Monday, October 19, 2009

Airsoft Type 89 Gun Repairs

The type 89 Japanese assault rifle has recently been cloned by airsoft gun manufacturers. I benched one of the Both Elephant brands recently for an internal review, plus I wanted to see how BE's new mechanical 3 shot burst was configured mechanically. The type 89 airsoft gun sports a full metal body, barrel and gearbox and features the mechanical 3 shot burst feature. Other "airsoft replica cloners" have incorporated 3 shot burst features by using an electronic MOSFET control which seems to be prone to premature failure due to the extreme field use most airsoft guns are subjected to. I was delighted to discover that the type 89 uses M4/M16 standard magazines. I tried out JG, TM and AGM brands and all worked fine. I did find it disappointing that... BE decided to go with a front mounted battery when this model has a big, beautiful, full size stock just begging to be stuffed full of battery power. I found the gun to be "wobble free" and very solid feeling for a replica assault weapon of this length. As I continued to disassemble the gun it quickly became apparent why it felt so solid. The very innovative type 89 gearbox incorporates a custom gearbox tail piece and a solid steel connecting bar that extends across and solidly connects into the guns upper receiver. As I dug deeper I found more new airsoft part designs but found some old school standard airsoft parts as well. The piston, piston head, cylinder, air nozzle, tappet plate, spring guide, gears and bushings were all standard type parts that are readily available at most online airsoft retailers. The gearbox, cut off lever and trigger assembly are available by special order but not carried by many U.S. airsoft retailers. The trigger switch is not the common horizontal slide type typically found in version 2 type gearboxes, but instead a vertical slide type that seems to function very well although it seems to heat up quickly during continued three round burst fire. The three round burst selection is controlled by a simple ratcheting style cut off lever engaged with the guns fire selector switch. Only time will tell if this unit will suffer from premature wear, but the design idea is brilliant.

Overall I think the type 89 would be a cool addition to the airsoft arsenal and could be a nice solid sniper weapon with a few standard upgrades. MMMmm I think a 9.6 NiMh 2300 Mah battery, some 6mm metal bushings, 6.03 tight bore barrel and a 110% spring to achieve a final velocity of about 350-370 FPS. Just a quick FYI at the time of this article Both Elephant guns and airsoft parts were available at the WGC Shop website. Happy Hunting!

Armsdealer...OUT

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