I got the standard M4 size barrel, whatever that is, and it works out fine. Better than fine. Oh, and the mags I have were like 18 bucks each. They came highly recommended from AEX. They are midcaps. They work Great. But other than that, I almost agree with you on everything else

Hop up is plastic. It is a pain to find a bucking that will fit, best to stay with stock. And there is really no need to use a Lipo, it preforms great with a 9.6v. 22 rps fully charged. 16 rps halfway charged
Ha ha, that reminds me, last time I was at my field, some kid with a KWA was using a Lipo for like four hours and the battery actually started to sizzle. After a while, half of the battery was melted away. luckily he took it out before it melted into the gun.
But I digress. You get the point.