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Mancraft VSR 10 SDIK: Review and Build
Following on from the poll I did, the Mancraft SDIK VSR was the final contender in the top 3. Having owned one of the first UK Mancraft SDIK’s a few years ago I was hesitant to pick up another, as the first batch was very hit and miss performance wise.
However as it was requested in the poll and I’d seen some better feedback on the latest version I thought what they hell, I’ll give it ago :)
So with that in mind, I bring to you, the Mancraft SDIK Review/build.
I won’t cover the disassembly of the rifle in full as it’s been covered in my other post here.
Initial Thoughts:
Having used an SDIK years ago when they first surfaced I knew what to expect to a degree, however the new version look much better than the initial ones.
The parts were well packaged and presented, the actual items themselves felt great and you can tell they have clearly paid attention to detail and have a good sense of quality control.
All of the Mancraft SDIK parts felt great in the hands, I’m a big fan of the more mechanical HPA in general as it just seems much simpler for maintenance and servicing should anything go wrong. Considering there are very few moving parts, I’d be quite surprised something would get damaged other than user error.
As mentioned earlier I had one of the original silver regulators for my first SDIK which sadly wasn’t very good at all, had leak issues and massive inconsistencies. For this build I opted for the M.A.R.S regulator I’d heard is was consistent and fitted well in the stock.
Parts Used:
For this build I went with:
Base rifle was the CYMA 701 Airsoft Pro Hop Arm (had it spare, otherwise I’d of gone ASPUK) Stock TM 430mm barrel Steel cylinder (had it in my spares, possibly ASPUK or PPS) Maple Leaf Monster Bucking (70 degree) Mancraft SDIK for VSR (45 degree) Mancraft M.A.R.S Regulator Mancraft Gas Reduction Kit Mancraft SDIK Silencing Seals Mancraft SDIK VSR (45 degree) Spare Seals
Installation:
Installing the Mancraft SDIK is easy, I mean really easy.
Firstly you’ll want to strip down the rifle to just the receiver and cylinder (internals removed) like the below.
Once you’re down to this stage, you will want to lubricate the o rings and wrap some PTFE tape around the SDIK cylinder head. If you purchased the SDIK silencing seals set (or have o-rings which fit) then you’ll want to install this as shown below.
Once you’ve the main unit assembled, you’ll want to slide it into the receiver, guiding the airline into what was the spring guide stopper hole and reinstall the trigger, using the included brass pipe to go over the air line and up into the receiver as the new spring guide stopper so it looks like this: (there is a small round piece which can go on, I left it off because once it’s on it’s tough to get of)
That’s the bulk of the installation, it really is that quick, the next piece depends on what regulator you opted for and how you want to run the line.
I ran mine in the stock as the Mancraft M.A.R.S is slim enough to comfortably fit in there.
To run it into the stock you’ll want to line the airline up with the left (non-safety) side of the trigger unit.
Once you have the airline fitting correctly, you’ll be left with a decent length of hose, cut this to a suitable size and then a bit more. Better to have too much than no enough.
Performance: My performance testing has been limited due to my lack of available space and the weather, however with the little time I had to get a few shots off I was pleasantly surprised.
With the regulator dialled in to 500fps on .2s and running a foam filled B&T QD suppressor, the rifle is very quiet with .4s. The silencing seals (essentially an O-ring) helps with the metal on metal noise and replaces it with a small thud (this could further be eliminated by filling the stock cavities with foam.
A decent foam filled suppressor certainly helps with the muzzle report too. If you’re running a shorter Gspec barrel you’ll want to potentially purchase the reduction kit to reduce the air used and match the cylinder/barrel ratio.
With the barrel/hop combination I used the range and accuracy potential was definitely there, bucking will need to be bedded in though.
As for consistency the first handful of shorts were varying between 5 -10 fps, however once everything has started to mesh together and I’d put a few more rounds through, it settled down to 1-2 fps over 10 shots. This was a huge improvement over the silver regulator I had previously and is very good, genuinely pleasantly surprised. I would suggest the M.A.R.S over the standard one.
Conclusion:
Overall my initial impressions of the Mancraft SDIK for VSR is that it’s a vast improvement over their earlier versions. Installation is easy and quick; everything just seems to work as it’s supposed to, which in airsoft is a rare and beautiful thing lol
Performance wise it’s good from my limited tests (I’ll update as and when I can), the effort to cock the rifle is minimal (low resistance and only a few CM of movement required).
The quietness is a huge benefit and the fact that you can adjust the FPS to the ammo and fields limits you are playing with.
Would I recommend this? Sure, if you want to go HPA then the Mancraft SDIK is certainly a great option, even the M.A.R.S regulator by itself is good if you plan on running a gas sniper in HPA (I’ll be making an adapter hose to use on my Tanaka)
Will this convert me from spring rifles? No, to me spring is an old school platform, honed from hours of tinkering and testing, usually resulting in an accurate and consistent platform.
That being said, I’ll certainly be keeping a HPA rifle in my collection and will hopefully be comparing it to the Wolverine Bolt in due course.
