Introduction
Being an avid Airsoft player, I am always looking for the best deal. Marui has been known for there great AEG’s because they were very durable and literally never broke down, because of there good reputation, it  made them the only reliable AEG creator and thus everyone and there mom bought a Tokyo Marui AEG. Making Tokyo Marui the Microsoft of the airsoft world. In search for something different, me and my friend bought a Classic Army M4A1 version 3, only to realize first hand that Classic Army had bad quality guns. Although it seemed like a good deal, metal body, pre-upgraded, and under 300 dollars, it was not worth the hassle, during the first hour of play the gun broke, and it was then that I vowed never to buy a Classic Army gun. Fast forward 1 year later, and Classic Army has released yet another version of the M4a1 Dubbed the “M15a4 Carbine” sporting legal trademarks of Armalite Inc., steel gears, pre-upgraded, high speed and high torque motor, and under 300 dollars it seems like yet again, another bargain. Usually I would not fall for it again, but I wanted to give it a chance. It would only make sense that they would improve this time….. right?

History
With Tokyo Marui leading the way in the AEG world of airsoft, many companies have tried to surpass them in terms of value and quality. Classic Army, well known for their full metal body AEG’s have failed numerous time in trying to surpass Marui is terms of quality and value. Because of there many failures in creating quality AEG’s many players and dealers alike have decided not to buy them. I for one have decided to give this company another chance despite there failure in the past

First Impression
Taking the gun out of the box and holding it made me think, “hmmm… another M4”. Holding it felt a lot better than the Tokyo Marui M4. The Nylon and glass fiber hand grip and sliding stock is the first difference I notice. Compared to the TM M4 the hand grip feels not so smooth and toy like. It feels more realistic. Hard to explain, but all I have to say is that it feels better than a Marui.

The trades are a nice addition to the gun, but I still prefer Colt’s trademark, I think these trades are a nice addition and not to mention they are legal, so no putty here.

 


The metal body feels sturdy, just like a metal body should be. The metal body adds a lot of weight to it, and makes it cold to the touch giving the user an added sense of realism. A definite plus here, compared to CA metal body in the past, I would say it’s up to par with systema’s own metal body in terms of feel. I also like the color of it, unlike Tokyo Marui’s grayish M4A1, Classic Army made there’s a solid black. A very nice touch.     

Also the hop-up is similar to the Tokyo Marui M4A1, but by pulling the charging handle will NOT open up the dust cover unlike the Tokyo Marui M4. Instead Classic Army did a more innovative solution which is more durable. They used magnets to open and close the dust cover. In the past I had my dust cover latch break, and I think this is a better solution.

 
The removable carrying handle is metal unlike Tokyo Marui’s plastic one, but the design is similar. Like the Marui, it has adjustable sights on the carrying handle, a major plus.  With the carrying handle taken off, it turns the m15 into a flat top receiver to put scopes mounts and other accessories on the top rail.

 

 
The handgrip is where the battery is stocked, and you can see in the picture it can fit a 9.6v 1700mah Nun-chuck battery without modification. It’s been made to fit the 9.6v so if you are to buy this gun DO NOT buy a mini 8.4v 600mah. Since the gun is already pre-upgraded the 8.4v 600mah battery will not last, the 9.6v is the only way to go for optimum performance.

 

 
Accuracy and Testing

For accuracy,testing, and power I used .20g Airsoft Elite bb’s, a G&P 130 round magazine and 9.6v 1700mah Nun chuck battery.
Without further a due, let me tell you this now. THIS GUN WITH A 9.6V BATTERY ROCKS! The rate of fire on this gun is super fast thanks to the high torque motor and steel gears. I must say this gun is the fastest shooting gun in stock form that I have ever seen. It can go through a G&P 130 magazine in seconds and it can empty a Tokyo Marui/Classic Army magazine in no time. To put it in short the rate of fire is astonishing.
When testing for accuracy I tried grouping the gun at optimum hop-up for straight shooting. So first I tried the single shot test where as you can see in the picture the, the grouping was ok. 3 other people tried it and it seems the gun purposely shoots a little to the right as the grouping is on average 2 inches. Not great compared to other TM guns.

When shot in full auto, as you can see in the picture it is still at a grouping of 2 inches on average with the occasional middle shot. Not bad at all.

Power
As you know the m15a4 carbine is pre-upgraded when you buy it. Most people think that the m15A4 has 350 FPS, but that is not true. When I first took it out of the box and chrono’d it,  the average FPS is 330.4 as you can see in the picture, more powerful than a stock TM, but it’s not like TM makes any of there guns over 300 fps anyway.

Durability
Now we know the gun shoots great at first, but how long will this gun really last? Because with a gun that is shooting that fast, I expected it to strip gears, or strip the teeth off the piston within no time. It seems that I have been proven wrong. Within the first 3 hours of firing we fired off a whole bag of 3000 Airsoft elite bb’s with no problems whatsoever. Sure it fires great inside but what about outdoors? After 6 straight hours at a paintball park and numerous skirmishes on free fields, I was yet again surprised that it lasted reliably. It was kicked around, abused, fired numerous times, dropped, and thrown around, so in short the gun lasted a whole month of plinking and skirmishing with no problems whatsoever.

Comparing the Tokyo Marui M4A1 and the Classic Army M15A4
Technically speaking these guns should not even compare because of what they feature. The Classic Army M15 has a metal body and is pre-upgraded, while the Tokyo Marui M4 has a plastic body and stock internals. But in terms of looks I will let the picture tell it all. And in terms of value, I would definitely go for the Classic Army M15A4 Carbine.

Overall
It seems that after all that classic army has done in the past, they have finally learned from there mistakes, and made a winner. With all the tests passed, I feel this gun is a great gun, it shoots fast, it’s quite durable for the time being, and it’s a great value for all you get. But there are a few problems mind you, but they are very small

    * When first bought it is really difficult taking out the handgrip to put in the battery, so I have to take out the handgrip spring and modify it. Not a big problem, but with a little modification it can be solved, and it could’ve just been my gun.
    * It cannot use Airsoft Elite M4/M16 magazines reliably. After trying to test a full Airsoft Elite magazine we found that it cannot feed it properly, we had to push it up to feed properly. So if you buy this gun we recommend you do not use Airsoft Elite M4/M16 magazines as they tend to misfeed.

Besides those problems the gun works fine. All Marui magazines including the 190 hicap, Classic Army Magazines, and G&P magazines work well with it. So in closing, I would say Classic Army’s M15A4 Carbine is a sure winner. We have yet to open one, but why should we? I believe the gun is great as is, so there is no reason to open it. Now if you wanted to upgrade a stock gun, I don’t recommend buying this, as we are unsure of its upgrade capabilities. But as a stock gun, this is sure no doubt a great buy. We plan to sell these in the near future, so keep on a look out.

Let's start this review by thanking Flecktarn for providing this Chest Rig for review purpus. Fot those who on't know, Flecktarn.co.uk is the specialist when you are looking for a need airsoft out-fit. It is a very nice onlineshop in the England with all the camouflage you can dream of. They are a military clothing and equipment supplier specialising in German, British, Danish, East German and Black military kit for the UK/World market. Their aim is to provide you with the best quality at an honest price. Let's hav a look if this Chinese "ChiCom" Canvas Chest Rig is worth his price...



We are ready for the chest rig now. We start with a quote taken from the website of Flecktarn themself. It will provide some general information about this Chinese "ChiCom" Canvas Chest Rig. Here we go:

"Classic design Chinese chest rig for the AK 47. Made of heavy-duty cotton canvas, this chest rig will hold one full-sized AK47 magazine in each of the front three pockets. There are two smaller pockets on each side, two of which are lined with vinyl, which are designed to hold items such as grenades and other small utility items. The magazine pockets are made in two stages to ensure correct and regular sizing. All pockets are double stitched onto the chest rig base. Pockets are closed with flaps, which are secured into place with wooden toggle and loop closure. Chest rig shoulder straps are adjustable through a self-tensioning adjustment metal ring and bar system and excess strap length is secured into place under a vinyl loop. The chest rig is tied into place around the back. The chest rig is completely silent in operation, extremely stable when worn and maintains a low profile. A classic piece of kit suitable for airsofters, role players, re-enactment and film/theatre."


See below a nice image of this Canvas Chest Rig in reality...



First impression


Build quality
The chest rig is made from thick olive green cotton canvas and is exceedingly hard wearing and will last a long time for sure.

The rig will hold three AK-47 magazines close to the user's chest, giving a low profile, the magazines require a little bit of pushing to get them in completely initially, due to a stitch line along the bottom of the pouch, but this soon becomes easier and is the same with all of these designs of chest rigs. The pouches are closed by folding a canvas flap down and securing it with wooden toggles.

This looks like a fiddly procedure and is made more difficult with full finger gloves. It is however surprisingly simple to use after some practise. Due to the length of the magazines it is unlikely for them to fall out during running or other excited movement and so closing the pouches is not necessary if speed of reloading is an issue.

On either side are two smaller cubed shaped pouches. The furthest left pouch, from the wearer's point of view, is lined with a thin plastic vinyl sheet. This is designed for storing an AK-47 cleaning kit and oil bottle, but can be easily used for any other purpose.

The side pockets ideal for holding small smoke grenades, BB grenades, 1500 - 2000 BBs in a folded bag, or any other similar sized items such as the small Motorola Radios or a pair of gloves.

The rig is held to the user with two simple canvas cross-shoulder straps and another pair of straps tied together behind the user's back. This is simplicity at its best. The shoulder straps have a metal wire buckle that is used to adjust the length and excess material can be held out of the way with a leather loop. These straps are pretty simple but i think they don't provide the maximum comfort. Personally i prefer something more than only straps. This is just a personal thing...

Camouflage and Colors
The chest rig is made from olive green cotton canvas. And as far as we know there is no other color availeble. When you go for the Vietnam look, the olive green color is all you need.

Usage
I totally agree on the quote from the Flecktarn.co.uk website. The chest rig is indeed completely silent in operation. No "kling" from any clips, zippers or what ever, ideal! The vest is also extremely stable when worn and maintains a low profile. No shaking, banging etc. It fits really good. The straps are ok, but as i mentioned before i prefer something more then only straps, maybe because i am used the a tactical vest. The straps can be easily adjusted and even me (quite big) can fit the chest rig perfect. However the green cotton used is of a very high quality and you can feel it will last a long time!

Further more the pouches can be easily accessed and the usage is just fine. No frustrations to open the pouches, i didn't loss and gear and so on.

Conclusion
This is an excellent choice for any re-enactors or themed airsofters looking for a good quality piece of kit that fits the Vietnam image. Despite the simplicity of the design, it is comfortable to wear and hangs stady and above all it is very usefull! The pockets availeble are simple to use and easily accessed and they perfect fit AK type magazines. The price is also very reasonable coming in at only £15 from flecktarn with other surplus providers prices ranging from £15 - £25. I think Flecktarn did a very good job here!

Final Grading
Dealer: *****
Quality: ****
Reliability: ****
Comfort: ***
Value: *****
Over-all: ****

External links

www.classicarmy.com
www.actionsportgames.com

Introduction
I always dreamed to have a nice airsoft rifle, and especially a M16 rifle. Nowadays there are a lot of brands on the market when we are talking about M16 series; Systema, Marui, CA, ICS, G&P, G&G etc. Marui has been known for there great AEG’s, because they were very durable and literally never broke down. Also Systema is well known because of their durable parts and exelent finish on their rifle's. But I was looking for something different, more solid, something heavier and something more smashing and not to expensive. In search for something matching all my preferences I was looking at the Classic Army range of M15 Armalite rifle’s. The one who immediately became my favorite was the M15A4 Rifle. This is just a personal question here and a matter of taste. My first thoughts were; Should I buy this rather new kind of equipment from CA? Heard several bad stories, had some negative advice on them but finally there he was...


[CA M15A4 R out of the box]


I would like to thank Classic Army and in special Sergio from VISELE Classic Army Italia for providing this review model. We are very glad to do a review of this rifle ourselves. Thanks for your great support and effort for this review!

Facts and features
Let’s start with the facts of this rifle. What is this gun able to? These are the stock specifications listed in the Classic Army voucher and the additional manual supplied with the gun. You can find this manual at the end of the review. Later on we will test the rifle if all the facts are really true.

Product Name     CA M15A4 Rifle
Model Number     AR003M
Weight     3143.0g
Barrel Length     510mm
Barrel Caliber     6.08mm
Bullet Capacity     300
Bullet     6mm BB
Initial Bullet Speed     85-95 m/sec or 280.5 - 313.5 fps
Battery Type     Large Type (8.4V - 12V)


History
In this part we will briefly provide some more background information about Classic Army themself and there previous M15 series. Classic Army also known as Yick Fung Industrial International Ltd. is located in Hong Kong. Here their company profile as stated on their website:

    Quote:

    With experience in die casting and CNC computerized manufacturing, Yick Fung is one of the largest airsoft gun manufacturers in South East Asia.

    We specialize in producing 1:1 scale metal casting airsoft guns, metallic accessories and spare parts under our brand name "Classic Army". Our replica products present a sense of realism.

    With our good endeavor in providing high quality airsoft guns, wide range of metallic accessories and spare parts, we have gained a good reputation in this industry. Many training schools for SWAT and law enforcement units in the world also use our rifles for training.

    The delicate design and the finest furnishings of the metal body is very popular and being presented on the MP5, M15 and M24 gun series. Especially the M15, because of the real gun logo - ArmaLite is used and each rifle has a serial number, this raises the interest of collection among users.

Classic Army and their M15 series. Classic Army is well known for their full metal body AEG’s, have failed numerous time in trying to surpass Marui is terms of quality and value. In the previous gun series of the M15 there were a lot of mistakes made and there were many complaints. The plastic that the stock and foregrip were made from being far too weak, and prone to snapping, the barrel tightening ring lubs snap off, the foregrip fell off far to easily, the gearboxes regularly jammed etc. Just to mention several problems. Because of there many failures in creating quality AEG’s many players and dealers alike have decided not to buy them. Classic Army had bad reputation. But Classic Army came back and has released yet another version of the M15 series named the “Classic Army M15A4 AEG's”. This time with legal trademarks of Armalite Inc., steel gears, pre-upgraded, high speed and high torque motor, and under 300 dollars it seems like a nice deal. And sure they have improved their rifle this time! The official list looks like this:

    * New Metal Body - ‘Armalite’ Real Gun Logo / Laser Script
    * Improved material of Hard Grip, Fore grip and Retractable Stock (Change from Plastic to Nylon & Glass Fiber)
    * Individual Series no. will be added
    * New Gears will be used (high speed gears and motor)
    * Re-enforced Adaptor Ring for Fore grip
    * New Version of Hop-up Chamber & Rubber
    * High Speed & High Torque Motor
    * Harder Fixed Stock which can use 10.8 V battery
    * This review model also got the latest fiberglass improved stock and hand guard.



First Impression
Here are my first thoughts when i saw this rifle. Taking the gun out of the box and immediately checking all the mistakes of the previous version I was truly impressed. Holding it made me think, “This is what you call a rifle!”. The rifle felt a lot better than the Tokyo Marui series I have played with. The glass fiber reinforced hand grip and sliding stock is the first difference I notice. Compared to the TM M733 the hand grip feels not so smooth and toy like. It feels more realistic. I was also astonished by the metal body, it is a great feeling and it makes the gun rock solid! The trademarks of Armalite inc. look very nice, even as the serial number which makes your gun unique. They are both laser printed and that gives a nice professional look. Overal I really had the "wow!" effect :)


[Metal Body & Trademarks]


Externals
The metal body feels sturdy, just like a metal body should be. The metal body adds a lot of weight to it, and makes it cold to the touch giving the user an added sense of realism. A definite plus here, compared to Classic Army metal body in the past. The bod of a Marui can't even come close. I also like the color of it, Classic Army made there a solid black. A very nice touch. One minor thing is, that when you look very carefully you could see the difference between several materials used. There is a slight difference in color between the metal body and the fire selector fore example. But this is hardly worth mentioning.

The hop-up is similar to the Tokyo Marui M4A1, but by pulling the charging handle will Nnot open up the dust cover. Instead Classic Army did a more innovative solution which is more durable. They used magnets to open and close the dust cover. In the past I had my dust cover latch break, and I think this is a better solution. it works perfect during the use.


[Hop-Up unit with dust cover open]


The removable carrying handle is also made in a nice metal version, the design is similar to most of the M16 rifle series, it has also the standard adjustable sights. With the carrying handle taken off, it turns the m15 into a flat top receiver to put scopes mounts and other accessories on the top rail. There are a lot of accesoires available nowadays, but we won’t go into detail in this review. At the end i will finished with a nice picture of the CA M15A4 R with several accesoires added.


[Carry Handle]


The battery is stocked at the back of the rifle in the new designed fiberglass reinforced stock. The stock is made really nice and looks perfect. The material used feels good and sturdy. The stock can fit a 10.8V 2000mah battery, there is no modification needed at all! The battery cover is nicely made of metal and has a firm lock on it, no moving parts there. So do not hesitate to go for a 10.8V battery because this will lead to optimal performance. Some people say a even a 12V battery can fit, but i would not advise to use a 12V battery to extend the lifetime of your airsoft rifle.


[Stock]


The grips also looks and feels good as mentioned before. It has a nice finished and is solid. However a friend of mine fell on his gun during the games and his grip was broken at the end, also his motor was highly damaged. So the grip isn't rock solid ;) Just use the rifle properly and there won't be a problem.


[Grip]


Magazine's are also very important. What about a gun without BB's and a lot of feeding problems? Useless! Therefore we also take a quick look at the magazine included in this package. The magazine fits needly into the metal body. I also used an EasyCompany Thermold mag in this rifle, Diemaco style all the way ;), and there were no problems at all. Fits good and feeding went well. Compared to a TM magazine, they are nearly identically, there might be a slight difference in color... Classic Army provides several different Magazines, to start with a 68rd low cap magazine, a 190rd mid cap and a 300rd high cap!


[Mags]


Internals
A quick look on the internal parts. Takedown, Inside the gearbox, Stripping the gearbox etc. We did not yet do an internal investigation because the gun didn't need to have one. Sofar no internal problems, when we need to fix something, we will add our impressions to this review.

Usage
This gun is really a pleasure to use during the games. I now tried it for a couple of months and it just works fine! No jams, no feeding problems, no broken parts, no hop-up problems etc. So the mechanical side of the gun is just fin. I am also very satisfied about the performance of the gun. I did not experience any outrange by other rifle's :) Also the accuracy and the reliability is something where you can count on with this gun. The feel is also good, it is heavy indeed, but that's the way it is. You really feel you've got a rifle between your hands! Besides many people argue that a rifle is way to long during the games. This is offcourse always a matter of taste and habituation but personally i don't think this gun is TOO long, maybe also because I am about 195cm.


[During the game...]


Performance
FPS
Off course we did also a FPS test. We need to mention that we tested the rifle with 0,20 Gr KSC BB's and the excellent Guarder SPEEDER-2000 chrony. And we were very supprised here again. The gun shoots on average 330 fps out of the box! This is a very nice result for a stock gun at this price level. The mayor peak was at 342,5 FPS and the lower limit was at 305 FPS. So when you buy this rifle you don't need to worry about an upgrade at all! We did also a test 2 year after the purchase, the gun now shoots at 304 FPS with up's and downs of 5 FPS, still very good and consistant.

Grouping
Grouping is a very important issue and here are our test results. This CA M15A4 Rifle performs good and has grouping of 6cm by 8cm. We used the standard target of NLAIRSOFT.COM and printed it on a A4 paper and we shoot from 10 meters we also need to mention that we used an Elcan scope here during the test which was configured well. See the results below...



Overall
It seems that after all what classic army has done in the past, they have deffenately learned from there mistakes, and made a superb rifle for a affordable price. With all the tests passed, I feel this gun is a great gun, it has a high rate of fire, it’s quite durable for now, and it’s a great value for all you get. But there are a few problems which i discovered and however they are minor problems i would like to mention them:

    * As i discribed in the usage section i had a problem with the fire selector at the beginning. I needed to open the gearbox to fix te problem. Now it is working properly.
    * Also the color difference on the metal used is a very small issue.
    * After 2 years of usage, the hop-up unit does not stick well anymore, it loosens back to zero when shooting 2 or 3 times, very frustrating. A new hop-up unit is needed!

Besides those minor problems the gun works realy fine. All Marui magazines including the 190 hicap, Classic Army Magazines, and G&P magazines work well with it. So to close with, I would say Classic Army’s M15A4 Rifle is a must have! And here is a nice picture of the rifle louded with several additional accesoiries.

Final Grading
Quality: *****
Reliability: ****
Comfort: *****
Value: *****
Over-all: *****



[Ca M15A4 Rifle & Accesoiries]


Manuals
We have scanned the manuals included with this gun. Click on the images to enlarge and find some usefull operating information.

            
            
External links

www.classicarmy.com
www.classicarmyitalia.com
www.visele.it