I have a e&l ak74 and have used it in all kinds of weather conditions for over a year and doesn't have a single spot of rust, I have never cleaned it and it still looks brand new, also I haven't had any problems with any of my multiple e&l mags, I absolutely love the gun and I don't think those are common problems in this new essential line of aks
the Finish on the AK-74m shouldn't be a "Blued" finish like on the AKM rifle replicas, and as long as you don't scratch the finish off, it won't rust externally, just keep the internals clean and lubed a bit. ALSO, Brass Does not Rust.
@@boneblyat7.628 stainless seel is rust resistant. I used my cyma in adverse conditions and the zci isn't corroded. That diesnt mean it wont happen. It just neans it will take a long tine. However if you get a lambda smart barrel, that will rust because its not stainless steel.
I just bought the E&L, AK74u, and I love it. Very real feel to it, and I think the video above does the gun justice. I personally love the realness of the gun.
wow these are lovely, its a shame that some of the more affordable ak offerings just seem to have a raggedy fit and finish but these seem to make a positive change on that front. also in your hk53 (or 33, i forget but i think it was a 53) video i asked about the book you had and you let me know what it was called, anyways fast forward to now i got the book and am really enjoying it - thanks again for letting me know what it was! (oh and forgetting to plug the battery in at the end 😂, happens to the best of us)
@@FlankerJackChannel possibly, but i also think its good for the people who really want a nice quality replica but just enjoy playing casually and arent trying to min/max their stuff. and on the contrary, i think it will also be popular amongst those who do like fully upgrading their stuff because if they are going to take everything out anyways then whats the point of spending the extra £ on anything with better internals since they just gonna use the shell regardless.
9:05 the front sight post can be adjusted for windage too. Not just elevation. You need a special tool for it. I have an AKM chambered in 7.62x39 by Palmetto State Armory.
My E&L didn't come with a cleaning kit nor an extra muzzle when I ordered mine last year. It was an Essential AKM model and at the time was 299$. (Edit) Dispite this I still love it. It goes great with my Soviet kit. I own a Wasr - 10 (an AKM clone) and I can say the airsoft replica is up to scale and feels like the real thing.
I am the proud owner of the E&L AK-74U, so I only live in Germany as an S-AEG. When I unpacked it, I was struck by a scent that was absolutely phenomenal. The AK was packaged very well and everything arrived without scratches or cracks. The body is the most massive AK body available in the airsoft sector or even in the field of handguns, the receiver is 1.5mm thick and the finish and feel are just stunning! The E&L AK's had orange/reddish plywood in Generation 2 as befits Soviet-Russian AK's, but since the Essential Line they have switched to Kazuki wood for cost reasons and I have to say that I can see that on my AK-74U or AKS-74UN the whole thing still looks very cool.... but on the AKM, the AKMS, the AK-74N or the AKS-74N it doesn't look good at all... but the old platinum series from E&L is supposed to come back this year and that's where the red laminated wood comes back on the market. I will then also get a handguard set for my AKSU. Back to my airsoft....the AK is very solid and looks really nice. Warm greetings from Germany
I've been eyeing the essential line for a while. I'm currently using the lct rpk16, my 1st high end ak. After watching this I'm definitely gunna be picking one up.
AEGs will be loads more reliable in the long run, and also less expensive. Personally I prefer the Arcturus AK-12 AEG. Out of the gate it comes with a lot of after-market upgrades like a microswitch trigger (to replace the trigger contacts and eliminate the chance of them wearing out) and a 6.02mm inner barrel, but is the least expensive AK-12 out of all other brands. You love to see it.
Was thinking about getting an E&L vs an LCT, but the fact that you kept getting lemons has changed my mind. Never would I buy a product that consistently delivered lemons.
That was a real rough patch for sure. Granted that was during a time where E&L was having some bad QC issues. I didn’t have any issues with the examples I have now and I’ve heard that E&L is being more diligent nowadays which is a definite improvement. Look into more people’s testimonies I’d say.
The updated versions with deans are supposedly much more accurate as said by Astkilo who got sent the aks74un and ak12. They also just put out higher quality furniture to buy for all of these guns. Only thing that is left to fix is the magazines and E&L has set the bar higher than ever.
In my opinion they are THE best AK's for beginners. Good price, good performance, and they look and feel amazing. Everybody on the field wanted to hold my AKM because it's just so damn sexy. ^^
@@2000rayc not exactly sure what you are asking. No AK has "great" internals from the factory, but as I said, E&L is the better choice for internals. A lot of people swear to Cyma, but since they aren't full steel, they're not an option to me.
I've had an E&L akm for about 3 months now. One category I think would of been good would be reliability. its not the most accurate by far, although its a version 3 hop up so you can basically use whatever weight bb you want (don't max the hop it will 100% jam the gun) I also am not the most gentle with my guns and try to get the most out of them, I've been using an 11.1 in it waiting for the fuse to blow since I bought it, I'm also not the first owner. all I'm trying to say is that reliability would be 10/10
Good video Scott. I love e&l. My first primary was a e&l platinum mk18. However soon after bought one of there platinum ak74u ris and love both. They truly have beautiful externals. And they are heavy. Keep it up man.
I have an e&l akm with the romainian side folding wire stock and what's known as the "dong" grip. It's a recreation of what was used by the high incident bandits in North hollywood shootout on February 28th, 1997.
As the owner of an E&L AKS-74U, I found that rust could be easily prevented with a coat of Rustoleum clear-coat, provided you prep the replica properly.
Wow. This thing has so much craftmanship they chose an AKMS so you know nothing is hiding in the stock, that's how easily they can make the most realistic airsoft AK ever.
*iron sights on real AKs are adjustable for windage and elevation if you have the appropriate tool via the front sight post. On a real AK you should never expect to zero elevation by adjusting the rear sight leaf alone. Is the front sight post on the E&L also adjustable?
Appreciate the video, but it would have been much better if the camera work was done at a higher f stop (or any other method to increase the plane of depth). The constant in and out of focus and small focal plane made comparison shots of the rifles much less helpful than they could have been. It's also annoying to have the focus shifting so much.
Plan on picking up one of these and putting on some LCT wood furniture since imo the wood on the EL is just "eh" at best. Either that or just going full zenitco like everyone else
E&Ls are definitely better looking in many ways than the LCT’s but real Ak’s are not blued, in Russia they are parkerized and painted so LCT gets a point there
Small correction, AKs can be adjusted for windage. There is a piece in the front sight that you can drift left to right which will take the post with it, but you need a tool. Technically you could do it with a hammer, but adjusting for windage is a precision work. And the tool is like $15. Even if you use a red dot it's a good idea to have zeroed irons. As for the personal opinion part, the exterior of these guns are really nice, but if you pull back the bolt, all you find is disappointment. In my eyes the cheapest Well AK GBBR is more realistic than these. However Scott hasn't reviewd any AK GBBRs so the video title stands.
If you can't dig a trench with your airsoft replica you should not spend your money on it, these ones looks promising! Especially now when LCT have started to cut corners in the quality.
Coming back to this video after picking up my E&L Essential Line AK-105, and i 100% agree with everything said here. The magazine issues *SEEM* to have been fixed, however i have only had one game day with it so far. Battery space is nearly nothing, with me struggling to fit a 1200mAh Valken 11.1 lipo without basically having to crush the battery between the dust cover and gearbox. Accuracy was mediocre, with flyers happening every 5 shots or so, so a Barrel and Bucking upgrade was done immediately with a Maple Leaf Macaron 70°, Omega Nub, and Action Army 363 6.03 barrel. Fitting a real steel magpul AKM handgaurd was easy as can be, and actually required some massaging and coaxing with a hammer, which i LOVE! Everything about the replica is as rock solid as rock solid gets, no wobble in the stock at all, the leaf sight is extremely stiff, especially its spring, the selector is nice and stiff, and the body is equal to a real steel AK. Now keep in mind, my review of the E&L 105, is after someone else has had their way with it, as i got it second hand. Now, i do have a full gearbox rework on the way, along with a FULL Zenitco furniture setup. As Scott said, the gearbox is just begging to be upgraded, and i noticed that when i played with it over the weekend.
I do not mind at all having a very standard and traditional gearbox. I’d rather put a perun in it anyway. However I’d really just like active braking and battery protection. Either way I’m definitely picking the 105 up.
I'd like to see an AK-12 model comparison. I have the Arcturus AK-12 and I swear by that rifle, it's by far the best AEG I've owned out of the box. After making several modifications it's now the best rifle I've owned, period. I'll be interested to see how the G&G works in comparison to that. From someone else, I've already heard that the Arcturus performs marginally better than E&Ls but I bought out a lot of E&L ak-12 magazines to replace the Arcturus ones because the end caps keep falling off. I haven't even considered LCT because I hate them with a passion. Owned an AS Val and their own magazines didn't fit into the damn magwell. That was my first and only experience with them, and a complete turnoff for me.
To be honest, Cyma (cm045) isn't that far of. Just needs a bit of sanding and polishing of the boring matt black paint ant it looks great. It's rock solid.
Real AKs are windage ajustable. Its the steel circular drum in the front sight post. I dont know if this is, but AKs are adjustable for zeroing jn all aspects
couple of points (I have an E&L essential AK105) -Mine did not come with a metal/black muzzle brake -The Spring detent for muzzle brake is faulty, wont push in all the way -Magazine is indeed a jam-tron (there is a fix) -I wish these were painted/coated, instead of blued overall for $280 i am happy with mine, i did install a real rpk adjustable rear sight to get everything lined up properly.
Got mine from the shop with the stiffest upper that covers the battery but soon enough just playing around with it it rattles and just isn’t all that “real “ but besides that I love mine
Bro!!! I have been eyeballing an e&l akms , the one with the underfolding stock. I think that is the absolute best looking ak that was ever made, and if I get an ak, its gotta be the underfolder.....That being said, I have alot of unanswered questions about this ak aeg... 1. The externals. They look damn near perfect. I do believe that the underfolding stock unfolds more that it originally should. Meaning, the stock seems parallel to the bore axis, which would make it more of a strain to sight down the gun...I believe the real one stops earlier during the unfold and results in an downward angle of the stock position, making the ak lay higher up as you shoulder it, thus making sighting down the gun as simple as letting your head drop down forward to get inline with the sights..I hope you can understand me. So when I notice the e&l missing this imho super important part of the design, it makes me wonder whats really going on.. -does the stock unfold securely into place without sloppiness and wobble? - are these aegs, being made in a real steel ak factory, ARE THEY COMPONENTS ALSO HEAT TREATED AND HARDENED? Little things like this are a big deal to me.. I mean, will the stock bend if you fall down on it the wrong way, or if it is dropped the wrong way? Heat treatment would prevent such bending, but if these all steel ak aegs arent heat treated, then I dont think its even worth it, because these all steel assemblies are going to get all bent out of shape when they are treated roughly in the field.. I did see that old video where e&l torture the ak aegs. But how do we know if the essential line is made the same way? I know that USAIRSOFT is all about it, and I know that you will read my comment and help me find answers. I wanna know if these e&l receivers are the same as the dboys ak aeg steel receivers, because I have a dboys ak. steel triangle stock, steel receiver, aluminum barrel, etc. etc. The potmetal trunion can never result in a secure connection to the steel receiver, because pot metal wears away and is too soft for long lasting security. So I jb welded things together, and everything is secure and straight. But I dont want to buy the akms e&l aeg IF there are corners that were cut, that really make a biog impact in the overall end result.. HOw thick is the steel sheet that was used in the akms e&l receiver? 1mm? 1.5mm? If this akms is heat treated, then I am buying it, no question. ANd if it is truly that bad ass of an aeg, then the world should know about it. If it could of been that BAD ASS, BUT e&l messed up here and there, well then the world need to know about that too.. BREAK IT DOWN US AIRSOFT!!!!!!!!! Help me with my questions. THANKS
Can't answer most of your questions, but as a fellow E&L akm eyeballer I have heard a lot regarding the sturdiness of the stock. Apparently there is little to no wobble, but It's a bit tight to flip down.
Well that's basically what E&L ak's are. They are made in the same factorys where also real ak's are made. And they use real parts as much as they can. But to answer your question: yes you could but it would be a lot of work
DO NOT buy E&L Essential Line. I personally had the issue of bad manufacturing (twisted front sight and non-functioning magazine). E&L answered at first, said they were going to contact the shop just to ghost me later. I send the BRAND NEW gun back to the shop and the tech just f*cked with the front sight post a little bit and sent it back, nothing was done about the magazine. I brought these QC and Customer Service issues in other AKs and E&L groups and turns out I'm not the only one, I know of at least 5 cases now (including mine) of cheap/wrong assembly and/or QC issues, seems like in the production line pins get hammered one side only, not checked for misalignments and just send down the line. Anyways, this is a terrible issue that E&L so far have answered NOTHING about it. I enjoy the construction materials as it is quite solid steel all around, yet this snit really sucks, since they claim to be a "high end" brand of "LeGeNdArY pErFeCtIoN". Me, personally, I'm not buying more from this garbabe manufacturer again and I would like to advice anyone here not to do so either. OR ask about this issue before you buy. E&L Legendary Lemon 🍋🤡 China/10
When i read " most realistic" and " airsoft gun " in the title, it feels almost like click bait when i find out later that it is an aeg and not a gbb. Dont get me wrong, its a nice gun, but it would be nice if you could include " aeg" in the title.
Lancer tactical ak 105 there orange tip it just plastic covering the metal black tip and it just clips on, so you can just pop it off and there is your black tip
I tend towards the G&P 5.45 x 39mm magazines, these have the same dimensions as the real steel magazines and look fantastic..., the E&L magazines or the Cyma ones are all 2cm longer than the real bakelite magazines.
As a former IZHMASH worker, I can confirm that neither the real AKs folding stocks were rock solid...A very tiny bit of play was always present...Also, the stock on a real AK-74M will not hold the weight of the rifle if you fold it and then shake it either...
@@3starperfectdeer233 Most likely, if we consider only the metal parts...An expert hand may can spot the difference by the quality of the polymer parts, but this is nitpicking, really...E&L sure recreates the most 1:1 feeling of the real thing as far commercially available airsoft AKs are concerned.
I know I'll find help here. I have the E&L Essential ELAK-105. No modding no nothing but - the original E&L mags don't feed properly. As of now I have only tried with 7.4V... Like it only feeds properly in semi auto. And when I take out the mag few BBs always fall out. Is it about the replica or about the battery? Cus I'm quite scared I have borked AK. Thanks for all help!
i got a 74m and everything is great except the muzzle device locking system and the folding stock. i don’t need to press the button to fold the stock, and if i try to look like a badass when i’m extending the stock it doesn’t always lock in, or locks then unlocks. the muzzle device locking system pin doesn’t extend all the way either, i can’t tell if i broke it using a heat gun to get the orange flash hider off or if it’s something else, otherwise best gun i have besides the bolt mk18 with its recoil system
Hey Scott! Can I ask how you got the flash hider off? It seems like my detent pin won't push back far enough to twist off the flash hider. I want to paint a little orange tip on a nice PBS suppressor so I can have an inner barrel. Behind the detent pin it looks like there's another pin holding it in place. Is that what I remove?
