9 minute read
ARMOURY: EMG NOVESKE PCC
NOT OF THIS WORLD!
WITH SO MANY SUPERB AR-PISTOL AND PCC-STYLE AEGS ON THE MARKET NOW IT’S SOMETIMES HARD TO DECIDE BETWEEN THEM, SO WHEN A MODEL APPEARS THAT SCREAMS “UNIQUE” IT’S DEFINITELY GOING TO BE WORTH A LOOK! THIS MONTH BILL GETS DOWN TO THE RANGE WITH THE VERY LATEST NOVESKELICENCED MODEL FROM EMG, THE SPACE INVADER!
In 2019 APS was set the task by Evike Manufacturing Group (EMG) to make the first fully licensed complete “Noveske AEG”, the 13.7” Gen 4 Infidel, and I’m very pleased to say that after reviewing it and finding it just a bit special, I treated myself to one! I love this carbine and have been running one (yes, in Bazooka Green!) as part of my PAMG setup for a good while now, and it’s a super AEG that never fails to live up to the claims made when it first appeared!
I love the fact that EMG got things SO right with the Infidel, especially as it has real “legacy” in the firearms and shooting communities; Noveske Rifleworks was founded by the late, and sorely missed, John Noveske in 2001, and to this day Noveske, for me at least, evokes quality and precision. In the world of real firearms they offer complete rifles, rifle parts and accessories, and each single component is manufactured to exact specifications and thoroughly inspected to ensure the highest quality is being
offered. Every design follows the concept of making improvements where, and only where, necessary, keeping the design clean and uncomplicated while ensuring that precision engineering and attention to detail create a winning combination that cannot be beaten.
Now this is all somewhat ancient history, and I’ve written about my personal love for “things Noveske” on many occasions in the past. Times have moved on; Noveske Rifleworks has of course now released their Generation 4 series of rifles, carbines, PDWs, and PCCs that are available in 300 Blackout, 5.56mm, and of course with their “pistols”, 9mm. With barrel lengths of 7.94 inch, 8.5 inch, 10.5 inch, and 16 inch (and more!), and all offered with M-Lok or Keymod free-floating front ends, the choice in their
range is mind-blowing!
Finish options include Bazooka Green (yeah baby,YEAH!), Sniper Grey, and Black. Features, depending upon the particular model, include Geissele triggers and charging handles, KX3, KX5, and Cherry Bomb muzzle brakes, Norgon Ambidextrous magazine releases and 60 degree STS selector switches, Q PDW style stocks, Magpul MBUS Pro Folding Sights and other top quality features. With Noveske Gen4 it’s like someone opened the best gun-part-toybox ever and said “go for it”!
Specifically when it comes to the real-deal Space Invader the parts list is exemplary; using a new Gen4 machined billet upper receiver set with a Gen3.5 ambidextrous lower receiver, the “pistol” accepts Colt style 9mm magazines and utilises a AR-style magazine release in conjunction with a paddle release. The barrel is an 8.5” stainless steel with 1:12” twist and uses an integrated 3-lug suppressor adapter.
Additional features are a Noveske 9mm ramped bolt, Noveske Airborne charging handle, Geissele Super MCX SSA trigger, ambidextrous safety selectors, NHR M-Lok free float handguard and Q PDW stock.
If though you are a gun bunny like me then you will already know the Noveske brand, and when it comes to airsoft, you will also already know that many of the key Gen4 models are now replicated in airsoft form by EMG under licence.
KEEPING IT REAL
The fully licensed replicas from EMG have all the trademarks from the original (ie real) Noveske rifles, carbines and PCCs, which can be clearly seen on the
receivers and rails. The receiver setups (the Space Invader of course has a dedicated “9mm” lower) mimic the real Gen4s perfectly in relation to fire selector, mag release and bolt release. The foreends again replicate the Noveske NSR/NHR M-Lok Rail Systems and these are also trademarked, whilst the ergonomic Alpha pistol grip is designed exclusively for EMG with their own trademark on it. In the case of the Space Invader you also get an NHR-style rail and an integral 3-lug suppressor attachment; the HK-pattern 3-lug is an industry standard for quick installation and removal of a suppressor, and there are numerous adaptors out there to make this work with your can of choice which is a very cool touch. When it comes to the receivers and front end, all metal parts are CNC creations, with every joint completely seamless and beautifully finished like the real firearm, and the Space Invader of course has a dedicated “9mm” lower which incorporates both a standard AR mag-release and a paddle. The selector is ambi, and very positive, and the EMG-branded Q PDW-style stock actually has enough length of pull as to be comfortable even with my ape-arms! Flip-up sights are included in the package, and are pleasingly made of alloy rather than plastic, and the 210 BB stick mag is even branded “Noveske” too. All in all it’s a very attractive, and sublimely finished little package! Inside the Gen4 Space Invader AEG is the latest eSilver Edge SDU 2.0 programmable gearbox made by APS; simply by pressing down the button underneath the gear box, you can switch fire selector modes and no external programmer or trigger jiggling are needed, so it’s easy to program anytime and anywhere! When APS set out to develop the Silver
Edge gearbox, they wanted to bring to market an ultra-smooth, low amperage draw (the gearbox only pulls 11amps at iro 380 FPS!), ultrareliable system with huge upgrade potential. The newest version of the Silver Edge gearbox, named eSilver Edge, takes everything that made the so-so original functional but a little problematic at times, and improves greatly upon it. The newly developed advanced S.D.U (Super Dynamic Unit) chipset monitors the amperage draw from shot to shot and will cut power to the gearbox if the current spikes too high and before damage can be done to your AEG. To improve trigger performance, the eSilverEdge gearbox features a micro switch trigger which works together with the S.D.U. chipset for near instantaneous trigger response. When combined with a short stroked trigger, you can achieve an incredible semi-auto rate of fire!
Additionally, the gearbox shell itself has been greatly reinforced to withstand the stress of up to an M190 spring. Great thought and detail has
gone into this gearbox to make it more durable, more efficient, and at the same time remain compatible with the great majority of TM spec upgrade parts.
DOWN AND DIRTY, TAKE 2!
Having said much the same about the full-length Noveske carbine, externally the Space Invader, just like the Infidel, ticks all my “Noveske Love” boxes. Internally there’s a LOT of stuff going on to increase both performance and longevity; it’s a totally neat package that looks awesome, but how does it fare when you start hammering that trigger?
First up, let’s look at the power, and the model I received for testing chrono’d with super consistency at 0.99 Joule/328fps using .20g RZR BBs. Next up was to play with the different selector modes, and it proved incredibly easy to cycle through the modes by pressing and holding the button underneath the gearbox which is easily accessed from the magwell. You see a red LED light, hold the button until you see it’s blinked twice, and then release the button to accept the changes; you simply repeat this step to continue through the modes. Then you just double click the button or unplug the battery to reset the ECU back to its factory settings (Mode 1). • Mode 1 (Default) Safe/Semi/Auto • Mode 2 Safe/Semi/3-Round Burst • Mode 3 Safe/2-Round Burst/Auto • Mode 4 Safe/3-Round Burst/Auto • Mode 5 Safe/3-Round Burst/9-Round Burst
Mode 5 is a bit of a beast, but I do like to retain semi, and of course if you’re intending to use the Space Invader for CQB-play then this will be a necessity; for me Mode 2 is therefore the one to go for. With this set I loaded up the 210BB winder (the mags are dedicated but Hi-Caps and 48BB Mid/Lo’s are available) with .25g RZRs and put some BBs down the 30m range. The trigger is nicely crisp, as just a nudge sends BBs downrange happily; on semi you really can get shots away super-fast, and the three round burst function works brilliantly, just as it does on my Infidel!
The flip-up sights that come as standard are more than adequate, and indeed are sturdily made of alloy, so the Noveske is ready to roll straight from the box just by adding a battery and some BBs, and the battery compartment is actually big enough to get a small stick 11.1 LiPo in! At 30m unsupported it was easy to get hits on a torso-sized target with each BB flying straight and true. As usual I also tried the Space Invader on the 10m “short range” and it performed superbly in rapid, target-to-target transitions, again in reality down to the responsiveness of the superb trigger.
I’ve really struggled, being a big guy, getting to grips with the whole “PCC” thing, especially where the models have that short-pull PDW-style stock, but thankfully once again the genius of Noveske Rifleworks (and EMG of course!) shines through on the Space Invader; finally I believe I’ve found a PCC that even gorilla-armed hulkers like me will find comfortable and positive to use! With a price tag iro £320 here in the UK it’s a little more expensive than some, but it really gives a tremendous amount of quality and performance for the money. It looks great (especially in Bazooka Green!), is short and supersweet, and shoots like a laser, so as far as I can see EMG have got this 100% right… again!
My thanks go to www.iwholesales.co.uk for supplying the test sample, and you’ll find the EMG “Noveske” models on their regularly updated website, and with all their retail partners throughout the UK and Europe. I also noticed that www.taiwangun. com and www.evike.com have these little beauties in stock, so you can get your Noveske on wherever in the world you may be…
You’re welcome, you can thank me later! AA
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