CYMA AKS-74U (CM.035) REVIEW
Cyma goes for hearts and minds with their "suchka"
by ardrummer292



Rewind to the year 2004, right about the time I started playing airsoft seriously. If you would have told me that I would buy a Cyma product some time in my career, I would have politely questioned your sanity. Cyma has, until recently, been the penultimate pariah. Their kit was the stuff of flea markets, purchased only by the uninformed or woefully underfunded. As we all know, times have changed.

With the ever-increasing popularity of Chinese clone replicas, airsoft is quickly becoming accessible to many more new players. I won't get into the various schools of thought on this phenomenon, as they are irrelevant to this review. One thing is undeniable, though: these new, cheap All China Made (ACM) weapons are affording tinkerers, collectors, and skirmishers alike the opportunity to expand their armories without breaking the bank.



THE REAL AKS-74U
image and text from Wikipedia





CYMA'S VERSION



The CM.035 is purportedly based on a hybrid of VFC and TM designs (according to filAKairsoft), such that it retains the look of the VFC AKS-74U while remaining compatible with TM-style AK magazines. The Cyma version can also take up to a 12V stick battery due to the hollow top handguard, just like the VFC. I'm sure there is other contributing evidence, like distance of bolt travel or barrel to receiver attachment, but I find that these details are inconsequential at most. If it shoots and does what I need it to do, no complaints. That IS the general idea behind any Kalashnikov weapon system, right?

So, why did I choose the CM.035? I have a few reasons, one of which is certainly the cost. At $120 for the full metal and wood version, whilst cranking out 370 fps stock, this little beast is a great feeling, hot shooting, inexpensive replica. Another major selling point was its compatibility with TM mags and alleged superb stock performance. That's good and all, but it leaves a big question unanswered: what really made me want this gun?

I hate AKs. It's quite simple, really. I find them primitive, with poor ergonomics and counterintuitive controls. Reloads take too long, the pistol grip isn't as comfortable as the M4's, they aren't pointable, the iron sights are terrible… the list goes on and on. I knew I was past due to master the one weapon with which I lacked experience.

My sole reason for purchase wasn't due to unfamiliarity with the weapon, however. I recently joined the Navy, and chose to go SpecWar. In my military career, there may be a mission where I'm tasked with leaving a minimal "footprint" while in-country. I could, therefore, be assigned an AK to retain compatibility with locally-available weapons and to blend with the population more effectively. If my arse is on the line and I'm not proficient with a Kalashnikov, I have only myself to blame.

I ordered my .035 from AirsoftGI, along with a 5-pack of black MAG AK74 midcaps and a spare 8.4V stick battery. I also picked up some KSC Perfect 0.25g bbs, as a rifle shooting this hot shouldn't be using 0.2g for anything beyond the chrono station.



FIRST IMPRESSIONS



Man, this thing is heavy! My package weighed in at 20 lbs, with the AK itself responsible for about 7 lbs. I got the standard 8.4V NiMH stick battery, charger, bag of poor-quality 0.2g bbs, 500rd orange Bakelite-style hicap, and an instruction manual in the box as well.

The first thing I noticed about the gun was the finish on the metal; it seemed to be almost textured, very flat matte black. Comparing this with my uncle's Norinco AK, you can see the difference. Real AKs have an almost semi-gloss smooth black finish without any texture, so I knew that finish would have to go straight away. The wood foregrip wasn't finished well either, in an unattractive red-brown stain. I decided I would sort that as well.

The fire selector, straight out of the box, is very positive and makes a defined "click" when changing modes. Unfortunately, it appears I fondled this feature a bit much, as it became very loose. It's an easy fix, though: just pop the cap covering the selector screw, tighten, replace the cap, carry on.

The stock locks into place quite sturdily, and only has a millimeter or so of play in it. When folded to the receiver (note: the AKS-74U folds to the operator's left, not the right), it's rock solid and won't budge until released. Do note that some folks have had issues with the stock locking mechanism breaking, so be nice to it if you're concerned.

The pistol grip is the only part of the construction that let me down, and it's not all that bad. It's made of some kind of thin plastic, not awful quality material or anything, just too thin for my liking. It does wobble a bit, but not enough to bother me. I can't even quantify the movement by sight, it's more of a feel thing.

Inserting and removing mags was an extraordinarily stiff deal at first, at least until I realized that the mag release pin was out of its socket on the operator's right. Once realigned, mag changes were a breeze.

The rifle is somewhat front heavy, with its center of balance near the magazine release. This forward weight bias is undoubtedly due to the steel outer barrel and battery placement.



EXTERNAL PARTS

Time to cover the materials used on this gun, from stem to stern:

Steel:
Folding stock, hinge, release button, side-locking catch
Fire selector
Trigger guard
Top cover/upper receiver
Bolts near scope mount (unsure of name)
Rear sling mount
Outer barrel

Pot metal:
Lower receiver
Trigger, mag release
Scope mount
Front/gas and rear sight blocks
Handguard rings
Flashhider
Bolt
Top cover release button

Other:
Pistol grip (plastic)
Foregrip (wood)

Metals were tested with a magnet to determine composition.



INTERNAL PARTS

I'm not an airsmith, therefore I won't open this gun until something breaks. If you'd like to read up on the internals, allow me to refer you to a fine review by zentaurus and filAKairsoft:





PERFORMANCE



ASGI chronoed this rifle at 370 fps prior to shipping. The Poor Man's Chrono puts this rifle somewhere in the 370-420 fps range: the bbs penetrated both sides of each can every time, but only punctured the bottom central region on two of the four cans. Every can was identical.

Rate of fire (ROF) is about 750 rounds per minute (RPM) with the stock battery and the 8.4V PHX NiMH stick battery I purchased separately. An AirsoftSmith 9.6V NiMH stick pack produces about 900-1000 RPM. Semiautomatic is fairly crisp with all three packs.

Range tests were conducted on a fairly chilly day, with a slight headwind of maybe 5 mph. Targets were 14'' wide by 16'' tall cardboard, topped with a 6'' by 6'' "head," mounted approximately 3 feet off the ground by a pole. Ammunition was KSC Perfect 0.25g bbs, hopup was not perfectly zeroed due to imperfect lighting conditions. 10 shots were taken at semiautomatic at each range to determine hit percentage.
45 feet - 10/10 shots hit, 100% hit percentage
90 feet - 9/10 shots hit, 90% hit percentage
135 feet - 4/10 shots hit, 40% hit percentage (likely operator error and increase in wind)
Maximum point target range (minimum 70% hit percentage) - 120 feet
Maximum area target range (maximum range of bbs) - 150 feet



MODIFICATIONS

As anyone who knows me will tell you, I deplore cherry-looking kit. Therefore, loosely following Guinness' guide (on ArniesAirsoft) to weathering, I gave my AK that battle-hardened look.

Using steel wool on the metal body achieved two effects: it exposed underlying metal in high-wear areas, and it eliminated the unrealistic matte-black finish.



The wood was quite simple to wear: simply sand it down, beat it up, and re-stain it.



The hicap magazine was, aesthetically, one of the worst parts of the rifle. The orange was too bright, and seam lines were quite prominent on the front and rear. So, I took some rough-grit sandpaper and smoothed the whole thing out. After that, I diluted some wood stain and gave it a quick-once over. After that, I applied the finishing touch, a thin layer of dirt. Voila! Perfect.





SKIRMISH REPORT



40 degrees Fahrenheit, occasional rain, overcast, flooded ground… a perfect day for airsoft!

My AK performed quite well overall, even earning a few appreciative "oohs" and "aahs" from TM fanboys. While this rifle wasn't the most amazing gun there, it easily held its own in firefights with more expensive rifles. I found that it was at home in a woodland environment: its small size was great for aggressive assaulting, while its sheer power let it cut through brush with relative ease. Everyone could tell when I was firing, due to the distinctive muzzle report. I got one kill at nearly 200 feet (a combination of luck and lobbing), but the majority of my kills were around 100 feet.

I only had a few issues with the gun, one of which was the occasional misfeed with the hicap. I also noticed that the front sight is slightly rotated to the right, which is a common problem and is easy to fix.

A couple other problems became readily apparent when my battery started to run out of juice. One, the ROF would drop about 50-100 RPM during bursts of 10 rounds or more. Semiautomatic would also frequently lock up, requiring a burst in fullauto to start functioning again. With a fully-charged battery, these issues are not present.


SCORE BREAKDOWN

ACCESSORIES: 6/10
Hicap is nice, battery isn't great, charger is unneeded (I already have one), bbs are trash.

EXTERNALS: 7/10
With an improved pistol grip, tighter selector switch, properly aligned sights, and better finish, this thing would be golden. Sans durability issues that I've only read about (top foregrip pin retainer tab snapping, stock locking mechanism breaking), all are fixable by the end user.

INTERNALS: ?
I don't care, as long as it shoots. Over 3000 rounds through it thus far without a serious problem, no complaints.

PERFORMANCE: 7/10
This thing is no DMR, but it definitely gets plastic on target. Range and accuracy are very impressive for such a small rifle.

FIELD SCORE: 7/10
Gets the job done, assuming you've got the guts to get a little too close for comfort. Not an ideal long-range standoff weapon.

"COOL DUDE"/E-PEEN FACTOR: 8/10
Whether you're going for Spetznas, SF "en mufti," PMC, or Osama bin Dirtbag, this rifle is the economical way to get your hadji on.

VALUE: 9/10
The only way you'll get more for your dollar/pound/Euro/goatmilk is theft.

OVERALL: 73% WIN



VERDICT?

I really like this gun. It's not perfect, but it's a great value and a really good shooter. Externals are quite nice, internals are holding up, handling and performance are pleasantly surprising, and I imagine it'll be a nice platform to build on for any future tuning you wish to do. This little AK has changed the way I think about Cyma.


I'm going for some "hearts and minds" of my own: Mozambique drills at my range. Note that I hadn't tightened the selector screw at this point.


All my skirmish kit, ready to go.

- ardrummer292