As I’m sure you all know, there has been a huge amount of interest in the Magpul “Masada” / Magpul-Bushmaster “ACR” saga – and right from the start (ie., SHOT show 2007) Magpul announced that they intended to make an airsoft version of the rifle as well as the real-steel ones.  Such forward-thinking and recognition of the airsoft market (both from a skirmishing and professional training perspective) was really leading-edge at the time too.Well at long last, there’s been some very very exciting news in the airsoft world this week.  For those of you who don’t have an account on Arnie’sAirsoft, “uscmCorps” from Arnie’s has kindly permitted me to re-cap the news he posted there, based on information he received first-hand at Magpul PTS’s HQ in Hong Kong.  The words that follow are his (editted for brevity and clarity only). 

The A&K Sportsline Masada:

Magpul PTS has licensed A&K to re-release their replica Masada as a Magpul PTS licensed product. The licensed A&K Masada will have a Magul PTS Authorized Holographic Label and unique serial number.During discussions with A&K, Magpul PTS made it clear that they would license A&K to manufacture their version of the Masada, however, A&K must assist Magpul PTS in trying to stop all the unauthorized ACM development of Magpul PTS products in Mainland China (which A&K did assist with and thus the unauthorized ACM FMG-9 and ACM Massoud ceased development). Furthermore, only the A&K/Magpul PTS Sportsline Masadas that have the legitimate authorized Magpul PTS Holographic label and unique serial number that Magpul PTS issued are allowed to be sold. Only the authorized Sportsline Masadas possess warranties, which are upheld by A&K themselves. Any retailers/distributors found selling the old stock of Masadas without the Magpul PTS authorized holographic label will face legal action.The new MSRP of the Sportsline Masada is undetermined right now. US$250 is possible and that is a price I heard from a few sources, but not from Magpul PTS. Magpul PTS isn’t dictating what the price must be and are leaving it completely up to A&K. 

The Magpul PTS ACR:

Here are the details you all want to know:

Two optional handguards: a Polymer one and an Aluminum railed one (also CNC’ed from 6061 Aluminum Block), which can be quick swapped between the two.Two optional stocks: A Folding stock and a fixed stock which can be quick swapped. The fixed stock is very reminiscent of the Magpul UBR. The Dupont Polymer used throughout these guns are phenomenal. And yes, I got it straight from Magpul PTS, the polymer they use is widely considered one of the best polymers available on the commercial/industrial market anywhere.Optional quick swap barrel assemblies: Definitely 11.5″ and 14.5″ barrels, and perhaps an 18″ SPR barrel later. All barrels are tool-less quick-change barrel systems. They’re quick swappable just like the real thing and very solid. Each barrel has its own hop-up chamber that’s fully enclosed within the barrel assembly.Magazine Compatibility: Compatible with all standard 5.56 AEG mags (TM spec like most AEG M16 mags are) and obviously Magpul PTS PMAGs.5.56mm (AR style) OR 7.62mm (AK style) QUICK SWAPPABLE LOWER ASSEMBLIES.  The ACR has a modified G36 gearbox which has the motor directly attached to the gearbox via a caged design. You pull one pin, the entire lower receiver unhooks from the upper receiver. You pull another pin, the entire gearbox + motor can be pulled out of the 5.56 lower receiver, and the gearbox can then be dropped into the ACR’s 7.62 lower receiver. Push the pin back in to lock the gearbox in place, hook the 7.62 lower receiver onto the upper receiver, lock the last pin in to reassemble the gun, and you’re GOOD TO GO!!!7.62 Magpul PTS AK style polymer magazines. Because the PTS ACR is slightly unique in design, they couldn’t make quick swappable 5.56/7.62 lower receivers AND have the gun compatible with the TM Spec AK AEG magazines already on the market. As a result they’ve made their own 7.62 AK style polymer midcaps which will probably have a 150 BB capacity.Quick swap AEG spring: Removal of a screw at the rear of the gearbox gives you direct access to the gearbox’s AEG spring for a quick swap to a spring of your choosing, without the need to disassemble the gearbox itself.The internals are robust and are modified to Magpul PTS’s own design. The default FPS will be 350fps using 0.2g BBs. However, depending on which country the gun ships to, the various distributors will receive an ACR with a FPS that falls within the legal allowed limits of the country.14mm CounterClockwise Threads. I seem to recall that it ships with a regular birdcage or Phantom style flashhider. Whatever the real ACR ships with is what the Magpul PTS ACR will ship with.Most up to date version of the ACR: The ACR has gone through a lot of changes since the Masada was first developed. Most notably the charging handle’s position has been moved forwards to avoid interference with optics and manipulation of the charging handle. Everything that should be ambi-dextrous is on the PTS ACR.Gas-Blow-Back capable. Already in development, they’ve designed the Magpul PTS ACR so that the GBB system they’re designing will drop right into the gun once you remove the gearbox+motor assembly. The GBB parts will come later and won’t be available immediately upon the ACR’s release.Three colors: The ACR will be available in Magpul FDE, Black and Foliage Green.A relatively competitive price: MSRP US$450. The Magpul PTS ACR in its default retail configuration (14.5″ barrel, polymer handguard, fixed stock) will have a retail MSRP of around US$450.All accessories: the folding stock, separate barrel assemblies, metal railed handguard, 7.62mm lower receiver (which will come with three of the 7.62 PTS polymer midcaps), and spare 7.62 midcaps, will all be sold separately and will all be available at the same time as the ACR’s release. (The Gas-Blow-Back parts will come later). When asked how much it would cost to have a package deal in which a customer could buy the ACR with ALL the aforementioned accessories in one box, they estimated the cost may be around $750.Best of all?  The Magpul PTS airsoft ACR will be out before the end of the year!  Expect to see it appearing at retailers in time for Christmas, and also expect to see production examples on display at the 2010 SHOT Show.Keep checking back here for further news in the meantime, and check out the Magpul PTS website too for all their other great stuff:  www.magpul-pts.com