WE L85a2 review.

[tisane]

Necro posting here because I'm a terrible forum user.

Tisane, how has it held up for you?, I'm looking into getting one of these for the summer but would like to know -
Are the WE mags any good? (ie. gas tight, tough etc.)
How tough is the gun as a whole for skirmishing
What differences does it have compared to an AEG in terms of BB ballistics
and, should I go second hand or brand spankin' new?

Thanks

The L85 I presume still ships with the V1 mag so eventually you are going to get the eventual leaking main seal, when that happens just buy a V2 conversion kit, they are around £17 if you can find them and you won't have any problems with it, even if you do its just a case of simple round o'rings instead of that stupid proprietary back seal on the V1 mags.
As a brand new out of the box gun it is not really skimishable, your mock bolt will fall out, your recoil guide rod securing pins will fall out and your bolt guide rod holes will close up after a few hundred rounds, jamming the bolt every time you fire a shot.
Obviously spending a little time beforehand correcting these faults will make it a rock solid gun for a days skirmish.
If you were to buy I'd get the best deal you can and spend any money you have left over on upgrades to the trigger mech, my one is a huge £400 paperweight right now because of a fault between the hammer and the valve locker that I can't seem to solve with standard parts, so in between buying new guns I'm saving up for a full RA-tech steel trigger set in a last ditch effort to get her fully working again.
You could spend a fortune either way, if you buy new you will be compelled to throw another around £200 on modifying it externally to look just right, then after about 8-10k rounds (if you still have it) you will probably need to upgrade/replace some if not all of the trigger parts.
2nd hand they are usually already done to an extent externally but to me seem overpriced, so depending on how many rounds its previous owner has thrown through it will depend on how long it is before you need to work on its insides.
Catch 22 I'm afraid

[Stickybomb]

Re: WE L85a2 review.

Thanks :D

Do any other companies make a GBB L85?
I'm just fed up of airsoft guns not actually being decent out of the box, if I went out and got a new car and had a put in a new engine i wouldn't just keep it and say "oh that just how it is with cars".
sigh.

[tisane]

No mate just WE

[Stickybomb]

Re: WE L85a2 review.

So despite the problems with the WE L85, would you recommend it over a G&G/Ares for me?
I'd rather have a gun which doesn't need extra bits putting into it just to get it to function like it should.

[tisane]

If you want it to work, and work well over time I'd have to say either ICS or Ares AEG.
If you don't mind the minor niggles, pouring money into it and playing around with it to get it just right then the WE is the one for you.

[Olphy]

Re: WE L85a2 review.

But ultimately they'll still just be AEGs and will have their own faults, at least with a GBB if it stops firing you don't need to spend an hour stripping the gearbox down, I can have most of my GBBs stripped to their component parts in under 10 minutes.

Tinkering and maintenance is all part of the fun.

[Airsoft-Ed]

Re: WE L85a2 review.

I've been thinking of getting one for a while, but I'd buy the one from a certain Qactical Tuartermaster that comes pre-fitted with ALL the RA Tech upgrades, do you reckon it'd be any more worth owning then?

The RA-Tech version comes pre-fitted with:
RA Precision inner barrel 6.01 (510MM)
RA steel CNC hammer
RA steel CNC sear
RA steel CNC trigger
RA WE L85 Steel bolt carrier
RA Hop Rubber
RA NPAS Valve

Which sounds like it would fix all the problems everyone has had with the stock WE version, apart from the bolt release falling off.

[tisane]

Ohhh its 100% worth buying it all pre upgraded if you have the dosh for it.

Would make it a much more reliable gun in the long term.

[Airsoft-Ed]

Re: WE L85a2 review.

Now that's interesting...

I think I'll get saving.

[markeeeey]

Re: WE L85a2 review.

Will a real steel R.I.S fit on? and will it require any modding at all.

[tisane]

The modifying to fit it is more hassle than its worth mate.

You would be much better off simply buying a Hornbill conversion kit from Asia if you already have the RS RIS or buying a clone with conversion from over here if you haven't already got the RS RIS.