This is an in progress review by my brother
Noveske as I know many members are not on arniesairsoft forum so here we go.
Box set comes with:
1 x PDR-C
1 x PMAG 20 with dust cover
1 x Dummy Round
1 x Instruction Manual
1 x Warranty Card
2 x Packs of Silica Gel (BONUS!)
To be honest I was a little disappointed that the package contents. For the price, I would have expected at least a pair of MBUS.
Front Flashider comes off and is 14mm CCW (-) As mentioned by Noveske in a post
Size Difference compared to the KWA Kriss Vector
Upper disassembly, 10.5" barrel tucked away:
Proprietary Gearbox:
Dial Style Hop Up Chamber:
Short Motor and Quick Change Spring Hatch
Battery goes into the grip will only take the short 4" Lipos (for the record, the PDR-C comes standard with a mini Tamiya plug, but I changed mine to a Dean's):
Magwell. Mag-catch is metal:
Removing the cheekrest reveals the hop-up adjustment knob:
Shoots about 330FPS out of the box (1.25J with 0.25g):
Overall, I'm really not that impressed. Polymer is well made as expected from PTS, however, fake weapon features (ambi charging handles, ambi ejection port) do not function or have any purpose. Balance is rear heavy (as a bullpup should be). The only sling attachment is the hole behind the magwell (not a QD) which is also polymer (not sure if it's reinforced inside). Gun seems too simple? Or is it just me? I guess it's the design of the PDR-C but I like my guns with more detail.
On that note, I wish the cheekrest was actually adjustable. Seems they designed it to perhaps have optional cheekrest pieces at different heights they may or may not release in the future. But an adjustable one would've seemed more intuitive (like their ACR stock).
A note on ergonomics: I've noticed the pistol grip is very short (even for my small Asian hands) and holding the PDR-C with one hand can get quite uncomfortable as my wrist keeps pressing into the rear bracestrap. I believe for most people, you'll only be able to wrap your middle and ring finger around the grip while leaving your pinky to fend for itself.
Also, the mag-release is very stiff. May take some time to loosen up.
ALSO PTS POLYMER FAIL!!
Turns out one of the retaining tabs that hold the upper and lower receiver together snapped off before I even opened the box. I noticed that there was only 1 retaining tab and thought i had broke it perhaps when opening it (which didn't make any sense to me), but upon closer inexpection, i noticed that the break was clean (which is odd since I thought PTS polymer would be much more ductile and less brittle). Furthermore, I found the broken piece floating around in the box. VERY VERY disappointed.
Insides:
Here is the fake charging handle/bolt mechanism. The handles can be removed with the two small switches on each side: Bolt is really not a bolt, but more of a bracket:
Hop-up Mechnism:
Front trigger/mag-catch mechanism. The trigger/mag-catch are controlled by 2 rods on each side of the PDR. Left side is connected to the selector plate/firing mechanism, right rod controls the mag-catch which is located on the left side of the gear-box but mechanically operated from the right:
Mag-catch mechanism (right side):
Here is the PDR proprietary bearing gearbox. Note that there is a bb feed tube built into the gearbox:
Right Side
Left-side. The selector plate moves half length on a semi-fire pull and full length on a full auto-pull:
One really nifty feature on this gearbox is the spring release button. This is accessible even when the gun is assembled on the bottom of the gun near the magwell:
Inside the Gearbox
Gears stacked vertically
Piston
Spring
Micro Switch Trigger
BB Feed Tube
Pros:
-Neat/innovative/compact design by Magpul (ie "cool" factor)
-Ambidextrous mag-release controls
-Uses standard Stanaz mags or equivalent
-Easily accessible hop up adjustment
-Quick-change spring design on gearbox
-Spring release mechanism
-Gearbox internal parts standard/replaceable.
-8mm Bearings on gearbox
Cons/Could have done better:
-Short pistol grip / limited room for battery
-Non-adjustable cheek rest
-Long trigger travel
-Heavy, proprietary gearbox which makes the entire gun very rear heavy.
-Proprietary hop-up nub
-Selector plate design not reliable and can slip easily
-Very stiff mag-release
-Unintuitive sling mount
-Thin polymer tabs for upper/lower retention. Should've had thicker tabs or metal tabs molded into the polymer.