ICS M4 Pistol AEG Airsoft Rifle (Black)

verified buyer

Product Information:
I only buy ICS or G&P M4s these days. Of the 40 airsoft guns I've purchased in the last three years, six have been from ICS. ICS builds solid feeling, solid performing, reliable AEGs. TWO of those have been this model.

The highlight of ICS's M4 offerings is the split gearbox. You can:
1. Buy separate upper gearboxes to change FPS on the fly, or swap to a fresh upper if your piston strips. One pin, that's it.
2. Very easily change out compression parts (spring guide, spring, piston, piston head, cylinder, cylinder head, nozzle, tappet plate).
3. Build a DMR without trying to close a whole gearbox with an M150+ spring.
4. Shim the pinion to the bevel gear visually. The upper half of the gearbox isn't blocking your view.

If you can't tell, I like ICS as an upgrade platform. They perform solidly out of the box, but are exceptionally easy to upgrade. If you are new to gearbox work, ICS M4s are a great place to start.

Note that ICS M4s use imperial threads; this means that you will want to stick with G&P or ICS front ends to avoid modification. If you want to get all Magpul with it, you will want a G&P delta ring. The front end on this gun is very nice, if you like stubby M4s.

Pros:
- Split gearbox.
- Solid construction.
- Spring tension release via forward assist knob.
- Good stock motor.
- Good stock accuracy. Some don't care for the ICS hopup chamber, but I love it.
- Superb lower gearbox components. Every gun I've gotten has been well shimmed.
- Good wiring.
- No stock. Why is this a pro? Because it keeps the price very low. This is far and away the most economical way to get into ICS's system. Stock adapters are readily available and cheap; they can be modified to fit any stock. See cons for stock related issues.
- Solid as a rock front end. Well designed and implemented; easy to adjust rail alignment if necessary.

Cons:
- Several nonstandard/non-Marui parts, including:
Receivers
Imperial front threading
Gearbox shell
Barrel
Front sight (Allen key mount instead of pins)
Stock prongs are too thick to accept standard stocks without modification
Stock post design can't easily be trimmed to accept short G&P style stocks
AR latch
I've had a hard time getting certain other parts to play nice, including: air nozzle, trigger mech, and tappet plate
- While solid, receivers are nowhere near as pretty as G&P.
- No functioning bolt-catch.
- Middling quality upper gearbox components.

Do I still recommend this gun, despite the long list of cons? Yes. Over and over. The spit gearbox is brilliant. Most of the nonstandard parts exist to accommodate the split gearbox, and ICS's quality is great. I've never had a metal receiver of theirs break. The guns are reliable without upgrades, and are very easy to upgrade if you are so inclined.

Product Information:
Looking for a CQB gun for an old field a year ago, I ended up buying this unique M4 CQB Model from ICS. It seriously is the best, most reliable gun I had ever purchased. When I got this out of the box, I was instantly impressed by it's performance and quality, and still am even more so one year later. This gun has never had a malfunction, needed service, or stopped working every game I played, and it's so durable I seriously think I could drop this from a 2 story roof and it would still work fine. It even survived my horrible disassembly operation, and I swore I broke it when I tried to jam the upper receiver back into the lower (btw, if you disassemble it, be sure all parts line up before reassembly, and look at your manual!) and I severely bent this plastic part out of shape inside it. Sure enough though, i just took a pair of pliers and bent it back in shape, and it performs just as well now like it did before! I would highly recommend this gun to anyone looking for a CQB weapon.

Pros:
Quality Build
Quality Metal
Durable
Great ROF (with 9.6 volt)
Perfect FPS for CQB (mine chronos just below 350)
Small, easily maneuverable
Quality RIS
Easy Disassembly and Reassembly (and idiot-proof!)

Cons:
PEQ Box included has barely any battery space (the battery ASGI recommends is never going to fit. I recommend buying a new PEQ Box)
No rear Iron Sights (I don't use them anyways, you're better off buying a laser)
Range tops out at around 80-100 feet (It's meant for CQB anyways)
Dust cover opens with minimal force
Sometimes fires full auto on semi. This problem is always brief though.

verified buyer

Product Information:
This is a quick update review, with one additional piece of information: the PEQ box DOES work. You need a specific battery! Search for this one: V09F01.

To install the battery, open the PEQ box by unscrewing the two end caps.

Take off the cover.

Thread the Tamiya connector through the rectangular hole on the bottom half of the PEQ box.

Put one cell block down flat on lower half; place the second cell block UPRIGHT in the deeper slot, where the end caps are located. The battery cell blocks should be perpendicular to one another. T-shaped.

Put the cover back on, and screw on the end caps. Done.

Pros:
The PEQ box fits one of the highest mAh rated NiMH batteries, besides those that require a full stock.

Cons:
Getting the battery in takes some work the first time. Then, it's extremely easy.

I'm not sure why ASGI suggests crane-stock batteries. Perhaps the webmaster will update the listing?