WELL R4 MP7

[size=10pt]Table of Contents[/size]
Real Steel History
First Impressions
Appearance
Feel
Build Quality
Function
Performance
Skirmish Test
Accessories
Modifications
Overall
Conclusion
D.A.M. Good Buy?

[size=10pt]Real Steel History[/size]
The MP7 is a personal defense weapon manufactured by Heckler & Koch (H&K) and chambered for the 4.6 x 30 mm cartridge. It was designed in conjunction with the new cartridge to meet NATO requirements published in 1989 calling for a machine pistol or submachine gun with greater effect against body armor than current models which are limited due to use of standard handgun cartridges. It is a direct competitor of the FN P90 also developed to meet the new NATO requirements. The weapon has been through four revisions and the current version is the MP7A1 (thanks Wikipedia!)


[size=10pt]First Impressions[/size]
When I got home and found the box, I quickly ripped the paper off to reveal a glossy black box with an MP7 on the front. Unfortunately, I threw away the box, so I can not point out any "Engrish" that might have been on it.

I opened the box and found the gun sitting tightly in its Styrofoam slot with some bb's, a loading tool, battery and charger, manual, and a magazine. When I lifted the gun up, I was surprised how much it weighed for a pistol/SMG, but that's largely due to the gearbox, being entirely metal. The body is also slightly glossy, but has a nice textured finish. I was also surprised to find nothing terribly wrong with it. Since WELL isn't known for the best stuff, I was preparing myself for something that was maybe comparable in build quality to a pile of hot poo, but it seems that WELL is trying to turn their reputation around, because my MP7 came to me flawless! The ambidextrous selector had the positions marked out on both sides, and to my relief, it came with the white S for safety, and a red F for fire on both sides, indicating that I got a V2 MP7.

The orange ring around the flash hider was very ugly and popped right off, but it took a chunk of paint with it, thus blemishing the look of the gun. It angered me that it didn’t come with two flash hiders like the Tokyo Marui does (an orange one and a normal black metal one).

[size=10pt]Appearance[/size]
I looked at the MP7 and said, "Wow, this looks pretty nice for a $90 China gun!" There were no scratches, blemishes (besides the flash hider), or trademarks for that matter. Not even a place that stated WELL. The magazine however says "Made in China" on the bottom of the base plate. The gun is a slightly glossy, textured black ABS plastic shell with a good amount of metal on it. The trigger, stock pins, flash hider, barrel, RIS rails, gearbox, magazine (yes, the magazine), and other misc. parts (pins and such) are all metal.The seam line isn't too bad, and is only really noticeable if you're looking at the seams on the bottom.

The sights are a slightly lighter color, so they stick out, and look very ugly. I took them off (for reasons explained later) and slapped on my RDS (red dot sight). Much better! The side rails are also a bit lighter than the rest of the gun, but not nearly as noticeable as the iron sights, and they didn’t detract from the overall look.

With the fore grip down and the stock extended, the MP7 looked quite intimidating, and quite sexy for that matter, and with everything folded and collapsed, it gave it a sleek and stylish look. No matter how you look at the MP7, it’s just a beautiful piece of art.




[size=10pt]Feel[/size]
On the front and back of the grip, there is a bit of rough texture, and I really like it. It makes your palm and fingers feel secure, but even so, the plastic the gun is made out of is a bit slick, so quick swinging motions and not paying attention may cause you to drop the MP7 (almost happened to me), and you don’t want to drop a plastic bodied gun. The grip also has some sort of pattern on the sides to also help you keep a firm grip of the gun, but it doesn't do much. I think it's just too smooth.

Fully loaded and with the battery in, the balance is perfect in my opinion with the stock extended and the fore grip down, it gave me a very powerful feeling (laughs). The only thing is that if you wiggle that stock up and down, it collapses, and shooting sometimes makes the stock pop out. The stock doesn't seem to be the most reliable, so I usually just leave it off (I actually fixed the problem, it’s under the Mod section).

The trigger feels great, but the trigger pull is a bit far and a little too hard in my opinion. Even saying that, the trigger "breaks" very consistantly and is very predictable. There is no wondering how far you need to pull the trigger the next time you want to shoot.

The whole gun is so small, that there is no flex or wiggle in the body (besides the stock and a little from the fore grip). Sometimes when the selector switch is on full auto, it rubs against my index finger, and that gets very annoying. Besides all that, I think it's fine.

[size=10pt]Build Quality[/size]
What can I say, it's from China, so the materials won't be of the best quality, but they sure aren't bad! The whole gearbox is metal (but the bushings are plastic), the MP7 also sports brass barrel, and there is no flex or shimmy in this baby! It's rock solid. Granted, I wouldn't throw this on concrete or anything, but this will treat you well as long as you're good to it. The only thing that would easily break with any force is the sling mounts, as they are plastic. Don't use them, they suck.

I recently opened the gearbox to find that all the gears are metal, that the shim job was actually not bad and that the piston's last tooth is metal (since this is my first electric gun, I'm not sure if that's standard or if that's a bonus with this gun). Granted, the shim job isn’t the best, but nothing is grinding, the only thing is that the gears are a little loose it the mechbox. They have a bit of side to side play (but nothing horrible).

After a proper shim job, mechbox efficiency becomes much better and there is not even a twitch in the gears. I found that without the shim job, the gears were doing something funny, and my Semi auto shot like there was no hop-up at all. After the shim-job, my MP7 is shooting like a champ.

The only things that might be “annoying” is the fact that the shell separates at the mag well, and this “C” shaped friction fitted thing on the fore grip pin pops off occasionally. The grip separation is nothing big, as the gun won’t explode from it, but I didn’t like it. The problem was easily remedied with some CA (not Classic Army) super glue. As for the pin, I really don’t know what to do about it. I currently just have a piece of duct tape covering it so that I don’t lose the damn thing. Other than that, there is nothing that seems to be “odd” or sticks out. Everything is good to go!













[size=10pt]Function[/size]
The MP7 can really get the job done! It works as it should, and it won't let you down! It clicks soundly into safety and semi auto, but it kinda slurs into full, but it still functions wonderfully. The fore grip folds down, but without doing anything, you can just push it back into the folded position, and the stock wobbles and doesn't lock into its positions. The flash hider also unscrews and you can mount something on it with counter clockwise threads I think. You either have to buy MP7 specific flash hider, or get an adaptor. Also, the iron sights that came with the MP7 suck so just take them off and use them with something else, that's why I have a RDS on my MP7.

Now to the hop-up. The gun shoots fine to 50 ft. but I wanted to see how far this gun could reach out, so I adjusted the hop-up... nothing. I set the hop-up to the max, and I barely noticed any hop at all. I remembered something from a thread that said "everything was greased, so clean it all off," so I thought that maybe the hop-up was greased too. I used this cleaning guide (http://www.airsoftretreat.com/forums/index.php?topic=29022.0), but kept the hop-up on so that the cleaning patch would wipe it down.

I went out to shoot it again, but forgot to set the hop-up back down from the max position, and then the bb's went skyward!!! Cleaning the hop-up really did the trick and now the gun effectively hops! It might just be because I haven't broken in the hop-up yet, but the hop is a bit finicky, but now it works great and shoots to right about 120 ft. I can't complain about that.

DJ Mike Oz has also found out a different approach on cleaning your hop-up rubber. You can get one side of a Q-Tip and slightly wet in acetone and wipe down your hop-up. This will remove all factory oils that have gotten on your hop-up rubber. This is the propper way to clean your hop-up rubber. The way I stated is a quick fix that isn't the best on hop-up life, and you force a piece of material against the rubber. With the Q-Tip, you can gently wipe, thus minimizing damage.

[size=10pt]Performance[/size]
I do not know the actually fps that this gun packs, but Evike says it goes 240-250 fps with .2g and that's believable, since mine can't pierce one side of a coke can. Accuracy is great with this at the distances that I tested it with, and I know that this makes the perfect sidearm because of the ROF and the surprisingly good accuracy.

As for hard accuracy data, I shot all my targets with 10 .2g Crossman bb's, no hop-up, indoors, and in the prone supported position to keep the discrepancies to a minimum. The red circles are where the bb's hit, the red line is the first grouping size, and the teal/blue line is the second grouping size. I simply measured the two bb's that were the farthest apart for the first grouping, then I took away the one bb that was the farthest away (the "discrepancy") and then concluded the second grouping size from the given data.







As you can see, even at 30 ft, I could consistently place groupings under 3 in.

The best type of bb that I recommend for the MP7 is high grade (AE, TSD/Stealth, etc.) .23g bb’s since the hop-up can take the added weight, and since they’re heavier, they are more stable during flight. Those things are like little monsters in my MP7!!!

I also got a vid showing me destroy a coke can from 5 feet away! Sorry if the video is kinda dark...


And another vid of me destroying three other items!!!


Or you can see the video above on YouTube... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6CB2QH-IiA

[size=10pt]Skirmish Test[/size]

As of now, I haven't skirmished the MP7 yet, but I'm sure that this little puppy won't fail me
(will add Skirmish Report in the discussion thread)
The only thing I can say is that the MP7, while badass, is limited to CQC, and I really meen CQC. Even with a DB Customs tightbore, power spring, metal spring guide and all the aftermarket things you can get for it, it's still only got a 182mm barrel and its still only got a Mini type gearbox, so it has it's limits. Even having said that, the WELL MP7 can still OWN!!! You just need to know what to do with the MP7, understand its limits, and adapt yourself to the given situation.

[size=10pt]Accessories[/size]
Since there are three RIS rails, there are many different things you can mount on this. As you can see in the pictures below, I took off the iron sights and replaced them with a cheap RDS that I purchased at Academy. There are many different things that you can mount to the MP7, you just need to get creative with the rails, or just slap things on.

The accessories that came with the MP7 are as follows; one 35 round magazine, a loading tool and rod, cheapo-depot bb's, 450 mah battery and trickle charger, allen wrenches, manual, and removable iron sights.



Also, for you people that want a holster for your MP7, you can but one from UTG thats about $30 that holsters the MP7, MP5, and paintball guns, or, thanks to Uncle Mike, he has found out that you can use a $15 Contractors cordless drill holster! It fits the MP7 quite nicely, and Mike also says that the Contractors black belt works wonders with the holster. The UTG can be found at your local Airsoft store or the internet, but the Contractors cordless drill holster can be found at all your major hardware stores! I have the UTG holster, and in all honesty, if I knew about this drill holster, I would have gotten it instead. The UTG has all this velcro and stuff in the inside to make your holser have a "custom fit," bit all that stuff gets caught up on the MP7's rails and it's very stiff. I'm probably going to sell it and buy the drill holster instead.


[size=10pt]Modifications[/size]
There are a few things that can be done to the MP7 to boost performance. You can get tight-bores (DB Custom, PDI, and Deep Fire are all I know of), a new cylinder, a good shim job (this boosts performance dramatically. Gearbox whine and chatter decreases, improved meshing gives better consistency, and it keeps you gears healthy and they will last longer), and Nineball springs and (maybe also) a hop-up bucking if there is one that fits. With those upgrades, I'm sure you can reach 300 fps. Just be careful, as of now, I believe that there are no after market gears, so if you strip a gear, you need a new gun. As for motors, you can always replace the brushes, so don’t worry, it should last as long as you need it.

Also, I believe some people modded their batteries so that they are wired to a PEQ box so they got more battery power, and I CANNOT emphasize enough on how much a good shimming really helps. Everything now runs as smooth as silk. If you plan on adding power to your MP7, then the shimjob has to be done. Otherwise, the added speed and stress on the gears will kill them in no time at all. If you can only do three things to your gun, I'd say tightbore first, SHIM JOB SECOND, and metal bushings third. Everything else falls in after those.

So far, the upgrades and mods that can be easily done, they are...
New cylinder, piston head, metal bushings, spring, tightbore barrel, make the stock port holes bigger on the piston head, external battery source, and the O-ring mod.

There is also a way to make a home made external battery source. It isn't easy, but my dad and I are almost done with ours. That saves us money since we don’t have to buy an AEG battery pack. Ours will just use standard AA batteries!

Also, if you want to modify your gun, or just give it a tune up and keep you gun in good heath; you will most likely need to take your gun apart. <b><a href=http://www.airsoftretreat.com/forums/index.php?topic=40161.0>!!!This Guide!!!</a></b> will show you how to takedown your MP7 into all its major components. As for the gearbox, it's pretty straight forward. Unscrew the screws that hold the two halves together, pull two the two halves apart and you’re in! Make sure you hold down the piston and spring guide down so nothing goes shooting out of the gearbox.

~Update~
I fixed the stock problem!!! Granted, it's ugly as hell, but it works. All you need is a house hold rubber band! You can also file down the stock where the notches are so that they're squarer, but the rubber band works fine. Long term fix is the filing though, the rubber is only temporary.





Sorry if the vid is a little dark, but that's the best I got


Thanks again to DJ Mike for finding something out for all you TF-7 users!!! To get rid of those ugly "trademarks" on your gun, all you have to do is get a paper towel a little damp with Acetone, and gently wipe the "infected" areas. After cleaning off the "trades," you will lose your matte finish, but this is easily remedied with Clear Mate spray paint. So remember kiddies, thank uncle Mike for finding all this stuff out for you!!!

[glow=teal,2,300][size=10pt]Overall[/size][/glow]

[glow=blue,2,300][size=10pt][size=10pt]Pros[/size][/size][/glow]
Small
Accurate
Well balanced
Can take mods and different optics and accessories
Extra mags available
*Extra battery available
Lots of metal
Good looking and feeling
Both safety features function properly (trigger safety and the regular safety)

[glow=red,2,300][size=10pt]Cons[/size][/glow]
Plastic Shell may break if handled rough
Plastic mag release
**Some of the spare mags don't feed right
Iron sights suck
Sling mounts suck
Stock doesn't stay in place (without mod)
Slightly glossy
The shell body splits sometimes

*The Tokyo Marui Batteries are slightly longer than the WELL batteries, so cutting down the two prongs on the MP7's front assembly and adding cardboard or some other spacer to the WELL mag will work just fine

**The MAG mags that I got only fed properly after I put two layers of electric tape on the top front of the mag.


[size=10pt]Conclusion[/size]
As you can see, the cons are quite insignificant, and the pros completely outweigh them. If you get this gun, you will not be disappointed. As a sidearm, I give the WELL MP7 an [glow=red,2,300][size=10pt]8/10[/size][/glow] because you need a little work to make it a perfect performer.

[size=10pt]Dependable?[/size] Vary dependable! The MP7 will NOT fail you as long as you treat it right and tweak it into perfection.
[size=10pt]Affordable?[/size] Also quite affordable! (about $90 compared to Tokyo Marui’s $240+ MP7)
[size=10pt]Mod-able?[/size] With a few things here and there, a you can make yourself one hell of a CQC weapon, and many performance improving modifications can be done easily and cheaply! I personally got my MP7 to shoot around 270-275 fps without buying a single aftermarket upgrade part!

With the power invested in me, I, Fallen One, conclude that the WELL R4 MP7 is a [size=10pt]D.A.M.[/size] good buy!

P.S. If I missed anything or if you need additional info, feel free to PM or e-mail me.

To see the full review, click here. http://www.airsoftretreat.com/forums/index.php?topic=39281.25