CYMA: CM.035

Every military is as good as it is good its logistic service. A rather unusual beginning of the review, I agree. For instance: if you have several different weapon platforms with different calibre ammunition present, this grossly complicates purchase, transport and distribution. In other words, it costs money, time and sadly, lives.

Sub Machine Guns are prime example- they are useful and they have their use on the battlefield, but separate ammo complicates logistics. One of the workarounds is to make a SMG length carbine in calibre, used by assault rifles. Designers and manufacturers tried this and still try with varying degrees of success. Some rifles are better in the SMG/compact roles, others are less suitable. Soviets transferred from old, heavy, over penetrating and hard-hitting 7,62×39 to 5,45×39 in mid seventies, just before their expedition in Afghanistan. 5,45 round is faster, smaller and soldiers can carry more ammunition. Long story short, intensive program of AKM modifications took place and AK74 was introduced as standard armament of Soviet Army.

Shorter version of AK74 is called AKS74U. Nomenclature is simple: S stands for Skladnoy priklad, which means folding stock; U is designation for Ukrocheny– shortened. Its first role was crews and special(ized) services’ armament. It quickly became a status symbol…
…which was, until very recently, also case in airsoft. Several very rare and expensive kits were available to enthusiasts. With exception of cheaper, uglier and only vaguely realistic option- Marui Beta Spetsnaz. Vega Force Company was first to introduce affordable and realistic replica of AKS74U.

Cyma CM.035 (henceforth called Cyma AKS74U) is a copy of aforementioned VFC AKS74SU. It comes in box together with battery, small packet of BBs, charger and HiCap magazine. There is no sling, which is bit of a shame.

First impression is very favourable. Shape is sleek and recognizable; upon shouldering you will instantly recognize that AK feeling, where ergonomics is not one of the qualities, but raw power is. Finish is nearly immaculate, even and surprisingly scratch resistant. I may be criticized for this remark but it is almost as good as finish on leading manufacturers’ replicas. Operating word is being almost, but it is definite improvement over other Chinese replicas we tested.

If you ever handled either AK or replica you will instantly recognize its features. It is a bit disappointing to find out that no markings or trades are to be found. Only exception are fire selector markings, which are – wrong. They are Latin, whereas they should be written in Cyrillic. This may as well be a minor problem. No changes with and safety/fire selection lever, though. It is still bit counter-intuitive as settings are Safe, Full auto and Semi auto.

CYMA AKSU- Wrong 

 

ASG Beta Specnaz – Correct 

Receiver is diecast metal and is fairly precise copy of second generation, stamped steel bodies. Receiver cover is ribbed and is fixed to gas chamber by a hinge. When opening the receiver cover be careful. If you open it past approximately 60 degrees, small spring with pusher (which helps to push the cover open) will enthusiastically fly out.

Cyma AKS74U comes with optics side mount. Bracket designation is 74MP-03, which is important if you plan to buy an optics device for your replica. It is a bit of a shame that KOBRA EKP 1S-03 Red Dot is tad on the pricey side…

Sights are similar, but not identical to the usual sights found on AK. Front sight is much lower than usually; rear sight is located on the cover and protected with dog ears. Rear sight is flip up notch type sight; settings are P (interestingly enough, in Cyrillic) and 4-5.

Battery is hidden under receiver cover. As expected, battery is stick type, with nominal capacity of 1100 mAh. It is necessary to press the button and lift the hinged cover.

Fuse housing (fuse is standard, “Marui” type) can get in the way, but it is possible to change battery very quickly. It is posible to store up to 12V battery, as the fore grip is hollow.

Stock is made out of stamped steel. Stock has some wobble, maybe a millimetre or two. Small catch secures it while folded. AKS74U with stock folded is very very handy and compact. Stock is folded by pressing the button on the receiver, which disengages the catch, which locks the stock. Only serious problem was breaking of the release lever. Reason? It appears that release lever has a design problem. Lever is quite thin (due to constricted space) and, as it is pot metal diecast, it broke.

Magazine is terrible bright orange (too bright). For clarification- Bakelite AK74 orange magazines do exist, but with less intensive colour. This minor niggle aside, magazine feeds flawlessly and is indeed a quality product. Its capacity is around 500 BBs. It has zero movement in the magazine well.

We tested compatibility with Tokyo Marui and Classic Army magazines and they worked flawlessly.

Sling swivels are on the opposite sides. Rear sling swivel is simple D ring; front post is located behind the flash hider. Rear sling swivel bangs loudly against the stock. Thankfully, solution is very simple and will be discussed in the filed test portion of this review.

Fore grip is plastic, but imitates wood very well. Its grooves help to control AK74SU during full auto fire. Fore grip is fairly comfortable and looks convincing. I was at first thinking about changing it to wood, but there is actually no aesthetic need to do so.

One of the most prominent features is muzzle brake. Its innovative design helps to control the muzzle climb of the real weapon in the full auto mode. Inner barrel does not end at the muzzle of the replica’s outer barrel but rather goes trough muzzle brake.

As always, we tested the replica in the field. First of all, did you ever wonder, why real AK users wrap slings around the front sight and stock? Because if they don’t, the rear sling swivel makes terrible metallic clanking noise every time you move.

Replica shoots quite hot. Maybe even too hot, given its overall shortness and handiness, the replica shoots 370 fps with .20g BBs, which, for it’s size, is way too much. I was pleasantly surprised by replica’s output consistency, as results on the chronometer varied only by feet or two.

As with all AK (replicas), ergonomics is not stellar. Fire selector is positioned a bit awkward and magazines are too long for comfort in the prone position. This are fairly unimportant features, but worth considering, if AK is your primary replica.

During test we encountered a persistent and fairly annoying problem with semi automatic fire. Replica fired one or two BBs in the semi automatic mode, than stopped firing. It was necessary to move fire selector to full auto, shoot couple of BBs to “unjam” the replica.
There appears to be a problem with Cyma V3’s gearbox, as we experience similar difficulties with plastic bodied AK47 replicas.

When we opened the replica up (its construction is very similar to Marui AK47 with screws holding front section of the gun secured to the receiver) we took a closer look at the HopUp chamber and the gearbox.

HopUp chamber is plastic and resembles Marui’s chamber. Rubber and bucking are doing their job and it is not necessary to change them out of the box. HopUp retains its setting.

Gearbox is well put together. First pleasant surprise are metal bushings. Closer inspection of the gears reveal that gears are marked with letters “NZ.” Interior of the gearbox shows no traces of sloppy die casting.

Gearbox is put together as it should be, but they used entirely too much grease. It does not interfere with working of the gearbox, but excess grease could be a source of possible problems (from obstruction of movable parts to smearing -and thus insulating- switch). Therefore, cleaning is in order.

Spring guide looks very cheap, as it is made out of translucent plastic material. Piston is plastic with plastic head. It looks fairly ordinary product, found in the most of the Chinese replicas. When inspected for the wear and tear, we found none.

Problem with finicky semi auto fire mode was not fault of the fire selector plate, but rather poorly assembled levers on the outer shell of the V3 gearbox. It is a simple and easily corrected problem. Chinese manufacturers should do their best to avoid such small problems. Their products are no longer marketed for kids or budget players, but mainstream, fastidious airsoft players.

And? Cyma’s replica of Suchka (little bitch, as it is affectionately known to Russian users) is good, solid, sturdy and inexpensive product. It is one of the three Chinese models to choose from (Unicorn, Boyi and Cyma) and we will try to make a comparison test. As for the Cyma CM.35- I like it. Try it, you might like it also.

Test item provided by RSOV