Jing Gong VZ-61 Scorpion AEG Airsoft Gun Review.
By: WhiskeyJuliet (Will Jayne.)
Starbuck, demonstrating how much better two Scorpion are than one UMP.
Do you remember playing Goldeneye on the N64? Do you remember the WORST gun in the game (even worse than the pea shooting Walther PPK?) That’s right, the Klobb, AKA: the VZ-61 Scorpion!
Well, prepare to see them through a very, very rose tinted lens because the airsoft counterpart is a little gem, with a real sting in its tail!
First a little history of the real steel firearm. I’m lazy, so here’s what Wikipedia has to say about it:
The Škorpion vz. 61 is a Czechoslovakian 7.65 mm submachine gun (often classified as a machine pistol), developed in the 1950s by Miroslav Rybář (1924–1970) and produced under the official designation Samopal vzor 61 ("submachine gun model 1961") by the Česká Zbrojovka arms factory in Uherský Brod. Although it was developed for use with security forces, the submachine gun was also accepted into service with the Czechoslovak Army, as a personal sidearm for lower-ranking army staff, vehicle drivers, armoured vehicle personnel and Special Forces. Currently the weapon is in use with the armed forces of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Angola, Croatia, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Mozambique and Uganda. Production rights to the submachine gun were also acquired by the Yugoslavian Crvena Zastava factory (currently Zastava Arms), which license-built the weapon in the 1980s as the M84. It features a synthetic pistol grip compared to the original version (a civilian, semi-automatic pistol version was also produced, known as the M84A, also available in 9x17mm Short).
No mention of Russians or Soviets. So I don’t know if the gun would be appropriate for hardcore soviet airsofters, but fine for anyone who’s into Eastern Bloc guns. Then again maybe they did use it, so someone who knows more than me can fill in this blank.
Now, the reason I bought this gun is because I needed a sidearm that could actually stand up to the punishments and ranges at the Rock and Blox. I’m intending on doing a little sniping, and this little beauty seemed perfect for the job. I found it on Action Hobbies and was immediately drenched from head to toe in drool. Full metal? 300+ fps? 90 round hi-cap magazine? FOR £80?? I had to have it.
So, after nearly having a heart attack because I had left my UKARA forms in Bournemouth, I phoned Mike who obligingly dug out my UKARA number for me. Thanks Mike. I placed the order on action hobbies’ website at about 11pm on Monday night. First thing Wednesday morning the parcel force man drops a heavy box into my hands. Not bad at all, considering it’s Christmas and the posties are all striking. Not that I blame them, poor buggers.
Upon removing the box from it’s wrapping, I saw a very neatly presented box cover. JG has clearly taken a leaf out of the Japanese makers’ books with regard to that. Inside the box, everything you get is tucked tidily in. Here’s a list of what you get:
· VZ-61 Scorpion AEG.
· 90 Rd hicap mag.
· Rail adapter.
· Charger.
· Manual.
· 7.2 V battery.
· 14 mm CCW silencer adapter.
· Hex key.
· Bolt for rail.
· Muzzle protector.
· Sight adjustment/ outer barrel remover tool.
Quite a lot of stuff really. I’ll go through all the sundries first before getting on to the gun.
Rail adapter:
Is unfortunately plastic. It feels solid, but I’m used to metal rails. This is a shame, as it is very slippy and RIS parts have trouble gripping it. I don’t know if the TM one is metal. This one will do, but you may want to go over the parts that things will grip to with some roughish sandpaper, just to lessen the slipping. It should be ok after that.
Charger:
This is a two-pin EU type plug, so you’ll need a three pin UK adapter, which shouldn’t be hard to come by. Looks decent enough, and I’ve never had problems with JG charger before.
Manual:
Is the usual illegible Chingrish. However, the funny anime style diagrams should be enough to explain the various functions of the gun. Well worth a butchers before you play around with the gun.
Battery:
This is solid and looks of good quality. It’s 7.2 V, and 700 Mah. So it should last a good while and provide enough oomph for your gun. Charging time is about 4.5 hours.
Silencer adapter:
This is another metal part and seems very solid. However, as with anything like it, don’t over-tighten things with it as threads may strip.
The rest of the tools don’t need much explanation, the annual covers it nicely.
The Gun:
Finally, the interesting part. The whole gun is fantastic to look at and feel. The cold metal is heavy and has a good amount of heft to it. No creaks or wobbles anywhere and no manufacturing defects that I could see. I’ll go from back to front:
Grip:
This is polymer as per the real steel. The older models have wooden grips, but I like the tactical look of the black plastic. The battery slides into it and it feel very solid and on good quality plastic, which we’ve come to expect from JG.
Trigger/ Guard:
Both metal, really tough.
Upper and Lower Receivers:
The gun is not actually full metal. The lower is from solid metal, no plastic at all. I’m not sure if they are aluminium or steel, either way, JG has done a great job on it. The upper receiver is from ABS plastic, again the usual good quality from JG.
Stock:
The stock folds over the front of the gun, locking down over the foresight. A pull will release them and then they lock into position extended. To release them again squeeze the base of the stock together. The stock wobbles up and down a tiny bit when extended, but I’d be surprised if the real steel was much better, as the mechanism leaves some tiny gaps to wobble.
Sights. Catches:
Again all metal. The rear sight flips to adjust for two range settings. You’ll probably only ever use the close range one.
The catches are all metal and feel pretty good. The only thing I don’t like is the fire selector, which doesn’t quite click well enough, and could easily be knocked out of position by a careless finger. However this is not unusual even in Japanese guns. The selector goes from semi to safe to auto, from right to left.
Outer Barrel:
This is metal too. It screws onto a 14 mm CCW thread inside the receiver. It’s tough as nails like the rest of the gun.
Magazine:
The mag holds 90 bbs, and winds with a dial at the bottom. The filling port it on the top front of the mag, and a little plastic slider is popped down to fill the mag. The body is metal, and the top of the mag is plastic.
Inner barrel:
I was not impressed with now utterly filthy the barrel was. The first thing I suggest you do it remove the inner barrel from the gun and take the hop unit off. Clean it thoroughly. I used my trusty gun cleaning kit (well worth investing in.) I used lighter fluid as my cleaning agent as it’s a great de-greaser. When the swap went in it was white. When it came out it looked like a turd. The barrel is filthy, so give it a really good going over. This will easily out 15 fps onto the power.
Overall this is one of the most solid guns I have every held, and the metal feels great on a cold morning. This is as close the real steel as you will get. No lets see how it fires!
Firing:
I was not exactly wowed by the firing performance of this gun. I could be in future, but not as stock. First, I don’t have a chrono. But I think that the 285 + fps is an accurate statement from Action Hobbies. The gun could well edge up to 300 when it’s been run in. So this is a good point, much better than comparable AEG’s and AEP’s. The ROF is also decent, and put out the same ROF as many guns running on 8.4 V batteries. So no problems there either.
However, these very pleasing features were utterly ruined by the worst hop I have ever seen in an AEG. Setting the gun to full hop makes very little difference to no hop, and no in between setting is any better. I thought the bucking might be greasy, so I stripped the gun and took apart the hop and cleaned it thoroughly. I put it all back together making sure everything was nicely aligned. However this only made a small difference. So, for it’s intended purpose of use at the Rock or Blox it’s not going to cut a lot of mustard. However it would probably be ok for urban games.
Another major issue is the fire selector, especially semi. I don’t know what happens, but occasionally it won’t fire semi until you switch it to auto and then back again. I hope the gets better, because otherwise it’s going to drive me ballistic. It could probably be fixed; maybe someone here knows what to do. Accuracy is good, and groupings of 6 inches at 20m will probably not be a problem. However, these problems may just be my gun, I sure hope so.
Upgrades:
You will find numerous upgrades for the TM gun on the Asian retailer sites, I wont go into to much detail. If it weren’t for the god-awful hop it wouldn’t need any I don’t think. So a new hop bucking is essential. I don’t know what to do about the dodgy fire selector, but I reckon it’s solvable.
Conclusion:
This is a great gun that’s only let down by the quality of the hop bucking. It really is a case of ruining the ship for a hapeth of tar. I think the fire selector problem is just my gun, and I suspect it will get better with use and tinkering. All said, when I finally get it working the way it should I can see it becoming one of my favourites. The guy at Action Hobbies seems to love his. Don’t be put of by the problems, it’s still good value for money at £80 I think. To get a TM one that performs similarly would probably cost you nearly £200. It just isn’t worth that. Sure the TM will likely last longer and will come with a better hop, but for half the price the JG is a good gun. If things do start breaking down as it gets older then you can always upgrade then.
Final Score:
Looks: 85%
Build quality: 78%
Firing (as stock): 65%
Upgradability: 80%
Price: 87%
Overall I give this gun 7/10. Once it’s working properly I think this would be up to 8.5 or 9. So do go the extra mile if you decide to buy this gun, and even with the issues it has I’d still recommend it.
See you in the woods comrades.
Will.
UPDATE:I just phoned the very nice and helpful bloke at Action Hobbies who suggested a few tricks to fix the issues with the gun. The hop bucking is new and hard, and I need to put some silicone oil in there to soften up the rubber and make it sticky again so the bbs catch on it and get spun. So I think this is the issue rather than the buck being low quality. I'll try it and see.
He also said that the fire selector problem was probably caused by excessive grease in the gearbox, which has fouled the connectors. I will see if it improves, but they offered to fix it if it doesn't. Nice of them. If these issues are resolved then this will become a really fantastic little gun.
Oh and by the way, I have NEVER heard an airsoft gun sound closer to the real steel ever. This thing pops away like its firing live ammuntion!!! It's great to hear, very scary if you're on the other end!
FURTHER UPDATE:A few things have come up since I bought the gun, nothing that bad but worth a mention. First, Dave and I have been into the gearbox. Inside are a very nice set of steel gears and a decent motor. However, the grease is poo and would do with replacing. Also, the plastic bushings are rather pants and ideally need replacing. WARNING if you buy the nineball metal bearing set for the G18 AEP, they won't fit too well!! They do work, but require some gearbox dremelling to get them going in properly. Leave it to an expert if you aren't sure about it.
Also, the stock is made of monkey metal, and won't stand up to alot of punishment. I've already broken mine (well, someone else did but I would have sooner or later.) My reccomendation is to leave it the hell alone. It's useless as a stock anyway.
Other than that it is now a superb gun and mine can compete with all of my other AEG's now.
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