as title says grandkids are asking me I have been of the scene for a little and tech brands etc are changing see these ones in the links they prob got around the 300 to 400 dollar mark to spend
so see if I am on the mark or any better recommendations
any help appreciated
or
The trusted old CYMA M4 is still a workhorse even by todayās standards.
Otherwise Double Bell do a some decent cheaper nylon M4ās, even have a couple AK models, and can be found around the $250>$350 mark and leaves some cash for extra mags or better batteries etc.
Personally havenāt heard anything on the SRC brand.
I did hear good things re the src brand but that was ages ago just wondering regarding the SLR metal blasters they were not a cheap blaster
just dont want something that I will be pulling down and fixing etc every month if possible
I had a good run with the CYMA as well just prefer a metal gear box
The SLR ION has been mentioned and bought recently they get a good review for reliability which @RokSolid knows more about 
@ZePenuin purchased oneā¦
Believe it or not, my recommendation for a kids blaster is either a UMP45 or JinMing J12 AK74U.
Both are reasonable small and lightweight, very simple and solid construction, very strong and reliable, easy to find parts and cheaper on the wallet in every sense.
They both have folding stocks that make them a perfect size for smaller kids. 
The JinMing J12 ACR is also a very same recommendation for all the same reasons. They are a bit larger size for kids to handle, but they also feature a folding stock that would make it much easier for kids to swing around.
Kids are rough on gear, so it makes more sense to get something a bit older that has less parts to break and things to go wrong.
The availability of readily available cheap replacement parts, along with the more simple gearboxes and less wiring/electronics is another good reason to go down this path with the older more basic Blasters.
The one MOST important modification to do before giving them to the kids is to fit a metal trigger, as I can guarantee 100% thatās the very first thing they will break will be the standard plastic trigger on ANY model Gelbaster that you give them! 
Last thing is to get them Swimming Goggles to protect their precious little eyes the safest way possible, much safer for younger kids than trying to rely on them using safety glasses properly 
This 100% 
Both great blastersā¦ particularly like the UMP. One of my favourites.
Yep - UMP45 - avoids the selector issues of the J12
Good thinking, Iād forgotten about that with kids swinging off of those, along with the fact that they are pretty high powered standard out of the box compared with the UMP or ACR.
I had to fix the spelling in the title of this threadā¦ I kept twitching every time I seen it, causing me a near Descent into madness! 
Very cool platformā¦ and very upgradeable. Solid shell too, decent mags, and not an M4ā¦ Whatās not to like? 
My only gripe was the difficulty in fitting a hop upā¦ so I cut off the plastic outer barrel and retrofitted a 14mm CCW adaptor and a longer IBā¦ takes any hopup, flash hider or suppressor now.
Spare parts and extra mags are cheap and easily available too! 
yep Iām loving the thing. Iāve been putting tons of rounds though it to stress test. only low side is the small battery compartment and you void the warranty if you use and 11v (but thatās pretty standard i guess). Iāll be getting the Ihobby 14mm CCW Hopup with SLR Flash Hider soon to help with accuracy. other wise checkout Bradley Philips video Gel Ball Blaster: SLR Ion Lite CQB!
They are BANGING value if you picked them up for $299 in their sales. One day I might, but I have enough m4s.
Funny thing is EVERYTHING Tac Edge sells is 7v with void warranty on 11v.
Every other retailer shipped the CYMA metal gearbox blasters with 11v.
But a warranty is worth it to normal people (ie not me!)
As for accuracy, I would almost bet, they are over volumed. As far as I am aware, the cyma metal box had either a full cylinder, or a 70ish % cylinder.
Fun factā¦ They also only have 14 teeth vs the normal 16 teeth. Factory short stroked by 2 teeth!
How common was that whole tooth count thing on so many different Blasters!
Typical Gelbaster crap where thereās absolutely ZERO specifications for ANYTHING whatsoever 
Every single build had to be inspected thoroughly because of such wild differences between models that NOTHING could be relied upon as being standard! 
