As a follow-up to E&L's previous GBB entry, they have launched a series that is a first in Airsoft: their first batch of blowback Airsoft rifles, the QBZ-191, and now its carbine variant, the QBZ-192. All of which are faithful replicas of the Norinco QBZ-191/192 series!
The QBZ-191 is a Chinese assault rifle chambered for the Chinese proprietary 5.8x42mm intermediate cartridge, designed and manufactured by Norinco as a new-generation service rifle for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the People's Armed Police (PAP). This rifle was formally revealed at the 70th Anniversary National Day military parade on October 1st, 2019, and was seen carried by PLA ground forces during the said parade. The QBZ-191 will slowly phase out the bullpup-configured QBZ-95 to become the main service rifle in both the PLA and the PAP, and has already been seen with Chinese special forces soldiers. Since August 2023, Chinese special forces units have been using the QBZ-192 with armored infantry units following suit.
The E&L T192 is a faithful replica of the PLA's carbine version of their new service rifle series. This is something we do not see often, as the PLA is a branch of the Chinese Communist Party; their armament is always kept secretive, and the rest of the world does not know much about it. And for that, this replica wins extra points for being highly collectible. Other than being a faithful 1:1 replica of a rifle not seen or heard much about outside the borders of the People's Republic of China, this is also E&L's continuation of their first production Airsoft model that has gas blowback capabilities, but is also utilizing a dual-power system. It does not use green gas, but instead is solely powered by either an HPA or a 33-gram CO2 cartridge. This allows this rifle to run at peak efficiency with snappy blowback in both modes! To run the rifle, you can either screw in a 33-gram CO2 cartridge into the stock or remove the end plate of the pistol grip, which will expose an 8mm HPA hose adaptor, allowing for a hosed HPA setup out of the box. Once air is flowing properly, simply rack the charging handle, and you are basically ready to rock and roll.
Like the T191, the T192 has the same semi-ambidextrous controls, with only the charging handle and bolt release not being ambidextrous; the fire selector may be weird for some users as it goes from safe to full auto then semi, somewhat reminiscent of the original AK platform, but in a circular style selector instead of the big selector flaps on AKs. The more you handle the T191/192 series, it feels like the controls are ripped off the old SIG 550 series of rifles, which is an interesting note. Seeing that this Airsoft rifle is capable of using HPA, the magazine itself does not hold or contain any gas; instead, it is a variable ammo cap magazine that could be switched between a 31-round capacity to a 120-round capacity, and vice versa. Great for either training or Airsoft skirmishes.
Finally, the T192 from E&L features a monolithic Picatinny top rail that also has flip-up diopter iron sights and a retractable stock. The handguard also features additional Picatinny rail mounting spaces if you wish to add more accessories to your rifle.
It is a rare sight to see an airsoft replica of Chinese military rifles, as the last time we saw them was Real Sword's AEGs, where we saw the likes of their Type 56, Type 79 / 85, and the QBZ-95. But these came out when Arclight was still the RWTV presenter, which is probably more than 10 years before this rifle came to be, so if you are looking for PLA service rifles to add to your collection, the E&L T191/192 is the way to go!
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