If you don't mind going for a cheaper brand than VFC, echo 1 is releasing a clone of their mk17 model sometime this year. From the looks of the prototype, it'll have a working bolt catch and licensed trades. This makes me angry since I just bought their older mk16 with fugly blocked out trades from dboys. I really can't compare the quality of echo 1 to other guns since I just got into this hobby, but I have to say I'm pleased with their overall build quality (despite my mishap, which would have been easy to fix for anyone with a little bit of experience). They also use the standard V2 gearbox, so you can upgrade the internals as you like. The only limitation is that I think the hopup is unique to the SCAR. They also seemed to have cloned the way VFC hides the battery wire inside the hinge of the folding stock.
E: Scratch that on being echo 1, I'm not completely sure anymore since I lost my source, but I remember reading it was them and how they got the trades. Anyway, some company is releasing one with full trades, and I'm guessing it should be cheaper now that it's gen2(or 3). You can check out evike's facebook album. Second and third image shows a new mk16, there's pics of the mk17 in black further down the page.
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