Project Blue Ghost

Project Blue Ghost as it is today

The history of project Blue Ghost

This was my very first airsoft gun, it started out as a well loved AK-74M manufactured by a Chinese company called CYMA. Sure it was cheap and poorly made but it was a portal into the wonderful sport of Airsoft. For me this is where it all began. This is where my love for tech and modifications was born. Encased in a cast zinc shell laid a set of greasy gears and dirty plastics, but I didn’t care. This was a masterpeice in the making. For the next year and a half I would save up my hard earned money to buy shiny new parts for my rifle. I would make numerous mistakes and errors, but in the end I would learn my trade. The story of project Blue Ghost is the story of my path to becoming a Benchtech.

Laying the groundwork

When I first received my rifle in its generic cardboard box the first thing I did was tear it apart (much to the dismay of my parents). After closely examining each and every part and seeing how it interacted I had a rough understanding of the workings. I was able to put it back together with the exception of the hopup unit and took it to my local field for the first time. After the whirlwind of action and adrenaline which every airsofter experiences their first time I came to the conclusion that my beloved rifle needed some serious improvment.

Lonex gearboxes have a unique shine to them

After much reaserch and learning valuble information on modifications such as shimming and AOE correction, I set to work on what would be soon known as Blue Ghost. Before I could start upgrading I had to improve what already existed. I stripped down the internals and grabbed an old toothbrush and some denatured alcohol. After I had scrubbed every part clean of grim I started the long and frustating process of leaning to shim. It took me half the day but I finally got the gears to satifactory levels.

When I had completed every modification recommended on the online forums I religiously studied, I started onto the next step. . . upgrades.

The long path of upgrades

Finally the time had come, the moment that I had waited months for. Now that I had the groundwork laid and the money saved up I could finally start investing in some upgrades that would lead to real performance.

After comparing nearly every brand of motor I settled on a set of SHS 13:1 gears, a Lonex A-1 (Balanced) motor, and a BAAL piston. Combined with a 11.1v Turnigy LiPo I had a seriously capable rifle. . . until it started screaching. Turns out a M90 spring isn’t strong enough to propel the piston fast enough to keep it from crashing into the sector gear. Thankfully I didn’t see the need to expoxy in the piston rack so it was ripped off and the sector gear was saved.

swiss cheesing pistons reduces weight, imagine kicking a bowling ball versus a soccer ball

Three pistons, five springs, one motor, and six months later I had a winning combo. With a Lonex HT motor, M110, and a SHS blue piston my build was looking promising. While the HT motor decreased ROF the trigger response and efficiency were very notably increased. I took this setup many times to my local field D14 but I was still not satisfied.

Current setup and performance

Blue Ghost has come along way, with it’s polished gearbox and black oxide treated gears only the stock cylinder head hints of it’s origin. The blue glass-fiber nylon piston along with being dead silent gives project Blue Ghost it’s name.

In the end I decided to keep the Lonex A-2 motor dispite having issues with Lonex motors in the past. To replace the deteriorating stock shell I decided to go with a polished zinc shell by Lonex. Along with the shell came a dark blue nylon fiber tappet plate and 8mm steel bearings. I also kept the SHS 13:1 gears although I plan to replace them with Siegetek 10:1 gears in the future. For the piston I chose the iconic SHS blue which is a favorite among techs. The piston came pre-swiss cheesed from a drillpress. All of the compression parts except the cylinder are stock CYMA, they haven’t failed yet. To save the trigger contacts from arcing is a GATE Warfet 1.1 which has proved to be an invaluable upgrade. For range and accuracy at a decent price I chose a 455mm ZCI 6.03mm barrel, coupled with Maple Leaf bucking and H-hop nub. The ZCI barrel can hurl .28g bb’s up to 400ft (at 400fps with .20g) but effective range is closer to 300ft. The rate of fire is about 28-30 rounds/sec maximum though I have it dialed down to 20 as I feel anything higher is unnecessary for skirmishes.

In all this build cost far more than I care to think about but it was well worth it for the knowledge and experience. The countless hours and frustration put into this build gives this rifle special meaning. It’s a well tuned piece of tech that never fails to turn heads, but more importantly it’s somthing I can be proud of.

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