Issue 65 - Fifth Anniversay Issue - September 2016

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Editor: Nigel Streeter Assistant editor: Gareth “Gadge” Harvey Graphic design: Havoc Design Ad design: Havoc Design Publisher: Nigel Streeter Cover Photo: Courtesy Accuracy International UK 13-issue subscription rate: £46.50 UK 6-issue subscription rate: £24.00 For overseas prices email: subs@airsoft-action.co.uk

Wyche Innovation Centre, Walwyn Road, Upper Colwall, Malvern, Worcestershire, WR13 6PL Tel: 01684 878 003 Web: www.airsoft-action.online ©Calibre Publishing Limited 2016 Distribution: Distributed to the newstrade by Comag Magazine Marketing, West Drayton, Middlesex, UB7 7QE T: 01895 433 800 Copyright © Calibre Publishing Limited 2016. All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the express permission of the publisher in writing. The opinion of the writers do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions prior to print.

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BIG BOYZ TOYZ: THE SEA KING

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CONTENTS SEPTEMBER MARCH 2016 2014

CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2016 6

A MESSAGE FROM THE ED

8 ROGUE’S GALLERY Cool photos taken by Airsoft Action readers.

11 THE ADVENTURES OF MAG Mag continues his adventures in Airsoft Action’s exclusive cartoon.

12 ARMOURY: KWA AKR-74M ERG A big fan of “Kalashnikov” replicas, Jerry Noone finally gets his hands on one of the first batch of the AKR-74M Electronic Recoil Guns (ERG) by KWA to arrive in the UK! 16 ARMOURY: ARMORER WORKS 1911 RACE GUN Bling race pistols are rarely his thing, red dots don’t do much for him either. So why is Scott Allan so drawn to this crazy, over the top pistol?

20 ARMOURY: TOKYO MARUI M4A1 GBB As a dedicated user of gas blowback rifles, carbines and pistols Jerry Noone takes a very close look at the latest M4A1 model from the enigmatic airsoft industry giant, Tokyo Marui.

24 ARMOURY: NUPROL SUPPRESSORS When you’re putting together a very particular loadout then it’s the little details that make all the difference. This month Jerry Noone gets his hands on the new range of suppressor models from NUPROL. 26 FEATURE: VERTICAL COMBAT Kelly “Femme Fatale” Hardwick discovers that combat doesn’t always happen at ground level, as she found out in the centre of Wolverhampton.

29 INTERNATIONAL AIRSOFT: SPAIN Scott Allan joins the guys at Stirling Airsoft as he heads overseas to take part in their latest Spanish event.

34 FEATURE: BREXIT – DOES IT AFFECT AIRSOFT? As a student of politics, Frenchie explores what “Brexit” might mean to airsoft in the UK and what effect leaving the EU might have.

36 DEBATE: BREXIT AND AIRSOFT With the vote to leave just a few weeks ago, Gadge asked for your opinions regarding how Brexit would affect airsoft.

39 EVENT: G&G CQB WORLD CUP If you fancy an all-expenses paid trip to play airsoft in Taiwan, read on…

40 EVENT: AIRSOFT SHOWCASE 2016 The Airsoft Action Team report from this rapidly growing event that brought together nearly 40 airsoft companies in one location.

77 MILSIM: OPERATION RIDGEWAY In the second of his reports from Stirling Airsoft, Scott Allan swaps the heat of Spain for the slightly cooler environs of Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire.

44 SITE: STRIKEFORCE BADLANDS Les Lee makes the trip to the newest site in the “StrikeForce Stable”, at Abingdon in Oxfordshire and discovers something very much to his liking.

80 INTERNATIONAL: CROATIA New Airsoft Action Contributor, Alan Murray, reports from one of the most outrageous events on the airsoft calendar, held on a former military island in the Adriatic.

48 EVENT: SKIRMISH CUP 2016 Nige reports from The Skirmish Cup, a six-man tournament that has been running since 2011 and which, this year, had a surprise in store.

52 FEATURE: GUNS FOR HIRE Overlooked and frequently mis-treated, for many new players their first experience of the game is defined by the ubiquitous “hire gun”. Frenchie takes up the story of this oft-maligned piece of airsoft equipment.

56 INSIDE AIRSOFT: iWHOLESALES Continuing his journey through the inner reaches of airsoft, Les Lee finds himself inside one of the UK’s largest airsoft wholesale operations.

60 INTERNATIONAL: RUSSIA With winter out of the way, a new season of airsoft kicks off in Russia. Marty and Marta finish their low down on the opening events.

63 FEATURE: SKUNKWORKS Angelo DV meets up with a guy who produces some of the most amazing pieces of airsoft art.

66 NEW SITE: BRAVO ONE BIRMINGHAM Nige heads for the centre of Birmingham to check out the opening day of a brand new CQB site.

68 LOADED OR UNLOADED: 13 HOURS The idea for a modern, up to date loadout can come from a variety of sources and this time Jerry Noone looks to the movie industry to provide inspiration as he updates his own set of “Contractor Gear”.

73 WARRIORS: SOUTH AFRICAN DEFENCE FORCE The SADF fought to defend their nation from hostile forces on all sides. The kit they wore also makes an excellent airsoft loadout, as Gareth “Gadge” Harvey explains…

84 BIG BOYZ TOYZ: THE SEA KING Ratty writes about a piece of military hardware that has seen numerous roles, saved countless lives and will soon disappear from our skies forever.

90 AIRSOFT ACTION COMPETITION: OVER £7,300 IN PRIZES! Airsoft Action is five years old and we want to celebrate by giving away over £7,300-worth of prizes!

92 GITAG: CUSTOM ENGRAVING Airsofters all like something a bit “Gucci” and what could be better than having your favourite pistol or carbine engraved with the design of your choice? Jerry Noone met up with the guys from Falcon Engraving at the 2016 Airsoft Showcase and asked them how this could be achieved.

96 SURVIVAL: SHELTERS Survival expert, Paul Yelland, gives us some tips on how to build a shelter using just the materials we find around us.

102 BILLY BASICS: LOCHNAGAR CRATER With the Centenary of The Somme just past, Billy writes about an event that had a profound effect On those that witnessed it but did very little to bring the war to an end.

106 AIRSOFT SKILLS: TURNS Calibre Shooting’s Andy Nightgale continues his Skills series by looking at a maneuver we probably never think about but is vital to get right if we want to improve our game.

108 SITE DIRECTORY & PRACTICAL PISTOL CLUBS With the ever-growing popularity of Practical Shooting, we thought it was about time we started listing where you can go and take part - as well as over four pages of awesome airsoft venues!

114 DEALER LISTING: AIRSOFT ACTION’S ADVERTISER INDEX Find who you are looking for in our listing of all the adverts that appear in this issue.

A MESSAGE FROM THE ED

WE ARE

FIVE YEARS OLD! Welcome to an Airsoft Action milestone – our Fifth Anniversary Issue!

THIS IS THE 65th ISSUE of Airsoft Action and that represents five years of continuous publishing, taking us from being “the new kid on the block” to “the UK’s Number One Airsoft Magazine” – and we could not have achieved that without the support and encouragement we have received from the whole airsoft community.

So first up, I want to say a massive thank you to all our readers and the companies that have supported us through their advertising and generosity over the last 60 months, both here in the UK and overseas. Simply put, without you we would not be here today.

I think it is fair to say that the last five years have not been all plain sailing, there have been (and still are) challenges to overcome but, above everything else, what has become very apparent is that when the airsoft community pulls together, it can achieve great things. Who would have thought five years ago that we could be on the brink of having a legal definition of airsoft written into the Firearms Act, or that we could bring pressure on the European Parliament to save our sport from being decimated? Yes, I know there are still details to be worked out but that is still one hell of an achievement and it has been done by working together.

The last couple of years have also seen what might be described as a “seismic shift” in how manufacturers perceive the UK as a viable marketplace, with companies like ASG, NUPROL, iWholesales, Tippmann and, more recently, Valken setting up distribution links in the UK. This can only be good news for airsofters, who will benefit from direct access to manufacturers via UK dealers, rather than an anonymous Far-Eastern company website and, of course, proper legal protection and guarantees that are actually worth the paper they are written on!

Airsoft Action has also evolved and nowhere is this more apparent than in the number of Contributors who are out there every week, covering every single aspect of the game we love. We started the magazine with just three, now there are nearly fifty – which is probably why a player was recently heard saying “Airsoft Action… they are everywhere!” So thanks guys and gals, your contributions and tireless efforts have made the magazine what it is today!

You may also have noticed that we love giving back to the community that supports us, through the many competitions we have run, culminating in the simply stunning collaboration between the magazine, ActionSportGames, Accuracy International and ASPUK to bring you a truly unique prize that will never be repeated – but to help us celebrate our fifth birthday, we wanted to do even more, so we are giving away well over £7,000-worth of prizes!!

Turn to Page 90 and you will find details of a competition where you could win one of a number of prizes, ranging from 100,000 BBs, to an ASG EVO 3, to a year’s free walk-on games and at least twenty others, simply by answering one very easy question.

All that remains is for me to say Good Luck with the competition and thank you for five brilliant years – I cannot wait to see what the next five brings!

See you out there!

Nige.

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September 2016

AA GALLERY READERS’ PHOTOS

SPONSORED BY

ROGUE’S GALLERY

From Juan Coetzee @ Raid Airsoft

8

september 2016

Pictures from the Skirmish Cup

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Information Fancy seeing yourself in Airsoft Action?

Send in your photos via email (nige@airsoft-action.co.uk) or share on our Facebook page (/AirsoftAction), plus a few words describing what’s going on in the image.

Matt Evans at Warminster,

by Clark Ev ans

From Paul Metcalf

THE ADVENTURES OF MAG

CARTOON

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POLNAYA OTDATCHA A BIG FAN OF “KALASHNIKOV” REPLICAS, JERRY NOONE FINALLY GETS HIS HANDS ON ONE OF THE FIRST BATCH OF THE AKR-74M ELECTRONIC RECOIL GUNS (ERG) BY KWA TO ARRIVE IN THE UK! THOSE OF YOU THAT KNOW ME personally know that I have “a thing” about the works of Comrade Kalashnikov and my gas AK/SVD OPFOR variants are my “go to guns” for MilSim events, as they function perfectly like the real deal, operating from thirty round magazines and send BBs downrange with alacrity. In actual fact, if you’re a lover of the AK then there’s never been a better time to own an airsoft version as currently there are some cracking variants out, both gas and AEG, on offer at great prices.

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KWA have really been making some inroads to the “recoil” market place with their excellent range of “M4” style models but up until earlier this year if you wanted something different than an AR you were distinctly out of luck! At the back end of 2015 I’d begun to hear hushed whispers about the possibility of an AK variant, using KWA’s patented Kinetic Feedback System (KFS) but these remained mere rumours with some fuzzy shots of what looked to be an AK (of some description) appearing online.

Fast forward to SHOT 2016 and lo and behold, there on the KWA stand was a fully-functioning recoil AKR-74M! My good mate John from J-Tac Custom and I have long been fans of the ERG M4s and for some time he has been importing small orders from KWA direct but it still came as a surprise to me when he messaged me to say “The AK ERG is on its way, would you like me to send it down to you?”. I really don’t need to tell you my response, do I? When it arrived with me I couldn’t wait to get it out of the box and check it over; the weight was good at 3.3 kg (6.8 lbs.) and it really felt solid in the hands, although it struck me as a little unprepossessing as it was all black and I mean ALL black, so for someone that is used to classic AK models with deeply burnished wood furniture, it did look quite plain.

In the real world though, the AK-74M is the main service rifle in use with the Russian Federation forces these days and indeed it IS all black; the days of perfectly mated wood and metal have pretty much long gone with new polymer and glassfilled polyamides helping to save those forests! The AK-74M (M standing for Modernizirovanniy or Modernised) is an improved variant of the AK-74 assault rifle that offers more versatility compared to its predecessor.

ARMOURY KWA AKR-74M ERG

“AFTER CORRECTLY SETTING THE HOP AT 10M CQB RANGE ON SEMI-AUTO AND USING SOME LOVELY ARES MATCH GRADE .28BBS THAT JOHN HAD SENT DOWN WITH THE RIFLE, THE THING WAS ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATING STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BOX; WITH A 488MM INNER BARREL IT WAS DEFINITELY A CASE OF ‘DOUBLE TAP, HIT’.”

The rifle has a number of improvements over the older model, such as a lightened bolt and carrier assembly and it also features an improved muzzle device, a reinforced smooth dust cover and a redesigned guide rod return spring retainer that allows firing the GP-25, GP-30 and GP-34 underslung grenade launchers without having to use the previously necessary additional receiver cover fastener.

Each AK-74M is fitted with a side-rail bracket for mounting optics and a side folding full buttstock; high-strength plastic materials are used for the forestock, magazine buttstock and pistol grip of the rifle. The metal parts of the AK-74M have protective coatings for resistance against corrosion and these days the weapons go through some pretty thorough quality controls before they leave the factory.

The AK-74M can happily use existing 5.45 AK 30, 5.45 AK 45 and 5.45 AK Drum magazines. The 30-round black magazine is the current production magazine for the AK74M and is made of lightweight high-strength polymer. The lightweight 5.45x39mm magazine significantly reduces the load for the soldiers and crucially allows the user to carry additional rounds for the same weight, in comparison with the earlier magazines of the AK family.

As well as the Russian Federation, the AK-74M is also used by the armed forces of Afghanistan, Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, North Korea, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

BATTERY POWERED, AS GOOD AS IT GETS!

For those not yet conversant with KWA, the Southern California-based Company have been designing and manufacturing high-quality airsoft products for over 27 years, including 1:1 scale, Mil-Spec, replica products for both the airsoft skirmisher and law enforcement/military training. KWA’s long-standing tradition of craftsmanship and innovation is met with a commitment to deliver superior performance and ultimate reliability.

KWA works with military, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and training centres. They offer products that are not only cost effective but also reliable in performance and solid in build quality and they genuinely have advanced the development of airsoft into a non-lethal training alternative for military and law enforcement agencies around the world.

The KWA Electric Recoil Gun (ERG) is ultimately the next evolution of the AEG. The ERG features the same high-quality external build expected of KWA products, utilising their Third Generation Extreme (3GX) Gearbox specifically designed to incorporate the patented Kinetic Feedback System (KFS).

The AKR-74M is designed to accurately simulate the AK platform. It’s is an AK style ERG that gives you felt recoil similar to that of a .22LR with every trigger pull. All ERG Series rifles feature a mechanical/electrical cut-off system that works in

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ARMOURY KWA AKR-74M ERG

conjunction with the ERG magazines to feed every BB and stop firing when the magazine is empty. This brings a new level of realism to any training and MilSim activity without resorting to GBBRs. Overall the features are excellent as it comes with a full metal alloy receiver and barrel assembly and a high impact polymer hand guard, pistol grip and the full folding stock.

An AK side mount on the receiver allows you to expand the platform with AK specific mounts and accessories. Enhanced by the Kinetic Feedback System, the 74M is a strong, reliable rifle for those interested in training with the AK platform properly and don’t want to switch to gas.

need to get the right battery. John and I discussed this and he then went away and sourced the correct size which you can also buy at J-Tac now.

With this small issue overcome it was time to get the beast to chrono and as I suspected, the test sample did indeed come in “hot” at a mean of 1.41 Joule/391fps using .20g BBs; this is quite standard in the USA and as the AKs are coming direct from KWA you’ll need to snip the spring to get them UK site-friendly. If you don’t feel confident in doing this yourself, John can arrange for the work to be done before the ERG ships to you for a small additional charge; the man thinks of everything!

With both these very minor niggles out of the way it was time to set up my plates at 10, 20 and 30 metres to see what the AKR-74M was capable of. After correctly setting the hop at 10m CQB range on semi-auto and using some lovely ARES Match Grade .28BBs that John had sent down with the rifle, the thing was absolutely devastating straight out of the box; with a 488mm inner barrel it was definitely a case of “double tap, hit”. Moving out to 20m I switched the safety lever to its full-auto mid-point (the ERG still works just as the real thing does in this respect) and I was soon knocking over those plates on controlled three-round bursts. Out to the extent of the range, shooting prone and back on semi I was still hitting the

LITERALLY A BLAST!

With all that technical information in hand I really wanted the ERG AK to be a performer, so it was time to grab a battery and some BBs and head to the range. Now KWA recommend a 11.1v 15c Li-po as the power source for the AK and, as I didn’t have exactly that battery, it was a bit of a fiddle getting one to fit as the compartment is a bit tight; given that the recoil system fills the space under the top cover where you’d normally put a stick type battery KWA have cleverly front wired things, with the battery storage easily accessed by popping the top part of the forestock and gas tube up and away. As you can imagine this is quite a narrow, short space so you really

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plates with only the very, very occasional flyer.

Of course, with each round away I got that nice little thump in the shoulder as the Kinetic Feedback System came into play and it was every bit as good as my beloved gassers.

The magazine that comes with the rifle is also a cracking bit of work, in that you can change it swiftly from 30 BB capacity to 60 simply by moving a sliding switch on the baseplate; this makes it incredibly versatile for both MilSim and general skirmish use. And of course the last round cut-off feature is a real added bonus; you do have to remember though that when this locks things up and you insert a new, fully loaded mag that you do need to “rack the action” to get the AK back up and running!

After a thoroughly entertaining couple of hours on the range, it was time to clear, fold the stock to the left and put the AK back into the gun case and I was certainly sad when this time came. If you like your Russian gear, are a regular OPFOR player, or just want something different then the KWA AKR-74M could be the right RIF for you; it has all the benefits of a GBB, along with all the benefits of a top-quality AEG so you really can’t go wrong with this one!

My sincere thanks go to John at J-Tac Custom, who kindly supplied the test rifle. John currently has the AK ERG available for sale at £339.95 for the rifle and £44.95 for a box of three spare mags (you can use other AK mags but you lose the last round cut-off feature); do bear in mind that these prices could fluctuate given what’s going on with exchange rates right now.

If you’re interested in finding out more please contact John via info@jtac-custom.co.uk, or visit his website www.jtac-custom. co.uk. …and just in case you’re wondering about the tile of this piece, it’s in Russian and roughly translates to “Total Recoil”!

BLING RACE PISTOLS ARE RARELY HIS THING, RED DOTS DON’T DO MUCH FOR HIM EITHER. SO WHY IS SCOTT ALLAN SO DRAWN TO THIS CRAZY, OVER THE TOP PISTOL?

RACING AWAY!

ARMORER WORKS (YES, THE INCORRECT US spelling) has just sent us this outrageously good race gun but is it just a tart in a shiny dress or a maiden of desire?

Armorer Works are a brand new manufacturer based in Taiwan, with some well-known industry faces in the background pulling strings. Airsoft pistol manufacturing in Taiwan is hardly a new thing but the Armorer Works angle is the “race gun”. So think “out of the box Airsoft Surgeon with a WE price tag” and you are getting near the idea, you get all the pros with very little of the cons. Stylish, fast and accurate is the aim – if you’ll pardon the pun.

Taiwan has many gas manufacturers, WE, KWA, KJ Works and KWC and it is clear this is a WE system but that isn’t a bad thing, it means there will be tons of spares out there and they’ll be very attractively priced. Think of it like Porsche performance with a Kia price tag. Things like magazines (both gas and CO2) are readily available all over the globe, as are tight-bore barrels and new hop rubbers, so forget the nightmares you had with Western Arms (if you’ve been playing Airsoft that long).

This review looks at the HX2201 split slide race gun and I have to admit that I hate model number names, it has always just struck me as lazy - unless it is something I don’t care about like a washing machine. It’s like when they call a car something weird, like “I30” …really is that the best you can come up with? Millions of pounds in research and development into a product and you come up with that? I do know why the

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Armorer Works just have model numbers mind you and it is because there are too many of them (in my opinion). Jump on their website and there are dozens of models and they are all very similar. That is very like WE mind you, a million variants of the exact same thing. Guarantee that if a shop has 25 models in stock someone will want the 26th type they don’t have. So if I had to name this pistol I would probably call it something that it resembles, like “Terminator” or “Angry McChompy Face”.

This is the third Armorer Works pistol I’ve seen now and every one of them has impressed me greatly. Putting the pretty exterior and eye catching designs and colour schemes aside, they are genuine high performers. Certainly they seem to be a grade above a standard WE pistol in every department. Now I am not knocking WE as they are generally a good margin cheaper than the Armorer Works pistols. This means within a decent platform you have a good value option and a high end option; a little like a Skoda against an Audi.

THE REAL VERSION

The AW range are all based loosely off the Tokyo Marui Hi Capa pistol series in design, that, in turn, is from the 1911 STI/SVI double-stacked 1911 magazine. “Double stacked” is a term used for the way the ammunition sits in the magazine: If they sit directly on top of each other (like a 1911) it is single stack but most pistols have rounds fall left and right (double stack).

The 1911 “race gun” is a competitive shooting pistol designed

ARMOURY ARMORER WORKS HX2201

for maximum speed and minimum recoil. This allows the shooter to put more shots on target at a faster rate and this, in turn, means you should complete the course quicker than anyone else. The 45 ACP 1911 is a hugely popular platform in the US and it has been seen in every major conflict since its conception. These pistols are also seen in IPSC which is the practical pistol shooting sport. The thing I find continually amusing is there is little that seems very practical about it! But a shooting discipline it is and a lot of people enjoy it, so it is only natural that Airsoft should follow suit to allow non-firearm alternatives.

AIPSC IN THE UK

Airsoft International Practical Shooting Confederation is a small but growing sector of Airsoft, limited largely to regions that are set up by companies that have an understanding and appreciation of AIPSC. It is a simple discipline to get involved in but can take years to master. Equipment is half the battle, muscle memory, skill and training are bigger parts in the equation.

BACK TO THE ARMOURER WORKS

Externally the finish of the Armourer Works pistols cannot be questioned. Full metal which is highly polished and perfectly executed that marries up to the frames perfectly well. This high standard is a unique approach from AW, rather than the usual mass-produced, untested, cheap paint-covered pistols you usually see. This means that pistols you see come fully loaded (not literally) with modifications and upgrades that would usually cost you a lot extra. The upgrades aren’t just cosmetic either, AW have thought about this from visual to comfort and (most importantly) performance. The styling, while not unlike a Tokyo Marui Hi Capa, is distinctive. Ergonomic grip, fibre optic style sights and the DuelFuel (CO2 or gas) system means a lot for your money. This version also came with a 20mm optic mount for the top which is a funky hexagon design. The upper assembly has many weight saving cut outs and race trigger and IPSC style cocking handle.

Straight out of the box when this pistol arrived it was cold and I didn’t expect much at all. I started out with Nuprol 2.0 gas thinking that it would be the usual lethargic gas effort in

“GUARANTEE THAT IF A SHOP HAS 25 MODELS IN STOCK SOMEONE WILL WANT THE 26TH TYPE THEY DON’T HAVE. SO IF I HAD TO NAME THIS PISTOL I WOULD PROBABLY CALL IT SOMETHING THAT IT RESEMBLES, LIKE “TERMINATOR” OR “ANGRY MCCHOMPY FACE”.” a cold magazine. Barely after touching the stunning trigger a crisp sharp crack and the slide locked back the same as previous types I used. I’ve only ever known a handful of pistols perform like this across the range and they were normally on CO2 with a fresh bulb.

As previously stated about IPSC pistols, I am more of a military pistol fan for Airsoft but I can see the attraction of these and if I took part in any kind of pistol shooting competitions, then these would be high up on my last to start with. I doubt you would find many off the shelf holster options for this unless you get an adjustable soft holster, or a custom made Kydex option. Perhaps this could be something Armorer Works looks at in the future - a series of hip-mounting holsters suitable to their crazy designs would likely be good sellers alongside their pistols.

The power output at under 0.90 joules isn’t crazy high, meaning it will be site-friendly regardless of where you go in

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ARMOURY ARMORER WORKS HX2201

the UK and the CO2 magazine means you’ll have better performance in the colder weather, without taking someone’s teeth out. It is truly is hard to fault these pistols but if I had to go for something it would be that it isn’t a “realistic” military style replica, yet few of the race guns ever are. The pistol grip and speed mag well are really nice, the grip sports a cut out which shows through the silver of the magazine, another nice touch.

AW do sell a Red Dot separately for about £35 but this test version didn’t come with one, so I had to use a near identical type. The fit and the position with a red dot was a new experience for me and it did take a little getting used to. What was nice was the ability to draw the pistol up into the aim and see how close I was to “on target” just by using the dot.

How often have I seen a guy one handed, bent over, aiming back around a corner claiming he was definitely hitting a guy? Too often.

With the red dot if gives you a good indication if you are close to a precise aim …or if you are kidding yourself!

CONCLUSION

Armorer Works have impressed me yet again. This race gun is not only eye-catching at every level, it is also a solid performer within a nice price range. The Terminator/Angry McChompy Face (or HX2201 if you want to give it the bland name) is a stunning pistol that has me questioning whether I should start doing IPSC. This is lighter than the previous versions by 200 grams and that reflects the attention to its intended purpose light fast, smooth and deadly.

“IT IS A STUNNING PISTOL THAT HAS ME QUESTIONING WHETHER I SHOULD START DOING IPSC. THIS IS LIGHTER THAN THE PREVIOUS VERSIONS BY 200 GRAMS AND THAT REFLECTS THE ATTENTION TO ITS INTENDED PURPOSE - LIGHT FAST, SMOOTH AND DEADLY.”

features Velocity Feet Per Second (FPS): 300 Gas / 310 CO2 – 0.84/0.89 Joules Length: 223mm Weight (with Magazine): 1050g Inner Barrel Length: 110mm Thread Type: 12mm CW Full Metal Slide, Receiver & Parts Nylon Fibre Reinforced Grip Stippled Ergonomic Grip Improves Comfort & Hold Fibre-Optic Front & Rear Sights for Easy Targeting Ambidextrous Safety 20mm Optic Rail Enhanced Magwell Promotes Faster Reloads Serrated Slide Improves Cocking Grip Speed Cocking Handle Skeleton Trigger & Hammer ’Rocket’ Recoil Spring Guide DuelFuel System AW Custom Slide Adjustable Hop Fast Blowback RRP £200 (approx with Red Dot)

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September 2016

AS A DEDICATED USER OF GAS BLOWBACK RIFLES, CARBINES AND PISTOLS JERRY NOONE TAKES A VERY CLOSE LOOK AT THE LATEST M4A1 MODEL FROM THE ENIGMATIC AIRSOFT INDUSTRY GIANT, TOKYO MARUI.

LIFE’S A GAS BLOWBACK! “OH, GREAT!” I HEAR YOU SAY, “Yet another M4 to look at!”

This is a phrase that many of us who review airsoft replicas often start an article or video with and it’s actually the way many of us feel when a manufacturer drops a “new” version into the marketplace. However, when that manufacturer is the mighty Japanese airsoft deity that is Tokyo Marui and said carbine is their first gas blowback M4, then you’d better believe that is going to make you pay attention right quick!

I’m not going to get into the history of the real world M4 carbine as that’s been done so many times before but I will say that with a weapon that’s been in service with the US Army since 1994 and adopted by many other police and military units worldwide since then, so I can kind of get why pretty much every airsoft manufacturer out there produces the M4 in one of

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September 2016

its many guises. Add to that the interest in “USSOCOM” units amongst the airsoft community and the appearance of the M4 in so many of the big military movies and you’ve got to admit that making one is going to be a bit of a “win, win”.

Unlike many of the current market leaders though, Tokyo Marui, or Kabushiki-gaisha Tokyo Marui to give them their full title, go about things their own sweet way. Tokyo Marui, or simply TM, have been involved in electronic technology since the 1980s when they were heavily into the world of radiocontrolled cars, so it really is no surprise that with the rise of airsoft in Japan they were in at the very beginning of things but it was not until 1992 that they launched their very first airsoft gun powered solely by an electric-motor driven air system, which they called the “Automatic Electric Gun” (AEG). This compact system was implemented in their first battery-powered fully automatic replica, the FAMAS F1 and the rest, as they say, is history!

The TM AEG system really did set a new standard and of course their range of replicas is now absolutely huge; the system has been copied through the years by many other airsoft manufacturers and “TM compatible” is still a phrase that you hear regularly. I’ve had many TM AEGs over the years and they’ve all functioned pretty much flawlessly straight out of the box; I’ve actually still got an original, plastic-bodied TM M16A1 in my collection and to this day it still spits out BBs just as it did when it was new.

But the AEG is not TM’s only contribution to the great airsoft party, as they also make some pretty stunning electric recoil guns and an absolutely great range of gas blowback pistols and although they are superb as they come, a global industry has grown up in relation to aftermarket parts for them.

Whichever your favourite airsoft retailer may be I’m going to bet that they will carry “TM compatible” parts, even if they don’t stock TM as a brand!

So with their understanding of gas blowback technology and their history of making high-quality RIFs, why then did

ARMOURY TOKYO MARUI M4A1 MWS GBB

it take the enigmatic Japanese manufacturer, instigator of so many airsoft innovations, SO LONG to bring a gas carbine to market? I’ll go back to my earlier assertion that TM does things THEIR way. They rarely attend trade shows outside Japan and in terms of interplay with the community they are almost silent; if you look at their position in the market and the fact that they’ve been around so long, they still have less than 60,000 followers on Facebook!

The fact of the matter is that TM will only do things when they are ready and in their hearts truly believe that they have the best product they can possibly offer and the launch of their M4A1 MWS GBB in late 2015 was yet another testament to this.

THE WAY OF TOKYO MARUI

The thing with Tokyo Marui is that, just as with the introduction of their first AEG, they must have their very own system and the M4A1 MWS (which stands for “Modular Weapons System” just to get that out of the way) is powered by what they call the “ZET System”. It took me a while to get to the bottom of this but basically, ZET translates as (Z) Final/Ultimate Endurance Technology.

But what does this actually mean? Simply put TM looked at all the existing gas blowback carbine technologies out there and scrutinised what they perceived to be their inherent flaws.

With this information in hand, away to their secret drawing boards they went and the ZET System was born. They decided to work on the weakest point, the bolt carrier. They wanted this to be very durable and better than the other existing GBBs that are available and the ZET features a shock absorbing system for durability and a roller system to ensure that the bolt travels smoothly. The new system also employs a larger piston with a diameter of about 19mm and the bolt operates in conjunction with the cylinder to give superb felt recoil.

Essentially the ZET System is all about durability by preventing wear and damage to the bolt and catch, utilising www.airsoft-action.online

21

ARMOURY TOKYO MARUI M4A1 MWS GBB

BANG ON!

piston-absorbers and a friction relief bolt roller to reduce the burden on the internal parts during operation. The air nozzle is plastic and stays longer in position than others out there, which TM assert gives a more reliable seal to prevent the escape of gas. Working together this ensures the safety and longevity of the bolt carrier; TM torture tested the bolt lock for over 10,000 cycles to prove how durable the ZET system is and you can’t really argue with that, can you?

So, a totally new and unique system internally makes this a very interesting RIF and there are some other lovely features to it that make it a bit special too.

The rifle features the standard 14mm CCW M4 “birdcage” flash hider and a slim pistol grip. The front end, which has a one piece outer barrel, features a classic 360 degree metal RAS as standard but, weirdly, TM have seen fit to lose the forward sling swivel; a nice touch though is the fact that they have installed a heat shield inside the rail for a more “real deal” appearance. The receivers are slim too and beautifully finished, making use of a CERAKOTE coating which makes it look absolutely first rate and absolutely authentic. On the left hand side of the lower receiver you’ll find some very nicely achieved “Colt” trades.

The stock is again a standard M4 six position version which is easy to adjust and has very little wobble and the buffer tube is commercial spec meaning you can change the stock easily if you so desire.

“TM HAVE SEEN FIT TO LOSE THE FORWARD SLING SWIVEL; A NICE TOUCH THOUGH IS THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE INSTALLED A HEAT SHIELD INSIDE THE RAIL FOR A MORE “REAL DEAL” APPEARANCE. THE RECEIVERS ARE SLIM TOO AND BEAUTIFULLY FINISHED, MAKING USE OF A CERAKOTE COATING WHICH MAKES IT LOOK ABSOLUTELY FIRST RATE AND ABSOLUTELY AUTHENTIC.” 22

September 2016

So on the face of it everything is going in the favour of the newest TM M4A1; it’s beautifully manufactured, stunningly finished and features the very latest technology internally but as always, the big question is how does it perform? I’m always a little nervous with TM rifles and carbines as quite often they are a little underpowered, given the lower power limits in Japan. Yes, they can be upgraded but of course that means even more money thrown at (what are normally) not the cheapest of replicas in the first place.

TM recommend the use of HFC134A gas so the M4 will consistently shoot around .72 Joule/280 fps (below the legal limit in Japan) but I decided to up the game a bit and popped in some NUPROL 4.0 just to see what would happen. Loaded up with .20g BBs it was off to the chrono and the first shot out registered at 1.06 Joule/339 fps! That raised my eyebrows a bit but then things settled down and the next nine BBs down the barrel registered a mean of 0.89 Joule/310 fps which of course is perfectly acceptable for pretty much any site in the UK. Next up of course was performance; the M4 comes with a metal 35 round magazine as standard, which charges through the baseplate. With the hop dialled in and the mag loaded it was onto the range, testing solely using the “A” sight on the sharp end and the supplied, fully adjustable flip-up iron on the back. Racking the action produces a solid thump as the bolt slides forward into battery; the fire selector switch is the standard M4 style. If the selector is in semi-auto, it can only be switched to safe if the charging handle is pulled just like the real deal.

Over the years I’ve come to expect accuracy from Tokyo Marui guns and the M4 certainly doesn’t disappoint in the respect; at 25m I was able to knock down dinner-plate size targets each and every time and when supported, I was able to achieve sub-50mm groups using .30 BBs. Perfectly respectable and of course with each round down you get that lovely recoil effect; it’s not quite such a hard kick compared to some of my higher-powered GBBs but you certainly know it’s there!

So, have Tokyo Marui brought their tasty morsel to the table too late in the day? I’d have to say no, as the quality of the finish throughout, especially with the CERAKOTE coating, is sublime, everything fits together perfectly and the new internal ZET system works like a dream. I’ve purposely left this review until a few mates who bought the TM when it first landed had been using them for a while and thus far their feedback has been nothing but glowing.

At £400.00 for the rifle and spare mags coming in at £39.00 a pop, the TM is never going to be the cheapest option when it comes to GBB M4s but, oh my, it is outstanding!

Would I have one myself? All I can say is had the M4A1 MWS been on the market when I bought my first GBB there would probably be one in my gun cabinet right now!

For more information on the M4A1 MWS and all the other fabulous RIFs in the Tokyo Marui lineup please visit www.fire-support.co.uk.

NUPROL SUPPRESSORS

WHEN YOU’RE PUTTING TOGETHER A VERY PARTICULAR LOADOUT THEN IT’S THE LITTLE DETAILS THAT MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE. THIS MONTH JERRY NOONE GETS HIS HANDS ON THE NEW RANGE OF SUPPRESSOR MODELS FROM NUPROL. WHEN YOU’RE WORKING on something that’s a bit special in terms of your own loadout, then getting your rifle or carbine 100% right is very important and having the right suppressor model can make or break the entire impression.

In reality, an airsoft suppressor is really a bit of “dressing up” for your RIF as virtually none of them, even the most expensive, actually provide any real kind of sound suppression.

That said there is one simple area where a suppressor can actually help to enhance the performance of your AEG or GBB; by fitting one as a barrel extension you can easily and effectively lengthen your outer barrel, which in turn means that you can fit a longer inner barrel.

Apart from the “look” this is actually a very good reason to fit a suppressor to a RIF but even if you’re not going to try and increase performance there is the undisputed “cool guy” factor of adding a “can”. This is especially true if you’re going to try and nail certain “SF” styles as you are definitely going to need a suppressor.

Luckily enough the latest addition to the ever-expanding NUPROL range of accessories adds to their BOCCA family of products. First off we had the excellent (and well-priced) BOCCA rails and now comes a series of barrel extensions/ suppressors.

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September 2016

ARMOURY NUPROL SUPPRESSOR RANGE

The longest of the new models, at 19cm, is the metal two piece COBRA which costs about £20.00 and is available in Black. This is a versatile piece of kit as you simply unscrew the dimpled collar from the main tube and attach that to a standard “Birdcage” flash hider. Screwing the main tube back into the collar draws everything together solidly and is really is as straightforward as that!

The BOA model from the new series is again made of metal and comes in two lengths, 17cm and 13cm respectively. This is also a two-part design, as you get the main suppressor tube plus a rather nice steel 14mm CCW flash hider to give a fully functioning “lever and twist” quick-detach system. The BOA also comes in 2 colours, Black and “SF” Bronze which ties in nicely to the BOCCA rails. Expect to pay around £25.00 for the BOA series models.

If you’re going to buy yourself a SCAR-L variant, then the metal MAMBA in Black, at around £25.00 is going to be the fellow for you, as it neatly resembles the “SOCOM” style out there in the real world. Again this is a two part design with a tube that screws easily onto a SCAR-like flash hider, which is included. At 15cm it’s a really nice length and works well with the SCARs but it would have been nice to see a longer version for the SCAR-H. The VIPER is the entry level model for the BOCCA series of suppressors and it really isn’t going to break the Bank, as you’ll be able to pick one up in Black for around £10, which is just superb value! It again has a metal tube and is threaded both ends, so that it will mate with either a 14mm CW or CCW thread. Very neat!

Now if you want to “go” properly “loud” (rather than

quiet) you are going to love the last item! The COPPERHEAD is NUPROL’s take on the venerable “sound hog” barrel extension and boy does it add some volume! Available in Black or “SF” Bronze with a 14mm CCW fit, a COPPERHEAD will set you back about £15.00.

Yet again (and I find myself saying this pretty regularly these days), the NUPROL team have looked to the market, to what players actually need and have created their suppressors accordingly. The fit and finish of all the models is spot-on and the prices for all are very attractive indeed. As I write the first drops of stock into stores have already taken place so you should be able to find these beautifully packaged suppressors pretty easily!

For further information on the new BOCCA Suppressors and all the other great accessories and consumables in the NUPROL line simply visit www.nuprol.com

“IF YOU WANT TO “GO” PROPERLY “LOUD” (RATHER THAN QUIET) YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE THE LAST ITEM! THE COPPERHEAD IS NUPROL’S TAKE ON THE VENERABLE “SOUND HOG” BARREL EXTENSION AND BOY DOES IT ADD SOME VOLUME!”

www.airsoft-action.online

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KELLY “FEMME FATALE” HARDWICK DISCOVERS THAT COMBAT DOESN’T ALWAYS HAPPEN AT GROUND LEVEL, AS SHE FOUND OUT IN THE CENTRE OF WOLVERHAMPTON.

GOING VERTICAL! LAST MONTH I WAS INVITED by Vertical Combat in Wolverhampton to spend the weekend with them “learning the ropes” – and I do mean that quite literally!

Vertical Combat specialise in training participants from all skill levels and backgrounds in rope assisted vertical assaults.

During their two day full immersion courses, Vertical Combat provide a complete practical and theoretical understanding of rope assisted vertical assaults based on the “OPEL” principal – Observe, Plan, Execute and Learn. Students who complete their high intensity courses gain not just an intimate knowledge of using a roped system but they also become more competent in using Airsoft handguns and putting rounds on target under stress and at height. Vertical Combat focus on teaching their students that they are only limited by their own mind and that you can take your body anywhere with the right mind-set.

Before I embarked on this adventure there were only two

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September 2016

Photos thanks to Darren at Dark Lens Photography

things I was told to bring – a pair of good strong boots and a head for heights. Admittedly, I wouldn’t have picked myself as an ideal candidate for this training course – I have never climbed a rope and I’m not overly keen on heights and was apprehensive about the whole experience but, as this isn’t your everyday Airsoft experience I just had to give it a go, after all, life begins at the end of your comfort zone right?

We pulled up to the gate of Vertical Combat, which is located on a quiet industrial estate in the centre of Wolverhampton and were greeted by our instructor Arno, who during the week is a rope access safety consultant and at the weekend is a power house in the use of firearms and ropes.

After a cup of tea and a comprehensive safety brief we started to kit up ready for the day with the other participants. The uniform for Vertical Combat is provided and is a set of black overalls (so your own clothes don’t get caught in the ropes or other safety equipment), a safety helmet and a safety harness, accessorised with a NUPROL Pistol Retention Paddle Holster, a double pistol mag holder, a dump pouch and (to set it all off) a WE Europe Glock 17 – all the tools needed for the task at hand.

Courses are run over two days from 8.30 am – 4 pm on both days and this gives participants plenty of time to explore the practical element of the course. The course costs £250 per person for the full course and this includes lunch on both days. Although the course is quite expensive, in my opinion the experience is definitely worth the dollar – after all, how often do you get to rappel into buildings?

As we walked out of the safe zone building and saw what exactly we would be climbing/abseiling from – a 4 storey, purpose-built training structure, complete with targets - I will admit my stomach sank a little and the fear of what we were about to undertake set in. Our training started with the basics; how to use the rope system competently, learning how to scale a building from the ground (which was hard work and tough), abseiling from the first floor to the ground, scanning the room for insurgents and last but not least, putting rounds into them.

The biggest hurdles I personally faced over the weekend were my own perceptions of my own capabilities and skills and also learning to have faith in the safety equipment. Learning that it

Feature VERTICAL COMBAT

was not physical strength that mattered but technique and will, made the tasks a lot easier to complete.

After we had been taught the baby steps of using ropes and the initial jitters were out of the way, it was time to abseil the building in its entirety – we made our way to the very top of the structure and set the ropes up – all of a sudden, looking at the drop the reality of the danger of what we were doing set in! Getting over the side safety rail and sitting in the harness with all your weight was terrifying yet exhilarating at the same time. We started our descent, scanning each window for insurgents and engaging them when we were at the correct height. We repeated this process over and over to get into the routine and to perfect our footwork, each time learning from any mistakes we had made previously. We also had to perform mag changes whilst on the ropes, making sure we stayed out of the “fatal tunnel” in order to stay in the fight and end the fight.

As part of the course we also learned the skill of applying different tourniquets on the ground to others (in this case a dummy) and also on ourselves whilst being lowered/raised on the ropes. It is extremely scary putting trust in seven people you’ve never met in your life but I needn’t of had any reason to worry, with Arno’s teachings all of our group made it up and down the ropes safely.

The last module of our training included hostage extraction.

This stage of the training required a new technique – breach the window using an Enforcer ram and rappel in!

Rappelling is a lot harder than it looks, so much so that my first four attempts were quite shocking and Arno eventually threw me in legs first! With the prospect of being thrown in again, I pulled myself together and finally got the action down. Once inside the building we had to clear the room of insurgents, find the hostage and bag and tag them before attaching them to a rope and extracting them to our team

“I HAVE NEVER CLIMBED A ROPE AND I’M NOT OVERLY KEEN ON HEIGHTS AND WAS APPREHENSIVE ABOUT THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE BUT, AS THIS ISN’T YOUR EVERYDAY AIRSOFT EXPERIENCE I JUST HAD TO GIVE IT A GO, AFTER ALL, LIFE BEGINS AT THE END OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE RIGHT?” above. This was badass!!

On the last run of Sunday afternoon we amped the fun up a little – abseiling down to the level with the barricaded window and whilst the other rope operator breached the window, I prepped a purple EG18 to throw into the building and give us more cover from the insurgents on the inside!

Once the window was breached we tossed the smoke in and rappelled into the room putting rounds into the targets until we fought our way out of the level – it was awesome!

Overall, my experience at Vertical Combat was exceptionally rewarding and something I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Arno is a fantastic instructor whose teachings combine the right balance of patient support and tough love when it is needed. I left with a new found confidence in my own abilities and a set of skills that I can apply at future Ops and events if the opportunity allows. Although it has to be said that the greatest lesson I learnt over the weekend is that if I put my mind to something, I can do it.

For more info and contact details visit www.verticalcombat. com.

www.airsoft-action.online

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International SPAIN

SCOTT ALLAN JOINS THE GUYS AT STIRLING AIRSOFT AS HE HEADS OVERSEAS TO TAKE PART IN THEIR LATEST SPANISH EVENT.

STIRLING AIRSOFT:

OP AYACUCHO GAME LOCATION: SEGOVIA, SPAIN GAME TYPE: 36 HOUR COMBAT MISSION

AFTER A HIGH RANKING GOVERNMENT official is kidnapped, Columbian Special Forces are on the hunt for Cartel Leaders and anyone who is helping them. With the additional guidance from CIA “Bob” and “Bill” they will have their work cut out against a determined foe.

This wasn’t my first jaunt with Stirling overseas but it was unquestionably one of the best. I also had the odd joy of flying during the EU referendum results; when I took off we were part of the EU and when I landed we had voted out. A little bit of a Tom Hanks feeling at the airport but thankfully those issues are quite far off at the moment. Arriving in Madrid airport after a 6am flight left me tired. Only a few hours of sleep and

travelling always suck, thankfully I was hooking up with a few of the Stirling lads who arrived from London around the same time. They were grabbing a hire car just as I cleared customs so the timings were favourable. After an hour drive north we stopped at Meson De Jesus for some authentic Spanish lunch and of course a beer. Dave Manning of Stirling Airsoft drove over in a Defender with all the shooty gear for a small fee of £60 per head. Given it’s a days drive each way, fuel, ferries and tolls it’s quite reasonable for hassle free delivery – and saves lugging all that gear around with you.

We head up to the site and after a quick tour we set up our Ops Room, I’d be working alongside the Zero call sign. A group of six is made up of a truly multinational team of three Stirling players (Matt Belgrove, Ben Watt and Mark Hughes), two Spanish players (Joseba Kapa Calle and Enric Soria Ferre) and

www.airsoft-action.online

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then finally myself. The task of the Zero call sign is to maintain order and keep the mission coherent throughout the 36 hour period. It is a truly daunting task as the heat and fatigue are more evident in this type of environment than a standard event.

A mouthful of lukewarm water often fails to hit the spot and is a cheap respite because I know what the day entails and how long it will be before I get any proper rest. The hard, sun-baked ground is a mixture of dust and rock that can be punishing on the feet. The temperature is set to punch up to 30 degrees, not the hottest I’ve played in but it is certainly the longest game I will have played.

This review is purely from a participant point of view in the command element of the event. I quickly felt at ease with the team as I’ve known the Stirling guys for years and the two Spanish chaps were evidently experienced players and nice guys all round. Mark from Stirling acts as the main interpreter for the event and also the two Spanish lads spoke good English, which was very useful as my Spanish is very limited and I can’t think of many Airsoft scenarios that require me to order two beers!

The teams all appeared to be fairly hard core with players travelling from the Canary Islands as well as ourselves from the UK. This meant that there was less crazy running around skirmish-type play and more structured play, more like a military exercise.

“THE ASSAULT TEAMS MOVED IN ON THE TARGET BUILDING (DUBBED BUILDING 6). MOVING WITH ZERO CALL SIGN WE SPENT 45 MINUTES NIGHT NAVIGATING TO THE RIDGE, NO LIGHTS, NO NIGHT VISION AND NO SOUND.”

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Our mission started off pretty well. Kicking off at midnight on the Friday we had to identify exactly who our enemy were and pull them in for questioning to build up a picture of the hierarchy. From there we would launch a variety of missions to take them down. Simple, or so it seemed.

As we adjusted to the heat, language barriers, our new surroundings, the lack of sleep and did I mention the heat? I managed to get my head down a little after 2am. Might seem a short time but I had been up from 3am the previous morning and even mighty Airsoft journalists have limits. Snuggly wrapped up in my sleeping bag with my glasses on, rifle next to my bed and a pistol under my pillow I crashed big time. Ten enemy could’ve carried me back to their base with a marching band and I doubt I would have woken up. I woke a little after 7am feeling pretty refreshed and set about my Jetboil to get a brew on and sort out breakfast.

One of the first taskings I go on is some of Zero and another call sign to run a Close Target Reconnaissance (CTR) on the enemy. The site lends itself very well to this type of mission as there are lots of dips, wadis, rock, dense shrubs and a large ridge feature along the Western edge of the site.

International SPAIN

The site mainly runs north to south and we were based in the south with the enemy in the north. The CTR took us sweeping around the southern side and up the western ridge looking over the enemy compounds. We had a few guys in ghillie suits with fairly expensive long lens cameras wrapped up in cam tape crawl to the edge of the ridge and get in position. The rest of the group remained hidden from the edge of the ridge and were there to offer support to the camera teams. Kapa managed some excellent clear photos of the enemy and we weren’t spotted over the hour and a half period we were in position.

The day padded on with a few smash and grabs on enemy positions, which ran great and they returned the favour to us a few times. With the dense shrubbery anyone was able to sneak up almost on top of all the bases so the attacks were always instant carnage on both sides. Thankfully we managed to prevent from being overrun each time at our FOB and always did more damage than we took when hitting the enemy compounds.

The rest of the Saturday was a variety of intel gathering, patrols and a couple of raids to the enemy compounds. The heat does grind you down throughout the day but you learn to work at a slightly slower pace and ensure that you manage your hydration levels well. Take the load of your feet when you can and most importantly have a brew fairly often.

The Saturday midnight raid on the enemy compound was fantastically atmospheric. The assault teams moved in on the target building (dubbed Building 6). Moving with Zero call sign we spent 45 minutes night navigating to the ridge, no lights, no night vision and no sound. The ground is reasonably tricky, it certainly isn’t flat and the ridge is a good 20 metre drop onto rocks – you probably wouldn’t get it away with it in Health and Safety land here in the UK before the fun police came along.

Once in position we watched our assault teams light up the building and instantly overwhelm it. The reason the assault was so successful? The largest number of the enemy fighters had fled into the hills - namely the ridge we currently occupied!

Realising we were most likely sitting in the middle of a hornets nest we mate a hasty retreat as quickly and silently as we could.

That night, knowing the enemy surrounded us I was fully tooled up, body armour with fully loaded magazines, pistol cocked and ready to go, rifle set to single shot beside my bed.

I had a Stirling special drink called a sasamochaccino - basically every caffeine and sugar filled drink in the one cup. Gulping the tasty goodness down I sat on my bed and near instantly fell asleep. When you sleep through that much caffeine and sugar you figure you must be tired!

Apparently we were visited during the night and poked then left. Half disappointed that I didn’t wake up and go all John Wick on the intruders I was thankful for the sleep in the morning.

The morning brought the last of our intelligence together.

We had the main targets, we knew who were looking for finally and we knew which building they were in too. Ben

briefed the assault teams on their taskings and the way we are to attack the building. Swiftly the teams swept into position and we sprang forward into the building… empty! Almost immediately we press on to hit the next buildings… also empty!

We had been had.

At this point I think I will tell you about the site stray cat.

He is a cute little kitty that is super friendly and follows players around, cuddling into them and climbing trees. As soon as the shooting starts he always runs off. The Stirling guys named him “Ron” and being nearly pure white he stood out pretty well against the site colours. As we stood scratching our heads at the last building we had searched we glanced up to the ridge and what did we see but Ron casually padding alongside a camouflaged and hidden enemy. We had found our enemy!!

The ridge presented a problem as it was easy to defend.

After ninety minutes of pushing, Mark took a team around the far site to pincer the enemy. The issue still remained that they were very well entrenched up there. We were pursued at one point by an enemy team and things went very “Lone Survivor”.

I managed to spot a little secondary ridge that might mask my approach to the enemy. Sowo and myself headed around this way that brought us within yards of the enemy. At this point Matt Belgrove decided to join us although he wasn’t sure how I had gotten down the cliff. Reasoning that I must have jumped down, he proceeded to do the same. If you have ever seen Long Survivor you will remember the scene with them falling down the cliff, Matt basically did the same thankfully with slightly fewer rocks but and equal amount of tumbling. Worried

he had busted himself up as he crashed into a tree and then, thankfully, a large rock stopped him we were met with the call “Did anyone see that! It was f**king awesome!!”

The dying minutes of the game saw the Columbians trapped and their numbers slowly thinning as end ex was called.

This is what I do love about Airsoft events like this! You can work your ass off, sweat, and tire yourself into the dirt, find out you did not really win as such but you had a great game, made some new mates and came away smiling. The Combat Missions are a rolling story line so there is no clear cut win or lose. You achieve some things, you loose others.

I can already hear the next Stirling Airsoft event in Spain calling… anyone want to join me?

For more information about future Stirling Airsoft events, head over to their website: http://www.stirlingairsoft.com

www.airsoft-action.online

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17/06/2015 09:57

: T I X E BR

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T F O S R I A T C E F F A T I DOES AS A STUDENT OF POLITICS, FRENCHIE EXPLORES WHAT “BREXIT” MIGHT MEAN TO AIRSOFT IN THE UK AND WHAT EFFECT LEAVING THE EU MIGHT HAVE. TO SAY THAT THE WORLD has been tumultuous since the last edition of Airsoft Action would be something of an understatement. Actually it would possibly be about the biggest understatement I have ever committed to print. As I sit here writing, nothing is any the clearer with two of the United Kingdom’s largest political parties embroiled in leadership elections and/or revolution. All of this is grist to the mill for a former politics student, however, I thought it possibly useful to conjecture as to whether or not this would have any impact upon us, our hobby and the businesses it supports.

It would be entirely reasonable to point out that nothing is likely to happen any time soon. It looks likely that it will be several months before the government invokes Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and starts the process of removing us from the European Union. In the meantime, at least theoretically, the machinery of government will grind on as normal although I have some doubts about that, as extricating ourselves from the E.U. will be such a mammoth task that I suspect the Civil Service will be busy for many years to come.

The decision to leave the E.U. won’t have any obvious impact on those who play airsoft. It will spare us from any further laws and regulations from Europe as it is almost impossible to imagine that a British government would waste any time implementing new rules that they were actively engaged in getting rid of.

It is also true that the legislation that

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has affected us most has all been home grown; the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006, the Anti-Social behaviour Act, The Firearms Act 1968 (as amended) all arose without too much reference to those in Brussels or elsewhere. The discussions regarding lethality which might well affect us will continue, along with the rest of the Police and Crime Bill. Although predictions are a very dangerous game I will stick my neck out and suggest that, as players, we won’t see any significant changes to the legal environment as it affects us, unless something awful and public involving airsoft occurs. Parliament is going to have its hands too full to worry about us.

Businesses will find things slightly more interesting, however, as they are to some extent already working outside the single market as nearly all manufacturers and many distributors are based in countries outside the E.U. There will undoubtedly be financial pressures as the pound finds its new level against the US Dollar, the de facto currency for most of the world. Big EU-based distributors, such as ASG and Cybergun may find it harder to do business with UK-based retailers should we elect not to be part of the single market via a mechanism such as the EEA (European Economic Area). In truth, they probably do far more business within Europe already and we would be looking at having to pay tariffs on their goods of possibly only a few percent.

It is also unlikely, certainly in the short term that the UK would choose to roll-back regulations such as RoHS – the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances.

Regulations such as this are designed to improve many aspects of our environment and it would be a very libertarian,

Feature BREXIT AND AIRSOFT

or irresponsible, government that blithely tore them up. It is also not in the nature of governments of any hue to give power back to its constituents, so I would suggest that if you are harbouring any ideas of a far more liberal airsofting environment I wouldn’t get your hopes up.

We can probably expect a series of peaks and troughs in the economy as the process of Brexit progresses and the implications become clearer, both here and abroad. Whether there will be a period of recession is a matter of some heated discussion but it is likely that in the next few years the outlook for the UK is not as good as it might have been had we voted to stay. Any contraction of a country’s economy can affect businesses that operate there and airsoft is no different from that. I have clear memories of 2008, the year of the global banking crash, when airsoft spending habits would suggest that things had never been better. As 2009/2010 dawned, however, there was a very measurable drop-off in spending and we may see that again. I don’t know personally of any businesses that folded during that period but many found it a difficult trading environment. There could be more of that ahead and we may see price increases as a result of that and less favourable exchange rates.

The issue of “red tape” from Brussels was much talked about but despite the vote to leave I (cynically) cannot see that situation improving significantly in the short to medium term (or frankly at all). It’s worth remembering that individual EU governments had some discretion in what, or when, such regulations were implemented. They were also involved in writing them. It is also highly probable that there were a great number of those rules and regulations with which the governments involved, including our own, actually agreed with.

Accordingly there is unlikely to be any great impetus on them to rescind a whole raft of such regulations to the benefit of business. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be a lot of time spent talking about such things but the sheer scale of the task, removing EU regulations from our own laws, is so huge that it will take years to complete.

The effects of Brexit on those who travel to Europe to play are almost impossible to predict at present. I appreciate that it is the minority of UK players who do go abroad but with free movement of people front and centre of this whole affair, we may see additional restrictions imposed by European destinations depending on the final agreement between the UK and the EU. Brexit may also have a notable effect on low-cost airlines adding additional costs to cross-border players. Like everything in life, if you want to do it hard enough you will find a way but it is likely to become more, rather than less problematic. All of these remarks apply equally to players wishing to come here from the continent, obviously.

“IT IS ALSO TRUE THAT THE LEGISLATION THAT HAS AFFECTED US MOST HAS ALL BEEN HOME GROWN; THE VIOLENT CRIME REDUCTION ACT 2006, THE ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR ACT, THE FIREARMS ACT 1968 (AS AMENDED) ALL AROSE WITHOUT TOO MUCH REFERENCE TO THOSE IN BRUSSELS OR ELSEWHERE.” Given that those who control the levers of power appear to have precious little idea of what is going to happen and when, you will, I hope, treat the foregoing with a little scepticism, I’m doing my best here! I honestly doubt that very much will change, as far as we airsofters are concerned, for some time yet. Change when and if it does come is likely to be gradual, most politicians are actually quite conservative (small ‘c’) and cautious, fear of failure tends to encourage that. Much will change for all of us in the years to come, whether it is to the good or ill as far as airsoft in the UK is concerned remains to be seen.

It’s difficult to shoot accurately with your fingers crossed but its maybe worth trying!

www.airsoft-action.online

35

AIRSOFT ACTION DEBATE

BREXIT WITH THE VOTE TO LEAVE JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO, GADGE ASKED FOR YOUR OPINIONS REGARDING HOW BREXIT WOULD AFFECT AIRSOFT.

THE LAST FEW WEEKS HAVE seen the UK quite literally divided in two, as tensions over the European Union membership referendum have run high. With the country split pretty much down the middle between the victorious “leave” camp and the vanquished “remain” campaign, it’s a truly divisive subject.

As the results of the referendum came in, it was clear that the decision to leave the European Union had been made; but how does this effect the sport we know and love?

With that in mind, this month, we asked you what Brexit would mean for both you as a player and for airsoft as a whole.

For some time, rising fears over terrorism in Europe have led to many euro MPs calling for tighter restrictions on all kinds of RIFs, be they airsoft AEGs or the deactivated firearms used by the re-enactment community. Many airsofters felt that leaving the European Union would free the industry and British law from the bureaucracy of “Brussel’s Red Tape” and allow the UK to make its own legislation on Airsoft. There are, however, possible downsides to “Brexit”. Current uncertainty over leaving the union has caused the value of the pound to take a record hit, leading to worries of a possible future recession but, more immediately, making exchange rates less favourable to British airsofters. With a less solid pound, importing AEGs and tactical kit from abroad will cost the average player more but also impact small businesses trading in these items. In some regions European Union grants even assisted districts and subsidised small business growth, the counter argument to all of this of course is that the UK is now free to trade, unrestricted, with a greater number of countries outside of the EU. After all major political upheavals there is always a period of instability and its highly likely the UK will recover

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Debate BREXIT

its exchange rate and the value of the pound quite quickly but, in a worst case scenario, a UK recession could see a luxury game of airsoft creeping out of the price range of many players and new kit something to really save up for!

Many players will be interested to see how leaving the European Union changes their ability to attend games overseas as, like many other EU laws, those governing citizens movement and the conveyance of RIFS will have to be carefully looked at and adjusted appropriately Whatever happens, the airsoft community will need to keep raising its profile among our politicians to make sure that any new UK legislation keeps our sport alive and vibrant and safe.

We expected a “politically charged” debate but hats off you players, you kept this one civil and “airsoft focussed” on the whole. Without further ado, here’s what you had to say...

Matthew Philpott: “I would like to see the removal of some of the legislation and hope that it will mean the hobby survives a while longer, In reality I very much doubt removal of the United Kingdom from the European Union will mean any changes to legislation regarding RIFs.

business. But UK based international companies will leave, the value of the pound is at a 30 year low, pensions have suffered, and recession will return. After BREXIT there will be extra duties but, for now it’s cheaper for me.”

Scott Allan: “You should be using the UK more as the exchange rate is now more in your favour. Just saying…”

Tim Jacobs: “Our government didn’t feel the need for an ill-conceived “firearms directive” from the EU and as for the border thing, if I recall correctly, the French government has already stated the Letouqet agreement is bilateral between the UK and France and won’t be affected by Brexit.

“As for “extra duties” on airsoft kit, nobody has any idea how this will all pan out, so use of “will be” is massively premature.”

Mark Rasmussen: “Since I travel a lot between the UK and Denmark, I’m very worried how it will affect me. I’m also a bit worried of our partners in the UK and how it’s gonna affect the work we do.”

Ralph Geddes: “I’m disappointed that I can’t order cheap guns from the continent and not have to pay customs charges.”

Nick Rogers: “I have not used European Airsoft companies to date, I have used companies in China and the Far East, so have paid import duties on a few things. All my RIFs have come from UK companies as I like to support the UK Airsoft retailers.”

Christopher Fearn: “I’m not worried, nor sad. I’m interested to see what we can do now that we have control over ourselves. My main hope is that people use this opportunity to all vote at the next General Election, for a government that is going to make a difference.”

Tom Fullwood: “I’m fearful of many things to come. We now need to be led by strong vision or more than just airsoft in the UK will suffer! On the bright side, I feel airsoft laws will fly under the radar as there are so many other things to sort out and the last thing the UK will want is to damage any UK industries if another recession is on the horizon.”

“The rest of the effects of leaving the EU are probably going to be far more detrimental. For example, increased costs across the board are probable with trade agreements being less favourable “A possible recession will certainly reduce my ability to enjoy my hobbies as money is tight enough as it is.”

Chris Sinclair: I am, or was, thinking of starting a business. But I have always wondered why we don’t have many strong UK creators of airsoft guns and accessories. I am not saying anything bad about other countries making RIFs of our gun designs. What I am saying is that we were and are a creative nation. Land rover, Aston Martin, Lee Enfield. Even the Harrier jump jet. If we can do these things then why, with the low cost of steel, can we not have more UK creators? We can still trade with other countries but it could help boost the economy lost through the past.”

James Miller: “Not another bloody Euro debate!!!!!

Argh!!! Everyone has turned into a politician!!!! Let’s just play our sport!”

Brendan Robb: “I like the fact I can currently order from a shop in the European Union and know that’s the final price I’m going to pay. No hidden import fees and taxes that sometimes feel they are made up on the spot.”

Barnes Kno Al: “Whilst there are a plethora of EU lawmakers who want to use tragic events to gain unprecedented control and denial of firearms, de-activated guns and replicas, being in the process makes it much easier for us as law abiding citizens and voters of our respective countries to keep applying pressure to maintain our rights and privileges.”

Hugh O’Brien: “As a European it will mean I shop less online in the UK. The consequence for UK citizens is their own

www.airsoft-action.online

37

Event G&G CQB WORLD CUP

G&G CQB WORLD CUP:

2016 UK QUALIFIERS IF YOU FANCY AN ALL-EXPENSES PAID TRIP TO PLAY AIRSOFT IN TAIWAN, READ ON…

AS YOU WILL KNOW G&G are one of the current leading feature at the home of the National Airsoft Festival, our airsoft manufacturers in the world and have quickly become the skirmish site Ground Zero, which we look forward to reporting most popular choice amongst airsofters, old and new. G&G’s on as progress is made. Until then... we are happy to announce great products, fair pricing and dedication to the consumer sets players attending this year’s National Airsoft Festival will again them far apart... But what many may not know is that they have the opportunity to compete and qualify for the G&G CQB are also the creators of the G&G CQB World Cup. There are World Cup 2016/2017. numerous airsoft events in every country but G&G have been This year’s custom built course will be TWICE AS BIG as the first to create a global competition, a big step in recognition before and if possible, even more awesome. We’re sticking of airsoft as a sport around the world. Recently target sports with the zombie apocalypse theme and intend on adding even like practical pistol shooting have started to recognise airsoft but G&G “THIS YEAR’S CUSTOM BUILT COURSE WILL BE TWICE AS BIG AS had the innovation. The scale, success and prestige of their event is unrivalled.

BEFORE AND IF POSSIBLE, EVEN MORE AWESOME. WE’RE STICKING The idea is that players from all over WITH THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE THEME AND INTEND ON ADDING EVEN the country compete and the finalists are flown to Taiwan, all expenses paid MORE GORE, MORE ZOMBIES, MORE WICKED GRAFFITI, MORE TARGETS,

by G&G. G&G give the winners and A BURNT OUT CAR, TUNNELS, HATCHES... BASICALLY IMAGINE THE runners up, large cash prizes totalling WALKING DEAD ON STEROIDS WITH AIRSOFT GUNS!” $21,000. The finals are a huge affair, akin to a mini Olympic event, complete with opening and closing ceremonies.

In countries such as Taiwan and Japan where airsoft is already more gore, more zombies, more wicked graffiti, more targets, a considered a sport, the finalists even look and act like Olympic burnt out car, tunnels, hatches... basically imagine The Walking athletes.

Dead on steroids with airsoft guns! It will be an unforgettable The whole championship is made possible because of G&G’s experience sure to get the adrenaline pumping. Better yet it’s patented MET (multifunctional electronic target) system. These absolutely free to enter and you can try to improve your time as virtually indestructible, pressure sensitive, electronic targets all many times as you like! One of the many things you can do at link together and react once hit. There are 7 modes available, the National Airsoft Event, so be sure to book your place. And from simple “fastest shooter” games to more complicated if you record the best time... an all expenses paid trip to Taiwan, “search and destroy” and “time bomb” modes. The G&G CQB courtesy of G&G, to battle it out at the world championships World Cup challenges players with a combination of all these for glory and the chance to win BIG cash prizes! The course will modes set out in a 240 metre squared tactical assault course. be housed in the main arena, inside the big bar marquee, so be Players compete in pairs and must work together against the sure to visit, have a go and submit clock testing their fitness, skill, accuracy, speed, your best score...

For more information, or to book, co-operation and strategy.

Time to start picking your team head over to: www.airsoftfestival.com Last March, G&G started approaching mate and training your trigger companies in each country to host qualifying events for the G&G CQB World Cup 2015.

As G&G’s leading UK distributor and as hosts of the National Airsoft Festival, Zero One was approached to do so.

As ever, we were keen to add our own unique spin and attention to detail. The course had to be smaller, as preparations for the National Airsoft Festival were already under way but we weren’t going to let that stop it from being a challenging and truly unforgettable experience. Instead of the basic mesh panels from G&G, we constructed our own course with a truly immersive “zombie apocalypse” theme. Thick walls were built to look like bricks and mortar, complete with windows, hatches and insane graffiti. Coloured lighting and strobe effects, staging smoke, fake blood, UV, gruesome props and zombie masks were all employed to create an intense atmosphere. It was a huge success!

Following on from our accomplishments last year, plans are already underway to have the full course built as a permanent

finger!

www.airsoft-action.online

39

AIRSOFT SHOWCASE 2016 THE AIRSOFT ACTION TEAM REPORT FROM THIS RAPIDLY GROWING EVENT THAT BROUGHT TOGETHER NEARLY 40 AIRSOFT COMPANIES IN ONE LOCATION. ON THE 18TH JUNE AIRSOFT companies converged on Gloucester for the 2016 Airsoft Showcase.

This growing annual extravaganza of everything airsoft was first run in 2015 at the Mall in Reading, however, with the “challenges” of entry and exit from the venue weighing heavily on the decision of where to stage it in 2016, it was decided to move the event to the wide open space that is StrikeForce CQB. Granted, the site is also not on the ground floor but with a huge loading door and promise of fork-lift availability, getting in and out would be much easier.

StrikeForce CQB is huge and lends itself well to staging events of this kind. It was also the venue for last year’s Airsoft

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September 2016

Surgeon European Championship (as it is again over the weekend of 13th and 14th of August this year) and with the layout being specifically designed for CQB, there were plenty of “rooms” for Traders to set up their stands. This gave the whole event a kind of “let’s just see what’s round the next corner” type of feeling, not the normal “exhibition” layout.

So, what was the event like?

To answer that, here are the views of Airsoft Action’s Jerry Noone and Les Lee…

JERRY

Following the success of last year’s Showcase, 2016 saw it relocate from the 2015 venue in Reading to the more centrally situated Strikeforce CQB site in Gloucester and what an event it turned out to be!

This year saw nearly forty exhibitors showing off the very best of what airsoft is all about in the UK and the indoor StrikeForce CQB site, which offers a massive 52,000 square feet of floor space of rooms, corridors, kill houses and open areas, formed a venue that was perfect in every way.

Each shop, site, or organisation effectively had their own “room” to operate from and for visitors the layout proved to be a joy, as with each corner turned there was something else exciting to see. The venue also gave space for both a “have a go at airsoft” area, and a practical shooting display area so there was action aplenty to view!

It was superb to see all of the Site Operators exchanging notes and as all of the retailers present had a slightly different offering, it was fabulous to see them all talking about new items that they had for sale. All the stands were very, very well

Event AIRSOFT SHOWCASE

laid out meaning that “guns and gear” were all easily viewed. The footfall of visitors was steady throughout the day but the layout meant that the Showcase never felt overly crowded.

Speaking to many of the retailers they also liked this as they were able to spend time with prospective buyers and give the best advice and service possible.

Three newcomers to the show stood out for me: The guys from the new AIRSOFTRACKER website were there showing off their new online service for sites, players and games. This looks like a really interesting development for bringing the community together and I’ll be speaking to them more in due course.

First Tactical were showing off all their fabulous nylon kit, from pouches to packs, courtesy of Fubar Bundy and were warmly received by the players.

Last but by no mean least was Gunfire from Poland. I’ve worked with these guys in the past and they are super-friendly and professional and to me their attendance concreted the fact that the Airsoft Showcase is becoming not just a national but an international event!

My congratulations go to Chris and his Team from RedWolf and to Bibby and his merry band for making this year’s Showcase so successful and my thanks go out to all the retailers, sites and groups who made an event for the UK community such an enjoyable one.

I for one look forward to seeing how far this event grows in 2017!

LES

What a great boss we have! Once again Nige called me with yet another surprise when he announced that a few of us were going to the Airsoft Showcase, compliments of Airsoft Action and that he wanted me to join the team travelling to Gloucester, more specifically to the Strikeforce CQB indoor arena which was hosting the showcase.

It was indeed an ideal location because it had everything that could be needed, such as ample parking, toilets and refreshments on hand, a lounge area to rest those soon-to-be-weary legs and drool over any new toys that have found their way into your life, some which may have been on your Airsoft shopping list for some time but never found.

Well today was different. Today was a day that brought Airsoft traders and

their valued customers together under one (very big) roof.

One thing I would like to say (in case nobody has already said it) is a special thanks to Paul Bibby for allowing the retailers and customers/players to come together in this massive unit, which is usually reserved for StrikeForce CQB but today this proved to be a multi-purpose venue with a fine organisational team behind it and in brief, it worked! …it worked very well!

When I walked in, there were so many of my industry friends all around me and I didn’t know who to speak to first and I have never been great at remembering names anyway, so it was going to be a lot of “Hello mate!” moments and then wing it until I remembered.

I noticed that The Pilgrim Bandits stand was to be my first stop where I met Terry “Tez” Arnett, who I had spoken to on the phone many times about my fund raising events but never actually met in person. Tez thanked me for my forthcoming fundraiser for The Pilgrim Bandits and we were able to put together a timetable and action plan which you can read about in a future issue. For now though, I had other plans with so many traders all in one place and their possible role in supporting me to support this great charity.

Nige had the Airsoft Action stand set up just inside the door so nobody was getting past without their chance to meet the Editor and some of his staff aka The AA Team and it was just great to catch up with old friends and meet and make new ones.

The actual trade stands were of varying sizes, some big, some small but all of them had the same size charisma and passion for our weekend warriors, to listen to and share their stories and swap money for goods. I was so busy visiting the shop and site owners that were there, I didn’t get a chance to have a go at the shooting competitions that were being played out and this was one of the things that was on my agenda for the day. But it mattered not because it was just one big social gathering of friends, acquaintances, traders and fellow Airsoft enthusiasts and before I knew it the day began winding up.

By now I was carrying three huge Ik*a bags full of Airsoft gear which was donated by many of the retailers towards my fundraiser, in particular part B - The Auction.

The generosity of everyone that gave was overwhelming and I would like to say a huge THANK YOU for helping me raise funds for The Pilgrim Bandits on behalf of Airsoft Action.

www.airsoft-action.online

41

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Event AIRSOFT SHOWCASE

I absolutely loved the day! It was a total blast from start to finish. Everyone was on the same page and what was nice was that there were no Section One or shotgun enthusiasts looking down their noses at us with the usual patronising comments. I’ve been there in the real steel world and quite honestly, it’s a pain in the ar*e compared to the fun that I have now and the great people that I have met through this amazing obsession known as Airsoft!

Les OUT!

NIGE

I thought the 2016 Showcase was a very good day and I especially liked the atmosphere, which I think Les summed up perfectly when he mentioned the “community” aspect of the show. I also really liked the way the venue encouraged visitors to “explore”, rather than just glance sideways and they walked past rows of faceless stands, however, one or two traders felt this was actually detrimental and left them feeling “isolated” from constant footfall. On the plus side though, all those I spoke to said the day was generally successful and they had at least “broken even”.

For me these shows are all about meeting like-minded people; players, retailers, distributors, wholesalers, site operators and everyone in between. There is something about airsoft that seems to bring people together and, as we all have a common interest there is always something to talk about.

Yes, of course I want to promote the magazine but, for me, it is far more important to support airsoft as a whole as without it what would we all do with our weekends?

Before I finish, I must add my thanks and appreciation to everyone who made the Showcase such a good day – and also to all the companies who supported the raffle by donating prizes and all those who bought tickets. The proceeds went to Pilgrim Bandits and I understand well over £600 was raised on the day, which is an excellent result and I am sure Tez, Mike and the rest of the Bandits are truly grateful for your continued efforts to support this superb charity.

Airsoft Action has already committed to the 2017 Airsoft Showcase, wherever it may be and we are looking forward to helping make it even more successful than this year’s event.

Exhibitors RedWolf UK, Swindon Airsoft, Stitch Me Up, Army Surplus and Toys, Airsoft Machine Shop, Dave’s Custom Airsoft Ltd, Pro Airsoft Supplies Ltd, OpTactical UK, Badgertac, Zombie Blades, Cloud 9 Combat, Ammo Drop, Bomb Up Airsoft, Fubar Bundy Ltd, Incentive Designs, Danger Zone Customs, Crawley Surplus Store, 6mm Ammo, Ghost Tec, RS Airsoft Supplies, Valken Sports Europe, Nicky’s burger van, South Coast CQB, Airsoft Action, Pilgrim Bandits Charity, ASG, Popular Airsoft, Shield Airsoft, West Midlands Airsoft, Spartan Airsoft, iWholesale, Xsite Airsoft, UK Airsoft Players Union- UKAPU, Double Tap Practical Shooting Club, Mad Patches, H.T.I.S, Airsoft Media Ops, Airsoft Great Britain, Calibre Shooting, Gun Fire, Falcon Engraving.

www.airsoft-action.online

43

STRIKEFORCE: BADLANDS LES LEE MAKES THE TRIP TO THE NEWEST SITE IN THE “STRIKEFORCE STABLE”, AT ABINGDON IN OXFORDSHIRE AND DISCOVERS SOMETHING VERY MUCH TO HIS LIKING. FOLLOWING THE SUCCESSES OF STRIKEFORCE CQB, Swindon Airsoft and StrikeForce: The Trail, comes the latest chapter in the story – StrikeForce: Badlands.

It seems that the team that operate StrikeForce certainly have the Midas Touch because all of the ventures that they have created have been a whopping success and without any doubt I can see that StrikeForce: Badlands will most certainly follow this trend - and from what I saw, maybe even surpass the others.

Badlands was acquired by StrikeForce in early 2015 after lengthy negotiations (as is always the case with active MoD areas) and is situated near to Abingdon, Oxfordshire at a former RAF base which is still commissioned for military training, thus the scale of this place is enormous. The 140 acres of area allocated for training (and more importantly, airsoft) is a varied terrain of scrubland, bunkers, areas of dense woodland, embankments, sizeable but very strategically assigned open and hard, flat areas, which makes this a rather unique cross between woodland and urban. You can imagine just how diverse this is and what better skirmish area to create “BattleSim”, as I found out to my delight.

This is an easy site to locate and when you arrive at the gate in Honeybottom Lane, near Abingdon you will be warmly greeted and directed by staff to the very adequate car park adjacent to the safe zone. The safe zone (surrounded by security fencing) contains a building which has all of the amenities you could need, including the booking in area, two kitting-up and safe, secure gear stowing rooms, a kitchen/ 44

September 2016

lounge, shop, proper toilets and even showers. It is worth mentioning that inside the HQ is the ONLY area that you can remove your eye protection as all other areas are “eye pro on” only, which makes this whole area a very manageable, safe and user friendly base camp.

When you are geared up and ready to go, a twenty metre amble takes you to the briefing area, where the safety briefing is delivered. Shortly afterwards comes the mission objectives for the day and as this was to be a BattleSim event, this comprised of a single game with numerous progressive objectives and of course, a break for lunch (which needs to be ordered during the early part of the morning).

After this the teams were led to their start points where they are given a sub-objective for this part of the mission - and this is where you need to keep your ears wide open unless you want to become a crosshairs casualty. 3-2-1 GO! …and a fully charged team sprints towards a forward vantage point where smaller squads can regroup and look for that all important tactical advantage over the enemy.

As the day progressed I witnessed some of the most strategically impressive gameplay that I had ever seen and when I looked around amongst the players, I noticed that I could have been in the midst of a genuine Special Forces operation, as nearly half the “SF” guys had grown “tactical beards” to add to the reality of this BattleSim day.

This was also reflected in their style of play as I say, with hand on heart, that every one of them knew what they were doing. They looked the part and they had certainly done their

Site STRIKEFORCE – BADLANDS

StrikeForce Badlands.

Anyway, without further ado, it’s about time we spoke to the man behind the wheel, Paul Bibby, who is the driving force behind everything StrikeForce, including Swindon Airsoft as seen in the last issue.

Les: Thanks for a great day at StrikeForce Badlands Bibby.

Would you care to elaborate on this amazing site? I guess we should start with a bit of history about the organisation and then some specifics about the site.

Over to Bibby…

“The site negotiations started early 2015 and it was a long and delicate process dealing with security and safety aspects.

The site is a complex area to get hold of, as the base is active and used for land warfare training and lots of rotary wing air traffic (helicopters) but this only adds to the ambience of the site.

StrikeForce Badlands is the third site in the StrikeForce family of sites and is by far the biggest we have access to at 280 acres but we almost always use only half (which is obviously 140 acres) and have access to the “Training Wing” as our safe-zone, with 2 large rooms for kitting up and a fairly large brew room plus two sets of proper toilets!

homework when it came to their style of play, it was hard, fast, (controlled) aggressive and without fear. Nobody stayed back or loitered too far behind the main body of the attacking unit and this was probably the best airsofting that I had seen in a very long time. Clearly these were hardened, crack operators of the pew pew kind that worked fluently as a unit, even though they weren’t actually a team - they just knew their onions.

And this brings me to the site itself. I think it’s fair to say that the trend for the acquisition of MoD training areas being used for airsoft is most definitely a huge step forward. Once the red tape is cut through, what better place to host games than areas which are already made fit for purpose and all of the health and safety but necessary bureaucracy is passed as being safe and approved. All the organisation has to do then is negotiate the terms and conditions of use and several other specifics and they are all set to go. I feel that this is one of the biggest leaps for airsoft in recent years because it assures us of a certain standard that we can expect when we arrive, such as a dry HQ with real toilets, fresh water on tap and comfortable social areas for us all to congregate, eat our lunch in comfort and become immersed in the social banter that many of us enjoy almost as the game itself (or is that just my age showing through).

Now let’s talk Marshals…

AJ heads up this more-than-average team of Marshals at Badlands, which looked to have a very respectable 1-7 ratio and, in my opinion, they do it better than most. A very friendly and extremely efficient bunch of guys that keep a careful eye over the game, however, because of the sportsmanship shown by the players I don’t recall a single person moaning about non-hit taking and what was a really nice point, was that these Marshals didn’t just stand around on look out, they actually motivated players with shouts of encouragement and enthused players motivation if play slowed down. They were more like coaches to both teams without prejudice. They just wanted every person to get the most out of their day and if a Marshal was able to “encourage” a player to take a different and probably better route towards an objective, then they would because they wanted to keep the game flowing. Plus, if a problem of any kind arose then they were on it before being asked and I am happy to say that these guys are a credit to

“NOBODY STAYED BACK OR LOITERED TOO FAR BEHIND THE MAIN BODY OF THE ATTACKING UNIT AND THIS WAS PROBABLY THE BEST AIRSOFTING THAT I HAD SEEN IN A VERY LONG TIME.” www.airsoft-action.online

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15-06-2016 12:18:58

Site STRIKEFORCE – BADLANDS

We run regular BattleSim/Milsim events once a month and a skirmish, also once a month so you have two times every month to get yourself a StrikeForce Badlands fix.

We operate this site with a very robust attitude to the quality of airsoft and this has shown in the sportsmanship and impeccable hit-taking and all this awesomeness taking place on what we feel is one of the best sites in the UK. I actively play the site at least once a month, on the BattleSim days, as I am a fan of the longer days with much more limited ammo limits!

Walk on is £30 and hire on skirmishes is £45 including a bottle of BBs. Finally, thanks to Les for visiting us on behalf of Airsoft Action!”

So that about wraps it up for this summary of StrikeForce: Badlands. Personally, I really enjoyed my first experience of

BattleSim which (and I’m not an expert) seems to be a cross between MilSim and skirmish and which seems to be a perfect route for anyone considering stepping up to the MilSim scene.

This is one very special site and I would strongly recommend it to any airsofter that is looking for that as-true-to-life military experience that you can get. The sportsmanship was the best I have ever seen and throughout the day not once did I hear those negative words “they’re not taking their *!%~@* hits!” They are quite probably the friendliest bunch of guys and gals I have had the pleasure to meet and that especially includes the hosts, Clare, AJ, the fine team of Marshals and of course, the man with the Midas touch himself, Mr Paul Bibby.

Les OUT! Author’s footnote: Bibby has recently launched himself into the spotlight again by appearing twice a week on a “live feed” programme on Facebook, which is typically around mid to late morning and this is an opportunity, or a forum if you like, to discuss all things airsoft but is hosted by a presenter who runs three very successful sites, an airsoft shop and takes an active part as a dynamic player. This gives Bibby a three dimensional vision in every area and therefore has plenty of experience under his belt, so if you fancy taking part in the discussions, you can have your very own opportunity to join in what is predominantly a Q & A session with the legend himself. Enjoy!

StrikeForce Badlands 86 Honeybottom Lane Abingdon Oxfordshire OX13 6BX 01793 435999 sales@swindonairsoft.co.uk

www.airsoft-action.online

47

SKIRMISH CUP 2016 NIGE REPORTS FROM THE SKIRMISH CUP, A SIX-MAN TOURNAMENT THAT HAS BEEN RUNNING SINCE 2011 AND WHICH, THIS YEAR, HAD A SURPRISE IN STORE. IN THE FIVE YEARS THAT I have been the Editor of Airsoft Action, the subject of “Tournament Airsoft” has been raised on a number of occasions, often resulting in the same comments being made, namely “it can’t be done”, or “it doesn’t work”!

Well, based on what I saw at Skirmish Essex on 2nd July, I have to respond “it can” and “it does” but, before I get right into it, I thought I might take a quick look at what “Skirmish” is.

Skirmish Paintball was founded in the UK back in the mid-eighties and grew to be one of the most powerful forces in UK paintball, with in excess of 30 sites, both owned and franchised under the “Skirmish” banner. However, as has been seen throughout paintball, the attraction has slowly waned and although the Skirmish name still appears on twenty-seven sites, more and more are seeing the positive benefits that airsoft brings and either adding it to their repertoire or, in some cases, switching entirely.

One of the first Skirmish sites to appear in Essex was “Skirmish Billericay”, run by Jim and Jacky Sidroy and it is a testament to their passion and drive that the paintball side of their business is still going strong, however, they too could not deny the appeal of airsoft and a few years ago introduced it to their site. Normally at this point it would be easy (and probably quite glib) to simply say “and the rest is history” except, on this occasion that simply doesn’t fit.

One of the most successful aspects of paintball (and I can own up to being partly responsible here) were the sheer number of tournaments that took place, with 5-Man, 10-Man and 15-Man events running almost weekly, plus, of course, the World famous Speedball Championship that used to take place annually in Maidenhead (which, incidentally, is now also an airsoft site).

With that background, it is understandable why I believe that the format could translate well to airsoft but with so many others reminding me that airsoft is a game of honour (which, without a showdown of doubt, it is) and that tournament play would only promote cheating (which I don’t agree with 48

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Event SKIRMISH CUP 2016

if airsoft truly is an honour-bound game), it has been difficult for me to disagree. Let’s face it, when people with much more airsoft experience than my 15-odd years tell me something, I tend to sit up and take notice …but, having seen how much the Skirmish Cup was enjoyed by both players and the organisers, I feel I have to beg to differ. With an open mind and the right fundamentals in place, tournament airsoft has the potential to be “the next big thing” for our beloved game.

So what makes The Skirmish Cup so different?

Firstly, I’d have to put it down to the 25+ years of experience that Jim and Jacky have running a successful business in paintball and now airsoft. Over that time they have probably run games of more different types and formats than, with a few exceptions, anyone else and tournaments have been a large feature throughout that time. Let’s just say they know what they are doing when it comes to competitive play.

Secondly, having introduced airsoft to their site and seeing the huge interest it generated, not just amongst airsofters but from their paintball customers as well, it was just a matter of time before they introduced some form of tournament.

However, to maintain the “freshness” and excitement of airsoft, a simple “capture the flag” format simply wouldn’t do and so they created a new 6-Man format that put (nearly) every player on one field at the same time!

Now this might sound like a recipe for disaster, after all, how can teams compete against each other at the same time?

I mean, just working out who shot who would be a nightmare, wouldn’t it? Well actually, no, as Jim and Jacky came up with an innovative and yet blindingly simple solution; playing cards!

THE SKIRMISH CUP

First run in 2011, the Skirmish Cup is open to teams of 6 players and is designed to promote “active” play and by that, I mean if you simply sit down and wait for target opportunities to present themselves, you don’t stand a chance of winning.

And so it was that fifteen, 6-man teams converged on the site just outside Billericay on the 2nd July – and yes, your maths

is correct, that is 90 players. Also in attendance, which was really nice to see, were Viper Tactical, Valken Airsoft and SMS Stores. I have noticed a growing trend for airsoft distributors and retailers to be seen at events, which is something I think is going to continue.

With 8 Rounds to play it was going to be a busy day and as soon as all players had been registered a very thorough safety briefing was delivered and if one thing stood out above all else, it was the statement that neither cheating nor cheatcalling would be tolerated. If any player suspected another of not taking their hits they were to discuss it with one of the marshals on the field (of which there were many). The marshal would relay the complaint by radio to the nearest marshal and the alleged offender would receive a surreptitious “check shot” to see if hits were being ignored. If the player acknowledged the hit they were advised that it was just a random check shot and to carry on.

Some readers may feel this is a little harsh, or even unnecessary but I have to say that the only mumbled grumblings I heard about someone not taking their hits was firmly confined to the safe zone. Yes, there were occasions during play too but these were handled completely professionally by the marshal team and did not turn into the raucous cries of “He’s cheating!” we sometimes hear.

I am not going to go into a blow-byblow account of what happened, because so much was going on at once it would

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Event SKIRMISH CUP 2016

be simply impossible but I would like to make mention of a few specific things, firstly the aforementioned playing cards.

At the start of every round, as players left the safe zone to head out for the next round, each was given a playing card and this was their “life”. The simple objective of each game was to collect as many “lives” as possible by shooting out the opposition – i.e. as many players (preferably from other teams) as possible. When shot, the shot player then either handed his playing card to a nearby marshal, who then identified which team the shooter was with, or simply handed it directly to the player who fired the shot. Of course, all the cards were marked and at the end of each round it was simply a matter of gathering them in, seeing how many each team had collected and that was their score for that round.

I also want to mention the “Pistol Run”, a course of just three targets set in a different area of the site that every team had to complete. Again, Jim and Jacky had come up with a very simple format, whereby each team, two players at a time, had to each put (no more than) three shots onto each target, with only the single shot nearest to the bull being counted towards the score. Each run was against the clock with penalties for too many, or too few shots being fired and time penalties if the team took longer than 2 minutes 30 seconds to finish and, just to spice it up even more, each pair had to hit a cow bell before they could move onto the targets proper and also again to end their run. This actually lead to some hilarity as the pair waiting to start could not do so until the pair in front of them had hit the cow bell and as the “Finish Line” was directly in front of the

“Start Line”, it meant the finishing pair had to dive out of the way or risk being shot in the back by one of their teammates!

Lastly, I want to give credit to a bunch of guys who turned up to play as a team, some of whom had never even played airsoft before… because they were all paintballers! However, these guys were no “ordinary” paint-slingers and I had, on many occasions come up against some of them years ago, when I used play paintball at International level.

Back then there were a bunch of teams that seemed to take part in just about every tournament going, including two called “Storm” and “The Predators”. The guy behind “Storm” was John Sosta, who is now the man behind the UK end of Valken Airsoft and, being keen to see how his new guns would perform, called a few friends together and reformed “Storm” specifically for this event. It was suggested that “The Old Farts” would be more apt but, as it turned out, they probably chose the correct name. One of the guys could only play until lunchtime as he was also playing in a massive paintball tournament that weekend and had to leave early.

For me, knowing how Storm used to play as a top-flight team, it was interesting to see if their tactics would translate to airsoft – and I’ll let the results be the final judge of that.

THE RESULTS

With the final end-game whistle blown, everybody congregated in the safe zone for the results and prize-giving but before the top three scores were announced, a special “Riflemen” prize was awarded to the best overall Under-16 team. Skirmish Essex have always promoted Under-16 games, even running “Boot Camp” weekends for younger players to get into the game without coming up against adults and this prize wasn’t just for the team with the highest score but for the one that had also

conducted itself to the highest standards of honourable play.

This year’s winners were “Black Hawkes”, who also came in a very respectable ninth overall.

For many the surprise result was the team in third place, none other than The Old Farts, sorry, I mean Storm, who had thoroughly enjoyed the day and who I think might well be coming out of “retirement”.

In second place was last year’s winners, Rogue Angels and Top Honours went to TWAT (Tactical Warfare Airsoft Team) One, with a total score of 73.

SUMMARY

Trying to summarise The Skirmish Cup is really difficult as it is very different to a “normal” day of airsoft. All I will say is that everyone I spoke to, without exception, said they had had a brilliant day and could not see why there were not more airsoft tournaments generally.

I will end with a quote from Jim Sidroy, as I think is sums the day up nicely: “I love organising The Skirmish Cup. There is always a great buzz and the last game of the day generates a real electric atmosphere. The spirit of competition and sportsmanship is showcased here.”

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September 2016

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GUNS FOR HIRE

OVERLOOKED AND FREQUENTLY MIS-TREATED, FOR MANY NEW PLAYERS THEIR FIRST EXPERIENCE OF THE GAME IS DEFINED BY THE UBIQUITOUS “HIRE GUN”. FRENCHIE TAKES UP THE STORY OF THIS OFT-MALIGNED PIECE OF AIRSOFT EQUIPMENT.

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September 2016

Feature HIRE GUNS

AS HAPPENS EVERY MONTH, I was casting around for a “walking stick” tendency and being less prone to snagging on suitable subject for the next issue of Airsoft Action. New guns trees or buildings. to review are a bit thin on the ground, I’m caught between site Another advantage of the G36/AK is the availability of reviews... What to do? parts. Gears are as standard as they come, likewise pistons Then I spent a day reviving hire guns and that got me and mainsprings. Motors seem to last longer as well which thinking about just how much abuse they take, how little care I (rightly or wrongly) attribute to the use of a motor cage to they get and what makes a good hire gun - and it occurred to support it rather than the pistol grip, as is the case in the AR-15 me that these utterly unsung heroes of airsoft deserved a bit derivatives. In fairness that’s a double edged sword, as if you of attention. So I present you “Frenchie’s Guide to Hire Guns!” suffer a catastrophic gear failure the debris is more likely to What follows is based on my experience of selecting, using and end up inside the motor (assuming that the grease inside the maintaining hire guns. I did it for a long time but ultimately this gearbox doesn’t catch it first). is just my opinion, other opinions are available.

AR-15s are more prone to suffering severe damage if they The first stable of hire guns I was responsible for was are dropped or fallen on and you can count on that happening. composed entirely of Tokyo Marui guns, which tells you how I have no doubt that there are a number of sites out there who long ago that was. They were a mixed bag, the aim being to run nothing but M4s and manage fine but if I have the choice offer customers a choice, in theory always a good idea. There I’ll avoid them as a hire option. were MP5s, G36s, AK-47s, M4s and M16s and possibly even The thing that you need to bear in mind is that there is a a couple of G3s (although my memory may be playing tricks world of difference between the way a regular player treats there). There was definitely a P90. Great for customers but their kit and the way a hire player does. This is even more really not so great for the site, as it turned out. marked if as a site you do a lot of corporate work, catering When choosing which model of gun you are going to buy to people who are unlikely to take airsoft up as a pastime for a site you need to take a number of things into account. and are just looking for a few hours of fun. To them it is up Reliability is very high up the list, if the guns aren’t working it to you to make sure that they have a working gun and they hits your reputation and your bottom line.

A gun that isn’t being hired out is literally costing you money. They should perform “THEIR STOCKS ARE A LITTLE FRAGILE AND PLAYERS DO LOVE USING as well as any other airsoft gun out-of-theTHEM AS WALKING STICKS BECAUSE OF THEIR LENGTH AND THEN box, if only to give new players a chance of COMPLAINING THAT THAT THEY AREN’T WORKING PROPERLY... NO! competing. Ideally they should be appealing to those paying to use them but personally I REALLY? YOU HAVE HALF A FOREST UP THE BARREL!” put that well down the list and I will explain my thinking for all of this as we go through this article. Just under reliability in my hierarchy is availability are disinclined to pay too much attention to whether or not of spares and ease of maintenance, which is pretty much selfthey look after them – classic “hire car” syndrome – the gun explanatory. isn’t theirs so they will rag it rotten and if it breaks, well it isn’t Going back to that original group of guns I learned a whole their problem, it’s the site owners. I have run more corporate bunch of things pretty quickly. MP5 hi-caps are just not very games over the years than I can begin to remember and there reliable. I know that yours might be flawless but I dislike them, were always a few players who ignored the brief and abused preferring mid-caps for their reliability and I found that they the guns without any apparent sense of responsibility. You can started to cause feed issues very quickly in hire guns. The either bawl them out for it, which tends not to go down well P90 has very little to catch on tree branches but the magazine wasn’t popular with hire players as it couldn’t be wound up without removing it. We all know that P90 magazines should only need a full wind once …and we also know that real life isn’t like that.

M16s are a pretty good idea and even back then the version two gearbox was reliable but a player leaping a ditch whilst holding the rifle by the pistol grip, muzzle down, is a recipe for a pistol with a full stock and given that it was a Marui M16 VN, that was the end of that. M4s, G36s and AK-47s all fared much better and some years later when Chinese-made guns were available in quantity and cheaply, the decision was taken to use only AK-47s as hire guns. They aren’t ideal – their stocks are a little fragile and players do love using them as walking sticks because of their length and then complaining that that they aren’t working properly... No! Really? You have half a forest up the barrel!

My first “rule” for hire guns is standardisation – decide on one model of gun and stick to it. Players may complain but anything that enables you to maintain as large a number of hire guns is ultimately to the customer’s benefit. I have yet to meet a player who gave a damn about the gun they were using once the plastic starts flying. The onus is on the site to provide the equipment, it is entirely reasonable to choose serviceability over customer choice. On a purely personal note, I prefer guns with version three gearboxes over version two, I simply find them more reliable over time even if they are slightly more fiddly to work on. So G36s and AK-47s top my pile. Although I originally favoured the Kalashnikov series, latterly I have come to appreciate the G36. I always felt that the G36 would suffer far more stock damage because of the hinge but in fact it is a deal stronger than the supposedly fixed stock of the AK. The fact that it’s also shorter is a distinct benefit, reducing the

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Feature HIRE GUNS

with those who have probably paid a fair bit more than your average player does for a full day, or you can do what you can to mitigate the damage done by careful equipment choice and accept that you will have some work to do afterwards.

Although many of us have adopted LiPo batteries with enthusiasm over the past few years, I would avoid them like the plague for hire guns. You cannot trust hire gun users to ask for them to be changed as soon as the rate of fire drops off, they will keep going to until they are utterly dead. LiPos hate that whereas good old NiMH can cope with it far better. Old technology wins out here as do large batteries, which can last a day despite heavy use. I used to run 7.2volt in Ak-47s – they fitted the stock better than 8.4 volts packs and lowered the rate of fire a little, making ammo last a bit longer.

Maintaining hire guns is an affair of pragmatism trumping aesthetics. While cleaning the guns is sensible if only to remove the clumps of mud and tree that they will inevitably collect, maintenance is geared to keeping them going. Keeping them as standard as possible is wise, I don’t believe there is any place for upgraded guns in the hire stable. Standard guns need standard parts and that makes them much more easily available and cheaper. You will go through pistons and gears, although not as fast in the days when Marui was king. The use of steel gears in Chinese guns was a God-send, meaning that I didn’t spend the period between games replacing spur gears.

Likewise, I tend to stick to decent plastic pistons rather than steel-toothed versions as I would prefer a £5 piston to fail, than an entire gear set.

I have always avoided making bolt action rifles or pistols available to hire players. Using both properly requires more skill

than is necessary for your average AEG. If a player wants to get sneaky they can do that very well with a G36 – if playing as a sniper is their ultimate goal they can fulfil that dream later on in their airsoft “career”. The problem with pistols is that they are too easily lost, just look how many go missing when used by players with decent holsters who actually care about them.

The cost and grief to the site owner is not recouped in terms of the player’s experience.

Hire guns get horribly abused, unless you deal with them regularly you never see it. Corporate players especially do things to guns that would make you cringe and some regular hire players aren’t much better. I find it easy to overlook the fact that there are hundreds, maybe thousands of players who use the same gun as I am maintaining week in week out without any problems. It’s always a shock when adding guns to the hire pool to see them brand new, with all their parts present and correct. Looking at them I realised that to anyone else this would be a valued purchase – their gun – no-one else’s. In my hands they were destined to be thrown into the crucible of hire use; dropped, knocked, uncared for, dumped in the back of vans, only ever given enough maintenance to keep them going back for more. t’s a tough life but it is testament to the underlying strengths of modern AEGs that the failures they suffer are generally minor and that they soldier on, sometimes for years despite levels of (ab)use that far exceed that of most player’s rifles.

While I often end up incredulous as what has managed to get inside a hire gun it is heartening to know that they keep going and keep introducing new players to the joys of airsoft.

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55

AIRSOFT NIRVANA? CONTINUING HIS JOURNEY THROUGH THE INNER REACHES OF AIRSOFT, LES LEE FINDS HIMSELF INSIDE ONE OF THE UK’S LARGEST AIRSOFT WHOLESALE OPERATIONS. WHEN I WAS INVITED TO visit one of the UK’s top importers of all things airsoft, the first thing that crossed my mind was “how do I make this an interesting read to my fellow ‘softers?”

It seemed that it would have been a case of you can look but never touch but when I looked from a much wider perspective, I realised that I had a golden opportunity to give you an exclusive insight into the world of Airsoft at wholesale level and how this affects your ability to get your eager mitts onto your dream piece of kit, whether it be a new sidearm or the latest sniper rifle. iWholesales are one of the main suppliers to the Airsoft retail trade in the UK. If you bought your latest rifle or pistol from a British retailer, chances are that might have come through these guys.

Situated near London in a huge warehouse with state of the art 56

September 2016

security inside and out, I was given a behind the scenes tour of the premises and found myself in an “airsoft nirvana” as I was escorted where only a chosen few had gone before.

The team at iWholesales formed the company in 2011 as they shared the same passion as we all do, only they enjoy it as a business from a completely different angle by importing and wholesaling to retailers and site shops. Just imagine if you were in desperate need for a new, particular gun and you had little alternative than to import it in from an offshore company, which I can say from personal experience can be a costly and sometimes complex and even a legally challenging option. This is where I realised how relevant and useful that this feature can be to you, the end user and the most important person in the mix. This is also where I saw the aforementioned perspective which gives you the choice and opportunity to buy whatever piece of kit (if stocked) that you have sought unsuccessfully because, although iWholesales only supplies to trade, there is nothing to stop you visiting their website (iwholesales.co.uk) and searching through the stocked items. If you find something that you just can’t live without in your arsenal or kit locker, you quite simply call or email and ask for the local retailer that the guys supply and contact them directly. That retailer can then

Inside Airsoft IWHOLESALES

order it in within a few days (if it’s in stock) - realistically you could order from the shop on a Monday and be shooting your opponents with it on the Sunday.

So let me walk you through my visit to iWholesales…

When I arrived I was welcomed by Jacky and Rishy the owners and Herman Mok, their Sales Manager - and what a warm welcome it was too. After all the initial introduction, Rishy was kind enough to spend much of his time explaining the life and times of iWholesales, its history, the present day and what was forecast for the future. Please believe me when I say that I was a little more than excited when I heard about some of the products in the pipeline that we can look forward to and be assured that we are “on it” when something is coming your way. Rishy and Jacky and the team have promised to give me a “heads-up” on incoming goodies, so you will more than likely read about it in Airsoft Action before anywhere else.

So as my guided tour began with Herman, we started in the main pistol stock room and this is where I began convulsing in spasms and dribbling down my shirt - and to say I was overwhelmed with what I saw is the biggest understatement in

my little world! Pistols are my passion, a passion that goes back decades and which I also share with Herman, so to see so many in one go quite literally made me gasp and make all funny “ooh… ahh…” noises as not only were there handguns that I was familiar with, there were some I had never even heard of. When my hands stopped sweating and shaking, Herman handed me a new release that I will be reviewing in the next edition and without giving too much away, it is not exactly subtle and I can’t wait to give it a field test because this puppy WILL turn heads one way or another.

After reluctantly leaving the first pistol room kicking and screaming and after releasing my grip on the door frame (you get the picture…), I was taken to a second pistol area where there were even more sidearms. However, many of these were more diverse and catered for a bigger customer base, with some very impressive metal springers at an even more impressive price, ideal for entry level young guns. So it’s fair to say that these guys cater for every aspect of airsoft and for all ages. By now my blood pressure and pulse had returned to relative normality but to take me straight to the main pistol room was like giving me a job as Quality Control Manager at

“PISTOLS ARE MY PASSION, A PASSION THAT GOES BACK DECADES AND WHICH I ALSO SHARE WITH HERMAN, SO TO SEE SO MANY IN ONE GO QUITE LITERALLY MADE ME GASP AND MAKE ALL FUNNY “OOH… AHH…” NOISES.”

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Inside Airsoft IWHOLESALES

The Bunny Ranch. Herman had definitely got my attention!

As the tour continued, it was wall to wall, floor to ceiling packed with boxes upon boxes of guns - which shouldn’t have really come as a surprise as these guys do cater for all of the U.K. Herman stated that they always strive to have a completely adequate stock of what their customers want and that they are able to supply goods at a moment’s notice. Like all good retailers, they value each and every customer whether an airsoft superstore, or small site shop. Every one of their customers are of equal and great value which became evident as my tour continued. iWholesales stock over 50 different brands and among the top sellers are names such as G&G, Classic Army, Armourer Works, Bolt, A&K, APS, PTS, Ares and Amoeba and that is just the tip of the iceberg. Their inventory also includes budget guns to historical arms and limited edition models, various LMGs, launchers, iconic replicas and this is just the guns stocked. Other kit is also available, including consumables, spares, scopes, lasers, cases, eye protection and masks, silencers and tracer units. The whole range of items available goes on and on and they keep a very close eye on the airsoft market because if a new product is launched, then these guys are right on it. They are particularly keen on new and innovative ideas and products because they are most certainly in tune with demand. Almost all airsofters that are on top of their game demand the latest and the best.

To gain an insight from a Retailer’s point of view from both ends of the spectrum, I needed a customer’s perspective, so I called one of the UK’s leading Airsoft Stores and a site shop, Astec Airsoft Supplies run by Mark Reeves. I contacted Daniel Levene, owner of Crawley Surplus Store for his opinion as a customer of iWholesales and this is what he had to say: “I have known Jacky for nearly a decade and iWholesales are an absolute pleasure to deal with.

They are always trying to do their best for their

customers and also, they lead the way when it comes to seeking out new and exciting products. All the guys there work really hard to make sure everything gets done and I know that I can completely rely on them and if I need an item urgently, if they have it in stock then I receive it the next day and they make the whole purchasing system for me so much easier than dealing direct with manufacturers”.

Mark also had this to say: “Since I started dealing with iWholesales two years ago, they have been absolutely fantastic! They cannot do enough for you and their whole operation, from stock available to customer service is excellent. Herman spends a lot of time with me and always keeps me in the loop on new products that have just arrived and of course, items that are new and inbound. I would say that 90% of orders arrive next day if stocked and when you see how busy these guys are it makes you wonder just how they do it, but they just do.”

If the guys get a new shooter in stock, they have a 100 foot range where they always test fire any new type of gun that they receive, so that they can ensure it is fit for purpose and complies with the law – and so they can offer a vivid description if asked but I don’t think for one minute they can have too much fun testing the gear, as they are just so busy.

When you think that they supply almost every retailer in the UK, it isn’t exactly surprising to find them working into the late hours and weekends, so I was extremely grateful that they took the time to give me the insight behind the scenes.

So that about concludes this report which, believe me, was a privilege to do as it allowed me to see a part of the world of airsoft that remains “behind the scenes” to the person that spends their hard earned, or hard saved cash on their ever-changing choice of gear for our sport/hobby/pastime/ game, which I’m sure will continue to steal our Contact: 01753 682686 Sundays from under our www.iwholesales.co.uk feet.

Les OUT! info@iwholesales.co.uk

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SEASON OPENING PART 2

IN THE CONCLUDING PART OF THEIR REPORT ON THE SEASON’S OPENING GAMES IN RUSSIA, ALEXANDER AND MARIA START IN THE URALS. AIRSOFT SEASON 2016 in the Urals was opened with the game “Day “D” -Invasion”. The event was created by the same group that had done event “Battle for the Falklands” (we wrote it about in a previous issue). This time the organizers played the scenario of the battle between East and West.

Here is what they wrote in their introduction:“During the large-scale conflict there is a struggle between the two opposing sides: east and west. Rolling away under the impact of numerous infantry divisions, wave after wave rolls from the East, the West forces, having no longer any strength nor the means to continue the fight, activated nuclear land mines laid on their territory. After several days of nuclear hell, miraculously survived scattered units of armies of the East and West rushed to the closest survivor port. According to fragmentary information, there was not affected by the nuclear explosions

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largest island. It became the aim for survived units. On the island there are several bunkers, you can survive a nuclear apocalypse. It is the main purpose of separate divisions of East and West. They want to get in there and take the bunker first, as the places at all is clearly not enough... Island Defense Forces received information that on the opposite seaside people got on all that can float and went to the island. SDF hastily preparing for defense. As fast as possible they created an extensive network of fortifications around bunkers.”

Thus, the goal of the game for the East and the West was to survive a nuclear apocalypse in occupied bin.

The game was in 40 km from the city of Yekaterinburg (Ural capital of Russia). Since the field was new, the organizers had done their best. They had to build 3 bunkers, also they dug trenches near the each bin. They also built roads and made residential camp for more than two thousand people - that is how much the participants came to the event all over Russia.

Someone of them overcame four thousand kilometers in one direction.

For them organizers brought to the landfill layouts of Abrams tank, towers Armata, Black Hawk helicopters. Also organizers constructed large landing ship from 2 landing barges of new type and 2 landing barges of old type. More than 30 simulations explosions were carried out in the landing area and near the silos. It produced more than 5 simulations of explosions on the water.

Info from report of the team 59RDG “LYNX”: ”Mini T-34 made is work on the complete destruction of enemy. Breaking the trees like a prototype, it destroyed the enemy with dagger fire from its weapons. The task of landing is carried out, we count minutes to leave the respond.... Later there were march through the swamp, improving positions on the second bunker and night outs and cleaning the road in the third bunker. In general, all task we had, we had done.”

The same date airsoft players opened the season on the largest island of Russia - Sakhalin (Sea of Japan, the border with Japan). Despite its proximity to China (a major producer of airsoft weapons), airsoft came on Sakhalin relatively recently

International RUSSIA

ditches). In addition the organizers equipped seven fortified points (mines with rare earth metals). The player’s task was to occupy these mines. Destroying of the mines was possible by using improvised nuclear bombs. At the disposal of each side, there were tanks and infantry fighting vehicles for destroying opposite forces and transferring of troops. Each tank could shoot 10 times in the game with real blank cartridges (in the direction from the landfill for safety reasons).

The landing from armored vehicles was accompanied with blanks firing from a heavy machine gun turret.

Well, when we write this the most northern opening of airsoft season in Russia is just ahead. It will be June 11-12 in the Yamalo-Nenets region (more than 3000 km from Moscow, in a place where the river Ob flows into into the Kara Sea).

Games organizers are expecting more than 300 airsofters, they gather to play near the village with population only 11 thousand people. This is the first official opening of the Yamal Peninsula but visitors from different parts of Russia are already planning to come. It is interesting for Russian airsofters to play in new regions with an unusual climate. At the time of this writing (mid-May) in Yamal temperature was -6 degrees by Celsius, but by mid-June weather forecasters promise already + 20 degrees by Celsius.

I: “By 12 June it should be a lot of greens, moss and reindeer moss. Combined with sandy soil it brings an unusual shade and atmosphere for northern games. Come for a visit, you will not regret!”

It will be another very good season of airsoft in Russia!

Photography: Kamil Nureev

– just about 8 years. At traditional OS this year gathered a little more than a hundred people. According to legend of the game, the two warring factions wish to destroy each other. They both found an abandoned military base with a secret weapon, which had not been used in WW2. It is known that these weapons are so destructive, that is capable to momently destroy one of the parties in this sector. Hoping to get this super weapons, both sides immediately went to the abandoned base with the aim to discover and use the weapons against the enemy.

In a few weeks, on May 14-15, the airsoft season was opened in Russian Siberia. The organizers of the games “Boundary” moved participants in the near future. They played a scenario of possible start a third world war. ”The revolutionary development of new technologies in the field of electronics and energy exhausted small reserves of rare earth metals in the world. Prices for devices and technologies have risen so high that they threaten to collapse the economy of entire countries, engaged in the production and sale of “high-tech” gadgets. It seems that there is no undiscovered places in the world that can recover so quickly vanishing deposits of rare earth elements. In 2016 on the archipelago of Franz Josef Land, new deposits of rare earth metals begin to being discovered one by one. Behind them two sides start to fight.” – event organizers wrote in the script of the event “Boundary”.

The organizers made the focus on using of combat armored vehicles. They entered in the game the heavy and light equipment (tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, trucks) of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, for the transportation of weapons and property of participants, transfer of troops, creating a simulation of combat operations and maintenance of manpower with using blank shots.

Ivan Kovyakov, organizer of “Opening of the season 2016” “Boundary” in Siberia: “We often use military equipment in airsoft events. It gives the game a certain color and immerse players in the most approximate atmosphere of a fire fight.”

Siberian opening of the season 2016 “Boundary” was held at one of the military range of Russia in the Yurga city.

Despite the difficult terrain with hills, ravines, lowlands and quarries, heavy machinery was used almost all over the field. On the territory, there were fortifications (trenches and

Alexander “Marty” Levchenko and Maria “Marta” Litvinova.

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CYAN, MAGENTA, YELLOW, BLACK

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Feature SKUNK AIRSOFT WORKS

ANGELO DV MEETS UP WITH A GUY WHO PRODUCES SOME OF THE MOST AMAZING PIECES OF AIRSOFT ART.

ENIGMATIC ARTISAN I HAVE NOW BEEN WRITING about airsoft related subjects for approximately 18 months and I have covered most things.

I have written various reviews of airsoft weapons, sites and events and am now embarking on a series of personal profiles of people who I think deserve the spotlight. With this in mind I knew exactly who I wanted to interview first, with other names being suggested after I asked the airsoft community on Facebook who they thought was deserving of a special mention. I won’t pretend that I wasn’t quite surprised at some of the names that came up.

The first special profile of this series is none other than Matt Akumibob, the enigma that is behind The Skunkworks UK. Getting to this point wasn’t as straightforward as you may think.

The origin of the title “The Skunkworks” seems to be a much-debated subject with many different theories as to where it began, so let me give you a quick overview. The Skunkworks name was originally taken from the name of a moonshine factory in a cartoon called Li’l Abner from many moons ago and was quickly adopted by the research and development department of the aviation giants Lockheed Martin. But ultimately it is usually given to any group of people who are researching, developing and building anything with very little guidance or direction. The way I like to think of it is people with vision, who can make that vision a reality and trust me, when it comes to that, the subject of my first profile is a master.

I was flicking through my newsfeed on Facebook and I came across a picture of an airsoft RIF that can only be

described as, well, “different”. It was if someone had dismantled an M4 an AK and perhaps an MP5, put them all in a bag, shook the bag and tipped it out as the illegitimate product of three totally different platforms. So eyes wide open I decided to follow the trail to see where this bonkers RIF had come from.

Through lots of page scrolling and digging around one name kept cropping up and that name was Matt Akumibob. The first thing I thought was his surname was very unusual and secondly there were no pictures revealing the identity of this man. Not happy with that I started to dig a little deeper and was made aware that Matt was the man behind a small airsoft custom set up called The Skunkworks. After finding their Facebook page my eyes were exposed to some pictures of absolutely incredible custom airsoft items. Rifles, pistols, anti tank, sniper rifles pretty much anything. But still no pictures of the man himself. I was determined to find this man and try to get inside his head … and his workshop.

In December of last year myself and the rest of Team Rhino ran a charity game in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support and the location of the event was a site run by my good friend Anthony Gregory. During the event Tony introduced to me to one of the people who were part of his team who helped out with running games at his sites etc. That person was the man himself “Matt Akumibob”. I’d now had a face to put to all the fantastic creations and I was happy to say on meeting him he was a true gent. Within months of meeting Matt he has become a good friend to myself and other members of Rhino.

So after some time I finally put the question to him; “Can I

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interview you for a special profile I am doing in Airsoft Action?”

I didn’t get an immediate answer, he needed time to think about this as he is a very private person. I am happy to say after some earache he decided that I wasn’t going to give up and he relented to giving me what I wanted.

Below you will read word for word the interview that took place at The Skunkworks with Matt and is no way edited, this is a true representation of an Enigmatic Artisan.

ADV: I bet that was a barrel of laughs Matt!

ADV: So Matt: let’s start at the beginning, where are you from?

ADV: After that?

Matt: County Durham.

Matt: Sierra Leone, it was a horrendous place. It is what it is.

ADV: Come on, whereabouts in County Durham?

ADV: Did that regime shock you?

Matt: I’d like to refrain from answering that part of the question.

Matt: The rule of the West Side Boys had just collapsed. The shock was the way these people had to live, I don’t think people in the West realise just what was going on.

ADV: OK. So, education, were you a bright student, someone who was mechanically minded?

Matt: Academically I wasn’t that strong and concentrated on design and technology plus engineering.

ADV: Now you joined the army at 17, what happened between school at the army?

Matt: Erm, well I’m not sure about that but we were there doing our job and we did it very well.

ADV: So after Kosovo where were you deployed?

Matt: I was then sent to Gibraltar to relieve the current forces there who were returning to the UK for training. Basically a six week holiday.

ADV: So after Sierra Leone what happened?

Matt: I was then deployed to Cyprus for two years whilst I was there I was sent to the Falklands as part of the resident Infantry for four months and on my return I was deployed to Iraq in 2003.

Matt: I actually started work at 13 making double glazing windows on a night shift whilst still at school. In addition to this I was part of a pit crew for a rallycross racing team.

ADV: How long were you in Iraq?

ADV: So why the decision to join the army?

Matt: Every day in some part of Iraq it was going off so it wasn’t the most friendly place on the planet.

Matt: Family pride, I joined the same regiment as my dad and my uncles etc.

ADV: Which regiment? (Matt declined to answer this question.)

ADV: So, basic training, how did that go?

Matt: It was fun, high times and low times and a lot of hard work as most people will tell you.

ADV: Struggle?

Matt: Yes, anyone who says they didn’t struggle is a liar, you are made to struggle.

ADV: Emotional?

Matt: I’m not really an emotional person but yes, it was emotional.

ADV: What was your first deployment?

Matt: My first deployment was Kosovo. We were there as first force protection for an election in an attempt to stabilise the country.

“AFTER FINDING THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE MY EYES WERE EXPOSED TO SOME PICTURES OF ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE CUSTOM AIRSOFT ITEMS. RIFLES, PISTOLS, ANTI TANK, SNIPER RIFLES PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING. BUT STILL NO PICTURES OF THE MAN HIMSELF. I WAS DETERMINED TO FIND THIS MAN AND TRY TO GET INSIDE HIS HEAD …AND HIS WORKSHOP.”

Matt: I was in Iraq for about three and a half months.

ADV: Active service in Iraq?

ADV: So after Iraq?

Matt: In 2005 I was sent to Northern Ireland as part of the last operational tour there. Based around Crossmaglen, South Armagh.

ADV: So we’re coming up towards the present day, so was Northern Ireland your last deployment?

Matt: Yes. ADV: Did you then make a conscious decision to leave the army?

Matt: The decision was made due to other commitments I was involved in.

ADV: Now the present day, what’s happening? When was the first time you had ever heard of airsoft?

Matt: It was about four years ago and as an ex squaddie I just laughed at the thought of running around with toy guns. But contrary to my first thoughts I really enjoyed it.

ADV: What was your first airsoft gun?

Matt: My first one was an AK. ADV: What was your reaction to the sport after your first game?

Matt: The main thing was the banter and the social side of things. A lot of like-minded people in the same place.

ADV: Has the social side of things continued?

Matt: Yes to a point. Unfortunately I think a lot of the younger generation have lost the social ability to speak to people due to in the most part to social media. Actually speaking to people is dying like many trades out there.

ADV: When was the first time you looked at an airsoft gun and think, I don’t like the look of this and I want to change it.

Matt: From day one really, everyone had the same and everyone CAN have the same. I wanted something different.

ADV: What was your first modification?

Matt: All the wood was replaced because it didn’t look right and I also added a correct looking suppressor. AK’s aren’t supposed to look like they have just come out of a factory. I had to make it look like it had actually been used and belonged to somebody.

ADV: That’s a long way from where you’re at now.

Matt: The mini gun was my first real creation.

ADV: But how did that happen? I ask because you have

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no formal background in engineering. OK you worked as a mechanic for a rallycross team but that’s got nothing to do with guns. The vision and skill has to come from somewhere.

Matt: They would say he’s a Geordie prick (Matt laughs), to be honest I don’t really know.

Matt: I just wanted to have a go.

Matt: I felt the natural progression was to push my work more and to get into supplying new products and services alongside my custom work. I am also looking at setting up a workshop, not just a shop but a workshop. If it’s interactive it could inspire someone into creating things of their own. And also be there for the younger generation to assist them in creating a vision that isn’t on a Playstation, which is one of the reasons I set up Skunk Airsoft Works UK.

ADV: Is there anything you wouldn’t attempt to make?

Matt: No. ADV: I personally think what is special here is what’s going on inside your head, the vision to create something. Would you agree?

Matt: Err, I suppose. The starting of a project isn’t the issue, it’s finishing it. The HPA mini gun I made has fired over 150,000 BBs with only one stoppage and it’s made out of scrap. The only airsoft part is the barrel.

ADV: So what’s to stop you from going out into the market place with that?

Matt: Well nothing but you never know what’s going to happen in the future (Matt winked).

ADV: What’s your favourite build?

Matt: That has to be the 1873 Winchester, it started life as either a KWA or KSC springer and this was because there was ten hours work done just on the handguard.

ADV: If someone comes to you and says I want you to make this gun look a little bit different do you think they are thinking they have given YOU an opportunity to create something else very special, or is it simply because THEY want something different? Either way ultimately there’s going to be a bill to pay at completion.

Matt: Money has never been any part of this, I’m not trying to outdo or undercut anyone, I just want to make things that people appreciate.

ADV: So the future?

ADV: Best thing about airsoft?

Matt: The banter and the crack, I can go all day without firing a round but still have a great day.

ADV: Final question, what’s the worst thing about airsoft?

Matt: That’s a tough one.

ADV: OK I’ll rephrase that question. What would make you leave the sport?

Matt: Probably nothing, I would always be involved in some way. I think the worst thing for me is the weapons. (at this point we both fell about laughing and ended the interview).

In summary, after spending my day with Matt I felt I had got some insight into what he’s all about and the journey he’s been on. There is no ego or pretentious nonsense, just a guy who wants to do something different in the sport of airsoft. I found myself being drawn into his world and although there are feelings he would rather not discuss, this was a very open and frank interview. I hope you enjoyed it.

Massive thanks to Matt for his time on the day.

ADV: So if it’s not about the money is it about Matt Akumibob stamping his presence on the sport of airsoft?

Matt: No not at all. It’s about someone walking out of here with something totally different that they can walk out onto the field with. A one off, something unique. But anyone can go out and do what I do, it’s just about taking that first step.

ADV: So what was your most difficult build?

Matt: That has to be the K98, it took two weeks to get the feed system to work properly.

ADV: Have you ever turned a build down? If so, why?

Matt: I would only ever turn a build down if I thought it was beyond my ability to build it. For example CNC machining. I don’t have a CNC machine. But if I couldn’t build it I would still give them advice on where the parts could be made. Some people will charge for advice.

ADV: Right, If I went to a game at any of the local sites and I asked someone if they knew you and they said yes, what would they say about you?

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BRAVO ONE: CQB HEAVEN? NIGE HEADS FOR THE CENTRE OF BIRMINGHAM TO CHECK OUT THE OPENING DAY OF A BRAND NEW CQB SITE. “NIGE”, THE VOICE AT THE OTHER end of the phone said, “how do you fancy coming to the opening day of our new CQB site in the centre of Birmingham?” Instantly recognising the voice as belonging to Jim Sephton of The Grange, I was both certain it would be a cracking site and also intrigued. “Of course Jim, it would be my pleasure but can I just check one thing… You said “in the centre of Birmingham”, do you actually mean the centre?”

“Yes, I do”, said Jim. …and that is how I found myself staring up at five rows of windows above me, wondering how on Earth

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Jim had managed to secure such a great location as an airsoft site.

Called “Bravo One” the site is on Bath Row, within a few minutes’ walk of both Birmingham New Street Station and The Bullring Shopping Centre and is easily accessible from both the M5 and M6 motorways. Parking can be found on the surrounding streets and there is a small(ish) Pay and Display to the rear, for just £4.00 per day.

The building itself is a five-storied ex-furniture (or maybe kitchen) manufacturing and showroom unit, that still retains many of its original features inside, including wide open spaces that Jim and his team have turned into an amazing, up-close-and-personal CQB site. I’ll say this right up front as I think it should be said… If you are into CQB then you will love this place!

On the opening day, two of the four playing floors were pretty much completed, with just a few finishing touches to be added. The Ground floor is taken up by a very impressive Safe Zone, complete with Player Registration and a variety of shops, including The Shop at The Grange and Gem’s Trading Co (aka LarpKit.com). Jim has big plans for the site which include some pretty ambitious LARP events and although I am not into LARP (Live Action Role Play), I couldn’t help but be impressed with the quality of the work that goes into making the kit, especially some of the weaponry.

Site Opening BRAVO ONE – BIRMINGHAM

As I mentioned earlier, The Bank contains a vault in which there are three Safe Deposit Boxes set into the wall (yes, they are real and they really are set into the wall), each contains a gold bar and each requires a different key to open. The keys, however, are hidden on the floor above and have to be acquired before fighting down the stairs, into The Bank to breach the vault, open the boxes and take the gold bars, all the while being harried by an opposition determined not to let you get away with “their” gold. I have to say that watching this game was probably as intense as playing in it and, when time ran out before the objective could be completed, the two teams met in the middle of the Bank to exchange “high-fives” and whoops of excitement. I think it is fair to say that they enjoyed it immensely!

A lunch of freshly cooked chicken or beef burger and chips was welcomed by all and I took the opportunity to chat to some of the players and see what they thought of the site. Without exception they all thought it was brilliant and would most definitely be back again. I think what most of them appreciated was the sheer amount of thought and hard work that has gone into creating the site (along with a very

“WHAT JIM HAS DONE WITH BRAVO ONE IS TO TAKE THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS AND MELD THEM TOGETHER BY UTILISING THE OPEN SPACES, YET RETAIN INTER-LEVEL PLAYABILITY ACROSS THE FLOORS OF THE BUILDING – AND THEN THROW IN A VERY HEALTHY DOSE OF “SNEAKY”!”

I got to the site nice and early to give me chance to have a good look round before players started arriving. Paul Wignell, ASG’s man in the UK, was also there, busy setting up a good display of ASG products, including the awesome ASG CZ EVO Scorpion which (as always) was already attracting a lot of attention from those players that had arrived.

As this was the Opening Day, numbers had been limited in order to be able to ascertain exactly how the site would play, which is always a challenge for a new site – especially as Jim has specifically designed the site to be something more than “just another CQB site”. Allow me to explain…

Most (not all) CQB sites are created either in an existing framework (for example old hospitals, military sites and even prisons), or are created from scratch in a wide open space, like StrikeForce CQB in Gloucester. What Jim has done with Bravo One is to take the best of both worlds and meld them together by utilising the open spaces, yet retain inter-level playability across the floors of the building – and then throw in a very healthy dose of “sneaky”! For example, each of the playing floors is being transformed into a scene-based playing area, complete with not only plenty of rooms and open areas to fight through but also crawl-spaces, hollow walls, corridors, mouse holes, windows and on the floor known as “The Bank”, offices, cashier desks and even a vault room, complete with “Safe Deposit Boxes” to crack (although I suspect you won’t need a diamond drill and an Easter Weekend to crack them)!

As with all of Jim’s games, they are not just about “shoot more of them than they shoot of you” (nothing wrong with that), instead they all have an objective of some kind; something to make players think a little more about what they are doing and how they are going to do it – and this is a very important consideration at Bravo One. For instance, I watched as a player very carefully and quietly moved along a wall towards the opposition just around the corner and, knowing what he was about to do and with adrenalin (no doubt) starting to flow, he stepped in front of a mouse hole.

The “thwack” of a bb striking his leg even made the opposition jump, let alone him!

To give you an idea of how a game might play, this is very roughly (I don’t want to give too much away) the scenario for “The Bank Raid”…

substantial amount of wood) and the fact that it plays really well.

As I walked around the site I noticed a number of “webcam” devices mounted on the walls, these are all networked and used not only to monitor the games but to provide players with a DVD of their day, should they want a permanent record of their victories (and cock ups)!

Jim also outlined his plans for the site and although he has asked me not to publish them, take it from me that they are right up there with the very best and if even only half of them come to fruition, they will still make Bravo One a truly awesome site!

For more information about the site, go to: www.grangelivegaming.com You can also check out a video of the opening day by Burntwolf Airsoft on YouTube: https://youtu.be/sg4dvB9A2XI Airsoft Action will be returning to Bravo One when the site is fully open.

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13 HOURS THE IDEA FOR A MODERN, UP TO DATE LOADOUT CAN COME FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES AND THIS TIME JERRY NOONE LOOKS TO THE MOVIE INDUSTRY TO PROVIDE INSPIRATION AS HE UPDATES HIS OWN SET OF “CONTRACTOR GEAR”.

EVERY SO OFTEN THERE’S A MOVIE that comes along which really makes you sit up and take notice when it comes to creating a great, functional modern day loadout. Recently released on DVD “13 Hours; The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi” (www.thirteenhoursmovie.com) tells the story of the fateful incidents leading up to the death of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens in 2012 and what happened immediately following the attack on his compound in Benghazi.

After the 2011 civil war in Libya and the execution of Muammar Gaddafi, Benghazi became one of the most dangerous and violent places in the world, forcing the USA to pull out all their assets, all except for a CIA base called The Annex, which was protected by a team of CIA contractors, the Global Response Staff (GRS). From there the GRS team visited the Special Mission compound where the U.S. Ambassador to Libya was staying and they proved to be less than impressed by both the compound itself and the Secret Service agents tasked with his protection; alongside the Agents were a rag-tag detachment of local militia and police.

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Loaded or Unloaded 13 HOURS

base that was responsible for hunting Osama bin Laden!

Blackwater went on to become one of the most high-profile firms operating in Iraq, with over 1,000 employees as well as a fleet of vehicles and helicopters in the country and the guys most definitely had “The Look”. Generally, unless they were on “suited and booted” CP tasks they mostly appeared bearded, wearing tan or olive tactical pants, polo style or checked shirts, baseball caps and hefty plate carriers.

Although local weapons were procured, Blackwater had a direct channel to the DOD so it was quite common to see them with brand-new M4 variants, along with sidearms carried in the signature thigh rig.

Airsofters worldwide embraced the “contractor vibe” as it was a relatively simple loadout to put together. I was amongst this particular movement and created my first “PMC” loadout round about 2005 and it’s one set of kit that’s remained firmly in my personal “gear locker” ever since but not used all that regularly; watching “13 Hours” though has rekindled my love of “The Look” and I can see others digging their old gear out, or investing in it for the very first time!

On the morning of September 11th 2012, Stevens noticed some suspicious men around the compound taking pictures, prompting him to notify his security detail; no real action was taken at this point. That night, a large team of rebels stormed the compound and the Libyan guards on the outside either ran away or were mown down. The rebels fired off AKs and RPGs and invaded the compound as Stevens was rushed into a “panic room”. The GRS Team at The Annex were informed of the attack and wanted to head out to help but the CIA Chief refused to send them out for fear that The Annex would be left defenceless. The team disregarded their orders and headed over to the Special Mission compound. After a vicious running firefight and unable to secure the Ambassador the team headed back to The Annex and were pursued by the rebel fighters, under fire the entre way…

To find out what happens to the six courageous warfigthers next and rest assured that it is quite something, I’d urge you to go and buy the DVD or pay to view online; not since the classic “Black Hawk Down” has a military-themed movie gripped me with such intensity. To say the action is unremitting would be a massive understatement but it’s really the way that the GRS Team operate that makes this stand out from other contractor movies; by and large their combat skills are exemplary, the way they use their weapons is spot on and believe me when I tell you that their gear and the way they wear it is absolutely NAILED! Yes, there are a few “movie moments” and the use of Salient Arms style M4s in 2012 is questionable but overall this is a war movie that totally belongs in any airsofters collection.

I’ve pretty much always had a “PMC” style loadout since I first saw the real-world Blackwater guys in Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 2000s’ and rather bizarrely that company’s first assignment was to provide 20 men with top secret clearance to protect the CIA headquarters and another

UPDATING A CLASSIC LOOK!

Since I put my first set of “contractor” gear together of course the tactical world has moved on and the “look” of the GRS team in the movie reflects this. Although the way the guys appear is most definitely still individual many aspects of their gear have been updated. I’ll take one of the main characters here and look at how things have changed. The “Jack Silva” character played by actor John Krasinski is a former USN SEAL and uses a really “lo drag” set of gear which is simply a pair of tan cargo pants and a black athletic style shirt.

His gear is based around what looks to be an Allied Industries MBSS (Maritime Ballistic Survival System) Plate Carrier in coyote brown, which of course would be in keeping with his “character” history. On the carrier he has just a few ammunition pouches, a pistol magazine pouch, a grenade pouch and a radio pouch on the rear. His SIG P226 resides in a thigh rig suspended from a riggers belt and he keeps his M4A1handy on a black singlepoint sling.

The M4 itself is pretty straightforward, fitted with a Magpul CTR stock and RVG, an EoTech holosight, a Surefire tactical light and an APTIAL PEQ15 Advanced Target Pointer/ Illuminator/ Aiming Laser. One of the “force multipliers” that the GRS Team have is their night vision gear and with AN/PVS-15 Night Vision Goggles fitted to their helmets combined with the PEQ15s, they use it to particularly devastating effect! All the team use throat mics with ear buds.

Strangely one of the first ever purchases I made way back when for my own loadout was a Compact Plate Carrier from Condor; these are still available today, resemble the MBSS very well indeed and will set you back about 25 quid online!

On my own carrier I have four open-top single magazine pouches, an admin panel with single pistol magazine pouch and a small MOLLE hydration pack on the rear. The OpsCore, throat mic and P226 I already own, along with numerous pairs of tan tactical pants so that was all in hand. My personal WE Airsoft Europe M4A1 GBB is pretty much set up exactly as that of

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Although Hazard 4 create some great tactical Ts’ and polo shirts I was far more interested in their very latest gear and the first item that caught my attention was the Combat Base Lycra Rashguard shirt; this is highly flexible and comfortable tactical combat shirt made of extremely durable and stretchable UV cut-rated Lycra material and features Velcro panels on the arms and chest, front hem hoop ties for extra protection and total blind-stitching for added comfort. The Combat Base Lycra Rashguard from Hazard 4 provides maximum comfort and freedom of movement in every situation and the fabric and construction greatly reduce chafing from equipment in harsh environments.

To wear over this snug-fitting shirt, the Hazard 4 Beachhead is an updated modular version of the classic hoodie, featuring fuzzy Velcro panels on the arms and chest for unit patches, name-tapes, morale patches or recognition tape. Made of a breathable and stretchable blend of Nylon and Spandex it is shrink and fade resistant and dries quickly, whilst a moisture wicking fuzzy Lycra interior offers warmth in cold conditions and protects from windchill. The Hazard 4 Beachhead comes with a large chest pocket for fast access items, forearm zip pockets for small items like keys and handwarmer pockets for larger items such as phones or ID wallets. Flat seams and Raglan sleeves offer ease of movement while glove-like cuffs with thumb holes give additional protection from cold.

Lightweight, versatile and packable, the Beachhead is perfect for demanding physical activity and also offers excellent UV protection.

A classic ballcap is perfect headwear if you don’t want to go along the helmet route and the custom designed Hazard 4 Contractor’s Ball Cap features multiple Velcro patch areas and a retainer lanyard which can be clipped to the collar for extra security.

“A FEW YEARS AGO I CAME ACROSS SOME GREAT GEAR FROM US BRAND “HAZARD 4”; THE NAME IS INSPIRED BY A STANDARD THREAT-CLASSIFICATION INDEX: 1 = LOW, 2 & 3 = MODERATE AND 4 = DEADLY AND THEIR GEAR IS DESIGNED TO BE THE LAST LINE OF DEFENCE FOR ITS OWNER WHEN THE “SHTF”.”

“Silva” already, although I prefer a TD style stubby foregrip to the RVG; all I needed to add was one of the new NUPROL NX600 S tactical lights in tan and I was good to go. I’ll be taking a look at these cracking new rail mounted lights in more detail next month.

Where I decided to really update things was in my choice of shirts and jacket; unlike the GRS I won’t be “operating” in the searing heat of Benghazi, more like the drizzle of Birmingham, so getting my clothing right was paramount.

A few years ago I came across some great gear from US brand “Hazard 4”; the name is inspired by a standard threat-classification index: 1 = Low, 2 & 3 = Moderate and 4 = Deadly and their gear is designed to be the last line of defence for its owner when the “SHTF”. Their parent company, Civilian Lab, has great experience in manufacturing top quality outdoor adventure, extreme sport and travel gear in innovative configurations and forms and as with many manufacturers these days the tactical community has lapped up their output.

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Loaded or Unloaded 13 HOURS

BULLETS, BEANS AND BANDAGES!

Obviously with such a “lo-drag” plate carrier setup you’re also going to need to think about something to carry extra ammunition, food, first aid kit and some “snivel gear” for more protracted missions and this is another area where Hazard 4 excel.

The Hazard 4 Switchback Sling Pack is the largest of their sling-style packs and features lots of storage capacity and a generous size, yet is still nimble enough to be swiftly rotated from the back to the chest. The pack can be rapidly taken on or off when needed which allows for quick access to frequently used gear while carrying heavier loads on the back the rest of the time. Slim shaped for fast manoeuvring, the pack can be instantly taken off the back and stored in vehicles and lockers. A wide, generously padded shoulder strap comes with breathable air mesh, large lockable quick release buckle, multiple MOLLE straps and 1” sternum strap; the shoulder strap is optimised for right hand users but works ambidextrously.

It also has a 3D thermo moulded back panel which allows for easy air-circulation and comfortable wear even when bag is fully loaded. Behind the padded back is a separate hydration bladder compartment/laptop pocket, lined with extra soft material, with two-way zip closure and a loop and Velcro secured passage for a hydration tube. The back compartment can be used for storing bladders with up to 3 litres capacity. The Switchback includes one large padded main compartment with two-way zip closure, soft loop like fuzz material for attaching dividers, patches or holsters, two zipped mesh pockets, two sleeve pockets, nylon loops, a small top-zipper to pass though long objects like antennas, barrels or cables and vent grille for easy ventilation and drying. Numerous compression straps allow the bag to be adapted to the size of carried kit and prevent it from shifting inside the bag, which may cause unnecessary noise, discomfort and disturbance to the balance. Interestingly all the agent characters in the new Tom Clancy ”The Division: Agent Origins” live action trailer movies for the game, use Hazard 4 Switchback tactical sling-packs as their main character costume gear carrier!

If you fancy something a little more conventional though, then Hazard 4 have a wide range of styles and sizes to choose

from and models like the Second Front Rotatable; being the backpack version of the versatile Switchback sling pack.

This unique and professional day pack offers generous size and again is versatile enough to be rotated from the back to the chest, or rapidly taken on or off when needed. Once again the pack allows for quick access to frequently used gear while carrying heavier loads on the back the rest of the time.

Now I am going to put in a word of warning here, that Hazard 4 gear is not the cheapest in the world but it is massively innovative and makes use of the best design and components married up with superb construction methods, so you really are getting your money’s worth. It’s all gear that can be used away from the airsoft field and I find the pieces I own get used on an almost daily basis. As always I’ll say “buy wisely and buy once” and make sure that you keep some money back for your skirmish fees!

Thanks again to www.military1st.co.uk for providing the review samples; a visit to their website will allow you to recreate this entire loadout should you so desire. Thanks also to www.nuprol.com for giving me a sneaky look at their new tactical lights; you saw then in Airsoft Action first!

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Warriors SOUTH AFRICAN DEFENCE FORCE 1990S

SOUTH AFRICAN DEFENCE FORCE

THE SADF FOUGHT TO DEFEND THEIR NATION FROM HOSTILE FORCES ON ALL SIDES. THE KIT THEY WORE ALSO MAKES AN EXCELLENT AIRSOFT LOADOUT, AS GARETH “GADGE” HARVEY EXPLAINS… DESPITE BEING ONE OF BRITAIN’S greatest allies during WWII, the Cold War years saw South Africa ostracized by many developed nations because of its overtly racist policy of apartheid. All this aside, the Republic of South Africa, however, still saw its fair share of “cold war conflict” getting “hot”.

Like their Rhodesian neighbours (see earlier issues of Airsoft Action), the South Africans found themselves surrounded by hostile forces on all sides and , again like the Rhodesians, having to “make do” with weapons and equipment in the face of trade embargos. Seeing attack as the best form of defence the South African Defence Force (SADF) would launch numerous pre-emptive attacks and Special Forces raids against their enemies during the late 20th century.

TWO DECADES OF GUERILLA WAR

In fact the South African Bush War would be one of the 20th century’s longest running conflicts. Between 1966 and 1989 the republic of South Africa spent 23 years fighting African nationalist “terrorist” groups and even Warsaw Pact soldiers “advising” these national liberation movements.

The Bush war was fought primarily in Northern Namibia and Southern Angola but many “skirmishes” occurred along all of South Africa’s borders, often instigated by the Warsaw Pact who saw emerging nationalism as a direct route to support workers revolutions. Conversely, many liberation movements were not about to turn down an offer of free arms and equipment to overthrown “imperialism”, regardless of who www.airsoft-action.online

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manufacturers, original creations from South Africa and captured Warsaw Pact weaponry.

Much of South Africa’s ordnance was licenced, ranging from the 7.62 R1 battle rifle (a domestically produced FN FAL) to the 5.56 “Vektor” R4 assault rifle which was itself a licenced copy of the AK47 derived Israeli “Galil” weapon system and the Uzi SMG. Lacking a domestic light anti-tank weapon (and for that matter only occasionally facing enemy armoured vehicles) the South African’s utilised vast stockpiles of Soviet RPG7 rocket launchers captured from their Soviet supplied foes.

Heavier squad weaponry came in the form of the FN MAG LMG and US .30 and .50cal Medium and Heavy machine guns.

While their opponents may have lacked substantial armoured forces one thing they had in quantity were antipersonnel landmines, anti-armour mines and other IEDs. To counter this threat the South African military industries produced unique armoured fighting vehicles that were among the first to feature (the now quite commonplace) “boat-shaped hulls” used to deflect the power of a land mine blast away from a vehicle and out to either side. Most of these vehicles were wheeled and not tracked, to fit the vast distances patrols covered and the unique terrain the SADF found themselves fighting in and, while odd-looking at the time, vehicles such as the Hippo, Swerwer, Buffel and Casspir, soon became to be regarded as the best anti-insurgency vehicles of their kind and decades later some could still be seen being used by coalition forces and security companies in Iraq and Afghanistan.

SPECIAL FORCES

Despite having a cadre of “regular” servicemen, most soldiers in the South African Defence Force were white conscripts.

Surprisingly, however, a significant amount of black soldiers also served in the SADF and one Special Forces battalion, the 32nd battalion “Buffalo Soldiers” composed almost entirely of “turned” guerrillas who had been persuaded to leave the rebels and fight for the government. While a highly motivated infantry force (by conscript standards) the SADF also had its elite forces.

Among these were the “parabat” parachute battalions and the world famous “Recce Commandos” or “Reccondos”.

A conscript (or regular enlisted man) hoping to make the Special Forces would have to display above average intelligence and well above average physical ability. SADF “recce” recruits undertook a gruelling 42 week course on a par with that of the British SAS. With a “pass rate” of around 6 per cent of recruits, those failing the course would find themselves assigned to technical and support services where their above average skills could still be utilised. The “recce” training course would push

they came from!

While not a member of NATO due to it southerly location, the republic was very much on the side of the “free world” forces and tackled the rise of Marxism and communism in Africa during the post WWII years. Once again, like Rhodesia it would fight the communist supplied and trained emerging nationalist groups alone, as South Africa’s policy of racial segregation and white rule was unpopular with western NATO nations. For some time South Africa was supported by its “white rule” African neighbour states run by the Portuguese and the Rhodesians but, over time these would gradually be overcome leaving the SADF to fight Marxist rebels alone.

For some time South Africa was able to acquire materiel via Portugal and other friendly nations but its segregation between black and white “South Africans” made it ever harder for liberal democracies to support the South African regime.

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recruits to their limits in the wilderness of Northern Zululand, with potential recce commandoes having to cover 20 miles in less than 6 hours while carrying a full combat load weighing up to 35kg! Other tests would include carrying a comrade in a fireman’s lift for 200 metres in under a minute, a week long simulated combat exercise and a “survival” test of spending 48 hours alone in the bush, with only a knife and rifle with a handful of rounds to defend themselves.

Our Warrior this month is kitted out in the standard late 80s uniform of the South African Defence Force Infantry. While the SADF experimented and utilised a variety of camouflage patterns (including oddly some copies of Warsaw Pact DDR schemes) the SADF are perhaps best known for their use of “nutria brown”, a dark sand flat tone well suited to the terrain of South Africa.

Our trooper’s basic uniform consists of a lightweight four pocket jacket and trousers with two large cargo pockets in nutria brown, both jacket and trousers have button down pockets and the trousers feature draw strings at the ankle. Hard wearing and light weight, the SADF combat uniform is ideal for combat operation in the “bush” and for colder months a padded variant was available. Completing the basic combat uniform are a pair of standard issue brown leather SADF boots and an M87 pattern helmet which is easily distinguished by its flipped back cloth sun visor attached to the helmets cover.

Most South African troops utilised a form of combat webbing common to free world forces of the cold war years.

SADF webbing looks almost like a lighter coloured hybrid of British 58 pattern and US M56 webbing at first glance and holds a complete fighting load for the solider; comprising of two ammo pouches, kidney pouches, water bottle, poncho roll and daysack/large pack but it is in the field of assault vests where the SADF made its name.

clashes with Warsaw Pact and Cuban “advisors” sent to train and bolster their enemies. It is almost impossible to verify these claims but more than one SADF solider has recounted being in a firefight with East German troops on the South African border, or finding Cuban uniforms and equipment in the aftermath of a raid on an enemy encampment. It is believed that a staggering 300,000 Cubans served their military service in the 23 year long bush war and conducted military operations against South Africa; the number of Chinese, North Korean, East German and Soviet “advisors” can only be guessed at.

Beset from all sides by a determined foe, the SADF fought bravely and earned their place as one of the world’s most proficient armed forces but one cannot help feel that the “cause” they fought for was inherently “wrong”. Politics aside, however, an SADF loadout is not only practical but relatively cheap and easy to source for airsoft. You’ll certainly turn heads on the skirmish field although it’s probably best to leave the excessive cam cream at home!

THE VENERABLE SAAV

The “South African Assault Vest”, or SAAV, is perhaps one of the best known staples of airsoft. It’s often the first “assault vest” or webbing set new players invest in and is now available in a bewildering array of camo patterns but, back in the early 80s when the M83 SAAV was introduced (alongside a lesser known chest rig variant) it was something of a revelation.

Original M83 SAAVs (as pictured here) soon proved their worth with the SADF and became “must have” combat gear in the British Army as well. The SAAV was seen as a “Gucci” bit of kit in the 80s and 90s and those who could acquire them and get away with wearing them utilised these “bomb proof” tough vests with a ridiculous carrying capacity in theatres as wide ranging as Northern Ireland through to the Persian Gulf and some UK Paras have even been seen wearing them as late on as their deployment to Kosovo. One of the SAAV’s best features is its wide array of pouches able to carry any type of small arms magazine and its large “daysack” at the rear, often now used for hydration system. This versatility has earned itself a place well deserved place in the halls of “classic” tactical kit.

Armed with a Vektor R4 rifle our SADF trooper is well equipped to tackle a combat mission into enemy territory, although it would not be uncommon for more “behind the lines” patrols to carry captured soviet made Kalashnikovs assault rifles to disguise both their appearance at long range and their “sound signature” should they get into a firefight.

It was common practice for the SADF to send at least one of their patrols armed (and often dressed) like their communist guerrilla opponents, in order to get effective intelligence before committing the main force of an attack.

To this end South African soldiers would often “black up” before going on operations. While incredibly “politically incorrect” to a modern European readership, this practice of covering all exposed skin of a white soldier with black camo paint allowed SADF soldiers (and in particular the Special Forces) to approach black settlements and get far nearer before arousing suspicion or alarming sentries.

Not all of the SADF opponents were black nationalists however. Many accounts by SADF veterans recount border

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MilSim STIRLING AIRSOFT

OPERATION RIDGE WAY

IN THE SECOND OF HIS REPORTS FROM STIRLING AIRSOFT, SCOTT ALLAN SWAPS THE HEAT OF SPAIN FOR THE SLIGHTLY COOLER ENVIRONS OF CATTERICK GARRISON, IN NORTH YORKSHIRE. WE ARE IN KURSKAYA, STAVROPOLSKIY Kray, Russia, where escalating violence along the Russian borders has called for a statement from Moscow, disavowing all militia groups claiming to be acting under orders from the government.

Recent outbreaks of fighting within Finnish territory led to intervention from NATO and a ceasefire is currently in effect while the UN conducts an investigation into the cause of the fighting. Despite assurances from Moscow, the situation in the Ukraine continues to spiral out of control, while ultranationalist attacks against Ukrainian forces become more widespread.

Support for Russia’s foreign diplomacy is at an all time low, forcing a NATO quick reaction force to be considered and revitalising the extremist views of several anti-Russian militia groups, including the Caucasian Front, who still wage an aggressive political war against Russia and its allies. For many within the jihadist group, politics are no longer a viable option.

Hundreds of threats against the Russian government have been made and it is reported that the Caucasian Front has once again begun recruiting and stockpiling weapons. Unconfirmed reports claim that the extremist group has more recently acquired chemical weapons and has sent hundreds of fighters north, into the Russian heartland, to begin their next offensive.

Catterick Garrison in Yorkshire is steeped in history with Stirling Airsoft. Games at that particular site have been running for over ten years and have covered every game type imaginable over the years. From the standard themed event that is possibly best described as tactical airsoft orienteering with timed objectives at set locations that need captured, transported or destroyed. There is also the World famous England Vs Scotland “Auld Enemy” game at the end of each year, in which two teams battle for the Stirling Shield. Then finally there are the “Combat Missions” that are a type of MilSim or Military Simulation event.

WHAT IS A THEMED GAME?

Think of it a little like storyline-driven MilSim. While it isn’t crazy hard core MilSim, there are elements such as no high capacity magazines and an overall objective. Generally one team is a western force and another a rebellious, bad guy ridden, war mongering civilian-esq team. For this event we played the “good guys”, although I have also played bad guys in the past and each are generally the same, as we are often fighting over the same things.

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CATTERICK TRAINING VILLAGE

The buildings are not like Stanta or Cope Hill Down and are not purpose made. Catterick is old housing accommodation so the buildings are real sized, just with all the windows removed and stripped bare inside. It really does have a little bit of a post-apocalyptic feel about it, well in a Yorkshire kind of way.

The buildings have been built up into a compound, surrounded by a Hesco wall with a North and a South gate. There is also a mixture of woodland and derelict rubble areas with tanks and armour dotted around the site.

WHO ARE STIRLING AIRSOFT?

I am no stranger to Stirling Airsoft games, having played many events at Catterick, Stanta, Cope Hill Down as well as various venues in Spain. I knew they have a standard that is not so much expected as it is demanded of the players who attend.

Stirling Airsoft run, in my opinion, one of the finest balances between MilSim, skirmish and role play in the UK - and possibly worldwide.

The events are tough and designed to push your limits of endurance, team work and strategy.

With many of the staff being exUK forces and serving personnel, plus the occasional SF consultant, you can always be sure that the events are current with tactics and developments. Personally I love their take on MilSims and enjoy a general skirmish day but role play

is not really my thing, largely because I’m no good at it! Now that is not to say I do not enjoy the realistic aspect that these players bring to the game. I respect the effort and lengths these players go to but personally I could not see myself bringing a chicken to a game (yes I’ve seen them brought to a game) without feeling I had missed out on the military aspect. But that is the beauty of Stirling Airsoft events, it can be (and is) for every player.

I observed as a marshal for this game, which was great to see how each team interacted with each other and the different ways in which they would approach certain problems.

Many of the “Desert” team would often pump out Tag round or TLSFX mortars into enemy positions, whereas the “Green” team seemed to hit with large numbers.

As the day progressed the teams battled back and forth across the site; the Greens appeared to whip the Deserts aside for the first few hours and then they kind of fizzled out. As the Desert team gained momentum the points slowly started to swing in their favour. As with many Stirling games there are a variety of Sensitive Site Exploitation (SSE) drills that teams must carry out of their own accord. Finding laptops, weapons caches, bomb factories, gold deposits and other items all help toward building your intel picture of the battlefield you are operating in. This happened in this event with bomb insertions that had to be picked up, held and then transported to a final location to be set off at the correct time. Huge firefights erupted at these times around the target buildings, with the bombs often switching sides several times.

One of the continuously decent spots for action is “The Tower”, also known as “Building 44”. The multi-storey has few advantages other than as a bit of a lookout but then when you

“I SAW SOME GOOD SNIPING SHOTS FROM THE ROOF TOP, AS WELL AS A FEW GRENADE ROUNDS WHICH TOOK OUT EVERYONE UP THERE. ONE OF THEM BEING A TAG ROUND, WHICH WAS A GOOD SURPRISE TO MY EARS AND UNDERWEAR IN EQUAL MEASURE!”

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have a map sheet telling you the objectives, you hardly need to look for the enemy as you know the time and place they’re aiming for. Yet I saw some good sniping shots from the roof top, as well as a few grenade rounds which took out everyone up there. One of them being a Tag round, which was a good surprise to my ears and underwear in equal measure!

The Stirling team are split evenly so that they command both sides of the fight, this means from a marshal point of view they have a good idea of what is happening and how well the event is running. As well as this, dedicated marshals are

on hand at the two regen points and at the target buildings if players need any assistance. As always, when you take players from all across the UK and throw them into an event there are differences of opinion on acceptable play but I have found at these events it is few and far between and normally isolated to one or two individuals – like most things in life.

As the day pressed on and the end ex is called at 11pm until 7am the next morning, the players retreat to the heated accommodation to rest their tired feet although some of the less hardy players had begun relaxing long before then, which left their teammates short and struggling on the field. For this reason the Green team lost more ground on the points card and the Deserts sat with a fairly comfortable lead.

The Sunday was a whole new day and both sides went at it from early doors, although once again the Greens where slower off the mark and the Deserts pressed their advantage home, extending their lead and players begin to really flag. The 16 hour game really is a toll on the untested player, with simple things like hydration often taking a back seat until it is too late and they’re spent. A couple of muesli bars and a hydro would probably keep many players going for longer if they could pace themselves better. However, it is all smiling faces and handshakes at the end of the event with a comfortable win for the Desert team this time.

Catterick for me is the best Airsoft site in the UK by far. It has a brilliant balance of terrain and buildings, it’s big enough to cope with 100+ numbers yet small enough that you aren’t walking for ages in empty space. It lacks that cold concrete feel I get from Cope Hill and it’s not in the middle of nowhere.

Then there is the Stirling aspect, they run excellent events and working closely with many site operators over the years shows their ability to adapt their games continually.

So why not do yourself a favour and get along to one of the many Stirling Airsofts events, you’ll not be disappointed.

For more information about future Stirling Roll on the next one!

Airsoft events, head over to their website: http://www.stirlingairsoft.com

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– A I T CROA R E D N I F H T PA NEW AIRSOFT ACTION CONTRIBUTOR, ALAN MURRAY, REPORTS FROM ONE OF THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS EVENTS ON THE AIRSOFT CALENDAR, HELD ON A FORMER MILITARY ISLAND IN THE ADRIATIC. LATE JUNE 2016, MRCARA ISLAND; the venue for one of the most outrageous airsoft events on the planet. This former military island located within Croatian waters in the Adriatic Sea, in the southern region of Dalmatia, would be our home for the duration of this year’s event from Kresco Glavica and the Adriatic Adventures team: “Pathfinder II”.

The island itself is 3kms long by 1.5kms wide and has a rugged coastline of around 8kms. It has a number of peaks, the highest of which is 123m above sea level and it is almost totally covered in dense jungle. These days the island is uninhabited and forms part of a designated natural park. Our first experience of Mrcara was for an event that we ran there ourselves for around 80 players in 2011. That journey involved driving ourselves and everything needed to run the event from Scotland through England, France, Italy, Slovenia and onto Croatia. An epic journey by any measure and one I would not like to repeat. This time round we would take the easy route.

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From personal experience getting to overseas games can, in itself, be something of an adventure and this time was no exception. This would be my third trip to Mrcara and this time round 4 of us would be travelling from the UK and we spent the weeks leading up to the event going through the player info pack, planning and generally getting organised. For this type of event you need to make sure you have travel insurance and that it covers you for this type of activity. The night before the event I painstakingly scanned the online Topdog insurance form for a box titled “crazy desert island airsoft adventure” but came up dry and settled instead for the more sedate option of “sporting activity”.

The first stage of the journey for us was a late evening flight from Glasgow to London Gatwick. Because of the timings we had around 5 hours to kick our heels in the airport but we used the time constructively by checking in with Gatwick Police as we always do, to let them know our equipment would

International CROATIA

R be coming through security before getting our heads down.

No matter how proactive you are when travelling with RIFs there’s always an element of uncertainty and this year proved particularly challenging. Whilst we were able to avoid the full body cavity search, we were still forced to go through the same series of repetitive explanations at every stage of the process about what the kit was and wasn’t and, in the end we had to sign firearms transportation forms to satisfy the staff - which is clearly a worrying precedent. Finally we were able to board our early morning direct flight to Split, which would take around two and a half hours and in typical budget airline style provided an excellent selection of stress positions for those travelers taller than a hobbit to endure. Split airport is not far from the town itself and after collecting out kit we grabbed a taxi for the transfer to the town. Because of the timings we had an overnight stay in Split at a local hotel which was located with the walls of the beautiful Diocletian’s Palace in the old town and we whiled away the warm evening enjoying the local mojitos. Split offers a wide range of accommodation options to suit any budget and everyone speaks English. Airsoft is fairly popular in Croatia and there are no special laws to consider when crossing any border travelling into or out of the country but it is recommended that you always declare your gear to the border police and customs. The player pack provides you with a Croatian Police letter stating that airsoft is permitted in Croatia and that there are no restrictions in force. An official game invitation is also be provided and from experience these should ensure you have no problems about your airsoft gear at the Croatian end.

In the morning we hooked up with other players who had travelled from far and wide and the event organizer Kresco in Split Harbour and caught up with a few familiar faces, most notably Pirs “Splinter” Damjan who would be leading our side and is a typical example of the larger than life character you will encounter at this event. Another good example was Novritsch, who many of you will know makes airsoft sniper videos and publishes them on his YouTube channel. If you haven’t seen his stuff check him out; he’s a great guy and his stuff is brilliant and clearly he knows what he’s doing on the airsoft field.

His footage perhaps gives the best idea of what the playing experience is like on Mrcara.

There was clearly a real mix of nationalities this year with teams like Odin’s Shield, RAT and Inglourious Basterds in attendance. The final part of the journey was by ferry which sailed from Split to the island of Lastovo and en route over a beer we struck up a friendship with a couple of Dutch players; Vincent and Klass. This was their first island event but they were clearly very experienced and the trip passed quickly as

we exchanged war stories and looked forward to the coming adventure and took in the breathtaking views.

The second leg of the sea journey involved boarding a smaller boat for the final journey to Mrcara Island, which took around half an hour and afforded a good view of the rugged, challenging terrain over which we would be playing.

Upon arrival at the island’s harbour all players unloaded their personal equipment before carrying it up the 220 steps to the accommodation area. After a long trip this climb certainly gets

“WE STARTED EARLY WITH PLAYERS BEING TRANSFERRED BY FAST RIB ACROSS THE BAY TO THE ABANDONED SUBMARINE PEN WHERE THEY WOULD THEN BE REINSERTED ON THE ISLAND TO BEGIN PLAY.”

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the blood pumping and has become something of a “rite of passage”. The smarter ones loaded their bags into the island’s sole vehicle… an ancient Lada Riva that looks like it has been around since the time of William Wallace but still managed to get the job done.

For the duration of the event we would be sleeping in stone bunkhouse style buildings left over from the days when Mrcara was an active military base. They’re basically just rough shells now but they keep the rain out well enough which is all that matters. We quickly put dibs on a fairly small room in the main building that could accommodate both the UK guys and the Freak Deaky Dutchies who, we noted, seemed to have brought enough kit with them to invade one of the larger former Soviet Republics. Once everyone had got themselves squared away there was a short orientation briefing covering safety issues and timings for the event. After the brief everyone had plenty of time to themselves which they used to get their kit ready, explore the island, swim and have a beer. It was all very chilled out. The water one the island is not drinkable and bottled water would be provided throughout the event as part of the price. Some of the meals were also included and this was simple but satisfying fayre. We supplemented these with MREs that we bought from one of the Slovenian players, Jelen, who was also helping to run the event. Each player is responsible for ensuring their own medical safety and it is mandatory for all players to bring a personal First Aid kit in the case of minor injuries, which are common. In the instance of a more serious injury, then you will be put on a boat which will take you via sea to a First Aid station located on nearby Lastovo. In the event of a major medical emergency the organisers will call in a CASEVAC helicopter which will take you to the nearest general hospital in Split. By far the biggest risk to health are medical problems as a result of the heat and dehydration, which can effect even the most seasoned veteran and can sneak up on you quickly.

The tap water on the island is not suitable for drinking and we were supplied with bottled water throughout the event. The toilets were a simple building built over a large pit. There are no showers, so we use the sea to clean ourselves.

The game itself ran from early Friday morning through to noon on Saturday and at no point did anyone have to look too hard for some action. Whether your style was sneaky sneaky or full on gunfights, there was fun for all the family. If you’re thinking of coming to this event you need to familiarize yourself with the main features

on the island and be able to use your map to identify your location at all times. It’s not uncommon for players to become disorientated and wander off in the wrong direction for hours at a time.

This year’s scenario picked up the story thread from last year’s event with various factions once again vying for superiority. The event could best be described as “a MilSim with LARP elements” and play was shaped and directed by Intel which was fed to the commanders throughout the game. We started early with players being transferred by fast rib across the bay to the abandoned submarine pen where they would then be reinserted on the island to begin play. This was done mainly for the cool factor and a drone was on hand to capture the action from above which added to the surreal atmosphere.

Along with some of the Italian players our first job was to clear an approach for a VIP and escort him to a designated RV. We were expecting an ambush and were not disappointed but resistance was light and we were able to push through to the objective without too much trouble, which was more than could be said for the faction that was “executed” at the end of this phase.

The temperature was off the scale as we regrouped and pushed on to the next objective; an assault on 4 Gun Hill, the 3rd highest peak on the island. On the top of Four Gun Hill is an interconnected network of Mortar Firing Points which are connected via tunnels to each other and a fortified machinegun nest. The main approach to Four Gun Hill consists of low cliff, scree and massive rock structures partially covered by rugged brush and thorn bushes. It is brutal terrain and anyone attacking up this approach has to scale the cliffs as well as attack up through the scree and boulder slope. After pausing briefly to come up with a hasty plan of attack we sent a small group to flank the summit whilst the main group assaulted directly up the cliffs. We lost a few players on the approach but quickly gained the summit and fought through to clear the position but failed to locate the code which was our objective and pushed on to “Little Brother” occupying both the summit and the tunnel complex unopposed. The only fighting that took place at this time was a blue on blue which was soon resolved. The Little Brother tunnel experience makes the trip

“THE NIGHT BEFORE THE EVENT I PAINSTAKINGLY SCANNED THE ONLINE TOPDOG INSURANCE FORM FOR A BOX TITLED ‘CRAZY DESERT ISLAND AIRSOFT ADVENTURE’ BUT CAME UP DRY AND SETTLED INSTEAD FOR THE MORE SEDATE OPTION OF ‘SPORTING ACTIVITY’.”

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worthwhile by itself and is like nothing most players will ever experience. There are 5 levels of tunnel which run deep into the mountain. Some of the tunnels also have ventilation shafts which can be up to 10 metres deep. Some of the shafts have become overgrown by vegetation so you must be careful at all times. The deeper you go down the cooler is gets and the tunnels provide both a welcome break from the merciless sun and also one of the most exciting playing opportunities most will ever experience.

Understanding the need to find the code, Splinter sent us back across to Four Gun to carry out another sweep but again we found nothing and it was on our third visit later in the day that one of the Italian players, Boo Boo, stumbled across it.

The rest of the game that day for many meant a series of gritty firefights on and around the main track and good use was made during the game of simulated “airstrikes”; admittedly less so by Mato who managed to eliminate a large unit with pinpoint accuracy… pity they were in his own unit! For us, however, we formed a mixed unit and undertook a fairly tough traverse of 4 Gun, White Cliffs and the coastal route to recover some key artefacts. The long circuitous route ensured we avoided any contacts but the going was brutal and there were some extremely tired legs at the end of it… mine amongst them. It had been a long and very hot day and the organisers wisely decided to schedule a three hour break to allow everyone to resupply and rehydrate before the night phase.

When darkness fell so did the numbers of active players in the field as many decided to rest and prepare to rejoin play in the morning.

During the downtime players enjoyed a cold beer whilst cooling off in the bay beside the small restaurant that I understand opens occasionally, cooking whatever they catch for whoever turns up and drops anchor in the bay. We took this opportunity to shoot some walkthrough videos of some of the key features on the island for an orientation video we were putting together. Typically whilst filming a slot on the island’s wildlife a snake slithered across our path… it’s just that sort of place! The island is home to wild goats, sheep and lizards. There are also spiders and the aforementioned snakes but neither are poisonous and the main issue we had to contend with on previous trips were mosquitos which can cause real discomfort but largely left us alone this time round.

A mosquito net is however highly recommended. An event of this nature can only work if everyone pulls together as a team. The play can be physically tough and it will test your own endurance and your personal admin. Players who fail to take care of themselves will have a very tough time that will certainly impact on their own enjoyment.

The event organizer, Kresco Glavica, summed up his vision for the event: “Since we started the Adriatic Adventures Company year on year we have grown and gained more experience. We have had a lot of help along the way from our friends from CAD Airsoft Company from Slovenia, who are a really excellent and well organised team. As the years go on, more players are coming to recognise our efforts to give the players the chance to experience the most exclusive airsoft venue in the world – A PRIVATE MILITARY ISLAND! This year we broke our own record and got 110 players for the game.

Our future goal is to continue to provide a high quality service for the players, and produce exciting games. We don’t want to hit large numbers, because we believe that would ruin our concept... a hardcore airsoft adventure for only the very bravest players”.

Judging by the feedback on social media the players agree.

Those who attended this year were clearly very extremely impressed with the gameplay, organisation and the scenario.

The excellent marshalling provided by team CAD from Slovenia also stood out. It’s no small feat to ensure you are always where you are needed in an environment as challenging as Mrcara, with action taking place all over the island and they managed it without complaint. So it was smiles all round as we left the Island on Sunday morning around 9am and reversed our journey back to Split. We spent our last night in the old town over dinner and drinks and it was not without

some regret that we said our goodbyes to both our new Dutch friends and the town itself. If you do get the chance to go you should seriously consider at least one night in Split which is truly stunning and has no shortage of places to eat and drink and boasts an excellent beach.

It’s genuinely difficult to describe Mrcara and do it justice.

The island is beautiful but unforgiving and as an airsoft venue it is simply unrivalled. As Kresco himself puts it, you are not just fighting your opponent you are also fighting against the island. Regardless of how experienced a player you are or what you have done, this event is worth a look and I guarantee if you make the trip it will be an experience which you will never forget. Every year we go we leave this event with more friends than we arrived with and plenty of war stories to bore our friends, family and work colleagues back in the real world.

Kresco has already started work on next year’s game; Pathfinder III – Vendetta which promises to be one to remember. So who knows? Maybe we’ll see you on the island next year.

For more information about Adriatic Airsoft and their upcoming events, visit their website: http://www.adriaticairsoft-alfa.com

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RATTY WRITES ABOUT A PIECE OF MILITARY HARDWARE THAT HAS SEEN NUMEROUS ROLES, SAVED COUNTLESS LIVES AND WILL SOON DISAPPEAR FROM OUR SKIES FOREVER. UNLESS YOU HAVE BEEN LIVING under a rock for the last 7 years or so, you may have noticed that the World has been in a bit of a pickle! Faced with huge debts, our wonderful government here in Blighty has chosen to, like many previous governments have done before, cut back the armed forces and emergency services. Now I’m certainly not going to get into a political debate but the upshot is that much military hardware has either been mothballed and is sitting in deep storage somewhere here or in Europe, or has been sold off or worse, scrapped.

If you live or have some of your pastimes either by the coast or in the more mountainous regions, then there is fair chance that you will have seen a Westland Sea King helicopter. They may even have helped you or someone you know, plucking you or them from certain death. A familiar sight in the skies around Britain for over 40 years, the Sea King was finally retired from service at the end of last year and early this year. A great shame but as the last Sea King of the Royal Navy’s Search & Rescue Service (in the red & grey livery) and that of the RAF Search & Rescue (in their distinctive yellow livery), it also meant that the two services handed over responsibility (begrudgingly) to a company from the private sector and in fact, from a different country. Although there are a handful of Sea Kings still flying in an operational role, this is only 1 role and these too will be retired in 2018.

The Sea King, though, was a lot more than a flying rescue machine. It fulfilled a multitude of roles and played an important part in some of the biggest conflicts that this country had seen since the end of the Second World War. So let us delve into the Sea King’s past and find out why this helicopter was so important and why it holds such a special place in many people’s hearts.

ORIGINS OF A LEGEND AND ITS DEVELOPMENT

The Westland Sea King can trace its lineage back to the Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King and S-61 series (the civilian designation for the Sea King) helicopter. The US Navy awarded a contract to Sikorsky to develop an amphibious anti-submarine warfare helicopter that was not only capable of detecting enemy submarines but also had the ability of attacking them too. The first Sea King prototype flew in March 1959 with the initial batch being delivered in September 1961. With the civilian version first flying in 1961, Los Angeles Airways were the first civil operator to take on this new aircraft, introducing them in March 1962.

Here in the UK, Westland already had a well-established licence agreement with Sikorsky Aircraft, which allowed them to make their own version of existing Sikorsky products. Soon

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after the Sea King’s maiden flight in the US, this licence was extended to cover the new SH-3. The Royal Navy, too, wanted a new anti-submarine helicopter to replace the ageing Westland Wessex and placed an order for 60 SH-3Ds to fulfil this role in June 1966. A prototype and three pre-production aircraft were assembled at Sikorsky’s plant in Stratford, Connecticut. From there, they were shipped to UK, arriving in October 1966. Fitted with a pair of General Electric T58 turboshafts, one of the four was flown from the dockside at Avonmouth to Yeovil airfield.

The other three were transported by road to Yeovil, where they were worked upon to meet the UK requirements.

The British Sea Kings are a very different beast compared to their American counterparts. Although they share the same name and airframe, that is pretty much where the similarities end.

The first reason is they were built for two very different doctrines. The way the US worked their anti-sub helicopters was to have them under tactical control of the carrier from which they operated from. The Royal Navy, however, operated in a completely different way. Each Sea King was to be capable of operating on their own but able to coordinate with other aircraft and surface vessels. This meant a completely different crew arrangement and the aircraft being under the control of the observer rather than the pilot.

The second reason was that to achieve the above and bearing in mind Westland being a British company, there were differences in everything from the engines and flight controls to the types of search radar and so on. The British version was fitted with a pair of Rolls Royce Gnome turboshafts developing 1389shp each.

The first ever Sea King built solely by Westland, designated HAS-1, flew on 7 May 1969. Two more were used for trials and evaluation by Westland themselves as well as the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment.

In the 1970’s, after several years of service and ongoing trials and upgrades with the Sea King, Westland, in partnership with the Royal Aircraft Establishment, started to conduct the British Experimental Rotor Programme (BERP) which would innovate rotor technology. Using a new design and composite materials, initial trials saw these new rotors being fitted to active Sea Kings. The trials showed the BERP had several advantages over the standard rotors including much improved aerodynamics and longer fatigue life. These rotors became standard fitment of Sea Kings subsequently manufactured. The same design was also fitted to the record breaking Westland Lynx as well as all Agusta Westland Merlin AW101’s.

PRODUCTION

In all, 330 Sea Kings of all different variants were produced

by Westland. Many were exported with major users being the Royal Norwegian Air Force, Royal Australian Navy, the German

Navy and even the Indian Naval air arm.

Sikorsky also granted licences to make the Sea King to Agusta (Italy) and Mitsubishi (Japan) whilst in Canada their Sea King was assembled by United Aircraft of Canada. In 2009, it was guesstimated that there were some 600 Sea Kings either built by Sikorsky or under licence.

VERSIONS AND VARIANTS

There were 4 main versions, many with their own sub variants that were used by British forces, as well as others.

Perhaps the best known version is the Search and Rescue (SAR) version. These variants all had an “HAR” designation. As we said earlier, the Sea King was primarily developed for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and were the first ones to be taken into operational service with the Royal Navy, all variants having an “HAS” designation. The other much loved variant was the “Commando”. These were destined for use as a transport and assault helicopter with the Royal Navy, serving with the Royal Marines. For this role they bore the designation of “HC4”. The last of the versions we are concerned with here are the last of the surviving Sea Kings in service are the Airborne Early Warning (AEW), although these have now been renamed Airborne Surveillance and Control (ASaC). Let us have a little more in depth look at each variant…

ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE

As we mentioned earlier, the initial development of the military Sea King was for Submarine Hunting. During the Cold War period it was widely accepted that Warsaw Pact Submarines were entering NATO territory, shadowing their warships and obviously the big fear, being parked off NATO country’s coasts, within striking distance of launching multiple Tactical Nuclear Devices. The Soviets had a large, well trained and disciplined fleet of all types of submarines, none of which we really wanted knowing what we were up to. Submarine detection was a BIG thing. Having an Anti-Submarine Warfare capability was a big asset.

The ASW version is equipped with two Type 4 Marine Markers, two Mk2 smoke floats and mini-sonobuoys. BAE Systems type 2069 sonar with an acoustic signal processor provides the capability to carry out dipping sonar operations to a depth of 700ft. There is a magnetic anomaly detector which, in conjunction with all the other bits, can detect subs at great depth and great distance. The Thales Defence Super Searcher radar is installed on the mk6 fleet of Sea Kings. These

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helicopters are also equipped with the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS) terminal.

Although the backbone of the Anti-Submarine Warfare fleet, obviously with the end of the Cold War, this role was deemed not as important as most of the Soviet Submarines were mothballed or scrapped and the amount of ASW Sea Kings scaled back. In 2003, the last of the aged Sea King ASWs was retired, to be replaced by the Augusta Westland Merlin HM1. In 2014, the upgraded Merlin Mk2 entered service as the new Submarine Hunter.

SEARCH & RESCUE

Perhaps the best known version to the masses, the Sea King in the Search & Rescue role has been a familiar site either around the coast of the UK or in our more mountainous regions.

In 1978, the 1st Sea King developed specifically for the Search & Rescue role entered service, replacing the aged Westland Whirlwind HAR10. This version the HAR3 and its updated version HAR3A were operated by both the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.

ON SAR variants, the cabin was enlarged by stretching the fuselage behind the door and inflatable buoyance bags were housed inside the aircraft’s sponsons, which would be used for additional flotation in the unusual event of a water landing.

The cockpit was also redesigned to allow compatibility with night vison goggles. The HR3As also had more modern features including digital navigation system, up to date avionics as well as other updated systems.

Westland built SAR versions for the Royal Norwegian Air Force, Belgian Air Force & the German Navy.

The Sea King has a 4-man crew. It is flown by 2 pilots and has 2 rear-crew, the Radar/Winch Operator and a Winchman, most of whom are qualified paramedics. The aircraft Captain is responsible for the overall command and safety of the aircraft and its crew. The cabin can accommodate up to 22 survivors or 9 stretchers and 2 medical officers. In its typical SAR standby role with 3,000 lbs of fuel loaded on-board, the Sea King can remain airborne for between 2-3 hours. With a full fuel load, the Sea King can fly for up to 6 hours with a maximum range of 250 nautical miles. At full pelt, it has a maximum speed of140mph.

The Sea King can also operate day or night and in most weather conditions. It has an impressive list of rescue aids, including a hydraulic winch with 245ft (75m) of steel cable. This is capable of delivering the Winchman to most casualty locations and lifting up to 3 people simultaneously. It has a comprehensive navigation suite including AIRWAVE radio and other communications equipment.

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thermal-imaging/colour TV camera with on-board DV CAM recording capability. In the rear of the Sea King, an extensive array of medical equipment can be found.

RAF Sea King helicopters of 22 and 202 Squadrons operated from 6 UK locations. Further helicopters provide SAR cover from 2 Royal Navy (RNAS Culdrose & HMS Gannet) and 4 Maritime and Coastguard Agency contract-operated bases, giving a total of 12 helicopter units around the UK. RAF Mountain Rescue Teams (MRTs) are based at 4 locations in mainland Britain, each staffed by a core of 8 permanent staff members and supported by 28 part-time volunteers.

The RAF operated 6 helicopter Flights at strategic locations around the United Kingdom. Each Flight was equipped with 2 Sea King helicopters and maintained one Sea King and crew at 15 minutes readiness by day and the same, at 45 minutes readiness, by night. Flights also worked internationally, with 84 Squadron operating in Cyprus and 1564 Flight based on the Falkland Islands. These teams could respond to man-made crises and natural disasters all over the world at any time of day or night.

On the 23/03/16, 771 Naval Air Squadron who had been carrying out such missions with the Sea King was disbanded.

Even Royalty have flown the Sea King in front-line Search & Rescue roles. Prince Andrew, Duke of York did a stint and much more recently, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.

AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING When the last of the Royal Navy’s fleet carriers were decommissioned in 1978, shortly afterwards the Fairey Gannet aeroplane which, for many years had fulfilled the Royal Navy’s Early Warning role, was also withdrawn from service. At that point the Royal Navy’s early warning capability was lost!

This proved catastrophic a few years later, when, during the Falklands war a number of Royal Navy warships were lost and many casualties suffered down to a lack of an early warning platform. There was proposed a system based on the already aged Avro Shackleton (which could trace its routes back to the Lancaster!) but this was proved to be too impractical and was years away from being a realistic viable system. So, in 1982, after the end of the Falklands War, 2 Sea King HAS2s were modified with the addition of a Thorn-EMI “Searchwater” LAST radar attached to the fuselage on a swivel arm. This was protected by an inflatable dome. The radar was lowered below the fuselage in flight and then raised before landing. These prototypes, designated HAS 2 (AEW) were flying within 11 weeks and deployed to “D” flight 824 Sqn based on HMS

Big Boyz Toyz WESTLAND SEA KING

Illustrious and went down to the Falklands. A production standard was agreed, known as AEW2 and a further 8 more HAS2s were modified. These were all in operational service in 1985, deployed with 849 Naval air Squadron. As with all things, various modifications and improvements in technology meant that these were being upgraded on a fairly regular basis.

The last major upgrade programme saw the Sea King AEWs being fitted with a multitude of up to date equipment.

These included a new Mission System, Nav Aids, Active Noise Reduction, Videographic recording and JTIDS. The Mission System Upgrade part of the programme included new Searchwater 200AEW radar, with an all new Man-Machine interface. Thales later called this project “Cerberus”. Initially referred to as the AEW7, the whole programme was redesignated as Airborne Surveillance and Control Mk.7 or ASaC7. For this programme, Sea King HAS5 & HAS6s were converted. This brought the MK7 fleet up to 13, which was still 3 less than required.

The main role of the ASaC7 programme is for the detection of low flying attack aircraft but it also provides interception/ attack control as well as over-the-horizon targeting for surface launched weapons. The ASaC7 can track up to 400 targets, which was much improved over the old system which could manage up to 250. A new dimension which has helped the effectiveness of the programme is the addition of Link 16 data link, which allows gathered radar information to be rapidly analysed, thus allowing a response to be initiated/deployed when necessary more quickly.

These ASaC7 Sea Kings will stay in service until the 2nd half of 2018, around the same time as the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers enter service, when they will be replaced by Merlin Helicopters fitted with the very latest equipment, known as the “Crowsnest” programme.

HC.4 COMMANDO

Lovingly known in the Naval world as the “Junglie”, these were the green giants of the Fleet Air Arm. Wherever Royal Marines went in the world, they were accompanied by the Sea Kings of the Commando Helicopter Force. Originally developed for the Egyptian Air Force, the Commando differed from other Sea King variants in a few ways, the main one being that it didn’t retain its amphibious capability and therefore side floats were no longer fitted. Instead, the main undercarriage was fitted to stub sponson. Its inaugural flight took place on26 September 1979, the Commando soon became a very important asset

for troop transport duties and amphibious warfare as it had an operational range of 600 nautical miles, without requiring refuelling. The Commando carried up to 27 fully laden, battle ready troops or 6,000 lbs (2,720 kg) loads internally. It could also carry underslung loads of up to 2.5 tonnes, such as Land Rovers or L118 105mm howitzers which were attached to an external cargo hook. Although with a full load, its range was cut down to 246 nautical miles. The HC.4 had a 3-man crew made up of 2 pilots and 1 aircrew. Due to the kind of work they were used for, the cockpits of Sea King HC.4s are compatible with Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) The Commando Helicopter Forces’ fleet of HC.4s were upgraded in late 2007 with a new set of composite main rotor blades and a new set of 5-bladed tail rotors which enable the helicopter to operate in the mountainous regions of Afghanistan. These upgraded aircraft were designate Sea King HC.4+. Many Royal Naval Air Squadrons operated the HC.4 including 845 NAS, 846 NAS & 848 NAS. Due to the demand for transport & utility helicopters some Sea King HAS6’s were converted from ASW role to troop transporters. These were however retired by the end of 2010.

By the end of March 2016, all HC.4’s had been retired from service.

That’s about it for this issue. In Part 2 I’ll take a quick look at the Sea King’s service history and where she has seen active service.

The images accompanying this article are open source and credited to MoD, Royal Navy and Royal Airforce.

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O G I B THE TO S OLD AND WE WANT AR YE VE FI IS ON TI AC AIRSOFT ORTH OF PRIZES! -W 00 ,0 £7 ER OV AY AW CELEBRATE BY GIVING Yep, you read that right! To celebrate our fifth anniversary we are going to GIVE AWAY OVER SEVEN THOUSAND POUNDS WORTH OF PRIZES!!

THE FIRST ISSUE OF Airsoft Action, dated October 2011, was launched five years ago at the National Airsoft Event and it seems only fitting that we should return there on our fifth anniversary to announce the Winners of this awesome competition – and to cover the event, of course!

Over the last few months we have been collecting together an array of prizes, the like of which has not been seen before. Thanks to the huge generosity of the airsoft trade, at the time of writing the “Prize Pot” stands at a total of £7,335, donated by over 20 companies - and we are going to give it all away!

So, how do you get your hands on one of them? Simple… You fill in the form and answer an easy question, then get it into us before the closing date. At Ground Zero all the correct entries will be put in one “pot” and all the prizes in another, then it will be a simple process of “draw a prize, draw a winner” until all the prizes have gone. This means that everyone has an equal chance of winning one of the “bigger” prizes – but we think they are all brilliant and well worth winning, whatever it may be. You don’t have to be at the event but if you are, you will know what you have won immediately.

So, without further ado, here’s the question…

On the front of every issue of the magazine is a date, this issue’s is “September 2016”. To be in with a chance of winning, simply tell us what date appeared on the cover of Issue 1?

It really is that simple!

Good luck!

MY ANSWER IS: __________________________________________ Name:.................................................................................................................

Telephone:..........................................................................................................

Email:.................................................................................................................

Calibre Publishing would like to keep you informed of other offers and publications.  Please tick here if you would NOT like to be contacted by post or email.

Post your entries to: Airsoft Action Fifth Anniversary Competition, Airsoft Action, Calibre Publishing, Wyche Innovation Centre, Walwyn Road, Malvern, Worcs, WR13 6PL, or email to: competition@airsoft-action.co.uk with “Airsoft Action Fifth Anniversary Competition” in the subject line. You can also enter online, via the Airsoft Action website (www.airsoft-action.online).

Entries received after midnight on 25th August will not be valid. One entry per household. The winners will be drawn on a “one prize, one winner” basis until all prizes have been allocated. In some cases a UKARA membership may be required to receive the prize.

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Competition FIFTH ANNIVERSARY PRIZE DRAW

WIN

ONE O TWEN F OVER TY PR IZES WORT EXCES H IN S £7,00 OF 0!

FIFTH ANNIVERSARY

PRIZE DRAW ENTER OUR SUPERB FIFTH ANNIVERSARY PRIZE DRAW AND YOU COULD WIN ANY ONE OF THESE FANTASTIC PRIZES: n FREE PLAY on all StrikeForce Sites for one year, valued at over £1,200!

n Customisation work from Airsoft Sniper Parts UK to the value of £100!

n A TRMR E2 complete with personalised engraving from JD Airsoft, valued at £160!

n A Pistol or Rifle from RedWolf Airsoft to the value of £500!

n An ICS Digital M4 from FireSupport, valued at £200!**

n Five sets of T-Shirts and Hoodies from Enola Gaye, valued at £275!

n An EVO 3 from ActionSportGames, valued at £300! n A pair of Magnum Viper Pro boots, plus an Op Zulu Duty Kit Bag, plus an Op Zulu Z5.2 Tactical Torch from Patrol Store, valued at £175! n 100 Tins of 1,000 Hardball BBs (yes, that really is 100,000 BBs!) from Armex, valued at £500! n An A2 BFG from A2 Supplies, valued at £100! n A G&G or G&P gun from Airsoft Zone, valued at £200! n A Rifle and 10 Game Day Passes from Land warrior Airsoft, valued at a total of £450!

n A FREE WEEKENDER at either Eversley or Tuddenham from Gunman Airsoft, valued at £40! n A Windrunner Jacket from Helikon-Tex, valued at £45! n A Special Ops Plate Carrier, plus a Special Ops Chest Rig, plus a Lazer Carrier, plus a Lazer Waist Belt, plus a Lazer Drop-Leg Platform, plus a Multiple Gun Carrier, all in V-Cam from Viper Tactical, valued at £260! n A Bison 870 Shotgun plus an ICU Tacticam from iWholesales, valued at £120! n A choice of gear from Military1st to the value of £250!

n FREE walk-on at day games for 12 months from BlueStreak Airsoft, valued at £1,680! n A First Tactical Specialist One Day Pack from FubarBundy, valued at £90! n Five Military Books from Osprey Publishing, valued at £50! n NUPROL PMC Gear from NUPROL: Plate Carrier, 3 x Mag Pouches, Admin Panel, Medium Utility Pouch, Radio Pouch, Hydration Pouch, Molle adapter and Paddle Holster, valued at £220! n Five Annual Subscriptions plus Five Digital Annual Subscriptions to Airsoft Action, valued at £420!

** UKARA Membership will be required to receive this prize directly from FireSupport.

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FALCON ENGRAVING AIRSOFTERS ALL LIKE SOMETHING A BIT “GUCCI” AND WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN HAVING YOUR FAVOURITE PISTOL OR CARBINE ENGRAVED WITH THE DESIGN OF YOUR CHOICE? JERRY NOONE MET UP WITH THE GUYS FROM FALCON ENGRAVING AT THE 2016 AIRSOFT SHOWCASE AND ASKED THEM HOW THIS COULD BE ACHIEVED.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT makes airsoft special for many of us is that you can be truly individual in how you set up your kit and RIFs. Some go truly down the MilSim route with a loadout that is as close to the real world as possible, whilst others look to WWII, Vietnam and the Cold war for their inspiration.

Many of us though just want a loadout that works and lets our individuality shine through.

I look to my good mate and colleague Kelly Hardwick with her bright pink accessories and they always makes me smile, as there truly can only be one “Femme Fatale”; that said she’s a hard charger and just goes to prove the point that it’s not all about the kit you have, it’s totally about your passion for airsoft, no matter how you like to play it!

One area that’s developing a lot of fans out there is custom engraving; whether you want your handgun slide to be engraved with a unique, one-off design or simply want your name or callsign marked indelibly on your magazines, the guys that are really beginning to specialise in this area have spent a great deal of time, effort, and no small financial investment setting themselves up with the right software, tools and machines so that they can ensure a perfectly finished work of art with every project they undertake.

I met the guys behind Falcon Engraving at the Airsoft Showcase at Strikeforce in Gloucester recently, where they were showing off some of their completed works - and what works they were! Add to this that they are a very friendly approachable group who have taken their time to set themselves up very professionally and you’ve got a real recipe for success right there!

I was intrigued though as to what REALLY went into engraving a custom project; I was told they could create a finished engraved piece from just a simple image so I set them the challenge of creating a plaque for the office using just the Airsoft Action logo and I believe that when you see how they went about achieving this, and the finished product, you will be as impressed as I am!

Here’s the logo I sent the guys, and here’s what they had to tell me.

Airsoft Action: Firstly, thanks so much for speaking with us!

Could you tell me a little about the history of Falcon Engraving and what you do?

Falcon : “We started playing airsoft around Essex about a year ago and it wasn’t long until we wanted to start customising our gear. We were lucky enough to have access to a laser cutter which allowed us to experiment with the possibilities of customisation.

“After lots of research we eventually invested in our own 92

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machines, this meant that we had more time and flexibility to experiment. It took many hours of practice but eventually we were satisfied with the finish we could achieve.

“We are our own biggest critics so once we were happy with the product we started taking orders from friends and teammates.

“When we started to take our engraved guns to game days people were intrigued and asked where we had them done.

Recently we have travelled further afield to get an experience of different types of gameplay and to meet more people in the community.”

Airsoft Action: What is the usual process in creating a custom design? I know I supplied an initial image and then you did a mock-up very swiftly but once an order is placed, what happens next?

Falcon: “OK, so firstly the customer sends us the part to be engraved (magazine, top slide or lower receiver, etc) Then we mock up an image to send to customer for approval

GITAG CUSTOM ENGRAVING

Then we prepare the image for engraving.

Before we start the engraving we always run the job above the piece as a second check of the size and positioning.

The next step is vital for ensuring a consistently high quality finish; if the object moves even the tiniest amount then the job is ruined. It has taken us many hours to perfect secure clamping for specific gun parts.

Once the engraving process has finished we use several different methods to remove any burrs. Then we send picture of completed product.

Finally we send the part back via tracked mail and hopefully end up with a happy customer.

Airsoft Action: From speaking to you I know that you’re as passionate about trademark infringement as I; does this mean there are designs that you would steer clear of?

Falcon : “Yes and thanks for bringing this up, we will not do trades. This is non-negotiable as we would not want to piss off companies like Glock or H&K etc.”

Airsoft Action: Since I spoke to you about what you do at the Showcase I saw some great comments on social media afterwards; to what do you attribute your success?

We mark the centre to ensure correct positioning of the engraving.

Falcon : “Part of our success is due to the three of us being creative in our own fields. We all bring different strengths and for the most part manage to collaborate to get the results we expect. We would not produce a product that we would not personally want or are not happy with.”

Airsoft Action: Where do you see Falcon Engraving heading in the future?

Falcon : “We are currently researching several new manufacturing methods including 3D printing, which has so many applications for airsoft. We have some ideas in the pipeline for producing our own parts and accessories, from hop arms to flash hiders. We currently have a YouTube channel that we would like to grow as we continue to improve our content.

All of this while we further improve our engraving process to provide the best possible finish.”

Airsoft Action: If someone is interested in having a custom design created what should their first point of contact be?

Falcon: “We’re always delighted to hear from fellow airsofters and potential customers, and they can contact us via our Facebook page or email with any questions: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/falconengraving/ Gmail: falconengraving@gmail.com Airsoft Action: Thanks so much for answering my questions and I’m sure the readers will be amazed at the level of work that goes into creating a unique design! Thanks so much for creating the “Airsoft Action Plaque” and it really has been an absolute pleasure to speak with you.

I’m really pleased that I again chose to “Give It To A Geek” and if you want something that is as individual as you are, then I’d suggest that you speak to the great team at Falcon Engraving too!

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LIVE A

SHELTERED LIFE

AS A YOUNG LAD, I would spend many hours in my local forest building dens by using any materials that I could scavenge from the surrounding area. Back then, I did this just for fun but fast forward twenty five years to now and I realise that those basic shelter building techniques which I had been experimenting with as a youth, had a more serious purpose in adulthood.

As part of my developing interest into the military, it became apparent that these childhood activities which I had been undertaking were similar in basic principle to aspects of specially taught survival courses for many elite military units.

Through further practice and research into this area of military survival, I became aware of just how important the ability to construct an emergency survival shelter really was for any stricken troops finding themselves in a survival situation. A shelter will provide the occupants with protection from the elements – wind, rain, heat etc. There are also psychological benefits to be gained from building a shelter. In addition to protection, the shelter will become a point of sanctuary – somewhere for the survivor to rest and feel safe.

The type of shelter constructed depends on the region/ terrain, resources available and the physical state of the individuals. From a tactical perspective, concealment to prevent detection by an enemy will also determine what type of shelter is constructed and its location. When looking to construct a shelter, always seek out the easiest options first. This will save you time and energy. Naturally occurring shelter could be as simple as sitting beneath a thick, low laying bough of a tree.

A few small additions such as floor insulation and a small fire pit plus reflector could be enough to give you a cosy place to spend the night.

When deciding to build a survival shelter in a temperate region, such as within the UK, there are a number of different designs that can be used. The two most common ones are the ‘A’ frame shelter and the lean-to.

‘A’ frame shelter

SURVIVAL EXPERT, PAUL YELLAND, GIVES US SOME TIPS ON HOW TO BUILD A SHELTER USING JUST THE MATERIALS WE FIND AROUND US.

Lean-to shelter

Through this article, I am going to walk through the stages of how to construct an ‘A’ frame type shelter.

There are all kinds of variations on how to build different survival shelters. Just remember that the circumstances surrounding your requirement for a shelter will dictate how you build one and you might find that the actual design which you have chosen for your shelter needs to be customised to suit the amount of materials that are available to you. But before we get started, there are some important points to consider.

1. Make sure that you check that the area is safe to build a shelter in. Check for dead fall above you which could come crashing down on top of you in a breeze. Avoid constructing shelters at the bottom of rock faces or next to rivers due to the risks posed from rock falls and flooding 2. Do not build a shelter on, or next to a footpath or animal track

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Survival SHELTERS

Check for deadfall

Clear the ground of debris

3. Chose a place to construct the shelter close to an area that has enough resources for the task. Also ensure that the site is near a suitable water source and fire wood supply 4. Keep the size of the shelter as small as possible because a small shelter is easier to keep warm than a larger type of build. A “Swiss Family Robinson” type of construction is overconsuming in time, materials and energy. Keep the shelter simple but fit for purpose.

The lengths of the side branches will vary but when placed opposite each other, they should make a nice capital ‘A’ shape – hence the name ‘A’ frame shelter. Because there is a tree at the highest point of this shelter, the doorway needs to be on one of the sides. Choose the side that faces away from the prevailing wind and when laying the side poles, make a wider gap between the first two poles to act as the doorway. Make sure that the top ends of the side poles don’t protrude too far beyond the ridge pole because if these poles poke through the thatching material, rain water will track from the top ends of the poles, through the thatch and into the shelter.

Now that the side poles have been placed into position, the smaller lattice work can be added. This lattice will complete the platform for the roofing material to rest on. It is not necessary to weave a perfect lattice work. In fact, it is more time consuming to do so and as it is mostly dried material from the forest floor that is being used to construct the roof, the wood is just not pliable enough and will snap when you try to weave it all together. Instead, just lay the lattice wood diagonally across the side poles.

The pieces of wood can be secured into place by hooking them over each other. Cover the entire roof frame with this fine covering of lattice work.

It does not have to look neat – but it does needs to be able to stop the finer thatching material from falling through the roof and onto you when laying inside the shelter.

The final stage is to apply the

The ridge pole

Upright support

METHOD

After selecting a safe and suitable location, the ground around the shelter area needs to be cleared of debris. The great thing about building this type of shelter is that you can use branches and other dead fall which is laying on the forest floor, so there should not be any need to start cutting down trees for building materials.

The next task is to select a strong ridge pole. Strength of this pole is important as it is a weight-bearing part of the structure. This ridge pole should be long enough to extend just beyond your head and feet when laying inside the shelter. In a standard ‘A’ frame construction, the shelter is free standing with the diagonal poles which make the ‘A’ at the entrance taking part of the weight of the roof along with the ridge pole.

But because I am building my shelter in a forest, the better and more secure option is to run the ridge pole off diagonally from one of the growing trees. The ridge pole is forked at one end to keep it in position and is also supported by a strong upright that has been tied to the tree. The length of this upright sets the maximum height for the shelter which should be high enough for you to sit up in (at the highest point).

Once the ridge pole has been put in place, the sides of the shelter need to be focused on. These sides are constructed from varying lengths of branches which are between one and two inches in diameter. The branches are placed along the length of the ridge pole – starting at the highest part and working down.

The doorway

The opposite wall

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Survival SHELTERS

Natures fixings Making the lattice

get inside the shelter and look up at the underside of the roof.

Check for daylight shining through any holes and add more thatching to any thin areas that are found. Once finished, the inside of the ‘A’ frame shelter can be made more comfortable by adding plentiful amounts of soft foliage to act as ground insulation.

This shelter took just over four hours to build and apart from fetching the building materials, it was reasonably easy to construct. Although a survival skill, this kind of shelter can be fashioned into use during longer duration skirmishes as a hide, equipment dump or patrol base. It is relatively quiet to build and does not require any tools in its construction. If located properly, the ‘A’ frame shelter will blend in really well with the surrounding environment making it difficult to detect.

thatching to the roof. This is probably the most time consuming part of building this shelter but if corners are cut at this stage, the shelter will be draughty and not as water tight. Gather forest floor debris such as leaves and twigs and start to build up the thatching on the roof from the ground and upwards. Work from one end of the roof to the other, and make sure that the thatching over laps the previous layer below. The thatching will need to have a good depth of thickness to stop the rain from getting through. Once you are happy with the roofing,

Apply the thatching from the ground upwards

An almost completed roof Finished shelter blending in to the surroundings

Make sure that the entire roof is covered 98

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GOD REST THEIR SOULS WITH THE CENTENARY OF THE SOMME JUST PAST, BILLY WRITES ABOUT AN EVENT THAT HAD A PROFOUND EFFECT IN THOSE THAT WITNESSED IT BUT DID VERY LITTLE TO BRING THE WAR TO AN END.

Ralph Hawtrey, James Young and Stanley Bullock, 179th Tunnelling Company. © Mrs. A. Russell and Simon Jones

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I AM THOROUGHLY ASHAMED to admit, dear Reader that the Centenary Celebration of the Battle of the Somme came as a complete surprise to me. I am happy to blame that one on Boris too. Eclipsed as it was by the shocking Brexit vote and the (what to me, at the time of writing this, looks like) the implosion of the Government and the Opposition. I fell ashamedly silent when an image of the Thiepval Memorial structure came on the telly and I gathered a moment of perspective and forgot about Boris, Jeremy, Gove and Cameron and dwelt on the unimaginable suffering, carnage and loss that happened over 100 years ago on the battle fields of France.

In particular, one aspect of it leapt out at me as I watched the footage: The Lochnagar Crater. Oh my God! Did you see the size of the thing?!! My wife and I, like many other couples, are fans of on demand box sets (duvet, carpet picnic, bottle of red, yeah you know where we’re going with this…) and are regularly still up at 23:00 looking at one another in the gloom and agreeing to watch “Just one more”. Only to regret it in the morning when our boy wakes up at 05:30 and just as we’ve got him back off, our girl wakes up - Groan!!! But who can forget (or resist) the first series of Peaky Blinders with Thomas Shelby suffering those hellish flashbacks from the trenches, where he served as a tunneller.

So this article was meant to be written, I would like with Ed’s permission, to use it as my own personal vehicle to pay

homage and my respects to every one of those poor, brave, amazing Lions that were sacrificed by the donkeys in charge that we might live the way we do today. God Rest their souls.

On the 11th November 1915, in the utterly miserable, freezing conditions of the trenches in France, to the accompanying sound of strong men grunting and heaving, picks and shovels struck the ground 91 metres behind the British lines that was to be the beginning of a huge underground assault on a German fortification called Schawbenhohe.

The men wielding the picks and shovels were from 185 Tunnel Company of the Royal Engineers, men who had specific expertise either in commercial mining, or surveying and civil engineering. Strong, tough miners from the collieries who were used to the gruelling work. Overseen by Officers who had backgrounds in Engineering and Surveying, due to their close working environment theirs was a closer than normal bond between these brave men.

The fortification of Schawbenhohe to their front, which was the target of the tunnellers, was a major obstacle to the British Forces amassed across the short stretch of No Man’s Land.

A frontal assault would have been unthinkable so they were going underneath.

I was stunned whilst researching this article that the tunnel had begun 91 metres to the rear of the British trenches, I had always assumed that the entrance would have been actually in the trench to make the dig as short as practicable. How incredibly demoralising then, that they had 91 metres of long slow painful, frightening digging before they even got under our own lines.

It must have been terrifying because of the fear of collapse and being buried alive and of course, the closer they got to the Germans, the more they were in danger of being heard. Both sides on the Front had active miners, in fact the whole area around the eventual crater site was called “The Glory Hole”.

Billy Basics LOCHNAGAR CRATER

One side would start a tunnel and the opposition would start a tunnel to counter it, often employing listening devices below ground to detect the sound of scraping, hacking and coughing. Often tunnels were prepared, then packed with explosives just for the purpose of blowing up to disrupt tunnels nearby. There was also vicious fighting that went on below ground, when one side detected a tunnel nearby they would often breach it and follow through with an assaulting party that would bayonet and gas the poor wretches found at the other side of the mud walls. In Peaky Blinders the main character, Thomas Shelby, can only sleep with the help of opium, due to the waking nightmares of Germans digging through his bedroom walls to get him.

The Lochnagar Crater was purchased by Richard Dunning in 1978. Dunning is a private citizen who just happened to be visiting the battlefields with his family when he came across the crater. He was so moved by the site and the story behind it of sacrifice and horror that he decided to purchase it in order to preserve it for the World as a memorial. When he first saw it, the crater had rubbish and shopping trolleys in the bottom of it and the main use of the huge hole was for kids on their bikes to race up and down. Not a very fitting tribute to the men who

had lost their lives.

The men of 185 Coy RE were relieved by the men of 179, who took over the dig in March of 1916. Unlike other trench systems this one did not just go straight down but went into the earth at an incline of 1:2 and in places 1:3, like a set of steps. Most tunnels dug beneath the battlefields above were between 9 and 36 metres, an astonishing depth. Our tunnel went down to a total depth of 29 metres with a series of galleries (another word for a tunnel) coming off it. When our tunnel was at a depth of 15 metres into the chalk and clay, the first gallery was started and this headed directly towards the Schawbenhohe fortification.

Life in the tunnels would have been quite literally hellish, with every strike of their picks, every boulder or clump of clay they removed their might have been gas, flame or bayonet at the other side to greet them. The constant fear of collapse and suffocation accompanied them like wraiths in the flickering candle light.

But on they went, it would be interesting to have imagined the alternative above ground in the rain for these men, did they think about it all the time? They could have dug away underground (keeping their minds and bodies at least occupied

“THERE WAS ALSO VICIOUS FIGHTING THAT WENT ON BELOW GROUND, WHEN ONE SIDE DETECTED A TUNNEL NEARBY THEY WOULD OFTEN BREACH IT AND FOLLOW THROUGH WITH AN ASSAULTING PARTY THAT WOULD BAYONET AND GAS THE POOR WRETCHES FOUND AT THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MUD WALLS.�

Hawthorn Ridge mine, 1 July 1916

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Billy Basics LOCHNAGAR CRATER

A burial mound in the bottom of the Lochnagar Crater, September 1917. © IWM Q49394.

and away from thoughts of home comforts and loved ones), or sat smoking cigarettes and bemoaning their fate in freezing, rat infested miserable dug outs and waited playing cards for death. Hard choice, not that any of them had any choice I wouldn’t have imagined.

The closer the tunnellers from 179 Coy got to the Schawbenhohe the greater their risk of discovery, the picks and spades were from this point on were left at the surface. On their army boots they tied sand bags to mask the sounds of their footsteps, some even fashioned their own slippers, men with coughs and colds were banned from entering the shafts for fear of compromise by a chance cough.

The Engineers had to remove each and every clump of clay and rock or earth by hand, prised from the earth by careful use of a bayonet. The debris was passed soundlessly back to a chum behind, who would carry it carefully to another waiting in the darkness, who would carry it to the surface for disposal.

The disposal of the debris would have to have been carefully managed on the surface, huge piles of earth behind tunnel entrances would have been a giveaway to German observation posts on the other side.

Soon the Engineers of 179 Coy were nearing their final destination, just to the front of the fortification. Surveying what they had done so far the Officers decided to branch off and create two galleries that would be packed with explosives.

Belt and braces, so work continued soundlessly as they inched forward.

The pressure on the men digging would have been intense, as they made the final preparations they could hear around them not only the chatting of the Germans in the trenches but also the digging of counter tunnels out looking for them.

Finally the two branch galleries were complete, just to the front of the fortification, about 15 metres underground and 20 metres in front. The officers and men inspected their work, withdrew for a well-earned cuppa and a brew and the long process of packing the explosives began. Slowly and carefully

the left branch was packed with over 36,000 lbs of Ammonal and the right branch with 24,000 lbs.

Behind the explosives the men heaped earth clay and rocks to direct the force upwards and forwards rather than backwards down the tunnel. Now there was nothing to do but wait, the men of 179 Coy Royal Engineers had done their bit and now it was the turn of the poor old bloody Infantry.

The whistles were due to sound at 08:00 on the first morning of the Battle of the Somme and in a dug out to the rear of the lines sat a young Captain called James Young, with a plunger in his hand. Would it go off? Had the Germans discovered it? After all that slog was it going to help our boys?

At exactly 07:58, 2 minutes before the Infantry went over the top he pressed the plunger and the fort disappeared! The explosion was so big that the crater left behind was 300 ft (91m) across, and 70 ft (21m) deep.

Around the crater a bank of soil 15 m high obscured the British lines from the Germans but it was to prove little help to the men on that day and for the rest of the Battle. It is believed that within the Schawbenhohe fort were 9 German officers and 315 men.

Both my wife and I have made a pledge to get over there with our two kids when they’re old enough to understand to see it.

Stay low and move fast everyone.

Billy.

STATISTICS

(from www.LochnagarCrater.org) • The Lochnagar mine was the largest of the 17 mines that exploded on 1 July.

• Debris from the explosion rose some 4,000ft (1,200 metres) into the air.

• The mine was packed with 60,000lbs (27,216 kilograms) of ammonal in two charges 60ft (18 metres) apart and 52 feet (16 metres) below the surface.

• The tunnel was 1,030 feet (314M) long. The longest tunnel in chalk during the war.

• The explosions constituted what was then the loudest man-made sound in history.

• The mine created a crater 300 feet (91 metres) across and 70 feet (21 metres) deep, including a lip 15 feet (4.6 metres) high.

• It obliterated between 300 (91 metres) and 400 feet (122 metres) of the German dug-outs which are thought to have been full of German troops, • The mine was blown at 7.28 on the morning of 1 July.

• Cecil Lewis, then an officer in the Royal Flying Corps, witnessed the explosion of the mine from his aircraft high above La Boisselle and is quoted as saying: ”The whole earth heaved and flared, a tremendous and magnificent column rose up into the sky. There was an ear-splitting roar, drowning all the guns, flinging the machine sideways in the repercussing air. The earth column rose higher and higher to almost 4,000 feet.” (1,220 metres) • The sector was attacked by the 34th Division, a New Army Division consisting of Tyneside Irish Tyneside Scottish, Lincolnshire, Suffolk and Royal Scots, battalions.

• The Division lost 6,380 officers and men that day, and was the hardest-hit British division • The Crater receives around 200,000 visitors a year and is thus one of the most visited sites on the Western Front.

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TURN AND TURN AGAIN CALIBRE SHOOTING’S ANDY NIGHTGALE CONTINUES HIS SKILLS SERIES BY LOOKING AT A MANEUVER WE PROBABLY NEVER THINK ABOUT BUT IS VITAL TO GET RIGHT IF WE WANT TO IMPROVE OUR GAME.

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IT DOESN’T MATTER IF WE are training for a competition or training for combat and defense, we must put the time in to get the best performance we can. Finding time can be a problem for most of us, work, family and other leisure activities can and do get in the way of our training time. However, it doesn’t have to be like that. I’m sure that everyone can find at least 20 minutes a day to set aside for Gun Foo. The recommended time to train without getting distracted is approximately 20 minutes, so putting together a training program for you to follow shouldn’t be too hard. Following a strict program doesn’t mean that you should thrash the hell out of it and feel the pain of a training session. You’re not at the gym and you don’t even have to stick to the maximum suggested time frame of 20 minutes. Training is all about achieving the results you want in your own time and if you can’t manage 20 minutes try 15 or 10. Some training is better than none right?

If you are new to shooting or have little knowledge of what you want to achieve and/or practice, then I strongly suggest the advice of a qualified instructor. Your practice and training sessions are your chance to perfect and maintain the skills that may win you the competition or fight. Don’t forget shooting skills are perishable skills that must be continually worked on.

Never be shy of going back to basics every now and then.

I have been shooting for over 40 years and instructing for over 20 years and I still go through Safety, Fundamentals of marksmanship, Positions and hold etc. from time to time. Most of the training that I see is pretty good but lacks some very basic skill sets. One of those is turning, so I want to have a look at the motions used in the turn. This sequence of practice is the same for both Handgun and Rifle.

First off we must go back to day one of any training session and think SAFETY. It is important that we keep this in mind all the time when training and also on the range and skirmish game site and the 4 Universal Rules of Safe Gun Handling can be found at www.calibreshooting.co.uk. With safety well embedded in our mind we can continue with our training session on turning.

TURNING LEFT AND RIGHT

This is a very simple maneuver to perform, however it must be done right. For the purpose of training and safety we are going to presume you are working on a square range, or at home.

You will need to set a target down range (in a safe direction if you are training at home) and set up a firing line (this can be a door mat or similar). The firing line is the only place you will perform the drill from. At this point I suggest that you make sure that you have all the kit and caboodle you need to run the gun such as holsters and sling etc. Making sure that you have no magazine and ammunition in the gun, as your first run will be a dry run, you are now ready to start the drill.

Airsoft Skills TURNS

Stand on the firing point facing the target and then turn to your Right. This will set you up for a left turn. Before the turn is initiated it is important to turn your head towards the target.

This will give you, the shooter, a reference point to turn to.

Although you know where the target is on your practice range you won’t always know where the target is on the skirmish field. Turn your head to find the target reference point then begin the turn. If you have a holstered handgun you may want to grasp the handgun as you turn but it is very important that the handgun stays in the holster until the turn is complete.

There are two ways in which you can perform this turn.

The first is stepping forwards. Simply step forwards with the right foot and pivot on the balls of your feet and turn to your left. Once again it is very important that the gun remains in the holster until the turn is complete. This will stop any chance of the muzzle sweeping others on the range (Safety Rule 2: “Never point a gun at anything you are not willing to destroy”).

Once the turn is complete you will notice you have adopted a Weaver type stance but you may adopt your desired stance and position and draw the handgun once the turn is complete.

If you are using a Rifle or a Handgun that is already drawn you must adopt a safety position such as position SUL when performing the turn. At the end of the turn you can then raise the rifle or handgun and adopt your preferred stance and position.

The second maneuver is to step backwards. This is pretty much the same as stepping forwards, except you step to the rear with the left foot and pivot on the balls of both feet.

Again it is an important point of safety that the handgun remain in the holster, or if using a rifle or drawn handgun a safety position such as position SUL is adopted, until the turn is

“TRAINING IS ALL ABOUT ACHIEVING THE RESULTS YOU WANT IN YOUR OWN TIME AND IF YOU CAN’T MANAGE 20 MINUTES TRY 15 OR 10. SOME TRAINING IS BETTER THAN NONE RIGHT?” complete. At the end of the turn you can then raise the rifle or handgun and adopt your preferred stance and position.

Run this drill slowly and as a dry fire drill to start with at first. As you perform the drill pay particular attention to the direction that the muzzle travels during and after the turn.

Don’t go too fast as you will only end up bringing the weapon up into the aim before the turn is complete. This will result in a possible ND (Negligent Discharge) and possibly in an unsafe direction or a DQ (Disqualification) during a competition. Either way it’s not a good thing.

Work to the saying “SLOW = SMOOTH = SPEED”. Once the turn starts to feel smooth and fluid it’s time to go live. Again all safety rules must be obeyed and observed during a live practice session. Load your weapon of choice and start the drill again.

Although you have practiced dry, start off slow every time you go live then work up CALIBRE Shooting provide to a safe speed. If you have access to a shot tactical training courses for timer it’s a good idea to record your progress the Security Industry and as you train. Looking back through your Airsoft community. If you training records is a good way to see how would like more information your training sessions are benefiting you on the courses we provide visit and also good to see where you need more www.calibreshooting.co.uk practice. www.airsoft-action.online

107

HALO MILL

Taking you beyond 350fps!

Tel: 01484 840554

Sponsors of the AIRSOFT ACTION Site Directory

SYMBOL KEY

IS IT WOODLAND OR URBAN? CHECK THE KEY!

ATROOP AIRSOFT Clocaenog Forest, LL16 4SP Tel: 07967 394976 www.atroop.co.uk

ABER AIRSOFT – THE BUNKER Allt-lywd Wood Farm, outside Llanrhystud, nr. Aberystwyth, Wales.

Tel: 07511554740 www.aberairsoft.co.uk

ACE COMBAT

Kent, TN12 7DG Tel: 01303 814803 www.acecombat.co.uk

AIRBORNE 101 AIRSOFT CLUB Downpatrick, Co. Down, BT30 Tel: 07718 032541 robinsonm24@btinternet.com

AIRSOFT ASYLUM

North Lanarksire, ML7 5 www.airsoftasylum.webs.com

ABSOLUTE AIRSOFT Maidenhead, SL6 3SS Tel: 07871 314951 www.absolute-airsoft.co.uk

AIRSOFT COMMANDOS Sutton, near Ferrybridge Tel: 07723 061386 andyace@ntlworld.com

ACE AIRSOFT WAR GAMES Holbrook Coppice, Buidwas Bank (A4169), Buildwas, Telford, Shropshire, TF8 Tel: 07786 192832 www.aceairsoft.co.uk

ACE AIRSOFT WAR GAMES Tong Wood, Newport Road Wolverhampton TF11 8PN Tel: 07786 192832 www.aceairsoft.co.uk

108

September 2016

UKARA MEMBER

SHOP ONSITE

WOODLAND

PYROS ALLOWED

URBAN

BATTERY CHARGING

DESERT

REPAIR SERVICE

AIRSOFT SKIRMISH

Stoulton, WR7 4QW Tel: 07764 587410 www.airsoftskirmish.co.uk

AIRSOFT SKIRMISH CQB Studley, B80 7LY Tel: 07764 587410 www.airsoftskirmish.co.uk

AMBUSH ADVENTURES – CHOBHAM Chobham, Surrey, GU24 8SL Tel: 01252 315225 www.ambushadventures.co.uk

AMBUSH ADVENTURES SOUTHAMPTON

New Forest National Park, SP5 2DW Tel: 01252 315225 www.ambushadventures.co.uk

ALL ARMS AIRSOFT Near Trawden, BB8 8SN Tel: 07909 683464 www.allarmsairsoft.co.uk

APOCALYPSE AIRSOFT Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 7QP Tel: 07872 348 576 www.apocalypseairsoft.com

ALPHA 55

Halkyn Wood, North Wales CH8 8DF Tel: 0845 257 6937 www.alpha55.co.uk

ARENA AIRSOFT

ALPHA ELITE GAMING

AWA HERTS

Grimsby, DN31 3JD Tel: 07752 404060 www.arenaairsoft.com

AIRSOFT KGB

Porkellis Moor near Helston, Cornwall, TR13 0 Chef1322@hotmail.com www.kgbairsoft.com

AIRSOFT PLANTATION

Goatsmoore Lane, Billericay, CM4 9RS Tel: 07534 636289 / 07771 556395 www.theofficialairsoftplantation.co.uk theofficialairsoftplantation@gmail.com

Le Mont de Rozel, Jersey, JE3 5 Tel: 01534 733697 www.aegairsoft.je

AMAZON EVENTS

Hellingly, East Sussex, BN27 4HL Tel: 0844 2570433 www.amazonoutdoorevents.co.uk

Sawbridgeworth, Herts, CM23 4BJ Tel: 07732 184957 www.awaherts.com

BADLANDS AIRSOFT

Rowlands Castle, Hamps PO9 6DP Tel: 07534 465589 www.badlandsairsoft.co.uk

SITE DIRECTORY

Email nige@airsoft-action.co.uk to add or change a site listing

FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…

BARNSLEY AIRSOFT

Shafton, Barnsley, S72 8RE Tel: 07779 236166 www.barnsleypaintball.co.uk

BATTLETEC AIRSOFT

La Couture, Guernsey, GY1 2 Tel: 07781 104068 www.battletec.co.uk

C3 TACTICAL

COMBAT AIRSOFT

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE COMPLEX

COMBAT SOUTH URBAN

Longhope, Gloucestershire, GL17 0PH Tel: 07597 938011 www.c3tactical.co.uk

Horsforth, Leeds LS18 4RP Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

BETTER BATTLES

Ravenshead, Notts, NG15 9DH Tel: 07967 940043 www.better-battles.com

BLACKDAGGER AIRSOFT

Grasscroft Wood, Barlow Lees Lane, Dronfield, S18 7UR www.blackdagger-airsoft.co.uk

BLUESTREAK AIRSOFT

Westcott Venture Park, Westcott, Aylesbury, HP18 0XB Tel: 01296 658600 www.bluestreak-airsoft.co.uk

BORDERLINE AIRSOFT

51 Green Road, Ballyclare, Co. Antrim Northern Ireland, BT39 9PH Tel: 028 9303 7030 or 07729219341 www.borderlinecombat.com

BRAVO 2-2 AIRSOFT Leisure Lakes, Mere Brow, Southport. PR46JX Tel: 07790 715059 www.bravo22airsoft.com

BRISTOL AIRSOFT Bristol, BS1 2HQ Tel: 07776 288826 www.bristolairsoft.com

BRIT-TAC AIRSOFT Sheffield, S2 5TR Tel: 07795 631331 www.brittacairsoft.com

BUNKER 51

Charlton, SE7 8NJ Tel: 0870 7549653 www.wolfarmouries.co.uk

BUSH VALLEY AIRSOFT

Runham Woods, Lenham ME17 1NQ Tel: 07786 448608 Email: bushvalairsoft@gmail.com

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE OUTPOST (WOODLAND) HPC, York Road, Flaxby, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG5 0XJ Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

Just off the A11 outside Thetford Norfolk follow signs for Combat Paintball Tel: 07703 045849 www.combatairsoftgames.co.uk

Portsmouth, PO6 3LS Tel: 02392 655636 www.combatsouth.co.uk

COMBAT SOUTH WOODLAND

Fareham, PO17 5ND Tel: 02392 655636 www.combatsouth.co.uk

Bolton Wood Quarry, Bolton Hall Road Bradford, West Yorkshire BD2 1BQ Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – RIVOCK EDGE Keighley, BD20 0LS Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – SHEFFIELD WOODLAND Sheffield, S6 6JE Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE WORKS (URBAN)

Off Badger Lane, Hipperholme, Halifax, West Yorkshire HX3 8PL Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

CHESTERFIELD IMPERIAL AIRSOFT

Brimington, Chesterfield, S43 1DQ www.cia-airsoft.co.uk

CLOSE ACTION AIRSOFT Corby, NN17 3BB Tel: 07740 165787 www.close-action.co.uk

COMBAT ACTION GAMES

Combat Street, Felthorpe, Norwich, Norfolk, NR10 4DR. Tel: 07748 023832 www.facebook.com/combatactiongames

DELTA TEAM 3

Skelmersdale, Lancs WN8 8UT Tel: 07986 053076 www.deltateam3.co.uk

DOGS OF WAR

Houston, Renfrewshire, PA6 7BP Tel: 07853 195290 www.dow-airsoft.co.uk

DRAGON’S LAIR CONTACT! FIGHT SCHOOL

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE SANDPIT (DESERT)

DARKWATER SITE, Dering Wood, Church Lane, Shadoxhurst, Ashford.

TN26 1LZ facebook.com/darkwaterairsoftdarkwater

Kelvedon Hatch, Essex, CM14 5 Tel: 01438 368177 www.thefightschool.demon.co.uk

Brentwood, Essex, CM15 0LA Tel: 07703 530189 www.dragonslairairsoft.co.uk

DRAGON VALLEY AIRSOFT COOL UNDER FIRE

Doddington, Kent, ME9 0JS Tel: 07960 532613 www.coolunderfire.co.uk

CORNWALLS ELITE AIRSOFT

Truro, Cornwall, TR2 Tel: 07863 240153 www.cornwallseliteairsoft.co.uk

COTSWOLD AIRSOFT Bourton Woods On the B4479, Blockley Near Bourton-on-the-hill www.cotswoldairsoft.co.uk Tel: 07724629140

Caerwent Training Area, South Wales, NP26 5XL Tel: 07921 336360 www.dragonvalley.co.uk

DOG TAG AIRSOFT

Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 4SE TEL 01293 852 314 www.holmbushpaintball.co.uk/airsoft

ELITE ACTION GAMES – WORTHING

Worthing, BN13 Tel: 01784 433023 www.eliteactiongames.com

ELITE BATTLEZONE

Bexley, Greater London, DA5 1NX Tel: 07968 448475 www.elitebattlezone.co.uk

CUMBRIA AIRSOFT

Dumfries, DG12 cumbria.airsoft@virgin.net www.cumbria-airsoft.com

EXPERIENCE AIRSOFT Swindon, Wiltshire, SN5 0AN Tel: 01380 728982 www.experienceairsoft.co.uk

DANGER CLOSE AIRSOFT Ellough Lark Raceway, Benacre Road, Ellough, Norfolk Tel: 07455 906132

FIREFIGHT COMBAT SIMULATIONS Lewisham, SE13 5SU Tel: 07973 240177 www.firefight.co.uk

DARKWATER AIRSOFT LTD.

Mobile: 07947 558433 www.darkwaterairsoft.co.uk Email: darwaterairsofthythe@gmail.com DARKWATER AFTER DARK C.Q.B, (Battlezone Building), Britannia Lane, Kingsnorth, Ashford, TN23 3NA facebook.com/afterdarkcqb

FIFE WARGAMES

St Andrews, KY10 3XL info@fifewargames.co.uk www.fifewargames.com

www.airsoft-action.online

109

SITE DIRECTORY FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…

FINMERE AIRSOFT Buckingham, MK18 4JT Tel: 07976 184897 www.finmereairsoft.com

FIREBALL SQUADRON Sutton Coldfield, B75 5SA Tel: 07582 684533 www.fireballsquadron.com

FIRST & ONLY: ANZIO CAMP Leek, ST13 8 Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.firstandonlyairsoft.com

FIRST & ONLY: BUNKER WOOD Kidderminster, Worcs, DY11 5SA Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.firstandonlyairsoft.com

FIRST & ONLY: KHE SANH WOODS

Otley, West Yorkshire LS21 2NA Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.firstandonlyairsoft.com

FIRST & ONLY: MANCHESTER WOODLAND Bolton, BL7 9TS Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.firstandonlyairsoft.com

FIRST & ONLY: THE HIVE

Middleton, Manchester, M24 1AZ Tel: 0161 727 8863

FIRST & ONLY: THE ARMOURY

GROUND ZERO WOODLAND Ringwood, Hampshire, BH24 2DF www.groundzerowoodland.com

Farcet, Peterborough, PE7 3DH Tel: 01733 247171 www.freefirezone.co.uk

FRV AIRSOFT

Annacloy, Downpatrick, BT30 8JJ Tel: 07730 586926 www.frvairsoft.com

FULL METAL AIRSOFT

Cilyrychen Quarry, Llandybie, Ammanford, Camarthenshire, SA18 3JG Tel: 01269 850404 www.fullmetalairsoft.co.uk

GASS AIRSOFT – PENN Penn Bottom, Bucks, HP10 Tel: 07907 788970 www.gassairsoft.co.uk

GASS AIRSOFT – PIDDINGTON Piddington, Oxfordshire, OX25 1 Tel: 07907 788970 www.gassairsoft.co.uk

GRANGE FARM AIRSOFT Leicester, LE9 9FP www.gingerliberationfront.com

GREENZONE COMBAT

FIRST & ONLY: THE ACADEMY

GUN HO AIRSOFT

Kidderminster, DY10 3PT Tel: 0161 727 8863

FIRST & ONLY: THE OUTPOST Kidderminster, DY11 5SA Tel: 0161 727 8863

FIRST & ONLY: SLEEPY HOLLOW

Bridgnorth, Shropshire, WV16 5LS Tel: 0161 727 8863

HILTON PARK AIRSOFT Wolverhampton, WV10 7HU Tel: 08000 354490 www.paintballuk.com

HOMELAND TACTICAL AIRSOFT Spanby, Lincs, NG34 0AT Tel: 07971 560249 facebook.com/HomelandTacticalAirsoft

Guisborough, TS7 0PG Tel: 07525 435696 www.gunhoairsoft.co.uk

GUNMAN AIRSOFT

– CAMBRIDGE Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP28 Tel: 07854 277264 www.gunmanairsoft.co.uk

GUNMAN AIRSOFT – MIDLANDS RAF Honiley/The Grange Frogmore Grange, Frog Lane, Balsall Common, West Mids CV7 7FP Tel: 01676 532 384 info@suspensionofdisbelief.co.uk www.shop. suspensionofdisbelief.co.uk

LINDSEY AIRSOFT

Manby, Lincolnshire, LN11 8HE Tel: 07955 487983 www.lindsey-airsoft.co.uk

MATLOCK COMBAT GAMES

Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 5FW Tel: 07974 507166 www.matlockcombatgames.com

MAW

Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, LE14 Tel: 07793 404346 1midaw@gmail.com

MIA HUMBER AIRSOFT North Lincolnshire, DN21 www.humberairsoft.co.uk Tel: 07792 680297

ISLAND RECON AIRSOFT COMBAT

Co. Armagh, BT60 1NE Tel: 07772 919974 www.greenzonecombat.com

FIRST & ONLY: THE ASYLUM

Norwich, Norfolk, NR10 Tel: 07854 277264 www.gunmanairsoft.co.uk

FREE FIRE ZONE

Wrexham, Denbighshire, LL13 9RG Tel: 0161 727 8863

Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32 6QF Tel: 0161 727 8863

GUNMAN AIRSOFT – NORWICH

Near Shorwell, Isle of Wight, PO30 Tel: 07964 751047 www.islandrecon.co.uk

LAND WARRIOR AIRSOFT Gorebridge, Midlothian, EH23 4LG Tel: 0131 654 2452 www.airsoftedinburgh.co.uk

Cornwall, EX23 9JL Tel: 01288 331748 www.airsoftsouthwest.co.uk

MIDWALES AIRSOFT

Abbey Cwm-hir, Midwales, LD1 6PG Tel: 07497 480243 www.facebook.com/Midwales-airsoft

MILITARY OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

Wrightington, WN6 9PL Tel: 01942 514724 www.militaryoutdooradventure.co.uk

MILSIM UK

Checkley, Staffordshire, ST10 4NS Tel: 07523 916607 www.milsimuk.co.uk

LAC SITE 1 Gainsborough, North Lincs, DN21 4JH Tel: 07775 877057 www.lincolnshireairsoftclub.co.uk

LAC SITE 2 Gainsborough, North Lincs, DN21 4JH Tel: 07775 877057 www.lincolnshireairsoftclub.co.uk

LAC SITE 3 Saxillby, LN1 2JW Tel: 07775 877057 www.lincolnshireairsoftclub.co.uk

LAC SITE 5 Kirton Rd, North Lincs, DN16 www.lincolnshireairsoftclub.co.uk

NCIS AIRSOFT

Edinburgh, EH14 4 nick@ncis-airsoft.co.uk www.ncis-airsoft.co.uk

NOMAD AIRSOFT

Fenwick, Ayrshire, KA3 6AY Tel: 07904 998250 www.nomadairsoft.com

NORTHERN ALLIANCE AIRSOFT

Thirsk, North Yorkshire, YO7 3LQ Tel: 01845 565465 www.northernallianceairsoft.co.uk

NORTHFLEET CQB

Northfleet, Kent, DA11 9AA Tel: 07968 448475 www.elitebattlezone.co.uk

www.airsoft-action.online

111

NSC AIRSOFT

RAVEN’S NEST

Hetton, Sunderland, DH5 0 Tel: 07983 333521 www.nscairsoft.co.uk

Suffolk, IP8 4 Tel: 01473 831563 www.ravensairsoft.co.uk

NTAC Durham, DL4 2ER Tel: 01642 281220 www.ntac.co.uk

RAW WAR AIRSOFT CUMBRIA Wigton, Cumbria CA7 3SZ Tel: 01900 85645 www.airsoftcumbria.co.uk

OBAN AIRSOFT – HILL ARGYLL Argyll and Bute, PA37 1 Tel: 07967 710185 www.argyllsurplus.com

RED1AIRSOFT Chislehurst, Bromley BR7 6SD Tel: 07956 522691/01727846069 www.red1airsoft.co.uk

OP-TACTICAL UK – TEAN-OPS Tean, Staffordshire, ST10 4JT Tel: 07964 990831 www.op-tac.co.uk

OVER THE TOP AIRSOFT CLUB Anglesey, LL71 www.ottairsoft.co.uk Tel: 07731 744471

PATHFINDER GROUP AIRSOFT MILITARY SIMULATION Former RAF Camp Sopley/Merryfield Park, Hants, BH23 Tel: 02380 899369

PHOENIX AIRSOFT Welbeck Airsoft, Academy, Budby Road, Notts NG20 9JX Tel: 07956 587213/01623 812483 www.phoenix-airsoft.co.uk

PLATOON 1HQ Rochester, Kent, ME1 1 HQ Tel: 01634 829063 www.ptt-1hq.co.uk

RED1AIRSOFT CQB Red1 CQB. Kings Langley, WD4 8RN Tel: 07956 522691/01727846069 www.red1airsoft.co.uk

RIFT AIRSOFT COM’S SITE 3 Chipping Warden, OX17 1LZ Tel: 07751 586781 www.riftairsoft.com

RIFT AIRSOFT (COTTENHAM) Cambridge, CB24 8RL Tel: 07751 586781 www.riftairsoft.com

SECTION 8 AIRSOFT Shotts, North Lanarkshire, ML7 5AB Tel: 07974 026517 www.s8airsoft.com

SG1 COMBAT GAMES PLAYERS OF WAR High Bonnybridge, FK1 3AD Tel: 07767 203979 www.playersofwar.co.uk

PREDATOR COMBAT GAMES Ballynahinch, BT24 8NF Tel: 02897565651 / 07825169631 www.predatorcombat.com

112

September 2016

Co. Londonderry, BT45 8NA Tel: 07713 273102 www.sg1combatgames.co.uk

SKIRMISH AIRSOFT BILLERICAY Billericay, Essex, CM11 2TX Tel: 01277 657777 www.airsoft-billericay.co.uk

SKIRMISH EXETER Exeter, Devon, EX4 5 Tel: 01548 580025 www.airsoftexeter.co.uk

SOUTHDOWN AIRSOFT

Petworth, West Sussex, GU28 0LR Tel: 07766 770830 www.southdownairsoft.com

TECH BRIGADE Newgate Street, Hertfordshire.

SG13 8NH Tel: 07841 713356 www.techbrigade.org

TASK FORCE SKIRMISH Cowbridge, S Glamorgan, CF71 Tel: 02920 593900 www.taskforcepaintball.co.uk

SPEC OPS AIRSOFT – BLOXWORTH

THE BUNKER

Wareham, Dorset, BH20 7EU Tel: 07984 656947 www.specopsairsoft.co.uk

Aberystwyth www.aberairsoft.co.uk Tel: 07841 462806

SPEC OPS AIRSOFT– THE ROCK

THE DEPOT

Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EG Tel: 07984 656947 www.specopsairsoft.co.uk

STIRLING AIRSOFT

Coventry, CV3 6NX Tel: 07831 429407 www.stirlingairsoft.com

Glasgow, G45 9SB Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.thedepotglasgow.com

THE DESERTERS AIRSOFT Redford, DD11 Tel: 07751 878175 www.thedeserters.co.uk

STORMFORCE AIRSOFT

Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 4LD Tel: 07515 937633 www.stormforcepaintball.co.uk

THE EX SITE Mold, CH7 4 Tel:07840 001975 www.theexsitewales.co.uk

SUSSEX AIRSOFT

Slinfold, RH12 Tel: 020 8150 9284 www.sussexairsoft.co.uk

S.W.A.T. AIRSOFT

Boathouse lane, South Wirral, Cheshire, CH64 3TB www.swatairsoft.eu Tel: 07703 177756

TA EVENTS

Hemel Hemstead, Herts, HP2 7QB Tel: 07894 059794 www.ta-events.co.uk

TACTICAL WALES AIRSOFT Reynoldston, Swansea SA3 1AS Tel: 01792 473336 www.tacticalwales.co.uk

THE WARGAMES CENTRE Lundholm Road, Stevenston, Ayrshire, KA20 3LN www.thewargamescentre.com wargamescentre@gmail.com

TORRENT WARFARE Co Tyrone, BT71 4DY Tel: 07922 377131 Facebook: search ‘Torrent Warfare’

TROJAN AIRSOFT Macclesfield, SK10 4SZ Tel: 07428 024874 www.trojan-airsoft.com

TROJAN AIRSOFT – OLYMPUS CQB TACTICAL WARFARE AIRSOFT Warlingham, Surrey, CR6 9PL Tel: 020 8665 1299 www.tacticalwarfare.co.uk

Weir Mill, Viaduct Street, Chestergate, Stockport, Cheshire, SK5 7JP Tel: 07428 024874 www.trojan-airsoft.com

SITE DIRECTORY FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…

UCAP AIRSOFT Portsmouth, Hants, PO17 6AR Tel: 07590 818881 www.ucap.co.uk

UCAP GREEN OPS Linch, West Sussex, GU30 7 Tel: 07590 818881 www.ucap.co.uk

UCAP SANDPIT Bean, Kent, DA2 8 Tel: 07590 818881 / www.ucap.co.uk

ULTIMATE WARGAMES – FAWKHAM Fawkham, Kent, DA3 8NY Tel: 01268 796130 www.ultimatewargames.co.uk

ULTIMATE WARGAMES – LIMPSFIELD Oxted, Surrey, RH8 0RH www.ultimatewargames.co.uk

URBAN6AIRSOFT – ZONE 13 Stone, Staffordshire ST15 0QN Tel: 07432 291729 www.urban6airsoft.com

URBAN6AIRSOFT – THE BLOCK Wood Street, Burton-Upon-Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 3AB www.urban6airsoft.com

URBAN ASSAULT

Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, PE26 1 Tel: 01733 247171 www.urbanassault.org.uk

VIKING AIRSOFT

Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0UN www.vikingairsoft.co.uk

WARMINSTER AIRSOFT Warminster, BA12 7RZ www.warminsterairsoft.co.uk

XSITE AIRSOFT OUTPOST Dunstable, LU6 2EE Tel: 01494 881430 www.xsiteairsoft.co.uk

XSITE AIRSOFT – LANE END High Wycombe, HP14 3NP Tel: 01494 881430

PRACTICAL PISTOL DIRECTORY AIPSC

The Grange, Frog Lane, Balsall Common, West Midlands, CV7 7FP Tel: 01676 532384 / www.aipsc.co.uk Facebook: A.I.P.S.C info@suspensionofdisbelief.co.uk Every Monday night 7pm– 9pm (except bank holidays). £5 or £10 with pistol and shooting rig hire. UKPSA-qualified coaches. UKPSA-qualified Range Officers.

DOUBLE TAP PSC

StrikeForce CQB, Morelands Trading Estate, Bristol Road, Gloucester GL1 5RZ Facebook: www.facebook.com/ Double-Tap-Practical-Shooting-Club979585958732937/?ref=hl Email: doubletappsc@gmail.com

HALO MILL

The Penthouse, Colne Valley Business Park, Manchester Road, Linthwaite, Huddersfield HD7 5QG Tel: 01484 840554 www.halomill.com

NORTHERN PRACTICAL PISTOL CLUB (NPPC)

Tanner Street, Burnley, Lancashire BB11 1NA Tel: 07816 992417 www.northernpracticalpistol.co.uk 4 indoor ranges

WATFORD PRACTICAL PISTOL CLUB Watford WatfordPPC@gmail.com

XSITE PRACTICAL SHOOTING

Fryers Farm Lane, High Wycombe, Bucks HP14 3NP Tel: 01494 881430

www.airsoft-action.online

113

DEALER LISTINGS

ADVERTISERS INDEX

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Armex Members Club A2 Supplies Viper Tactical Platoon Stores Pro Airsoft Supplies Surplus Store Crawley Skirmish Cup

106

58 3228++33 32 +36 33 40 + 48 38 44 42 + 51 50

99 105

110

Outside Back Cover

Outside Back Cover