ICS CXP Hog QRS Airsoft

ICS have been around since 1995, so in airsoft terms that makes them one of the ‘old timers’ of the industry. As with many manufacturers, they’ve had their fair share of ups and downs in the past, but what I see arriving from them these days shows that they’ve paid great attention to ironing-out the bad and really concentrating on the good. Some airsoft companies seem content to just follow a single line of thought in relation to their designs, but I have to say in the past couple of years ICS have not done this in any way. I’ve always been a fan of their split gearboxes, which are reliable and easy to work on should you so desire, and personally I’ve never had an AEG from them that has been anything other than exemplary.

ICS have pretty much always provided sturdy, full-metal performance replicas of some of the most iconic firearms out there, with first-rate internal parts and mechanisms; in their own words: “Everyone wants to be the winner on the battlefield whether it is real life or just a game, and the gun in each fighter’s hands plays an important role which determines who is on the winning side. The exterior of a gun is obvious; receivers, sights, and barrels. However, the inside of an ICS AEG is a symphony composed of more than 400 parts, and through around 20 types of precision machinery processes. The inner beauty of the ICS AEG is our passion, effort, and spirit.”

Although this statement correctly plays up the amount of time and effort that goes into what is inside an ICS airsoft replica, it kind of plays down one of the areas that I’ve seen them just getting stronger and stronger in, and that’s the standard of the external design and finish. Once upon a time you’d be hard-pressed to tell an ICS AEG apart from any other brand; an M4 was an M4, it was that simple.

Whole HOG

I use the word ‘replica’ a lot in relation to airsoft guns and that’s because many manufacturers strive to accurately replicate the real thing as closely as possible. ICS though obviously spotted the trend in the real firearms world where, yes, you did have your mighty Colts and Remingtons, but you also had a lot of much smaller ‘AR’ manufacturers ploughing their own furrow in terms of design in relation especially to upper and lower receivers, rail systems, and stocks. With their more recent releases ICS have followed that trend, not only designing their own metalwork, but also creating some fabulous designs for stocks, pistol grips and back-up ‘iron sights’, and the CXP QRS shows this completely; in my mind it’s an absolutely super design, which follows the trend away from out and out military models, instead following the creation of lightweight, slim line, ergonomic rifles and carbines for the recreational shooter.

Internally the HOG (which, by the way, stands for High Occupancy Handguard; no, me neither!) series of AEG are all made from the same components and feature the aforementioned split gearbox, an Infinite 2500 long pin motor, and an M100 spring. They all also benefit from the new ICS Electronic Blowback function which is a nice nod towards realism, giving some kinetic energy feedback. Given the M100 spring, it’s recommended that you use nothing greater than a 7.4V LiPo, and dependant on the exact model you can have your CXP either front or rear wired; I’ll come back to this later.

With some solid internals, things get even better on the outside of the QRS model though, as the upper receiver looks like it really is CNC machined with some aggressive, dynamic lines. The fit to the lower is incredibly tight and precise with no gaps or wobble in evidence; at the rear of the upper is a really nice ambidextrous charging handle, which seems to have become a bit of a fixture on the CXP range too. The Keymod rail system, which comes with three short sections of rail, is a unique design as well, and the battery fitting solution is simple and elegant. The battery sits inside the rail and the compartment is accessed by simply pushing through a retained pin just to the front of the top of the magwell; once you push the pin through the whole bottom section of the rail pivots open and down around two Allen screws at the front, making it straightforward to change batteries in the field.

Six Appeal

At the rear of the CXP is another clever piece of design, which is beautifully achieved, and that’s the sliding, six position skeleton stock; I’m going to take a wild guess here to say that the ‘QRS’ in the model name refers to ‘Quick Release Stock’, although that’s not specified anywhere I’ve seen. This would make sense, as rather than the usual release lever that you find on LE and Crane style stocks, the QRS is operated by depressing a broad, easy to locate plate on the underside of the short, stubby buffer tube; the buffer tube also incorporates a neat rear sling swivel in a cut-away.

Other than that, the CXP QRS features a comfortable pistol grip of ICS design, along with their excellent flip-up front and rear sights, their chunky flash hider, and an enlarged trigger guard. The magazine is the T-Mag, which is their innovative 300 round high capacity model with the clear ‘windows’; this is really neat, as you can at a glance tell how many BBs you expended.

Having owned a number of ICS AEGs over the years, the flawless operation and performance standard of the QRS came as a little surprise to me. Loaded up with .20g ‘Hardball’ BBs and with a NUPROL 7.4 LiPo fitted, it was time to take the little carbine to the chrono, and again, given the M100 spring fitted, it was no shock when it racked up a consistent and site-friendly 326fps. Accuracy was as I expected, that being excellent once the hop was securely set. Shots out to 30 metres were absolutely spot-on, with BBs ranging out to a good deal farther than that. ICS AEGs have never been slouches when it comes to accuracy, and the CXP line obviously follows that particular family tradition!

Conclusion

You can pick up a CXP HOG QRS from Fire Support for just £309.00, and once again I have to say that ICS are providing tremendous value for money; this is an AEG you can simply take out of the box, fit a battery, load-up with BBs and take straight out onto the range or skirmish field. You can have one in either plain black or tan, and both look absolutely stunning; if you’re in the market for a cracking little airsoft carbine that’s going to be a great crossover from CQB to woodland games, then I’d say take a very close look at the QRS!