Real Sword China Pla Full Size Battle Rifle Airsoft Aeg

Richardson Creepap · Friday, March 4, 2022

Real Sword China Pla Full Size Battle Rifle Airsoft Aeg

Background of the real weapon
Towards the end of 1955 the chinese and Soviet regimes (during 1 of their frendlier moments) agreed a rather substantial arms deal. In a spirit of hospitality the soviet regime would supply the chinese with the tooling neccessary to produce their ain versions of the SKS semi automatic rifle and the kalashnikov assault rifle.

Advisors, tooling and a whole hunk of parts were shipped over to let product in Peoples Liberation Ground forces factories to begin. The chinese designated the rifles (and other heavier armaments also procured in the technology deal) Blazon 56. The SKS was the Type 56 semi automatic carbine whilst the AK47 became the type 56 Assail rifle. This was maoist china so funky individual names for things werent realy the fashion

Initial prouction of the Type 56 followed the russian AK47 fixed stock milled receiver design. Afterward in 1963 production moved over to an AKM style stamped n pressed receiver, and the folding stock AK variant was added to the line upwardly (known every bit the Type 56-1).

A belatedly production Chinese Type 56-1

Its of import to note that while the receiver became AKM fashion the remainder of the Type 56 and Type 56-1 were still AK47 based. Equally a result the chinese type 56s AKs have distinctive mix of AK design details (combined with a hooded front sight) not establish on any other AK.

Due to chinese support for north vietnam Usa forces and their allies faced both the SKS and Type 56 set on rifle in big numbers during the vietnam war - indeed both chinese versions of these weapons vastly outweighted the involvement of their soviet equivalents when it came to that conflict.

Airsoft
AKs take become i of the mainstays of airsoft with many companies now producing their own versions based on the marui blueprint, still not since the days of Falcon Toy Corp with their gas powered classic has anyone mill produced a Type 56.

More than chiefly no one has e'er produced an airsoft AK of this quality.

Imagine Colt producing airsoft M16s, or H&Grand producing airsoft MP5s, using same materials and tooling etc as they use for the real matter. Because when it comes to the chinese producing an airsoft type 56 thats precisely what happened here.

Of course internally you wont observe the commodities rails, ejector and trigger group etc of a real AK. AEG parts (and legalities) have acquired the abscence of those. But externally to all intents and purposes this is a Norinco produced Blazon 56

First impressions

The RS type 56-ane ships in a rather subdued cardboard box. If large colourful cardboard boxes with funky graphics are your thing then this one isn't going to form the centrepiece of your packaging collection Nonetheless don't let that disappoint yous because what's inside makes up for that.

Opening up the box reveals an absolutely pristine replica of a Chinese type 56-ane with an orange plastic muzzle tip and barrel guard, stored securely in foam that'due south cut to fit the contours perfectly, and a steel mid cap magazine wrapped in brown oil paper.

A comprehensive manual in both Chinese and English, with the usual troubleshooting info and exploded diagram of the replica, is supplied together with a total color A3 sized instruction canvass detailing the take down steps required for basic maintenance. Not forgetting your general retro style BB loading rod that some manufacturers all the same seem to take a stockpile of that they're desperate to go rid of

In addition to the replica we have the higher up bis due north bobs:

A steel Type 56 threaded muzzle piece
A steel twin-threaded cage adapter that tin can be fitted instead of the standard 1 to permit fitting of air soft silencers
A traditional AK cylindrical metal factory cleaning kit (contents modified to suit the AEGs requirements and comprising of screwdriver/sight adjuster plus two airsoft attachements for the guns real cleaning rod - typical 'eye of a needle' type for swabbing the barrel along with a second blunt ended i for immigration BB jams)
A Chinese greenish plastic oil bottle of the sort that shipped with the original gun.
A dual ended AK rear sight removal and fitting tool

As well as providing a handy screwdriver for removing the (extremely authentic looking) pistol grip the case of the cleaning kit itself as well doubles up as a tool to undo the upper hand baby-sit release latch:

Unlike a lot of AK air soft guns the latch on this gun is as stiff as the real weapon and you'll do your fingers a big favour making utilise of this tool to release the latch rather than trying to practice it by hand.

Fit and finish

Much has been made of Real Swords decision to make their AKs dimensionally accurate to the real thing by redesigning the rear of the blazon 3 gearbox to suit. That same attention to detail is carried into the fit, finish and materials used too. Every unmarried external part of the gun is steel - correct down to the stock locking mechanism and its internal components, the commodities cover latch and the trigger (the sort of pocket-size parts which many manufacturers are quite happy to leave equally cast alloy even on their 'all steel' guns).

Due to its source, all external parts of the gun are finished to the same standard every bit the real matter. The receiver, folding stock struts and rear sight base are all in a slightly brushed metal stop, the forepart sight and gas tube is a matt terminate slightly rough to the affect, while the rest of the external parts (upper receiver encompass handguard retaining clips etc) are shine.

This is finished off with a dainty deep bluing that produces a jet black finish as adept equally that on my Russian military makarov pistol.

The only exception externally is the visible portion of the commodities, which is supplied in a calorie-free gray parkerized terminate.

Type 56's can be establish with both parkerized bolts and highly polished ones, I prefer the latter for this model of AK and then equally a consequence a number of the photos in this review will bear witness the bolt later a couple of minutes preliminary piece of work out on my bench polisher, rather than how it originally shipped

Similarly the wood furniture is built to the traditional Chinese AK design using the aforementioned method and varnished to the same standard. Buying existent steel paw guards for this gun is pointless - all y'all'd get thru the mail is identical to what's already on there

To prevent damage to the woodwork, the butt of the under folding stock retains the minor buffer pad of the original under folder pattern, albeit with a small foam rubber pad attached rather than the original square of leather used in 1960s examples.

With exception of the mag, the fit of all external parts is perfect. There is not a single wobble, crepitate or gap betwixt parts in the entire construction. The magazine does have some side to side play in information technology, though its inappreciably flapping in the current of air

Every bit a event of this gun post-obit the real steel blueprint, have downwards of the upper and lower handguards is every bit per the original. Having released the retaining latch with the aid of the body of the toolkit, the gas tube and upper handguard can exist lifted out, allowing admission to the lower handguard retaining ring latch.

Rotating that latch thru 180 degrees frees its cam from a notch in the outer barrel, and allows the lower handguard retaining band to slide frontwards, freeing the lower handguard from the receiver.

Due to the existent steel aspect of the gun this latch is stiff in the extremes. The VFC version is pretty tight but not similar this - I concluded upward levering it with a screwdriver and then knocking it forrard with a mallet (hand pressure solitary wouldn't have been plenty).

A like situation awaits you if y'all ever decide to remove the gas block or the front sight. Both are fitted equally per the real deal using an interference fit onto the barrel and thru pins to agree them in place. Again unlike your boilerplate airsoft AK where the thru pins tin can be knocked out with the aid of a small migrate and a few light taps, these ones are there to stay (unless yous want to start getting the blowtorch out to requite the housings a fair bit of rut).

Before looking at the internal construction its worth mentioning one pocket-sized badgerer I have with the externals of the gun, and that's its markings.

Offset off Existent Sword opted to mark the burn down select of the weapon with L and D markings rather than traditional chinese characters. At present while that's in keeping with some tardily production weapons I'd accept much rather my Chinese AK variant had more typically Chinese looking markings on it.

Too the front trunnion where the factory stamp and serial number would normally go. Instead of a common factory mark for blazon 56s like the 'Triangle 66' mark (the factory where a large percentage of them were made for the PLA) and an authentic looking series number, we simply take 56-1 RS # 001166 (well in my case its 001166, all of these guns have individual serial numbers).

Again you lot'll find T56'southward with all sorts of trunnion markings on them from all sorts of Chinese factories, but for a gun that'due south such a close replica to the real thing in almost every style? I'd actually have liked factory marker together with the 56-1 and a serial number more in keeping with real (rather than real sword) production numbers.

In fact I deceit help feeling that a replica this close to the real deal actually deserves a nice drove of manufacturing plant inspection marks worked onto parts of information technology like the barrel and bolt carrier too.

Other than that information technology is a perfect external replica. This really is as close as you lot're going to go to a set of airsoft internals fitted inside a existent AK without breaking umpteen laws in diverse countries

Construction of the burglarize I'll encompass in detail in a follow up take down guide blazon post. However I'll embrace the basics of the pattern every bit relevant to a review hither.

As mentioned previously this is a completely steel gun congenital equally a 1:1 external replica of the real Chinese Blazon 56-i. Where it deviates from the real weapon is really just the internal structure.

To adapt the gearbox the receiver has none of the internal rails etc of a existent AK (although the external spot weld marks of those missing components have been retained to ensure it looks correct from the outside). Instead it features three felt pads to act as buffers for the gearbox against the inside of the receiver.

Similarly and a little more controversially, the outer barrel to front end trunnion attachment is accomplished using two grub screws subconscious under the rear sight block. Every bit opposed to the real steel blueprint which uses yet another interference fit thru pivot to fix the barrel in place.

This is more in keeping with Inokatsus design than existent steel. It wouldn't be a major event if it weren't for the fact that Real Sword opted to gear up the hop unit direct to the outer barrel as per inokatsu etc, rather than use a VFC style sliding hop unit block.

Because of the blueprint of the breech area and this directly attached hop unit of measurement, to move the hop unit articulate of the gearbox and allow for gearbox removal, necessitates the loosening of the outer butt (which no doubt is why Existent Sword didnt go with a thru pin).

It should be possible to modify the breech finish of the outer barrel woth the aid of a manufactory to become around this issue (y'all'ld then just need to disengage the two screws on the hop unit and slide it forward on its own to clear the gearbox).

To be fair they do provide a rear sight removal tool which allows fast access to the barrel retaining screws and makes it far less of an awkward job than it would other wise exist, but in all honesty its an consequence that could accept been avoided entirely had real sword incororated that sort of mod into the design or just made use of the VFC way sliding hop unit design.

In order to prevent the AEG internals being visible thru the side of the receiver when the selector is off of its safe setting, RS accept adopted the marui total length bolt design (the rear department of this is painted black rather than parkerized and covers up any view into the receiver). To ensure wobble free attachment information technology also has a full length guide rod (the front end of which is inserted into a pigsty at rear of the front trunnion to locate information technology securely).

All the same this total length bolt design severely limits the bolts travel. Not simply from an authenticity POV, but actually to the betoken where the bolt travel is so short (around two cms!) that its quite awkward to carry out accurate adjustments of the hop up lever (as there's so little room available to access information technology thru the opening provided).

I'd suggest shortening the rear of the commodities a trivial to let some more travel and better access to the hop lever, but I'd caution against chopping a big clamper off – as you're and so probable to induce a lot of unwanted bolt rattle past removing ane of its stabilising lugs in the process.

Sights and controls

The Chinese Type 56 uses a distinctive hooded front sight (rather than open front end sight of the russian AK) and that particular is replicated here. Unlike many airsoft AKs where a fake 'sight mail service barrel' is cast as part of the front sight housing, and thus allowing only front sight tiptop adjustments of the key front sight mail, the RS type 56-1 offers windage aligning on the front sight with a proper sight post butt held tightly in the sight assembly.

All the same due to the root of its parts being in real steel, adjusting the windage on the front sight of this AK will require the appropriate tool every bit pictured above -either a existent 1, or a copy of it sold by Real sword. those living in the United states would be around 10 dollars cheaper buying one of the many copies available over there than ownership the Real Sword 1. If you lot're ane of the rest of us living elsewhere and so it may well be best to order up the real sword one at same time as the gun.

The rear sight is adjustable for elevation and, due to the need to remove the rear sight in order to access the outer barrel grub screws, a combined rear sight associates and disassembly tool is included with the rifle (whereas the front sight windage tool is considered an optional actress).

This tool is definitely not a luxury - attempting to remove or fit the rear sight is no like shooting fish in a barrel task without it. The leaf spring providing tension to the rear sight is a proper AK strength 1 and the culling of using a wide flat blade screwdriver to perform the same job can result in some not so lovely puncture wounds to the hand. So don't lose the sight removal tool!

The burn select is AK47 fashion, in keeping with the Chinese Type 56 mix of AKM receiver and AK47 parts, this adopts the now common high end practice of using a one piece bolt to hold the selector lever onto the gearbox rather than a domed cap roofing a recessed philips spiral equally found on the Marui and early Cymas etc. Burn down select follows the AK convention of Rubber at the top Automobile in the eye and Semi at the bottom.

Rather than being totally apartment the selector lever has been curved slightly at the mill to provide expert spring tension against the retaining bolt, and the lever has a positive click for each selector position.

Indeed coming back upwards from car to safe tin be quite a push – at times the detente on the selector lever actually does lock onto its notch on the receiver.

The old AKS folding stock design has been the blight of many a marui and cyma 028S owner. That's non an inherent fault of the folding stock design, simply the lightweight materials marui and cyma chose to make theirs from. The locking machinery has several small parts and diecast blend just doesn't cut information technology for making those.

Real Sword thankfully haven't skimped on their underfolder. While an verbal re-create of the original locking mechanism is incommunicable in an airsoft version (the real one incorporates a thru bolt that no AEG gearbox could accommodate) Real Sword have done the adjacent best thing and produced an adapted version of the locking machinery constructed from machined steel parts.

Those combined with the heavy guage total steel stock itself (2.5mm thick pressed steel for the artillery of the stock, and 2.2mm for its butt plate!) provide a really solid and positive engagement of the under folder. The locking push button is crisp, pops into its extended and folded lock postions with an audible click, and requires a dainty amount of deliberate forcefulness on the button to unlock information technology from either externed or folded position, as mentioned previously it also incorporates a modest beffer pad to prevent the butt plate digging into the underside fo the lower handguard when carried or used in the folded position.

Office 1 determination

Far equally I'm concerned externally at to the lowest degree this gun is as nearly damn perfect every bit your always probable to get a kalashnikov replica – construction, parts and finish all authentic to the model its supposed to represent (without need for the owner to refinish it or source whatever real steel parts like handguards and sights etc to supersede their airsoft equivalents), and as a result of all that its congenital like a tank.

To summarize, my just complaints on the externals are:

The use of less than stereotypical markings that could have placed more of a play on the guns Chinese heritage for a western audience.

The exceedingly brusque travel of the bolt making it difficult to access the hop

The design of the breech end of the outer barrel - making information technology necessary to loosen the outer barrel in order to slide the hop unit clear of the gearbox.

To be fair both of those latter issues can be user modified in order to solve which but leves the slightly annoying markings.

I'll encompass the gearbox internals in part 2