Review: CM 030



I would do glamour shots but its late at night.


Introduction:
I purchased this gun with a CYMA hi-cap off Donut (good seller) on ArniesAirsoft, at least I think so. In any case, I purchased it off someone in pretty good condition, barely fired, with just a few scratches on the slide, so we’ll just call it new for review’s sakes.

Everyone likes to include their own personal ramble about receiving the gun, so I’ll throw one in to make my review seem longer and therefore better, and therefore me myself more awesome.

It arrived in a – box! And in that box was another box, can you guess what that box was? That’s right, it was the box for the gun! The box is nice and cute, with a transparent picture of the gun so you can see all the internals, a few warnings, and CM.030 boldly emblazoned on it. So then I eagerly ran up to my room and just moaned in joy.


The. Box.




Real Steel History:
The CM 030 is actually not called the CM 030 in real life, despite popular belief. It’s a copy of the TM G18c, which is a copy of the real deal Glock 18c. C meaning that it has a ported barrel, as opposed to the standard and L, for longer barrel.

The Glock was first invented in 1980 by some company. It’s a semi-auto gun, 9x19mm. By and by they made a variant called the G18, which is a selective machine pistol, shooting in both full auto and semi. And life goes on, and here we are. I personally don’t really care much for real steel specs.

No matter what your best friend Joe tells you, his Airsoft G18c can’t shoot bullets, and it doesn’t matter if the real steel gun can shoot laser beams and make you fly, because that doesn’t really change anything. So now we’ll move onto what matters.


Real




First Impressions:
I lied. I didn’t actually go to my room and scream in ecstasy. I actually tossed the box onto my couch because I was in an intense match of FIFA 08 and that stupid mailman had to come and screw me up. So after I lost, I grabbed a knife and cut the tape holding the box open.

Like I mentioned before, I also got a CYMA hi-cap, and I’ll do a sort of mini review on that later on.

The actual box for the gun is, in all fairness, pretty cool. But so are most, but hey. The inside is a foam cut-out that has the gun with plastic wrap covering it, the battery, the charger, a bag of bb’s (don’t use them though, they suck but look neat-o in the case), and lastly a speedloader, which is pretty good. It may or may not come with a manual, but Donut didn’t include one, but that’s not important to me.


It has good graphics in real life

I was pretty happy about the gun, as my experiences with “oh its in good condition” have thus far fared poorly. And I’m not rich enough to have some full metal HPEG to pawn nublets with.

The gun does come with an orange flashider, which is pretty annoying. I found that I could not just twist it off with pliers. I used a hairdryer to melt the glue, but I think I hairdryed it a little too long and a little bit of the flash hider is visible still.


Flash hider activated!


Left a little orange residue





The stuffs, in detail:
The gun, like I said, has some heft. It weighs in at about ~~~~~~ lbs. It feels nice though, very comfortable. The trigger action is solid, and you can pull off some fast rounds on semi if you want to. The sights are non-adjustable, with the back sight having a half box outlining the sight in white, and the front a white dot on it, which is pretty good. I’d prefer all dots, but I can’t say that its any better that way.


A view down the sights

When you fire, the gun makes a sort of AEG like sound, but a little higher pitched and whiny, so a little unsettling is a good way to describe it. But I mean that in the best way possible. Sounds fine for what it was, and I never exactly expected it to make real firing sound.

The gun is mostly plastic. Pretty high quality plastic, although the slide is scratcheable, being a little less durable that I’d like.
Metal parts on the gun are few:
-Fire selector
-Magazine

And that’s it. Still though, the gun feels good and looks good as well. You can purchase a metal slide, but frankly, I’d save the cash for something else. One thing to note about the slide is that the ejection port cover isn’t deep enough to fool a blind person.


More fake than usual

The battery is a 7.2v 500 mAH NiMH battery, which is far superior to its TM counterpart – 7.2v 200mAH NiCad battery. The lasting rate of the battery is almost 3 times longer, which is plenty enough unless you plan on fielding this gun as your primary, but then I’d call you an idiot. And I dislike NiCad batteries: too much trouble what with the discharge and so on.


The battery


The speedloader is a semi-transparent kind of cloudy brownish, sort of like some medicine bottles. It’s an acceptable speedloader; it doesn’t crack down the center unlike some cheap ones. Some companies just can’t do anything right, so yes, I do find it necessary to talk about the speedloader. Holds about 100 rounds, just like most. I counted in once to the bb, but then I forgot.

The gun has no trademarks on the slide, and has CYMA trades on the grip. But no trades on the slide is much better than crappy fake trades on the slide, and the grip isn’t a big deal. Has a large “Made in China” printed on the left side above the grip.


China, **** yea


CYMA


orly?




Using the gun:
The battery needs to be charged, but I assumed mine probably had some charge on it from use, so I just popped it in.

To insert the battery, you press on the back of the slide on a kind of buttonish thing, and then the slide comes off easily. There is a little white arrow on the battery that tells which way to put it in. The battery tucks in under the barrel at a diagonal angle, and my only complaint is that when you remove the battery, the tab on it seems to stay in the gun.


Begin by pushing the tab on the back and lifting the slide off


Slide fully off


Battery goes in here


Battery in


The battery will come out, but not the tab. You have to take it out after and the put it back on the battery.


The slide on its own. The gun works with it off.


Too many pics, has to be two posts

This post has been edited by Pingponger: Jul 9 2008, 11:58 AM

The magazine is metal, which is nice, but then, it’s a stick mag so it’s not like it makes a difference except some weight. It holds about 29 rounds, and it’s rather hard to put bb’s in by hand, so just use the speedloader. The magazine feed lip has two little prongs that hold the bb’s in, but they are annoying to separate since the mag is so thin. No big deal though. The 29 round capacity is excellent though. Lasts longer that you’d think.


Double stacked correctly


Probably not the best size comparison ever.

The magazine catch is on the left side of the gun right near the trigger guard. Push it to release the mag. The mag slides out fast.


Don’t forget to catch the mag

The CM 030 can fire in semi-auto and full auto, and the safety is a little tab on the right side of the gun. Not how the actual Glock safety is, but its ok…


Currently on semi


Play it safe! Safe Auto!



Safety off

With the safety on, the trigger can be pulled with the feeling that it will break if you put some pressure on it. Personally, I hate it, never use the safety, but hey, different strokes for different folks.

Semi-auto shoots like advertised, and hasn’t ever gone bi-polar and shot automatic on me. Semi auto is with the fire selector in the upward position, and full auto is in the down. Full auto works just as well. Probably about 10-12rps, which is respectable.

Oh yea, and there is a similar little switch on the other side of the gun, but it is for looks and doesn't move. I assume its for takedown on the real gun, and that it is one unit so if you pulled it on the one side, it would go down on the other as well.





Performance:
Well, I am probably a little biased to the negative on this part. I’m the kind of guy who has so little money that when he wants a new gun and he reads around and reads around, by the time the gun arrives, my expectations are out of the roof. I’d only be happy if this little thing shot straight and true to the mm each time. But to be fair, its alright in terms of accuracy.

Comparatively, its not too much worse than the TM. Accuracy gives TM its blessing, but CM tries hard to stay in competition. FPS is the standard of an AEP, around 220 fps with .2g bb’s.

I always hear these rave reviews about the outstanding accuracy and distance that this gun gets, and I’m sure you’ve seen them too, but its not as good as they make it out to be. Nothing is. Those bastards. But the accuracy is pretty good, especially considering the length of the barrel: short. I’d give effective range probably 100 feet, tops. And at that range, you had better shoot full auto, or have a still target.

Accuracy in detail is hard to say. The groupings out at 100 feet are not consistent enough to measure. But I will say that if you fire 5 bb’s, you’ll hit your target. Something to consider is that wind completely rapes this gun, more so than most, as the fps is so low.

The hop-up allows the gun to travel as far as I mentioned, but keep in mind the bb is moving fairly slow. You have to learn to compensate for the movement of your target, which isn’t too hard. I don’t think the hop-up on the CYMA is quite as good as the TM, no surprise, but its still pretty good. A bit inconsistent, but it gets the job done.

The sights are on with the bb, which is always assuring. I guess I’ve been around too many crappy guns, but I always enjoy sights that actually allow me to aim at where the gun is pointing.

Now I know I’ve sounded pretty negative about the gun, but I’m really not. It sounds a little harsh, but it’s what it is, and its not as bad as it sounds. I know in TriChomes review it sounds like the gun is the golden gun, but its more like seeing the glass as half full, where I see the glass as half empty.

I’m actually surprised by the performance of the gun. I know I stated I thought the gun would be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but that was just a little hope in the back of my mind. It works well as a back-up, and can take a beating. You can hit what you’re going for perfectly well.

One thing to note is that the gun is kind of silent, which is good. The sound is still pretty loud, but the way it comes out is less detectable. So basically, if you’re shooting long range and you miss, they probably won’t notice.





Upgrade Potential:
This gun is upgradeable. Pretty upgradeable in fact. At top upgrades you can shoot almost 300fps with something like a 1000mAH battery if you get that TM Prolight (the battery that is), but that costs more than the gun itself.

The CM 030 is fully compatible with all Tokyo Marui G18c upgrades and parts.


Here are some upgrades available for the gun:

Proud grip panels, full trades
Glow sights
Shooters design full metal slide in a variety of colors, trades
Silencer (need attachment, which is rare)
First factory spring upgrade, 20mm top rail, bottom rail, hard piston, reversal latch, tappet plate.

Etc.

I only listed some, but there is enough to upgrade everything in the gun. Personally, since this gun is a back-up and since in upgrading this for not so much a difference at much a cost, I won’t upgrade this gun. Maybe a silencer if I could get my hands on the attachment, which I hear quiets the gun a lot.


z0|\/|fG 1337 |-|4><><0125!!1one!1!!11





Miscellaneous:
Just some things I didn’t put in.

-There is a sticker on the bottom of the gun over a screw, which will leave a little bit of residue but can be cleaned off. The screw it was covering had some orange on it though…not quite sure why. Doesn’t clean off.


Dammit

-If you are unlucky, when you load the mag, it will not double stack properly and you will get less of a capacity.

-That rail on the bottom, if you didn’t already know, is not standard size and requires an attachment to house a vertical grip, laser, or light. The only exception is that there are some lights built to the specs of the gun (e.g. TM ProLight)

-With the slide revealed, it appears someone tried to paint something on the inside silver, then stopped halfway through. Likely only on mine. At least it’s not a chopstick in my box like I got with airsplat (although the service was good)


What?

-The trigger is covered with a paint that scratches off easy. Highly exaggerated in the picture because of flash.


How the hell did that even get scratched off anyways?

-Box also comes with unjamming rod, tiny allen wrench, and a silicon baggie, one of those that I never understood the purpose of.


Cute

-The charger obviously isn’t a Tamiya plug (is that what they are called?). You can see how it is in the picture.


Hmmm! Intriguing!

-The Chingrish is a bit better this time around. Shoots “bulets”. Highly lethal.


”A ges 18 and over only”





CYMA Hi-Capacity Magazine
This thing is really, a piece of garbage in my opinion. First off, it cannot hold 100 bb’s. It can’t hold 90. It can’t even hold 70. It barely holds 50, and at that point, you need to hammer the bb in.

Its made of some sort of cheap-o plastic that feels very weak, and the construction of the mag makes it seem like it could snap in half. The top part is the normal narrow, thin mag, but then it widens out to full grip size and extends downward. If you hit it, I guarantee it would break.

The TM magazine is better. From what I’ve heard. It can hold 80 bb’s or so and is more solid in construction.

However, I would shy from hi-cap mags in this case. They aren’t worth the price tag, and they are easily breakeable. They also do not hold as many bb’s as they advertise and the mags are so large and awkwardly shaped it is a pain in the to carry them with you. Besides, the standard mag holds 30 rounds, and that’s pretty damn good for a pistol.

There are no pictures, because I sold mine to some sap.





Conclusion:

Pros
-Solid gun. Excellent clone of the Marui, and I’d say that this is the better buy, even if you can afford the Marui, save some cash and buy this. Gets the job done, and performs as a back-up.
-Performance in general is great, and impressive.
-Solid construction, will withstand abuse
-Nicely weighted
-Good feel
-Long battery life
-Fairly accurate
-Good hop-up
-Compatible with TM
-Good RoF
-Low maintenance
-Quiet(er)
-High magazine capacity
-Reliable

Cons
-No trades unlike TM
-Safety is awkward
-Mostly plastic
-Hi-cap mag is terrible
-Low FPS
-Scratcheable in places

So I’d say, if you have the cash or are interested at all in an AEP, get this gun. Or the DE USP, which is also pretty good, but I love USP’s, so don’t mind me. Great buy, and pretty cheap.
Don’t buy it for over $50 though, you can get it for $49 at lots of places. I got it from Donut for $45 shipped with the hi-cap, which is a good deal (even though that stupid hi-cap sucks)
I’ve heard that the TM is minimally better, with some people owning both claiming accuracy is no better. But I would say that the TM probably has a tiny edge. Its up to you though.



I’d like to credit this review to azn_tomato of WTFAirsoft (Do consider joining, pm if interested)
I am azn_tomato but the account is gone now.


I wrote this review in about 20 minutes, so if there are any mistakes, sue me. I took the pictures in 5 minutes. The review and pics were done just now, and so pics are crap because its indoor lighting and my camera is sub-par in low light, so bear with the picture quality. I might get better pictures
Edit: No pics today, its dark and raining.

This review was written by ME and therefore I am the one who decides where it will be posted. Don't copy it.

This post has been edited by Pingponger: Jul 9 2008, 11:58 AM

Very good review. Lots of informative pictures and correspondent text. Good overall and nice order.
Approved.

Um...wrong place?

Excellent review... but its in the wrong spot.

Did CMP move it to the wrong place?

Good job on the review, first one that made me laugh.

If any review could possible make me laugh...this is the one! Good job!

Im terribly sorry. I should have hit the wrong button or something.
I will ask the local moderator to move it to its corresponding area.
Again, sorry.

Great review, very refreshing to see a realistic perspective on a lower level gun. I get pretty sick of first timer's "I JST GOT THIS ADN ITS ROXORZ MY FREINDZ FRUM 100 YARDZ!" Plus you made me laugh a lot. Thank you.

Dude, nice review. I think you may have stopped me from getting this gun though

Nice review. I have this gun and I think it is awesome. I think some important points on this gun is that the semi-auto fire is not the best. I've had it completely on semi and it was shooting bursts. Oh well though, this pistol kicks butt. Everyone I play with knows that when my M16 goes down or runs out of bb's, I'm not down and out. I'll whip out that glock and spray you from about 50yds away
Also, I'd like to know if there are multiple versions of the gun. Mine does not have the CYMA trades or the CM030 on the side of the grip. It does have the made in China. Also, my orange tip was simply removable, it had slots where you could fit a hex key and just yank the thing right out.
I got this gun a year ago, and it is still working great! I went out to shoot it today, and from 15yds, it is dead on a 3 in tall steel can. Where ever you put the sights is where someone is going to fall in pain haha. Just kidding. This gun has phenomenal accuracy for a pistol, BUT it should be noted that the bb doesn't get to the target like a rocket. It's not slow, but not BAR10 quick. It shoots around 210 with .2's.
Another side note: I have tried Cybergun's biodegradable bb's in this gun and they stuck like crazy in the magazine. I HIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHLLYY recommended NOT using those bb's in your beautiful CYMA G18C

Nice review. I might want to get one.

I wanted to get one of these when they had them..

This is a great review. I might consider this model now. The melted orange cap is annoying, but it looks great in general. You can barely notice it. The battery compartment seems tight and well-constructed as well.

I got this gun a little over a month ago and used it in 3 games so far. I have to say, I agree with every single thing you said about it. However, the bottom rail seems normal for me. I can mount my flashlight onto it without any need to adjust it at all.

Unless you are talking about how there are no ledges on the rail, in which case you are correct.