The packaging

The T10 comes in a brown-grey cardboard box with black labels containing the description of the replica. On the top of the box is a small photo presenting the replica and a big logo of Action Army Company. The set contains a replica, a magazine, a fake magazine and a user's manual.

First impression

The first impression after taking the replica out of the box is very good. A robust, compact design, a polymer which is pleasant to the touch and matte paint look excellent. All parts are very well fitted and we did not notice any slack. High ergonomics can be felt at the initial contact: the replica sits comfortably and firmly in one's hands. Its aggressive design and materials used in it production it does not resemble a toy gun at all.

External look

The stock

This part of the replica went through a complete redesign from the original VSR-10 which resembled a traditional hunting rifle. The stock in the T10 has a more aggressive, modern shape. It is made of two colour, matte, robust, polymer which is pleasant to the touch and has metal rails and QD sling mount sockets. Inside the stock is a filling made of black plastic which is used to stabilize the external barrel. Taking into account the number of rails and sockets the stock is surprisingly light: it weighs only 1612 g. People that like gadgets or making videos from their games will be pleased with the number of ways one the rails can be used. We can attach various accessories to them such as sling mounts, additional RIS rails or a video camera. An interesting novelty is the fixed mounting of the magazine latch. The enable the replica to be quickly split into two parts, which is usedful in transporting it, and the fixed latch means we do not have to worry about loosing it.

Ergonomics

The detachable pistol grip with a stabilizing pad underneath has a pleasant, rough, anti slip texture. The set comes with only a single grip but it seams that other shapes will be available on the market at a later date. It will allows the users to customize the grip in accordance with individual preferences.

The replica has an adjustable cheek pad. It can be elevated up and down using a knob inside the stock and also lock into place using another knob under the stock.

The length of the stock can be adjusted using plastic spacing pads which are inserted under the plastic, ergonomic butt stock. In my opinion this solution is not the best one as we do not get any pads with the set. If we want to have a longer stock we have to buy the pads separately. Because of the fact that the replica is quite new it is currently unknown how will the availability of those parts look like in the future.

The receiver

Contrary to the VSR-10, the receiver of the T10 was made from a single piece of metal with a Picatinny rail on top. This solution has the advantage over the traditional design which, after a longer period of use, develops slack on the bolt handle which result in the nozzle not being inserted into the hop-up chamber in the same manner each time.

The bolt handle in this model is in a similar shape to the stand alone products made by AAC but it was not CNC machined but casted. Thanks to its lengthened and broadened design it is very comfortable. People favoring extreme tuning will especially appreciate this feature. The and of the bolt handle has anti slip groves which can optionally fit rubber O-rings.

External barrel

The external barrel is made of metal. It has a single diameter throughout its whole length and for minimizing slack the thread at the which goes into the receiver has a rubber O-ring. It has matte texture which is pleasant to the touch. The black paint on the barrel seems to be very fragile yet it does not have a tendency to scrape off. Unfortunately, it gets dirt very easily: even touching it with bare hands leaves stains. From the exiting end the barrel has in inner thread which is used to screw on the end plug, which in turn has another inner thread for mounting on optional suppressor. 

The magazine

Here is the biggest surprise of this replica! When I first saw the T10, as most other people, I wondered how did Action Army Company solve the issue of loading the BBs from the magazine which is situated just in front of the trigger while using the well known VSR-10 system. And the surprise is: the magazine in the replicas is a fake one which can house a space, traditional VSR-10 magazine. The proper magwell is where it was in the original, slightly more to the front of the replica. This solution, though controversial, improved the looks of the replica and, in my opinion, it fits better in one's hands. The fake magazine is a polymer shell resembling a shortened PMAG by Magpul, bearing the 7.62X51 marking on the top part. There are opinions that the fake magazine is a bit too long but it is possible that the manufacturer will shorten it in the future thus forfeiting the space for a holding a spare magazine.

The magazine proper is the same one that Action Army Company has been making for the VSR-10 for a while now. It has an increased capacity of 50 BBs. Using a semi-translucent plastic to make its shell is a great choice as it allows to check the amount of BBs in the magazine. Another change is a narrowing in the place where the handles for pulling the magazine are situated, which is useful when this is one with gloves. Another good thing is that the magazine falls out by itself after pressing the magazine latch release switch. It is especially useful as the inserted magazine is positioned slightly inside the stock contrary to the traditional VSR-10. Despite the fact that the magazines are of very good quality I put more trust in the original TM magazines which are compatible with the T10. To be exact, the issue is the with the magazines themselves but with the quality of the BBs available (0,45 g in my case). Some time after opening the packet the BBs change their surface to a more rugged, matte one and can therefore get jammed in an increased capacity magazine. The same BBs worked well in the 30 BB magazine from TM. This is not a rule yet I had this problem.

Disassembly

To disassemble the replica one must unscrew the screws underneath the replica. The designers decided to add one screw compared to the traditional design of the VSR-10, which is situated at the height of the trigger guard. I personally think that this is a great idea taking into account the broken threads which are a common problem and can only be repaired by replacing the threads with metal threaded tubes. After unscrewing all of the hex screws we slit the stock from the barrel which is connected to the receiver and the trigger group. To get to the hop-up chamber one must unscrew one hex screw underneath the receiver which in turn allows us to unscrew the whole barrel together with the hop-up chamber.

Hop-up

The hop-up chamber is of the same basic type as in the VSR-10 from Tokyo Marui, with some minor changes. As in the original, the chamber is made of two halves held together with Phillips screws. To take it apart we also have to unscrew a plastic piece which is responsible for pushing the hop-up lever.

The manufacturer has decided to use a metal ball in stead of a plastic mushroom and increase the number of teeth in the hop-up lever adjusting mechanism, which improves its workings: it is more precise and less susceptible to misalignment. Another good novelty is the decrease of the gap in the lower part of the chamber where, in the original TM design, the bucking had no wall behind it which often resulted in air leaking while a shot was fired.

Another novelty is the use of stock plastic hop-up lever with a concave type spacer, which resembles the Maple Leaf CNC Aluminum Hop-up Arms for VSR-10 design.

The bucking used in the stock gun is a black one, with a traditionally shaped nub, known from other Action Army Company products. At this point I noticed one problem with leaking air at the point where the bucking and the nozzle connect. This problem is known from the original TM design and is probably caused by the aforementioned gap at the bottom of the hop-up chamber. The best news, however, is the fact that after replacing the bucking for a Maple Leaf Autobot, which has a metal sealing ring, we get a 100% airtight set without any additional work (sing an M150 AirsoftPro spring): when I pressed my finger against the barrel and pulled the trigger the piston stopped inside the cylinder. This is the biggest advantage of this chamber. Now one does not have to worry about the air tightness between the bucking and the barrel which usually causes other problems, such as misalignment of the hop-up or BBs that are not properly span.

The hop-up setting system, known from the VSR-10 has its pros and cons. It is located on the left side of the stock, in a place where it connects with the external barrel. It is a small, flat, metal lever which is mover forward or backward to adjust the hop-up. On one hand, we have a constant access to the adjustment system, on the other hand, it is permanently in danger of being moved by accident. But, you can have it all as they say.

The inner barrel

The inner barrel is made of brass. It has a part that lacks the post and is 430 mm long and 6,03 mm in diameter, according to the manufacturer. It is stabilized by a single plastic stabilize. Unfortunately, it is not the stabilizer with a double O-ring, which AAC has in its offer, but a simple, plastic disc. The barrel has grove at the at the exiting end where an O-ring can be placed, but it is not present in the set. Using it will stabilize the barrel further.

The trigger

The 90° trigger in a stock replica is a very good thing. Thanks to its design we will be able to tune the replica quite extensively. Despite the fact that the manufacturer informs us that the trigger is designed to work with an M120 spring, out tests showed that is work flawlessly with an M150 spring from AirsoftPro. The whole group is made of metal. The parts look robust and they should not pose any problems. The trigger is adjustable using a hex screw situated in front of the trigger. It is worth checking just before using, or after a longer time of not using the replica, if the screws holding the trigger group to the receiver are not loose. No thread glue was used to immobilize the screws and prolonged use may result in them getting loose. Te trigger has a safety switch known from the VSR-10. It works flawlessly, has no slack and when switched is works with a slight resistance. Unfortunately, mover by accident while reloading the replica, it changes its position which can be very irritating. Non the less, most players will probably remove the safety switch altogether. A steel pin, which sets the receiver in the right position, was modified a bit and has a bevelled indention which locks into the main spring guide. The eliminates the cases of misaligning the guide which in turn can lead to not being able to lock the piston against the trigger sear.

The pneumatic system

The stock pneumatic system generates around 280 fps, more or less the same as the VSR-10. It is not much for a sniper rifle replica yet when buying such a replica one must be prepared to tuning and costs connected with it, which often exceed the cost of the replica itself. The piston guide is made of plastic and does not look very robust. It will work properly with the stock spring but that's probably it. The black spring, used in the replica, has an internal diameter of 7 mm and does not generate too much power. However the piston look very interesting. Despite the fact that it is a single piece of plastic it looks very robust. I think that a slight tuning would not affect it in a negative way. It is very tight with the stock cylinder. Thanks to its design, while a shot is fired without a BB, it works very quietly. Unfortunately, when tuning the replica above 500 fps, the piston does not work well and it should be replaced.

The cylinder is made of metal and looks very robust. It works well with an M150 spring. It is smooth, polished inner surface which works excellent with the stock O-ring. After using a proper grease (we used one made by Abbey), the O-ring is 100% airtight. The cylinder head is of standard design, made of metal and has nor rubber bumper on the surface that makes contact with the piston. It has an O-ring that improves the head's thread seal. The nozzle is of a similar shape to the standard TM VSR-10 one and has a small narrowing which goes directly into the hop-up bucking's collar.

Shooting

Considering its power and the Polish arisoft FPS limits in the community, we decided not to test the replica in this stock version. Before shooting we replaced the hop-up bucking with a Maple Leaf Autobot60. The piston, the spring guide, the spring and the cylinder head were replaced with AirsoftPro parts (the stock O-ring was retained as the one from AirsoftPro turned out to be too small). The rest was left as it was delivered in the box. This way we got 575 fps on 0,20g BBs and 415 fps on 0,45 g BBs, so a joule creep of 622,5 fps.

The replica performs excellent during shooting. The BB's trajectory is flat, straight and repeatable which is a very good result considering the replica underwent quite a limited tuning. To achieve a perfect effect the inner barrel should also be replaced. The manufacturer states that it is a precision barrel but, in my opinion, replacing it would improve the results further. Thanks to the enlarged bolt handle and the smooth operation of the cylinder in the receiver, reloading was done without much effort, even while being prone. I am a VSR-10 user therefore I was worried about the fake magazine sticking out but it does not obstruct anything. Moreover, I have the feeling that it helps to hold the replica better. Users of VSR-10 will not take long to get use to the T10.

We are currently waiting to a package with tuning parts from the Action Army Company. When it arrives, we will write about out observations ofter the parts were installed!

Summary

Mean people will say that the AAC T10 is just a VSR-10 with a few touch ups, which in fact is true, but Action Army Company goes a few steps beyond that. One can also discuss if the development paths taken were the right ones but surely the manufacturer cannot be accused of technological ignorance. When buying the AAC T10 we get an replica that look original, is technologically advanced and is worth further investments. Maybe the manufacturer did not add its legendary red hop-up chamber into the set or the inner barrel stabilizers but with the stock rifle e get a single piece receiver and an enlarged bolt handle. The replica by Action Army Company is not ready for use out of the box but, besides a single proprietary design, we do not have a single sniper rifle replica on the market which does not require tuning. Action Army Company gives us a really robust and original base which is worth investing into. And it will not be an investment into a hallow shell, a replica in which all the internal part have to be replaced. One thing is for sure: the AAC T10 is a new, based on the improved, well known for its robustness VSR-10 system. It is also one of the most interesting spring powered replicas that arrived in the market in recent time.

The replica has been rested thanks to the courtesy of Action Army Company