Peak 2009 – Custom Airsoft Guns of Ko Tactical/uscmCorps

I personally started down the path of really learning about firearms and other military equipment through the hobby of airsoft, as I’m sure has been the case for lots of other people. The website that really opened my eyes to the world of possibilities was ArniesAirsoft.co.uk and the forums hosted on that site. A good few people who were active on said forums (which included members from all around the world) ended up going on to various interesting endeavours.

One member of said forums was a man who went by the username uscmCorps, after the organisation of marines in the film Aliens. In the late 2000s and early 2010s when Magpul fever was gripping firearms owners and airsofters alike, Mr Corps was doing perhaps the best custom airsoft AR builds of anyone in the world. He has kindly allowed me to re-host some images and info of his builds that he previously posted on the Arnies forums and display them here. This is a niche post to say the least, but personally I love this stuff so here it is.

Before the Mk18 became *the* hype AR-15 build of the period straddling 2020, uscmCorps built this gun back in 2010. There’s just about as much Magpul as physically possible baked in to this build, and the FDE finish was given it’s dirty appearance by rubbing in the carbon fouling taken from some real firearms.

This build in particular is a brilliantly executed replication of a Knights Armament SBR used by Chris Costa in the first Magpul Dynamic Carbine DVD. Probably my personal favourite of everything on this list.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/industry/Ques_on_Costaandapos_s_SBR_in_dynamic_carbine_1_DVD/124-207573

There were 2 prominent monolithic AR-15 uppers produced in the mid to late 2000s; the LMT MRP (initially in 20mm Quad Pic) and the lesser known VLTOR VIS. While there were entire airsoft replicas made by G&P based on the LMT rifle, I’m not aware of any whole guns with the VLTOR upper, and even the accessory parts were not produced in any significant quantity. The following is a parts list for the all-black, upper rifle of the two in the above image.

VLTOR’s CASV handguard most definitely had us all in a firm chokehold in the late 2000s. This build definitely has an air of US Navy EOD of the time period.

No parts lists are available for the above, but this pair of LMT MRP rifles with lashings of VLTOR and TangoDown furniture is *chef’s kiss*. The short TD rail panels are particularly unusual to see by comparison to the full size 6″ versions.

This combo of Magpul, LaRue and absolutely tons of VLTOR on an AR AEG build has the basic form factor of an M4A1, with the 14.5 barrel, carbine gas system and 7″ handguard. However only a couple of parts are in USGI style. An interesting transitional build inbetween the military style rifles that were the only option at the turn of the millennium, moving towards the era of the long, freefloated quad rails.

Just a Knight’s Armament Company ensemble here. There were a few replicas of the SR-47 and PDW in production at this time and all of this was the peak of gucci.

An unknown airsoft base gun replicating the KAC PDW, with a real Aimpoint T-1 and KAC BUIS however. Unfortunately no other parts list is available for this one.

A lovely pair of VFC SR-15E3 IWSs which have been further enhanced with KAC, Magpul and PTS furniture. Again, sadly no further parts lists available for these builds, but definitely top notch aesthetics for Magpul’s Art of the Tac Carbine Volume 2 DVD.

While the UBR, Magpul lower and VLTOR upper on this build are of course very cool, the real defining characteristic that sets it apart from almost any other build out there is definitely the gas system; and more importantly the fitment of the gas block with the handguard. I don’t know whether this parts combo just happened to line everything up so perfectly, or whether the barrel was maybe modified, or perhaps the gas block just attached at an incorrect place (which you can get away with in airsoft). But the way that gas block fills the void that’s cut in to the rail for an M16 FSP is truly a work of art.

Short stroke gas piston ARs were definitely the hotness at the time since direct impingement was ‘unreliable and run super hot and dirty’ and I’m pretty sure that such statements were commonly heard in Future Weapons with Mack.

Just highlighting the gear in this shot, looks like a whole lot of Eagle Industries in early 1000D Multicam fabric plus some khaki. This was literally as good as you could get during this time period.

Many thanks once again to Ko Tac for allowing me to host his old builds here on the site, you can follow him on IG here: https://www.instagram.com/kotactical/