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Vyking's ICS GLM Review

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  • Vyking's ICS GLM Review

    Instigated by Mr Kang's post and the fact I am currently fiddling around with my own GLM, I have decided to grace the Z1 forums with some observations on the GLM. Forgive me if I ramble but I'm trying to get as much info out there are possible.

    The revolver grenade launcher obviously has its advantages in CQB for room clearing and even suppressive fire. And if you are going to have one, you might as well trick it out with a stock, aimpoint and decent foregrip and use it as a primary. A reputable online retailer had a custom model in metal but pulled it from their site before I could scrounge up the funds to accquire it. The only other option was the GLM which I had dismissed as a little ugly compared to my original dream launcher, but a second look and an examination of the pricetag (fully a third of the metal one) and weight considerations resulted in me purchasing it from Z1 the moment it came out.


    Unlike most revolver lauchers on the market, the GLM is made entirely of polymer, thus lessening the weight and the cost. When fully loaded, this is still quite a heavy piece of kit, slightly more hefty than your average AEG. Most of the weight is of course in the cylinder, I use cheap plastic 40mm shells for the most part so the weight is somewhat lessened in that regard. The only metal parts are the sling mounts, trigger spring, screws and presumably some of the internals.

    The extendable stock is somewhat flimsy when fully extended, being a tube of hollow plastic but it looks the part and provides a comforting stability when posing/aiming the GLM. The eight inch barrel is nicely solid however, that comes with a heatshield arrangement studded with more RIS that you can find use for: I mean, a torch alright but you aren't going to need a laser or any other bling. The GLM comes with a plastic, slide-on foregrip as standard which does the job admirably. There is one issue with the foregrip which I shall address later. Finally there is a small scope rail above the cylinder. There are also ready-mounted QD sling swivels on the barrel and body of the laucher, these are metal.

    Again, as if trying to make any break with the revolver laucher clan even greater, the loading mechanism for the GLM is different. There is a hook-shaped latch release that protrudes from the front of the cylinder. Holding the foregrip, the operator uses their thumb to pull the latch forward. Then, by swinging the cylinder out to the left, one exposes the breech. This is touted as being exactly the same as the GLM's real-steel counterpart, the Milkor MGL 32. The cylinder is wound anti-clockwise to create tension for firing. All the moving parts of this weapon are mounted in the front of the cylinder, securely hidden away from any tinkering. Somehow, I have discovered you can still revolve the cylinder when it is open but obviously, as the striker is located above the pistol-grip and therefore not in contact with the breech, there is no risk of accidental discharge.

    This first GLM actually had to be sent back as the catch that holds the cylinder under tension would fail and allow the entire cylinder to revolve in one big crunch after the first trigger pull. After a quick replacement by Z1 I took the GLM off to Bunker 51 for a little CQB field test. I had mounted a cheap aimpoint red-dot and a Viper 3-point sling. (see pictures)

    There were a lot of comments from both rentals and regulars, which is what you want from a piece of kit as extravagant as this. There were some great moments too, the most memorable being leaning round a corner to fire off a shell at a crouching figure 3m away and hearing the shout of "HIT! WHAT THE F*** WAS THAT?!"

    Initial skirmishing impressions were not good however. I'll admit that playing for the first time in Bunker 51 might have been slightly misguided but there was also a major technical fault. Inexplicably, a trigger pull would fail to engage the mechanism correctly, leaving me with a half-revolved cylinder and exposed to enemy fire at very close range. There are two remedies to this, neither of which are 100% certain:
    1) Repeatedly pull the trigger, firmly but with a little speed to unblock the mechanism.
    2) Rewind the cylinder and try method #1 again
    both of which I would reccommend doing in cover and not while you are facing full auto at a maximum of 10m.

    It just seems to be that the gears or whatever (I'm not as technical as some) fail to fully lock and therefore only commit part of the requisite power to the revolving mechanism.

    What I have found, based on further skirmish experience that will be detailed below, is that if you use two fingers to pull the trigger smoothly and easily in a firm manner, 90% of the time you will get a clean shot. Yet in the heat of battle you are liable to forget such things and react suddenly.

    I also took this launcher to Elite Battlezone in Bexley. On that day I was also testing out a new GL-06 which I may review later. The GL-06 didn't like my cheap Chinese 40mm shells but on that day the GLM loved them. I poured clouds of bbs through doorways, down stairwells and along corridors. It barely misfired and nothing a quick love tap to the frame wouldn't sort. The striker positioning on the GLM coupled with how the shells are held in the cylinder mean that it can handle the slightly stiffer valves of Chinese shells easier. I got a good number of kills on that day.

    Reloading is obviously a tricky affair. I usually wait until I'm back in the respawn point before doing it but if you are locked in a firefight here is what Vyking reccommends:

    Sit or squat down in good cover, preferably away from pyros.
    Empty the cylinder into your lap by upending it.
    Load the cylinder with fresh shells and wind it up.
    Place all empty shells in dump pouches
    Get stuck in

    Maintaing this laucher is easy- you don't. A bit of screw tightening, a few drops of lubricant down the hole from which the striker protrudes but the rest of the goodies are securely locked away inside the front end of the cylinder.

    I have discovered, through use that there are flaws in the build of this otherwise fun launcher. At time of writing, two rails have now come off. One was the scope rail which was of neglible use, the screws holding it on were drilled straight into the plastic so they came away pretty easily after a tiny bit of bumping about. The most frustrating is the foregrip rail: this started to come loose and further inspection showed that the screws that hold the rail into the heatshield/RIS frame around the barrel are held on by small metal nuts, one of which had stripped and vanished. The thing is that you can't replace the nut because the heatshield it is mounted on is moulded as part of the barrel so you can't get under there to replace the nut. Now I am a very careful person, particularly when it comes to my guns so the durability of said rail is therefore in question. I now have decided to repurpose my GLM as the most awesome sidearm owing to its new lack of pointability.

    NEVERTHELESS: This launcher can offset the costs incurred by investing in 40mm shells with its low price. It is lightweight, a great CQB weapon, with good potential as a sidearm or a primary. It shoots well most of the time and is quite easy to reload considering the undertaking. It also looks the sh*t and will put fear into the opposition during briefings. I would like to see some improvements on the build quality and am interested to see how the test of time will treat it but otherwise it is a good weapon for the aspiring grenadier who has no access to metalworking facilities and a tight budget.

    Hope this helps.

    Vyking
    Last edited by Vyking; 26 April, 2011, 18:41. Reason: Pics and wanted to add in some tags... oh well :D

  • #2
    Re: Vyking's ICS GLM Review

    Thanks very much mate! Didnt expect one to come up so quickly!

    I may stick some super glue under the ris foregrip just to stiffen it up a bit....stick some glue in places where you cant see it.

    Oh btw mate, that problem you were talking about where the cylinder doesnt cycle fully and your left with half a loaded shell? This can easily be fixed by loosening the screw beneath the cylinder.(check some youtube reveiws for reference). It loosens the spring in the cylinder and so allows you to cycle the cylinder twice over, meaning you wont get that problem .

    Looking forward to recieving mine!

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    • #3
      Re: Vyking's ICS GLM Review

      Nice review, how many times do you tend to wind the cylinder as I have heard overwinding them breaks it easily?
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      Armoury:Tm mp5/Ics m16/Spartac AK74U/Spartac AK pistol/m56c/Hfc m190/Tm m9 tactical master/Armourer works HX11/Dynatex BFG

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      • #4
        Re: Vyking's ICS GLM Review

        I'd suggest no more than two revolutions of the whole cylinder. As that has the potential for placing too much stress on the spring mechanisms. I love mine by the way. :D
        There's a scammer operating openly on this forum. Please be aware of who you're dealing with.

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        • #5
          Re: Vyking's ICS GLM Review

          Thanks for that. Also thinking of removing the stock temporarily but worried there won't be enough support for the rear sling swivel when fully loaded.
          sigpic
          Armoury:Tm mp5/Ics m16/Spartac AK74U/Spartac AK pistol/m56c/Hfc m190/Tm m9 tactical master/Armourer works HX11/Dynatex BFG

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          Vyking Film & TV Armourer Find out more about Vyking
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