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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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3
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42852
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25/4/08
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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£239.99
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9.7
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rtrdpenguin
Registered: March 2006
Location: The Domain (Charlotte, NC)
Posts: 639
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Review Date: 29/3/06
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
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Positive aspects of the product (pros):
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Compact, durable, accurate, lots of cool features, very nice looking, unique on the field, lots of rails, v3 mechbox, nice iron sights
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Cons:
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Small size, small battery capacity, no top rail included, small mag capacity
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Tokyo Marui SIG SG552 AEG
Real Steel:
SIG 55x series: I'll start this review off with a little bit of SIG history as the 55x series is not very well known here in the U.S. The SIG 552 is based on the Sturmgewehr 550 rifle designed by Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft as a 5.56mm replacement for the aging Stgw57. The Swiss Federal Council announced in February 1983 that the first .223 assault rifle of the Swiss Army would be the SIG SG541. SIG refined the weapon, renamed it, and started producing the 600,000 rifles ordered by the Swiss Army to be manufactured over 15 years. The first 2000 rifles were issued in 1986 and official delivery began in 1990. The SIG 550 was considered a great feat of engineering because the majority of the Swiss population take shooting sports very seriously and the 5.56mm round was considered useless after 200m. Fortunately the 550 met all the requirements, including being as accurate as the older Stgw57 (which uses the more accurate 7.5 round), and passing various harsh tests which can be seen at http://www.biggerhammer.net/sigamt/550/550techinspection/.
SIG 552: So after a while, the SIG 550 gains popularity and is still considered the most accurate standard service rifle (without modifications) in the world. The SIG 551 carbine is adopted by many law enforcement teams, but special forces groups all over want an even smaller SIG around the size of a submachine gun but with extreme reliability and a 5.56mm round. So SIG designed the SIG 552, which is not quite the same internally as the 550 and 551. Due to the shorter barrel, the main spring was relocated to the receiver instead of the hand guard. The U.S. Navy SEALS and other special forces teams worldwide, along with law enforcement units, use the SIG 552 to some extent, though it is not as popular as cheaper alternatives.
TM replica: The SIG 55x series is truly a great rifle. Many experts agree that it is the "perfect rifle" from an engineering perspective. This has been replicated to some extent by Tokyo Marui, but the reliability, range, and overall performance is still the same as other AEGs.
The Rifle:
First impression: I bought this SIG 552 as a Christmas present to myself after saving a lot of money over the years. It is my first AEG and I ordered an ICS AN/PEQ-2 with laser, King Arms vertical grip, and 4 MAG 100 round SIG midcaps to go along with it. The package arrived at my house wrapped in rather ugly green paper, shipped from Hong Kong. I got this on sale from Hobby Asia (www.hobbyasia.com, excellent retailer) for just $196 plus about $48 shipping. It arrived in great condition, along with the scope mount I ordered cleverly put under the instruction manual cutout along with the black metal flash hider. I've always liked the 3-prong 552 flash hiders, and was very happy to be able to replace the amazingly ugly bright orange birdcage flash hider with the metal one. Next I looked at the trademarks. The box's trades were all cut out, but fortunately the gun had the trademarks covered in putty. It took a bit of work to get it all off, but I think it's worth the work because customs will very likely let it through, unlike taped trademarks. Inside the box was the instruction manual, rather funny safety fliers, a really cool speed loader (not exactly new or rare anymore but at the time it was pretty awesome to people), and a bag of .25 bbs in a box that looks amazingly like 5.56mm ammo. I think customs might have gotten a bit of a shock from the text on the bb box because it was opened and slightly bent =).
Body analysis: I'm going to do this back to front and try to cover everything about the gun, but I'm pretty sure I'll still miss something =).
So first is the stock... I swing it open, which took some force compared to my Cybergun SIG 552 springer, and it locks securely in place. The rubber pad on the stock is very comfortable, it beats all other stocks I've ever used, which includes stocks on the G36c, AK-47, MP5, and M4 among others. The plastic on the stock is very solid. None of that breaking junk like with the 550 and 551 here! Not a single squeak! I feel like I could pole vault with this gun, though I will definitely never actually do that =). The hinge and clasp thingy is completely metal. With the stock open, you can see the rear part of the gearbox, which has a very interesting effect when you shoot the gun. I've compared this gun to the TM AK-47 full stock, TM Spetsnaz, and G36c. It has significantly more "recoil" than any of them, though it is still nowhere near any real gun. It's actually more of a vibration... but with select upgrades you might be able to enhance the feel of this gun a bit. I suspect the piston slamming on the front of the gearbox sends vibrations through the back and onto the metal part of the stock, which then is dampened a bit but you still feel a bit of "recoil."
The grip is excellent like the stock due to being direct replicas of the real-steel SIG 552. It absolutely owns any other grip I've held, though I've never held any custom sniper grips or anything like that. It fits on the body very solidly and I have no concern that it'll fall off the receiver or anything like that. The motor adjustment screw is in the center, and there is a plate with a spacer holding the motor up.
The metal selector switch is secured with little grub screws so I'm fairly sure they won't fall off, though it seems common for the SIG 550 (strangely, I haven't heard of the 551 doing this) to lose the right selector switch. It clicks into place with an audible sound, and you will never have to check to make sure the switch actually moved like some other guns. It is also very well-designed, completely ambidextrous and it doesn't get in the way at all, unlike the mp5 series switches.
The trigger is not quite the same thickness as the real-steel but then again on an Airsoft gun trigger pull isn't much of a concern. It moves back and forth pretty easily, and I see no problems with it. It's metal too, but that's a given =).
The trigger guard is a very interesting point. Switzerland is very cold, so it makes sense that soldiers there would wear gloves. The trigger guard flips to either the right or left easily so you can use gloves with the gun. On my rifle it was a bit hard to flip to the sides at first because there are grooves on the sides that hold the trigger guard in normal, left, or right position. The magazine release, which is AK-style, kind of shares its spring with the folding trigger guard. I wouldn't go crazy flipping the trigger guard all over in case it wore the spring, but this is set up exactly the same way as the real-steel so TM is not at fault.
The magazine release is similar to an AK's, but is easier to use simply because of the mags. The release is fully ambidextrous and sits behind the mag well. I can easily push it with my thumb and change mags without even looking, which is good for a rocking-type mag.
SIG mags in real-steel come in 5, 20, and 30 rounds. TM for some odd reason decided to only make replicas of the 20-rounder, but another company called MAG produces 100-round midcaps for the SIG series. To put a mag in the mag well you need to put the front lip of the mag into the well, and then kind of rock it back in place. A lot of people say they hit the release and these mags fall out easily but I don't seem to have that problem. When you push the release, the mags do fall out, which is convenient, but even with the trigger guard folded I have yet to accidentally release a mag. The TM standard comes in two flavors, a 42-round one with fake bullets (amazingly real... don't show this gun to random people lol), and a 60-round one with a clearish black finish. The mags are plastic like the real steel and have a unique feature. You can connect mags using two tabs on the sides. Theoretically you could connect as many as you want, but I like to stick with 2... This is a great feature because you do not need mag clamps. Unfortunately the TM 60-round standard and high cap have weak tabs that are prone to breaking. The 42-round mag seems a lot stronger though and seems to hold up well. On a side note, the MAG mid cap tabs easily broke, one set of mags broke in the mail! =( The high cap capacity might put some people off as it's only 220 rounds, but I think that's plenty enough.
The SIG 552 charging handle is accurate to the real-steel, something you really have to give TM credit for. The 550 and 551 had handles similar to the AK, with a flat part, but the 552 has a slightly different rounded handle. It slides back and comes back with a loud clack, though without a metal body and bolt it sounds really fake. Nice and loud, but fake. At least the handle is metal... nice feel when you want to do the whole fake lock and load thing =D. What's underneath the charging handle is the good part. The SIG 552 has a hop up adjustment drum, like the G3 and AUG rifles. I personally think the AK-style notch thingy is the easiest to use but this is probably even harder to unwind than the AK ones. It also looks cool, a lot better than a bunch of small round parts or a little stick like on some rifles. You rotate it down for more hop, and it stays securely. No chance of unwinding like M4 and MP5 hop ups!
Now I'm going to do the sights because I want to save the best for last. The front and rear sights are full metal. The rear is a drum type sight like HK uses. It has 4 different holes, 3 are pinhole type things in varying sizes. The fourth is what sets this drum sight apart from others! It's a little half-cut for fast targeting, complete with dots which on the real-steel would glow for night shooting. I've painted these dots with bright green paint because it actually does help in low light conditions. I love this sight setting and rarely use the others. It's very accurate as long as you put the front post between the two dots and I see no reason to take longer to use a pinhole sight in an intense firefight. The front sight is hooded, and it's not a huge hood like MP5s =). I don't know why, the huge MP5 front sights have always kind of annoyed me. The best part is the flip-up night sight, which has a dot like the rear sight. With all the dots painted, aiming is simple and quick. The rear sight is adjustable for windage and elevation, and TM has faithfully replicated the instruction-type pictures on the side of the drum. The windage is adjustable with a coin while the elevation requires a flathead screwdriver.
 
The plastic hand guard covers squeak just a tiny bit with the battery holding thingy removed, but only if you really torque it. There is a small nub on the side for the folding stock to lock on to, and it's pretty ergonomic for a piece designed to simply keep your hands from burning. The rail on the bottom is metal and kind of ugly, but useful. The side rail on the right is plastic but very sturdy. Both rails are removable with an Allen wrench, though it'll leave holes in your hand guard =).
Hand guard pin. This deserves its own section. Unlike the easily lost M16 variant pins, this pin has a little spring-loaded retainer. You can push it out, but it definitely will not fall out on its own. Mine came installed on the left, which is inaccurate, but it was easily fixed.
Past the hand guard is the assembly for the front sight, outer barrel, and flash hider, along with the integrated sling point and bayonet mount. This chunk is FULLY METAL. And it gets better! Everything inside the hand guard is metal. There's a solid block of metal from the tip of the flash hider to where the nozzle meets the inner barrel. This works wonders for the rifle's accuracy, range, and durability. I can honestly say the SIG 552 rivals and might even surpass the range and accuracy of the full length AK-47. The only other guns I know of that have similar full metal assemblies are the G36c (not quite full metal but it has a metal spine and hop up) and the new version 2 M4 (dunno much about it... just heard it was metal heavy lol). There's a little space for a mini battery in the hand guard, complete with tray. I removed this tray because it's just an obstruction. A lot of people think you can only fit a mini 8.4v in the hand guard, but if you take away the tray you can fit a 9.6 and maybe even a 10.8 mini size in there. I kind of regret getting a $50 8.4v 2000 mah peq battery now that I'm considering upgrades. I should have just gotten a mini 8.4v and gotten a 9.6v for the peq =(.
A cool little bonus is that the gas regulator on this gun moves to two settings like the real-steel. It's of no use, but it's still cool to simulate going into rifle grenade mode. The flash hider is screwed on the barrel with a 14mm CCW thread, which is an improvement over the fixed flash hiders on the 550 and 551. Sling points are very sturdy, though if you have metal on your sling it may scratch the sights a tiny bit. The plastic receiver is amazingly similar to the metal. I really couldn't tell the difference between the rear sight's metal and the plastic body until I felt the coldness of the drum sight. The HurricanE metal body for the sig costs about $200 so I'm probably going to wait for a cheaper alternative... I think the plastic body is solid enough anyway. With the low-mount rail on the top the plastic body won't break easily.
I ordered the low-profile scope mount for about $20 along with the gun and it is very very cool. The metal Swiss cross on the front end of the receiver actually is a mounting point. You hook the front of the rail onto the cross and tighten a bolt that pushes against the rear sight. This makes the rail and high rise scope mount quickly detachable and leaves no screw holes.
The trademarks on the body are very accurate. On the right side it says RESTRICTED FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT/GOVERNMENT USE AND/OR EXPORT ONLY in white letters. Under the rear screw disguised as a pin "made in Japan Tokyo Marui co. ltd is engraved." The bolt carries the number 0531, which is pretty cool even if it's not a unique number. The left side reads "SIG ARMS inc. Exeter-NH," then the round SIG logo, and afterwards "Made in Switzerland Cal. .223 Rem." This is in white text, engraved underneath is a strange backwards "B"/forwards "P" symbol. After the symbol it reads "SG 552-2 Commando 0531" The number matches the bolt =D! The lower receiver also has 0531 engraved on it. For some odd reason I cannot find the "agsk" logo that seems to be on every TM product, but I'm sure it's hidden somewhere...
Performance:
Battle: I've used this gun in several skirmishes in a swamp/woodland area. The small size is a definite plus in this thorn-heavy and muddy terrain. My vertical grip makes holding the rifle a lot easier because I've got a PEQ on the side. I suppose it's easier to acquire targets with a vertical grip, but I kind of prefer the normal hold. This is a pretty heavy gun for its size, but it's still easy to move around with. Stock folded, it can't use the mag clamping to its full potential but the size is greatly reduced. I intend on getting a long side rail so that I can fold my stock with my PEQ on because I like it folded so much =). The SIG 552 outranges the AK spetsnaz, is pretty much on par with the G36c because they have pretty much the exact same internals, and amazingly performs as well or better than the AK-47. I've shot all 4 of these guns and the G36c and SIG 552 are pretty even. The spetsnaz is significantly less accurate than the other 3 but can hold a large battery in a small gun. My opinion is probably biased but I like the SIG the best. I don't like the longness of the full stock AK, the spets is too small and inaccurate, and the G36c IMO has worse sights.
Range: The metal assembly and newer hop up design really helps this gun's range. The small size and barrel might make you think it's only good for CQB but it is fine in woodland. Against a significantly longer barrel like the SIG 550 or G3 SG-1 it'll probably be a bit outranged but I'd still say this can compete with the long rifles.
Accuracy: Accuracy isn't spectacular but then again this is an Airsoft gun. I can't really say much on this, but with the sights zeroed you can pretty much hit whatever you aim at provided your gun can reach it. In battle it's a bit hard to rapidly acquire targets and take a good aimed shot at a protruding limb, and that's why I like the cutout CQB sight on the rear drum so much. I like using the night sights even in daytime because you just look to see if all 3 dots are lined up and squeeze the trigger.
30 foot semi auto groupings:
30 foot full auto groupings:
50 foot random shooting groupings:
These were done with a little bit of wind, which is why the shots are a bit off to the right. I zeroed my sights for 80 feet so the bbs are a bit high, but you can get a general idea of how accurate the gun is with these very informal tests.
Durability: This thing isn't going to break. Very strong body, stock, grip, and hand guard unlike the older 550 and 551 rifles. It lacks the burst feature which is a bit disappointing but then again the 552 doesn't come with burst like the 551 in real-steel. TM was very generous with the metal content on this gun. The most likely part to break would have to be the tabs on the mags. Other than that I can't see this gun breaking without significant force... it's literally solid as a rock!
Upgradeability/customizability: The version 3 gearbox and the EG1000 motor means lots of upgrades internally. You can do pretty much anything to the gearbox. The battery capacity is kind of poor, but it's not quite as bad as people thought earlier on. If you remove the battery case thing, you can fit another row of cells in between the two on a mini battery. I've seen a 9.6v used this way and have no reason do doubt a 10.8v would fit also. Voltage is adequate but capacity is still disappointing... That's why I got a PEQ for mine. External upgrades for SIGs are pretty rare. I've seen a HurricanE metal body, various side rails by First Factory, Guarder, and some other companies, low and high scope mounts, stock cheek pads O_o, and replacement parts by TM. There's also a carrot $160 hand guard from back in the 550 and 551 days... it can hold a larger battery but the price is a bit crazy if you ask me. Silencers are common on real 552s though I don't really like them myself. Anything with a 14mm CCW thread will fit, including the Marui tracer unit =).
=) just a picture of my two sigs... one's a springer lol.
Real-steel/Airsoft comparison:
Real SIG 552 TM SIG 552 SEALS
Length
730/504 mm 720/465 mm
Barrel Length
226 mm 247 mm
Weight (empty)
3.0 kg 1.8 kg
Caliber
5.56x45 mm/.223 Remington 6mm BB
Rate of fire
780 rpm 832 rpm
Magazine capacity
5/20/30 round 42/60 std, 220 high, 100 mid round
Velocity
2379 FPS 281 FPS
-By rtrdpenguin
e-mail: rtrdpenguin@gmail.com
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5830017_C
Registered: February 2007
Posts: 12
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Review Date: 11/5/07
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: £239.99
| Rating: 10
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Positive aspects of the product (pros):
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Extremely solid, nice to hold, with a sturdy stock
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Cons:
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A little bit heavy, tough to squeeze a battery inside
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I know this already has a review, but it never hurts to hear a second opinion, so I'll lay one down, too. Penguin did a good job, though, so this'll be quick.
The first thing I noticed about this gun when I picked it up was the weight. It was noticeably heavier than my stock TM M4, but not by a whole lot. I pulled the stock out, which took quite a surprising amount of muscle. Locking it back was much easier, but that didn't detract from its solidity. I've heard that the 550 and 551 stocks were prone to breakage, but that's definitely not the case with this gun. Another thing I liked was the fact that the front end has absolutely no wobble. As an M4 owner, that problem has plagued me almost from day one. Like Penguin said, this is due to the full-metal front end and solid receiver, plastic though it may be. This also lends to the accuracy of this gun. With a tightbore and proper tuning, I could see this baby pulling off some amazing shots, considering the short barrel length.
Okay, since Penguin covered most of the good stuff pretty well, I'm going to move on to a couple things I'm not crazy about. First of all, when I first tried installing a battery, I found that the space the battery was supposed to sit was almost too small. However, this problem is easily fixed by removing the tray. The four screws that hold the tray on can be accessed by simply removing the lower handguard. With the tray out, the battery fit much easier. I would definitely recommend taking this tray out to anybody who plans on having to change batteries in the field. If you like to go back to the staging area, then it's not too big a deal.
Another thing I have noticed is that the trigger guard, which is designed to fold to either side for use with gloves, sometimes clicks out of place. This hasn't hampered my shooting ability yet, but it is a minor nuisance.
And finally (and this is strictly a matter of personal opinion), I don't really like the magazine tabs. These allow you to connect as many magazines together as you want, and there are two tabs on each side of each magazine. What I don't like about this is that these tabs increase the width of the mags, which are wider than my M-16 magazines, so much that they don't fit as well as I'd like in any pouches I have. But, like I said, that's just my opinion.
Overall, this is a very nice gun. The hop-up is fantastic, making it more accurate than you might imagine. I would recommend this gun to anybody looking for something a little bit unique, or to first-time buyers who are looking for a solid shooter. I got mine from Airsoft Atlanta, a U.S. company, for $240, with free shipping. Plus extra magazines and two cans of lubricant, the total came to right around $322, making it more than reasonable for the price. I would definitely buy this one again.
Anyway, that's my two cents. Hope it helps.
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Wingman
Registered: October 2004
Location: Massachusetts USA
Posts: 786
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Review Date: 25/4/08
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Positive aspects of the product (pros):
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Compact, sturdy, dependable, good range, accuracy and excellent ergonomics/handling
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Cons:
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Magazine capacity is somewhat low. Battery compartment seems a bit tight
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I was looking for something that was compact, had decent performance, yet was something other than just another M4/15, AK or MP5 type.
I had pretty much settled on the TM P90, when I came across the TM Sig 552 SEAL. I always liked the look of the rifle itself, but this was the first time I had actually had a chance to get my hands on one.
Impressions:
I loved the "feel" of the rifle. Very ergonomic. Grip fits the hand nicely and at a good angle. Controls, such as the safety/selective fire switch, are easy to get to, operate and are positive. Very nice trigger.
The Sig 552 sights are very quick to bring on target. They are adjusted easily and stay set.
Magazine release is very easy to operate. Some have said "a bit too easy", but I've not had any issues here. Magazines are held tightly, when properly inserted, which seems to help make this rifle feed flawlessly. Inserting the magazine is definatley different from your M4/15 and MP5 style and is more like that of the AK. However, this takes very little time to get used to. I've grown to like it.
The 552's magazines are well designed and very solid. The smokey/clear body of the magazine, with its simulated .223 ammunition, is carried off very nicely and also helps to make this rifle look even more impressive. Capacity is a bit low, even with the hi-cap, but I've adjusted my shooting to compensate and save the full-auto for when it's really necessary. I'd love a mechanical 3 shot burst option for this rifle.
The folding stock is the best I've ever come across on a rifle (real steel or airsoft). It's very solid and the lock-up is very tight. There is no "wobble" what so ever (something all my M4's need adjustment for quite a bit). Very nice indeed.
With the stock folded, this rifle is shorter than my MP5's with collapsable stocks and much shorter than any M4/15 that I own. One of the new CQB M4's out there might be close, but I can't say for sure. I would'nt bet on it.
Build materials are obviously the usual TM, excellent. While not a metal body, it is, none the less, very very solid. It is very well detailed (unfortunately my Sig trades were dremeled off poorly) and what scribing and lettering there is, is deep and clear. Weight is very good. Overall finish is superb.
Performance:
As I stated right at the begining, I was looking for "decent" performance. I was not looking for "miute of angle" or sniper style accuracy or "hyper velocity".
I was looking for something that would hit a human torso at 150+ feet every time. At 100 or less, I have to be able to hit a gallon milk container with nearly every shot. At anything less than 50 feet, I want my shots inside of 3 inches or less.
As for power, I'm not big on high velocity all that much. I put more importance on "combat" accuracy and dependablity. I am more than willing to accept a good rifle that shoots well at 270-300 fps. I really enjoy CQB and I personally feel that anything over this is just not necessary and I'm not into this to inflict "pain" on other players.
Dependability is very important to me. It's no good having a mega-rifle that "shoots 90%, 50% of the time" (lol). I require the rifle to go "bang" everytime I pull the trigger, as long as I've done my party to keep it in good shape, clean and "well fed".
This means a good gearbox, motor and hop-up unit. I also expect this to come right from the facotry! I'm not looking to have to up-grade just to get decent performance. We spend a lot of money on these rifles and the manufacturers have a responsibility to give us what we've paid for!
Conclusion:
For me, the TM Sig 552 has provided everything "I" require in this style of AEG. All of the above has been delivered in a nice handling AEG.
While I've only managed to put a "few" thousand rounds through this rifle so far, I've not had a single failure to fire.
If your looking for a compact, well handling, dependable and solid all round AEG, that you can use in the woods as well as CQB, than you might want to take a good long look at this rifle.
The TM Sig 552, it delivers!
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Registered: March 2006
Location: The Domain (Charlotte, NC)