Galaxy G7 (MP7A1)

Well, here’s a gun that hasn’t gotten very many reviews so far. I think I’ve only seen one review floating around online, so I’ll do my best to cover everything.

The Galaxy G7 MP7A1 retails for about $80, and I’ve only found it state-side at Point Act Wholesale.

The usual table of contents:

• Initial Impressions
• Appearance/Feel/Build Quality
• Performance
• Technical Information
• Pros/Cons
• The Bottom Line

Here we go:

Initial Impressions

Opening up the box reveals a nice, organized package containing your MP7 (with a 50 round low-cap magazine stored inside), Hi-cap (190 rounds) magazine, instruction manual, and a small box with the charger and the battery (7.2V, 450 mAh). First glance at the weapon, there are some obvious flaws in the finish, most notably on the side rails and the stock sliders (for the lack of a better term). Those parts are a bit gray and look scuffed up compared to the rest of the gun. Those aside, though, the gun looks fantastic!

Appearance/Feel/Build Quality

As I mentioned earlier, there are some notable flaws on the weapon which aren’t particularly aesthetically pleasing, however the parts still function the way they should. There are some visible seam lines with clean edges (no excess plastic from the molding process), but I’m not too picky with stuff like that. The body is made of solid ABS plastic and I don’t foresee any problems with strength. The foregrip locks into both the up and down positions smoothly and solidly. So long as you are handling the gun the way you should, the foregrip will stay on without any problems. The stock slides smoothly and locks into place with a satisfying click. There is a lot less wiggle than I expected — there is hardly any. Shouldering the weapon is adequately comfortable, though it doesn’t quite compare to a full-sized stock.

Unfortunately I’ve experienced a few problems with the gun, but thankfully they have all been easily fixable.

The first issue was that some key parts of the rear sight were missing. It basically fell apart without them, but they were easily replaced and it is now working perfectly.
The second problem is a bit more concerning: the magazine release lever is made of perhaps the crappiest plastic known to mankind and wears down incredibly quickly. Because of this, I have had some issues with the magazines locking into place. The hi-cap didn’t latch to begin with, and the low-cap mag stopped locking into position shortly thereafter. This seems to be a common problem with these G7s, but is fairly easily fixed. I will describe how to remedy this problem in the Technical Information section.

Performance

I haven’t cracked open the gearbox yet, but a quick once-over says to me it’s decently made. It has metal bushings which, strangely, appear to be made of copper, though they could be brass. The nozzle was pretty greasy and you will likely want to clean it off. The manufacturer used an obscene amount of thread lock on the screws holding it together, but it doesn’t affect anything and will come off easily.

To access the fuse, simply remove the top rail. For future reference, the fuse is rated at 10A. Note that the screw indicated here is fake. You do not need to remove it.

I don’t have access to a chronograph, unfortunately, but people report it to shoot at about 240fps, which, considering the Tokyo Marui version shoots at 220 fps, is admirable. If I had to guess, that number is about right. Mine doesn’t feel overly weak, and has plenty of range considering the role this gun is supposed to play.

The fire selector lever is incredibly mushy compared to other guns I’ve handled — there is very little indication as to what fire mode the gun is in besides looking to see where it is visually. Safe and full auto are pretty easy to get to since they are all the way up, or all the way down respectively. It is not difficult putting it into semi, it just lacks the tactile feedback you would find in a different gun.

Both of the iron sights — pistol and rifle — are basically useless for airsoft ranges. The BBs landed about 5″ below the target at 20 feet. Since you will likely be using this as a CQB primary, or a sidearm, this isn’t a huge problem. The ranges you will be shooting at generally won’t require the sights. If you do need to take a longer shot, the sight should line up a little better, but you may still hit below your point of aim. A red dot sight might be a good idea for this weapon anyway.

The gearbox runs smoothly and doesn’t sound stressed in the least. I don’t suspect there will be any problems issuing from the gearbox in the future.

The hop up is accessed by pulling back the charging handle and rotating a dial. It works works well and sends bbs downrange pretty consistently.

I was quite surprised how much range I got out of this gun. Once I dialed in the hop up, it reached out to about 150 feet before the BB dropped. Not only that, but the effective range is at least 100 feet. I set up targets at 20, 40, and 60 feet and fired 5 rounds at each target. My tests weren’t particularly controlled since I was standing with only the back of a chair for support, but I feel it still shows that the BBs fly pretty straight and true. As you can see, hitting a torso at 60 feet would be no trouble at all, which means the gun will be useful up to about 100 feet. Pretty impressive for such a small package!

Technical Information

Here is the problem that I think most people will encounter: the magazine catch. Obviously the best way to remedy the problem is to replace the catch with a better one, but I doubt most people will have one laying around. The next best thing is to fix the magazines. Basically, the problem is this: the magazine catch wears down so that the *tiny* nub on the magazine doesn’t have anything to grab onto when it is pressed into the magwell. All you have to do to make the magazine fit again is make that nub bigger.

I’ve heard reports of people having luck with putting electrical tape on the magazine. This didn’t work for me personally and I think a more solid way of doing it is using epoxy. The picture should describe it for the most part. All you need to do is make a line of epoxy over the nub and let it dry. Then take a knife and cut the epoxy so there is a ‘ledge’ that the mag catch can latch onto. Since this is a larger object than the nub, the magazine should be able to function properly for a long time. Not only that, but the larger surface area should reduce the amount of wear on the magazine catch.

The flash hider is easily removed and is a counter-clockwise thread. I’m not sure on the diameter, but I should imagine it’s the same as the TM version, so suppressors that fit on the TM gun should fit on this.

That should just about do it. Mine is working exceptionally well at the moment. The magazines lock into position with a satisfying click.

If you need to disassemble your gun, this is a great guide (click me).

Pros

• Solidly built, no wiggles or squeaks.
• Adequate power and range for CQB applications.
• Smooth-running gearbox.
• Good hop up.
• Acceptable accuracy.
• Decently priced.

Cons

• The finish on some metal parts isn’t great.
• Quality control is lacking.
• Has problems out-of-the-box.
• Requires fixing before it is usable.

The Bottom Line

Okay, here’s the deal with this gun: It looks sweet, and performs pretty well when it is working, but there are definitely some problems that need to be fixed before it can be used. The quality control is lacking. Mine had some key parts missing when I received it, though I don’t suspect everyone will encounter this problem. The magazine catch is flawed, but is easily remedied. Luckily the problems it came with were all fixable in my case. I’m fairly confident mine was one of the more problematic ones, so the one you buy will probably have fewer problems. Mine is working well for the moment. Only time can tell if it will hold up in the long run. I don’t foresee any major problems coming up, though. The bottom line is this: if you don’t mind tinkering with it to fix some minor issues and can overlook the aesthetic flaws, then I would say that this is a decent weapon. Considering it is about a third of the cost of a Tokyo Marui MP7, it is definitely a bargain.