VFC M4 SOPMOD Review

Hey guys, I'm going to review the VFC M4 SOPMOD I recieved about 3 weeks ago. I delayed writing this review, in order to have a chance to play with the gun in a game, as well was take apart the gearbox and check out the internals.

I'm a novice, and this is my first airsoft gun, so feel free to point out faults with terminology and understanding, however I believe I have a pretty good idea of what parts are good and bad, and which parts could be problematic.

Mach1 Airsoft
I was extremely satisfied with Mach1 Airsoft's performance. They are great to deal with. Extremely courteous and patient, they answered all my questions regarding the gun itself, as well as recommending the right battery for the gun. Shipping speed was excellent. Since both myself and Mach1 are located in Toronto, I didn't expect shipping to take long, but I was still surprised by how short a time it took to reach me. I ordered on a Thursday, however my order was placed after their least shipment of the day had gone out, so I was told it would be shipped on Friday. I received the gun on Monday. It was essentially the fastest shipping time possible.

I've heard some horror stories about CP, and people finding their guns broken on arrival, but there is no need to worry with this gun. The packaging is great. Instead of using a big chunk of polystyrene packaging foam, with a cutout for the gun, VFC have devised something pretty clever. Using layered cardboard the same width and height of the box the gun ships in, they are able to "float" the gun inside the box. This means that none of the gun's parts are in contact with the box. I believe there's about a half-inch of space around the side of the gun and the box, which would be plenty of room to protect the gun's finish from a small dent or penetration of the box.

First Impressions
The gun arrives wrapped in plastic, and comes with a 300 round high cap magazine. The SOPMOD M4 comes with some accessories, including a KA foregrip, rail covers, a beautiful RIS, a crane stock and an M4 rear sight. My first impression was a good one. This gun is SOLID. I've never held a real M4 before, but I have shot an M16 and this was comparable in feel. There's no creak, no wobble, nothing feels weak, it's just a great first impression overall. Everything on a real M4 that's metal, is metal on this gun too. The only disappointment was when I realized that it hadn't come with a front sight sling mount, but I was planning on using a 1-point sling so I wasn't really bothered.








Externals

I'm going to break this up into different sections so that I ramble as little as possible. It will also be easier to skim.

Reciever
The receiver is really well made. It's made out what I believe is airplane aluminum, which means it's really, really light. I was amazed at the weight of the lower receiver when I took out the gearbox. It weighed nothing. Yet it's strong as hell. It's definitely not some monkey metal crap. The upper receiver and the lower receiver fit together really well. There are no gaps, and they slide together perfectly. The trades are great, really detailed, but I was a little disappointed that they weren't etched in, they're lasered on. I knew this before purchasing the gun, but I still wish VFC had made them etched. It just makes painting the receiver a pain if you want to retain those trades. The surface is really well done. Even with high contact areas, the paint remains on the surface, with minimal scratches even under the charging handle.








VFC has included a bolt lock system, wherein pulling back on the charging handle will carry the fake bolt back and lock it in place, exposing the hop up and releasing the dust cover. It is released by depressing the bolt catch on the left side of the receiver. The action is very solid feeling, and it's just awesome to pull back on the charging handle and let it slam back. The bolt lock system is a neat design that serves a useful purpose. There is one small problem with it however. Do NOT make the mistake of slapping the bolt release. There is a possibility the small wire holding the bolt catch up will slip off, and the bolt will not lock back anymore. It's easily fixed but it's also easily avoided. If there is a demand for a video, I'll include how to fix this problem in it.

Pulling back the charging handle


Let it go and the bolt stays




This is the latch that catches on the bolt holding it back. Underneath it there is a wire holding it in the upright position. By slamming the bolt catch, the wire is pushed to quickly, and slips between the side of the latch and the gearbox





The dust cover is nice, it does have problems staying up however. Any blow will cause it to flip down. Putting in a magazine, shooting or running will release it, so if you're one of those people that love to have their dust cover up all the time, you may be disappointed. However the mechanism is really simple, and it would be really easy to mod with a little bit of plastic sheet and some superglue.

Stock
The stock is made of a solid plastic, and is where the batteries for the gun are stored. Being a standard crane stock, it will take any crane stock compatible batteries. There was a tiny bit of wobble after moving the stock to a position I was comfortable with, but that was fixed with electrical tape. There are no cons with the stock, it's comfortable and solid and does its job.

Rest of the Externals
Everything on the gun is well made. The external barrel has no wobble, it's very solid, and made of a thick metal. The finish is excellent, completely matte and almost textured. It also has markings, denoting its caliber. The grip on the e-series from VFC are supposed to be smaller than most AEG's, and while I can't compare with previously used guns, I am more than satisfied with the feel. It's very comfortable, and pretty thin. I found that after I spray painted mine it got a bit slippery though, so I wrapped some electrical tape around it and it's fine now. The selector switch has a great action, clicking into place and staying there.

There is one small problem with the top rail on the receiver. I found that the Eotech replica I purchased from Huang's (I'm going to review it later) would not sit completely level on the rail. I believe this is due to the bevel underneath the lip of the rail; on one side of the receiver it is slightly less pronounced than on the other side. Fortunately, the Eotech sits perfectly on the RIS, which also works a lot better with my mask, allowing me to use the sight in game.



Internals

Taking apart this gun was really simple. I think the mere fact that a complete beginner was able to dismantle the gun completely, open the gearbox, and get it all back together and working even after messing things up and being an idiot, is really a testament to the design team at VFC and the quality of the internals.

To gun does not come apart like a normal M4. You actually take out the front body pin, and the whole upper receiver, barrel, and hopup simply slide forward and away from the gun, exposing the gearbox. It could not be easier than this.

Disassembly couldn't be easier
1. Pop out the front pin (make sure the mag's out and the dust cover up)


2. just slide the upper forward


Voila!





The inner barrel will just slide out now, but be careful when removing the upper receiver, as the hopup has an annoying tendency of hanging onto the nozzle, and you could potentially damage something if you remove your upper at an angle.

Hopup




The gearbox, although so tempting, is not even close to coming out at this step. There are some good guides on the internet for other VFC models, but sadly there are none for the M4 SOPMOD. If people need one, I'd be glad to make a video on taking everything apart, just let me know in the comments.

The VFC internals are great from what I hear, and I can definitely attest to their quality. The gears are all solid metal, and they seem of very high quality. Everything, to my limited knowledge, is shimmed properly. The gears spin easily and smoothly. The piston is plastic, with 2 metal teeth at the front. It appears solid, and I haven't heard anything bad about it. There appears to be a good seal between the piston head and the cylinder. The trigger mechanism is smooth, and I have not noticed any corrosion after about 1300 rounds, playing outdoors with some humidity. One annoying thing about the trigger, is that there's a lot of tension in the small spring that sits underneath it. This makes it a pain to reinsert, as everytime I did so the spring would like to pop out. The spring would also angle itself between the safety lever and the gearbox, giving me massive problems with my selector switch. I fixed it by simply supergluing the spring into the trigger, as there's no real reason it needs to float freely. The spring guide is metal, and it has a ball bearing system on it, I guess so that the spring can rotate freely. Be careful when putting a new spring in, as the tension is more than I expected. The wiring seems well done, and there is plenty of extra wire for slack if need be.

Gearbox Disasembly












Now heed this warning! The screws in this gun are CRAP. This is the one thing I feel VFC chintzed out on. The screw metal is so soft it could be playdoh. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but make sure you push as hard as you can into that screw before turning that screwdriver. I managed to strip one screw in my grip so badly that I needed to drill it out. Drilling went well until the end, when the drill chewed up one of the wires that connects to the motor. Thankfully I was able to solder it back and it works now, but all the pain and frustration could have been avoided by just being very careful around the gun's screws. Oh, and a big thanks to Huang for donating a screw for my grip

The motor seems good, I have not had any problems with it, and I've heard good things about it. It also has REALLY strong magnets, so strong that it pulls everything metal in my workspace towards it.

Here's the motor:



I don't have a chronograph, but the manual says the gun comes stock shooting at 430+ fps. I'll believe it. I did some shooting tests at home, and my .20g bb's went through everything, from a ketchup cap, to a plastic lined cardboard box (both sides). For most people, a new spring is going to be a necessary part of the purchase of one of these, so be sure that you're ready for the replacement process.

I have an M110 spring in it, and I haven't experienced any problems with it so far. I've heard about having timing problems with a new spring in a system not designed for it, but the gearbox is holding up with a hitch.

Performance

I played with this gun at Thanh's field, during a winter outdoor game. It performed superbly. I found the accuracy to be very good, even without being able to use my sights at the time. I'm sure that it could be improved with a tightbore, but it's definitely satisfactory for normal engagement distances. The hopup seems excellent. It was remarkably easy to dial in with the help of some of the experienced players. The bolt system is great, as you can have uninterrupted access to the hopup and adjust it on the fly. The clear casing of the hopup is also great for seeing exactly what is happening inside.

At the game I didn't baby this gun. It got covered in snow, dirt etc. I don't mean coated, but it definitely looked dirty. It was also warm enough at the beginning for some snow to melt, getting the gun wet. Later in the day the temperature dropped, and the water actually froze on the gun. Even with the stress of expanding water, nothing broke and the gun performed flawlessly. I did run out of battery pretty quickly, but I'm not sure if it was due to the cold. Running with a 9.6V battery is fine for the internals, but I'm not sure about higher voltages. After seeing the gearbox though, I'm sure it would be fine.

Conclusion

The VFC SOPMOD M4 is a great gun. I was considering making a list of pros and cons, when I realized that I'd have nothing to put in the cons section. The gun is simply excellent. From the finish and feel of the receiver, to the quality of the internals, this is a gun that exudes quality. I can see this gun lasting years of heavy use, and it will definitely remain my primary for the foreseeable future. I would recommend this gun to everyone, as well as recommending that they purchase it from mach1.

For $600, the value of this gun is great, even for beginners. My take on it is, you're already going to spend 350-400 on a cansoft gun, why not spend the extra for something that much better?


Here are some pictures from before I painted it








Thanks for checking out my review!

[THe_Silencer]

Good review. Btw, are you sure your piston has 2 metal teeth? All the VFC piston's I've seen only have one.

[patrick0uch]

Hi, i'm new to this sport, and was looking to pick this up at mach1 airsoft. just a few questions if you don't mind, about your gun: what size is your barrel and is the M110 spring also standard?

[Dremar]

I noticed that you have modded your gun, and was wondering if you added the sling attachment to the back or if it came with it.
If you added it after the fact how hard was it to attach and where did you find it?
I have an M4 also and have a one point sling but then found out that there is no where to attach it.

[scurvythepirate]

Its the magpul PTS ASAP. Its pretty easy to install, just remove the buffer tube and slide it on in place of the usual spacer (not sure if that is what the part is actually called though), and re assemble.

[Dremar]

thanks for the quick reply.
I was able to find the part online just have to get one in now lol.
By removing that back plate is there anything to watch for? Like all the internals are not going to just fly out? I realize I will have to make sure all the wiring is run out properly and all but that should be no problem I would think.

[scurvythepirate]

No you should be all right. Nothing their is spring compressed. Watch out though for some screws.
YouTube - Airsoft GI 101 - How to Tighten the Buffer Tube on the M4A1

This video should more helpfully showcase what i mean. All you would do is instead of tightening it, you will loosen the screw and slide off the buffer tube and leaving you with the end plate, where you can replace the stock one with the Magpul ASAP.

Hope i helped.

[Kalash]

Just a testament to how durable this gun is, I was holding mine in my room at a weird angle trying to adjust my sight, and in doing so I forgot my cieling fan was on, at full power. The blade of the fan struck the barrel of the m4, making a huge noise and scaring the shit out of me, but other than that the gun was both cosmetically and structurally fine. No barrel wobble at all.

Buy this gun.

[pistol4ever]

Hi ballsofsteel,
I just bought a AVALON MK18 MOD0 and have a SP120 installed in it. I use a 11.1V 1000mah 12C battery. After a few shots on semi, the gearbox blocked. Now, I must disassemble it in order to get the anti reversal to release the spring...
Can you take a video of the disassembly of this gun please? (I have already the upper receiver, motor, grip detached from the lower receiver. I m actually having trouble removing the mag release.)
Thank you

[Snakebite1967]

push the mag release button into the magwell as far as u can then the other side just spin to undo

[Conker]

@pistol4ever: This is the E-Series SOPMOD. There might be differences with the higher-end Avalon version.

[Snakebite1967]

Funny i did this research over a year ago and as far as i could find including VFC home site there is no Sopmod or SR16 in the E series its actually in the D series with the Mk12 mod1.

Infact the only models even remotely similar are the ES Warrior and ES Mark 18

[Snakebite1967]

Correct me if im wrong here cos it is confusing but from what i can find out VFC built aeg's to be sold under the Avalon brand name untill 2 years ago the only difference between the Avalon and VFC Sopmod is the rear sight, same motor and gearbox same materials both lipo ready

So many contradicting reviews lol but the E series is supposed to be lower quality externals and no bolt catch wether thats true or not is anyones guess

[pistol4ever]

Originally Posted by Snakebite1967

push the mag release button into the magwell as far as u can then the other side just spin to undo

Thanks for answering,
The problem is that once I push the the mag release into the magwell, the other side just stay there, it doesn t come off. I tried to turn it but it was unsuccessful...

[Snakebite1967]

well if its tight u might have to pull the arm slightly out so it clears the slot then twist