Airsoft Action - September 2022

ARMOURY
ICS DDMK18
damage. The “smart trigger” is also able to distinguish
whether it is time for Burst Mode (light touch) or
Full-Auto Mode (long, deep press), and it’s also shortstroked
with a pre-cocking mechanism that makes
your shots-away lightning quick; I won’t dwell on the
full functionality of all this clever wizardry, as although
I’m most definitely a “greybeard” I am no “internals
Gandalf”… I have “men for that” these days!
Now I have to admit that I’m not usually an EBBfan
as I had some horrendous experiences with older
AEGs that frankly convinced me that EBB was a “bad
thing”; I’ll just point you to the original ARMY L85
that would strip its piston during the first game you
used it in… you hear what I’m saying? However,
I’ve been monitoring this technology and it would
certainly appear that it has come on leaps and
bounds, and ICS are one of the manufacturers at the
forefront here. Their EBB system does indeed bring
a little more realism to your shooting experience,
but these days without sacrificing durability and
performance; as the MK18 now enters the long-term
test pool we’ll see how that continues over time, but
Jimmy assures me it is now a more robust system
altogether.
DOWNRANGE
So, externally lovely, internally sound, but how does
the ICS DD MK18 actually shoot?
In use the MK18 is every bit as good as I
expected it to be, with performance living up to
the promise offered by the stunning externals and
solid, workmanlike internals. The MK18 comes with
an ICS “Metal Mid-Cap Silent Magazine”; this is
a super design as well as the magazine features a
sound-suppressing mechanism that is just perfect for
sneaking about in tight quarters quietly. Loaded up to
120 BB capacity with .20g RZR BBs and with an 11.1V
LiPo battery fitted into the buffer tube I chrono’d the
MK18 through my Xcortech at an incredibly consistent
1.03 Joule/334fps.
With the hop set for .28g BBs the BB trajectory was
incredibly, and I do mean utterly, incredibly, flat; at
10m I was easily hitting small spinner targets and at
the maximum of the 30m range I was hitting “dinner
plate” metals unerringly. There was zero drop-off at
30m so in my mind I think you’ll be hitting targets at
far greater distances than that, and that’s with the
gun straight out of the box. Switching up to full-auto
saw BBs heading off downrange with alacrity and that
“soft-touch” trigger function is just awesome!
After each session of test-firing was completed I
used the built-in ICS Spring Release mechanism; this
actively protects the spring, piston and your hardearned
buck! Whenever the SAFE mode is selected,
the spring is automatically released, reducing wear on
the spring and other internals, and I have to admit this
is an ICS feature I have always loved.
Overall I am massively impressed with the ICS DD
MK18. Although I’m yet to see a retail price at the
time of writing I expect this to be competitively placed
in the market, and it looks, feels, and shoots like
something that will be worth the money whatever
that may be! ICS replicas have always been good
“bang for your buck”, but I honestly believe that the
MK18 takes this to a new level. It’s got a cracking
story behind it, and would be equally at home in a
woodland setting as on a CQB site.
Some airsoft companies seem content to just
follow a single line of progression in relation to their
designs but I have to say in the past few years ICS
have not done this in any way. I’ve always been a fan
of their split gearboxes which are reliable and easy to
work on, and personally I’ve never had an AEG from
them that has been anything other than exemplary.
ICS have pretty much always provided attractive and
sturdy full-metal performance AEGs with first-rate
internal parts and mechanisms.
But as I commented earlier, ICS could have easily
gone down a route and created something to look
“similar to a MK18” in house, and they are 100%
more than capable of this; it would have been a great
little AEG. But they decided that indeed “the only easy
day was yesterday” and have done things right rather
than easily with their thoroughly-of-the-moment DD
MK18, and it is, like the real deal better than just the
sum of its parts! By working with EMG and obtaining
permission to work under the Daniel Defense Licence
the externals are completely righteous, and their
internals, as ever, are as good as ever if not better
than those we’ve seen before!
I have to commend ICS for once again for creating
something that sings to me in every way possible,
and if the need for “NavSpecWarGru” is strong with
you, then this is one AEG that you will most definitely
want to own. If you’re in the market for a new AEG
generally though, then I would certainly take a very
good look at the ICS DD MK18; if this is the shape of
things to come from ICS in the future then I’m superexcited
to see what they come up with next!
My sincere thanks as always go to the lovely team
at www.icsbb.com for providing the test sample as
early as they did, and it is genuinely a pleasure to
work with people that have such a passion for airsoft!
AA
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