REVIEWING THE M1918 SLR AND THE NEW ZB30 BY ECHO1USA
Airsoft is fun and re enacting is even better when it is from our favorite movie or time period. The World War II era is the most sought after time for airsofters due to video games like Call of Duty and BattleField 1942 and countless movies like Saving Private Ryan. For the longest time there was nothing really for airsofters to use to fulfill this desired role on the field. Echo1USA was able to release a super budget friendly BAR or as they refer to it with their license with Ohio Ordnance Works the M1918 SLR that sells for around $400 while another version sold for nearly $2000.
Well now Echo1USA has done it again in working with want the player wants and what they can afford by creating the ZB30 AEG!
There will be more pictures posted at the end of this blog. Lets get into the videos now!
Austin and Brian sat down and did a quick table top review and chrono of the rifles so you can get a general idea of them both.
The video review of the ZB30 and the M1918 SLR should have covered most of the questions about the current rifle and the new ZB30 but we were not sure so we posted on our Team BLACKSHEEP Facebook page to get our fans questions and see what thy wanted to know so with that we made a video response to the questions!
One of the questions was ‘Stress Test?’ so we had to answer that question to the fullest. In the video we show the behind the scenes testing used at the Echo1USA headquarters to make sure the product is ready for purchase and the open market. The ZB30 was able to hold up the extreme stress test and passed all the other tests as well!
During the test we did encounter a ‘Ghost Gun’ and luckily the ZB30 by Echo1USA was able to keep us safe. Overall the ZB30 is a great solidly built rifle and will be very affordable for the airsoft player and the World War II enthusiast. The attention to detail on the outside and the upgraded parts on the inside making the rifle more than a money pit like others on the market.
The large ‘brick style gearbox’ is big and strong with more than enough material to keep it intanct for a long time of shooting but doubt there will be an upgrade version. Echo1USA will most likely offer the spare parts like thy do with their products in case something does happen though which is great!
Notice the 8mm steel bearings? This is a great part to get when you buy a new rifle and when it costs a lot as well. I remember the Inokatsu M240 and for the huge price tag it was limited to 6mm bushings and out of the box it came with nylon bushings, sold that long ago…
The gears are made out of steel of course and the sector gear has a large delayer or cam on it to allow for better feeding with a lipo. No skipping shots and more shooting down range is a great thing. In the chrono video we used the Echo1 lipo #2 the 11.1v 1650mah 25c lipo and it fed and shot great. Out of the box it was 16~ bbs per second at 430~fps this means for a ‘stock’ rifle you can use this out of the box and go to the field and have a great time. You can upgrade or downgrade if needed and that is quite easy since it uses most standard Version 2 gearbox parts.
The hop up unit was very responsive for adjustments and held it too while shooting. The large rotary drum allows for better adjustment and more surface area friction to keep it in place. The inner barrel went all the way to the end of the outer barrel and stopped at the flash hider. The inner barrel and outer outer barrel had little to no play between them and that means the barrel will not shake and lose accuracy when shooting. For other rifles you have to use some tape to secure and ghetto fix but ok.
Overall the new Echo1 ZB30 will be a great rifle and purchase for the airsofters and collectors out there that want to fulfill their WWII role on the field and kick Gerry’s butt!
Thanks for reading and checking out our blog. Enjoy the pictures below!
