(If you missed the first part of this review, click > BE Type 89 review, part 1 < )

I got the chance to properly field test my new BE Type 89 only a couple of days after my initial review. A visit to NSC Airsoft gave me the chance to put the AEG through its paces; I had a feeling that the woodland site would be the ideal location to test out the 89’s three round burst feature.


Please note: As much as being a review, I do go into some length describing some of the ‘teething troubles’ I had to endure. I think this is fair enough, as this process is fairly common when anyone first tries out a new AEG.

Preparation
Before I launch straight into how the 89 fired on site, there were a few additional things that cropped up about the AEG while I was ‘prepping’ it for my day out.

First of all, there are some added battery related notes concerning capacity (in one form and another). The bad news is that the stick battery issue actually gets a tad worse – if that were a problem for you in the first place – as not only does the BE Type 89 only accept a stick battery but it also only accepts a 7 cell stick!


My nice 8-cell 9.6 volt 1400mAh stick would not fit into the alcove available under the 89’s fore stock, being about a half a centimeter too long. So I had to revert to my 7 cell 8.4v 1100mAh batteries for this gun. (Again, if this does bother you, you may want to attach the Laylax battery sling that allows you to then use large capacity batteries.)

Perversely, and I suppose you can call this a plus, the BE 89’s shoulder stock does allow you to carry a 7 cell stick in it for storage!

Now, because of the lower capacity of these batteries this extra storage space is useful, but it does beg the question that if you can store a battery in the stock why isn’t it wired up so you can use the battery in the shoulder stock?

Finally, I mentioned that you needed some sort of tool to poke through the fore stock retaining pin to open the battery enclosure. Well, the good news is that my pin was apparently just a bit stiff because it was new and you can, in fact, push/pull the pin through with your fingers (although the process is still a little fiddly in my opinion).

Next, another aspect of the 89 I discovered during prep was a much more pleasant surprise, and that is its compatibility with Tokyo Mauri accessories.

I mentioned in the first part of this review that the Both Elephant Type 89 is – I was led to believe – a faithful clone of the Tokyo Marui Type 89 AEG. This made me wonder whether TM accessories would fit the BE version, as logic dictated they should.

There are three TM accessories for the 89 that are of interest; a left-hand selector switch, a 20mm scope rail and a standard capacity magazine. Of these I managed to locate the first two at the UK retailer Zero One.

The scope rail fitted like a glove (phew!) and I attached my King Arms Red Dot scope using a cantilever mount. The mount has a apature just below the scope ring so you can still use the AEG's iron sight, and this worked really well with the 89's big wide peephole and post sight.

On the other hand, the upgrade left-hand side selector switch didn't fit quite so snuggly. It's a little loose, but does work OK. Obviously the BE tolerances aren't quite up to the Tokyo Marui mark, and in both cases - rail and switch - I would strongly recommend using LocTite Threadloc to keep the screws from loosening.

The additional selector switch does help in changing the fire-mode while retaining an aimed grip on the T89. But it's not a sensational improvement, it just means you are now able to use your left hand to move the switch through all the modes, while your right hand stays on the trigger (I'm practising a goofy selection action using both my thumb on the left selector and my trigger finger on the right selector to reach all the modes while aiming the AEG with both hands - wish me luck!).


In the field
Whenever I play I come back with a little moral that I have learned during the day’s play (I still regard myself as a ‘beginner’ as I m only coming up to my first year of airsofting). This time was no different and as the moral I learned is directly related to the trial of my new Type 89 I will impart it to you now:

Airsofting moral: Never try out too many new airsofting gadgets at the same time, especially if they are on the same gun - or moreover - especially if they are on a new gun.

I started out on this airsoft outing with a new AEG (the 89), a new sighting system (King Arms Red Dot) and a new magazine system (Battleaxe electric box mag). This proved to be bad juju…

Above: Access to the hop-up is via the ejector port. The port holds itself open so you can easily adjust the hop-up dial, but must be pushed back into place manually. You can also see the diddy magazine release button on the left. I may very well invest in the enlarge custom button that is available from a third-party.

First of all, I had not previously had time to try out the 89, so there was the usual setting up of the hop-up and elementary sighting of the AEG – and this is where my problems started. For, no matter what I did with the BE’s hop-up dial, my BBs were flying askew in the most random fashion. Most frustrating!

I still didn’t have this issue solved when the morning’s games started, and found myself having to try my best to compensate for BBs behaviour, as they were determined – despite my best efforts – to rise up and wander to the right.

As it turned out, there seemed to be three elements that were at the root of my – apparent – hop-up woes. First of all, although I did clean my barrel out (as you should with any new AEG) I think there was still a little grease or dirt present, as with use the problem of ‘flyers’ seemed to alleviate itself a little. Of course, this could also be simple be due to a brand new AEG ‘seating’ itself in.

Above: One of the nice things about airsofting is personalizing your AEG. In this case I couldn't resist replacing the standard HOWA flash hider with a Razor Workz Beowulf model. The semi-gloss black of the hider matched the 89's outer barrel perfectly.

Secondly, there was the day’s early rainfall and, although somewhat sceptical, there is the chance that some rain did enter my barrel while I was carrying it. Moreover, I am uncertain what effect rain would have on the actual flight of BBs as this may have added to the seemingly random trajectory of my fire.

The last piece of the errant accuracy puzzle was my new Battleaxe electric box magazine. Both the TM and BE Type 89 models advertise that – while they do have proprietary magazines modelled after the real Type 89 versions – they are fully compatible with standard M4/M16 type magazines.

By thinking through the problem, and a process of elimination, I surmised that the only other weak link in the train of elements that affected accuracy - from a hop-up standpoint - was the magazine. I imagined that as the mag is a component that directly attaches to the hop-up – via the BB mag feed – that if there were anything wrong with this part that it might adversely affect the efficiency of the hop-up process. (Yes, I was clutching at straws – or so I thought – by this time!)

Above: On the left is the M4 type mag fitted - on the right the Type 89 magazine. As you can clearly see, the M4 mag does not fit all the way into the mag well, although it's BB feed nozzle does reach up to meet the hop-up nozzel inside the well. The M4 mag does lock into place firmly enough, but the crucial fit between mag feed and hop-up nozzle does not appear to be quite as perfect as the propriatory magazines.

As it transpired, when I did change my mags back to the BE brand Type 89 ones the problem seemed to dissipate!
 
On a closer inspection of the M4/M16 type mags and the Type 89 mags I noticed that the BB feed is completely different on either model. Whereas the two types of feed nozzles – for want of the proper technical term – are located in the same position on the top of the mags, and hence they both ‘feed’, they are of a quite different design. The Type 89 BB feed is flush with the magazine top, while the M4/M16’s is slightly raised – meaning that it pushes – ever so slightly – against the hop-up nozzle.

The M4 ‘nozzle’ is perhaps a fraction over 1mm in height, and while I don’t understand the physics of why this might affect efficient hop-up, the fact is that when I changed the mags there was a moderate but noticeable difference in BB flight. The BB trajectory was flatter and more consistent with the proprietary Type 89 magazines.

Above: The photo on the left shows the difference between the mag feed on either the Type 89 mag (left) and the M4 mag (right). You can see the raised lip on the M4 feed. The right-hand picture shows the rather nifty ammo indicator holes in the 89's mag, this actually came in very useful during play as a quick reference to how low my BBs were running.

And finally, just a quick word about the BE T89 magazines themselves. The BE Type 89 package comes with one 300 round hi-cap metal magazine, this is a very nicely made mag which has the advantage of coming with a quick-wind key. With just a couple of turns of the key your BBs are loaded up to the feed nozzle, so no more tedious initial winding of the gear wheel!

Additionally, the mags – like the real steel version – come with a series of holes on the left side which serve to indicate to the soldier how full the magazine is. I have read a couple of reviews bemoaning the decision not to place fake bullets behind these holes (for show) – I, on the other hand, am glad neither TM or BE didn’t do this. These holes act as a guide as to how many BBs you have left in the mag – so they replicate very well the original intended use. Nice touch!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
OK. Well, as I previously stated, my problem was that I was fighting against too many new items in the one package, each exerting its own influence on the accuracy of the AEG. The new AEG itself, a new sighting system and the new magazines all combined to cause me a major headache, and made it that much harder for me to solve the accumulated problems. Basically, simply adjusting the hop-up on its own was never going to rectify disparate component troubles, and hence my moral of the day (which bears repeating):

Never try out too many new airsofting gadgets at the same time, especially if they are on the same gun - or moreover - especially if they are on a new gun.

Initial set-up niggles aside; once I had satisfied myself that I had a handle on what was wrong, and things settled down I could then set about really appraising the Type 89. And as I have spent more than enough time casting a negative shadow over my Type 89 experience thus far, I will cut to the chase – I loved this gun!

Yes, after all the little moans and gripes, the Both Elephant Type 89 is wonderfully individual AEG, with a lot of nice features. But best of all, once the firing actually starts in earnest, that 3-round burst facility washes away all those worries about trigger pull and battery accommodation and this and that…

Above: I chose a Red Dot sight as it seemed the most suitable for the flowing woodland game I was to playing on my Type 89's first outing. It was a very good choice, although I may add a x3 magnifier sight behind it for the next game, just to help me pick out targets at slightly longer ranges.

In this case, the BE Type 89 is NOT the just sum of all its part, it is an AEG of quirks and not a little Japanese craziness (inherited from the original real steel design) – but it’s weaknesses are altogether out-weighed by its character and effectiveness.

Not once in the day did I even think about the trigger issues I made such a big deal about in my introductory review. Battery capacity also didn’t figure in my estimation of this gun (in fact, the 3-round burst did a lot to conserve battery consumption), and even my magazine niggles paled into insignificance once the .20 plastic ball bearing madness started…

All that really went through my mind all day was ‘how cool is this gun’!

(It is perhaps a curse of writing a critical review of your own equipment that you intensely scrutinize each nuance of your kit in an attempt to reach a fair and balanced verdict. In this I perhaps over-analyse at times, as when I handed my new Type 89 to a couple of other players to try out they seemed very impressed – particularly with the 3-burst feature – and commented positively on the build-quality, weight and general accuracy of the AEG.)

Final verdict…
I’m completely sold on my BE Type 89, although I recognize there is perhaps some work to be done to ensure rock-solid hop-up performances. I will, in addition, be stripping the 89 down as I have since read about how this Chinese clone is far too over-greased when shipped, and I also want to check that each screw and nut is firmly in place

These are characteristics of every Chinese clone, and the process of stripping down and checking components will be a part of my pre-game prepping for every new Chinasoft AEG I purchase from now on.

None of this distracts from my verdict of this £120 AEG – it is a cool buy and solid performer in the field – and did I mention that not many people out there have one? (I lost track of how many people asked me what it was I was totting on the day!)

Technical spec:

• Weight: 2.8kg
• Length: 86.5cm
• Single, 3 Round Burst & Full Auto Fire
• Power: Approx. 340 FPS

Both Elephant BE Type 89 Pros:

• Unique and uncommon design
• Metal build (plastic furniture as per real steal 89)
• 3-round burst feature (mechanical)
• Direct clone of Tokyo Marui (accessory compatible)
• Nice wide iron sights (good for airsofter)
• Useful bi-pod (which is easily detached as needed)
• Takes standard M4/M16 magazines (* See note)
• Excellent ergonomic pistol grip, and tactile – rubberized – furniture
• Excellent metal replica Type 89 magazine (hi-cap, with fast key wind)

* Caveat: I found, while usable, the M4 magazines seemed only about 80% efficient in working with the 89 hop-up. Expect some ‘flyers’.

Both Elephant BE Type 89 Cons:

• Limited onboard battery capacity
• Fiddly battery enclosure access
• Not the smoothest trigger
• Awkward location of selector switch (without addition of accessory) *
• Tiny and badly placed magazine release switch *
• Limited after market accessories
• Does not come with scope rail as standard

* Both issues can be rectified with upgrade parts