With the release of SSR63, we wanted to explore the airsoft G36 platform in general and give you a rundown of some of the platform’s common problems we had to tackle with the SSR63. Moreover, we will also tell you if you should choose this platform over your standard M4.

🤔 G36/SSR63 is one of the best options for people that want something different from the M4 platform but still want good ergonomics and relaibility expected from the M4 platform.

How are G36s in airsoft perceived?

Airsoft G36 was always kind of considered a starter AEG/Rental Gun that, despite working, doesn’t actually perform well. This was due to a specific placement of the G36 on the market, where these rifles had a dream combination for rentals guns:

• Polymer body (that used to scream “I AM CHEAP”)
• V3 Gearbox (easier to fix than the V2 found on AR/M4 replicas)
• Not many (if some) extra features.
• And cheap purchase price, making these rifles replaceable.

This reputation stuck with the rifles basically to this day, even though we are trying to alter it with our new SSR63. And in all fairness, this new rifle has all means to change it. However, when developing it, it turned out that more issues needed improvement to make it more viable for players that are more into the sport.

What can you actually get on the current market?

JG, Cyma, Ares, and Classic Army are some of the leading brands offering G36 replicas on the market right now. In most cases, though, you get the basic furniture and stock internals. That is not bad, but let’s face it, the standards today have moved forwards.

These days, everyone expects and wants more, like pre-upgraded internals, slotted furniture, and QD Sling points, to name a few. Unfortunately, with the basic versions, you are giving these options away. For some, that’s completely fine. For others, not so much.

We fall in the second category… 😊

What are the advantages of G36 over the M4 platform?

If you like the design of both platforms and you’re on the fence, then there are a few advantages the G36 platform offers you that your standard M4 doesn’t have.

First thing first, the V3 gearbox is generally perceived as a more durable gearbox, meaning if you like the design of a G36, you benefit from durability (if not, AK replicas also have the V3 gearbox). That was or still is why many rental guns on the fields are G36-based, thanks to its polymer build and the V3 gearbox, which is easier to fix.

Here you can see for yourself the difference between the more high-end SSR63 gearbox and a stock gearbox of an average G36 replica. To us, the difference is night and day, and this goes beyond just looks. It is in fact, mostly in the quality of each part, their manufacturing tolerances and performance!

If you don’t want to be yet another M4 guy but still expect good ergonomics, our recommendation is to check out more info on G36-type replicas such as the SSR63 series. It features nice ergo with different look than your middle of the road M4. Plus you might win some cool points with your German friends.

To counter good ergonomics, fair weight and ease of fixing, the G36 replicas have a drawback worth considering – the magazines. Long story short, the mags you can find on a G36 are bulkier than those of an AR/M4. That means you also need different/larger pouches.

Alternatively, some replicas, such as the SSR63 A2, allow you to use standard M4 magazines since they have a different magazine well. Very practical if you already own a rig.

How is the new NOVRITSCH SSR63?

We at Novritsch went ahead as we saw an untapped potential to have, out of the box, a working and reliable rifle. However, we had to decide: do we revive the classic or add our modern furniture? Long story short, we did both. And also added a DMR variant as a cherry to the cake.

We fielded all the variants in one day if you are interested:

Now, if you’re trying to wrap your head around which variant is for what, here are some of the significant features of each variant:

SSR63A1 (The Classic)

From the beginning of the development, we knew that we wanted to have a classic design G36-style gun. It is still popular and also appealing to the German Market. However, we didn’t settle on that.

We upgraded the classic design with some features that are not common on this platform, like the added QD slots to the front handguard. Also, one of the features we think is pretty cool is the transparency of the magazines, so you can see the BBs and know your ammo status.

We have also revisited the entire internals, adding a proper Hop-Up chamber with a Flat Hop upgrade, adding an electronic trigger unit and putting up a T-Dean battery connector (hallelujah, 21st century!).

SSR63A2 (New Kid)

The A2 is a classic design brought into the 21st century thanks to the unique CNC aluminium slotted handguard and CNC aluminium top rail for optic mounting. With this option, you can essentially run it with any common accessory, no questions asked.

Also, it’s the most appealing to airsofters that are married into the M4 rifle platform (like our SSR4/15) with its M4 magazine adapter that allows you to use the same magazine pouches for your SSR63A2 and SSR4 that you might already have, it makes it a seamless switch.

And again, we reworked the internals… Imagine if we didn’t, releasing a rifle with modern furniture but outdated internals. 😅

SSR63A3 (DMR)

A3 was mostly a passion project of the developers because there weren’t many SL8/9 airsoft replicas on the market, and none of them had the proper slotted handguard.

So we went ahead with developing this version, and in our opinion, it turned out well. The design still looks futuristic, but we will let you be the judge of that. The rifle is also a semi-locked replica. Reason? The rifle was always meant to be a DMR, and some countries and airsoft games have rules that if you want to play with a DMR, you need the gun to be semi-locked.

Unsurprisingly, the internals are again tuned. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a precise DMR…

All of the variants of our SSR63 have programmable ETUs (exept the A3 and semi-only variants) with short Trigger travel, CNC Hop-Up chamber TDC style flat bucking by Maple Leaf.

They also come with a nylon reinforced body so you don’t have to worry about breaking it. On top of that, it self doesn’t shine anymore like on cheaper plastic bodies. To summarize, it’s a pre-upgraded gun out of the box, just like you would expect from Novritsch over the years.

In case you are interested in these rifles, you can always learn more details. If this isn’t your cup of tea, we’ll see you with the next one!