STAR L85A2

[Aquamarine]

So there's a new kid on the block who's looking for a piece of action. The STAR L85A2....

Its loud
Its mean looking...
and it's Fucking Heavy (heavier than a full metal G3). She is certainly nice to look at & is also quite loud, almost comparable to a loud GBB pistol.

Im writing from my pda at the moment so i cannot post pictures, however i will certainly do so tomorrow after i finish up at work (or someone could pm me & remind me to do it tomorrow too.)

Price is ¥70,000 without the scope, or ¥82,000 with.

[Spitfire]

oh i'd be very interested in a short review... ;-)

[Skruface]

Heh. I'm hoping mine will be here just after the new year.

[Kid]

Loud... Would that not mean bad?
I mean... it really doesn't matter to me, haha, I'll buy it anyway.

I just hope this comes out under $1000... damn... that's steap, but yeah.

[nemesis_83]

Metal? Plastic? How are the internals? I am pretty skeptical of this rifle, although it has metal bushings and steel gears it does have a plastic gearbox and a 100% spring. any modifications would most certainly make the gearbox explode from the loads.
If the gun is metal then I guess it would be worth buying if you plan to change out the internals, and even then it will end up being the same price as a good AEG.

One thing I noticed is cheaper brand AEG's have loud ass gearboxes, I remember when I got the UTG mp5 I thought it was the greatest thing in the world untill this week when I bought my TM AK47 off tru, I no longer even use the MP5, it is still awesome but its like comparing a Bentley to a Honda, if you had the ferrari the honda would just be sitting there, same goes to these low wnd guns, they might be fun and all but when it comes to actually using one for skirmashing I would only trust something that has been proven time and time again like the TM line of guns.

Anyway give us a good long review with pictures and all, take notes of the materials, quality of the seams, areas for improvement, perhaps this gun wouldnt be so bad once you swap a different mechbox in to it, but as said before $$$.

Thanks and enjoy your new toy for the holidays :grin:

[nemesis_83]

Metal? Plastic? How are the internals? I am pretty skeptical of this rifle, although it has metal bushings and steel gears it does have a plastic gearbox and a 100% spring. any modifications would most certainly make the gearbox explode from the loads.
If the gun is metal then I guess it would be worth buying if you plan to change out the internals, and even then it will end up being more expensive than a good AEG? isnt it around 500$ USD? How much did you end up paying in CAD?

Anyway give us a good long review with pictures and all, take notes of the materials, quality of the seams, areas for improvement, perhaps this gun wouldnt be so bad once you swap a different mechbox in to it, but as said before $$$.

Thanks and enjoy your new toy for the holidays :grin:

[Aquamarine]

To me, the front-end looks a lot more like that Chinese bullpup.


It's certainly short and will only be accepting specialized mags produced by STAR, sadly I've been told by the shop that it won't take M16 mags


The main body is made of heavy duty metal, as I said, the entire gun is quite heavy


The front end, grip and butt are all made of polymer which feels quite nice on the hands.


Pulling back on the cocking lever pops open the shell ejecting port (funtionless) however at the front of the cocking lever is where the hop-up adjuster is


This is the working scope which will come with it as a kit


The battery will fit into the forward grip, similar to an MP5


Oh c'mon now... THATS not how you hold a rifle.

[Skruface]

Originally Posted by nemesis_83

Metal? Plastic?

Steel body (not monkey metal), plastic foregrips.

Originally Posted by nemesis_83

How are the internals? I am pretty skeptical of this rifle, although it has metal bushings and steel gears it does have a plastic gearbox and a 100% spring. any modifications would most certainly make the gearbox explode from the loads.

The gun comes from the factory at almost 400 fps according to a thread on Arnie's, UK retailers had to downgrade it to sell it. And polycarbonate (what the STAR gearbox is made from) has a stronger tensile strength than the monkey metal of a stock TM mechbox....

Originally Posted by nemesis_83

If the gun is metal then I guess it would be worth buying if you plan to change out the internals, and even then it will end up being more expensive than a good AEG? isnt it around 500$ USD? How much did you end up paying in CAD?

Beats me why you would want to swap out the internals without ever having even handled the gun, but at most it will cost $200 to replace most of the gearbox internals if you choose to do so. Owning a relatively rare full-metal L85 is worth the extra cost IMHO, when the only semi-vaible alternative is the Academy version. Incidentally, I paid $670 CANADIAN from Grim Fandango here on ASC.

Originally Posted by nemesis_83

Anyway give us a good long review with pictures and all, take notes of the materials, quality of the seams, areas for improvement, perhaps this gun wouldnt be so bad once you swap a different mechbox in to it, but as said before $$$.

I'm confused...why do you automatically assume the internals need to be swapped out? Why do you automatically assume the gun is bad? All the reviews from the UK say it's one of the finest airsoft guns built so far, and that includes the newest TM series for comparison....

[odp]

Most of the reviews I've seen say it can use regular M16 mags. Heard some bad things about intermittent failures. I'm going to wait for the 2nd or 3rd generation as long as Grim Fandango will still be doing orders.

[nemesis_83]

I am not assuming its bad, I said I was skeptical of the plastic internals, just stating my opinion when I hear the word plastic, but if you say its as tough as it is the I would definetly consider one since it is a full metal gun, thanks for the info.

[Point_Man]

Bah...what the heck, I ordered one on the info that it would take M4 mags

[nemesis_83]

Originally Posted by Point_Man

Bah...what the heck, I ordered one on the info that it would take M4 mags

Cant you customize an M4 mag to fit?

[Point_Man]

I dunno yet. I don't have mine yet. Pre-ordered from Grim.

[Aquamarine]

Are we talking about the same gun here?

I was told it wasn't released out of Japan and it's actual physical release date was today or yesterday... AND that the STAR L85A2 couldn't accept M16 mags...

Eeep!

[Goldman]

The STAR ad seems to suggest that It can, and does accept "ALL m16 siries mags"