Custom Built AAP-01 GBB pistol: Toky Woky Load Out's AAP-01
Building your own custom AAP-01 GBB? If so, here's something to get your juices flowing!
Introducing Load Out from Toky Woky's custom build AAP-01. Load Out is the head coach of our customer community on Toky Woky and a regular skirmisher with an impressive arsenal of Airsoft guns he has put together himself. Load Out is a skirmish junkie, and uses the kit he prefers rather than basing his setup on real world kit. His focus is on practicality and performance, but he also loves realistic features, and his AAP-01 is built in this spirit.
Load Out uses his AAP-01 as a sidearm, and has added some practical features to improve the ergonomics without making the AAP-01 unwieldy and compromising its use as a backup to his Cyber Gun SIG MC-X AEG. The Action Army Black Mamba upper was chosen for its uniquely modern looks and the availability of 20mm Picatinny rails which was essential to equip the AAP-01 with a tactical flashlight and red dot sight.
At the front end, we can see that Load Out has taken pure advantage of the AAP-01's 14mm CCW male threading and added a Ghost Spitfire Tracer unit to help keep the enemies' heads down in CQB and allow for super-swift instinctive aiming when even the red dot sight is too slow. The Spitfire also gives the AAP-01 a more menacing look, broadcasting that it means business. The muzzle flash effect is just a bonus, as is the aggressive look the Spitfire adds to this already pretty AAP.
To allow for fast manipulation of the unconventionally designed AAP-01 Load Out has added a charging ring to the bolt carrier. He chose the TTI Ring Charging Handle with Selector Switch to allow for easy racking of the AAP when wearing gloves and to make the well-hidden selector lever more accessible for fast changes between fire modes. Load Out chose this part over the Action Army Charging Ring as he is more of an outdoor player, and makes use of the fire selector more than one might in CQB when restricted to semi-auto.
Load Out has made use of the 20mm rails at the rear of the Black Mamba Upper to add a Truglo red dot sight; equipping his AAP for the 21st-century skirmish field. Using red dot sights on pistols can take practice to master, but when you get the hang of it they are both considerably faster and more accurate than iron sights. The AAP-01 is built for speed, and adding a red dot sight is definitely playing to one of its greatest strengths. Good call, Load Out!
Load Out has made some changes to the grip of the AAP-01, the most noticeable of which is the FOCUHUNTER Tactical Rubber grip. This super simple piece slips over the existing grip and adds finger ridges and an ultra-grippy crosshatch texture across the sides and back strap to add comfort and allow the AAP-01 to be securely gripped in any weather condition. The ASG Universal Rubber Grip also does the same job but with a slightly different look. To facilitate speedy reloads under pressure Load Out has added the Action Army Extended Mag Release and the TTI Flared Magwell, giving him every possible advantage when it comes to operating the AAP quickly.
The custom treatment is not just external with this AAP-01, Load Out has also treated it to a full internal upgrade. This includes the HOP-up unit and bucking, a tightbore inner barrel and some durability upgrades to keep this masterpiece of a pistol running long-term. On the durability side of things, Load Out has upgraded the seals inside his AAP with the Action Army Upgraded Gas Route Seals set, and added the Action Army Upgraded HOP-up unit to ensure the HOP-up is up to the task of taking rapid, repeated impacts from the AAP-01 nozzle and bolt carrier.
One aspect of the AAP-01's performance which was found lacking by Load Out was its range and accuracy. These aspects are not terribly important for a sidearm, and the AAP-01 shoots about as well as any other GBB pistol out of the box, but Load Out's chosen playstyle means accuracy is a priority and range is also a valuable asset on the skirmish field. When he isn't running and gunning, Load Out plays as a sniper, and uses either the AAP-01 or his upgraded TM MK23 as his sidearm. Any Airsoft sniper worth their salt knows that a well-setup sidearm is in every way as important as wielding a high-performance sniper rifle, and a sniper's sidearm can often get them more kills than their primary!
Parts List
Whilst Load Out's AAP-01 is pretty unique and that is a big part of its value, he has kindly opted to share his full parts list with us for those who want to build something similar. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so if you want to copy Load Out's AAP we are sure he won't mind!
- Action Army Black Mamba Upper Reciever Kit A - Alternative - Action Army Advanced Rail Kit - Rear Sight Rail
- TTI Selector Switch Ring Charging Handle - Alternative - Action Army Charging Ring
- TTI Flared Magazine Well
- Action Army AAP-01 Aluminium Extended Mag Release
- Action Army AAP-01 Adjustable Trigger
- Action Army Upgraded HOP-up Unit
- Maple Leaf 6.02mm Tightbore Inner Barrel
- Action Army Upgraded Gas Route Seals
- Maple leaf 60-degree Autobot HOP-up Rubber
- Focuhunter Tactical Rubber Grip - Alternative - ASG Strike Systems Universal Rubber Grip
- Ghost Spitfire Tracer Unit
- Action Army 50rnd Lightweight Extended Green Gas Magazine
Questions for the Builder - Load Out's Opinion
Q: What was your inspiration for the build? Did you see another build you liked the look of or did you just go with the parts you preferred?
A: After seeing the popularity of the AAP-01 when it was first released, I thought “why not buy one and see what all the hype is about”. After seeing that there was an abundance of spare parts available, I began upgrading it from there. I loved the look of the Black Mamba slide over the stock slide and loved the weight it added to the gun in order to improve the realism of the pistol.
Q: What role does this GBB fulfil in your arsenal?
A: I currently use it as a sidearm, however with the correct parts, I could convert it to a primary using a rail and stock kit. I tend to like dropping my primary and switching to my pistol when transitioning into CQB areas, so the snappy trigger and extended 50-round magazine comes in handy for close-quarter engagements where a primary might be too long.
Q: What sort of range and accuracy are you seeing from installing a tightbore and Maple Leaf Autobot?
A: With my current barrel and hop setup, the pistol shoots accurately as far as most bog-standard M4s I’ve tested would fire at (around the 40m mark) which for a sidearm is amazing considering most pistols don’t perform up to the standard that most AEGs do.
Q: Did you replace the HOP-up unit for any particular reason? Same with the gas route seals?
A: I replaced the hop unit for two main reasons. The first reason was to make it much easier to adjust the hop and fine-tune it to whatever weight BB I plan on using for that day. The ability to click it along one slot at a time is perfect for getting the exact adjustment I need. The other reason was to make the shots much more consistent. The problem with a lot of hop units nowadays is that because the gun vibrates internally ever so slightly, the hop unit tends to ever so slightly de-adjust itself and over time, the range begins to drop off, forcing you to readjust the hop unit to the exact position you had it set to before. With the AAP-01 upgraded hop unit, the hop is designed so that the adjustment wheel is connected to a pin that slots into lots of little dimples in the unit, meaning that once you have set your hop, it is firmly in place and won’t suffer the effect of de-adjustment.
As for the gas routers, I wanted a lot better gas efficiency between each shot, so by making the gas flow much smoother into the gun, the gun draws less gas from the magazine between each shot and thus improves the overall efficiency. They were a very low-cost upgrade and easy to install in the magazines, making it almost a no brainer
Q: How are you finding the Spitfire tracer? We love ours!
A: The Spitfire is an amazing addition to the pistol. Although it is slightly larger than most pistol tracers currently on the market such as the XCortech XT301 tracer unit, the realistic flash effect greatly boosts the overall realism of the pistol, and can actually have some effect in dazzling opponents for a split second while you lay down constant fire due to its flashing effect
Q: Are there any parts you have used which particularly impressed you?
A: The part that has most impressed me so far is the trigger unit. The ability to adjust the trigger to reduce the travel between first touching the trigger and the actual point of engagement has massively helped in close-quarters engagements where the split-second pull of the trigger can make all the difference in who comes out on top.
Q: How do you feel about the build in general? Are there any parts you would change if you were to start again from scratch?
A: I feel the only parts I might consider changing are some of the external parts from black to red (such as the extended magazine release button, the loop charging handle, etc) to give it a much more unique look, however, of course, this would impact the overall realism look of the pistol.
That about wraps up our overview of Load Out's custom AAP-01 GBB pistol and hopefully, you are walking away from this feeling inspired, and with a little more knowledge under your belt as to what it takes to make an AAP-01 to fit your playstyle and performance needs. If you have any questions for Load Out feel free to contact him via his Youtube channel, or you can find him on Toky Woky by clicking the "Ask Players a Question" button on any product page on our website.
If the AAP-01 is your poison, or you are just getting into the platform and would like to know more about what you can do to customise your AAP, check out our blogs on AAP-01 Ergonomics and Handling and AAP-01 Rate of Fire!