The RPG-7 is a Soviet designed weapon which stands for Ruchnoy (Hand-held) Protivotankovyy (Anti-tank) Granatomyot (Grenade launcher).  This is the most widely used Anti-tank weapon in the world at present. Its simple design, low manufacturing cost, easy maintenance and effectiveness makes it popular among regular army forces, guerrillas and terrorist groups. It is currently manufactured in different variants in 9 countries with around 40 countries using this weapon officially.

It has been used in almost all major conflicts and wars in the world since the 1960’s from the Vietnam War, Israeli-Arab Wars, Korean War, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and to the present wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

AIRSOFT REPLICA

Zeta Lab?  What Zeta Lab? When I see a “Lab” or “Laboratory” in a company name, I would normally presume it is a pharmaceutical, chemical or Audio recording companies and the like. But here we are, Zeta Lab making airsoft replicas! Let us put then into scrutiny their airsoft replica of the famous RPG-7 launcher.

When a fellow operator handed this over to me for review, I was immediately intimidated by its huge box and its bone-crunching weight. Compared to previous AEGs I have reviewed before, this one is really massive and heavy. While other ACM guns are housed in boxes with proper markings or none at all, this one’s got minimalist markings. I just find it odd that they use a “highlighted green colour” on the marking against the brown colour of the box. It seems feminine to me.

Upon opening of the huge box measuring 315mm x 1110mm x 130mm (W x L x D), there is no moulded foam to protect the product in transit. What it got instead are crumpled Chinese newspapers and loads of them. I am not sure if this is the case on commercially sold products for what I have is just a review sample. Nevertheless, there was no damage to the product. Zeta Lab is generous enough to have included a non-working real steel illuminated sight for the item, a King Arms BB loader and a 40mm 12-BB shower cartridge.

Lifting it out of the box will confirm its listed weight of nearly 6 kilograms!

THE EXTERNALS

All metal parts are finished in semi-gloss black paint as opposed to matt, thus the metal is shiny and reflects a lot of light. The wooden furniture which is very prominent is finished in varnish which I reckon is mahogany in colour. This is also shiny. Both grips are made of plastic to replicate wood colour. I find it odd that they did not make this wood as well. Some on-line retailers advertise this product with real wood grips.

The principle of construction for this weapon is to have a solid one piece heavyweight barrel and screw/bolt-on the other parts into it. This makes it simple, low-cost, rugged and rigid. The entire length of the launcher is the barrel. It has a constant inner diameter but varied on the external. The thickened external part of the barrel is where the other parts are connected and is one reason for its massive weight.

The front of the launcher is as dull as it could get. There is nothing in there, just an opening. Right after the front of the RPG is the flip-type front sight assembly. This is a little bit off-set to the left. Being a shoulder-fired weapon, it is more convenient and practical to locate the sight off-set from the centre unlike a rifle. The size of the barrel prevents your head from tilting to the side to look through a sight located at the centre of the weapon. Even with the off-set to the left, this design is still ambidextrous with exemptions to operators having defective right eyes.

On the middle right side below the front sight lies the front swivel sling point.

Below the front sight is the trigger housing assembly which has a minimalist internal mechanism as shown on the photo. There is a safety button to the left side. Flush to the face is safe while protruding means fire. Loading a shell automatically locks it into place and you can release it by using the release lever  that is located at the back which could be mistaken as a hammer. You slide it down with your thumb to release the shell. The trigger guard is integrated into the assembly with enough room for a glove-wearing operator on the trigger area. Unlike pistols that you cock before you shoot, this one does not. Loading a shell does not cock a hammer either. The strength of your trigger pull will activate the pin as the trigger is actually one-piece with the hammer. The spring is only there to return the mechanism to its original position as shown in the photo.

Aligned with the front sight is the rear sight which is located almost at the middle of the weapon. This is also a flip-up type sight with adjustable vertical graduations.

Below the rear sight and mounted on the lower side of the barrel is the rear grip with plastic furniture. There is a dovetail rail on its upper part to accept optics and other accessories. A standard size RIS is also included for more flexibility on the type of optics to be used. The grip is off-set to the left of the trigger housing assembly.

The rear grip is positioned in such a way that the left hand grips it while the right hand grips the front which is at the centre of its longitudinal axis.

Right after the rear grip is the 2-piece wooden heat shield with its shiny varnish finish. These are held in place by three metal clamps tightened by a screw. The finish on the wood is excellent. There is a fixed rear sling point at the end of the wooden guard and finally, the flared end of the weapon. The flared end of the launcher makes it possible to let the weapon stand upright on its own on a level ground.

The included 12-BB M203 40mm shell was only loaded once with gas. When the proper testing on its range was about to be done, it won’t accept any more gas. It was leaking. I highly recommend replacing this with the MadBull Airsoft BB Shower 40mm shell.

Furthermore, the RPG-7 scope that came bundled with it is a real but used RPG-7 scope with not batteries included. It is there for cosmetic purposes as the range and actual projectile for airsoft use are not exactly the same as the real RPG-7.

CONCLUSION

It is nice to see that some manufacturers are trying to replicate into the airsoft world some historically famous and notorious weapons like the Soviet RPG-7. Our familiarity with this weapon lies not on the skirmish grounds but in movies, news and yes, on console and computer games. A more realistic example is the usage of this against our boys in Afghanistan.

This replica may not appeal to everyone for reasons of practicality. This is way too heavy to lug around and can only be useful on mission-specific scenarios (such as those Blackhawk Down-themed airsoft events). This should be a team property, not by an individual to be really worth it. With a BB shower cartridge, its function is just like the smaller grenade launcher. Unless you can fire a rocket-type projectile with the RPG warhead with this, this replica cannot live up to what it really stands for. For the re-enactors, this is a nice piece of kit. It is very much useful for photo-ops or themed events when there's a requirement to actually use such an airsoft replica.

For the looks of it, yes. For the use of it, no. I would prefer mounting a grenade launcher on my M4 rather than having to carry this around with the same purpose. The weight of this replica is heavy enough that carrying an assault rifle as back-up for this would be a chore enough. But if you like running around with an RPG-7 carried on your shoulder hoping to create mayhem in the skirmish field, which we doubt you can with this, then this one's for you. It is still a prop weapon as far as I am concerned.

SPECIFICATIONS

• LENGTH: 950mm (1300mm including dummy RPG)
• WEIGHT: 4900 grams
• MATERIAL: Full metal construction with real wood and plastic furnitures
• CARTRIDGE TYPE: 40mm BB Shower/M870 Shot Shell (Gas type)
• ACCESSORIES INCLUDED IN OUR REVIEW UNIT (May not be the same as retail unit):
  • 1-Plastic Dummy Rocket Propelled Grenade
  • 1-40mm 12-Shot BB Shower Cartridge
  • 1-BB Loader (King Arms)
  • 1-RPG-7 Scope
• AVAILABILITY: Airsoft Panda