ACTIONARMY AAP-01 Assassin JP ver. Custom

In the previous introduction...I've almost completely disassembled the ACTION ARMY AAP-01 Assassin.

This time, I'll address the points of dissatisfaction I felt during the review process.

First, let's reconfirm the goals of the adjustments.

Adjusting goals

The adjustment goals, reviewed during the review session, are as follows:

In accordance with this goal, we prepared the following parts.

We will use these to make adjustments.

Nylon resin has a high water absorption rate and can swell depending on the type of oil, so we checked its compatibility with grease.

The investigation results showed that the combination of Bellhammer grease, silicone-based grease, and nylon resin was acceptable. Depending on the type of resin, it may swell by absorbing moisture or oil, and chemical cracks may occur due to chemicals in some threadlocker agents, so we recommend investigating before incurring any costs.

Custom

Basically, we'll be greasing the moving parts.

Since I didn't disassemble the hammer unit, I'll apply grease to the parts I can reach with a brush. By the way, I'll be using Bell Hammer No. 2 on the metal-to-metal parts.

We carefully paint each moving part while it is in motion.

While greasing, I noticed that applying grease to the side of the trigger bar (as shown in the photo below) improves the trigger feel. Incidentally, for metal-to-plastic and plastic-to-plastic parts, I use Bell Hammer No. 0.

We'll assemble each part, applying grease to the other components as we go.

Blowback engine.

Lower frame side

We'll assemble it like this, applying grease as we go.

I thought I might need to do some machining, such as adjusting clearances, to improve the airtightness and operation, but the parts were so precisely made that there were no particular issues, so I assembled it as is. I was really impressed, especially considering it's an overseas product.

Next, we will adjust the hop relationships in the problem.

Let's compare the gasket prepared by Mr. Miyagawa with the genuine gasket. The one on the left is Mr. Miyagawa's, and the one on the right is the genuine one.

The amount of protrusion on the hop-up was not much different from the original. This time, I wanted to increase the amount of hop-up, so Miyagawa's packing was not suitable for my purpose and I decided against it.

The packing I prepared is the standard Tokyo Marui genuine hop-up packing. Let's compare them.

Upon comparison, the Tokyo Marui genuine hop-up bucking has a larger protrusion. Therefore, since it suits my purpose, I decided to use the Tokyo Marui hop-up bucking.

After assembling the chamber using Tokyo Marui's packing, I checked the hop-up retention with a testing rod, as I did last time, and it still felt weak, so I'll take some measures to address that.

The solution is simply to increase the thickness of the hop-up arm using something. After considering various options, since I won't be using a long-range hop-up this time, I'll use heat-shrink tubing to increase the thickness while keeping the original shape.

The method is very simple: just place a heat-shrink tube of the appropriate size over the hop-up arm, shrink it, and cut off the excess.

This will add approximately 1.5 mm to the thickness.

We will now assemble this arm into the chamber.

Meanwhile, we'll attach the hop-up packing to the inner barrel.

The inner barrel window often has burrs and sharp edges, but this time there weren't any, so it was easy to assemble. When installing the hop-up packing, I applied Tokyo Marui's high-viscosity grease to the barrel, installed the packing, and wrapped it with sealing tape for a tight seal.

This will allow us to check how the hops land.

The hops are coming down nicely, so it's okay.

When using heat shrink tubing, variations in shrinkage can cause the hops to not descend straight, so it's recommended to check them carefully, even if it's a bit of a hassle.

All that's left is to assemble the remaining parts and it will be finished.

Live-fire performance verification

Now that it's finished, let's check its shooting performance.

The conditions are the same as usual: fill the magazine with HFC-134A gas, set the surface temperature to 26°C, and the room temperature to 23°C.

Check the hop-up setting to 0 using G&G 0.2g bio BBs.

The hop-up setting is now at 0, but the BBs no longer fall out, and the muzzle velocity is also good, so the adjustment was successful.

Next, add about half a measuring cup of hops.

Next, add hops up to the maximum setting on the hops scale.

The more hop-up you apply, the higher the muzzle velocity becomes, so it seems like it could handle heavier BBs as well. However, the muzzle velocity is still quite high, so the fuel consumption isn't very good. As I mentioned in my review, it consumes about 0.4g per shot, which is almost the same as a long gun.

When customizing or adjusting products with high initial velocities like these, we strongly recommend using a non-contact thermometer to measure the magazine temperature while making adjustments to ensure compliance with the legal limit of 0.989J within a 35°C temperature range.

If you're interested, please also check out my review of the chronograph.

・Non-contact thermometer
For a time, it was unavailable due to increased demand caused by the coronavirus.

This is a video demonstrating its operation.

ACTION ARMY AAP-01 After adjustment semi

ACTION ARMY AAP-01 Full after adjustment

It's a slight improvement, but I feel like the operation is better than when it was straight out of the box. It's hard to convey in a video, but the trigger feel is significantly better.

This completes the process. If the client wants to improve fuel efficiency, I will try slightly weakening the flow valve spring.

I will update this once I've confirmed the ballistics in the field. I think it should be fine since it probably uses reliable components.

G&G Bio-Bullets 0.2g
It's inexpensive and accurate, so I use it for a wide range of purposes, from performance testing to airsoft games. It's been my favorite since it first came to Japan (around 2008). It lasts a long time for a biodegradable product.

G&G Bio-Bullets 0.25g
It's 0.25g. I generally use 0.25g BBs when playing airsoft.

The finished product

Even though I say it's finished, I haven't touched the exterior and there aren't many things to attach, but for now I've attached some sub-units I had at home.

Since it's a gas blowback gun, the suppressor is practically useless; it just gets in the way.

While you could attach a suppressor and extend the inner barrel, this is not very meaningful as this model already has a relatively high muzzle velocity, and it's not recommended from a legal standpoint.

・ACTION ARMY AAP-01 Assassin Black
It looks like it would be quite interesting as a base for exterior and interior customization. Surprisingly, it was in stock at a reasonable price.
Incidentally, the only difference between the overseas version and the Japanese version is the gas injection valve on the magazine.

・ACTION ARMY AAP-01 Assassin DE
I personally like this color.

·magazine
This test revealed that Tokyo Marui's Glock magazines cannot be used as is, so it's probably safer to just buy the genuine article.

Recipe and summary

This time it was easy because the original was already good.

The parts used were minimal, as follows:

Now, if you assemble it carefully, you're done.

My impression of overseas products was that they were just an afterthought in the global market, with Japanese specifications added as an afterthought. However, this time, my perception was pleasantly shattered, and it was a really great product.

I hope that products like this will inspire further progress from domestic manufacturers.

This is just my personal opinion, but I believe that healthy competition is necessary for good products, so I look forward to the continued quality of the product itself and the existence of the manufacturer, ACTION ARMY.

Thank you for your time.