WE HK416, from ordering to testing!

[James_Bond]

After only a month into the sport i decided that i did not like my G&P M16 for the following reasons...
Grip was too thick.
Trigger Lag.
Sound was like the thing was grinding itself to hell.
Automatic shooting was like something out of a PC game with an unlimited ammo hack on.

Yes i know i could have got midcaps and all that but hey ho, here we are. So last week i decided to look for something different, something that would satisfy myself. I gave myself the following brief to work with.

Armalight Series.
TAN.
Realcaps.
Weight.
Durability.
And finally something less than £400

After many hours of searching mosfet's, lipo's and all of that stuff i still was not satisfied. I gave myself a break and loaded an email from a friend i had not seen since our time at Sandhurst. The mail was directing me to a YouTube link showing a fit girl firing a minimi out in the states. After watching this i looked down the right side of the YouTube and saw the following 'WE M4 airsoft review' I had never heard of WE before and decided to click on it. After watching the movie i was rather impressed...
The next day my mind was set on the WE series. Not many reviews were out, and the ones that were gave a mixed view. However i decided to take the plunge!
I will not break forum rules by listing the retailer but if you must know text me using the number on my contact info profile page. This site in HK looked genuine and seemed good value so i placed an order for the WE HK416 in TAN and also 4 extra magazines in CO2. (Total 5 as 1 Green GAS magazines comes with the gun)
The Order was placed on the 19th and the next day I received a mail in good English asking for my UKARA details. So I handed this over and on the 20th I received another email telling me that my goods had been dispatched. I paid and extra $14 for TNT delivery which I will say now was the best £14 I have EVER spent. Right more on the delivery later. Photo Alpha below is a screenshot on the TNT tracking info for my package which clearly shows the route my gun took)

I mentioned above that paying an extra $14 for shipping by TNT was the best $14 I have EVER spent. Well I truly mean it. As you can see during the shipping path my gun was selected for customs clearance on the 23rd. That morning at 9am I was awoken by a call from TNT requesting I send them by email a photo of my UKARA card, and a letter explaining why I was importing the gun into the UK. I sent them this which was passed on to Manchester. (More on customs later)
The next day I received a call from my TNT shipment manager to say that my gun had cleared customs and the gun would be sent out the next day. This morning I woke up early to make sure I would catch the TNT guy and decided to check the tracking detail. I was rather annoyed to find that it was still in stansted and began to think about using my crappy G&P this Sunday. I called my TNT shipment manager and she said for me to stay by my phone and she will ring within 10mins. 5mins later she rang and apologised for the delay, she also told me that she had arranged for my gun to be collected from Stansted airport within the hour and sent down to me in Southampton within 4hourse. I was amazed. I honestly couldn’t believe that this was happening. (Parcleforce would have told me that they are sorry for the delay but my package will have to wait till Monday.) I thanked my TNT manager and went on my way. At 12pm (less than 4hours later I had a knock on the door) I thought it was the postman but standing there was a guy with an airsoft size box in his hand. We exchanged the package for my sig and I thanked him greatly. Even he was apologetic about the delay, but I sent him on his way with a piece of chocolate cake and a cup of coffee. I highly recommend TNT as they provide by far the most professional, reliable service. They excelled their 10TNT promises for me and I can’t say how much I value them as a courier now.

Some other reasons to choose TNT…
0800 number (no phone charges)
No BS operators who are down to ground, helpful, willing and dam right worth their salaries.)
Once you raise a question with the shipment- you will be assigned a shipment manager. This person will give you their extension number and will be available to contact between 8am-4pm.
They will contact you each day to advise on the status of your parcel.
No 3week customs processing delay as some courier is experiencing at this time
Call centres open from 5am-12pm- these operators are also quite knowledgeable and are willing to find out all they can.

Before I continue with the gun I would like to take the opportunity to explain in detail the customs part. After reading quite a bit of info about customs on here, I think that it needs clarifying.
When a shipment comes into the U.K. It is TNT who places it through the first line of tests. This includes X-Ray, and HK customs documentation checking. This is where your package either goes through the net, or gets stopped. The first step is for TNT to open it up and take a look. They will then submit a customs declaration form dependent on the good’s and the value. They will at this point, contact you and ask for: A photo of your UKARA card. (Just the number is no good for them any more) a letter explaining why you are importing the goods and also anything else that will help convince customs officials that you are not going to go and hold up a bank etc. Once TNT receive this info from you (the airsofter) they will fax it off to customs in MANCHESTER (don’t ask why?) for them to decide how much to charge (import duty) and also if the parcel should be inspected by a Customs agent. From there they will fax back to TNT in Stansted to say yay or nay. During the process of this customs agents at Stansted also come round to the TNT depot at the air hub, to check on TNT and to spot check some packages. From their they can size anything back to customs. If this happens it is then completely out of TNT’s control and you will be required to communicate directly to customs. Manchester can also ask Stansted customs to seize any packages (say… if you give them false UKARA details etc.) Most of us moan and say that customs are slow as a tortious however most delays come where the courier can’t get the information required to customs quickly, they them blame customs which is far from the case most of the time. If you need any clarification of any of this please PM me.
In my info I submitted to TNT, was the following…
A letter explaining airsoft and why I am importing the gun, If you want to see this I will post a copy but please don’t copy it word for word as it WILL p1ss off the customs guys, give the government a reason to hate us And I may get a call from the police.
A photo of my and the guys airsofting.
My UKARA card photograph.
A copy of the application form I had to complete for UKARA.
And I also printed them the order confirmation I have from the HK retailer.

In my view the more you provide to them the quicker they will clear the item.

Below is some useful numbers if you are using TNT.

0800100600- TNT support centre. (Dial the ext. number to connect to your TNT shipment manager.)
01279681234- TNT Stansted Hub. (These are the guys who will deal with customs processing etc.)
01279680670- Customs Stansted (Call them if your item is seized)

Now onto the gun…

You will have to wait until Monday after I have had a chance to field test it. But after initial tests in the garden I can tell it is going to be GOOD!!!!
Hope this starts you all off, and I also hope this is informative and useful. This is my first review and possibly the longest thing I have written since I left college so please forgive me if I can’t spell etc.

Bugger, I have posted in the wrong section, mods can you help me out here please?

[Apurturesci]

Re: FULL REVIEW- WE HK416, from ordering to testing!

Nice review, but might this be more suitable in the review section?

EDIT: Ah, you saw :3 Nice review anyway, I really fancy a GBBR sometimes.

[hellbound]

Re: FULL REVIEW- WE HK416, from ordering to testing!

Work for TNT at all?

[Panoptes]

Re: FULL REVIEW- WE HK416, from ordering to testing!

Work for TNT at all?

Lol!

[cornishpotshot]

Re: FULL REVIEW- WE HK416, from ordering to testing!

I still say my best courier are fedex, haven't ever put a foot wrong with me

[LtPurcy]

Re: FULL REVIEW- WE HK416, from ordering to testing!

TNT is really good for me..so good even we have a van sits across the road everyday! its like he has a teleporter machine for packages for the area and then bomb! here you go!..either that or its because he stalks a girl in the flats near by.

[James_Bond]

Re: WE HK416, from ordering to testing!

cheers, guys and no i dont wrok for TNT. I am just amazed by their service. Drop back here monday for the field review.

[Genista]

Re: WE HK416, from ordering to testing!

Looking forward to the update. I really do try to forget that the excellent 416 is based on an Armalite...
One question though, the way the review reads, you've been airsofting for a month and have a UKARA registration.....how does that work?

[James_Bond]

Re: WE HK416, from ordering to testing!

i mean been airsofting with my own kit for a month mate, whilst in the process of getting the 3games in etc. i was using rentals Got my UKARA stamped off mid January.

[Genista]

Re: WE HK416, from ordering to testing!

And answered...

[cornishpotshot]

Re: WE HK416, from ordering to testing!

if this doesn't live up to your expectations (although it should) or you want to make it even better, WE will soon release the open bolt kit for the m4 type series, meaning less cooldown, more kick and higher reliability - the open bolt has done magic in the scar, G39c and PDW

[izza]

Re: WE HK416, from ordering to testing!

Judging by the lack of a follow up, can we assume it wasn't as impressive as expected?

[cornishpotshot]

Re: WE HK416, from ordering to testing!

He couldnt use it cos of some crazy rules at his local site, so flogged it...

[Panoptes]

Re: WE HK416, from ordering to testing!

Oh dear. Epic fail then, roops?