Arthurian Airsoft has released the ‘Excalibur’ range of AEGs with something for every player. The Excalibur AEGs are all full metal construction with numerous styles of external parts to compliment and individualise every variant.
The rail system for the Excalibur Mark 18 is based off the Daniel Defense ‘CQBR’ and dubbed as the MK18. It is a free float rail system painted in a lovely looking bronze colour and is 9.5″ in length giving you plenty of rail space for attachments and the ideal length for the operator ‘C Clamp’. With 22 rail slots available on all four sides, there’s not much you can’t add onto this. On the front and rear of the top rail system, it comes with some very low profile iron sights and as they can flip down, it makes way for a dot sight or scope to be attached without conflicting with the sights.
The upper receiver has the standard 20mm Picatinny rail on the top with the laser engraved ‘T’ number markings which continue onto the rail system. The forward assist, although dummy, still moves back and forth when pressed. A nice design feature compared to some fixed, molded forward assists. The dust cover locks into place and flips down when the charging handle is pulled, this also reveals the hop up unit. When the mock bolt plate comes back, it locks into place so the user can easily adjust the hop up without having to keep pulling the charging handle back. This can be released again by pressing the bolt stop on the lower receiver. The thread on the upper receiver is the standard thread size for most rails designed for airsoft AEGs, making customisation of the rail endless.
The lower receiver noticeably bears the ‘Excalibur’ logo laser engraved on the left side of the mag well. The bolt release, as mentioned before, releases the locking bolt plate. The fire selector settings are engraved with the standard ‘Safe’, ‘Semi’ & ‘Auto’ setting with a selector switch which clicks positively into place on each firing mode. The buffer tube is still only 1″ (25mm) long but does feature the E&C (Exchange & Chrono) spring change system, proprietary to the Excalibur series rifles.
The main feature on the stock system of the Excalibur series is the E&C quick change spring system. As seen in the pictures, all you need to do to change the spring is unscrew the ring on the stock tube, rotate the stock tube 45 degrees and pull it off. After that unscrew the knurled screw at the back and the spring & spring guide will pop out. Be careful not to let it fly across the room, it may release with some force. Ultimately, this process only takes about 30 seconds.
The Gearbox:
The gearbox is very well constructed with components you’d expect from most mid-range AEGs, however, the Excalibur series comes preinstalled with 8mm bearings, a 15 metal tooth piston, enhanced tappet plate and of course the E&C spring change system.
This model comes with a battery compatible crane stock, meaning finding batteries to fit the Excalibur Mark 18 is easy to find. If you are unsure of what batteries to use, take a look at the technical specifications for the recommended batteries. The crane stock has two tabs at the back to press in and the back plate comes off, then remove the rear spacer and you can install your battery. The stock is adjustable between 6 positions which extend up to an extra 80mm giving you plenty of choice for a comfortable shooting configuration.
Technical Specifications:
– Overall length: 707mm – 788mm
– Outer barrel length: 9.5″
– Inner barrel length: 270mm
– Average RPM (8.4v NiMh):
– Average FPS: 335-340
– Thread size: -14mm
– Main body material: Aluminium
– Colour(s): Black/Bronze/Tan
– Magazine size: 300 High capacity magazine
