LCT Airsoft finally produced a replica of my favorite weapon. I only say favorite because the AMD-65 was the first weapon I’ve seen as a kid so its image burned into my memory forever. It was long gone by the time I enrolled the Hungarian Army and I had to use the “boring” AK63. Today it is only used by special police and military units. I call it successor because originally this weapon was brought to life for the paratroopers, vehicle operators and officers but law enforcement agencies and almost the entire army also used it.

The first units received their AMD’s in 1965 and soon FEG (the manufacturer) had to deliver more than the first ordered 15,000 units. Karoly Zala (the lead engineer of the AMD project) designed this firearm to be compact and powerful at same time and his team never thought that it would be assigned to regular infantryman. The AMD-65 mechanically equivalent to the AKM-63 and handled the same ammo (7.62x39) but the shorter barrel (89mm shorter) reduced the effective range by 200 meters, and it became less accurate because of the shorter distance between the front and rear sight. FEG changed the compensator and equipped a muzzle brake, which absorbed 30% of the recoil energy so the operator can deliver precise shots without opening the folding-stock. This muzzle brake is one of the things I just simply love about this firearm; the other one is the handguard, which looks quite modern even today. I think I am not the only one who loves this weapon because its name is well known around the world and it is considered a reliable AK variant.



Many other countries equipped their soldiers with AMD-65 and I think it would take quite some time to research how many FEG did sell to countries like Yemen, Georgia, Panama, Lebanon and Afghanistan.

THE WAIT…

I was waiting for this day since I first heard news about Inokatsu releasing a replica. Finally, thanks to LCT Airsoft for the review unit, I can now hold it in my hands and be among the first players in Europe to have one. I am a big fan of airsoft products coming from Taiwan because most Taiwan-based manufacturers produce very detailed high-quality parts. I know that their price is not exactly pocket-friendly, but I always know where to go when I need something reliable.



TESTING…

The gearbox sounds like a TM Ver.3 with a little louder bang on the end of the cycle. The gears and the motor are just as quiet as it is possible. The chrono displayed a 320FPS (using 0.2 Blaster) value which is exactly what I’ve expected. You can still buy the conversion kit if your country or airsoft site has no velocity limitations and you fancy for 420fps with a JG gearbox. The trajectory was relatively straight even without hop-up. I was able to hit targets 35m to 40m away so I don’t think it needs further improvement because it will do the job during CQB. Aiming needs a little practice with this AEG since there is no cheek-pad—only a metal rod—but, this can be a plus for people wearing full-face masks or large goggles. I’ve used G&P 150-round metal AK magazine for the first tests but also I’ve tested JG hi-cap magazine and three different type of ammunition as well. No feeding problems of any type.

Everything is solidly built and there is no sign of pot-metal anywhere, making it bit more than 3kgs in weight. There are lighter AKs around but none of those feel just like the real steel. The whole AEG is just impressive: I really don’t like to disassemble things that work fine but I guess you all want to know what’s inside, so I will break it down for you all the way to them gears. Please remove magazines and batteries before you start any work on your AEG.

THE TAKEDOWN…

If you ever had an AK type AEG then the first few steps will be very familiar.


Push the pin on the back of the receiver and lift/pull the upper cover.


Now you can remove the charging handle with spring.


Undo the screw on the bottom of the pistol grip to remove it. Doing so will let you remove the trigger guard as well, but this step is not necessary to get the gearbox out of the receiver.

Now that the receiver is stripped, we can see the familiar inner barrel mount that comes with Ver. 3 gearboxes. The gearbox cannot be removed while the inner barrel is still mounted, so let’s move to the front end.


There is a lever on the right-hand side of the rear iron sight and you need to lift that up so the gas tube can be pulled out.


There will be a smaller lever on the front-right side of the handguard. Align that one to the correct position and pull it towards the front of the barrel.


The front handguard now can be pulled out of the receiver. Simple design but very practical. The last thing standing in your way is a big block with the rear sight on it.



Undo the two Allen screws on the bottom. You may need a hammer when removing the pin, as I bent the original AK pin remover by the end of this process.



Then slide the piece to the front when you’re done. There are two Allen screws holding the barrel in place so those need to be removed too and the ones right at the front of the gearbox.


Simply pull the barrel out when you’re done and this will expose your inner barrel with hop-up assembly. The barrel is a 6.08mm one but I need to remind you that this average barrel produced impressive groupings with average ammo. The only thing you should be holding in your hand by now  is just the receiver with the gearbox.


Remove the gearbox by taking off the fire selector. Other AKs have a cap on the axle of the fire selector but this one needs to be undone just like a screw. All the steel parts I removed so far are the conversion kit plus the receiver with grips and stock of course. Now I need to find out what LCT put inside the gearbox.

This Ver.3 box is a nice one, near CNC quality. I can clearly spot the plastic bushings from the outside but they are okay for this level. All I know that this box was made in Taiwan and I haven’t received any information about the supplier itself.


I need to remove the fire selector gears and the motor in order to get to the contents of the gearbox. The first familiar part is the pinion gear, which looks like one from a G&P AEG. The full cylinder is unusual for this barrel length but I had no grouping issues and the muzzle velocity wasn’t too low either.


This gearbox can be opened just like any other Version 3. The small dust cover cap behind the trigger also needs to be removed before you start with the screws and the metal slide on the top.


Let’s see the contents.



The sector and middle gear both have a spring on the top and these will allow the gears to run smoother and shimming only required under the gears (with the exception of the motor gear).


The spring is only a bit longer than the gearbox itself and it’s about M/SP 90 or 100 in strength. Please check out the size comparison picture where you can see the spring next to a CA stock spring and a Guarder SP120.


I’ve mentioned the cylinder before, full cylinder (no hole) with chromium coating and it has a plastic cylinder head which has damping material on the inside. This damping material absorbs some of the impact that comes from the aluminum piston head which has eight large holes and is connected to the transparent plastic piston (full teeth, first one metal). The tappet plate is made out of the same transparent plastic material. These were the “conventional” parts in this gearbox but the gears are quite unusual for me and this is the first time I’ve seen anything like this: springs on the gear axles!


The spring guard is plastic but there is a plastic washer on it which acts like a ball bearing and it perfectly does the job with this spring.


The same method was used on the piston head where a plastic billet was used to replace the ball bearing. It is a smart method to replace relatively expensive parts.

CONCLUSION

This is a great development in AEG design if you look at the big picture: The AMD-65 is a great weapon for close quarters and you don’t need too much power there. Just get the conversion kit from LCT and a JG gearbox if you fancy No-FPS-limit games. LCT’s AMD-65 conversion kit is compatible with most of the brands if they were based on TM parts. The included gearbox isn’t the final version and LCT is already developing their gearbox line-up, which will be available soon. There is no problem with the current gearbox and it will probably serve you for ages giving you precise shots straight out of the box.

I had so much fun with this AEG mainly because of the fact that this is the first replica of a firearm originally manufactured in my home country. Another interesting fact is that the quality of the body kit is truly amazing (especially the receiver), a truly authentic look. A small part of the Eastern European history.

I can highly recommend this AEG to anyone who lives “on the land of FPS limit” and bored by the usual AK variants. It can be a good secondary weapon for a sniper if you’re not bothered by the authentic weight and it is also a great primary weapon for any concrete labyrinth. The AMD-65 conversion kit on the other hand could be a killer combo with a JG or Guarder gearbox. Your choice of AMD is available at LCT’s Webshop.