124 replies to this topic

[FarEast]

As many of you are aware I posted some information a while back on the ICS L85A2 that was scheduled to be released this autumn.

The response to that post was that many of the members here were not happy with certain aspects of the prototype. Having worked with ICS on some of the issues and also the ICS R&D team having an active involvement with the members of Arnie's Airsoft forums ICS was more than happy to make those changes and improve on the design based on your observations.

So here it is the Arnie's improved ICS L85A2, please post comments and suggestions remember though, they plan to have this out just before Christams!:

[FarEast]

[crablegs]

Sweet, any specs or features?

[The Crunchy Bunny]

Dang, that looks pretty nice. I'd like to see some pics of the internals if you got em.

[Gigueand]

I'm quite happy that they actually listened to the input of the community. If all airsoft manufacturers worked this way we'd see a lot better product for our hard earned dollars (err, euro, pound, etc).

[lmission]

very nice pics.

i am a big time ICS supporter and i own and maintain one gun in each of their series (MP5, M4, AK). i am excited that they are doing something like this for the British weapon. there are a lot of people interested in this gun and will buy it knowing that it is ICS quality. so now, my comments and questions:

here is a Wiki link to the picture of the real thing (look at this and compare it with the pictures posted here): http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm..._rifle_1996.jpg



1.) why is the bolt lever different than the real thing. G&G and Army both have copies that are accurate to the real deal. why does ICS have a different bolt handle? it is dumb.

2.) i assume that the battery will be in the front grip. what is the largest battery that can fit in here?

3.) ARMY and G&G have a two piece gearbox. ICS M4 series has a two piece gearbox and is what i enjoy about both guns. will this have a 2 piece gearbox?

4.) what size is the gearbox and will you use a 19 teeth piston (like ARMY and G&G) or standard 16 teeth. fyi, i own an Army R85 and have made the G&G downgrade and this works better -- it supports an M120 spring and cycling on a 9.6V battery works better.

5.) does the bolt blowback? i enjoy this feature and hope that they do let this blowback.

6.) ArmyR85 has a spring release located inside the magazine well. ICS M4 uses the forward assist button to release the spring. I enjoy them both. will ICS have a spring release for this one.

7.) will the rail system/handle system accept a STAR SUSAT scope. Army R85 rail system accepts non STAR SUSAT scope and this bugs people looking for authenticity. i realize that configuring the rail for the STAR limits options. so, does ICS have a plan to make their own SUSAT with standard rail size or provide a kit that improves the design so that you can fit SUSAT/non-SUSAT scopes.

8.) will the gearbox be able to handle Li-Po like the new KWA M4A1? Li-po is the new NiMh and more people will use this for the longer play time.

9.) the magazine well will accept standard M16 mags?

10.) access to internals on ARMY R85/G&G is easy == one pin to remove and slides right out. ICS L85 is same?

11.) metal hop-up (please???)

12.) make a matching SA-80 sling to go with this. they are difficult to find in America.

thanks!

[Pinkfloyd]

It's still just an SA80. I have a VERY low opinion of all SA80 based guns, just because of the original design being so bad...

[RSM]

Something still seems off with the hold open catch and fire selector, other than that though I like the look so far, although I wouldn't mind a reassurance from ICS that different foregrips can be put on the gun. I much prefer the old style of hand guard but thats a personal preferance.

lmission: The bolt lever is different as this AEG repliates the A2 variant of the L85, the one you are looking at is the older A1, ICS have previously stated the largest battery is an 8.4 1800mah nicad I _think_, in reality this means up to an 8.4 4200mah battery as no one uses nicad anymore (generally). I can't answer anything else up to the lipo question, any gearbox can take lipol as long as you are careful, a member on here runs his CA36s on 11.1v lipols and I don't think CA mentioned anything about lipols back then. Standard M16 mags are a no brainer yes, internals access could very well be similar to other L85s out there but we'll have to wait and see, ICS have already shown us a metal (And quite beefy) looking hop unit.

By the time I finish a gun project I've got going, fix my L96 and get some other things sorted I'll try and catch the second gen of these for sure.

EDIT:

Pinkfloyd The original, original design for the L85 (And I don't mean the EM-2) would have been way ahead of its time, unforetunately due to the fact that all weapons are made by the lowest bidder, especially in the UK, the L85 became rather pants until some germans fixed it, if I remember correctly in some trials the A2 beat the M16 for both reliability and accuracy, so what if its a bit heavy for a modern assault rifle, the only people I've seen who can't handle the thing are 5 foot odd cadets

ANYWAY

Edited by RSM, 10 November 2007 - 01:30 AM.

[Stealthbomber]

Now all ICS need to do is invent a time-machine, travel back to 2004, and release it when people were still gagging for a gun better than the one made by Academy.

[Revenge Seeker]

Wow... this forum contributes to the designing of AEGs from big name companies like ICS? That is amazing!

In respect to the real steel images of the L85a2, there are quite a few differences but those differences, in my opinion, make it a ton more nicer than the real thing.

[lmission]

Something still seems off with the hold open catch and fire selector, other than that though I like the look so far, although I wouldn't mind a reassurance from ICS that different foregrips can be put on the gun. I much prefer the old style of hand guard but thats a personal preferance.

lmission: The bolt lever is different as this AEG repliates the A2 variant of the L85, the one you are looking at is the older A1, ICS have previously stated the largest battery is an 8.4 1800mah nicad I _think_, in reality this means up to an 8.4 4200mah battery as no one uses nicad anymore (generally). I can't answer anything else up to the lipo question, any gearbox can take lipol as long as you are careful, a member on here runs his CA36s on 11.1v lipols and I don't think CA mentioned anything about lipols back then. Standard M16 mags are a no brainer yes, internals access could very well be similar to other L85s out there but we'll have to wait and see, ICS have already shown us a metal (And quite beefy) looking hop unit.

By the time I finish a gun project I've got going, fix my L96 and get some other things sorted I'll try and catch the second gen of these for sure.

cheers mate for the added insight.

one last question...so the pictures are what will be sent by Xmas or will they look at this forum to try add the features we all want (I want...)?

frankly, m8, unless i see pix of the internals, i'm simply not impressed. moreoever, i saw the first pictures of the ICS prototype in the spring and they were ######s -- the foregrip was wide and weird and just dumb. i really like ICS and will continue to support them but i am reserving my joy for this gun until i see more.

btw, i just want to add ARMY R85 is a good gun but be forewarned, the internals are ######, QC is non-existent....however for the intrepid gun hobbyists like me, i saw it as a personal challenge to make the gun work the way i want and i'm on schedule to get this. BUT...if this ICS turns out to be a good gun, well...off the R85 goes to the highest bidder.

[snorkelman]

well I'm impressed by their willingness to stick at it but just have overwhelming feeling its too late to market (not neccessarily too little too late but too late all the same)

I do wonder wether they'd have been better canceling this once it started to get bogged down in favour of getting ahead of the competition on another gun rather than playing catch up on this one.

anyways far as external shape goes it looks OK not sure of the finish (Im guessing its just the photos that are giving it that kinda grey look) and not sure of that handguard ie way the front piece clips on to rest of the handguard and possibly the depth/shape of the vents (though again vents could just be the angles of the photos)

[AustinWolv]

I obviously can't talk for the US, but a number of players I know aren't overly thrilled with the STAR, G&G, and Army versions out there, so the ICS might pique their interest.

Edited by AustinWolv, 10 November 2007 - 03:38 AM.

[ChasKi]

I have the Army one, if I was serious about an L85 (i.e. not buying a clone gun) i'd definately consider the ICS. I wasn't too keen on the charging handle either though. A1 or A2, i'd rip it off and replace the thing with an A1 anyways. Blow back would bea big thing for me, never thought it would be, however, the Army R85 is alot of fun with the blowback and I really enjoy it.

I think the selling point of the ICS will be in the gearbox. If it's standard 16 tooth piston, it should attract alot of buyer who do not want to bother with the 19 tooth piston & it's issues.

[amateurstuntman]

Looks good but the bolt holding open device in the picture is on upside-down.
Probably just an assembly error but it really doesn't need to go out to the shops that way.

A few tiny cosmetic quibbles aside it is really nice. Problem is since it isn't showcasing a two part gearbox and realistic field strip it probably doesn't have it.

Nice though.

[Bizurkur]

Needs more AG36.
then, and only then, will that be an attractive weapon.

[sniper_boi]

Im jus hoping that the gun is SUSAT ready, without making modifications.

[Angry]

Thanks for the update FarEast, I was wondering how these were coming along. I think that I'll be getting one somewhere down the line, probably after a VFC SCAR.

[FarEast]

Im jus hoping that the gun is SUSAT ready, without making modifications.

It was one of the changes requested that instead of being a 20mm rail, it would have the rail for the SUSAT and then an optional 20mm rail.

[Domz]

Shame I bought an ARMY and cant afford both, looks pretty good.
Echo those earlier questions although the gearbox was meant to be "secret" last time we asked.
I wonder how the charging handle is attached... If some people prefer the A1 one I might swap.

Yeah SUSAT compatible would be good, even better, release a cheaper SUSAT to go with it!

Edited by Domz, 10 November 2007 - 11:18 AM.