First Impressions:
When I was informed my package had reached the local post office, I was in much a hurry to get to it. After finding time to pick her up 2 or 3 days later, I couldn’t wait to get home and rip open the (very nice looking, yet beat up) cardboard box.


Finally arriving home, I ran and set her on the coffee table, and began cutting away at the numerous bands of tape holding the box shut. Finally opening the box itself, I was greeted by the most beautiful m4 I had yet to see. The receiver was a very nice dark gray as was the magazine, the foregrip, pistol grip and 6 position retractable stocks being a slightly reflective black ABS plastic. I cut away the ties holding her in and was surprised at the heft. The gun unloaded clocks in at nearly 7 pounds, close to 8 once the hi-cap is full and the battery is in place. Being the m4 junkie that I am, I found it quite amusing to close and open the dust cover repeatedly. Once this began to bore me, I decided to examine the other features, all of which will have there own in depth section later on in the review.

I was ever pleased with holding the gun and toying with the stock, selector switch putting the mag in etc. but unfortunately had to wait a day or two for Mr. UPS to drop my battery off. I will discuss performance later, now on to the in depth analyzing!


Externals: *note the metal/non metal after note of each feature denotes its construction
Receiver:
I have got to say the receiver on this gun is absolutely incredible. The beautiful gunmetal grayish color, the wonderful (yet unrealistic) ICS trademarks adorn the left side of the receiver above the mag well, the right is barren of trademarks and markings save for safe, semi and auto markings above the selector switch. (metal)

The carry handle is removable by loosening the lugs on the left side, and when removed reveals a standard weaver/RIS rail useful for mounting optics. I did put my aim point replica on this rail, but the low mount did not clear the front sight so I opted for a carry handle scope mount. (metal)

The charging handle is moveable, when pulled reveals the hop-up adjustment and the front of the gearbox. The charging handle is directly attached to the bolt cover so no worries of it coming undone. (metal)

The forward assist I have got to say is one of the neatest things on this gun. Unlike all other AEGs brands, it is not a useless button. ICS was clever enough to incorporate a spring tension release into the assist. Pressing the assist will allow the gearbox to revert to the spring fully forward position which will increase your spring’s life when stored for long periods of time. (metal)

The selector switch is slightly disappointing, giving an unsatisfying click when moved into a firing position. It is however smooth and easy to operate, and I have no fear of it coming unseated during use. (metal)
(view receiver picture #2)


The dust cover on this gun is well, a dust cover. Not much to talk about there. It flips down when the charging handle is pulled revealing the hop-up adjustment as I stated earlier. (metal)

Stock:
The stock on the m4a1 carbine is a nice, 6 position L.E style retractable stock. It has a nice black coloring, but is slightly reflective. It is composed of plastic, with the buffer tube and rear sling loop being metal. I have tried it in all the positions., yet I find the 3rd the most comfortable but that’s a personal preference.

Foregrip:
One of my main complaints about this gun is the foregrip. It’s thin, shiny, brittle, and hard to fit even an 8.4v mini battery in.

Outer Barrel Assembly:
One of the main hypes about this gun was its supposedly “reinforced” outer barrel, aimed at eliminating the barrel wobble common with TM armalites (with the exception of the newer M4 S-System). However, with the exception of the ICS being metal, compare the two side by side and there is little to no difference. There is however, no barrel wobble that I can sense as of yet, I’ll update that in the long run.

The front sight is metal, and is fully adjustable for elevation with the supplied tool.

The outer barrel is also said to be “adjustable” lengthwise, but when this is done the foregrip no longer stay in place rendering it useless.


The flashider is secured via 14mm standard threads, and a small grub screw in the underside.


Pistol grip:
The pistol grip on this gun is quite well made, it is sturdy black ABS plastic with a slightly reflective finish. It has a nice texture to it, and is quite comfortable to hold.

It is secured in the standard fashion of two small screws inside the grip connecting it to the lower gearbox.


Magazine:
The magazine supplied with the ICS armalites is unique to other m16 series magazines as it is true to size with the real deal. However it seats lower in the receiver causing it to appear much too long once in the gun. The magazine is the same flat gray as the receiver, and has limited trademarks which reference ICS. Many many magazines are readily available for this gun if you’re not please with the ICS stock hi-cap, ranging from VN style 20 rounders, to 3000 round Beta-C mags. I guarantee you will find one that suits your needs.

Field stripping:


*Disclaimer: Unless you want to void your warranty and are experienced with air soft gun operation and internals, I recommend you do not proceed with these instructions. Sites which this review is posted on are not to be held accountable for any damage done to your gun in the process, as nor am I the author.*

The field stripping on this gun is remarkably similar to that of the real firearm m4 carbine. You start by removing the rear receiver pin by pushing it out through the right side of the receiver.

After the pin is out, pivot the receiver up and pull the upper gearbox straight backwards out of the receiver.

Then locate the hop-up/barrel unit, and remove it in the same fashion as the upper gearbox.

Once this is done, it is time to begin removing the lower gearbox. Start by removing the base plate of the pistol grip.

Once that is done, locate the motor connectors and remove them from the motor, pull the motor down out of the pistol grip and set it aside.

Take a flashlight and look down into the pistol grip, at the base you will see 2 Phillips head screws. To remove the pistol grip, take those screws out and set them aside. Then pull the pistol grip from the lower gearbox, feeding the wires through there holes until the pistol grip is completely removed.

The next step is to un secure the lower gearbox from the lower receiver. Start by removing the magazine catch.

This can be done by removing the screw in the push button, letting the other half fall out the side of the receiver, and pulling the spring out of the receiver. Reassemble the mechanism outside of the gun to avoid losing vital pieces.


Note* Make sure selector switch is set on semi before proceeding


Next, locate the pin above the trigger unit (as seen in the figure below). Take a small anything ( a golf tee works) and push this pin out either side, pull it all the way out.

After this is done, the lower gearbox unit should slide right out with a little force.

Last comes removing the connectors to the fuse assembly. Slide the clear plastic sleeves off, and simply pull the wires apart. After this, the lower gearbox can come entirely undone from the gun itself to be set aside.


Internals: (no pictures)
Lower gearbox:
One thing I love about this gun is the ease in upgrading, or learning to do so. If you need to work on the gears, you don’t need to worry about having the spring shoot out when you open the gearbox, for the spring resides in the upper and the gears in the lower etc.
Gears:
The gears in this gun seem to be quite strong and well made. I have been running a 9.6v and 8.4v battery, 9.6 the most and the gears show no wear. The gears in an AEG are what turn and draw the piston back, releasing it forward when the sector gear runs out of teeth

Anti reversal:
The Anti-Reversal latch on this gun is unique to all other v2 matchboxes, due to the fact that it has the integrated spring tension release in the forward assist. The anti-reverse looks to be made of normal quality metal, and is holding up quite nicely so far.


Shimming:
The shimming on this gun stock was quite nice, but if you read other reports you will know that is a hit or miss scenario. ICS quality control is not the greatest, but no matter how good the factory shimming seems, be prepared to redo it just in case.


Trigger assembly:
Ummm not much to say, it’s a metal trigger with a spring on it. It moves smoothly, hasn’t stuck or anything.


Switch assembly:
The switch assembly on ICS guns is slightly disappointing. The plastic used is quite thin and brittle, however it seems to be holding up well.


Bushings:
The ICS gearbox uses copper bushings which can stand moderate upgrades quite easily, compared to the nylon bushings found in TM gearboxes (which will be destroyed by an m120).


Selector plate:
Don’t really know much about this, I'm no gearbox expert as this is my first AEG, but it looks quite nice lol.


Upper gearbox:


Cylinder/head:
Both of these seem to be quite decent, the cylinder is smooth, and there is no air leak from the head.


Piston/head:
The stock ICS piston doesn’t look to promising, but most reviews say it is quite strong and can hold its own in high powered upgrades. The piston head seems alright too, as there is no air leak when the piston is moved forward.


Spring guide:
The spring guide seems to be made of the slightly low quality plastic that the piston resembles, but if it is the same plastic, it should be pretty darned sturdy.


Tappet plate:
As most of you know, the ICS tappet plates are rumored to be brittle and break. However, this only occurs in the gearboxes of the ICS mp5 series, as the spring is too strong for the tappet plate, causing it to shatter. The tappet plate seems to be made of pretty sturdy plastic, and should serve its purpose well. I haven’t experienced any issues with it yet, let’s hope that records keeps up.

Other:

Motor:
Let’s get one thing straight. ICS Turbo 2000=Donkey feces. After barely 1000 rounds, mine decided to go blow itself out on me. I think that may be attributed to the scorching Texas summer heat, but either way it died. I replaced it with a Systema original long motor, been running like a dream ever since.
Hop up:
The hop-up on ICS armalites is unique to any other hop up system, as the adjustment dial lies perpendicular to the barrel rather then parallel as with most units. It serves its purpose well, though it does not seem to be the most consistent.



Performance:
Initial impressions:
Now on to the fun part. Due to not having a battery on hand, I had to wait about a week, just staring at my new found wealth, waiting for Mr. Brown to deliver my package. What can brown do for me? Deliver my parts on time that’s what. ANYwho….. After receiving my 2700mah 9.6v nun chuck battery from www.evike.com I was in a rush to charge her up with my magical wall charger! Longest 9 hours of my life, but it was well worth it. Then we reached setback #2.….


I couldn’t get the damn thing to fit in the foregrip! I pushed and shoved, twisted and tangled, even let out a cuss word here and there. Eventually I got it in, loaded up the hicap and ran into my garage to let loose on a paper target. Boy did it feel good =).


In Depth Analysis: *all test performed with .25g BBs
Here I will discuss each area of the performance.


FPS:
According to the can chronograph, this gun is around 270 FPS with a .25g BB. This calculates to around .87 Joules, which translates to roughly 310 FPS with a .2g BB.
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Accuracy:
Targets are shown semi auto on top, full auto on the bottom.

10 yards:

20 yards:

30 yards:

Overall I was EXTREMELY impressed with the accuracy. It was nearly as good at 20 yards as at 10, and 30 as at 20! After about 35 yards though, the shots begin to differ quite a bit more. At 45 yards, the shots are a little too inaccurate to consistently hit a torso sized target. Once the hop-up is set, this gun is amazing within 40 yards.

Range:
I have concluded the maximum range of this gun to be between 57 and 62 yards through multiple tests. The maximum range being near 50, maximum effective around 43 (yards).



Rate of Fire:
Rate of fire with this gun is I guess average for an m16 style AEG. Audio analysis was done firing both a 8.4v and 9.6v and yielded the following RPS results over 4 1 second extracts from the sound file for each voltage-


8.4v-
High-16
Low-11
Average-13
9.6v-
High-19
Low-12
Average-15




In short, I feel for the price this guns performance more than lives up to expectations. With some minor tinkering can make an extremely proficient weapon for whatever needs you might have.



Miscellaneous:
Upgrades (internal):
ICS armalites are based around a slightly modified v2 gearbox, being a unique two piece design. The upper part housing the spring mech (spring, cylinder, piston, tappet plate), the lower holding all the gears, wiring, and trigger assembly. The 2 piece gearbox has a few strong advantages over a traditional v2 setup, which are:


-Ease of maintenance and upgrading. No more worrying about springs flying across the room when accessing your gears!
-Rigidity. The upper gearbox is a ROCK. Nearly a solid chunk of metal, it alone weighs more than a TM complete V2 gearbox. Don’t believe me? Well, you’ll just have to take my word for it This allows it to withstand much more strenuous upgrades than a traditional v2 (limited to 450 FPS) and can readily take an m150 (theoretically 492 FPS).


Being it is a v2 at heart, it has a plethora of parts available for the common consumer, even more for those willing to splurge the overseas shipping of a faithful HK retailer ( i.e. www.wgcshop.com). From Angel Polycarbonate Pistons to Zeke reinforced anti-reversals, you can find it all for this gun!


Accessories (external upgrading):
Once again this AEG has an advantage like no other, after all it is an m4/m16 platform! There are many times more external add-ons for this gun than internal ones, I can’t even begin to name them all! For a few- RIS rails, scope mounts, m203s. New stocks, drum mags, PEQ2 modules etc. Just to show the versatility of this rifles external upgrading capabilities, I’ll show you the drastic transformation mine has undergone since coming into my possession!
Behold!


Stock-

Now-

Quite a change isn’t it? Indeed it is…


CONCLUSION: (and final notes)



I have had this gun for about half a year now, and in that 6 months I have grown to love it to death. I have been around numerous other high end AEGs (very high end) and wouldn’t trade this gun for any of them. it’s a great performer, a great looker, and is just all around amazing to hold and use. Sure it has its quirks, but what doesn’t these days? Fix them, and you will agree with me this gun is top of the line freaking awesome, and I’d buy another one in a second.

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