CA36K Review - 60 Pictures (almost done)

[Raygis LasVegas]

G36KE-V... The weapon system from G&P and Classic Army

 

“K” = carbine version of the G36 full length rifle.

“E” = export sight... no RDS or rail available above the magnified optic.

“V” = the rejected stock tested by the Norwegians.

 

 

- CA’s glass-fiber body is flat black with a matte texture.

- Compared to a Marui G36C, CA is much more realistic looking. In general, some parts of Marui’s G36C is grey and some are black and shiney.

 

 

- Long rails made by Guarder. 13 ribbed slots in total.

- Flash supressor is threaded 14 mm negative. No grub screw to hold it tight. It is kept on by torque.

- Outer barrel is of different texture than the flash supressor. I preferred it to be the same texture.

- When the flash supressor is struck, it acts as a tuning fork. My flash supressor tunes to an “A-note”.

- Handguard is very well made. A mini 9.6V 1100 battery would be able to fit inside.

 

 

- Bolt color is flat black. FYI, Marui’s G36C is grey.

- Lower portion of the bolt is metal.

- Upper portion ( ie: handle part ) is plastic.

- Carry handle can flex if enough torque is applied. The material used will allow the handle to “bend” and not crack.

- When the handle is twisted, the scope still retain’s it’s zero.

- The scope’s windage and elevation adjustment springs should be changed to stronger ones. The stock springs don’t push the scope enough to allow full up/down & left/right adjustments.

- Magwell is very well made. No complaints here.

- Trigger guard can be flexed. Again, the glass-fibre won’t allow the part to crack, but it will allow it to flex.

- Trigger is constructed of metal.

- Magazine release lever is made from plastic.

 

 

- Stock hinge joint is sturdy. The hinge is metal and is covered by glass-fibre.

- Rear scope eye piece is made from rubber.

- The screw and tab set that secure the carry handle is made from metal.

- Pistol grip is firm. It has a motor height adjustment screw and provides precise height tuning for minimal motor noise.

 

 

- G&P V-stock is slightly lighter in color than the CA36KE’s body

- V-stock’s texture is smother compared to the speckled texture of the CA36KE.

- Material used for the stock is more rigid than CA’s glass-fibre. Flex is present, but it is extremely difficult to warp the stock.

 

 

Miscellaneous Left Side Pictures

 

Left side pictures - Handguard and Rails

 

Left side pictures – Reciever and Trademarks

 

Left side pictures – Reciever and Trademarks

 

Left side pictures – G&P V-stock

[Raygis LasVegas]

- Flash supressor forks can be flexed inwards if you apply ridiculous amount of force.

- Handguard/Barrel stabilizer plate must be kept to prevent barrel flex.

- Without the stabilizer plate, the handguard WILL wobble... I know someone who removed theirs.

 

 

- Turn the flash supressor clockwise to loosen.

- I torqued my flash supressor on tightly to the outer barrel. So when I loosen the flash supressor, the outer barrel will loosen as well.

 

Removing flash supressor

 

- Flash supressor and outer barrel removed.

- Brass inner barrel exposed.

 

 

- Attempting to push out handguard retaining pin.

- The pin has a rubber o-ring at the end to prevent accidental removal from shaking the weapon.

- The handguard retaining pin must be removed in order for the handguard to slide off the weapon.

 

 

- Removing handguard retaining pin.

- The rubber o-ring can be seen in this photo.

 

 

- Attempting to slide off the handguard.

 

- Sliding off handguard.

 

 

- With the handguard off, the front end is exposed.

- I used tape to shim off the extra play between the inner barrel and gas/piston assembly.

 

 

- The entire front end is made from metal. This is the best feature of the CA36 series.

- FYI, the Marui G36C and Star G36 series both have plastic front ends.

[Raygis LasVegas]

- Here you can see the underside of the gas/piston assembly.

- At the end of the assembly, the you can see the tape I used to shim the inner barrel.

 

 

- Metal Gas/Piston assembly of a CA36KE.

- I used to own a Marui G36C... this part was plastic and it was the most fragile part of the gun.

- FYI, if you own a plastic front end, the best upgrade you should do is either get a CA metal counter part, or buy the G&G G36 outer barrel set. G&G’s version of the G36 front set is the most realistic looking piece out there today.

 

 

- Pictured here is the bolt “locked” to the rear.

- The bolt can be locked to the rear by sliding the bolt handle region under the top cut-away/trench of the upper reciever.

- The hop-up can easily be adjusted. It’s actually too easy for my liking. A slight nudge can mess up your settings.

- Top part of the bolt is plastic. The lower part exposed through the ejection port is metal.

 

 

- Inside the magazine well.

- Nothing to rant about here.

 

 

- The pictogram markings are pasted on. I wished they were engraved on like it is on the ICS MP5 series.

- There are audible clicks when you change firing modes. However, you can barely feel the different settings. If you were deaf, you’d have to visually inspect your firing mode before shooting.

- From my experience, metal body Armalites have a much better feeling selector switch than the G36. Even my former Marui G36C had a lame feeling selector switch.

 

 

- The Classic Army trademarks are engraved deeply.

 

- Another shot at the CA trademarks.

 

- G&P’s V-stock is slightly smoother in texture than CA’s glass-fibre.

 

- Underside of the V-stock.

- The rubber recoil end is much harder than Marui’s G36C recoil pad.

 

- Other side of the V-stock.

[Raygis LasVegas]

- V-stock extended to it’s longest position.

- Unlike Armalite retractable stocks, the V-stock will slide off it’s “buffer tube” as long as the lever is held down.

- If you plan to attach a 1-point sling on the end of the stock, you could drop the weapon if the gun is not supported and the stock’s lever is held down. I once had a situation like that with my M4A1 during a game. With my hands free and reaching for my pistol, I set my M4A1 on to the side. But coincidentally, a piece of my webbing caught onto the slither stock’s lever and extended the stock. The gun started to head towards the ground barrel first. Had the M4 not have the extending stock limiter, my gun would’ve fell for sure.

 

 

- There is plenty of room inside the V-stock for a large 9.6V 3000mah battery.

 

 

- Inside my V-stock I have a set of allen keys necessary for the takedown of my gun.

- The two keys are a 2.5mm and a 3mm.

- I used a piece of padding to stop the allen keys and the battery from rattling.

 

- Large 8.4V 3000mah NiMH battery inside the V-stock.

 

 

- The tools and padding stored inside the stock.

- The two keys are a 2.5mm and a 3mm.

 

 

- If you plan on making a custom battery and also have the stock retain it’s folding characteristic, you best make sure to accommodate the protruding brass deflector.

 

 

- The G&P V-stock includes a set of Deans connectors.

- This was the first time I used Deans connectors and I am very impressed with them. They are easier to solder and de-solder than normal Tamiya connectors. Even connecting and disconnecting is easier with Deans.

 

 

- With the battery removed, you can see the large storage space.

 

 

- 4 positions on the retractable stock

- I’m sure you modify the stock for more positions by drilling the appropriate holes.

 

 

- Detail view of the stock holes.

[Raygis LasVegas]

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[Raygis LasVegas]

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[Raygis LasVegas]

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[Raygis LasVegas]

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[Raygis LasVegas]

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[STARGATESG1NUT]

Umm... What are those reserved for? You could just post after people. It's not really that big of a deal.

[Qhs]

If you need to edit, there is a time limit. About 40 mins to 1 hour.

[Raygis LasVegas]

- To remove the magwell, you must first remove the following 2.5mm allen screw head.

 

 

- Allen screw head removed.

 

 

- Poke out the screw with the allen key

 

 

- Rotate the magwell to remove it from the upper reciever.

 

 

- Magwell removed to expose the hop-up unit, air nozzle, and gearbox.

- The gearbox wires are nicely tucked away.

- My gearbox was re-wired to the rear since I’m using the V-stock. More detail on this latter...

 

 

- To separate the lower receiver from the upper, you must remove this 3mm allen screw.

 

 

- Rotate the lower assembly downwards to separate it from the upper.

 

 

- Underside view of the upper receiver.

- The upper receiver’s roof is a metal backbone that supports the front end and prevents flex.

- The metal backbone extends all the way to the rear to form the folding stock’s hinge.

 

 

- CA36KE-V field stripped – well almost – I was too lazy to remove the carry handle.

[Raygis LasVegas]

Miscellaneous Pictures

 

- Version 3 gearbox re-wired to the rear.

- This configuration is best used with the V-stock.

 

 

- Another pic of the rewiring job.

 

 

- Seam lines are visible, but they don’t bother me too much.

 

 

- It might seem like there’s plenty of room inside the handguard – but in reality, you can only fit a mini 9.6V 1100 battery.

- Custom batteries are available, but they are not worth the hassle. I prefer to use a large battery stored in the stock.

 

 

- Battery disconnected

 

 

- To avoid stretching, the stock must not be folded over 90 degrees when the battery wires are connected.

- The Deans connectors have built-in safety such that if the wires are stretched, the connectors would simply slide off and disengage from each other. I haven’t proven this by folding my stock quickly, but I can guess this type of connection is better than using Tamiya’s.

 

 

- Here’s a pic showing the wires connected and stretched.

 

 

- The CA hi-cap magazine was a perfect performer. Never once did it fail to feed. The only problem I have is that is squeaks when force is applied.

- If you’re the type of player that grabs onto the magwell of a rifle when shouldering, you’ll encounter many squeaks from this magazine.

 

 

- Magazine trademarks.

 

 

- Another gripe I have with the G36 magazine design is the size of the trap door. I find this opening to be too small and prone to spillage of BBs.

[Trasher]

Just a quick note:

 

- real G36 magazines squeak

- real G36s have visible molding lines

- real G36 handguards do wobble (flexible)

[Raygis LasVegas]

- Birds eye view of the hi-cap’s guts.

 

 

 

Final Pictures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Raygis LasVegas]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

END OF REVIEW

[jordan2139]

damn! very very very nice pics

[IvanD]

BRILLIANT review, must have took you a long time

 

+1 Rep.

 

Cheers,

Ivan

[rasheem]

KV Stock is teh sechs

[HebrewMobster]

yea dude that was an awesome review, thanks for taking the time to be very thorough!

[Whoracle]

Excellent job. I recently got a CA36K as well.

 

Just a quick question...have you opened up the gear box at all? You gave a great review of the gun's construction, but anything about performance or quality of gearbox internals? (forgive me if you are actually working on this part of the review and haven't posted it yet, but it seems as though your review is finished.)

 

Nice pictures as well. Good job

[UrPeaceKeeper]

Excellent job. I recently got a CA36K as well.

 

Just a quick question...have you opened up the gear box at all? You gave a great review of the gun's construction, but anything about performance or quality of gearbox internals? (forgive me if you are actually working on this part of the review and haven't posted it yet, but it seems as though your review is finished.)

 

Nice pictures as well. Good job

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

In Addition is there anyway we could get a picture down the Optics? I know that there are 1039401134.5 3/4 pictues out there of it, but its always a nice way to finish off the collection of pictures =) Brilliant review man brilliant!

[Raygis LasVegas]

I'm going to finish off the review with the optics and the internals. It'll take some time but it's worth the wait.

[Raygis LasVegas]

Disassembling the Lower Receiver

 

- To get to the bare gearbox, you must first remove it from the lower receiver frame.

 

 

- From top to bottom: motor plate retaining screw 1, motor height adjustment screw (allen 1.5mm), motor frame/cage retaining screw, motor plate retaining screw 2.

 

 

- Begin by removing the largest Phillips screw (motor frame/cage retaining screw)

 

 

- Motor frame retaining screw removed.

 

 

- Punch out the gearbox retaining pin. I used my 2.5mm allen screw.

 

 

- Gearbox retaining pin punched out.

 

 

- Set the firing selector switch to the position middle of semi auto and full auto.

 

 

- Ensure the selector switch notch is clear of the selector plate.

- Gently wiggle the gearbox loose from the lower receiver frame.

 

 

- Gently wiggle the gearbox loose from the lower receiver frame.

 

 

- Lower receiver frame separated from the gearbox

[Raygis LasVegas]

Miscellaneous Pictures of the Lower Receiver Frame

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Gearbox

 

- Left side.

 

 

- Right side.

 

 

- The best thing about the G36 is it's user friendly disassembly design. I was able to disassemble the CA36K down to it's gears in 4.5 minutes. This is 1/3 of the time of a V2 Armalite gearbox and 1/2 the time of a ICS MP5.

- CA's grease job was just sufficient for the gearbox's function.

- The shim job was also done well out of the box.

- The piston head and cylinder seal was excellent.

- The cylinder head and air nozzle seal wasn't the best -- but I did a modification to rectify the problem... more on this later.

- Note: The cylinder pictured is from Systema. The stock CA cylinder is of brass-type similar to those found in Marui's M4A1. The spring used is a PDI 140%.