King Arms – FN FAL Tactical Carbine
We’ve taken a step away from the Tokyo Marui rifles we know and love to take a look at the King Arms FN FAL rifle. Having never used a King Arms AEG before, it will be interesting to see how it compares to Tokyo Marui as a manufacturer, who in my mind, have always set the standard for quality and reliability.
The FN FAL (Fabrique Nationale – Fusil Automatique Léger or ‘Light Automatic Rifle’) started life in Belgium in 1947 where the first prototype model was completed. Originally chambered for the 7.92mm cartridge, Fabrique Nationale were forced to re-design the rifle to accept the NATO adopted standard 7.62mm round. Subsequently a number of different variants have been produced, with each adopting country a slightly different specification. For example, in 1957 the United Kingdom adopted a FAL built under licence with slight modifications on the original design, later to be re-designated the L1A1 SLR (self loading rifle) – the predecessor to the SA80 (or L85A2).
Our King Arms FN FAL Tactical Carbine model, although smaller in dimensions, given it’s ‘Carbine’ configuration, closely resembles the original L1A1 SLR model. The full size King Arms FN FAL includes the folding carry handle found on the top of the L1A1 and is the closest you will find as an Airsoft replica currently produced today.
Length: 900mm
Weight: 3.0kg
Magazine Capacity: 90 Rounds
Velocity: 325fps with 0.2g BB
Gearbox Type: V3 Style
The box of the FN FAL Tactical Carbine is pretty huge, around the same size as the TM M14 box, and for good reason too, as the polystyrene base is moulded to take the full size FN FAL which is around 23cm longer. The full length FN FAL is 1300mm long, that is a tad longer than an M14 which believe me, is a long gun! The Tactical Carbine model is 900mm long, which in comparison is around 4cm longer than a solid stock AK47, if that helps you to visualise it’s dimensions. Although a good environmental solution to use the same box, thus saving on the amount of packaging manufactured, it’s not overly practical when it comes to storage. The lid is nothing too flash, but it does contain some useful safety information as well as the wording ‘Airsoft Product’, something really nice to see in case you have a curious postman or over zealous customs official.
Opening up the box you are presented with a rather flash looking rifle, complete with red barrel plug, a 90 round lo-cap magazine, a 6 page A4 sized instruction manual (printed in English!) and as a special bonus – King Arm’s very own 200 round speed loader which is an ergonomic improvement of the similar design from Tokyo Marui. The manual is printed for the full size FN FAL model, which includes a single A4 sheet which covers the differences on the Tactical Carbine model. It also includes a detailed schematic for both series. Disappointingly no cleaning rod / un-jamming tool is included in the package.
Removing the gun from the box, I was quite impressed with the weight. It wasn’t too heavy, which surprised me as apart from the pistol grip, fore-grip and stock, it’s an all metal AEG – yet equally it wasn’t too light to feel ‘flimsy’. Considering that a solid stock AK47 weighs 3.8kg, the Tactical Carbine is quite comfortable at only 3kg.
Now usually at this point in the review, I list all of the metal parts on an AEG, with this one, I won’t bother – as stated above, it’s all metal apart from the stock, pistol grip and fore-grip. There are few markings found on this AEG, which are as follows ‘FAL CAL. 7.62x51mm NATO’ in white written on the left hand side of the receiver. There is also deep set markings for S (safe), R (single shot) and A (automatic) which also appear on the left hand side. No other markings appear on the gun, and there is nothing to give away that it’s an Airsoft model and not a real firearm.
So, starting at the barrel end of things, lets work our way down the gun and talk about the features. The rather mean looking flash hider is removable uncovering a standard 14mm counter clockwise thread, allowing the use of a silencer or tracer adapter. The outer barrel is also constructed of steel, and this is where the forward sling mounting point is located. Above this is where the fore-sight can be found, and yes, you’ve guessed it, is also constructed of high quality steel. The sight is adjustable using the tool provided in the box, which alters the height of the BB impact point by turning either clockwise or counter clockwise. Above this is the fake ‘gas regulator’ and a dummy piston and spring which is removable – not quite sure what purpose this serves other than adding to the ‘fiddle factor’.
The vented fore-grip is constructed of plastic and although quite ‘skinny’, is comfortable to hold. It is held in place by a locking pin which is located towards the front, underneath the fore-sight. The fore-grip then drops down and slides forwards to remove. Moving further back we come to the guns cocking handle mechanism which opens up the ejection port allowing access to the hop-up dial. The handle itself is threaded to allow removal, and is not installed on the gun when packaged, otherwise it does not leave enough clearance for the box to close properly. Although easy to put on, it is also a little too easy to remove and I fear could be easily lost in the field. So you have two options, either remove it once the hop-up is satisfactorily adjusted, or put a little threadlock or superglue on the thread to keep it in place and stop it working loose.
The magazine release unusually is on the right hand side, whereas all of the other controls are on the left, and to be honest in my opinion is not the gun’s best feature. Whilst the magazines are easily loaded in a similar way to M14 and G3 magazines, by hooking in the front of the magazine at an angle and then pulling back whilst pushing upwards – the magazine release is not so easy to operate. It requires a lot of travel to push forward and release the magazine, it is a fairly small button, it’s located in an awkward position and is quite sharp. It doesn’t make for very quick and easy magazine changes, and at present only 90 round magazines are available for the FN FAL series, so you might need a few of them.
The selector switch protrudes nicely from the left hand side, making it easy to switch fire modes, but unfortunately for you lefties, it’s not ambidextrous. Mind you, you’ve got the magazine release on the right hand side, you can’t have everything! The trigger guard (yup, steel again) is a little on the small size, so those of you with bulkier gloves might find it a tight squeeze. The rear sights which are adjustable for windage and elevation are quite a clever design. Whilst the windage is adjusted traditionally using a Allen key (or hex wrench as they call it), the elevation is adjusted by pressing in button and sliding the sight assembly forwards and backwards, which allows for quick adjustment – clever! I did find the sights a little difficult to use in lower light conditions however, as the tiny peep hole simply doesn’t let enough light through. So when the target is against darker backgrounds, the entire sight picture merges into one – still, being an Airsoft gun, you can guide your shots onto the target.
The stock is a comfortable size and shape and easily accommodates a large capacity 8.4v battery. Although you’d probably need a custom sized pack to squeeze in a 9.6v, you don’t really need it as the rate of fire, even with the 325fps velocity, is very reasonable indeed. The rubber stock cap makes the rifle comfortable to shoulder, whilst ensuring it’s not going to slip easily. It is removed in much the same way as the G3 series of rifles, by sliding it downwards, but it’s a bit stiff so it needs a firm tap. On the underside is the rear sling mounting point, which also swivels and both of these mounting points appear to be fairly secure.
Operation, Range & Accuracy
Using the speed loader provided, we loaded the magazine up with 90 0.2g Excel BB’s, which takes a fair few presses of the plunger! I do hope that King Arms release a hi-cap for this rifle soon. Inserting a freshly charged 8.4v 3300mah NiMH into the rear stock compartment, we flipped the gun onto semi-automatic fire and took a few shots ‘down range’ to check the hop-up adjustment. As with most Airsoft guns, it didn’t shoot very far out of the box, and required a little adjustment to get good range, with a nice flat trajectory. The hop-up is adjusted by pulling back on the cocking handle which moves the metal cover backwards exposing the dial, hidden in the ejection port. King Arms have chosen a similar design to that of the G3 series of Airsoft guns, a tried and tested method which is easy to adjust. A few turns of the dial found the gun shooting nice and straight, and I was pleased to find the hop very stable and easy to find that sweet spot.
Some of the targets we had set up were some old CD’s hanging from a thread at about 30m (they make good targets, especially as they shatter on impact!) and an A4 sized ‘bullseye’ target at about 55m. With the sights adjusted as best as possible, and the hop-up set the CD’s were an easy target, although at 30m I did have to aim slightly below the desired point of impact, as they were a little too close. With plastic shattering everywhere on full-auto, the rate of fire was confirmed as rather impressive. Onto the A4 sized target, and an entire 90 round magazine emptied into it pretty much covered the page, with the majority of shots landing within an 8 inch grouping – and let me tell you, 90 round magazines disappear very quickly so controlled 3-5 round bursts are much needed! Maximum range was difficult to determine within the confines of the space we had, but it was easy to see that this rifle was on par with any competitor of similar barrel length, firing at a similar velocity.
It is certainly a fairly noisy gun to shoot, being of full metal construction, including gearbox internals it makes a somewhat ‘mechanical’ noise when fired, which is noticeably different when firing a plastic bodied AEG. After putting 7-8 magazines through it, we didn’t experience any mis-feeds or jams of any kind.
Conclusion
The King Arms FN FAL Tactical Carbine is certainly a very capable rifle, that is built like a tank and performs just as reliably. 
There have been a fair few manufacturers who have mistakes on their first releases (name no names), which unfortunately put the general Airsoft public off future purchases until their confidence has been restored in the products. I can safely say that this is not the case with the King Arms FN FAL series. My only criticism at the time of writing this review, there are still no hi-cap magazines available for these rifles, and they’ve been out a little while now. Also, being a full metal AEG, some care needs to be taken with the finishing of the rifle. As with real steel fire-arms, they need to be treated to a spot of oil rubbed into the surface from time to time to prevent surface rust, which can accumulate quite quickly, especially under damp conditions. A petroleum based oil is best for this, such as WD-40, but care needs to be taken not to get this near plastic or rubber parts (such as the hop-up mechanism for example).
At only 900mm long, this rifle is equally suited to both Woodland and CQB play and would make a pleasant change on the battlefield to the armada of M4’s that seem to turn up at every skirmish. So if you want something new and different, yet solid and reliable then the FN FAL Tactical Carbine could well be for you. Also, the price tag at only £300 from some retailers make it quite an attractive offer, for a full metal AEG firing at 325fps out of the box… you really can’t complain.
