Issue 36 - June 2014

THE Airsoft Magazine

AIRSOFT ACTION

E M O S E W A R FOU S W E I V E R N GU AZARD WE P VIRUS BIOH CA SAR M41 SG INE MOD 0 CH G&G COMBAT MA 03 M4 A-0 SPECNA ARMS S

E V I S S A M O TW S W E I V E R E T I S

41 SG WIN A CA SAR M OTS O B K C A H S S N E T DR MAR

IN CLOSE TECHNIQUE: FLASH SIGHTING

INSIDE AIRSOFT

THE AIRSOFT SHACK NORTH WALES

JUNE 2014

SNIPERS OF WW2 l THE ART OF WAR l BOOK REVIEW - HEARTS OF GREEN

JUNE 2014 - £4.50

SOVIET “RAZVEDKA” SCOUT

AIRSOFT SKILLS

9 772047 348032

COLD WAR WARRIOR

06

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UCAP

ASYLUM E H T O & F , R E K N BU

T N A I L L I R B TWO S N O I T I T E P M CO AND

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THE Airsoft Magazine

E FOUR AWESOM S GUN REVIEW ARD WE P VIRUS BIOHAZ CA SAR M41 SG NE MOD 0 CHI G&G COMBAT MA 003 M4 SPECNA ARMS SA-

TWO BRILLIONANST COMPETIM4TI1 SG AND

TWO MASSIVE SITE REVIEWASYS LUM

WIN A CA SAR CK BOOTS DR MARTENS SHA

THE

SOVIET “RAZVEDKA” SCOUT

INSIDE AIRSOFT

06

AIRSOFT SKILLS

IN CLOSE TECHNIQUE: FLASH SIGHTING

THE AIRSOFT SHACK NORTH WALES

SNIPERS OF WW2 l THE ART OF WAR l BOOK REVIEW - HEARTS OF GREEN

9 772047 348032

COLD WAR WARRIOR

Editor: Nigel Streeter Assistant editor: Gareth “Gadge” Harvey Graphic design: Havoc Design Ad design: Havoc Design Publisher: Nigel Streeter

JUNE 2014 - £4.50

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UCAP BUNKER, F&O

67

Cover Photograph: Spectre Airsoft Photography

UK 12 - issue subscription rate: £43 UK 6 - issue subscription rate: £24 For overseas prices visit: www.airsoft-action.co.uk

Wyche Innovation Centre, Walwyn Road, Upper Colwall, Malvern, Worcestershire, WE13 6PL Tel: 01684 878 003 Web: www.airsoft-action.co.uk ©Calibre Publishing Limited 2014 Distribution: Distributed to the newstrade

by Comag Magazine Marketing, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE T: 01895 433 800 Copyright © Calibre Publishing Limited 2014. All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the express permission of the publisher in writing. The opinion of the writers do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions prior to print.

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Got something to say? A question for our experts? An article or article idea? Drop us a line and let us know.

Either email the editor (nige@airsoft-action.co.uk), write to us at the Calibre Publishing address above, or talk to us on Twitter or Facebook.

04

MARCH 2014

I SAW SOMETHING ON SKY NEWS a couple of days ago that, while (sadly) it did not particularly surprise me, did make me sit up and take notice.

It was a report about the 981 school children that had weapons taken off them while at school including 80 primary school kids, the youngest of which was an 8 year old carrying a knife . Of particular concern was that the weapons included such things as axes, meat cleavers and a total of 36 guns and was a particular figure in this last category that caught my attention; there were two handguns, seven air rifles, a Taser and 27 “BB guns”. Leaving aside my thoughts on WTF kids are doing with handguns and air rifles at school, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that the “Powers That Be” will soon start to look for reasons why and it will only be a short hop, skip and jump from there to start pointing the finger of blame at (what will no doubt be called) “the proliferation of BB guns in our schools”. The report doesn’t say whether the BB guns were RIFs, Two-Tones or clear plastic springers but it does serve as a heads up to all airsofters (particularly parents) to keep pumping out a message of safety and responsibility. Retailers also need to remain diligent with regard to who they sell weapons to, particularly those who sell online and a strictly enforced policy of “No Defence, No Sale” applied.

We were all kids once (some of us still are) and we remember what it was like to take something “different” to school to show our mates. I am certain that there was no malice of intent from the majority of kids found with weapons and am far more concerned about kids with hand guns, than toy guns but the last thing we need is a hysterical response based on events elsewhere leading to a potential ban on all “guns”.

Airsoft in the UK is growing faster than ever before, which is great but as it grows so does the responsibility on all of us to make sure we keep it one of the most enjoyable and safe action sport hobbies for everyone. So get your kids involved, take them down to your local site and let them have a go; teach them the rights and wrongs of weapon handling and let them learn the responsibility that comes with it. If they like the game they will know where to go to play. If they don’t, then they are less likely to want to take anything into school to show off to other kids - it’s a win-win for everyone.

Play well, stay safe.

Nige.

CONTENTS MARCH JUNE 2014

CONTENTS

AIRSOFT ACTION – JUNE 2014 6

Airsoft News

The latest developments in the world of airsoft 8 + 10

Readers’ Gallery

Cool photos taken by Airsoft Action readers 12 Armoury: WE P Virus Biohazard Sentinel Nine Scott Allan goes “Alice” as he gets to grips with this Sci-Fi based 226 from Wei Tech 16 Armoury: Classic Army SAR M41 SG Sportsmatch

58 Head to Head: AK v M16 In the second of his series, Military Historian Will Fowler puts the mighty M16 up against what is arguably World’s most well-known rifle, the AK47 62 Feature: Snipers of World War II British WW2 snipers were rarely spoken about and even less-often recognised for their efforts. Here Dan Mills introduces us to one such man, Sergeant Harry Furness 67 Site Report: F&O – The Asylum Revisited

Gareth “Gadge” Harvey was so taken with this rifle he wanted to tell everyone about it

While on a visit to the In-Laws, Gadge sneaks away to report from a “Members Day” at this very popular site

20 Event Report: Operation: Helping Hands

72 Skills: Flash Sights

Nige reports from a Charity event organised by the UK Filipino Airsoft Community to raise funds for those still fighting the disastrous effects of Typhoon Haiyan

Pro-Tact Training’s Andy Nightingale takes us through a sighting method used when things get very up close and personal

24 Armoury: G&G Combat Machine Scott Allan asks whether this £140 Magpul M4-style rifle can perform as well as its more expensive cousins 28 Debate: Why so Serious?

Gadge asked whether the “fun” has gone out of airsoft, or do “Sunday skirmishers” just get in the way of your game?

32 Armoury: Specna Arms SA-A003 They made a big splash at IWA but how does this Eastern European M4 more than just eyeball candy? Over to Jay Slater…

36 Cold War Warriors: Soviet “Razvedka” Scout, late 1980s Gadge looks at the kit and camo from a Soviet Recce Patrol Squad Sniper/Marksman 40 Event Report: A Squadron Training Day Nige spent a day with ex-22 SAS soldier Bob Podesta, as he trains a team of marshals in CQB tactics 45 Inside Airsoft: The Airsoft Shack Airsoft shops are thin on the ground in North Wales but “Iggy” Roberts discovered a little gem in Buckley, Flintshire 49 Kit Review: Xcortech X3000 Is it a suppressor? Is it a shot counter? Is it a control unit? No, it’s all of these things and more, as Andy Bourne found out when he got his hands on this new bit of kit 53 Site Report: UKAP BUNKER Down in the tunnels where the deadly are rising? Les Lee goes underground to explore the labyrinth that makes up this awe-inspiring piece of history – and play airsoft!

75 Competition One: Classic Army SAR M41 SG Sportsmatch In the first of two competitions in this issue, we’re giving away the wonderful “G3” that Gadge reviewed on Page 16. All you have to do is answer one simple question and it could be yours!

76 World War I: The First Battle of Ypres Dan Mills’ journey through the keystone events of WWI continues with a look at the first of five battles for this strategically important Belgium town 80 Feature: The Art of War Military Illustrator and Author, Rupert Godesen, continues his look at the amazing art from the trenches of WWI and beyond 82 Competition Two: Dr Martens Shack Boots We have TWO pairs of these brilliant boots (as reviewed by Nige in the last issue) to give away! Answer just three easy-peasy questions and you could be walking away with one of them 84 Bookshop Special Offer for Airsoft Action readers from Military Pocket Books 85 Book Review: Hearts of Green by John Marsh Chris Carter joined the Army for adventure but that is not what he finds as his life descends into one of sex and torment on his first posting to Germany 86 Site Directory If you’re looking for somewhere to play, you’re sure to find it here

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

05

AIRSOFT NEWS NEWS EXCLUSIVE NEWS EXCLUSIVE NEWS EXCLUSIVE NEWS EXCLUSIVE NEWS EXCLUSIVE

NEWS “One thing has been dominating my thoughts regarding Airsoft for a while now. Facebook.

I’m sure many of you are on Facebook and have seen a recent explosion in the number of Airsoft pages and groups on there. To me they represent the good the bad and the downright ugly of Airsoft but now on a worldwide stage with sometimes massive audiences. I won’t begin to name names but I’m sure you know who’s who on there! The same is true to a lesser extent for rivals to UKARA. Do we need another system? Do we need the confusion? I don’t know the answer but a reasoned debate certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea!!

This is the problem with Facebook and to an extend the internet. Everything is instant. Instant comments, arguments and wow! Before you know it; everything has escalated.

This segues nicely into what I want to say about UKAPU this month. UKAPU gives you the chance to voice those concerns or thoughts through a RECOGNISED entity.

One made for players by players. One with a constitution and elections. One that YOU could run if you wanted to as long as you’re a member. Nothing out there replicates this. So get involved. After four years it would be an absolute travesty to have to shut down UKAPU and allow all power and control rest with retailers again but if people do not step up then that is a very real possibility.

Anyway, don’t forget that Airsoft should be fun! Get out there and enjoy it. Shoot some mates; have a laugh about it and swap battle stories over a beer (if you’re old enough). Stay safe though and don’t believe everything you read on the internet!!

Phil Bucknall Chairman, UKAPU www.ukapu.org.uk

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june 2014

Incentive Designs - Venom MFG Nige reports on what could be the next big step towards a more realistic airsoft experience

Have you ever received a phone call or email that was so intriguing you just have to find out more? So when I received the following from a gentleman by the name of Jason Cameron, which included an invite to an exclusive presentation, how could I refuse?

“I would like to introduce you to some products that have recently been developed by airsofters and for airsofters, within the company called INCENTIVE DESIGNS. We are a British company that originally embarked on a weapons development programme to provide specialist weapons applications. Our experience and information was obtained from working alongside members of the intelligence community and UK military contractors, and it has now been possible to release these exciting products to the airsoft market.

The aim of the team at INCENTIVE DESIGNS is to introduce a new experience, and make the sport of airsoft even more realistic and appealing. To achieve this, the products we design and develop have to be quite spectacular and, by combining new and existing technologies, we are confident that this has been achieved!”

A couple of weeks later saw a small group of us meeting at an awesome range in Dorset, called “The Tunnel” and yes, it is built into an old railway tunnel!

Jason met us and introduced us to the team behind Incentive Designs, along with their first product “Venom” - a muzzle flash generator. “A what?” I hear you ask.

When you fire a real weapon you get muzzle flash, plain and simple. In fact, arms manufacturers try hard to eliminate it and there is a large “flash suppressor” after-market requirement.

In airsoft, we like our experience to be as real as possible. We try hard to get as close to the part we want to play as we can, be that in a Post-Apocalyptic scenario, or hunting zombies, or out on an ISAF patrol. We want it to feel “real” and that includes the weapons we use. What Incentive Designs have done is to take a close look at real weaponry and mimic one of the most obvious things missing from an airsoft weapon – muzzle flash.

“Venom” is the result, a stand-alone muzzle flash generator (MFG) that senses the passing of a bb and emits a bright flash of light which coincides exactly with the bb leaving the muzzle.

The net result is that every time a bb leaves your weapon, Venom will flash. This looks pretty spectacular in the daylight but in the dark and on full-auto it is something else altogether, it creates what looks like a laser-beam of light as bbs stream out of the gun.

We got to play with the final pre-production prototype and I have to say that I was mightily impressed. Venom is beautifully made here in the UK, from a single billet of aluminium and the quality of production is evident in everything about it. Made with either a clock or counter clockwise 14mm thread, it simply screws onto your muzzle, plugs into an external power source (anything from 6v – 24v) and away you go.

We put thousands of rounds down range and it didn’t miss a beat. Just to add even more to the demo, Jason plugged it into a pre-configured sound unit and soon the crack of a real M4 accompanied every round which, inside the range, seemed to reverberate right through you.

Awesome!!

At the time of writing Venom’s price has yet to be finalised but we are assured it will be “around £119 inc VAT” and by the time you read this, I hope to have Venom in my hands for testing. We will also be giving one away in an Airsoft Action comp, so keep your eyes peeled for that! Incentive Designs have a number of other products in the pipeline but we’re not allowed to talk about those – yet!

For more information, contact Jason at: info.incentive@icloud.com

NEWS THE LATEST AIRSOFT HEADLINES

WE Airsoft Europe Maintenance Kit Every so often something comes along that make you ask “Why didn’t I think of that?”

The WE Airsoft Europe Maintenance Kit is one of those things – simple yet absolutely full of the useful bits you wish you had but simply hadn’t gotten round to finding.

As always with WEAE items, the kit comes nicely packaged in a “WE green” box and contains: Plastic Lubricant, Oil Remover (and a pump for the same), Cleaning Brush, Stick-Easy (WEAE’s version of “Blu-Tack” but in a nice shade of green, of course), Silicone Grease, Gear Grease, Bearing Oil and a micro-fibre cloth.

If you had to go out try to find that lot individually, it would probably cost you more than the price of the kit in petrol alone!

As it says on the box: “WE Europe Airsoft Maintenance Kit is a must have Kit for any Airsoft enthusiast. This kit includes everything an airsofter would need to keep their GBB & AEG weapons in the best condition meaning no compromising on performance. DOMINATE THE FIELD” – and you can’t say fairer than that!

Retailing for around £13.99 or less, there is simply NO reason not to have one in your kit.

For more information contact your local airsoft retailer or visit www.weairsofteurope.com

2 DAYS OF NOTHING BUT AIRSOFT!

BOOK THE DATE IN Y NOW! YOUR DIAR exhibit at the expo

nday 21st Saturday 20th & Su September 2014 9am - 5pm daily

ition Centre Warwickshire Exhib

try ton Spa, near Coven If you would like to stand information. Leaming please contact us for

Ticket Advance On the Door Adult £10 £12 Child (8-14 yrs) £6 £8 Reduced price tickets available in advance via our website. Full price tickets available on the day from the cash box.

Ŷ 24,500 sq ft of Airsoft Ŷ See the leading suppliers Ŷ Demonstrations and Scenario Area Ŷ Airsoft Range

www.airsoftexpo.co.uk

@theairsoftexpo

Airsoft Expo

BOB PODESTA (MID) TO WRITE FOR AIRSOFT ACTION! Following the recent A Squadron Limited event that Nige attended (see page 40 for the report), we are delighted to announce that ex-22 SAS hero, Bob Podesta, has agreed to write for Airsoft Action.

Bob has agreed to come on board to share his skills, knowledge and experience with all of us. There may well also be the chance for AA readers to attend exclusive Training Courses, covering everything that he taught for real whilst serving for 25 years in the SAS - and remember, Bob trained the guys who ended the Iranian Embassy Siege, so he knows a thing or two...

To have such a high-profile and well-respected individual like Bob Podesta associated not only with this magazine but with airsoft in general, is a tribute to how the game is gaining in both popularity and recognition.

Welcome on board Bob, we look forwards to working with you.

Keep an eye on our Facebook (www.facebook.com/AirsoftAction) page for more information about courses and other events from Bob’s company, A Squadron Limited.

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

07

AA GALLERY

ROGUE’S GALLERY

SKIRMISH EAST ANGLIA & CERBERUS SANDPIT

Skirmish East Anglia by Darren Gray

Skirmish East Anglia by

Darren Gray

Skirmish East Anglia by

Darren Gray

INFORMATION Fancy seeing yourself in Airsoft Action?

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

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june 2014

dpit

IED Day at Cerberus San

IED Day

at Cerb

erus Sa

ndpit

AA GALLERY

ROGUE’S GALLERY

SKIRMISH EAST ANGLIA & CERBERUS SANDPIT

Ryan Beggs - Termina

Skirmish East Anglia by Darren Gray

tor Loadout

dpit

IED Day at Cerberus San

IED Day at Cerberus San

dpit

INFORMATION Fancy seeing yourself in Airsoft Action?

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

10

june 2014

IED Day

at Cerb

erus Sa

ndpit

THE CONTAGION SPREADS WITH A NAME ALMOST AS LONG AS THE BARREL, SCOTT ALLAN GETS TO GRIPS WITH THIS RESIDENT EVIL CLONE.

SO YOU WANT TO BE A MOODY, long-haired zombie hunter like Leon Kennedy? Well crack out the straighteners and lock ‘n load because the P Virus Sentinel Nine is in town!

This pistol has a long name, a bonkers long name… The Wei Tech P Virus Biohazard (Resident Evil) Sentinel Nine - and breath…. It boils down to a fancy Sig 226. This is the pistol that Leon from the Biohazard (Resident Evil) games series (allegedly) uses and it has a few stunning features which will not only make you smile but stand out from the crowd too. If you like a fancy pistol that is eye-catching and a solid performer you might have just found a new side arm.

Wei Tech, or WE, are a huge Taiwanese manufacturer. They have distribution all over the world and on each continent which means supplies are always plentiful and prices are pocket-friendly. Historically they have been viewed more as a budget, or low-end manufacturer who could do better. Well those days are gone now and in the past they must remain.

WE pistols were always heavyweight and cheap, such as their mighty Dragon pistols and they were often a bit hit and miss with many falling into the category of the “last thing on a Friday” gun. While their game has improved a huge amount

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JUNE 2014

in recent years, there are still some little niggles with certain products they produce. Will the P Virus be any better or will it just be a horse with lipstick?

Pistols are often tough to write about for me. They generally are on the back foot compared to most electric platforms in the UK, due to our cooler climate and I am big on performance. A pistol is meant to be your last line of defence and what use is that defence if you would be more effective laying low and fixing the issue with your primary weapon? I digress. Most of the year pistols are nothing much more than a weight on your hip that looks cool. Of course there are many exceptions to this rule, such as the KWA pistols and the WE range is sadly not quite the exception. The P Virus in truth does catch my eye and I am hoping that it isn’t just a pretty paperweight.

THE REAL STEEL

The Sig 226 is considered one of the finest pistols available today. Having spent time on the Sig stand at the IWA show there is a mouth-watering number of custom pistols they have

THE ARMOURY WE - VIRUS

- with an equally fat price tag. That said the British Army used the 9mm Sig until very recently and it was always regarded fondly. Perhaps it was because most of the guys carrying them got to feel a little more like Jack Bauer? Who knows? The Sig pistol has been released in an assortment of calibres over the years, as is customary with the firearms market. 9mm is still regarded as one of the best all round ammunition types, as you’ll find it in every major pistol manufacturer’s catalogue, as well as used in the likes of the MP5 sub machine gun.

THE P VIRUS

Typically, packaging is just a way to get the item from A to B. The P Virus on the other hand comes in a very jazzy clear case, equipped with zombie-deterring LED lights that show your pistol off in all its splendour. Now while the thought of flaunting a realistic imitation firearm is not always wise, in the correct environment this looks like one of the best display cases I’ve ever seen. Even the cardboard slip that covers the case has cut outs in the skull so that the light shines through, giving demonic light eyes. Nice touches, I am impressed. The case slides up out of the top, rather than the clamshell design and it is a little fiddly to unscrew all the locking bolts for the pistol and magazine.

The jaw-dropping top slide is a blued silver colour and full metal. This is the first thing you notice, then the weight, then the extended magazine…. The list goes on.

There are few pistols that tick all the boxes on over the top to the max scale but the P Virus does. It must be because it is ostentatious that I like it. The accents of black and silver carry throughout the design, the speed style trigger, de-cocker and magazine release are all silver metal rather than flat black. The full metal pistol is heavy but not overly so at the kilo mark. The grips are the only thing that seem to be plastic.

WE pistols, while made of full metal are not always the hardest wearing products.

Pot metal and cheese alloy are phrases I have heard more than a few times in the past. The P Virus doesn’t seem to fall into this category thankfully, or it would make for a poor review.

Using the new WE Europe Nuprol 3.0 gas I filled the magazine and headed to the range. I do like the Sig grips normally and the P Virus holds true to this. The sights are unusual as WE opted for a circular rear peep sight that looks good and

does aid the aim. The recoil is what I would expect from a WE pistol, I had hoped for more but then I have been using a lot of CO2 magazines recently.

When you read down the list of features there is a lot here for your money. This pistol is a high on good looks yet the over-sizing may make holstering difficult, I certainly wouldn’t run it in a fabric drop leg holster. The extended magazine advertises 40 rounds but actually only takes 30, nevertheless at 10c on the range it did finish the magazine and lock back which is a good sign. I normally find with a pistol you should consider a 0.30 bb as this can help increase the power you get from your shots a little. The Strike flash hider simply unscrews, although unfortunately the pistol does not come with a silencer adaptor.

What you want to know is: As a pistol is it any good?

The performance is really what I expected it to be, middle of the road. WE pistols always have leaned toward the looks over function. They do have a few exceptions such as the Glocks that are great (until they break the air nozzle) or the M&P (until they decide they’ll only do full auto). For me this is the issue with WE, there isn’t enough quality assurance or thought for the longer-term owner. The new CO2 magazines they have released for the Glock and M&P show great promise. Massive recoil and putting out 300-320 fps is perfect for all-weather gaming but the underlying issues will always be there and I don’t always trust a WE to last. But then you have to weigh this up again the price; it’s a really sweet looking pistol with a display case for only £145. That is a bargain. I’m not saying that all WE pistols are bad, but too often for me they are just “okay”.

ON THE GAME FIELD

A pistol like this is difficult to holster but if you can live with that it really will work well enough in cool weather. I would

“THE JAW-DROPPING TOP SLIDE IS A BLUED SILVER COLOUR AND FULL METAL. THIS IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE, THEN THE WEIGHT, THEN THE EXTENDED MAGAZINE…. THE LIST GOES ON.” www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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THE ARMOURY WE - VIRUS

FEATURES personally consider it more of a primary in a CQB environment rather than secondary in a woodland where the bulky size would catch on the scenery.

Hopefully WE will release a CO2 Sig magazine shortly so that this will run all year round so that you can hunt Zombies in the snow.

TO CONCLUDE

This is a nice pistol, a very nice pistol. It looks great and nice touches and the display case really does set off the whole package. The size, shape and design are going to make it difficult to holster, which means either you are going to lose parts off it, get it caught in something or worse still not use it. If you play a lot of pistol games or you carry a pistol as a primary then you should consider this as there is some serious fun to be had with the P Virus.

For the money it is great from a show point of view but it isn’t the most practical out there – but then when was airsoft ever about practicality!

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JUNE 2014

POWER 300FPS (BLASTER 0.20G WITH NUPROL 3.0 GAS) WEIGHT 1 KILO DUAL TONE DESIGN SKULL LOGO ON THE GRIP SILVER SPEED TRIGGER, SLIDE LOCK, DE COCKER, MAGAZINE RELEASE AND SLIDE RELEASE 20MM RAIL FOR FLASHLIGHTS OR LASERS STRIKE FLASH HIDER EXTENDED MAGAZINE LED DISPLAY CASE FULL METAL CONSTRUCTION RRP £145

correction

CLASSIC ARMY G3

SAR M41SG Sportsmatch

GADGE WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH CA’S TAKE ON THE H&K G3 HE DECIDED TO DO A FULL REVIEW OF THIS COLD WAR WEAPON.

20th CENTURY CLASSIC AS MOST OF OUR REGULAR READERS KNOW, it’s rare that I review AEGs. When I do it is usually something I find interesting or is close to my heart in subject matter… Classic Army’s SAR M41 SG is a bit of both really.

While this AEG is getting a little long in the tooth now, I picked one up from the guys at JD Airsoft for the purposes of a Cold War Warriors photo-shoot and felt suitably impressed by their incarnation of this classic rifle to tell you all about it.

Classic Army’s SAR M41SG Sportsmatch is, as the more astute of you will have noticed, clearly a Heckler and Koch (H&K) G3 using a false passport to evade any “imperial entanglements” and a doing a damn good job of it as well. While it carries “Schwaben” trademarks, a unique serial number and an etched discrete Classic Army manufacturers moniker; its H&K classic lines (not to mention the venerable S-E-F G3 trigger group settings) clearly mark it out as a 1960/70s-era German army G3A3… right down to the plastic furniture in that odd shade of bundeswehr green!

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JUNE 2014

The real G3 is perhaps one of the 20th century’s classic “export” guns and, along with its eastern bloc counterpart the AK47, was frequently on the World’s stage; whether it was being toted by a grizzled white mercenary in the Belgian Congo bush wars, or being given an overhead “Beirut unload” by some fanatical PLO fighter in a nameless middle eastern skirmish.

Before we get stuck into looking at CA’s offering let’s have a quick look at the real steel model.

The birth of the G3 came about when the newly formed West German army, or “bundeswehr” needed a fully automatic battle rifle to fight off the Soviet hordes expected to come crashing over the hill any time soon!

The G3’s initial design was based heavily on the CETME rifle made in Spain in the 1950s by ex-pat German designer Luwig Vorgrimler (who was in turn working on a design trialled by Germany at the end of the war). Needing a rifle that met the NATO standard calibre requirements the West German Border Guard asked for a CETME rifle chambered for

THE ARMOURY CLASSIC ARMY SAR M41 SG

“THE BUILD IS PRETTY STURDY AND THERE ARE NONE OF THE CREAKS AND WOBBLES THAT EARLIER TOKYO MARUI G3S SUFFERED FROM”

the NATO 7.62 round; while they eventually went for the Belgian FN FAL (like most other NATO armies had) the re-chambered CETME, however, was noticed by the fledgling Bundeswehr.

Known as the “Automatisches Gewehr G3” (automatic rifle G3) the rechambered CETME outperformed Swiss and US competitors and soon became the issue battle rifle of the Federal Republic. While early G3s shared the use of wood for pistol grip, hand-guard and stock with the CETME family it would not be long before a lighter and more weatherproof polymer set of furniture would fully replace early models with wooden fittings (as had happened with the UK’s L1A1 SLR during the ‘60s). Additionally H&K made a number of variants of the G3 including shortened versions with telescopic stocks (using the same system as on the MP5) and an accurised sharpshooter version.

FULL METAL BEAST

Once accepted for service the G3 was a true success story for Heckler & Koch. Not only was the rifle officially adopted by several nation’s armies as its standard rifle but many more purchased limited stocks for law enforcement and special forces use.

Notably, the UK SAS used several versions of the G3 during their time in Northern Ireland (both in the regular 7.62 and a re-chambered 5.56 version) as it provided full automatic fire that the issue L1A1 rifle was unable to provide and versions with a shortened stock allowed them to be used within vehicles.

So, enough of the history lesson… How does the airsoft version bear up?

Well, as I’ve said it is a somewhat old rifle by today’s standards (like the real one) but to be fair it’s still capable of holding its own on the skirmish field.

Out of the box you immediately get a feeling that this is a fairly solid beast.

Given that the SAR M41 (it’s only fair to use its real name now) retails from JD Airsoft at less than £230 it is impressive that this full metal beast is free of many of the problems of its predecessors - and make no mistake, it is a beast! For a start it’s damn long and while not “real weight” it’s no MP7 either. If you’re short of stature or slender of build it’s probably not the weapon of choice for you. What was pleasing to find is that the build is pretty sturdy and there are none of the creaks and wobbles that earlier Tokyo Marui G3s suffered from; you can clamp a claw type sight mount on the M41 without the worry that at any point the body would flex and it would spring off into the bushes… and you will be using this around bushes.

The M41’s dimensions effectively rule it out for FIBUA or CQB play (unless you are very dedicated), but make it excellent as a woodland AEG, as the long barrel gives you potential for later tweaks and add-ons to make it a truly accurate rifle.

Unlike many of the entry level guns abound today the M41 is fairly Spartan in its box contents. Alongside the AEG comes; a 500 round high capacity magazine; a cleaning rod, a manual and… that’s it! So selecting a 2400ma 8.4 volt large battery I got to grips with the M41 while it charged.

As said it is well built but with a few rough edges and, to the best of my knowledge, quite close to the real steel. The “Safe, Single, Auto” fire selector is operable with one’s right thumb while gripping the rifle and reassuringly firm and free of any wobble. But I did find that it was impossible to flick it back up through the position without using my other hand once it was on auto; possibly small thumbs on my account and I’m sure the real deal has the same “flaw”. Before long the battery was good to go and it was time for a test fire.

Fitting the battery itself was fine but the slide-off cover to the battery compartment was initially very stiff, no bad thing if like me you usually end up taping the cover of AEGs like AK47s and G3s to the stock rather than lose them mid-game.

While fitting the battery however, I did notice that the pushthrough pins (that retain the stock and allow you to later fit a telescopic stock should you wish) were somewhat loose and I think that on my own M41 I’d thread lock these in place.

After loading up the supplied hi-cap mag with .20 bbs I found the mag fitting to be a little clunky and it certainly requires you to be sure it’s sited well. A couple of single shots to test the M41 was working soon had me pulling back the cocking lever (which handily locks in place like a real one) to adjust the rotary G36-style hop device. This again was firm and well-made and before long I had the bb’s trajectory where I wanted it. Chronoing in at a respectable 315 fps with the .20s I was soon itching to “rock and roll” and see what www.airsoft-action.co.uk

17

THE ARMOURY CLASSIC ARMY SAR M41 SG

FEATURES GEARBOX TYPE: TYPE 2 (CA PREUPGRADED) MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 500 ROUNDS the full auto was like.

It’s safe to say I wasn’t disappointed! With an 8.4V battery the rate of fire was respectable and ample enough for my needs (I’m not a great fan of the “continuous stream of plastic” school of thought) and the supplied magazine fed wonderfully – somewhat alleviating my disappointment with the initial siting. Real steel replica sights with a fixed foresight and revolving drum are fitted and there are the usual four apertures for 100 to 400 metres; but as with all things in airsoft it’s a cosmetic thing as I challenge you to find an AEG reaching out past the first bracket that’s UK site legal!

The M41 was an absolute pleasure to shoot; comfortable to shoulder and I could easily see myself using one happily at any event outside of “close quarter” games – especially my fave 18

JUNE 2014

historical Mil Sim events. At the relatively short ranges I was able to test the M41, accuracy seemed perfectly fine, although I have had heard some owners mention that given the barrel’s substantial length and the decent hop up they expected a little more accuracy at long range.

All in all a cracking G3 “look-a-like” at less than £250 with a solid build and no frills.

My only real complaint about the SAR M41 is that I’ve got to give it back to the editor! (Sorry Gadge, we’re doing what we always do and giving it away in an Airsoft Action Competition. So if you want to win this brilliant rifle, courtesy of (and with big thanks to) JD Airsoft, turn to page 75. Ed.)

LENGTH: 1036MM MUZZLE VELOCITY: 315FPS BATTERY PACK SIZE: LARGE BATTERY MAGAZINE: HI-CAP MAGAZINE (500 RD) AVAILABLE FROM JD AIRSOFT HTTPS://JDAIRSOFT.NET/CLASSICARMY-SAR-SPORTMATCH-M41-SG

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OPERATION HELPING HANDS NIGE WENT ALONG TO SEE HOW THE UK’S FILIPINO AIRSOFT COMMUNITY IS PULLING TOGETHER TO HELP THOSE STILL FIGHTING THE EFFECTS OF LAST YEAR’S DISASTER ON NOVEMBER 8TH 2013, TYPHOON HAIYAN bore down on the Philippines and tore the heart out of Cities, Towns and Communities as it drove its deadly path across the islands.

With sustained winds of up to 195mph and storm surges of up to nearly twenty feet, nothing remained untouched - even the terminal building at Tacloban Airport was no match for the strength and ferocity of the onslaught and was destroyed by the deluge of water that hit it.

Listed as a Category 5 Super Typhoon, Haiyan first made landfall in the township of Guluan and left nearly every building damaged in some way, with many completely flattened. Ocean-going vessels were lifted

and dumped among the wreckage of the towns that they used to moor alongside and the population could do little to protect themselves, their property, or their loved ones.

By the time the storm moved away, it left over 6,300 people dead and had caused over $1.5 billion dollars-worth of damage.

Over here in the UK we could not help but be moved by what we were seeing as the depth and scale of the disaster unfolded in the media. Disaster funds were quickly set up and money was made available to provide immediate help to the victims - and the story was soon replaced by some other “news-worthy” item and faded from our television screens almost as rapidly as it appeared. But the Filipino community living in the UK cannot and will not forget their families and friends and continue to raise whatever funds they can to help those back home rebuild their lives.

I was delighted to receive an invitation to attend Operation Helping Hands, a Charity Event arranged by the Filipino Airsoft Community in cooperation with Popular Airsoft and held at MadDog Airsoft in Brampton, Cambridgeshire. Organised by Paul Fernandez and Albert Onrubia, all the funds raised at Operation

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Event Review CHARITY EVENT | OPERATION HELPING HANDS

INFORMATION

“Not too much in the way of tactics required here though, with one team on continual regen and the other on “single hit” it was always going to be an out and out spray-fest… Speedball airsoft-style!”

Helping Hands would go towards the rehabilitation efforts in areas of devastation, via the ABS-CBN Foundation “Sagip Kapamilya”.

Speaking to Paul a few weeks before the event, he said they hoped to have about 50 - 60 players and if they could raise a few hundred pounds it would be considered a big success - but the generosity of airsofters would prove far greater than he could have imagined.

I had not been to MadDog Airsoft before and, in truth, knew very little about them so this was going to be a very interesting day indeed.

To get to MadDog you drive along a track behind the Services at the A1/A14 roundabout, up a gentle slope to High Harthy Farm which is on top of one the three hills to be found in Cambridgeshire (I was reliably informed - by a man wearing an orange traffic cone on his head!), where I was greeted by Paul, Albert and a large contingent of airsofters. The 50 - 60 players Paul had mentioned looked to be many more than that!

MadDog Airsoft is owned by Chrissi Griffiths and her partner Demetrios “Midge” Harris who also operate High Harthy Outdoor Pursuits, which offers people the chance to try such sports as Clay Pigeon Shooting, Crossbow and Archery. They “fell” into airsoft almost by accident when they were looking for some decent pistol for Practical Shooting and discovered that airsoft weapons are really rather good. One thing lead to another and MadDag was born, with the philosophy of giving people what they want whilst having loads of fun in a safe environment. When they were approached about hosting the Charity day, they didn’t hesitate to say yes.

The site itself is a large “L”-shape and comprises very distinctly different playing areas and all would be used today, the first of which being the aptly named “Scrap Yard”.

Following a really good briefing from Head Marshal Matt (the aforementioned man wearing the orange traffic cone), players were split into two teams and the day got underway. Interestingly, Matt conducted his briefing from the centre of a rope circle laid out on the ground, with all players on the outside of the circle. It is sometimes difficult to visualise the “blast radius” of a grenade but this was what the circle had been laid out to demonstrate - very simple yet very effective.

The Scrap Yard, a large, open field absolutely full of old vehicles, bits of machinery, small buildings, barricades and various other sundry obstacles and points of cover, would be the starting

THANK YOU TO THE 100+ PLAYERS THAT TOOK PART IN OPERATION HELPING HANDS AND CONGRATULATIONS TO PAUL FERNANDEZ, ALBERT ONRUBIA AND THE UK FILIPINO AIRSOFT COMMUNITY FOR RISING TO THE CHALLENGE. OVER £1,500 WAS RAISED AND THAT MONEY WILL GO IN ITS ENTIRETY TO HELP THOSE WHO LOST SO MUCH. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A DONATION TO THE DISASTER FUND, VISIT THE DISASTERS EMERGENCY COMMITTEE WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.DEC.ORG.UK/ APPEALS/PHILIPPINES-TYPHOON-APPEAL

point of a three-phase game. The total time taken for each team to complete the phases would be recorded with the fastest time being the winners. I really liked this idea as it meant if one team cocked up a certain phase, it wasn’t the end of it and to win, you would have to be on top of your game through all three phases.

Not too much in the way of tactics required here though, with one team on continual regen and the other on “single hit” it was always going to be an out and out spray-fest… Speedball airsoft-style! The game started and swarms of little white angry wasps soon (quite literally) filled the air and I have to say it was just brilliant to watch. I have not seen so many players having such a blast-fest in ages. With the amount of bbs in the air the potential for over-kill could have been a problem but not today, in fact I saw loads of excellent sportsmanship, with players taking hits without question. I also watched as two players arrived at opposite sides of the same barricade and, realising what the situation was, one player popped his gun over the other side and simply shouted “Bang!” - the hit was accepted without question.

The game ended when the last player (sited on the top of a mound and armed with a GPMG) finally ran out of ammo and was overrun.

To ensure a smooth flow and not having to traipse back to the Safe Zone between games, players had loaded extra kit and ammo onto a Quad’s trailer which was used for re-supply throughout the day. The next phase would be a straight-forward attack and defend scenario, played through a very different part of the site.

Whereas the Scrap Yard was flat and open, this phase would be played through what I can only describe as a quarry-like environment… a steep-sided area which led to a large, open “Quarry” and at one end of which was a small structure standing on a raised mound within the pit. The same rules applied and again it was all down to how quickly the defenders could be cleared but this time, tactics would be a factor as well.

Simply put, whoever controlled the high side would have the greatest advantage and this would be particularly important for the defenders. If the attacking force could push them back then they would be able to rain fire down onto those below. Also coming into play was a small area of woodland on the opposite side, which had a track running the length of the area and lent itself perfectly to a flanking manoeuvre. However, the attackers didn’t get it all their own way as the wind had picked up and although they had the advantage of height, they were being out-

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21

ranged by the defenders, who had the wind behind them. As in the first phase, weight of numbers slowly began to come into play and as the last man was taken out the clock was stopped to record the time and players reassembled for the third and final phase.

For this phase the defenders were split into two groups; one was sent to defend a “downed pilot”, whilst the other was tasked to intercept an incoming horde of attackers (shades of Black Hawk Down). The objective was either for the defenders to rescue the pilot, or for the attackers to capture or kill him. As the attackers poured past them, one defender (who had now swapped his GMPG for a Barrett) has a smile a mile wide on his face as he picked off player after player. Once again though, regen slowly proved to be the deciding factor and the attackers pushed through and eventually “eliminated” the pilot.

The clock was stopped and everyone made their way back to the Safe Zone for a well-earned lunch break.

As I mentioned earlier, MadDog Airsoft is on the site of High Harthy Outdoor Pursuits which has a very nice Café where hot and cold food and drinks are available throughout the day, along with proper toilet facilities (something I am sure the ladies were very appreciative of). The place was soon buzzing with the sound of “airsoft banter” as players enjoyed their lunches and recounted the morning’s events.

To cater for players having problems with their kit, Airsoft Monkey (Phil Woods) runs a small shop and service centre and will handle most repairs and upgrades almost immediately.

Before the afternoon’s play got underway, a raffle was held for a range of guns and other prizes that had been donated by a variety of airsoft retailers and an auction for an MG34 worth over £1,300, donated by RedWolf Airsoft, was held. This single item raised well over £500 - a great bargain for the player who bought it and a huge boost to the funds raised.

With full bellies and everyone wound down, the afternoon got underway with a one-off game called “Light Cavalry”. Not including the Scrap Yard but spread throughout the rest of the site were a number of lighting units, each with two, different coloured

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eVENT Review CHARITY EVENT | OPERATION HELPING HANDS

THE BANG RULE WORKING...

lights. The objective was simple; the Red Team had to find them and turn on the red light whilst the Blue Team had to do the same with the white light (obviously turning off the other if it was already on). They then had to decide whether to stay and defend, or move on to try and find the rest and the team with the most lights on at game-end would win. A simple but very effective game which brought all sorts of elements into play and a great way to get fired up again after food before moving onto the afternoon proper - a replay and reversal of roles from the morning.

The afternoon played in much the same way as the morning, with the defenders being slowly whittled down whilst the attackers fought to beat the clock. However there was one incident that I feel should be reported and it is one we don’t like to think about; a player injury.

The Scrap Yard phase had been running for a few minutes and the attackers were pushing up fast when the “Cease Fire!” shout went up and three whistle blasts resounded across the area - a player had gone down and was injured.

Over the many years I have been involved in force-on-force events I have seen quite a few injury situations and know two things… 1) Injuries can and will happen. 2) It is how you deal with them that matters.

I have been on sites (not necessarily airsoft) where an injured player triggers “Headless Chicken Syndrome”, with everyone running around in a panic and achieving very little. This was not the case at MadDog Airsoft and I would go as far as to say that it was dealt with in probably the most efficient and professional manner that I have seen on any site, ever.

The player in question had slid into a barricade and thought he may have broken his ankle. Play was instantly stopped, players told to remain still with mags unloaded and guns on the ground whilst the on-site Medic, Dave Keen, assessed the injury. Dave is a 15-year army veteran and trained Team Medic and Battlefield Casualty Instructor, skills which he put to good use on more than one occasion whilst serving in Afghanistan.

Thankfully, the injury was not too serious and Dave treated it with cold spray before bandaging it securely and getting the player

off the field to recuperate and be watched for a few minutes in case shock set in. I have since heard from Dave that the injury was a sprained ankle and understand that the player is absolutely fine.

The game restarted and the rest of the afternoon continued and went right down to the wire before the eventual winners were determined.

With the despatch of the downed pilot ending the game, the Red Team managed to beat the Blues by just two minutes which, after over six hours of play, was a very close-run thing.

Back at the Safe Zone I managed to catch up with Paul and Albert but didn’t have to ask them how they thought the day had gone, their smiles said it all.

Operation Helping Hands was run to raise funds to help people thousands of miles away and once again showed the depth of generosity of the airsoft community - a community that I am proud to be part of and one that I hope never loses its desire to help those less fortunate than we are.

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SERIOUS COMBAT

WHEN IS A MAGPUL M4 NOT A MAGPUL M4? WHEN IT IS THE NEW G&G COMBAT MACHINE MOD 0, ACCORDING TO SCOTT ALLAN

SCOTT ALLAN

Scott has worked in airsoft retail for many years – and played airsoft long before that. He likes big, heavy guns, loud explosions and MilSim games in particular

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THE GUAY GUAY COMBAT MACHINE range continues to expand with this new offering from G&G. The CM16 range is aimed at the entry level player giving them maximum looks, good performance all at a wallet-friendly price. Previous releases were the CM16, which is a basic M4 A1 and then the extremely popular Raider Range, which gives a CQB R looking M4 for a hard to believe price. The Mod 0 continues this range with a Magpul lookalike hand guard and stock.

The whole package appears to be fairly slick, but looks can be deceiving.

Guay Guay (or G&G as they are more commonly known) have come such a long way in the last few years. Based out in Taiwan you will often see them at all the big shows, or advertising somewhere online. When you compare the likes of Classic Army or ICS to G&G, they really seem to have outperformed in comparison on almost every front. G&G listen to players and their distribution points in equal measure and they very rarely get it wrong these days. They have a firm idea where they want to take the company in the future and from the top of their range to the bottom innovation and thought is applied in ample amounts.

While it is a little tough to get excited over an M4 these days, it can be even harder to get excited over an entry-level M4 manufactured almost entirely out of ABS plastic. The lightweight construction admittedly is deceiving and actually looks better than some cast metal rifles I have seen. The overall feel does not really suggest the extremely fair price tag in the slightest. Better than this the rifle comes in two distinct flavours to prevent them being too common and suiting the individual player, you can have Black or Tan both of which look great.

It goes without saying that the M4/AR15 platform is the most common rifle you will see today, right after the AK47 that is. The 5.56mm NATO round is also used by the L85/ SA80 and is driving force (pardon the pun) for the M4. This lightweight and effective round has been used now for many years and there is little sign of things changing for the mass market. The M4 design is manufactured by so many companies in the US and around the world that we probably couldn’t list them all in a single copy of Airsoft Action. Left/ right handed, multi calibre, pistol versions and bolt action versions of this platform exist. Basically if you can think of it there is a good chance that somewhere in the world it is made into the M4 platform. Variety is the spice of life and the same is true in airsoft.

THE ARMOURY G&G COMBAT MACHINE MOD 0

“THE £140 MOD 0 MAY NOT HAVE THE ZIPPY TRIGGER PULL OF A SYSTEMA BUT IT IS VERY CLOSE IN PERFORMANCE TO MANY OTHER OUT OF THE BOX RIFLES FROM G&G, ICS AND G&P.”

BACK TO THE COMBAT MACHINE

Externally the finish is quite deceiving.

While areas are clearly ABS plastic when examined up close this rifle also has a few very nice touches externally. The 6-position stock appears to be inspired by the Magpul CTR stock but G&G added their own little design touches.

The stock support arm has a hidden CR123 battery compartment as well as the CTR style stock lock. The two iron sights are both quickly removable to allow for uninterrupted views from and red dot or scope that you may wish to fit on the full length 20mm rail. The pistol grip is the Tango Down style that is one of the most ergonomic and comfortable available today (in my opinion). The rifle even comes with a 450-round, high-capacity magazine that means if you are a conscious enough a player, you could quite easily run with just a single magazine. ABS plastic, while lighter is often just as strong as any cast metal rifle. The length of the rifle suits a player of any build and size too.

Internally the Combat Machine is on the basic side when compared to some of the Gen 3 rifles made by G&G but at the same time, it is not short of power or accuracy. Clearly you have to save money somewhere if you want an entrylevel rifle and G&G have done this with a large degree of thought.

The inner barrel is light aluminium and while it looks like it should not be able to place a shot accurately, it does so with a fair result. Again with the gearbox internal parts, it is lighter and slightly cheaper materials but they still do the job very well. What this paves the way for is upgrades, everything you buy as an upgrade part is going to be noticeably better than the existing part inside the gearbox. Version 2 Ultimate Upgrade parts for example will all drop straight in and increase your power, accuracy and consistency by a noticeable margin. This all boils down to a basic yet fully usable platform internally and this is why G&G always do the little things right.

While nothing in the features list is really of note on the ground-breaking scale, the price is very impressive. This puts it in the China clone price bracket except that G&G have a warranty and back up for all of their rifles. Everything breaks at some point and I would much rather have the knowledge that the parts to fix it are available and from the original manufacturer. The Magpul-ish ergonomic design means that this rifle appears to be much more expensive than it actually is, without sacrificing on anything that your average player would notice.

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THE ARMOURY G&G COMBAT MACHINE MOD 0

FEATURES POWER 330FPS ON A BLASTER 0.20G BB WEIGHT 2.7 KILOS 6 POSITION STOCK WITH LOCK AND CR123 STORAGE REMOVABLE FRONT AND REAR SIGHT 450 ROUND HIGH CAPACITY MAGAZINE ERGONOMIC DESIGN ABS PLASTIC CONSTRUCTION RRP £140

Airsoft is all about performance and if your rifle isn’t up to scratch someone with something better is going to get you. That said, the player influences the outcome a huge amount. People still hold the Systema PTW on an ever-lowering pedestal and having owned many over the years I can say they are good and overall a consistent performer. Will the £1,300 rifle make you ten times a better player? Of course it won’t. The £140 Mod 0 may not have the zippy trigger pull of a Systema but it is very close in performance to many other out of the box rifles from G&G, ICS and G&P. Throw in a tight-bore barrel (which even a novice could fit at home in 30 minutes with a YouTube guide) and you will have increased the grouping considerably. Then swap out the motor for a better quality one and you will have something to be feared very quickly.

ON THE SKIRMISH FIELD

Any airsoft M4 is a pleasure to use on the skirmish site due to the intuitive design and it regularly works very well for new players as people pick up the basic operating almost instantly. I tried for years to avoid the M4 – I had a Sig 552, Thompson and

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a M14, then one day you take the plunge and you never look back. Most vests and rigs that are available will suit the magazines and your magazine options are near endless as, every airsoft manufacturer makes some kind of mid or high capacity magazine. The lightweight construction and short design of this rifle means both indoor and outdoor you will easily manage to manipulate it on target.

TO CONCLUDE

Rifles like the G&G Combat Machine and in particular this new version the Mod 0 are perfectly usable entry level rifles but that’s not all; they are perfectly adequate as the only rifle you will ever need. Upgrade options are plentiful and you will see good results from a few simple upgrades. The Mod 0 ticks all the boxes from entry-level platform, back up rifle and right up to a ready to modify uber light gun of doom.

You cannot do much better than the Combat Machine range if you have a £140 budget. Quite simply it is the best in its class.

WHY SO SERIOUS? IN THIS ISSUE’S DEBATE, GARETH “GADGE” HARVEY ASKS “HAS THE FUN GONE OUT OF AIRSOFT?”

GARETH ‘GADGE’ HARVEY

Gadge is our resident history buff and FilmSim fanatic. He has a passion for WWII, Nam-soft and Cold War gaming – but still finds time to fit in an open-day skirmish

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june 2014

IS IT MORE ABOUT HAVING A “BANG ON” LOADOUT than getting those hits in? Do the “MilSim Warriors” at your local site bore you silly, or does the guy playing in a hoodie and jeans ruin your day “playing army”? Some players seem to spend thousands on their kit but spend more time talking about it in the safe zone than skirmishing but, on the other side of the coin, are the new guys with a two tone gun and an old NBC suit making your beloved game feel more like paintball?

We’ve all seen it on a Sunday skirmish; the guy on site who looks like he’s just about to deploy in Helmand Province on an operational tour (yet oddly seems to spend most the day chatting in the safe zone), standing next to the guy in jeans and t-shirt using a Disneyland bumbag as a dump pouch (well you kind of know what I mean)… The two guys couldn’t be further apart in the kit spectrum and quite often they will be of different attitudes too. To some people airsoft is a game and in a way it’s playing “tag”, with plastic balls deciding whether you are “out” or not, while to others it’s “playing army in the woods” and to a rare few it’s “active service” in their heads!

But is it fair to be snobbish about either the guys with so much kit they leave serving soldiers envious or, on the other hand, to sneer at the guy in a hoody and tracksuit bottoms if they are both getting what they want out of the game?

Most of our readers felt when asked, that it was not so much the kit that someone wore to a game, as the attitude they brought along to it.

A common “safe zone story” you’ll here time and time again, is of the player decked out in “real steel” SF operators plate carrier, “go faster” Gucci designer

combat gear and with a top of the range gun who feels he’s spent too much money to actually ever be hit! This near legendary character (and there is one at every site) somehow equates their purchasing power and the depth of their pockets with their ‘softing skill. Heaven forbid that another player should get the drop on them but if that player is a “hire gun”, or “not taking it seriously” in their tracksuit, they sure as hell are not going to take their hits. Yet on the flip side of the coin, most of us have also suffered the “hung over stag do” party as part of your team for the open day. Through no fault of your own you find yourself joined up with 20 or so guys literally sweating alcohol from every pore and who really can’t be arsed with the rules as “It’s just a laugh, init?”

For airsoft to stay a valid, vibrant and active hobby it needs to constantly bring in the new player with basic kit, so we also asked whether seeing players decked out like something out of Call of Duty was inspiring, or intimidating to a new player.

I certainly remember being heavily involved in paintball in the early 90s and seeing the “pro player”

debate ELITISM

walk on with a high end marker to dominate open days, making new players feel they simply could not compete. Airsoft clearly has it’s differences and while a top end AEG may well out perform a Chinese clone, there isn’t the huge gap in performance that paintball suffered from when “hire guns” were using pump-action weapons and the veteran players turned up with semi-autos.

We asked our readers whether some guys have taken it too seriously and have become “elitist” or did they feel that open days are “dumbed down” now the sport has become more popular…

HAVE YOUR SAY: Adam Woolley: “I think all these “elitists” are a joke. We are there to play a game and encourage others to do so. People who have all the gear are usually the type to cry if their team isn’t doing well or the weather isn’t right for their playing style. We are there to relieve stress and have fun!”

Stacy Bishop: “Each to their own IMO. Providing they play the game with grace and honour, the kit and RIF choice is down to the person.”

Josh Salt: “I’m a bit of both. I like my kit to be spot on but have no problems with getting soaked through, freezing my nads off in snow and getting muddy. If you enjoy the sport for having a laugh, great, if you enjoy having Gucci kit and playing weekend events, great.”

Matthew Brookes: “People talk about Crye-wearing PTW elitists ruining the sport, I’ve never met any of these people it’s all smoke and mirrors.”

Patrick Storrar: “One thing that grinds my gears is games consisting of 200+ players and then maybe 20 players per team stand and talk at regen for the entirety of the game, why pay and not play? Why have the gear and not use it?”

David Puddefoot: “I don’t mind the guys who want to dress up and try to get a mil-spec load-out as long as they play with a mil-spec mindset. Some players can surprise you turning up to in a game no more than a tactical hoodie, welding a rental or two-tone and play better than people who as they say have “all the gear but no idea”.”

Dave Wheeler: “I safely fall into the “loads of gear no idea” camp, MTP camos (no rank or insignia - I’ve never served therefore no right to wear), chest rig, TM recoil but when I’m playing on an open day it’s for fun, wandering about chatting and trying to

get the drop on someone, then on a milsim trying to up my game (always out-classed though).”

Ross Curnow: “I got called a noob at a game last year because I was just wearing tan trousers and a grey hoodie, by some numpties in full MTP. I just smiled and pointed out I had been playing for 10yrs and my 6yr old TM AK was out-shooting their £700 guns.”

Dave Buczak: “Why not both? Dress well and have fun at the same time, after all that’s what you’re spending all your money on.”

Stuart Martyn Green: “I personally think each to their own. I for one have not spent a lot on my kit, and play PMC and to this day I get huge amounts of satisfaction when my £200 quid M14 SOCom outranges, out-performs and often hits those thousand pound heroes.”

Spike Cooksley: “I started playing in jeans and t-shirt and now sport a full MTP kit! I enjoy the game as much now as when I started. What others choose to wear doesn’t affect the gameplay at all. Had a young lad on the same team as me at Ironsight a couple weeks back, running around with an M4 in a full Ghillie suit.”

Luke Liddle: “Whether you’re running full MilSim gear rocking a PTW, or jeans and a hoody brandishing a fluorescent bolt action rifle, at the end of the day the objectives are still the same. I’m sure most of the elitists did not start out in airsoft with the full kit.”

Nick Rogers; “As long as people are playing fair it doesn’t really matter. I love a bit of MilSim and have spent quite a bit of my hard-earned pennies on my kit, but even I will strip it all down and play in hoodie

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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and camo trousers. All in all, no matter what you do you’re always gonna get arseholes.”

Ian Taffy Paget: “You do get some guys who take it way too seriously but then again that happens in most sports/hobbies. On the whole, I would say I’ve met some awesome people on open days who just enjoy playing and personally, as an ex-Infantry corporal, I’m just there to have some fun and de-stress from the week. At the end of the day it’s all about having fun, which the vast majority do in my humble opinion.”

Liam Bauckham: “It’s the same with any sport. Some people take football too seriously. As long as you are not hurting anyone it’s all good.”

Lincolnshire Airsoft Club: “Good attitude, relative skill, enthusiasm, team spirit, camaraderie and a good sense of humour combined with the ability not to belittle or humiliate others. Once you have those attributes then all else is just the trimmings.”

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PERFEKCJA Z POLSKI? THEY MADE QUITE A SPLASH AT IWA, SO WHAT DID JAY SLATER THINK OF THIS ROCKSOLID, GOOD-LOOKER FROM POLISH MANUFACTURER, SPECNA ARMS?

JAY SLATER JAY SLATER FELL IN LOVE WITH AIRSOFT NOT SO LONG AGO AND HAS TOO MANY GUNS.

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YET ANOTHER M4...

The airsoft weapons market is saturated with M4s and the low appeal incarnations blur the reputation and respectability of high-grade performers, as there are a great number of lemons out there.

The M4, as well as the AK-47, suffer from mass hardcore appeal and manufacturers are simply responding to demand.

The marketplace is therefore saturated with the same weapons – this reviewer preferring individuality with the King Arms Galil, ASG Sten, ICS M1 Garand and WA Ra-Tech M14 – but they do have advantages: magazine compatibility, easy to obtain spare parts and so on. This is where Specna Arms and their SA-A003 enter the M4 arena fighting fit.

Specna Arms are a new airsoft manufacturer to hit the market, although they enjoy a healthy presence in Eastern Europe, France and the Netherlands and have just penetrated the UK scene.

They also love the M4.

Initial impressions are, well, impressive and the rifle and layout are well presented. The package is cleanly designed and a move away from the standard China clone presentation.

The rifle comes with the expected cleaning rod, box of 6-mm ‘bullets’ (that’s BBs to you and me), two-pin charger, replacement spring and 300-round, mid-cap magazine. To be expected, there is an instruction manual that is well designed and produced in English and Polish languages: “Zbyt mocny hop-up” (“Too much hop-up”, in case you were wondering).

What is instantly striking about the Specna Arms SA-A003 M4 is how solid it is with no wobble whatsoever and is bang for your buck aesthetically-speaking. Constructed of full metal (zinc, aluminium and steel) bar the high-quality rubber/ plastic grip and stock, this is certainly impressive and a grade above a number of Asian M4 charlatans. Also, the hop-up is a whizz to access to by simply pulling back on the rear charging handle – the shell ejection port will then open and the hop-up can be adjusted with ease (it is also a responsive system). The magazine is equally well made and the underneath wind-up mechanism is not obtrusive yet a joy to wind. The default muzzle flash-hider is placed on a 14-mm counter-clockwise thread that allows the attachment of a sound suppressor/ tracer unit in its place. Additionally, the weapon is graced with four, 22-mm RIS rails for optics and a grenade launcher, etc.

THE ARMOURY THE ARMOURY SPECNA ARMS SA-A003 SPECNA ARMS SA-A003

“WHAT IS INSTANTLY STRIKING ABOUT THE SPECNA ARMS SA-A003 M4 IS HOW SOLID IT IS WITH NO WOBBLE WHATSOEVER AND IS BANG FOR YOUR BUCK AESTHETICALLY-SPEAKING… AS M4 EYEBALL CANDY GOES, THIS PACKS A HARDCORE CORDITE WALLOP.” and the rifle generally reeks of high quality and manufacturing standards. However, a bugbear is the extended crane stock in that squeezing in a 9.6v 1,100 mAh is overtly tight and a royal pain to conceal within the weapon. Once situated, closing the stock to its minimum length can be difficult and the rear access port is extremely frustrating to open (it is advisable to use a tool such as a screwdriver).

It should also be known that the markings are not historically correct, giving this weapon a fictitious, somewhat cheap and artificial flavour. With that said and done, however, the Specna Arms SA-A003 is certainly a good looker, solid as a rock, benefits from internals – such as the 8-mm bearings and steel-toothed gearbox – that are on a par with the likes of G&G and is well made for the price. The SA-A003 is finished with a pulverisation method after the surfaces were sandblasted, which ensures a hard-wearing finish. As M4 eyeball candy goes, this packs a hardcore cordite wallop.

The M4 carbine assault rifle remains a movie and videogame favourite such as Battlefield 4, and was adopted by the US Army in the mid-1990s to replace the beloved M16 and each share 80 per cent of the same internal parts, making them very similar. The M4, thanks to its compact size, has proven popular, which is helpful in close-quarter firefights and easy movement in combat zones – it also slogs the 5.56-mm calibre round. The M4 has equally benefited from customisation such as sight mounts, flashlights, grenade launchers and shotguns and is appreciated for its excellent accuracy, beating the AK-47 in a number of competitions. However, the M4 found desert environments problematic where it can frequently jam in dusty and sandy conditions – the age and growing number of complaints led to the US Army seeking a reliable alternative.

The M4 also appeared in Will Smith’s appalling I am Legend, a dreadful 2007 SF/horror where the happy go lucky and wisecracking hero plays an Army doctor who struggles to find a cure for a virus that has turned the world’s population into the flesh-eating walking dead. Based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 superb novella, it was followed by a rare but gripping Italian horror movie with Vincent Price, The Last Man on Earth (1964), and the so-so The Omega Man (1971) starring Charlton Heston. That’s the history lesson over and on with the firing test...

The Specna Arms SA-A003 comes with two springs; 310 FPS (M90) and 400 FPS (M120) and benefits from a quick main spring exchange system, called “Enter and Convert”. A little tricky to install for technophobes such as myself, this allows the player to adapt the velocity of the AEG to various gaming sites (although 400 FPS

and fully automatic fire is too “hot” for the UK). On loading the magazine with .20 Madbull Precision BBs, the firing range was 200 feet in length and .25 Madbull BBs were also tested for performance, power and punch. On semi-automatic the trigger response was razor sharp and devilishly responsive, as if a sewing machine deliriously high on liquid crack, sending white balls of death towards the target with apocalyptic glee. Decent accuracy and excellent range were instantly acknowledged, despite an infrequent grouping and tendency to whizz and dip towards the end of the magazine feed (this might be an issue of the hop-up bedding in, however). On the whole, accuracy and FPS muscle were impressive and leaves no doubt that the Specna Arms SA-A003 can hold its own from short and long ranges, even if a foolhardy DMR (but ever so complimentary considering the short size of the barrel).

Fully-automatic fire was then tested with a series of twelve magazines of various manufacture and each fed flawlessly and without issue, making short work of their targets that were ripped to pieces with wild abandon.

Fully-automatic fire is the work of the devil with the SAA003 and each shot was consistent in terms of power and range, making short shrift of their targets and was indeed an impressive performance for a mid-range AEG. With that being said, the racket that came from the motor was somewhat deafening as each shot reverberated throughout the firearm with an almighty crack. On fully-automatic fire, the SA-A003 is a seriously loud beast and although this can be used as a DMR or a lone wolf powerhouse primary, your location, even to the near-deaf, comatose and brain dead, will be revealed from the first shot. It is doubtful that this is a design issue or flaw, but is just the way that Specna Arms designed their internal engineering razzmatazz. Therefore, a tactical recommendation is to go straight to the front, let rip with the machine-gun cha-cha-cha, and scream from the rooftops! www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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THE ARMOURY SPECNA ARMS SA-A003

INFORMATION LENGTH: 700 - 785 MM WEIGHT: 2580G COLOR: BLACK The SA-A003 may not be as precise in fluid electric harmony, but it performed effortlessly and reliably out of the box. As a low- to mid-range airsoft weapon, this is certainly a better deal than a number of other typical Asian M4 rip-offs and is accurate and powerful to boot. Unlike the competition, Specna Arms have included two power springs for various scenarios and legal settings and this is a move that is to be celebrated and championed.

For the price, the SA-A003 is certainly worth considering for those interesting in dipping their toes into M4 waters, for what it lacks in genuine markings and battery storage capacity, it delivers in punch and accuracy for a fistful of Hong Kong dollars (just bring your ear plugs). What’s not to like?

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MADE OF: AN ALLOY OF ZINC AND ALUMINUM, STEEL AND PLASTIC MUZZLE VELOCITY: ~410 / ~310 FPS ENTER & CONVERT™ QUICK MAIN SPRING EXCHANGE SYSTEM MANUFACTURER: SPECNA ARMS MANY THANKS TO GUNFIRE FOR PROVIDING THE REVIEW RIFLE WHICH WE WILL BE GIVING AWAY AS A COMPETITION PRIZE IN A FUTURE ISSUE OF AIRSOFT ACTION, SO KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED!

GARETH ‘GADGE’ HARVEY

Gadge is our resident history buff and FilmSim fanatic. He has a passion for WWII, Nam-soft and Cold War gaming – but still finds time to fit in an open-day skirmish

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TO GATHER INTELLIGENCE, THE SOVIETS USED LARGE NUMBERS OF MEN. GARETH “GADGE” HARVEY LOOKS AT A TYPICAL “RECCE PATROL” SNIPER’S LOADOUT.

COLD WAR WARRIOR

INTELLIGENCE IS VITAL IN WARFARE. Not only is it essential in providing a nation the knowledge needed to go to war in the first place but it can, when coupled with an effective army, help to win a war.

“Knowledge is power, information is ammunition.” There are a dozen or so similar maxims extolling the virtues of accurate information on the enemy but few nations developed as healthy a respect for intelligence gathering in war (and peace) as the Soviet Union.

During WWII the Soviets realised that poor intelligence in 1941 had almost cost them the war, as sudden unexpected strikes from the Nazis crippled their armed forces (and all but destroyed their air force on the ground) and that good intelligence preceding the battle of Kursk in 1943 (and thence onwards), had tipped the balance in their favour. With these lessons learned the Russians were determined that should a future war occur they would not be unprepared.

By the 1980s warfare had changed pace and the battlefield become so urbanised that the Soviets realised that TIME was now a major constraint to successfully prosecuting a future war; rapid manoeuvre and effective command were the keys to success… Prompt and accurate assessment of intelligence on the enemy was vital.

While in the west terms such as “reconnaissance” , “military intelligence” “sabotage” and “raiding” all have their own precise meanings, the Soviets used the catch-all term “Razvedka” to encapsulate all of these activities

SOVIET “RAZVEDKA” SCOUT, LATE 1980S

RAZVEDKA! Razvedka covers all intelligence gathering, be it Strategic (and concerning the forces held by entire nations, their economy and their political activities), Operational at “front” level, or even right down to tactical intelligence. This month it is the forces used to gain the latter that we will look at, although we will briefly view higher formations.

Operational (and to a degree tactical ) Razvedka concerns itself with finding out for a Soviet Army group (or “front”) the nature and location of enemy troop concentrations, nuclear weapons, air defence units, prepared dug in positions, rear area support and even the equipment and morale of the enemy forces.

Typically a Soviet recce platoon on a tactical level would have gained its intelligence from scores of methods but most notably: Combat Action of Forces, Observation (nabliudenie), Sweeps (poisk), Raids (nalet), Ambushes (zasada), Reconnaissance in Force (razvedka boem), Interrogation of Civilians (opros), Interrogation of Prisoners (dopros) and the study of captured documents.

SHOCK ARMY The depth to which a recce platoon would penetrate the enemy line would vary depending on the scale of the operation but any intelligence gathering would be both constant and also irregularly paced (to avoid forming a pattern of behaviour that would be equally recognisable to the enemy’s counter intelligence) and their own recce formations. Please note that in this article the English abbreviation “recce” is used as it was most common in NATO. The term “recon” is largely an Americanism and not used by British forces.

One of the most critical roles of the Razvedka platoon however would be before the battle had even started, as the eyes and ears of a tank heavy “Shock Army” in a “march formation”; by gaining awareness of the enemy’s dispositions the Razvedka would allow the Shock Army to deploy into the most effective combat formations before the battle was joined.

At this point it’s probably important to tackle the scale of operations.

Many of you are probably thinking of these forces in western terms of “Bravo 2 Zero”-style eight man teams behind enemy lines. A Soviet shock army’s recce element could be up to BATALLION size but typically would be an entire company of men with both APCs and main battle tanks. The size of these formations typically meant that the recce element alone could seriously damage most NATO formations should it be

forced to fight – and this was an advantage they would intend to press home. These company-size recce elements would often be tasked with penetrating NATO lines up to 50km and along a frontage of over 5km.

As a young solider the author was personally informed by an Instructor at the British Army’s Armoured Warfare School, that UK tank units facing a Soviet Army at the time would quite likely have run out of anti-armour ammunition before the recce element had passed them, let alone the “advance guard” or “van” or a Motor Rifles division!

PENETRATION IN DEPTH More traditional recce patrols would be sent out however, from recce platoons detached from these companies. Such patrols would often penetrate on foot up to 15km away from their parent force and use the typical infantry patrolling and scouting tasks you would expect, to gain information in situations where “reconnaissance in force” via and armoured unit was unsuitable.

Somewhat confusingly, while the large recce company and battalionsized recce formations were expected to try and engage in combat to draw fire and locate the enemy positions, the platoon patrols were tasked to avoid combat where possible. In the same conversation at Warminster the author was told how NATO recce patrols would equally often be ordered to avoid tangling with Soviet recce to allow them to get to the “bigger picture”. While the recce patrol would consist mainly of specially trained “Motor Rifles” soldiers, often, attached artillery or engineering specialist would accompany patrols in order to select targets WWW.AIRSOFT-ACTION.CO.UK

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Equally iconic (but relatively impractical) is the “pilotka” side cap.. largely unchanged in design since the second world war. Calf high leather boots in traditional Soviet style complete the basic uniform of our scout, although he would normally be issued a helmet which he has eschewed in order to avoid its distinctive silhouette.

More noticeable is our soldier’s camouflage over-suit. This suit, known as the KZS, was a two-piece loose weave uniform issued to snipers, recce units and other specialist units; first seen in the 1980s in Afghanistan with specialists is soon became more widely issued. Harder wearing then the similar one piece KLMK overalls, the KZS also came in a variety of shades to be issued depending on the season and theatre; here we see the light green pattern intended for warmer climes. Notable on this example of a KZS suit, is the variation in shade of the camouflage “stairstep” drawings. These would normally be either sky blue or beige in shade but poor manufacturing quality control has resulted in this example being made with some parts with one pattern in beige, whereas other parts have the sky blue colouring.

For those not used to KLMK and KZS suits it can seem a somewhat garish camo scheme but its intention is to represent sunlight through trees – something it does very, very well.

CAMO AHEAD OF ITS TIME

for bombardment and airstrikes or to assess routes and roads for their suitability in an advance.

Our Cold War Warrior this month represents a Squad Sniper/Marksman from a Soviet recce patrol. Most likely a foot patrol that has dismounted from its BMP1 or BMP2 fighting vehicle in order to scout out NATO positions. Unlike NATO armies the Russians employed far more “snipers” in their infantry units than one would expect to find in their opposing Western formations. Typically one man in ten would be armed with the simple but effective Dragunov SVD sniper rifle, roughly three times the number of sniper rifles a comparative sized British Army formation would have had. In truth Soviet snipers of the era were more akin to today’s “designated marksman” and were tasked with supressing the enemy and eliminating high value targets such anti-tank and machine gunners, officers and radio operators, as the rifle section advanced and put down suppressive fire. While the Dragunov itself is a reasonable semi-automatic sniper rifle (particularly when coupled with a 4x zoom PSO scope with IR detection capability), ammunition for it was often poorly manufactured and not to the same “matched” quality of western sniper rifle ammunition, giving a variable and inconsistent performance when used.

Like all members of the motor rifles division our sniper’s base uniform is the M69 “hebe” utility work/combat uniform with subdued “active service” insignia. By the mid-80s this uniform was certainly beginning to show its age, having largely useless pockets and being inferior in design to the uniforms of other Warsaw Pact states like East Germany and Poland.

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As befits Soviet forces who would in most situations fight from their armoured vehicle, field kit is a “fighting load” of minimal kit. Here a basic load-bearing frame of belt and y straps made of a canvas base, coated in a dark brown artificial leather, supports a water bottle and an ammunition pouch for four Dragunov mags, a cleaning kit and spare bulbs and batteries for the illuminated PSO scope on his rifle.

Interestingly the Dragunov SVD also has the provision to mount a bayonet (almost a unique feature amongst sniper rifles) and so an AKM bayonet is carried, although the weapon’s length and semi auto firing mechanism make it a poor close combat weapon.

As with all Soviet outfits in Cold War Warriors, this loadout is surprisingly cheap to complete and makes an iconic impression to accompany one of the many SVDs currently on the market. What’s more, it’s surprisingly effective in the field. While not computer generated (being based on a 1930s design) the “stairstep” angular block camo designs pioneered by the Russians in WWII, would seem to be decades ahead of western “digital camo”, having a similar dithering effect – more by accident than design!

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A TRAINING MASTERCLASS NIGE HEADED DOWN TO WALES TO MEET AN SAS LEGEND AND WATCH HIM PUT A TEAM OF MARSHALS THROUGH THEIR PACES AT PRECISELY 19:23 HOURS ON 5TH MAY 1980 a three-word order was given and Operation Nimrod swung into action. The words were “Go! Go! Go!” and the World watched in stunned awe as the men of Britain’s elite SAS stormed the Iranian Embassy in London, in the full glare of public television.

Seventeen minutes later it was over. All but one of the terrorists holding hostages within the embassy were dead, along with one of the hostages (killed by the terrorists) and the SAS Troopers melted away, back out of the public eye - but not out of the public’s mind and certainly not out of the public’s interest.

The operation went (almost) like clockwork but it could not even have been contemplated had the SAS soldiers not been properly trained. One of the men responsible for the training was Bob Podesta MID, ex-A Squadron 22 Special Air Service and Bob now passes that training along via his company, A Squadron Limited.

I had been invited down to Battlefield Live Pembroke, just outside Llanteg in South Wales to watch Bob and his MD, Faith Cowling, put a group of marshals through a day’s CQB Training.

I have to admit that I hadn’t heard of an airsoft site by that name and so was quite intrigued to see what I’d find. I was therefore somewhat surprised when I arrived to discover that Battlefield Live isn’t an airsoft site but a very popular “Laser Tag” venue. Now I always try to keep an open mind on pretty much everything but I really couldn’t see Bob Podesta strapping on a weird-looking plastic “laser gun” and running around the inside of a darkened building like some demented pre-pubescent!

It just goes to show how wrong you can be - not the bit about Bob strapping on a laser gun (I was right about that) - it turned out that Battlefield Live has about as much in common with my preconceived notion of Laser Tag, as Vladimir Putin has with honesty! The woodland in which I was standing had already grabbed my attention as being a really nice-looking place to play and the more I saw of it during the day, the more I thought it would make a great airsoft venue - but more of that later.

The owners of Battlefield Live, Steve and Victoria Dean and

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Event REPORT A SQUADRON TRAINING

“We have all been on one or other of Bob’s courses and so it was only natural for us to ask the man himself to come and train us up in the techniques we know he is rather good at (he added with a big grin).” their two young sons, Joshua and Jamie, had previously attended a variety of A Squadron’s training courses and also hosted the Household Cavalry as part of their Adventure Training Day, where Bob provided the pistol training element. It was only natural then, that when they installed a CQB area on their site, they asked A Squadron to teach their marshals Room Combat techniques.

“We want our customers to have the best experience they can have,” said Steve, “so we decided that the best way to give them that is to make sure we are properly trained ourselves. After all, how can you possibly run a CQB environment if you have no idea of how it should be done? We have all been on one or other of Bob’s courses and so it was only natural for us to ask the man himself to come and train us up in the techniques we know he is rather good at (he added with a big grin).”

The course would be CTT3 - Room Combat, the 3rd stage in A Squadron’s Counter-Terrorist Team Training program, a progressive yet intensive course designed to give students a thorough insight and working knowledge of counter-terror planning, tactics and execution. Perfect for a Laser Tag environment - and for airsoft too I noted. With just the seven Battlefield Live marshals attending it would certainly make for excellent one-to-one coaching and all were raring to get started but, before anything could happen, a quick introduction to airsoft weaponry was called for.

A Squadron is sponsored by Armex in Birmingham and they had brought along some nice new MP5A3s for the guys to get to grips with. The MP5 is one of Bob’s favoured weapons and even though just an airsoft version, it was handled with instant precision and total comfort. Once through the basics and safety rules for the day, the course proper got underway with a Powerpoint presentation outlining the contents of the course, the background to the SAS and the huge number of considerations and decisions that have to be taken into account and made when creating an operational plan.

Immediate Action and Deliberate Action plans were discussed, along with the processes necessary to ensure the most positive outcome possible - which today would ultimately be the rescue of hostages from a tight and closely guarded CQB area.

One of Battlefield Lives’ specialities is Zombie games and in the middle of their site they have constructed what can only be described as the archetypal “Zombie Hangout”. Dark rooms, tight corridors, open courtyards and places to chain the undead when they get a bit too unruly - in other words, a real close fighting

environment ideally suited for CQB purposes. With so many nooks and crannies, blind corridors and vantage points, anyone assaulting the place would really need to be on top of their game to make it through successfully. This would be the location for today’s course.

As with all assaults of this nature, knowledge of the location is vital so that a practice area can be mapped out (or in the case of some operations, actually constructed), in which the assaulting troops can practice their movements and tactics so the first stage of today’s course would be a walk-through, talk-through.

Starting in pairs and under Bob’s watchful eye, the Battlefield Live marshals practiced moving into the first part of the location, a small courtyard at the front of the area. Moving up to the first corner, the point man checked the location before calling “Clear!”, thus allowing the number two to come past and make an entry. Windows and doorways were checked, suspicious objects examined and slowly the pair worked deeper into the complex.

Then it was the turn of the next, then the next then, when everyone had run it through a number of times, it was practiced again but this time in teams of four (with one member swapping around to make up the odd number).

INFORMATION I AM DELIGHTED TO SAY THAT BOB PODESTA HAS AGREED TO WRITE A REGULAR “A SQUADRON” COLUMN FOR AIRSOFT ACTION, STARTING WITH A SPOTLIGHT ON BOB IN THE NEXT ISSUE IN WHICH HE TALKS ABOUT HIS MILITARY CAREER, HIS THOUGHTS ON AIRSOFT AND HIS TRAINING TECHNIQUES. TO HAVE SUCH A HIGH-PROFILE AND WELL-RESPECTED INDIVIDUAL LIKE BOB PODESTA ASSOCIATED NOT ONLY WITH AIRSOFT ACTION BUT WITH AIRSOFT IN GENERAL, IS A TRIBUTE TO HOW OUR GAME IS GAINING IN BOTH POPULARITY AND RECOGNITION. AIRSOFT ACTION WILL ALSO BE PROMOTING TRAINING COURSES IN ASSOCIATION WITH BOB’S COMPANY, A SQUADRON LIMITED AND I WILL LET YOU KNOW AS SOON AS THE FIRST DATES HAVE BEEN PLANNED. MANY THANKS TO STEVE AND TORIA FOR THEIR HOSPITALITY AND ENTHUSIASM. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT BATTLEFIELD LIVE AND POTENTIAL FORTHCOMING AIRSOFT EVENTS, THEY CAN BE CONTACTED VIA THEIR WEBSITE: WWW.BATTLEFIELDLIVEPEMBROKESHIRE. CO.UK FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT A SQUADRON AND TO GET REGULAR UPDATES, VISIT THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE: WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ ASQUADRON

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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(MP5A3 SPORT LINE) SPONSORED BY ARMEX LTD.

AIRSOFT WEAPONS

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Once they’d got the hang of the first section they moved onto the next, then the next until they had practiced right through the area. Then it was back to the beginning to go through the whole process from start to finish - no targets, no weapons, just hands mimicking rifles and total concentration on what to do.

It didn’t take long before the movements become smoother, more fluid and less cumbersome. Arcs of fire became understood and respected, as did limits of exploitation. Door entries became more proficient and balanced, smooth, non-rushed movement started to replace adrenalin-driven actions. In short, the more they practiced, the better they got!

Then it was time to add “opposition” to the mix, in the form of metal figure 11 and 12 targets for the baddies and paper ones for the “hostages”. These would be scattered throughout the area and all would have to be found, identified and neutralised as appropriate - then the runs through started again. The marshals soon learned that looking in all directions, including backwards, was necessary and it didn’t take long before they were moving through and identifying targets and hostages with ease.

Finally it was time to plan the actual assault, which would involve two teams hitting the area simultaneously from the front and rear but that would have to wait until after lunch!

Refreshed and re-energised, weapons and comms were issued and the two squads were left to finalise the plans of their assault whilst Bob, Faith and I went to “re-arrange” the X-rays and hostages - and hide “Seamus”, the HVT Fig. 12 they had to rescue.

I was pretty impressed with the quietness of their approach - Steve made it almost right up to the area before I noticed him moving with stealth between the surrounding trees. With everyone in position, the signal was given… “Standby… Standby… Go!” The sound of Mk 5s exploding and calls of “Clear!” echoed through the position as the marshals quickly moved from room to room, putting into practice everything they heard learnt earlier. Seamus was found and passed back down the line and away to safety whilst the two remaining live hostages were lead out before being searched and identified.

eVENT RePORT A SQUADRON TRAINING

Mission complete they made their way back to Base for debriefing and a cup of tea - just like the real thing!

I have been on “training days” before where some of the participants obviously didn’t take it seriously and others where the instructions given were clearly an “interpretation” of too many Hollywood remakes. Today was neither of those.

The marshals clearly were there to learn and they learnt from a man who has, quite literally, “been there, seen and done it” for himself.

However, training isn’t just about participants who are willing to learn, the person doing the training has to be good at what they do too. Bob Podesta is good, very good. He explains everything clearly and understandably, taking the time to ensure everyone knows what is expected before moving on and correcting mistakes in a way that is neither condescending or recriminatory.

Mind you, if you can train guys to storm an Embassy in the middle of London…

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inside airsoft THE AIRSOFT SHACK

SHACK ATTACK SOMETIMES THE BEST THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES, AS IGGY ROBERTS FINDS OUT WHEN REPORTS FROM NORTH WALES, WHERE ONE MAN’S DREAM HAS BECOME A REALITY. AIRSOFTERS IN NORTH WALES and the North West of England can be understood when they say there is a lack of Airsoft stores near enough for them to visit. The only way they could buy a RIF or twotone AEG was to order through their local site, shop online through the usual forums and websites available or take a trip to Birmingham and maybe even further.

Until recently, only a few had tried to set up a dedicated High Street airsoft shop in this area. Going through the UK “Airsoft timeline”, the few attempts that were made all vanished through lack of knowledge; both of the existence of the shop and the sport of airsoft in general.

Paul Jones made the decision to open a shop after an idea he had 18 months ago. He decided to try and make some extra money for his family by selling toys and a few two tone AEGs at a local car boot sale. Paul had been airsofting for three years so knew a little about the world of airsoft and his decision to sell two-tones was because he knew how much fun they can be.

He quickly noticed that the two-tones sold like hot cakes and he was having to turn away customers after his stock sold out so quickly.

Over the next few weeks Paul decided to focus primarily on the sale of two-tones and so took the time to learn how they worked, what

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different types are available, along with what upgrades and add-ons were on the market.

Because of this experience Paul saw a gap in the market in his local area. The only shop selling purely airsoft weapons for skirmishing in the whole of the North West was JD Airsoft, based out of Birmingham. Once Paul had the idea of opening a shop in his head, specifically for airsoft, he could not stop thinking of it and decided to go for it and really make a go of things.

After searching the North Wales border area, he eventually found a small street front building in Buckley, Flintshire, not far from his home and on the first of November 2012 his dream became a reality as The Airsoft Shack first opened its doors to the public.

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To help promote this new business, local North West Airsoft Alliance (NWAA) site owners, who knew Paul, invited him to attend the NWAA games and take a small selection of two tone AEGs and RIFs to sell. These were not just to sell but more so to show players in the North West that The Airsoft Shack existed and since having a kiosk at the NWAA games, his customer base has grown very rapidly.

Any new players to the sites that are part of the NWAA are encouraged to visit the Airsoft Shack, either when they want to buy their first two tone AEG or after they become a member of a site and gain UKARA membership.

Paul’s first year running The Airsoft Shack has been a big learning curve. He has learnt a lot about owning a business whilst also expanding his airsoft product knowledge. He said: “It has been a really good experience. It’s come a long way from my initial idea very quickly.” He has been very pleased with the success and built many contacts and friends both in the local community and afar. He added: “The airsoft community bonds well over a common interest.”

Assisting Paul in the business is Lewis West. He started as a full time sales assistant and airsoft engineer but is now a full business partner and the floor manager. Lewis has been airsofting for 10 years, meaning he has seen the continuing rise in the sport since it first reached British shores. He has loved the sport since a young age and now lives for it. Lewis said “The weekend is not complete without some trigger time at a skirmish.”

During his long involvement with the sport, he marshalled and ran skirmishes so the chance to help run an airsoft shop, as his day job, was a dream come true and he feels privileged to do his dream job at the age of 21. Lewis added, “Since joining I have loved the job. Us airsofters are different to the general public, we share a strong sense of community, through a common interest.”

The Airsoft Shack welcomes people that are completely new to airsoft, such as ordinary shoppers that come in off the High Street and fancy the look of the RIFs and two-tones. However, before these customers spend their hard earned pound, the sales team at The Airsoft Shack send them to their nearest airsoft site to try the sport

inside airsoft THE AIRSOFT SHACK

“Paul is trying not to go “high-end” too quickly, even though the temptation is there. The current stock caters for beginner to intermediate level airsofters, with the main focus on affordable RIFs”

before they buy anything. The sales team also give friendly advice on load outs to meet each customer’s budget.

During the business’s infancy Paul is trying not to go “high-end” too quickly, even though the temptation is there. The current stock caters for beginner to intermediate level airsofters, with the main focus on affordable RIFs. For sale is a variety of RIFs and two-tones ranging from primary weapon systems, such as assault rifles, SMGs, Sniper rifles, shotguns and support guns to secondary weapon systems, with both semi and fully automatic pistols. When I visited they had a mortar on display too. Their stock ranges from Tokyo Marui or WE to Dboys and J&G along with many more.

As well as weapons, Airsoft Shack also sells the expected accessories and consumables such as gas, grenades, masks, eye protection and batteries, plus a wide selection of BBs ranging from .12g to .43g, including the not so often found .23g and .28g - they even have pink BBs if you want them.

Paul wants The Airsoft Shack to be a community-orientated business and so only keeps a limited amount of tactical clothing and gear on display. Instead of having his own stock of gear, customers are directed to the local Army surplus stores.

The Airsoft Shack offers repairs, servicing and upgrades to RIFs and Two Tone AEGs at very reasonable prices, with a reduction in price for labour if the job turns out to be just a simple matter of re-lubing the internals. Once repaired, the owner is called to collect it and no job should take more than 5 working days. All RIFs sold at the shop come with a free repair warranty for the first few uses.

If you’re in the North West, The Airsoft Shack is well worth a visit, even if it is just a social call.

They may be small but they will give you a big welcome.

INFORMATION THE SHOP IS LOCATED AT: UNIT C, CENTRAL POINT, BRUNSWICK R ROAD CONTACT NUMBER: 01244 548687 TO VIEW ALL THEIR PRODUCTS ONLINE GO TO: WWW.BBGUN4FUN.CO. N SADLY THEY DO NOT YET PROVIDE AN ONLINE ORDERING SERVICE. BU www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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kit review XCORTECH X3000

FIRE SUPPRESSION I FIND THAT IS RARE THESE DAYS to come across anything in airsoft that is a truly innovative product. To ďŹ nd a new take on a subject, rather than a warmed over rehash is quite something. Often, the new product is a brazen out and out copy of an existing product. So to say that I was surprised when I heard about this product would be an understatement. I hadn’t heard of the company before, so I was quite naturally steeling myself for another copycat item.

How wrong I was!

Firestorm Distribution had kindly offered to give me hands on time with one of the early prototype units from Xcortech, which they have been putting through its paces. Once I had been briefed on the features, I was hooked. This is a clever concept and it has great potential.

The Xcortech package consists of three constituents; an XC3300MF suppressor, XC3300CC PEQ box, and an XC3300SCU a shot control unit. The latter is optional, as we shall see.

So, what does this package actually do?

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The suppressor screws onto most AEGs by way of the now (almost) universal negative 14mm thread, although G&P, Magpul Masada and Systema users will need a negative to positive 14mm adaptor, which is easily sourced. The suppressor takes four AAA batteries, in a similar fashion to the various tracer units out there and this is a functional tracer unit, right here. Nothing innovative so far, but putting it through a series of tests, I found that it was able to keep up with some quite ridiculous rates of fire - at 1,100 rounds per minute it wasn’t missing a beat, or a round.

Next, the X3300CC (Control Console) or mock PEQ is added.

Fitting is simply a case of screwing it onto a RIS rail. The unit communicates wirelessly with the suppressor and facilitates

several functions. First of all, the velocity of the BBs through the suppressor can be displayed on the control unit screen. Using two light gates in the suppressor, full chronograph functionality is available on the fly, and units of velocity can be selected on the control centre.

Not only is FPS measured, but rate of fire as well.

In a touch reminiscent of the eponymous M41A Pulse Rifle of Aliens fame, the control unit has a shot count facility. This is user selectable, to count up from zero, or down from an inputted amount. Know how many bbs in your magazine? Input that number into the control unit and watch as it counts down with every trigger pull. No more dead man’s click with this baby! I was becoming seriously impressed as I watched this thing cheerfully counting down to an empty magazine and it was bang on the money each time we did this. I think for many potential customers, this facility alone makes it a winner.

Each function is programmable using a pair of rotating switches; one on the control centre top, and one alongside the small but easily readable screen and I can add that the control unit is small (less than the size of a PEQ 15 battery box) and robust. I saw one take bb strikes from a matter of a few feet away and shrug it off with no damage.

Stout injection moulded plastic is the order here and it’s tough enough. Being small, it’s also lightweight. I didn’t notice the addition of both the suppressor and the control unit to a standard M4 and MP5. The addition of barrel length is inescapable but the suppressor is no longer than a PTS AAC M4-2000 suppressor at about 175mm.

Finally the XC3300 SCU or shot control unit is the third part of the system. It is designed to simply wire into the AEG between battery and AEG itself. There will be issues with space in some cases but the circuit board on the SCU is barely 60mm long. Many users will find fitting it straightforward. It squeezed in nicely in the front wired PTS Masada I used, with no issue.

The shot control unit, as the name suggests, allows the user to set

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kit review XCORTECH X3000

INFORMATION

the number of rounds that each trigger pull will fire, from one to ten. Again, interfacing is by the control unit and control is accomplished wirelessly, with the SCU interrupting the battery when the required number of rounds have been counted by the suppressor. Of course, this allows the user to control the burst setting on the fly, just like the other functions on the control unit. As long as the control unit is within around 1.5m of the suppressor and SCU, it works perfectly. Don’t want a PEQ on your AEG? Shove the control unit into a pouch, wear in on your wrist, whatever works. This thing brings a new meaning to the word ‘versatile’.

“The velocity of the BBs through the suppressor can be displayed on the control unit screen... Not only is FPS measured, but rate of fire as well.”

There is a great deal of potential in the Xcortech 3300 and I can see it being the next ‘must have’ bolt on. Performance was exceptional on a variety of AEGs, and the ease of set up was refreshing. If I had to level criticism, it would primarily be at the instructions, which are just a bit ‘Google translate’ in places. Granted, the units I saw were prototype, so it may be a tad unfair to expect polished instructions.

Also, the control unit bears only a passing resemblance to a PEQ box and the suppressor is a metal sleeved version.

This is a bolt on that’s very hard to fault indeed. Highly recommended.

1. CONTROLS YOUR SHOT BURST AT THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON, 1,2,3,4,5,-10 2. DISPLAYS HOW MANY BB’S ARE LEFT IN YOUR MAGAZINE. 3. DISPLAYS YOUR BATTERY LEVEL 4. DISPLAYS YOUR ROF, AND FPS 5. HAS ONE OF THE FASTEST TRACER ROUND RATES ON THE MARKET. 6. AUTO POWER OFF 7. SEE HOW MUCH MILEAGE YOUR GUN HAS DONE WITH ITS TOTAL BB COUNTER IN STOCK NOW IN BLACK OR TAN - AVAILABLE FROM WWW. XCORTECH.CO.UK PRICE £159 - SPECIAL OFFER: MENTION AA MAGAZINE AND GET £50 OFF! (1 MONTH ONLY)

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SITE REVIEW UCAP BUNKER

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL LES LEE GOES UNDERGROUND TO REPORT FROM A FORMER TOP SECRET NATO HQ. WHAT IS THERE TO SAY ABOUT UCAP BUNKER at Portsmouth that hasn’t already been said? Not much.

Is this place off the scale when it comes to an adrenaline rush? Yes. Is it challenging for even the most experienced players? Completely.

Are there moments when you wished that you had brought along a clean pair of underpants? Definitely!

This UCAP (a very fitting acronym for Up Close And Personal) Airsoft site was the brainchild of Andy Stevens, when in 2007 his passion for Cracking Day Paintball gave way to this ever-growing interest, pastime, hobby (call it what you will), known as airsoft and so, using his business skills, experience and dynamics UCAP was founded.

The BUNKER can be found underneath Fort Southwick on the top of Portsdown Hill, overlooking Portsmouth where the entrance (just 100 yards west of the Fort) road and car park give access to a formidable steel gate set in the hillside, almost secreted from view due to its former commissioning as a top secret NATO communications centre and the former WWII UGHQ. During WWII an Underground Headquarters - UGHQ (for Operation Overlord) was built beneath Fort Southwick. This provided a bombproof, comprehensive Naval, Army and Air Force Operation

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Control and Communication Centre - call sign ‘MIN’. The headquarters’ main role on D-Day was gathering information and coordinating the Allied naval forces. Reports from radar stations were crossed-referenced with messages from shipping to provide an accurate picture of what was happening in the English Channel. This information was then plotted on a large table map at the Fort and was passed to the Allied commanders nearby at Southwick House. On the 6th June 1944 there were 700 staff working underground.

The UGHQ complex was partly re-used during the Cold War as a Communication Centre. In 1974 a replacement COMMCEN was constructed on the Parade Ground.

Andy saw the huge and very unique potential in the facility and immediately secured long term usage. Almost

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unbelievably, one of the original plans was to simply fill the whole system of tunnels with cement and it would have been lost forever!

Personally, having had my VIP tour prior to the game, I couldn’t think of a single positive reason to destroy the monumental labyrinth of this purpose-built complex. What were they thinking? This place is a chunk of history which should be forever cherished! That is exactly what Andy and his team did when they made the BUNKER safe and fit for purpose, so that airsofters from all over the country can visit and be sure that this would be a memorable adventure and one never to be forgotten. I clearly, very VERY clearly remember my first visit around a year ago and still find myself referring back to it on many occasions as it was without doubt the best evening out that I had had in a very long time and also, one of the most painful (but in a good way) as this is CQB in its most extreme and raw form.

You have been warned because it really doesn’t get more up close and personal than this!

UCAP BUNKER currently operates every Wednesday evening, commencing with a 19.00 hours mandatory sub-350fps (on .2g bbs) chrono check on all guns prior to the briefing and the same every other Sunday at 10.00 hours. It’s worth noting that two tone or clear guns are not permitted at UCAP BUNKER, however AK47s are available as rental guns (check their website for further details).

A rather nice concept for players who want their own RIF but are waiting to qualify, or simply need secure, out-of-the-home storage for their prized RIF is the “exclusive rental” facility, where your gun can be stored securely by UCAP (off-site in a secure location) and brought along on your game day to be ready and waiting for you at the BUNKER. This, in my opinion, is a superb idea as it eliminates that frustrating period where you are so fired-up to buy your own gun but under UKARA rules are prevented from from doing so until you meet their criteria. Whereby with this system, Andy and his team can fix you up with your very own RIF right from the start, in a lawful and responsible way.

One aspect I was made aware of is the encouragement of the Father-and-Son day out. This is an increasingly challenging part of

Site Review UCAP BUNKER

“You need to keep on your toes and don’t even try to rely on your senses as they got left behind in the safe zone. This is rocket fuelled game play.” the 21st century family’s bonding thanks to home gaming, social networking and the like. I imagine that the quickest way to make contact with your son or daughter nowadays is via Facebook, text or e mail and perhaps not the best way to say “dinner is ready” but nevertheless a reality in many ways. So effectively bribing someone with the offer of shooting guns at other guys dressed in combats in a tactical battle zone, is highly likely to get some attention and of course, who am I trying to kid, Dad wants to go shooting just as much (and maybe more) than his son so it’s a win-win right from the word go. Andy and his team are very supportive of this hence the minimum discretionary age (with an adult) is as low as 11 years old and in my opinion, airsoft is rapidly becoming the new “fishing day out” for dads and sons.

At the other end of the scale is UCAP’s steely determination to keep it as realistic as is possible. Along with the regular and very popular corporate games, UCAP strongly encourage authenticity in every way possible and if there is any place on the planet where this is more appropriate, it is down in the BUNKER. This place oozes military history and you just feel this the moment that you walk into the tunnel via the huge steel gate and I would say this is the moment your adrenal gland fires up and pumps out the stuff which will carry you through until end of play.

So a typical run through is as follows.

When you enter the BUNKER you are immediately in the Safe Zone so clearly, no mags in guns and no discharges of any kind, not even dry firing. NEVER FORGET this is the Safe Zone!

Within this area, you will find all you need; information, sign-in desk, refreshments, gun tech, armband issue, first aid, etc. and at the designated time, all players are required to undergo mandatory chronographing of all guns. Don’t even think about trying to use a hot gun as you will be caught and you will be dealt with accordingly.

This is for everyone’s safety as the BUNKER is as relentless as it can be in terms of taking hits and players are encouraged in the strongest possible terms to wear full face protection, as going home without a tooth or three is not going to go down too well with your family. The game play at the Bunker is fast and fierce but safe if you do it right.

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INFORMATION ANDY STEVENS: 07590 818881 UCAP.CO.UK INFO@UCAP.CO.UK THERE IS NO ACCESS TO UCAP BUNKER VIA FORT SOUTHWICK, DO NOT ENTER THE FORT. UCAP IS BASED UNDER THE FORT VIA THEIR OWN ACCESS ROAD, WHICH IS JUST TO THE WEST OF THE FORT ON THE MAIN ROAD. THE NEAREST POSTCODE IS: PO17 6AR

And talking of fast and fierce, there are on-site toilet facilities (well, you never know).

From chronograph to briefing area is a short, dark walk where you are welcomed and the games are explained. Newcomers are given further instructions as to the layout of the complex and vital information to make sure that they have the best possible experience and go home smiling with all their teeth in place. This is where the fun starts...

A klaxon sounds to commence play and you set out to complete your objective. This sounds easy right? WRONG! Before you know it there are flickers of peripheral movement on every side of you as the series of tunnels are a rat run of strategy and tactics. Your orientation skills would go straight out of the window (if there was one) and before you have chance to say “does my bum look big in this”, it would have taken several rounds and you would be using different words relevant with being shot in the butt from not very far away!

The grid of tunnels and “mouse holes” allow the enemy to flank and attack from behind in a way that is unique to the BUNKER, so it is not a good or safe option to stay in one place and hope to ambush your prey as most likely, before you find cover, there is someone that already has you in their crosshairs or you find a red laser dot dancing on your torso. So it’s fair to say that you need to keep on your toes and don’t even try to rely on your senses as they got left behind in the safe zone. This is rocket fuelled game play!

Of course there is limited and special FX lighting, however you are strongly advised to attach a pretty decent torch to a rail and if you have a red laser and tracer unit then so much the better, as this also enhances the already uniquely dynamic atmosphere.

Marshals were running 1 to every 8 players which is a very good balance indeed but also necessary as the structure is unique and safety is paramount with UCAP so, in the unlikely event of a fall or injury, there will be someone with you immediately as they are placed strategically ensuring full visual coverage and immediate access to the game area being used. Clearly a lot of thought has gone into the Health and Safety side of airsoft at the BUNKER as its safety record proves. Safety will always take precedence over gaming.

And when you consider that there is a total of 1.6 miles (yes you read it right, that is not a misprint) of darkened combat-ready corridors to potentially lose yourself in, this is extreme fighting - and spare a thought for the guys that have to sweep up the spent BBs every week so that it doesn’t resemble a snow-covered Christmas scene.

The on-site shop is provided by Combat South of Portsmouth (see

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March issue of Airsoft Action for shop info.) and of course they can supply everything that you need - and probably items that you don’t need but you buy them anyway.

I was also very impressed with the social side of UCAP. These guys really do enjoy each other’s company and spend much off-site time simply having fun, with nights out and even holidays abroad with synchronised up-chucking on one holiday (and yes, I was privy to their unique collection of photos) but hey, this is just another segment of the airsoft fraternity coming together and having fun all year round and not just on game days.

Andy and his team, in my opinion, have got it so damn right. A perfect balance of fun, action, safety, value for money and dynamics and it’s clear to see the twinkle of passion in his eye for future ventures for the UCAP squad. These guys will not be letting the grass grow under their feet, oh no. Hints of future plans and improvements were a work in progress and with their two other sites, Green Ops and The Sandpit already a trio of the most established and popular airsoft sites in the country, you will be seeing and hearing lots more coming from UCAP. So to conclude…

UCAP BUNKER is one of a kind. It is a game experience that will excite the living day lights out of anyone and I would say that it would be easy to become addicted to the bucket-loads of adrenaline that the sheer overwhelming game play generates.

I would strongly urge everyone remotely interested in airsoft to make a journey to Portsdown Hill just north of Portsmouth and experience this unique establishment and if you are anything like me (not that you would want to be), you will find yourself talking about and referring back to “the day you played at the UCAP BUNKER” as it is as good as gets...

Actually change that, it’s better!

And I promise you that a visit to the UCAP BUNKER will have you as stoked as The Silver Surfer riding a Tsunami!

Les OUT Footnote: A feature dedicated to the BUNKER and its “secret” role in the D-Day landings will be in the next issue of Airsoft Action, which goes on sale on the 5th of June; the day before the 70th Anniversary of D-Day. Thanks also to Andy Stevens for helping with the photography.

EAST MEETS WEST

IN THE SECOND PART OF HIS SERIES, MILITARY HISTORIAN WILL FOWLER PUTS THE MIGHTY M16 UP AGAINST WHAT IS ARGUABLY WORLD’S MOST WELL-KNOWN RIFLE, THE AK47 THE M16

The Colt AR-15 (which became the M16 when it was adopted by the US Army in Vietnam in 1966) was an innovative weapon when it was first introduced. It was made from alloys and plastic and fired an M193 5.56 mm round, with a 55 grain bullet and muzzle velocity of 975 m/s. This made the M16 much lighter than the big 7.62mm rifles like the M14 and a more practical weapon for the jungle. The weapon that is currently in service is the M16A1/2; it is 990 mm long, weighs 3.18 kg and fires a 20 or 30 round magazine. On automatic it has a cyclic rate of 700 to 950 rounds a minute.

The M16A1 has a manual bolt closing device on the right side of the receiver, which allows extra pressure to be applied if there is dirt in the chamber or a cartridge case jams. The M16A2, which fires the NATO SS109 round (a 62 grain bullet with a muzzle velocity of 823 m/s), has a heavier barrel and a case deflector which allows left handed firers to handle the weapon. The M16A3 is an A2 with a removable carrying handle which, when removed, allows a telescopic sight to be fitted.

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The latest version the M16A4 is in service with the US Marine Corps.

The first M16 rifles, issued to US troops in Vietnam were loathed because men were killed or wounded when they jammed in combat. One of the major causes for these malfunctions was that the US Army replaced the originally specified Dupont IMR powder, with standard ball powder, used in 7.62x51mm NATO ammunition. This produced much more fouling, that quickly jammed the actions of the M16 unless it was cleaned thoroughly. However the initial M16 rifles were promoted as “low maintenance” and requiring no cleaning, so no cleaning kits were issued and soldiers received no instructions in weapons cleaning.

Between 1967 and 70 new 5.56mm ammunition was loaded using different propellant, the barrel, chamber and bolt of the rifles were chrome-lined to improve corrosion resistance, plus cleaning kits were procured and issued.

Earliest cleaning kits could only be carried separate from the rifle but since 1970, all M16A1 rifles were manufactured with a cavity in the buttstock for the kit. 30 round magazines also replaced the original 20 round version.

THE ARMOURY HEAD TO HEAD | AK47 V M16

During the 1970s, NATO members signed an agreement to select a smaller calibre cartridge to replace the 7.62 mm round. Of the cartridges tendered, the 5.56 mm was successful, but not the M193 Ball as used by the U.S. Armed forces, instead the Belgian FN SS109 loading was selected. The SS109 used a heavier bullet at a lower muzzle velocity for better long-range performance, specifically to meet a requirement that the bullet be able to penetrate through one side of an M1 steel helmet at 600 metres.

M16 Specs

THE AK47

The AK47 in all its numerous versions is probably the most widely used weapon in the World. The original assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov at the end of World War II entered service with the Soviet Army in 1951. It was 42ins long with a wooden butt while the folding metal butt version was 34.2ins long open and 25ins closed. It fired a 7.62 mm x 39 round weighing 122 grains and with a muzzle velocity of 2,352 feet per second at a cyclic rate of 600 rpm.

The AKM, a modernised version of the AK47, was lighter and weighed 6.4 lbs empty without a magazine or 8 lbs with a fully loaded 30 round steel magazine.

The effective range of both the AK47 and AKM was 437 yds.

The AK family of assault rifles were well designed, easy to use by even unskilled men and had very few working parts. AK weapons were produced throughout the Warsaw Pact countries and in China and North Korea.

Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov entered the Red Army in Kiev 1938 where he attended tank mechanics school. In the army, he designed a device to count the number of shots fired by a tank as well as other useful tactical devices for tanks.

After surviving fierce battles against the Germans in 1941 as a tank commander, he found himself in hospital recovering from serious wounds and battle fatigue.

In hospital he conceived ideas for a new machine gun that could provide high volume, lightweight firepower for soldiers in mechanised infantry.

While on temporary medical duty, stationed at Matai, he took advantage of the workshop facilities to build a prototype weapon. In 1944 his first prototype was adopted for further development and finally in 1949 the Soviet army adopted the Automatic Kalashnikov design of 1947 as their standard rifle. As of 1990, more than 70 million Kalashnikov automatic rifles of various designs had been produced.

Kalashnikov died 23 December 2013 at Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia aged 94. While he blamed the Fascists for putting him on the path of weapons design, he is said to have expressed regret that the Kalashnikov had been used so widely in so many conflicts.

The AK-74 assault rifle is a modernised version of the 7.62mm AK-47 but chambered in a smaller 5.45mm round.

Initially NATO intelligence analysts thought that the AK-74 was a specialist weapon for airborne of Special Forces. The weapon went into mass production in 1976 and since the early 1990s the newest variant, the AK-74M, has been the main service rifle for the Russian Federation armed forces.

Like the AK-47 and AKM weapons, the AK-74 is a magazine-fed, selective-fire, intermediate calibre assault rifle with a rigid piston gas system and rotating bolt locking mechanism. The stamped sheet metal receiver is borrowed from the earlier AKM, however the AK-74 differs from the AKM in several ways, notably with its distinctive muzzle brake which drastically cuts the already mild recoil and muzzle climb of the AK-74 when it is firing on full automatic at 600 to 650 rpm. However the muzzle brake does increase noise and muzzle blast. Current production versions of the AK-74M have a mounting rail on the left side of the receiver for fixing a telescopic or night vision sight in place of the adjustable iron sights. It has an effective range of 500 yards.

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THE ARMOURY HEAD TO HEAD | AK47 V M16

AK SPECS

Calibre 7.62x39 mm Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt with 2 lugs Overall length: 870 mm Barrel length: 415 mm Weight, with empty magazine: AK 4,3 kg; AKM 3,14 kg Magazine capacity 30 rounds (40 rounds box magazines and 75 rounds drums from RPK can also be used) M16 versus the Kalashnikov During the Vietnam War GIs would say that the AK was superior to the M16 – this was in part because of the lethal teething troubles that afflicted the American weapon. The AK in all its versions has the advantage of simplicity – it is also very robust. The big magazine on the AK means that it is difficult to fire from the prone position, it is however pretty hard to get a malfunction with an AK however badly it is treated.

It is a tribute to the design that it has been copied in the Finnish Valmet Rk 62 and this in turn copied in the Israeli Galil. The Galil was then copied by the South African Vektor company for the R series of rifles for the South African Defence Force – quite a tribute to the AK. Though the 5.56mm round fired from the M16 has its faults, you can carry a lot of ammunition and if engagement ranges are like those of the jungle or in an urban environment 5.56mm is great. Both families of weapons have been fitted with night sights and grenade launchers, but arguably the M16 has been a better chassis for these add-ons.

Perhaps significantly it is an M16 clone, the C8 SFW Carbine (L119A1) made by Diemaco of Canada that has become the favoured weapon of 22 SAS.

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SERGEANT HARRY FURNESS OFTEN OVERLOOKED AND RARELY SPOKEN ABOUT, DAN MILLS CONTINUES HIS SERIES WITH SOMETHING OF A RARITY FROM WW2 - A BRITISH SNIPER.

DAN MILLS A former army warrant officer, Dan served in the forces for 24 years, seeing service on operations in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq

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Harry Furness was born and bred in Manchester England, the son of a British boxing legend, Harry ‘Kid’ Furness. Like thousands of other young men he went to the recruiting office at an early age and signed up. It was 1941 and during training he showed his instructors an immediate ability in field craft skills and shooting. After basic training a sniper course soon followed, which seemed a natural progression to Harry. He duly passed and was posted to the 6th Battalion the Green Howards, HQ Company Snipers where he became a much valued sniper asset.

Harry Furness went through the next few years as a sniper providing the battalion with crucial information and racking up his enemy tally. Information gathering was a prime role for snipers, who often were the eyes and ears during reconnaissance for the Commanding Officer. Not everyone liked having them around though, many were made to feel unwelcome by other troops who had been on the noisy end of an artillery bombardment trying to flush out a sniper - an often quiet position became active once a sniper had shot his target and a typical reaction would be to get shelled.

D-Day beckoned and for Harry and life was about to get even more dangerous. Now aged nineteen Corporal Furness hit the beaches along with the rest of the invading forces and was met with a blithering hail of fire. He landed on Juno beach along with the rest of his Battalion of Green Howards. It was stuff made of nightmares but Harry was glad to push ashore then get off the beach; the journey over had been pretty bad with many of his comrades becoming sick from fear or the ever rolling sea rocking ones insides. Once ashore he removed the issued condoms he had sealed his weapon with and went about his trade… Hunting Germans. He had been issued the standard infantry sniper rifle the Lee Enfield No 4 T, the T standing for Telescopic, i.e. the x3.5 scope it was fitted with.

Unfortunately Harry was injured by a salvo of mortar fire whilst fighting in Normandy and was sent back down the medical chain to get fixed up. Once he was fit for duties he was posted not to the Green Howards but to another Battalion that badly needed reinforcements after a high level of casualties had taken its toll, he was attached to the York’s & Lancaster Regiment.

Harry often found himself working way out front of his battalion, observing the movements of the enemy and reporting back to his superiors.

Observation was a vital skill for a sniper and the option to shoot or not to shoot was a hard skill to master. Information is vital, an often key component to a commander’s plans, the information gathered by snipers was invaluable, it wasn’t all about shooting.

On several occasions Harry had been laid out in no man’s land gaining information, not moving an inch and had been reported as missing in action because his whereabouts were unknown to friendly forces. Risk was a common part to Harry’s life and as the war went on he had many close calls with death.

On one such occasion he was so tired and fearing capture he attempted to conceal himself in a stack of hay but he had been observed and was immediately attacked. Harry fled and escaped to fight another day after having his boot shot off!

FEATURE SNIPERS OF WW2 | SERGEANT HARRY FURNESS

“He dashed out and took cover underneath a knocked out German Tank. The problem was it had not yet been knocked out and after hearing a discussion in German he had to sprint for it, living to fight another day, again.”

NOTE THROUGHOUT THIS SERIES I HAVE TRIED TO FIND RELEVANT IMAGES TO ACCOMPANY THE TEXT BUT IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT, GIVEN THE RELUCTANCE TO RECOGNISE THE WORK OF BRITISH SNIPERS, THERE ARE VIRTUALLY NO PHOTOS OF HARRY FURNESS AVAILABLE - THERE ISN’T EVEN A WIKIPEDIA PAGE DEDICATED TO THIS BRAVE SOLDIER.

On another occasion, as he sprinted from cover to cover in order to continue his advance, he was left behind when out operating and needed to catch up with the company he was supporting. He dashed out and took cover underneath a knocked out German Tank. The problem was it had not yet been knocked out and after hearing a discussion in German he had to sprint for it, living to fight another day, again.

Counter sniping is a vital task for the sniper, but also one of the most deadly and Harry was tasked to kill a sniper who had been causing a company many casualties.

He was briefed up and had been taken forward by an officer and shown the rough piece of real estate in which the officer had said the German was operating from.

Harry selected a firing position in the shattered rafters of a roof and from there he observed for countless hours, the officer alongside him, to no avail.

After a while he was left alone and hours and hours were spent scanning the area with his binoculars. Snipers are taught to break down the area piece by piece, scanning in a systematic way, breaking down a large area into bite size chunks. Whilst carrying out this mundane but essential task his eye was drawn to a house about 400m from his position, it had recently sustained damage from artillery and had pieces of its wooden structure flapping in the air. Whilst scanning into the shadows with his scout regiment scope he noticed a slight movement. He quickly swopped the scope for his rifle and watched and waited. The enemy sniper had not revealed any sign of his presence for almost 24 hours, he was a diligent one. Just like Harry.

After observing the shadow for some time he realised he was watching part of a hand. Harry worked out the image of a prone figure in his mind and placed it into the position in the damaged house shadows, working out a picture of where the main torso of the enemy sniper was likely to be. Harry then went through his firing sequence and released a shot. Nothing! After observing for another hour he left.

Pretty confident that he had eliminated the enemy threat he stalked back out of the area to his company location where, on arrival he briefed the Company Commander

exactly what had happened and that, to his belief they would find an enemy sniper there with a bullet in him, dead.

Fighting patrols were sent out that night on missions to the enemy front locations and once the patrol commander had carried out his task he went cautiously into the house where Harry had briefed there would be a dead enemy sniper. Sure enough, lying there prone on a table top in the back of the room was a dead German, with a scoped rifle in his embrace. The bullet Harry had fired had entered the soldier’s head and killed him instantly.

The rifle and scope was retrieved and given to Harry as a token of a job well done. As the war went on the sniper unit he had joined got smaller and smaller. Harry attributed his longevity to luck and attention to detail and by the war’s end he would be the only sniper still living that had landed on D-Day. British snipers barely got any recognition during and after the Second World War and very rarely do you see them on any tables of tallies, most preferring to remain anonymous. What is without doubt is the massive contribution brave soldiers like Harry Furness made to the allied units fighting all over the theatres of war in the world wide struggle and, just like his father, Harry Furness never pulled any punches.

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CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS? SNEAKING AWAY DURING A TRIP TO THE IN-LAWS, GADGE REPORTS FROM ONE OF FIRST & ONLY’S MOST POPULAR SITES. HE SURVIVED THE GAME BUT WHAT ABOUT THE IN-LAWS? IT’S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I’ve been back to The Asylum… no, not like the “hospital-type” asylum (less said about that the better) but back to First and Only Airsoft’s rather excellent Midlands site The Asylum!

It all began a few weeks earlier when my beloved other half (I have to be careful what I say here, she proof-reads most of my articles!) told me that we were going to visit her parents for a weekend. Staying at home wasn’t an option but I couldn’t quite face two days of the in-laws and so ‘Operation: Get Away’ was hatched. Luckily for me The Asylum is just a stone’s throw away from my surrogate parent’s place and as ‘Felix Jaeger’ (or Garry, as I call him) was an old friend and the site operator, I thought it would be rude not to give him a call.

I was in luck… Not only was the site open (and more open than normal having some new areas put in play) but they were also hosting one of their “Member’s Days” and I was kindly invited to join in! While long-term readers will know that Airsoft Action have visited The Asylum in the past, it was some time ago and I felt that you guys would probably like to know how my day went; and so, (having discretely thrown a bergen full of kit in the boot of the car while Sian wasn’t looking) we set off for Wolverly, a few miles away from sunny Kidderminster.

For those of you that don’t know of First and Only Airsoft, it’s safe to say that they are one of the UK’s largest groups of skirmish sites and pretty damn good. It’s also fair to say that F&O (as they are known) are probably one of the most consistent groups of sites I’ve played at over the last decade for quality and value for money - so my expectations from the Member’s Day were high. I also felt that returning to an F&O site was almost a “full circle” of airsoft for me, as way back in the days when I’d rent out a hire gun with my work buddies at Games Workshop, we founded a team called the “Lenton First & Only” (semi-named after a regiment in a

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popular series of sci-fi novels) and some of the key players in this team went on to found the original First and Only Airsoft site. So am I biased much? Well, no not really. I never got on that well with the guy who originally founded the company, so it was begrudgingly that I came around to hold immense respect for F&O. I’ll try and explain why over the course of this review.

First off, from the moment you drive up to The Asylum you can tell that the whole day is well organised. The marshals know what they are doing, everything is well signposted, there is a wellstocked store and tellingly, over 150 players have turned up for this event, all of whom are full members and regulars at the site and they must be coming back for a damn good reason!

Safety First… Look Cool Later!

Aside from the great facilities in the check-in building, an entire building next to the car park had been allocated as a player rest and “kit up” area. While many players shrugged on their plate carriers or dived into bags for their masks, the marshals began to chrono each player who had their AEG, pistol or rifle ready. Weapons meeting site FPS limits were approved and zero tolerance shown to any over the limit hot guns; refreshing to see when at many sites, “regulars” feel they can play with whatever they like. Spot checks at random could also be requested on any “questionable” RIF by a marshal at any time, which only added to the feeling of “safety first, look cool later”.

Equally no-nonsense was Felix’s safety brief. Saying “no nonsense” is perhaps a little disingenuous as, to be fair, it was fastpaced and to the point, but also with an air of humour to keep players listening. After explaining the site rules and expressing F&O’s recommendation (given the “close quarters” of the site) that everyone wore full face protection (since it opened several “gung ho” players who felt shooting glasses were enough have lost teeth), Felix then got into the meat and bones of the scenario.

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EVENT Review FIRST AND ONLY AIRSOFT MEMBER’S DAY

Strategic Air Strikes

With so many players on site the team had decided to run a continuous “territory control” scenario throughout the day.

The site was divided into a number of zones and every 20 minutes marshals would check which side controlled each zone, with a scoring point being awarded if the zone was totally clear of the enemy. Leaving just one enemy fighter in play made the zone contested and a non-scorer! Each side was asked to elect a team leader and this player had the dubious honour of being responsible for when and where “mortar missions” and “air strikes” could be deployed. Each team was given half a dozen mortar barrages and one airstrike for the day and when summoned a mortar bearing marshal would drop pyro with pin point accuracy on the enemy position (unless you were unlucky enough to get Felix for your fire mission, who seemed to have appalling luck all day with his mortar!) Each mortar round took out players, even those behind cover, within a ten metre radius but the “one off” airstrike could wipe every player out of an entire zone and needed to be strategically used.

So suited up in my customary “I’m scared of getting hit” Russian leshy suit and with my Dragunov over my shoulder, I joined the “banded” team with the intention of getting the “nonbanded” in my sights! As the whistle sounded the start of the game my team bounded forwards, each regular knowing the key positions worth holding and while I’ve been to the site once before I’d totally got disorientated (amazing super army soldier skills eh?) and so bumbled along behind them.

The rounds flew thick and fast as we pushed forwards into the central village complex while our comrades flanked round a grimlooking, two story building bordering some light woods to the left. Amazingly my haphazard harassing fire found a few targets but before long the familiar “ping and sting” of a bb hitting me had my arm up in the air shouting for a medic. Using F&O’s medic rules, any team mate can medic you unless you are in a building (to discourage silliness) by putting their hand on your shoulder and doing a slow count to ten out loud. If you’re in a tricky spot they can “move” you up to a metre or so into cover but should either

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Site Review FIRST AND ONLY AIRSOFT MEMBER’S DAY

INFORMATION FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ASYLUM AND ALL OF FIRST & ONLY’S SITES AND EVENTS, HEAD OVER TO THEIR WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW. FIRSTANDONLYEVENTS.CO.UK

of you be hit while in the process of “healing”, you’re both out of the fight!

Back in the game I decided that wearing a forest ghillie in a housing block probably wasn’t the greatest tactical move ever (my old training corporal ‘Franky’ Franks would be kicking lumps out of me if he saw the way I play!) and so I switched tactics and moved to the site’s wooded areas where my “kills to shot out ratio” reached the dizzy heights of 1:1!

At this point it’s a good idea to describe The Asylum’s terrain.

While it’s often billed as a CQB or Urban site, it actually sports a fair amount of greenery. Being a former residential care home complex it sports an amazing brick “village” of bungalows towards its centre, with larger administrative two story blocks further out.

Surrounding this modest urban area is a crescent of light woods with a further spar of woodland separating one of the larger block buildings from the village. Previously F&O have been limited by their Terms of Use Agreement as to which areas can be played upon and which can’t. However a change of ownership of the land to a more reasonable landowner, has meant that Felix and the guys are now able to open up more buildings and land areas than before – which is frankly brilliant!

My team seemed to hit an invisible brick wall across the middle of the site as both sides found each other well-matched and equally knowledgeable of the site’s kill zones and ambush sites.

Before long it was time to break for lunch and for my part not a moment too soon, as I was frankly exhausted. While The Asylum isn’t the largest airsoft site ever it’s not too small either and FIBUA always takes it out of me… I reckon I’m getting old!

Lunch was a freshly cooked cheeseburger, can of pop, chocolate bar and some crisps. Not the Ritz but above average in my opinion and definitely filling enough to get you fuelled for Round Two, without being so much to take on that you needed a nap after lunch (yeah actually that’s just me, I AM getting old).

HIGH STANDARD HIRE PACKAGES

With lunch out the way I reluctantly put away my rifle and got out my camera to do the slightly less fun process of shooting pictures

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rather than people. Treebeard the Marshal and his team reversed the side’s starting positions so that any perceived advantage from fighting from one side of the site, would be evened out. With both teams in position the whistle announced all hell was about to break loose.

For some reason carrying a camera and wearing a high vis vest always seems to get me shot a lot more than actually playing (Yes, take it from me, it does! Ed.). It could just have been that I seemed to be always in the thick of the action (or blocking someone’s line of fire – it depends how kindly you look on it) as both teams hammered each other. From behind the camera I could get a good look at the players and was pleased to see that despite the “urban” styling of the site, there were quite a few sniper players who obviously felt the site suited their style of play.

Among the usual weird and wonderful array of RIFs you find on any site, I happened to see quite a few players simply having fun with shotguns and pistols rather than AEGs; clearly more concerned with having a laugh than having an advantage. A fair proportion of the members had cracking loadouts with great attention to detail but no less common were newer players, with either hire guns or their own starting kit. Noticeable and of note was F&O’s high standard of hire kit, with good quality assault vests and full face comfortable mesh masks comprising part of the hire package, rather than some sweaty old NBC suit and a barely held together face mask I’ve seen in the past as “site hire”.

All in all you simply got the feeling that this was a great place to be with a great group of people; both marshals and players – all were simply there to play some airsoft and have fun.

End-ex and the end of the day came quickly enough and while I thought it had been hard fought and close run, I wasn’t quite sure how close until Felix told me that the score had been 36 points to 32 in favour of the non-banded team… To (mis)quote Wellington “A close run thing indeed!”

So there you have it. A midlands CQB site with a little bit more. If you’re looking for a quality gaming day at a unique location I heartily recommend you give First & Only Airsoft a try – I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed.

And for those of you that are interested… The in-laws are still not talking to me…

Tel: 01753 800009

With thanks to Black Lagoon

GM01.14/107/r

103 HIGH ST, ETON, Nr WINDSOR SL4 6AF

ANDY NIGHTINGALE FROM PRO-TACT TRAINING GIVES US SOME TIPS ON HOW TO SIGHT A PISTOL WHEN THINGS GET REALLY UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. The sights on a handgun are put on there for a reason and that is to make sure that we are able to align the bore of the weapon with the intended point of impact or POI, thus accurately placing the shot directly onto our point of aim or POA. Although we don’t use the sights in the same way as an Olympic shooter applies their craft, we do (or should) use the handgun’s sights for all combative and defensive shooting scenarios. There is an exception however; Extreme Close Quarters Fighting or ECQF. This is the distance that one is able to reach out and touch their adversary; to have physical contact with the enemy during the fight.

The time it takes to acquire the sights and align them with the target at such close quarters is far too long and becomes an impossible task.

The length of time it takes to acquire the sights and place them onto the target depends on the distance between oneself and your adversary and also the difficulty of the shot you are about to take. With a handgun, long shots take the maximum amount of time allowed. This time is spent judging the distance to the target, steadying the aim as well as allowing for variations in angle and precise shots. The sight discipline required for each shot fired depends on distance and accuracy and no matter what sighting method you use, you must identify your target and what lies beyond (just in case you over penetrate or miss).

When you are sure of your target it is important to focus your attention on one particular spot - the point of aim. The POA is the area that your hands need to point the handgun to when you decide to take that shot that may just save your life. The POA must be precise.

If you intend to hit the thoracic cavity (the upper chest) then your focus may be on a certain shirt button, or part of a pattern printed on the garment. If it was the head (head shots may be against airsoft skirmish site rules) then the point between the eyes, rather than the whole head, would be your POA. This method of sighting will help you with muscle memory when you are under duress and the heat is on but can, however, lead to tunnel vision so it is important to make sure that we use our peripheral vision as well.

Whilst focusing on the sights and the target, we concentrate on the POA but we should also be aware of what is going on around us at all times, especially 72

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SKILLS FLASH SIGHT

during a combative situation. When you draw or present the handgun from the holster to the target, your hands will be drawn to where your eyes are and where your eyes are, the shot will go. How successful you are all comes down to practice and self-discipline. The many hours spent during practice and training will pay off in the end, it’s why we do it. When you bring the handgun up into the aim it must stop as soon as it reaches the intended POA and stay there long enough for you to release the shot.

When the handgun has reached the POA and stopped, switch your focus from the target to the front sight on the weapon. The target will lose its sharp appearance and the front sight blade will now become sharp and clear. The reason for this is that the human eye can only focus on one plane at a time. So the target will be fuzzy and the front sight will be clear. Although the target will be out of focus you should still be aware of the front sight’s position in relation to the target. This is known as a “Flash Sight Picture”. As soon as you see the front sight stop at your intended POA, loose the shot.

During ECQF this is achieved very quickly due to the very short distances involved, but as the distance increases so does the time to acquire the sights to make that long precise shot. The difficulty in hitting targets at long distances with a handgun means that it is harder to focus on your intended POA, acquire the sights, superimpose the sights onto the POA and release the shot with accuracy. This is especially difficult if the target is moving. However with time and practice you will get to know what a good quality Flash Sight Picture looks like for the type of shoot you take at different distances.

Stopping the weapon on the POA, shifting your focus from POA to the front sight, and releasing the shot should all be done simultaneously. When the shot breaks, note where the front sight leaves the target as this will usually be the point of Impact POI during the weapon’s recoil.

When shooting in the dark the rules are the same as they are in the light and the only difference is it may be harder to positively identify your target. Without getting into white light skills, the Flash Sight Picture works very well at extreme close quarters as the distance being so close ensures that shots are sure to find home and count. The greater the distance between you and your adversary the greater the time you have to create that perfect sight picture to get that perfect shot off, but at very close quarters, that time frame diminishes very quickly. Practice slowly and safely and have fun.

Stay safe and happy shooting.

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Starting top left, running clockwise: #1 Target in focus #2 Rear sights in focus #3 front sight in focus #4 Front & Rear sight in focus

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COMPETITION CA SAR M41 SG

WIN

WIN A CLASSIC ARMY SAR M41 SG Fancy a brand spanking new SAR M41 rifle like the one reviewed in this issue and featured in last issue’s Cold War Warriors? Well we’ve got one to give away (after we prised it out of Gadge’s hands and stopped him crying) and all you’ve got to do is correctly answer this simple question.

The first correct answer picked out of the editor’s hat wins this great AEG provided to us by the guys at JD Airsoft in Cannock, Staffordshire.

So can you tell us which rifle the G3, of which the SAR M41 SG is a close “look-a-like”, began its life as?

A) THE BELGIAN FN FAL , B) THE SPANISH CETME, C) THE RUSSIAN AK47 To be in with a chance of winning, simply send your answer in before the closing date, either by completing and returning the Entry Form, or sending your answers by email (details below).

You can also enter via the Airsoft Action website - simply visit: www.airsoft-action.co.uk, click on Competition and enter your details there - and why not take some time to have a look round the site while you’re at it.

Which rifle did the G3, of which the SAR M41 SG is a close ‘look-a-like’, began its life as?

Was it:

A)

THE BELGIAN FN FAL

B)

THE SPANISH CETME

C)

THE RUSSIAN AK47

Name __________________________________________________

Postcode ________________________________________________

Address_________________________________________________

Telephone _______________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Email ___________________________________________________

Post your entries to: CA SAR M41 SG Competition, Airsoft Action, Calibre Publishing, Wyche Innovation Centre, Walwyn Road, Malvern, Worcs, WR13 6PL, or email to: competition@ airsoft-action.co.uk with “CA SAR M41 SG Competition” in the subject line. Entries received after 4th June 2014 will not be valid. One entry per household. The winner will be the first name pulled from the Ed’s hat.

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

Q

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075 75

THE FIRST BATTLE OF YPRES YPRES WAS THE FINAL OBSTACLE IN THE GERMAN ADVANCE TOWARDS CALAIS. DAN MILLS WRITES ABOUT THE FIRST OF FIVE BATTLES FOR THIS STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT BELGIUM TOWN.

DAN MILLS A former army warrant officer, Dan served in the forces for 24 years, seeing service on operations in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq

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BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER 1914 both sides knew that the war would not be over by Christmas.

After the early battles of Mons and The Marne, a stalemate spread throughout the armies positioned along the banks of the Aisne River whilst commanders pored over their maps for fresh ideas. This was a forerunner of future events on the Western Front soon to encompass almost five hundred miles from the sea on Belgium’s north coast, down to the Swiss border.

The Germans had been stopped from achieving their knockout blow on Paris and the sudden realisation of the importance of the ports and facilities on the Belgian and French coast caused what we now call “The Race to the Sea”.

The Germans rushed north towards the seizure of Dunkirk, Boulogne and Calais, hoping to cut off the supply lines coming in from the English mainland. These sites, which they could have captured easily in the opening days of the war, would now have to be paid for in blood.

As the race got under way, units on opposing sides were pepper-potted upwards to the coast in a continuous stream of out-flanking manoeuvres, both sides trying to outdo the other. The poor, defeated, exhausted Belgian army was thrown back into the line from its coast at Nieuport stretching to Dixmude, where it linked up with the French hastily putting in a blocking position north of the ancient medieval Cathedral City of Ypres, where the British Expeditionary Force were heading to defend.

Once these armies were in position the road ahead for the Germans had been blocked. Both sides now sat opposite each other staring at the opposing strengths of the enemy and trying to decide what tactics to deploy next. It had become static and was a stalemate.

Whilst the BEF had been moving into position the German advanced guard appeared, all quickly went to ground where they were, this created a salient around the Cloth City, one which would remain for years. The opening exchange of fire at Ypres occurred at La Bassee, where the German thrust petered out after ten days of heavy fighting only one and a half kilometres from the town.

The Germans tried to outflank Belgian positions on the coast by attacking along the coast line in a left flanker but by a method of fighting and withdrawing, the Belgians managed to keep their flank secure and frustrated the German attempts.

The next move was a Belgian master stroke; they flooded the fenlands area by opening the lock

FEATURE YPRES OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 1914

gates on the river at Nieuport, in the approaches of the advancing Hun and made it impassable, therefore turning the Germans inland, away from the coast where they chose to strike at the BEF. They chose to hit the British line at three points of the compass, all along the ridge of high ground on the salient, hoping to take the dominating feature that stretched from Menin to Passchendaele and the attack managed to penetrate in several places largely due to overwhelming numbers. The fighting was continuous, day and night; the situation was desperate for both sides. The Germans broke the British lines and pushed through in an unrelenting sea of grey, they created a gap that had to be plugged or the war was lost.

The British Cavalry were thrown into the fight to cause delays whilst the infantry could be manoeuvred into a position to plug the gap, this they did at cost.

At Gheluveldt, wave after wave fell upon the British defenders gradually driving them back from the village. The German army then smashed their way into the village, clearing out the remaining South Wales Borderers and bitter hand-to-hand fighting ensued which saw all Battalions hanging on for their lives.

Fighting in the fields, outhouses and gardens continued all day and into darkness, the 2nd Welsh and 1SWB formed a blocking line to the rear of the Chateau. This they did whilst the Worcester’s 2nd Battalion were thrown unceremoniously at the advancing German hordes.

The Worcester’s had been fighting on the front lines for ten days, and having been relieved they were resting in the sun when the order came for them to advance.

One company was placed as a blocking force whilst the other three fixed bayonets and were led along the wood lines to confront the Hun. The Commanding Officer and 370 men advanced at the double, running across open fields. They came under a terrifying artillery barrage and 100 men were felled. Still they advanced, charging into the enemy catching the Germans, who had been having the best of it until then, by surprise. Many were shot, bayoneted or captured. Many fled.

Resistance crumpled and the enemy withdrew back in to the streets of Gheluveldt from where they threw artillery back at the battered British lines, now sheltering in a sunken lane, but the position was held. In all it cost the Worcester’s 187 killed or wounded but they had managed to contain the advance on Ypres.

“THE COMMANDING OFFICER AND 370 MEN ADVANCED AT THE DOUBLE, RUNNING ACROSS OPEN FIELDS. THEY CAME UNDER A TERRIFYING ARTILLERY BARRAGE AND 100 MEN WERE FELLED. STILL THEY ADVANCED, CHARGING INTO THE ENEMY CATCHING THE GERMANS, WHO HAD BEEN HAVING THE BEST OF IT UNTIL THEN, BY SURPRISE.”

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77

The mastery of the British shooting had once more rocked the Germans. The musketry was so good that the enemy had again thought they faced machine guns, the reality was we barely had any machine guns, a mere two to a battalion at most. It was the professional riflemen who had fired mostly fifteen rounds a minute, often up to thirty rounds a minute who had stopped thousands of Germans in their tracks.

The British though paid a heavy price for their stubborn resistance.

They had lost 58,000 men in the fighting for Ypres and since the war’s start a staggering 90,000 men had perished and the life blood of the Contemptibles was running out. A vast majority of the officer corps and the long term veteran soldiers had been wiped out. For the Germans though it was worse, the First Battle for Ypres had cost them almost 150,000 men.

The First Battle of Ypres stands as one of the great Allied victories of the First World War and it was greatly needed, the Schlieffen plan had failed. During the battle around 400 German Battalions fought against approx 270 Allied ones, with also double the cavalry of the Allied forces. The consequences of the battle were vast. The Channel ports had been denied, at a cost to the BEF, the British Army was no longer and needed to be replaced, its ranks filled with new stock.

The battle also caused a change in the methods of warfare.

From this point onwards both sides set about consolidating their positions and dug in and now the warfare would largely be static, from trenches, a complex line of trenches covering 500 miles from the North Sea to Switzerland. These trenches would barely move more than ten miles either way in the next three years of fighting. Tactics and strategy now focussed on methods of penetrating the opposing trenches instead of flanking and manoeuvre warfare.

The Germans had more to worry about too, the Russians on the Eastern Front!

General Sir Henry S Rawlinson 78

june 2014

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MILITARY ILLUSTRATOR AND AUTHOR, RUPERT GODESEN, CONTINUES HIS LOOK AT THE AMAZING ART FROM THE TRENCHES OF WWI AND BEYOND DEAR READER, APOLOGIES FOR MY ABSENCE last month, it’s been a busy month but now we’re back (reluctantly) in the trenches of WW1, discovering a bit more about the heroic exploits of our artists and illustrators huddling in the mud trying to stay alive. We also find ourselves on the streets of 1914 London, discovering the characters that were doing their bit for the war effort with pen and ink, rather than the bayonet and rifle.

The War in Europe came as a complete surprise to Great Britain, the population were contentedly basking in the hot summer weather, blissfully unaware of the storm clouds and catastrophe that was approaching that would claim the lives and the innocence of the young male population of Europe and change the course of the history of the world. Ignorance was indeed bliss for that summer of 1914 it seemed.

Artists in the trenches

Today you may well have a character in your head when you try and picture an artist. Either a privately educated pretentious plonker, full of his own selfimportance who makes millions spray-painting aerosol graffiti on a surf board, nailing it to the wall, calling it an installation named “Study in solitude” or some such rubbish.

Either that or a young, scruffy, idealistic, unmotivated art college graduate desperate to break into the art scene vainly hawking his wares around London’s trendy creative offices but getting nowhere.

It’s difficult to imagine but back in the days preceding the Great War, art was very much a gentleman’s profession. Straight-backed, upright, proud and confident it’s no wonder they went on to perform some daring feats of heroism and come home with a clutch of medals and honours.

Art Schools

Captain Bruce Bairnsfather, who we met in the last article, was a disciple of the John Hassall art course. Hassall used to advertise his courses in many of the 6 penny weekly newspapers, urging readers to copy a picture on the advert. Hassall 80

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FEATURE THE ART OF WAR

would critique the sketch and then offer tuition and access into the stylish and lucrative world of the illustrator. It was seen as a very worthwhile profession and was pursued by many.

Fast forwarding to today, it’s funny to think nowadays that art degrees and qualifications are seen by many as an “easy degree” or not a “real” degree at all. I guess one reason for the status bestowed on the WW1 artists was that a truly gifted illustrator could bring a story to life and sell newspapers by the millions that are today captured by photographers and the “citizen reporter” with his camera phone, a device incomprehensible to our young Captain Bairnsfather.

The Press Art School would also run adverts encouraging young men in the trenches to send work in, as and when they could manage.

They would emphasise the importance of drawing not only as a way of earning a living or even some extra money on the side, but also the cathartic and restorative powers of drawing and creating something, taking the young men briefly out of their hideous ordeal.

condemned to do their duty and within no time at all, not only had they begun to win a clutch of awards and medals but had been ordered to expand, recruit and become a pipeline for young officers. Essentially it became an Officer Training Corps, such was the calibre of the men.

In an interesting testament to their courage and a fitting legacy, the Artists Rifles absorbed the “originals” from the WW2 SAS Regiments upon returning home and disbandment. They kept the skills they had learned alive through the formation of 21 SAS (Volunteers) (Artists) and were the parent unit of 22 SAS when 21 returned from the Malayan Emergency.

The Artists Rifles

In the run up to the Great War (at the end of the 1800s) there were emerging in London numerous militias that gentlemen, professionals and working classes began to join in order to prepare for invasion or the threats from agitation overseas. It was seen as very much the thing to do. Almost every profession you can think of was represented, from Lawyers to Tanners and Brewers to Builders.

But there was no group for artists or creative poets to report to, for duty. In order to fill that gap there came about the creation of “The Artists Rifles”. Now artists have never seemed to me to be the most disciplined bunch of individuals, or a group normally associated with robustness or grit (as compared, maybe, to “The Miners Rifles” or “The Chimney Sweeps Rifles” for example). How wrong can you be?

The Artists Rifles grimly entered the trenches alongside all the other www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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COMPETITION DR. MARTENS SHACK BOOTS

WIN WIN A PAIR OF DR. MARTENS SHACK BOOTS Following Nige’s review of these fabulous boots in the last issue of Airsoft Action, our good friends at Patrol Store are giving TWO lucky readers the chance to win a pair for themselves!

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So, we have got two pairs to give away and all you’ve got to do is correctly answer these three simple questions (hint: the answers are all in the article). The first two correct set of answers picked out of the hat wins, so don’t forget to let us know your size.

WHAT IS DR. MARTENS TRADEMARK AIR-CUSHIONED SOLE CALLED? HOW MANY EYELETS ARE THERE ON A SINGLE BOOT IN TOTAL? WHAT ARE THE BOOT’S UPPERS MADE FROM?

To be in with a chance of winning, simply send your answer in before the closing date, either by completing and returning the Entry Form, or sending in your answers by email (details below). Don’t forget to include your contact details so we can get back to you if you’re lucky enough to win.

You can also enter via the Airsoft Action website - simply visit: www.airsoft-action.co.uk, click on Competition and enter your details there - and why not take some time to have a look round the site while you’re at it.

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The winner will be the first two names pulled from the Ed’s hat.

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

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FEATURE THE ART OF WAR

Photography and Illustration

Illustration had always been an easy bed fellow of photography before the Great War, but with the outbreak it really came into its own. Photographers were unable to get close to the front line, photographic equipment was relatively primitive, heavy and cumbersome. Much of the black and white photos that have survived are static posed affairs, soldiers reclining in the sun waiting to go to the front or stills taken in hospitals of wounded men.

Artists were able to combine numerous elements of a particular action in one dramatic scene, which though not factually accurate was a realistic montage and gave a compelling vision of what had taken place. A picture paints a thousand words.

Many artists took up their rifles and headed for the front, papers ran articles about their employees who were serving and would publish their offerings from the front. But many like Heath Robinson were just too old and had to be content with helping the war effort with their pens and brushes instead of bayonets.

Fortunino Matania

One who managed to combine the two elements as much as possible was Fortunino Matania. Matania was one of the more prolific and eccentric war time artists of the WW1 scene. He would go to extraordinary lengths to get the atmosphere of the painting he was undertaking just right, which can be seen in some of the heart wrenching scenes and especially his works involving the tragic demise of horses at the front.

While obviously not permitted to visit the frontline (although I have no doubt he would have gladly gone if permitted) Matania got as close as he possibly could. He routinely visited Regimental Aid posts and Field hospitals within ear shot of the guns and the trenches, where the men were recovering and convalescing from terrible injuries, limping in and being carried from the horror that was taking place just over the next hedgerow.

Taking with him notebooks, models and toy soldiers as props Matania would lay them out on the sheets, gather the men around him who had seen action and ask the soldiers

and officers to give as much detail as possible, all the while taking copious notes. Before leaving the front he would make detailed sketches, working them up from his notes, he would return to the soldiers’ beds and show them his sketches to make absolutely sure before returning to his studio in London to produce the finished piece in peace and quiet.

I would imagine that to those broken men in the front line aid posts (many of whom would not return to their loved ones and those that did bore little resemblance to the courageous souls that sallied forth), it was some comfort to know that their endeavours and the horror that they were enduring, were not being trivialised or their sacrifices being romanticised but were being laid down in oil paint as a warning to the next generation of the horrors that await the ignorant, jingoistic warmongers at home.

Modern application

100 years on and soldiers are still scribbling away, both in and out of uniform. There are two very well thought of societies that you should look at, the Armed Forces Art Society (www.afas.org.uk) and The Army Art Society (www. armyartssociety.org). Some make money from it, some do it for fun and some take it very seriously indeed. As I mentioned earlier “a picture paints a thousand words� some specialist units that close with the enemy use drawing skills to do just this.

Snipers are famed for their killing prowess and their ability to dismantle the morale of entire units, but when they are not doing that they are creeping around under the noses of the enemy drawing diagrams of defences, recording sketches of vulnerabilities and passing this all back to the powers that be to add to the intelligence picture.

So you can see that that although Warfare has changed beyond all comprehension there is still the need for the Mk 1 eyeball to observe and record what the enemy is doing. But for how long eh? Who knows?

For now we can but stare and wonder at the horrors portrayed by the artists, illustrators and painters that recorded images from The Great War and without their skills, our understanding of what the men at the front went through would be greatly diminished.

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BOOK REVIEW HEARTS OF GREEN

HEARTS OF GREEN: BY JOHN MARSH WITH THE RUSSIANS JUST OVER THE BORDER, IT WAS NO SURPRISE THAT BRITISH SQUADDIES WERE UNDER PRESSURE – BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT IS NOT THE ENEMY DOING THE PUSHING?

IT IS NOT OFTEN THAT I START reading a book and get confused as to exactly what the story is about but, at first, that is exactly what happened when I picked up Hearts of Green by John Marsh.

This is author John Marsh’s first novel and is said to be based on his first posting to Germany in 1989. It was during the Cold War and was a time when many believed the Soviets would come pouring across the border at any moment. In this climate of almost constant and heightened alert, it was no wonder that the soldiers spent much of their down time drinking and chasing the local female population (although the book makes it plain that it wasn’t always the squaddies doing the chasing!).

It was this facet of the book that left me somewhat confused.

To be honest, I thought I would be reading a book about a soldier’s challenges as he faced up to the reality of life in the British Army, away from family, friends and his normal life.

However the first seven or so chapters are more like reading a porn novel than anything else and, believe me when I say, it doesn’t pull any punches. If this is what the guys were really like, than I am stunned that they had any energy left to get out of bed, let alone enough to repel the expected Russian hordes! Actually, flicking back through the book, the sex doesn’t really let up – I guess I just got used to it after the first seven chapters.

Yes, I do have friends who were, or have been posted to the same area and no, I am not going to ask them if that was what it was really like! I wouldn’t want to embarrass them and after all, this is only a novel, isn’t it?

Anyway, putting the sex to one side for a moment, there is an underlying story running through the book of a man who starts out with high hopes and ideals for a life of hard work and adventure in the Army, which rapidly descends into one of torment, bullying and intolerable pressure put on him by both his superiors and his compatriots.

Chris Carter is enticed into the Army by the smooth words of a Recruiting Officer but from almost the first day of his nineyear service, he realises it is a mistake – a big mistake!

Posted to Germany, he finds himself sharing a room with three guys that seem to have it in for him and a penchant for getting drunk and bringing whatever females they can find back to their room, for entertainment purposes.

Not wanting to be a part of it Chris’ life slowly dissolves into one of victimisation and bullying, particularly vicious on the part of Staff Sergeant Green. In a fit of revenge Carter allows himself to be picked up by Ingrid, who just happens to be Staff Green’s wife and what he does with her is witnessed by one of his roommates – and that is where the brown stuff really hits the aircon!

Needless to say, Staff Green reacts pretty much the way any man would if he found out his missus had been shagging anything with a pulse and things get much, much worse for Carter, eventually leading to a foxhole in the middle of an exercise area containing him and Staff Green, an SLR and eighteen rounds of live ammo…

Hearts of Green is an odd book, in that I expected not to enjoy it. I am not into porn novels, I grew up and out of those years ago but I have no doubt that being in the situation that many of those portrayed in the book were in (young men with money in their pockets, possible death just across the border and hormones running riot), with beer and willing bodies being thrust at them, it would be difficult not to take advantage.

In the end, it was obvious what was about to happen and yet I still sat up until past 2am to read it all the way through without a break.

I didn’t particularly enjoy the book and probably won’t read it again but if the measure of the success of a book is whether the reader can put it down, then Hearts of Green falls into that category.

INFORMATION PUBLISHED BY PERCY PUBLISHING AND IS AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK, PRICED AT £6.99 THE KINDLE EDITION IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON AMAZON, PRICED £2.99

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GASS AIRSOFT – PENN Penn Bottom, Bucks, HP10 07907 788970 www.gassairsoft.co.uk

HOMELAND TACTICAL AIRSOFT Spanby, Lincs, NG34 0AT 07971 560249 facebook.com/HomelandTacticalAirsoft

GASS AIRSOFT – PIDDINGTON Piddington, Oxfordshire, OX25 1 07907 788970 www.gassairsoft.co.uk

HUMBER AIRSOFT

North Lincolnshire, DN21 www.humberairsoft.co.uk 07792 680297

GRANGE FARM AIRSOFT

Leicester, LE9 9FP www.gingerliberationfront.com

INVICTA AIRSOFT – RAINDEN WOODS

Folkestone, Kent, CT18 7AY 01227 763335 www.invictaairsoft.co.uz 088

MARCH 2014

February 2014

Gainsborough, North Lincs, DN21 4JH 07775 877057 www.lincolnshireairsoftclub.co.uk

Edinburgh, EH14 4 nick@ncis-airsoft.co.uk www.ncis-airsoft.co.uk

Fenwick, Ayrshire, KA3 6AY 07904 998250 www.nomadairsoft.com

NORTHERN ALLIANCE AIRSOFT Thirsk, North Yorkshire, YO7 3LQ 01845 565465 www.northernallianceairsoft.co.uk

NORTHFLEET CQB LAC SITE 3

Saxillby, LN1 2JW 07775 877057 www.lincolnshireairsoftclub.co.uk

Northfleet, Kent, DA11 9AA 07968 448475 www.elitebattlezone.co.uk

NSC AIRSOFT

GUNMAN AIRSOFT – MIDLANDS

FRV AIRSOFT

Annacloy, Downpatrick, BT30 8JJ 07730 586926 www.frvairsoft.com

LAC SITE 2

GUNMAN AIRSOFT – CAMBRIDGE

FREE FIRE ZONE

Farcet, Peterborough, PE7 3DH 01733 247171 www.freefirezone.co.uk

Gainsborough, North Lincs, DN21 4JH 07775 877057 www.lincolnshireairsoftclub.co.uk

Checkley, Staffordshire, ST10 4NS 07523 916607 www.milsimuk.co.uk

LAC SITE 5

Kirton Rd, North Lincs, DN16 www.lincolnshireairsoftclub.co.uk

LINDSEY AIRSOFT

Manby, Lincolnshire, LN11 8HE 07955 487983 www.lindsey-airsoft.co.uk

MATLOCK COMBAT GAMES Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 5FW 07974 507166 www.matlockcombatgames.com

MAW

Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, LE14 07562 479966 maw.airsoft@hotmail.com

MIA

Cornwall, EX23 9JL 01288 331748 www.airsoftsouthwest.co.uk

MILITARY OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

Wrightington, WN6 9PL 01942 514724 www.militaryoutdooradventure.co.uk

Hetton, Sunderland, DH5 0 07983 333521 www.nscairsoft.co.uk

NTAC

Durham, DL4 2ER 01642 281220 www.ntac.co.uk

OBAN AIRSOFT – HILL ARGYLL Argyll and Bute, PA37 1 07967 710185 www.argyllsurplus.com

OP-TACTICAL UK – TEAN-OPS Tean, Staffordshire, ST10 4JT 07964 990831 www.op-tac.co.uk

OVER THE TOP AIRSOFT CLUB Anglesey, LL71 www.ottairsoft.co.uk 07731 744471

PATHFINDER GROUP AIRSOFT MILITARY SIMULATION Former RAF Camp Sopley/ Merryfield Park, Hants, BH23 02380 899369

Huge thanks to our friends at Airbana (www.airsoftmap.net) for supplying data

SITE DIRECTORY FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…

PHOENIX AIRSOFT

Welbeck Airsoft, Academy, Budby Road, Notts NG20 9JX 07956 587213/01623 812483 www.phoenix-airsoft.co.uk

PLATOON 1HQ

Rochester, Kent, ME1 1 HQ 01634 829063 www.ptt-1hq.co.uk

PLAYERS OF WAR

High Bonnybridge, FK1 3AD 07767 203979 www.playersofwar.co.uk

SKIRMISH AIRSOFT BILLERICAY

TACTICAL WARFARE AIRSOFT

UCAP SANDPIT

SKIRMISH EXETER

TECH BRIGADE

ULTIMATE WARGAMES – FAWKHAM

TASK FORCE SKIRMISH

ULTIMATE WARGAMES – LIMPSFIELD

Billericay, Essex, CM11 2TX 01277 657777 www.airsoft-billericay.co.uk

Exeter, Devon, EX4 5 01548 580025 www.airsoftexeter.co.uk

SOUTHDOWN AIRSOFT

Petworth, West Sussex, GU28 0LR 07766 770830 www.southdownairsoft.com

Warlingham, Surrey, CR6 9PL 020 8665 1299 www.tacticalwarfare.co.uk

Newgate Street, Hertfordshire.

SG13 8NH 07841 713356 www.techbrigade.org

Cowbridge, S Glamorgan, CF71 02920 593900 www.taskforcepaintball.co.uk

PREDATOR COMBAT GAMES

SPEC OPS AIRSOFT – BLOXWORTH

THE BUNKER

RAVEN’S NEST

SPEC OPS AIRSOFT – THE ROCK

THE DESERTERS AIRSOFT

RAW WAR AIRSOFT CUMBRIA

STIRLING AIRSOFT

THE EX SITE

RIFT AIRSOFT COM’S SITE 3

STORMFORCE AIRSOFT

THE WARGAMES CENTRE

Ballynahinch, BT24 8NF 02897565651 / 07825169631 www.predatorcombat.com

Suffolk, IP8 4 01473 831563 www.ravensairsoft.co.uk

Wigton, Cumbria CA7 3SZ 01900 85645 www.airsoftcumbria.co.uk

Chipping Warden, OX17 1LZ 07751 586781 www.riftairsoft.com

Wareham, Dorset, BH20 7EU 07984 656947 www.specopsairsoft.co.uk

Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EG 07984 656947 www.specopsairsoft.co.uk

Coventry, CV3 6NX 07831 429407 www.stirlingairsoft.com

Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 4LD 07515 937633 www.stormforcepaintball.co.uk

Aberystwyth, www.aberairsoft.co.uk 07841 462806

Redford, DD11 07751 878175 www.thedeserters.co.uk

Mold, CH7 4 07840 001975 www.theexsitewales.co.uk

Stevenston, Ayrshire, KA20 3LN 08456 434326 www.scottishadventurecentre.co.uk

Bean, Kent, DA2 8 07590 818881 www.ucap.co.uk

Fawkham, Kent, DA3 8NY 01268 796130 www.ultimatewargames.co.uk

Oxted, Surrey, RH8 0RH www.ultimatewargames.co.uk

URBAN6AIRSOFT – ZONE 13 Stone, Staffordshire ST15 0QN 07432 291729 www.urban6airsoft.com

URBAN6AIRSOFT – THE BLOCK Wood Street, Butron-Upon-Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 £AB www.urban6airsoft.com

URBAN ASSAULT

Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, PE26 1 01733 247171 www.urbanassault.org.uk

VIKING AIRSOFT

Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0UN www.vikingairsoft.co.uk

WARMINSTER AIRSOFT RIFT AIRSOFT (COTTENHAM) Cambridge, CB24 8RL 07751 586781 www.riftairsoft.com

SECTION 8 AIRSOFT

Shotts, N Lanarkshire, ML7 5AB 07974 026517 www.s8airsoft.com

SECTION 8 AIRSOFT

Shotts, North Lanarkshire, ML7 5AB 07974 026517 www.s8airsoft.com

SG1 COMBAT GAMES

Co. Londonderry, BT45 8NA 07713 273102 www.sg1combatgames.co.uk

SUSSEX AIRSOFT

Slinfold, RH12 020 8150 9284 www.sussexairsoft.co.uk

S.W.A.T. AIRSOFT

Boathouse lane, South Wirral, Cheshire, CH64 3TB www.swatairsoft.eu 07703 177756

TROJAN AIRSOFT

Macclesfield, SK10 4SZ 07428 024874 www.trojan-airsoft.com

TROJAN AIRSOFT – OLYMPUS CQB Weir Mill, Viaduct Street, Chestergate, Stockport, Cheshire, SK5 7JP

TA EVENTS

UCAP AIRSOFT

TACTICAL WALES AIRSOFT

UCAP GREEN OPS

Hemel Hemstead, Herts, HP2 7QB 07894 059794 www.ta-events.co.uk

Reynoldston, Swansea SA3 1AS 01792 473336 www.tacticalwales.co.uk

Warminster, BA12 7RZ www.warminsterairsoft.co.uk

XSITE AIRSOFT OUTPOST Dunstable, LU6 2EE 01494 881430 www.xsiteairsoft.co.uk

XSITE AIRSOFT – LANE END High Wycombe, HP14 3NP 01494 881430

Portsmouth, Hants, PO17 6AR 07590 818881 www.ucap.co.uk

Linch, West Sussex, GU30 7 07590 818881 www.ucap.co.uk

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

089

DEALER LISTINGS

ADVERTISERS INDEX Land Warrior AirsoftAirsoft Land Warrior

RedWolf Airsoft RedWolf Airsoft

79

Airsoft Zone Wolf Armouries

9 11

JD Airsoft Enola Gaye ActionSportGames BadgerTac Military 1st JD Airsoft

BadgerTac

Airsoft Armoury

11 15 15 + 57 16 19 24 31

28 + 68

35

37

Wolf Armouries

39

SWAT

44

EW Trading

48

Gunman Airsoft

48

Military 1st

Leeds Airsoft SWAT

Armex

Enola Gaye BadgerTac 2

MAY 2014

3 3++27 79

Airsoft Expo Airsoft Zone Airsoft Armoury ActionSportGames

090

22

42 44 51

58 + 59

52

60

BadgerTac 2

61

Crawley Surplus Store

EW Trading

65

Crawley Surplus Store NoVAT

64 65

NoVAT Dragon Valley

64 65

Dragon Valley Military Outdoor

64 65

Military Outdoor Leeds Airsoft

64 66

Epic Militaria Eton Guns

77 71

Gunman Elite Shooting Centre

77 71

Airsoft World Airsoft World

91 91

Pro Airsoft Supplies Pro Airsoft Supplies

92 92

60