8
by Nato
I have been building FALs and helping friends do them for many years, all in all I have over a dozen builds under me. The thing with FALs is not "Which FAL kit is best" it is "Which FAL kit is best for ME".
First to pick is inch or metric.
Metric is the most common, and there are tons of parts every where. There are also numerous variations in the metric realm.
Inch while less common, is still doable once you know where to look for things. Inch has far less variations than metric, however the inch versions tend to have a more "thought out" quality to them. Bits that would poke you while marching fold over, the HTS is far easier to take apart, it has the sand cuts, etc.
Once you have picked one then you have to pick which variant you want. Some of the more common metric variants are, G1, STG-58, 50.00, 50.61, 50.62 50.63, 50.64, Argie, Izzy and HB. If you pick inch there is early brit, early aussie. canadian, indian, late aussie, late brit, and L2A1. You can build any of these, as long as your pockets are deep enough. The bog standard basic FAL is the 50.00 w/T3 which could be easily accomplished by an imbel kit. I am personally partial to early brits/aussies, G-1's, and 50.61's.
Also only inch pattern receivers can take both inch and metric mags, there are a lot of people who do inch kits on metric receivers. Please not I do not recommend using metric mags in inch receivers, as they are not as reliable as using inch on inch.
I sort of scatter shot that whole thing, so if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.
Pompous, with a touch of elitism.