Sorry for the lack of updates, between work and events that I must attend during this holiday season there hasn’t been much time to blogging. On Friday I came home to be greeted by a Canada Post package notice, it’s a crock because my condo has a 24 hour security guard and they accept packages. My mailman doesn’t like delivering big packages and every time something large arrives, I have to pick it up from the post office.

Anyway this morning I dropped by the post office to pick up the broken ICS MP5A4 AEG. It’s a fixer upper and for $85 I certainly wasn’t expecting much. Unfortunately it wouldn’t fire so I couldn’t test the gun’s stock power, there was a jam in the hopup like what Mark’s MP5 was suffering from.

Note the low cap TM Mag and G&P Flashlight foregrip did not come with the package.

It looks like the previous owner let the gun sit for quite some time after it broke because the thing was covered in thick dust. Oh well in any case the two parts that hold the cocking tube in place with the upper receiver broke off, here’s a quick picture of the damage.

It’s a common problem with MP5/G3 style AEGs no matter the brand although it doesn’t help that ICS uses low quality metal for its bodies. While I do have a stronger CA MP5 upper receiver handy, the ICS pistol grip is proprietary and is not compatible with the CA body. Not a problem though since I already have a TM lower part coming in the mail. 😉

Usually MP5’s are a pain to work on because you have to disassemble the entire gun to get to the mechbox but not with the ICS design. It allows for a quick take down which is convenient, remove the stock undo one connector screw and the pistol grip with the mechbox slides right out. 🙂

I always thought ICS used reinforced parts with its guns but the mechbox is as flimsy as the stock TM shell and will no doubt crack in the future. ICS does almost an exact copy of TM’s version 2 mechbox design, from the nylon bushings to the plastic spring guide and the way the stock spring attaches to the piston. Upon closer inspection the gears do look reinforced and have substantially more weight than stock TM gears. I guess time will tell whether they hold up or not.

The entire gearbox was torn down and rebuilt, I added metal bushings and a Guarder SP90 spring to the mix. I would also like to replace the plastic spring guide with a metal one and swap out the piston/piston head but I don’t have those parts handy so it’ll have to wait. The gun uses an ICS Turbo 2000 motor and it sounds awful. Even after adjusting the height of the motor the gun still squeals and is very loud, I’m definitely going to swap that thing out soon.

In the mean time the ICS MP5A4 has been put back together using the broken body. There’s enough friction between the upper receiver and cocking tube that the two pieces will stay in place (at least if you don’t yank it off). When the TM pistol grip comes in next week, the body will be replaced and the gun will be good as new. 🙂 At the moment the gun is firing a consistent 315 fps and for indoor use that’s fine. I may upgrade it further when the 2007 outdoor season starts to take off but we’ll worry about that then.

Ahh it’s been a relaxing Saturday doing what I love best tweaking my airsoft guns… 🙂