 Submited By: Keith A. on 09/05/2009
THE BAD:
Several problems with this rifle . The trigger group has two components that are prone to failure , the valve design is very weak , and the hinge plate will crack .
The valve striker and the U-shaped part that acts as a return delay for the striker are made of cheap pot metal and WILL both fail . The U-shaped piece has a small finger that interacts with the hammer , and the finger breaks off . The striker is designed poorly and makes only minimal contact with the face of the valve stem . Because it is pot metal and contacting incorrectly , it will peen over the edge of the striker causing it to disengage the valve by flipping up on top of it .
The hinge plate can be cured by adding a rectanglular piece of neoprene between the spring guide plate and the hinge plate to act as a recoil buffer .
The rear half of the valve assy. uses a snap ring to secure it to the bolt carrier . The trailing edge of the snap ring groove is too thin , causing the material to break off , eliminating one wall of the snap ring groove causing the whole valve assy. to become dislodged inside the gun . Also , the valve body has ports cut out to facilitate airflow from the magazine into the valve , these windows are too close together creating weak points in the valve body which will cause it to collapse, much like crumple zones on a car .
Luckily I was able to redesign and produce replacement parts (I'm a machinist) , otherwise this would have been a huge waste of $$ .
The co2 mags suck , don't waste your time with them . They leak , they barely fired 18 rounds before going empty and they double the likelihood that your hinge plate will crack .
THE GOOD:
The body on this rifle is SICK , both in looks and construction . Stripping this gun is a breeze , literally takes 5 seconds to tear down. Very nice finish with the CNC work and anodizing . As far as looks and feel , only FN makes a better SCAR . I got the EGLM on it and it turns many a head at the games .
OVERALL:
Despite the excellent platform , rock solid body and great craftsmanship , WE fell way short on reliable internals . I would not suggest anyone buy this gun unless they have access to a machine shop and/or are willing to pay top $ for redesigned parts , or until WE or the aftermarket make some new , good quality trigger groups and valves for these . The cost is great at $260 , but expect to spend that much to get the gun ready to skirmish as well . Not a bad option , as you'd still spend less than $600 , but if you're looking to open the box and get into the fight , you'll be disappointed . For me , it was well worth it , but most people don't have the luxury of being able to design and manufacture thier own parts ... | |
