Wow i want that body!!! I've dropped my M4 and it cracked. I admit i'm not nice to my gear, my pb guns have been through hell because i play hard. My theory is; if i can break it with my bare hands it won't last with me :P

To be flat out honest, bullshit. There's ZERO comparison between a full metal gun and a plastic one. Full metal wins, hands down.

The irony is we're talking about an AUG which isn't metal and a G36, which also isn't metal lol. Having said that I've seen a TM AUG, (if I liked the AUG) I'd get it over a CAS gun anyday.

Just curious how much experience you have shooting, owning CAS Guns. I have personally taken a hammer to a CAS body to do a torture test. Guess what they are really tough. Every issue i have seen with a CAS gun has been because of a crack issue from the factory. Every single gun from CAS that had any crack issues have been replaced for FREE and even installed for a smile:D how many companies replace parts for free?

Full metal Is great, I agree but dont count out these fantastic Canadian guns. If my metal body broke a tab (which it did) do you think the company would replace my metal body? Even if they did, how they get it to me?

My body cracked just putting the pivot pin back in. I guess I must of had an earlier generation plastic body because it was so flimsy I could have snapped that sucker with my bare hands

Enough experience shooting to know that I want zero experience owning.

I've examined them. 1) They're plastic. 2) They're clear. That means I DO NOT WANT, especially when I can get the full metal alternative.

Some people like the halfbreed guns. I'm not one of them. I've gamed with plastic M4's and M16s. I've also gamed metal M4's and M16's. I return to my previous statement.. there is zero comparison.

And why should a company replace something YOU broke?

Now that i think about it, i had cracks in my receiver from buyairsoft. I hate the bodies. God internals and performance, but the bodies are terrible. Whoever put a hammer to them was lucky, if i ever put a hammer to mine they'd crack like ICE.

Id take a cansoft AK, hell even a kraken, over an AK with an ELEMENT metal body

Why, there's nothing wrong with them if installed correctly... you prolly couldn't tell my old AK was a Kraken with an Element body... Amazing what a guy can do with time and some basic body and painting experience...

rack the charging handle and the body falls apart in your hands
i have not seen one used element body without the front right tab broken off

I sold one like that... and to my knowledge it's still in one piece... maybe I got the only good one ever made! YES!

i'm with kilnaren on this one - hands down I'd never buy another SRC when i can pay the extra cash and get a full metal - i have 4 metal body M4's in various stages of overuse lol and none of them feel shoddy or wobbly - you could beat a bear to death with them and I like the solid feeling - plastic guns just don't feel right - especially M4's - look at the design - prone to failing - stress risers all over the place and don't give me the nylon fibre nonsense (it's nylon guys and I work with plastics - theres a reason the medical industry refuses to make internal body part replacements out of it - great in tension but as soon as u start flexing it it's as weak as any other plastic - not to mention more prone to shattering and hence cracking depending on the mix of materials u use - don't care. plastic is plastic and metal is king in airsoft world.

now don't get me wrong - plastic is ok if ur starting out but just be aware of the limitations and that ou'll be replacing parts way more frequently and it's more likely to break if u ever need gundoc work on it. on the other hand there are a number of guns that the design of them means plastic is fine to use - P90 and G36 I beleive (maybe the aug as well) all have plastic body or majority plastic bodyparts on the real steel.

Also my last sorta piece of advice is to always get a TM over a clone brand - even a good one like SRC or G&G. TM's are pretty much industry standard and quallity control is awesome. not to mention internals are tuned properly - in the SRC line-up for example every single gun has an unported teflon coated cyllinder reguardless of barrel length (don't get me started on what a stupid idea that is right there lol) - also comes with aluminium pistonhead (another bag of worms) etc - I've also come accross a couple lemon's that ain't been lubed properly and the o-rings on the pistonhead have degraded resulting in pathetic FPS and in one case jammed piston due to the front end being snapped. If you can find me a TM that comes like that outta the factory I'd be surprised.

JUST REMEMBER- in the airsoft world there's usually a good reason ur paying less so do some research (as u have very rightly done so here) and get some experienced advice first.

Of course, there are guns that don't have a metal body -G36, P90, AUG, etc. But don't trick yourself into thinking that "plastic is plastic so the brand doesn't matter." The body on the CA G36 is far superior to any other brand I've examined, in both finish and how solid it is.

To echo what CJay said -there's a reason cheaper guns are cheaper. You compromise somewhere. TM puts their higher cost in quality control, Classic Army puts theirs in external quality. I haven't seen enough VFC, G&P, or full metal ICS guns to really develop an opinion on them.

From what I've seen of the brands that sell for under $500, the only one I'd actually spend money on is the JG P90. IMO the halfbreeds aren't worth the cost.

Yeah, i'm pretty to airsoft and seeing $700 go down the drain really gets on my nerves.... If it's cansoft i'm not buying it..