mG36 has broken gears and piston

My mG36 that I broke on Hurtgen reenactment game and left for repairs couple of days ago was diagnosed today by a friend of mine. He said that all the gears in the mechbox and the piston are broken (literally into pieces). He also said that it was because the spring was too weak for the battery voltage I used (9.6 V 4,000 mAh capacity NiMH battery). The rate of fire was so high that the mechbox malfunctioned and it caused all the damage.

The spring will be replaced with a more powerful one.

I wonder how much will I pay for the repairs and for the replaced parts...

mG36 and M24 dropped for repairs

Being today in Warsaw, I had a chance to meet with one of my teammates who recently started working in one of local airsoft shops. I wanted to meet him, because in his work he repairs airsoft replicas, and I wanted to leave him my broken mG36 and M24.

mG36 operational again

Yesterday I received a package containing my mG36 replica. It was repaired, so it's probably fully operational. I will check it on weekend, 'cause when I arrive home after work it's already after dusk. :(

I sent the G36 back for repairs

I wrote how my mG36E was broken by the guys who were supposed to tune it. I sent it on monday, but the story needs some explanation.

I sent the photos I shown here. And the next day I was called by one of the ASGShop staff about the hop-up chamber. The guy asked me if I think the replica was sent in this condition. He told me that the replica was tested before it was put to the package, but since it was missing the flash hider, it was probably damaged on it's way to me. He told me he already spoke with his boss who told him to take the replica for free repairs.

I didn't much have time to send it, so it took awhile before I went to a local post office. I was also waiting for my new purchases -- the G36 carry handle with picatinny rail. I wanted to see how this handle looks on the replica. I waited till last friday and as the handle didn't arrive, decided to go to the post office on monday. I packed the G36 using a lot of bubble wrap and cardboard:

From Airsoft from Poland photos

So I sent it, insured the package to the amount of $600 and paid for the shipping over $15. :(

By the way, at the post office, I received the package with the handle. :( I will write something more about the stuff I ordered tomorrow. Subscribe to RSS feed to know more. ;)

Guys from ASGShop.pl broke my mG36's hopup chamber

Last saturday I wrote a post on how my mG36 got home from tuning and repairs in ASGShop.pl broken. Now it is a good time to add some more details to the story.

On 18th, right after I posted an article, I mailed the guys from ASGShop to tell them the replica doesn't work.

Yesterday (on 23rd) I mailed them once again, as I didn't get any answer. Couple hours later I got a reply that my e-mail was forwarded to the guy who worked on my replica.

The guy called me today around 11 AM on my cellphone but I had another phonecall at work, so I didn't answer. I tried to call him back in a couple of minutes, but the phone was not answered (the message on their answering machine says the phone support works from noon). He eventually called me three hours later.

I told him that the I found one piece of hop-up / barrel assembly (the spacer I mentioned on the earlier post) lying somewhere in the box that held the replica. We discussed for a moment and he said that it is not possible that this part disconnected itself somehow while the package was being moved. He told me that if I feel like I may try to take a look at the hop-up assembly and fix it by myself. As all I want is to have my replica firing as soon as possible, I agreed. I am familiar with this mechanism as I tried to replace the inner barrel by myself.

So I came home and started working on the mG36. The first step was to remove the magazine nest (sorry -- don't know if this is the right word, I mean the part you put magazine in) and what I saw told me something is very wrong with the hop-up chamber. I saw this:

From Airsoft from Poland photos

On the photo above you can clearly see that there's a broken hop-up chamber and that the hop-up bucking (rubber) is broken as well. You may also see that the spacer I mentioned earlied is gone (no big mistery here -- I found it in the cardboard box). So I disassemblied it a bit more to remove the barrel and hop-up chamber.



You can see that the rubber is also damaged. The moving nozzle made a small cut on the lower part of the rubber. You can also see what happened to the hop-up chamber.

But the latest discovery was worst. Not that I did't expect it, though...



This is the part of the hop-up assembly where the spacer is supposed to go. On the original G36 barrels there are two notches that hold the spacer in place. You can see it perfectly on the photos here (a guide to G36 hop-up disassembly). The fourth photo shows the spacer (pointed with the red arrow). On the 8th and 9th photos you can see the notches on the inner barrel.

Why am I shocked? I tried to replace the barrel in my mG36 some time ago. I bought some long barrel that didn't fit because of those notches. And being aware of that (and since the precise barrel for G36 was not available at ASGShop.pl at the time I sent them my replica for tuning) I told them to install any precise barrel that will fit. Well... seems the guys decided that the barrel without notches is as good as the original. But they were wrong. I thought of this last week -- this is why I wasn't surprised. :(

I don't care! I am going to send them the replica tomorrow and phone them on monday (will probably e-mail them some of the photos as well). I suspect they will repair it as a part of their warranty, 'cause they have simply no other choice.

But I am going to write this whole story down on the biggest polish airsoft community's bulletin board. I would let one mistake go, but two mistakes are too much!

mG36 at home, but broken

Recently, when I used the phrase "my favorite ASG shop" I meant the asgshop.pl. It changes today! They aren't my favorite airsoft reseller anymore, 'cause they screwed up my replicas twice. The AUG was first (the guy who repaired the replica didn't replace the broken engine) and now the G36 is broken...

And what's the most hilarious in this whole story? I think I know what is the problem as I almost forseen it...

Two years ago I tried to replace the inner barrel for my G36. At that moment it was difficult to purchase a proper barrel since it wasn't available at any of local airsoft shops. So I bought some 509mm-long barrel for AUG and M15s. But I couldn't install it, as it had notches in wrong places. The notches are used to hold the barrel to the hop-up chamber.

When I unpacked the replica from the box, I found a small piece of hop-up assembly. This part - spacer - stopped me from installing the barrel when I tried it. On this photo you can see when this spacer goes on the barrel, it is the place where the notches are. I the notches are somewhere else, you can't install the spacer. And the spacer is very important as it: holds the barrel from sliping out of the hop-up chamber and holds the hop-up adjusting wheel from moving to the front.

Okay, so I took the mG36, plugged charged battery and then tried to fire the replica. It made some noise, as the gearbox worked. But the BB wasn't shot. The BB wasn't fed to the hop-up chamber and wasn't shot. I rotated the replica upside down to make sure there is no trouble with the high capacity magazine. Nothing changed. So I thought maybe the hop-up is set on high BBs turning and then I turned the adjusting wheel to the other side. Nothing changed, but the adjusting wheel moved a bit to the front of the replica.

As the mG36 doesn't work, it's going back to asgshop.pl for further repairs.

mG36 is ready

On thursday a guy from my favorite airsoft shop called me and we spoke for a while about my mG36 replica I sent for repairs and tuning.

He said that he installed the parts I asked for (precise inner barrel, 6.04 mm by Systema, and sealed air nozzle) and tested the replica on the chronograph. I wanted the replica to have around 350 fps -- enough for playing with guys that have 400 fps installed, but not very much). And I thought that after this barrel and nozzle installed it’ll have something close to that (330...340 fps maybe), since the G36 from Classic Army has 315 fps in stock!

Do you want to know what were the results from chronograph? A shitty 290 fps! I was stunned when I heard that.

It seemed that there was no other choice than to change the power spring. I asked the guy what caused such poor results. He said that the cylinder - cylinder head - piston head set is not very airtight and the spring looks weak. He suggested to change the spring go M100 and new cylinder with both heads made from aluminum. When I approved those parts to be installed, he asked me if I didn’t want to have the M110 instead as it’ll give me something close to 400 fps. Of course I agreed...

On friday he called me again. He installed the M110 and the other parts I mentioned above. He checked the replica on chronograph again and had result of 390 fps. That’s more than enough, I think...

Would you guess how much I’ll be charged for this tuning? PLN 460, amount equivalent to $170.

But hey, if the mG36 is supposed to be an light support weapon (as it’s real steel MG36 counterpart), it must have better range and accuracy than typical ASG replica...

the mG36 tuning to be made

Couple months ago I sent my Classic Army AUG replica to my favorite ASG Shop for repairs and small tuning.

Tomorrow I am sending them my mG36 for servicing and tuning.

I want them to see if there's anything wrong with the replica, because I think it has too low range. Maybe I broke something when I tried to replace the inner barrel. I thought about it in january and wrote two articles on how I tried to fix it.

Aside from the servicing, I will also ask the guys from my favorite shop to:

• install new sealed air nozzle (I have one already in my parents' place, so I won't be able to send it with the replica tomorrow),
  
• put any precise inner barrel,
  
• change the electrical wires to some high grade silicone wires and put them to the back of the gearbox and in the stock where the battery is located.

The changes should increase the muzzle velocity a little and increase the accuracy. They should also increase the rate of fire as the resistance of the wires should be decreased.

Maybe I'll ask the guys to install some stronger spring, but I'm not sure yet.

My latest purchases

Do you remember that I wrote how I got my 9,6 V large battery burnt? Because of that I needed to buy some connector plugs to repair the one on the battery and one in the AUG (I tried to pull the wires with those metal connectors from the plastic casing, pulled one successfully, but the second connector remained in the casing while I managed to pull the wire itself, so I had to cut the casing to remove the connector and attach it to the wire again). I also needed to attach standard large connector plugs to two cables I made for using large batteries in mG36 and AUG some time ago. When I needed those cables I didn't have the connector plugs so I made connectors from old computer connector plug. It worked fine, but there was always a question: which one is red, which one is black. You don't need to know that when using standard plug. :) So I needed those connectors...

I thought that paying PLN 12 ($5) for shipping the package when I only ordered those plugs for PLN 32 ($13.3) (I ordered 8 plugs total, to have one spare plug of each type) is stupid. So I ordered:

• 0,25 g BBs (Blaster),
  
• G&P goggles,
  
• Guarder battery pack,
  
• 3 point sling (olive drab), all-purpose, suitable for most replicas.

Here's a photo of all this stuff.

From Airsoft from ...

AUG repairs - 2nd approach

I just got a call from my favorite ASG shop. Guy told me that he thinks that the motor is the cause of all the trouble. After long burst it becomes very hot and this means that it is somehow defected. Since they didn't notice it the last time I won't be charged for shipping the replica back and forth. Cool. :) I will have to pay for the motor, someting around $80...

I asked them to sell me another magazine for the AUG. The mid-cap. The guys I play with lately want to use low-capacity magazines, so I will have to buy one of those. The replica has small battery compartment, so it'll be better for me to save the ammo and battery. I will be forced to do so when using mid-cap magazines. I'll sell the hi-cap and get some money from it. :)

mG36 corrections (2)

So I bought the 3 mm hex key. I read a great G36 disassembly guide with many photos. The guy wrote that to dismantle the replica one needs only one hex key, along with phillips screwdriver. So I thought that this hex key will be enough.

It wasn't. It isn't. I couldn't unscrew the selector lever so I couldn't take the mechbox out of the pistol grip. So I couldn't install the sealed nozzle. I only removed the barrel and hop-up and checked to see that it is probably not the cause of my troubles. This was the end of my work for last friday.

But yesterday, I found a small box with some airsoft stuff I bought some time ago. The mounts for red dot sight and mount base came along with two hex keys. One of them is small enough to unscrew the selector lever. Too bad I didn't know about their existence until yesterday.

mG36 corrections

As I witnessed during our last game (it was not mentioned here, yet!), my mG36 is not working as good as it could. I believe I broke something when I tried to install the precise barrel.

I need to disassembly the replica, remove the gearbox and correct what was broken. I will also install the G36 Guarder's sealed nozzle I bought some time ago... I might also put inside slightly stronger power spring than the stock one.

But to do so I need first to purchase a good set of hex keys, since the smallest hex key I own at the moment is too big to use. I need 3mm hex key to open the replica up.

I just got a call

I just received a call from my favorite asg shop. I was called by the guy who repaired my AUG. Yesterday I wrote them an email in which I described what happened. I said exactly how the replica stopped working, which batteries I used, etc.

The guy said that he tested the replica and it worked well. He fired it on full auto and didn't notice any problems.

So what caused the trouble?

He said that it was because of the temperature yesterday. I wrote him that the replica was powered by 1,800 mAh Sanyo NiCd battery and when it stopped shooting I plugged it to 3,000 mAh KAN NiMH battery. He said that 1,800 isn't very strong battery and the second one is very sensitive when it comes to temperature. So he says that my trouble was caused by the batteries and weather. He advised me to recharge the batteries again and try using the replica at home. Of course I will do so...

Another thing about last game. I found satellite photo of the place at Google Maps. Here it is:

View Larger Map

You can see a dense forest and next to it a large area covered with mud and dirt. You must zoom a little, ensuring that the dark green area of woodland will be in the middle of the frame. East, next to the forest is a large "canyon". It is a place aligned almost meridional, surrounded by four embankments. You can see one of those embankments in the background of the photo I posted yesterday.

I think that playing a game exclusively in this canyon will be a nice experience. :)

AUG at home again

I wrote the last post at work. When I came home I got an email from my favorite ASG shop. They wrote that the replica was posted and will probably get to me the next day. Today that is.

The UPS delivery guy came today to my apartment and left the replica to Ania. I came home from work and opened the package.

My first thought was: where the heck is the AUG?

From Airsoft from Poland photos

After digging through the layer of cardboard shreds I finally saw a part of the AUG... It was something like digging a dinosaur skeleton from under a layer of dirt. ;)



I read a note from the guys. They charged me for power spring, hopup rubber and the service total amount of $50.20. I also had a precise barrel installed, but since I bought the other day in the same shop they installed it free of charge. Including the cost of sending it there and back I paid $82.

Oh, they also checked the replica on chronograph. Are you curious of the results? Check them here. :)

If I get the chance, I'll use the replica this weekend. :)

My AUG is now repaired

I just received a call from my favorite ASG shop. They told me that my AUG is now repaired and ready for shipping.

I asked them to install a precise barrel (I sent one I bought for mG36, but it didn't fit there) and stronger power spring. So they installed Guarder's M110 (SP110) spring. I hope the set of adjustments to the replica will give me something around 380 fps on 8,4V battery. :)

I will be charged with something around $50 + postal charges. The replica will be shipped by UPS.

It gives me a small chance to use the replica during this weekend's game. :)

The AUG is gone

Not like it's dead or something. It's just gone, because I sent it to my favorite ASG shop for repairs and tuning. You probably remember that the AUG is broken and I wanted to tune it a bit.

I disassembled the replica a bit and packed it to a solid cardboard box (I got one FedEx box suitable for stuff up to 25 kg (55 lb) and cut it in half since it was too high for the replica). I protected it from any harm with a lot of mashed newspapers. Here's a photo of how did it look like.

From Airsoft from ...

Of course it was later covered with second thick layer of mashed newspapers. ;)

I paid $20 to ship the package. I wonder how much will cost the repair and the tuning...