By West
The MP5 PDW is one of the most compact electric automatic weapons around. The PDW (Personal Defense Weapon) is essentially an MP5 K with a folding stock and a different flash hider. (i.e. it has one!) The real weapon is a 9 mm cal, and frequently used by Steven Segal, when he is not breaking peoples arms.
The look
This MP5 is very handsome. The plastic body of the weapon is real well made, and the attention to detail everywhere is amazing. There are even welding marks and little numbers that I donīt know what they are on the gun. The stock is mainly plastic, but the joints and hinges that stick to the rest of the gun are made of heavy metal, which makes the joint rock solid. The stock folds to the right, and if your using the beautiful 240 round hicap, it will not be able to go all the way in, and if the stock is folded you canīt really use the front grip.
Ah yes, the front grip! This is something you must normally buy as an accessory for other guns such as the M4A1, but here you get it from the start. The grip might feel a bit strange to use if your used to normal horizontal front grips, but when you get used to it you realize that the vertical variant is much more ergonomical. It also gives you more control in quick movements.
The standard magazines are very small, and only hold 30BBs. The normal longer MP5 mags can also be used in this gun. The hicap that I love is the 240 round double clip style magazine with replica 9mm rounds! It looks great, and 240 BBs is about right to get you through one game.
I was a bit disappointed by the flash hider. While it is nicely made, it doesnīt really fit that well on the barrel, and it kind of turns around on its own. Another bad thing about it is that it looks more like toy plastic than the rest of the gun. Nowadays the MP5 PDW is mostly deployed with the flash hider removed, thereby revealing another, more MP A5 style hider which is metal and screws on and off. The plastic hider must also be removed if you wish to deploy a Tracer unit. (With a Tracer attached, the gun looks really sweet)
Function
So how does this little bugger perform? It has an EG700 motor, unfortunately an AK 7.2V battery and one short barrel...
The first time I fired it I was shocked by the amazing range this tiny gun had. It sent a BB flying just as long as an M16 A2 it seemed. And the hopup wasnīt even adjusted at all! However as it turned out the hopup was a little hot as the gun didnīt shoot straight on short distances. After Hopup was properly adjusted the range still seemed unreasonably good for such a small gun. 30 meter hits are easy.
The rate of fire was not very impressive though. Pretty much average in that department, but not slow by any means.
The battery is the smallest and weakest one used in Marui guns, and I attribute the mediocre ROF to the battery. With a 700 motor and this design and short barrel the ROF should be much higher.
Bad stuff?
Well like Iīve already ranted about, the plastic flash hider is pretty bad.
Something else that takes away from this otherwise realistic airsoft, is the way the battery is stored. The AK stick type battery is located where the gas outtake system would be on a real weapon. The battery runs almost through the whole gun, and to install it you basically have to strip the gun from its stock and front grip. It is very time consuming.
Furthermore, the battery can be seen behind the cocking handle, and it prevents the handle from being pulled at all. Not that the handle acctually does anything, but still!
Another thing that bugs me about all MP5s, is the selector switch. First of all itīs attached poorly, and if your not careful you might lose it during some fight. But what bugs me is the fact that the switch pianfully digs in to my hand when on full auto! It makes me keep my hand lower down on the grip than I would like to, and that can be uncomfortable in the long run.
Other than that I canīt really think of any major flaws.
Battle
Obviously this gun is meant to be used in close quarter battles, and that is where it works best. Even with the stock out the PDW is small and agile to use. It never gets in your way, and you can move it around just as easily as can your hands. The front vertical grip makes it even easier to maneuver the weapon quickly in small spaces.
The small standard mags are utterly useless compared to the 240 round hicaps, and these are also the best looking mags available for any airsoft gun! So I recommend using these...
Obviously the sights are less important on this type of spray and pray gun, but still they do not let you down. Metal construction and fully adjustable. Again, I donīt think I ever used them...
This is not the weapon for long range engagements, since even though it has decent range, the short barrel makes the BBs very inaccurate, plus it works so much better at close range. How you get in close on the enemy is your problem, and if your not aggressive enough, CQB will get you killed instead of the enemy! Now go get em tiger!
