Airsoft Action 06 - Feb 2012 | Page 59

THE ARMOURY VFC M4 ES BABY VFC’s E series is made up of well-built, reasonably-priced weapons. Ratty checks out the little ‘un – the M4 ES Baby I ’ve been involved in a few custom projects in my many years’ involvement with airsoft. The majority of these have been M16/ M4 based, and many of those were to convert or make an M4 for CQB work. Patriot kits have been around for some time, but even they were deemed too big for what many people required. What was needed became obvious: an M4-based weapon that was similar in size to an MP5K. Something that met those specifications would be the perfect back- up weapon for someone using an M4, as it takes the same mags, or as a back-up for a sniper using a single-shot rifle. In a CQB environment, though, those specifications can be expanded: something with a good rate of fire, a decent-capacity hi-cap mag that could be wielded in much the same way as pistol. Some such things were built, but at great expense to the owner and many gruelling hours for the engineer. But now VFC has saved us all that bother (and money!) with the release of its M4 ES Baby. VFC M4 E Series VFC has been around for some time, offering a fairly extensive range of high-end AEGs. The E series is aimed more at the mid-level buyer, competing with brands such as Classic Army and ICS. VFC says the E stands for economic, but I think this does the E series a disservice – the build and finish is still on par with Classic Army et al. Both upper and lower receivers are constructed out of aluminium so are robust enough for most airsoft rough and tumble, yet still light enough to carry around all day. www.airsoftactionmagazine.com 059