Hello,
   Can anyone tell me how to tell the difference between an original Crane SOPMOD stock and one of the Airsoft knokoffs? I just purchased a Crane stock, NIB, dated in 2001 with a NSN number on the box. Just want to make sure its not one of the Airsoft replicas.
Thanks,
Brian

[email protected]

Does it say LMT anywhere on it? I'm not sure when LMT started making them though...

No it doesnt say anything on it anywhere. Fits my factory Colt tube very very tight, no wobble.

The original Crane's had no markings on them either.  I think the majority of the replicas had a somewhat brighter finish than the real Cranes which were more subdued.

At least in the experiences I've come across them in. Others may have seen variations.

The LMT Logo is a dead giveaway.

The rubber end cap is soft on the real one, hard rubber (aslmost plastic) on the fake

Quoted: The LMT Logo is a dead giveaway. The rubber end cap is soft on the real one, hard rubber (aslmost plastic) on the fake

Good point Mfingar, but he may be asking about the original Crane version.

Those were selling in the $500 range at one point, and ripe for knock-off artists

The new, and now genuine SOPMOD is made by LMT


But I cannot say how you would tell the difference.

Then again he may be asking about the LMT

I think he might be asking if a fake one will fit? dont worry........... it is expensive

First off thanks for all that have replied. Let me clarify my question.

A. I know this is not an LMT stock and I know LMT now supplies the military.
B. I am Not trying to put an Airsoft replica on my M16A2.
C. I am trying to verify the authenticity of this Crane Stock.

I purchased this stock as an Original Crane Stock. I have no experience with the current AIRSOFT replicas and I just want to make sure that the stock I purchased is indeed and Original Crane Stock and NOT and Airsoft replica being passed as such. No markings on the stock. Stock does have a rubber butt plate that is not real hard but not that soft either. If you press your fingernail into it it will leave an indent. Someone here actually owns/uses one of the orignal Crane stocks and I would like a comparison to this stock.
Thanks,
Brian

I don't have any experience with that specific stock, but the label looks wrong.

When I was in the .mil I never saw any weapons parts that were labeled "replacement". Should have contract and or lot #'s on them along with other info.

Label also looks like it was made on a homeowner grade inkjet printer.

Just my 2 cents.  

chawkpilot,

The mold marks and rubber butt pad on your stock are the same as those on my original Crane stock.
Hope this helps!

Looks genuine to me.

I have a couple of the LMT versions, and they are nearly identical. In fact, I believe the only difference is the LMT logo

also, my LMTs do not have those ridges along the tabs of  the storage tube caps.

I say is the real deal.

None of the views I seen can tell me that it is, in fact an LMT.  The operating lever should be textured with the LMT logo.  LMTs had a pretty decent casting flash mark left on the top.  LMTs have numbers cast into the body of the stock also.  I see nothing like this.  And if you ask me, that label doesn't look like what was on my box.  It looks a tad cheesy to me.




Edited:  I don't know about original Crane stocks, though.  Hope you got what you paid for.  With all the knockoffs out there, there is no way I would buy an original Crane stock, unless I got it from somebody directly from them.  The LMTs are good to go.

Looks real to me, the airsoft knockoffs are real cheap feeling, you will be able to tell the difference when both are next to each other.

The airsoft has a thinner butt pad almost a hard plastic instead of rubber and the checkering is not as defined, also the plastic across the top of the cheek piece has a smoother texture, you can see the plastic swirl marks on the airsoft, The SOPMOD has an almost pebbly texture

Your's looks good

Airsoft one may crack under some element conditions, I don't think that they are made out of fiberite.

This sounds bad, but it how you can figure it out.

The plastic most toys are made with is very cheap and not very durable.  It may look and feel like quality, but the actual chemical make up is very different from the synthetic materials used to create the quality and strudy real ones.

What I found out.

All plastic, will be eaten/melted by paint thinner or turpentine.  This is because turpentine and paint thinner are designed to break down the chemical makeup of paint, which happens to be very similar to plastic.

Cheap, PVC toy plastic reacts quickly to paint thinner.   The quality synthetics, do not react as quickly because they are not true/pure plastic.  They are a little different, this is what makes them so strong.  Buy some paint stripping paste from a hardware store.  Find a small spot on your stock that wont be a big deal if it gets messed up.

If the stock is a cheap airsoft knockoff, the paint stripper paste will literally melt the plastic almost instantly.  You need to leave it on for a few minutes to really see.  The hard/better plastics will not react as quickly.

Case in point.  I had a cheap DPMS 4 position stock that was painted.  I also had the pistol grip painted as well, but it was made of a much harder synthetic.  Well I put the paint stripper on  both parts (i knew it had the potential to melt plastic, but it had been my experiance before that with good plastic it takes a while, usually after the paint has already been stripped).  Well the DPMS stock instanlty began to melt.  You could take your fingernail and scrape the plastic away.  However the pistol grip did nothing, it was fine.  The same with the bushmaster handguards, they were a little in between the pistol grip and the stock.  

So maybe this is a dumb idea, but its the only way I know of to determine what kind of plastic anything is made of.

I have a few LMTs.  Without ever seeing a real Crane stock vs an Airsoft copy, I would be wary of any cheesy label like the one in your picture.  Anyone can print one of those and stick it on a box.  The government seems to be anal about having nice neat labels.  Must be a mil-spec thing.

The label itself seems to be BS to me....(6 years in the military taught me to Backwards, Speak)

- No Cage Code #?
- I'm suspicious of the terms "Crane & SOPMOD" showning up the way they do
- No Quantity?...Everything has a quanitiy on the package...even if it's one thing in a clear bag.
- No Part Number? The word "replacement" is irrelevant...the part number is what supply would be tracking.

I would have guessed it looked more like this (all capital letters, lots of commas):

1005-LL-L99-7570
CAGE XXXXX:  PN: XXXXX
STOCK, CRANE, SOPMOD
1 EA.
6/01


interesting link
Another



For those who have real Crane stocks...does the adjuster paddle fall flush on the stock like that ?

One more thing about the label. I doubt it would even have Crane on it. It would have Stock, SOPMOD.  That doesn't mean that if the label is fake that the stock is.

chawkpilot, after looking at your pictures I say it's an airsoft. I've owned two authentic CRANE's, two LMT SOPOD's, and one airsoft POS for a few days until I sent it back for a refund. Anybody can print a label and stick it on a box.

That's a fake.   See the sharp point at the back of the latch-  You can see that a mile away on airsofter's toys.   Look at Mongo's bottom pic (right side of stock) as a comparison.  

Usually its the people who own the genuine product (Aimpoint, ACOG, KAC stuff, LMT stock, etc.) who can instantly spot the fake.    

The butt-plate does not look right...It appears to be plastic as opposed to rubber.

These are all fakes from different airsoft manufacturers.

i hate vendors seling airsoft $hit as real stuff...  ripoff http://tinypic.com/29ev40

funny pic,

This one came out of Hong Kong: