Echo1 (VFC) XCR review supplement

[Utty]

I recently bought an Echo1 XCR, here are my thoughts.

 

Note: this is not intended as a full review, as there are plenty of excellent reviews already available, with plenty of detailed descriptions and pictures. What I want to provide is a supplement with info not found in the other reviews.

 

 

Externals:

 

The fit and finish is just amazing, with tolerances I have not seen in an airsoft gun before.

The folding stock is 100% solid, not the slightest trace of movement when extended.

The only unwanted movement to be found externally is a slight wobble in the charging handle assembly, also in the fake gas adjuster above the flash hider, a slight side to side movement in the trigger, a bit of play in the bolt release, and slight magazine movement, depending on make of magazine of course. That's it.

 

Not much else to say about the externals; they are near-perfect.

 

 

Internals:

 

The perfect fit continues to show also in the internals.

Unfortunately, it also makes it difficult to disassemble the gun. Getting the cylinder assembly off should be easy in theory, but the fit was so tight on mine, I had to loosen the lower mechbox too before I could get the cylinder assembly off. After coming off once, though, it is now possible to remove it as normal, though considerable force is still needed.

The cylinder assembly locking lever under the nozzle also requires excessive force to lift, so much so that I worry about the long-term durability of the part.

 

The space available between lower mechbox and receiver is specifically designed for very thin wires, which made it difficult to rewire to thicker wires. The stock wiring is 18AWG but with very thin (yet very tough) insulation, with wire thickness equal to normal 20AWG with silicone insulation. To use the silicone 18AWG wires that came with the Infected Armory MOSFET I installed, I had to strip the insulation in one place and just use a single layer of insulating tape.

 

The trigger mechanism is seperate from the lower mechbox, which is a good thing. No chance of the contacts getting contaminated with gear grease, and no need to actually open the lower mechbox when working on the trigger.

 

The Angle Of Engagement between piston and sector gear was better than usual in a stock AEG, I only had to install a single 1.6mm nylon disc behind the piston head to achieve correct AOE.

 

The hop-up unit is full plastic of so-so quality. Mine keeps making a crooked hop-up bump in the chamber, despite the arm and nub appearing to be perfectly straight when examined with the bucking removed. I installed a Marui bucking and nub, the hop-up bump still appeared a bit off-center.

 

Parts I replaced out of the box: piston/head (stock Marui), gear shims (got rid of those silly self-shimming things), wiring and plugs (active braking MOSFET, Deans), hop-up bucking and nub (stock Marui).

 

Parts that appear to be proprietary: mechbox upper and lower shell, trigger mech, nozzle, hop-up unit.

 

 

Skirmish Report:

 

During a full day of skirmishing, I found the XCR to be surprisingly cumbersome. I'm a very mobile player and prefer guns with maximum maneuverability. The XCR is a small, light gun, but doesn't really handle like one, though the short length and folding stock did come in handy in actual battles several times.

 

I found the stock, when extended, to be too long for comfortable sneaking and crawling, in fact when browsing the Robinson Armament website, it appears the real-steel XCR folding stock is considerably shorter. I think the airsoft version was made longer to prevent the trigger from being blocked with the stock folded.

 

The crooked hop-up did result in shots hooking to the right, forcing me to tilt the gun a little to the left when shooting. It should be a simple matter of filing the nub tray on the adjuster arm to compensate. I will report back on that.

 

Otherwise I found the XCR to be very ergonomic and simple to use. It must be said I'm used to skirmishing with a shortened JLS Beretta RX4, which is extremely sleek and low-profile, an absolutely brilliant gun for sneaky, crawly play style, but with a whole different set of downsides.

 

 

That's all for now.

[validtumoralarm]

 

The hop-up unit is full plastic of so-so quality. Mine keeps making a crooked hop-up bump in the chamber, despite the arm and nub appearing to be perfectly straight when examined with the bucking removed. I installed a Marui bucking and nub, the hop-up bump still appeared a bit off-center.

 

 

My VFC SCAR-H has the same issue with the crooked hop. I don't claim to be an expert on such things, but maybe it's a VFC issue?

 

I got to play with one of these last week, absolutely beautiful gun. Congrats!

[Utty]

I've filed the hop arm a bit, and after twisting the barrel back and forth a bit, the hop bump now appears straight.

 

Could be a VFC issue, but I've seen it in other hop-ups before, caused by uneven casting of the hop arm, creating a step down the middle of the nub tray, so one side is higher than the other. The VFC seemed completely flat and straight, though, so I'm not really sure what caused the problem exactly. I guess the arm itself doesn't sit straight in the hop unit.

[SHWEL]

The hop up on these guns seems to be the weak link. I too am an owner and my unit had no Hop at all. Contacted Echo 1, they sent me a new Arm, and I replaced the nub that came with the gun (VERY SOFT) with a Polar Star Concave Spacer (SCS) and all is wonderful with my XCR. With my current setup, my XCR has great range and accuracy. Gun is completely stock minus the parts mentioned..

[Utty]

Well I installed a Firefly buffer rubber (normal) and took it out skirmishing yesterday, it seemed to shoot really well, no hook shots.

 

Another thing, the hop-up unit is really tight (or the stock inner barrel is thicker than normal). Normally a Marui rubber-equipped inner barrel will fit almost loosely in any given hop unit, but in the XCR I really have to cram it in there. No need for teflon tape!

Edited July 4, 2011 by Utty

[warspite]

I just purchased a VFC Robinson XCR. The manual states that the XCR uses a medium type motor. However, the pistol grip's dimensions doesnt look large enough (the grip motor well seems too narrow) to take a regular medium type motor. Am I mistaken?

Edited May 4, 2012 by warspite

[Utty]

Yes, it does take a normal medium motor. The grip does seem rather narrow, but the walls are just made that much thinner to make room for the motor.

[IBMedic]

I have one as well and have been meaning to do a review on it for a while...

 

I was initially quite excited about the split gearbox... but I must say that it doesn't make the spring change process that much easier, and it would seem that the lower half of the gearbox would be a nightmare to remove.

 

Some big weaknesses:

 

VFC's faults:

Grip is too slim, and the plastic is not of exceptional quality. I can feel it creaking. I tightened the screws with some locktite and PVC tape, not a complete fix. It is also not compatible with other grips so I can't just swap in a MOE grip like I do on all my other ARs.

 

Robinson Arms' faults:

Way, way, way front heavy. That front end is massive. They really should have milled out more material in the front to compensate for the massive gas system on barrel nut.

 

Fortunately, I've had no issues with the hopup, using a Prommy ASH barrel with a PDI H style bucking and standard nub. Works very well.

[Utty]

My own conclusion: this gun is only for those that absolutely need something different that looks good. If ergonomics, reliability, parts compatibility and internal battery space are at all important to you, by all means look elsewhere.

Mine has found a warm, cozy home up on the wall.