Originally posted by: LordMaul
OK, I have to do this, as it's something I do to all airsoft beginners (and even some semi-experienced players) when they talk about buying AEGs and GBBs: DO NOT BUY THE KNOCKOFF BRANDS. I may sound like a fanboy, but Tokyo Marui is where it's at. The reason they're the most popular is because they're built the best and are the most reliable. I've owned many different brands, types, models, etc. of guns from all over Asia and have yet to find anything as solidly built and reliable as my Marui primaries. There is simply no contest.
I bought a Classic Army after hearing good things about them (The M4A1, too, not the early-version MP5 series) and the goddamn thing stopped working after about 3 mags. It was also incredibly less solid than my Marui, which, IIRC (even though it's PLASTIC) actually weighs more than the crap-metal stock bodies on the Classic Army and other "full metal" versions out there. Just because it's metal doesn't mean it's better....just means they threw a cheap, poorly machined body on some crappier internals and sold it as "better than plasticy Marui AEGs" to people who don't know better.
CA manages to couple some good-on-paper internal specs with their metal bodies, but you get what you pay for. Always. That's just the way it is with this hobby, and trying to get around that will only cost you more money in the end, or a lot of frustration. If you want an upgraded, metal-bodied gun, get a Marui, an aftermarket body (the aftermarket CA bodies are DIFFERENT from the stock ones they ship with their AEGs, for instance) and some internal upgrades. If you don't want to do it, buy from a reputable seller (Airsoft Extreme in the US, or RedWolf Airsoft if you have very specific wants... The shipping isn't as bad as you may think, and they're great to deal with) and do it properly, without cutting corners.
GBBs are a little more gray... Some Taiwanese/"knockoff" guns are great (ie, the KWC Desert Eagle) and are as good as, or better than a Marui. AEGs are very different, though, and I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to NOT get an Academy, or Elite, or whatever the other crap they sell at places like ShortyUSA, Airsoft Atlanta, etc. by trying to get more for your money than you would with a Marui or maaaaaaaaaybe a highly-recommended Classic Army that's been on the market for a while and has had time for revisions and so on.
I own a good handful of AEGs, and a ridiculous amount of GBBs and other handguns (and shotguns) and have been into the sport since around 1998. Trust me on this, you do NOT want to cut corners unless you want the damn thing to hang on your wall and don't plan on shooting anything. 😉
