that add sweetness; as is common with EBB guns it has the potential to either strip the piston of its teeth or the EBB eventually fails. I’ve not heard of one failing thus far but have heard of them stripping the teeth, so upgrades are most likely needed. Out the box you can expect a range of 53 to 55 meters which is decent for a CQB SMG and it shoots straight and true; on a 0.25g BB I was getting 279fps as average single shot and 284fps full auto with 11/12 RPS, which doesn’t sound a lot but with the EBB working and the recoil kicking you really don’t care lol!

It actually gives a more authentic AK firing feel which is really what most of us look for and enjoy more, so from Russia with love the LCT ZK PDW PP19 is actually quite a pleasant experience and I would definitely recommend this if what you’re looking for is a modern tactical Russian CQB gun but make sure you get that Adidas three-stripe jacket to suit,...dasvidaniya comrade!

Stewbacca: Sticking with OPFOR shooters the Modify PP2K is arguably one of the most oddball guns I’ve ever acquired, the ‘MP7 we have at дом (home)’, the Russian equivalent in terms of a machine pistol style SMG with the magazine fitting inside the vertical pistol grip, which also has an almost P90-esque extended trigger guard that melds into the integrated front vertical grip all of which comprises the polymer lower receiver that the action snaps down into. It’s also arguably one of the most wieldy and highest capacity systems in the profile, boasting a 56 BB narrow stick magazine akin to the .380 sticks of the M11A1, and similarly troublesome to store effectively!

Again I made use of the same solution of vertically and horizontally stacked PSI Gear ‘skewer’ pistol mag pouches with the upper one’s bottom panel to allow for double length pouches to be formed from the two stacked one above the other.

I eventually acquired a total of four such magazines giving me a fairly prodigious ammunition count rivalling my AR setups with full combat loads in a *far* more compact package overall, and surprisingly still giving great HOP performance and range that rivals such a

AND G&G SMC9

SO

GIVE MY SLICE ON THE LCT ZK PDW PP19 EBB! FIRST THING I HAVE TO SAY IS HOW DECEPTIVELY HEAVY THIS LITTLE BEAST IS WHEN YOU PICK IT UP FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND YOU’LL BE SHOCKED AT JUST HOW HEAVY SUCH A LITTLE SMG/PDW CAN BE”

VORSK VMP-1 GBB

Model: Vorsk VMP-1 GBB

Price: iro UK£200.00

Age: Two Years

Weight: 1829g

Length: 557/690mm

Magazine Capacity: 48 BBs

Cold Chrono: 1.06 Joule/339fps

Hot Chrono: 1.08 Joule/342fps

Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail

Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW

Available From: www.vorskairsoft.com

G&G MXC 9 AEG

Price: iro UK£350.00

Age: Four Years

Weight: 2190g

Length: 420/665mm

Magazine Capacity: 130 BBs

Cold Chrono: 1.01 Joule/330fps

Hot Chrono: 1.01 Joule/330fps

Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK

Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.guay2.com

ARCTURUS PP20 PE AEG (LIMITED EDITION)

Price: iro UK£600.00

Age: One Year

Weight: 2950g

Length: 660mm

Magazine Capacity: 95 BBs

Cold Chrono: 1.07 Joule/340fps

Hot Chrono: 1.09 Joule/343fps

Taclite Compatibility: Lower Rail Only

Suppressor Compatibilty: Dedicated (comes with the AEG)

Available From: www.taiwangun.com

Evolution Reaper Xs Emr Aeg

Price: iro UK£250.00

Age: New Weight: 2200g

Length: 490-580mm

Magazine Capacity: 110 BBs

Cold Chrono: 0.88 Joule/309fps

Hot Chrono: 0.92 Joule/315fps

Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK

Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.evolutioninternational.it

Asg Mp9 Gbb

Price: iro UK£200.00

Age: Five Years

Weight: 1750g

Length: 305-527mm

Magazine Capacity: 48 BBs

Cold Chrono: 1.07 Joule/340fps

Hot Chrono: 1.08 Joule/342fps

Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail (RHS, High)

Suppressor Compatibilty: Dedicated

Available From: Sadly, these will now be second-hand only… platform, which makes it ideal for smaller framed players or the lady shooters who have joined us at times. The latter variants did have internal geometric changes which cause the whole BB stack to sit higher due to more space between the side walls, so be sure to load the correct amount rather than try to fill the space all the way to the bottom as with the original profile magazines, otherwise the BBs will tend to stack side by side or nearly so, causing binding and feed issues.

Aside from that the only issue I’ve had is more recently the feeding of the BBs from the magazine seems to be interrupted for some reason I haven’t managed to diagnose as yet; it will cycle and dry fire but fails to properly feed the BBs from the magazine into the chamber now, basically making the PP2K a wall hanger until I finally get around to sorting it… in retrospect I should have taken it with us to Modify when we visited and seen if they can service it… perhaps at MOA or before! Hopefully I can get it resolved, as the overall performance and user experience of the PP2K by everyone who’s handled it has been resoundingly good. It has such an excellent trigger break and reset coupled with a snappy internal bolt system and great easily accessed HOP unit which makes it surprisingly effective even with its shorter standard barrel (there are also the OTS carbine kits that add a lot more barrel length, but they’re not my cup of tea as such) the PP2K offers an ideal platform for one handed use, and although the controls aren’t ambidextrous, it fits and shoots equally well in either hand, and given the class beating capacity that gives you almost two assault rifle mags worth, or 1.5 MP7 magazines, reloading is less frequent at least and usually more administrative between cover and movements.

The charging handle is like a G36 series, swinging to the left for loading and then springing back to centre again upon release and reciprocating with the bolt during firing. The top of the receiver has a twelve slot long Picatinny rail for adding an optical sight to; again I had a T1 clone on an integral riser as per my MP7 which offered great performance for close to mid-range engagements in CQB and jungle settings alike.

If you can get past the quirky aesthetics and find appropriate magazine carrying equipment then the power to weight ratio of the PP2K given its extremely lightweight pistol-like construction and the slim long magazines which can be stacked in much smaller spaces than many others, then it’s well worth a look at, especially if you want or need to carry a shield or other props in game, it essentially functions as a very high performance stocked pistol setup like many of the more modern conversion kits seek to.

The KSC Vz61 Skorpion is another of those oddball guns that just steals the show when it’s on screen, whether it be the twin silenced ones Neo wields in the legendary Matrix Lobby scene, or there’s of course the over the shoulder mounting of it on the Winter Soldier’s back in the Marvel films from whence it is drawn and mag dumped as a weapon of last resort usually.

The Vzor (Model) 61 Skorpion was produced in the Czech Republic (Or rather Czechoslovakia, back then) originally intended as a light and unobtrusive but more capable PDW for armoured vehicle crews - little larger than a pistol, but sporting a 10 round stubby magazine for carry use in a dedicated holster that kept it well out of the way in the event of having to escape a vehicle hatch in a hurry, or otherwise allowing the wearer to draw it easily and mag dump it into said hatch space if enemy units had engulfed the tank and were forcing an entry, but then the longer banana mags carried the typical full twenty capacity of rounds for more sustained use after exiting the vehicle.

The KSC Vz61 GBB PDW replica was actually left with me by our old teammate Handsome Kev, along with a raft of other oddball offerings setup, much the way it was originally intended to. I tweaked the fabric holster a little to allow it to be holstered with the magazine installed as apparently the model of holster I got with it from Kev didn’t allow this originally; I have also been tempted by a custom Kydex OWB setup from Beans Workshop, however on recent outings it hasn’t been functioning entirely reliably so I’m less inclined to invest in it until that is resolved (if at all possible); with it being quite an old and niche platform I wonder if I can source spares for it now? I imagine the mainspring has worn somewhat over all the years of use in Kev’s and my own care as I’ve run it not so often, but fairly heavily when I do, sporting four full length magazines that hold 40 BBs each in airsoft terms, as well as the 10 round (20 BB) shorty mag fitted for starters.

For the most part it has been a very fun and punchy little system, given the very light trigger of around 350g pull weight with a short throw, and it weighs overall only 1.5 kilos with the short mag fitted and a lot of the overall weight is reciprocating internal bolt, and of course pushing the selector lever forwards to the ‘20’ marking for full auto fire really makes it sing, assuming the gameplay rules allow for such things - the overfolding wire stock is of course somewhat short and not the most stable or comfortable, and in all reciprocating on both sides of the very slim receiver you kind of have to grab the magazine and low profile mag well with your support hand and index your thumb on the indentations on its side walls to ensure your thumb doesn’t get in the way of the cocking handles as they cycle.

Besides that idiosyncrasy it’s an absolute hoot to shoot, has a loud crisp bark similar to an MP7 and likewise turns heads for being a little more unique and wieldy. The magazine design, like that of the M9 and CZ75 series pistols, involves lateral drift pins to retain the magazine base plugs which make it somewhat prone to leaks without regular maintenance… and leaving the mags for prolonged periods unused typically leads to them slowly venting all the gas left in them and requiring some attention prior to use again.

The bolt locks back on an empty mag and reloads are fairly intuitive with a small button at on the left rear of the mag well ideally placed for the support hand thumb as you grab the magazine to remove it, then the slender curved magazines seeming to intuitively meet their mark or guide themselves in to the mag well on reloading despite its limited depth and lack of flaring as such, and then the cocking handles can be retraced slightly, with the same support thumb just reaching up while holding the magazine well ready to fire, to knock the handle back and release the bolt forward ready for firing again. pass through for the line of fire. It does give you something to grip in the airsoft realm I suppose, but makes the whole thing somewhat unwieldy given how huge the suppressor is compared to the gun itself… bonus cool points I suppose.

So, if you’re looking for an unusual but very effective backup GBB in a compact package, or are particularly interested in an eastern bloc, radical group or techno dystopian future kind of loadout, perhaps the KSC Vz61 Skorpion is worth a look for you too.

The KSC M11A1 is another handme-down oddball SMG left with me thanks to Handsome pilot Kev a few years before he left Taiwan. The KSC M11A1 is another iconic yet niche platform that you probably don’t see as often on the airsoft field, a pint-sized powerhouse of open bolt firing machine pistol in the truest sense, around the same size as a Glock 17 but with an elongated very-small cross section 47 BB stick magazine which like the Vz61 features a lock down follower for easier loading which can then be released by pressing in the central button section of the follower to put spring pressure on the BB stack.

The .380 round double stack sized magazines are noticeably thinner than the likes of a Glock magazine, but not too different from the Shadow mags; this can therefore cause some issues finding pouches to suit.

Being an open bolt system does tend to make it inherently less consistent or accurate due to the ‘lock time’ and moving mass, coupled with the somewhat short 120mm inner barrel; truth be told I’ve never really bothered putting it on paper, using it as a slightly more potent sidearm, typically for CQB games where the limited range is less of a concern, especially given its overall compact footprint and near 50 BB capacity, along with a somewhat short telescopic strut stock

The fire selector is an AR style flip lever on the front left of the receiver which rotates freely and latches in the lever rearward ‘S’ for semi auto or lever forward ‘F’ for full auto, the latter of which has a prodigious cyclic rate given the short 35mm overall bolt travel. The safety is a sliding nub to the right underside of the receiver besides the trigger guard, marked on the right side with forward for fire and rearward for safe, with it locking the trigger in safe mode.

The magazine release is an old school heel release lever at the rear bottom of the pistol grip and is usually accessible even with a large hand wrapped around the pistol grip, enabling you to ‘beer can’ grip the magazine with your support hand and release it with your thumb on the lever. The charging handle is on the top of the receiver

SIZED POWERHOUSE OF OPEN BOLT FIRING MACHINE PISTOL IN THE TRUEST SENSE, AROUND THE SAME SIZE AS A GLOCK 17 BUT WITH AN ELONGATED VERY-SMALL CROSS SECTION 47 BB STICK MAGAZINE” and fixed to the telescopic bolt, with a cutout through the middle to allow you an uninterrupted view of the industrially simple iron sights. I painted mine yellow to make it easier to pick out in darkened settings such as my Wednesday night games at Linkou CQB where it’s a very well suited system to field, although I only have two magazines for it given its niche use.

The trigger pull is very short and crisp at 5mm of travel and 1.25kg (just under 3lbs) making it a very snappy setup for use in a pistol format with the stock collapsed at arms-length, or even stock extended and dropping double taps through killing house windows or around corners with a minimal exposure of your own silhouette - it’s certainly effective within 20m or so, but beyond that I haven’t bothered putting it on paper or using it on anything other than meat targets at close ranges.

One thing to look out for is the main piston seal drying out under sustained fire throughout a day - particularly in hotter or humid environments, I found mine choking a bit and hanging up mid travel after a day of running it quite a lot, so ensure you keep it lubricated well to maintain the best function and user experience. Other than that I haven’t really found any issues with mine thus far, it lacks a slinging option beyond just Karabiner clipping or wrapping around the wire butt pad or its axle, and the stop on empty is a simple ‘nozzle loading fin slams into back of magazine follower’ to hang up mid cycle - so as with the VFC MP5s it’s probably worth recocking it before removing the magazine to minimise scraping or wearing of the follower on the nozzle fin to minimise the chance of damage and related feeding problems.

Other than that, if you’re looking for a movie classic or want to turn it into the Blade sidearm (there is a kit for just such a purpose) or otherwise want something that weighs less than 1.5 kilos loaded and has a small and handy profile overall and a high magazine capacity as well as lending itself perfectly to dual wielding funtimes, perhaps the M11A1 is an underrated option you could find for yourself.

Bill: To close out this time I have to mention my time so far with the LAMBDA DEFENSE GHM-9 GBB GEN II which is an absolute cracker of a machine pistol peach as far as I can see; AIRSOFT WORLD kindly sent me down the GBB initially with a big old box of parts, and again I have to say that Lambda Defence have made everything up to the standard that B&T as the licencee would expect of a replica with their name on it.

Everything is made out of premium-grade aluminium, steel and nylon to make it absolutely bomber-tough, and the woes that we first experienced with the “grey import” GEN Is are nowhere in evidence as all the accessory parts fit together brilliantly, and if anything add further strength and rigidity to an already stable little platform.

And I love the fact that is truly is a “mix and match as YOU like” setup; when the GHM-9 arrived it was absolutely just a bare-bones solid, base platform on which to build. For our test model I installed a new metal outer barrel which is swiftly and simply installed by just removing the rail system to access two further hex screws deeper in the body; it’s then a simple matter of unscrew, release the original polymer outer barrel, replace with the new metal one that carries threading for the suppressor. I’ve replaced the original short rail with a much longer one, and then attached the suppressor “barrel”. Same deal with the excellent sliding stock; simply remove the back of the receiver which incorporates the form-the-box picatinny rail by punching through two push-pins (G3/MP5 style), replace with the part for the stock, and slide that on… done… and once together it all feels solid as a rock and looks superb!

If you’re looking for a cracking, compact CQB tool, or an absolutely excellent back-up for a sniper rifle then I have to recommend the GHM-9 to you now, especially as I’ve given it a properly good hammering to catch up the BB count close to some of our older models and it’s proved it can handle the pressure! With both variants currently under UK£200 it’s a solid price for a gas machine-pistol, although as with all GBBs buying extra magazines will send this price up…. unless you already own MP9-compatible mags (for the GEN II) then you’re quids in! It’s a really solid performer and it appears that Lambda Defence have now made the absolute most of their licence, and apparently with them set in for the long game it seems that good things really do come to those that wait!