I have a very particular idea about the type of Soviet/Russian infantry weapons I would like in replica form for airsoft. I want a short assault rifle for special forces type loadouts, a light machine gun for infantry squad support, and a full-blown long automatic rifle with grenade launcher for the assault role.

During my recent holiday I received the final item to complete my modern Russian assault infantry weapon, a Classic Army replica of the famous GP-30 AK grenade launcher.

The 'beast' arrives (eventually, thanks to 'Her Majesty'!)
I actually ordered the Classic Army GP-30 - and some King Arm's 120 round BB grenades - at the end of July from Hong Kong. However, after the usual speedy international shipping that I have come to expect from UNCompany.com, I found that my parcel had been held up by HM Customs and slapped with a nice import fee of £32!

A note on cost: I paid almost half for all these items that I would have in the UK. The launcher was $128 (instead of £128, if you can find it) and the grenades were $25 instead of £25! With shipping the UNCompany.com cost was $255.32, add the duty and that equals £172.01 - this is a saving of about £40, remembering I would still have to pay postage to a UK retailer. Had not this parcel been stopped by customs (it's the first one of mine that has) the saving would have been £72!

So after a couple of telephone calls and a VISA payment the package was eventually released to Parcel Force for delivery, and I was overjoyed to have the parcel land on my doorstep just in time for my holiday (so I could have a nice long play!)...

I should add that Parcel Force Worldwide were very efficient, and supplied a informative letter with all the tracking details and itemized cost for the import duty. And really, once I added up the total cost - even with the duty - I had still saved myself quite a large sum by buying from Hong Kong compared to the cost of sourcing the same items here in the UK.

What's in the box?
The launcher, box set of three KA grenades plus one additional single grenade pack all arrived safe and sound, and were just what I imagined they would be for quality of packaging. On opening the box I was bowled over by the level of finish of all the items, and while the Classic Army launcher was the primary bling the King Arms grenades certainly look tremendous.

I took my time to carefully examine the CA grenade launcher as my research had led me to expect a very high level of manufacture, and I wasn't disappointed. I had spent several evenings trawling the internet and checking out the various Russian replica airsoft launchers that were available, and while there is a new Chinese launcher out there I eventually plumped for the Classic Army version.

The King Arms 120R cartridges were recommended as good 'stable mates' for the CA launcher, and they looked very pretty with thier anodized nose cones it has to be said.

Outa the box!
As I said, it has taken me a little bit of time and some head scratching to get the launcher fitted correctly on my Kalash AK-74M airsoft gun. This is primarily because none of the items actually came with any form of instructions for use!

This is very disappointing, especially from two very good manufacturers like Classic Army and King Arms.

I did managed to track down some instruction for fitting the launcher on the CA website, but in a way this was even more annoying as the illustrated sheet Ifound there (in English) really should have been included WITH the launcher itself! And as to the grenades, I am still completely in the dark as to their use and will have to resort to posting on airsoft forums to obtain some sort of proceedure for loading and firing! (I had, however, already reserched the gas they use - Green Gas.)

Niggles like this aside, the kit is wonderfull and once fitted the launcher transforms a pretty mean looking AK-74 into a very intimadating hand held artillary piece!

Say hello to my little comrade!
OK, so the time I might actually find these grenades of real use may be limited, but for sheer head turning outragousness the GP-30 is a must have item for any Russian theme airsoft team. In this, Classic Army have been quite clever in recognising the 'bling' value of the gadget, by adding a false GP-30 grenade cone which screws into the end of the launcher, thereby turning it into a nice large capacity battery box!

The Classic Army AK grenade launcher might have limited skirmish value, but it is photogenic on the level of Angelina Jolie!

...And, if I do manage to bag a group of unfortunate enemy with my Elmer Fud cannon - the amusement this will cause will be more than adequate for me to justify the cost!

--- Note: I will be writing a field and usage report in due course ---

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Useful Links...

> Red Alliance forum review of the Classic Army AK launcher
> Airsoftica review of STAR GP-30 launcher (of which the Classic Army model is a clone)
> World.guns.ru article on the real steel Russian GP-25/30 grenade launchers

> Classic Army data sheet for AK launcher fitting
> King Arms 120R Cartridge M381 HE VN