Celcius CTW MX-2 CQBR (Gen3) Review / Overview

[Rainbow6]

So, this is my first review (more of a brief overview really) that I have undertaken and its done so due to there not being that much information about these guns available at the moment for users. This isnt meant to be a nitty gritty review but more of an informal update on the gun. I will try and update this over the coming months, however feel free to ask any questions you have, it might be a bit of a mish mash information but hopefully it will cover off some of the basics that people might like to know about this gun.

First of all some of the key features of this

• 6.00mm Sniper Grade Reformation Barrel II (Stainless Steel) with unique Pressure Balancing System
• Upgraded stainless steel air nozzle fitted
• Muzzle Velocity: 330-350 FPS with an M90 Spring (fitted as standard)
• Gear Box: CTW Planetary Gearbox
• Motor: CELCIUS 495 Motor
• Magazine: 120 Rounds High Speed Magazine
• CNC manufactured Steel Outer Barrel
• Steel Outer Case Magazine
• Reinforced Polycarbonate Piston
• Military Grade Hand guard and Stock
• Weapon Length: 620-800mm
• Barrel Length: 285mm
• Weight: 3300g

Let me say that I was torn about getting this, both from the perspective that there seemed to be negative press and the fact that I love my TM recoils, in fact I sold my 1 month old Recce rifle to fund this (madness some might say). This is a version 3 (mx-2) and this one seems to have most of the issues ironed out, although it does come with a 12 month warranty in case of any issues, you also get an upgraded stainless steel air nozzle as standard (UK) and after 12 months you can send it back to the distributor (via the shop) who will undertake a free service for you.

I bought this from one of the airsoft shops in the midlands, what a place, great service and the fact that I bought the gun with an extra mag, 11.1v 1300 lipo and 4k madbull 0.25's for £685. It should have been approx £720 but they knocked 5% off for me as it was my first order. When I arrived to collect they had charged the battery and as they had run out of the 4k bags of Mabull's replaced them at no extra charge with 2 x 3k tubs of blaster's.

I went to the instore range and fired her up and my face just lit up (Systema owners will know all about this). I thought I might miss my recoil but this gun feels so much better, in a word it just feels right. In fact I still have my Socom recoil but wanted to use this more when I played at the weekend.

Out of the box I was surprised as the receiver was gun metal grey and being used to black receivers I was a little thrown but I love the look. The gun comes with the standard M4 handguards and there was zero wobble with these and there was no wobble anywhere else on the gun, everything fits nice and is well put together, the stock is well made and the shiny buffer tube is just lovely and to be honest this was one of the features that I love about the CTW / PTW guns.

Weight wise and dimensions, it's certainly heavier and when you hold the gun it just feels more real than a TM or G&P but then that's what you are paying for.

Trigger response is crisp and very quick, I can't compare to a systema but its so much better than normal AEG's and was quicker than AEG's at my local site that had mosfet's installed. It just seems to whirrr into action and is very smooth.

This gun has a blue LED light in that flashes when your lipo is low, in actual fact it stops fireing just before the lower limit which is a great feature as this happened to me on Sunday so not only does it flash but in case you are in mid fire fight (like I was) then it will cut out to not risk damaging any of the gun or the battery. The gun stops when the mag is empty, however you dont need to hit the bolt release when you have a fresh mag in. I must admit I miss this feature but apparently there is a magazine mod you can do so this works, apparently it works with the Vanaras mags so its certainly doable

The barrel is 6.00 and is one serious tightbore, some might say overkill and they may be right but its included in the price so who am I to argue, not a single jam with approx 700-800 rounds so far and as long as you keep the barrel clean and you use good quality bb's then you should have no issues. FPS wise, I didnt get chance to chrono, however have been informed that its about the 330 mark.

Hop wise, this is done via an allen key in the magwell and is fiddly but once done its sorted, range is great, especially in short controlled bursts when you rattle of half a dozen rounds.

Some people may say that there is a certain stigma to one of these but for me airsoft is about getting kit that you like and that works within your own budget. If I had the money I would probably get a Systema as these seem to be the more refined of the two guns but this seems to come close and for the money its a solid buy in my view that you cant argue with and its better than most other guns anyway.

I have put pictures below and I have replaced the handguard with a RIS rail (just a basic one until I can afford a Madbull or something) and will finish it with some tan Larue index clips, tan VLTOR stock and an M600 flashlight as soon as they arrive.

In terms of comparison with other guns then this sits between a TM recoil and a Systema (as reflected in pricing), this is simply because its just shy of Systema quality but a touch better than a TM recoil, although I appreciate that some prefer these and I can see why people do as the recoils are great guns.

If you fancy a PTW then you could do worse that one of these, especially with the 12 month warranty and service at 12 month point thrown in for free. Of course this is early days and I only shoot once a month and alternate between 2 guns so it should last a while, not sure what it would be like if it was used 2-3 times a month but would certainly recommend it based on quality and features for the price

[madwelshman]

Re: Celcius CTW MX-2 CQBR (Gen3) Review / Overview

Its a titanium cylinder air nozzle

Glad your liking it (we sold another 3 seals kits today!! thats £1300 each!!)

Really appreciate such an honest review, its not a systema, and nor does it cost as much as a systema, not even half! but nor do you have to spend money "fixing them" with tac mods before you even use them....

I'd rather save my money and pimp my celcius!

[Rainbow6]

Re: Celcius CTW MX-2 CQBR (Gen3) Review / Overview

Its a titanium cylinder air nozzle

Glad your liking it (we sold another 3 seals kits today!! thats £1300 each!!)

Really appreciate such an honest review, its not a systema, and nor does it cost as much as a systema, not even half! but nor do you have to spend money "fixing them" with tac mods before you even use them....

I'd rather save my money and pimp my celcius!

A great touch to have the upgrade as standard, very true that its half the price (after Tac mods) and nice that you can get a quality PTW/CTW for that price and im with you about saving the money for pimping with goodies

[Themistocles]

Re: Celcius CTW MX-2 CQBR (Gen3) Review / Overview

So how has it been since mate?

[madwelshman]

Re: Celcius CTW MX-2 CQBR (Gen3) Review / Overview

Here's the big news!

Buy a new "team alpha" Mx2 for £495!!!! a ctw for less than £500!!!! Only difference is a recycled metal body, rather than mil spec.. still many times stronger than standard aeg's, and a 3 month warranty, rather than 12 month, lets face it, its in the first three months you iron out any niggles with your new gun! any longer and its usually down to user error! lol

[loki7491]

Re: Celcius CTW MX-2 CQBR (Gen3) Review / Overview

"Team Alpha" already on pre-order with the 3rd burst ECU.

Between that and my "Regular" CTW i think i should have all bases covered!

[CK]

Re: Celcius CTW MX-2 CQBR (Gen3) Review / Overview

Wait I want to pre-order, unfortunately due to forum rules you can't tell me the shop that are pre ordering... 5th May for the Team Alpha version, I want one!

[mightyjebus]

Re: Celcius CTW MX-2 CQBR (Gen3) Review / Overview

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one of these and seeing how it performs. I've owned around 8 ptw's so far (currently running 4 - XM177, L119A1, SPR and M16A4).
I've had a look at the website and apart from a bad selling point (listing things that are sub par seems a bit daft to me) they don't seem too bad.
The flash hider and front sight are lower quality metal (on PTW's you can have steel or allumi ones for different prices so I can't see the CTW ones being that bad plus they don't really suffer much abuse)
The outer barrel is listed as cheaper metal and again not really an issue plus if it breaks a Vanaras one is a cheap steel replacement.
the carry handle (does anyone actually use these?)
the magazine case - the systema cases are too heavy and when i carry 8 or 10 of them my chest rig weights a tonne. I'd most likely run Pmags anyway.
the last two parts are my only concern, well actually only one of them but the both are part of the receiver. the upper shouldn't be a problem as they don't really suffer abuse from usage however I have concerns about the lower. the way the CTW/PTW is designed the stock pipe screws into the back of the lower just like the real thing. falling over and landing on the CTW could crack the lower receiver where the stock screws in. This is also true of PTW's but using a decent grade allumi will be stronger than a cheaper metal. BTW i'm not saying it will break on the CTW as I don't have one to see how good or bad the metal quality is.
A new CTW lower will set you back just under 100 quid so it's not massively expensive to replace but would you put on the same type if it broke? Maybe an aftermarket lower would be a better solution if it turns out to be a weak point.
it comes with a 6.00mm inner barrel. does anyone have any experience of running a barrel that tight in a CTW. The PTW can be a pain in the albatross when it comes to tightbores and different ammo (BTW excel .23's are probably the best ammo for a PTW in my experience).

Overall it looks like a good starter CTW however I know if I buy one (which I will) that i'm still going to spunk money on it. The parts list will be - A KA RIS unit (I get them for about 120 quid), a different pistol grip as I hate the bump on the M4 grips, an optic to replace the carry handle, possibly a G&P black stock pipe as the PTW/CTW silver stock pipes look pants and lastly maybe a replacement stock.
I'm all for a cheaper reliable replacement to the PTW as 3 of the 4 PTW's I currently have are completely built from scratch and if the CTW bits work just as well and are a lot cheaper then building different AR variants will be a lot cheaper for me. The other selling point for me will be the availability of spare parts. Anyone who has worked on PTW's will know that finding replacement parts is sometimes near impossible. The larger parts like barrels, cylinders etc are usually not a problem but finding small springs and pins for PTW's can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

[systema PTW SOPMOD]

Re: Celcius CTW MX-2 CQBR (Gen3) Review / Overview

Just want to point out the Tac mods are NOT necessary
You get great performance on Systemas without (although they are great mods)

[CK]

Re: Celcius CTW MX-2 CQBR (Gen3) Review / Overview

Anyway, Rainbow are these +ve threaded barrels like systema, or -ve?

[loki7491]

Re: Celcius CTW MX-2 CQBR (Gen3) Review / Overview

My "regular" CTW is a "lefty loosy, righty tighty" flash eliminator.

[Rainbow6]

Re: Celcius CTW MX-2 CQBR (Gen3) Review / Overview

Sorry CK, as above, also known as + or CW I believe, which is a bastard as I want to throw a JP rifles flash hider on mine but can only find CCW ones, might get a rebar for it but will hold off in the hope I can source the JP one

[CK]

Re: Celcius CTW MX-2 CQBR (Gen3) Review / Overview

Awesome, cheers

[adam666]

Re: Celcius CTW MX-2 CQBR (Gen3) Review / Overview

you can get madbull thread adaptors clockwise to counter clockwise from the same place as you get your celcius's from....