Review: Star SCAR L w/EGLM + Takedown [IMG heavy]

[Daiviet]

Star Scar L w/ EGLM

Today we will be looking at the Scar produced by Star/Ares. This version comes with the EGLM as a combo. I will not be going over the history of this gun, it is available here: http://world.guns.ru/assault/as70-e.htm

Pictures

Review

Straight out of the box, the first thing you’ll notice is how heavy this damned thing is. Roughly 12 pounds with the grenade launcher on it, lighter without. The main thing that this gun features compared to other makes is a quick takedown into all the main components. Flip up front and rear sights, rails on the bottom, both sides and full top rail for mounting any accessory you want. A working Bolt catch, ambi fire selector and mag release, folding stock, 4 position sliding stock and 3 position cheek rest.



The upper receiver is bronze anodized CNC’d Aluminum, with the lower receiver being made of plastic. The plastic itself doesn’t feel too bad, other reviews saying it felt cheap and wobbly, I find it doesn’t flex that much at all. Overall the gun is feels very solid, but when you shake it there will be some movement. Notably the movement heard will be from the outer barrel, because of the quick-swap feature it doesn’t sit as snug. Other movement felt may be from the stock since it’s a folding one, all you have to do is tighten the screws inside a bit. The stock locks into position on the side very nicely and won’t budge during a game.

Performance

The Star Scar performs amazingly straight from the box. Hop-up is easy to adjust and will stay still throughout whole games. I actually haven’t had to adjust it since the first time I got it shooting straight and it’s been gamed quite a few times. Great accuracy, no tests to back it up but may be performed in the future. Shoots 360 fps on .2g’s on the stock spring. After brief testing, it should be noted that the stock motor is not strong enough to pull an m120 spring. The gun can take a 9.6v mini battery as the largest, and the scar gets a pretty good rate of fire with it. Battery installation as below:

This is the stock


Pull up the pin and remove buttstock


BE CAREFUL NOT TO PULL THE PIN OUT ALL THE WAY. There is a small clip holding the pin to prevent loss. If you pull the pin out all the way, this pin will fall off, and maybe rattle around your gun for a bit until you get it out


Place in battery, close up same way.

EGLM

The eglm is made of metal and plastic, the main metal part being the barrel. There are quick throw levers on the right side, allowing it to be taken on and off very easy. It also cants out left and right, making it easy for the user to load in grenades.

The launcher opened and canted to the right:


A note, the Madbull XM204 King grenade is very long, and while it loads easily into the EGLM, its doesn’t drop out when you want to take it out:


The easier way to do it, is to push the barrel forward when its open




….Then the grenade should just pop out!

BASIC TAKE DOWN

YouTube - Star FN Scar take down

FULL TAKE DOWN

This will work for both the Star Scar L and H versions.

For those of you who have either worked on the mechbox, or wanted to work on the mechbox, I found this is the easiest way to take down the scar. NOTE: you will need a sodering iron handy if you plan on doing a full takedown. Also, the only upgrades I have done to this have been replacing the piston and changing the motor contacts. Everything else you see is stock.

After following the basic take down, you should have the lower receiver out.



Start by removing the screws in the bottom of the grip. Only the two small ones, the large one being the motor adjustment plate.



NOTE: The stock Star Scar will have the motor wires sodered onto the motor. This makes it annoying if you want to test different setups inside the mechbox, thus why I switched mine to normal contacts instead.

Very non-descript black motor (again, not strong enough to pull an m120 spring)



Inside the grip, you’ll see 4 screws. Take them out



Inside the Magwell, you will also see 2 screws. These connect to the mechbox, and will have to be taken out.



This is what you should be left with now



Now focus your attention to the mag catch on the right side of the receiver.



You’ll need something small to push out the pin holding it. Don’t lose this pin, or you’re screwed.



Mag Catch assembly



Rotate the fire selector switch counter clockwise, past safe, roughly somewhere between 4 o’clock and 5 o’clock



With this done, you should now be able to pull out the mechbox from the lower receiver with very little resistance. No hammering required.



An empty lower receiver



Inside of the receiver, the fire selector switch gear, the same on both sides



Left side of the mechbox. Notice the unique fire selector switch



Right side of the mechbox



One unique feature on the Star Scar, is that it allows for a quick spring swap. This can be done while the mechbox is still in the lower receiver, so it can be done with minimal tools.



I suggest taking out the spring before opening the mechbox, make it easier on your own life.

Flathead screwdriver




Using an appropriate sized allen key, push the spring guide in, rotate 90 degrees, then carefully pull out the spring. It’ll be under tension, not much, but enough to go flying if you let go.


Bearing spring guide. This came stock, apparently it didn’t in some of the earlier versions.



Right side of the mechbox again. This is the gear for the fire selector, remove the inside ring thingy holding it in.




Then remove the gear itself. Remember, don’t lose this or you’ll never find a replacement again. Ever.



Just a quick peek at the hop-up chamber, its held in place by the two sides of the mechbox, very neat, better airseal, but yet another piece that will be a bitch to find if you ever break it.




Pull the two halves apart, and this is what you’re left with


The trigger is held pretty secure to the left side of the mechbox, not sure why but I don’t suggest pulling it out.



Very odd, Bevel gear is given bearings, while the spur gear and the sector gear have metal bushings.



Trigger group is much different too, uses a micro switch assembly, very nice.

When you pull off the left side of the mechbox, this spring will come off


Make sure you put it back in place before you close up the mechbox, or else when you fire your gun will be stuck on full auto until you remove the battery or the battery dies. The former is the better suggestion.


Stock Piston, clear polycarb (correct me if this is wrong)


Its fragile, I’d suggest replacing this as soon as possible. Mine didn’t shatter, but it did crack. This is after about 4000 rounds.





Piston head is ported, comes with bearings as well, the nozzle is longer than a normal v2 nozzle, about 1cm longer, so don’t lose/break this either


The hop-up rubber isn’t actually located in the hop up chamber, but rather the outer barrel assembly. This makes swapping outer barrels easy.

Some things to keep in mind

First things first, is a flaw on all scars, not only the star version. When you look inside the magwell, there’s a lot of space in front of the hop-up chamber. During a skirmish, when you reload a bb might make its way up there and with enough rattling around it’ll end up behind the piston and cause the mechbox to jam. This has happened to me twice, so I solved it by placing a wad of tissue paper in that hole.





Upgrading wise the Star Scar can pretty much take anything a normal v2 mechbox can take, with a few exceptions. Star decided to use a lot of proprietary parts so finding replacements for them will be a bitch if they break. These parts include the mechbox shell, the fire selector gear(s) the hop-up chamber, and the trigger assembly.

Another issue that was run into, was the dimensions of the stock piston was smaller than that of a Madbull Polycarb piston. So not only did the rails on side of the madbull piston need to be filed down, but the channel between the rails needed to be filed down as well.

Closing

Overall I’m very satisfied with this gun. Feels solid, shoots hard and fast straight out of the box, *most* upgrades are easy to get a hold of. Great for beginners and experts, it’s a very nice gun to hold. Beware smaller folk, you WILL get tired lugging this thing around with the EGLM. I suggest getting a sling. Comments and Questions are welcome, if I’ve left something out that you want me to go over I’ll gladly add it when I have the time.

[Shirley]

Wow, that is a sweet review. I like how they designed the selector switch with a gear. Pretty cool. Nice job!

[Tankdude]

Can you change the spring without removing the mechbox from the lower?

[Daiviet]

Originally Posted by Tankdude

Can you change the spring without removing the mechbox from the lower?

Yes, easily. Just unscrew the screw, pull out the spring guide and change springs. The lower reciever gives enough clearance to allow it to.

[Shirley]

Changing the spring looks so easy.

[SOCINCO]

it's a great gun , i got one too , but the only thing is with the eglm it's damn heavy!!!!

[Conker]

Seriously, that's pure sex to me.

[Zeonprime]

You ever decide to sell that I call Dibs!

[Erennert]

How much did it cost?

[Daiviet]

Originally Posted by kamatokai

it's a great gun , i got one too , but the only thing is with the eglm it's damn heavy!!!!

Fully agreed, although now I'm used to it.

Originally Posted by Zeonprime

You ever decide to sell that I call Dibs!

Dibs is your's, but I don't ever plan on letting this baby go

Originally Posted by Erennert

How much did it cost?

PM'd

[SOCINCO]

wait ! yours is a heavy right? where did you got the sniper barrel? is it from airsoftglobal.com?
i always want to get one but it's just little bit too expensive......

[LUTNIT]

Are those granite counters?

[Daiviet]

Originally Posted by kamatokai

wait ! yours is a heavy right? where did you got the sniper barrel? is it from airsoftglobal.com?
i always want to get one but it's just little bit too expensive......

Scar Light. I only plan on picking up the CQB barrel. For a sniper platform I plan on getting the Scar SSR by VFC when it comes out. Now that thing is a sexy beast.

Originally Posted by LUTNIT

Are those granite counters?

Sadly no, compressed plywood with fake finish.

[SOCINCO]

dud if you don't want this barrel let me know !!!! i will take it, because mine one is a heavy and it come with a cqb barrel, i am so want a longer barrel!!!

[Cuddles]

Great review and pictures!
Its damn sexy with the EGLM