By BikerDan15
Published: 23 January, 2003
- Overall Length: 680mm (26.77 inches)
- Barrel Length: 227mm (8.93 inches)
- Motor: Type EG700
- Hopup: Yes, adjustable
- Standard Mag Capacity: 50 rounds
- Highcap Mag Capacity: 200 rounds
- Weight: 2.1kg (4.63 lbs)
- Rate of Fire: 750-850 RPM
- Battery: Large type
Introduction
Well, for the longest time I wanted the Tokyo Marui M4A1. I loved that gun, and I thought it was way cooler than other guns, and a perfect choice for my first AEG. Then, one day while browsing these forums, I saw the MP5A4. It was the first time that I had seen an MP5 without a retractable stock. I don't know why, but I hate the look of the MP5A5. So, once I had saved up enough, I ordered one. I felt that I might share some insight into this AEG. Well, here’s how it went. I ordered a Tokyo Marui MP5A4, 8.4v 1900 mAh battery, Winstar® fast charger, and 2 bags of 3,700 rounds Excel .20g bb’s. I ordered it from Raven’s Airsoft, because I only live about 20 miles from their store, so it would be shipped very quickly (unfortunately they do not have a walk-in store). This is how much it cost:
- Tokyo Marui MP5A4 High Grade AEG = $230
- Sanyo 8.4v 1900 mAh battery = $31
- Winstar® fast charger = $25
- 2 3,700 rds Excel .20g bb’s = $20
- Shipping = $15
- Grand Total = $321
As expected, the package arrived very quickly. I ordered it on a Wednesday, it was shipped on Thursday, and I received it on Friday.
First Impressions
Well, I got home from school on Friday, and saw a note stuck to my door. Damn! The UPS guy had missed me, and now my package was at the local post office. Unfortunately, my parents did not come home until 5 PM, so I spent a painful 2 hours waiting for a ride. When my parents got home, they drove me to the post office, where I received my package. I promptly ran back to the car and got inside, upon which I quickly tore off the packaging. There was the MP5, in the TM box. The box was fairly detailed, with a picture of the gun and the name, along with other technical info. I found the battery, charger and bb’s in there as well. Well, I left the gun in its package until I got home. When I got home, I tore open the box, and was very pleased to see the gun, just as I had imagined it. I lifted it out of the box, and found it to be lighter than my friends M1A1, but heavier than my other friends P90. It had a good number of metal parts as well. In addition, it was shipped with the original black metal flash hider, to replace the orange one. The gun felt very solid in my hands, and I was very impressed. After quickly looking it over, I began the inspection that I do with all of my guns.
Appearance and Build Quality
The MP5A4 is all black, except for the safe, semi, and auto markings. The safe is marked in white, while the semi and auto are marked in red. The selector switch also has a white pointer on it. The receiver, while plastic, is matte black, and looks like metal (although it does feel like plastic). The stock, pistol grip, and fore grip are all ABS, and all are very sturdy. The butt plate is rubber, which prevents it from slipping while the gun is shouldered. Metal parts that I have found (not including internals) include: flash hider, front sight assembly, cocking handle, cocking handle tube (only metal on the HG version), magazine, mag catch, mag release, both sling hooks, trigger, selector switch, rear sight (only metal on the HG version), and screws (which don’t really count). The trades on this gun are very well made, and I was fairly impressed with them. The side of the magazine is stamped with: “9mm x 19”, which designates the caliber. Above the magazine, on the receiver, it is clearly marked “Kal.9mm x 19”, again designating the caliber. On the other side of the gun above the mag it is stamped “Made in Japan Tokyo Marui”. This, apart from the motor plate, which reads “Marui Type EG700 MP5 Series”, is the only Tokyo Marui marking on the gun. Along the top of the receiver, it has a few German markings, along with a serial number. Further down the receiver, I spotted some putty. I pulled it off, and hit the jackpot! It read “HK MP5”. I suppose that the Heckler and Koch trades had to be removed when the gun was brought into the country. As far as the build quality, it feels very sturdy. When I shook it, the mag had a bit of play to it, but that was quickly fixed with a little electrical tape. The stock was EXTREMELY solid, and had absolutely no play to it. This makes the weapon feel solid when you shoulder it, and aids in keeping the weapon accurate. The only other part on the gun with any play to it is the fore grip, but it is so minor that I don’t think anyone should have any problem with it. Even though the majority of this gun is made of ABS, instead of metal, it feels very sturdy. I would even go as far as saying that it is sturdier than some guns I have shot with a higher metal content. Anyway, after I was satisfied with my examination, I loaded up the magazine (50 round low cap) with Excel .20 bb’s, and went out back to shoot. Conveniently, the battery was finished charging (1 hr in the fast charger) soon after I was finished examining it. I slid down the rubber butt plate, put the battery in, and folded the wires beneath it. The battery fit in relatively easily, and I slid the rubber butt plate down with much ease.
Performance and Reliability
I clicked the mag into the gun (a very satisfying click by the way), and set the selector switch to SEMI. Next, I aimed at a tree about 20 yards away and squeezed off a few rounds. Wow! For a stock AEG it had decent power. Like all stock TM’s, it only shot at 280-290 fps stock, but it seemed a lot faster than other guns I had tried. Also, for a gun with such a short barrel, it was reasonably accurate. I never did a proper accuracy test, but I could hit a 2 ft wide tree from 20 yards with ease. The rear sight twists so you can adjust how you aim based on light level. The hop up is easily adjusted from a level just slightly protruding up from underneath the fore grip. This makes it very easy to fine tune, where as other guns you may have to remove the mag to adjust the hop up, with this you can adjust, fire, adjust, fire, etc. until you get it just right. Once the hop up was properly set, I could easily get a range of up to 120 feet, although not at any great accuracy. Next came the soda can test, AKA the poor man’s chronograph. I put the soda can up on the rail of my deck and fired one bb point blank into it. The bb easily penetrated one side, and became lodged in the other. It was so close to going through both sides, but I did not expect it to anyway while it was still stock. I switched to AUTO and fired a few 2-3 second bursts. Wow! I could tell that this baby was spraying out 14-15 rounds a second. I can easily drain the entire 50 rd. mag in about 3.5 seconds. I was also very satisfied with the accuracy on auto, which was just as accurate as on semi, and very impressive for a gun with such a short barrel. I have probably fired at least 8,000 rounds through my MP5 since I got it, and have never had a jam yet. Sometimes the gun will not feed for the first 2-3 shots, but after that it is very smooth, and I was very impressed with the reliability of this gun. I have never had any serious skirmishes with this gun, but have played a few backyard wars with my friends. One of them involved two of my friends, one with a DPMS A-15 springer, and the other with some cheap Uzi springer, versus me with my trusty MP5. Now, I know that AEG vs. springer is usually unfair, but both of these friends were good airsofters, and plus, I was outnumbered. Well, the game was short and sweet. While both the A-15 and the MP5 are accurate, the MP5 outdoes it in range and power. I easily won the round, and from then on we had to rotate on who got the MP5.
Modifications
Well, I just can’t leave any gun of mine stock for long. I just can’t look at any gun of mine, and say, “It’s as good as the day I bought it.” It has to be better than the day I bought it. Luckily, Christmas was only weeks away, so I was in luck. For Christmas, I got:
- PDI 170% spring
- Systema spring guide
- Systema oiless metal bushings
- Marui 200 round high cap mag
- Mil-Force three-point-sling
- Systema BS 6.04mm tightbore barrel
I decided to give upgrading the gun by myself a shot. I found it quite easy to disassemble the gun down to the mechbox, with the help of an online disassembly guide. After I got down to the mechbox, I carefully removed the screws and pulled the two halves apart, while holding in the spring guide. I replaced the nylon bushings with the Systema metal ones, as well as replacing the stock M90 spring with the PDI one. I put in the new spring guide and reassembled the mechbox. Some of you know from my forum posts that the gun did not work the first time around. I had problems with the gears and anti-reversal latch, but I got it right in the end. The upgrades that I installed were all you need to upgrade to 400 fps, except for the spring guide, which I felt was necessary (the plastic tabs on the stock TM one break very easily with a stronger spring). At the same time I installed the tightbore, which was extremely easy to do. I reassembled to entire gun, put in my new high cap (I carry the low cap in a mag pouch on my tactical assault vest), and fired at a target 2’ x 2’ at 50 yards. Damn! With the tightbore and proper silicon lubing, I could hit the target 9 times out of 10 in the prone position. The tightbore really does make a difference, not just by making the gun more accurate, but also giving a slight increase in FPS. I did the Coke can test again, putting the empty can on the rail of my deck and firing one round into it point blank. Bam! Straight through both sides of the can and still went a good 20 feet before it hit the ground. I was very impressed with this, and am looking forward to trying it out in my next skirmish.
Comparisons
Well, this is the only AEG that I own, but I did try it against my friend’s P90 and Thompson M1A1. Unfortunately both of my friend’s guns were stock, but I did compare them before I upgraded. Well, not much difference between all of them, as one might expect, since all stock TM AEG’s are supposed to perform the same. I noticed that the MP5A4 had a greater range and power than the P90, which can be expected, because of the shorter barrel length of the P90. The Thompson and the MP5 perform just about the same, and I really can see no advantage to either, except that the Thompson is extremely ugly IMHO. Since I upgraded my gun, it is the best AEG of anyone in my team. The upgrades give it enhanced range, and power. Unfortunately I am restricted to semi-auto only in CQB, due to the high fps, but it is still very skirmish able in both woodland and CQB type scenarios.
Conclusion
Overall, the Tokyo Marui MP5A4 is the best AEG that I have ever used. Its excellent balance of range, power, durability, and size make it the first weapon that I would pick to go out for a skirmish with. I have never had any reliability issues with it, and it has never failed me down yet. I plan to continue to upgrade it, in the future with a Classic Army metal receiver, and possibly a red-dot scope, but even now, it is an excellent gun. The only real con that I found with this gun is the sturdiness of the mag and fore grip. However, the mag wobble can easily be fixed with electrical tape, and the fore grip sturdiness issue is almost too minor to notice. I can highly recommend this gun to anyone, whether a noob or a seasoned veteran, as it is the best all around gun that I have ever used.
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