An AEG that functions like a PTW but isn’t a PTW. ASG have set a standard for manufacturers and that’s not all. Using the original molds of a real firearm and liaising with third parties to accomplish better internals. This is what makes good products… or is it?
Aesthetics
The ASG CZ Scorpion EVO 3A1 (from now on called the ASG EVO) is molded with the same mold templates as the real steel counterpart. This means that when you hold the ASG EVO, you are holding the closest thing to the real gun itself. Everything, including the trades are the same on the airsoft gun as they are on the real thing (minus small stickers and other bits and pieces).
The ASG EVO is quite heavy and is well balanced which makes the weight less noticeable. The surface of the gun looks smooth and well molded, however it is quite easy to make it look dirty and touched. This can be seen as an advantage depending on the person’s opinion on how authentic they want their airsoft gun to look. The gun replicates the real thing with the non reciprocating charging handle and uses the same style flash hider. There is little to no difference between the two aesthetically apart from the tell tale signs that this is an AEG (pistol grip not hollow and battery in the front end assembly housing).
The ASG EVO is essentially an SMG which means it’s designed for close quarter combat scenarios where maneuverability is key. The foldable stock and the short barrel accomplish this requirement, however the frame is still large which helps with stability when adjusting to aim. The weight would have helped with the recoil but then we are talking about airsoft guns so forget about that statement. The pistol grip is slim, but not to the extent that you feel uncomfortable. It is actually quite comfortable, especially if you wear gloves. The mag release is also glove friendly which allows for not only your assisting hand to use but your trigger hand too (this is due to the extrusion on the release which allows the trigger hand’s index finger operate it).
Externals – Build Quality
The majority of the furniture on the ASG EVO is made of a very strong ABS plastic which makes it very comfortable to hold. The main receiver parts are all screwed into place with allen screws which secure the entire frame together. The frame has literally no wobble and has little tolerance in the molding.
The following are made of metal components: flash hider, barrel nut, trigger, front sling hook, fire selector and all screws and bolt pins.
The stock is made of plastic but is very sturdy. One small defect is that after continuous use, the gap between the stock and the back plate of the frame increases enough for the stock to seem to wobble. That is easily remedied by adding material in between the two sides (electric tape).
The front assembly/rail system is one piece, made entirely of plastic. The plastic is very hard and has some molding marks which are only aesthetic and don’t protrude outwards. The front assembly is cleverly kept in place with the barrel nut which is found behind the flash hider. This is also where you would be inserting your battery (note that the compartment includes the top side of the receiver as well as the front assembly.
When the flash hider (18mm CW thread) and the barrel nut is removed, the front assembly can be removed. Although it looks like there is not much room in the front assembly, there is more room in the top receiver between the fake bolt carrier cover and the gearbox. It is recommended by ASG to use a 11.1v LiPo battery to fit the compartment and make the most out of the internals within the ASG EVO. Other than the small tamiya connector the outer barrel stick out from the upper receiver housing, free floating and is made of metal.
There is a small metal sling mount which is positioned in between both the front assembly and the upper receiver. This sling mount is capable of being repositioned on either left or right hand sides of the gun. This is useful for both left or right handed users.
Remember, the flash hider uses an 18mm clockwise thread which means that the use of a different flash hider or silencer would require an adapter which is provided by ASG as well. ASG provides both 14mm clockwise and anti-clockwise adapters. You can find an example in the photo below. Take note that the adapter’s 14mm thread is long and hence can make some flash hiders stick out.
Externals – Functionality
Apart from the typical functions of an AEG, the ASG EVO has many new features which allow it to compete higher than other AEGs on the market.
The first thing to run through is the quick change spring system. Now this is basically an external, simplistic way of changing the main spring within your gearbox without having to unscrew anything. This is accessible from the stock plate and can be used to take out the spring guide from within the gearbox and replace the spring.
To get the spring guide out, you will need to push the spring guide extension inwards only two millimetres and slide the stock plate upwards (make sure the stock itself isn’t fully collapsed as the catch on the upper receiver will prevent any movement of the plate). Once the stock plate is out, you can push the spring guide extension inwards a few millimetres and turn it 90 degrees in any direction to free it out of the gearbox. The quick change spring system is not a new system, however with the design of the ASG EVO, it is definitely the fastest and least hassle compared to other systems.
The next feature which sets the ASG EVO from the rest is the empty magazine detection. This feature is a must have alongside simulated recoil on AEGs. The idea is that the AEG would not fire unless a magazine was in gun and a bb in the hop chamber. An added feature would be the ability to emulate releasing the bolt carrier on a real gun before continuous fire. The ASG EVO does both.
The second you connect a battery to the ASG EVO, you can dry fire the gun to your heart’s content. The second you enter a mag that is empty, the mag will engage a micro switch which signals the ASCU unit in the gun to cease firing. The only way the gun will fire again, is if you do two things, you take out the empty mag (replace with non-empty mag if you want) and push the bolt release for the ASG EVO. Only then will the ASCU unit continue firing… until an entered mag runs empty again. This feature is flawless, but can catch the user out and make them think the gun isn’t working because they haven’t used the bolt release to continue firing.
The next feature of the ASG EVO, is the lovely four position fire selectors. It has four positions because it includes a burst fire mode which sets the ASCU unit to only fire three rounds at a time. This has been torture tested with over 500 rounds and has never over shot or under shot with the stock spring and gears. This is a feature which works very well with this SMG style AEG.
Internals
With the front assembly and the stock removed, the allen screws on the upper receiver can be removed to split the frames up. This gives you access to the outer barrel and inner barrel as long as you lightly punch the front pin under the outer barrel.
Before we continue, here is the fake bolt carrier shell and the spring. Be aware that the metal is likely to rust compared to any of the other components on the ASG EVO.
The gearbox typically resembles any other version two gearbox, however has two tappet plates on either side for the ambidextrous fire selector.
With the outer barrel removed, the inner barrel and hop unit can be accessed. The hop unit is made of plastic and uses a unique hop wheel for adjustment. The wheel confirms adjustments with clicking noises and if required can be adjusted either by hand or via use of a large four millimetre allen key or screw bit.
The inner barrel is a standard 208mm length with a 6.04mm diameter. This is a standard AEG barrel which can be swapped out by a multitude of other aftermarket AEG inner barrel parts.
The spring and the spring guide can be taken out of the gearbox at this point to alleviate any possible stress to gears and the motor during disassembly. The spring guide and the extension are one metal piece however there is a small plastic spacer which assists with any twisting which happens with the spring.
All the wiring from the proprietary ASCU unit come from one section of the gearbox which is also routed using clips which are built into the gearbox shell. One side simply slips into the motor grip whilst the other end freely moves towards the front of the gearbox for the battery.
The motor grip is actually quite slim compared to other generic motor/pistol grips but securely houses the short shaft motor and the wiring.
With the motor out, you can see that ASG have used their ULTIMATE Basic motor which uses very strong magnets. This is a high torque motor which can pull most spring strengths without issues. ASG recommend the use of 11.1v lipo batteries for use with this motor.
NOTE: Unlike most ULTIMATE motors, this one does not give a spring rating like other aftermarket motors.
With the motor out, the pistol grip can be unscrewed from the gearbox and removed. the wires are routed through separate holes and may snag, so be careful when removing from gearbox.
Note: It is not necessary to take the wires out of the motor grip, to access the gearbox.
With further inspection to the gearbox, you can see that the ASCU unit works solely on microswitches. These microswitches are very effective as they are well made and are very resistant to prolonged use. ASG have however not released what the lifespan of these switches are. One can only assume that they will last at least 10,000 operations. Notice how the empty mag release is also a microswitch which is connected directly to the ASCU unit.
Inside the gearbox, the ASCU unit actually splits into two parts which we shall get back to later. The internals generally comprise of version two gearbox parts with exception to the ASCU unit and the loading nozzle. The use of the ASCU unit means that there is no need for an anti-reversal latch and hence there is no space for one in this gearbox.
NOTE: The grease inside the gearbox was cleaned to allow for a much clearer image of the gearbox internals. The manufacturer does apply a good amount of grease to the internals before retail.
The other side of the gearbox is minimalistic and houses the other end of the ASCU unit. This part of the ASCU unit is kept in position by an application of thermal paste. There are also two sets of pins which connect the two parts of the ASCU unit together.
With the gears and piston parts removed, the ASCU unit and the trigger assembly can be clearly seen. These parts do not need to be removed for cleaning and do not have replacement aftermarket parts at this moment in time.
Every external input to the ASCU unit is fed via microswitches. This makes for a very precise and controlled feedback environment for the ASCU unit to work in. There is no arcing or fluctuation of current and voltage to be factored in the AEG’s operation. These inputs are ideal for an electronic interface.
The gears are standard version two gears which have shown no wear after 12,000 cycles. The Piston is mostly made of plastic with four of its end teeth made of plastic. The piston has shown little wear near the front teeth which could lead to stripped plastic piston teeth after a few thousand more cycles. This is however only a speculative analysis.
ASG have provided an exploded drawing document below: (Click image for PDF)
Performance – Technical
The ASG EVO works very well outside the box considering its retail value. All of its features work and function as stated however the fire selector tends to be inconsistent at times due to the closeness between different mode positions. This however is remedied when monitored and will be less of a problem with practise (if you use both fire selectors at the same time, you won’t have any problems). The spring that came with the ASG EVO was giving 380 fps on 0.20 gram bbs however this may vary depending on the retailer.
The first batch of the ASG EVO was having issues with the tolerance sizes of the hop unit’s C clip (the piece that fits the barrel in place). These however were addressed by ASG very quickly and replacement parts have been sent to those who need it. If you are having issues with your hop unit either having bbs stuck in the chamber or barrel wobble, contact ASG for troubleshooting help.
The ASG EVO is fairly consistent with 5 inch groupings but at a range of over 15 metres, the groupings increase by an average of 50% every metre. The optimal range for the ASG EVO is at an average of 40 metres.
NOTE: Range and accuracy tests performed with 0.30 gram standard quality bbs.
Rate of fire is average and varies depending on the battery specifications and internals used. With the standard internals, the rate of fire varies between 13 and 20 rounds per second. Once again, ASG recommends using an 11.1V LiPo as the motor is very torque heavy.
There are little to no feeding issues with the magazines however certain bbs may have tolerance issues in which will cause the bbs to slip through the magazine’s retainer lips and spray the mags contents out. If this is an issue, try using a different brand of bbs.
Maintenance
Due to the ASG EVO being an AEG, there is little maintenance required. The main part of the AEG that should be maintained is the hop unit and barrel. As long as you keep everything else clean, the ASG EVO will keep performing.
The Opinion
When I started using the ASG EVO, it was slightly temperamental and required me to open it up straight away to identify that the piston teeth had been shredded by the massive torque being fed through the gears by the motor. This needed replacing straight away and as far as I can tell, was only an issue that my particular model had. I’m pleased to say that this issue was the only major issue I had with the gun. I didn’t like the fact the fire selectors were designed in such a way that they didn’t always line up consistently and had issues with the front assembly and battery fittings (It really is a tight fit when using a three cell LiPo battery).
The ASG EVO felt heavy which, for an AEG was quite nice considering the magazines are so light. I do understand that ASG wanted to be authentic with the 18 mm thread, but practicality wise, it seemed more of a money making decision (to sell more thread adapters) as having a 14mm thread like other AEGs, would have been more practical.
I have to say, I fell in love with the empty mag detection function. I’m not used to seeing an AEG which is not an average M4 with PTW-esque functionality. My only other issue with this product is the lack of accessories available with a typical purchase. You don’t get any ironsights which feels a bit evil because it would be another unique setting factor to the ASG EVO. If you do decide to get this gun, you’ll need to weigh in not only the price of the ASG EVO, but the price of all the accessories you would want to get with it. This is not a regular AEG that comes with a high capacity magazine for skirmishing out of the box.
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