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8
ARMOURY: VFC L403A1 GBBR
VegaForceCompany (VFC) have most certainly been making the absolute most of their licencing agreements of late, and have had a regular program of new product releases this year… with more yet to come! Last month though saw a release that is going to delight those with British Forces loadouts everywhere in the form of the KAClicenced L403A1 GBBR!
18 ARMOURY: DELTA ARMORY R15 FREYA GEN2 14”
Back in ISSUE 160 Bill introduced the FREYA AEG from DELTA ARMORY that had been showcased at IWA and talked about the reality behind a great new airsoft family of rifles and carbines based on the real firearm designs of GRAND POWER. Over a year later he’s finally been able to get a GEN 2 version onto the range, and very much likes what he finds!
26
ARMOURY: EVOLUTION GHOST 3.0 VIPER M
In an airsoft world full of ARs what makes one stand out from another, and what features make it visually interesting whilst maintaining excellent performance even as new? Bill returns to the fold of Italian airsoft maestros EVOLUTION to check out their very latest model, the GHOST 3.0 VIPER M, and once again comes away impressed by “that certain something” that’s on offer!
44 RED CELL: MID LENGTH AR AEG UPDATE 2025
Another month and another update from the AA RED CELL testing team hits the “home run”! This time the guys are looking back at what is undoubtedly one of the most popular areas of the global airsoft armoury as they delve deep into all things MID-LENGTH AR AEG and update this for the final time before we bring in our “compendium” of testing results in 2026! As always, Bill leads off…
34 INSIDE AIRSOFT: KAM TACT
Stewbacca has been on a mission to bring that message to players in general, leading him to KAM TACT, a Taiwanese domestic specialist in materials science and application based in Taipei who are gaining traction with local law enforcement and military users, as well as many recreational shooters.
60 SPECIAL REPORT: AIRSOFTER WORLD GAMES
Back in ISSUE 163 Bill introduced us to the concept of “The Airsofter World Games”, and with over a year of games and organisation he returns again to speak with the man behind things, Rob (aka Verage Airsoft), to see how the games have progressed and how things continue to roll out!
78 AA LEGION UK: DRAKES ISLAND 2025
Last year we had the privilege of reporting on Commando Force Airsoft’s Drakes Island and a private gameday organised by Chris of Swindon Airsoft and the Airsoft UK facebook group. Despite weather that could only be described as biblical during the 2024 event, Rich was happy as a happy thing when Chris announced he was organising a return visit to this unique AO.
38 KIT & GEAR: PATTERN 84
Regulars will know that at AIRSOFT ACTION we’re always looking for unique, interesting but above all, performing gear-hauling solutions, and sometimes the “old skool is the best skool”, especially when it comes with a thoroughly modern twist! Dan brings news of a totally new universal magazine-carrying solution courtesy of Kommando Store.
66 AA LEGION UK: NAF 2025
Every year on August Bank Holiday weekend AIRSOFT ACTION make their annual pilgrimage to the New Forest to attend the UK NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL; 2025 saw a return to excellence in every way for this UK flagship event, and a weekend that was so relaxed and chilled, but with a huge amount of fun and in-game excitement for players old and new!
84 AA LEGION: PORTUGAL
As Miguel and the AA Crew in Portugal have been on their annual “airsoft vacation” it’s given him a chance to sit back (a little!) and reflect on the games that took place before this, and one that we always like to hear about is the ongoing NIGHT OPS series of games! This time he delves into the latest iteration of this event, and brings in his report very much from “the front line” as game organiser rather than player!
92 AA LEGION INTERNATIONAL: AAWS II 2025 PART I
Stewbacca and his teammates had to deal with many “challenges” on the way to and from the recent Action Air World Shoot II 2025 in Iloilo, the Philippines. But what were everyone’s various experiences travelling with ‘guns’, for all intents and purposes, from and through different countries? He brings us a collation of necessary preparations and comments in Part I of his event coverage...
• SSS.III E-trigger system (SSS only)
• Smart Trigger & Pre-cocking Function (SSS only)
• T-Dean Plug
• MASTER Upgraded Internals (SSS only)
• Blaster Steel Flash Hider
• ICS Split Gearbox
• QD Spring Guide Design
• 20°-Vertical Pistol Grip
THE HUNT BEGINS!
VEGAFORCECOMPANY (VFC) HAVE MOST CERTAINLY BEEN MAKING THE ABSOLUTE MOST OF THEIR LICENCING AGREEMENTS OF LATE, AND HAVE HAD A REGULAR PROGRAM OF NEW PRODUCT RELEASES THIS YEAR… WITH MORE YET TO COME! LAST MONTH THOUGH SAW A RELEASE THAT IS GOING TO DELIGHT THOSE WITH BRITISH FORCES LOADOUTS EVERYWHERE IN THE FORM OF THE KAC-LICENCED L403A1 GBBR! WITH ANNY ATTENDING THE LAUNCH PARTY, AND BILL AND STEWBACCA HAVING ALREADY STARTED TESTING THE RIFLE ITSELF WE CAN NOW SHARE OUR INITIAL THOUGHTS!
Ido love a VFC GBBR, and I’m also a huge fan of UK Service Weapon replicas, so when I first heard about their gas L403A1 I was… EXCITED! To give a little background, there are currently three programs in place to update service weapons for the British Army, and whilst Project Grayburn to replace the 5.56×45 mm L85A3 IW, and Project Cairns to replace the 7.62×51 mm L7A2 GPMG in the light role are still ongoing, Project Hunter has already come to fruition. In the words of www.army.mod.uk at the time they stated
“British troops will soon be more lethal on the battlefield as a new £90 million contract delivers modern, high precision rifles.”
In September 2023 the British Army began adopting the L403A1 rifle as part of Project Hunter, initially for its Special Operations Brigade, the Ranger Regiment, and the Royal Marines followed by a rollout to other specialist units. The rifle, a Knight’s Armament Company (KAC) KS1, was designated the L403A1 and became the first building block of the Alternative Individual Weapon (AIW) system.
Taken from the same MOD announcement, we were told:
“The Alternative Individual Weapon (AIW) system - known as the L403A1 and procured by Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) under Project Hunter – is made up of a new assault rifle fitted with a muzzle signature reduction system and an improved optical sighting system. The
“WHILST
AIW is a modern rifle using the latest in design technology and manufacturing methods, to produce an exceptionally reliable and accurate weapon. The magnified optic means the user can engage threats from greater distances whilst the signature reduction system works to mask the AIW from detection from sight and hearing. Supplementing the current in-service L85A3, the AIW system has been secured under a £90 million contract with Macclesfield-based company Edgar Brothers.”
Delivered then by Edgar Brothers, the L40A1 has now been seen regularly in the hands of British soldiers and “other personnel”, and is an exciting development given that UK Land Forces haven’t had a new service weapon since the introduction of the SA80 way back in the mid1980s! The new L403A1 (known commercially as the Knights Armament Company (KAC) KS-1) is a 5.56mm NATO AR-15 style rifle developed specifically for Project Hunter; the rifle features a high-performance design including an M-LOK handguard, an L900A1 Optics Suite, and an integrated KAC suppressor.
In more detail the rifle is chambered for the current issue 5.56×45mm NATO, although this calibre is under debate for further development. As issued it includes ambidextrous controls, a heavy, dimpled barrel, a KAC URX6 handguard with M-LOK, a Magpul CTR buttstock, and comes fitted with the L900A1 Optics Suite, which includes a Vortex 1–10x low power variable
PROJECT GRAYBURN TO REPLACE THE 5.56×45 MM L85A3 IW, AND PROJECT CAIRNS TO REPLACE THE 7.62×51 MM L7A2 GPMG IN THE LIGHT ROLE ARE STILL ONGOING, PROJECT HUNTER HAS ALREADY COME TO FRUITION.”
optic and an Aimpoint ACRO P-2 red dot sight, along with an integrated KAC QDC/MCQ-PRT suppressor; this fulfils the initial Project Hunter brief for a platform that “can engage threats from greater distances whilst the signature reduction system works to mask the AIW from detection from sight and hearing”… it’s a VERY neat package indeed!
And whilst I’m very aware that there have been some absolutely superb custom replications of the KS-1/L403A1 many of us interested in “ally Brit kit” have been waiting patiently for someone to bring us a commercially produced “off the shelf” version of this new service rifle in airsoft form, and I was overjoyed when VegaForceCompany (VFC) announced that they would be the ones to do so… especially as I already run a posse of VFC
gas ARs and found that the magazines would all be compatible with the new GBBR!
I’m sure it’s very obvious that both Stewbacca and I have a very close relationship with VFC, so in actual fact we were given the nod by our “inside man” at VFC in Taiwan that the new GBBR would imminently be launched, and although sadly Stewbacca was otherwise engaged, thankfully “Military Anny” was once again on hand to attend the launch party on AA’s behalf, and can share her experience with all of us… so over to Anny!
ARTHURIAN THEMING!
“The newly renovated VFC Pentagon Service Center (VPSC) hosted a party and new product launch on Friday, August 22nd at 1300. The
“IN SEPTEMBER 2023 THE BRITISH ARMY BEGAN ADOPTING THE L403A1 RIFLE AS PART OF PROJECT HUNTER, INITIALLY FOR ITS SPECIAL OPERATIONS BRIGADE, THE RANGER REGIMENT, AND THE ROYAL MARINES FOLLOWED BY A ROLLOUT TO OTHER SPECIALIST UNITS”
Photo: Corporal Rebecca Brown/UK Ministry of Defence 2023
L403A1 GBB rifle and GLOCK G17 Gen5 MOS optics-ready as standard pistol were officially launched globally on August 29th 2025.”
The striking “Sword in the Stone” display design upon entering the venue featured not a sword in fact, but the British Army’s next generation service rifle, the L403A1, while a variety of Chinese and Western dishes were also served, along with VFC Instructor Shen’s specially blended hand-poured coffee!
In addition to the live product launch at 14:00 on August 22nd, a YouTube livestream was also broadcast. VFC brand ambassador, Sally Chou, wearing Athena Truth apparel, attended the event. First, at the 2025 IPSC World Shoot Action Air II World Shooting Championships in the Philippines, sponsored by VFC, competitors
achieved excellent results using Umarex/ VFC G17 Gen5 air pistols, and Clarence Lai of CL Project Design presented a certificate of appreciation to the VFC’s top man Vega Kung. In his opening remarks VFC boss Vega Kung told us:
“This is our fourth new product launch. The first featured the AK74M, and now we’re showcasing the L403A1 and GLOCK G17 Gen5. Each launch is unique, just like VFC products, which are constantly improving. Quoting Confucius from the Analects, “The mistakes of a gentleman are like the eclipses of the sun and moon: when he makes a mistake, everyone sees it; when he corrects it, everyone admires him.”
As such, VFC products will continue to improve; the VFC team has meticulously planned this new
“THIS IS OUR FOURTH NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH. THE FIRST FEATURED THE AK74M, AND NOW WE’RE SHOWCASING THE L403A1 AND GLOCK G17 GEN5. EACH LAUNCH IS UNIQUE, JUST LIKE VFC PRODUCTS, WHICH ARE CONSTANTLY IMPROVING”
remarked, “It’s a bit ugly. He’s good at hitting teammates in the head.”
Sally Chou asked, “I’ve picked up so many guns, aren’t you going to make VFC?”
Ryan replied, “Of course not. Today, we should focus on the new KAC KS-1 L403A1.”
Sally Chou then offered to give him a GLOCK G17 Gen5, unveiling the new product announcement.
Before we begin introducing the new product, let’s invite QRF editor KC to share his part of the story:
“Hailing from Britain, the empire on which the sun never sets, Project Hunter brings a new weapon system for the British Army. The name of the project has nothing to do with hunters, but rather commemorates a Marine corporal during World War II who was awarded the Victoria Cross. This was a project to replace the L85 and L119
“The all-new EVO AR GBB Hop-Up system features a TDC (Top Dead Centre) vertical push-down design, rear screw adjustment, a steel Hop-Up chamber and components, a new disassembly system, barrel replacement without removing the outer barrel or handguard, adjustable click count, and an EVO Hop-Up quick-adjustment tool (sold separately, to be released soon- Bill).
“The V3 lower frame and fire control unit features a new V3 steel gas valve and firing pin assembly, all-steel fire control components, and a modified steel hammer without a cut gas plate.
“There will also be a brand new VFC VMAG FDE Sand Colour Gas Magazine along with brand new FDE sand colour finish and parts, switchactivated blank-fire function, enlarged rear lever opening on the top cover, and optimized rear-lock stability.”
“THE NAME OF THE PROJECT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HUNTERS, BUT RATHER COMMEMORATES A MARINE CORPORAL DURING WORLD WAR II WHO WAS AWARDED THE VICTORIA CROSS. THIS WAS A PROJECT TO REPLACE THE L85 AND L119 RIFLES, AN AR-STYLE RIFLE”
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
My thanks go to Anny for her coverage, and her reporting on what was seen and heard at the launch party in Taipei! Having watched the video and seen many, many pictures from Anny and other airsoft friends in Taiwan it was quite the affair, and although we’ll cover off the latest VFC GLOCK G17 Gen5 in due course, it was all about the L403A1 as far as I was concerned!
I have to say that I absolutely adored the set dressing with the rifle placed in the stone like Arthur’s Excalibur, and there were a lot of fun pictures of the guys present apparently straining to remove it… as much as a product launch like this is a serious affair, it was great to see some light-hearted airsoft fun at the very heart of it.
Now I’m certain the VFC “take” on the L403A1 will come under some very serious scrutiny, and
“WHAT ARRIVED
WITH
ME
AT AAHQ
A FEW
(yes, mine was shipped from Taiwan just ahead of the launch party and arrived a day or so after!) even at first glance appeared to be a faithful reproduction of the British Army’s new generation service rifle. With a stunning replication of the issued colour of the real rifle (including the new magazine!), and some beautifully realised KAC “trades” on both the receiver set and the rail, the VFC L403A1 immediately looked the part.
The alloy URX6 handguard has an authentic locking mechanism for a rock-solid fit, and inside the handguard is a brilliant replication of the dimpled heavy barrel which is made from a single piece of machined aluminium alloy. Controls are all ambidextrous, including the charging handle, bolt release, magazine release, and fire selector.
The only thing (probably down to licencing issues elsewhere) that wasn’t immediately “correct” was the stock which on “the real” is a
WEEKS AGO EVEN AT FIRST GLANCE APPEARED TO BE A FAITHFUL REPRODUCTION OF THE BRITISH ARMY’S NEW GENERATION SERVICE RIFLE… WITH A STUNNING REPLICATION OF THE ISSUED COLOUR OF THE REAL RIFLE (INCLUDING THE NEW MAGAZINE!)”
“ALTHOUGH BOTH STEWBACCA AND I WILL RETURN TO A FULL REVIEW OF THE VFC L403A1 GBBR AT A LATER DATE AFTER MORE INTENSIVE, LONGER-TERM TESTING, I’M CERTAIN THAT YOU ALL WANT TO KNOW ONE MORE THING… HOW IT SHOOTS… I’M PLEASED TO REPORT THAT THE L403A1 IS A BEAST!”
and with .30g BBs the accuracy was stunning at that range. I did try heavier BBs up to .40g and the rifle seemed happy to hop all of them up to the 30m extent of the range, although Stewbacca tells me that from his initial testing going heavier weights start to become an issue... We’ll see how that goes as things bed in and report back!
As I expected though from my experience with other VFC GBBRs I knew I should be hitting 300mmx300mm targets at twice that distance, so I duly fitted the crystal-clear “optics suite” and paced out 70m in the woods… I then secured one of my 300mmx300mm paper targets rather than a steel and had at it prone… Suffice to say that the paper came home with thirty neat little 6mm holes drilled in it!
To be perfectly honest the new gas L403A1 is by no means your average “airsoft gun” and for this reason I don’t believe you’ll be seeing it regularly at Sunday Skirmishes in the UK, although I could be wrong, and I will be sure to give it a run out just to see if my old-man drills and accuracy are still as good as I think they are! In truth though, the L403A1 hasn’t been designed and made for skirmishing per se, it’s been designed and made for those that truly want a platform that looks and operates exactly like the real thing, but that shoots as well, if not better, than other GBBRs out
As I’ve said before about other VFC GBBRs... Yes, it’s been designed for the MilSim player for sure, but also for those that want realism to be able to test themselves to the limit in any game, with real-like operation and real-world magazine capacities. Basically, it’s been designed for people like me and my fellow “ally Brit kit” enthusiasts, and for those players the VFC L403A1 GBBR is going to be a “must have”!
My thanks again go to my good friend Ray at VFC (https://www.vegaforce.com) for facilitating delivery of the L403A1 to Stewbacca and I… Love you brother! AA
“AS I’VE SAID BEFORE ABOUT OTHER VFC GBBRS, YES, IT’S BEEN DESIGNED FOR THE MILSIM PLAYER FOR SURE, BUT ALSO FOR THOSE THAT WANT REALISM TO BE ABLE TO TEST THEMSELVES TO THE LIMIT IN ANY GAME, WITH REAL-LIKE OPERATION AND REAL-WORLD MAGAZINE CAPACITIES”
SECOND GEN AWESOME!
BACK IN ISSUE 160 BILL INTRODUCED THE FREYA AEG FROM DELTA ARMORY THAT HAD BEEN SHOWCASED AT IWA AND TALKED ABOUT THE REALITY BEHIND A GREAT NEW AIRSOFT FAMILY OF RIFLES AND CARBINES BASED ON THE REAL FIREARM DESIGNS OF GRAND POWER. OVER A YEAR LATER HE’S FINALLY BEEN ABLE TO GET A GEN 2 VERSION ONTO THE RANGE, AND VERY MUCH LIKES WHAT HE FINDS!
So, DELTA ARMORY (DA) and the FREYA… it’s been quite the journey for Peter and his team at DA to really bring this project to fruition, a journey that’s seen the brand move through a couple of changes in their distribution network, especially here in the UK, before finally finding a home with our mates over at PATROL BASE. Thankfully the “route to market” is now a settled one, and players close to home and AAHQ can now access the entire, and now somewhat impressive, DA range of AEGs and GBB pistols!
I have to say that I’ve now tested a number of DA AEGs over the past couple of years and found incremental improvements in each and every
one; generally speaking I’ve found them to be solid performers across the board, and sensibly priced for what’s on offer. However, the one that had eluded me, and the one that I’d most wanted to shoot since I first saw it in the flesh back at IWA 2024 was the FREYA… the FREYA had become a bit of a “grail gun” for me, as the external design was superb, the ergonomics just so, and the fact that it was an AEG based on a “performance AR” of European origin fascinated me…. the fact that it came not only in “tacticool tan” and “Ford black” but also in a rather fetching shade of “awesome olive” that’s not a million miles away from my beloved “Bazooka Green” had nothing whatsoever to do with anything… or possibly it did…
“I HAVE TO SAY THAT I’VE NOW TESTED A NUMBER OF DA AEGS OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS AND FOUND INCREMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS IN EACH AND EVERY ONE; GENERALLY SPEAKING I’VE FOUND THEM TO BE SOLID PERFORMERS ACROSS THE BOARD, AND SENSIBLY PRICED FOR WHAT’S ON OFFER”
turning his passion for shooting into a bustling business Jaro’s passion became part of the AR (and firearms in general) myth and reality!
Currently more than two thousand firearms leave the production facility every month, and GRAND POWER produces a huge range of pistols including the X-Calibur, K100, K100 Target, K100 X-Trim, K100 Dynamic, P1, P1 Ultra,P1 DAO, P11, P380, CP380, LP380, P40, P45, P40L, P1S, K22, K22 X-Trim, P9M, T910, T10. T12, T11, G9, K105, K102, K100 Whisper, and a P380 Whisper! The company exports almost 95% of its production, with the remaining 5% being sold domestically in Slovakia.
Whilst also making the STRIBOG SMG and ARAQ rifle models (I am SO looking forward to the
ready out of the box; its magazine well is bevelled to speed up magazine changes and also includes lightening cuts.
The FREYA is only available in a Direct Impingement configuration to maximize weight savings, in keeping with the overall theme of a lightweight competition rifle…. And I think it looks amazing!
As I said back in April 2024… “Pretty cool, right?”
GEN II 6MM
So, what does the latest iteration of the fullylicenced FREYA AEG give us? Quite a lot to be honest! DA have continued to fettle and improve
“THE FREYA VARIANTS OF THE R15 MOVES UP AS THE PLATFORM BECOMES A
COMPETITION-ORIENTED VERSION WITH A MILLED BILLET UPPER AND LOWER RECEIVERS WITH EXTENSIVE LIGHTENING CUTS MAKING FOR AN EXTREMELY HANDY AND MANOEUVRABLE RIFLE”
SHS piston with a full steel tooth rack, an SHS tappet plate, and a CNC aluminium piston head, cylinder head and nozzle for maximum long term durability. The cylinder is also CNC machined from steel, as is the spring guide. As we’re seeing with virtually every AEG manufacturer these days, you can personalise the FREYA thanks to the EAGLE ETU/MOSFET which offers a whole host of programming options using only the fire controls; options include three or five-BB burst mode, binary trigger, sniper delay, AUG mode, semi-auto only and precocking.
Pulling back the charging handle opens up the faux bolt carrier to allow access to the hopup adjuster wheel; married up to a 6.03mm tightbore inner barrel I like this a lot as it gives
platform comes in four lengths, 7”, 10”, 13” (with skeleton M-LOK, you can buy this separately if you wish!) and 14”, I had the olive-green 14” to test as it puts it directly in the same ballpark as my existing Noveske Infidel 13.7” (in Bazooka Green!) that I run for friendly competitions, and has long been my benchmark for such “comp” AR designs. The FREYA sits brilliantly alongside my “four gun” setup and 100% looks the part!
The first thing that you’ll notice when you pick up the FREYA is the superb weight and balance; at 2350g it’s certainly no heavyweight, and the balance means that this minimal weight is perfectly distributed to aid in rapid manipulation and target to target transitions. I took the test model down to the NAF with me, and before returning it to the DELTA ARMORY/PATROL BASE
“SO, WHAT DOES THE LATEST ITERATION OF THE FULLY-LICENCED FREYA AEG GIVE US? QUITE A LOT TO BE HONEST! DA HAVE CONTINUED TO FETTLE AND IMPROVE ON THE INTERNAL SPEC OF THE ORIGINAL MODEL, MAKING WHAT WAS A VERY GOOD AEG INTO SOMETHING QUITE REMARKABLE”
team who were on site for the event I showed it to a number of players, and every single one commented on how light and nimble the platform felt!
Let’s come back to the fact that the real FREYA is optimised for the same things, and you’ll start to see just how faithful a replication DA have achieved in the AEG version.
First up there’s a super-lightweight M-LOK system that looks the absolute business, but strangely on the model I had to evaluate there is no upper picatinny on the rail itself although there is a front flip-up sight fitted as standard… it’s a “flat top rail”, something that I’m seeing more and more in “race-inspired” rifles and carbines; being a non-military design in this iteration there’s nowhere to mount lights or LAMs up top, although you could easily set things up via M-LOK rail sections at 3, 6, or 9.
If you want a top picatinny then there are models in the FREYA line that will give you this, although setting things up with Hydra optics mount on the upper receiver picatinny proved to be a winning combo!
Moving back you get to those receivers, and oh boy, these are superb! Made from high-grade alloy with a unique cut-away design, these the receiver set is based on the real steel GRAND POWER R15 FREYA, and once again where it’s been possible to shave off weight without compromising the strength and durability of the structure overall, then it’s been done… and they look great!
Again the “non-mil” design of the FREYA means that the forward assist has been removed for a clean look, the deflector has been minimised, and there’s even no dust cover over the mock bolt… in fact, everything shouts “hi speed, lo drag”!
Keeping with this “hi speed” feel the angle of the pistol grip is such that it’s completely ergonomic, and comfortable for even compressed shooting positions when the stock
“EVERYTHING INSIDE THE FREYA IS AS GOOD AS IT CAN BE GIVEN CURRENT AEG TECHNOLOGY, AND SHOWS DA’S CREDITABLE DESIRE TO OFFER PLATFORMS THAT ARE AS GOOD AS THEY CAN BE, STRAIGHT FROM THE BOX WITH LITTLE OR NO NEED FOR EXTRA SPEND!”
is in its closed position; the grip features some great texturing that makes your handling feel assured at all times, and allows very positive retention. The trigger is a “flat” trigger with a minimalist finger ledge and textured front, making it ideal for cranking out BBs in accelerated pairs or for rapid follow-ups. All controls are pretty slick and smooth “AR standard” so if you’re used to the platform the FREYA will offer no unwanted surprises.
At the rear of the receiver set there’s a solidas-a-rock singlepoint sling plate as standard, and even with the Hydra mount optics package fitted this never felt like it was struggling at handling the extra weight; there are also QD sling points on the rail and stock if you prefer to run a two-pointer. The buffer tube offers up six positions, and the stock itself is a very, very neat design from DA themselves, and a design that I can’t fault in any way as it’s comfortable in the shoulder thanks to a big old rubberised but pad, and easy and smooth to adjust. The stock of course also offers easy-to-access battery space with a Deans/TPlug battery connector.
DOWNRANGE
Up on the 30m woods range, with everything ready to roll and a 7.4V 1300mAh Stick LiPo fitted (recommended by DA), I loaded up the 120BB middy and had at it! I chrono’d initially with .20g and as a “straight out of the factory” AEG I got a mean reading of 0.84 Joule/301fps, a lower than expected power level, but one that is perfectly acceptable, and sensible, and that will let you use the FREYA as-new on virtually any airsoft site.
However, the trigger is most certainly crisp, as just a “tickle” sends BBs downrange happily; on semi you really can get shots away superfast, and the three round burst function works brilliantly! The flip-up sights that come fitted as standard to the FREYA are more than adequate,
and indeed are sturdily made of nylon-fibre, so the rifle is ready to roll straight from the box just by adding a battery and some BBs!
Re-setting the hop and moving up to .28g BBs at 30m unsupported in was easy to get hits on a torso-sized target with each BB flying straight and true. I also took the FREYA down to our 10m indoor range, and it soon had the 300x300mm steels ringing one after the other too!
I asked the DA/PB guys I met at the NAF about the lower power level, which frankly didn’t affect the accuracy of the FREYA at all as it was almost “TM-like” in its power to range/accuracy performance, and they explained to me that due to DELTA ARMORY selling the FREYA all over the world the springs that came as standard were all checked and changed where necessary, and they erred on the side of caution and safety when fitting new ones for the UK market… a perfectly sensible answer, and one that I’d hope to hear from a reputable distributor.
With that small question answered I have to say that the 14” GEN II FREYA has really proved to be worth waiting for, and with a well-sub-£300 pricetag here in the UK it really gives a massive amount of quality and performance for the money. It looks magnificent, feels perfect, and shoots like a dream so as far as I can see DELTA ARMORY have got this 100% right. I can simply just recommend this AEG to you as I believe it is a model of its time, with a fabulous nod to real innovation in firearms baked in.
My thanks go to www.patrolbase.co.uk for supplying the test sample, and you’ll find all the FREYA models on their regularly updated website. The FREYA, as I said earlier, is available in different colours, Black, Tan, and Olive Green, with different lengths and different features to choose from. If you’re after an exemplary, superslick AR AEG then the DELTA ARMORY R15 FREYA GEN II 14” should most definitely be on your “must try” list! AA
“RE-SETTING THE HOP AND MOVING UP TO .28G BBS AT 30M UNSUPPORTED IN WAS EASY TO GET HITS ON A TORSO-SIZED TARGET WITH EACH BB FLYING STRAIGHT AND TRUE. I ALSO TOOK THE FREYA DOWN TO OUR 10M INDOOR RANGE, AND IT SOON HAD THE 300X300MM STEELS RINGING ONE AFTER THE OTHER TOO!”
BELLISSIMO E UNICO!
IN AN AIRSOFT WORLD FULL OF ARS WHAT MAKES ONE STAND OUT FROM ANOTHER, AND WHAT FEATURES MAKE IT VISUALLY INTERESTING WHILST MAINTAINING EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE EVEN AS NEW? BILL RETURNS TO THE FOLD OF ITALIAN AIRSOFT MAESTROS EVOLUTION TO CHECK OUT THEIR VERY LATEST MODEL, THE GHOST 3.0 VIPER M, AND ONCE AGAIN COMES AWAY IMPRESSED BY “THAT CERTAIN SOMETHING ” THAT’S ON OFFER!
If I’ve heard the phrase “Oh, it’s just another M4!” once I’ve heard it a hundred times, and every time I hear or read it I wince… If someone said of the Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail “Oh, it’s just another car!” I bet many of you would take notice and respond “Yes, it’s a car, but it’s not a Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 now, is it?”
And the statement also makes me shake my head as real gun-bunnies will know that the “M4” is a very specific military platform, and what we’re talking about with one of the most widespread and prolific AEGs out there is actually an “AR”… and ARs, as
differences that make them all unique, and keep my shooting life interesting.
And there’s definitely one manufacturer that I expect uniqueness from, and that’s EVOLUTION INTERNATIONAL! My friends in Italy, and I view them as such, do things differently, not only in the AEGs that they create, but also in the way that they approach the industry, and the community in general… they are real, genuine people that I get on with very well indeed,
we also see in the real world come in different guises! Whilst the overall silhouette of the AR is completely distinctive there are many flavours, many levels of performance, and a widely disparate pricing structure… Yes, it may be an AR, but not all ARs are equal!
As with everything else in the world, one AEG, although looking generally similar to another, can be vastly different when it comes to how it looks and how it performs, and again I’m often asked “How can you write and be so enthusiastic about another AR variant when you’ve seen so many?”
The answer to this, my friends, is that there is ALWAYS something different about the ARs that I am privileged to evaluate, and it’s finding the
and both Veronica and Sergio have become friends based not only on our shared experiences at shows (and love of good food!) and via our regular conversations, but also because of the passion they show in creating the welcoming atmosphere that surrounds the EVOLUTION airsoft brand.
Along with Sergio (the other one, da boss!) they are just incredibly professional and diligent, and everyone at EVOLUTION takes huge pride in what they create; although they don’t constantly release new models like some brands, what they do release is always meaningful, well thought out, and as I always say benefits from that certain “Italian Flair” that gives all of their products a thoroughly unique feel… yes, what they create adds to the AR-style AEG offerings on the market, but if you know what to look for both internally and externally their creations are undoubtedly their own, and you won’t mistake them for an AR from another airsoft manufacturer!
“REAL GUN-BUNNIES WILL KNOW THAT THE “M4” IS A VERY SPECIFIC MILITARY PLATFORM, AND WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT WITH ONE OF THE MOST WIDESPREAD AND PROLIFIC AEGS OUT THERE IS ACTUALLY AN “AR”… AND ARS, AS WE ALSO SEE IN THE REAL WORLD COME IN DIFFERENT GUISES!”
A POINT OF DIFFERENCE
But what makes an EVOLUTION AEG different from those already out there? As they say themselves of the very latest models:
“The Ghost 3.0 line is engineered to deliver high performance, precision, and absolute reliability. Entirely designed in Italy, the Ghost 3.0 is built for the most demanding players who expect the best from their gear in every game scenario – from CQB to the toughest and most extreme outdoor operations.”
And from the get-go, each of the three models in the Ghost 3.0 Viper series has an identity of its own, from the diminutive but aggressively style XS, through the CQB-style S variant, to the Ghost 3.0 Viper M which I had to test, a model that’s ready for just about any airsoft encounter you can imagine. All of the variants are built on a full-metal base but feature exclusive Evolutiondesigned upper and lower receivers made from Carbontech, a high-tech polymer that is lightweight yet ultra-resistant, further reinforced with an alloy core for superb levels of strength and durability without adding unnecessary weight.
Those that have any questions about Carbontech should realise that this in-house technology has been with EVOLUTION for some years now and is very much “tried and tested”, and that even the oldest models that we have using the same technology in long-term test are still standing up to abuse perfectly; the body of all the AEGs remains totally flex-free, and the difference compared to other polymer-bodied AEGs out there is very, very noticeable, in a very good way!
In addition to the signature upper and lower receiver sets, the Ghost 3.0 Viper M (I’ll just call it the Ghost from now on for ease) features the new EVOLUTION CARGO STOCK, designed in Italy and that we first saw in development at IWA 2024.
“THERE’S
DEFINITELY ONE MANUFACTURER THAT I EXPECT UNIQUENESS FROM, AND THAT’S EVOLUTION INTERNATIONAL! MY FRIENDS IN ITALY, AND I VIEW THEM AS SUCH, DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY, NOT ONLY IN THE AEGS THAT THEY CREATE, BUT ALSO IN THE WAY THAT THEY APPROACH THE INDUSTRY, AND THE COMMUNITY IN GENERAL”
The Ghost also has the latest EMR (Evolution Modular Rail) aluminium M-LOK-style handguard with flat-top M-LOK solution rather than the standard picatinny, and one that has been completely redesigned and CNC-machined for extreme durability, and finished with Duralite™ for enhanced scratch and abrasion resistance. The new EMR handguard and free-float outer barrel are firmly attached to the upper receiver via a new CNC-machined barrel nut with threaded holes, and the EMR is fixed to the Barrel Nut with six steel bolts, creating a solid one-piece assembly between the barrel and upper receiver for extreme rigidity and zero flex.
Then there’s the new ergonomic motor grip of next-gen design that holds a High Torque 22000 RPM and the Tool-less Access Grip, the EVOLUTION TAG SYTEM, that offers toolfree motor access. To ensure toughness and durability to the rear of the Ghost, the stock slides on a solid alloy buffer tube instead of the standard plastic or polymer one used on many competitor products. In fact, there’s a massive amount of scrupulous attention to detail everywhere, in every component part, and the whole carbine looks both elegant but also aggressive with an excellent level of finish throughout, even down to the included M-LOK compatible polymer foregrip, steel sling mounts, and integrated flip-up sights.
When you look at an EVOLUTION AEG it’s obvious that it is different, and that it’s something just a bit special because IT IS different, and the Ghost certainly lives up to this EVOLUTION tradition… it looks simply great, and at 775mm/790mm long, and weighing in at just 2500g it feel great too!
INTERNALLY UNIQUE
But it’s not just the excellent externals of the Ghost that make it special, as there’s a LOT more
going on “under the hood”!
Inside the Ghost you get a reinforced alloy gearbox with 8mm self-lubricating steel bushings, PM steel gears with delayer for a high ROF, a high-speed piston with full steel teeth, and a spring guide with a forged steel core. The rotary hop-up system allows precise tuning while maintaining shot-to-shot consistency with most BB weights, and the 6.01 precision barrel with flared muzzle ensures consistent accuracy. Quick, tool-free access to the motor compartment and easy spring guide extraction without removing the gearbox make upgrades a simple affair should you wish to go down this route.
The VIPER Electronic Trigger provides advanced fire control management; unlike many other ETU systems, the VIPER is fully integrated and doesn’t require apps or external connections for programming… all the settings are managed directly through the trigger in a fast and intuitive way, even in-game. The ETU supports brushless motors, and the VIPER uses, as EVOLUTION tell me, “...a hybrid electronic architecture that combines optical and magnetic sensors to deliver the best of both worlds”.
And it most certainly does, as the main VIPER functions cover off 3-BB Burst, 5-BB Burst, Semi/ Full Auto/Binary Trigger, Sniper Mode, adjustable trigger responsiveness, adjustable trigger travel, adjustable pre-cocking, adjustable active brake, low voltage protection, high voltage protection, gearbox disaster protection, ROF over-speed protection, and stand-by mode… wow!
But that’s not all, as an AR stock is an AR stock, right? WRONG!
Although there’s plenty of space for highperformance batteries (the Ghost is 11.1V LiPo, LiFe, and Li-ion battery compatible) the new Evolution Cargo Stock has two side compartments that triple the available space for batteries, and the rotating butt-plate allows
“EACH OF THE THREE MODELS IN THE GHOST 3.0 VIPER SERIES HAS AN IDENTITY OF ITS OWN, FROM THE DIMINUTIVE BUT AGGRESSIVELY STYLE XS, THROUGH THE CQB-STYLE S VARIANT, TO THE GHOST 3.0 VIPER M WHICH I HAD TO TEST, A MODEL THAT’S READY FOR JUST ABOUT ANY AIRSOFT ENCOUNTER YOU CAN IMAGINE”
battery swaps without having to detach it from the stock, which makes swap-outs straightforward even in the heat of a firefight. The Cargo Stock also features a built-in safety system that automatically lifts the buttplate slightly if the wires are not positioned correctly, preventing them from being pinched, which anyone who has ever cooked off a LiPo will know can be the death of an AEG!
In addition to all of this the Ghost also arrives with the EVOLUTION Matrixx 140 BB mid-cap magazine (along with a 2000-count bag of EVOLUTIONs own .25g BBs!), a magazine that I have come to appreciate more and more for its toughness and consistency of feeding, not just in EVOLUTION platforms, but in many others too, and the cleverly designed front section near the mag-well acts as a firm index point for ultra-fast reloads under stress! It’s (again) unique texture not only allows full personalisation but also provides a solid hands-on tactile feel, even when wearing gloves.
DOWNRANGE
So, on the face of things EVOLUTION have yet again created an exemplary-looking AR AEG with a whole host of up-to-the-minute technology both inside and out… it’s kind of what I expect of them to be honest, but as always, how does the Ghost shoot?
The Ghost is an impressive carbine, and on an 11.1V LiPo it really does crack away! Bear in mind that many airsoft games these days will have strict ammo limits and you’re going to want to stick to semi-auto. I mention this as the Ghost comes with that excellent Matrixx 140 BB midcap which feeds absolutely flawlessly, and once loaded snaps into place with no wobble. I did try the Ghost with various Hi-Cap and Mid-Cap magazines and all functioned, fitted, and fed perfectly.
I loaded the Matrixx magazine up with a full complement of my usual 2.0g test BBs and got to work. 10 BBs through the chrono gave me a perfectly spot-on mean of 1 Joule/329fps, and the flat-face trigger proved both crisp and responsive. Moving up to those .25g BBs provided, and adjusting the hop (easy), setting targets out to 30 metres I was able to get reasonable groupings on semi-auto using the flip-up sights, with minimal opening out when I switched the selector up to 3 BB Burst (yes, I LIKE this setting!); fitting a holo sight up top on the upper receiver picatinny rail just made things even easier, and as the Ghost is certainly no slouch straight out of the box, it means you can buy it and get it straight in-game with no fuss whatsoever, even with your preferred optic mounted!
In a nutshell, and as I expected, this is a first rate AEG in terms of its unique look, feel and finish, and it works perfectly. You get everything that EVOLUTION have always been great at with the added bonus of a perfectly designed and smoothly functioning “OS” that you can set up just the way YOU like it. The EVOLUTION GHOST 3.0 VIPER M is exceptionally well-priced for what it offers, which means for what you’re getting is extremely good value for money.
My advice? If you’re a player looking for a high-performance, ready-to-use AEG, one that is durable yet lightweight, and you’re in the market for a thoroughly and beautifully modern AR which is most definitely NOT like any of the others out there, then definitely check out the EVOLUTION GHOST 3.0 VIPER M!
My thanks go to EVOLUTION AIRSOFT for providing the GHOST 3.0 for testing and evaluation, and to the guys at URBAN AIRSOFT for facilitating the delivery. Pay www.urbanairsoftuk. com a visit to check out the latest models from EVOLUTION - and a whole lot more airsoft goodness! AA
“THE GHOST IS AN IMPRESSIVE CARBINE, AND ON AN 11.1V LIPO IT REALLY DOES CRACK AWAY! BEAR IN MIND THAT MANY AIRSOFT GAMES THESE DAYS WILL HAVE STRICT AMMO LIMITS AND YOU’RE GOING TO WANT TO STICK TO SEMI-AUTO; I MENTION THIS AS THE GHOST COMES WITH THAT EXCELLENT MATRIXX 140 BB MIDCAP WHICH FEEDS ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESSLY”
“AS I EXPECTED, THIS IS A FIRST RATE AEG IN TERMS OF ITS UNIQUE LOOK, FEEL AND FINISH, AND IT WORKS PERFECTLY. YOU GET EVERYTHING THAT EVOLUTION HAVE ALWAYS BEEN GREAT AT WITH THE ADDED BONUS OF A PERFECTLY DESIGNED AND SMOOTHLY FUNCTIONING “OS” THAT YOU CAN SET UP JUST THE WAY YOU LIKE IT!”
A CLEAR VISION
ACQUIRING AND MAINTAINING GOOD EYE PROTECTION HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE FIRST THING MANY OF US IN THE OLD GUARD WILL IMPRESS UPON ANY NEW PLAYER; YOU ONLY GET ONE SET OF EYES, AND THEY CAN’T BE REPLACED, UNLIKE TEETH, AS STEWBACCA WELL KNOWS! WITH THAT IN MIND HE’S BEEN ON A MISSION TO BRING THAT MESSAGE TO PLAYERS IN GENERAL, LEADING HIM TO KAM TACT, A TAIWANESE DOMESTIC SPECIALIST IN MATERIALS SCIENCE AND APPLICATION BASED IN TAIPEI WHO ARE GAINING TRACTION WITH LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND MILITARY USERS, AS WELL AS MANY RECREATIONAL SHOOTERS…
Having been at this nearly two decades at this point, I’ve not only seen some *very* close calls in terms of almost getting shot in the eye, or having BBs rebound off the surroundings or eye pro itself and into the eyes, as well as having a few near misses myself and hearing about others within the community losing eyes in unfortunate incidents.
I always try and impress upon anyone I play alongside, and especially those I personally introduce to the shooting sports, the importance of good quality eye protection, long before any ideas about ‘What am bestest gnu?’ (for you UK airsoft forum veterans) I make sure people are covering the essentials in terms of personal protective equipment.
Losing teeth is not fun, as I know myself, and having good boots with proper ankle support is also important… Again, ask me how I know…
Thankfully I have always had better luck with eye protection from the outset, having worked in industrial environments from an early age I’ve had it drilled into me (no pun intended!) about proper PPE in places where things might fly at you…and your eyes.
In the UK I quickly gravitated towards ESS ICE 2.4s after a few years of play and trying different things, and these remained my standard go-to even out here in Taiwan until I got introduced to KAM TACT and their products, which many of team Taiji make use of, as well as some of them and our lady in country ‘Military’ Anny cooperating with them for trade show work.
With that in mind, Anny and I made time to go and visit KAM, or Kuni Applied Materials, in their Sanchong office in the west end of Taipei/New Taipei City to have a sit down and catch up with their latest goings on.
KM is headed-up by Ricky Zhang, a graduate of Texas A&M University and specialist in chemical engineering, whose previous work included over a decade working with GE in advanced materials
applications and promotion of their power generation systems prior to his moving into the automotive sector and dealing with the earliest applications of polymers in vehicle light fittings.
These changes in materials obviously offered massive weight savings over more traditional lensmatic glass fixtures, always a key consideration for vehicles and fuel efficiency, as well as rust imperviousness over metal components. But they also came with their own challenges, such as heat tolerance given the power output of the lights (the likes of fog light reflectors and lenses in particular have to deal with intense light and heat without deforming) as any change in shape would change the focus of the output light beams.
The arrival of the recession in Japan forced the hand of many industries to look inward and ‘cut the fat’ or flatten the hierarchy in terms of company structures as well as highlighting the need for diversification on the part of Taiwanese industry to avoid such dependence on their Japanese automotive market share.
With GE shifting their focus away from China and the Middle East, they eventually wound down Ricky’s entire department and he found himself out of a job in 2015.
All of these experiences lead him to found KAM TACT a month later, and he began looking into the use of plastics in vehicle roofing applications, again with transparency and weight reduction aspects in mind; with hundreds of kilograms of polymers already being made use of in vehicles as it is, further savings could be made as well as allowing for integration of pigments, functional materials or surface coatings at the moulding or manufacture stage rather than upon installation or completion. However, investment in this path was likewise wound down in the end and another avenue was closed.
Moving into the firearms and adjacent realm, KAM TACT then focused on the production of
“I HAVE ALWAYS HAD BETTER LUCK WITH EYE PROTECTION FROM THE OUTSET, HAVING WORKED IN INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENTS FROM AN EARLY AGE I’VE HAD IT DRILLED INTO ME (NO PUN INTENDED!) ABOUT PROPER PPE IN PLACES WHERE THINGS MIGHT FLY AT YOU…AND YOUR EYES”
hybrid polymer components for real firearms, producing various AR & AK magazines as well as Glock frames which were able to retain 85% or more of their structural strength even in -40 degree environments.
PRODUCT FOCUSSED
In the last twenty-five years Taiwan has become a powerhouse of glasses and general lens manufacturing, with many recognisable names having their frames and glass or polycarbonate lenses being OEM produced in Taiwan, with many worldwide taking an increasing concern as to where their products originate, branding and leveraging of Taiwan’s good standing and reputation as well as high technical capabilities and production quality (especially with the growth of Chinese copycats and their continued undercutting and race to the bottom with knock off or direct imitation products), especially when it comes to eye pro.
Thus KAM TACT sought to carve out a long-term and trusted branding within this growing industry space, focusing on the resilience and longevity of their individual products as well as their name. As a result of this they have developed a following even among those who already have eyewear solutions but are otherwise intrigued as to what new products KAM TACT are working on given
their expertise.
KAM TACT’s eye protection solutions derived some inspiration from Armalite rifles, focusing on great longer term modularity, innovation with materials solutions, and developing an instantly recognisable profile and aesthetic as well as becoming a trusted industry standard.
The common frame geometry allows for an array of nine different lens types to be installed as well as coming in a vast range of colours, and customisable appearances, giving a very open ended or individualised potential for end users within their ecosystem. Similarly, larger contracts can be covered with a standardised frame and lens selection, decals or emblems for particular units or national flags on the frame edges or indeed packs that include a toughened carry case that allows for an assembled eyepro pair as well as a few lenses in separator sheaths to keep them protected from scratches - giving the end user options to suit different environments or mission profiles.
Some of the lenses make use of specialist pigmentation or treatments such as their earlier cadmium/amber style which are fairly common in the industry and help increase clarity or attention to details or movement in lower light or changing environments, while their more recent ‘cats eyes’ will give a similar or better performance in terms of light gathering and focus, without the typical associated eye strain and general fatigue some of the earlier amber lenses.
Newer products in the works look towards effective protection, not just ballistically but from laser radiation for those who work in industrial or military environments where prolonged laser exposure is a concern.
Other applications look to make use of PEEK or similar hardwearing and high-strength industrial polymers for fasteners to replace metallic ones which are more susceptible to corrosion in marine environments, thereby greatly reducing
“KAM TACT’S EYE PROTECTION SOLUTIONS DERIVED SOME INSPIRATION FROM THE ARMALITE RIFLES, FOCUSING ON GREAT LONGER TERM MODULARITY, INNOVATION WITH MATERIALS SOLUTIONS, AND DEVELOPING AN INSTANTLY RECOGNISABLE PROFILE AND AESTHETIC AS WELL AS BECOMING A TRUSTED INDUSTRY STANDARD”
expensive and time consuming or difficult to effect maintenance in hard to reach or dangerous environments.
Once again, KAM TACT will be joining the upcoming bi-annual TADTE defence expo in Taipei, showcasing their latest efforts not only in eyepro, but in ballistic protection and military applications, with EOD-grade over shields which clip straight to the front of their standard ballistic glasses and offer a more accessible and less cumbersome option, which is more likely to get used compared to the extremely restrictive and heavy full face shield and helmet setups. This gives operators an in between of minimal and maximum protection, to give something more practical and easily deployable to at least increase their eye protection.
Ventures into modular helmet or body armour offerings join the developments on previous polymer replacement ideas for firearms, this time focusing on polymer cased ammunition for launchers in particular, as well as fire
suppressant systems for civilian firefighting use, as well as inflatable lighting solutions for camping that are even long term submersible!
NEW DIRECTIONS
Another product of interest we were shown was a polymer modernisation chassis kit for the venerable M14 system; these are still prevalent in the reserve armouries of Taiwan’s armed forces given their previous employment in the earlier years of the RoC’s military following their relocation to Taiwan.
These kits offer a much lighter weight overall system as well as the usual ‘mod-cons’ such as adjustable and side folding stock, optics mounting, M-LOK slotted handguards and even AR pistol grip compatibility, giving potential for new life in otherwise mothballed full-power battle rifles in a similar fashion to the US’ EBR kits, but in a much more readily carried fashion, should the need arise.
Efforts are already underway to spread the brand and enter the US market more directly with the help of their established man in country Stan Liu, who’s now an established airsoft and real steel IDPA shooter (in fact I covered his and his family exploits in Taiwan’s IDPA scene way back in Issue 120 prior to him and his family resettling in Virginia in the intervening years!).
With his efforts the hope is to establish a full US wing of the company, while their Sanchong office will also look to convert their facility into a more store-front-style layout to allow direct sales of their own products as well as potentially 5.11 clothing or equipment to broaden their domestic market and direct customer interface.
Clearly there’s a lot still to come from KAM TACT and they have a clear vision of their direction, diversification and future in the industry. Many thanks to Ricky for taking the time to talk with Anny and I to demonstrate and explain the wealth of his product range. AA
“SOME OF THE LENSES MAKE USE OF SPECIALIST PIGMENTATION OR TREATMENTS SUCH AS THEIR EARLIER CADMIUM/AMBER STYLE ...WHILE THEIR MORE RECENT ‘CATS EYES’ WILL GIVE A SIMILAR OR BETTER PERFORMANCE IN TERMS OF LIGHT GATHERING AND FOCUS”
UNIVERSAL FOR THE WIN!
REGULARS WILL KNOW THAT AT AIRSOFT ACTION WE’RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR UNIQUE, INTERESTING BUT ABOVE ALL, PERFORMING GEAR-HAULING SOLUTIONS, AND SOMETIMES THE “OLD SKOOL IS THE BEST SKOOL”, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES WITH A THOROUGHLY MODERN TWIST! DAN BRINGS NEWS OF A TOTALLY NEW UNIVERSAL MAGAZINE-CARRYING SOLUTION COURTESY OF KOMMANDO STORE. SO SAY HELLO TO OUR LATEST LITTLE FRIENDS, “PATTERN 84” POUCHES!
It’s a tale as old as time; you’ve got your requisite AR/M4, your AK, maybe an MP5, and now you’ve just added a new SCAR 17 to the mix. Excited as you are for the new rifle added to your collection, you glumly realize those AK and SCAR mags don’t quite fit your typical AR/M4 pouches!
Now you’re faced with the logistics of buying new magazine pouches to fit everything properly… except, you also hate weaving MOLLE, and the idea of swapping magazine pouches every time you change platforms is distinctly unappealing.
Of course, it would be more expedient to simply set up individual load-carriage solutions for each platform so you can grab and go with convenience… Red-eyed and with a Red Bull percolating in your veins, you spend countless late nights navigating websites, the shopping carts staring immutably back at you with an unsympathetic figure above the checkout button. This all seems markedly complicated now. *sigh* Airsofter problems, indeed.
Enter the “universal” magazine pouch, a proverbial jack-of-all-trades and master of none solution to your pouch woes!
As concepts go, this has been established for many years now, and indeed, some pouches, such as the G-Code Scorpion and HSGI TACO, have managed to pull off a bit of universality relatively well. But what if you want to carry more magazines than what these single-celled variants allow? That’s when you find your pool of options dwindling rather dramatically. I can remember ye olden times when HSGI dominated in this spectrum with their universal magazine pouch, capable of housing 3x AR/M4 mags, or 2x AK mags, or 2x 7.62mm pattern.
Said pouch is now long since discontinued and lost to time. Regrettably, I had sold my collection of these after a years-long segue where I traded sustainment for minimalism, but I’ve come full circle now, stacking mags and frags like it’s going out of style! To quote one our field owners service-time anecdotes: “Nobody ever regrets carrying more magazines.”
“EXCITED AS YOU ARE FOR THE NEW RIFLE ADDED TO YOUR COLLECTION, YOU GLUMLY REALIZE THOSE AK AND SCAR MAGS DON’T QUITE FIT YOUR TYPICAL AR/ M4 POUCHES. NOW YOU’RE FACED WITH THE LOGISTICS OF BUYING NEW MAGAZINE POUCHES TO FIT EVERYTHING PROPERLY…”
“PATTERN 84”, SAY WHAT?
Whilst again doing much late night browsing for a completely unrelated topic, I discovered the Kommando Store “Pattern 84” pouches by way of a YouTube mention. This reignited my interest in pursuing the idea of a quality universal magazine pouch that could house more than a single magazine.
The “Pattern 84” name technically encompasses several product offerings, including chest rigs and placards. The name itself derives its inspiration from the vintage South African Pattern 83 chest rig, but with some modern improvements thrown in to bring it into the 21st century. More specifically with this review, I am discussing the individual MOLLE-mountable magazine pouches.
These are manufactured from heavy duty 1000D NIR compliant Cordura, which is a bit of an anachronism amongst a tactical industry that has largely shifted to producing everything from lighter 500D Cordura.
The pouch features laser-cut MOLLE straps and columns, drainage holes, oversized flaps, copious bartacks and hook and loop construction. It’s described as being “bombproof” and I will attest that the quality of construction certainly is top notch and therefore lends credibility to that claim.
One of the features I really love is the tip of the flap has a cylindrical rubber insert sewn in. This provides great tactile feel as well as more of a “grip” for your fingers when you’re reaching for the flap.
Per Kommando Store’s website, these are advertised to fit up to:
• 3x AR/M4 (2 is recommended, but 3 can be pulled off).
• 2x AK 47/74 pattern
• 2x AR10 / FAL / SCAR 17
• Various types of pistol-caliber-carbine mags
• As well, taller 40-round style AUG and P-MAG’s, Surefire D60’s, etc.
That out of the way, does this magazine pouch hold up to the “universal” moniker? Well… yes and yes, but with some concessions. At its core, this is still an AR-centric magazine pouch, which is to say, it will of course work best with AR/ M4 pattern magazines and everything else is a secondary consideration.
It gets a little more nitty-gritty than that, so let me explain a bit further...
Around the middle of the pouch is a heavyduty elastic band. This serves a two-fold function of both passively retaining the magazines when the flap is lifted, but also to collapse the pouch when it’s empty. I’ve never really wondered why my pouches couldn’t collapse to a smaller state when empty (rather the inverse, I wish they’d stay open to make loading them easier), so this is of dubious value to me.
Back to the elastic though… this works well enough with smooth sided STANAG’s, albeit you will have more enjoyment if you use Ranger Plates or cords on your mags. With 2x AR/M4 magazines with Ranger Plates, extraction and insertion is relatively easy. If you wanted to overstuff the pouch with 3x P-MAG’s or STANAG’s, the elastic
“THE “PATTERN 84” NAME TECHNICALLY ENCOMPASSES SEVERAL PRODUCT OFFERINGS, INCLUDING CHEST RIGS AND PLACARDS. THE NAME ITSELF DERIVES ITS INSPIRATION FROM THE VINTAGE SOUTH AFRICAN PATTERN 83 CHEST RIG, BUT WITH SOME MODERN IMPROVEMENTS THROWN IN TO BRING IT INTO THE 21ST CENTURY”
grips tight enough that you can slip your fingers off the mag base while trying to extract it. Again, ranger pulls are almost a necessity if you keep the elastic.
Unfortunately, this elastic band also proves to be a bit more of a curse with other magazines types.
As one example, the elastic is so strong that it will require two hands to overcome it and insert a second SCAR 17 magazine into the pouch.
For us AK guys, you’re going to immediately notice that it catches on the metal locking lugs, making for some painfully slow reloads.
I tried carrying my magazines in different orientations to see if maybe there wasn’t some “One weird trick!” that remedied the issue. I tried ‘rounds’ facing front, rounds down, rounds up, forward, reversed, etc. Some positions were actually worse than others, and if you didn’t have the magazines stacked just so and drew the wrong one, you’d also rip the second magazine straight out along with it. Anecdotally, I had ordered these primarily because I wanted a good double-stack AK magazine pouch foremost, so it was rather disappointing that the one thing I intended them for, they were in fact the worst at.
LOADED UP
I decided to try loading up the pouches to maximum capacity for a week and see if that helped to break in the elastic and make extraction a smoother process. This seemed to have very marginal effect on the process, however, and they still remained as tight as could be.
After I realized this would be a perpetual problem, I considered returning them and trying something else. Instead, I opted to take a razor blade and slice the elastic off the pouch… and boy, what a remarkable difference that made! AK, SCAR, even triple-stuffed AR/M4’s all slide in and out with beautiful ease now. More importantly, I am no longer fighting the pouch, but
“IF
making it work for me. The only sacrifice (if you consider it one) is that it is now too loose for SMG magazines. Granted, I have long since concluded that the best pouch for SMG mags is an actual SMG magazine pouch, so I don’t really hold that against my modifications or the pouch itself.
The other thing I wasn’t terribly keen on was the laser-cut MOLLE strap. These work well enough, but I find MALICE clips to be more my style and they tend to hold the pouch tighter to whatever it’s mounted on too. Switching to MALICE also
THERE IS A SMALL LESSON HERE, IT WOULD BE THIS; DON’T BE AFRAID TO MODIFY YOUR GEAR IF IT’S JUST NOT WORKING OUT FOR YOU. ALL IN ALL, THIS IS AN EXCELLENT AND VERY-WELL-BUILT POUCH, BUT PERHAPS LACKING A FEW CHANGES THAT WOULD ELEVATE IT INTO TRUE UNIVERSAL GREATNESS”
gave me some option to physically raise the pouch higher on my chest rig, whereas before it sat lower than I cared for.
MALICE clips can be woven into the existing framework and the laser cut straps tucked in behind the clip if you don’t wish to cut them off. This preserves the option to use either style of mounting down the road.
With these small changes in mind, I suppose if I were to wish for a “Gen II” version of this pouch, it would be that Kommando Store omit the heavy elastic band and replace it with a loop of shock cord and a cord lock. This would allow the end user to adjust for the amount of tension they want on the magazines, or let it out entirely. I have since sourced the materials and modified my pouches to have this feature and can confirm that it works well.
If there is a small lesson here, it would be this: don’t be afraid to modify your gear if it’s just not working out for you. All in all, this is an excellent and very-well-built pouch, but perhaps lacking a few changes that would elevate it into true universal greatness. I would still recommend it as a hard-use option for the player who fields a lot of different platforms that all use different magazines and especially for the airsofter who wants to carry more magazines on their person without consuming more real estate on their plate carrier, vest, or LBE…the caveat
being that you may need to modify it to make it work better for you!
These pouches were purchased from my own funds and were not provided nor arranged for review by Kommando Store. AA
RED CELL KING OF THE HILL
ANOTHER MONTH AND ANOTHER UPDATE FROM THE AA RED CELL TESTING TEAM HITS THE “HOME RUN”! THIS TIME THE GUYS ARE LOOKING BACK AT WHAT IS UNDOUBTEDLY ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR AREAS OF THE GLOBAL AIRSOFT ARMOURY AS THEY DELVE DEEP INTO ALL THINGS MID-LENGTH AR AEG AND UPDATE THIS FOR THE FINAL TIME BEFORE WE BRING IN OUR “COMPENDIUM” OF TESTING RESULTS IN 2026! AS ALWAYS, BILL LEADS OFF…
Ibelieve that it’s beyond doubt that if you visit and airsoft site or field just about anywhere in the world you’re going to find an array of midlength “AR/M4” AEGs dominating what’s in the hands of players, and indeed for virtually every AEG manufacturer out there the AR AEG is quite simply “King of the Hill” and the number of units sold globally must now number in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions by now!
I think I wouldn’t be far off if I said that virtually every airsofter I know, and most certainly the members of the AA Legion and Red Cell owns (or has owned) at least one mid-length AR during their airsoft life… apart from, it would appear, Rich!
For my own part there have been many, many AR AEGs over the many, many years I’ve been playing and shooting airsoft platforms, and although many of them have been given away, sold on, or consigned to the great parts box in the sky, others are still with me and have become firm friends although these days the lure of the GBBR means that most of my AEGs languish in the armoury…
That’s not to say that I shun an AR AEG these days, but my forays into the dark side of “OPFOR Life” has taken me down another route, so many of my more recent AEG purchases have been REDFOR-related… but by no means all, as the lure of the “modern AR” with all the bells and whistles is still very appealing to me, and I genuinely believe that in their heart of hearts that this is true for most of us… apart from Rich that is!
But what of the test pool, the models that we’ve had “in house”? Thankfully this has continued to grow, and thanks to the members of The Cell who now have a number of the test models to work with on a regular basis, the breadth of our testing and the results generated have become much broader as we’ve progressed over the last few years.
This time though we’ve once again honed in
on a couple of specific models I’ll state again that all the models shown are now at a similar level in terms of BB-count, with even the newer models having been hammered… in fact, I would say that we’ve been less forgiving to the newer models as we’ve had to run them shockingly hard to get them on par, but all are still working as they should.
Some of the models are now serious “veterans” as we looked at them first way back in ISSUE 125, and apart from a couple that have been used in specific projects, all have just undergone simple, basic maintenance to keep them rockin’. As always though, we’ve continued to add new models along the way, keeping this category right up to date with some of the very latest AEG releases where manufacturers have been kind (or silly!) enough to supply one for long-term abuse!
Although the guys are really getting to grips with models that they now hold in their own armouries this time, what I can tell you is that AEG models from ARES, BOLT, CYMA, EVOLUTION, SPECNA ARMS, G&G, DOUBLE EAGLE, EMG, KWA, ICS, VFC, HUNTSMAN, ROSSI, NUPROL, VFC, and DOUBLE EAGLE have all been put through their paces and not found wanting so far, and that is completely commendable!
Enough from me for now though, and I’ll hand things over to The Cell…
TEAM TALK
BRUNO: The Ares Octoarms KM13, really solid I’ve gotta say! But like always, about ARES I don’t like the fact that I need a FCU controller to be able to manage the MOSFET, although overall construction is super solid like I said before; there’s absolutely no wobbles and out of the box it shoots great!
I’d say it is now way too expensive for what it offers, for example against the Double Eagle M904 which is amazing in performance and super
“IT’S BEYOND DOUBT THAT IF YOU VISIT AND AIRSOFT SITE OR FIELD JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD YOU’RE GOING TO FIND AN ARRAY OF MID-LENGTH “AR/ M4” AEGS DOMINATING WHAT’S IN THE HANDS OF PLAYERS, AND INDEED FOR VIRTUALLY EVERY AEG MANUFACTURER OUT THERE THE AR AEG IS QUITE SIMPLY “KING OF THE HILL””
inexpensive… also you don’t need an external FCU controller… but I still have it, and I still enjoy shooting it, so that can’t be bad, can it?
DAN: Amongst several of KWA’s current lineup of AEG’s, their very popular Ronin T10 was recently updated to use KWA’s in-house designed Electronic Trigger Unit. This change also marked a discontinuation of all non-ETU versions as well, and moving forward the T10 will only be offered bundled with their ETU.
Taking a few cues from the venerable Gate TITAN, KWA’s ETU uses optical sensors to detect gear cycle, selector and trigger movement. As they go, the feature set is relatively pared down, but it covers the bases of what most players would actually use. Namely, you have precocking, adjustable trigger sensitivity, trigger equalizer, burst mode from 2 to 5 round burst, semi-auto lock, and brushless motor mode. Programming is done through a series of trigger pulls, so changes can be done “on the fly” and in the field.
The ETU does not preclude a change or alteration to the gearbox shell itself, so users wishing to swap out to a more feature-packed TITAN can still do so. With exception to the beta test unit I was given to hammer on, I have noted that the KWA ETU is very reliable. In my little macrocosm of the Airsoft tech world, I have not received or heard of any failures since it hit the market. Indeed, the construction quality is very nice, and I’d place it amongst the best factory OEM’d ETU’s I’ve seen to date. My one and only quibble is that they modded the gearbox shell to allow for a lot more trigger travel. In my experience, most players will actually want *less* travel and that is why adjustable triggers remain highly popular.
You can still accomplish a reduction in travel with an aftermarket trigger, of course, but using the stock KWA trigger you might notice there’s a lot of empty space behind your programmed firing point.
“THANKS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CELL WHO NOW HAVE A NUMBER OF THE TEST MODELS TO WORK WITH ON A REGULAR BASIS, THE BREADTH OF OUR TESTING AND THE RESULTS GENERATED HAVE BECOME MUCH BROADER AS WE’VE PROGRESSED OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS”
ARES OCTARMS AMOEBA PRO KM13
Price: iro UK390.00
Age: Three Years
Weight: 2467g
Length: 845mm/925mm
Magazine Capacity: 300, will accept all STANAG/AR
Cold Chrono: 0.83 Joule/300fps
Hot Chrono: 0.78 Joule/290fps
Taclite Compatibility: KeyMod Rail
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.iwholesales.co.uk
BOLT B4 LRP
Price: iro UK£400.00
Age: Four Years
Weight: 3100g
Length: 855mm/945mm
Magazine Capacity: 300 BBs
Cold Chrono: 0.93 Joule/318fps
Hot Chrono: 0.92 Joule/315fps
Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.nuprol.com
CYMA CM.097 UPGRADED VERSION
Price: iro UK£165.00
Age: Four Years
Weight: 2900g
Length: 845mm/930 mm
Magazine Capacity: 160 BBs
Cold Chrono: 109 Joule/344fps
Hot Chrono: 1.09 Joule/344fps
Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.taiwangun.com
EVOLUTION GHOST L EMR CARBONTECH
Price: iro UK£295.00
Age: Three Years
Weight: 2,520g
Length: 740mm/830mm
Magazine Capacity: 120 BBs
Cold Chrono: 0.95 Joule/320fps
Hot Chrono: 0.92 Joule/315fps
Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK Rail
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: store.evolutioninternational.it
SPECNA ARMS SA-E06 EDGE 2.0
Price: iro UK£223.00
Age: Four Years
Weight: 2640g
Length: 750mm/835mm
Magazine Capacity: 2 x 125 BBs
Cold Chrono: 1.07 Joule/340fps
Hot Chrono: 1.04 Joule/335fps
Taclite Compatibility: URX / RIS 22mm Rail
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.gunfire.com
piston design.
I suspect there is more in the pipeline (and I do know of one notable item that I am not at liberty to disclose yet) but we likely will see some other incremental upgrades filtering in as time goes on. As someone who has spent most of my teching career on upgrading countless KWA recoils, I still maintain they have the best-in-class felt recoil and certainly are the most robust of the recoil systems when stacked up against Tokyo Marui and BOLT.
In truth, the only thing we’re still lacking for this system is an ETU that will interface with the AEG 3.0 gearbox and which maintains the mechanical cut-off features. This genuinely seems to just be reticence on the part of the ETU manufacturers as opposed to any physical limitation or lack of demand by the end users - on that latter note, us KWA users have been clamouring for this for years now! But, as the Rolling Stones oft relate… “You can’t always get what you want!”
BEN: Ah, the KWA T10, now what a lovely bit of kit this is! It still has in my opinion one of the best electric recoil feedbacks you will come across for the price you pay that you can’t argue with!
There was some issues though; when these first came out it was with with bearing cases cracking and not shimmed as well as they could have been, but as in any case there’s always room for improvement and I believe now this problem has been solved as I’ve not heard any issues since the their release.
The T10 feels good in the hands and sits rather comfortably even in my T-Rex arms; KWA have always released a good quality platform and the T10 stands out among the others because of its recoil system and in that it has that modern look that most tend to go for. I’ve not used mine for a little while but I’m feeling that itch once again and it’s definitely lacking some love and furniture for that extra kinkiness... great, more money to spend lol, but this saucy number is worth it. If there’s
anything that I have to put a negative on... it’s that ugly looking butt stock it comes with… get rid of it lol!
BOYCIE: I’ve had the T10 since it came out all that time ago… Over the years I have used the T10 as a base for a number of builds and it was and still is my go to when anyone asks about a recoil feedback rifle.
The KWA T10 for me is great, it can take a lot of “upgrade” parts that are generic to other V2 gearbox-powered AEGs, which means that you’re not restricted to a few proprietary parts.
The T10 was used as the base for a really special rifle that myself and Dan built for our good friend Trampas. We’d made an exact replica of one of his RS Noveske rifles (the only difference being the colour) that he now uses for training and demonstrations.
I still have two builds based on the T10 and two uppers which can quickly be swapped out, with minimal fuss, depending on what site I’m going to be playing at. There are plans afoot for a <Redacted> build in the not too distant future, this will again be based off the T10 platform.
DAN: The G&G TR16 556WH (G2) has now been an established staple in G&G’s product lineup for close to a decade now. Starting with the G2 gearbox, this marked a dramatic upgrade from older TR16’s which were before little better than a basic Combat Machine model. The G2 gearbox hosts a slew of changes inside and out: the shell has been massively reinforced and now supports ambidextrous selector switches, quick-changespring guides, bolt lock and a magazine cut-off feature.
Internally, G&G have thrown many components through the CNC mill, and now you have a CNC O-ring air nozzle, CNC’d cylinder head and gearsthough the bevel gear is still sintered. Early TR16’s often came equipped with G&G’s old polymer piston, but later on G&G updated to a full metal rack version, and currently all new production will
“THE T10 FEELS GOOD IN THE HANDS AND SITS RATHER COMFORTABLY EVEN IN MY T-REX ARMS; KWA HAVE ALWAYS RELEASED A GOOD QUALITY PLATFORM AND THE T10 STANDS OUT AMONG THE OTHERS BECAUSE OF ITS RECOIL SYSTEM AND IN THAT IT HAS THAT MODERN LOOK THAT MOST TEND TO GO FOR”
G&G TR16 MBR 556WH (G2)
Price: iro UK£330.00
Age: Four Years
Weight: 2900g
Length: 910mm/1000mm
Magazine Capacity: 90 BBs
Cold Chrono: 1.01 Joule/330fps
Hot Chrono: 1.01 Joule/330fps
Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.nuprol.com
DOUBLE EAGLE M904A FCS
Price: iro UK£106.00
Age: Four Years
Weight: 2140g
Length: 730mm/810mm
Magazine Capacity: 300 BBs
Cold Chrono: 1.04 Joule/335fps (after spring change)
Hot Chrono: 1.04 Joule/335fps (after spring change)
Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK Rail
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.taiwangun.com
EMG NOVESKE INFIDEL
Price: iro UK£340.00
Age: Five Years
Weight: 2450g
Length: 830mm/910mm
Magazine Capacity: 450 BBs
Cold Chrono: 1.07 Joule/340fps
Hot Chrono: 1.07 Joule/340fps
Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK Rail
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.emgarms.com
KWA T10 3.0
Price: iro UK£400.00
Age: Three Years
Weight: 2950g
Length: 742mm/812mm
Magazine Capacity: 120 BBs
Cold Chrono: 1.13 Joule/350fps
Hot Chrono: 1.1 Joule/345fps
Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK Rail
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.iwholesales.co.uk
ICS KOMODO 3S LIMITED EDITION
Price: iro UK£460.00
Age: Four Years
Weight: 3160g
Length: 840mm/935mm
Magazine Capacity: 300 BBs
Cold Chrono: 0.98 Joule/325fps
Hot Chrono: 0.95 Joule/321fps
Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.fire-support.co.uk
be sporting the better piston design. G&G also equipped the G2 gearbox with their signature ETU MOSFET, which operates off of microswitches in lieu of traditional trigger contacts. And of course, the popular IFRIT 25K Neodymium motor powers everything.
TR16’s also feature G&G’s excellent rotarystyle hop-up chamber; over the years, I have seen both brass and nickel-plated brass barrels used. I believe the brass versions were 6.08 diameter, whereas the nickel-plated were 6.03 diameter. Similarly, I have seen both the traditional softer green bucking used as well as the harder blue version with the split-style contact patch. I am not sure if the decision of using one or the other are based off region of export as the blue bucking is often described as a “cold weather” bucking, or simply using what is on hand. My opinion is that the green bucking is often the better of the two, however.
For the price point and features set, I feel that the TR16 is excellent value and genuinely is well and ready to be skirmished with out of the box. The barrel length is longer than your average carbine setup, so they also make a suitable host for a DMR / SPR style of build too. The full length MLOK rail has plenty of space for both your hand and any manner of attachments you wish you throw at it. These do feel a bit heavier than some comparable models from other brands, which is attributable to the materially dense material the billet-style receivers and gearbox are made from. That being said, it doesn’t feel sluggish in the hands as something like the Krytac LVOA does. With respect to upgrades, very little realistically needs to be done here; but you can certainly improve on the ETU and motor. The G2 gearbox can be a bit of a hindrance to the novice tech, as modifications are necessary to fit an aftermarket ETU and gear ratios. On that latter point, G&G uses a shorter spur gear shaft, so when changing gears or gear ratios, it is necessary to take one
or the other to the mill or lathe to make it fit. Fitting an ETU is a little easier as there is less material to remove and you can accomplish this with a dremel. And for the sake of expense and convenience, one should simply retain the stock spur and sector, swap out the bevel, and select a suitable brushless motor to make it sing.
BILL
moment, one of the more recent additions to the test pool has been the budget-friendly CM16 BATTO, and for what is essentially an
AEG, I have to say it carries on the tradition of the original Combat Machines brilliantly! relative newcomers to airsoft, the has Gen II G&G it comes equipped with a true quick-change spring, which allows you to easily remove the spring and replace it, even without having to remove the stock. Otherwise internally the reliable, reinforced G&G gearbox, heat-treated gear
“ONE OF THE MORE RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE TEST POOL HAS BEEN THE BUDGETFRIENDLY CM16 BATTO, AND FOR WHAT IS ESSENTIALLY AN ENTRY-LEVEL, POLYMERBODIED AEG, I HAVE TO SAY IT CARRIES ON THE TRADITION OF THE ORIGINAL COMBAT MACHINES BRILLIANTLY!”
VFC BCM MCMR
Price: iro UK£500.00
Age: Four Years
Weight: 2158 g
Length: 728mm/802 mm
Magazine Capacity: 120 BBs
Cold Chrono: 1.07Joule/341fps (after spring change)
Hot Chrono: 1.35 Joule/382fps (original spring)
Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.vegaforce.com
ARES X-CLASS MODEL 9 EFCS
Price: iro UK£400.0
Age: Three Years
Weight: 2600g
Length: 690mm/770mm
Magazine Capacity: 140 BBs
Cold Chrono: 1.12 Joule/348fps
Hot Chrono: 1.12 Joule/348fps
Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.iwholesales.co.uk
SPECNA ARMS SA-E09 EDGE 2.0
Price: iro UK£215.00
Age: Three Years
Weight: 2640g
Length: 800mm/885mm
Magazine Capacity: 2 x 125 BBs
Cold Chrono: 0.99Joule/328fps
Hot Chrono: 0.99Joule/328fps
Taclite Compatibility: KeyMod
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.specnaarms.com
HUNTSMAN HMT16 (POLYMER)
Price: iro UK£190.00
Age: Two Years
Weight: 2080g
Length: 740mm/820mm
Magazine Capacity: 300 BBs
Cold Chrono: 1.05 Joule/337fps
Hot Chrono: 1.07Joule/341fps
Taclite Compatibility: Honeycomb/M-LOK
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.iwholesales.co.uk
ROSSI NEPTUNE 10.5” SAS
Price: iro UK£290.00
Age: Two Years
Weight: 2500g
Length: 740mm/810mm
Magazine Capacity: 2 x 120 BBs
Cold Chrono: 1.0 Joule/330fps
Hot Chrono: 1.05Joule/337fps
Taclite Compatibility: Partial Rail (L119-style)
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.davescustomairsoft.co.uk
set, and polycarbonate piston ensure consistent and robust performance, complemented by an 18,000rpm motor; additionally, the BATTO now includes 8mm steel bushings, upgrading the old brass bushings, to enhance durability and performance. For any of you who want to push things further, the BATTO I’m told is now fully compatible with Gate Titan and Aster MOSFETs, with the potential to offer even more efficiency and set-up choice.
So, overall? Robust external construction that looks great, simple and solid (yet easily upgradeable) internals, along with a 120BB magazine that fits and functions perfectly plus a host of other cool things straight from the box… the CM16 BATTO is a tight AEG package that shows that G&G have been “in the game” for nearly as long as I have, and this is 100% an example that when it comes to their Combat Machines, G&G have most definitely kept moving forward; I’d go as far as saying that this is probably their most assured “entry level AEG” release to date, and I am certain that the CM16 BATTO will please yet another generation of new (and indeed more experienced!) airsofters all over again.
STEWBACCA: Whilst I’m of course better known for my love of all things gas blowback since my move to Taiwan, I do sometimes have to return to the fold of battery operated platforms. In terms of ARs, I have had far less exposure to recent developments compared to AK & HK platforms.
However, I was very impressed with the VFC Taran Tactical Licensed TR1 AEG, the carbine featured in the John Wick franchise, based largely on a BCM platform with a more traditional CQB style wide bodied telescopic buttstock with plenty of internal space for storing batteries.
The lightweight but very sturdy construction makes for great handling in both outdoor and indoor usage; with the newer onboard electronics thanks to the cooperation with GATE their Aster
ETU gives a superb and responsive option even out to reasonable distances depending on the ammunition weight and HOP setup you make use of.
I have noticed the motor heating up a bit in the pistol grip, but I guess that’s something typical that I have just lost touch with due to not running AEGs as often, or indeed as hard as I did with the TR1 in CQB environments, running through multiple 250 BB Amarok fast-feeding AEG polymer magazines in the space of each game round. Evidently it makes for a fun gun to run, given that I usually wouldn’t even carry that much ammunition across a full loadout for my GBBRs.
The consistency out of the box was definitely noteworthy and aside from adjusting the HOP to lift the medium weight BBs I was making use of in reasonable volume, I had very little to do to set the TR1 AEG up and get it hosing out to 30-40m without much trouble. Of course it lacks included BUIS, so you’ll either have to supply those separately or just do what is likely the intended approach and stick your own choice of red dot or magnifying sight to suit your desired aesthetic or use case; I myself elected for a simple T1 style red dot which once zeroed worked excellently for the majority of my requirements, and the TR1 shot somewhat laser beam like and allowed me to lob BBs most of the length of the Linkou CQB space without much trouble.
So, yes it’s a ‘soulless AEG’ to this gas blowback addict, but it still manages to be very fun to use…for an electric gun, at least…
The KeyMOD is of course a bit dated or counterintuitive to modern modularity, but, that was a requirement for true to film appearance, I quite liked just running mine slick anyway given my ape arms and the general lightweight and ease of handling and pointing at everything and anything that got in my way!
DAN: Wrapped under the banner of the Evike Manufacturing Group (EMG), the Noveske
“I WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE VFC TARAN TACTICAL LICENSED TR1 AEG, THE CARBINE FEATURED IN THE JOHN WICK FRANCHISE, BASED LARGELY ON A BCM PLATFORM WITH A MORE TRADITIONAL CQB STYLE WIDE BODIED TELESCOPIC BUTTSTOCK WITH PLENTY OF INTERNAL SPACE FOR STORING BATTERIES”
DOUBLE BELL 041 L119A2
Price: iro UK£250.00
Age: One Year Eight Months
Weight: 2520g
Length: 680mm/760mm
Magazine Capacity: 1 x 300 BB, 1x 50 BB
Cold Chrono: 1.05Joule/337fps
Hot Chrono: 1.2 Joule/333fps
Taclite Compatibility: Partial Rail (L119-style)
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.iwholesales.co.uk
CYMA/EMG NOVESKE N4
Price: iro UK£350.00
Age: Three Years
Weight: 2620g
Length: 725mm/800mm
Magazine Capacity: 190 BBs
Cold Chrono: 1.0 Joule/330fps
Hot Chrono: 1.05Joule/337fps
Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: AA Legion Dan
VFC/EMG TTI TR-1 ULTRALIGHT
Price: iro UK£550.00
Age: Seven Months
Weight: 2487g
Length: 808mm/894mm
Magazine Capacity: 120 BBs
Cold Chrono: 1.0 Joule/330fps
Hot Chrono: 1.02Joule/332fps
Taclite Compatibility: Keymod
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.vegaforce.com
G&G CM16 BATTO
Price: iro UK£180.00
Age: One Year Four Months
Weight: 2300g
Length: 680mm/780mm
Magazine Capacity:
Cold Chrono: of 0.99 Joule/328fps
Hot Chrono: 1.01 Joule/331fps
Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.guay2.com
NUPROL DELTA PIONEER NOMAD 10”
Price: iro UK£120.00
Age: Six Months
Weight: 2060g
Length: 705mm/749mm
Magazine Capacity: 120 BBs
Cold Chrono: 0.99 Joule/327fps
Hot Chrono: 1.01Joule/330fps
Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK
Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW
Supplied By: www.nuprol.com
licensed N4 is actually manufactured by CYMA and has the distinction of being from their “Platinum” series of AEG’s. What you get is a rather well-executed replica, with deep Noveske trades and rollmarks across the distinctive receiver and handguards.
The N4 series are available in two lengths: 13.5” and 7”, which rest over a heavy-profile faux stainless steel barrel, as well as black, FDE and Noveske’s signature “Bazooka Green” colours. A Crane stock, Noveske’s “Fire Pig” amplifier and a licensed Lancer AW5M style magazine round out the externals. Not typically mentioned in the product literature, but the charging handle is also replicated after the Geissele Airborne design.
Being a CYMA Platinum product, you of course have their quick-change-spring gearbox design featuring an O-ring air nozzle, CNC double O-ring cylinder head, ported piston head, full metal rack piston, CNC’d 13:1 ratio gears, and 8mm bearings, as well as their Neodymium motor.
Between the gear ratio and motor, trigger response is above par, and it boasts a slightly higher ROF than traditional AEG setups that typically use 18:1 ratio gears and older 28 TPA ferrite motors. CYMA also outfit these with their bespoke ETU, which of any component found here, is the unfortunate weak point in the assembly. In my experience as an Airsoft tech, it’s not a matter of “if” but “when” the ETU will give up the ghost.
My advice is to run it until it dies, then plan on dropping in a better unit, such as a Gate TITAN, ASTER, Jefftron Leviathan or Perun V2 Hybrid. And given that, there is really little else one might need to change, save for maybe the spring to tune to their individual field velocity requirements. Bumping up to a brushless motor, will of course net you all the gains brushless provides. With respect to physical upgrade limitations, there aren’t really any here as everything contained within is standard Ver. 2 compatible.
While not quite as refined as some other rotary chambers on the market, CYMA’s is serviceable and with a simple bucking swap and/or an upgraded barrel, you can wring out plenty of range to compete with the best of them. All-in-all, I rate the EMG N4 Noveske amongst the best of the N4 replica’s you can buy based primarily off of the excellent bodywork and internal feature set. Your hardest decision will be picking the colour and length!
MIGUEL: The Specna Arms AR range has come a long way from their first ONE series. I guess they were a “scout” series to see if the brand had a place in the airsoft market, and when it was clear that the market had a place for another brand, Specna went full throttle!
So much that now we have SIX series, and some with GenII models, which are upgraded versions, with electronic trigger and brushless motors. So, in a few years, Specna went from a widely unknown brand, to a brand that we see in every game, on every field, and with ambassadors in multiple countries. In this case, we have the EDGE 2.0 models, their first bet in more “top-ofthe-line” replicas.
With the new ASTER mosfet from GATE, a brand-new gearbox, evolved quick spring change system, new trigger and hop-up. In my opinion, this was the real head turner for Specna Arms, an out of the box upgraded replica with a great price; it’s hard to find a similar price/quality ratio.
BILL: A couple from me to round out this particular report, and somewhat strangely they’re by no means the most expensive in the list!
To start with I’ll come back once again to my ROSSI “L119A2” which is still, gassers aside, one of my favourite platforms ever… although the KS-1/L403A1 GBBR will no doubt increasingly steal my heart when it comes to “Brit Kit”!
The ROSSI, though, has run without missing a beat since I first got it, and apart from a spring change (it’s become apparent that a few
“THE SPECNA ARMS AR RANGE HAS COME A LONG WAY FROM THEIR FIRST ONE SERIES. I GUESS THEY WERE A “SCOUT” SERIES TO SEE IF THE BRAND HAD A PLACE IN THE AIRSOFT MARKET, AND WHEN IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE MARKET HAD A PLACE FOR ANOTHER BRAND, SPECNA WENT FULL THROTTLE!”
run with all day long, and its compact form means that it’s easy to manipulate even in tight CQB-spaces. The finish is actually very good indeed for the price-point, although like the ROSSI this little AEG is just screaming out for a little rattlecan action! The constituent external parts are all metal where they should be, and are fitted together well; in fairness, externally the 041 is built like a tank!
Internally, things are pretty darn solid, if somewhat unremarkable; the 041 features a pretty standard motor, V2 gearbox, 8mm bearings, CNC aluminium air seal components, and a full steel-rack piston, giving reliability and consistency; these are coupled with a rotary hopup unit (accessed in the usual way and with a working bolt release) and “6.02±0.01” brass inner barrel (so, 6.03 then!), so everything is tidy offers good accuracy.
Thus far I’m satisfied with the performance given the price of the 041, and a few little tweaks (hop rubber and possibly the inner barrel) I feel could let you create a very accurate AEG indeed. There’s nothing wrong with the standard hop rubber per se as far as I can tell, but I just think I could get more from the 041… Like the ROSSI though, the thing that REALLY gets this AEG a bit of a “well done” from me is the quality, fit and
“YOU
And of course I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention an AEG that I’ve known from the very first models appeared on the market, and that’s the latest NUPROL DELTA PIONEER NOMAD 10”… yeah, I know, it’s a mouthful for what is essentially an very functional lo-drag and pared back design!
This, with its M-LOK style rail, flip-up sights, and QD sling points is a thoroughly modernlooking carbine, and the only thing that I’ve changed so far is the older-style CRANE for a CTR-style.
Internally you get a V2, alloy-shell gearbox, Gen II 18:1 steel gears, 8mm bushings and a quick change spring system. The outer barrel is all threaded 14mm CCW, and the inner barrel is a 6.03mm tightbore with a rotary hop unit and 50° hop rubber as standard, and everything is driven along by a 21,000 RPM high torque motor. There’s nothing earth-shattering or ground-breaking internally, just good, durable performance parts that let you maintain a good rate of fire with a crisp trigger response, and good accuracy.
Now you might think that the new NUPROL AEGs are purely for “new players”, and any of the new models would certainly make a great first AEG for anyone, but I’d say you’d be totally wrong if you discount it for that reason… go and shoot one at your local store, you’ll see what I mean! AA
MIGHT THINK THAT THE NEW NUPROL AEGS ARE PURELY FOR “NEW PLAYERS”, AND ANY OF THE NEW MODELS WOULD CERTAINLY MAKE A GREAT FIRST AEG FOR ANYONE, BUT I’D SAY YOU’D BE TOTALLY WRONG IF YOU DISCOUNT IT FOR THAT REASON… GO AND SHOOT ONE AT YOUR LOCAL STORE, YOU’LL SEE WHAT I MEAN!”
Red
GAME YOU WANT!
BACK IN ISSUE 163 BILL INTRODUCED US TO THE CONCEPT OF “THE AIRSOFTER WORLD GAMES”, AND WITH OVER A YEAR OF GAMES AND ORGANISATION HE RETURNS AGAIN TO SPEAK WITH THE MAN BEHIND THINGS, ROB (AKA VERAGE AIRSOFT), TO SEE HOW THE GAMES HAVE PROGRESSED AND HOW THINGS CONTINUE TO ROLL OUT!
It’s always a great pleasure to speak to airsoft friends around the world and hear their stories about how they are meaningfully impacting not just on their local scene, but in a wider context; I, and AIRSOFT ACTION, have continued to support the AIRSOFTER WORLD project, and I have to say that it appears to be something that many of you out there have also got behind!
The AIRSOFTER WORLD website is updated regularly with news from all over the world, and dovetails perfectly with our own desire to see airsofters globally communicating with one another in a very, very positive way. AIRSOFTER WORLD now not only reaches players internationally, but has also proved to be a “home” where manufacturers can speak to them directly, and it’s great to see a number of my favourite brands supporting the initiative too.
A fundamental part of Rob’s vision is to not only provide an online home for players to discuss topics important in our shared 6mm-world, but also to offer them an active, shared framework to get involved in actually playing our beloved game, and the AIRSOFTER WORLD GAMES have certainly picked up a real head of steam since I last spoke to him!
While the prize-pot was impressive it also opened the door to a different type of event, a different type of spread of airsoft to people interested in what we do and a different type of partnership between organiser and manufacturer. In a clever way Robt managed to bring outside people into our sport. I got together again with him to find out the latest, and this is what he had to share with me… over to Rob!
AWG 2025 UPDATE!
Airsofter World Games, welcome to the International, Mission driven, Team based, Airsoft competition.
What is your reason to play airsoft? A simple question with a very diverse answer in our airsoft community; it can be because of the thrill of the hunt, the tactical decision making with friends, or just the adrenaline rush to go for that objective and succeed in your mission. This reason might change during your airsoft career and that is okay. Airsoft is more than just shooting the other guy!
Airsofter World created the Airsofter World Games to have an extra option for those who want to have that little bit extra, that feeling of competition in a controlled setting while optimizing their skill and gear to bring their team the victory. Working out the last little details of a chestrig, sling, rifle, pistol, … to be sure that everything works smoothly when time is not on your side.
Various countries (the International part) are joining the Airsofter World Games to link airsoft on an international level. Sweden joined in 2024 with first a test game and now in 2025 with a full on competition where seven teams fought hard and fair. The winner reserved a spot for the international competition that is planned for 2026!
This was a Verage Event (the event part of Verage Airsoft) organised at Frysen Airsoft in Jönköping. Together with a team of dedicated volunteers we managed to put down an example of the potential of this series of events. With partners like Red Bull, Sordin, ICS, Evolution,
“A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF ROB’S VISION IS TO NOT ONLY PROVIDE AN ONLINE HOME FOR PLAYERS TO DISCUSS TOPICS IMPORTANT IN OUR SHARED 6MM-WORLD, BUT ALSO TO OFFER THEM AN ACTIVE, SHARED FRAMEWORK TO GET INVOLVED IN ACTUALLY PLAYING OUR BELOVED GAME”
Frysen Airsoft and Perun, the prizes for the teams exceeded 3000 euro, a little bit extra motivation for teams to bring out the best in them.
As a first, we catered for the local enthusiasts, opening a spectator area in the middle of the action and spreading the news to the local community. Airsoft was seen on the Jönköping event webpage and the local newspaper wrote a story about what was going to happen. This spiked the interest of people to come and take a look and feel the tension between the teams that we all feel when we go watch our favourite sports teams.
As a second, for the international airsoft community and everyone around the world that is interested, a full on livestream with two commentators, multiple camera angles, interviews, partner videos and information videos to keep the viewer informed of what was going on. The video is also available after the event for people that missed the event itself. This enlarges the engagement with the competition day that otherwise is over in a day.
Seven teams from different parts of Sweden, different backgrounds, different skill levels, competed during a full day of executing one
mission. The mission was a simple one, but required creative thinking and planning to come up with the best plan against the next opponent. The seven teams were, Ghost of Sweden, MTF, Cobra Soldiers, Dread Eagles, Mercenaries, Bravo Team Gubbe and Tactical Tulips.
After 21 matches, of maximum 10 minutes, the crew calculated the points in, again a simple system. If you win, you get 3 points, a draw is 1 point and a loss is 0 points. Ghost of Sweden took home the win, followed by MTF and Cobra Soldiers. A shared 4th place for the remaining teams was an interesting result.
“Interesting” was that some teams just wanted to be part of it for ‘fun’. After the first round the competitive blood was flowing and things changed from, ‘We’ll see what happens...’ to ‘We can actually win this!’. This change of attitude converted the games from a bit slower in the beginning to very competitive in the end. Most of all, the teams and people were getting sucked into the game and mission, resulting in a perfect day filled with hard but fair games.
HIT TAKERS
A question that was asked multiple times before the event was how to deal with cheating, people not taking their hits.
While it is an interesting question, we decided to look at it from another angle and put rules in place and expect that everyone wants his team to fight hard and fair. Instead of putting attention on one specific rule in the rulebook, we put attention on the full rulebook and started with good intentions of creating a fair and good game, because this is what airsoft is all about.
The penalties in the rulebook were ready to manage any unsportsmanlike behaviour but were never needed during the whole day. A few warnings were given but none of them were
“TOGETHER WITH A TEAM OF DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS WE MANAGED TO PUT DOWN AN EXAMPLE OF THE POTENTIAL OF THIS SERIES OF EVENTS. WITH PARTNERS LIKE RED BULL, SORDIN, ICS, EVOLUTION, SHOOTERS GLOBAL, PHYLAX, FRYSEN AIRSOFT AND PERUN, THE PRIZES FOR THE TEAMS EXCEEDED 3000 EURO”
because of non-hit taking. The warnings were given because of small rules that were forgotten by the players and were resolved immediately on the spot.
This shows airsoft in its best form and was perfectly visible after each round. Teams congratulated one another for a good fight or a good move that was unexpected by the other party. This is what is important and we had the privilege to stream this amazing sportsmanship to the world to show that even in a competitive space, airsoft is all about being a fair and honourable player.
Sweden is ready for more, and multiple requests came in to do more events throughout the country, bringing more teams together in different areas and uniting different communities through hard and tough missions.
This 2025 edition was the first national event after multiple test events in Belgium, Sweden and The Netherlands in 2024 and 2025, bringing the Airsofter World Games on track to unite airsofters in a way that has never been seen before. The cooperation between federations, associations, organisers, field owners, manufacturers, teams and players creates a network to build on and that is exactly what Airsofter World is all about.
This event was a huge success and a milestone for the airsoft community, both nationally in Sweden, but also internationally. It was a proof of concept that by working together we are stronger and let’s keep doing just that!
The next date is already planned and more information will follow on https:// games.airsofter.world but already mark it in your calendar, 30/05/2026, Airsofter World Games - Sweden 2026. The livestream will be back and more information about the teams will be shared earlier so you can pick your favourite and support
them to take home the win.
Besides Sweden, Belgium is doing their first national Airsofter World Games this month! Other countries are also joining but this is not finalised yet. That information will also be available on the website, https://games.airsofter.world. We are looking for UK organisers and associations to bring the Airsofter World Games to UK too for AIRSOFT ACTION readers there!
Airsofter World, the company behind the Airsofter World Games, is built to create and support communities and you can also be a part of that growth. Join Airsofter World today and start sharing your airsoft content to your friends and the world. Create your team or album and grow the community around you online. As organiser, you can host and share your events locally and over the borders. Step by step we bring airsofters together for them to find what they are looking for.
Where I started with the question, “What is your reason for playing airsoft?” is where Airsofter World gives you a way to find the airsoft that you are looking for. Join today and spread the word. https://airsofter.world. Yes, our Mobile App is
“THE MISSION WAS A SIMPLE ONE, BUT REQUIRED CREATIVE THINKING AND PLANNING TO COME UP WITH THE BEST PLAN AGAINST THE NEXT OPPONENT. THE SEVEN TEAMS WERE, GHOST OF SWEDEN, MTF, COBRA SOLDIERS, DREAD EAGLES, MERCENARIES, BRAVO TEAM GUBBE AND TACTICAL TULIPS”
FUN IN THE SUN!
EVERY YEAR ON AUGUST BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND AIRSOFT ACTION MAKE THEIR ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE TO THE NEW FOREST TO ATTEND THE UK NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL; 2025 SAW A RETURN TO EXCELLENCE IN EVERY WAY FOR THIS UK FLAGSHIP EVENT, AND A WEEKEND THAT WAS SO RELAXED AND CHILLED, BUT WITH A HUGE AMOUNT OF FUN AND IN-GAME EXCITEMENT FOR PLAYERS OLD AND NEW!
AIRSOFT ACTION have been attending the UK NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL (NAF) every year, pretty much right from the beginning of the event… when it was the EVENT!
We’ve covered it in so many ways over the years, first having a booth in the vendors area, and then for the last few years basing ourselves right in the very centre of the general camping field where we can interact more easily and socially with the players attending.
Now that folk know where we are at the festival it’s not unusual for us to have visitors all day long, old friends and new who come along to chat with us, share a drink and a snack, and share stories (sometimes late into the night!) of airsoft adventures shared in the past.
It’s a very cool way of getting together with everyone and finding out direct from the players themselves just what kind of weekend they’re having.
“NOW THAT FOLK KNOW WHERE WE ARE AT THE FESTIVAL IT’S NOT UNUSUAL FOR US TO HAVE
VISITORS ALL DAY LONG, OLD FRIENDS AND NEW WHO COME ALONG TO CHAT WITH US, SHARE A DRINK AND A SNACK, AND SHARE STORIES (SOMETIMES LATE INTO THE NIGHT!) OF AIRSOFT ADVENTURES SHARED IN THE PAST”
I always go with other members of the AA Crew, and this year once again it was with Ben, our little in-house “GHOST”; sadly due to his ongoing recovery from a very serious illness Jimmy couldn’t make it along with us as usual, and his gentle (and sometimes not-so-gentle) humour was sorely missed, and I hope that he’ll be able to re-join us at future events.
My role at the festival has changed somewhat over the years too, and I will be the first to say that the gameplay at NAF is absolutely not my style! The thought of nearly 3000 players, even on such as large and interesting site as that offered by Ground Zero, fills me with absolute dread, and even with the best will in the world and some bang-on marshalling there’s bound to be a certain amount of chaos, and of course when players get tired, as they inevitably do when traversing the 175 acres of playable terrain, their hit-taking can be somewhat less than stellar…
As I’ve said many times before though, I always look forward to the festival as it’s an event I’ve attended for many, many years; friends always ask me why I head out to a multi-day event that, by my own admission, is not my “thing” when it comes to the actual gameplay, and I always respond “That’s not why I go”… I’ve been an outdoorsman as well as an airsofter all my adult life, so I actually relish the thought of getting away for a few days in the tent, it is genuinely something I enjoy and it’s no hardship for me. I have good kit that I’ve built up over many years, and some great performance clothing so the elements don’t bother me overly.
I enjoy the atmosphere and the energy generated by players of all types coming together; I love the fact that we see Nuns with Guns, Hawaiian-shirt-clad contractors, WWII Allied and Axis forces, Nam grunts, numerous “walking bushes” with bolt-actions, hordes of massed support and miniguns, and every type of AEG and camo kit that you can possibly imagine… This
year we even had Deadpool on a T-Rex… now THAT’s not something you see every day! Whilst I don’t play myself others of the AIRSOFT ACTION Crew do… and enjoy themselves as Ben will tell later.
For 2025 the event facilities were genuinely better than ever; portaloos which this year there were more of, and they were kept scrupulously clean, shower facilities (again spotless!), food vendors, , bands playing in the main marquee, and this year an additional bar out on the far extent of the general camping field! Even more kit vendors and representatives were there to this year in an extended vendors area, showing the best of their new gear than ever before!
So, this is why I go, and that’s before I start talking about meeting up with old mates, meeting new ones, and generally using the Festival and the superb Ground Zero woodland to get some pics in the bag for future reviews and articles, of then in tandem with the great team from KRIOS PHOTOGRAPHY who have their own pop-upstudio in place for player portraits as well as covering all the in-game action!
FESTIVAL FUN
2025 was most certainly another massively positive step in the right direction for the NAF, and there was a general consensus from most that I talked to that the event had finally regained its “sweet spot”.
Check in for camping was slick, and additional facilities meant that check-in for the game was just as much so. A full-time help point ran throughout the game this year, and site marshals, medics, and staff were generally much more visible, even making turns around the camping fields in buggies to make sure everyone was safe and cool.
Lines for chrono, although still long at some points, appeared better managed overall again, and allowing players to arrive on-site a day earlier
“NOW THAT FOLK KNOW WHERE WE ARE AT THE FESTIVAL IT’S NOT UNUSUAL FOR US TO HAVE VISITORS ALL DAY LONG, OLD FRIENDS AND NEW WHO COME ALONG TO CHAT WITH US, SHARE A DRINK AND A SNACK, AND SHARE STORIES (SOMETIMES LATE INTO THE NIGHT!) OF AIRSOFT ADVENTURES SHARED IN THE PAST”
this year meant that the lines were far, far shorter that I’ve ever seen… and yes, I did say “lines” as this year there was again a separate line for HPA-users, and their numbers continue to grow!
As I said last year in my report, overall the organisation for the camping side this time was super-slick, and by 10:00 on the Friday the camping fields were once again full to the brim!
It was great to see players from all over the UK, and I was told by NAF-Neil (another old friend) that there were more players attending attending from Italy, Germany, France, from all over Eastern Europe, the USA, and even Australia, so it really was a multi-national gathering again, something that reminds me of the pre-covid event years!
Thursday and Friday were very chilled out, with players mingling and having fun in the sun with an ice cream, checking out the stalls and picking up some bargains from the second-hand sales in the camping area. I managed to get around to speak to vendors and those displaying early on Friday, and it was again a pleasure to see a multitude of gear-sellers around the village, with Ratty and ade from VIPER, Jo from FLECKTARN UK, the Enola Gaye team, Kydex Customs, and AIRTAC among the number.
“I LOVE THE FACT THAT WE
SEE
It was fabulous to see Heroshark doing his painting-thing live, Finchy and April from Finch Embroidery, Scott from LOWA back at the event with all his new shiny things, and among the other returnees were the guys from Optics Warehouse, the BLOC Tactical Eyewear team, and VORTEX.
There were also a lot more new additions this year too including Thomas and the crew from BZ Tactical, Matt and his team from Ammo Drop, and my old mate Rob with his crew of shooters and looters from OPTAC UK.
The guys from Patrol Base were there loud and proud with the very latest DELTA ARMORY AEG models, and along the way were SOCOM TACTICAL, Airsoft Competitions (with some VERY tasty items up for grabs!), and the guys from DOUBLE TAP… I’ll be speaking to DOUBLE TAP more about what they do in the future, along with featuring Mike to detail his outstanding BRITSISH FORCES AIRSOFT COLLECTION.
I have not detailed everyone that was in the vendors area as I could go on and on, but to
a weekend as I did, and I look
NUNS
WITH GUNS, HAWAIIAN-SHIRT-CLAD CONTRACTORS, WWII ALLIED AND AXIS FORCES, NAM GRUNTS, NUMEROUS “WALKING BUSHES” WITH BOLT-ACTIONS, HORDES OF MASSED SUPPORT AND MINIGUNS, AND EVERY TYPE OF AEG AND CAMO KIT THAT YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE”
forward to speaking more to you all in the future!
Friday, as always, ended up with many sampling all the super food options available, enjoying a beer or two, and listening to the band; you could even hear the band down on the camping fields so Ben and I ended up cranking up the BBQ and chilling, whilst all around us fire-pits were lit, more music played (at a sensible level), and the hum of conversation faded into the dusk of a wonderfully relaxed evening… as the stars came out there was actually very little noise apart from what the OTHERS and BRAVO would “do to DELTA” (a standing joke at NAF!) the next day, but very soon blessed silence reigned.
GAME ON!
So, Saturday, GAME DAY! And unlike the monsoon of last year, the sun shone brightly in a blue, blue sky! After a superbly swift and to the point safety brief (Team Briefs had happened well before this), it was time for “Game On” and players headed out to their respective start points.
Although the site is HUGE it’s also broken down into smaller “game zones” that are eminently playable in their own right, and that on a regular “skirmish day” would delight anyone. There’s a small village, a “prison”, outposts, guard towers, trench systems and numerous other structures to play through. Of course for the weekend
EVERYTHING is in play at the same time, and wherever you went there was the sound of a firefight taking place. All three teams had objectives to achieve and points to be earned from them and from what I saw every objective was hard-earned by the eventual victors.
At this point I’ll hand over to Ben for his comments on the game itself…
BEN: Soooo.... National Airsoft Festival!!
What an absolute belter of a Weekender
Bill and I both had, from the weather to the whole atmosphere in the camping and Safe Zone area’s to on the battlefield, seeing old friends and making new we both had a blast!
I lost count on how many times we had both said that it felt calmer and more settled this year; like last year we set off early and got on site on the Thursday at about midday, and to our surprise the site was already nearly half full with freshfaced and eager airsofters, smiles all round and everyone with a buzz in there step; I believe the beautiful sun had a big part to play in that!
After we had set and made camp we did our usual stroll down to the stalls to meet and greet and soak up the early good vibes that was already circling around; for me it always feels natural and homely when people are just strolling around in all the awesome loadouts or costumes. This year I again went as my “Call of
“2025 WAS MOST CERTAINLY ANOTHER MASSIVELY POSITIVE STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR THE NAF, AND THERE WAS A GENERAL CONSENSUS FROM MOST THAT I TALKED TO THAT THE EVENT HAD FINALLY REGAINED ITS “SWEET SPOT””
the Saturday then I switched out for a PMC look on the Sunday.
Now the first thing that really caught my eye right from the start was that chrono was already open and I must say this year it was a rather fast and pleasant experience; not once did I see a long line, no bigger than the lines for food, whatever the festival team had done there they had done that bloody brilliantly! Like last year their game had been stepped up from the safety team walking about more to that same high level of keeping the portaloo toilets cleaned regularly, the showers too this year were a bigger hit...
The stories Bill and our friend Lucky were telling me about when the festival first started to just in the past four years I’ve attended showed how so much has changed and improved for the better; I think the NAF is now reaching that high level of what we want and for them that have been there from the start been working for. The shops and stalls front was massively bigger and far more impressive this year, and as usual there were many excellent food stalls and the infamous beer tent which is where most of us congregate after a good, hard days play or to soak up the sun rays and chill with a cold one or two.
Now I normally treat myself to a few bits as it would be rude not too, however this year I was on a budget due to going on holiday soon after the festival...so I like to support them smaller family businesses and show a little love and found one of the newbie stalls...Delta-Action! They were a very friendly and welcoming family that had loads of accessories for sale, so I brought myself the long Osprey suppressor they had and also ordered their “smoke n tracer kit” for it plus the sound suppression kit… I’ll cover that a bit more in the near future!
Anyhow, as for how things went on the battlefield...
After now having played all factions ,this year I decided to play as BRAVO once More, as I felt that they had more a supportive team vibe and the communication was more consistent. I had just as much fun and a right blast as last time I was on BRAVO, got plenty of good kills and took a few bleeders to the face...that’s when you know you’re having fun!
Overall the fights were rather evenly matched, with some really good back and forth with who was winning to take over villages, buildings or just the paths in-between it all. The final
“SO, SATURDAY, GAME DAY! AND UNLIKE THE MONSOON OF LAST YEAR, THE SUN SHONE BRIGHTLY IN A BLUE, BLUE SKY! AFTER A SUPERBLY SWIFT AND TO THE POINT SAFETY BRIEF (TEAM BRIEFS HAD HAPPENED WELL BEFORE THIS), IT WAS TIME FOR “GAME ON” AND PLAYERS HEADED OUT TO THEIR RESPECTIVE START POINTS…”
win with BRAVO close behind and THE OTHERS once again in third place… but only by a few points!, I had a blast and came home with great footage and wonderful memories from the firefights to sitting back in my chair with my rum and coke soaking up the evening sun and banter with the best company Bill; unfortunately as Bill said earlier, Jimmy couldn’t make it this year but his presence was genuinely missed. I look forward to my next visit to NAF and many more events for the magazine, peace out players stay frosty!
BILL: Saturday night after “The Raffle” proved to be just as enjoyable as the one before, with that same chilled vibe, and Ben and I made a visit to the Beer Tent in the main area to listen to the band… and witness a fabulous display of marching to the refrain on “500 miles”… if you weren’t there you couldn’t know man!
Sunday dawned bright and clear again, and the teams obviously felt there was still more to play for though, and the points tally showed this to be true! So they headed back to the game, and they just kept on playing, gaining objectives and points whilst having a thoroughly good time, although by early afternoon a few players were heading back in; again I believe that this was in the minority though, as most players were still having a great time of it as we headed on out to be back in the office on Monday…
THE FUTURE LOOKS GOLDEN
So there we have it, another year, another NAF, and as always I’ll say as I’ve said many times before; the site is superb and the organisation was better than it has ever been, even with numbers of people and players on-site.
The facilities were better yet again this year and the scheduling spot-on. Once again I’ll echo my thoughts of past years as the play that I saw was hard, fast, and in the main fair, with hits taken and compliments given where they were due (and
thanks to the players that shot past us carefully while we were doing pictures), and Ben would appear to agree with that.
The “after game” was just as much fun but incredibly chilled and relaxed, and once again the bottom line is that everyone seemed to have a thoroughly bang-on time whether they played for the duration, for a few hours, or not at all!
Well done to the players of DELTA who took the win this year, and I’m certain that BRAVO and THE OTHERS will be back to contest things next year!
Again, as I now say after every NAF, “whatever you want from the NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL will be delivered. The Festival is first and foremost just that, a wonderfully joyous event that celebrates airsoft in all its diverse and wonderful forms, and a Festival that just happens to be set on an awesome site that has an enormous airsoft game going on at the same time.”
My final thought on NAF 2025… BRING ON NAF 2026, the future of the event looks golden!
Our thanks as always go to AA LEGION associate Josh and his crew at www. kriosphotography. com for their help with additional photography. For further information for the 2026 National Airsoft Festival please keep an eye on www. airsoftfestival. com, and the AA Crew look forward to seeing you there, as always, next year!! AA
“THE “AFTER GAME” WAS JUST AS MUCH FUN BUT INCREDIBLY CHILLED AND RELAXED, AND ONCE AGAIN THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT EVERYONE SEEMED TO HAVE A THOROUGHLY BANG-ON TIME WHETHER THEY PLAYED FOR THE DURATION, FOR A FEW HOURS, OR NOT AT ALL!”
As AlwAys, A huge ThANK yOu TO JOsh ANd The TeAm AT se PhOTOs APPeAr iN Our rePOrT ANd ON These PAges. There Are, quiTe liTTerAlly, huNdreds mOreif yOu wANT TO see Them (ANd mAybe buy A few) heAd Over TO Their websiTe: hTTPs://TiNyurl cOm/KriOsNAf2025
RETURN TO DRAKES ISLAND!
LAST YEAR WE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF REPORTING ON COMMANDO FORCE AIRSOFT’S DRAKES ISLAND AND A PRIVATE GAMEDAY ORGANISED BY CHRIS OF SWINDON AIRSOFT AND THE AIRSOFT UK FACEBOOK GROUP. DESPITE WEATHER THAT COULD ONLY BE DESCRIBED AS BIBLICAL DURING THE 2024 EVENT, RICH WAS HAPPY AS A HAPPY THING WHEN CHRIS ANNOUNCED HE WAS ORGANISING A RETURN VISIT TO THIS UNIQUE AO, AND NOW WE CAN SHARE THE STORY OF “THE RETURN TO DRAKES ISLAND 2025”!
Ihave to say that Drakes Island last year was epic, not just for the gameplay which was well-organised and great fun, but for the absolute uniqueness of the site itself, and I’m pleased to report that this time was bigger and better as we had both Saturday and Sunday on the island… and it stayed dry the whole time!
The next instalment of this tale of airsoft saw fellow teammates Harv, James, and I heading out for the long drive to Devon, meeting other teammates Craig and Simon there. Commando Force Airsoft was founded in 2019 by Bryan and Dave and in 2022 they were approached to run games on Drakes Island; in January 2023 they ran their first skirmish on the island, and the rest, as they say is airsoft history!
Like last year we booked into Riverside Camping and Caravan site just outside Portsmouth. They don’t normally allow same sex groups, but we must have made a good
impression last year as there were more of us for 2025. I suggested to Chris that he print out a few rule sheets to hand out along the lines of no guns on display, no shouting about, and abiding by general politeness, and I’m happy to say that everyone followed them and we got good feedback from the site after we got home. After pitching the tents we went to the on-site bar for a couple of adult beverages before heading back to fire up the BBQ where banter and laughs ensued before hitting the sack.
Saturday morning saw us all heading to McDonalds for a breakfast before the 09:00 ferry where we were met by Bryan from Commando Force Airsoft who ticked the 60 of us off the list before we embarked for the short hop over to the island. The biggest change this year was the lack of rain, to be replaced with close on 30 degree heat on the first day… though to be fair this didn’t stop it being a good day.
“COMMANDO FORCE AIRSOFT WAS FOUNDED IN 2019 BY BRYAN AND DAVE AND IN 2022 THEY WERE APPROACHED TO RUN GAMES ON DRAKES ISLAND; IN JANUARY 2023 THEY RAN THEIR FIRST SKIRMISH ON THE ISLAND, AND THE REST, AS THEY SAY IS AIRSOFT HISTORY!”
CLASSIC GAME MODES!
After the Safety Brief and the visit to the chrono we had a short while to get ready for the first game which was a Team Death Match game. This was played just using the lower tunnels. When you got shot you went back to your respawn point and pressed a button on a counter then went back in. This was played and then reversed with both sides being fairly evenly matched.
Next up was King of the Hill. The defenders had to dig in around the flagpole at the top of the island and they had three lives while the attackers had unlimited respawns. The objective was to get to the flagpole and drop the flag which neither team managed; this may have been due to the numbers that day. The reverse of King of the Hill was played after lunch though with slightly fewer players as some went swimming in the sea to cool down!
The last game of the day was Hostage Rescue where one of the marshals was taken and hidden in the tunnels, which were defended while the attackers had to find him. We Reds defended first and I took the opportunity to get out of the sun and guard the only way in in the shade; again this game was reversed and due to there being a lot of places to hide neither team found the hostage, but a lot of good firefights were had.
Chris had managed to bag some goodies from Ratty at Viper Tactical as a giveaway for things like good play. Tony Jeens walked away with a chest rig, Paul Frost chose a kit bag, Benji Griffiths chose the plate carrier and Jasmine Growden walked away with a new sling.
After that it was time to pack up and wait for the ferry which due to it being a public ferry the trip had to be done in two groups as there were already passengers on the boat.
Back at the campsite I took full advantage of the cool swimming pool before heading to the restaurant for a fantastic plate of fish and chips.
“WE WERE MET BY BRYAN FROM COMMANDO FORCE AIRSOFT WHO TICKED THE 60 OF US OFF THE LIST BEFORE WE EMBARKED FOR THE SHORT HOP OVER TO THE ISLAND. THE BIGGEST CHANGE THIS YEAR WAS THE LACK OF RAIN, TO BE REPLACED WITH CLOSE ON 30 DEGREE HEAT ON THE FIRST DAY…”
I could not fault the food at all!
RINSE AND REPEAT… WITH A TWIST! Sunday morning saw a lower temperature which many were thankful for, and was a repeat of Saturday in regards getting to the ferry with food, travel to the ferry and park up then embark on the boat though the numbers were lower at 45 which made the games flow better to my eyes. Normally the numbers are capped at 50.
As before there was the Safety Brief followed by the chrono and tagging the RIFs... but then followed the madness of Statues, a quick game to get new players used to shooting and being shot at. Only thing is, when you’re hit the only way back into the game is for one of your teammates to shoot you back in. Let’s just say that a couple of my teammates including my son took full advantage of being able to shoot me!
Next up was Capture the Flag using just the lower tunnels. A lot of flags had been put all over the site with on being worth 10 points. Both teams had to find as many flags as they could and tally the score afterwards.Again the game was reversed and both teams took a win.
The next game was another King of the Hill which actually saw the flag come down both times and again the reverse was played after lunch. The Blues managed a time of 23 minutes while the Reds managed to drop the flag in 18 minutes. During lunch-time we were encouraged to explore the island and tunnels which quite a few of us did.
After King of the Hill we played Infected; a small number were attackers while the rest of us dug in at the top of the island. When you were shot you just took your armband off and started shooting those around you and when the attackers were shot they went to a respawn point and came back in.
This game was more about fun than any kind of objective. After that there was a small TDM game
“CHRIS
HAD MANAGED TO BAG SOME GOODIES FROM RATTY AT VIPER TACTICAL AS A GIVEAWAY FOR THINGS LIKE GOOD PLAY. TONY JEENS WALKED AWAY WITH A CHEST RIG, PAUL FROST CHOSE A KIT BAG, BENJI GRIFFITHS CHOSE THE PLATE CARRIER AND JASMINE GROWDEN WALKED AWAY WITH A NEW SLING”
for those that wanted to take part. Quite a few at this point were pretty tired so the numbers were quite low and I donned the purple hi-vis again to snap a few final photos before sorting and packing away my kit before the ferry came to pick us up.
Back at the campsite we hit the showers before a couple more adult beverages at the onsite bar before firing up the BBQ for the evening meal with banter and chat before hitting the sack.
Monday morning saw us packing the cars for the long drive home. I had a five hour journey but the guys from Watch My Six airsoft had to travel back to York, some 345 miles away!
LAST WORDS
I’ll leave the last words to Bryan and Chris.
Bryan: “It was great to see the return of Airsoft UK’s annual trip to Drakes Island with players from all over the country coming together for a weekend of pew pew fun.
“Drakes Island continues to be a popular site due to the uniqueness of the location and players battled well across the island and through the tunnels. Please keep an eye on the website for future dates as we continue into 2026.”
Chris: “I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who attended my event at Drakes Island. Your presence made it truly special and I couldn’t have asked for better company.
“I’m happy with the way the weekend turned out and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. The energy, laughter and conversations made it an unforgettable experience.”
I’d like to thank Bryan and Dave of Commando Force Airsoft for hosting the event and Riverside Camping and Caravan site for allowing us to stay again, along with a big thanks to Ratty at Viper Tactical for the giveaway goodies.
Here’s to Drakes Island 2026, and to making more amazing memories with good friends on an amazing site in the future! AA
“AS BEFORE THERE WAS THE SAFETY BRIEF FOLLOWED BY THE CHRONO AND TAGGING THE RIFS... BUT THEN FOLLOWED THE MADNESS OF STATUES, A QUICK GAME TO GET NEW PLAYERS USED TO SHOOTING AND BEING SHOT AT. ONLY THING IS, WHEN YOU’RE HIT THE ONLY WAY BACK INTO THE GAME IS FOR ONE OF YOUR TEAMMATES TO SHOOT YOU BACK IN…”
NIGHT OPS VII
AS MIGUEL AND THE AA CREW IN PORTUGAL HAVE BEEN ON THEIR ANNUAL “AIRSOFT VACATION” IT’S GIVEN HIM A CHANCE TO SIT BACK (A LITTLE!) AND REFLECT ON THE GAMES THAT TOOK PLACE BEFORE THIS, AND ONE THAT WE ALWAYS LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT IS THE ONGOING NIGHT OPS SERIES OF GAMES! THIS TIME HE DELVES INTO THE LATEST ITERATION OF THIS EVENT, AND BRINGS IN HIS REPORT VERY MUCH FROM “THE FRONT LINE” AS GAME ORGANISER, RATHER THAN PLAYER!
As summer in Portugal hit us like we just entered a sauna, games slowly came to a stop. There are a lot of players on holidays now, and in some places it’s even forbidden to be out in woodland areas due to the wildfire alerts and overall it’s just too hot to play, with thermometers reaching close to 40ºC.
But, before starting our usual annual break, we still had the Night Ops VII event from ANA in the calendar, and just like last year, the association reached out to us, asking if the game could be held in our field. So, as good members of the community, we said yes! And then it was time to get to work!
“BEFORE STARTING OUR USUAL ANNUAL BREAK, WE STILL HAD THE NIGHT OPS VII EVENT FROM ANA IN THE CALENDAR, AND JUST LIKE LAST YEAR, THE ASSOCIATION REACHED OUT TO US, ASKING IF THE GAME COULD BE HELD IN OUR FIELD. SO, AS GOOD MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, WE SAID YES! AND THEN IT WAS TIME TO GET TO WORK!”
As any game of this dimension, work starts a couple of months before, checking the field, creating missions from scratch, going over a million details, while trying to create something interesting. We even held a small private practice with other ANA members to simulate the missions that were being created. If you ever organized a game, you know that some situations will only come to surface in the field, while players are fighting for the objective. What strategies are they going to try? What paths are they going to take? Is the respawn in a good position, or will it create issues, and many other aspects. And this went on with online meetings, field visits, and map designs, all while trying to have everything organized. Fast-forward to the event weekend and we arrived in the field at around 10:30. The plan was to unload everything, and divide it by categories, set up the military tent for one of the scenarios (since it is time-consuming!), and test the generators. With the first steps completed, we went out for lunch and a small break. But even while on break, all we talked about was the game, going over many points, so nothing got overlooked.
Around 15:00, and with more staff in the field, we kept working. Setting up the game scenarios (more on those soon) and check in, getting the lounge ready and other smaller works. At 17:30, we held a small internal briefing, going over the scenarios, rules, details and
“THE
answering any questions from the staff members. It’s always important to have everyone on the same page!
At exactly 18:00, we opened the gates, and the players started flooding in, and until around 20:00 everything went as smoothly as possible, players getting their gear ready, testing replicas, socializing and going toward the check in/chrono area. Of course, like always, we had to push a few, otherwise then they all pile up close to the briefing hour…
GAME ITSELF IS A BIT DIFFERENT FROM MOST GAMES, IT’S BASED ON SCENARIOS, AND EVERY SECTION (A GROUP OF PLAYERS) WILL GO THROUGH ALL SCENARIOS, IN BOTH DEFENCE AND OFFENSE, THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT. THIS WAY, EVERYONE WILL HAVE A CHANCE OF EXPERIENCING ALMOST 100% OF THE GAME”
BRIEF AND GAME ON!
Around 20:30, we held a small briefing and ANA gave out their traditional prizes, the most represented team, the first inscription, the player who travelled furthest and the one present with the oldest member number.
The briefing itself was short, the game style had already been shared in the event’s Telegram channel and online briefing, and those who already played in previous series know how the game itself works. So, we focused on the dangerous part of the field, and some specific rules. But then it was time to start the game, and send the players to their briefings.
Now... how does the Night Ops event work?
The game itself is a bit different from most games, it’s based on scenarios, and every Section (a group of players) will go through all scenarios, in both defence and offense, throughout the night. This way, everyone will have a chance of experiencing almost 100% of the game. Sure, some might get eliminated early on during a scenario, but that’s part of the game.
The player base was divided into ten Sections, Alpha through Juliet, and each had around ten players. As soon as the general briefing was done, the Sections had to present themselves to one of four HQ that were located inside the Safe Zone (the lounge), at specific hours, and in that location they would receive a specific mission briefing. After that, they would move to the scenario of the mission that was given.
Every scenario had a time limit, so after it was done, the Sections would return to the Safe Zone, check their schedule and present themselves for the next mission.
Each scenario had a winner or a loser, and this information was given to the game masters by the staff present in each one. In the end, the Section with most points would win. There were a total of four scenarios, which took place in specific parts of the map.
“EVERY
SCENARIO DRIVEN
So, what were the scenarios you are asking? Worry not, let’s go over them now.
First we had the “Dark Extraction”. The attacking Section was briefed that the enemy held hostage three members and those members were being interrogated at this moment. But among those three, only one held critical information that couldn’t end up in enemy hands. So their mission was to attack the POW camp, find the right POW and extract with them.
The trick in this mission was that there was no concrete information about which was the correct POW. And since this is Night Ops, which also has the goal of offering players a chance
SCENARIO HAD A TIME LIMIT, SO AFTER IT WAS DONE, THE SECTIONS WOULD RETURN TO THE SAFE ZONE, CHECK THEIR SCHEDULE AND PRESENT THEMSELVES FOR THE NEXT MISSION. EACH SCENARIO HAD A WINNER OR A LOSER, AND THIS INFORMATION WAS GIVEN TO THE GAME MASTERS BY THE STAFF PRESENT IN EACH ONE”
of using their NVGs and Thermals, if the players used their NVG to look at the POWs, they would see one marked with IR paint. But, it wasn’t that easy, first they had to attack a defended location, with a military tent that had spotlights pointing 360º (at least until the generator allowed it), only then they could search for the POW and extract him.
The defending Section, although not knowing the enemy’s objective, just had to hold the location under their control until time ran out.
Secondly, we had the “Radioactive Run”.
In this scenario, one Section had to escort a scientist who was carrying containers with uranium to a vehicle for extraction. There were a total of three containers, so that meant three trips escorting the scientist. The other Section had the mission of retrieving a specific container, the one carrying enriched uranium. And again, here the players with the right toys could have an advantage and only attack the correct convoy. The enriched uranium container was hot, so it could easily be identified by a thermal sight.
In this scenario, the escorting Section would win if they extracted all three containers, and the ambushing Section if they extracted the correct container.
The third scenario was the “Fallen Agent”.
In this one, players had a bit of a surprise, one that many only learned after they played it on the other side. Instead of two, this scenario had three Sections fighting at the same time, something that was never done in previous Night Ops!
The briefing was about a CIA agent that was infiltrated in Russian territory, and while escaping, his plane crashed, but it crashed on Chinese soil. So now, a Chinese forward group was holding the location while waiting for the main force. In the meantime, both Russian and American forces had their own agendas and were trying to get the agent out of the crash site and to an extraction zone.
In this mission, the Chinese forces would win if they could hold the agent until the clock ran out, while the Americans and Russians had to extract the agent to a safe location.
The last scenario was the simplest one and one where players could spend BBs like crazy. It was called “Critical Zone”, and it was basically a bomb diffuse mission.
One Section had to defend part of the field where three bombs were planted, while the attacking force had to defuse them in a specific order. Unlike other scenarios, this one had unlimited respawns, but the time limit was the same. Here, the defending group would win if they could hold at least one bomb, and the attacking force had to defuse all three to win!
“AT EXACTLY 18:00, WE OPENED THE GATES, AND THE PLAYERS STARTED FLOODING IN, AND UNTIL AROUND 2000 EVERYTHING WENT AS SMOOTHLY AS POSSIBLE, PLAYERS GETTING THEIR GEAR READY, TESTING REPLICAS, SOCIALIZING AND GOING TOWARD THE CHECK IN/CHRONO AREA”
WRAP AND DEBRIEF
And this was Night Ops VII, different scenarios for different play styles, a lot of action and a reason to use Thermals and NVGs.
Now, was it all perfect? Of course not, with player feedback we noticed that the missions could have a bigger time limit, for some players who were unfamiliar with the field, so, moving towards their scenario at night took some time, and then they had little time left to complete the objective. This needs to be considered, especially because with longer mission times, the whole game will either start during daytime, or end after the sun is up. And that could spark some complaints as well.
We also noticed that it was impossible to follow the schedule time for mission
briefings, because the Sections would take their time to return, so the four commanders had to come together and set up a plan.
It was great to work with VeryMau from KillerBees and The Dutchess and Geraldo from B.T.A., who all had their mission briefings, and we had to keep communication among the group to know what was happening.
I also want to thank Almeida, the Game Master, with who I worked closely in order to organize the game.
I’m aware of how many hours he spent behind the curtains, preparing a lot for this game to go well. And of course, thanks to my own team GHOST OPS who spent the night working, so others could have fun and play airsoft.
Now I just hope I can play next year! AA
“IT WAS GREAT TO WORK WITH VERYMAU FROM KILLERBEES AND THE DUTCHESS AND GERALDO FROM B.T.A., WHO ALL HAD THEIR MISSION BRIEFINGS, AND WE HAD TO KEEP COMMUNICATION AMONG THE GROUP TO KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING”
A CALL TO ARMS: COME FLY WITH ME!
“HELLO SIRS, ARE YOU MR MORTIMER AND MR OU?” “IS THIS ABOUT THE GUNS IN OUR LUGGAGE?”
“PLEASE COME THIS WAY SIRS…”
THIS SOMEWHAT COMEDIC AND UNUSUAL INTERACTION WAS JUST ONE OF THE MYRIAD EXCHANGES THAT STEWBACCA AND HIS TEAMMATES HAD TO DEAL WITH ON THE WAY OUT AND BACK FROM THE RECENT ACTION AIR WORLD SHOOT II 2025 IN ILOILO, THE PHILIPPINES. BUT WHAT WERE EVERYONE’S VARIOUS EXPERIENCES TRAVELLING WITH ‘GUNS’, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, FROM AND THROUGH DIFFERENT COUNTRIES? HE BRINGS US A COLLATION OF NECESSARY PREPARATIONS AND COMMENTS FROM VARIOUS SHOOTERS HE TALKED TO IN PART I OF HIS EVENT COVERAGE...
Although many of the AA Crew have travelled with their RIFs internationally in the past with little drama (such as Bill flying back and forth to the USA in his heyday, stories for another day, but hilarious ones!), travelling with a (replica) firearm was definitely a new experience for me on the way to and from Iloilo to take part in the AAWS II of July/August 2025.
This was just the tail end of months of preparations for doing so, as well as the beginning of woes for some of us involved. The majority of Team SPPT have already been to competitions or cross training in Hong Kong with our various friends and teams based over there in past years and even on the run up to the AAWS; however, I personally can’t risk HK/Macau/The mainland anymore for various reasons and my last experience over there just before COVID and down the road from where it was kicking off in 2019 covering the China WarGame Tournament, so I hadn’t had any personal experience of such travelling myself.
The legal landscape also seems to be constantly shifting not only in Taiwan, but various countries in the surroundings or on the way to or from ‘the West’ and it seems that the IPSC governing body at the top and local levels could do with keeping better tabs on these things where possible to better inform shooters especially those travelling from different regions.
As things were, at the tail end of last year our own domestic organisers seemed unaware of the changes in Taiwan’s laws which we covered back in Issue 163 regarding the outcomes of the consultative meetings between Taiwan’s airsoft manufacturers, player groups, retailers and other such stakeholders, along with police, legislative and customs officials regarding changes to gun control measures. As a result, the Hong Kong shooting competitors got tripped up when trying to enter Taiwan with their own airsoft pistols for the domestic level III match down in the outskirts
of Kaohsiung as is typical each year.
As a result many of the competitors either had to drop out, treating it as just a tourism trip, or source guns locally, many of which were borrowed from friends in-country, some of whom literally travelled the length of Taiwan and back a few times in a day to help them prepare substitutes on short notice. This usually involved sharing guns within squads just to try and get the vast number of foreign shooters through, and obviously crippled their performances somewhat due to a lack of familiarity with the equipment and thereby understandably enfranchised a lot of ire and consternation from them as a result.
Thankfully, it seems the lesson has been learnt; while I’m not sure if there will be many international competitors joining us in Taiwan this November (having already just had a massive top level international match among others leading up to it) even some of our own team members are not bothering having either in the wake of a pretty healthy serving of shooting and wanting to rest and recoup in the tail end of the year. At least the international shooters have been informed of the procedures for temporarily importing and then re-exporting their airsoft replicas coming through Taiwan’s customs.
THERE AND BACK AGAIN
We all also had to do so for the World Shoot because of course we would leave Taiwan with our guns and then re-enter on the return trip; this requires each individual shooter to create a personal account on the NPA (National Police Authority) online portal to enter all your personal details and then apply for individual licenses for each replica firearm to be transported.
This was a fairly involved procedure of taking photos of each gun from different angles, in different levels of disassembly, pointing out the feeding mechanism to clarify that live rounds cannot be chambered and that the magazines are
“ALTHOUGH MANY OF THE AA CREW HAVE TRAVELLED WITH THEIR RIFS INTERNATIONALLY IN THE PAST WITH LITTLE DRAMA (SUCH AS BILL FLYING BACK AND FORTH TO THE USA IN HIS HEYDAY, STORIES FOR ANOTHER DAY, BUT HILARIOUS ONES!), TRAVELLING WITH A (REPLICA) FIREARM WAS DEFINITELY A NEW EXPERIENCE FOR ME”
incapable of carrying them as well, all of which is then submitted with a chronograph reading for legal power limit compliance before the specialist investigating firearms officer assesses and replies with your appropriate paperwork for dealing with Taiwan customs and border control both directions.
Similarly, the Philippines also had a PNP (Philippines National Police) PTT (Permit To Transport) document, the main difference being that this is a much more established and integrated system that the police and airport staff are very well versed in because the Philippines is a firearms permissive country.
Just as with the USA, many people have to travel domestically and internationally for shooting related hobbies, training or even professions, so airsoft guns are just filtered into the same system under a ‘6mm calibre, air pistol’ designation and everything in country operated extremely smoothly once we had all been issued our PTTs.
In the case of Taiwan shooters they just issued
two general documents with everyone’s names on lists rather than individual documentation per shooter, along with an officially letter-headed invitation document from the PPSA (Philippines Practical Shooting Association) regarding the details of the competition and timings. The PTT is assigned for a certain window of usage allowing the individuals to enter the country with whatever guns they require, specifically for the intended purposes only, and must be removed with them upon exit before the expiration of said time window.
With all that being said, certain airlines, airports, countries or their staff and their varying familiarity with regulations throw additional problems into the mix. I know full well that NonoCat and Thunderspear had to argue with New Zealand border control when coming back from Taiwan and the G&G World Cup with a bunch of…battlefield pickups, and clearly knew the regulations better than the customs staff and went above their heads to resolve things and clarify their rights within the regulations. This is often the case with non-permissive environments, where guns or anything related are a rare occurrence for such staff, rather than the everyday banality of it in the USA, Philippines or some European or other countries and regions.
Taiwan was in itself an issue in that respect; despite having all our paperwork for both ends in order, airline staff were unfamiliar with their own rules and policy initially because again, a rarity for them to deal with, and they didn’t understand the difference between sporting firearms and airsoft toy guns, assuming
“THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE ALSO SEEMS TO BE CONSTANTLY SHIFTING NOT ONLY IN TAIWAN, BUT VARIOUS COUNTRIES IN THE SURROUNDINGS OR ON THE WAY TO OR FROM ‘THE WEST’ AND IT SEEMS THAT THE IPSC GOVERNING BODY AT THE TOP AND LOCAL LEVELS COULD DO WITH KEEPING BETTER TABS ON THESE THINGS WHERE POSSIBLE TO BETTER INFORM SHOOTERS”
we needed to declare them with a five day lead time ahead of the flight like real guns under their policies.
Likewise, Clarence had an absolute nightmare return trip for the same reason with staff in Manila not allowing him to board his flight! in all cases, making use of Philippine airlines is a much better idea as they are very capable with their policies and we had no issues caused by them at least, while our friends and teammates encountered some resistance or issues with China Airlines or Cebu Pacific.
Ou and I left earliest with his wife and had to explain the situation to a somewhat startled check in desk lady who immediately called her supervisor down who took a while to clarify things, but once she had she was a godsend and
even prepared some additional paperwork for us after the police officers came over and inspected our paperwork and had us open our cases and inspect the guns… although they were kind of too casual I feel with doing so in front of all the ‘civilians’ queuing up for check in that I’d rather not have eyeing up the very contentious and expensive contents of our cases!
Nonetheless, we argued the case we didn’t need the five day lead-time as they aren’t real guns, and with the police officers happy we packed everything, finished check in, put our luggage on the belt and the officers told the X-Ray operator to not freak out about the two bags with guns coming through… In Clarence’s case it seems they even isolated the luggage with guns and personally delivered it to the planes, which is what happens in the Philippines as well and seems like a better idea.
Arriving in the Philippines everything went smoothly as all the airport staff and police were excellent and very professional and capable with us. We cleared immigration and waited for our luggage only for the ‘hot cases’ to be nowhere to be seen. A gentleman then approached us and identified us as per the exchange in the opening titles, and we were whisked away to begin the proceedings… Our luggage had blue Xs chalked on three faces to make it clear it was to be quarantined by staff for firearms check in procedures.
This all went smoothly despite taking a while and some money and paperwork, but local police and IPSC staff were on hand to make sure things went smoothly. Following this we packed our guns separately and went to the other terminal to check in for our domestic flight to Iloilo itself. In this case you deal with the internal system, and each airport has a PNP firearms checking desk with very friendly and helpful staff, many of whom are avid shooters themselves and love geeking out about your guns when they inspect them,
“THE POLICE OFFICERS CAME OVER AND INSPECTED OUR PAPERWORK AND HAD US OPEN OUR CASES AND INSPECT THE GUNS… ALTHOUGH THEY WERE KIND OF TOO CASUAL I FEEL WITH DOING SO IN FRONT OF ALL THE ‘CIVILIANS’ QUEUING UP FOR CHECK IN THAT I’D RATHER NOT HAVE EYEING UP THE VERY CONTENTIOUS AND EXPENSIVE CONTENTS OF OUR CASES!”
so it feels a lot more like you are ‘among your people’ in that regard” They then personally take responsibility for them and get them on the plane in specialist Pelican crates that take everyone on each flight’s firearms and magazines in one luggage solution as such; this incurs a small fee each way to support all of the infrastructure required, but it’s a non-issue in the grander scheme of things.
NOT ALL SO SMOOTH…
All did not go so smoothly for some others however! As we arrived the Friday before the Tuesday opening ceremony and Wednesday kick off of stages, settling in days before many of the others arrived and briefing everyone on our experiences as the ‘forward intelligence team’ or ‘white rabbits’/’canaries’ or test cases you might say, we began seeing others from further afield struggle somewhat.
Mateusz (IG @cichyipsc) coming from Poland via Dubai had an absolute mare of a trip at the halfway point, and I was following his trials and tribulations online prior to his arrival and me meeting him in person finally having followed his Instagram for quite a while. What initially seemed to be an outright confiscation on the part of airport staff actually turned out to be a misunderstanding and another Cebu Pacific related issue.
Mateusz originally had to deal with similar issues using FlyDubai who also assumed he
“THIS
was carrying real guns and thereby spuriously incited their own ‘sporting firearms and ammunition’ policy meaning he had to play email ping pong for a while with them prior to his flight date, trying to deal with serial numbers (Ou & My Shadow 2 oranges have actual serial numbers on their barrels, which helps, but most airsoft guns do not, and some had to be created by the PPSA and stick on labels be created for everyone to use on entry).
As it happens, FlyDubai also didn’t offer him direct luggage transfer for his onward flight, so when he arrived in Dubai he got a call from their security telling him his guns were illegal in their country and would be seized, so had to explain the situation that he was just transiting, but then encountered issues with Cebu Pacific not allowing him to board his flight with his guns travelling internationally, they only seem to want to deal with such things on a domestic basis which is again why Alex Cruz of the PPSA told
ALL WENT SMOOTHLY DESPITE TAKING A WHILE AND SOME MONEY AND PAPERWORK, BUT LOCAL POLICE AND IPSC STAFF WERE ON HAND TO MAKE SURE THINGS WENT SMOOTHLY. FOLLOWING THIS WE PACKED OUR GUNS SEPARATELY AND WENT TO THE OTHER TERMINAL TO CHECK IN FOR OUR DOMESTIC FLIGHT TO ILOILO ITSELF”
us to just use Philippine Airlines; they are a little more expensive but a great deal less hassle, exactly as Ou and I found.
Mateusz had to deal with extremely rude and dismissive airline staff who were not concerned with his problems and in the end relied upon airport security to force the matter due to their better understanding of the situation at the risk of his guns being deported back to Poland and not being able to travel separately to them by sending them with another cooperative airline.
In the end he had travel separately from his girlfriend and re-book a flight for himself at great cost on such short notice using Philippine Airlines from Dubai to Manila the next day and stay overnight waiting to board, all of which messed up his return journey plan and exit procedure because then he had to rebook the return leg flight which left from a different terminal, while his entrance/exit permit and deposit documentation was stored in another one. He had an additional nightmare on the way out and was on the same internal flight as us and was dealing with everything at the same time as Ou and I until we went our separate ways to join our respective onward flights.
Arriving in Manila he also realised he hadn’t declared his gun on his e-visa form and was told it would be confiscated but managed to plead his case. However, with his flight being delayed somewhat and the additional issues encountered he also had to re-book another flight to Iloilo as a result of all the delays and admin work having to be undertaken making him miss his original one.
Similarly, his teammates had further problems where their luggage wasn’t directly transferred as intended so they had to wait for their arrival separately after they had already entered the country, and on the way back out trying to deal with Cebu’s staff they took so long to confirm that they would not in fact let him board his flight with the guns, that he once again had to book a
replacement flight! Clearly an absolute expensive nightmare of a situation paying for so many additional flights as a result of airline staff not knowing their own regulations or jobs effectively, it seems almost like a racket.
One competitor who flew via Bahrain apparently had their guns unceremoniously seized and thrown in the bin right in front of them without any chance of recourse, so clearly they were nonplussed about the whole situation!
It certainly seems like the ground is shrinking under our feet, even when you do all the paperwork correctly and know your own rights and their regulations, they sometimes do not, and when challenged airline staff seem to become extremely rude or sanctimonious in the majority of cases, especially in the case of anything contentious like guns or peripheral
“MATEUSZ HAD TO DEAL WITH EXTREMELY RUDE AND DISMISSIVE AIRLINE STAFF WHO WERE NOT CONCERNED WITH HIS PROBLEMS AND IN THE END RELIED UPON AIRPORT SECURITY TO FORCE THE MATTER DUE TO THEIR BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SITUATION AT THE RISK OF HIS GUNS BEING DEPORTED BACK TO POLAND”
considerations even more so if they don’t deal with such things often or don’t have national protocols.
Clarence also had to rebook a different flight on his return leg to Taipei due to China Airlines staff in the Philippines being exceptionally rude and uninformed, insisting that he had to deal with the five day lead time because, despite firearms experts from the PNP and Philippines customs agreeing that they were only toy guns, the lack of understanding or consideration on the part of the ill-informed airline staff, who even implored him to just leave his guns behind if he wanted to board the flight. This was a flagrant violation of his responsibility to remove the gun from the Philippines with him, and she said this right in front of the local PNP officer who was being a saint in his assistance throughout everything.
THE FINAL LEG
When Ou and I re-entered Taiwan we had a minor kerfuffle with the customs people as well, because for some reason they put our luggage with guns on the common belt… despite the fact they were clearly marked with ‘WEAP’ tags denoting ‘weapons’, and could have potentially been lifted by any enterprising person who understood the connotation had we been held up at the immigration gates at all!
As it was we were immediately challenged as we attempted to leave and asked to have our bags inspected… Apparently we should have gone through the red customs declaration lane by default, but in previous instances like on the return from Hong Kong bags with guns had been actively quarantined by staff and signs put on the belt informing shooters to that effect.
We were stood right in front of the customs main desk waiting for our bags, with our backpacks covered in clearly shooting-related patches and identifiers, but they didn’t think to initiate the interaction themselves until we tried
“WHEN OU AND I RE-ENTERED TAIWAN WE HAD A MINOR KERFUFFLE WITH THE CUSTOMS PEOPLE AS WELL, BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON THEY PUT OUR LUGGAGE WITH GUNS ON THE COMMON BELT… DESPITE THE FACT THEY WERE CLEARLY MARKED WITH ‘WEAP’ TAGS DENOTING ‘WEAPONS’”
to leave. If you are the controlling authority to my mind it should be your job to know, understand, and properly execute procedures, not allow passengers to muddle through things and then blame them for not knowing your job.
Everything worked out fine for almost everyone I heard of in the end, and they even met Clarence off his flight to explain the procedure Ou and I hadn’t gotten right, but it certainly does feel like you’re Sisyphus and people who should know about your damned boulder better than you, are asking you questions about it!
As an additional note, having had interactions with airsoft gun components and trying to send things from Taiwan to the UK, or investigating
sending things to New Zealand to help out NonoCat and Thunderspear, it also seems that even sending things by airmail which just transits some countries or territories in the middle east or Hong Kong (very likely routes for most flights) will result in seizure and destruction of your property, and Taiwan post told me they are also likely to get fined as the originating carrier for even trying to send such things.
Evidently, there is still a lot to be done educating people on our rights and their own regulations, but next time I will bring you a much more positive tale of the positive aspects of the World Shoot itself.
Until then, fellow shooters…
“EVIDENTLY, THERE IS STILL A LOT TO BE DONE EDUCATING PEOPLE ON OUR RIGHTS AND THEIR OWN REGULATIONS, BUT NEXT TIME I WILL BRING YOU A MUCH MORE POSITIVE TALE OF THE POSITIVE ASPECTS OF THE WORLD SHOOT ITSELF”
