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RedWolf Airsoft VFC AK-105 Review

OptimusPrime

It is most often a sign of success, when a very small amount of modifications are made to an existing design when time passes. The Avtomat Kalashnikova 47 is a prime example of this, having recently reached the age of 60 years. Even with the most modern variants you can still recognize the origin with ease, and most parts are strikingly similar - if not directly interchangeable.

While the most obvious cosmetic difference has been the change from wood furniture to polymer and an increased selection of calibers (5.45, 5.56 in addition to the original 7.62), on the inside the modernized AK has gone through a minute design change, which lowered the weight of moving parts to reduce recoil.

One example of the modern 100-series is the AK-105, which is designed to replace the AKS-74U, sharing the same 5.45mm caliber. It would appear that the latter model has been found to be a tad short, which affects the effectiveness of the weapon too much to operator's liking. As a result a decision was made to increase the barrel length a bit, and the gas piston in these weapons is a full length one to increase compatibility with the full length AK-74M. The weapon is still very compact and easy to manipulate inside vehicles thanks to the short barrel and folding stock.

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FROM VFC TO FANS OF THE AK

Vega Force Company speak highly of their AK series, saying that their AKs are the Perfect Version built especially for players who love the AK series. Based on specifications the claim is entirely plausible: Stamped steel receiver, CNC-machined one piece outer barrel, and a 7mm gearbox with steel gears and a reinforced polymer piston inside. VFC mentions a round-count of over 10 000 shots, but in practice we've seen these high quality AEGs run easily for three to five times that amount before parts have become worn enough that a replacement is due.

The VFC AK-105 is packed in a typical AEG box with colorful prints and styrofoam insides to hold the weapon in place. When lifting it out of the box, you can't help being impressed: Even though we have had the pleasure of seeing lots of quality Airsoft models over the years, handling a particularly well made one never gets old. A real AK-105 was out of our reach for comparison, but based on experience with the AK-103, the look and feel of the VFC AK-105 can be said to be extremely close to its real counterpart.

The AEG can be stripped like the real thing. Rock solid joint between the receiver and one-piece outer barrel.

Russian standard scope mount rail allows you to use a variety of surplus sights. Note realistic markings.

EXTERIOR

VFC have special expertice working with metals, which includes not only forming the parts, but also the finish. The VFC AK series have a stamped steel receiver - just like the real thing - with an electric coating called CED, which stands for Cathode ElectroDeposition. It is an advanced special coating against corrosion, and widely used in the automobile industry. Not only is the finish expected to be durable, but it also looks great. As for the markings, it is best that you just see the pics!

If the receiver main piece sets the standard high, the rest of the AEG keeps up easily. The one-piece CNC-machined outer barrel is pinned to the receiver, and the joint is solid - the outer barrel never needs to be removed for disassembly. At the tip of the outer barrel a steel muzzle device is found. On the real thing it captures part of the muzzle blast to ensure enough gas for the gas piston, despite the short barrel. Disengaging a retainer pin allows you to screw the muzzle device off, revealing a rather large thread, which can be mounted with the optional AK-specific suppressor manufactured by VFC. If you want to use a flash hider or suppressor of your own choice, you can undo one set screw and unscrew the large threaded part to reveal a 14mm CCW (left-hand) thread underneath.

The polymer parts are solid and can not be distinquished from the real ones. While airsoft players still complain about seam lines more often than necessary, they are most often found on real weapons as well. Finishing the seam lines out of sight would make the AEG look "too clean", as is the case with the Tokyo Marui AK-series. Real guns are rough, and so should their Airsoft counterparts be! The included magazine is also polymer as it should be, and holds 120 rounds. As expected from VFC, we did not find any feeding issues with these during our testing.

All in all the exterior can not be faulted for anything really. Once again the grip is fat for an AK, but it's something we accept since we rather have the motor provide semi and full automatic fire, instead of having a springer with a real-size grip.

The cleaning rod is a proper full length one instead of being just a mock cosmetic add-on. The handguards are modern polymer type and can not be told apart from the real ones.

Removing the top cover allows to insert a stick type battery underneath. The blowback action does not prevent installing a battery here.

ZEROING and DISASSEMBLY

For more info on zeroing, please read our article on that subject. VFC have made the front sight realistic, so you can perform zeroing for elevation and windage by adjusting the front sight. The rear sight is used for setting the range - an often overlooked feature by players.

Getting into the insides of an AEG AK has never been this easy. As we have seen from VFC before, even when they make a traditional-looking weapon which others have already produced as an Airsoft model, you will always find several innovations applied to them. After the usual removal of the top cover, grip and selector, you can push the hop-up assembly forwards and lift the gearbox up from the receiver! With quite a few other models you need to loosen a few screws and disassemble the front of the gun as well.

VFC has replicated the field-stripping so that you can remove the gas piston tube by flipping the lever on the right side of the rear sight. After this you can access a lever to loosen the front collar of the lower handguard, and remove that too. Exactly like on the real thing! (How many times you can say that during one review, honestly...)

The rear sight can be set quickly for various ranges. This feature can be used to place aimed shots further away.

The steel muzzle device can be unscrewed to reveal a large thread for AK-specific suppressors, but there's also a 14mm CCW thread underneath. Front sight fully adjustable.

The blowback transfer bar is visible when you flip the selector down. It is out of the way of the battery, and the bends cushion the action for longer service life.

BEATING UNDER THE STEEL COVER

Inside The VFC AK-105 you will first find a blowback system, which seems to be the hot trend with almost all AEG manufacturers now. VFC has a mechanical link between the piston and mock bolt carrier, but the transfer rod has a couple of bends to provide some flexibility to the connection and improve service life. Limited by the piston movement, the travel of the bolt carrier is around 60mm, which is not quite the travel of the real AK bolt carrier, but far better than nothing. The felt recoil is limited, but the sound of steel parts chucking away against each other and the visible moving handle are a pleasing detail when you shoot. With very powerful batteries the system becomes vulnerable, but for such hardcore gamers disabling the bolt is a common thing anyways, since function goes over form. The link can be disengaged without disassembling the gearbox.

Speaking of the gearbox, it is once again a fine example of a traditional idea with precise execution. Based on the Tokyo Marui V3 gearbox design, the VFC gearbox is compatible with the majority of reinforcing and performance-enhancing parts, and even the standard parts are good enough for most users even with a slight spring upgrade added. The strong steel gears rotate smoothly thanks to the 7mm bearings, and the final mechanical part, the piston, is reinforced polymer for light weight and durability. The pneumatic parts provide good compression, and up to 400 fps the only upgrade part you really need is just a spring. Even above that figure the parts durability is not so much a concern, as the fact that at some point it is advisable to change the gear ratio to increase torque.

The inner barrel of the VFC AK-105 has a peculiar length of 388mm. Should you wish to change it to an aftermarket precision inner barrel, a PDI 375mm inner barrel comes closest, but 407mm inner barrels are also an option. The original inner barrel stops at the muzzle threads, but the muzzle device would cover a slightly longer inner barrel as well, so it is not an issue.

SUMMARY

If you really read the review, it should not be unclear how excited we are about this model. The construction is rock solid with the stamped steel receiver and the one-piece CNC-machined outer barrel pinned to it. Even the price range is quite decent for what you get, as luxury doesn't carry a four-figure price tag in this case.


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