Airsoft Action - January 2021

armoury
CYMA 009 “NAM AR” SERIES
those “on/off” conflicts (again, I’ll come back to that
later!).
It’s really the attention to detail, even the tiniest of
things, that really makes the humble CYMA stand out
from the crowd though. I’ve seen many manufacturers
have a crack at an “M16VN” only to be let down
by silly things, like using the wrong pistol grip or
handguard slip ring. Although such things will only be
noticed by a true “stitch bitch”, once you see, you just
can’t un-see!
The Colt Model 603 had some pretty unique
features, which many believe were only added at a
later date when the rifle finally became the M16/
A1. Firstly, the lower receiver of the 603 had what is
known as “a partial fence”, in that it carried only an
additional reinforcing feature above the magazine
release. The upper receiver had only just received the
forward assist, in the case of the early models a more
rounded shape. The flash hider was originally still of
the three-prong style, but during the life of the 603
models could also be found with the “birdcage”, and
the slip ring was flat rather than the conical shape we
see today. The butt pad was a simple rubber affair,
although the distinctive triangular handguard was
already in place.
The CYMA, rather surprisingly and somewhat
pleasingly, follows this entire feature set down to the
smallest detail; it truly is a work of art and no little
research has gone into getting everything completely
right. The replica 603 is fully made of good quality
alloy, with only the pistol grip, butt, and handguard
being made of a very nice matt black plastic. The
metal parts, rather than just being a shoddily painted
black, are a deep black and grey mix. There are
absolutely no trademarks so it’s a blank canvas for the
re-enactor!
Internally things are no less impressive. The hop-up
adjustment is exactly where you would expect it to
be, behind the fake bolt which is accessed by pulling
back the charging handle; this benefits from the
now-common “hold back” function that means the
cover stays to the rear until you hit the bolt release
which can be fun in game! The hop is a solid metal
unit and once set stays steadfastly in place. The
rifle also benefits from CYMA’s new “E-EDITION”
configuration, that can handle higher-strength springs
and also ensures a super-snappy trigger response. This
has been achieved thanks to the new, more durable
gearbox parts such as a V2 gearbox with quick spring
change system, a steel gear set with 8mm steel
bushings and bearing spring guide, married up neatly
to a high torque neodymium motor and processor unit
with built-in MOSFET system!
This really is an impressive rifle, not just for the
money (as it’s a steal in my opinion) and even on
a 7.4V though it really does crack away; bear in
mind that most Vietnam themed airsoft games will
have strict ammo limits and you’re going to want to
stick on semi-auto anyway. The trigger is crisp and
responsive. The metal 160 BB magazine is the short
type first issued with the real 603 and feeds absolutely
flawlessly and once loaded, snaps into place with no
wobble.
I loaded the magazine up with a full complement of
my usual RZR 2.0g test BBs and got to work. The BBs
through the chrono gave me a perfectly acceptable
mean of 1.06 Joule/339fps (once again I’d asked
Taiwangun to deliver as close to 350fps as possible -
and once again they delivered!). Setting targets out to
50 metres I was able to get reasonable groupings on
semi-auto, with things opening out marginally when
I switched the selector up to full. My thought is that
with a bit of fettling you could really have a very, very
accurate rifle on your hands here, although it’s good
to go straight out of the box.
SHORT(ER) AND SWEET(ER)!
Now, as much as I love this take on the venerable
M16 rifle, CYMA have actually created a series with
the same internal components and in said series you
also have the XM177E1 and E2 carbine variants to
choose from! This of course interests me greatly (given
my specific historical interests) and both are as unique
as the 603!
The Colt Model 609 (along with the Model 610
for the USAF, known simply as the XM177/ GAU-5A)
was the first Colt carbine to see wide scale production
and adoption by the US military with the designation
XM177E1. This model was produced from late 1966
through until early 1967 and proved somewhat
problematical due to the 10-inch barrel having a
negative bearing on reliability, along with causing
accuracy issues, even with the distinctive 4.5-inch
moderator.
“THE CYMA, RATHER SURPRISINGLY AND SOMEWHAT PLEASINGLY, FOLLOWS THIS
ENTIRE FEATURE SET DOWN TO THE SMALLEST DETAIL; IT TRULY IS A WORK OF
ART AND NO LITTLE RESEARCH HAS GONE INTO GETTING EVERYTHING COMPLETELY
RIGHT.”
70
JANUARY 2021