Guide: AEG Brands

AEG, AEP, EBB, Mini, LPEG and all other electrically powered guns

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Guide: AEG Brands

Post by Moondog »

AEG Brands
by Moondog
Copied from Airsoft 101

The following is a brief list of popular AEG makers with brief comment about their reputation. It is by no means definative or complete as there are dozens more makers in Asia and more are finding distribution in the US every month. This is a primer and we recommend you do you're own research.

The Established Brands in Asia
We recommend these established makers who make models starting at $250 and up. While more expensive than the clones, they have been around for years and their reliablity has been proven by thousands of players worldwide. 9 out of 10 experienced players will tell you that you're better off saving your money for one of these as your first AEG.

Tokyo Marui (TM)
The GOLD STANDARD. They invented the AEG in 1992; with the creation of their FAMAS F1. They feature high quality control, dependability and detail. Almost all the other makers copy TM's designs or try to make their parts compatible with TM. Designed for the Japanese domestic market, which has a maximum 1 Joule (~300fps) legal limit.

Classic Army (CA)
Based in Hong Kong, one of the highest regarded AEG makers. They feature highly detailed, high quality exernals. Their MP5's, M15's, G3's, AK's etc. come with stock with metal bodies. Their AUG and G36's come with fiber reinforced nylon bodies (like the real guns). Thier internals come pre-reinforced with high speed motors, upgraded gears, etc.

ICS (I Chih Shivan Co.)
Based in Taiwan many of their AEG's come with metal external bodies and is the only member of the Big 3 that offer their stock AEG's with +350fps springs. Some of their parts improve on TM's designs and are not TM compatible.

G&G (Guay and Guay)
Also based in Taiwan, they specialize in making excellent pre-upgraded V2 based AEG's (ie. M16, MP5) with high-quality full-metal bodies, tightbore barrles and unlike ICS, their designs are TM compatible. Be advised, their sub $200 models do not have metal bodies.

G&P
Based in Hong Kong, they specialize in making excellent pre-upgraded M-16's, M249's and M14's with high-quality full-metal bodies with full trades. Like CA, they feature 7mm gearboxes but with 350fps, M110 class springs.

STAR
Based in Hong Kong, specializes in ultra detailed replicas and some of the most expensive.

KWA
Taiwan based maker originally known for their GBB pistols and now specially upgraded AEGs. They've started with a G36C and M4 that feature 8mm bearing gearboxes with upgraded internals.

SYSTEMA
Japanese brand that specialized in high-end after market upgrade parts for Tokyo Marui AEG's. They're recently created their PTW (Personal Training Weapon) line of M4/M16's designed for the military and law-enforcement. The most expensive AEG's at over $1300/ea.


CLONES and AEG's under $200
2007 was the watershed year for many mainland Chinese clone makers. Previously Clone AEG's were substandard AEG's sometimes called LPEG's. Many of these newest models appear to be almost perfect copies, though long-term reliablity issues are unknown. Here are some of the more popular clone makers:

Matrix
Matrix is Evike.com's house brand and the name it uses for AEG's and products it buys directly from the manufacturers in China.

JG (Jing Gong)
In 2006 the US Company Echo-1 contracted the Chinese manufacturer JG to create an upgaded copy of the TM MP5 and M4 shooting at +350fps stock. JG now sells these ugpraded AEG's to other importers under their own brand name. The newest JG M4 product line offers stock guns shooting upwards of +400fps.

ECHO-1
A Los Angeles based company started by airsoft enthusiasts. They custom contract manufacturers such as Jing Gong, CYMA, and AGM to create their line of AEG's. They were instrumental in creating US field ready stock AEG's firing +350fps.

CYMA
CYMA mostly known for their LPEG's and cheap springers, they were one of the first clone makers to make a decent versions of AK47 and MP5's, though with non-TM-compatible hop-up systems which made upgrades problematic. Their newest models are TM compatible and feature much better build quality. CYMA has recently specialized on building a range of good quality AK's models.

A&K
A&K was one of the first clone makers to come out with a copy of TM's S-Sytem M4. Featuring 300-350fps stock gearboxes, they suffered from early quality issues. More recent versions seem to be more reliable. They were one of the first to offer clones of M249 SAW's and SR25's counter-sniper rifles.

UTG
UTG is the tactical/airsoft brand of Leapers USA. They contract DE, CYMA and AGM to build their AEGs. UTG guarantees their AEG for 30 days and can easily be contacted in the US.

DE (Double-Eagle)
DE is the only clone maker of the UMP and a number of other AEG's. Their sub 300fps gearboxes make them ideal for CQB. DE makes a half-decent AK Beta though their LPEG quality G36 and SL8 should be avoided.

BOYi/DBoys/Kalash
D-Boys is the new brand name for the LPEG maker BOYI which made kids versions of airsoft guns in Asia. Like CYMA, JLS and JG they had a poor reputation intiailly due to the cheap kids guns and clones they first made. But their new D-Boys line features good copies of TM's M4. Though not as high quality as JG. BOYI also makes excellent AK's under their Kalash brand.

AGM
Contract manufacturer for Echo-1, Classic Army and others, they feature well made M14's, P90's and the H&K416 among others.

JLS
Best known for making cheap Electric Blowback Pistols (EBB). JLS recently came out with surprisingly good versions of the new U.S. Special Forces assualt rifle, the SCAR. Not an exact copy of the TM/CA SCAR and is not as ruggedly built but much cheaper, though its long term reliability is unknown.

WELL
Well was an maker of LPEGs and cheap springers. They featured cheap externals and unreliable gearboxes. They have released improved models of their M4 variants but their quality and compatibility falls below that of JG, DBoys and others. Apart from their MP7, it's not a brand I recommend.

BE (Both Elephant)
A maker of LPEGs that has since upgraded to metal gearbox clones, many of their AEG's still suffer from thin plastic bodies and TM incompatibility issues. Avoid.


Read about other brands on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ai ... ufacturers
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Re: Guide: AEG Brands

Post by MrSpank »

Regarding Echo1. Echo1 is not JG. While their first couple of releases, specifically the M4s where essentially JG. Their later products were of other brand manufacturers. Their AKS74UN was a rebranded Cyma. Their AK74M was a rebranded Kalash. The Echo1 gimmick is that they allegedly have their releases made at a higher standard than the non-rebranded models made on the same assembly lines of the mainland Chinese brands. The one real premium is that Echo1 is a US based company and they do provide customer service if their AEGs are faulty. That is something you wouldn't be able to get from the original manufacturers.

Regarding Dboys. Besides their alias of Boyi, they are also Kalash. Their Kalash brand seems to be exclusively for their AK series. Some retailers list Kalash separately from Dboys, some don't.

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SO MANY CHOICES!!!!

Post by Baron Von Chaos »

Looking for my first setup and Im blown away by how many different brands there are for AEG's. in your opinion what companies should I steer clear of? I was on Evike looking through the AEG's and i was slapped with about 30 different brands....needless to say my head spun and i said "to the forums!"

This is a copy and paste from evike


Evike.com Super Max
Matrix (Top Choices)
Matrix Tactical Systems
ARES / S&T
G&G Blowback
G&G Standard
King Arms
ASG
G&P
WE-Tech
APS / Javelin
ECHO1
Real Sword
Socom Gear
SoftAir
Celcius
Magpul PTS
KWA
KWA
SRC
AEG / JG
CYMA / Kart
DBoy / AGM / A&K
GUARDER
ICS
LPAEG
Systema PTW
Tokyo Marui
UMAREXUSA
VFC
WELL
Classic Army

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Re: SO MANY CHOICES!!!!

Post by Rosales »

Baron Von Chaos wrote:Looking for my first setup and Im blown away by how many different brands there are for AEG's. in your opinion what companies should I steer clear of? I was on Evike looking through the AEG's and i was slapped with about 30 different brands....needless to say my head spun and i said "to the forums!"

This is a copy and paste from evike


Evike.com Super Max
Matrix (Top Choices)
Matrix Tactical Systems
ARES / S&T
G&G Blowback
G&G Standard
King Arms
ASG
G&P
WE-Tech
APS / Javelin
ECHO1
Real Sword
Socom Gear
SoftAir
Celcius
Magpul PTS
KWA
KWA
SRC
AEG / JG
CYMA / Kart
DBoy / AGM / A&K
GUARDER
ICS
LPAEG
Systema PTW
Tokyo Marui
UMAREXUSA
VFC
WELL
Classic Army
From my personal experience, I have not been disappointed with G&G and Classic Army (CA). It just boils down to how much you want to shell out for your starter gun, and what gun type you want to run with. Your run of the mill AEG's (M4, AK, Mp5) usually is a good choice since there is a lot of aftermarket parts to make it your custom gun. The Bugatti of the airsoft world which is Systema is proven to be top notch, but with that performance comes the hefty price tag. Entry level brands which would be Classic Army, D-Boys, G&G are just right for a starter-advanced player. KWA came out with the CQR (sportline) version which would set you back $180 -/+ which is a little bit more expensive for an entry level gun but definitely worth the money. My nephew bought a Matrix brand M4 for about $115 shipped (evike promo code airsoftusa) and it performs pretty good. Not top notch, but gives room for improvement for the price.
Stay away from LPAEG's they shoot like sh*t and would be a waste of money.
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Re: Guide: AEG Brands

Post by Moondog »

Merged this topic into the GUIDE which covers airsoft (AEG) brands. My old post is a somewhat out of date as there are few new brands not list (and I do not have first hand experience of) but I stand by the opionions on the brands I have listed.
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Re: Guide: AEG Brands

Post by Baron Von Chaos »

Aww damn somehow missed this sticky, sorry about that

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Re: Guide: AEG Brands

Post by Moondog »

No prob. By the way to Rosale's point about LPEGs, it's harder to accidentally buy an LPEG nowadays unless you stumble into the wrong subsection of most airsoft online stores. Most clearly mark LPEG as such or sometimes referred to as "plastic gearbox" by some retailers. Genearlly if a new AEG is under $100, it's likely an LPEG (or some crazy price slash on retail stock they need to get rid of for trademark infringement reasons)

Generally if an AEG is over $120 on Evike you're pretty well assured it's not a POS.

But there is always a chance you could get a lemon even from a good brand. Especially since Chinese factories are notorius for their lack of QC (Quality Control) and US retailers tend to be very lax in checking guns out before shipping them (despite saying they do so on their website). If your gun comes sealed in shrinkwrap, you're almost assured that the retailer DID NOT pre-test and inspect the gun before shipping. The only inspection they could have done was to the condition of the box itself.

To discuss which gun you should buy, please do not do this here. Instead post in: http://nycairsoft.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=62
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