Tanaka M700 AICS Written by: Shotgun_Ned Amplified Airsoft

Tanaka M700 AICS
Written by: Shotgun_Ned
Amplified Airsoft

First Impressions

I'd had my eye on a new sniper rifle for quite some time to replace my old Maruzen Type 96 which I was forced to sell to fund my M4 upgrades. I have always liked the L96 design, but was put off from buying another Maruzen for several reasons. The main ones being the stock is a rather nasty patchy grey ABS plastic, the magazine was too far forward and to upgrade the power required disassembly which at the time I didn't feel confident in doing. The Tanaka AICS solved all these problems, and although it technically isn't a true L96 clone its close enough.

Moving on, I purchased this rifle second hand from a UK based airsoft forum for £390/$765. This included the rifle (already upgraded with a G&G hop up set and power pack magazine upgrade, more on these later), magazine and a 3-9x50 scope. When I first lifted it out of its box the build quality and weight hit me. The stock is constructed from olive green ABS plastic which is of a much higher quality than the type used in the Maruzen offering, and the receiver and barrel is all aluminium with the bolt being steel.

As I worked the bolt a large smile came to my face. Unlike any spring rifle, its totally frictionless and has no resistance. A spring rifle bolt is obviously compressing the spring, and if you're using a higher power spring it can get quite tiring if you're using the rifle all day in a skirmish.

The 29 round magazine supplied with the gun is just an extended version of Tanaka's 10 round M700 magazine and is the same length as the real steel 10 round magazine most commonly used in the rifle. As with any gas gun, the gas is stored within the magazine and it can take green gas without any problems.

Features

As this is a new Tanaka model, the AICS features the Power Control System adjustable bolt. This basically mean you can change the power output of the rifle easily and quickly. When you combine this with experimenting with different gasses it can produce power levels of 250 FPS with the valve fully closed and using 134a gas to up to and over 600 FPS on green with the valve open. This is, as with all gas guns, dependant on the ambient temperature.

To adjust the PCS valve you need to remove the bolt. To do this you must first remove the magazine and then just in front of the trigger you'll find a small button. Hold this down and pull the bolt out. Now if you turn the bolt over you'll notice just behind the gas nozzle a large thumb screw, and this is what you need to adjust. To start with, loosen the small grub screw which is slightly forward of the valve screw and turn it anti clockwise to open the valve and clockwise to close it. Its worth noting that you'll get the maximum power when the valve is open approximately ¾ of the way.

As with the real rifle, the stock is based around an aluminium skeleton which gives it the weight and strength. Disassembly is easily achievable by first undoing two allen bolts on the underside of the rifle, one of which is just behind the trigger and the other is just in front of the magazine. After this you have to unscrew the barrel support which is located just behind the underside bipod mount and within the cut away section (what this is for I have no idea). Once you've done this the barrel and receiver will simply lift out.

The hop up is easily adjusted, as it is located on the front of the scope mount. Unfortunately this is one thing which lets the rifle down, as the stock hop up is absolutely appalling. The best replacement is the BGS M700/M24 increased nozzle length hop up set. My rifle is fitted with a G&G hop up set and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking to upgrade their rifle.

The supplied magazine holds 29 rounds and is constructed from steel. It is simply an extended version of their 10 round M700 police magazine and unfortunately although they increased the ammo capacity it seems they didn't increase the gas capacity. However I have yet to run out of gas half way through a magazine. This also requires upgrading with the G&G M700/M24 magazine Power Pack. This basically allows the gas to be released quicker thus increasing the power and consistency.

Performance

Out of the box, the performance of this gun is fairly disappointing. Although it can put out a lot of power it doesn't fire particularly consistently with regards to the accuracy. This can be solved with various upgrades such as those already mentioned (and not mentioned, such as a tight bore barrel). As I have already mentioned, it is mainly the hop up which lets what should be an outstanding rifle down.

Conclusions

Overall I am very impressed with the build quality and construction of this rifle, its just a shame its let down by the very average performance.

Pros

Solid construction

Adjustable power output

Currently the closest match appearance wise to the real AI L96

Cons

Expensive purchase price

In order to get it firing decently you need to invest even more money and time into it

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Sunday, May 15, 2011