by Moondog
http://www.airsoftpost.com/tactical-g36 ... 27840.html
I had a chance to check this out at the Evike shop, whilst visiting from New York. In 2007 TSD released the G36E and G36E custom. In 2009 they've expanded their line to include the G36K, G36KE, G36C. The SRC is also being resold in the US under the TSD brand name. This review will focus on the G36E but internally all G36 variants are interchangeable and performance differences are negligible.
Real Steel
http://www.hkpro.com/G36.htm
G36 on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_&_Koch_G36
The G36 is a 5.56mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch (H&K) for the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) and entered service in 1997, replacing the G3 series of battle rifles.
It is a gas-operated action and a polymer body. It is a modular design allowing its basic body/receiver to be easily converted into custom purpose configurations. All variants feature a folding skeleton stock. It uses unique see-through plastic magazines with special body tabs allowing the magazines to be connected together without need of a mag clip.
The G36E (E=export) model is distinguished by its 3x optical scope integrated into its carry handle. The military version uses tandom 3.5x scope and red-dot sight in a single unit in the carry handle. The newest military version includes a conformal bipod. The newest model export version designated the G36V adds a small Picatinny RIS rail above the scope. The SRC G36E is actually based on this model.
Externals
SRC is a Taiwan manufacturer and chose to model their G36 AEG externals after the Classic Army G36 AEG's rather than Tokyo Marui (the JG for example, is a clone of the TM version.). The SRC copies the Classic Army's dark-grey, textured finish and nylon reinforced body. TM and JG G36's have a shiny black ABS body. The seams of the SRC are not nearly as clean as the CA. But are only noticeable under close inspection or side-by-side comparison. It has a solid feeling body overall with no creak.
It comes with two hi-cap mags that are see-through dark-tinted grey plastic, with a printed photos of bullets visible through the plastic. Either cheesy or über MilSim depending on your point-of-view. They can be removed to allow you to see the BB's inside the mag hopper, like in the CA mags. TM/JG/KWA mags are dark grey and opaque ABS but are compatible.
Unlike the CA G36E model, SRC G36V has a small RIS rail above the scope to allow for the mounting of red-dots or other accessories. The SRC's 3x power scope uses a standard cross-hair reticle, unlike the CA which copies the real steel reticle. The SRC scope's eye relief is very, very shallow so you really need to get your eye close up to the scope to use it. This takes some getting used to and tends to diminish your perpheral scanning ability. The CA G36 scope is brighter and has wider eye relief but has been reported to be much more finicky to adjust than the SRC's scope.
Internals
The 2007 vintage internals where nothing to brag about. Slightly better than parts JG V3 gearbox, it wasn't nearly as good as CA's V3 gearboxes. A year and a half later, the newest batch of SRC V3 gearboxes feature very nice looking internals, a high-torque motor and a M115 class spring.
http://www.airsoftpacific.com/content.php?page=47
Despite it's much longer handguard, the G36V is only made to hold a 9.6v small type buterfly/nunchuck battery like the G36C. You can fit up to a 1600mAh 9.6v small type or with a little modifying, fit a 2000mAh 9.6v A cell 9.6v battery.
Performance
Evike has a short practice range/area (15-20ft) so I didn't get to put this gun through its full paces. The 2007 vintage G36's shot 330fps (the same as the CA G36) but the newer vintage SRC's upgraded internals are shooting about 370fps out of the box. The trigger pull was was crisp and mags fed properly.
Conclusion
At ~$200 for this AEG with an integrated scope and (2) hi-cap magazines, this is a good deal for a G36. The performance and price makes it a strong competitor against JG's expanding line of G36 models, but its internals make it a better choice. Only CA and STAR make a better looking G36 but they are much more expensive and their internals are made to Asian 1-Joule limits.