Best G36: CA, JG, Echo1, KWA, SRC, Star, TM, etc.?

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Best G36: CA, JG, Echo1, KWA, SRC, Star, TM, etc.?

Post by Moondog »

Best G36: CA, JG / Echo1, KWA, SRC, Star, and TM
by Moondog

I love the G36. It looks like the assault rifle Darth Vader would design. It's one of the easiest AEG to take apart and replace the gearbox, hop-up and barrel. It's only design limitation is that it's standard battery space fits a 9.6v small-type battery.

It's modular design allows you to modify it into any of the other body styles and variants with minimal tools or technical experience. It has hi-cap magazines that can hold 470rnds each and are designed to clip together giving you very high BB carrying capacity should you choose it.

Real Steel
The G36 is a 5.56 mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch (H&K) for the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) and entered service in 1997, replacing the G3 series of automatic rifle.

It is a gas-operated action with a polymer body. It is a modular design allowing it's basic body/receiver to be easily converted into custom purpose configurations. All variants feature a folding skeleton stock. It uses unique see-through plastic magazines with special body tabs allowing the magazines to be connected together without need of a mag clip.

G36 on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_&_Koch_G36

G36 is the full length assault rifle issued to troops. It is approximately the same barrel length as an M16. The newest version includes an bipod mounted flush to the hand-guard. Its carry handle includes an integral 3.5x power scope and a red-dot sight mounted above it. The export model (G36E) lacks bipod and the red-dot scope. The G36V export model adds a small picatinny rail on the top of the carry handle. Some airsoft versions substitutes the G36C's long scope rail for the carry handle.

G36K (Kurz=short or Karbine) is the shortened MOUT or Offizer version similar in function to the M4 and has the same barrel length. The military version includes the same carry handle/scope as the full-length version. Some airsoft versions substitutes the G36C's long picatinny scope rail for the carry handle rail.

G36C (Commando) is the shortest version and was developed for anti-terrorist units to use for CQB. It's barrel is marginally longer than a standard MP5's. It has a long picatinny scope rail with iron sights instead of the scoped/carry handle of the longer G36 variants. It was the first airsoft G36 to be made so remains the most common.

MG36 (Machine Gun) is the support-weapon variant. Essentially a G36 with a C-mag dual drum magazine and a heavier barrel.

SL-8 (Civilian Hunting/DMR Rifle) is a heavily customized G36 with a non-folding stock and the G36C's scope rail. It is used by law enforcement and reservists in German. It is not officially the sniper variant of the G36, but is often classified as such by airsoft retailers.


Airsoft G36's
Tokyo Marui has accurate trademarks (but TM doesn't have the license to use these for outside Japan). It's also a great CQB AEG because its gearbox is highly reliable so long as it remains stock and is not upgraded. In stock form it fires 300fps due to Japanese firearms laws. And this is the only Japanese made G36c with all the quality that comes from Japanese manufacturing and engineering.

CA and Umarex/Ares are the porche of G36c's with by far the best and most accurate looking externals. The plastic on the body is a dark grey unlike the shiny pebble black of the Tokyo Marui. Their internals pre-upgraded and ready to take up to a PDI-190 spring. But are stock at 350fps due to FPS limits in various countries.

CA was the first (and for a while only) maker to have all variants of the G36 available in airsoft form: G36E, G36K, G36C and the SL-8.

The Umarex/Ares (formerly STAR) has H&K trades with licensing through Umarex. The CA has pseudo trades, they've put Classic Army marks that look like the H&K trades. They also have see-through mags like the real G36 mags. For all these reasons, they are the most expensive models of the G36C.

SRC is a close copy of the CA but some fine details on the body aren't quite as good. In the G36k and G36e versions, the built in scopes are 3X but are of lower quality than CA's versions. Internally, the Gen 1 and Gen 2 SRC have mediocre quality parts and have a non-TM compatible hop-up and magwell. The Gen 3 SRC has much better internals.

KWA is a highly pre-upgraded copy of the TM with modifications to the front receiver to allow a 8.4v large type battery to be fitted. It also has the most beefed up stock gearbox of any G36c with 8mm bearing bushings and shoots around 380fps stock. It would likely be able to accept up to a PDI-210 spring without further modification.

Echo1 and JG are copies of the TM design with some subtle differences in the housing of the battery and barrel. The detail in the body/externals isn't up to TM standards. But the gearboxes are solid and hard performing though a bit rough. The Echo 1 comes stock with a 350fps spring while the JG version shoots around 380fps stock. JG has recently started making all the major variants of of the G36: G36C, G36K, and G36E in both the scoped handle and G36C style rail versions.

JG G36's gearbox use a slightly longer AUG nozzle because it also has a slightly shorter hop-up. Putting a normal length G36 nozzle will result in slightly lower FPS.


I own both the CA and JG G36c and have tweaked their gearboxe's extensively. The JG has decent quality internals (beefed copies of TM parts) and seems to hold up as long or longer than my CA gearbox. If you look at the internals closely they look cheaper and rougher than the CA, STAR or TM parts. But it gets the job done.

For the price, if you're starting out I'd go with the JG for the best value. It's not going to win any beauty contests but its got a strong motor, good ROF and accuracy for the price. But if you want the BEST quality its the Ares.

Post what you think about the G36 and if you have any questions about them.
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