Marui – VZ61 Scorpion Review
The VZ61, or ‘Scorpion’ is a Czechoslovakian sub-machine gun, or machine pistol firing a .32ACP (7.65x17mm) round similar to as used in 
the Walther PPK/S we reviewed earlier this month. Designed in the late fifties and produced in the early 60’s, the VZ61 was primarily to be used by Tank and Helicopter crews as a small yet potent side-arm. However, the Scorpion saw an equal success with terrorist groups due to it’s small size and high rate of fire. Easily concealable under a large jacket, the machine pistol would empty it’s 20 round box magazine at a rate of over 800 rounds per minute. Interestingly though, it is stated that it has quite a short effective range of just over 25 metres, due to the relatively low power of the .32ACP cartridge, but in some scenarios this has advantages as the round has lower penetrative qualities over say a 9mm round. The weapon also includes a metal folding stock which allows for greater accuracy, and can be fired with either one or two hands holding the weapon.
Our Airsoft model, released just a couple of months ago by Marui is their 5th release into the ‘AEP’ range, using a similar internal mechanism and battery pack to the MP7 which has already been popular as a fully automatic side arm. Smaller than both an MP5K and the MP7, it certainly packs a punch at an average of 252fps using a Marui 0.2g BB – and at 850 rounds per minute off a fully charged battery, it has a rate of fire that would scare animals and small children.
The box is of the usual high quality expected from Marui these days, with a nice picture on the front, with some wording in what I presume to be Czechoslovakian underneath the model name. Removing the cover you will find the Scorpion sat proud in the centre of the box, with a another smaller package containing the 500mah 7.2v Nicad (the same type used in the MP7), a charger (US 2 pin type), around 200 rounds of 0.2g ammo and the metal silencer adapter which allows as standard 14mm ccw threaded silencer to be used on the gun. There is also a cleaning rod and BB loading tool, a fore-sight adjustment tool and a small RIS adapter rail which mounts on the underside of the weapon, which disappointingly is made of plastic. The instruction booklet, which is themed similar to the box cover is the usual Tokyo Marui affair, with detailed diagrams and English translations at the bottom of each page. It also includes a very detailed schematic near the back, useful if you want to attempt to disassemble the thing – not recommended, it looks fairly complex!
Taking the Tokyo Marui airsoft replica from the box you start to appreciate how heavy it is for something of such a relatively small size, 1.1kg to be exact, without the battery! When the MP7 was released, I wasn’t a fan as I felt it was a little too much on the plastic side, and perhaps a bit flimsy. You certainly don’t get that impression from the latest in the ‘AEP’ line-up, as with most weapons from that part of the world (think AK now…) it’s built like a tank. So where does this weight come from? Well, the lower receiver is made from metal, as are a number of other parts on the gun, which include but are not limited to: trigger, trigger guard, selector switch, magazine eject, cocking handle, ejection port cover, outer barrel, front and rear sights, battery cover plate, and the fairly sturdy folding stock. To me, this is starting to edge away from AEP and move more into AEG territory – and with further models planned such as the Mac 10 machine pistol, it looks like Marui are onto a winner.
The VZ61 is fairly lacking in trade markings etc, with a small serial number ‘Y6309’ printed only on the receiver and on the folding stock hinge. Having never seen a real Scorpion, I can’t comment on the authenticity of the locations of these markings, but then this is a weapon built for practicality, not to win any fashion contests. To be perfectly honest I thought the VZ61 was a fairly ugly gun, but then I’ve never been a fan of AK-47’s either – there is just something terribly simplistic about their appearance which doesn’t appeal, although I have to admit, the more I play with the Scorpion, the more it grows on me.
The selector switch which appears on the left hand side of the gun, just above your thumb, is marked for 20,0,1 – 20 being fully automatic, 1 being semi-automatic and the zero marking the safe position. Like the AK-47, the safe position is in the middle of full-auto and semi-auto, which I find kind of an odd place to put it. One would think that the most logical place would be as on the MP5K for example, whereby you can cycle from semi to full in just one click, whereas on the VZ61 and the Scorpion you have to go through ‘safe’ to get there.
The magazine release, also located on the left hand side of the guns frame, is situated just above and forward of the magazine well, intended to be operated by the thumb of the left hand. On the real steel, the magazine also doubles as a forward grip, which would help control the recoil of the weapon. Having the magazine release located here makes for speedy and controlled magazine changes. The ‘ambidextrous’ cocking handle is also located in such a way that it is operated by the left hand, although you need both your fore-finger and thumb to cock the gun (on the real steel) as the handle does not protrude enough – you need to grip it from both sides. Of course, on the Airsoft model, this serves no purpose other than allowing access to the hop-up dial, and adding a little ‘fiddle factor’.
The 500mah 7.2v battery is cleverly concealed in the pistol grip, and this recess is accessed by turning a dial on the bottom of the base plate. Although this is possible to do by hand, it’s quite stiff and the instructions recommend using the allen key included for fixing the RIS rail for assistance. Once the cover is off, you simply pull down on the battery ‘eject lever’, push the battery in (it can only fit one way), and ensure it locks into place. Then pop the bottom grip plate back on, again by turning the dial to ensure it clicks into place – et voila job done, and takes less than 30 seconds. Also located in the grip is a 10 amp fuse which protects your gearbox and motor should something nasty happen like a jam.
The folding stock is constructed from tubular steel, bent in such a way it can fold over the top of the receiver and onto the outer barrel, even when a silencer is attached. It has a slight ribbed ‘texture’ on the part that meets the shoulder and is sturdy to use in operation. On the real steel, the stock is simply there to assist in controlling the fire-arm under fully automatic fire, when deployed the gun sits a little bit too close to the eye which make sighting the weapon slightly more difficult. My guess is a lot of Airsofters probably won’t use it, or may perhaps even remove it all together. It doesn’t get in the way however, and just adds to the menacing look of the weapon.
As mentioned previously, the VZ61 comes with a RIS/RAS rail which attaches to the underside of the gun to mount your accessories on. This is done by a small hex-screw and an allen key, which are also included in the box. The first page of the instruction booklet shows various examples of what accessories can be mounted on the rail, but I think the obvious choice would be the M3 style tactical light, which also comes with a cable to power the AEP’s from it’s own internal 2500mah battery. How this would work on the Scorpion I don’t know, as the battery is stored in the grip, basically at the other end of the gun, but I’m sure it’s possible. You could also mount a forward grip if you so wished, but the magazine serves this function perfectly well.
The silencer adapter allows the use of standard 14mm ccw threaded silencers, which give the gun a certain evil look – ala terrorist style. This is replaced easily by unscrewing the steel outer barrel, and replacing with the threaded equivalent. Also useful for attaching the Marui tracer unit, which would make this gun a good contender for CQB night-games.
Amazingly the small magazine accepts 58 rounds, which for it’s size is pretty good. These can either be loaded in one at a time, fairly easy but time consuming, using the supplied BB loader, or my preferred method – the speed loader. At the time of writing this, I have yet to see the 370 round ‘drum’ hi-cap which Marui have produced, in any of the UK retailers. I imagine it might be more practical to stick to a couple of the normal lo-caps, as the drum will make the weapon difficult to holster. As with most new designs, expect to see a whole host of accessories from your favourite manufacturers arrive soon, in fact, X-Fire have already come up with a few.
Adjustment of the hop-up is done by sliding back the cocking handle, exposing the ejection port where the dial is located. Out of the box, the VZ61 didn’t need much adjustment, but a few clicks saw the rounds flying nice and straight with an excellent range. The Scorpion has an excellent hop-up system, which like it’s smaller counterparts the G18C and the USP – give it such an excellent range for fairly low power output.
The sights are adjustable, but interestingly enough it’s the fore-sight which does most of the work. A small tool similar to that used on the Marui UZI is found in the box, which adjusts the elevation, and to some extent the windage by simply adjusting the height and angle of the front ‘post’. The rear-sights are the ‘flip’ type, with markings for 75m and 150m – interesting, seeing as the real steel was reported to only have an effective range of around 25m! We found that out of the box, with the hop-up set for level flight, these didn’t need any adjustment.
Firing – Range and Accuracy
We were very excited to try the latest gun from Marui, and were not expecting to be disappointed – unsurprisingly, we weren’t! After charging the battery for just under 2 hours at 280mah, it was time to test the Scorpion out on the ‘range’. That very morning we’d been doing a little bit of archery so there was already a large cardboard box stuffed with news papers about 25m away from where we were standing, perfect to try the VZ61 out on. On the front were some A4 targets, the circle being about the diameter of a paper plate. I’d like to say they were full of holes from the arrows I’d been firing, but sadly not (most of them went into the plywood backstop behind it!) – still, we had nice clean targets to shoot at instead.
With the hop-up first set for level flight by firing the Scorpion into the distance, I aimed at the target and fired a small burst of around 5 shots. All of them hit within the target area, 2 of them hitting the centre mass which was no larger than about 4 inches in diameter. Impressed, I decided to swap for some slightly smaller targets, some old CD’s hanging about 8ft from the ground from a tree. Again, at about the same distance of 25m, small 3-5 round bursts hit the CD’s with ease, one of them actually smashing. In fact, when we examined the cardboard target, even that was fairly dented, which is good considering the relatively low power output of the VZ61 compared to a full-size AEG.
For range testing, we had a maximum of just under 40m, behind the end of the garden was an open field. We found that shots went beyond the boundary of our ‘range’ to about 45m – impressive for such a small barrelled SMG or machine pistol.
Conclusion?
The VZ61 Scorpion is an ideal back-up or even primary weapon in CQB environments. Slightly better range, battery and ammo capacity than the Glock 18C, but smaller and more robust than the MP7. My only two criticisms are, it’s not the prettiest gun in the world, and currently there is no easy way to holster or sling it. Still, if you want to go into a building ‘Neo’ style, with one in each hand, who needs a holster? Personally, I’m waiting to see what the Mac 10 is like before I choose between the two. If it’s anything like the VZ61 in terms of build quality and performance, then it’s bound to be a winner – especially over it’s KSC GBB counterpart, which have a habit of lets say, breaking.
