1. First Impressions
3. Appearance/Feel/Build Quality
Like I mentioned above, the appearance is astounding. The weight is very, very realistic, albeit I have never lifted the real thing before to actually make a scientific comparison, but at this juncture, who cares? The laminated wood is beautiful with a much better finish compared to Kalash/Boyi's AK wood furniture. The full markings, the steel body, the tightness of the moveable parts is already worth more than half of what I paid for!!!
For this category alone I’ll give it a 10/10.4. Internals
Being VFC, they advertised that they did not copy the Tokyo Marui or any other companies when it comes to disassembly and quality. They were right. As I have never disassembled a VFC before, I was initially a bit afraid to actually opening her up. So I searched the net and unfortunately, the only site that shows the actual VFC AIMS disassembly (on FILAKAirsoft) is disabled due to a possible malware. Bummer. It means I had to discover her myself.
The disassembly is totally different from a TM or TM clone AK47/74/variant. I have to say that it is also much, much simpler. The following photos will describe the disassembly.
Note: At this juncture, I am unable to post the disassembly because I have some personal problems to attend to. Sorry for the inconvenience. I shall complete this section when the time comes as I have two other AEGs I need to work on for my customers, a DBoys M4 CQBR and a G&G UMP.
5. Performance
The VFC AIMS came in stock, which should be shooting around 310-315fps, as stated in websites everywhere. Visual inspection upon shooting on 0.25g bbs put it in the low 300fps’. As I didn’t have a chrono with me at that time, I used the PMC method, and on 0.20g bbs, it made a clear hole on one side and almost went through the other side too, which puts it around 290fps – 310fps. But the ROF was crazy on 11.1V Firefox 12c though! If there ever was a thing to note about the firing quality about this piece, it has to be the range and accuracy. Range was phenomenal, more than 250ft on 0.25g Golden Ball bbs!!! The accuracy was outstanding too, being more than capable of torso shots up to 200ft. Less work on these parts for me I guess!!!
Truly, for the amount I paid for it, it does not seem to be wasted at all. In stock form, I am very impressed indeed.
My rating for stock performance : 8/10; low stock fps, even for NWH standards, is just not my cup of tea though.
6. Accessories and Modifications
After thinking about the performance I was thinking for the AIMS, I finally decided on two upgrades only, which are Accuracy and FPS. As I am strictly on 0.25g Golden Ball bbs, skirmishing with it would only cause a lot of Keanu Reeves clones on the battlefield. So my target is to increase it up to 360-380fps on 0.20g, which is just nice for close-in fire support role. So I plonked in the stock AGM M14 spring I had stashed away somewhere. I have to say it was the easiest spring upgrade I have ever done, because when I opened up the mechbox, everything, even the spring, did not go “sproing” all over the place. Even the Anti-Reversal latch did not jump out. So I promptly eased out the spring guide, switched the springs and voila, upgrade done. The factory shimming was fantastic. No overlube, no underlube. Quality. I can report that the VFC Version 3 mechbox is a CNC’ed mechbox, not the usual pot metal type you see in ACMs. It comes with 7mm plastic bushings though, but they look like they can handle the spring upgrade well so I didn’t bother changing them, as changing the bushings required me redo the shimmings, a prospect I did not want to do in a short space of time before gameday. At this note, I have to inform that prior to gameday, I had 5 AEGs I had to repair/overhaul/maintenance, so I did not have much time for my own AEGs. I hope you guys understand. I changed the motor to a BigDragon M160 high-torque (short-shaft) from Highlander Gears, as I didn’t have the money buy the Systema Turbo motor… Plonked in my last SCS nub and this thing is now a nail-driver. As it is an AK variant, there’s actually not much to upgrade externally. A scope would be ugly on an AK in my opinion, but if it helps me in my long distance shooting with, and it certainly has the accuracy to do it, I wouldn’t mind getting a nice Russian scope for it. Or maybe even a good BSA or Bushnell scope, which would kill some AK purists I know!!! Hahahahaha… The scope mount is made of high quality steel, which would be able to take some abuse thrown at it, but due to “pokainess”, I’ll leave the idea of mounting optics on the VFC AIMS on the back of my upgrade plans at the moment.
Ratings : 9/10, the quality of the internals are to die for. It makes life so much easier. But because it is an AK variant, I would love to have a proper scope for it and not some Imperialist scopes on it, which also means more money and time.
7. Pros & Cons
Pros:
Dude, it’s a VFC.
Dude, it’s an AK.
Full markings beb!!!
Realistic weight, so for those with less-blessed biceps, go to the gym.
Fantastic externals and internals, NO POT METAL.
The laminated wood is of the highest quality, much better than Kalash’s or CYMA wood furniture.
Very accurate stock.
Range is unbelievable.
The EBB adds the coolness factor when skirmishing.
Cons:
The EBB is worth disabling. Easy fix though.
Nothing else, really.
8. The Final Word
In all the different types of replicas I have worked on personally, I have to say this has to top it all. Outstanding is not even close to describing it. Externally it is full steel and real laminated wood, internally it is built like a tank. The hop-up is fantastic. Disassembly and reassembly is fast, with no wobble at all. Truly it justifies the price it demands. Get it if you can. On an extra note, I would love to have the CYMA CM0.50 AIMS side by side with it so that I can compare the two. But if CYMA has done it’s homework properly and followed the quality of the VFC AIMS, then I would highly recommend the CYMA’s clone offering too. CYMA is well known for it’s increasing quality of AK and AK variants for the past two years now, and so all evidence is showing that maybe this is the best time to grab hold of the clone while it is still available.
After Battle Report
Finally, last weekend I brought this baby of mine out for its test. First thing to report are the chrono results. This AIMS clocked in at 310-315fps on 0.25g Golden Ball bbs, which puts it around 360fps, right on the spot where I want it to be. The ROF though was a different story. Used a fully-charged 11.1V Firefox 12c batt, and the baby clocked in 1,340bbs per minute, which is roughly 22rps. As a comparison, SuperLobter’s P90 with a Systema Magnum motor clocked in at 1,680bbs per minute, which is around 28rps. Wow… I wonder what would happen if I use high-speed gears and 20c lipos…
*Measurements were taken using Laylax XCortech
After getting used to using the scope on Apocalypse for shooting, I have to say that going back to iron sights for mid to long range shooting took a bit of getting used to again, but it was not much of a problem when getting shots in at midrange, which is 150ft to 200ft. The weight was still manageable after gameday finished. The sound of metal-on-metal clanking while on full-auto was very satisfying, albeit it gave my position away to everyone!!! Hahahaha… In short, I am very pleased with the VFC AIMS. This is my new baby and as the budget comes in again, I will definitely add more goodies into this replica.
