Specna Arms CNC V2 gearbox shell by Mancraft

CNC V2 gearbox shell

Have you ever cracked a gearbox shell? I did it few times myself. Probably the worst thing about such a defect is that the replica can continue to perform the cycle and only its performance will significantly decrease. It's an unpleasant feeling. Suddenly, the power of our toy drops significantly, we don't know what happened and only after returning home from the game it turns out that one of the most important components is damaged. Remember that a sudden drop in the performance of our airsoft gun should be a signal to immediately stop using it to prevent damage to more parts. The fault in question is so ungrateful that its elimination involves a lot of work. In fact, you have to build the entire mechanism that drives your replica from scratch. Of course, this is not a big challenge for an experienced service technician.

However, even when we use the services of such a professional, which minimizes the risk that we will break something, it is easy to fall into a spiral of expenses. Since we are already replacing the entire gearbox shell, maybe it's worth thinking about better bearings? And since the bearings are better, maybe we can finally replace the set of gears? While we're at it, this piston is so weak. Let's replace it with a better one. Well, once we have a new piston, we will not leave it in a standard cylinder. After all, these two parts require good quality heads. And since we've already sent some money, why stop here so close to the end? And so on, and finally it turns out that we have almost two complete gearboxes. Almost, because one has a broken shell.

There are probably such situations, but I have never encountered a properly assembled gearbox with an aluminium CNC frame to break. Therefore, I would treat the purchase of such a component as an investment. If we are to start a serious tuning of our replica, it is probably from this point on. Pistons, gears and other airsoft parts can be replaced over time with more durable and better-quality equivalents. However, if we keep damaging more and more shells, we will quickly become discouraged. It is therefore worth choosing this one item well. Fortunately, the new Specna Arms offer, created in cooperation with Mancraft, seems to be quite an interesting opportunity.

Specna Arms by Mancraft CNC V2 shell up close

The described aluminum CNC gearbox shell V2 is made of high-quality aluminium in CNC technology. It has a classic construction for the second version, but with a few improvements. As you might expect from such a well-thought-out design, there are a number of inspection openings that will facilitate service operations. A very nice addition is the fact that the described frame has holes for screws centring it in the receiver of our airsoft gun. An interesting fact is also the use of replaceable threads for the pistol grip screws.

Specna Arms has been known from the beginning of its history with quick spring change systems. It is no different in this case. The frame has a special cutout in the back, through which we can get out a special spring guide, which we get in the set together with the described product. According to the manufacturer's assurances, the described gearbox shell was designed mainly for the Edge series and thus with its dimensional twins, i.e., Core and Flex. Thanks to this, the frame fits very well to the body of the airsoft guns of these series and we can unscrew the described guide in the same way as in the factory solution. There is no problem to remove the guide with the back of the body through the hole left by the stock guide.

The described shell comes to us in a small cardboard box. Inside, the two halves of the shell are held together with a rubber band and the other accessories are in the bags. Among them, there are basically all the elements we need to properly assemble a gearbox based on this shell. These are both mounting screws that connect the two halves, as well as pins for the springs and the above-mentioned spring guide and screws centring the gearbox in the body. All these elements are of good quality and do not differ from the body itself.

Using the Specna Arms by Mancraft CNC V2 gearbox

As part of the test, I decided to use the described gearbox frame to build an airsoft gun for short-range combat. The basis of this unit is a Specna Arms airsoft gun from the Edge series. In order to pose a challenge to the described construction, I decided to bet on the Dual Sector Gear solution, i.e., DSG for short. If you are interested in what such a conversion is all about, check out one of the previous articles on the Gunfire blog where we described this type of modification.

I can say that in terms of working on the mechanism, I have not noticed any problems. A very nice touch are the various inspection holes that make it easier to properly shim the gearbox or check the angle of attack of the piston wheel, a popular AOE. After testing, I did not notice any problems that could be the result of problems with the described part.

The final opinion about the Specna Arms by Mancraft CNC V2 gearbox shell

The market of high-quality parts for airsoft guns is developing. More and more new manufacturers appear and existing projects are further developed. Good news from the consumer perspective. Thanks to this, proven solutions will become cheaper or we will experience new technologies that will push our hobby forward. That's why I'm glad that we have another good, durable gearbox shell at our disposal. The malicious may say that it does not bring much new, but in my opinion, it is not true. Currently, it is one of the better priced components of this type, which will certainly affect its popularity. In addition, it works well with components from other popular manufacturers. A nice solution are replaceable inserts with a thread for a pistol grip. It will certainly save some headaches after removing those tiny screws. If you are interested in my impressions after using this equipment for a long time, then look for me on Instagram, where there will certainly be more materials with the airsoft gun that received this gearbox shell.

Author: Boreq

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• Gearbox V2 vs V3 in airsoft guns
• How to start tuning an airsoft gun?