Echo 1/JG Mag-K (Operator Combat Weapon)
Dec 13, 2016 3:01:08 GMT -5
Post by triggs (SABR) on Dec 13, 2016 3:01:08 GMT -5
Full Album Review – Echo 1 OCW AEG
Echo 1 Genesis OCW AK74 Airsoft AEG w/Crane Stock by JG
- Real Steel History
- Overview
- Accessories
- Externals review
- Internals review
- Performance
- Final Thoughts and Upgradeability
Real Steel History
The Magpul AK, or Mag-K as it has come to be known, was built by well known founder and CEO of Haley Strategic, Travis Haley, who at the time was still with Magpul Dynamics. The Mag-K is based on a shortened Saiga with threads cut into the new SBR to accept an AAC M4-2000 QD suppressor and flash hider, along with custom ambidextrous charging handles, custom Magpul grip, custom rail, sling mount, stock/stock tube, and just about every other detail. Even the magazine received a Magpul touch with the stock Bulgarian mag having an M4 Ranger Plate attached to them.
Overview
Yet another rifle I don’t have to pay for to review! This one comes for an out-of-the-box tune up and customization (more on this later). Contrary to what they want you to believe, Echo 1 does not make their products (never have and probably ever will), and in the grand scheme of things, don’t offer any meaningful improvements to the OEM product to justify the price tag hike, or the company hype. I have had a number of Echo 1 products over the years so I had an idea of what to expect.
To be clear! This is a review of the Echo 1 Genesis Operator Combat Weapon (OCW) MADE BY JG. There are two models available from Echo 1. This version, with a plastic body, and a METAL BODY Echo 1 Redstar OCW OEM’d by CYMA. The Redstar version generally costs around $250-$260. The plastic body OCW was bought on sale from Evike for only $99! But is this a steal or not?
Accessories
One of the things that set Echo 1 products apart from the OEM is generally the inclusion of a few extras.
The rifle comes partially disassembled, the ambidextrous charging handle/bolt assembly was considered too fragile to leave on the rifle during shipping. It also comes with the spring and upper receiver/top cover button separately packed separately. This is actually a nice idea. The odds of breaking the bolt assembly would have been high had it been on the rifle during shipment from China since it is wider than a normal rifle. One thing to note is that the bolt rides very low over the gearbox and was already wearing on the heatshrink insulation covering the wires. I doubt this will ever cause a problem, but keep an eye on yours whenever you change the battery just in case.
Also in the box is the typical 470rd high-cap. It is a semi-transparent Bulgarian type magazine replica of the one used with the real Mag-K in promotion pictures. However, there is no Ranger Plate attached to the bottom due to the necessity for a winding wheel.
For whatever reason there are two different types of winding keys included. The black one is for the included mag, the silver one has no use at all with this particular rifle.
The included 8.4v 1100mAh NIMH stick battery is cheap, but it works and fits in the rifle. It is worth noting it is a very snug fit with the ambidextrous bolt and a battery packed into the upper receiver.
The charger on the other hand…please just toss it. They have never been any good, and never will be. It’ll save everyone a few pennies if you just don’t include them!
And finally is the cleaning rod. I found it odd it was just thrown into the box on top of the rifle, usually they are laying in a channel cut into the foam packing.
Externals Review
As I mentioned, and I stress this, the externals to THIS OCW are plastic. The “full metal” OCW is a different product. Personally, I disliked the plastic body, it feels cheap and isn’t made from a nylon fiber reinforced ABS. It’s straight ABS plastic. However, it is lightweight and only cost the owner $99 for the whole thing so it has a nice price tag going for it.
The front is covered by a very large, and very obnoxious, plastic, blaze orange flash hider. It isn’t the correct AAC type flash hider, but it protects the threads, and conforms to airsoft safety laws and then some. Underneath are standard airsoft 14mm counterclockwise threads.
The gas block is solid metal. It almost appears plastic due to the paint pattern, but it is metal, and feels sturdy for being pot metal.
The top RIS is plastic and is held on by a collar around the barrel with 4 hex nuts and bolts.
The lower RIS is also plastic and held on by two clips and friction. There is no wobble, but it feels thin, and cheap.
The rear sight base is metal like the gas block. The most annoying part I found was the pin that holds the base to the lower receiver does not go all the way through the body like most other airsoft AK’s. It makes disassembling the rifle difficult and more tedious.
The upper receiver/top cover is actual steel, unlike the rest of the body. The paint is a very nice shade of black, and fits somewhat loosely over the bolt assembly (note the cutout on the left side for the ambidextrous charging handle).
The lower receiver is plastic. It feels thin like the lower RIS. But it did not crack when checking various mags for compatibility. Both sides of the lower come covered in stickers and “trademarks.”
The pistol grip is a M249 SAW style grip, unlike the Magpul AK grip found on the real rifle. Personally I like the SAW grip, but people with shorter fingers may find themselves reaching to pull the trigger.
The crane stock is made of the same cheap feeling plastic. It does have texture to it to make it feel of higher quality, but it still feels thin like the rest of the externals. One plus is that it has a wide open buttplate so installing and connecting batteries in the stock is much easier. If the rifle was wired to the stock that is, instead the rifle is wired above the gearbox like a standard AK. The rifle should have a Magpul CTR stock, but the crane stock gives more battery options in the long run.
The metal stock tube is the strangest color I have seen yet from JG. For a period of time JG was known by their slightly greenish black paint color used on all of their metal parts (most notably the barrels and stock tubes), this rifle has a bluish tint. Hopefully the camera captured the hue effectively.
Now, onto all of the obnoxious and plentiful stickers and trademarks…
The left side has the Genesis logo and individual serial number at the front of the receiver. Above the trigger is the signature Echo 1 holographic proof-of-product sticker. And at the back of the receiver is the safe usage warning sticker.
Around the trigger guard is a KWA PTR (Professional Training Rifle) style medallion with “Simulated Training Weapon System” in large bold font.
The right side of the receiver has the fake manufacturer numbers and information. The S/N is not individualized like it is on the left side.
The stock is also covered in stickers.
One of the most misleading stickers, and really should be considered false advertising 99% of the time you see it. The rifle is NOT LIPO ready. In no way, shape, or form, does this rifle qualify as “LIPO Ready.”
Echo 1 is famous for their advertising “pre-upgraded” products. And I will concede that they are “different” from their OEM versions. Some are arguably upgrades, some are not. We’ll examine this further in the next section.
And finally, the standard Echo 1 30 Day warranty reminder. A card is also included in the box to send into Echo 1 to qualify for warranty coverage.
Internals Review
This has to be one of the most annoying AK’s to take apart. For a full disassembly guide, Brian at Echo 1 has a full takedown guide. There were certainly a lot of areas I chose to improve and rework while I had the rifle apart.
Once you FINALLY get the barrel assembly free, underneath is a standard AK hopup with a stock 6.08 363mm inner barrel. The “upgrade” here would be the teal colored bucking. During the initial test it certainly didn’t make the range or accuracy any better than a stock JG black bucking. It’s basically a different color and about the same quality as the OEM.
The gearbox is the typical black gearbox we’ve come to know in the past 6 years. As per usual, the side of the gearbox clearly has Echo 1 on the side of it. The motor also displays a large Echo 1 sticker. Despite the sticker, it is just a standard China stock motor, neither specializing in speed or torque. It worked fine in testing, but was not “upgraded” by any means.
Upon removing the motor assembly…two shims just fell out! Seriously?
Inside the gearbox was a bit of a shock. There wasn’t the typically insane amount of grease. In fact the gears were almost bare (and they sounded like it during the initial test).
The gearbox is advertized as having a full 8mm set of bushings. I was happy to see it was actually true, the last rifle was also advertized as 8mm, but it didn’t have them. This is another one of the Echo 1 “upgrades.” There are plenty of arguments for/against bearing type bushings, but at least for this setup they will be fine.
The gears are unmarked. Not even XYT is cut into them. The spur gear is unique and has a depressed center. The sector gear also has a longer than normal delay nub on it. As far as an “upgrade” this doesn’t really differ from a stock gearset in the long term. Regardless of the two shims that fell out of the gearbox, the gears were atrociously shimmed, even after putting the stock 2 back in, the gears continued to slop around. With additional shims they quieted down and rolled very smoothly. Properly shimmed gears are important in any gearbox; “LIPO ready” or not.
The cylinder is a correct ¾ Type 1 port with a decent sealing cylinder head. I did hear some leaking from around the cylinder head, which is something I haven’t come across in a very long time. A little Teflon tape fixed it right up.
The air nozzle does not have an o-ring and leaked slightly when tested.
The piston head is a cheaper plastic type, but it did have a bearing. The o-ring leaked substantially, but nothing a new #14 o-ring couldn’t fix.
The piston has some ups and downs. Echo 1 attempted to remove the 2nd tooth…sorta, not enough to actually count though. It’s clear this was some attempt at Angle of Engagement (AoE) tuning. However, the piston sat forward enough that it was being grabbed by the 1st tooth at the 1 o’clock position like any standard stock gearbox, so the half removed tooth doesn’t actually do anything. To properly correct the AoE, it required a Sorbo pad, and removing the rest of the cut down tooth, as well as half of the 3rd tooth.
Also curious was the plastic shavings. The one in the picture appears to be from the installation of the last tooth metal insert. However, when cleaning the piston, I did find other shavings, so it’s possible something else could be wrong. I will be keeping an eye on it. The piston itself felt very nice and sturdy though. Not like the cheap CYMA pistons or G&P White pistons. As far as an “upgrade” I would say it’s about the same as a stock JG piston. The lack of proper AoE correction, like the gears, does not qualify this gearbox as “LIPO ready” even the included battery would have quickly destroyed the piston if left untouched.
The spring came in shooting a high field engagement limit. Given the amount of air leaks and the feel of the spring it’s most likely an M130.
The spring guide will certainly contribute to the high FPS. While it does not have a bearing like the piston head, it does have a spacer the width of a bearing, milled into the spring guide itself.
Performance
FPS: 391-404FPS
Range: 160-180ft
Upon initial testing I was a bit surprised the rifle had such a wide range in FPS. But after taking it apart I can see why. One thing of concern was the gearbox noise, which again, after taking it apart I see exactly why it sounding like it was trying to tear the gears apart. As mentioned earlier, the accuracy was nothing special, the stock barrel and average bucking gave typical results.
Final Thoughts and Upgradeability
The Mag-K gets into that territory of a M4, where you can slap on just about anything and everything thanks to the ample rail space. Without a railed top cover, it does limit optic placement somewhat, and really throws off the weight balance if you mount any sort of heavy optics in the available location. I personally like the Aimpoint T1 since it keeps the weight balancing problems to a minimum. The side and bottom rails mount all sorts of things as well, giving the user as much flexibility as an M4.
One thing I was asked about before the rifle was shipped to me, was the possibility of running the wiring to the buffer tube. The rifle comes from the factory wired like other AK’s meant to have a stick battery sitting above the gearbox. However, it has all of the proper holes in the receiver and stock tube to run wires for a battery in the stock. It’s simply a matter of making a custom wiring harness for the rifle, or extending the stock one out.
Externals Score: 9/10
To be honest, I was really disappointed in the plastic body upon initial impressions. But during the review, I got used to it. It feels cheap, but it is sturdy unless you happen to fall on it. Then it will probably break. The reason I take a point away is due to the takedown design.
Internals Score: 5/10
The inner barrel and hopup are pretty much standard, but the gearbox was about half of what it should have been (considering all the advertising on it). Major points are lost in the shimming. Loose shims, and poorly shimmed gears means that the gears will tear themselves apart on any battery, much less the LIPO that supposedly the gearbox is “ready” for. The piston would also tear itself apart due to the poor AoE, which again, is a foundation for any gearbox, much less one that will be running a LIPO. And finally, the most important thing is a MOSFET, even a basic one that can protect the trigger contacts. Like the OEM JG gearbox, it is a good starting point and with tuning would run a NIMH stick battery very well. For the false advertising and mediocre stock gearbox I can’t give it better than half the points score.
Overall score: 8/10
I’m actually quite happy with the rifle. The externals are decent, and I’d trust them myself if it were my personal rifle. Despite the gearbox, it’s not a bad starting point. I tell everyone that the first thing to do to ANY new rifle is check and tune up the gearbox, so if you take that into account, it’s just like every other AEG out there. The only thing it’s not ready for is a LIPO. Without a MOSFET, the trigger contacts will arc themselves to death. And if left untouched, the gears and/or piston would destroy themselves. I would highly recommend getting a MOSFET installed during the tune up, then the rifle will truly be “LIPO Ready.”
Shame on you Echo 1 for false advertising.
© Copyright triggs 2016
Echo 1 Genesis OCW AK74 Airsoft AEG w/Crane Stock by JG
- Real Steel History
- Overview
- Accessories
- Externals review
- Internals review
- Performance
- Final Thoughts and Upgradeability
Real Steel History
The Magpul AK, or Mag-K as it has come to be known, was built by well known founder and CEO of Haley Strategic, Travis Haley, who at the time was still with Magpul Dynamics. The Mag-K is based on a shortened Saiga with threads cut into the new SBR to accept an AAC M4-2000 QD suppressor and flash hider, along with custom ambidextrous charging handles, custom Magpul grip, custom rail, sling mount, stock/stock tube, and just about every other detail. Even the magazine received a Magpul touch with the stock Bulgarian mag having an M4 Ranger Plate attached to them.
Overview
Yet another rifle I don’t have to pay for to review! This one comes for an out-of-the-box tune up and customization (more on this later). Contrary to what they want you to believe, Echo 1 does not make their products (never have and probably ever will), and in the grand scheme of things, don’t offer any meaningful improvements to the OEM product to justify the price tag hike, or the company hype. I have had a number of Echo 1 products over the years so I had an idea of what to expect.
To be clear! This is a review of the Echo 1 Genesis Operator Combat Weapon (OCW) MADE BY JG. There are two models available from Echo 1. This version, with a plastic body, and a METAL BODY Echo 1 Redstar OCW OEM’d by CYMA. The Redstar version generally costs around $250-$260. The plastic body OCW was bought on sale from Evike for only $99! But is this a steal or not?
Accessories
One of the things that set Echo 1 products apart from the OEM is generally the inclusion of a few extras.
The rifle comes partially disassembled, the ambidextrous charging handle/bolt assembly was considered too fragile to leave on the rifle during shipping. It also comes with the spring and upper receiver/top cover button separately packed separately. This is actually a nice idea. The odds of breaking the bolt assembly would have been high had it been on the rifle during shipment from China since it is wider than a normal rifle. One thing to note is that the bolt rides very low over the gearbox and was already wearing on the heatshrink insulation covering the wires. I doubt this will ever cause a problem, but keep an eye on yours whenever you change the battery just in case.
Also in the box is the typical 470rd high-cap. It is a semi-transparent Bulgarian type magazine replica of the one used with the real Mag-K in promotion pictures. However, there is no Ranger Plate attached to the bottom due to the necessity for a winding wheel.
For whatever reason there are two different types of winding keys included. The black one is for the included mag, the silver one has no use at all with this particular rifle.
The included 8.4v 1100mAh NIMH stick battery is cheap, but it works and fits in the rifle. It is worth noting it is a very snug fit with the ambidextrous bolt and a battery packed into the upper receiver.
The charger on the other hand…please just toss it. They have never been any good, and never will be. It’ll save everyone a few pennies if you just don’t include them!
And finally is the cleaning rod. I found it odd it was just thrown into the box on top of the rifle, usually they are laying in a channel cut into the foam packing.
Externals Review
As I mentioned, and I stress this, the externals to THIS OCW are plastic. The “full metal” OCW is a different product. Personally, I disliked the plastic body, it feels cheap and isn’t made from a nylon fiber reinforced ABS. It’s straight ABS plastic. However, it is lightweight and only cost the owner $99 for the whole thing so it has a nice price tag going for it.
The front is covered by a very large, and very obnoxious, plastic, blaze orange flash hider. It isn’t the correct AAC type flash hider, but it protects the threads, and conforms to airsoft safety laws and then some. Underneath are standard airsoft 14mm counterclockwise threads.
The gas block is solid metal. It almost appears plastic due to the paint pattern, but it is metal, and feels sturdy for being pot metal.
The top RIS is plastic and is held on by a collar around the barrel with 4 hex nuts and bolts.
The lower RIS is also plastic and held on by two clips and friction. There is no wobble, but it feels thin, and cheap.
The rear sight base is metal like the gas block. The most annoying part I found was the pin that holds the base to the lower receiver does not go all the way through the body like most other airsoft AK’s. It makes disassembling the rifle difficult and more tedious.
The upper receiver/top cover is actual steel, unlike the rest of the body. The paint is a very nice shade of black, and fits somewhat loosely over the bolt assembly (note the cutout on the left side for the ambidextrous charging handle).
The lower receiver is plastic. It feels thin like the lower RIS. But it did not crack when checking various mags for compatibility. Both sides of the lower come covered in stickers and “trademarks.”
The pistol grip is a M249 SAW style grip, unlike the Magpul AK grip found on the real rifle. Personally I like the SAW grip, but people with shorter fingers may find themselves reaching to pull the trigger.
The crane stock is made of the same cheap feeling plastic. It does have texture to it to make it feel of higher quality, but it still feels thin like the rest of the externals. One plus is that it has a wide open buttplate so installing and connecting batteries in the stock is much easier. If the rifle was wired to the stock that is, instead the rifle is wired above the gearbox like a standard AK. The rifle should have a Magpul CTR stock, but the crane stock gives more battery options in the long run.
The metal stock tube is the strangest color I have seen yet from JG. For a period of time JG was known by their slightly greenish black paint color used on all of their metal parts (most notably the barrels and stock tubes), this rifle has a bluish tint. Hopefully the camera captured the hue effectively.
Now, onto all of the obnoxious and plentiful stickers and trademarks…
The left side has the Genesis logo and individual serial number at the front of the receiver. Above the trigger is the signature Echo 1 holographic proof-of-product sticker. And at the back of the receiver is the safe usage warning sticker.
Around the trigger guard is a KWA PTR (Professional Training Rifle) style medallion with “Simulated Training Weapon System” in large bold font.
The right side of the receiver has the fake manufacturer numbers and information. The S/N is not individualized like it is on the left side.
The stock is also covered in stickers.
One of the most misleading stickers, and really should be considered false advertising 99% of the time you see it. The rifle is NOT LIPO ready. In no way, shape, or form, does this rifle qualify as “LIPO Ready.”
Echo 1 is famous for their advertising “pre-upgraded” products. And I will concede that they are “different” from their OEM versions. Some are arguably upgrades, some are not. We’ll examine this further in the next section.
And finally, the standard Echo 1 30 Day warranty reminder. A card is also included in the box to send into Echo 1 to qualify for warranty coverage.
Internals Review
This has to be one of the most annoying AK’s to take apart. For a full disassembly guide, Brian at Echo 1 has a full takedown guide. There were certainly a lot of areas I chose to improve and rework while I had the rifle apart.
Once you FINALLY get the barrel assembly free, underneath is a standard AK hopup with a stock 6.08 363mm inner barrel. The “upgrade” here would be the teal colored bucking. During the initial test it certainly didn’t make the range or accuracy any better than a stock JG black bucking. It’s basically a different color and about the same quality as the OEM.
The gearbox is the typical black gearbox we’ve come to know in the past 6 years. As per usual, the side of the gearbox clearly has Echo 1 on the side of it. The motor also displays a large Echo 1 sticker. Despite the sticker, it is just a standard China stock motor, neither specializing in speed or torque. It worked fine in testing, but was not “upgraded” by any means.
Upon removing the motor assembly…two shims just fell out! Seriously?
Inside the gearbox was a bit of a shock. There wasn’t the typically insane amount of grease. In fact the gears were almost bare (and they sounded like it during the initial test).
The gearbox is advertized as having a full 8mm set of bushings. I was happy to see it was actually true, the last rifle was also advertized as 8mm, but it didn’t have them. This is another one of the Echo 1 “upgrades.” There are plenty of arguments for/against bearing type bushings, but at least for this setup they will be fine.
The gears are unmarked. Not even XYT is cut into them. The spur gear is unique and has a depressed center. The sector gear also has a longer than normal delay nub on it. As far as an “upgrade” this doesn’t really differ from a stock gearset in the long term. Regardless of the two shims that fell out of the gearbox, the gears were atrociously shimmed, even after putting the stock 2 back in, the gears continued to slop around. With additional shims they quieted down and rolled very smoothly. Properly shimmed gears are important in any gearbox; “LIPO ready” or not.
The cylinder is a correct ¾ Type 1 port with a decent sealing cylinder head. I did hear some leaking from around the cylinder head, which is something I haven’t come across in a very long time. A little Teflon tape fixed it right up.
The air nozzle does not have an o-ring and leaked slightly when tested.
The piston head is a cheaper plastic type, but it did have a bearing. The o-ring leaked substantially, but nothing a new #14 o-ring couldn’t fix.
The piston has some ups and downs. Echo 1 attempted to remove the 2nd tooth…sorta, not enough to actually count though. It’s clear this was some attempt at Angle of Engagement (AoE) tuning. However, the piston sat forward enough that it was being grabbed by the 1st tooth at the 1 o’clock position like any standard stock gearbox, so the half removed tooth doesn’t actually do anything. To properly correct the AoE, it required a Sorbo pad, and removing the rest of the cut down tooth, as well as half of the 3rd tooth.
Also curious was the plastic shavings. The one in the picture appears to be from the installation of the last tooth metal insert. However, when cleaning the piston, I did find other shavings, so it’s possible something else could be wrong. I will be keeping an eye on it. The piston itself felt very nice and sturdy though. Not like the cheap CYMA pistons or G&P White pistons. As far as an “upgrade” I would say it’s about the same as a stock JG piston. The lack of proper AoE correction, like the gears, does not qualify this gearbox as “LIPO ready” even the included battery would have quickly destroyed the piston if left untouched.
The spring came in shooting a high field engagement limit. Given the amount of air leaks and the feel of the spring it’s most likely an M130.
The spring guide will certainly contribute to the high FPS. While it does not have a bearing like the piston head, it does have a spacer the width of a bearing, milled into the spring guide itself.
Performance
FPS: 391-404FPS
Range: 160-180ft
Upon initial testing I was a bit surprised the rifle had such a wide range in FPS. But after taking it apart I can see why. One thing of concern was the gearbox noise, which again, after taking it apart I see exactly why it sounding like it was trying to tear the gears apart. As mentioned earlier, the accuracy was nothing special, the stock barrel and average bucking gave typical results.
Final Thoughts and Upgradeability
The Mag-K gets into that territory of a M4, where you can slap on just about anything and everything thanks to the ample rail space. Without a railed top cover, it does limit optic placement somewhat, and really throws off the weight balance if you mount any sort of heavy optics in the available location. I personally like the Aimpoint T1 since it keeps the weight balancing problems to a minimum. The side and bottom rails mount all sorts of things as well, giving the user as much flexibility as an M4.
One thing I was asked about before the rifle was shipped to me, was the possibility of running the wiring to the buffer tube. The rifle comes from the factory wired like other AK’s meant to have a stick battery sitting above the gearbox. However, it has all of the proper holes in the receiver and stock tube to run wires for a battery in the stock. It’s simply a matter of making a custom wiring harness for the rifle, or extending the stock one out.
Externals Score: 9/10
To be honest, I was really disappointed in the plastic body upon initial impressions. But during the review, I got used to it. It feels cheap, but it is sturdy unless you happen to fall on it. Then it will probably break. The reason I take a point away is due to the takedown design.
Internals Score: 5/10
The inner barrel and hopup are pretty much standard, but the gearbox was about half of what it should have been (considering all the advertising on it). Major points are lost in the shimming. Loose shims, and poorly shimmed gears means that the gears will tear themselves apart on any battery, much less the LIPO that supposedly the gearbox is “ready” for. The piston would also tear itself apart due to the poor AoE, which again, is a foundation for any gearbox, much less one that will be running a LIPO. And finally, the most important thing is a MOSFET, even a basic one that can protect the trigger contacts. Like the OEM JG gearbox, it is a good starting point and with tuning would run a NIMH stick battery very well. For the false advertising and mediocre stock gearbox I can’t give it better than half the points score.
Overall score: 8/10
I’m actually quite happy with the rifle. The externals are decent, and I’d trust them myself if it were my personal rifle. Despite the gearbox, it’s not a bad starting point. I tell everyone that the first thing to do to ANY new rifle is check and tune up the gearbox, so if you take that into account, it’s just like every other AEG out there. The only thing it’s not ready for is a LIPO. Without a MOSFET, the trigger contacts will arc themselves to death. And if left untouched, the gears and/or piston would destroy themselves. I would highly recommend getting a MOSFET installed during the tune up, then the rifle will truly be “LIPO Ready.”
Shame on you Echo 1 for false advertising.
© Copyright triggs 2016