Classic Army M15A4 Carbine Sportline, Full metal version (SP001M) Full Photo Review

By: Jonathan P. (jonathanMP5)

Table of Contents
Real Steel History
Ordering
First Impressions
Externals/Build Quality
Internals
Function/Performance
Accessories/Mods
Pros/Cons
Final Word

Real Steel History
I come from a Real Steel background, so I can give a good history from my own knowlegde...

The Classic Army M15A4 is a replica of the Colt M4 Carbine. The Colt M4 carbine is a shorter and lighter version of the M16 rifle. The M4 uses a Direct Impingment Gas System, with a 45 degree rotating bolt, and chambers the 5.56NATO round. Newer versions of the M4 also chamber the new 6.8 Remington SPC (special purpose cartridge) for special forces and CQC. There are also many models of the AR15 family that chamber other calibers, such as .22LR, and others. The M4 carbine shares 80% parts commonality with the M16, but the major differences is a shorter barrel, collapsible stock, and some different action parts to acheive a faster Rate of Fire. The M4 comes in two major variants. They include the M4, which has semiauto, and 3-round burst capabilities; while the M4A1 has semiauto and fullauto options. The M4's main purpose is to serve as a lighter special forces/CQC rifle.

The M4 is a part of the famed AR15 family, which was developed in the mid 60's, just in time for the Vietnam War. The Ar15/M16's were very problematic in the beginning, with many jamming problems that made using the M16 dangerous in a fire-fight. This was due to a faulty bolt carrier design, which was 'solved,' leading to a more 'reliable' weapon. Although many improvments in the design of the weapons, the m16/M4 family still has its fair share of flaws. The m16/M4, especially the M4 still has a jamming problem in dusty envionments (ahem...Iraq) Also, if any water is left in the chamber or barrel in the M16/M4, the rifle is prone to bursting an upper receiver, resulting in catastophic damage to the rifle, and possible injury to the soldier. This proves a problem with Special forces like the Navy Seals.

The problems of the M4, are now causing the US armed forces to look for a new weapon. Many new rifles were shown, including the Fabrique Nationale (FN) Scar (special ops Combat Assault Rifle) , the Heckler and Koch HK416, and the HK XM8. The Scar and the HK 416 were proven impressive, and as early as late 2007, M4's and M16's were slowing being replaced by the Scar and the HK416. It is rumored that eventually all M16's and M4's will be slowly fased out of use by US forces...It will be missed...but not lost forever *note...there is no such thing as an M15, it is just a model name made by CA...

Ordering

I ordered the rifle from Hitguns.com. It was $180, free shipping, and along with it, I ordered a JG high cap magazine. So it came to $195, but I also had a 5% off coupon....coming to around $183. They shipped the gun Fast (4 days) which was impressive for California to Florida, via FedEx. I received the gun packed tightly in a large carboard box, and inside was the very nicely printed box. It is flat back, and has a white outline of the gun on it. And has small details abou the gun. And it says M15A4 Carbine Sportline series in red. And there is a small sticker slapped on the box that says "metal body, made in Hong Kong." Also on the Box was a sticker that says "spartan Imports Quality tested."

*note, when I first received the gun, it was broken (CA lemon...) The gearbox appeared to be locked up. I sent it to Spartan Imports to be fixed. The culprit was faulty wiring and a locked gearbox...but now its fine. When I called hit guns they gave me a huge run-around with Spartan Imports...and basically refused to take it back, even for a different model, and the guy at hit guns said that no matter what, I had to send it back to Spartan Imports. I was greatly dissappointed in the Customer Service and I DO NOT RECOMMEND Hitguns.com...Although, the guys and gals at Spartan Imports were great, and were a great help.

First Impressions

When I opened the box, there lied a manual, a bag of CA bb's (500 of 'em), a black steel birdcage flashhider, a CA high cap (300 rds) magazine, colored in the standard primer gray, a cleaning rod, and last but not least...the gun! The manual is very descriptive, and comes with a leaflet for the battery, and specs for the metal version. The gun has a great matt black finish, and the trademarks, and backdropped against the body, and are light gray. The guns comes with a huge amount of dust from the packing materials all over it, making it in need of a slight wipe down. But from first looking at it...damn!...it looks like a Real M4! Also, the gun comes with a blaze orange plastic flashhider on the gun.
NOTE- this gun does not come with a battery or charger
Box:

Inside the box:

What it comes with:


Externals/Build Quality

In short, the externals of this gun are amazing. I will start at the muzzle and work my way to the stock.

Instead of naming all the metal parts, let me just tell you, that everything is metal except for: Grip, foregrip, stock, elevation knob on front sight... (yeah, lots of metal parts)

First off the orange flashhider it comes with is plastic and cheap, and it decreases the look of the gun. So luckily CA included a black steel flashhider.

The plastic one was a PITA (pain in the a*s) to get off, and I had to heat it up with a hair dryer to screw it off. You have to turn it clockwise to get it off. The metal one has a set screw you can tighten to stop it from turning off.

The outer barrel is very nicely colored, with a nice matt black finish. By the machining marks on the barrel, I'm pretty sure that the barrel is made out of a lower quality aluminum. The front sight isn't flat black, but a very dark gray. It also has a very smooth and cold texture, leading me to believe that the front sight is steel. The gun comes with a sling swivel, instead of the standard sling mount under the barrel. Although there is a bracket where you can attatch a sling mount under the barrel. The sling mount is metal too.
Here is a shot of front sight/sling swivel:

The barrel also has absolutly NO barrel wobble, its tremendously solid. I am pretty sure its a one-piece.

The hand guard is made of textured ABS, its textured so nice, at first I thought that it was nylon fiber. The hand guard is also really easy to take down. All you have to do is pull down on the delta ring, and you can pull off both sections of the hand guard. There is no gas tube so there is a lot of room for a bigger battery, but this also causes the battery to rattle around a bit, and cause some noise.
The Front end wiring and take down:


The wiring is really good in this gun. Its not cheaply done, and all the connectors are really secure. The wiring is also very flexible, and of good quality.

The Delta Ring is similar to the front sight. Its cold, smooth, and a dark gray. I also think it is steel.

The carry handle comes off with the twist of the two nobs on the left hand side. After its off, you can mount just about any opitc on the standard 20mm weaver rail. The carry handle is pained matt black like the receiver, but has a rough texture, so im pretty sure its pot metal (first so far). The rear sight is black, and adjusts for elevation and windage. The windage knob is plastic, and has "armalite" engraved on it. And there are MM tick marks on the back of the sight. The elevation knob is metal, and adjusts easy, but the rear sight wobbles around quite a bit. The rear sight also has two aperatures like the real thing, for close and long ranges.

Looking down the sight:


Carry handle removed:


The upper and lower recievers are very nice. They fit together snugly, and have no wobble, or spacing. I am pretty sure they are aluminum, but im pretty sure they are not pot metal, as the metal has a very good texure and look to it. The paint is also very durable.

dust cover open:

notice the shiny bolt cover, that bothered me, as the real thing has a black bolt carrier..so I painted it:p


The dust cover is held closed by a magnet, like the proline series. The charging handle has no function, but to make you smile. It makes a nice metallic 'clack' when you pull and release it.


The trademarks are not engraved, but painted on with gray paint. They don't stand out really well, but I actually like it that way. They are the standard Armalite trades... armalite logo, "Carbine 5.56mm," "M15A4," and the unique serial number.


The rest of the trades:

Ejection port cover side:


The selector switch is metal, and moves smoothly, and clicks very well into positon. The safety also works well.
The magazine fits very well into the mag well, and locks in with only a little effort. Also, the mags come out really smoothly, and you don't even have to pull the mag to get it out, just hit the mag release. The mag also has very little wobble in the mag well
The stock Magazine is a std. CA high cap (300 rounds). It feels flawlessly.


The grip is made of nylon fiber, and had no wobble at all, and has a really good texture.

Also, it has a metal, adjustable, heatsink motor plate:


The buffer tube is made of steel, and is painted very nicely. The stock is a five position adjustable stock, and is made of textured ABS plastic. It locks into place really well at all 5 positions, and has little bit of wobble (like all other M4's) It kind of sticks out like a sore thumb, because of the handguard and grip have such a nice texture, and the stock has a shinier plastic texture.
All the way in:

telescoped at 5th position:


The plastic sportlines have had a problem with the metal parts looking used, like the dust cover and carry handle knobs, but the metal version doesn't have that problem. All the metal parts have a very nice matt black finish, this excluding the mag catch and trigger, as they have a "used" metal look.

For exernals, and build quality, Classic Army kick some serious @$$...I give the externals a
9/10. The only reason why I gave it a 9, is that it came with some paint blemishes.
***Note...that the bright spots on the guns finish is just oil from my skin.

This post has been edited by jonathanMP5: Aug 28 2008, 11:35 PM

I shudder whenever I hear the words "Classic Army" and "sportline"
There I was a young airsofter 5 years ago looking to buy his first serious gun...I decided to buy the CA sportline (the old plastic body ones)
The first day I go out to shoot the gears fail on me and I am left with a dud..... I had absoloutly no idea about AEG's at the time so I decide to try and open and end up making it worse and voiding the warrenty....I end up selling the gun for 70 bucks and buying a classic army AK-47 (which thank god has not broken since, even though I sold it 1 year ago I know its still in good condition)
Glad too see other people have had better experiences with it (obviously its a newer version)

Ah the memories..........:)

Well the same really goes with a lot of companies "first model year" offerings. Hell even a majority of car manufacturers have these sort of issues. Office R&D will only tell you so much. The real stress tests are always real field time.