Airsoft Action - December 2020

ISSUE 120 - DECEMBER 2020 - FREE

INCLUDES LATEST GUNFIRE AIRSOFT CATALOGUE!

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ISSUE 120 - DECEMBER 2020 - FREE

ARMOURY: SPECNA ARMS MK18 INCLUDES LATEST GUNFIRE AIRSOFT CATALOGUE!

ARMOURY: RAVEN R-SERIES

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Editor: Nigel Streeter Graphic Design: Calibre Publishing Ad Design: Deadshot Design Publisher: Nigel Streeter

Wyche Innovation Centre, Walwyn Road, Upper Colwall, Malvern, Worcestershire, WR13 6PL Tel: +44 (0) 1684 878 003 Web: www.airsoft-action.online ©Calibre Publishing Limited 2019 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.

EVENT: IDPA SHOOTTAIWAN

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40 RED CELL: 1911 RANGE DAY

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ARMOURY: VFC SWAT 1911

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KIT & GEAR: SOFTSHELLS

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LETTER , IDEA OR QUESTION? Got something to say? A question for our experts? An article or article idea?

Drop us a line and let us know. Either email the Editor: nige@airsoft-action.co.uk, write to us at the Calibre Publishing address above, or talk to us on Twitter or Facebook.

THE CAGE: WINTER GEAR

KIT & GEAR: OPFOR WINTER

CON ONT TEN ENTS TS 8 ARMOURY: SPECNA ARMS MK18 After waiting patiently, Specna dropped their first Daniel Defence licenced model into the market, in the form of the MK18 SA-E19 EDGE and Bill has gone all “NSW” again!

14 ARMOURY: RAVEN R-SERIES Once again we’re very lucky at Airsoft Action to again have early and immediate access to the very latest RAVEN pistol models hitting the stores right now, and Bill has been following the creation of an entirely new addition to their ever-expanding range in the form of the R226!

20 ARMOURY: WE BROWNING MK3 One of the airsoft replicas that has remained grail-like for many players, has been the venerable Browning Hi Power, but now the wait is over! John “Boycie” Turrell takes a close look at the longawaited GBB from WE Airsoft and finds it much to his liking…

24 EVENT: IDPA - TAIWAN After a very busy period in Taiwan, Airsoft Action “Legionnaire”, Stewbacca, gets back into the swing of things as he reports from a recent IDPA event - and if you are not sure what “IDPA” is, read on to find out...

30 ARMOURY: VFC SWAT 1911 When it comes to “1911” models, it’s worth remembering that the original single stack “daddy” is still a great option for serious airsoft pistol shooters and the latest tactical model from VegaForceCompany is as good as it gets from the box!

34 KIT & GEAR: HELIKON-TEX SERVICE CASE Having seen a report on Airsoft MilSim News Blog, Phil Bucknall decided to invest in a piece of kit that might help keep his tools (and the space they take up) under control!

36 ARMOURY: AA R604 At Airsoft Action we believe a more considered approach, based on thorough testing and full evaluation, will give everyone far better idea of what they might be buying than simply telling you “what’s in the box and on the web”! The new R604 GBB pistol has been with us for a couple of months, so now’s the time for Bill to tell you what we think!

40 RED CELL: 1911 SERIES RANGE DAY It seems like we’re hitting a great note with the Red Cell program and with an overwhelmingly positive reception we know that we’ve created something that’s meaningful in many ways! This time, “The Cell” turns its attention to 1911 style GBB pistols, as Bill tells…

48 FEATURE: BACK TO THE FUTURE? As Airsoft Action’s readership continues to grow globally, Frenchie and Bill got to talking about how

Contents DECEMBER 2020

DECEMBER 2020

new players around the world are discovering “old gems” and, of course, to talk turned to Tokyo Marui...

52 ARMOURY: ASG AI MK13 MOD7 ActionSportGames have licencing arrangements with a number of companies, including the manufacturers of “the best sniper rifle in the world”, Accuracy International. At a recent range day, ASG gave Red Cell’s Stuart the opportunity to test fire ASG’s fully-licenced Mk13.

56 RELOADED: ICS CAXP ARK At the time of this issue of Airsoft Action going live the new CXP ARK from ICS should be starting to hit the stores so we thought it prudent to revisit this super modern AK now that we’ve had it on and off the range for a couple of months.

Bill recaps on the features and tells all about performance so far!

60 KIT & GEAR: SOFT SHELLS It would seem that everyone loves a softshell, especially a jacket, but are they worth the money you have to fork out for them when a hardshell does more? Bill takes a look at the technology and principles behind the “Softshell Revolution” and brings everything into focus!

66 SHOP ‘TIL YOU DROP Well, it would appear the once again many of us are back to ordering new kit and parts online once again due to C-19 restrictions… here in the UK it looks like our favourite shops will be physically shut again for a while at least, and that games will be curtailed for a while. What better time to invest that money saved on some righteous gear in readiness for when it’s time again to get “game on!”.

72 THE CAGE: WINTER GEAR Playing airsoft in the summer months is all about freedom in all ways, freedom to play the style of game you want in minimal kit, when all you really need to worry about is keeping hydrated! But as the weather turns cold and grey, and we need to contend with rain and even snow, what kit changes should you consider? Bill draws together opinions from the entire “AA Legion” to offer some solutions.

76 KIT & GEAR: OPFOR WINTER GEAR We’re pleased to be joined again by occasional AA contributor Ian “Taz” Stokes who’s a bit of a diamond when it comes to both current and historical gear used by RUSFOR,. As this time we’re looking at how kit changes as we come into the winter, Taz looks at this specifically for the OPFOR player.

80 LAST POST: SO MUCH BETTER… Frenchie is dedicating his copy to Bill Pryce-Thomas this month, mainly (Frenchie says) because it’s all his fault!

STRETCH PANTS BLACK / DARK COYOTE / GREEN / SRP: £69.95

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LIFE ON THE EDGE

SPECNA ARMS MK18 SA-E19 EDGE

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IT’S BEEN A LITTLE WHILE SINCE WE SAW THE GUYS FROM SPECNA ARMS AT SHOT SHOW BACK IN JANUARY, WHEN THEY HAD BIG NEWS TO TELL US ABOUT THEIR NEW LICENCE AGREEMENT WITH DANIEL DEFENSE. AFTER WAITING PATIENTLY THEY’VE DROPPED THEIR FIRST “DD” LICENCED MODEL INTO THE MARKET, IN THE FORM OF THE MK18 SA-E19 EDGE AND BILL HAS GONE ALL “NSW” AGAIN!

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t seems that there are a few airsoft manufacturers out there that are using what most of us see as a pretty crappy 2020 to really take their time and drop some righteous new models on the market!

Whilst some seem to be caving a little - and it would certainly seem that a whole host are already writing off this strange year as a “bad job” - a handful have really used the hiatus to dig in and release some super new AEGs and GBBs and Specna Arms are most definitely in the “dig in and crack on” bracket for me!

We’ve not only seen some great looking new AEG AR models from Specna, but also their super everyplayer-can-own-one- priced M249, some great new programmable technology for the future with the ASTER V2, and to really put the icing on the cake now they’ve released the first model in the licensing collaboration they agreed with Daniel Defense at SHOT 2019… and what a model it is as it’s their take on the Mk18 CQBR! Back in 2012 with the release of Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty” airsoft fields were suddenly full of AOR1 wearing “Naval Special Warfare” themed players (me amongst them!), and SIG 226s, HK416s, chopped “pirate” M79 grenade launchers, and Mk46’s (although the Mk48 Mod 0 7.62x51mm model was the one actually used in the movie). Then in 2013 came “Lone Survivor”, the story of USN SEAL Marcus Luttrell and “Operation Red Wings” and suddenly the Mk12 Mod 1 SPR and SOPMOD Block 1 M4 became de reiguer amongst the 6mm crowd “in the know”…

This continued unabated onto the big screens of 2014 with both “American Sniper” and “Act of Valour” (I still love the SWCC boat scene!), when the masses were finally introduced to what I believe is the “unsung hero” of the Naval Special Warfare armoury, the Mk18 Mod 0! Even shorter-barrelled than the M4A1 carbine with a 10.3 in (262 mm) barrel, the upper receiver was designated the Close Quarters Battle Receiver (CQBR), while the entire weapon system was designated the Mk 18 Mod 0 by the United States Navy, and became a common sight amongst the USN VBSS units, NCIS, and USN SEALs. The purpose of the CQBR was to provide operators with a weapon of compact size, but one still capable of firing a rifle cartridge, intended for urban warfare

and other close quarters battle (CQB) situations; one of two proposed “special mission receivers” that were planned for inclusion into the SOPMOD Block II kit, the CQBR has proved incredibly popular amongst its users. The CQBR has been pretty much owned by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWCCrane or just “Crane”, like the stock) following the CQBR’s removal from the Special Operations Peculiar MODification (SOPMOD) program. The complete CQBR-equipped carbine was type-classified as the M4A1 CQB/R Block II. In 2019 though, with the show “SEAL Team”, many were first introduced to the Mk18 Mod 1! The Mk18 Mod 1 differs from the earlier Mk 18 Mod 0 in that it utilizes the Daniel Defense RIS II free-float rail system, often with a low-profile gas block; as with the M4/ M4A1 Block II, the Mark 18 Mod 1 was a product of the SOPMOD Block II program which also included the Insight Technology LA-5/PEQ, L3-EOTech 553 (SU-231/ PEQ), L3-EOTech XPS3-0 (FDE) Holographic Sight, L3EOTech G33 (Tan Anodized/FDE) Magnifier, Raytheon Company Elcan SpecterDR 1-4x Scope (SU-230/PVS), Trijicon Acog + Docter RDS (SU-237/PVS Sight Unit), AN/PVS-24 Night Vision Device, Insight M3X Light (SU-233/PVS Gun Light), Insight WMX200 Gun Light, LMT SOPMOD Gen 1/2 Stock, KAC Front and rear sights, along with Tango Down and KAC foregrips (for those new to NSW loadouts, this is a bit of a crib list for your carbine build… you’re welcome!).

There’s a little confusion though, as for some reason Daniel Defense also made the decision to call the RIS II the “Mk18”! It’s beyond doubt that the RIS II was designed at the request of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) for the Block II program, as they had a specific requirement for a free float M203 solution, and Daniel Defense responded, designing a revolutionary product to meet the government’s and user’s need. However, this clouds the entire “Mk18” story a little, and that’s why I’ve spent some time here explaining things!

DRIVING ON

With all of this information in hand, let’s get down to it, “drive on” as a SEAL would say, and have a closer inspection of the Daniel Defense MK18 SA-E19

“I LIKE TO USE THE PHRASE “FIGHTING GUN”, AND THE E19 IS MOST CERTAINLY THAT; THERE ARE NO FRILLS, NO BELLS AND WHISTLES, JUST A SOLIDLY MADE SHORT AR AEG THAT’S IMMEDIATELY READY TO BB-UP AND GET OUT ONTO THE FIELD WITH.”

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armoury SPECNA ARMS MK18 SA-E19 EDGE

EDGE that’s being offered to us

by Specna Arms!

The first observation I would make is that lifted from the box, this AEG is immediately a “looker” that will please players that favour a more “military” model. I like to use the phrase “fighting gun”, and the E19 is most certainly that; there are no frills, no bells and whistles, just a solidly made short AR AEG that’s immediately ready to BB-up and get out onto the field with. The Mk18 has been manufactured in cooperation with EMG Arms in the USA, and bears deeply engraved “trades” from Daniel Defense, not the full set if I’m being super picky as it misses the “DD” logo on the ejection port cover that appears on the latest real-deal model, but they are certainly loud and proud on the left of the magwell, and very nicely done. Every part of the Mk18 appears to have been made and fitted with the utmost care and attention to detail, and the metal body features the now-standard Specna Arms Nano Coating finish to prevent scratches. The body also bears an individual serial number further authenticated by an additional hologram.

The outer barrel mimics the length of the real one very well, and the 244mm Mk18 rail is beautifully done, again with full “DD Trades”, and is fixed rock-solid to the upper receiver; this is a contiguous rail as it should be, marrying perfectly with the top rail on the upper. The outer barrel features a standard “birdcage” on a 14 mm CCW thread, which personally I would switch out immediately to a “Surefire-style” 4 prong, although the one fitted is perfectly valid. The top of the replica features Specna’s own polymer flip-up sights which are easy to use, and there’s a singlepoint sling plate fitted as standard too.

The “package” as I’ve come to expect includes two Mid-Cap S-MAG magazines with a capacity of 125 BBs each, and I’ve found these to be reliable and to feed well (and not just in Specna Arms AEGS!). The stock is the pretty non-descript “CRANE” style, and the pistol grip is a bit of a “vanilla” A2; I hope that Specna Arms will be adding replicas of some of the excellent Daniel Defense furniture to further carbine models under the licence! The only real omission I can see externally is the absence of a gas block inside the 10

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rail, although this is easily enough rectified, and the smallest of gripes…

Internally the E19 is what again I have come to expect from Specna Arms, and for a “stock gun” that’s top notch!

Inside the E19 you get a precision 6.03 inner barrel that provides accuracy from the get go, both on first and follow-up shots; this barrel works in tandem with the rotary Hop-Up that allows for very precise adjustment of the BB spin. The carbine also features a factory-fitted X-ASR GATE mosfet. As I’ve said before when looking at Specna Arms models, the high-quality X-ASR looks after the internal components, improves the trigger reaction and extends the lifetime of electronics and the battery.

It will also help you to diagnose basic malfunctions inside the AEG thanks to integrated status diodes. As usual, at the heart of the E19 you’ll find the ORION gearbox which is based on a reinforced frame and equipped with a main spring release; the ORION gearbox is rated to work with springs up M140. As well as the gearbox itself you’ll find a reinforced polymer piston with steel teeth, aluminium airsealed nozzle, aluminium double air-sealed cylinder head, aluminium double air-sealed piston head with bearings, a set of steel gears, and 8.mm bearings.

Also in the box with the E19 you get a spare M90 spring, a GATE X-ASR diagnostics card, QC certificate, and as an added bonus with this model a rather nifty EMG/Daniel Defense “Certificate of Authenticity” card… okay, genuinely not of any use in real terms, but a nice thing to have, and that marks the “licenced” status of the product and shows that Specna Arms have really put some thought into this AEG!

DOWNRANGE LIKE A BOSS!

When it comes to getting the E19 “in game”, the battery as usual is housed inside the buffer tube and stock; as I’ve found with other Specna Arms AR carbines a decent stick LiPo will fit easily into the buffer tube if you’re careful, which means you can choose a slimmer stock if you wish (like my favourite

armoury SPECNA ARMS MK18 SA-E19 EDGE

MOE style), and I fitted my normal “tester”, a 1200 mAh 11.1V LiPo; this is a little bit of a squeeze given the diameter of the tube and the fact that the MOSFET lives in that space too, but once in and the stock refitted, the battery vanishes from view entirely.

The rotary hop really is easy to work with and adjust, and once set, it stays firmly in place, and with everything set on .20g BBs the E19 is a bit of a little firecracker! The trigger is most certainly crisp, as just a nudge sends BBs downrange happily; on semi you really can get shots away quickly, and full chat with an 11.1 works brilliantly for a great ROF. I always ask the guys at Gunfire to pre-set the models I receive from them to UK-legal and site-friendly power levels, and I’m pleased to report that the E19 I received for testing chrono’d with super consistency at 1.12 Joule/348fps using .20g RZR BBs; I joke not not when I say “consistency” as with a ten BB string I noted a deviation of less than 0.75fps! That’s pretty cool for an AEG at this pricepoint!

The flip-up sights that come fitted as standard to the E19 are more than adequate for most situations, so the AEG is ready to roll straight from the box if you add a battery and some BBs, although for full testing at longer range I added my favourite combo of holosight and flip-to-the-side 3x magnifier, this time a pair of super models from Theta Optics (also sold

by Gunfire). At 30m unsupported it was easy to get hits on a 400mm x 400mm torso-sized target with each BB flying straight and true. I also took the E19 up to my local site for longer ranges, and the carbine performed superbly on .25g RZR BBs, easily and accurately sending them to target at 75m+, and that’s pretty much straight out of the box!

I have to say that the E19 has definitely rekindled my love for all things NSW, and with a sub-£250 price tag here in the UK it really provides some serious bang for your buck. It looks great, feels great, and shoots excellently, so as far as I can see Specna Arms and EMG have got this very, very right, and I look forward to seeing what they do with that Daniel Defense licence next, although with very little effort I believe it will make a superb base for very passable “Team Six” carbine.

I really do like the E19 as it’s an exceptionally tight package both inside and out, and care has obviously been taken to provide something in AEG form that’s fully worthy of carrying the Daniel Defense name!

With the Daniel Defense MK18 SA-E19 EDGE Carbine confidently in my hands, and that new R226 securely in my holster, I think that it’ll soon be time again to head out at Zero Dark Thirty for some serious “NSWstyle” airsoft action!

Many thanks indeed to Gunfire who supplied the AEG for this review. You can check out more details on the Daniel Defense MK18 SA-E19 EDGE and the rest of the extensive range of Specna Arms models by visiting https://gunfire.com or, better yet, take a look through Gunfire’s catalogue at the end of this issue!

AA

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R YOU READY??

RAVEN R SERIES

ONCE AGAIN WE’RE VERY LUCKY AT AIRSOFT ACTION TO AGAIN HAVE EARLY AND IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO THE VERY LATEST RAVEN PISTOL MODELS HITTING THE STORES RIGHT NOW, AND BILL HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THE CREATION OF AN ENTIRELY NEW ADDITION TO THEIR EVER-EXPANDING RANGE IN THE FORM OF THE R226!

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’ve always been a believer in the adage that we should always treat other people with respect no matter who they might be, and many moons ago now a chance encounter and a fair and honest transaction led to me making one the best, and most lasting friendships of my adult life!

One year, at the War & Peace Show, a young airsoft player and budding tech bought an AEG from me. Suffice to say that, unknown to me, the carbine didn’t work properly but that young player and I came to an understanding that left both of us smiling and trust began to form between us, a trust that led to a friendship that has become stronger than ever as the years passed.

That “young player” has since gone on to be a driving force behind the scene, not just in the UK airsoft industry but also is now a trusted and respected part of the industry globally. His name is Ross and he’s the “guru”, with tech expert Mark, behind the design of the RAVEN series of GBB pistols - and I am insanely proud to call him “friend and brother”.

Its been said that Airsoft Action and RAVEN will always support one another and that, basically, boils down to the trust I have in my friend - and that he has in me. We’ve spent hours on the phone over the years talking “guns n’ gear” and I know better than most the effort, passion, care, and attention to detail that goes into the creation of not just one, but the many super pistol designs he’s been behind. Does my friend always get it right? Not always, no, but when do any of us get it right 100% of the time? Ross and his team genuinely give a sh1t about what they bring to the market as they have been, and are, airsofters themselves. They’ve played as much as any, and have spent hours toiling over AEGs and GBBs for others during their tenures as site techs, and they’ve seen the worst abuse that we as players heap upon the “tools of our trade”.

Why do I tell you all this? I want people to know that I am unashamedly and fully behind what Ross, through RAVEN, is trying to create and that’s a range of great, high-quality GBB pistols that are affordable for all players, pistols that will provide reliability and durability to their owners through an extensive “service life”, pistols that marry true value with performance and dependability, models that we WANT to own and will enjoy using when we do!

As I said, I’m proud of my friend, and although I am hyper-critical of what is produced under the

RAVEN banner (as a good friend should be!) I want to see him succeed in every way, and with models like the new R-Series it’s very easy for me to sit back and say to him and the team “well done!”

GUN BUNNY STUFF

With that out of the way let me now tell you about the new R-Series as trust me, it’s worth listening to one of my rants on friendship, commitment and belief to get there!

To get one thing immediately in the open, the new pistols are called the R226 and for anyone that has even an ounce of “gun bunny” in them it’s going to be pretty obvious that they resemble handguns from a well-known firearms manufacturer beginning with an “S” that AA Legionnaire “Iggy” would love! You might well ask how I reconcile my love for licencing with this model but as I’ve always said, I don’t mind at all if someone replicates a shape just as long as the don’t add spurious “trades” to that shape to further justify their product, especially if said product needs the trades to be saleable at all!

There are no (absolutely none, nada!) “trades” on the R226 other than that nomenclature on the handgrips, as frankly this new pistol doesn’t need them! In fact the R226 in my opinion is one of the very nicest handguns that RAVEN have produced to date, and even with the love I have for the Hi Capa 4.3 as a “fighting gun”, I truly believe that this new model has the potential to be one of the best “fighting GBBs” on the market for the money.

But what of “real world provenance” I hear you ask? If pressed I would have to say that the R-Series pistol looks an awful lot like a Mk25 , which is going to please a lot of “Team Six” players no end! Online research tells me that after extensive environmental trials that simulated the operating environment of SEAL units, including immersion in sand, salt water and mud, along with a thirty-thousand-round endurance test, USN SEALs adopted the Mk25 as their sidearm of choice over every other model out there!

The SEALs put in an initial request for eight hundred and the first pistols, officially categorised then as the Mk25, were issued in 1989. The Mk25 had a 4.4-inch barrel and was chambered for 9mm parabellum. The frame was made from a steel alloy, while the slide was stainless steel for increased strength, finished in Nitron for corrosion resistance.

The Mk25 could be operated as either a single- or

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double-action pistol and had a decocker for safely releasing the hammer without firing a round. The pistol magazine carried 15 rounds in a double-stack configuration.

If you look at SEAL operations from the early 90’s until 2015, when the Glock 19 was added to their gear locker, the Mk25 has been steadfastly there at their side. Operations in Panama, Somalia, Haiti, the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and beyond have seen the Mk25 give unflinching and solid service, so if the RAVEN R226 mimics that fine handgun, then in my opinion it’s all the better for that!

NUTS AND BOLTS

Getting down to the nitty gritty, the RAVEN R226 features a tried and tested ergonomic design, and everything from the pistol grip to the finish gives it a level of comfort not easily found. The use of electrostatic painting methods ensures a non-porous, stain-resistant finish that will keep the R-Series looking its best for longer, game after game, and I can already attest to the fact that this is hard-wearing as my Mk25-specific kydex holster is pretty unforgiving on sub-par finishes.

Since receiving the Mk25 sample for final testing I’ve been running a hard series of manipulation/ familiarisation drills on the 10m short range so it’s been in and out of the holster a lot already and still looks like I just lifted it from the box. The electrostatic painting method gives a beautifully even finish, and looks a million dollars in the FDE/ tan colour I opted for.

With an overall length of 190mm and weight of 845g, the “feel” of the R226 is superb and this is further enhanced by the almost-rubberised-intexture pistol grip that’s wrapped around the rear; it gives you confidence that once you have the R226 in your hand it’s going to stay there, whatever the weather, whatever the situation!

The traditional chamfered, long-pull trigger is extremely positive; this is a double-action design, meaning that pulling the trigger will cock the hammer without working the slide and will fire the pistol, great for a sticky moment when you need to transition to your sidearm and get a shot away fast! There is also a smoothly-functioning decocking lever in front and slightly lower than the slide release that lets you safely and in a controlled manner set the hammer back to its neutral position which will let you holster it in “Condition 1”, again for a fast shot from the draw if you need to “exit, stage left” at pace for some reason.

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The R226 is full metal (alloy) construction, and this follows through to the 20 BB magazine.

RAVEN’s experience with other GBB models ensures first-class gas efficiency, easily emptying the standard magazine when putting BBs downrange. Like the Mk25, there’s also a 20mm rail on the lower “business end” that allows for the attachment of a range of accessories, and my Surefire X300 mates perfectly to this.

On my daily sessions on the short range at home I’ve been using the R226 a lot, so I’ve now been able to spend some “quality me time” with it. It’s been out with me in all weather conditions, in good weather, driving rain, and now even on a frosty, frosty morning! I managed to snag an extra 20BB magazine for the pistol, so my multicam Warrior belt is now all set up, and my existing Mk25 kydex holster is mounted just as I like it. The R226 fits this setup and holster perfectly, and thus far has been a joy to work with.

I’ve been running the R226 on NUPROL 2.0 gas, using .20g RZR BBs for testing, and the chrono settles consistently at 0.83 Joule/300fps on that weight, with little variance from new. The pistol has now had about 35 mags worth down the barrel (a mix of .20 and .25g RZRs), and to date I’ve

experienced no issues. Accuracy is actually getting better the more I run it, and at 10m I’m now down to regular 75mm groupings when I try; consistently at 10m it’s a breeze hitting steels each and every time, even when I’m on the move!

I’ve been close to the R226 project since its inception, and I have to say that I’m truly happy with the look, feel, quality, and performance of the finished product. It absolutely looks like my old mate has done it again and it feels like each and every RAVEN release just moves things on another step!

For a GBB pistol retailing in that all-important £100 bracket, the R226 delivers on all fronts, even down to the threaded outer barrel… c’mon, every good SEAL needs a suppressor, right? I think it’s high time I dug out my old AOR1 kit again, along with my Mk18 CQBR, and hit the field “Six Stylee”, and if I do you can be certain that the R226 will be right there with me as my secondary!

Available with or without a pre-mounted RDS, the R226 is available in multiple colours (the grey is pretty shexxy too!) and it’s hit stores already! For more information please do visit www.rvnairsoft. com or keep an eye on their Facebook page for regular updates. AA www.airsoftaction.net

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armoury WE AIRSOFT BROWNING MK3

HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN! ONE OF THE AIRSOFT REPLICAS THAT HAS REMAINED GRAIL-LIKE FOR MANY PLAYERS INTERESTED IN BOTH HISTORIC AND CLASSIC FIREARMS, AND ESPECIALLY THOSE USED BY THE UK AND COMMONWEALTH FORCES, HAS BEEN THE VENERABLE BROWNING HI POWER, BUT NOW THE WAIT IS OVER! JOHN “BOYCIE” TURRELL TAKES A CLOSE LOOK AT THE LONG-AWAITED GBB FROM WE AIRSOFT AND FINDS IT MUCH TO HIS LIKING…

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he Browning Hi Power was based on one of the designs by John Moses Browning, father of many firearms including the venerable 1911, and Dieudonné Saive at Fabrique Nationale of Herstal, Belgium. The Hi Power was first built in 1935 and is still in service now, some 85 years later, and up until 2017 when FN ended the production approximately one and a half million Hi Powers had been built. It is still being manufactured under licence in India, so in a few years the Hi Power can celebrate its centenary!

The Browning was the standard issue sidearm for officers in the British Armed Forces before WW2. It was also highly popular in British Airborne units and saw a lot of use by the Special Operations Executive (SOE), their US equivalent the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and also the Special Air Service Regiment. The SAS would still be using the pistol when they first came into the public eye during the storming of the Iranian Embassy Siege in 1980.

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Each Trooper would carry one as a secondary firearm with a 20 round extended magazine, along with spare 13

round magazines on their kit. Some of the Regiment’s Brownings would

armoury WE AIRSOFT BROWNING MK3

also have some modifications to them in the way of Pachmayr or Hogue grips and the spur type hammer would be changed to the rounded hammer. I’m sure that 40 years after Operation Nimrod, there are a number of Brownings still available for use by the Regiment when the need comes about, despite the fact that the Browning HP was replaced by the Glock 17 as the British Forces issue sidearm in 2013.

Ever since I heard that WE were to release a Mk3 Browning, I was constantly on the lookout for more news of when it would arrive. Feeling like a kid at Christmas, it now has arrived in my hands, which made my week after finding out that my family had to isolate for 14 days. My Red Cell colleague Chris is also eagerly awaiting the arrival of his Mk3 to go with his Australian Defence Force (ADF) kit, as is Bill for his Cold War collection! This just goes to show that even amongst a small group of airsoft friends the lure of the Browning is great, and covers many periods and conflicts!

From personal experience, way back in 1987 when I began IPSC and Competition shooting, and my first pistol was a Browning Mk3 which sported a normal blued slide and a brushed ‘silver’ finish frame. The other change to it was the rounded hammer, which had been fitted to ‘HALT! Hammer Bite’. Those who have had the opportunity to fire the Browning will be familiar with some shooters getting nipped by the hammer when it struck the soft, fleshy part of your hand between your thumb and first finger.

BOX FRESH

The box that you get your Mk3 in is a normal, quite plain WE box, with a formed cardboard insert which holds the pistol, magazine, instruction booklet and a parts diagram for the Mk3 variant. First Impressions of the WE Mk3 is that it feels really solidly built. Using a metal slide and frame, the Mk3 is unlike a lot of airsoft pistols that have a rattle coming from a loose fitting slide; the Mk3 has no rattle, other than the lanyard ring if you choose to leave it fitted. The finish is a shiny black but personally I would have preferred to see a satin type finish to mimic that of the real thing.

Gripping the Mk3 in my hand I had a few fun flashbacks to my competition days, the feel of the grip was really familiar and instantly comfortable even though I have big hands. The ambidextrous safety is very smooth and easy to operate and atop the slide are the familiar sights with white dots to aid with quick sight and target acquisition. The ‘stocks’ on the pistol (aka grips) are really comfortable and are ambidextrous in so much as they have hollows for your firing hand’s thumb. Something that WE have done with the Mk3 is that they have used a steel outer barrel. When the slide is to the rear it does look much more like its real version. This is a really good feature to those who like the realistic look, far, far

better than the pot metal barrels we see on the majority of other airsoft pistols.

One thing that I really like that is accurate to the real FN, is that on the WE Mk3 the magazine disconnect (safety) is also working. This means that once you’ve racked the slide if you drop the magazine from the grip, you can’t fire it by dropping the hammer. To get the hammer to move forward into “firing position” you have to insert a magazine. This is something that airsofters entering the safezone will have to remember when clearing the Mk3. In the live fire kit I used to carry 5 x 13 round blued magazines for the pistol and then a chromed magazine in my last pouch. This chromed magazine didn’t have any follower or spring inside so couldn’t be loaded with ammunition and also had a bright coloured plastic mag bumper on it so that even in the low light the safe magazine could be identified by feel. This I would then insert into the pistol after clearing the chamber to drop the hammer for the final proof to the range officer that the pistol was unloaded and safe to holster.

To illustrate why this is important, in one competition a shooter had completed a stage of

“FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE WE MK3 IS THAT IT FEELS REALLY SOLIDLY BUILT. USING A METAL SLIDE AND FRAME, THE MK3 IS UNLIKE A LOT OF AIRSOFT PISTOLS THAT HAVE A RATTLE COMING FROM A LOOSE FITTING SLIDE; THE MK3 HAS NO RATTLE, OTHER THAN THE LANYARD RING IF YOU CHOOSE TO LEAVE IT FITTED.”

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21

armoury WE AIRSOFT BROWNING MK3

the course of fire, took out the magazine, removed the live round from the chamber and presented the pistol for inspection by the range safety officer. The RSO then called “clear, slide forward, hammer down and holster”. The shooter made what was a massive safety error then as he reinserted the magazine that he had removed. Luckily it was pointing in a safe down range manner as the slide had stripped off a live round and chambered it. When the shooter pressed the trigger they fired a round into the back stop, which after making the pistol safe, the shooter was invited to pack up and go home as they’d been DQ’d (disqualified). My trusty Browning served me well over a few years before I sold her on, partially after hearing of that incident during the competition but also that I had “shot the barrel out”.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND…

Back to the WE though in airsoft form and while I really like their Browning Mk3 there are a small number of things I’m not so keen on. First is that the barrel is threaded for a suppressor; whilst this covers the seeming need for airsofters to throw a suppressor on any pistol they own, I’d have preferred to see a normal unthreaded barrel for the look of authenticity.

This I will be rectifying by making a barrel adaptor to

mimic a more realistic looking muzzle for the barrel.

The magazines are of a solid construction but a downside for skirmishers could be that the feed lips which hold the BBs in the magazine are part of the magazine body casting. This will usually lead to them breaking if dropped. This is likely because the body of the magazine is the same as those used in previous models of Browning that WE have released, much before having replaceable feed lips became a more common practice.

Field stripping the WE Browning Mk3 brings back a lot of memories as it’s exactly the same process as on its real steel counterpart. First, ensure no magazine is fitted and the chamber is empty. Next pull the slide back and lock it in place using the safety catch to catch the second of two slots in the slide. The slide lock now can be pressed out. Once that is done, hold the slide and gently release the safety catch holding the slide. Slip the slide assembly off the front of the frame.

As I mentioned I’ve been waiting for a long time for this model to be released, as have a host of other airsofters, and I can honestly say that it was well worth the wait for me. Bravo WE! These lovely pistols are now landing with all good WE Airsoft dealers, so make sure to check with your local shop about stock availability as they are bound to go fast! You can also keep up to date by visiting the WE Airsoft website www.weairsoft.com, or by following them on their social media channels like https://www.facebook.com/weairsoft. AA FN Browning

WE Browning Mk3

Calibre

9mm

6mm

Length

197mm

199mm

Barrel Length

118mm

119mm

Height (without sight)

127.5mm

125mm

Width

36mm

38mm

Weight (loaded magazine)

1.060Kg

822g

Capacity

13rds

21rds

Modes of Fire

Single Action

Single Action

Muzzle Velocity

1137.5fps 124gn 9mm

315fps 0.20 RZR BB

Muzzle Energy

500 Joules

0.92 Joules www.airsoftaction.net

23

EVENT REPORT IDPA SHOOT - TAIWAN

SIGHTS SET ON PROGRESS:

IDPA

WITH THE INITIAL SUCCESS OF THE ORIGINAL HOME GROWN “BUNKER KINGS; FIRST SALVO” SPEEDSOFT TOURNAMENT, ORGANISED PRIMARILY BY HANN (N00B_SOFT) BACK IN MARCH AFTER A VERY BUSY PERIOD IN TAIWAN, AIRSOFT ACTION “LEGIONNAIRE”, STEWBACCA, GETS BACK INTO OF 2020, THERE WAS IMMEDIATELY AN ALLUSION TO A “2ECOND STRIKE2 - A FOLLOW UP THE SWING OF THINGS AS HE REPORTS FROM A RECENT IDPA EVENT - AND IF YOU ARE NOT SURE WHAT TOURNAMENT WHICH WAS INTENDED FOR SIX MONTHS LATER IN SEPTEMBER. WITH NO SHORTAGE “IDPA” IS, READ ON TO FIND OUT...

OF INTEREST FROM THE ORIGINAL TEAMS, AS WELL AS NEWER PLAYERS DRAWN TO THE MORE aving been manic busy with my day job as well as moving names within the firearms and armed forces community, with a ATHLETIC SHOOTING COMPETITION FORMAT, AIRSOFT ACTION LEGIONNAIRE, STEWBACCA, into a new place and helping prepare the arena for the clear intent to maximise the true practicality and applicability of Speedsoft Taiwan SpeedQB tournament, I had a reasonably the shooting skills people train in for self defence or for those who REPORTS FROM DIRECT FROM THE EVENT IN TAIWAN

H

quiet August 2020 in terms of heard or dealt gunfire. Having settled into new digs on the West of New Taipei City and finished the work on the competition I finally had some time and energy to get involved once again in the competitive shooting circuit, getting back into regular AIPSC training with SPPT, as well as getting around to attending an IPDA Taiwan event to report on it and the wider Taiwanese and world orientation of yet another subset of shooting.

Thanks to the help of Ray Chang of VegaForce Company I was introduced to Max Chiang - head of the IDPA organisation in Taiwan - during and after the event to talk shop about the presence of the shooting sports division in Taiwan and how the wider community and media have reacted, and their long term plans and operations, as well as what makes them different to other shooting activities I’ve had experience of before.

WHAT IS IDPA?

So. IDPA; what is it? The International Defensive Pistol Association is another of the many US based civilian shooting organisations which also attracts a great deal of international participation on the part of military and law enforcement professionals. Joining the ranks of the older IPSC - International Practical Shooting Confederation, formed in Missouri in 1976 - and USPSA - United States Practical Shooting Association - formed in Washington in 1984, the IDPA is the youngest of the shooting sport siblings, instituted in 1996 in Texas by some of the most recognisable

have to carry firearms as part of their employment.

The IDPA in the real steel arena emphasises not only shooting speed and accuracy as with IPSC or USPSA, but also instills a truly practical mindset in the practitioner with regards to protecting themselves as much as focusing on eliminating any potential threat. In some divisions, weapons have to be drawn from concealment; even if worn in an open carry style outside the waistband holster, many practitioners make use of standardised shooting jackets that act as a concealment garment anyone performing legal carrying in the likes of the permissive US states would have to wear. Thus not only do they have to draw their pistol, but reveal it and clear their concealment garment prior to doing so, which of course mimics the reality of being a civilian firearms user in a self defence related or active shooter situation.

Furthermore, the shooter’s own safety and awareness of it is emphasised by imparting the concept of using cover realistically, especially while reloading or clearing malfunctions; with an impetus on revealing as little of your own profile from behind obstacles to achieve a suitable firing solution, with Range Officers coaching, recording or critiquing the shooter’s movements and procedural errors as part of their feedback and scoring system, with a view to make people more aware of where they may go wrong and what to consider in order to help improve their own situational awareness and thus improve their survivability and that of anyone they may have to protect if they find themselves fighting their way out of a worst case scenario.

“IDPA IN THE REAL STEEL ARENA EMPHASISES NOT ONLY SHOOTING SPEED AND ACCURACY AS WITH IPSC OR USPSA, BUT ALSO INSTILLS A TRULY PRACTICAL MINDSET IN THE PRACTITIONER WITH REGARDS TO PROTECTING THEMSELVES AS MUCH AS FOCUSING ON ELIMINATING ANY POTENTIAL THREAT.” 24

DEDCEMBER 2020

EVENT REPORT IDPA SHOOT - TAIWAN

TAIWAN - A NON PERMISSIVE ENVIRONMENT With Taiwan being somewhat like the UK in terms of its effectively non-permissive civilian firearms ownership and cultural or media perceptions and legal issues I have covered in earlier articles also limiting the availability of live or realistic shooting experiences, the IDPA Taiwan officials have been trying to make inroads with the sport since 2015.

Originally spurred on by a

core group of local citizens who have experience of weapons handling and live fire or competition completion either in the US or more local permissive environments such as Thailand or the Philippines, the US based IDPA headquarters and governing body was approached to discuss the viability of bringing the sport - and essentially its brand, or more positive public perception and legitimacy - to Taiwan, adapting it for use with gas powered airsoft replica pistols until such time that the user base grows and hopefully as a result the availability of access to live weapons improves in Taiwan.

As it stands there are no real legal hurdles in Taiwan with regards to civilian ownership of firearms, and in fact many people used to have licenses for real weapons in generations past, however with political forces and public perception shifting the availability of such permits began to dwindle, with many of these people passing away and no opportunity to ‘grandfather’ ownership or licensing of personal firearms to any incumbent heirs.

Taiwan has one of the safest societies in the world, and real firearms rearing their heads outside of the ubiquitous standard Walther PPQM2 sidearms of the National Police Association or its more heavily equipped SWAT teams, or those found on dedicated secured shotgun or target pistol ranges are in reality quite rare. Hopefully with this in mind and an ever growing interest in shooting sports worldwide, and through the efforts of Max and other IDPA and general shooting sports practitioners and officials things may change.

Taiwan at least has one great advantage over the US, and IDPA

Taiwan are keen to push this aspect and seek greater legitimacy and genuine parity with the US led real steel IDPA organisations; existing “cross calibre” culture - as a result of Taiwan’s national service requirements, even though they have been reducing the time young men need to serve, every man on the Island has at least basic weapons handling familiarity - and this is undoubted a key driver of so many locals taking an interest in airsoft, and supporting its industry and other such shooting activities, live or replica - once a soldier… always a soldier!

This mix of live weapons experience and an extremely permissive environment for replica weapons in the form of airsoft guns gives Taiwan an ideal mix of industry, interest, and implicit ability or confidence in all things weapons related, affording it opportunities to bridge the divide between guns throwing plastic and lead rarely present elsewhere; with the right minds and responsible practitioners at the forefront, Taiwan could well become a nexus for international shooting sports and related competitions in future, while the likes of Thailand and the Philippines already have a large cohort of real steel shooters and supporting infrastructure, media and equipment manufacturers, they still retain the barriers to entry of all live fire practices, and don’t have the prevalence of an airsoft culture.

Max Chiang himself is a veteren of a decade long stint in the RoC Air Force communications division, while a wide diaspora of the existing shooting community are ex or serving armed forces and law enforcement. This at least gives a great baseline in terms of confidence and competence with weapons handling on a national basis, and furthermore ensures the IDPA in particular has had a relatively frictionless entrance to the island; you don’t have to deal with as much red tape or establishment interference when a large proportion of your cadre *are* the

establishment. As such the local law enforcement presence within the ranks of the range officers and shooters has greatly ‘greased the wheels’ of progress and positive image.

Talking numbers, I asked about the volume and demographics of Taiwan’s current community; roughly half of its practitioners are

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EVENT REPORT IDPA SHOOT - TAIWAN

the aforementioned ‘career carriers’ - serving or ex mil and law enforcement - those already very comfortable and competent in weapons handling, who seek a further outlet for their skills and another arena to keep them sharp in - while the other half is actually undergoing a little more of a metamorphosis.

During its early days of accruing one hundred shooters to satisfy the US IDPA’s levels of interest to give

Taiwan its own affiliate representative body allowing a transition to using replica firearms, many of the members who weren’t services personnel were hardcore airsoft practitioners of the more mainstream MilSim demographic.

This, however, has taken a very encouraging change in makeup over the most recent year or two, according to Max. As IDPA Taiwan and legitimate shooting activities have started to gain more public attention and an improving general perception on both a local and wider stage, their online presence on the likes of Facebook or mainstream media has opened the door to new practitioners and further lowered the barrier for interest and entry.

IDPA & AIRSOFT

With that in mind, and the fact that airsoft guns offer an inherently very low risk training tool and shooting environment for all compared to real steel guns, IDPA Taiwan spent the first few years of its presence adapting the rules of real steel IDPA for use in an airsoft setting.

As such, the barriers for entry have been greatly reduced, which in turn has spurred on this positive shift in demographics of the new shooters getting involved.

Younger practitioners have become interested, even where their parents are not shooters themselves, they have shown a keen desire to get involved and their parents have obliged - with the IDPA Taiwan community offering equipment for hire to ensure that anyone from any walk of life can easily and painlessly try out the exciting action sport and see if it is for them in general - and many do stick with it, even those with no prior weapons

26

DEDCEMBER 2020

experience.

The tailoring of rules to allow a more at ease environment has ensured that any mistakes are made and learnt from early on, but that participants aren’t dissuaded by errors that would result in disqualification from an entire event in more high risk live fire environments. This approach involves increased range officer presence and attention in the case of total newbies, but it has clearly had very positive effects in terms of retaining the attention and interest of new shooters, affording them more slack to continue after advisory intervention rather than being shown the door immediately upon a fault and undoubtedly disheartened.

With no requirement for a prior formal training regimen or accreditation, as is the case with IPSC and ActionAir/AIPSC as I myself had to go through before being allowed to enter competitions, this handson approach enables more new shooters to quickly become comfortable and confident with direct coaching through safe practices and basic shooting skills, without being put off by high entry costs or investment of further time or money in terms of licensing requirements and basic equipment with which to participate.

By providing hire equipment and and open door policy to get people involved, IDPA Taiwan also find it easier to keep tabs on how many entirely new shooters are trying the sport, in terms of who their equipment is hired out to, how they progress, and what participant retention rates are - all of which seems to reinforce a positive environment, and growing membership. From the initial 100 members at the initial founding, by 2020 this had already doubled, with numbers likely to exceed 300 by next year and the increasing interest on the part of the less serious shooters or those without any experience, but a sense of adventure.

Already the original core group of serious shooters - who have experience in the US and elsewhere that are firearms permissive - have been joined by further new participants who have effectively used the skills gained handling airsoft guns and quickly been able to transition to live firearms

EVENT REPORT IDPA SHOOT - TAIWAN

accepting of younger and female players in recent years, making shooting sports truly accessible and welcoming to all is an ideal end game we should all aspire to.

All told, the future outlook of shooting sports in general seems to be improving, despite the dogged determination of a minority of detractors, many seem to be coming around to the understanding that not everything remotely gun related is evil, and that practical shooting or force on force style games can have a plethora of positive outcomes and benefits for those who get involved, hopefully we can all keep bearing that in mind and ‘build that longer table’ to avoid inter-disciplinary disputes and grow support from within all shooting communities to help push back against those outside who misunderstand us and want to see us all gone. in the likes of the aforementioned locally operating Thai or Filipino ranges.

A very encouraging trend which the whole shooting community would do well to support - as the likes of TRex Arms’ highly publicised training video with Liku - an airsofter from Japan with no previous real firearms experience - has shown, the shift away from the older negative attitude of the real steel shooting community towards ‘toy guns’ is gaining momentum, and again Taiwan is ideally placed to capitalise on this trend.

Offering a cheap, accessible and safe entry through airsoft to give people that basic skills they need to progress more readily into live shooting sports overseas can only further enhance the credibility of IDPA Taiwan, its perception and competence paving the way for more rapid growth and particularly public or societal acceptance.

As it stands, women shooters in the US represent a huge and rapidly growing market which gear manufacturers are increasingly seek to capitalise on and provide tailored solutions to, whether it be specifically designed subcompact pistols, combat or utility style clothing, footwear, tactical equipment or even concealed carry garments or other support gear specifically aimed at their different body profiles and lifestyles, the future of shooting sports looks a lot more balanced.

GETTING INVOLVED

At present, if you wish to get involved in IDPA in Taiwan there are twenty four range officers - who are trained with the same course and expectations as real steel IDPA ROs outside of Taiwan - eight of whom operate in Taipei, with two others on the more sparsely populated East coast and the balance in the Southern cities, with eight local and autonomously operated clubs across the island under the guidance of the IDPA Taiwan management, training classes, competitions and classification shoots happen on at least a weekly basis at one or more of the clubs somewhere on the island, and the annual national competition held around the end of June - usually coinciding with the dragon boat festival long weekend.

I’d like to close by once again extending my sincere thanks to Ray Chang of VFC for accommodating me at the event and introducing me to those behind the scenes, and to Max Chiang for answering all my questions with patience and clarity. Further thanks to “Ms. Stewbacca” for (once again) spending a day at my behest to help overcome what few language barriers I did encounter, and to the participants in general for accommodating my questions and photographic exploits. AA

A FAMILY AFFAIR

Providing an accepting and supportive environment for young shooters is also an excellent aspect I saw working in practice; Stan Liu, a relatively new local participant has made IDPA a truly family affair; bringing his wife Christine and their twelve year old son Jay along for the wild ride - with the safety practices, support and attention of the range officers, Stan’s only real worry seems to be being outshot by his son!

But it’s otherwise very encouraging to see whole families making a day of the events; participating with and supporting each other and helping to grow the sport as well as give it a much more well rounded membership and undoubtedly the improved public perception that will come with it. Coming from the UK and starting my airsoft interest back in 2005 as a university student with an existing replica gun collection and experience of previous live firearms training under military supervision, there were no barriers to my entry, but the demographic of the hobby there remained very much dominated by ‘middle aged guys’ of a certain mentality and although it seems to be shifting to become less niche and more

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27

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armoury VFC 1911 TACTICAL CUSTOM

WHEN IT COMES TO “1911” MODELS RIGHT NOW IT SEEMS TO BE ALL ABOUT THE FANCY “TACTICOOL” HI CAPAS, AND WHILST THAT’S NO BAD THING IT’S WORTH REMEMBERING THAT THE ORIGINAL SINGLE STACK “DADDY” IS STILL A GREAT OPTION FOR SERIOUS AIRSOFT PISTOL SHOOTERS AND THE LATEST TACTICAL MODEL FROM VEGAFORCECOMPANY IS AS GOOD AS IT GETS FROM THE BOX!

30

DECEMBER 2020

armoury VFC 1911 TACTICAL CUSTOM

A

lthough I seem to be spending a lot of time on the Short Range at the moment with the latest Hi Capa “1911” models, I have to admit that I do love a “classic” and there will always be a 1911A1 in my airsoft armoury, not just because it’s my go to sidearm for Namsoft games, but simply because, just as in the real world, it’s just a wonderful pistol to own and shoot!

I do love a good 1911 for so many reasons, and without going into the history of the pistol all over again as that’s been done to death already, I will say it’s without question one of the most simple, reliable and accurate firearms ever produced, which is why it remains so popular. Since it’s so versatile, the 1911 is a great gun for competition shooters, concealed carry or as a home-defence pistol, and of course it’s still the “secondary of choice” for some Tier 1 units.

It could be said that modern pistol designs have made the 1911 obsolete in its role as a combat sidearm, but when it’s tuned and running well, it’s one of the most accurate pistol out there, and the .45 ACP round certainly has all the power that you’ll ever need! Since it is a uniquely American design that was created by uber-gun-guru John Moses Browning and was used by US soldiers in conflict from WWI onwards, it also sits high and proud in American gun culture, and owning one for many is like getting the “gun nod” from John Wayne or Audie Murphy themselves!

But in a world of striker-fired polymer doublestack handguns, is the old warhorse still worthy of its reputation as a fighting pistol? Some would argue that the undoubted reliability of modern pistol designs, and indeed the increased round count that they offer, makes the classic 1911 seem dated to say the least. Numerous shooting luminaries have commented that a “stock 1911”, even one from a well-reputed firearms manufacturer (let’s not forget that it’s not only Colt that make 1991’s these days!), needs significant work to turn it into a reliable combat pistol, but it would seem that there’s a model that was purpose-built for the modern “operator” to use as is from the get go, and that’s the Kimber Custom TLE II. For any self-respecting gun bunny the name of Kimber is one that they’ll know intimately! It’s acknowleged that Kimber Manufacturing (somewhat interestingly founded by an Australian!) based in Troy,

Alabama creates some of the very best 1911 pistols out there, and virtually every critical component is manufactured inside the Kimber factory.

LAPD SWAT chose Kimber, along with the United States Marines assigned to Special Operations Command (the MARSOC pistol, known as the Kimber ICQB (Interim Close Quarter Battle) MEU SOC), The U.S.A. Shooting Rapid Fire Pistol Team, and most recently, LAPD Special Investigation Section (SIS), and they all chose Kimber for the same reasons apparently, those of quality, dependability and accuracy.

Keeping with SWAT though, as a volunteer unit within the LAPD formed in the 1960’s, the SWAT team was initially made up of officers who furnished much of their own equipment, including their own firearms.

Not satisfied with the performance or capacity of the “police special” revolvers that were standard issue at the time, SWAT officers, many of them former military, requested and were ultimately allowed to carry 1911 .45 ACP semiautomatic pistols that they’d used, and trusted, in the armed forces; it’s rumoured that even before formal permission came for the SWAT officers to be issued a 1911 they resorted to carrying police-armoury refurbished models that had been confiscated from criminals! While LAPD SWAT has become a “benchmark unit” since 1967, all those original 1911 pistols have worn out, even with regular repairs and replacement when available, so the decision to finally purchase new pistols was made in early 2002.

Of course there were some pretty harsh criteria from the officers that dealt with criminal activity at www.airsoftaction.net

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armoury VFC 1911 TACTICAL CUSTOM

the sharpest of sharp ends, and first and foremost was reliability, that the pistol simply worked every time, all the time. The pistol must also be “combat accurate”, breaking four inch groupings with five shots at 25 yards. Following reliability and accuracy came stopping power, and the .45 ACP cartridge was just the ticket for that, a renowned and respected “man stopper”.

Each pistol needed to have reliable safety devices, good sights, good ergonomics, and a great trigger.

The testing was rigorous, a gruelling two-years, and every aspect of the pistols was tested, retested, and evaluated.

Kimber have pretty much been a success story right from the introduction of the first models back in 1995. In the early 2000’s though Kimber struck it big when they won that contract for supplying LAPD SWAT, as the Kimber Custom II 1911 was selected against four other companies that competed against Kimber for the contract. The Kimber Custom II singlestack .45 1911 (5” Government Model) defeated all comers, and became the standard issue sidearm for LAPD SWAT operators, and for an LE contract, it was a big one, 160 guns to issue every operator with two pistols (more on that later). Each LAPD SWAT Kimber Custom II came with a reliability upgrade, matchgrade barrel and trigger group, full-length guide rod, Meprolight tritium night sights, a checkered front strap, front and rear slide serrations (I remember reading at the time this was so the pistol could be cocked against the body or police car door if the officer was injured in one arm), and a matt-black oxide finish. Each pistol also displayed “LAPD SWAT” markings on the right side of the slide, and special serial numbers exclusive to the team.

CITY STREETS TO AIRSOFT FIELDS

Of course the “SWAT Thing” is a popular trope for airsoft loadouts, and I’ve seen it done superbly well over the years, although I’ve personally never taken that route myself. With the latest release from VegaForceCompany (VFC) in the form of their “1911 Tactical Custom” though I believe we’ll be seeing some new takes on the loadout, especially given the popularity of the movie “SWAT” and the more recent TV show of the same name!

Although the main character in the original 1975 TV show, Lieutenant Dan “Hondo” Harrelson (played by veteran actor Steve Forrest) used a classic singlestack 1911A1, the movies of 2003 saw Sam Jackson step into the “L-Ts” role, and along with the other members of the squad including Jim Street (Colin Farrell), he carried the Kimber Custom TLE II, both with and without the Surefire 310R weapon light.

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DECEMBER 2020

The pistols were fitted with the 310R, distinguishable from the issued 610R by the minimal protrusion past the muzzle, probably due to the majority of the 610Rs and spare parts being earmarked by Surefire for the “real guys”!

Although the Custom TLE II was correctly replaced in the 2017 TV show with the modernised Kimber Custom TLE/RL II and TLR-1 Streamlight combo, I’m actually kind of glad that VFC chose to base their latest GBB on the “Jackson” model to distinguish it further from the plethora of railed “MEU” styles and

“railguns” out there, and it’s definitely a nod to that first-issued SWAT 1911 which I personally love.

The “1911 Tactical Custom”, just like the real deal, is a striking looking pistol! It aims to break a few moulds in both looks and performance, and to my mind it does both very well indeed! The new pistol is beautifully finished in every respect, living up to the “Kimber” feel although thankfully VFC haven’t included trademarks; VFC are one of the airsoft companies that understand the licencing game well and hold a number of good ones, and to be frank I would have been slightly disappointed had they added spurious ones to this pistol model. I all honesty this 1911 doesn’t need any dodgy trades to help it sell, as it’s good enough, WAY good enough, without them; the VFC 1911 is totally unmarked, making it “a completely blank canvas for you to place your own custom markings on it”.

That said, the VFC is undoubtedly a replica of the Custom TLE II and just looks great; VFC have done a top job in replicating the matt-black oxide finish (Kimber use their own finishing known as KimPro on many of their specialist pistols) of the real thing, and all the components like the trigger, hammer, and outer barrel are finished silver. The pistol features both the checkered front strap, along with those all-important front and rear slide serrations, and clearly white-spot-

armoury VFC 1911 TACTICAL CUSTOM

marked front and rear sights that are easy to use.

In use this 1911 is all about smooth cycling, and all the positive ergonomics you would come to associate with the 1911 platform. Internally the pistol features a revolutionary hop up design that allows you use the guide rod for adjustments, the GuideHop, and this can easily be done on the go if necessary, allowing for you to access the hop without removing the complete slide; all you need to do is hold the slide to the rear and turn the guide rod itself to increase or decrease the hop with series of “clicks” that you can both feel and hear, then release the slide forward to keep shooting! The pistol also comes with a 20BB magazine and is extremely gas efficient, but that’s something I’ve come to expect from VFC these days!

Literally my only gripe with the entire pistol is the magazine floorplate, which is “bumper style” rather that flat plain… yup, that’s it!

VFC quote power output on green gas as iro 0.83 Joule/300fps for the 1911, and they’ve got this pretty right; I tested using NP 2.0 gas and .20g RZRs and through the chrono ended up with a variance between 299 and 302fps which is pretty tight!

Admittedly this was on quite a cold morning, so I’m thinking that the pistol could be a little livelier, and even more consistent, in hot weather, but still happily within a safe and usable power margin. Accuracy on the 10m Short range was excellent, punching the 240x210mm steels consistently with no “flyers”, and even delivering hits to the 60x50mm “headspace” on

the steels with some effort at 5m.

I’ve one more comment to make on the 1911 Tactical Custom before closing, and that’s about the Surefire 610R weaponlight. At the time of issue each officer was actually issued with not one, but two Kimber Custom II .45 ACP pistols, one prefitted with a 610R; this was due to the fact that the original pistol was un-railed, and therefore needed modification to fit a light. Originally designed for the 1911 pistol by John Matthews, President of SureFire, and Bob Webber, former LAPD SWAT armourer, the SureFire Classic 610R Tactical Pistol Light was used by LAPD SWAT for some twenty years, but is now sadly a discontinued model. Luckily, if you want to replicate the full SWAT-package, VFC have also released a super replica of this light, the V1911 TACTICAL ILLUMINATOR. This slides right on to a 1911 frame, locking on with a longer slide stop, allowing you to fit a taclite without the need for an accessory rail, although as per the original you will need to premount it if you want this option, and you’ll need a light compatible

holster (Safariland’s Model 6004 Level II Retention Light Mount holster was a bit of a “SWAT fave” FYI!).

With this particular base covered off I believe that VFC have another winner on their hands with the “1911 tactical Custom”; it’s a quality pistol that cycles hard and fast, and is able to put BBs on target time and again! It absolutely oozes quality, and with the “SWAT heritage” behind it, it’s a pistol that will be a must have for many players. Irrelevant of whether you buy this pistol for a SWAT loadout, or just want a really, high-quality 1911 for your collection, you’ll be pleased that you bought one of these, and I believe it’s a model you’ll cherish for some considerable time to come!

My sincere thanks got to my good friend Ray at www.vegaforce.com for sending me this lovely pistol and for providing their own striking images for use in this review, and to Danny at uk.redwolfairsoft.com for facilitating delivery; check out either link for more information on the 1911 Tactical Custom, along with many other great models from VFC. AA www.airsoftaction.net

33

KIT & GEAR HELIKON-TEX SERVICE CASE

HAVING SEEN A REPORT ON AIRSOFT MILSIM NEWS BLOG, PHIL BUCKNALL DECIDED TO INVEST IN A PIECE OF KIT THAT MIGHT HELP KEEP HIS TOOLS (AND THE SPACE THEY TAKE UP) UNDER CONTROL!

A

s someone who follows a few different airsoft news channels and tries to keep abreast of whats afoot in the wonderful world of airsoft, I often refer to Airsoft Milsim News Blog as they quite frequently have stuff that interests me.

This was very much the case recently when they did a highlight on the Helikon-Tex Service Case.

Now, I have always looked after my own guns, as well as those for others too on occasion and in the past this has meant that I’ve lumped a huge tool box around with me to pretty much every game I have gone to. I’ve carried tools specific to various versions of gearboxes and gas guns - be that GBB pistols or rifles - and then some common spares. It was a lot of stuff but over the last couple of years I’ve scaled back massively and now only carry the tools I need to fix 95% of faults that occur in the guns I run on site.

Even with this scaled down tool kit, it still meant there were quite a few tools to carry and with my platform of choice being the AR, some of those tools can be quite bulky and even with a huge 5.11 range ready bag I starting to find that the tools were beginning to encroach on space needed for other items that had nowhere else to go.

So it seemed quite serendipitous that I saw the AMNB article when I did, as I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to get yet another small tool box that would be a “make do” measure.

The service case isn’t cheap for a tool kit but it does offer quite a lot of features that mean for the budding 34

DECEMBER 2020

gun tech, or even someone like me, the benefits outweigh the cost. It comes in a number of colours and camo patterns including all the popular ones. I opted for the ATACS -FG one purely for cost reasons and because I wasn’t bothered about colour. I got mine from Military1st.co.uk for £54 including delivery and it arrived in a couple of days. I believe the price range is from £52-£60 in the UK. For other countries you will have to check with your local Helikon-Tex retailers.

ON THE CASE

So whats so good about a tool case that got me excited enough to buy one I hear you ask?

Firstly it was the quality of construction. This is a very wellmade piece of equipment. The stitching is excellent and robust with taped edging to protect the material from fraying. There are no loose stitches or threads hanging loose to catch in zips, jamming them up. Speaking of the zips once again these are of a high quality and more than up to the task in hand. The included work mat matches this approach to quality and is held in place when not required by a very durable shock cord with a toggle to allow for tightening/undoing (more on the work mat in a little while) When you open the case up you are confronted with a very well laid out storage system. There are mesh zip up pockets on the inside of the lid along

KIT & GEAR HELIKON-TEX SERVICE CASE

with six elastic loops for securing screwdrivers or similar tools. Next is the fold out panel, which has the same elastic loops on one side as the lid does and on its reverse are two pouches with velcro flaps and a zippered compartment. With the flap folded out of the way it exposes the main compartment which has a bright yellow base made of a liquidproof material.

strap and hook keeping it rolled up and secured under the case with shock cord. Once it is folded out though it gives ample space to work on any gun without worry about having to do it on a shonky table or even worse, on the floor. With its pop up waterproof box (lined with the same yellow material as the main body of the case itself) you have somewhere to either clean parts with solvent, lubricate parts or just place small parts somewhere they can’t escape from and will be easy to spot when required.

The Service Case is not going to be for everyone and some folk will likely look at it and just scratch their heads in wonderment. Others will be planning out what is going to go where and it is for this latter group that do that the Service Case is an excellent solution for the transporting, storing and utilisation of tools in a non-workshop environment. AA

Great if you spill any oil for example, you can just wipe it out with a cloth, whilst the colour helps locate small items like shims or springs often encountered in airsoft guns and remarkably skilled at hiding when it comes to reassembling said gun!

With some careful selection of tools and doing a spot of “tool Tetris” it is possible to pack a surprising amount of kit into such a small space. In fact, all bar my hammer, AR armourers block and a ratchet screwdriver everything else I need to fix the guns I use is now safely stowed in the Service Case. The other tools are in my range ready bag but now only take up one pouch - as opposed to being spread out wherever I could fit them in days gone by.

The real value added part of the Service Case (in my humble opinion) is the included work mat I mentioned earlier. When it is folded up it is marginally larger than an empty kitchen towel tube and is held by a webbing

“WITH SOME CAREFUL SELECTION OF TOOLS AND DOING A SPOT OF “TOOL TETRIS” IT IS POSSIBLE TO PACK A SURPRISING AMOUNT OF KIT INTO SUCH A SMALL SPACE. IN FACT, ALL BAR MY HAMMER, AR ARMOURERS BLOCK AND A RATCHET SCREWDRIVER EVERYTHING ELSE I NEED TO FIX THE GUNS I USE IS NOW SAFELY STOWED IN THE SERVICE CASE.” www.airsoftaction.net

35

armoury

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

ARMY ARMAMENT R604

BIG BADDA HI CAPA!

IT SEEMS LIKE MANY FOLK OUT THERE ARE IN A HUGE RUSH TO REPORT ON NEW MODELS LITERALLY THE MOMENT AN IMAGE APPEARS ONLINE BUT AT AIRSOFT ACTION THAT’S NOT OUR WAY, AS WE BELIEVE A MORE CONSIDERED APPROACH, BASED ON THOROUGH TESTING AND FULL EVALUATION, WILL GIVE EVERYONE FAR BETTER IDEA OF WHAT THEY MIGHT BE BUYING THAN SIMPLY TELLING YOU “WHAT’S IN THE BOX AND ON THE WEB”! THE NEW R604 GBB PISTOL HAS BEEN WITH US FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS, SO NOW’S THE TIME FOR BILL TO TELL YOU WHAT WE THINK!

I

t’s weird, isn’t it? I try not to view the reports of others when it comes to an AEG of GBB model that I have under evaluation as I feel that this might bias what I have to say, and as most of the “good reviewers” I know tend to find the same things I do with any new model, the “consensus of assent” comes into effect too and can sometimes blow the smallest of things out of all proportion!

As a reader of Airsoft Action, and a potential purchaser of what we review, I personally believe that you deserve better than that, as pulling information from a wiki or website and “making out it were your own” ultimately tells a story, and not necessarily a good one. I’m a firm believer of trawling for information both online and in my personal “hard copy library” of old books, but that’s in support of a story… it’s not, and never will be “The Story”.

Consensus is a good thing for you but not for me; if I spot a problem I want to ensure that’s it’s something simple to deal with - and no amount of positive or negative “reinforcement” is going to change that.

Therefore, I take time to fully test the models that I have under evaluation, range testing thoroughly and ensuring that each and every model gets used hard before I comment.

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DECEMBER 2020

Why do I tell you all this you may wonder? Truth is, I’ve already seen some “reviews” on the latest model from Army Armament (ARMY), the R604 and it seems like a lot of folk are rather missing the point of this super, hand-filling GBB pistol…

I’m led to believe by Army Armament - and I quote verbatim - that: “The aim of ARMY was to launch a product for customers who are looking for a pistol with reliable combat characteristics, long-range, fly straight and hit hard, but also a beautiful appearance with made of accuracy, precision finish and durability of construction.”

Reading between the lines there I believe what they want to say is that what you’re going to get is a great-looking, straight-shooting GBB pistol that’s well made, operates efficiently and put together to last… but have they pulled this off? In a nutshell… pretty darn close!

The world of “John Wick” has a lot to answer for when it comes to the current crop of Hi Capa pistols; they’re big yet elegant, sleek but chunky and they look like they’re better off carried when you’re wearing a nicely tailored suit (in a suitably dark colour) rather than combat trousers and a chest rig! That

armoury ARMY ARMAMENT R604

said, there’s something about the “style” that I find immediately attractive; call it “individual character” if you will and the R604 has character aplenty and is all the better for it.

I fell out of love with Hi Capas for “reasons” many moons ago, and I have to admit being a “Glock/SIG” airsoft pistol shooter of late. There’s no one reason why I moved away from the Hi Capa fold but in the past couple of years, newly-released models with their increased performance have wooed me back to that big “uber-1911” style. Add to this that the newer GBB models are moving in the same direction as the “real world” handgun market in terms of external design, with unique and interesting “looks” and, to me, the already-not-so-humble Hi Capa is being reborn.

FULL INSPECTION

Getting right down to it, the new R604 is very much of the “new breed”, it’s made of a high standard alloy throughout which bodes well for longevity and has a shortened slide, a weight reduction which keeps the weight down and the performance up. The frame, though, is reinforced to put up with the abuse of the slide cycling hard, and there’s also 4-inch barrel with a really chunky compensator to finish things off at the noisy end. I do like a compensator on this style of pistol, as it seems to finish the whole “look” off sweetly and the one fitted to the R604 is also made of that same, impeccably finished alloy so it helps to balance out what is in essence a big pistol when you have the mag in the well.

Compensators on airsoft pistols is a bit of a weird one, as of course we don’t reap the real-world benefit of these. Essentially, a compensator uses baffling and expansion chambers to trap gas created during live fire and redirect it. The objective is to take those gases and redirect them in a way that benefits the shooter, actually helping you to “shoot flatter”. A good “real deal” compensator can also be very effective at reducing felt recoil and muzzle rise, aiding in getting sights back on-target more quickly. We’re starting to see some really interesting designs with large compensators coming into the airsoft market and whilst that of the R604 looks great (especially when the pistol is cycling during firing), it’s not really going to help your shooting and I hope that Army in the future might look to increase the length of the inner barrel right out to the extent of the

compensator, which, potentially, could be of benefit in airsoft form.

That’s in no way a negative though, as the R604 benefits from the Army “Realistic Blowback System”, which makes things feel very nice indeed. The shorter, lighter slide really does cycle with a good thump in your hand and continues to do so thanks to the double stack 28 BB capacity magazine. This is also a nice design with a base pad for fast, smooth, positive reloads aided by a flared tactical magwell. You also get an ambidextrous Thumb Safety which allows you to lock the slide without changing your grip, along with a Beavertail Safety which is positioned at the rear of the pistol grip, and won’t let the Pistol fire unless it is being held correctly. The magazine release is threaded, allowing you to install extension plates if you want a more positive option but this is one area that I dislike as it makes the pistol look unfinished.

I’ve seen this on other Army pistols, and although I totally get the principle, I just wish they would just fit a removable cover.

Talking of the pistol grips, these are pretty darn aggressive in their stippling! I usually wear gloves when shooting so it doesn’t bother me personally and I found when shooting the R604 in the wet (very wet!) it actually aids with retention and grip but a number of the Red Cell crew made comment on this when we did our big group test, so I feel it must be mentioned - and it just goes to show that what is a positive to some, will be a negative to others! Looking at positives though, the R604 comes with a fibre-optic front sight as

standard, which is great for fast and certain front sight alignment to assist point of aim in unfavourable conditions. There’s also an integral rail on the front lower of the frame to mount www.airsoftaction.net

37

armoury ARMY ARMAMENT R604

a flashlight in low light situations and all my taclites fitted this without any issues, along with a thread inside the compensator if you wish to fit a suppressor, although you will need an adapter for this.

So, externally everything is cool and internally it ain’t too bad either! Of course you get an adjustable Hop-Up Unit which is accessed by removing the slide from the frame; workmanlike and straightforward but with easier solutions now on the market I feel

that Army may wish to address this sooner rather than later. You also get a wear and cold-resistant sealed Hop-Up rubber, which is neat and this is made of a silicone compound which ensures a snug fit even at low temperatures, or during rapid-fire cooldown. There’s also a newly-designed, reinforced cold-resistant polymer nozzle which provides a better seal and which, I’m led to believe, translates into more stable shot force with increased mechanical resistance to damage. Inside the magazines are sealed “New Generation” valves which aid in reducing gas consumption.

BOOMTIME!

So, let’s recap on those Army “aims” for a moment…

Great-looking? Well, beauty they say is in the eye of the beholder, and personally I love it! Put together to last? Everything indicates to me that Army have done a great job in this respect, as everything fits and functions together perfectly and gives the R604 a real “quality” feel in your hand.

Straight-shooting? Well, a while back I had handson with the R501 model and the R604 is a very different pistol! At 10m the R501 was no precision “tack driver” but it kept BBs on target and that’s really all that’s important at the end of the day, isn’t it? The R604 however feels like, and acts like, a better, more accurate pistol from the get go and, in my opinion, where the R501 was good, the R604 is better… WAY better - and as it was included in the Red Cell Shoot

Day (also reported in this issue and you’ll find full specs for the R604 in that report) I’m not alone in saying this!

The R604 initially chrono’d in at 0.86 Joule/305fps (the R501 is 0.84 Joule/301fps) on .20g RZR but it seems to enjoy being fed .25g best. With this weight of BB you get cracking performance at 10m, with consistent power delivery through the magazine, good standard sights that let you get on target quickly and a crisp trigger break that lets you stay on target too! I say “standard sights” as this is where the R604 takes another leap forward, as this is a pistol designed to carry a RDS “a la Sofia” (okay, that was a Gen 4 G34 MOS with Trijicon RMR, but you get my point, and hopefully the reference!).

On the rear of the slide you get a very high, U-profile iron sight but this is in fact married to a removable plate. Included in the R604 package is an alternative RDS Mount Plate and to install a red dot sight you simply remove the smooth-profile original plate and replace it with the Mount Plate, which is drilled and threaded to accommodate different RDS models easily and swiftly. The mounting plate even has an additional high iron built in so that you can cowitness with the optic. It’s a great “MOS-style” system that works well and to my mind adds great versatility and value to the pistol overall.

So, with that in mind let’s come back to that last “aim” and is the R604 a GBB pistol that’s well made, operates efficiently and put together to last? I would say yes, it most certainly is in all respects, and for £95 at Taiwangun.com you will be getting a whole heap of modern Hi Capa goodness for your money! This is a pistol that cries out for a RDS and a suppressor, and Taiwangun are also offering a great package that includes the muzzle adapter and optic for a greatly reduced price, so make sure to scroll down on their R604 page of the website before you hit the “BUY” button to save some cash!

As always, thanks to TaiwanGun for supplying the review pistol and if you want to find out more about the R604, or any of their other products, head over to: www.taiwangun.com AA

www.airsoftaction.net

39

RED CELL 1911 SERIES RANGE DAY

1911 SERIES RANGE DAY

IT SEEMS LIKE WE’RE HITTING A GREAT NOTE WITH THE RED CELL PROGRAM, AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT’S CONTACTED AIRSOFT ACTION ABOUT IT! WITH AN OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE RECEPTION FROM BOTH INDUSTRY AND PLAYERS ALIKE WE KNOW THAT WE’VE CREATED SOMETHING THAT’S MEANINGFUL IN MANY WAYS - AND IS AN AWFUL LOT OF FUN TO RUN EACH MONTH! THIS TIME, “THE CELL” TURNS ITS ATTENTION TO 1911 STYLE GBB PISTOLS, AS BILL TELLS…

S

adly, at the time of writing it looks as if we’re all being plunged back into the seemingly bottomless pit of C-Virus restrictions (sorry, can’t help thinking of it as a “Resident Evil-esque “T-Virus!) so we’ve had to err on the side of caution when bringing the group together. This meant that for the “1911 Shoot Day” I restricted the numbers of the testers, especially as we have moved into “Warehouse 51” for the winter months of testing GBBs. Thanks to Red Cell member Jimmy we now have a regular indoor facility for testing (we’ll be moving outdoor to our “new home” at Reaper Ops “The Fort” in the new year when we start getting into “longs”!), which means that we can ensure consistency and optimum conditions; in airsoft terms it’s all very gucci as we have heating, great light, flushing loos, and even somewhere to make a brew!

There’s space inside to shoot safely, an outdoor area for range testing and chrono, and even a lecture area where we can meet to discuss our findings, so as well as being perfect for the test procedure it’s all very comfortable too… oh my, I am REALLY showing my age now, it’ll be pipe and slippers next!

But enough blather, let’s get down to it!

1911 TIME

The Colt pistol was formally adopted by the US Army on March 29, 1911, when it was designated Model of 1911, later changed to Model 1911 in 1917, and then M1911 in the mid-1920s, and it’s a pistol model that is still going to this day and shows no sign of stopping! With over 100 years of service history under its belt the “1911” is a true classic that is a pleasure to own and shoot, both in airsoft and “real deal” form.

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DECEMBER 2020

Just like the real world there is now an industry within an industry when it comes to airsoft “1911s”, with a plethora of aftermarket parts available for upgrades, from an upgraded trigger spring right through to full steel body kits! You can go completely classic with a super M1911A1, or come literally “bang up to the minute” with some of the newer designs that are currently available. You can stick to classic “single stack” models or head on into Hi Capa territory for that extra magazine capacity, but one thing that is shared amongst all the models is that wonderful geometry that makes the 1911 style so popular; it just sits perfectly in the hand whether it’s designed for competition or combat!

In the Red Cell Shoot we decided to throw all the 1911 models into one big, massively impressive pile, no matter what their magazine capacity, although of course this could be a decider for you when you come to buy. We’ve already been asked if the Red Cell reports form a “buyers” guide, and the truthful answer to that is both yes and no. All the pistol models that we test are owned by members of the group, and they are all models that have been, or will be, used in game. Some have been owned for a considerable time, and this will always be noted in the data so you can work out how consistent they have remained over their “service life”. They are all models that are owned, and just like us, we want you to be able to pick a GBB or AEG for yourself that is both worth the money, and worth placing your trust in.

Ultimately we want you to have the information to be able to buy something with confidence, to obtain a model that you can own and cherish for years to come, and that will keep on working with minimal fuss and equally minimal maintenance as long as you own it.

RED CELL 1911 SERIES RANGE DAY

With the categories for testing that we outlined in the intro to Red Cell we already have sufficient AEGs and GBBs in the group to make it a rolling 12 month program and although not all the models we test will feature, we will always endeavour to provide a minimum of ten models in the same category that we all agree on as being value for money and fully fit for purpose.

RED CELL REPORTS

Jase: So I thought I’d start my reviews off with a side by side of the Red Wolf 1911s as the GRP was made from steel that had been crafted on the CNC and had a hefty RRP of some $1300, a good base gun to use as the base comparison. The GRP had amazing kick, some talked of it having kick of a 9mm or slightly similar calibre round. The gun felt solid when sending some 6mm hurtling down range on co2 gas. The GRP is a used pistol but has had limited use over its life. I found that it had to aim slightly lower that sights would suggest to hit the heads on the steel targets. The mag on one bulb would easily see two full mags. So when I put the cheaper Redwolf 1911 up against the glossy steel counterpart you could tell the difference straight away, it was noticeably lighter.

Kick from the pistol was good, even on green gas.

The slide was pretty crisp, but when shooting I again noticed that I had to aim slightly lower to hit the heads on the steel. Visually it didn’t look that great as the paint finish wasn’t too great to the eye. Both holstered well into my Warrior universal mc holster though.

Next up on my hit list were the Raven MEU and the TM MEU. Now, I am a closet fan of the MEU (SOC) pistol so was very happy to put these to up against each other. The Raven was taken to the range first and straight away I was wowed by how it felt in the hand, so comfy, like it was made to fit. This was due to the Magpul RS grip it was fitted with (this is one of Bill’s personal secondary’s so was non-standard in respect of the grips, but I’d definitely add these myself!). In and out of the holster, no issues. Shot fine, accuracy was ok and the slide was very crisp and snappy. TM’s turn; as we all know Tokyo Marui never fail us on what they bring out of their stable and once again I wasn’t disappointed. In the hand, it felt nice, just not as nice as the Raven. Gas efficiency was good, same as the Raven. The TM was a better shot as, it sent the projectiles down range with better accuracy in my opinion. I did however feel that the Raven, even though it was lacking the trades held its own against the TM. In a very geeky way, of all the 1911s tested today, by far the best looking magazine went to the

TM MEU, its was purely a thing of beauty. So on final thoughts, if I had to part with my own spare cash, on this occasion, I would have the Raven. At almost half the price it’s a steal and I’d still have spare cash to upgrade to those sweet Magpul grips and have enough left over for a Twix and a Tizer!

Boycie: I really liked the AA R601, one of the two “outsider” Taran Tactical pistols on the table; I’d say good value for the price! With the classics I’ll mention the Detonics; while my hands are huge they were both nice to shoot and the TM just edged it for me.

The VX-9 with suppressor didn’t really rock my boat, but the plain version without the extended inner barrel and suppressor felt a lot better; It’s got a really smooth cycling action! The Vorsk split slide; now this was a real surprise when I fired it as it was so quick in cycling and stable; follow up shots were really good and the efficiency of gas use was great as I got through nearly two whole fills off BBs to one fill of gas. And back to the classics with the venerable WE 1911A1; as I mentioned on the Data Sheet on the day, this was supremely comfortable to shoot and was like a favourite pair of slippers!

Jimmy: Session 2 of Red Cell and boy, was I excited.

I was very eager for this meeting as I am a big fan of the .45 pistols, my personal collection being predominantly in .45 guise! I brought a few of my own collection to the table, the TM 5.1 Hi Capa Gold Match, WE 7 Hi Capa Dragon, Army Armament R32 Nightstorm, and the Golden Eagle 1911 Strike; being my own pistols I thought I’d let the other guys try these and comment as they are mine I feel my comments would be biased. As I was the host for the day I found myself to be very distracted in making sure everything was operating smoothly and everybody was catered for and as a result didn’t get to test as much as maybe I should have (huge thanks to Jimmy for making “Warehouse 51” available!). I managed to test a few, starting with the RWA Nighthawk Recon.

What can I say but “WOW! Take my money!” A truly www.airsoftaction.net

41

RED CELL 1911 SERIES RANGE DAY

Model: Tokyo Marui 1911 MEU Price: iro £150.00 Age: New Weight: 840g Length: 223mm Magazine Capacity: 28 Cold Chrono: 0.70J/275fps

Hot Chrono: 0.33J/190fps Holster Compatibility: Good Taclite Compatibility: No Suppressor Compatibility: No Available From: www.fire-support.co.uk

Model: Raven 1911 MEU Railed Price: iro £80.00 Age: 3 Years Weight: 1300g Length: 215mm Magazine Capacity: 15+1 Cold Chrono: 0.73J/282fps

Hot Chrono: 0.65J/265fps Holster Compatibility: Good Taclite Compatibility: Good Suppressor Compatibility: Good Available From: www.rvnairsoft.com

Model: Raven Hi Capa 4.3 Price: iro £90.00 Age: Two Years Weight: 880g Length: 220mm Magazine Capacity: 25 Cold Chrono: 0.96J/323fps

Hot Chrono: 0.92J/315fps Holster Compatibility: Good Taclite Compatibility: Good Suppressor Compatibility: Good Available From: www.rvnairsoft.com

Model: Raven Hi Capa 5.1 Price: iro £95.00 Age: One Year Weight: 930g Length: 250mm Magazine Capacity: 25 Cold Chrono: 1.04J/335fps

Hot Chrono: 0.83J/300fps Holster Compatibility: Good Taclite Compatibility: Good Suppressor Compatibility: Good Available From: www.rvnairsoft.com

Model: Vorsk Hi Capa 5.1 Split Slide Price: iro £130.00 Age: New Weight: 900g Length: 250mm Magazine Capacity: 25

Cold Chrono: 1.11J/346fps Hot Chrono: 1.02J/332fps Holster Compatibility: Okay Taclite Compatibility: Good Suppressor Compatibility: Good Available From: www.vorskairsoft.com

Model: Army Armament R501 Price: iro £80.00 Age: New Weight: 1020g Length: 218mm Magazine Capacity: 28 Cold Chrono: 0.80J/295fps

Hot Chrono: 0.70J/276fps Holster Compatibility: Good Taclite Compatibility: Good Suppressor Compatibility: Good Available From: www.taiwangun.com

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DECEMBER 2020

RED CELL 1911 SERIES RANGE DAY

Model: Army Armament R604 Price: iro £95.00 Age: New Weight: 1030g Length: 225mm Magazine Capacity: 28 Cold Chrono: 0.86J/305fps

Hot Chrono: 0.67J/270fps Holster Compatibility: Good Taclite Compatibility: Good Suppressor Compatibility: Good Available From: www.taiwangun.com

Model: Army Armament R45A1 Price: iro £45.00 Age: One Year Weight: 700g Length: 170mm Magazine Capacity: 18 Cold Chrono: 0.55J/245fps

Hot Chrono: 0.41J/210fps Holster Compatibility: Good Taclite Compatibility: No Suppressor Compatibility: No Available From: www.taiwangun.com

Model: Tokyo Marui Detonics Combatmaster Price: iro £105.00 Age: 10 years!

Weight: 634g Length: 178mm Magazine Capacity: 18

Cold Chrono: 0.53J/240fps Hot Chrono: 0.39J/205fps Holster Compatibility: Good Taclite Compatibility: No Suppressor Compatibility: No Available From: www.fire-support.co.uk

Model: WE Airsoft 1911A1 Price: iro £90.00 Age: 10 years!

Weight: 1200g Length: 218mm Magazine Capacity: 15+1 Cold Chrono: 0.78J/291fps

Hot Chrono: 0.71J/278fps Holster Compatibility: Good Taclite Compatibility: No Suppressor Compatibility: No Available From: www.weairsoft.com

Model: Vorsk VX-9 Price: iro £140.00 Age: New Weight: 873g Length: 220mm Magazine Capacity: 15+1 Cold Chrono: 0.70J/275fps

Hot Chrono: 0.62J/258fps Holster Compatibility: Good Taclite Compatibility: No Suppressor Compatibility: Yes Available From: www.vorskairsoft.com

Model: RWA Nighthawk Custom Recon (CO2) Price: iro £140.00 Age: New Weight: 908g Length: 220mm Magazine Capacity: 17+1

Cold Chrono: 1.20J/360fps Hot Chrono: 0.84J/301fps Holster Compatibility: Good Taclite Compatibility: No Suppressor Compatibility: No Available From: uk.redwolfairsoft.com www.airsoftaction.net

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RED CELL 1911 SERIES RANGE DAY

amazing piece of kit, and. I think this one was chisled off the backside of Chris Costa! LOL! Powered by C02 and with a fairly high fps this bad boy can really kick. Having only 17 BBs to a mag allowed the gun to empty all BBs with equal power to the first and left plenty of power for multiple reloads. The trigger is a heavy but very realistic felling pull which is easy to predict. It is a heavyweight contender for sure and such high quality you would expect this thing to be around the £200 mark but you’ll be surprised to learn it’s not even close to that price tag, and I have a feeling I will be the owner of one very soon.

Next on my agenda was the lovely little TM Detonics Combatmaster and I must admit it’s a cracking little number. Being a TM it is quite a light pistol which gives a great snappy recoil and cycles incredibly fast. Very efficient due to having a polymer slide meaning you won’t need to worry about regassing every time you reload. As we know TM come out of the box with a lower fps but that’s not to be sneered at. Range and accuracy of a such a small pistol were really good. The one downside for me was the size of the grip being a tad short for my big hands but the fact is I would happily carry this into a game, it is a lovely little sidearm. I found myself lured to the TM 1911 MEU which is based more toward the earlier style. With again TM high standards of quality. Both accurate and highly efficient you won’t be needing to carry gas with into a game just a speedloader to keep it fed. Powering it with green gas gives it a nice snappy feel and being mainly polymer it cycles lightning fast giving you the edge over heavier more slower pistols. The trigger felt very light but positive making it a perfect sidearm for any skirmisher. At this point I sadly found my attention was distracted somewhat as there were some very lovely rifles being

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waved under my nose and naturally I couldn’t resist having a test with them but more about them in a later edition of Red Cell! I had every intention of getting back to the pistols but was reminded that the Attack Sense system still needed calibrating and adjusting for the final shootout of the day.

James: Definitely a few stand out models, number one being the Vorsk VX-9 agency which we had a pair of to test and gave me great amusement duel welding on the attack sense range! Absolutely love the look to these in the silver finish with wood grips and rubberised moulding, by far the most comfortable in hand and a silencer with inner barrel included make these a great price. Sticking with Vorsk the 4.3 hi cappa with RDS is again one of my tops with a great action and good build quality.

Army Armament models including the R501 and R604 again came in strong in terms of looks and build, the only let down for me was the grip texturing which was uncomfortable for me personally. The Raven 1911 MEU model we had on test was certainly the more classic look 1911, which I do like, certainly comfortable in hand there was a bit of a wobble on the top slide compared to others but I believe it had already had service in the field to be fair. Of the minis the TM Detonics Combatmaster and the Army Armament version are great lightweight easily concealed pistols, both comfortable in hand and both looked to be the same quality build the only difference between them was the TM model had a reassuring click when inserting the mag, where the AA model seemed a bit more wobbly. However with the AA R45A1 being £45 and the TM being £110 I think that can be forgiven. Lastly the Double Eagle Gold Barrel 5.1 which didn’t make the final cut; this certainly had a different look with the almost skeletal slide exposing the gold inner barrel, but unfortunately the outer barrel had so much wobble the clanging around from it would probably give you away long before the enemy sees you; this looseness unfortunately also seemed to lead to jams in the slide action when testing.

Bill: It’s sometimes a little harder for me to come up with things new about 1911s as I love them so much, and like the rest of the guys I have my personal favourites! I’m going to be blunt and say that the first airsoft “Detonics Combatmaster” I bought many moons back was the original, black plastic TM, and this a lovely little pistol, but it retails well over £100 and spare 18BB mags are about £22 a pop so it’s quite a lot of moolah for an “occasional use only” pistol. The China-made Army Armament R45A1 1911 Compact made me do a bit of a double take when I

RED CELL 1911 SERIES RANGE DAY

saw it, as this is a full metal clone of the TM Detonics, and sells for less than half the price of the TM and shoots just as well… SOLD! The WE1911 and Raven MEU are both my own pistols too, and although they’re bog standard inside, they’re well used and much loved; as is probably obvious I have a bit of a problem with all-metal-pistols that are not metal, so TM always loses for me…

All metal? That would be the RWA models, and although I loved the uber-GRP I will never spend that amount of money on an airsoft pistol, so the standard model would also be the one for me in this respect as it works effectively, is consistent, is very nicely made and just feels great in the hand. You’ll see my comments on the AA R604 in the main review this issue, so I’ll move swiftly onto the Vorsk Split Slide, and like John I’ve been amazed at just how smoothly this cycles, and I especially love the gas efficiency; it’s a big chunk of handgun but it’s just so darn SMOOTH! So, what’s my personal choice from the lot? Well, I own a pair of VX-9s already, and the Raven Hi Capas, most tellingly the 4.3, have become absolute favourites of mine since their release! When it comes to playing I’ve found that the RAVEN Hi CAPA 4.3 is my preferred option, and even though the design is obviously at variance with the lines of a “classic 1911” in terms of both the frame and slide, the grip angle and operation is both familiar and comfortable; it’s as if they’ve taken that classic “rake” and feature set and incorporated it into a new, modern design that works well and looks great; if I were to pick a model to be my “fighting 1911” then this would surely be it.

Upon moving over the Army Armament the first thing I noticed where the grips; they were just not as crisp as the ASG. Also I found the AA slide just

not as nice in the hand while cocking. As trades have been a talking point of late it was nice to see that both had good solid trades from the manufacturer with the ASG having the slight edge over the AA. Other than that, gas efficiency was good and it shot just as well as the ASG, but on the whole two fantastic pistols. I’d like to give a shout out to my boy Sam W for lending us both the ASG STI Combat Master and the Red Wolf GRP Steel pistols for this test.

All GBB models tested using .20g RZR BBs and NP 2.0 Gas. Thanks as usual also go to Red Cell partners NUPROL (www.nuprol.com), VIPER (www.viperkit. co.uk), and Attack Sense Smart Targets (www. attacksense.com)

Last Words

Jase: So with the pistols rapidly being taken off the table as other members of ’The Cell’ took them for testing, I grabbed my chance to try the two Combat Masters.

I started off with the licensed ASG variant, and in the hand this pistol was an utter gem. As you look down the sights you are treated to the awesome low light

sights that made target acquisition very easy.

This model shot very well but again I noted that you had to aim slightly lower to hit the heads of the steel.

Gas efficiency was grand. Overall experience with the pistol was excellent. www.airsoftaction.net

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feature BACK TO THE FUTURE?

BACK TO THE FUTURE?

AS AIRSOFT ACTION’S READERSHIP CONTINUES TO GROW GLOBALLY, FRENCHIE AND BILL GOT TO TALKING ABOUT HOW NEW PLAYERS AROUND THE WORLD ARE DISCOVERING “OLD GEMS” AND, OF COURSE, TO TALK TURNED TO TOKYO MARUI...

I

have been chatting with Bill Pryce-Thomas this month about the Red Cell project and the joys of being able to hyperlink within articles now that Airsoft Action is purely digital. This raised a suggestion that newer players were perhaps becoming acquainted with older airsoft guns, specifically in our chats, the Marui AEPs. Since I am, and always have been, a rampant fan of these diminutive electric guns, I thought I would offer some musings on them and I may go on to look at other older models over the coming months.

Before I begin let me reiterate something about Marui that I have touched on before. Marui do not sell directly to anyone but Japanese distributors, certainly I have seen no evidence to contradict that statement. They also issue schedules of production each year, detailing which models they will be producing and when. This is both helpful and frustrating; helpful because you know what will be available and when you can expect it, frustrating because you also know straight off which models simply won’t be available from the factory that year.

As Marui continue to develop their newer models, so some of the older ones become ever scarcer simply because they are no longer produced.

TM AEPS

OK, enough about production schedules, what about their AEPs? AEP stands for Automatic Electric Pistol and the very first model offered was the Glock 18c.

I’m certain about this because I’m fairly sure I bought 48

DECEMBER 2020

one of the very first offered by the-then Airsoft Scotland, which dates it as quite a long time back! (It was released in 2004!)

Build was typical Marui, largely faultless, the gun was powered by a tiny 7.2v battery that nestled under the barrel and was fed by a skinny 30 round stick magazine. It had to be this way as the rest of the space in the grip was taken up by the motor that powered the system. In the pistols you have a motor/ gearbox unit in the grip and this drives a piston in a cylinder mounted horizontally in the frame – roughly where the firing pin and breech block would sit in the real gun. The pistols were selective fire (obviously) and one of their considerable advantages was reliable full-auto, something that gas blowback pistols at the time struggled with, partly because of their design and partly because of the less than tropical weather you find in Scotland.

Many players found the lack of a reciprocating slide and the ridiculous “pop, pop” sound unacceptable, and I get that. I suppose I wouldn’t have minded if they sounded a bit more gun-like but for me the positives so far outweighed the negatives that this was a small price to pay.

The AEPs were reliable, really reliable. I used to carry two batteries and I think three magazines. That would easily see me through a day, assuming I was using it as a sidearm and not a primary. The hop up was exceptional, at a time when pistol hops were improving but were nowhere near as consistent as they are today. With 0.2g or 0.25g ammo you

feature BACK TO THE FUTURE?

could achieve ‘good’ pistol ranges with every shot, so let’s say 30 - 40m max. Full auto worked every time. Need to clear a strongpoint or cover your rapid retreat? Throw the fun switch and away you go. Finally for reasons I never was able to prove, but suspect had to do with the efficiency of the backspin imparted by the hop, victims felt the hit, indeed a few would emerge with what looked like scratches on their faces. No, I’m obviously not advocating injuring players, but despite its apparent lack of ‘oomph’, the Glock got the job done. Mind you, if your target saw you shoot at them, they could just dodge, Neo-like, because the BB was only travelling at around 220 feet per second. Sneaky was good!

Marui would go on to produce further electric pistols and while I have handled and shot most of them, none felt as right to me as the original. It’s a design that has also been copied quite widely; CYMA still make AEPs based on the original 18, and I have owned a few. They aren’t made to the same standard, but they work just fine.

UPGRADES

As with any innovation, aftermarket and upgrade parts emerged. This will be more relevant when I come to write about the machine pistols and personal defence weapons such as the Czech Skorpion and the HK MP7, but I questioned their value at the time, and still do. It takes little imagination to picture the scale of the components used inside a pistol-sized electric gun. Everything you find inside an AEG was there; motor, gears, piston, cylinder, battery – the works. And they were small, they had to be. Could you upgrade them? Yes, of course you could but I personally never saw the point. You would really want to upgrade everything (unless you were just

changing a barrel or hop rubber) to ensure that your bigger spring didn’t cause the gears to wear out faster for instance, or the motor give up the ghost.

Importantly, I never saw the point, as I was never of the opinion that the gun was inherently lacking.

Yes, another 80 fps would have been nice, but given that I have seen one of these remove teeth during a game, would it really be necessary? I suspect, and this is a very personal view, that the inert nature of the shooting experience persuaded some owners to try and compensate in some way. And that experience was inert, the pistol sits in the hand doing its thing. Ironically, I guess that there isn’t a military or police force out there that wouldn’t love a pistol with exactly those easy-shooting characteristics!

Like airsoft shotguns, of which I am a dyed-inthe-wool Fan Boi, the G18 AEP is an airsoft gun that needs to be used within its limitations, and like shotguns, the fact is that those limitations aren’t as great as I think some players suspect.

While writing this piece, I have been trawling around the Marui website to see if they still make the G18c AEP. It would appear that they do, although whether that means you can pick one up from a UK retailer at present is a different question! However, given their inherently robust nature, should you have a hankering after one, you can probably find a secondhand offering in good condition. Failing that, you may be able to find the CYMA copy still. It’s not as good as the Marui, but for about half the price, it is a solid performer, nonetheless.

Since I must thank Bill for pointing out this particular rabbit hole and sending me down it, I’ll squirm further next month and look at the TM MP7 AEP and its associated models. After that? Who knows...? AA www.airsoftaction.net

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COVERT BOOT

BLACK / BROWN / TITANIUM / SRP: £49.95

armoury ASG ACCURACY INTERNATIONAL MK13

ACCURACY WITHOUT COMPROMISE ACTIONSPORTGAMES ARE PROBABLY BEST-KNOWN FOR THE UBIQUITOUS “EVO”, HOWEVER, THEY ALSO HAVE LICENCING ARRANGEMENTS WITH A NUMBER OF OTHER COMPANIES, INCLUDING THE MANUFACTURERS OF “THE BEST SNIPER RIFLE IN THE WORLD”, ACCURACY INTERNATIONAL. AT A RECENT RANGE DAY, ASG GAVE RED CELL’S STUART THE OPPORTUNITY TO TEST FIRE THEIR FULLYLICENCED MK13 SYSTEMS.

I

n May 2018 the US Marine Corps were planning on receiving the replacement for their venerable bolt action sniper rifle, the M40A1 “Kate” chambered in .308 and the new kid on the block was to be the Accuracy International Mk13 Mod7.

The Mk13, chambered in .300 Win Mag, became fully operational in the USMC and available to the USMC Scout Snipers and Recon Marines. The M40A1 in .308 had an operating range of around 800m but several reports of hits out past this range have been reported. The Mk13, being chambered in .300 Win Mag extends the range out to 1250+ metres, which is a substantial improvement. Both the M40A1 and the Mk13 are based around the Remington 700 Bolt Action and built at NSWC Crane in Indiana.

Once again, ASG have worked closely with Accuracy International to bring us the airsoft variants of the Mk13 Mod7 and Mk13C (Compact) and not only is the system available in Tan/Black but also all

Black and Olive Drab/Black. For an airsoft sniping rifle, the Mk13s comes with a massive 50rd box magazine and, weighing in at just over 4kg for the long version and 3.5kg for the compact version, they are a comparable weight to that of a “full metal” AEG.

RANGE TIME

Having been a full bore long gun shooter for around 30 years, I’ve fired a number of bolt action rifles in varying calibres so I was really looking forward to seeing how the ASG Mk13 Mod7 would compare in an airsoft setting.

Gareth “Gadge” Harvey, an ex-AA contributor who is now with ASG, told me that the Mk13s are “fully compatible with the TM VSR-10 system the MK13 series and are factory-upgraded to deliver unparalleled looks and performance out of the box, so there’s nothing much to do with it other than load the magazine, zero the rifle and then go out and enjoy.”

“A REALLY NICE FEATURE OF THE ASG MK13 IS THAT YOU HAVE TWO PLACES IN WHICH YOU CAN ADJUST THE HOP. ONE IS A “STANDARD” TOP DEAD CENTRE (TDC) POSITION AND THE OTHER IS SITUATED INSIDE THE BB MAGAZINE WELL, WHICH IS A HUGE BONUS IN MEANING THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO TAKE OFF YOUR SCOPE TO ADJUST THE HOP, IF IT COVERS THE TDC POSITION. ” 52

DECEMBER 2020

armoury ASG ACCURACY INTERNATIONAL MK13

This was my first review day for Airsoft Action so I didn’t know quite what to expect but I was met by Gadge and made very welcome. Being one of the early birds of the reviewers due to attend, I sat with Gadge and had a long chat about the system and ASG’s plans for it. I looked over both replicas and one thing that really stood out for me was the overall build quality. The weight and balance of the two were great, although the Mod7 did feel a little nose heavy when compared to the Compact. I liked both but with

me being a “smaller” guy, the compact seemed to suit me better and I think it would be my choice if I were to go skirmishing with the Mk13. The first rifle I took onto the range was the Mod7 and, having loaded up with ASG Accuracy International .43g Heavy Weight Premium BBs, we headed off to see how it performed.

I settled in and started to send rounds down range.

The rifle sat comfortably in my shoulder and I worked the bolt to load my first round, finding it surprisingly smooth and easy to operate. The trigger felt really nice and had a positive break point; definitely not mushy, unlike some other airsoft bolt action rifles that I have fired in the past!

A really nice feature of the ASG Mk13 is that you have two places in which you can adjust the hop.

One is a “standard” top dead centre (TDC) position and the other is situated inside the BB magazine well, which is a huge bonus in meaning that you don’t have to take off your scope to adjust the hop, if it covers the TDC position. The metal magazine is actually a dummy to give an accurate impression of the real rifle and this would be an ideal place to fit some foam and then place in the Allen keys and other tools you may need to adjust the rifle.

To get to the BB magazine you need to slide forward the foregrip, which is released by pressing a spring-loaded catch and then sliding the grip towards the muzzle. The BB magazine is found under the foregrip and is much like the TM VSR-10 magazine but this holds a massive 50 BBs. The magazine is easy to remove by using a firm grip to pull it down.

Reloading is also an easy process using a normal speed loader. One disadvantage that I can see on the skirmish field, however, is the time it will take to reload a fresh magazine of 50rds. However, the huge ammo capacity should give most snipers and sniper pairs plenty of ammo to use and then not have to rush the reload and this can be done when they are in www.airsoftaction.net

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armoury ASG ACCURACY INTERNATIONAL MK13

a suitable position during game play.

Due to the number of people scheduled to be firing the systems, there wasn’t a lot of time to zero the scope for each shooter and the windy weather conditions didn’t help either. Applying the “aim off and miss drill” I found where I was hitting the target and where I had to aim to achieve that hit, I was soon making some quite tight groupings at approx. 20m.

We would have predominantly been using the range out to 100m for some accurate long-range firing but when we had a lull in the wind, we tried the Mk13 on the 100m and found we could easily reach out to 90m. This I expect would be bettered in calmer weather and after the hop rubber had been properly bedded in.

The Mk13C has a slightly more powerful spring which you can feel when you compare the bolt pull between the two models. I was surprised to find that the Compact variant was more accurate than the full length Mod7. I think that, in general, MilSimmers will be huge fans of the Mod7 due to the look of the system, while more general airsofters and the connoisseurs will be more likely to favour the Compact variant, as it seems to be much easier to swing round, is more ‘pointable’ and would really work well in an Urban/CQB environment.

IN SUMMARY

The fully licenced ASG Accuracy International Mk13 MOD7 Sniper Rifle offers a flawless shooting experience for the 6mm sniper and boasts a plethora of features such as a smooth cycling bolt action, a folding buttstock, adjustable cheek rest, multiple QD sling points, 20mm picatinny optics rail and a CNC machined aluminium KeySLOT handguard to allow the fitting of accessories such as lasers, torches and bipods. Ideally suited to the ASG Accuracy International heavy weight premium BB range of .36, .40 and .43, the Mk13 is magazine fed from a concealed 50 round magazine in the lower receiver.

For those who like trademarks, Mk13 Mod7 and Mk13C both look really good with faithful markings that would be found on the Accuracy International live firing rifles.

I really wanted to find something that I didn’t like about this rifle but I couldn’t find anything. For me it ticks all the right boxes and I expect my wallet will be lighter come the release of the rifle, which is expected around December 2020.

My thanks to Gadge and the ASG Team for giving us the opportunity for an early look at the Mk13 Mod7 and Mk13C and to Rich at the Thurlaston Archery and Airgun Centre for allowing us to use his range complex. AA

www.airsoftaction.net

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RELOADED ICS CXP ARK

ICS CXP ARK

AT THE TIME OF THIS ISSUE OF AIRSOFT ACTION GOING LIVE THE NEW CXP ARK FROM ICS SHOULD BE STARTING TO HIT THE STORES SO WE THOUGHT IT PRUDENT TO REVISIT THIS SUPER MODERN AK NOW THAT WE’VE HAD IT ON AND OFF THE RANGE FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS. BILL RECAPS ON THE FEATURES AND TELLS ALL ABOUT PERFORMANCE SO FAR!

W

hen I first looked at the ARK a couple of issues back we were in the extremely privileged position of having a pre-release sample for initial review and full testing, and since it arrived with us I’ve been giving it some serious abuse personally, and making sure that other members of the AA Legion also got a chance to give it a go by taking it along to our Red Cell range days!

To recap, my comment in closing the initial review was: “Overall the ICS CXP-ARK is one hell of a package.

It’s beautifully put together and finished, the parts, although bang-up-to- the-moment with current technology, are completely bombproof, and it shoots really, REALLY well. ICS have delivered a top-ofthe-line “tacticool” AK that looks brilliant, with everything you need to get in the game in the box, and if you want my opinion, I feel very strongly that even Mikhail himself would look on this model with his full approval!”

Further rangetime has proved that my initial assessment was 100% correct, and in truth after some 6000 BBs have now been put through it, if anything it’s better than it was when it first arrived with us!

WEIGHT & POWER

I’ve been playing around with different weight BBs to see what the hop can handle, and after trying .20, .23, .25, .28, and even .30g RZRs I’ve reached the conclusion that .28g is the perfect weight for

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this AEG set to UK spec, as using this weight gives a fabulous combination of range and accuracy. I had almost settled on .25g being “the thing” until I took the ARK out in high winds, and found that at this weight the BBs were straying somewhat; just an incremental weight change took them back to the trajectory I’d already come to expect on .25g in fair conditions, so I believe I’ll continue with .28g as the standard fodder from now on.

In terms of power, the ARK initially went through the chrono at 0.92 Joule/315fps, which is obviously perfectly site friendly, on the my usual RZR .20g BBs, and I’m pleased to report that now everything is beginning to settle, this power level has remained consistent, with a fluctuation of just 3-5 fps over extended testing strings. This bodes well for the longevity of the ARK, but I’ll continue to check this at regular intervals in the future. I would note that I have tried the ARK with many different brands of AK magazine now, both Mids and His, with differing levels of success. Although most brands will fit in the well, the ARK does seem quite picky on what it feeds from, so my advice here is that if you already own AK mags, take a couple along to try at your local store when you test fire the AEG. This is not uncommon when it comes to AK variants from my experience, and in no way is this anywhere close to being a “deal breaker”. If you don’t already own an AK or AK mags then just pick up a couple more of the ICS models and you’ll be golden, as not only do they work well but they look cool too!

RELOADED ICS CXP ARK

INSIDE & OUT

Internally, MOSFET, the SSS-System and the Smart Trigger that is integrated with the original SSS E-trigger system appears to be working flawlessly.

In Full-Auto mode, you’ll fire continuously in fullauto if the trigger is held down, and the ARK will fire three round bursts on semi if you give it a single tap once you have it set up. The Unique SSS Trigger system offers you the choice of four firing modes between Safe – Semi/ 3 Round Burst, and Full Auto through the fire selector and is controlled by a micro-chip in the trigger system. The Short Stroke Trigger that works with the pre-cocking feature of the SSS E-trigger effectively reduces the trigger travel distance, increases the rate of fire, and greatly enhances responsiveness.

And this is most definitely something that the team have commented on, that the trigger is light yet crisp; everyone to have tried the ARK so far has commented both of the feel of the trigger, and indeed on the quietness of the AEG overall when in operation. The motor sounds as if it is perfectly set and balanced, with no whine or “drag”, and the gearbox is whisper-quiet indicating that everything is

mated properly and working together efficiently.

Externally the ARK continues to fascinate too; now I’ve had chance to gaze lovingly at the ARK a little more, that lovely green furniture that is fitted as standard is very, VERY close to RAL7013/Ranger/ Adaptive Green, so if you’re running a loadout in those colours and want to be all Gucci and “key” your AEG to your gear, then it’s another win for ICS, and for you! The newly designed 8.5-inch industrialgrade nylon fibre M-LOK tactical handguard really works when you’re carrying and aiming the AEG, and it also keeps the weight down too, with the ARK coming in at 3365g.

In my main review I noted that “at the lower front of the handguard is a short 8-slot rail section that is incorporated into the handguard itself which is perfectly placed to mount a taclite, especially one on an offset mount”. I duly bought an offset taclite mount for a few bucks and this does really work well as a solution, putting the end cap right under your support-hand thumb for easy activation of your taclite without the need to come off the aim. The ARK Ergo-Tech Tactical (Pistol) Grip is also designed with unique ergonomics too, and an anti-slip

www.airsoftaction.net

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COMING SOON

Barrel Lock / RMR adapter included / Steel-made hammer unit Inner barrel with R-Hop / Upgraded REVO valve system TM compatible internal parts

BLE-007-SB (metal slide)

BLE-007-PB (plastic slide)

RELOADED ICS CXP ARK

texture, which not only fits to your hand, but is also comfortable and sturdy.

I am still a little ambivalent about the SF1 Quick Response Foldable Stock; this is definitely “Masadalike”, but as I said before, with six positions in length of pull, it’s intuitive and designed specifically for quick shouldering and rapid engagement. Although this means that it’s swiftly and easily deployed, I did have some misgivings initially about the closure system but these have proved unfounded in the long-term, as once you have the right battery fitted the whole unit becomes rock solid. It also works well with the rear wiring of the ARK, giving access to the battery compartment; when the stock is folded to the right it does expose the wiring, but as I thought, a little bit of heat-wrap has indeed sorted that out. With a length of 884mm with the stock fully extended (638mm with the stock closed and folded to the side) the ARK has worked in the aim for everyone to have tried it thus far.

Externally the metalwork is also standing up superbly to the rigours of transport, time on the range and time on site in all kinds of weather conditions.

Again I recap, but “using CNC milling and a nowuniversal 14mm CCW thread the new–design steel flash hider gives the ARK a more modern profile straight from the get-go, and this is continued through the front-sight block and even to the gastube mounting bracket where it meets the upper handguard. Moving back along the AEG the new lift-up top cover comes with an AL6061 M1913 rail, and a locking point design, which is stable, and easier when it comes to mounting accessories and optics; this rail also incorporates a newly designed, easy-toacquire rear sight.” So it’s all good here.

One thing that I mentioned before is the updated fire-selector which is unmistakeably AK, but “designed and finished brilliantly with two finger-rest points to engage different modes of fire; this links internally to a new Fire Selector Plate, which not only has the

standard fire control adjustment, but also comes with a spring tension release design for extending the service life of your spring”. Once again this has drawn many a positive comment from amongst the team, and it’s a feature that I personally love; although there are numerous “Tac AK” models on the market with a similar-style selector the fact is that the ICS version actually WORKS with one hand (indeed with just one finger!), so big brownie points to ICS again in this respect!

THREE MONTHS IN

Nearly three months into testing, and with several thousand BBs downrange, my respect for what ICS have created has grown! As I’ve said many times before I do like an ICS AEG, but the ARK has really, REALLY grown on me as a dedicated AK-user. It’s light, ergonomic, perfectly balanced (for an AK!), has great controls and easy-to-use-features, and thus far it’s internally superb. It’s also accurate, with a range on a .28g BB easily in excess of 80 metres, and has a great ROF on an 11.1 LiPo for those moments when you need a lot of BBs downrange fast to suppress.

In conclusion, in my opinion ICS have got everything 100% right with this new model, and there’s already a couple of members in the Red Cell crew that have placed one on their wishlist for “modern OPFOR duty”. All I can suggest to you is that if you’re in the market for a thoroughly modern AK you get down to your local store as soon as you see them in stock and try one for yourself… trust me though, you WILL be buying one if you do!

Thanks to Matt from MJ Reed Photography for helping out with the pictures here in what I can only describe as “horrendous conditions”, and once again, my sincere thanks go to ICS Airsoft for kindly providing an early test model for us; please do be sure to visit www.icsbb.com and their social media channels to get the very latest on the release of the ARK, and much, much more! AA www.airsoftaction.net

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SOFT SHELL -

IS IT WORTH IT?

IT WOULD SEEM THAT EVERYONE LOVES A SOFTSHELL, ESPECIALLY A JACKET, BUT ARE THEY WORTH THE MONEY YOU HAVE TO FORK OUT FOR THEM WHEN A HARDSHELL DOES MORE? BILL TAKES A LOOK AT THE TECHNOLOGY AND PRINCIPLES BEHIND THE “SOFTSHELL REVOLUTION” AND BRINGS EVERYTHING INTO FOCUS!

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any years ago I worked full time in the outdoor performance industry for a great clothing and equipment company called Lowe Alpine, and at the time we were at the head of the pack with our own in-house fabric technologies and some pretty neat design solutions to boot! The company made clothing and packs for every part of the outdoor pursuits community and we liked to think of ourselves as being a bit “rogue” in the industry as we liked to do things our own way… namely the way that we felt worked best for the end user and gave the very best “bang for buck” in all ways!

At this time, hardshell, both laminates and coatings, were the name of the game, and although there were some excellent other technologies available, it was all about the Triplepoint Ceramic, eVent, and Gore Tex. Each had its own distinct properties, and my life at the time revolved around moisture vapour transmission rate and hydrostatic heads (breathability and waterproofness basically…), and how best these could be balanced to create a first rate, high-performance garment that was durable enough for use in the widest environments and conditions.

Around this time though, everyone in the outdoor industry started to rave about a “new thing”, something that would give high levels of water resistance, be incredibly breathable, provide huge

levels of comfort, and yet still be durable enough to stand up to mountain-level abuse. At the time the outer face fabrics were far softer than those offered in the dedicated wet-weather jackets, so for want of a better description they became known as “soft” shells.

Fast forward to 2020 and nowadays you can’t move in an outdoor setting without seeing softshells, and to many they are the “holy grail” when it comes to truly high-performance garments. I for one though would beg to differ with this, and although softshell technology is truly excellent these days, and eminently more affordable, to me it is just another part in the ever-expanding range of possible solutions to staying comfortable even in the very worst conditions.

To fully explain what I mean with this, let’s look first at what “softshell” actually is, and what it can realistically do. Designed with breathability in mind, a softshell garment offers greater comfort than a traditional hardshell one, with the softer fabric making it much more dynamic. The fabrics used are far less rigid and don’t “rustle or creak”, allowing for quieter movement, obviously ideal in a more tactical setting.

Softshell garments are more like the “all-rounders” for the performance-oriented user, and it’s an ideal choice when you’re looking for a versatile layer that can either be worn in place of a heavier hardshell

“DESIGNED WITH BREATHABILITY IN MIND, A SOFTSHELL GARMENT OFFERS GREATER COMFORT THAN A TRADITIONAL HARDSHELL ONE, WITH THE SOFTER FABRIC MAKING IT MUCH MORE DYNAMIC. THE FABRICS USED ARE FAR LESS RIGID AND DON’T “RUSTLE OR CREAK”, ALLOWING FOR QUIETER MOVEMENT,” 60

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KIT & GEAR SOFTSHELLS

waterproof, or indeed as an extra layer underneath in more extreme conditions. It’s the choice of the user that demands a high degree of movement, but who also understands the need for moisture management inside their clothing system.

Softshell garments are usually made from a woven fabric (although there are exceptions to this), making them an additional warm layer that provides comfort without the restriction or limitations of other materials; a goo softshell fabric wills provide a high degree of perceived “warmth”, although they will also offer significant breathability, preventing you from overheating when being active. The very best softshell garments are also windproof, which negates the “chill factor” and maintains a comfortable microclimate around your core. Whilst a softshell will keep you dry in light rain (and the face fabric itself may be deemed “waterproof”), many do not benefit from taped seams so they’re not going to keep you anywhere near dry in persistent or heavy rainfall. Most softshells are described and being highly-water-resistant rather than fully waterproof.

To me, all of this information was best put together some years back by world-class climber and alpinist Andy Kirkpatrick, when he wrote in a great article his “three principles of softshell”, which are: • Maximum performance from a minimum of layers, often with one layer replacing two or more other layers (base, mid and shell).

• Weather protection that is robust and achievable even though breathability takes PRIORITY over waterproofness.

• Clothing that is comfortable in a wide range of temperatures and conditions, does not restrict the user and is tough.

If you’re really interesting in truly understanding softshell, then you can access the full article at https:// bit.ly/366UVhh

TACTICAL SOFTSHELL DESIGN

Now you might think that it was a smart move for tactical clothing companies to embrace softshell technologies, and you’d be largely right in that, as those same “three principles” are ones that we often hear now from the “light is right/tactical athlete” brigade; in truth, this idea is nothing new to the world of mountaineering and alpinism, and climbers have been embracing it for years already!

Of course, when it comes to plate carriers and chest rigs you might think that this is something different, but as always, many innovations are driven at the extreme end of the spectrum, so lighter climbing

harnesses and lighter packs have always been “a thing” and they’re made from many of the same fabrics that we see in “combat gear”… but I digress…

Softshell would appear on the face of it to be the ideal fabric technology for tactical garments and it is, but with provisos on the design side… what is made for hill-walking and even extreme alpinism has a different “feature set” or “style set” from that needed for a shooter. What do I mean by this? Well simply put the “style set” determines such features of the finished garment like the shape of the neck/collar/ hood, the length, shape and fullness of sleeves (with or without cuffs), the length, shape and fullness of a top or jacket and the number/placement of pockets.

Many garments for the more generalised “outdoor user” follow a similar pattern; let’s take a classic jacket for instance, with two zipped base pockets, possibly a zipped chest pocket, a high collar or hood, comfortably fitted sleeves, and a drawstring waist; you can pick up softshell garments like this virtually anywhere, and these days not even pay very much for them, and for the average “skirmish Sunday” user these are great to wear, and superb value for money.

However, when you up the ante a bit this “classic feature set” doesn’t actually work too well for what we do; what use are base pockets when you wear a pistol belt, and what use is a chest pocket when you’re wearing a plate carrier? Is the hood big enough to accommodate a helmet, and does it move WITH the helmet when you turn your head? Are the sleeves cut to ensure dynamic movement when you’re transitioning from target to target, and indeed, are they long enough to take into account a shooting stance without ending up round your elbows? I believe that you’ll see where I’m heading with this, and why when I review a “tactical softshell” I go to great lengths over the feature set.

To me, design really is king when it comes to garments for use in “our world”, and that’s why I tend to focus on gear generally that is purpose-built for shooters, and not just taken off the peg at your local supermarket… although even those are getting better and better these days and you can find some great bargains if you search around!

GETTING YOUR GEAR!

So, you may well think “that’s great, I get it now, but what should I look to buy?”, and the easy answer to that is simply head to a retailer that specialises in tactical/shooter gear! I buy from all over the place, but also from my “local” shop, Platoon Stores (www. platoonstores.co.uk), when I want something specific, www.airsoftaction.net

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ULTIMA JACKET BLACK / DARK COYOTE / GREEN / SRP: £89.95

KIT & GEAR SOFTSHELLS

like the Multicam Black softshell jacket I treated myself to at the beginning of the year!

I’m lucky that I’ve been doing this for a while now, and working directly with some of the great brands out there, I’ve had experience of being able to try many, many garment models, and know what size to buy from each brand. With this information in hand it’s far easier for me to order gear online knowing fullwell that it will fit, but my advice to you is to make the most of your local shop, and buy from them in the first instance after physically trying things on for size!

If you know a brand well, then it’s safer to order online, and for this I tend to use www.military1st. co.uk as frankly they have one of the biggest ranges of gear in one place that I’ve ever come across, and their customer service is brilliant! Just head on over to their website, use the search box, and type in “softshell”…

This will lead you to some excellent jacket models like the Pentagon ARTAXES which is a comfortable and multi-functional soft shell jacket with a two-way full front zipper and high collar with a chin guard of grid fleece. A large “cobra-style” hood is concealed within the collar and is lined with a warm grid fleece. Its size and fit can be easily adjusted with elastic cords with cord-locks placed at the back and each side of the hood, and inside both chest pockets. The jacket features eight practical pockets placed on the chest (great with a pistol belt, not so much with a plate carrier!), both sleeves and lower back, all lined with mesh or grid fleece. The inner lining of super-fine Grid-Tech fleece offers both excellent thermal protection and body moisture management as it traps the heat inside while allowing moisture to escape freely. Breathable and water-resistant Storm-Tex membrane makes the jacket suitable for mild to cold weather conditions and its elastic outer shell offers optimal comfort of movement.

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Another corker is the MISTRAL from HelikonTex. This is an extremely durable “anorak”, or sock, made from their StormStretch fabric with great breathable properties, and that provides excellent protection against wind, light rain or even snow.

The jacket features a fully adjustable hood with visor and ventilation system secured with hookand-loop closure and front anorak style zip opening with a chin guard. There is a large kangaroo pocket, accessible from the top with two-way zip, secured with a storm flap with a simple internal organiser for documents, keys and other essentials. In addition, the jacket comes with another large pocket with vertical zippers giving access from both sides. The sleeves feature two bicep pockets, velcro panels for patches, reinforced elbow areas and ventilation pit zips.

The jacket comes with an adjustable bottom hem with a drawstring cord stopper and hook-and-loop adjustable cuffs.

Sticking with Helikon-Tex, the URBAN HYBRID is an extremely durable softshell Jacket made of a great hybrid of their StormStretch and VersaStretch fabrics, and it also benefits from a DWR coating to add to water resistance along with great breathable properties, so it provides excellent protection in rapidly changing weather conditions. The jacket features a collar-stowed and elasticated hood with soft fleece lining and two-way main zipper with storm flap and a chin guard. There are two vertical zipped chest pockets with storm flaps and two zipped hand pockets lined

KIT & GEAR SOFTSHELLS

with fleece for EDC items. The sleeves come with reinforced elbow areas and ventilation mesh panels in the armpit area, and the cuffs and bottom hem of the jacket feature elasticated ribbons for a really snug fit.

One of the “crossover” models I REALLY like is the MFH PROTECT jacket; this is a comfortable, lightweight and multifunctional softshell jacket with full front zipper and high collar with chin guard and hookand-loop openings for comms lines. This jacket has two chest pockets with waterproof zippers, upper arm pockets for optional shoulder pads with waterproof zippers, two lower arm pockets with hook-and-loop closure for optional elbow protectors, a roomy back pocket with waterproof zipper and two internal zippered pockets with access to chest pockets. The jacket also features underarm ventilation zippers, hook and loop adjustable wrist cuffs with gaiters, and concealed zips on the side for easy access to a sidearm. The inner lining of the jacket offers both excellent thermal protection and body moisture management, as high levels of breathabilty along with a clever feature set allows moisture to escape freely.

My personal “everyday wear” softshell though is the excellent Clawgear RAPAX. It is an extremely breathable and uncompromising “mid-season” garment with a light build and low

stowage volume for a wide range of tactical and range applications as well as everyday use. Weighing in at 580g this is a jacket that you can chuck in your range bag, having it there for when the weather turns.The seam-free shoulder area eases pack/range bag carriage without pressure points and prevents water from getting in, whilst the wind deflector prevents cold air getting inside through the zipper.

The adjustable waist adjustment straps provide a close-fitting and functional waist design. The Rapax is extremely breathable, and uses a durable water repellent fabric throughout, a 97% Polyester, 3% Spandex mix that works extremely well; Claw Gear also make use of water repellent sewing yarn which adds to the overall protection level.

With an innovative low profile pocket concept the Rapax is extremely comfortable to wear and the modern styling allows a full range of unrestricted movement. The jacket itself is water repellent and breathes extremely well, making it a superb layering piece under a hardshell jacket if things turn really unpleasant. The Rapax also benefits from two lower, mesh-lined handwarmer pockets, a pocket on the left upper arm, and velcro patches for team/unit patches; there’s also an inner pocket which allows routing for comms cables if you should need them. The Rapax is easy to pack and takes up minimal space in a pack, so it’s absolutely ideal if you want to stow it away “just in case”. Overall it’s a superbly designed jacket made of high end fabrics and components, and the finish of it just oozes quality and attention to detail. If you’re in the market for a new performance softshell jacket in the very latest “tacticool” colours then I would thoroughly recommend you take a very close look at the Rapax!

WHICH ONE TO BUY?

All of the jacket models quoted are models that I have tried and tested for myself, but they’re only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to manufacturers working with this type of fabric technology, and if you have the coin then you’re going to want to get into the realms of UF Pro, Arc’teryx, and if you can find it, Wild Things Tactical. Don’t forget that it’s not only jackets that you’ll find offered in “softshell” either, but pullovers, hoodies, and trousers too.

As usual I’ll conclude by saying “do your research” before you buy, and nowhere is this truer than when it comes to softshell. Research, research - and research again - before you part with your money! That way you’ll end up with a clothing “partner” that will serve you for many years (and many games) to come! AA

www.airsoftaction.net

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KIT & GEAR SHOP ‘TIL YOU DROP

SHOP ‘TIL YOU DROP!!

WELL, IT WOULD APPEAR THE ONCE AGAIN MANY OF US ARE BACK TO ORDERING NEW KIT AND PARTS ONLINE ONCE AGAIN DUE TO C-19 RESTRICTIONS… HERE IN THE UK IT LOOKS LIKE OUR FAVOURITE SHOPS WILL BE PHYSICALLY SHUT AGAIN FOR A WHILE AT LEAST, AND THAT GAMES WILL BE CURTAILED FOR A WHILE. WHAT BETTER TIME TO INVEST THAT MONEY SAVED ON SOME RIGHTEOUS GEAR IN READINESS FOR WHEN IT’S TIME AGAIN TO GET “GAME ON!”

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t’s nearly that (okay, not-so right now) wonderful time of the year again when our thoughts begin to turn to presents under the tree, but before we get to that, there’s time still to be checking out the latest goodies to hit the shops, and to add a few choice morsels to our personal gear lockers! As games are quiet, it’s also time to hit the workshop and get all those little jobs done to ensure that our “guns n’ gear” are all in tip top shape!

better protection from cold. That old school militarystyle jacket left the team at Helikon-Tex with lots of

HELIKON-TEX

To get the ball rolling this month there’s a few new pieces that are ideal for the winter months ahead that have become available, and the first of these that caught our attention this month is the reworking of classic old friend to thoroughly modern spec in the form of the M65 COVERT JACKET! The guys at Helikon-Tex have told us that: “We all know that purely iconic garments are here to stay, no matter the trends or sceptics’ opinions. It doesn’t mean though that we can sit complacently and just reproduce the old styles - there’s always room for improvement!”

And improve they have with their own, wellconsidered take on what is a superbly functional jacket! Their main goal was to stay as close as it’s possible to the vintage M65 Jacket design, with a stand-up collar, a fly front closure with a zip and the classic chest and hip pockets, and these are all there, just as in the original version from the 70s. The new jacket also keeps the length of its forebear as well, so it ends at the bottom of the hip, providing you with 66

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possible ways to improve it though, so they’ve spiced things up with modern tactical features. For example, the zip closure is now provided with a breakaway system, so you’ll be able to access your “covert platform” extremely fast. The inner pockets as well as the hip outer pocket will suit carbine mags and other essentials, and there’s also an additional inner pocket that can be turned into an improvised takeaway butt-

KIT & GEAR SHOP ‘TIL YOU DROP

pack. The upper part and the elbow areas are made of elastic materials not to restrict you while in action.

With this mix of old and nu-skool and the addition modern tactical features, it’s totally up to you whether you’d use the M65 Covert Jacket as a concealed carry garment or a day to day vintage-looking outerwear, but whatever your choice, you can be sure you’re wearing a reliable and truly protective year-round jacket!

Sticking with Helikon-Tex we’re also loving the look of the WOLFHOUND HOODIE that we highlighted earlier this month on the website! Regulars of both

the website and the monthly version of Airsoft Action know that we’re true believers in the layering system when it comes to performance clothing, gear that can make your airsoft day just that little bit better, whatever “Ma Nature” throws at you. We’re also great believers in embracing fabric technologies and designs that push the “trad layering system” just a bit further, and the Helikon Wolfhound Hoodie Jacket is a garment that adds to the versatility of your “gear locker” during the Autumn months. Made from lightweight and durable 100% WindPack Nylon shell with additional Climashield® Apex™ insulation, the Helikon Wolfhound Hoodie Jacket features a hardwearing YKK main zipper with glove-friendly zip pull, chin guard and warm stand up collar and multiple zipped pockets. The thinner elasticated VersaStretch fabric in the armpits area improves air circulation and provides the maximum comfort of wearing. In addition to that, the left hand loop panel allows to attach custom patches while the elasticated wrists and bottom hem ensure maximum body warmth.

Recommended for security and armed forces personnel, the Helikon Wolfhound Hoodie Jacket is also a fantastic choice for any airsoft player when the conditions start to deteriorate!

MERRELL

As waterproof footwear becomes a seasonal “must have” as always we keep our eye open for great boot solutions, and a visit to our local outdoor store prior to lockdown ended up with a certain member of the AA crew returning home with a new lightweight model from footwear giant Merrell! Beloved of units like the US Rangers, Merrell boots from their outdoor line are certainly worth a look if you’re running a “tactical athlete” or “PMC” style loadout.

The ACCENTOR GORE-TEX MIDS look the absolute business if you’re running fast and light; with a waterproof inner to keep your feet dry and comfortable, the body has been designed so that water can’t get in, but moisture vapour can escape through the billions of pores in the Gore-Tex membrane. In addition, an Aegis antimicrobial, odourfighting treatment keeps your feet fresh for longer.

Humidity isn’t a problem in these breathable boots either, as a membrane keeps your feet dry and a large bellows tongue keeps debris away from the foot.

When you encounter slippery patches after rainfall, you’ll be thankful for two features, a mid-length cut that adds ankle support, and a durable rubber outsole for better grip.If you favour the “PMC” look, then the MOAB 2 MID GORE-TEX could be exactly the boots you’ve been searching for! Merrell’s secondgeneration Moab 2 takes the best of the original and mixes in new improvements to create a superb feel and fit. Built on the same classic last as the first generation, the Moab 2 boasts GORE-TEX technology to keep your foot comfortable and dry in use on foul-weather days on site and the Merrell M-Select™ FIT.ECO+ blended EVA footbed with zonal arch and heel support just add to this high level of comfort. www.airsoftaction.net

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A Vibram® TC5+ sole delivers unrivalled grip, and the mid-height design of this boot provides excellent ankle support and is combined with an improved fit to create well-formed boot that is designed to last, and to perform.

DIRECT ACTION

Whilst not a new model per se, the DIRECT ACTION DUST MK2 BACKPACK is worth a look at this time of year as bizarrely hydration is equally important in cold weather as it is on hot summer days! You also need to be mindful of nutrition, and the ability to carry a few more snacks during you gameday, and this super little pack delivers on all fronts!

This upgraded version of Dust Backpack from Direct Action is undoubtedly an answer to all load carrying needs and has all features expected from new generation of EDC hydration packs. At 20 litres overall, the main compartment of Dust Mk2 features an internal padded sleeve secured with a hook-andloop elasticated tab that can be used for a hydration bladder; there is also an external port for a hydration tube. The smaller front compartment has a clear vinyl pocket for maps and documents, an internal organiser for notepads, GPS, writing utensils and other essentials. The presented pack has a sturdy paracord carrying handle and ergonomically designed padded shoulder straps, as well as an 68

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adjutable waist system, which helps to distribute weight evenly throughout the upper body and ensures comfortable carry. An innovative Combat Vent System, made of contoured foam profiles with multiple air channels, ensures comfort and keeps the pack off the back which enhances air circulation preventing heat build-up and aids in moisture transfer out of your clothing system. Multiple quick-release buckles allow the backpack to be quickly dropped on the ground when required. The compression straps allow the pack to be adapted to the size of carried kit and prevent it from shifting inside the bag, which may cause discomfort, unnecessary noise, and disturbance to the balance. Laser-cut MOLLE system, which absorbs less water than traditional webbing, makes the backpack not only fully modular but also still maintains a low-profile look. To save weight, the backpack is made of the 500D Cordura fabric, which allows for a lighter weight, and thanks to the egg shape, the pack has smaller height and width than other bags with similar capacity. All these features allow for high level of flexibility, quick adjustment and provide maximum comfort, fit and ventilation, which make this lightweight and durable backpack a perfect companion for the cold-weather months.

GUNFIRE

Last month in our loadout article we spent some time with Invader Gear, namely the Combat Shirt and Predator Combat Pant, along with the Revenger TDU Shirt and Pant combo, and we’re very pleased to see that these are now available in multiple colour options from https://gunfire.com!

Invader Gear features high quality standard fabrics and components, and the feature sets are comprehensive to say the least; this is a brand that we picked for ourselves, and thus far it’s proving to be excellent, and we’ll be spending more time with Invader Gear in December’s issue!

Getting onto parts we also noticed that Gunfire have some great looking new CNC Aluminium Advanced Speed Triggers on the website, and these look great! Trigger (Style C) offers a highquality trigger intended for tuning of AR/M4/M16 style AEGs and are precisely-made from a block of

KIT & GEAR SHOP ‘TIL YOU DROP

aerospace aluminium using CNC technology. They’re designed for a fast, smooth and repeatable reaction in gearboxes V2 AEGs (they’re of course compatible with popular TITAN™ V2 system by GATE), with multiple points of adjustment. Special cut-outs provide compatibility with a majority of Tokyo Marui systems and HPA mods, and they have an axle made of titanium for maximum durability as well as lowest weight possible. With a unique shape, stylish design and colour, we can see that these will be popular with many players, offering both increased performance and a very individual look.

G&G

As it looks like some of us are going to be spending more time in the workshop than on site for a while, it’s good to see that G&G Armament have some new “shiny things” for us to work with too! G&G are exhorting us to “unleash the potential” of our AEGs with their new strong motors featuring neodymium magnets, the BASILISK 17000rpm and TALARIA 40000rpm. Both are available as long or short axis

Bonesaw slide comes in a rich back anodized finish and features all the windows, serrations, and attention to detail known from an RWA Agency Arms offering.

This light weight CNC aluminium slide is designed to work with TM spec G series model 17 GBB pistols and comes with a scannable QR code for installation instructions. As well as the slide itself, the set includes a new recoil spring, rear sight, fibre-optic front sight, and stainless steel outer barrel so there’s everything there to really “pimp your G”!

FIRE-SUPPORT

To finish up this month quite literally with a bang, our old mates at www.fire-support.co.uk dropped us a line to let us know that they now have a whole host of Tectonic Innovations ATOM Grenades in stock! The spiel tells us that...

“In 1920 Erwin Schrodinger created the Atomic model we know today. In the 1930s the atom was split and nuclear fusion was born. The Americans in 1945 dropped the first Atomic Bomb. Then it all went quiet for a few years, until 85 years later Tectonic Innovations have created the next big innovation for the Atom!”

models, and a low or high RPM motor offers a great solution for custom build rifles to maximize performance.

Along with a host of G&G Upgrade Parts, these new motors are available now, so contact your local G&G Dealer for more information.

REDWOLF AIRSOFT

If you’re wanting to give your G-Series pistol a bit of a lift, then the RWA AGENCY ARMS BONESAW SLIDE SETS are definitely worth a look! The RWA Bonesaw slide set (for 19 or 34) is a return to a classic. This

We love an intro like this, especially when it’s accompanied by the statement that the Tectonic Innovations Atom is “the smallest impact grenade known to man!” Using a simple and extremely cost effective thunder snap charge, the grenade is made of tough, high grade CNC aluminium and allegedly kicks out a booming 119 decibels. Easily holstered in a custom made Deadly Customs holster, these are most definitely worth a look, and we’re looking forward to getting our hands on one of these ourselves... although we will wait until our local site reopens to give it a try! AA www.airsoftaction.net

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Airsoft & MilSim News Blog @AMNBOďŹƒcial Airsoft & MilSim News Blog @airsoftmilsimnewsblog

AWARD WINNER

WWW.AIRSOFT-MILSIM-NEWS.COM

If you have any old kit or gear tucked away in a cupboard, garage or shed that you have thought about sticking on eBay, or a forum to get rid of it, then why not donate it to the Pilgrim Bandits instead and Tez will make sure any money raised from its sale will go towards helping even more people – and you can be sure of the undying gratitude and thanks of those who it helps to live again.

Please contact Tez on either his mobile: 07748 800 981 or email: terry.arnett@pilgrimbandits.org

THE CAGE WINTER GEAR

THE CAGE:

MOVING INTO WINTER

PLAYING AIRSOFT IN THE SUMMER MONTHS IS ALL ABOUT FREEDOM IN ALL WAYS, FREEDOM TO PLAY THE STYLE OF GAME YOU WANT IN MINIMAL KIT, WHEN ALL YOU REALLY NEED TO WORRY ABOUT IS KEEPING HYDRATED! BUT AS THE WEATHER TURNS COLD AND GREY, AND WE NEED TO CONTEND WITH RAIN AND EVEN SNOW, WHAT KIT CHANGES SHOULD YOU CONSIDER? BILL DRAWS TOGETHER OPINIONS FROM THE ENTIRE “AA LEGION” TO OFFER SOME SOLUTIONS.

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ummer’s great, right? What you need to get out and play airsoft is pretty minimal in reality, and you can pare it right back to eyepro, good boots, combat pants, a long-sleeve-T, a chest rig for some mags and a ballcap to keep the sun off your head… add an AEG and you’re pretty much set for a great day at your favourite site!

However, when the seasons start to change we all need to look at what precautions we’re taking to stay “on point” and in the game; you’ll see from my article on waterproofs this month that there are both expensive and relatively inexpensive options for choosing a set of shell gear for when the rain is really driving in, but again the reality is that we need a system of clothing to see us through all the variations that the winter months can throw at us.

There’s a world of gear out there, and let’s remember that (although this has changed somewhat in recent years) that out and out military kit is often

“built by the lowest bidder”! While many may want the “OPR8R” look, and there’s nothing wrong with that, my point is that you shouldn’t limit your options to “mil” but instead look around the outdoor performance industry for alternatives, things that work for you and that can be used both in-game and out.

Most outdoor performance manufacturers will provide solid, neutral “country colours” within their range of clothing and footwear, and even the “budget supermarkets” have the occasional gem, base layers and fleeces to mention but a couple, although I’ve noticed some pretty passable lightweight soft shell jackets and even lightweight waterproofs when I’ve been doing my weekly shop! The key here is to keep your eyes peeled when you visit an outdoor pursuits shop, outfitter, or even supermarket for gear that might be suitable for game-on-time.

Of course there’s also real bargains to be found

“WHILE MANY MAY WANT THE “OPR8R” LOOK, AND THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT, MY POINT IS THAT YOU SHOULDN’T LIMIT YOUR OPTIONS TO “MIL” BUT INSTEAD LOOK AROUND THE OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE INDUSTRY FOR ALTERNATIVES, THINGS THAT WORK FOR YOU AND THAT CAN BE USED BOTH IN-GAME AND OUT.”

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THE CAGE WINTEROPTICS GEAR

online, and the choice there for both new and used gear is wider and better than ever, but be wary that what you’re buying is what it claims to be; read up on what to look for either within Airsoft Action, via the posts we make on www.airsoftaction.net, or via some of the excellent blogs run by outdoor athletes, and then apply that knowledge to what you buy.

There’s also superb reference material to be found via the online stores themselves, as many of them also run a blog with handy “buyers guides”; check out articles like those regularly posted by our good mate Lukas on the Military1st Blog (www.military1st.co.uk/ blog) about new products, and also keep an eye on what I believe to be one of the very best technical clothing blogs out there, that of UF PRO (https://ufpro. com/blog). I try to keep some of the most useful live on the AA website, but there’s a whole host of useful information out there if you care to read it!

GEAR FOR THE BAD

With all this in mind, the question that I posed this month for the entire AA Legion was: “What clothing and equipment do you use in the Winter months? What do you change out when it gets wet and cold? Clothing? Footwear? Tactical Gear?” and this is what they told me!

Chris: “Winter clothing tends to just be my warm tops. Depending on site and weather my go to kit is old school British Issue Norgi shirt, British Issue Buffalo pullover, British Issue Snugpak, Paramo windproof top (very thin), Platatac SAS windproof smock in DPCU (very thin). If raining hard I have either DPM Goretex set (one of the best bits of kit I’ve bought), Aussie Goretex jacket (also good), British issue OG gaiters and Lowa Zypher GTX boots.”

Christopher J-W: “US M81 Gore-Tex jacket and trousers, ECWCS from memory, and as much as I hate Multicam I sometimes wear my 5.11 Multicam jacket as that rocks!”

Bill W-R: “No real change; just an extra pair of socks, extra base layer, some cheap outer waterproof outer trousers and a cam hoodie treated with Nikwax polar proof!”

Scott: “Thermal top and bottoms, that’s about the only change for me.”

Jimmy: “Budget airsofter here, so I’m always on the look-out for a bargain! I tend to use the same footwear, for winter use with heavier socks. I like a good base layer and I found some which were from Aldi to be both cheap and very effective. I got hold of a set of the under trousers and the top for £14 which I purchased mainly for cycling but it’s a base layer at

the end of the day so it can be worn for all activities.

My softshell jackets again are from Aldi, one which was labelled for fishing and cost a whopping £12 and is really quite well made! It can handle a British shower easily but anything other the elements will win and leave you slightly moist. The other softshell is from ebay which was £21 (i brought it purely because of the kryptec pattern!); this is more on the tactical side having velcro on the arms for morale patches, it is full of handy pockets, 7 in total and has vent zips cleverly concealed to stop you overheating. The hood is adjustable via drawcord and has a peak to help with the rain. It says its waterproof but it has its limit as with most softshells. Both softshell paired up with a base layer prove to be very effective against the cold and the wind. I tend to use the same gloves all year round, but for the winter I have a handy little tip so you can keep the same slim glove and keep your hands very toasty (it’s a trick i learnt from the years of riding both motorcycles and bicycles) which is blue nutrile gloves under your normal gloves! It works a treat, it really does.”

Jase: “I tend to use my Helly Hansen ski base layer in the winter with UBACS and soft shell. If it’s super cold I add my Helikon-Tex zipped grid fleece.”

Jon: “It’s one of those interesting issues. I guess that if it’s a skirmish day, absolutely nothing changes, so jeans, thicker T-shirt or shirt, hoody or Jjmper and a Gore-Tex Jacket if it’s cats and dogs. On a battle/ milsim especially if it’s overnight it’s all about layers.

You can call me Shrek! Base layer consists of fast/quick wick compression trousers and long/short sleeved top (mens leggings - oh my, they’re super comfy). Over that goes my BDU. Over that goes a fleece. Over that goes a wind shell. Over that goes Gore-Tex. All super lightweight and packable. All layerable.”

Stewbacca (Taiwan): “Shorts, lightweight moisturise wicking TShirts, JPC style PC with EVA foam inserts, Oakley SI 6/8” combat boots. The usual glasses, facemask and helmet and eye pro! Jesting aside, if we’re talking non-tropical winters I used to wear an extra layer trouser-wise under my BDUs in the form of The North Face arctic long John style things, heavier gloves, a hoody on top of my usual moisture wicking T-shirt under BDU/camo jacket and a shemagh or snood for the neck/mouth. The 5.11 skull caps go well under a helmet too!”

Jonathan (Ireland): “Crye and Salomon GTX’s all year round, Pig gloves, 5.11 jacket for winter.

Iggy (Australia): Here in Australia, no change all year, it doesn’t get cold enough, so that’s trousers and either a t-shirt or long sleeved shirt depending on the environment... bugs! I like to get involved in the www.airsoftaction.net

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THE CAGE WINTER GEAR

game! Winter back in Blighty, as lightweight as I could operate but often windproof MTP trousers, thermal underclothes if the temperature is that cold, and a smock, hat and tactical gloves are essential.”

Rob (USA): “When I used to do stuff up north everything was about keeping my feet and hands warm and dry. I carried those disposal hand warmers in pockets and stuff them in oversized boot (mickeys) fronts as well oversized overmitts (mountaineering waterproof grippy overmitts or military wool/leather mitts with the ability to put a trigger finger out) and it worked better than anything for me. Later when I got into indoor games the air temp was too cold for best gas mag performance, so I used the same idea but put a couple in my dump pouch to warm up magazines and it worked a treat!”

Björn (Sweden): “Except from the obvious (camo change in case of snow) I add extra layers and wool socks and check/ put impregnation on my boots. Other than that nothing special; sometimes when it’s lots of snow I try to go easy and use just a chest rig or other lightweight system.”

Sean (Canada): “Where I live in Canada, there is an event called ‘Deadfall’ that requires participants to endure early winter weather to complete their missions. For many of those that make it through the entire game, they’re relying on a couple of key pieces of equipment.

1) Layers - most players use the US Military ECWCS system, which is inexpensive and very functional. Seven different layer types to mix and match that are effective down to minus 40ºC. 2) Footwear - Wool socks are standard. They stay warm when wet. They’re combined with either rubber boots (not super tactical, but effective for the wet and soggy terrain), or a combination of Gore Tex socks and nonwaterproof boots. Using waterproof footwear can be a problem if you do manage to get water inside tough, as it’s not coming out!”

Hana (China): “In winter, it’s best to wear a whole outfit with a little extra warmth to keep you warmer when you run and play all day. The weather in ShenZhen (southern China) is not cold and I haven’t seen any snow in years, so we are probably in autumn temperatures all the time. BTW, I like LOWA boots!”

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THE CAGE WINTEROPTICS GEAR

ROUNDUP

So, there we have it, with viewpoints from all over the world - but it just goes to prove that most of the “Legion” have experienced playing airsoft in different “hostile environments” and have learned to create clothing and gear systems that are flexible!

For me, like others, it’s all about the layers, and where I would play in the summer in a shirt and tactical pants, in the winter it’s whole other world! I tend to go with baselayer, lightweight softshell, windshirt, lofted layer (more on that to come in AA next month!), and a Gore Tex shell layer. If it’s really cold I will go up one size in pants (that have been treated with Nikwax Cotton Proof) to accommodate comfortably either long johns, or in the extreme, Powerstretch leggings, with Gore Tex overtrousers if it really wet. If I want to run my regular lightweight boots I back these up with waterproof socks, and again like many if it’s super-bad I move into my LOWA GTX boots. Adding gloves, a BUFF, and a watch cap under my bone dome is also part of the setup.

Kit choice is also important for me, and in the winter I transition completely to a chest rig as I find this more comfortable over multiple clothing layers. I also tend to carry a slightly bigger pack with drybags to accommodate extra items of clothing, dry gloves, and a little more food and water… don’t forget, especially in sub-zero temperatures that it’s as easy to become dehydrated as it is on a hot summer day!

Whatever you buy for winter use, do your homework and buy once! Get your kit right and you’ll be out playing (C-Virus allowing!) for the entire day, no matter what elements you face; don’t let those elements become an enemy due to lack of preparation, embrace them, and save your focus for your opponent. Just remember, there’s no such thing as a bad weather day, only a bad kit day!

Sincere thanks again go to AA Legionnaire Bjorn Klockar for the pIctures; we only wish we got to play in such awesome snowscapes! Check out more of his amazing pictures on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ klockarairsoft and Instagram www.instagram.com/klockar. AA

www.airsoftaction.net

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KIT & GEAR OPFOR WINTER GEAR

RATNIK: THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR REVISITED

WE’RE PLEASED TO BE JOINED AGAIN BY OCCASIONAL AA CONTRIBUTOR IAN “TAZ” STOKES, WHO’S A BIT OF A DIAMOND WHEN IT COMES TO BOTH CURRENT AND HISTORICAL GEAR USED BY RUSFOR AND AS WE’RE LOOKING AT HOW KIT CHANGES AS WE COME INTO THE WINTER, TAZ LOOKS AT THIS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE OPFOR PLAYER.

I

thought it worthy to have a winter-themed follow on Ratnik system as it gives a total take down of all the components in the VKBO uniform issued to the Russian Forces. From my point of view as an airsofter, the bulk is unnecessary for running around your airsoft field but it is worthy of note that some of the outer layers (and possibly some inner) are practical to own. I live in Scotland so I’m enamoured with ways of keeping warm without over-heating and being able to play. “Minus 20!” I hear you say? Yes, we play when it is that cold, even in torrential rain, and in normal times we are still doing our thing admittedly in woodland for the most part.

So, this is the whole list without exception, after which I will be giving practical advice on what I use and why.

VKBO (all-season set of basic uniforms) is a new field uniform of the Russian army. The full set includes

18 items of equipment. Most of the elements can be combined with each other to optimize the outfit for the temperatures from -40C to +15C. The equipment IS suitable for use in cold, wind, rain, warm weather.

VKBO equipment is a system consisting of eight levels.

CLOTHING VKBO

LEVEL 1: UNDERWEAR The first level of equipment is short or long drainage underwear. The difference between the short and long version is due to the temperature mode of use. The Short version is a classic T-shirt with short sleeves and pants, whilst the long version is thermal underwear.

Clothes of the first level are next-to-skin items. The main purpose of this layer of the kit is to regulate body moisture by air exchange in combination with absorption and removal of moisture. The first layer of VKBO is made of 100% polyester, which is typical

“VKBO (ALL-SEASON SET OF BASIC UNIFORMS) IS A NEW FIELD UNIFORM OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY. THE FULL SET INCLUDES 18 ITEMS OF EQUIPMENT. MOST OF THE ELEMENTS CAN BE COMBINED WITH EACH OTHER TO OPTIMIZE THE OUTFIT FOR THE TEMPERATURES FROM -40C TO +15C.” 76

DECEMBER 2020

KIT & GEAR OPFOR WINTER GEAR

for workwear; 100% polyester provides a high level of weather protection, wear-resistance and is easy to care for.

LEVEL 2: THERMALS Level 2 - underwear fleece is the main layer in the cold. As the first level, the underwear provides highquality air exchange and moisture removal. This

consists of a shirt with a high collar with a zipper and underpants. It retains heat well and fits the body tightly. The composition of the material from which the layer is made is 93% polyester, 7% elastane.

LEVEL 3: FLEECE LAYER Level 3 is a fleece jacket, which is not only a great addition to equipment, but also practical as everyday clothing. Varsana`s surface keeps the body warm. A distinctive feature of the first three levels is the air exchange, quick drying and elasticity. These properties are particularly important for the lower layers of equipment, as they are the guarantee of your comfort.

LEVEL 4: UNIFORM Level 4 presents the jacket-a windbreaker, VKBO. This kit uses camouflage colouring “EMR “, generally accepted in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The jacket protects from wind and light rain. The texture of the jacket`s fabric (98% polyamide, 2% elastane), provides comfort during active physical activity.

LEVEL 5: WET WEATHER SUIT The ergonomic cut of the suit will protect you from

really bad weather, and has high levels of water repellancy. The suit is designed for the needs of the army, but the capabilities have also been appreciated by fans of outdoor activities like hunters and outdoorsmen. The kit is easy to care for as it is easy to clean dirt and dries quickly.

LEVEL 6: THICKER WATERPROOF SUIT The Level 6-windproof suit is made of 100% polyamide with a membrane and is suitable for even more severe conditions than the previous layers of equipment. Waterproof seams and additional reinforcement fabric on the elbows, knees and back provides increased wear resistance for this suit.

LEVEL 7: MEMBRANE SUIT Insulated 7th level of equipment and goes well with other levels of clothing. The vest is made of 100% polyamide fabric with a membrane that provides

thermal insulation, water resistance and moisture protection.

LEVEL 8: WINTER SUIT Level 8-a suit VKBO winter, or just an insulated suit.

The suit is suitable for low temperatures, 100% polyamide fabric protects from moisture, snow and wind. As in level 7, the suit has a high-quality insulation that does not absorb moisture and retains heat.

In addition to this the previously mentioned elements, the outfit includes a summer suit. This uniform is highly appreciated by fans of outdoor activities; the uniform is the main element in the modelling of units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The composition of the fabric from www.airsoftaction.net

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Helikon-Tex®

MCDU® Combat Shirt Unmatched Comfort on a Mission

• Two zippered bicep pockets • Sleeves made of NYCO® fabric • Torso made of TopCool® fabric

#Journey to Perfection

KIT & GEAR OPFOR WINTER GEAR

which the summer suit is sewn is 65% cotton, 35% polyester and the high cotton content makes the suit comfortable and durable for long time wear. A distinctive feature of the material is the use of ripstop technology (reinforced thread), which increases wear resistance and strength of the material. As befits a casual suit for military purposes, it is strengthened in the areas of elbows, knees and back. The fabric is treated with an anti-mosquito agent that repels insects.

HEAD PROTECTION For protection from bad weather for the throat and lower face there is adjustable in size scarf tube with ties, and for head protection, a cap. The kit also includes a cap-mask, aka Balaclava; the Balaclava is made of a material consisting of 70% wool, 30% polyamide. For the insulated suit there is a capearflaps VKBO of 100% polyamide.

HAND PROTECTION For hand protection there are wool gloves, mittens insulated with LPG, which are attached to the sleeves of the Level 8 insulated suit of the eighth layer.

Insulation can be removed from the gloves to use them in the demi season.

VKBO FEATURES On the upper levels of equipment there are areas of Velcro, designed for mounting chevrons and insignia. The cut of the equipment does not restrict movement.

REALITY FOR AIRSOFTING

I own layers 1 and 3 as they are very efficient and comfortable for underwear and have lasted very well for many years. The Level 4 which for all purposes is the uniform issued to Russian forces varies in quality and cut dependent on who made it and which version. I have one but usually use it as a second layer under previously mentioned 6sh122 Ratnik Coveralls or under a Level 5 suit which is lightweight and totally waterproof. I also have the Level 8 suit and Ushanka (Fur Hat) for the really cold weather. I have literally worn the suit with a tee shirt and boxers at -20 in Scotland and was still sweating!

What would I buy first? Simple, the Level 5. It goes over your kit, weighs practically nothing and unlike its predecessors does not boil you alive as it is well ventilated. Level 4, the uniform? Very debatable, but I have used trousers with Level 5 jacket before many times.

The Ratnik 6sh122 goes over all this kit so if you are on a budget get the layer 5 or 6sh122 and start from there. From Russia with love the one stop uniform... a uniform for all seasons! AA www.airsoftaction.net

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last post IT WAS ALL SO MUCH BETTER...

THROUGH ROSE-TINTED SPECTACLES...

I’M DEDICATING MY COPY THIS MONTH TO BILL PRYCE-THOMAS, MAINLY BECAUSE IT’S ALL HIS FAULT!!

T

his piece grew out of the article on the Marui 18c AEP you’ll find elsewhere in this issue; writing about that got me reminiscing about Marui guns in general and how good they were.

Now, since I am the first to call out mindless nostalgia I’ll try and get a grip on myself and not pretend that everything was awesome. I’m also not going to touch on their more recent models, which I have worked on and appreciated from a technical standpoint, but I have never used in anger.

However, if you’ve been involved with airsoft for a while, it’s highly likely that you have had a few Maruis.

Off the top of my head I’ve owned and skirmished 6 FAMAS, M16A1, P90, several SPAS 12s, at least one Benelli M3, a few Tactical Launchers, several spring pistols, at least one AEP – the Glock18c and at least one VSR-10. There has also been at least one M1A1 Thompson and every single spring rifle they made – the G3, XM177E2, M16A1 (beside my desk as I type), the Uzi and the Skorpion. There may have been more to be honest.

Now I will concede that in part that was due to availability – i.e. the lack of anything else that worked nearly as well or a lack of cash on my part – hence all the springers - but it’s not a world of a lie to say that they all worked well and were better designed and built than many of the guns available at the time.

They were not without their flaws, and I’ll come onto some of those in due course. Also being Marui, they contained a lot of ABS plastic and were, by today’s standards, not terribly powerful. But they were also the first, as far as AEGs were concerned, and their designs have either been directly copied or adapted by pretty much every other manufacturer producing guns now.

TM TRAITS In my opinion one of the biggest traits that TM guns had going for them was that they were really well balanced, and I don’t mean around their centre of gravity. The design of the gearboxes and the nature of the components in them was well suited to the power they produced, to describe them as effortless would be untrue and inaccurate, but they seldom felt or sounded strained. The widespread use of plastic for receivers probably made them sound better, with less resonance than modern alloy receivers and the use of 6mm synthetic bushes kept things quieter too. They were also a doddle to shim properly – every replacement gear came with a simple guide to shimming and if followed you would seldom have any “MARUI ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR HOP-UP AS WE KNOW IT. THE CONCEPT WAS NOT THEIRS, BUT THEIR IMPLEMENTATION OF IT DRAMATICALLY INCREASED AIRSOFT GUN RANGES.”

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LAST POST IT WAS ALL SO MUCH BETTER...

issues.

Marui are responsible for hop-up as we know it.

The concept was not theirs, but their implementation of it dramatically increased airsoft gun ranges. I don’t think they have the Gods of Hop in a cellar somewhere, but Marui hop units are still amongst the most efficient you’ll find out of the box.

However, as I said earlier, it wasn’t all rosy. The way they designed the Version 2 gearbox left the front end weak and regardless of the restrained power output, those front end would and did crack off after lengthy use. It’s a problem that has followed those who chose to copy the design slavishly although some, notably G&P, seem to have largely alleviated the problem.

P90s would eat their alloy cut-off levers and run full auto only until a replacement was sourced and fitted.

The air nozzles in the shotguns were prone to cracking if accidentally abused and became an increasing nightmare to source. The later Chinese-made copies suffered from this far less as the plastic they used was more flexible and would deform slightly rather than snapping, making repairs far easier. I don’t think this was intentional on the part of the copyists, they used cheaper plastic that just happened to be more flexible.

Speaking of flexible, I’m confident I began my airsoft writing career doing technical pieces for another magazine, and the first subject was almost certainly how to eliminate barrel wobble in the Marui M16 variants. They were dreadfully prone to it because of the way they were constructed and tightening the barrel mount involved the fine art of just-tight-enough. Too much and you’d strip screws and find yourself in a world of hurt.

IMITATION IS...

they resisted for as long as they did. It probably put them at a disadvantage with regards to the AR15 based models as these clearly benefitted from having a stronger, more rigid anchor for the barrel and front end. As we saw the growth of Taiwanese and Chinese manufacturing, there was also a reduction in price that put Marui at a disadvantage, which is in part why I think we see fewer models being sold as most of these sit firmly in the higher price brackets.

It is worth saying here that Marui, like Western Arms have always been focused primarily on their home market, sometimes to the exclusion of all else. Unlike G&G for instance, at no point could retailers in the UK enter into a direct relationship with them, it always had to be done through a Japanese intermediary. Given this, you begin to understand that if they seem less than concerned about the rest of the world, it’s probably because that is the case.

There is also the issue of trademarks, which TM have been quite free with but are becoming increasingly problematic as licence holders seek to capitalise on their investment and provide approved replicas.

Marui are no longer as dominant as they were in the UK market, and I personally doubt that they lose any sleep over that. What they do produce is still built to their high standards, but cheaper products from China and Taiwan have claimed the middle market sector that was once theirs. I also doubt that players who are new to the sport give them as much thought as those of us who have been around for a while, it is after all many years since Marui held a dominant place in the market, however, that notwithstanding, you will have to search far and wide to find an electric airsoft gun that doesn’t owe the Japanese innovators a large debt. AA

Many companies have copied and adapted Marui designs. G&G when they designed the gearbox for their P90 & F2000 took the TM design and added a quick change, adjustable spring. That was a significant improvement but it’s a shame that at the same time they failed to address the wear issue with the cut-off lever and produced one of the poorest, least robust switches it’s been my misfortune to work on. You might lose semi-auto on a Marui P90, but it will still fire!

The apparent refusal by Marui to introduce metal receivers earlier didn’t strengthen their position against other manufacturers, and I have no idea why “THE APPARENT REFUSAL BY MARUI TO INTRODUCE METAL RECEIVERS EARLIER DIDN’T STRENGTHEN THEIR POSITION AGAINST OTHER MANUFACTURERS” www.airsoftaction.net

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