I’m a self confessed Tokyo Marui fanboy… But I’m not blind to the fact that some other manufacturers have started to move in interesting directions with their products. Whilst practically every replica I’ve bought over the last five years has been Japanese, it’s not because I won’t buy another brand, it’s because there’s simply very little out there that I want to buy.

One exception is the Action Sport Games’ (ASG) Scorpion Evo 3 A1, one of the only “interesting” replicas to come out in recent years (as far as I’m concerned). So let’s cut to the chase, what’s the deal with the ASG Scorpion Evo 3, and why did I buy one?

Until the release of the Evo, ASG were better known for their reliable yet cheap blaster ammo and their extensive catalogue of licenced and (sorry, not sorry) mediocre performing replicas.

It offers a fair amount more than the majority of other AEG platforms on the market, from “stop on empty” and a functional bolt release to an integrated 3 round burst on the fire selector, quick change spring and an ECU/MOSFET that controls the whole thing.

The icing on the cake is that it’s built entirely within europe, so parts and aftersales support is uncommonly fast for most European and US users.

It’s also virtually indistinguishable externally to a real CZ Scorpion Evo 3 A1, early replicas actually came with a number of genuine CZ parts, the flash hider, sights, mag release, front rail and stock were all borrowed from the real thing. This is sadly not the case with the current models, but it’s worth knowing that there is real steel compatibility throughout the replica… And a wealth of options for customisation.

The real CZ Scorpion EVO3 A1 is a bit of a newcomer to the SMG market, but keeps popping up in the most random of places, from Battlefield 4 to the 2019 Nairobi attacks, it’s starting to become a rather popular choice for police units across the globe.

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So let’s look at the replica and see what all the fuss is about:

It’s packaged in a plain and simple cardboard box with a single spare magazine. The main criticism I do have is that it’s not as well protected as it could be. Mine didn’t suffer on its journey to me, but it’s not as well packaged as a Tokyo Marui replica.

The muzzle is blunt and businesslike, a futuristic looking flash hider screws into a barrel nut, this doubles up to hold the front rail/handguard in place and both are solidly made from aluminium.

The rail is a polymer low profile design, small Picatinny rail sections moulded on the sides allow for the attachment of lights etc. And an additional rail on the bottom gives the user a wide choice of grip options.

The rail is removed to provide a small area for battery storage, this also extends above the gearbox in the receiver to allow long, thin LiPo packs to be placed inside. A single sling point is included with the EVO, this slots into a dovetail just behind the rail. Care must be used when removing the rail as this sling point does have a tendency to go walkies, ASG do offer spares but I’d rather be alert and save my pennies.

A faux charging handle sits within the upper receiver, this (along with its spring) can also end up flying to Namibia once the rail is removed. The charging handle is fully ambidextrous, and functions to reveal the hop adjustment whilst giving you something to slap and pretend you’re cultured enough to own something like an MP5.

The receiver is made entirely from the same polymer/polyamide as the rail, this is apparently very close to what is used on the genuine CZ EVO. I have no doubt the real one looks rather similar, although I’m sure at least one pillock has asked about a full metal kit for it.

A set of iron sights are included, the front sight being a fibre optic sight and a peep hole sight for the rear. Both sights are removable but neither have a built in recoil lug. Maybe it’s due to the 9mm calibre, but it does feel rather odd not having any form of mechanical lock, merely relying on the friction of plastic against plastic.

The sight arrangement might also not be to everyone’s taste, it’s rather chonky. But for a weapon with a real world intended range measured in tens of metres, it’s more than adequate.

The EVO isn’t bristling with external controls, but it does have a working bolt release, this is an electrically controlled feature and along with some very clever software, allows the replica to stop firing on empty and then resume firing once a fresh magazine has been loaded into the replica.

A four-way fire selector goes from safe to semi, semi to 3 round burst and then burst to fully automatic. It clicks nicely into place on each setting and is also fully ambidextrous.

A rather chunky magazine release sits forward of the trigger guard, working in a similar way to the MP5 release but with a much larger area each side to allow the trigger finger to push the release instead of the support hand.

The trigger is rather utilitarian in design, it’s not a gun that’s designed for precision shooting and the trigger makes that point clear.

A unique looking pistol grip with a bulbous base sits under the receiver, it reminds me somewhat of a roman Gladius. It’s more comfortable than I initially gave it credit for, but it’s lack of modularity means that you’re stuck with this whether you like it or not.

The stock is one of the most solidly built replicas of a folding stock I’ve seen to date, it puts Marui’s SCAR stocks to shame. There is a little wobble, but once shouldered, this disappears almost entirely. There are three settings for the length of pull, from “What is this? A stock for ants?” To “Child soldier friendly ✅” and finally “That’ll do”, even my 6’3” frame found a position that I was comfortable shooting.

When folded, the stock locks into a detent on the right hand side of the replica, to release, simply push the stock down and then away from the receiver. To lock back into place, simply snap it round in line with the rest of the gun until you hear the button click into place. Folding the stock is accomplished by reversing the same process, the button to release the stock being on the left hand side, where the stock meets the body.

The magazine is a chunky bugger, ASG offer a mid cap that holds 75 rounds or a high cap that holds 375 rounds… Fucking diabolical. The magazines feed well and there’s also a Smoke version made from translucent polymer, so you can add your own dummy rounds inside if you should wish.

There’s also a couple of carbine length models that mimic the US civilian legal CZ models, although the idea of buying an SMG with a rifle length barrel makes me want to vomit. The only excuse for a carbine length EVO is if CZ decided to make one in .22lr and sell it to the U.K. shooting market… Which I doubt they’ll ever do.

Performance is a difficult one for me to describe, let’s not forget that I opened this review by stating that I’m a self confessed Marui fanboy… Not without reason though. As an AEG, it’s a middle of the road performer and FPS wise, it creeps just over the stated 0.9 joule mark at 322fps using Madbull .2 ammo… It could do with a little work to get it to a place where I’d use it comfortably, but thats probably because I’m spoiled with pre-cocking options on my NGRS platforms that are only second in speed to my GBBR replicas.

Using a 7.4v lipo, it’s a little sluggish on the trigger, but not completely unusable. There are a few tweaks that are recommended to get this beast “11.1v ready” and having seen some of these builds in use, I can confirm that they’re more than capable of holding their own. But that would require time and effort that I’m simply not willing to put into this replica.

This was originally bought as a loaner/“never fail” gun. The idea being that in a collection of GBBRs and tweaked recoils, it’s always a good idea to have something that always works, doesn’t get fucked about with and ultimately you can chuck to a friend or guest without having to worry about how it returns whilst also knowing you’ve given them something that’s better than a rental gun or an early drive home. The truth is though, that this situation hardly ever happens. All my friends either play Airsoft already, or have no interest in ever coming. Which leads me to my final point on whether or not this replica is worth buying.

The Marui NGRS MP5 has just been released, and with it goes the crown of “king of the Airsoft AEG SMGs“. The ASG Scorpion EVO is an exciting platform that offers a lower price entry point for anyone whose interested in some of the features such as “stop on empty” and three round burst, but it never managed to fill the space in my heart that I’m hoping the NGRS MP5 can.

It’s fans are adamant that it’s a worthwhile and affordable alternative to an NGRS platform, it’s haters say that it’s overrated and prone to issues. However, ASG have ironed out many of the issues that plagued some of it’s earlier models. The 2020 version boasts a newly revised MOSFET and “T-Plug” Deans connector for your battery, alongside the gearbox revisions made in 2018.

Would I buy one again? Well, no. For someone whose primarily focussed on GBBRs and dabbles in NGRS, this will probably hold little appeal. For someone who wants a cute little SMG and wants to be able to hose a hundred rounds into a bush? Yeah. This is arguably the best stock AEG (is n terms of build quality, feel and performance for under £350, so if that’s your budget and you like the look of it, crack on.

Ultimately, I’m probably not the guy to be reviewing this. I’m sure some hyped up kid with his head full of ideas of becoming the next Names Nicco would be overly enthusiastic at the thought of owning one of these, but for me, it only highlights the lack of enthusiasm that manufacturers have for innovation and progress.

ASG have had multiple opportunities to push this same technology into other models, The BREN 805 being a prime example… But they’ve not even tried! They’ve fallen back into making replicas with 20 year old AEG technology, because ultimately, Airsofters are foolish enough to keep buying 20 year old AEG technology because they saw the same airsoft gun with a fancy Keymod rail and some Hera arms furniture being used by Chris Pratt in some shit Edge Of Tomorrow rip off.

The time this review is posted, i’ll most likely have sold this replica on. It’s a popular enough replica and it certainly offers more than most for the money, but with the NGRS MP5 having been released, not only is this losing the SMG Crown, it’s also being knocked further down the list of replicas in my collection I’d be likely to take to a game.