R16 (M4 CQB RIS) - ArniesAirsoft

Author

samuel

Cooking up a storm since 1980

Registered: July 2006
Location: Cardiff
Posts: 1,256

Review Date: 29/8/07

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: �69.99 | Rating: 7

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Price, fair performance, good starter package
Cons:	requires upgrading, externals.

The Choice.
After much deliberation and confusion I decided my next purchase would be a second M4. I was looking for a gun that I would be able to upgrade myself, find plenty of after market parts for and would fit with my loadout so the M4 was a natural choice. But having a TM M4A1 already I decided I wanted something a little different.

The gun.
This is where the WELL R16 came in. The R16 is a M4 variant with a RIS front end, shortened barrel and crane stock. It cost me �69.99 from Action Hobbys and included in the box was the gun, vertical grip, open reflex site, carry handle, 2 point sling, 230(ish) round metal hicap mag, 200 odd 0.2 bb's, UK charger with small Tamia connector and a 9.6v 1100mah crane stock battery. I also purchased an extra 3 metal hicaps to go with the gun and 5,000 0.2g bbs. The total price including parcelforce 48hr delivery was �102

Externals.
The front end has a full M4 length RIS system with 4 full length rails. The rails are metal but the rest of the RIS is plastic. The RIS ends with a metal flip up BUIS and immediately after that is a standard M4 flash hider. The receiver looks identical to any other M4 receiver with WELL R16 in place of any trades and MADE IN CHINA on the reverse side. It also has the normal safe, semi, full markings. Sling mounts are positioned at the front site and the rear of the crane stock. I also noticed that the pistol grip was moving slightly but this was fixed by tightening the screws.

Internals.
Striping the gun was the same as stripping any other armalite. Remove pins, separate the receiver half�s and off you go. I found the gearbox to be well shimmed and evenly greased. No big clumps anywhere. The tappet, nozzle and cylinder head were all made of sturdy white plastic and looked like they would last well. The piston was identical to a cyma piston. Grey/off white in colour and with a ported head. The spring appeared to be at most a M90. It was a good inch shorter than the M100 I installed. The gears had no markings on them other than NZ on the reverse of the spur gear.

I replaced the nylon bushings with a set of G&P metal bushings and used Systema shims. As I had the parts to hand and I was unsure about the quality of the standard parts I installed a gear set including anti reversal latch. When testing the compression I found the piston would go straight down with no resistance at all. The piston was replaced with a new one with ported; bearing head and the cylinder head was replaced as well. The gears and piston parts were all Element parts. I left the nozzle as it was as this appeared fine.

Reassembling the gun was as easy as normal for an armalite but that�s where things got interesting. I was planning to install a tight bore barrel and a new clear hop rubber. However the upper receiver and front end proved very complex and unique. The hop and barrel will not come out without a complete disassembly of the upper receiver. You cannot do this without removing the front end.

To remove the front end you must first remove the RIS unit, this comes off easily in 2 half�s. Then you must remove the front sight and flash hider. These 2 pieces do not separate but instead come away as one unit. 2 screws removed this unit; another 2 removed the outer barrel. To find another outer barrel inside which is fixed into the upper receiver with internal pins. So next I had to remove the rail from the top of the receiver and separate the receiver half�s. This freed the barrel and allowed me to remove the hop and barrel.

After all of this I saw that the barrel was sealed onto the hop with heat shrink tube so as I had been tinkering for several hours I decided to give up there and put it back together.

So to recap on the upgrade potential, the gearbox has as much potential as you like. It is identical to any other armalite gearbox and is just as easy to upgrade. However if you want to replace the hop you will have problems. As far as I can see the only way to replace the hop is to replace the receiver and the front end. Having said this I would do it. Purely for the fact that every part of the receiver bar the rail is plastic. And not the best quality plastic. The bolt catch and trigger guard are both moulded on to the receiver.

Overall.
FPS: from stock the gun was firing at approx 270 fps. Due to the spring and compression issues.

ROF: having a short spring and a 9.6v battery the ROF was more than enough. Installing a bigger spring has slowed this down a little but not enough to worry about.

Internals: fully compatible gearbox, problematic HOP and barrel.

Externals: The worst part of this gun. Not the best plastic on the reviver and the very strange front end design coupled with a little play in the RIS unit means that I will be replacing the body and front end with aftermarket parts at some stage.

Accessories: As with most china made guns this included a metal hicap mag, battery, sling, charger and 200 bb's. This gun also included a carry handle, reflex site and vertical grip. The carry handle is metal and very sturdy, the reflex site is complete plastic and low quality but it does look good and function accurately on my P90TR. The vertical grip is plastic and unpadded. On first inspection it appears to have a removable panel for a pressure switch but on closer inspection this is moulded on.

So, to conclude. IS it a great gun? No. is it worth the �69.99 price tag? Yes.

If you are looking for something low cost to start out with or a project gun this is a good choice. While it is not as good as offerings from JG and DBOYS it is half the price.

If you are not scared to delve into the gearbox or to eventually replace some externals this is a good choice. Ideal CQB performance from the box but easily sorted to get it ready for woodland.

Unfortunately in a small flat I do not have the room to test it for range and accuracy but I will update as and when I can.
Over all I would give it 7/10

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FOR SALE:
AK, M series and MP5 mags, HK police vest, Barrel, Spring, Top cover

WANTED:
MP5 and P90 cocking handle assemblys, Aimpoint, MP5 flashlight grip

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