Well R4-4 MP7 Metal Airsoft Rifle AEG

Well R4 MP7 Electric Rifle Manual

Well R4-4 Airsoft Electric Rifle Gun (HK MP7) Review by XavierMace


Real Steel History:



The HK MP7 Personal Defense Weapon (PDW) is a member of a relatively new class of small arms, called Personal Defense Weapons (PDW; such specialized weapons have been built since the start of WW2). The PDW are intended, as name implies, to be a defensive sidearm for second-line troops, vehicle crews and other military personnel who normally are not issued with assault rifles. Previously, these troops were issued with pistols or submachine guns, but proliferation of body armor in recent years made those guns ineffective. The first firearm, intended as "the new age PDW" and offered in that class was Belgian-made FN P90, and it had special low-impulse, high-velocity ammunition, capable of penetration of current military body armor and helmets at ranges of 100 meters and beyond, while being much smaller and lighter, than assault rifle. The HK MP7, originally known simply as HK PDW, is another entry in the PDW class, and thus is a direct rival to FN P90.

Basic Information:


This replica was provided by Airsplat for the purpose of this review.  The gun is available for purchase from Airsplat's website here.  The package includes the gun, one standard mag, one highcap (long) mag, battery, charger, manual, small bag of BB's, and the loading tool.

Product Description/first Impressions:


With this latest version of their MP7, Well decided to go with a metal receiver on the gun.  While the real MP7 has a polymer receiver, it is steel reinforced so Well decided to go with just a metal receiver.  This gives the gun much more heft and a more solid feel.  Up close, the metal receiver is quite nice.  Looks and feels much better than the previous revisions as well as the Tokyo Marui.  The ABS components are a plain dull black.  It's somewhat plain (could use some texture) but doesn't look too bad.  It's prime for being painted.  The stock is metal with a plastic butt plate.  The stock feels quite solid.  The fold down grip is ABS like the majority of the gun, however it is a glossier plastic than the pistol grip.  The gun unfortunately lacks HK trades, but on the other hand doesn't have fake trades either.  Given the Umarex deal, real trades would be wishful thinking so with that in mind, I prefer no trades.

Grips:
The pistol grip on this gun is mostly smooth ABS plastic, with textured plastic inserts.  You can feel the inserts shift a little when changing mags, but other than that it feels pretty solid.  The folding vertical grip stays fixed in the folded position until you fold it down.  Folded down the grip feels pretty comfortable.  However, the grip does not lock into the unfolded position.  While not unforgivable, it's rather annoying when using the grip and seems like it would be a rather simple fix.  I'll have to take a look at it.

Stock:
The gun features a collapsible stock very similar to other HK replica's (MP5, G3).  The stock is sturdy and does not feel like it's going to break even with a decent amount of abuse.  However, as with the grip, the stock does not lock into place.  It will click into either the extended or collapsed position, but with a little bump it will unlock.  This has been an issue with the Well R4's I have handled previously, and I was really hoping they would have it fixed.

Sights
The sights on this gun are unusual compared to most other sights.  Folded down, they are standard pistol dot sights, but flip them up and they are closer to the sights found on KAC SR-15/SR-25's.


Sights - Folded down


Sights - Flipped up

Barrel:
The gun features a standard MP7 Birdcage style flash hider.  Visually, it appears identical to the Tokyo Marui flashhider.  However, I cannot for the life of me get the flash hider off.  I've tried twisting both ways to be safe, but it won't even budge.  The internal barrel is a standard 182mm brass AEP barrel (diameter not measured).

Hopup:
As with the Tokyo Marui, the hopup is accessed by pulling back the charging handle which pulls back the mock bolt cover.  The dial is easy to see and easily turns, however if you have large fingers (as I do) you may have difficulties getting your finger through the small ejection port to adjust it.

Trigger:
The trigger is solid with a mock trigger safety in it.  The trigger exhibits very little side to side wobble.  However, the trigger has to be pulled clear to the back for the gun to fire and is somewhat stiff.  It simply doesn't feel normal.  However, disassembling the gun may show it to be a simple fix.  That said, the gun was used in a skirmish and the trigger did not interfere with the operation of the gun.  Nor did it fail to function.

Power:
As with all AEP's, by default the gun uses a small 7.2v Micro battery.  The included battery is only 450mah, which means if you are planning on using this as a primary weapon you will either need several spares or find a different power source.  To that end, you have two solutions.  First would be to get an external battery adapter and stick a battery in a box/bag on the outside.  This gives you the ability to use a standard mini battery available anywhere.  However, to some it may look somewhat tacky.  Your second option is to re-wire it internally and use a small LiPo battery.  The effect of a LiPo battery on this gun has not yet been tested, so I wouldn't recommend that route.  One MAJOR point of note.  The Well batteries are shorter than the TM 500mah Micro and therefore the TM battery will not fit without modifications to the gun that would prevent you from using the Well batteries.

Magazines:
The gun includes a standard 50 round (short style) magazine and a 190 round (long style) winding high capacity mag.  Both magazines click firmly into place and drop cleanly from the gun.  The long mag feeds reliably and gives the gun a more traditional SMG look with the mag sticking out the bottom of the gun.  Both the standard Well short mags and the MAG brand short mags function very well in the gun.  The Well short mags have occasional misfeeds but not horribly bad.  The MAG brand mags also seem to lock in place a little firmer.  I would highly recommend picking up a box of MAG brand mags.

Performance Characteristics:
Out of the box, the gun chrono's right at 252fps (10 shot average) with .20's at 11rps (NOT a full charge on the battery).  I decided to do the first run of accuracy testing with .25's as I am curious if the hopup can even lift .25's.


70', non supported, Full Auto.  Click for bigger pics.
The groupings are fairly consistent, but it definitely has trouble lifting the .25's.  So far, not bad for an AEP, and a clone at that.  The groupings with .20's show a little more consistency which further indicates the hopup cannot lift .25's well.

(Pic coming shortly)

All in all, not too shabby for an AEP.  Certainly not a marksman gun, but as a sidearm or CQB weapon certainly sufficient.

Accessories/Modifications:
Along with the previously mentioned battery modifications, you can now get a full internal tune up kit from Nineball.  Springs, pistons, and tightbore barrels are available from several other companies as well.  If you are going to be using this as a primary weapon, I would HIGHLY recommend getting the full tuneup kit.  You also have several different companies (Star, MAG, TM, Well) producing both long and short mags for it.  I picked up a box of MAG brand short mags, which functioned perfectly and seem to lock into place better than the standard Well ones.  Unfortunately, as stated above, in order to use the higher Mah Tokyo Marui batteries you have to modify the gun.  Therefore, I would recommend either sticking with the Well batteries.  Either that or go with the external adapter.

Conclusions:
Pro's -
Externally, the most solid MP7 on the market.
Two mags included.
Cheaper than the TM
Mags feed properly

Con's -
Fore grip and stock don't lock firmly in place
No trademarks
Trigger is iffy (might not be normal)
Low capacity battery (450mah)

All in all, it's a very nice replica for only $100.  While the metal receiver might not be realistic, it DOES feel very nice.  The gun has a few little oddities (namely stock and foregrip) that can probably be fixed with a little handy work.  Then you can use that $125 (or more) you saved over the TM to upgrade the internals to a more skirmish worthy state.  As long as you don't mind giving the gun a little TLC, I would highly recommend it as a fantastic sidearm or backup weapon.