Jump to content

AR15 Assault Rifle SR25 - 1:3 Trumpeter


Mike

Recommended Posts

AR15 Assault Rifle SR25
1:3 Trumpeter


boxtop.jpg


The AR15, often known as the M16 or M4 rifle is the staple assault rifle of American forces and many more around the world, designed by ArmaLite, sold to Colt and first seeing service in Vietnam. It was a great success as the M16, with short straight mags that were replaced in more modern variants with the longer forward-curved magazines that contain more rounds. The VN mags as they are sometimes called are still sometimes used for specific applications where the number of rounds carried isn't such an issue.

The SR25 is such an application, which would typically be issued to a designated marksman within a troop or squad. It uses the larger 7.62mm cartridge for stopping power, a longer barrel and forward Picatinny hand-guard for stabilisation of shot and muzzle velocity, and usually mounts a scope, but still manages to share up to 60% of the parts of an AR-15. It is an attractive rifle due to the long free-floating barrel within the cylindrical forward RIS rails, and the original M16 style butt-stock. A tripod mounted to the underside of the RIS system and the small VN mags allow the operator to get low to the ground without the mag catching on the terrain, which helps with concealment.

The Kit
Trumpeter's range of 1:3 weapons is fairly new, and I've been wondering how good they are for a while, so when one of my favourite AR15 variants turned up, I thought it would be churlish not to have a looksee. Arriving in a fairly small box suitable for a 1:48 single engine WWII fighter, the box at first doesn't appear to be well filled. Once you start removing the contents however, that changes, as there are six sprues of various sizes in a dark grey styrene, plus two in a wood brown, a clear sprue for the optics, and of course the instruction booklet. The brown styrene makes up the stand, and the large vertical part is surrounded by a protective card insert that is glued to the bottom of the box, with the part held in place by a pair of black twisty-ties. All the other parts are individually bagged for their protection.

sprue1.jpg

sprue2.jpg


Construction shouldn't take too long, as no painting will be needed until the model is almost completed. Starting with the butt-stock, which is in two halves split vertically, and trapping a sling eye at the rear. The butt-plate is nicely detailed with the two retaining bolt-heads, and a small textured hatch, which on the real thing contains a cleaning kit if memory serves. In the Airsoft world, that's where the battery goes! The upper receiver is next, with the larger angled profile of the 7.62mm chamber evident, and the shell ejector port backed by an insert that replicates the visible part of the bolt, and should be painted a dull aluminium metallic colour. The T-shaped cocking handle inserts in the rear of the upper receiver, and the picatinny rail is glued to the top of the receiver. The instructions here show you installing the upper onto the lower, but in the third step it also shows the construction of the basic lower receiver from two halves plus a trigger part, so it looks like someone got their steps out of order. The upper and lower receivers are pinned together in the front and rear, just like the real thing, and the shell-ejector cover is added in an open position. The fire selector switch and the bolt-release lever are added to the left side of the receiver, and the two-part handgrip is shown added to the receiver in two stages for some reason.

The barrel and its RIS rail covered forward handgrip is built up next, with the rails made from two halves, the barrel a single part, and the rear locking ring sitting between the rail/barrel and the receiver. The RIS rails themselves are then added along the full length of the cylindrical handgrip top, bottom and both sides, and the optional covers can be added as you see fit. These slide on and off the real thing and just make the area more easily gripped with fewer sharp edges, but they can be removed to add extra equipment such as a bipod, torch, laser designator box or whatever. The front of the barrel with gas-block is a two-part assembly that is mated to the front plate of the handguard, and you will be pleased to hear that the barrel has been tooled using slide-moulds to be hollow. The sight is in two halves split horizontally, with two clear lenses inserted front and rear. The RIS adaptors are added with their mounting screws, and the adjustment turrets are added to the sight body both on top and on the right side of the sight. The VN style mag is built up from two halves, and you have a choice of top inserts that show either bullets within, or the spring-plate for an empty mag, but if you're planning on inserting it into the receiver, they aren't used.

scope.jpg


The sub-assemblies of the weapon are brought together with the butt-stock sliding onto the receiver's long "tail" just like the real thing, and the barrel mounting into the circular hole in the front of the upper receiver. The scope and optional mag are inserted top and bottom respectively, and that ends construction of the rifle itself. There is no sling included in the kit, which is a shame, but there are many types of slings out there from one-point, through two-point to three point, some with bungee sections, some without. If you feel like adding one, you'll have to do your research and find some suitable material.

stand.jpg


The "gunshelf" is a simple stand to show off your finished rifle in the vertical position, and if you own more than one, you can link them together using a small lug on the base to turn it into a rifle rack. The vertical section is actually two parts, and the upper section slides up and down to suit the height of the rifle, held in place by two or four détente lugs moulded into the lower section. A base-plate is added without the use of glue, and this is twisted onto the base, held in place by a keyed lug at the back.

Markings
There aren't any markings per se, but sometimes the lower receiver is stamped with the maker's mark, which in this case hasn't been replicated, probably due to copyright issues. The Fire-Select legend is engraved in the surface however, and could be picked out in white if you feel the urge to add a little visual interest. The rifle itself is usually either painted a very dark grey/black, but the operator is able to custom paint the external parts to suit their needs, often using Krylon paints that are very matt and also tough enough to stand the rigors of extended handling. The key to a realistic paint job however will be depiction of wear and tear to the weapon, so remember to check your references.

Conclusion
As someone that's interested in firearms due to my former hobby of skirmishing, these miniatures appeal on a number of fronts. We're not allowed anything that resembles a full-scale model these days, unless we're re-enactors or regular Airsoft skirmishers, and these small kits are easy on the pocket and take up a fraction of the room (a third actually!) of the full-size things. Detail and shape appears to be good, but I'll be building this up shortly to see how it looks, and will report back later. It won't take long, but the painting and weathering might.

Highly recommended to anyone interested in guns, and a something a little different for the cabinet. So much so that I built the review sample up straight away:

complete3.jpg
Work In Progress Thread

bin.jpg


Review sample courtesy of
logo.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The rear folding sight seem to be missing too. If there's a front one, there should be a rear one, both folded if a scope is installed.

A small comment Mike, that does not want to detract from the good review: the term "VN" style magazine is really only airsofter jargon, not used on the real things. Even less for the SR25, that uses a magazine not related to the M16 series for obvious reasons. Commercial SR25s can also use a 10 round mag

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At the back end of the 70`s early 80`s I got into building full size plastic kit replicas! of which included the AR15! and numerous other types!

But for the life of me I cannot remember who produced them! and weather they are still available! probably not! here in the UK anyway I assume!

can anyone remember them?.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice review Mike and excellent pictures.

I'll have to get one of those as that was my first weapon used in combat, in the jungles of Borneo.

I would have to replace the castellated hand hold with a smoothed version as those were the type we had then.

Not the best photo but the only one I have showing my AR15, fully ammo'd and cleaned ready for instant use.

Mike

batu_lintang_borneo_1966_resized.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mike, the gun reviewed is not the one you used in Borneo but a later derivative of the AR10/AR15 family chambered for the larger 7.62 round and marketed as a sniper/DMR weapon. This is a larger weapon than your M16 and has not only different furniture but also a different frame.

Fortunately Trumpeter has made other weapons in this series and your AR15 is available with catalogue number 01901. There could still be small differences depending on what M16/AR15 you had, but in any case this would the best kit to start from

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...