Airsoft Action - January 2021

armoury
CYMA 009 “NAM AR” SERIES
of the efforts made by players to “get it right”
has continued to grow over the years.
And, of course, there’s one specific area of
this that as airsofters we ALL love and that’s
the firearms used “in country”! Again, over
the years various “M16s and XMs” of varying
quality and historical accuracy have come and
gone, although I do still own my original
Classic Army “XM” that was cut down to
“E1” (more on that later!) length. Some
have been complete “frankenguns” put
together for spare parts with real period
furniture, whilst others have been off the
shelf models that have served their purpose
and seen some action; suffice to say that my
US “Nam Armoury” is quite… extensive!
Airsoft replicas of “Nam” period rifles
and carbines has become better and better
and with the current drive in technology (in
relation to internals), they actually perform
excellently too these days! Externals have
also improved, with any Vietnam reenactors
that I know owning AEGs and
GBBs because they are “just right” and
you’ll see many of them at shows like War
& Peace or Military Odyssey.
Although I’ve owned many “M16s”
most of my living history
impressions have been
centred on MACV-SOG,
MIKE Forces and the LRRPs
(along with the occasional
bit of Stoner-wielding SEAL
action!), so the full length
M16 has never really been my
preferred model as most
of those units carried the
XM177 Carbine, or the
“CAR-15” as most vets
refer to it. That said, most
of
the Vietnam airsoft players
I know revel in the role of the lowly
“grunt” where “Mr. Colt’s Best Girl” is
most definitely their favourite choice
of replica.
What I received from Taiwangun
though, piqued my interest as I also
have impressions based on the
“Advisers” from the early days of
the Vietnam War. When they
told me they had a new
CYMA “Nam” era M16 of
course I was interested, but
what arrived was highly unexpected and very exciting.
Out of the plain box came the rifle and when I looked
closely it was not just any old M16 but a pretty nicely
achieved early war Colt Model 603/XM16E1, featuring
CYMA’s latest internals!
MASH UP!
During the late 1950s and early 1960s the way
the USA fought wars was changing, moving from
massed “force on force” set pieces to “manoeuvre
warfare”, with far more deployments taking place on
a smaller scale. Troops became mechanised and air
mobile and the rifle they used needed to reflect this.
It needed to be smaller and lighter in weight than
the ungainly and heavy M14s, L1A1s, and G3s in use
at the time by the US and other armies worldwide.
Engagement distances, especially in the jungles South
East Asia, were decreasing so the need for a high
power 7.62mm was lessened; enter the M16 and
“5.56mm”!
Although the “airsoft M16” has been covered
exhaustively I am a sucker for the more interesting
models. The Colt Model 603/XM16E1 was the first
attempt at providing an improved M-16 for the US
Army, with production running from early 1964 until
it became the Colt Model 603/M16A1 in early 1967.
The XME1 was the first model to incorporate the
“forward assist” feature and also featured the “Partial
Fence” reinforced lower receiver for the first time, and
because it was a “going from one place to another”
model, it also featured a real mash-up of components
during its production cycle.
After use with advisory and “special” units, the U.S.
Army began to issue the XM16E1 in 1965, with most
of them going to the newly raised and experimental
Airmobile Divisions and the 1st Air Cavalry Division in
particular. After many trials and tribulations the Army
finally standardised an upgrade of the XM16E1 (as the
M16A1) in 1967 and the Model 603/M16A1 remained
the primary infantry rifle of U.S. forces in Vietnam
until the end of direct U.S. ground involvement. It also
became the standard service rifle for all U.S. military
ground forces after it fully replaced the M14 service
rifle in 1970.
TICKING ALL THE BOXES
There really is a LOT of history behind the M16 and for
any airsofter having an early model in the collection
really does encompass many eras and conflicts. Yes,
of course it can be used for Vietnam themed games
but it also would be pretty correct for Cold War and
Falkland War Scenarios, as the M16 was used heavily
by UK Special Forces and the Royal Marines during
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