Are airsoft H&K SL8 replicas still a dream?
My absolute dream in airsoft is to have my own SL8 replica, but from what I've been searching it seems like there's no good replica like that?
The two manufacturers that come up the most are Ares and Novritsch with their SL8/SL9/SL10 and SSR63 A3 lines respectively. The problem is that while Ares has very good externals, their internals are proprietary dogshit, for lack of a better word, while Nov has godawful and inaccurate externals and average-at-best internals.
Is there really no SL8 airsoft replica that has accurate externals and at least somewhat decent internals? It also seems that SL8 custom builds with a regular G36 replica as the base are also not possible simply because there aren't any SL8 externals up for sale anywhere.
14 replies
Lol I had one back in the day, well over a decade ago. Even had a polycarbonate body. Loved the thing. Had your standard Gen 3 GB and all
It wouldn't be too hard to 3d print parts and kitbash an existing gun into it. Given what I remember of airsoft, the 3d printer would be cheaper than the gun and you'd end up with a piece worth bragging about.
This was my thought as well. It seems you could use the G36 of your choice as the base and bodge on the upper rail, stock, and so forth.
I will say this, though, if OP is worried about the finish quality of the external parts: Getting a factory looking finish on those big plastic pieces is going to be very difficult with 3D printed parts and require a ton of postprocessing.
Yeah, I think if I were really planning on a factory perfect look I'd go with extra walls and ABS. That way you could slurry dip all the pieces to remove lines and chemical bond them together for stability. It's actually a lot easier than sanding or bondo, but the tradeoff is fumes and acitone so it's not a perfect option.
I was surprised at how easy it is doing the bondo and sanding. It just works, yea it's a bit of work but it's not to bad.
Honestly yeah, it's my go to for a lot of different projects. That said, I find you can get a near factory finish with abs, including textures you can't print, without any changes in weight or sanding work using slurry and nonbinding materials to transfer the texture.
I really would love for there to be an airsoft community here.
Personally I really want an L85-A3 (british assault rifle) but with HPA.
Currently running an MTW Wolverine M4, but everyone has an M4....
There is one, but it's not very active.
![email protected]
I posted my Luger to it a while ago. I should probably post more, but there are always other projects. Alas.
Thanks ๐
What is your budget and what country are you in?
This may be a longshot but you could reach out to Tommybuilt Tactical.
Since HK historically doesn't sell semi-auto G36 rifles to the US civilian market, Tommybuilt takes civilian model SL8s and modifies them with HK parts and his own clone-correct replica parts to make "close enough" G36 copies for civilians in the US.
All that to say, he might have a junk drawer of SL8 parts. It is worth asking if he would modify a quality airsoft G36 to meet your needs. It would be "externally accurate" because it would be real HK parts.
Note: I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice. Check your national and local laws to see if it would be legal for you to import an airsoft gun that features some "real" gun parts such as the rails, furniture, etc.
Haha, good referral, but this is for airsoft.
I understand. The parts to "convert" a G36 to a SL8 are basically the furniture, not functional gun parts. If the host airsoft G36 is accurately replicated from the real G36, the specs should be compatible or close to it. The main SL8 pieces:
The front handguard furniture (basically a fiberglass/nylon shroud going over the barrel assembly)
The SL8 buttstock (incorporated into the receiver on a real SL8, but a removed "real" stock could maybe be kit-bashed together with the host airsoft G36 receiver? This would be the hardest part of the build, might require JBweld and sanding and re-staining to match)
The monolithic top rail with the sights. If the spacing is the same (or close to the same) on an airsoft G36 as a real G36, you should be able to affix the "real" rail to the airsoft gun. I believe it is a few screws in the rear and a nylon pin in the front where it attaches to the front handguard and barrel assembly.
The choices are: get real SL8 parts, 3D print or manufacture your own replica SL8 parts, or maybe get a garbage-tier airsoft SL8 (I think Cyma or another Chinese manufacturer used to make a very low quality SL8 AEG? Can't remember) and harvest the parts from that, to kitbash onto the quality airsoft G36. I'm guessing that option would require almost as much custom modification as using real SL8 gun parts. So really the limiting factors are OPs budget and manufacturing skill.
Edit: Rereading OPs post, it would probably be cheaper to buy both a Ares and a Novritsch SL8 and kludge the good internals into the accurate exterior furniture. Double the cost of one AEG but likely cheaper than my above suggestion.
Oh I get what you're saying. Good point to get exact parts vs replicas. But yeah.. Pricing lol.