One thing I've learned about airsoft skirmishing in the short time I've been involved in the hobby - you always realize you need something right before you are about to go to a game (even though you've probably had a couple of weeks to think about it)!

Or is that just me? (Don't answer that...)

Anyroads, I suddenly realized that I needed some magazines for my new CYMA AK74, which I will be using at my next skirmish this coming Sunday. This over the Christmas period, when ordering anything seemed a bit of a gamble. In fact, right up until this morning I didn't think my magazines would arrive.

But Santa was good to me, and at the very last minute a bevy of parcels landed on my doorstep. But that wasn't my only problem...

Left: MAG black 'waffle' mag box set (5 mags), G&P 'plum' mid-cap, D-Boys hi-cap 'bakalite' mags, TM speed loader and Gold Fire pellets. 

All AK magazines are not equal

Having decided to try the mid-cap thing I ordered a box set of cheap MAG plastic 100 round black AK waffle magazines. After an accident with my D-Boys plastic hi-cap mag - where the Ak was dropped and the mag cracked - I have to say I'm not altogether happy with plastic mags, but at the price they are the best way to jump start getting into mid-caps (metal mags are my preference, but are a lot more expensive).

MAG AK magazine box sets are available in the following formats: Black waffle pattern, OD waffle pattern, sand colour waffle pattern, 'Bakalite' (brown/orange) pattern, 'Plum' pattern and 'Wood' (brown/orange) pattern.

I have also found that STAR airsoft do a box set (10 mags) of 30 round lo-cap or 105 round mid-cap original AK47 style magazines for around $50/56. King Arms, likewise, do a 5 mag box set of plastic AK47 replica magagazines for £29.99.

To compound the growing expense, I also found that my Kalash AK74S does not take standard TM clone magazines!

The hi-cap magazine that came with my Kalash (D-Boy) AK shorty is of a slightly different design to the normal Tokyo Marui magazine, so TM compatible mags just won't attach properly. Therefore, I can only use D-Boy hi-caps in my Kalash AK74S.

OK, no problem - I thought - I'll just order a couple of D-Boy hi-caps from my favourite retailer. Except that there are none available in the UK yet, and they can only be got in Hong Kong. Well, to cut a long story short, despite the fact I ordered the D-Boy mags from Hong Kong, they arrived before the stuff I ordered from UK retailers.

Above: The MAG 100 round 'waffle' mags. Ideal if you want that modern Eastern Block loadout. The real waffle pattern AK magazine is a Bulgarian design, so if you own one of the Classic Army Arsenal (Romanian) SLR105 series AKs, this would make a nice accessory.

By the way: You can modify normal TM plastic AK mags to fit the D-Boy's AK74S by shaving some of the plastic off the mag locking lug. But I decided to buy the prober D|Boys mags so I could easily distinguish them from my other TM clone mags.

Useful links: 

> Mini review of MAG AK waffle mag set at ArmiesAirsoft

MAG boxed sets of (5) magazines are available from:-
> UNCompany.com (Honk Kong) - $31
> Airsoft Supplier (UK) - £29.50

STAR boxed sets of (10) lo-cap or mid-cap magazines are available from:-
> UNCompany (Hong Kong) - $50/56
> Wolf Armouries (UK) - £47.99/£54.99

King Arms boxed set of (5) magazines are available from:-
> Airsoft Armoury (UK) - £29.99

D-Boy (Kalash) AK74S Hi-Cap  magazines are also available from UNCompany.com - $13