Buying the Donor — Every Airsoft MP7 on Sale, and Which One to Cut Up

Tokyo Marui, KWA, VFC, the Elite Force budget guns and the WELL R4 compared as light-gun donors: licensing, power system, size, weight, construction, US availability and price as of 18 October 2026, then where a camera, solenoid and board could go in each, why three of them were bought for a side-by-side comparison, and why the rest were passed over

Figure 1 — The Tokyo Marui MP7A1 gas blowback in black and in tan, both from the left side. This is the gun most airsoft players think of first when the MP7 comes up, and it is the one United States buyers wi… — Figure 1 — The Tokyo Marui MP7A1 gas blowback in black and in tan, both from the left side. This is the gun most airsoft players think of first when the MP7 comes up, and it is the one United States buyers will have the most trouble buying new: no US retailer checked for this volume listed it. Photo: Tokyo Marui.

This dive follows Jeff and his son Michael through their first light-gun prototype: the electronics from the Reference Electronics dive, running the firmware chosen in Open-Source Firmware, fitted inside a real airsoft MP7. As of 18 October 2026 no donor has been bought. This volume is the buying guide: every airsoft MP7 that is on sale or was recently on sale, what each one is made of and what it costs, and which of them are worth cutting up. The decision taken on 18 October 2026 was to buy three, one of each class (gas, electric and spring), and choose between them on the bench (§1.10).

1.1 What the donor has to do

The category plan fixes the brief: kick only, plus a moving ejection port. No working slide or bolt action beyond that, no gas, no BBs. In practice the donor has to provide five things.

A place at the muzzle for an IR camera, looking straight down the bore line. The camera most of the open firmware supports is the DFRobot SEN0158 (the Open-Source Firmware dive owns the camera survey); its housing is a cylinder 16 mm in diameter and 32 mm long, with a field of view of 33° by 23°, according to DFRobot.¹
Room for a solenoid somewhere it can either strike a mass or move one. The Solenoid Recoil dive owns the physics and the part choice; here the question is only where it fits.
Room for a microcontroller board, a driver stage and the wiring between them, with a cable path from the muzzle to wherever the board ends up.
Later, room for a battery, for the wireless builds. The first prototype will be wired.
Something at the ejection port that can move. On the real MP7 the port is on the right side of the receiver. A donor that already has a bolt moving behind that port is worth more here than one with a moulded panel.

It also has to look and feel right, because that is the whole reason for starting with a real airsoft gun rather than a printed shell (the printed shell is the next dive).

1.2 The field in one table

Every airsoft MP7 found in a search of maker pages and US, UK and Hong Kong retailers on 18 October 2026. Weights and lengths are as each maker or retailer publishes them; where two sources disagree, both are given. “US price” is the lowest dated price found on a US retailer’s own product page; §1.11 lists every source.

Table 1 — The field in one table

Model	Maker	H&K licensed?	Power	Length (stock in / out)	Weight	Body	US price, 18 Oct 2026
Elite Force H&K MP7 GBB (also sold as Umarex MP7 GBB “by KWA”)	KWA (OEM for KSC)	Yes, via Umarex	Gas blowback	380 / 590 mm	1,610 g unloaded (PBSports); 2.13 kg (Airsoft Station); 2.15 kg (Redwolf)	Fibre-reinforced polymer outer, metal action housing, metal rails	$344.95, in stock (Airsoft GI)
Elite Force H&K MP7 Navy GBB Gen 2	VFC	Yes, via Umarex	Gas blowback	419 / 579 mm (Airsoft Station)	about 4 lb (Airsoft Station)	Polymer, metal stock	$379.95–$389.99, out of stock
Elite Force H&K MP7 Navy GBB (Gen 1)	VFC	Yes	Gas blowback	16.50 / 25.25 in	not stated	Polymer, metal rails	$299.99, out of stock
Umarex MP7 GBB V2 and Navy Seal V2, “Asia edition”	VFC	Yes	Gas blowback	380 / 590 mm	1.92 kg	not stated	$249.99 / $269.99 at Redwolf, will not ship to North America
Tokyo Marui MP7A1 GBB (black, tan)	Tokyo Marui	No claim made	Gas blowback	381 / 586 mm	2,200 g with empty magazine	Polymer, die-cast magazine, metal rails	Not found at US retailers; MSRP ¥42,800 before tax
Elite Force H&K MP7 A1 AEG Gen 3	VFC	Yes	Electric (AEG), 11.1 V LiPo	not stated	not stated	”Metal throughout key components”	$399.95, add-to-cart (Airsoft GI)
Elite Force H&K MP7 AEG (Gen 1/Gen 2)	VFC	Yes	Electric (AEG)	not stated	1.87 kg (Redwolf, Gen 2); 4.1 lb (Airsoft Station)	Polymer	$454.95–$459.99, out of stock
Tokyo Marui MP7A1 electric compact (AEP) (black, tan)	Tokyo Marui	No claim made	Electric (AEP), 7.2 V NiMH micro	380 / 590 mm	1,390 g without battery	Polymer, metal rails, steel-shell magazine	Not found at US retailers; MSRP ¥27,800 before tax
Elite Force H&K MP7 Sport AEG	not stated	Yes	Electric, 7.2 V NiMH	not stated	not stated	Plastic	$79.99–$88.95, out of stock
Elite Force / Umarex H&K MP7 A1 spring	not stated (Umarex)	Yes	Spring, single shot	380 mm	1 lb (Airsoft Station); 600 g (Umarex EU manual)	Polymer	$49.99, add-to-cart (Airsoft GI)
WELL R4 (SMG-7) AEP	WELL	No	Electric (AEP), 7.2 V NiMH	375 / 585 mm	about 1.363 kg	”Alloy and polymer shell”	Not found in the US; £99.99 at Patrol Base (UK)

Three facts in this table cut against what a casual search returns:

The “WE MP7” does not appear to exist. A gas blowback MP7 by WE was on the list of candidates for this volume, as the “WE R4”. No WE MP7 turned up on any maker or retailer page. “R4” is WELL’s name for its electric MP7 copy, and WELL is not WE.
The US Elite Force gas MP7 is a KWA gun, not a VFC one. Retailers say so outright: the Elite Force / Umarex H&K MP7 GBB is “OEM by KWA”, and KWA is “the OEM manufacturer for KSC, so this model is almost identical to the KSC version”.²³ VFC makes the Navy gas guns and all the licensed electric ones. The two gas guns do not share magazines: Airsoft Station says the VFC Navy magazine is “not compatible with KWA MP7 magazines”.⁴
The cheapest licensed MP7 VFC makes cannot be bought from Hong Kong by a US buyer. Redwolf lists the VFC “Asia edition” gas gun at $249.99, a hundred dollars under the US price of the KWA, and states that “due to a distribution agreement, this product cannot be shipped to North America.”⁵

1.3 Telling them apart

Figure 2 — Eight airsoft MP7s, all from the left side with the muzzle to the left, except the WELL R4, for which only an angled photograph was found. Panels are not to a common scale and stocks are in differe… — Figure 2 — Eight airsoft MP7s, all from the left side with the muzzle to the left, except the WELL R4, for which only an angled photograph was found. Panels are not to a common scale and stocks are in different positions. 1, the KWA-made Elite Force gas gun, stock collapsed. 2, the VFC Navy Gen 2 gas gun. 3, the Tokyo Marui gas gun in tan. 4, the Tokyo Marui electric. 5, the VFC Gen 3 electric. 6, the Elite Force Sport AEG: note the M4-style sliding stock and separate vertical grip, neither of which belongs on an MP7. 7, the Elite Force / Umarex spring gun, whose stock is a fixed stub. 8, the WELL R4. Photos: Airsoft GI (1, 2, 5, 6), Tokyo Marui (3, 4), Airsoft Station (7), Patrol Base (8).

Most of these guns look alike in a catalogue photograph, and the US market sells three of them under the same “Elite Force H&K MP7” name. The quickest identifications:

Table 2 — Most of these guns look alike in a catalogue photograph, and the US market sells three of them under the same "Elite Force H&K MP7" name. The quickest identifications

Feature	What to look for	Tells you
Receiver marking, left side above the trigger	”Tokyo Marui Co., Ltd. / Made in Japan / ASGK”	Tokyo Marui (either power system)
Same place	”Licensed Trademark of Heckler & Koch GmbH” and an H&K logo	One of the Elite Force / Umarex guns
Magazine	Long magazine with a 110-round body	VFC electric
Magazine	Short magazine almost flush with the grip	Tokyo Marui electric (50 rounds)
Magazine	Metal, heavy, gas fill valve at the base	A gas gun (any maker)
Stock	Two rods and a buttplate that slides out	Every model except the two below
Stock	M4-style sliding stock on a tube	Elite Force Sport AEG
Stock	Stub that does not extend	Elite Force / Umarex spring
Model number on box or listing	2279020	KWA gas (black)
Same	2262047 / 2262068	VFC Navy gas, Gen 1 / Gen 2
Same	2262070 / 2262102	VFC electric, Gen 1–2 / Gen 3
Same	2279040 / 2273033	Sport AEG / spring

The model numbers are Umarex USA’s and appear in retailers’ item codes (“HK-2279020”, “UX-2262068” and so on).⁶⁴

Figure 3 — The left side of a Tokyo Marui MP7A1 gas gun above the trigger. The receiver plate reads Tokyo Marui Co., Ltd., Made in Japan, ASGK, and carries no H&K trademark. The red and white symbols are the … — Figure 3 — The left side of a Tokyo Marui MP7A1 gas gun above the trigger. The receiver plate reads Tokyo Marui Co., Ltd., Made in Japan, ASGK, and carries no H&K trademark. The red and white symbols are the selector markings. The lettered dial in the receiver opening is the hop-up adjuster, which Tokyo Marui says becomes reachable when the bolt is held back. Photo: Tokyo Marui.

On “licensed”. Every Elite Force and Umarex gun carries H&K trademarks under a licence that the retailers describe as running from H&K through Umarex: the KWA gun has “a full array of licensed H&K markings fully sanctioned by Umarex (Germany)” and the VFC electric “all the corresponding H&K markings and trade dress”.²⁷ Tokyo Marui’s pages make no licensing claim; its receiver is marked with its own name, although its moulded grip carries an “MP7 A1” legend with a logo (visible in the hero photograph above). Whether Tokyo Marui holds a Japan-only arrangement was not established. The WELL R4 claims nothing. For a light gun that will never be sold, this matters only for appearance. For a kit that might one day be sold, it matters a great deal, and the Licensing, IP and Kits dive owns that question: a licence that covers an airsoft gun does not pass to anyone who modifies one and sells the result.

1.4 The gas blowback guns

A gas blowback (GBB) gun stores liquefied propellant in the magazine. Each shot, a valve in the magazine releases gas into a nozzle in the bolt; part of it fires the BB and the rest drives the bolt carrier back against its recoil spring. That rearward stroke is what the Airsoft Gas dive calls the gun’s “kick”, and the bolt carrier that makes it is the part a light-gun build most wants to keep (§1.8).

KWA / Elite Force H&K MP7 GBB. The only licensed gas MP7 in stock in the US on 18 October 2026: $344.95 at Airsoft GI and $374.95 (tax included, per the page) at Airsoft Station, with Redwolf in Hong Kong showing $279.99 and “only 2 left”.⁶⁸² Airsoft Station gives the clearest construction note of any retailer: “fiber-reinforced polymer outer body; full metal action housing; metal Picatinny accessory rails”, with a 160 mm inner barrel and the bolt carrier visibly cycling.⁸ Airsoft GI describes “high-impact ABS plastic body; metal rails, fire selector, slide release, iron sights, and retractable stock”.⁶ The weight is published three ways, 1,610 g “unloaded” (PBSports), 2.13 kg (Airsoft Station) and 2.15 kg “unloaded” (Redwolf). The heavy die-cast magazine would account for the gap if the higher figures include it, but none of the three pages says so. A Dark Earth version exists (Airsoft GI item 17521; out of stock at Redwolf).

VFC / Elite Force H&K MP7 Navy GBB. The VFC gas gun, sold in the US as the “Navy” with a slimmer stock. Gen 1 (2262047) and Gen 2 (2262068) were both out of stock at Airsoft GI and Airsoft Station on 18 October 2026, at $299.99 and $379.95–$389.99.⁹¹⁰⁴ Airsoft Station lists a 200 mm inner barrel and gives the length as 419–579 mm, which differs from the 380/590 mm everyone else publishes for the MP7 shape; that may reflect the Navy’s different stock and was not checked.

Umarex / VFC “Asia edition”. The same VFC gun with standard and Navy Seal stocks, $249.99 and $269.99 at Redwolf, 1.92 kg, “VFC Gen 2 Gas System” — and not shippable to North America.⁵

Tokyo Marui MP7A1 GBB. Tokyo Marui’s own page gives 381 mm, 586 mm with the stock fully out, 2,200 g with an empty magazine, a 146 mm barrel and 40+1 rounds, and describes a new blowback engine with a large piston “about 16 mm” in diameter, an ambidextrous selector, a folding foregrip, a four-position stock, three 20 mm metal rails and a die-cast magazine. The MSRP is ¥42,800 before tax.¹¹ A Japanese retailer dates its release to October 2012.¹² No US retailer checked for this volume listed it; buying one in the US means importing or buying used.

Figure 4 — The Elite Force / Umarex VFC Navy gas gun from the right side, the side that carries the ejection port. The dark recess above and behind the trigger is the port; on a gas gun the bolt carrier is be… — Figure 4 — The Elite Force / Umarex VFC Navy gas gun from the right side, the side that carries the ejection port. The dark recess above and behind the trigger is the port; on a gas gun the bolt carrier is behind it and moves on every shot. The small white text on the receiver is the trademark licence notice. Photo: Airsoft Station.

1.5 The electric guns

An electric gun replaces the gas system with a motor-driven gearbox that compresses a spring-and-piston air pump each shot. Nothing moves visibly on the outside.

VFC / Elite Force H&K MP7 A1 AEG. The licensed electric MP7. Gen 3 (2262102) was listed at $399.95 at Airsoft GI with an add-to-cart button, described as having a “reinforced gearbox”, “integrated MOSFET” and “metal throughout key components”.¹³ The earlier generations were out of stock at $454.95 to $459.99; they run on an 11.1 V LiPo, carry a 110-round magazine with an empty cut-off, have a built-in MOSFET and a quick-change spring, and use what Airsoft Station calls a “Version 2 VFC Avalon gearbox”.¹⁴¹⁵ Redwolf gives 1.87 kg for the Gen 2 and states it is discontinued, replaced by a newer code.⁷

Where the VFC’s battery goes — a correction. Airsoft Station’s page says the battery goes “in the stock, with rear wiring”.¹⁵ That cannot be right for this gun: the MP7’s stock is two steel rods and a buttplate, with no cavity at all. Fox Airsoft’s review and the Elite Force listing both put the battery in the front of the receiver, above the barrel, behind a front cap that pops off, and both call the space tight; Fox recommends a short buffer-tube-style 11.1 V 900 mAh LiPo.¹⁶ That front bay matters more to this build than anything else about the electric guns (§1.8).

Figure 5 — The VFC-made Elite Force MP7 A1 AEG Gen 3 from the right front quarter, stock extended, with its long 110-round magazine. On the electric guns the front cap behind the orange flash hider comes off … — Figure 5 — The VFC-made Elite Force MP7 A1 AEG Gen 3 from the right front quarter, stock extended, with its long 110-round magazine. On the electric guns the front cap behind the orange flash hider comes off to reach the battery bay. Photo: Airsoft GI.

Tokyo Marui MP7A1 electric compact (AEP). Tokyo Marui sells this outside its full-size electric line, in its “electric compact machine gun” range. Its page gives 380/590 mm, 1,390 g without battery, a 182 mm barrel and a 50-round magazine, running on Tokyo Marui’s 7.2 V micro NiMH battery; a safety interlock prevents changing the battery unless the selector is on safe. The MSRP is ¥27,800 before tax (¥28,800 as a full set with battery and charger).¹⁷ Tokyo Marui’s battery notice says the original 7.2 V Micro EX 500 mAh battery ended production in May 2015 and is replaced by the Micro 500 with an adapter.¹⁸ One of Tokyo Marui’s own product photographs shows the front cap and flash hider removed as a unit, exposing the front of the receiver; together with the VFC evidence, that places this gun’s battery at the front too, which should be confirmed in hand.

1.6 The cheap ones: spring, Sport AEG and WELL R4

Elite Force / Umarex H&K MP7 A1 spring (2273033). A licensed, polymer, single-shot spring gun: $49.99 at Airsoft GI with an add-to-cart button, $54.99 and out of stock at Airsoft Station.¹⁹²⁰ Airsoft Station gives 380 mm and about 1 lb; Umarex’s European manual for its MP7A1 spring gun gives 600 g, 380 mm, 20 rounds and under 0.5 J.²¹ (The US listing’s 350-round magazine and 230 fps do not match the manual’s 20 rounds, so the US and European guns may not be identical.) Airsoft GI is blunt: “not field ready due to its low performance”, “not serviceable”, no warranty, best for film or display.¹⁹ For a light gun, none of that is a defect. The stock does not extend. Umarex’s parts callout names a cocking handle, so the gun has one part that moves by hand; it is cocked for each shot. The same manual’s loading diagram carries the figure 350 beside its two loading steps, which suggests a 350-BB reservoir feeding a 20-round magazine and would reconcile the US and European figures, but the manual does not say so in words.²¹

Figure 6 — The Elite Force / Umarex H&K MP7 A1 spring gun from the right. The rails are moulded into the receiver, and the stock is a fixed stub where the other guns have a sliding rod stock. At about a pound… — Figure 6 — The Elite Force / Umarex H&K MP7 A1 spring gun from the right. The rails are moulded into the receiver, and the stock is a fixed stub where the other guns have a sliding rod stock. At about a pound, it weighs roughly a quarter as much as the gas guns. Photo: Airsoft Station.

Elite Force H&K MP7 Sport AEG (2279040). A low-power electric gun at $79.99 to $88.95, out of stock everywhere checked, with a 7.2 V NiMH battery that Airsoft GI’s Q&A calls proprietary.²²²³ The photographs show the reason not to buy it for this build: it has an M4-style sliding stock on a tube and comes with a separate vertical grip. It is the wrong silhouette.

Figure 7 — The Elite Force H&K MP7 Sport AEG. The receiver is MP7-shaped, but the stock is an M4-type collapsible stock on a buffer-tube-style mount, and the vertical grip is an add-on rather than the MP7's f… — Figure 7 — The Elite Force H&K MP7 Sport AEG. The receiver is MP7-shaped, but the stock is an M4-type collapsible stock on a buffer-tube-style mount, and the vertical grip is an add-on rather than the MP7's folding foregrip. Photo: Airsoft GI.

WELL R4 (SMG-7) AEP. An unlicensed Chinese electric MP7 copy. The only page found with a full listing was Patrol Base in the UK at £99.99: 375/585 mm, about 1.363 kg, “alloy and polymer shell”, “full metal gears”, a 7.2 V NiMH battery with a “unique connector” and about 230 fps.²⁴ The page contradicts itself on magazine capacity (40 in the text, 48 in the specification) and on whether a battery is included. Evike sells a spare R4 battery, but no US listing for the gun itself was found.

CTM AP7. Not a gun but a nylon conversion chassis that gives an Action Army AAP-01 gas pistol an MP7-like outline, about $125 as a kit by retailer search listings. It needs a separate pistol and is an MP7 only in outline.

1.7 What was looked for and not found

A WE gas MP7, as noted in §1.2.
A CYMA, Golden Eagle, Double Eagle or Bolt MP7. Searches returned the makers’ other guns and no MP7.
An MP7 gel blaster or foam-dart blaster. None found; the gel-blaster market returned M4s, M249s and shotguns.
An official KWA or VFC exploded diagram. None was found online; retailers say each gun ships with a manual (Volume 2).
The Umarex H&K MP7 .177 break-barrel. Found, and excluded: it is a pellet air rifle that fires lead pellets, not an airsoft gun, and Airsoft GI’s listing says so. It is a different legal category (Volume 3) and offers nothing a light gun needs.

1.8 Conversion suitability

The donor has to take a camera at the muzzle, a solenoid, a board and its wiring, and eventually a battery. The general plan of where each could go is in Volume 2; this section scores the donors against it.

The camera. The obvious idea, mounting the camera behind the flash hider and looking out through it, does not work: a narrow tube in front of a lens throws away most of the field of view (Volume 2 works the geometry). The camera has to sit with its lens at the muzzle face, in place of the flash hider. That applies equally to every donor. What differs is what sits behind the front cap. On the electric guns there is already a battery bay there, with a wiring path from the front of the gun to the gearbox, because the battery has to feed the motor. On the gas guns that space holds the outer and inner barrel and the hop-up, and there is no wire path at all.

Figure 8 — The DFRobot SEN0158 IR positioning camera. The threaded black housing is 16 mm in diameter and 32 mm long, close to the size of an airsoft flash hider, which is why replacing the hider with a hollo… — Figure 8 — The DFRobot SEN0158 IR positioning camera. The threaded black housing is 16 mm in diameter and 32 mm long, close to the size of an airsoft flash hider, which is why replacing the hider with a hollow sleeve that holds the camera is the natural mount. Photo: DFRobot.

The solenoid and the moving port. Here the gas guns win outright. Their bolt carrier already reciprocates behind the ejection port on its own recoil spring and buffer. A solenoid that drives the carrier back gives the kick and the moving ejection port from one actuator, with the factory spring returning it. The electric guns have no moving bolt: the port area has to be cut open and a moving part made for it, and the kick needs an added moving mass. Whether a hobby-scale solenoid can move the GBB carrier against its recoil spring fast enough to feel like a shot is the first bench question of the build. Volume 2 sets out both arrangements to be tried (decision D5): one solenoid for kick and port, and a separate port actuator (Volume 2, and the Solenoid Recoil dive).

The board. Every donor has a pistol grip with the magazine running up through it, so the grip is not free volume unless the magazine well is. On the gas guns the magazine is a heavy die-cast part that holds the gas; emptied and gutted, it is a natural box for a cell or a small board. It is also where the cable leaves the gun for now (decision D6, Volume 2 §2.7), which has a cost: a magazine with the cable running through it stays seated, so the slap-in reload some light-gun builds sense with a magazine switch gives way to the usual off-screen trigger pull, which most games treat as a reload (Open-Source Firmware). On the electric guns, the gearbox space in the receiver is the largest volume freed.

Figure 9 — Magazines from the two families. Left, the Tokyo Marui gas magazine: die-cast metal, 40 rounds, with the gas reservoir inside. Right, the VFC electric's long 110-round magazine, a polymer shell aro… — Figure 9 — Magazines from the two families. Left, the Tokyo Marui gas magazine: die-cast metal, 40 rounds, with the gas reservoir inside. Right, the VFC electric's long 110-round magazine, a polymer shell around a BB feed. A gutted gas magazine is a heavy metal box in the right place for a cell or a board. Photos: Tokyo Marui (left), Airsoft GI (right).

The stock. On every licensed model the stock is two rods and a buttplate, so unlike an M4-pattern donor it offers no buffer tube to hide a battery in.

Table 3 — Conversion suitability

Donor	Camera at muzzle	Kick + moving port	Board and wiring	Battery later	Role in this build
KWA / Elite Force GBB	Replace hider; no wire path	Bolt carrier already moves in the port	Gutted magazine; route wires	Gutted magazine	Bought: the gas class
VFC Navy GBB	Same as KWA	Same as KWA	Same as KWA	Same	Equal; out of stock
Tokyo Marui GBB	Same	Same; die-cast magazine	Same	Same	Equal; import only
VFC AEG Gen 3	Replace hider; front bay and wire path exist	Port must be cut and a part made; add a mass	Gearbox space is large	Front bay	Bought: the electric class
Tokyo Marui AEP	Same as VFC AEG; smaller bay	Port appears moulded shut	Small mechbox space	Front bay, small	Fair; import only
Elite Force / Umarex spring	Replace hider	Nothing moves; everything added	Hollow, light	Hollow	Bought: the practice shell
Sport AEG / WELL R4	—	—	—	—	Wrong stock / no US source

1.9 The realism trade

What a donor gives that a printed shell cannot is weight, licensed markings, a working folding foregrip and stock, and a real magazine to slap in. What it costs is that none of it was designed for a sensor.

Weight. The real MP7 weighs about 1.9 kg without a magazine, by an H&K figure quoted in a 2024 report; the HK MP7 dive owns the real gun’s numbers.²⁵ The gas guns are at or above that once the magazine is in; the Tokyo Marui electric is 1.39 kg without its battery, and the spring gun is under a third of the real weight. Stripping a gas gun removes the inner barrel, hop-up and valve parts and the magazine’s internals, so a converted gas gun will weigh less than the figures above; how much less is a teardown measurement.
Markings. Only the Elite Force / Umarex guns carry H&K trademarks under licence.
Folding stock and foregrip. Present and functional on all the licensed guns except the spring (fixed stub) and the Sport AEG (wrong stock).
The magazine. Real-feel, removable magazines on all; the gas magazines are metal and heavy.

1.10 The three-donor comparison

Decision (D4, 18 October 2026): buy all three and decide by comparison. The first draft of this volume ended in a single recommendation. Jeff and Michael chose instead to buy one donor from each of the three classes the market offers, open all three, and pick the one the light gun continues in on the evidence of the teardown and the bench. Published dimensions do not exist for the inside of any of these guns (Volume 2), so a comparison of real parts is the only comparison that can be made.

Figure 10 — The three donors bought for comparison, all from the left side, muzzle to the left. 1, the KWA-made Elite Force gas blowback gun, shown in its retailer's photograph with an optic fitted that does n… — Figure 10 — The three donors bought for comparison, all from the left side, muzzle to the left. 1, the KWA-made Elite Force gas blowback gun, shown in its retailer's photograph with an optic fitted that does not come with the gun. 2, the VFC-made Elite Force Gen 3 electric, stock extended, with its long magazine. 3, the Elite Force / Umarex spring gun, with its fixed stub stock. Not to a common scale. Photos: Airsoft GI (1, 2), Airsoft Station (3).

1.10.1 Why these three

Each one stands for a class of donor, and each class answers a different question.

Table 4 — Why these three

Class	Donor	What only this class offers	The question it answers
Gas blowback	KWA-made Elite Force H&K MP7 GBB (2279020)	A real bolt carrier already running behind the ejection port on its own recoil spring and buffer, in a metal action housing	Can one solenoid drive the factory carrier hard enough to give both the kick and the moving port (Volume 2, concept A)?
Electric	VFC-made Elite Force H&K MP7 A1 AEG Gen 3 (2262102)	A front battery bay with a wiring path from the muzzle end to the receiver, and the largest free volume once the gearbox is out	Does a ready-made wiring path and a large empty receiver outweigh having to build every moving part?
Spring	Elite Force / Umarex H&K MP7 A1 spring (2273033)	The MP7 outline, rails and grip angle for $49.99, with nothing inside worth keeping	Where do the camera sleeve, cable, board and solenoid brackets go, tried in a shell that can be cut without regret?

The spring gun is not a candidate to be the finished light gun: at 600 g by Umarex’s manual it weighs about a third of the real MP7, and its stock does not extend.²¹ It is the practice shell, and the place where Volume 2’s concepts are first mocked up. Within each of the other two classes, the gun chosen is the only one of its class a US buyer could order on 18 October 2026.

1.10.2 Why not the others

Table 5 — Why not the others

Candidate	Class	Why it was passed over
VFC Navy GBB, Gen 1 or Gen 2 (Elite Force)	Gas	The same moving-carrier advantage as the KWA, but out of stock at every US retailer checked, at $299.99–$389.99. Its magazines do not fit the KWA.⁴ If one appears used, it is an equal alternative, not a better one.
Umarex / VFC “Asia edition” GBB V2 (Redwolf)	Gas	$249.99, the cheapest licensed gas MP7, but Redwolf states it “cannot be shipped to North America” under a distribution agreement.⁵
Tokyo Marui MP7A1 GBB	Gas	Not stocked by any US retailer checked; an import at ¥42,800 before tax plus shipping buys nothing the KWA lacks for this build, and its parts would come from Japan.¹¹
Tokyo Marui MP7A1 electric (AEP)	Electric	Import only (¥27,800 before tax); a smaller, 7.2 V compact mechbox and a front bay sized for a micro NiMH stick, so a smaller free volume than the VFC; its port appears moulded shut.¹⁷
Earlier VFC AEG (Gen 1 / Gen 2)	Electric	The same gun class as the Gen 3, out of stock at $454.95–$459.99, and $55–60 dearer than the Gen 3 when last listed.¹⁴¹⁵
WELL R4 (SMG-7) AEP	Electric	Unlicensed; no US retailer found (£99.99 in the UK); a battery with a “unique connector”; and a gearbox none of which the build would keep.²⁴ It would save about $300 over the VFC and teach nothing the spring gun does not.
Elite Force MP7 Sport AEG	Electric	An M4-style stock on a tube and an add-on vertical grip: the wrong gun from the side. Out of stock; proprietary battery.²²
Umarex H&K MP7 .177 break-barrel	Air rifle	A pellet gun, not airsoft, and a different legal category (Volume 3).
CTM AP7 conversion chassis	Kit	An MP7 outline over a separate Action Army pistol; not an MP7 inside.

1.10.3 What the three cost

Table 6 — What the three cost

Donor	Retailer	Price, 18 Oct 2026	Link
KWA-made Elite Force H&K MP7 GBB, black	Airsoft GI	$344.95	airsoftgi.com
VFC-made Elite Force H&K MP7 A1 AEG Gen 3, black	Airsoft GI	$399.95	airsoftgi.com
Elite Force / Umarex H&K MP7 A1 spring, black	Airsoft GI	$49.99	airsoftgi.com
Total, three guns		$794.89 before tax and shipping
Spare KWA gas magazine, 2279021, to machine for the cable exit (D21, Vol 2 §2.7)	Airsoft GI	$74.99	airsoftgi.com
Total with the spare magazine		$869.88 before tax and shipping

All three pages showed an add-to-cart button on 18 October 2026, re-checked that day; none stated a stock quantity. Buying all three from one retailer keeps the shipping to one order. Airsoft Station had the KWA gun in stock at $374.95 (tax included, per its page) as the second source; the electric and the spring gun were out of stock there.⁸ Two items are not in the total and may be wanted: a spare KWA gas magazine (model 2279021) to cut up for the cable exit while the original stays intact, and a battery for the electric if it is to be test-fired before stripping (the Gen 3 page does not say whether one is included). Neither was priced on a retailer’s own page for this volume.

1.10.4 The scorecard

The comparison is decided on these rows, filled in after each teardown and bench session. Every row names where its number comes from. Weightings are deliberately not set in advance; the point of buying three is to let the measurements say which rows matter.

Table 7 — The scorecard

#	Criterion	How it is measured
1	Mass, complete and stripped	Scale, with and without magazine (Volume 2 checklist 2–3)
2	Muzzle: camera sleeve fit	Flash hider bore, OD, thread; front cap envelope (checklist 4–5)
3	Cable path, muzzle to receiver	Is there one, and what diameter passes (checklist 5, 10)
4	Free volume in the receiver	L × W × H with the internals out (checklist 8)
5	Magazine: room for the cable exit and a board	Inside depth and width of the gutted magazine; base plate size (checklist 9, 13–14)
6	Concept A: kick + port from one solenoid	Shortlisted solenoid on the factory or made carrier; current and arrival time on the ADP3450; felt kick (Volume 2 §2.6)
7	Concept B: separate port actuator	Port moves within one shot; heat of two coils (Volume 2 §2.6)
8	Work done to the donor	What had to be cut, and whether it can be put back
9	Look and feel at arm’s length	Michael’s verdict, weight in the hand, balance
10	Cost to repeat	Donor price plus parts, for a second gun

1.11 Where to buy, with dated prices

All prices as shown on the retailer’s own product page on 18 October 2026, unless marked. Stock status is the page’s; “add-to-cart” means the page offered a cart button without stating a quantity.

Table 8 — Where to buy, with dated prices

Gun	Retailer	Price	Status	Link
Elite Force H&K MP7 GBB, KWA, black	Airsoft GI	$344.95	Add-to-cart	airsoftgi.com
same	Airsoft Station	$374.95 (tax incl., per page)	In stock	airsoftstation.com
same	Redwolf (Hong Kong)	$279.99	”Only 2 left”	redwolfairsoft.com
same, Gen4 listing	PBSports	$454.95	Sold out	pbsports.com
same	Evike	$344.95 (search listing only)	Page not readable	evike.com item 40586
Elite Force MP7 A1 AEG Gen 3, VFC	Airsoft GI	$399.95	Add-to-cart	airsoftgi.com
Elite Force MP7 AEG, VFC (earlier)	Airsoft GI	$459.99	Out of stock	airsoftgi.com
same	Airsoft Station	$454.95	Out of stock	airsoftstation.com
Elite Force MP7 Navy GBB Gen 2, VFC	Airsoft GI	$389.99	Out of stock	airsoftgi.com
same	Airsoft Station	$379.95	Out of stock	airsoftstation.com
Elite Force MP7 Navy GBB Gen 1, VFC	Airsoft GI	$299.99	Out of stock	airsoftgi.com
Umarex MP7 GBB V2 Asia, VFC	Redwolf	$249.99	In stock; no North America shipping	redwolfairsoft.com
Elite Force / Umarex MP7 A1 spring	Airsoft GI	$49.99	Add-to-cart	airsoftgi.com
same	Airsoft Station	$54.99	Out of stock	airsoftstation.com
Elite Force MP7 Sport AEG	Airsoft GI	$79.99	Out of stock	airsoftgi.com
Tokyo Marui MP7A1 GBB	Tokyo Marui (maker MSRP)	¥42,800 before tax	Maker page	tokyo-marui.co.jp
Tokyo Marui MP7A1 AEP	Tokyo Marui (maker MSRP)	¥27,800 before tax	Maker page	tokyo-marui.co.jp
WELL R4 AEP	Patrol Base (UK)	£99.99	Unclear	patrolbase.co.uk

Amazon carries listings for the KWA gas gun in Flat Dark Earth (ASIN B096JKM9VG, shown as unavailable), a “MP7 Navy” gas gun (B0DXLBLPYT) and the VFC electric (B07Z43699P); no price could be read from those pages. Evike sells most of the Elite Force range, but its product pages refused automated reading during this research, so its prices appear here only where a search listing showed them, and are marked as such.

1.12 Has anyone done this already?

No published conversion of an airsoft MP7 into a light gun was found, on 18 October 2026, in searches of the web, Printables (whose “mp7” tag held a speedloader adapter for the VFC gas gun and a figure-scale prop), Hackaday, TinkerDifferent and the ArcadeControls forum by way of search. Reddit’s r/lightguns could not be read directly. What exists is close enough to learn from:

A Gun4IR build in a PlayStation GunCon, posted to TinkerDifferent by “Drake” on 7 April 2023. The DFRobot camera “fits perfectly without any modifications” in the GunCon, but the solenoid did not fit at all, and he designed a separate housing under the barrel in Fusion 360 after “a couple revisions”.²⁶ The lesson for an MP7 donor is the same one: the camera is easy and the solenoid is the packaging problem.
The Blamcon Vyper, a printable SMG-style light gun whose charging handle moves back and forth on every shot, with the electronics in a central “core” and a single GX16 cable carrying USB and solenoid power, reviewed in October 2025.²⁷ It is the nearest thing on the market to the moving-port idea.
Laser Ammo’s R.E.A.L. kits, drop-in laser barrels that turn airsoft gas pistols such as the KWA M9 into recoiling laser trainers. They keep the airsoft gun’s own gas blowback as the recoil and add a laser at the muzzle; the kit’s listing notes it may void the airsoft warranty.²⁸ No MP7 kit was found.
The Operation Wolf shell for Gun4IR on Printables, a printed light-gun body with mounting points for a solenoid and an Arduino Micro.²⁹

1.13 What could not be verified

The KWA gas gun’s weight. 1,610 g, 2.13 kg and 2.15 kg on three pages, with no indication of which includes the magazine. To be weighed on arrival, with and without the magazine.
The battery bay on the Tokyo Marui electric is inferred from Tokyo Marui’s photograph and the VFC evidence, not from a source that says so.
Whether the US and European spring guns are the same gun. The US listings give 350 rounds and 230 fps; Umarex’s manual gives a capacity of 20 and under 0.5 J, but its loading diagram also shows 350. Probably one gun with a reservoir and a feed, unconfirmed.
Evike’s prices, which come from search listings only.
What ships in each box: whether the VFC Gen 3 includes a battery, and whether each gun includes a manual with an exploded diagram.
Tokyo Marui’s licensing position in Japan.
The VFC Navy’s 419–579 mm length, which only one retailer gives.

Sources

DFRobot, “Gravity: IR Positioning Camera For Arduino”, SEN0158, product page, https://www.dfrobot.com/product-1088.html, accessed 2026-10-18 (32 × 16 mm; 3.3–5 V; I2C; 33° × 23°; $23.55; “Notify Me” shown). ↩
Redwolf Airsoft, “Umarex MP7 GBB Airsoft Rifle (by KWA)”, KWA-MP7, https://www.redwolfairsoft.com/umarex-h-k-mp7-a1-gas-blowback-airsoft-by-kwa.html, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩ ↩² ↩³
PBSports, “Elite Force H&K MP7 A1 Airsoft Gen4 Gun - Black”, https://pbsports.com/products/hk-mp7-a1-airsoft-submachine-gun-black, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩
Airsoft Station, “Umarex H&K VFC MP7 Navy GBB Airsoft Rifle, Black”, UX-2262068, https://airsoftstation.com/umarex-h-k-vfc-mp7-navy-gbb-airsoft-rifle-black/, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Redwolf Airsoft, “Umarex MP7 GBB Airsoft Rifle V2 (by VFC)”, VF2-LMP7-BK12, https://www.redwolfairsoft.com/gbb-rifles-smgs-umarex-umarex-vfc-mp7-smg-gbbr-v2-asia-edition.html, accessed 2026-10-18; category page https://www.redwolfairsoft.com/guns/airsoft-smg/mp7. ↩ ↩² ↩³
Airsoft GI, “Elite Force H&K MP7 GBB Airsoft SMG by KWA (Black)”, item 5635 / HK-2279020, https://www.airsoftgi.com/product/Elite-Force-HK-MP7-GBB-Airsoft-SMG-by-KWA-Black-5635/, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩ ↩² ↩³
Redwolf Airsoft, “Umarex MP7 Airsoft AEG SMG Gen 2 (by VFC)”, VF1-LMP7-BK02, https://www.redwolfairsoft.com/umarex-mp7a1-new-generation-aeg-by-vfc.html, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩ ↩²
Airsoft Station, “H&K MP7 Green Gas Blowback Airsoft Rifle by KWA”, UX-2279020, https://airsoftstation.com/h-k-mp7a1-gas-blowback-airsoft-gun-by-kwa/, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩ ↩² ↩³
Airsoft GI, “Elite Force H&K MP7 Navy GBB Airsoft SMG by VFC (Black)”, HK-2262047, https://www.airsoftgi.com/product/Elite-Force-HK-MP7-Navy-GBB-Airsoft-SMG-by-VFC-Black-19748/, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩
Airsoft GI, “Elite Force Licensed H&K VFC MP7 Navy Gen2 Gas Blowback Airsoft Rifle (Black)”, HK-2262068, https://www.airsoftgi.com/product/Elite-Force-Licensed-HK-VFC-MP7-Navy-Gen2-Gas-Blowback-Airsoft-Rifle-Black-60627/, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩
Tokyo Marui, “MP7A1 ブラック — ガスブローバックマシンガン”, https://www.tokyo-marui.co.jp/products/gas/machinegun/281 (tan: /403), accessed 2026-10-18. ↩ ↩²
Joshin web, Tokyo Marui MP7A1 gas blowback listing, https://joshinweb.jp/hobby/59345/4952839142559.html, as summarised in search results, 2026-10-18 (release October 2012). Not read directly. ↩
Airsoft GI, “Elite Force HK MP7 A1 GEN 3 AEG by VFC (Black)”, HK-2262102, https://www.airsoftgi.com/product/Elite-Force-HK-MP7-A1-GEN-3-AEG-by-VFC-Black-74641/, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩
Airsoft GI, “Elite Force H&K MP7 AEG Airsoft SMG by VFC (Black)”, HK-2262070, https://www.airsoftgi.com/product/Elite-Force-HK-MP7-AEG-Airsoft-SMG-BY-VFC-Black-39731/, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩ ↩²
Airsoft Station, “VFC H&K MP7 SMG AEG Airsoft Rifle, Black”, UX-2262070, https://airsoftstation.com/vfc-h-k-mp7-smg-aeg-airsoft-rifle-black/, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩ ↩² ↩³
Fox Airsoft, “Elite Force MP7 AEG in-depth review”, https://www.foxairsoft.com/blog/elite-force-mp7-aeg-indepth-review-fox-airsoft/, and the Elite Force listing, both as summarised in search results on 2026-10-18; the review page returned a different page when fetched directly. Front battery bay, pop-off front cap, tight fit, 11.1 V 900 mAh buffer-tube LiPo recommended. ↩
Tokyo Marui, “MP7A1 ブラック — 電動コンパクトマシンガン”, https://www.tokyo-marui.co.jp/products/electric/compact/404 (tan /420; full set /195), accessed 2026-10-18. ↩ ↩²
Tokyo Marui, battery and charger notice for the electric compact machine guns, https://www.tokyo-marui.co.jp/news/1506exbattery/, as summarised in search results, 2026-10-18. ↩
Airsoft GI, “Elite Force H&K MP7 A1 Advanced Spring Powered Airsoft SMG (Black)”, item 68102 / HK-2273033, https://www.airsoftgi.com/product/Elite-Force-HK-MP7-A1-Advanced-Spring-Powered-Airsoft-SMG-Black-68102, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩ ↩²
Airsoft Station, “HK MP7 A1 Spring Airsoft Rifle, Black”, UX-2273033, https://airsoftstation.com/hk-mp7-a1-spring-airsoft-rifle-black/, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩
Umarex, “MP7A1 Operating Instructions” (multilingual), https://www.umarex.de/fileadmin/manuals/2.6486.pdf, read 2026-10-18. ↩ ↩² ↩³
Airsoft GI, “Elite Force H&K MP7 Sport AEG Airsoft SMG (Black)”, HK-2279040, https://www.airsoftgi.com/product/Elite-Force-HK-MP7-Sport-AEG-Airsoft-SMG-Black-15841/, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩ ↩²
Airsoft Station, “H&K MP7 AEG Airsoft SMG”, UX-2279040, https://airsoftstation.com/h-k-mp7-airsoft-smg/, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩
Patrol Base, “WELL R-4 SMG-7 AEP”, https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/well-mp7-a1-r-4, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩ ↩²
Army Recognition, “Lithuania receives MP7 A2 submachine guns from German company Heckler & Koch”, 2024, https://armyrecognition.com/news/army-news/army-news-2024/lithuania-receives-mp7-a2-submachine-guns-from-german-company-heckler-koch, as summarised in search results (just under 1,900 g, per the manufacturer). Secondary; the HK MP7 dive owns the real gun’s figures. ↩
Drake, “Modern DIY arcade lightguns”, TinkerDifferent forum, 7 April 2023, https://tinkerdifferent.com/threads/modern-diy-arcade-lightguns.2532/post-21840, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩
John Yan, “Blamcon Light Guns”, Gaming Nexus, 1 October 2025, https://www.gamingnexus.com/Article/16263/Blamcon-Light-Guns/, accessed 2026-10-18. ↩
Laser Ammo R.E.A.L. conversion kit for the KWA M9, listing at Adorama, https://www.adorama.com/larealkm9ir.html, and Officer.com product note, https://www.officer.com/training-careers/training-equipment/product/12339568/laser-ammo-ltd-real-recoil-enabled-airsoft-laser-conversion-kit-for-kwa-m9, as summarised in search results, 2026-10-18. ↩
“Operation Wolf Assault Weapon - Gun Shell - for GUN4IR”, Printables model 69057, https://www.printables.com/model/69057-operation-wolf-assault-weapon-gun-shell-for-gun4ir, as summarised in search results, 2026-10-18. ↩