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Introduction
Classic Army entered the M4/M16 market with a rather hazardous start. Having recently almost perfected the MP5 series by correcting past issues, CA went back to the drawing board to build a variety of AR variants. One of our players ordered a Classic Army M16A3 (version 3) and was less than impressed by it. The slip collar was so poorly designed that the entire front end of the replica would fall off, it shipped with a broken selector switch that would not go into full auto and the trademarks left much to be desired.
Enter Armalite. Classic Army resolved to fix the issues that plagued the previous versions of M16 variants and partnered with Armalite to produce its new line of Armalite trademarked M15 variants under the A4 version number. Each replica has its own serial number engraved in the receiver. CA’s continuous development of this product is a true testament that they’re a company working to serve the US mil-sim market. The Armalite replicas go leaps and bounds beyond what the previous versions have, yet still many would-be customers are skeptic. To that end, we’ve ordered and tested several variants of the CA M15A4 platform. In particular, two full length M15A4 rifles, an SPC variant, and an M4. This review will focus on the full length versions, but since the parts are standard, many parts of it refer to the others as well.
The Interior
All of Classic Army’s newest replicas come pre-installed with metal bushings. The M15A4 Rifle comes equipped with standard metal bushings, although some newer models (such as the SPC) come with 7mm bearing bushings. By just cracking the gearbox open, you can instantly see how much more reinforced the CA box is compared to a Tokyo Marui model. There’s no extra open space, and it’s completely reinforced wherever possible.
The M15A4 comes standard with a high-torque motor, easily comparable to Marui’s EG1000. This looks great on paper, but even if you upgrade, just about any motor will do. Some players have complained about CA’s motors in the past, but we haven’t noticed any problems with any of the variants that our team uses. The stock hopup mechanism is an all metal one-piece setup, much like the Systema, but unfortunately it doesn’t perform like the Systema unit. Users have complained about the hopup “backing off” on its own after the AEG has had some time to break in.
Our crack team of weaponsmiths here at Airsoftpacific have come up with a simple and very effective solution to the issue of the hopup backing off. This phenomenon is most likely due the fact that the small set screw on the adjustment gear on the hopup unit cannot be tightened sufficiently to put enough tension on the gear to keep it in place. To fix the problem, we used a very inexpensive tiny washer between the set screw and the gear (see the image below). This fix allows you to tighten the screw on the adjustment gear to put as much tension on it as you want. It also saves you the money you would have spent on a more expensive hopup unit to fix a problem with the pilot hole depth on a set screw.
There’s also a retainer ring that can theoretically work itself back too far and stop the hop-up from functioning correctly (or at all), but that’s a quick fix (remove the ring). This feature is also standard on many other one-piece hopup units, not just the CA, which are vulnerable to the same issue.
The inner barrel is definitely not a tight-bore, some users complain that Marui’s stock barrels are better. Having fired a stock Marui M16A2 in comparison, we honestly can’t tell the difference. However, a stock barrel is a stock barrel. For an increase in accuracy and maybe an extra foot or two per second velocity, you’re going to want to drop in a tight bore inner barrel.
The trigger assembly on one of our test platforms has been a bit problematic for semi-auto. When switching directly from safe to semi, sometimes the trigger locks. When it does this, the only way to get it to stop is to switch to full and fire a burst. This is the first time we’ve heard of this, and it may be a quirk specific only to that particular AEG, since we haven’t heard any complaints from our team members about the issue.
The Exterior
Nothing short of amazing. We haven’t heard a lot of complaining about any of the external parts. The metal body has an amazing finish with awesome laser engraved trademarks in white, definitely better quality than previous versions, and it comes standard with locking receiver pins.
The furniture is made from a high quality fiber reinforced polymer with a textured surface, you will notice instantly how much higher quality this feels over Marui’s furniture. The pistol grip reminds us of those on real steel AR’s. For some reason, the stock grips on other M4 style variants just aren’t as comfortable.
One issue that has cropped up on at least two of the CA’s that are floating around here is that the bottom front of the buttstock seems to be a stress point. With a large heavy battery and a propensity to be thrown around and fallen on in the bush, the stock split down the seam. This can be prevented by dropping a little JB Weld inside along the bottom of the stock before use to add that little bit of extra strength and lifetime. It would probably also help to avoid falling on the replica like a real M16 when diving for the mud, and trying to avoid battering down doors with it. This issue obviously only appeared in the models with a full stock, then, only because the buttstock on an AEG, must, by it’s nature, be hollow.
Despite this, the furniture is rock solid and you can feel it when you hold the gun. As with the other CA replicas, they just somehow feel better, sturdier in your hands than other brands. Barrel-wobble is non-existent. With a Tokyo Marui M16A2, you end up using the plumber’s tape modification to keep things tightened, but the barrel on the CA doesn’t even budge. We’ve thrown slings on it, leaned it up against things and even banged it up against a few trees by accident. For almost the entire first month of its life on the field, it was used by friends who borrowed it while we were evaluating a Systema PTWS. It’s always a worry to leave an AEG in the hands of others, but when it was given back, it felt every bit as solid as it did the day it was pulled from the box.
The cocking lever is solid reinforced steel and makes a very pleasing sound when snapped back into place. Unlike Marui’s AEGs, the cocking lever doesn’t release the dust cover so that you can adjust the hop-up. Instead, CA’s dust cover is secured by a magnet inside. In many ways this is great, because the catch on Marui’s M4/M16 would often wear out, leaving your dust cover open and your hop-up exposed to the elements. On the downside, the dust cover on the ejection port is difficult to open with gloves on in the field to make adjustments to the hopup. This is just a minor issue, but it is a nuisance.
Metal parts include everything but the furniture, which isn’t supposed to be metal. The forward assist knob can be pushed in, but doesn’t have any specific function to the replica itself. The carry handle on this M15A4 model can be removed, but you can also get the A2 model with the fixed handle. Front and rear sights are metal and fully adjustable. Sling mounts are also metal and solid for use with sling carry.
The outer barrel is a very solid one-piece unit and the fore-grip locks very tightly into place. The delta ring has an extremely powerful spring, which might have something do with that. The standard flashhider is also very high quality, no complaints there.
Durability
If you haven’t noticed, the trend for this review has basically been that Classic Army has addressed just about every major issue that most AEGs have had in the past and has fixed them or at least improved upon them.
People lose receiver pins all the time, so they’ve got locking receiver pins. People break the upper receiver tabs on most M4 or M16 models, so they’ve got metal receiver rings. Have you ever seen your stock grip on an M4A1 break, especially when you’ve got heavy optics or accessories hanging from your RIS? Say hello to the reinforced fiber grip. How about stripping the stock grip? That’s really a pain when the motor plate won’t stay on anymore, but this problem is solved with CA’s grip because the screws go directly into metal and not plastic.
Heavy optics or optical mounts were known to break the rail clean off of a Marui M4, but this is not a problem with CA’s metal body.
The reinforced gearboxes have stood the test of time with extensive spring upgrades. The gears and motors churn through those tough springs without a hiccup (and without loosing their teeth). Bottom line, these guns are tough. We play tough and they keep up. We’ve had them shooting water and mud right out of the end of the barrel after crawling through creeks and falling down hills, and they never crap out in the rain or snow.
Upgrade Options
Not to belabor the Marui vs. Classic Army subject, but when it comes to upgrade options, this is another area where the two greatly differ. You see, Classic Army’s external parts are built more with the real-steel specifications in mind. Many upgrades that you can buy specifically for Tokyo Marui M16 variants will not work with any Classic Army models. Products like Sun Project’s M203 hard-mount come specifically with Tokyo Marui mounts but not with Classic Army mounts. When ordering parts, you need to make sure they’re NOT specifically designed for Marui models. Classic Army also makes a line of exterior accessories including; RIS rails, M203s, optical mounts, furniture, stocks, and much more.
Internally, they’re about the same. Your typical version2/3 gearbox parts are compatible with Classic Army’s gearbox. You can get reinforced gears (not likely you’ll need them), bore-up cylinder kits, nozzles, springs, tappet plates and so on. The best thing about upgrading a CA is that they already have metal bushings and great reinforced gears, all you need to do is swap out the spring.
One of our test models has been running continually with a Systema bore up kit and a PDI 150 spring on stock gears and motors since the day we bought it about 2 years ago. The gun was used every weekend (minus one or two every other month) in the wet Oregon environment. The stock gears and motor held up fine, but gear box finally gave up the ghost and cracked. When stress fracturing was evident along the front of the gearbox, JB Weld was applied and we got another game out of it before it died. This is a more than pleasing performance, as many highly upgraded guns don’t last even half this long before suffering some sort of breakdown.
Tactically Speaking
Nothing makes us laugh more then when somebody who bought an MP5K asks in the forums, “how do I increase accuracy and range of my AEG?” Well, first you can start with buying a real rifle. The Classic Army M15A4 Rifle is not a great indoor CQC tool, in fact, it’s not even that versatile to use anywhere but outdoors. Still, that’s how many of our players like it. If you’re the type of player who has his outdoor rig and his indoor rig, for the outdoors there’s nothing better than a good full length rifle. With that 509mm inner barrel, there’s just no way that an M4 length AR can compare.
With a tightbore barrel and a few FPS upgrades we shoot well enough to compete with the bolt action kiddies who think they’re sniper elites. (Though those who actually are good with their bolts can still manage to out plink us as it should be.)
If you’re looking for a quiet gun, this isn’t it. The stock AEG makes a beefy racket when fired. Now AEG’s obviously can’t compare to the noise of the real steel version, but you can tell when someone’s in the bushes firing one of these at you. The distinctive “clack-clack” is recognizable around the field. Depending on how you approach airsoft, this is a good or a bad thing. If you’re into the mil-sim aspect, the loudness only adds to the experience.
The Bottom Line
Overall we’re extremely happy with my M15A4. It’s obvious that Classic Army is a company that’s looking out for the future of mil-sim. They’re targeting the US market and they’re doing what they can to create products that we as mil-sim Airsofters can enjoy using time after time, and with the enhanced durability that their new lines are showing, we here at Airsoftpacific are sure to be making good use of their products for many years to come.
Thanks to www.bb-guns.org for this timley reminder of some fundamental safety tips. 
Some of the pictures are clickable for higher res versions.
