Issue 05 - Jan 2012 by Airsoft Action

ACTION

THE Airsoft Magazine

JANUARY 2012 - £3.95

WIN

A G&G PM5-A4 worth more than

£300!

E ID L L O C S N IO T A N N E H W G&G PM5-A4 ■ GAZELLE HELO ■ Variable velocity devices ■ weapon handling

January 2012

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ACTION

THE Airsoft Magazine

JANUARY 2012 - £3.95 Airsoft Action

WIN

A G&G PM5-A4 worth more than

£300!

JANUARY 2012

CONTENTS AIRSOFT ACTION - JANUARY 2012

READERS WRITE LETTER OF THE MONTH WINS TICKETS TO A GUNMAN EVENT!

GUNMAN EVERSLEY NIGE ATTENDS GUNMAN’S NEW EVERSLEY SITE’S FIRST GAME

AIRSOFT NEWS NEW SHOPS AND SITES, UPCOMING EVENTS, MORE

COLD WAR WARRIOR THIS MONTH GADGE IS LOOKING AT THE NATIONAL VOLKSARMEE OF EASTERN GERMANY

RIFLE REVIEW HANDS-ON WITH THE ECHO 1 / VFC ROBINSON ARMS XCR

PRO-TACT LEARN SELF-DEFENCE FROM THE PROS

ENGLAND V SCOTLAND NIGE REPORTS FROM THE ANNUAL INTER-NATIONS GAME

GUNMUNKI NEW TOY BROKEN ALREADY? GUNMUNKI’S ON HAND TO HELP

WEAPON HANDLING DANNY P ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SAFE WEAPON DRILLS

RIFLE REVIEW SCOTT ALLEN GETS TO GRIPS WITH G&G’S NEW PM5-A4

NCIS OUR REPORTER NORTH OF THE BORDER VISITS NCIS

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COMPETITION YOUR EXCLUSIVE CHANCE TO WIN A G&G PM5-A4! VARIABLE VELOCITY DEVICE LEARN HOW TO FIT A VVD IN YOUR RIFLE WITH BANZAI

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KIT TEST: JACKETS DANNY P TRIES THREE JACKETS GUNS ‘N’ GEAR CHECK OUT THE STUFF WE GOT FOR CHRISTMAS...

BIG BOYZ TOYZ RATTY TURNS HIS ATTENTION TO THE ICONIC GAZELLE HELO

WHEN NATIONS COLLIDE G&G PM5-A4 ■ GAZELLE HELO ■ Variable velocity devices ■ weapon handling

Editor: Nigel Streeter Assistant editor: Anthony Platt Art director: Chris Sweeney Ad design: Ryan Dixon, Steve Dawson Advertising: Hannah Benson Operations director: James Folkard Assistant publisher: Ruth Burgess Editorial director: James Marchington Publisher: Wesley Stanton

Full UK 13-issue subscription rate: £59.40 For overseas prices visit: www.airsoftactionmagazine.com Blaze Publishing, Lawrence House, Morrell Street Leamington Spa.Warwickshire. CV32 5SZ Tel: 01926 339808 Fax: 01926 470400 E: info@blazepublishing.co.uk W: www.blazepublishing.co.uk © Blaze Publishing Limited, 2012 Distribution: Distributed to the newstrade by Comag Magazine Marketing, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE T: 01895 433 800 Copyright © Blaze Publishing Limited 2012. 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 publishers in writing. The opinions of the writers do not necessarily reﬂect those of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions prior to print.

RECOGNISE THIS PATTERN? TAKE A NOTE! YOU’LL NEED THE PATTERNS FROM ISSUES 1 - 12 TO ENTER OUR CAMO COMPETITION!

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YOUNG GUNS JEZZ BLUME ON THE TOPIC OF YOUNG GUN TEAMS

FIRST AND ONLY: MANCHESTER RON MAHONEY REPORTS FROM AN IMPRESSIVE SITE

SPY GAMES FANCY LEARNING SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT?

BATTERIES: LIPOS IN PART ONE OF A NEW FEATURE BARRY COLLINS LOOKS AT LIPO BATTERIES

INSIDE AIRSOFT A CLOSER LOOK AT LAND WARRIOR AIRSOFT

TEAM FRONTIER LEARN TEAMWORK FROM THE PROS!

LADIES AIRSOFT SIAN WESTALL AND FRIENDS ON WHY THEY LOVE AIRSOFT

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MEMORY-MAP ADVENTURER IS IT ANY GOOD FOR AIRSOFT? MEDIA REVIEW ALEX WHARTON ON CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 3

ou’ll have heard this a million times before, but I’m going to say it anyway: Bloody hell! Where has the year gone? All in all 2011 has been a really weird year. With so much happening – not least the launch of a certain airsoft magazine – it has just ﬂown by and, by the time you read this, you will hopefully be looking forwards to a bit of a break. It has been a tough year for many, and as I see it things are not likely to change any time soon. But despite everything that has been thrown at (and taken away from) us, airsoft has continued to thrive. Yes, this year has seen one or two closures but there have also been shop openings, moves to bigger premises, new sites starting up… and I’ve lost count of how much new stuff’s landed on the shelves this year! What this all means is that 2012 will be a great year for airsoft, and a great year for Airsoft Action. I believe that, with some serious hard work, 2012 can be the year that airsoft ﬁnally comes out from under the radar. There are some big players out there taking notice of our little game and, if just half of what they are planning comes to fruition, the next 12 months will see an explosion of interest – which can only be good for the future of airsoft. So from me and all of us here at Airsoft Action, whatever you are doing and wherever you are, dig out the brandy and mince pies and have a great Christmas and New Year – we’ll see you on the other side! Nige

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Letter, idea or question? Got something to say? A question for our experts? Or an article, or article idea? Drop us a line and let us know. Either email the assistant editor (anthonyp@blazepublishing. co.uk), send us a letter at the Blaze Publishing address on the previous page – or talk to us on Twitter or Facebook.

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READERS’ WRITE Got a letter, question, picture or something to make us giggle? Email it to anthonyp@ blazepublishing.co.uk and you could win two tickets to a Gunman Airsoft event! Dear Airsoft Action, I have just read the editorial of the December issue where Nigel talks a bit on the subject of the VCRA and agree it’s something that needs to be made crystal clear. Only last Saturday at Urban Assualt I overheard a player, who I assume has played for a while judging by his gear, telling a young lad that to get his UKARA registration he just had to play three days on the trot! I can’t tell you how many times I have explained it is a minimum of three times, at the same site, over a period of not less than two months – not, as I have heard, within two months. I also explain they can play more than three times, but to make sure the site knows you want to register with UKARA so that they record your visits. On another note, I’m really glad to have more choice in airsoft magazines but wanted to point out that not everyone has masses of money available to spend on the hobby. While I have a couple of TM guns and a G&G the rest are Chinese clones. I like to read about the cheaper guns/gear as well as the expensive stuff, and what can be done to upgrade them without having to spend loads of money. Also, having played for just over two years I have just about got sorted with regards personal gear, having ﬁrst tried a belt, then an

assault vest and finally settling on a chest rig. I tried a leg holster (found it flapped around too much) before settled on a holster on my belt (which is the only thing on my belt) to go with the chest rig. I have a GBB pistol an AEP and a couple of springer pistols, and do you know which I prefer? You may find this odd but it’s the springers. Perhaps I am just strange but I like the simplicity – there’s no gas to carry or leak out, it’s not affected by the cold, there’s battery to charge (or forget to) – and knowing you only really have one shot certainly adds to the tension! Excellent mag, keep up the good work! All the best, Dave

Dear Airsoft Action, I wanted to say thank you for introducing me to my new love, my Potomac ﬁeld shirt. After seeing it in the November issue of Airsoft Action I went out and bought one (early Christmas present for me) and have barely taken it off since. It’s perfect for airsoft, especially as I prefer MilSim events to skirmishing, but to be honest I’ve been wearing it every day as it’s so warm despite the weather. Plus the anti-odour and anti-microbial stuff means it doesn’t smell, so no one knows I’ve been wearing the same shirt for three weeks. Thanks! Regards, Adam Crellin

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Dear Airsoft Action, I’ve read your mag since the first issue (in fact I picked up a copy at the Ground Zero Weekender). I really like the Skills Room articles – with no military background this isn’t the sort of stuff I learn at work (accounting and fieldcraft, anyone?) so it’s really useful to learn real practical tips. But I really wrote in to tell you that I bought the Soldiers Pocket Book from the Airsoft Action Bookshop in the Xmas Issue, to see if it was any good for someone into airsoft. And even though there’s a lot of stuff that’s not much use (although it is interesting) there’s loads in there I can use for airsoft, and it’s good to see what skills are being taught to our soldiers. If anyone else saw it and wondered if it’s any good, I’d say get it – nice stocking filler for yourself! All the best, Helen Robinson

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AIRSOFT AIR A AI IIR RSO RSO RS SOFT SOF OFT O FT FT

NEWS NE N E EW W WS S GUNMAN WASTELANDER Gunman Airsoft is looking to a dark future: January 21-22 will see a new post-apocalyptic sci-fi airsoft event based on videogame Fallout 3. Tickets for the event – Wastelander: Land of Hope and Glory – are selling fast, so if you’re itching to try something a little different in 2012, check out the event details on the Gunman forums. Gunman Airsoft: 07854 277264, www.gunmanforum.com

JD AIRSOFT INTERACTION NIGHT JD Airsoft hosted representatives from Edgar Brothers, Stirling Airsoft and Popular Airsoft at its ‘interaction night’, allowing customers to get hands-on with the expanding Magpul range and talk to the people in the know. The interaction night, held 8 December, attracted considerable numbers of airsofters to the Staffordshire-based retail outlet. Edgar Brothers was on hand to field questions about its Magpul and Blackhawk ranges and had kindly donated a number of prizes that were raffled off, with proceeds going to the Air Ambulance. A total of £340 was raised, while Michael Rowe walked away with a brand new Masada AKM and Matt Nelson won the MOE CQB. Stirling Airsoft also gave tickets to a Stirling event of the winner’s choice, which was won by Steve Keary. Fiona Harrington finished up, taking the Fireball Hornet’s Nest weekend event certificate. JD Airsoft, 01543 466356, www.jdairsoft.co.uk

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CELCIUS CTW SBS

Specialist Tactical Training Solutions (STTS) has announced the launch of the Celcius CTW SBS Limited Edition. Strictly limited to 25 pieces – and costing £1,370 – the CTW SBS is a complete weapons package comprising of the following: A CTW MX-2 M4A1 Carbine fitted with: n Spectre style illuminated 4x scope n Replica SIR rail system n Set of rail covers n Flip-up iron sight n Replica PEQ illuminator and laser designator n Replica suppressor and ‘silent option’ markings n STTS-upgrade nozzle fitted to cylinder. On top of that, also included in the package is: Hard, lockable case with foam insert n Four spare 120-round high-speed mags n Standard Bird Cage M4 flash hider n Upgrade cylinder pack with M90, M110 and M130 springs n 11.1v 1200mAh 20C battery (for M90 and M110 springs) n 11.1v 2400mAh 20C battery (for M130 spring only) n Pistol-style speed loader n Cleaning rod n Warranty booklet n User guide. STTS is the exclusive UK and Irish distributor of Celcius products and the CTW SBS includes the standard STTS 12-month warranty, covering the rifle, mags and cylinders. The CTW SBS will be available from late-December from STTS-appointed outlets BadgerTac in Oxfordshire (01296 658600) and JD Airsoft in Staffs (01543 466356).

EAST MIDLANDS

AIRSOFT East Midlands Airsoft’s second Sabre Force Woodland site opens on Sunday 8 January 2012 near Lutterworth, Leicestershire (nearest postcode LE17 4HP (farm)). All players at the first game will receive a free 3,000 count bottle of Blaster 0.2g BBs. The new site has all the comforts that regular players at East Midlands Airsoft have come to expect – covered seating, toilets, hard-standing car cark and a shop selling drinks, snacks, and airsoft goodies. East Midlands Airsoft is working hard to transform the site, which already boasts several buildings, a full military-style assault course, abandoned cars and a host of man-made and natural features to really get the games going. It has also confirmed that there will be no paintballers using any part of the site during game days, and that most gaming takes place away from any paintball zones. There are 25 rental guns available for the first game – book early to avoid disappointment! Prices Walk-on: £20 (special offer) Rifle hire: £15 Pyro: £3.50 each or £10 for three Contact 0844 870 9785 www.eastmidlandsairsoft.co.uk

PRO AIRSOFT MILSPEC SOLUTIONS SUPPLIES Pro Airsoft Supplies UK, has opened in Highgate, London, on 10 December. As Airsoft Action was going to press the shop ﬁt was complete, the deliveries taken and the last ﬁnishing touches being done before the shop opened – but by the time you read this business will be well and truly underway! Contact Pro Airsoft Supplies: 0208 292 6548, www.proairsoftsupplies.co.uk, sales@ proairsoftsupplies.co.uk

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MilSpec Solutions, purveyor of gas blowback weapons, has launched a new website. A vast improvement over the last one, the new website will show the full range of gas blowback products and airsoft accessories available from MilSpec Solutions. Check out the new website at www. milspecsolutions.co.uk. Contact MilSpec Solutions: 01257 453689

AIRSOFT NEWS

UCAP VIRUS: CLOSING Demolition work has begun on UCAP Airsoft’s Sussex-based Virus site. The last ever game days were held on 10 and 11 December 2011. The site was opened in April 2010 and hundreds of airsofters have played the site in the last 20 months. As Airsoft Action was going

BADGERTAC2

to press the forums were buzzing with players looking forward to sending the site out in style! UCAP Airsoft still operates three sites: The Bunker near Portsmouth, Green Ops in West Sussex and The Sandpit in Kent. Contact UCAP Airsoft: 07590 818881, www.ucap.co.uk

BadgerTac2 opened on 19 November in Canvey Island in Essex. The new shop, set up by 18-yearold James Badura and Adam ‘Tigger’ Scott, has already established itself with local players. When James’ grandparents offered to set him up in business he jumped at the chance to turn his hobby into his business. Through family friend Tigger, James was introduced to Ratty from BadgerTac, and BadgerTac2 was born. Within days James had secured a shop and began ﬁtting it out ready to receive its ﬁrst stock of gear and equipment including King Arms, Cybergun, ICS, ASG, Magpul, KJ Works and WE, to name a few. When not working Tigger assists with help and advice – you’ll soon spot him if you visit the shop (he’s the big guy with a ponytail!). Contact BadgerTac2: 01268 906494, www.badgertac2.co.uk, info@badgertac2.co.uk – or if you’re nearby then pop in and say hello!

NEWS Two years have passed since the meeting which established the UK Airsoft Players Union, and the need for our association is clearer than ever. Not so long ago airsoft was an underground hobby; in the last 15 years it has burst into the limelight and grown exponentially as a result. Most people reading this would not have heard of airsoft if it wasn’t for the hundreds of people who have pushed airsoft to new

levels, volunteers and entrepreneurs alike. Each year more people get involved and as a result we now have a staggering array of shops, sites, literature, guns and equipment to select from, with competition and the economy of scale keeping prices down. Airsoft was always a cheap activity due to extremely cheap ammunition and reasonable site fees; certainly it costs a tiny proportion of a day of quad biking or paintballing. That is one of the reasons airsoft has ﬂourished in an economic climate that has seen most people spending less money. So things are looking good for our hobby. But this growth is highlighting the fact that, as a new industry in the UK, we are struggling to ﬁnd our feet in terms of self governance.

It is our community and the attitude of sportsmanship and professionalism that players bring to airsoft which makes the game everything that it is – but we are in danger of losing sight of this as the hobby becomes more commercialised. It is up to everyone in airsoft to take the reins to make sure that the hobby both sticks to its roots and lays the groundwork for the future. Our aim for the following year is to reengage with governmental and nongovernmental organisations ﬁrsthand. UKAPU will also continue to push for the creation of a UK airsoft council. Chris Neill United Kingdom Airsoft Players Union www.ukapu.org.uk

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VFC/ECHO 1 ROBINSON ARMS XCR Ratty lifts the lid on something a little different: the VFC/Echo 1 XCR – but was he impressed?

omething a little different arrived this month – not an M4, which was big relief, although it does use M16/M4 magazines. According to the box label the XCR is a collaboration between VFC and Echo 1, both well-known and respected airsoft manufacturers. So this was deﬁnitely worthy of further investigation! First though, a little background about Robinson Armament Co and the XCR. Robinson Armament is pretty much unknown this side of the Atlantic. A relatively new company founded in 1996 and based at Salt Lake City, Utah, it started life manufacturing and marketing many different civilian and military orientated designs. The company imports a range of Kalashnikov-based riﬂes (called the VEPR series) from Russia, which have become very popular. It is also well-known for its M96 carbine, which is derived from the Stoner 63. Its most popular model to date, though, is the XCR Modular Weapon System.

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It has proved a massive hit on the civilian marketplace and has so far enjoyed limited success with some overseas military units. Designed in 2004 by Alex J Robinson (of Robinson Armament Co), production of the first XCR L version started in 2006. The XCR series was designed as a multicalibre, gas piston weapon system. It was initially produced and entered into the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) SOF Combat Assault Rifle competition. Unfortunately it was disqualified on a technicality, but Robinson Armament continued development anyway. Presently the XCR is available for purchase by the US public as well as being tendered into law enforcement and smaller military units. On 13 November 2008 the XCR was displayed to US Army officials; their goal was to examine modern carbine technology prior to formally writing up the requirements for a future replacement for the M4 Carbine. As stated, the XCR is a multi-calibre weapon system. While the base platform is chambered for 5.56x45NATO, there are kits available to convert it to 6.8 Remington SPC

and 7.62x39. Conversions to these other calibres and barrel lengths can be completed in a couple of minutes, without needing a trained armourer or any specialist tools! The conversion kits consist of the new appropriately-chambered barrel and bolt assembly, brass deﬂector, and all that is left is the correctly-chambered magazine. The XCR is also available in any of the aforementioned calibres too. During its brief existence the XCR has seen continuing upgrades and developments, too many to go into here. There are now many variants of the riﬂe, with the XCR-M the most popular. Since its initial introduction in 2006 more than 5,000 XCR Carbines have been sold.

VFC/Echo 1 XCR A few things strike you immediately on opening the box. First is how good the riﬂe looks – it takes M4 mags but looks nothing like an M4 derivative. Secondly (and the only downside) it comes with the US-spec bright orange plastic ﬂash hider. With a little effort to break the seal this unscrews though, leaving a 14mm CCW thread.

THE ARMOURY

“Taking the gun out of the box and rigging it all up, you cannot help but feel that it’s a very well put together AEG.” The third thing you notice is all the little bits and pieces that come in the box. You do get a metal M16 A2 style flash hider to replace the orange thing, a PEQ box to house your battery and also a short length vertical grip. Not a bad little package! With the gun out of the box and all rigged up, it has the definite feel of a very well-put-together AEG. Mostly full-metal construction, it weighs in at just less than 2.7kg without a magazine fitted. Still light enough to lug around all day but solid and robust enough to take some pretty rough usage. It has a side folding stock which swings around to the right hand side of the receiver. The stock itself has a soft coating across the top and is fitted with a rubberised butt pad, making it comfortable to use. Folding the stock in or out is a smooth and definite movement, again adding to the overall feel of rigidity. With the stock folded the overall length is only 52cm (20.5in); with it extended it’s still only 73cm (28.5in). Layout on the receiver is familiar, and is pretty much a cross between the Armalite series, SCAR and Masada models. There is the licensed Robinsons Armament Co logo on the side of the magwell as well as its own unique serial number. The cocking

lever is located on the left hand side of the receiver and, when used, pulls back the dummy bolt, located on the right hand side of the receiver. This locks back to reveal the hop-up adjuster in the ejection chamber. The bolt release catch is a Masada ambidextrous style, located beneath and forward of the trigger guard. When released the bolt snaps forward and sounds great, which I thought was a really nifty touch. The pistol grip is comfortable and the safety catch/fire selector is the same as you would find on a SCAR. It rotates a total of 90° from safe (vertical), semi (45°) and full-auto (horizontal). The mix and match continues too: the whole upper is one piece, similar to the SCAR. Running along the whole top length of the rifle is one continuous 39cm (15in) rail, which allows you to mount all manner of scopes or sighting systems without the annoyance of gaps or uneven rail spaces. On the front end there are a further three 15cm (6in) rails located at the usual positions. This means you can mount the vertical grip it comes with and the battery/PEQ box. Obviously the AEG is wired to the front, with a small Tamiya connector and about 1.5in of wiring protruding through one of the gaps. If you don’t fancy having a battery box

mounted then you should be able to ﬁt a 7.4v LiPo battery in the front end, out of sight so the weapon keeps looking slick! The XCR does not come with any form of iron/back up sights, which will be rather annoying to some, but when you are purchasing a riﬂe at this level then having an after-market sighting system of some kind should not be a problem. Unlike the real XCR this version can only accept M16/M4 mags. It comes with a VFC 120-round mid-cap magazine which I didn’t particularly rate. When you’ve got a gun that is as realistic and well-built as the XCR it’s a shame that the mag that goes with it is so toy-like.

Using the XCR Once I had fitted a mini-type 8.4v battery into the PEQ box, attached it to the rifle and loaded up the mag with Blaster Devil 0.20g BBs, I headed off to give it a thorough testing. The mag locates well, with very little wobble, and the selector moves precisely with a definitive click at each position. On first pull of the trigger you realise that the quality has been extended to the internals as well. Good trigger response on semi meant some well-placed

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accurate shooting, while ﬂicking the selector onto full-auto presented me with a very reasonable rate of ﬁre of around 850rpm. After playing with it for a while (and about 12 mags later) I decided it had bedded in enough to get an accurate chrono reading. Using a Madbull V2 Chronograph, the XCR was achieving between 339-349 fps. There were a couple of random shots that peaked at 357fps.

Summary The build and performance of the XCR is impressive, and fair play to VFC/Echo 1 for making something a little bit different. If you are looking for an all-in-one AEG that’s not an M4 yet with easily available mags then this has to be on your shortlist. With its modern design and all the accessories in the box, there is very little left for you to do. By adding a decent sighting system you can make this a really cool-looking and functional weapon. Personally I would still add my own flashider, the M16A2 style that it comes with it is a bit standard when you consider how funky the rest of the rifle looks. Maybe a silencer option too… There are plenty of customisations available to give it that personal finishing touch. And because it takes M16 mags it will appeal to a much wider audience, as those of you that already own an M16/M4 variant don’t have to worry about spending more hard-earned cash on a new set of mags. It’s a really solid bit of kit, and with the reliability typical of VFC. Would I own one? Yes for sure, but don’t take my word for it. Check one out at your local airsoft shop and see if it’s for you. ■

SPECIFICATIONS Weight: 2,700g Build: CNC-machined one-piece upper receiver; mostly full-metal construction Inner barrel length: 209mm Internals: Quick-disassembly barrel system with new hop-up system Gearbox: New VFC design gearbox Motor: Hi-speed middle-type motor Magazine: M16/M4 120-round mid-cap Battery: 8.4v NiMh / Mini type 7.4v LiPo Velocity: 339-349fps Price: Expect to pay around £250 Distributed by Redwolf Airsoft: www.redwolfairsoft.com, 01684 273070

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OPERATION ARCHER ENGLAND V SCOTLAND Scotland had everything to play for at this annual Stirling bash. Nige joined them at Catterick to see if they could beat the Auld Enemy and level the score

s rivalries go, it probably ranks up there with the greatest of them. For many the reasons are lost in the fog of history and myth but we all know that the English and Scots have been at each others’ throats for hundreds of years. So if you think that 165 players from both sides of the border can congregate in a conﬁned area and challenge each other in an adrenaline-fuelled, testosterone-driven, pride-atstake competition without it descending into a riot, surely you must be completely off your trolley! Well, apparently not! In its fourth year (2-1 to the English), Stirling Airsoft’s England v Scotland game took place over the weekend of 3-4 December at the FIBUA (Fighting In Built Up Areas) Village in Catterick Garrison. From what

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I understand, the majority of the buildings here were not purpose-built (as in some training areas) but were home to those who served

and that adds to the overall ambience. Having pitched-up on the Friday evening, I had plenty of opportunity to chat to players as they arrived at check in. My overriding impression was one of eager anticipation – especially from the Scots, who were looking forwards to exacting revenge on the English. It had been a long drive so, politely turning down offers of rather odd-looking protein shakes (Yoghurt of Valour, anyone?), I crawled into my sleeping bag for some rest. Saturday morning was cold but dry and players were soon gathering in the Safe Zone (which was also to be Regen 1 during the game). Accommodation at Catterick is in the blocks used by visiting personnel so it is ‘functional’ but clean, warm and dry – something very important as the weather reports were predicting cold, wind and rain!

“The spotters in the Tower were in a position to see where players could be called from. The arrival of reinforcements wasn’t a coincidence – they had been sent to assist” here. This gives the place a ‘lived in’ feeling, with the remnants of previous habitation still evident. It is not a sterile environment created for one purpose only – this place has a soul,

EVENT REPORT

The game was due to start at 11:00am and run for a straight 12 hours, but before anything else a full safety briefing was given to all players who were then divided into their respective teams. Each team then had an individual briefing, the English at Regen 1 and the Scots on the far side of the playing area at Regen 2. During play both Regens would be available to players from both sides. To prevent any potential problems when leaving regen, exit times were staggered so only one side could leave at a specific time and at other times there was no exit at all. This worked brilliantly and at no time did I hear any complaints about players being shot as they left either regen

(although you didn’t have to come too far out of Regen 2 before you were in range of the Scottish snipers at the top of the tower!). The Scots were 2-1 down and it was clear from the outset that they were in no mood to fall any further behind. As soon as Game On was called they literally tore out of Regen 2 in an attempt to gain as much ground as possible and secure two vitally important locations: The Tower and Hotel Johanna. This they did and, as it turned out, it was pivotal in the outcome of the weekend. Catterick FIBUA Village has been created to test soldiers in a realistic environment, which makes it an exceptional site for airsoft. Rows

of houses that were once Married Quarters are now stripped of all fixtures, fittings and doors to become a veritable rat-run of rooms, corridors and mouse-holes. Burnt out vehicles litter the site and three APCs stand in a field, while small wooded areas provide a complete contrast to the built-up areas. A road arcs around the top, enclosing an expanse of grass on which sits a railway line, semi-destroyed buildings, a ‘diamond mine’ and, at the top, a five-storey brick tower resembling a block of flats. Under the grass a system of tunnels spreads out from a central location to various points around the site, with exits hidden in buildings and other points along their length – dark, damp and very sneaky! Matt and the guys at Stirling had devised a game plan that would challenge both teams, testing their combined tactical and communication skills while ensuring that nonstop action was almost inevitable. It was going to be 12 hours of hard fighting – and this was just day one! The eventual winners would be the team that had accrued the most points over the weekend. Points were awarded for a number of things. The primary objective was to be in sole occupation of specific locations at certain times. At the allotted time a marshal would sweep through the location – if only one team was in occupation then the points would be awarded to them. If a member from the other team was found to control any part of the location (not just be stood in a doorway) then neither team got any points.

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To add yet more spice to the mix, sometimes more than one building had to be occupied at the same time or the times might overlap – and it didn’t stop there. On each side there were five designated High Value Targets (HVTs). HVTs were worth points and had a five-minute bleed-out time, during which their HVT tab could be removed and passed to the team’s Commander who would register the capture with a marshal. The HVTs were not known to the opposition but their pictures could be found on one of five laptops that were hidden around the site. Each laptop carried the picture of one Scottish and one English HVT so by finding the laptops you not only scored points (providing you still had them in your possession at end-ex), you also learnt the identity of the opposition’s HVTs. With play now well underway, action was kicking off all over the site and I had to keep truly switched on to make sure I was where I needed to be. The Scots had consolidated their position and were now pushing forwards hard, probing English-held buildings and taking full advantage of a couple of spotters at the top of the Tower. These guys were armed with sniper rifles and anyone who came in range wearing Desert camo (the Scots were in woodland) soon became a target and, although the wind often spoiled their shots, they held the position throughout the weekend and were instrumental in a fair number of English casualties. At one point I was with a group of Scottish players, holed up in a building and under constant attack from English forces. No-one could look out of a window without a barrage of rounds coming at them, the front door was being pounded by grenade after grenade and if it hadn’t been for the timely arrival of a squad of woodland-clad players, the building would have been taken. This was when I realised the Scots were also using something else to maximum effect – communications! So far as I could tell, the Scots were keeping their comms really simple: if you weren’t in trouble then shut up and get on with what you’ve been tasked to do. If you had a problem, ask for help and, once again, the spotters in the Tower were in a position to see where players could be called from. The arrival of reinforcements wasn’t a coincidence – they had been sent to assist.

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But the Scots weren’t getting it all their own way – the English were scoring some significant gains and by game end at 23:00 on Saturday night things were very finely balanced. Everything was to play for on Sunday. At 07:00 on Sunday the game was reset, with players returning to the positions they were in at game end the previous night. Marshals ensured that buildings were occupied by the same side as they had been before. There were just three target locations to be held at various times today, plus extra points would be awarded to the team holding five other different locations at 10:30. End-ex would be at 11:00 and the final target would be the Tower, but to score all the points for this location you had to control all five floors plus the basement. When it came to it, everything swung on who held the Tower

at end-ex – the team in possession would win the game. I have got to say that if the play on Saturday was brilliant then the play on Sunday was simply outstanding. Time after time I saw examples of astounding team play, with movements executed on both sides that looked almost choreographed. It seemed as though everyone had stepped up a gear. As it got closer to 11:00 it all came down to that one last target – The Tower. By 10:30 the Scots had started drawing every man back towards the Tower and had also occupied the entire crescent of buildings opposite. As more and more players poured in it became apparent that the English were going to have one almighty battle to force their way inside, a feat which was quite frankly just too much to expect. 10:45… The Scots now had every player pulled back into defence. The English were gathering their strength just out of range of the snipers, and regen was now closed. I have

EVENT REPORT

been in some charged atmospheres in my time and this was one of the best – even the wind had dropped and the sun was out! 10:50… With a wall of smoke to give them some cover the English charged across the open ground toward the Tower – only to be met by withering fire from within. Every door had a Scotsman in it, pouring round after round into the English ranks. If hit his place was immediately taken, and the firing continued, on and on and on… It was one of the few moments that I wished I had a video, not a still camera, to capture the sound. I do not think I have ever heard such a long, sustained burst of airsoft gunfire. It seemed to go on for an age, although it was probably only about five minutes. Watching the action through my Nikon was like watching some war movie, with soldiers being raked down, and even those that moved in to take their place were cut down too. The English couldn’t sustain this level of loss and very quickly their attack faltered and then stopped, leaving just one or two lone runners to attempt the now impossible. As it happened one of them did actually make it unscathed inside the Tower but, when end-ex was called at 11:00, was judged not to be ‘in control’ of any part of the building, just ‘inside’ it, so full points to the Scots. The Scots were rightfully happy with what they had just achieved and celebrated in their usual manner – shouting, cheering, thunderflashes and smoke grenades!

The scores conﬁrmed that Scotland had indeed won the game and, back at the Safe Zone, the Stirling Shield was presented to the winning Commander, Paul Quayle. It will be on display at Land Warrior Airsoft for 12 months. It had been a brilliant weekend and proved once again that airsoft, even competitive airsoft, can be played with passion, honour and integrity. My thanks and congratulations to all who took part, and especially the guys at Stirling Airsoft for organising such an awesome event. So with the score at two-two, next year’s event promises to be an absolute cracker. Airsoft Action will be back to cover it – only this time I will also be bringing my kit, not just my camera! ■

STIRLING AIRSOFT CATTERICK SCORES: SATURDAY England - 65 Scotland - 70

SUNDAY England - 15 Scotland - 15

HVTS AND LAPTOPS England - 30 Scotland - 45

FINAL SCORES England - 110 Scotland - 130

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019

WEAPON HANDLING AND SAFETY Weapon handling and safety is a topic that’s talked about often – but is it practised as regularly? Danny P looks at what airsofters can learn from how how it is done in the military

eapon handling and safety drills are taught to every member of the Armed Forces and members of the police force that are trained and qualified to carry firearms. The thousands of people out there that own private firearms will also practise it diligently. These skills and drills are something that you never forget, as even the slightest mistake can have deadly and devastating results. In the military these drills are called normal safety precautions (NSPs). These drills are done as soon as you are handed a weapon and at periods throughout the carriage of the weapon until it is handed to another person or back to the armourer.

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Now you might ask yourself what the hell this got to do with airsoft. Well, having spent many years around real firearms, and now around airsoft, I can tell you it has a lot to do with airsoft weapons and the players’ attitude in general. Realistic imitation firearms and imitation firearms only fire 6mm BBs, but just because the projectile is relatively harmless does not mean it can’t have life altering consequences if proper handling and discipline drills are not followed How many times have you seen or heard a negligent discharge (ND) in or around the Safe Zone? And how often is the response simply: “Oh, what an arse!” and nothing more? If that happens in the Armed Forces the offender is often charged, has pay

docked and in some cases ends up in the Glass House (military prison in Essex). Why is it so different in airsoft? Would it be OK if the BB took someone’s eye out? I asked this question at a recent event and was told: “Yeah, but it never happens!” Really? Well I don’t want to be the ﬁrst to test that theory out! One of the ﬁrst things I was taught was: “Never point a weapon at anyone unless you intend to use it.” Now I know that is what we play the game for, and that is what the sport is all about, but on more than one occasion I have seen people point a weapon at someone in jest and pull the trigger. In military training manuals it says in bold black letters, ‘THE RIFLE IS NEVER TO BE POINTED AT ANYONE IN JEST’.

SKILLS ROOM

“One of the ﬁrst things I was taught was: ‘Never point a weapon at anyone unless you intend to use it’”

I’ve seen someone do this in the Safe Zone with a gas blowback. The weapon ﬁred and I saw the look of horror on the chap’s face, and found myself asking: what did you think was going to happen? The answer is usually, “I didn’t think there was any gas in it, so it was OK.” So what you’re saying is that you picked up a weapon, pointed it at your mate for a laugh (with a magazine in it), pulled the trigger and was hoping it had nothing in it? It would have taken two seconds to check if the weapon loaded had gas in it and made it safe. What would you have done if there had been a round in the chamber? “Yeah but there wasn’t! Hahaha!” Lucky hey? I know that using an AEG is different to a real ﬁrearm – you can’t cock it, pull the working parts back and check that there is nothing in the chamber. But you can on

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gas blowback pistols and riﬂes. You might say that all you have to do is take the mag out on a gas blowback and it stops working – it cannot ﬁre as you have taken away the power source. But after an hour at lunch you walk back, get ready to go out, put your mag back in and away you go. Have you already loaded the weapon? Is there a round in the chamber? If you had done a proper unload drill you would know it was

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empty. If you haven’t and cock the weapon again you load two BBs into it – not catastrophic but it’s a pain in the backside to sort out. The only real way to make an AEG safe is to remove the mag, point the weapon in a safe direction and ﬁre a few rounds off to clear the hop chamber then disconnect the battery to make it totally safe. Many people though will start a game, be it a day

or weekend, and just stick their batteries on and pull the trigger to test the weapon. Next thing they know a BB comes ﬂying out and has people diving for cover! The reason is that the last time they played they wanted to get home ASAP and threw the weapon in its case and off they went. Then they turn up for their next game, forget there is a round in the chamber and – hey presto – an ND. Here’s another question: how many times have you been handed a weapon in the Safe Zone by a mate, or gone to look at someone else’s kit and checked that the weapon is safe and unloaded? Judging by what I have seen time and time again, not often enough! What would you do if it went off and permanently hurt someone? Feeble excuses and “I’m sorry, I thought it was unloaded,” will only go so far. It may seem like I am trying to teach people to suck eggs; I am not. What I am trying to do is get people thinking. All it takes is two seconds to check if a weapon is safe and OK to handle, and those two seconds can mean the difference between a good game day and a trip to A&E. So please, remember to handle your weapon properly and make safety checks one of your standard operating procedures. It will keep both you, and those around you, a hell of a lot safer! ■

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NCIS

SITE REVIEW

Barry Collins makes the journey to NCIS airsoft near Edinburgh, a mixed site with some pretty unique features

hen most people mention NCIS the first thing that comes to mind is a TV show, not the fantastic, fastpaced airsoft site located just outside Edinburgh. NCIS airsoft has been on the go for a fair while (long before I even knew what airsoft was). The site started off as a paintball site but quickly incorporated airsoft and has done ever since, with many zones designed for all different kinds of play. Most notable among these are The Islands which are exactly what they sound: big islands surrounded by a rather large (and not too deep) river! I had heard of NCIS a few times before my mate finally talked me into the trip out. As we live in Glasgow this was just over a 120-mile round trip for us. NCIS is located just off the Edinburgh South bypass at Hermiston on Calder Road. The site entrance is well signposted so no worries of driving by it.

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cordoned off with mesh fencing. Inside is seating and awnings for those bad weather days. After a 10-minute safety brief the first game was set, a warm-up fall back game through the trenches. These are tremendous fun to play as they are actual full-size trenches. This makes for some fierce up close and personal battles. After the warm-up we moved onto the next game. The objective for one team was to stay in and around the confines of the base (which was full of defences) while the attackers had to get inside the bar and press to win. The game was called ‘Attack the Bar’ as it did actually resemble a beach-side pub! This game was more in the vein of CQB, very fast paced with some cracking teamwork on both sides. I

Once in the spacious car park you are greeted with a large area which is actually the paintball Safe Zone. I was a little confused at first if I’m honest, but quickly realised that the paintball section usually runs at one side of the site and airsoft at the other, which allows the two to coexist and operate at the same time while still keeping safety paramount. When you arrive at the other side of the site you enter the Safe Zone, which is

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“The separated land is backed onto a fence, which is the limit of the site. This means that the Islands can only be reached via the two bridges – or you get wet!”

was knackered after the first round, before teams were reversed. At this point lunch was called and as with any good site the banter and chat during lunch was top class. Listening to players talking about their kills (and being killed) is what makes this such a fun sport to be a part of. After lunch we were told the next game would be ‘Attack the Islands’. Now I had heard a lot about how much fun this game was and it did not disappoint. They aren’t islands per se, more a bit of land separated by a river. The separated land is backed onto a fence, which is the limit of the site. This means that the Islands can only be reached via the two bridges – or you get wet! Our objective was to wipe everyone out at the first base; defenders were on two lives and out rules. When the game kicked off I immediately realised this was going to be very hard – I couldn’t even get near the bridges, let alone cross one, so even though I exclaimed I wouldn’t I was straight in the river! This was one of the best games I’ve ever played during my time airsofting – it’s so much fun playing on a site with that kind of unique landscape. We did finally take the base, but the turnaround was relatively short as we never fared too well against the home teams. Those guys are good! Last game of the day was a simple ‘Clear the Base’. In the middle of the site is a base dubbed the Com Base. This is a well-made square base with satellite dishes and a tower located in the middle. For this game the attackers had to clear the base as fast as they could while defenders

SITE REVIEW

tried to hold out as long as possible. I sat this one out as I was done after my multiple swims (the water’s only waist high, but I was being lazy). Again I was

witness to some very impressive play and efficient teamwork, and the home team (Team Danish) absolutely owned here, displaying some impressive stacking and clearing. This brought a close to an awesome day’s airsoft – possibly one of my best ever. NCIS is great, local players are amazing and the marshals do a top-notch job running the games and keeping the site fresh and new. I can’t wait until my next game – it might be a 120-mile trip but it’s sure as hell worth it! ■

NCIS Near Edinburgh (near EH14 4AF) www.ncis-airsoft.co.uk admin@ncis-airsoft.co.uk Prices Walk-on: Non-members £15; members £10 Riﬂe hire: £40 (includes riﬂe, mags, face mask, vest, coveralls, 3,000 BBs)

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COMPETITION

WIN...WIN...WIN... G&G PM5 AS SEEN IN THIS ISSUE OF

AIRSOFT ACTION!

ancy owning this cracking G&G rifle, as seen in this issue of Airsoft Action (starting on page 50)? We’ve got one to give away to you lucky little lot – to be in with a chance just spot the five differences between the pictures below and send us the entry form! If you prefer to email, just email competition@blazepublishing.co.uk – quote G&G COMPETITION in the subject bar – and list the five differences. Couldn’t be simpler!

Countryy Telephone p Email

Competition open to UK residents (British passport required) aged 18+ ONLY. Prize includes ﬂights, accomodation, course and range fees. Post your entry to: G&G Competition, Airsoft Action, Blaze Publishing, Lawrence House, Morrell Street, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV32 5SZ. Or, email your entries to competition@blazepublishing.co.uk, quoting ‘G&G Competition’ in the headline. Entries received after 20 January will not be valid. One entry per household. Winner will be ﬁrst correct entry pulled from the editor's hat. Blaze 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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V V D

elcome to a new series looking at upgrades, gadgets and gizmos for your weapons. In this first article I will be fitting a variable velocity device from SAT to a standard Classic Army M4. The device includes a replacement piston and piston head (which can be adjusted to three different power settings) as well as an adjustment tool. The VVD is designed to be installed into V2 and V3 gearboxes but is not for use with next-generation Tokyo Marui or PSG-1 gearboxes or extended cylinders. There are no actual fitting instructions provided, although the VVD is a direct replacement for your original piston and shouldn’t present any major challenges. However, unless you are confident in your ability to strip and replace parts to your weapon I would advise taking it to your nearest repair agent. The packaging has some very clear and well-illustrated instructions on the actual operation and adjustment of the device, and once opened I found both the VVD and adjusting tool to be of good quality and construction. The adjusting tool consists of a handle, a set of six rods and an end rod with

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New contributor Banzai gives us the lowdown on ﬁtting and using a variable velocity device

a squared end. The handle also doubles up as a storage device for the rods, which is a very good idea. The adjusting tool does need to be assembled with slightly more than ﬁnger pressure or it will undo as you adjust the device. There are holes in the rods so that you can insert a ﬁne screwdriver or allen key for this purpose. So, onto the installation. First remove

the two main body pins, then the upper receiver; after that remove the stock by unscrewing the retaining screw (you will need a long shank Phillips screwdriver). Now remove the end cap from the pistol grip (which covers the motor) and extract the motor. Once this is done you will see the two retaining screws which hold the pistol grip in place – take these out and

WORKSHOP

“…the VVD is a direct replacement for your original piston and shouldn’t present any major challenges” slide the pistol grip off the bottom of the gearbox. Next, remove the mag release catch and push out the small body pin (which holds the gearbox into the lower receiver), then extract the gearbox. To open the gearbox itself you will need to remove all the screws, starting with the four along the ridge then working from the rear of the gearbox to the front (see the picture above). Now open the gearbox but be mindful of the piston return spring and spring guide, as they could pop out. The only thing you need to remove is the spring, guide and the piston itself. Now replace the piston with the VVD, then put the spring and guide back. Check that everything else is still in place and replace the side of the gearbox. The ﬁrst screw to be replaced is the one nearest the front of the gearbox. After that one work towards the rear, and lastly

replace the four along the ridge. Place the gearbox into the lower receiver and push the small body pin back through the receiver and gearbox. Put the pistol grip back in place and screw it down, but don’t over-tighten them or you will strip the thread. Place the motor back inside the pistol grip and reconnect the two cables. Put the end cap back over the motor and screw the two screws back in place (at this point I like to connect a battery and give the weapon a quick test fire). Refit the upper receiver and replace the body pins. Refit the stock tube and screw it back down firmly. Now it’s time to test its operation. The test was carried out using a standard magazine loaded with 0.20g Blaster Devil BBs over a Madbull V1 chronograph. Prior to fitting the VVD, the chrono reading was 340fps. The first readings after fitting the device were at 355fps – not

a huge difference but perfectly within reason. I then removed the magazine and fired the weapon to clear it and put the VVD fully forward within the gearbox. Lowering the adjuster into the barrel, I gave it a gentle twist and it dropped into place inside the locator hole in the VVD; a second gentle twist and the unit located into the second position. With this done I removed the adjuster tool and refitted the mag. This time the reading came out at 305fps. I adjusted the VVD to its third and final position, refitted the mag and, having test fired for a third time, was quite happy to see another drop in velocity, this time to 265fps. For field testing I started with the VVD in its first position and found there was no real difference in range to that of a standard weapon – and I was very surprised to find that the range in the second and third position was not a lot different to that of the first! With all tests completed I can happily say this is a very good piece of equipment, and useful if playing at sites with varying scenarios such as woodland (where a higher fps would be an advantage) and CQB (where a lower fps would be required). However I can also see misuses of this device, as you could ramp up your fps while out on site before turning it down to its lowest setting for chronographing. But I guess if you’re the kind of person who would do that, you’re probably already one of those players with the special BB-repellent camo! ■

SAT VVD is manufactured by Soldat Airsoft Taiwan (www.sat-gunshop.com) Distributed by Redwolf Airsoft, www.redwolfairsoft.com Expect to pay about £70 for the VVD

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GUNMAN AIRSOFT EVERSLEY Nige reports from the forests of Eversley, which are once again alive with the sounds of airsoft

y approach had been slow and meticulous. The three guys in front of me didn’t know I was there and didn’t stand a chance. Six quick shots and they’d be on their way. I raised my rifle and drew a bead on the farthest away target, but as I started to squeeze the trigger a strange noise broke my concentration, getting louder. “Oh bugger!” As the last vestiges of my dream dissipate I try to focus on my watch and remember where I am… It’s 06:00, and for Josh and the crew at Gunman Airsoft it was time to fire up the genie and prep for the first day at Eversley. Time to roll out of my tent and get the kettle on!

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For those of you that think the name sounds familiar you probably recognise it from its days as Ambush Wargames Eversley (AWE). With the demise of AWE the site had remained largely unused until a few months ago, when Josh Smith of Gunman Airsoft took it on and started the process of bringing it back to life. This weekend was the ﬁrst time it had been played since then. Set in around 300 acres of pine woodland, the 64-acre playing area is full of natural features and topography that make it a player’s dream. Valleys, open areas, hidden paths, and even a swamp have been complimented by wellplaced structures and man-made fortiﬁcations that add up to a site with plenty of challenge and scope for variation. For this opening weekend Josh had prepared

a new FilmSim scenario that involved a number of inter-linked objectives, each set in a different area of the site and each designed around that location. With the 30-odd players arrived and signed in Josh gave everyone a good briefing about how the weekend would play and emphasised that the games were more about tactics, teamwork and timing than expending an industrial amount of BBs. To that end, each man could only carry a maximum of 600 rounds and would have to return to a regen point to resupply. To make things more interesting the regen points were mobile, so if you didn’t keep on top of things you could return to a regen point only to find it on the missing list! Out on the site five areas had been given call-signs and identity codes, two of which were designated targets (although this latter piece of information was not shared with the players). The attacking team’s mission was to discover both the name and ID code for each area, which would then be radioed back to base. Only then would they be told if it was a designated target or not. If it wasn’t, then it was time to move on. If it was then it had to be destroyed with one of the two explosive packages they carried with them. Of course, all this had to be achieved against well dug-in defenders who often had the advantage of elevation or open fields of fire and, to make matters worse, the explosives had four-minute electronic timers that could be stopped at any time. If they left too soon it would only take one defender to make their way back and switch it off. With the defending team

SITE REVIEW

already out in the field, the attacking side moved off from the LZ to their first objective and it didn’t take long before the BBs were well and truly flying although, with the limit on ammo and a maximum two-second burst on full-auto (a rule introduced to prevent ‘hosing’), fire-fights tended to be very concentrated, accurate affairs. Hits came thick and fast and soon the woodland was filled with cries of “Medic!” and the screams of the wounded and dying (very loud in some cases). Some of you might frown at this ‘vocalisation’ but it added a very interesting dimension to the game and it was useful intel for both sides. With in-game medics and mobile regen points, play tended to ebb and flow as first one then the other team got the upper hand. The first two objectives were overrun but turned out not to be designated targets, and it was only after a very hard-fought battle that the attackers forced their way into the third, the remains of a metal Nissan hut set at the end of a valley. This was a target and they proceeded to blow it up with the first of the explosives. (Note to self: do not take photos of an exploding bomb inside a metal hut – it is very loud!) The second designated target was discovered and blown up shortly afterwards but this was not game over – Josh had put a sting in the tail: the team had to pull off a fighting withdrawal back to the LZ, with no regen allowed. The roles would be reversed in the afternoon and the winners would be the team that managed to get most players out alive. I won’t go into a blow-by-blow account of what happened in the afternoon but there were two things that really stood out to me. The first was something every single player should take note of – the second was just simply awesome to watch!

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Thanks to all the teams represented over the weekend, including: The Duchy of Grand Fenwick, 256, FOD, Last Chancers and Order 66

First though: we can probably all relate stories of how someone cheated, and as an observer rather than a participant I have seen my fair share of it. But I want to state that there is a difference between not ‘taking’ a hit and not ‘feeling’ a hit, for

“…with fuse burning it prescribed a perfect arc, dropped through the camo netting and exploded inside the dugout...”

example as it bounces off a pouch. At Gunman Airsoft a hit is a hit no matter where it impacts, be it on you or any part of your kit, including your weapon. I want to congratulate all the players from both days for playing with such honour and integrity and especially the player who, when told by one of his teammates that he’d just been hit on the boot, immediately had his hand up and took himself out of the game – that’s what I call honesty, and that is what airsoft is about! The awe-inspiring moment came during the assault on Poontang Palace, a difﬁcult target set atop a small rise, surrounded by slopes with open arcs of ﬁre and covered by camo netting. Three defenders were well-entrenched inside and had resisted every attempt to dislodge

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them for nearly 15 minutes, until a player called JB took matters in hand – quite literally! Although barricades at one end of the position create a blind spot, the nearest cover in that direction is a good 30 metres away. Armed with just two ball grenades, JB stepped out of the bushes and lobbed the ﬁrst, which fell short. Undeterred he launched the second and I watched in slow-motion as, with fuse burning it prescribed a perfect arc, dropped through the camo netting and exploded inside the dugout, killing all the occupants. You had to see it, but believe me when I say it was awesome! With both targets destroyed the team made their withdrawal to the LZ and headcount of live players. I’m not going to say who had most players left alive because to be honest I don’t think it really mattered. Everyone had had a simply storming day and, judging by the smiles and talk, there would be plenty of new war stories down the pub that night! Not for us though. Along with the players who were staying on site it was time to stoke up the ﬁre, pull up a chair, crack open a beer, wait for Josh to cook the chilli and get ready to do it all again tomorrow! By the way, thanks to members of local thrash metal band Scale of Death for their impromptu, a cappella performance. Most, erm, interesting! Sunday saw slightly fewer players and it was good see the young guns that had arrived being

made very welcome by their adult counterparts. Today there would be three targets to find, with long-burning smoke grenades being placed in the first two (which had to be protected until they burnt out) and a hand-triggered explosive device for the final one, before withdrawal to the LZ. With fewer players it was hard work for both sides and there were some pretty intense fire-fights, with casualties taken repeatedly on both sides. In-field medics and mobile regen points really came to the fore, as players could get back into action far more quickly and, on more than one occasion, fresh soldiers turned the tide of battle. During the morning and afternoon games both sides fought to a standstill and although the first two objectives were achieved each time, neither side managed to fight their way through to the third so the result was a draw. Back at the Safe Zone players talked through the game and relived the action. You can tell when it’s been a good day: there is a kind of buzz in the air and the atmosphere is one of knackered happiness! And at the end of Guman Eversley’s first weekender there were plenty of happy, knackered players! ■

GUNMAN AIRSOFT EVERSLEY: THE VALLEY Eversley, Hampshire RG27 0PY Site type: Mostly woodland Walk-on (day): £26 Walk-on (weekend): £46 Riﬂe hire: £20 (face protection, camo jacket/trousers and mags included) Contact: 07854 277264 www.gunmanairsoft.co.uk

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EAST GERMAN MOTOR RIFLES 1985-89 Is the East German National Volksarmee’s Motor Riﬂes Soldat a skirmishable load-out? Gadge Harvey puts the last Prussian army under the microscope

Soldat A: the airsoft perspective

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s the last true Prussian Army, the East German National Volksarmee (NVA) carried on a proud tradition of German military values and saw themselves as the vanguard of world socialism throughout the Cold War. Indeed, the NVA can truly be said to have stood on the front line of the Cold War. In the event of WWIII erupting, Germany would have become the main battleﬁeld for the opposing armies as the German Fulda Gap presented the best route for the Soviet tank armies to reach the West. Following WWII Germany was split into democratic West Germany and communistcontrolled East Germany. The Germans of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (or DDR, as the east was known) were uneasy and somewhat unwilling allies of the Russians. Moscow had initially stripped the DDR of its industry, wealth and treasures and treated its populace equally harshly, blaming them for the horrors of WWII. Mass civil unrest in 1953, however, caused the Soviets to relax controls over the DDR – and the Kremlin soon found East Germany to be a staunch supporter of Socialism. It became not only the best trained and equipped Warsaw Pact (WP) army, but also the most politically reliable.

Germany was forbidden by both the Soviets and allies from having an army after WWII, but in a response to the West rearming the Federal Republic of Germany’s Bundeswehr, the communists formed the National Volksarmee of the DDR in 1956. In reality this was little more than a name change; the forces of world socialism had been creating armed DDR ‘police units’ since the early 1950s. The year before the Soviet Union had formed the ‘Warsaw Pact’ of allied communist states as a military response to the formation of NATO, which they felt was an aggressive threat to world communism.

matchstick-sized dark brown ‘raindrops’ on it, in the late 1960s. This new pattern (known as Strichtarn) may have been introduced to reduce manufacturing costs, or as an attempt to standardise designs with other Warsaw Pact armies (notably Poland, which used a very similar pattern) – either way it was not viewed as a particularly effective step by many Western observers.

COLD WAR WARRIOR While the exact pattern and shade of Strichtarn varied a little over the years of issue it was generally issued as a jacket and trousers suit with a detachable jacket hood – often worn as a cover for the

Soldat B: re-enactment ready

Prussian: Determined, smart, efficient From the very outset the DDR was a truly ‘German’ army encompassing the ancient traditions of disciplined Prussian soldiering and its centuries of heritage. While Prussia itself was wiped off the map by the Soviet reshuffling of central Europe, the grimly determined, professional, smart and efficient NVA carried the torch for Prussia. Unlike many WP armies, where recruits were seldom concerned with smart turnout, immaculate drills or even interested in the pursuit of the arts of war, the East German ‘soldat’ was a dedicated (albeit conscripted) soldier. This professionalism and esprit de

corps is particularly apparent in the standards of the individual soldier. While many other communist conscripts had somewhat lackadaisical dress standards, everything in the NVA was ‘exactly so’ with a real emphasis on discipline, uniformity and spit and polish. NVA parade uniforms are a subject about which one could (and many have) write volumes, but for the purpose of this article we’ll look at the summer combat uniform of the NVA and explore its use as an airsofting loadout. As usual, where our chosen models are wearing an item of kit that is either anachronistic or worn purely for health and safety purposes we will make a note of it in the text. One of the NVA’s first camouflage combat uniforms was a rather effective jacket and trousers set in a pattern known as ‘blumentarn’ (sometimes called potato pattern by collectors). With matching webbing items, a very baggy cut and voluminous hood this uniform was reasonably effective camouflage for the NVA soldat or border guard. The West was thus surprised when the NVA switched to a sober olive khaki uniform, with almost indistinct

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helmet. Other NVA equipment bears striking similarities to that of the WWII German soldier. Like their predecessors’, kit was hung from a metal buckled belt by Y-straps, while ammunition for the riﬂe was carried in a single magazine pouch on the front righthand side. While the WWII soldier sported leather webbing the NVA opted for a cheaper, hard-wearing and much nastier grey nylon known as dederon. The classic German army jackboot was retained for nearly all combat arms and even the distinctive NVA M56 steel helmet was in fact a prototype 1944 design (the M56 is probably the most efﬁcient steel helmet ever invented but Hitler rejected the 1944 trial model as he disliked the look!).

On the skirmish field This month we’ve chosen to look at two airsofters sporting NVA infantry loadouts – for ease of reference we’ll call them ‘Soldat A’ and ‘Soldat B’. Soldat A is sporting a load-out slightly more geared to the needs of the skirmish field while Soldat B conforms slightly more to the standardised NVA uniform and equipment. Both men wear the summer Felddienstuniform (‘field service uniform’ also known as FDA) in Strichtarn camouflage pattern and wear the standard grey nylon and camo canvas webbing. Soldat A has both a very late (roughly 1989) production camouflage field cap and the M56 steel helmet. Soldat B, in contrast, wears his M56 in the far more standard ‘netted’ configuration. Rank was traditionally (until the last years of the NVA) worn on shoulder boards in the traditional German style – but here both soldiers have omitted

KIT LIST Hat: M56 steel helmet (netted) Jacket: Felddienstuniform in Strichtarn pattern Trousers: Felddienstuniform in Strichtarn pattern Webbing: Issue dederon webbing; Strictarn-pattern haversack Boots: Combat/patrol boots Riﬂe: AK47 with wood furniture

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to wear both these and the traditional white ‘collar liner’ of the ﬁeld jacket. Soldat A’s use of conventional lace up combat boots further differs from the norms of the NVA – the DDR and the Russians continued to issue jackboots to the majority

of their combat troops. Lastly, to assist in carrying the various impediments required for a weekend’s airsoft, Soldat A has acquired a couple of non-issue (but appropriate looking) haversacks to store his gear in. In contrast Soldat B represents the state norm for a ‘purely defensive’ soldier of socialism, and carries a respirator haversack on his left hip and a field pack on his back. As the NVA was an entirely mechanised army this pack would spend most of its time onboard the unit’s vehicle. Rolled tightly across the top of the pack is yet another item of personal kit with its roots in WWII – the zeltbahn shelter quarter. This camouflage cape can be buttoned together with another soldier’s to form a rudimentary tent. And lastly, a second water bottle is strapped to the back of his pack. Again, against the dress regulations of the NVA – but it’s important that airsofters keep hydrated! Both men are armed with the ubiquitous Soviet AK47. In the early years the NVA used both AK47 and AKM rifles, but more common (and unfortunately unavailable for airsoft) is the DDRs domestic variant of the AKM known as the MPI-KM, often fitted with a distinctive folding stock and plastic furniture. Other soviet infantry arms were also used in specialist roles by soldiers of the NVA. Both soldiers are missing bayonets for their rifles, which would normally be worn on the left opposite the ammunition pouch – but again Airsoft Action cannot recommend taking real knives and bayonets onto the skirmish field, so these have been left off! ■ Next month: US Army Paratrooper, c.1983

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TRAINING

PRO-TACT PERSONAL DEFENCE

Intrigued by what he saw at the Airsoft Arms Fair, Nige Streeter spent a day with the guys from Pro-Tact to ﬁnd out more

‘P

rofessional Solutions for Personal Defence’ – that’s what it says on Pro-Tact’s website. Having witnessed a young girl being taught to disarm a gunwielding attacker by Pro-Tact instructors at the last Airsoft Arms Fair, I was keen to see more of what they do. One of the co-founders, Andy Nightingale, invited me to a day-long ‘Snapshot Course’ for a small group of guys. The object of the day was to give the attendees a short introduction to some of the disciplines that Pro-Tact teaches (many of the subjects covered would normally be a day-long course in their own right). The day involved a mixture of subjects, some of which would be more relevant

to airsoft than others, but each was designed to improve an individual’s skill-set and confidence in dealing with certain situations. It kicked off with something many of us tend to forget on a regular basis: a weapons safety check. Following Andy’s lead, each man in turn was required to clear their pistol and, with breech open, show it to the man next to them who declared that the gun was clear and safe. Even though weapons were only being dry-fired at this stage this procedure was carried out before every exercise. By the end of the day it had become an instinctive part of the routine. The next four exercises built on knowledge gained in the previous and started with how to draw and present a handgun in a defensive situation.

Tactical pro: instructor Andy Nightingale

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Ask any of your friends to draw a pistol and the vast majority will pull the weapon from their holster, raise it in a wide arc to the front and clasp it with both hands, arms fully extended, peering down the sights. This takes approximately a second if done quickly. Andy argues that time is of the essence when you are defending yourself from an attacker. By teaching people to draw in a different manner this time can be cut to as little as a quarter of a second, with practice. To have a go themselves the guys had to get up close and personal – and I mean really close, less than 5ft. The group practised forcing the attacker back using a technique aptly-named necksnap, while drawing their weapon and

The Pro-Tact Team: (L-R) Tom Troughton, Scott Nightingale, Paul Webley, Phil Diggle and Andy Nightingale

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“The group practised forcing the attacker back using a technique aptly-named necksnap, while drawing their weapon and putting (at least) two shots into the chest” putting (at least) two shots into the chest. Having done a number of dry-fire runthroughs, pistols were gassed up, mags loaded and body armour put on ready for the (nearly) real thing. Even though you’d be very unlikely to

TRAINING use this while playing airsoft (let’s face it, I suspect that if you tried to snap someone’s neck backwards while shooting them repeatedly in the chest they might have something to say!) it was easy to understand how effective this technique would be in a real-life situation. Once the attacker had been, erm, ‘subdued’, the weapon was placed in ‘Position SUL’ and an after-action assessment (all-round check and mag change) conducted. According to Max Joseph and Alan Brosnan, the inventors of Position SUL, it is the only ‘ready position’ that ensures team safety and handgun retention, even in CQB. The name Sul is Portuguese and simply means south – since that’s where the muzzle is directed in this position. The afternoon moved onto two, four and five man room entry using a technique known as wall flood (which does what it sounds like), including simple hand signal communication and closet/extra room checks. This was then repeated in low light conditions, with the addition of smoke and some very loud flash-bangs (I know how loud they were, I was in the room when they went off!). Eventually the day was rounded off with a reverse of the morning’s scenario and training how to disarm an attacker armed with a knife or pistol. This was what I had witnessed at the Airsoft Arms Fair (although performed with, how do I put this, more gusto) and soon there was bodies and rubber knives flying all over the place. Although mildly amusing, the serious side of this is that more and more people are being attacked with knives and it is well worth spending a few minutes learning how to defend yourself. Personally I want to know more! ■

PRO-TACT Pro-Tact runs a variety of training courses. Contact Pro-Tact: www.pro-tact.co.uk, protactshooting@gmail.com or call Andy Nightingale on 07788 501184. Pro-Tact’s a not-for-proﬁt organisation – all proceeds from its events go to Help for Heroes.

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TROUBLE SHOOTING? Gunmunki’s guide to recognising and solving the basic AEG problems that could ruin your shoot day DEAD GUN The most demoralising thing that can happen to any airsofter on a shoot day is a dead AEG. It won’t turn over. It’s simply kaput. You could possibly borrow from a mate (with the obvious risk of then breaking their back-up weapon.) Equally you could spend more cash on a hire gun for the day, or worst of all give it up as a bad job and go home.

Or, you could try and ﬁx it yourself! The ﬁrst and simplest check is the battery. Is it charged? This does happen to the best of us, so bear with me. Sometimes you can tell if the battery is undercharged because you can actually feel the motor struggling to turn over in the handgrip. To test this fault, don’t wait to recharge your battery. Borrow a battery from a mate and while you’re there check your battery in their gun. If your battery is the problem, it’s recharge time.

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So, you’ve determined that your battery is fine, but the gun is still dead. What’s next? All AEG’s have connectors to the battery and may also have extra connectors in the neck of the stock or between the foregrip and main body, depending on how the wiring is set up. Occasionally, especially if a battery is dropped while connecting it, the connector or wires can be pulled loose. They may seem to be fine at first glance, but with a careful tug you could find that they have been disconnected. It may be possible to push the offending connector or wire back together. If not, you may need a replacement. New connectors are easy enough to purchase from electrical or vehicle repair shops and are quick to attach with the right tool or with a pair of pliers. Make sure that you fit the wires the correct way around into the connector. (Quick tip – use electrical tape to join internal connectors together so that there is less chance of this happening again.)

So, the battery and connectors are ﬁne, but your AEG is still dead. Where to look now?

WORKSHOP

Many AEG’s have a glass fuse, which is set to blow in an attempt to save your AEG internals if a problem occurs. The fuse is customarily close to the battery connection and possibly held within a plastic case. Check if the wire inside the glass fuse is still there, or if it’s split or burnt out. If it has you need to replace it. Glass fuses can be found at electrical or vehicle repair shops and are very cheap. If you can’t source a fuse to get your gun working, you could ‘run a bypass’. However, as with all modiﬁcations, this will invalidate your warranty if the AEG breaks, so Gunmunki does not advise this unless you have no other choice. To do this just clip together the two fuse connectors and – voila – you may have a working gun.

Right, still no joy? Time to get stuck in. Inside the handgrip, or within the stock on AEG’s such as the M14, you will ﬁnd your motor. Attached to the base of the motor are two wires. Sometimes these are soldered in place but more often they are held in place by spade connectors. As with the connectors mentioned previously these can also work loose. To see if they have come off you will need to take the plate off the base of the handgrip. This is usually held on by a couple of screws. When removing the base plate be aware that there may be a small metal disc underneath the plate, which may fall out or slip down the side of the motor. Do not lose this disc of metal as it needs to be placed between the motor and motor plate to allow the motor height to be adjusted. (Quick tip – if you ever lose screws or similar metal parts while working near the motor, check the motor itself as it is magnetic!)

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So the spade connectors on the motor are in place – but your gun remains dead Unfortunately, at this point it is probably something inside the gearbox and not a quick ﬁx. Time to go to gun hospital.

The gun is working but no BBs are coming out Okay, so your AEG is turning over nicely but not a single BB is coming out of the barrel. Before you start stripping the gun down, check the magazine. Firstly is there anything stuck in

the hole jamming the BBs? If not, on top of almost every magazine, low, mid or high-capacity, there is a small spring clip that holds back the BBs that should be under the pressure of the internal magazine spring. Pull this back. If you are suddenly showered in BBs your magazine is ﬁne, so move onto the next possible problem. If the BBs stay in the magazine though you need to ﬁnd out why. The most obvious fault, if it is a high-capacity magazine, is that you haven’t wound it up enough, or equally you have overwound it. If the magazine is overwound then sometimes simply whacking it against your leg will release the locked up internals. If this does not seem to do the job it may need to be opened up to release the jam. Seek some advice before opening up any magazine as they all dismantle in different ways and have many internal parts.

So your magazine is feeding ﬁne, but no BBs are coming out of the barrel. What now? Time to see if you have a BB jammed in the barrel. Do not look down the barrel, even if you are sure there is no magazine or battery in the gun. This is good safety etiquette, as you never know who may be watching you and could copy your example with a loaded AEG. A BB jam can generally be assessed by a chug chug sound when you shoot your AEG, this is the air trying to push the jam out of the way. A run through with your cleaning rod should free the offending BB. Preventing this fault is usually down to keeping your barrel as clean as possible or steering clear of inferior BB’s. Hopefully, this quick guide will help to resolve some of those frustrating shoot day hazards and keep you on the ﬁeld of battle. ■

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G&G PM5-A4 RTB Although he’s never owned an MP5, Scott Allan ﬁnds himself tempted by G&G’s PM5 RTB

’ve seen things come and go in airsoft, and more going than coming, but every now and then an outside-the-box idea comes along and makes everyone think ‘now that is clever’. G&G has boasted a continual string of ideas for a few years now, each more brilliant than the last. The PM5 RTB is the latest in this long line of functional, funky and fantastic innovations that have been unleashed on the airsoft market. The brand-spanking-new PM5 RTB (note ‘PM5’ as G&G does not hold the licenses required to use the proper name) appears externally to be an MP5

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A5 with a collapsible stock. When you open the pretty box you are greeted by the standard G&G supplies of instructions and bag of BBs (that are actually usable, for a change, and biodegradable no less!), plus two standard shaped hand guards – and this is the very clever bit.

G&G has devised a fastswap battery system that is built into the hand guard. The best part is that unlike clever TM systems, G&G actually gives you two batteries and the charger with the package. On top of that you get a 200-round high-cap magazine and a bountiful chest of airsoft goodness to say the least! I was already impressed with the package – then I picked up the rifle. At a hefty 2.8kg it feels very solid; the only other airsoft MP5 I have felt that’s this nice was a Systema version. Everything that should be metal here is metal, and it doesn’t appear to be your usual cheap lightweight cheese alloy either. There is no unwanted movement from the stock or the body, the rear sight is metal and easy to adjust and the rifle comes with a QD flash hider.

WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN!

THE ARMOURY

LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? FLICK TO PAGE 29 FOR YOUR EXCLUSIVE CHANCE TO WIN A G&G PM5-A4 RTB!

Charging the battery couldn’t be easier either, just use the supplied dock. Plug it in and check the charging lights, similar to modern power drill chargers. Each battery is an 11.1v LiPo that provides a rate of ﬁre around 1,000 rounds per minute, which is quick but not insane. The batteries have a 1600mAh capacity which, considering it is a LiPo, will be plenty to last most game days. Plus if you’re particularly trigger-happy you have a second battery to fall back on – happy days! Firing from the box around 350fps with Blaster 0.20g BBs the power is consistent, and the hop keeps your shots nice and true. The MP5 design has been around for

a long time, one of the oldest in airsoft if truth be told, but G&G has not only faithfully replicated the design, the company has made an outstanding airsoft riﬂe. Its patented pneumatic blow back system is functional, and not detrimental to the performance of the riﬂe in any way. Recently I had the chance to use a PM5 RTB in a game. The only thing

“Everything that should be metal is metal, and it doesn’t appear to be your usual cheap lightweight cheese alloy either”

that had been altered was the fitting of a Laylax 6.03 tightbore barrel. I can, hand on heart, say that I’ve only used a handful of rifles that shot as well as that rifle did. The player who owned it boasted that he was yet to use the fullauto as it was just so damned accurate. So, would I buy this rifle? Hmm… Tough one! I am a skirmisher through and through and have had many rifles that failed to impress me and were rapidly sold (just the thought of my old King Arms 556 is enough to bring me out in a cold sweat). For me a rifle must perform well without

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being a nightmare and the MP5 design has never floated my boat as a collector or a player, mainly due to storing the magazines during games (but saying that, I never had an M4 until a couple of years ago!). On the flipside the PM5 RTB does shoot as well as some of the best rifles I have ever used, so does tick that box.

For me, blowback on a riﬂe is not a big plus point and neither is the ability to upgrade – the gearbox is already a brilliant design with 8mm bearings and should last the test of time. Personally a tightbore barrel is as far as I ever go with upgrades, with Laylax 6.03 my favourite. So the fact that you cannot change the handguard to

a different type may put some people off a little but does not worry me. It would not surprise me if G&G did release a RIS battery grip in the future for those players who need it. In short, if I had to own and use an MP5 it would be the, err, PM5. If you are looking for a high-end MP5 then this is deﬁnitely your gun, but be warned – if you are a tinker-monkey who cannot leave something alone until you have utterly ruined a thing of beauty, consider a Cyma or Jing Gong instead! ■

SPECIFICATIONS Weight: 2,685g Inner barrel length: 233mm Gearbox: Metal, 8mm bearing Motor: 25,000rpm hi-torque long axis Magazine: 200-round Battery: 11.1v 1600mAH (incorporated into handguard) Velocity: 350fps Price: £329.99 Available from Land Warrior Airsoft: 0161 354 2452, www.landwarriorairsoft.com

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COLD WEATHER JACKETS Danny P gets wrapped up in three cold weather jackets to ﬁnd out how they perform BUFFALO SPECIAL 6 SHIRT SRP £120 Although not marketed as a jacket, the Buffalo Special 6 Shirt, or SP6 as it is also known, is used by a number of civilian and military forces around the world. Mine arrived just in time for a trip overseas, where the weather was just starting to turn cold. The SP6 is made in two layers: the inner is a 100 per cent polyester pile layer and the outer skin is made from Pertex 6. The combination of these two materials makes for an extremely warm, showerproof jacket. I wore the jacket while taking part in ﬁre and manoeuvre exercises, with just a base layer t-shirt underneath, and it helped keep me warm but did not make me uncomfortable or overheat at any point, including when the heavens opened! The jacket features two hand warmer pockets and a central chest pocket for small items. There’s also zips on either side to allow you to access anything that may be on your hips. The Buffalo Special 6 is a great bit if kit and does exactly what it says on the tin. So whether you are on a weekend away or just want to stay warm in the safe zone, this will be well worth a look. The price isn’t too daunting either, which is always nice (especially at this time of year!).

Available from all Buffalo stockists; available in Cobalt, Black and Nato. 054

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KIT REVIEW 5.11 AGGRESSOR PARKA SRP £239.99 5.11 describes this jacket as ‘a functional piece of outerwear for off duty or under-cover work’ and I have used this jacket on numerous occasions, in both military and civilian roles. One of the great things about 5.11 kit is its multifunction use and the Aggressor is no different. The jacket can be divided into two separate items, the first an outer, breathable waterproof shell and the second an inner fleece, so you can actually make three jackets from one. The outer shell has five pockets, including a chestmounted document pocket plus side zips to access items on belts. It also comes with under-arm zips for ventilation to prevent overheating, pockets on the sleeves and a concealed hood in the collar. The inner fleece has zippered side pockets for keeping your hands warm. This jacket is well worth considering as you get three jackets for the price of one. It’ll keep you warm in the winter months but can be split down for a lighter layer in the summer, or worn as a fleece in the spring or autumn. It’s also comfortable and well-made, which is what I’d expect from 5.11 – and at twice the price of any other jacket tested you’d hope it is well-made!

Available from all 5.11 stockists; available in Dark Grey, Coyote and Tundra.

SNUGPAK EBONY SRP: £114.95 Many people associate the name Snugpak solely with sleeping bags, but the company also makes a range of insulated clothing. The Ebony Jacket is part of that range. This jacket has an outer lining made from 100 per cent polyamide and a filling of 100 per cent polyester ‘Softie’ insulation. As a result the jacket is quite bulky, but it is designed primarily for use when you have made camp, or finished any duties for the day and want to stay warm, so it is perfect for what it was designed for! I wore this jacket on a recent diving trip in the UK and after spending 40 minutes in 8° water this jacket was a welcome addition to my kit. Along with a cup of tea it warmed me up in no time. The Snugpak Ebony comes with a detachable hood, a couple of outer pockets and an inside pocket, as well as a fleece lining around the collar to keep your neck warm and stop chafing when fastened. I would recommend this jacket to anyone operating in cold environments or doing a lot of staging on, as you can wear this under your issue smock. Also, if you find yourself standing around in the Safe Zone, having one of these jackets would come in very handy on a cold winter’s day. By a slight margin it was the cheapest I tested, which surprised me, as it’s clearly a very wellmade bit of kit (and with the Snugpak name you feel assured of top quality).

Available from all Snugpak stockists; available in Olive, Black, Desert Tan, Camo and Multicam. www.airsoftactionmagazine.com

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Take a look at some of the stuff Airsoft Action’s had in the crosshairs this month

CROSMAN GF47 £139.99 The GF47 – from Crosman’s Game Face brand – is an awesome replica of Russia’s most recognisable assault riﬂe. The woodgrain stock is a very nice touch, and a high-torque, highspeed motor and full metal gearbox make for a fearsome 900 rounds per minute (at around 330fps). Supplied with NiMh battery and charger.

Crosman, www.crosman.com

PECTED

INS

VIPER TACTICAL BOOTS £69.95 Viper’s Tactical Boots feature full grain and action leather upper, 1200D Nylon, leather collar, a waterproof and breathable lining, 3M Thinsulate insulation, non-metallis speed lacing system, patented Poliyou anti-bacterial, breathable, washable and odour free cushion insole, and a durable slip/oil resistant outsole. Need we say more? Available in size 4-13.

Thatchreed, 01234 740327, www.thatchreed.co.uk

PEACOCK POCKET WARMER MINI £25.80 (INCL POSTAGE); STANDARD £28.80 (INCL POSTAGE) Airsoft Action used a pair of these nifty pocket warmers to keep us toasty on a trip to the Welsh coast in November. Just fill it with a bit of lighter fluid, hold a match under the heating element and leave it to warm up. The mini and standard versions will stay hot for up to 12 hours on a single fill – perfect for leaving in the safe zone to keep warm between games.

GK Trading, 01234 300000, www.peacockhandwarmers.co.uk

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KIT BAG

S-THUNDER MODULAR GUN RACK £44.99 We really rate this gun rack system developed by S-Thunder exclusively for Airsoft World. The ingenious brackets make use of weapons’ own mag catches to secure them to the rack. Made of lightweight aluminium it is easy to secure to the wall and the brackets themselves are made from solid nylon mounted on aluminium ﬁxings. Brackets are available for M4, AK, G36 and MP5 series – Airsoft Action’s armoury wouldn’t be seen hanging off any other wall mounting system!

Airsoft World, 0844 441 1860, www.airsoftworld.net

NEXTORCH TL1 GUN TORCH £59.95 Don’t be fooled by the small size (or weight, a mere 75g) of NEXTORCH’s new TL1 gun light – its proportions are no indicator of its power. With a 200 lumen output the TL1 is easily capable of a range of 100m, and it can be set to either ‘momentary’ or ‘constant’ lighting modes. Supplied ready to ﬁt universal and picatinny rails. Requires one CR123A battery.

BBB Investments, 01858 410551, www.bbb.gb.com

INSPECT

ALPHAFIRE 1Q 1Q £19.95, 4Q £59.95, 12Q £169.95

INSPECT

Testing explosive devices is a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it. Sorry, did we say tough? We meant fun. Bloody good fun. These Alphaﬁre remote pyro detonators feel more robust than others we’ve tested. So far we’ve put more than a dozen maroons through our 1Q and it’s still going strong. And for the ultimate in remote-controlled distraction devices you can hook up as many as 12 receivers, making for 12 sequential explosions – or one absolutely massive one!

Zero One, 01202 769614, www.zerooneairsoft.com CRELANT 7G2-C LED FLASHLIGHT £69.95

UMAREX H&K G36C £269.99 Umarex’s officially licensed H&K G36c features a robust onepiece nylon fibre body and a high torque flat motor giving a rate of fire around 1,000 rounds per minute. This 1:1 scale replica stays as true to the real deal as possible, with realistic gas block, piston, folding stock and disassembly process. Comes supplied with one 400-BB hi-cap magazine. Requires 8.4v battery, not included (though available separately from John Knibbs International).

John Knibbs International, 01675481006, alex@airgunspares.com

The Crelant 7G2-C feels robust in hand despite its low weight (107g), and with a 320 lumen output the neutral white beam is powerful enough to penetrate smoke and fog. The housing is aircraft-grade anodised aluminium alloy and has a tail cap pressure switch for ease of operation. It’s robust and powerful enough that you simply don’t worry about it during operation. Requires two CR123A batteries.

Inovatech, 020 8220 8000, www.inovatech.co.uk

INSPECT

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THE

GAZELLE HELICOPTER

The Gazelle has always made a big impression from front line action to movie roles. Ratty’s back to tell us why we want one of these iconic aircraft – and just how expensive our new Christmas pressies are going to be...

n recent years the Ministry of Defence has had to alter how it procured kit. From boots to heavy hardware, new products had to go through months (sometimes years) of demanding tests before being ordered centrally by the MoD. Due to operational demands in recent years this procurement process has had to change drastically, and been vastly speeded up. On top of that, given the pace that technology is advancing, kit that has been in service for only a short time has found itself obsolete almost as quickly as it came into service. So some items of military hardware that have seen long and distinguished service have also seen their military life come to an abrupt end. One of these well-known and much loved military machines is the Gazelle helicopter. Back in the mid-60s the French Army issued a requirement for a new lightweight utility helicopter. Sud Aviation (which later

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became Aerospatiale) came up with an initial design for a ﬁve-seat helicopter, powered by a single turbine engine similar in general layout to its already existing Alouette series. This design featured several new and important innovations, most importantly the fenestron, aka the fantail, which gave considerable noise reduction. The rotor blades were also made of composite materials, a feature now widely used in modern helicopters. This design quickly attracted British interest, which led to a development and production share agreement with British company Westland Helicopters. The deal, signed in February 1967, allowed Westland to build under licence, in Britain, a total of 292 Gazelles and 48 Aerospatiale Pumas that had also been ordered by British armed forces. In return Aerospatiale was given a work share in the manufacturing programme for 40 Westland Lynx Naval helicopters for the French Navy.

The prototype of this Anglo-French collaboration first flew on 7 April 1967. Production started within a couple of years and, apart from military uses, it also proved a big hit on the commercial civilian market. The Gazelle has also been produced, again under licence, by SOKO in Yugoslavia and ABHCO in Egypt. Although the design has been around for many years now it remains one of the fastest helicopters ever built with a maximum speed of 198mph. In 1983, two Gazelles were modified to star as a high-tech attack/surveillance helicopter for the action-thriller film Blue Thunder as well as in the TV spinoff series (although that was very short-lived!). More recently, Richard Hammond flew a Gazelle in an episode of Top Gear.

The French Aerospatiale Gazelle and variants In service with the French Army Light Aviation (ALAT), the basic French army version is the SA 341F. Powered by an Astazou IIIC engine and armed with a 20mm cannon, it operates mostly in a light support role, though the Gazelle’s primary role within ALAT is as anti-tank gunships. The latest variant, the SA 342M, is armed with Euromissile HOT missiles. These latest antitank and recon versions also carry the Viviane thermal imagery system and are named, funnily enough, the Gazelle Viviane. The French also operate some anti-air variants too: the gazelle Celtic is based on the SA 341F and the more modern version, armed with the Mistral air-to-air missile system, again uses the SA 342M variant. The French have used the Gazelle in many theatres of operations over the years, especially during interventions in Africa and peacekeeping operations. It saw deployment in Chad during the 1980s, the

BIG BOYZ TOYZ

ÂŠ Graeme Main

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former Yugoslavia in the 1990s (as well as to Djibouti, Somalia in 1993 and the Cote d’Ivoire from 2002 to the present day). During Operation Desert Storm, HOT missile carrying Gazelles were used against Iraqi armour. More recently they were used in Libya, under NATO, to support the Libyan rebel uprising against Colonel Gadhaﬁ’s forces. However, the Gazelle is being replaced in frontline duties by the Eurocopter Tiger, though it will still see use in a light transport and liaison role.

The British Westland Gazelle and variants The Westland Gazelle has seen service with all the branches of the British armed forces and been used in a variety of roles. Four variants were purchased. The SA 341B variant was equipped to a specification for the Army Air Corps. It was designated the Gazelle AH (Army Helicopter) Mk1 and the first aircraft entered service in 1973. It is this version that has had the most varied roles. They have been used as an air observation post (AOP) for directing artillery fire, Airborne Forward Air Controller (ABFAC) for directing ground-attack aircraft, casualty evacuation, liaison, command and control and for communications relay. The SA 341C was purchased by the Royal Navy as a pilot trainer and designated the HT 2. The RAF bought the SA 341D as the HT3 training version. These were fitted with the Astazou IIIN and also featured a stability augmentation system and shermuly flare installation. There’s also the SA 341E, used in

a communications role and for VIP transport. These were designated Gazelle HCC4. The Gazelle has been used in combat. During the Falklands war in 1982 they were fitted with machine guns and rocket pods, but these were never used. This is the only time that British Gazelles were armed! Three were lost during the campaign: two due to ground fire while the third was shot down by a Sea Dart missile fired by HMS Cardiff! They have seen action in Kuwait, Iraq and Kosovo. In the Gulf War of 1991 they operated as scouts for other attack platforms. Throughout the troubles in Northern Ireland they were used for air patrols and were a familiar sight in the skies. They were also used in a support role by 8 Flight, Army Air Corps for 22 Special Air Service Regiment. Gazelles flown by the Army Air Corps were recently upgraded with a Direct Voice Input (DVI) system which allows the aircrew to control aircraft systems using voice commands, and access information without removing their hands from the flight controls or their eyes from the outside world.

The Sharks The Sharks were the Royal Navy’s helicopter display team, ﬂying Westland Gazelle HT 2 helicopters. The team was formed in 1975 from 705 Naval Air Squadron, based at RNAS Culdrose, Cornwall. This was the training squadron for Royal Navy helicopter pilots. Made up of six helicopters, all six pilots were instructors and taught formation aerobatics. Painted red, white and grey with a shark emblem on the

tail fin, they were equipped with orange and green smoke canisters fitted to the skis. In 1977 there was a mid-air collision during a practice flight, crashing two helicopters and killing three pilots. Now down to four Gazelles, 705 Squadron fielded pairs for displays when the formal team was not available. In later years they were sponsored by Pussers Rum. The Sharks performed not just in the UK but also in some European countries. Each air demonstration lasted around 12 minutes and included opposition manoeuvres, bringing the rotor blades to within 15ft of each other at closing speeds of over 200mph. In 1992, the Sharks team was disbanded due to budgetary cuts but 705 NAS continued to provide a pair of Gazelles, simply known as the Gazelle Pair, right up to 1996 (when Gazelles were formally retired from the Royal Navy).

Other variants Perhaps the most readily available version is the SA 341G. This is the commercial civil version and powered by an Astazou IIIA engine. They were certified for passenger service on 7 June 1972 and subsequently became the first helicopter to obtain US approval for operations under IFR cat 1 conditions with a single pilot. There was also a Stretched Gazelle developed, which had a modified rear cabin to allow 20cm legroom for the rear passengers. The SA 341H, military export version, was produced by SOKO in Yugoslavia and powered by the Astazou IIIB engine.

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BIG BOYZ TOYZ Where can I buy one?

Who else uses them? Going through this list, you can see just how popular and versatile the Gazelle is: ■ National Air Force of Angola operates seven aircraft;

■ Montenegro Air Defence has 11 Gazelles and the police have three; ■ Royal Moroccan Air Force operates 24 aircraft;

■ Air Force and Anti-Aircraft of Bosnia and Herzegovina operate four (Republica Srpska Police also has four);

■ Serbian Air Force operates 61 Gazelles while the police have 13 aircraft;

■ Burundi Army Aviation operates two aircraft; ■ Cameroon Air Force operates eight Gazelles (they ordered nine but one crashed); ■ Cypriot National Guard’s Air Component has four; ■ Ecuadorian Army operates about 20 Gazelles; ■ Egyptian Air Force has over 84 aircraft; ■ Gabon Air Force has ﬁve; ■ Guinea Air Force has one Gazelle; ■ Iraqi Air Force has about six aircraft (Iraq bought a number of Gazelles equipped with HOT missiles in the 1970s and 1980s which were used heavily during the Iran-Iraq war but saw little use during the Gulf war due to Allied air supremacy);

■ Syrian Air Force operates 38 aircraft (these were used during the 1982 Lebanon War – the Syrian Army claimed they had large success against Israeli armour with 77 kills, while suffering just two losses. One was captured by Israeli forces, which was tested and is now on display in the IAF museum); ■ And the United Arab Emirates Air Force has one. There are more, but these are the main users of the Gazelle.

Obviously, purchasing, owning and running a helicopter is a costly hobby! If you want to ﬂy it yourself, ﬁrst thing to do is to get your helicopter pilot’s licence. Once that box has been ticked and you have some funds available, here are the options. There are plenty of civilian versions available. Even some of the stretched versions are for sale. Expect to pay somewhere between £320,000-£340,000 (+VAT) for one of these. I also found some earlier standardlength versions for sale which started at just £165,000… Bargain! Check out www.gazellehelicopters.co.uk and www.ldhelicopters.co.uk. But we airsofters don’t want civvy version with all the niceties, we want the hardcore military-spec versions! Well as luck would have it Withams, the well-known military kit disposal people, has (or had) 30 for sale! You can buy individually for between £75,000-£175,000 or buy the job lot for a cool £2,000,000! Look them up on www.mod-sales.com. I really enjoyed researching and writing this article. During my time in the tanks we quite often had Gazelles acting as forward observers and, occasionally, casualty evacuation. On tours in Northern Ireland it was always heart-warming to hear their distinctive sound overhead. All in all, the Gazelle is a fabulous piece of military hardware with 30 years’ dedicated service under its belt. They shouldn’t be kept as dusty museum pieces – they deserve to be in the air. ■

■ Kenyan Air Force has one in service; ■ Kuwait Air Force has 13 aircraft (they say their Gazelles were used during the Iraqi invasion, destroying some Iraqi trucks and APCs. Several were captured and used by Iraqi forces); ■ Lebanese Air Force has eight aircraft equipped with HOT missiles, 68mm rocket pods and heavy machine guns (these have been used ﬁghting against the Al-Qaeda inspired militants of Fatah al-Islam);

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YOUNG GUNS

YOUNG

GUNS Resident young gun Jezz Blume tackles the issues of young players’ teams

’ve mentioned playing in a team as a younger player a few times now so I thought it would be good to cover it in more detail. Hopefully I can give you an idea of what you can learn from playing in a team and what advantages you can gain from it (and even disadvantages). In this article I’ll tell you about my old team that I formed a while back with my younger player friends who no longer play airsoft. I can tell you about what I learnt, how we liked to play – and some of those embarrassing moments that will live forever! Over a year ago a group of my friends and I decided to form a team known as F.E.A.R (and we weren’t named after the game!). Anyway, forming this team had its advantages for the others and myself, though unfortunately it didn’t end well (as I said, they no longer airsoft). But I learnt a lot from forming the team of ‘youngens’; it taught me a lot about leadership and teamwork. Forming a team as a young player isn’t advisable for many reasons – but nobody is stopping you! I know what it feels like to want to be a part of the community and be like those bigger and better teams. So by all means go for it, but be aware it can have consequences and does take dedication at its ﬁnest.

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“Every team starts at the beginning; dedication will get you the rest of the way” When forming a team as a young player, whether with your friends or from scratch, you need to give it a lot of thought to show everyone that you’re serious about it. Get a badge done, make a forum on your local site’s forums – whatever it takes. It’s not an easy job – running a team is hard work and getting it established is even harder, especially as a young player or a young team. Why? Because as I’ve said before nobody takes you seriously. This is why my team didn’t make it: we didn’t get taken seriously as we were all teenagers (and still are). Through that dedication, though, look at where I am now: I’m writing for a magazine at 16! Anyway, through making my team I’ve learnt a lot about leadership – both as a leader and as a team member – and playing airsoft in a different perspective. As a leader you see the game a totally different way, and this is how you really learn things such as tactics. It totally changes how you play and think about airsoft, in a good way!

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By the way, don’t forget that having a team is meant to be fun. For example (and here’s a good one for those father/son players out there) when I had my team, my dad wanted to try his luck and test us out so we developed a little game called the ‘Enemy at the Gates’ scenario. My dad switched teams for a while and we made a deal: every time I took him out with my team he’d give me £1 and every time he took me out with or without my team I’d have to give him 50p. This obviously sent me into a paranoid state and I was anxious to ﬁnd him every game and take him out, which I did about seven times in total while we did this. But he did manage to outwit us once… My own dad ambushed us, alone, with a grenade and pistol. He threw the grenade, taking out two of my friends, and jumped out the bush with his Luger pistol and shot me and my other friend! Now to get taken out like that, by your own dad, when money is involved just isn’t cool!

Every team starts at the beginning; dedication will get you the rest of the way. Through my team I learnt a lot about leadership and some consider me a natural leader. My role at my local site is now 2IC (second in command) or PC (Platoon Commander), both are which are important roles for leading our team to victory. Personally I’d recommend younger players join an established team. If you’re accepted into the team and serious about it you can learn an awful lot about tactical gameplay and all sorts of tips and tricks. Plus you’ll learn about leadership whether you’re doing it or not. Listening to your leader and paying attention to how he does things, or just working together, gives you a real good idea how it all works. I’m currently going through the recruitment process for a team at my local site called Team 27. Playing with them even now I feel that I’m constantly improving when I play; the way the team works is amazing and to be part of a squad assigned special missions by our overall team leader (in charge of our whole side) is brilliant. You really do get a feel for how the SAS do it; being one of 12 guys setting out to get an objective or clear an area focuses you and can get you well-known quite easily! As a young player, you can learn a lot from teams like this and as I’ve demonstrated, actually get somewhere within the airsoft community. Working as a team is crucial in the airsoft world, especially at sites like mine – without teamwork there’s no doubting we will lose every game. ■

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FIRST & ONLY First and Only Airsoft operates 11 sites in the UK. Ron Mahoney checks out its Manchester Woodland site

f you ever need to find the main man at First and Only Airsoft’s numerous events, then the best advice I can offer is to find someone that looks like a combination of an AEGIS Operator and General George S Patton. You’ll soon see what I mean when you spot the leather-holstered single action Colt revolver. John Bibby approached me with a big smile and a handshake. As we walked and talked about the day he was being pulled in a number of directions with things to organise, but it was a measure of the man that he still had time to make sure that he gave attention to all the players at today’s event. With his background in corporate training he knows how to get the best out of the site, the scenarios and the players; running around

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like headless chickens and spraying and praying is not what First and Only is about. While on the subject of training, FAO has introduced a number of skills enhancement days including Sniper, CQB and Hostage Rescue Experience, so players can take their game-play one stage further. John’s ethos is that every FAO site you turn up at should offer the same level of customer service, game management and facilities, though this will vary slightly from site to site. Currently it operates 11 sites but new locations are constantly being scouted and their suitability as a premier airsoft site assessed. I was at the Manchester Woodland site, which is actually based near the Lancashire town of Bolton and set in the shadow of Winter Hill. The terrain is undulating and incorporates over 150 acres of mixed woodland including rivers, bunkers, bridges and even a large

SITE REVIEW

dam. They have added to the already amazing natural features with six fixed bases that stretch the length of the site. On the day of my visit there was a large turnout and with the numbers of cars parked in the lane it soon became apparent that a bit more grub was going to be needed. Just outside the main Safe Zone was a small woodland copse where you can informally zero, as well as complete the mandatory check with the site’s chrono if it is your (or your weapons’) first time at the site. The safety briefing was comprehensive – if all players know the ground rules the games flow more easily. Gathered around the top of the lane the marshals outlined the rules, with special emphasis on the site’s cardinal rule: no cheat calling. Fair play is FAO’s main objective and the reason around eight marshals would be both high-viz and embedded in the game. The first game was a straightforward

attack and defend scenario designed to warm up limbs and brains. Two hostages were held – the defence had to hold onto them and the attack had to secure their release. The winter sunlight was streaming through the evergreen canopy and carpeting the pine needle floor with dappled areas of light and shade. Stealthy movement was pretty difficult against such a background so an assault using skirmishing techniques of fire and manoeuvre proved the best plan, as the attacking forces managed to rescue both hostages. With hop-ups now nicely warmed up the next game was outlined as a race against time. Defending forces knew the location of a small nuclear device they had to protect down to zero hour. Attackers had to locate it, get their designated engineer in to retrieve it and then fall back to their fire base to defuse the device. I was positioned

at Hamburger Hill, a large bunker emplacement on the highest point of the woodland, with an arc of vision of all areas of attack. This scenario was a classic case of defending forces needing to be correctly deployed to make it very difficult for the attackers. An entrenched Blue sniper team covered the only crossing of a very boggy river with a good view of any approach. With a trio of G36-wielding high-cap comrades they could easily secure this flank while the bulk of their teammates held the bunker with the bomb. Things went according to plan for the first 20 minutes or so; the attackers’ initial probing of the line for weaknesses was robustly defended. Yet I kept seeing these two figures moving along the dam wall. I recognised them as the two WW2 German players: one with an STG44 and the other a K98. They kept annoying the defenders, who didn’t notice that a squad of Reds had crossed the river and moved diagonally up towards the trench complex. Soon the sound of BBs ricocheting off timber filled the air on top of Hamburger as the entrenched Blues realised their predicament. With the defenders having to expose their flank to try and repel the new attack the German duo was able to pick off the remaining Blues with ease. The line was broken and soon the Red team was streaming towards the bomb while the Blues had to trek back

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“Calling for cover ﬁre I surged forward, only to misjudge the terrain and go thigh deep into boggy mud. I was trapped as the ﬁrst salvo of BBs ripped through the reeds” a good way to their respawn area. With the device found the Reds had to hold the area for just five minutes while the engineer disarmed the bomb. They had the numbers in position to make sure there could only be one outcome – a Red win. Lunch provided an opportunity to throng around FAO’s mobile shop and top up on essential (and non-essentialbut-sod-it-I’m-having-it) purchases. The afternoon games started with what should have been an exercise

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in close protection; a visiting General had to be escorted around various bases without being captured. I say that it should have been an exercise in CP because before we’d even had a chance to plan the route we could see the enemy moving through the forestry blocks towards us. A group tried to get our Winchester-wielding General (can you guess who it is yet?) away to the first base as the rest tried to counter attack the aggressors. I was part of a small group of four of that quickly developed into a fire team and provided an aggressive skirmishing forward movement. We reached the edge of a boggy part of the site and I thought I could get down behind the reeds and flank the attackers. Calling for cover fire I surged forward, only to misjudge the terrain and go thigh deep into boggy mud. I was trapped as the first salvo of BBs ripped through the reeds. Although I was hit and shouted it I couldn’t stand up and was consequently raked again. I think the enemy got the message and probably had a good laugh as I tried to extricate myself from the ooze – nice.

The dignitary was captured and escaped a couple of times during the game, but the Blue forces held him for more time than we had protected him so it was their game. Our last game involved the enemy trying to locate three packages that had been hidden on our side of a stream that runs roughly across the middle of the site. The enemy were tasked with locating and recovering them. Although this was a reasonably hard task for the enemy they did have the advantage of the high ground. This was a real opportunity for the sneaky-beaky player to cross the stream at the non-obvious spots that were more lightly defended. We had a number of long range (50-60yd) exchanges with shadowy figures on the high ground, while at the flanks there was a pretty constant engagement punctuated with the sound of flash bang and grenades. The game was really close as the light started to fade and the marshals decided on a one-hit-and-out rule for the defenders. With this in place our team was depleted in drips and drabs as players trooped back to the Safe Zone when hit. Fortunately there were enough of us to ensure that the attackers couldn’t cross with enough numbers to begin a search. As End-Ex was called they had crossed the stream but not located the elusive packages, so our Red team had its payback. As everyone trooped back to their cars in the twilight the air was heavy with frozen breath and the sounds of satisfaction echoing up and down the lane. The day had been extremely well run; good tactical game-play, rolling scenarios and a great location all paid off. If this is what you can expect from all First and Only sites then I look forward to trying their other sites in the future. ■

FIRST AND ONLY AIRSOFT Manchester Woodland Site, Longworth Road, Egerton, Bolton, BL7 9TS Site type: Woodland Non-members: £25 Members: £20 Riﬂe hire: starts from £15 Contact: John, 07862 288359 / Jamie, 07786 075129 www.ﬁrstandonlyevents.co.uk

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SPY GAMES Danny P dusted off his best suit and Sean Connery accent and headed off to check out Buckinghamshire-based company Spy Games

py Games is an events company based in the Buckinghamshire countryside, near Milton Keynes. Spy Games offers many different types of events, ranging from half-day experiences (for the likes of Stag and Hen dos), through to full-blown, international, themed spy events. It even offers a Spy Academy for kids! I had been invited to participate in one of

its weekend experience events and, having arrived at its bespoke training facility, was directed to sign in along with the other participants. Once done we were split into three groups, assigned a different colour and sent off to different areas of the facility to be instructed in different skills. The ﬁrst area I went to was the pistol draw, where we were all issued a leg holster and training pistol. First an instructor demonstrated the skills needed

EVENT REPORT

to be able to draw a pistol from a holster in a quick, fluid movement, while still being able to hit the target. We were then put through our paces to see how good we were, with some interesting results – one person even managed the throw their pistol across the field! As the instructor informed us, although this was funny, in a real situation this would be very dangerous. Practice makes perfect and after a little bit of time, people started to get the hang of this skill. After the pistol draw my group moved over to the laser combat arena where we were given a helmet and laser combat rifle and split into two teams. The basic idea of this is to have some fun – the mission

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brief was to kill the other team! We were given 10 lives, 500 rounds of ammunition and 10 grenades before moving onto the ﬁeld where we used the various pieces of cover to move in and attack the enemy. When hit, an audible alarm sounded inside your helmet to make sure there was no mistaking it; this had to be reset by the instructor before you could re-join the game.

“We were put through our paces to see how good we were, with some interesting results – one person even managed the throw their pistol across the ﬁeld!” After around an hour the groups were rotated to another area and we were split down into three smaller groups and sent to different instructors to learn about close quarters combat. This was taught using airsoft weapons and a variety of targets arranged in different parts of the range. We were shown how to move forward using cover and take out the targets using the ‘double tap’ method. After spending some time on this (and showing the non-softers how it’s done!) it was onto the sniper range. Each participant received instruction on how to use .22 air riﬂes and shown a number of targets which we had to hit. We had a very informative safety brief on the weapons and then a brief on how to use a telescopic sight. But the next activity couldn’t have been more

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EVENT REPORT

involving a military martial art and a very

different – axe throwing! We were given a number of different axes and a wooden target to aim at, and shown the various methods of safely and accurately throwing an axe. It’s harder than it looks, if you were wondering! The ﬁnal part of the day started with a lesson in surveillance and the type of equipment that can be used. These ranged from normal surveillance cameras right through to cameras the size of a 5p piece. Then ﬁnally there was a self-defence lesson

experienced Instructor. I was pleased to see that there was a good even mix of both males and females attending the day, and also that many were couples that had come along for a bit of a laugh (but I suspect walked away having learnt a thing or two!). The average group size is around 12 people but this can vary from as little as six up to 24 people. The ratio of instructors to students means no one is left to their own devices at any time. This also means that people are always busy and not sat around waiting and getting bored. All the lessons and areas you go to are very hands-on and you are actively encouraged to get stuck in and ask questions. Even after the day had ﬁnished the instructors were happy to

stand around chatting to the people that had attended and all the instructors are very experienced in what they teach; most of them come from either a military or police background. I know that this is just a snapshot but I hope it provides a good insight into what Spy Games do. It was a new experience to me and I must say I found the staff to be thoroughly professional and friendly, and they answered all the questions I had. If you fancy trying something fun and enjoyable, but slightly out of the ordinary (you might even learn something too), Spy Games is well worth checking out. ■

SPY GAMES www.spy-games.com, 0845 1303 007

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BATTERIES

LIPO: DOS AND DON’TS T here is a lot of stigma about this type of battery, mainly about how dangerous they can be. When I ﬁrst started airsoft my friend Chris insisted I switch to these batteries, but after hearing about the dangers I decided to steer clear of them. This was a mistake as it would have solved so many problems back then. Now I use LiPos exclusively and over the next few issues we will show you precisely what these batteries are capable of.

Barry Collins takes a look at LiPo batteries, and the various safety issues they present

is a solid polymer-based composite which means that the battery can be moulded to any shape. It’s also more rugged (as LithiumIon is a solvent) and generally more reliable. What this means for airsofters is a host of different sized batteries for different purposes – but most notably the stock tube battery. In the last few years people have been able to maintain their awesome and cool carbine looks due to stock tube LiPos, which was difﬁcult to do a few years ago.

Two leads? The most obvious thing about the LiPo family of batteries is the fact that there are two leads coming from it. The ﬁrst is your standard connector, which in most cases is a mini-Tamiya/standard Tamiya or a Deans connector. There are a fair few more but for now that is the industry standard. The Tamiya or Deans plugged lead is the power lead – the gun plugs into it and away you go.

History So let’s look at what the battery actually is. The LiPo, or LithiumIon Polymer battery, is a rechargeable battery derived from the Lithium-Ion family. The main difference (and advantage) is that the LiPo

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The second lead is the charging lead or balance lead, which is used to charge the battery. There is also writing on the battery which is usually the brand, voltage, mAh (milli-amp hours) and ‘C’ rating which is normally a number followed by the letter C. This indicates the discharge volume of the battery: the higher the number the more power the battery can dump into the motor, resulting in a higher rate of ﬁre or snappier trigger response.

Safety ﬁrst! Charging must be done correctly or can result in a world of hurt. As stated earlier there are two leads on the battery, the standard connector and the balance lead. The balance lead is used to charge all of the time. With some of the cheaper chargers it is exclusively used to charge, while the more expensive multi-function chargers require both to be connected. The big, and I cannot stress this enough, huge and most important point is you cannot – must not – attempt to charge via the standard power

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“The most important point is you cannot – must not – attempt to charge via the standard power connector (Tamiya/ Deans) by itself, or all those fire/explosion stories you heard will come horribly true” connector (Tamiya/Deans) by itself, or all those fire/explosion stories you heard will come horribly true. A LiPo battery must be charged with a balance charger specifically designed to charge those batteries. This means your NiMH/NiCD charger will not

work on LiPos – they will cause them to catch fire or explode. This is why you must use the balance lead and it must always be connected to the charger when charging a LiPo. Another safety factor which should be considered is wetness. If these batteries get wet, and I mean more than a couple of drops of liquid, they can swell up and catch fire. Again I have only witnessed this once, when the chap using it fell into a river! When using LiPos you have to make sure you don’t drop below a certain voltage on each cell or you can irreparably damage the battery (worst case scenario, surprise surprise, it catches fire). This is usually easy to determine with either a LiPo meter (a small

device that attaches to the balance lead and lights up green if there is enough charge and turns red when it’s too low) or when you hear a notable power drop (if the rate of ﬁre decreases or semi-auto becomes sluggish, for example). If this happens, stop ﬁring and change over the battery immediately. The last main safety factor (for me at least) is discharging your batteries. This is something that has had a running debate online now for some time. It supposedly can and does get done but discharging your battery must be done precisely or it can result in damage to your battery. The battery cannot be deep discharged or it will be damaged beyond repair. For this reason I personally choose not to discharge the batteries at all, as they are the same as mobile phone batteries which most of us know take a pounding and last for ages!

Next time I know this sounds like horror stories but there are a lot of safety issues with these batteries. Now that we have got most of them out the way I can focus on the positive: the huge advantages of using these powerful batteries. Next issue we will look at the stats of each battery, powers, mAh (how long they last), larger voltages and upgrading your gun to handle the power increase. ■

BATTERIES

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LAND WARRIOR Scott Allen has been writing reviews for Airsoft Action since the start, so we thought we’d ask him about his business, Land Warrior Airsoft. Over to you, Scott…

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AIRSOFT L

and Warrior is now a well-known company in the UK, although much younger than many of its competitors. We set out to provide the absolute best service we could without cutting corners and it has been a long road with numerous changes along the way. It’s close to five years since we opened and the one thing we do know for sure is that the next five years are going to be even better! It all started, what seems so very long ago, buying in the up and coming Chinese brands which changed the airsoft market by making it more accessible to an ever-growing UK audience. Selling airsoft guns was relatively simple at the time. The only requirement in the pre-VCRA era was that customers must be over 18. Less than a year after we opened the VCRA came in to effect and overnight the UK airsoft industry was, in effect, knee-capped. We stuck to our guns, tightened our belts and kept on going. Within four months we needed a warehouse and found our first humble premises to open a shop front. Though small and running

on a shoestring budget, we kept investing and building. Slowly we turned heads with a reputation that offered a one-stop shop of no-nonsense purchasing. We weren’t always the cheapest but we were reliable and straight up. We were the first retailer to offer free downgrades to rifles, meaning customers could trust their purchase would be skirmish-ready out of the box (when many Chinese clones were pumping out 420fps) with a 12 month warranty. Fast forward a couple of years and while on a trip to Hong Kong we were introduced to G&P. The company was keen for us to stock its rifles and accessories. This was a turning

INSIDE AIRSOFT

point for us. G&P represents excellent quality and allowed us to build guns from components in its catalogue. A top example of this is the best-selling Sentry designed by Land Warrior, allowing users to select between sand or black, short or long barrelled and finally between a V-LTOR or Magpul body. The last couple of years have been about customising M4 platforms, with companies like Magpul continually innovating new add-ons to alter the look of one of the most popular rifles on the market. We now stock a large range of G&P equipment, offering an industry-leading 18 month warranty on G&P rifles and working

closely on LWA-only rifle designs. 2011 has been the biggest year for Land Warrior by far. The year got off to a great start when we were approached by G&G, closely followed by ICS. We now stock the largest range of all three brands in the UK. Dealing directly with the manufacturers our techs work hard to feedback and solve product issues in conjunction with manufacturers to provide the best possible service to our customers. In November 2011 we moved to new custom-fitted premises, allowing us to open a larger show room with more display space and a warehouse with space to fill. This gives

us plenty of space to grow as we expect to in the next few years, while continuing to provide our current and future customers with the best, most efﬁcient service we can. The majority of our customers agree the best feature of our new showroom is the addition of a coffee machine that serves fresh coffee and frothy hot chocolate! What more could an airsofter want on a visit to their favourite airsoft shop? Enough history for one lesson, the one question on everyone’s lips is: what happens next? We can’t predict for sure, but I think it’s safe to say we’ll see many more changes. With increasing pressure from major companies such as Cybergun for licensed airsoft riﬂes, better quality control now RoHS compliant electronics are required across the board in Europe, and the sport continuing to grow at a phenomenal rate, I think it’s fair to say 2012 will be another exciting year in the world of Land Warrior and airsoft as a whole. Here’s hoping that it continues with great service, great products and great publications like Airsoft Action! ■

LAND WARRIOR AIRSOFT www.landwarriorairsoft.com, 0131 654 2452

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TEAM FRONTIER Can Special Forces training help in the commercial world? Nige went along to one company’s event to find out

eam Frontier is probably not a name that you are familiar with, but it has been providing companies with its own brand of team building for a number of years. The whole purpose of team building is to improve how a group of individuals work together, as one cohesive and effective unit. Nowhere is this better exemplified than in our Special Forces

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and, from the moment they burst into the public consciousness, 22 SAS have been held aloft as the model for team performance. So, logically, if you want to perform best as a team, then who better to train you? The founder members of Team Frontier are ex-regiment; one of the guys spent almost his entire 22-year Army career in 22, a feat which I don’t believe has been equalled.

Contrary to popular belief, members of Her Majesty’s SAS do not spend their working lives wearing ‘the black kit’! Most of the time they are in either civvies or ‘green army’ clothing, which is why the attendees were split into two groups, one in black, the other in typical camo. In true Team Frontier style the individuals in each unit would need to work together, as would the units themselves, to be successful in their mission.

EVENT REPORT

Warmed by coffee and bacon rolls and kitted up as either green or black army, it was outside for weapons handling drills and target practice. For some this was the first time they had held anything that resembled a ‘real’ gun, but it didn’t take them long under expert guidance to get the hang of putting holes into humanshaped targets! Practice over, the green army guys were taken off to Jungle Lane, while the black army headed for the classroom to learn the rudiments of building entry and room clearance from a man who used to do it for real. The Jungle Lane had been laid out in a small piece of woodland. Attendees were taken through in pairs by an ex-RMC, who first saw active service in Sierra Leone

“…the sound of MP5 chatter was countered by the lower sound of non-friendly ﬁre, but it didn’t last long and soon ‘dead’ insurgents joined the clouds of smoke drifting from the building” and soon had the guys moving together and taking out targets in short order. Meanwhile, having seen it on a flip-chart,

the black army guys were transported to another part of the area to practise what they’d just learned. Training continued through the morning and I’ve got to say that, come lunchtime, there were some pretty slick moves going on. It would be interesting to see how it would all come together in the afternoon, when they would be assaulting a building protected by a determined enemy that shot back! Returning to the training room we discovered that lunch was ready, which must have been torture for the green army guys who had to sit through a tactical briefing before joining the rest of us. Judging by the amount of food put away and the smiling faces that accompanied it, lunch was both needed and very much enjoyed! Warmed right through and stomachs full, it was back outside to put it all together. The first stage was to move up to a forward base, from where both green and

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black would enter the assault phase. The plan was for the green army to surround the insurgents’ compound and hold them inside, allowing the black army guys to assault the main building and complete their mission objectives. With last minute checks made and plans confirmed, both groups moved out and took up their respective starting positions. Over the years I have seen plenty of teams and I have to say I was immediately impressed by how these guys moved and communicated. A few hours ago they were “just a bunch of builders from the South East” (their words, not mine) – now they were moving with a level of cohesion that was quite frankly surprising. They soon pushed up and had the target building covered from all angles, allowing the black army guys to take up station on their designated entry points. Even from where I was standing I heard the words “All stations, this is Zero. I

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have control. Standby, standby, go!” and saw the ripple of shoulder-taps before the guys stormed the building. Shouts of “Clear!” and the sound of MP5 chatter was countered by the lower sound of non-friendly fire, but it didn’t last long and soon ‘dead’ insurgents joined the clouds of smoke drifting from the building. Although it had been successful there were a number of mistakes made, so everyone returned to the start point to do it all again. This time, however, the insurgents had one or two tricks up their sleeves, including an ambush on the green army as they made their approach. The sight of two insurgents standing out in the open was too much to resist and one section of green army guys moved rapidly forwards to deal with them, straight into the ambush! Three of them went down but the others quickly recovered and returned fire, forcing the insurgents to beat a hasty retreat back to

their compound. The result was inevitable and, with almost clinical precision, the building’s occupants were quickly rounded up or despatched. The other result was the huge grins on the guys’ faces as they stood around exchanging war stories and re-living their moments, of which there were many. But with both the temperature and sun rapidly dropping it was time to head back to the training room, where tea, cakes and a debrief were waiting. So, will these guys now work better as a team? The answer to that will come in time, but even if they only take back 10 per cent of the spirit with which they worked today then I guess it will be a resounding yes! ■

TEAM FRONTIER www.teamfrontier.co.uk 01235 768280

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THE FAIRER SEX REFLECTS Sian Westall’s female airsofting buddies on why they started playing, and what keeps them coming back Sian: Airsoft has been filed away in the collective consciousness as a bit of a sport for the boys. As the long-suffering cohabitants of avid airsofters, many women might be forgiven for thinking it mostly involves fondling guns and fiddling with balls… er, I mean BBs. That said you’d be hard pressed to find an airsoft battle without at least one female present. So one evening, instead of washing our hair, Carrie van der Zee, Carly Webb and I talked about what brought us, as women, to airsoft – and what keeps us coming back. I attended my first game with my boyfriend. As soon as I hinted that I’d like to have a go he leapt at the idea and was really excited to share his hobby with me. How did you end up at your first airsoft game?

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Carrie: I’d heard a lot about airsoft from friends who played but as much as I’d wanted to go I’d never had an opportunity to participate. So I asked a friend if he’d be kind enough to invite me along the next time he went. Two months later he and his ﬂatmate took me to a themed day at their local site. I’ve never looked back.

Carly: I was introduced to airsoft when my boyfriend at the time dumped me. I was gutted so my friends, deciding I needed to be distracted, told me to get some British DPM combats and go with them one day.

Sian: Apart from being cold (it was January) and a bit knackered (we’d been up since 0600 hours) my thoughts at my ﬁrst game were that I’d probably make a bit of a tit

of myself. I’d never even played paintball before so had no idea what to expect. Once I realised it didn’t hurt – much – I got a massive buzz from it. What do you remember the ﬁrst time you played airsoft? Carly: By the time I had my Spetznas slung and my hi-caps loaded I was excited to just go out and play. At ﬁrst I was not sure what to do; I think I ended up shooting some members of my team as I could not tell who was who!

Carrie: I did get nervous after ‘Game on’ was called, but once I’d taken my ﬁrst hit that subsided and the adrenaline kicked in. After that I was well into it, charging around without hesitation. I subsequently gained a reputation as a purveyor of mindless suicide charges.

Sian: I’ve had my share of those! But I also really enjoy sneaking around, and take advantage of the fact I’m smaller and (theoretically, at least) more soft-footed to

“Matthew heard us giggling, shot my friend and knife killed me in the back. Well I was a little surprised, and a bit upset that my giggling-bush hiding technique was ineffective!” do some tactical kills. My favourite airsoft moment so far was at The Mall in Reading, where I got myself into an awesome little nook literally picking people off as they tried to get down the concourse. Is there a particular moment that stands out in your mind?

Carrie: Probably the time I did the ‘Chicken Run’ because it had been my birthday in the week before. This is a tradition at a site called Better Battles; it entails running, armed only with a pistol (if you’re lucky), from the furthest bunker to just outside the Safe Zone while under constant fire from all the other players. When the whistle blew I sauntered casually down towards the netting. When the first bunch of guys opened fire on me I lifted the pistol I’d been lent and started trying to pick them off one by one, still walking. I then walked into a flurry of rounds from assault rifles, which didn’t bother me that much initially (I do admit it stung a lot), but then a few

rounds hit my knuckles, which is where I least like being hit, and I instinctively turned my back to the incoming fire to shield my hands. After that I was peppered with a barrage of rounds from all directions and both my legs were in intense pain. After the whistle blew for everyone to stop firing I slowly zoned back into mental clarity. Many players came and shook my hand before the next game began, the first two rounds of which I sat out for while enjoying the most incredible endorphin rush. One of the marshals later told me he thought I was nuts for doing it and admitted that he never would himself. A friend who was there compared it to the scene in the police station in the original Terminator movie. It was awesome!

Carly: My favourite moment has to be when I met the man

GIRLS 'N' GUNS

that’s now my husband! I had just ﬁnished clearing out two people from the opposing team and decided to hide in a bush with my friend. Matthew heard us giggling, shot

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my friend and knife killed me in the back. Well I was a little surprised, and a bit upset that my giggling-bush hiding technique was ineffective! Sian: Have you ever felt you’ve been treated differently because you’re female?

Carly: You would be surprised how many girls there are in airsoft. There are three girls that go to my favourite site regularly and when I go around the country playing there are at least two girls at each site. Carrie: The most surprising thing I remember was the reaction of an alreadyestablished female regular. I think it’s becoming increasingly common now for women to participate in what have traditionally been male-dominated hobbies, which can only be a good thing. But it seems that a lot of the women who do partake get a kick out of being The Token Female – consequently they aren’t terribly welcoming towards female newbies. A female friend of mine who’s into LARP once jokingly referred to this as ‘the alpha female effect’. I arrived on site in a fairly large group which included three other female ﬁrst-

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timers. While the ‘alpha female’ wasn’t malicious or unpleasant towards any of us, at the same time she made no efforts to hide her shock and disgruntlement at our being there. She was, however, perfectly pleasant towards me after I’d shown my face there a couple more times. Sian: I play mostly at WW2 re-enactment battles so my kit is normally wool BD and I carry an MP40. I know you both play modern battles as well – what’s your preferred load out?

Carrie: For a long time I borrowed guns from my friends. Much as I was itching to own one after my very ﬁrst skirmish it allowed me to make an informed decision about which one to go for, once I was in a position to buy one. In the end I went for a Jing Gong MP5A4. I’m very much a Heckler and Koch fangirl anyway, but in-game I found the MP5A4 light and easy to use, with the added bonus of having a solid shoulder stock so I could use it like a miniature assault riﬂe.

Carly: British DPM, with a drop pouch, Glock holster and vest. I normally bring my SCAR or AUG.

Sian: And what kind of skirmishing to you enjoy?

GIRLS N GUNS

Carrie: I really like outdoor skirmishing in woodland and prefer themed-days to short games, but CQB is also good. I dislike games that place severe limitations on use of ammunition and ﬁnd games with medic (as opposed to regen) rules annoying.

Carly: I prefer a skirmish where people play by the rules and don’t go off self-healing themselves when they think a marshal isn’t looking. I’d also say a whole weekend game, where you camp over and have a laugh with everyone.

Carly: I love the sport and the people are great, and after a while you get to know each other and end up being good mates. The games are enjoyable, exhilarating and intelligent. I love using certain tactics to overcome the opposing team and win. Carrie: One thing I really like about the

Sian: Deﬁnitely, apart from the hangovers!

airsoft demographic is that you get a wide variety of ages co-operating in teams; I learned as much from 13-year-olds as I ever did from middle-aged ex-servicemen.

Do you have any favourite sites?

Sian: From our experiences it seems clear

Carly: Yeah I do. It’s Airsoft Skirmish, TAG

that there is no ‘typical’ female airsofter. The things we get from airsoft are as varied as our male counterparts’. The one thing we all agree on was that it is awesome fun. So if you’re a woman reading this, maybe thinking about getting down to your first event, don’t hesitate – you probably won’t be the only lady there and you might soon find you’ve got a new favourite hobby. And if all else fails you can use the giggling-bush technique™ as a surefire way to find love. ■

Wood near Worcester.

Sian: What keeps on bringing you back to airsoft?

Carrie: At one time I played airsoft every fortnight. Nowadays I’ll sign up at the drop of a hat if someone suggests going skirmishing as a one-off for a special occasion. There are really only two reasons why I don’t play every week: time and money.

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KIT REVIEW

MEMORY-MAP ADVENTURER 3500 Great for walking and biking – but are they any good for airsoft? Nige takes an Adventurer 3500 unit into the ﬁeld to ﬁnd out

et me get one thing out of the way: I like Memory-Map products! I used one of its early software versions many years ago, before Google (let alone Google Maps) was even a spark in the dark recesses of Page and Brin’s minds. Hooked up to my old eight-channel Garmin, my work laptop sat on the passenger seat running MNav software as I drove to appointments in some of the most remote parts of the country. Having spent a lot of time stomping around various bits of the UK I am well-used to reading maps (although there are some that will attest to me making the odd mistake) and as MNav uses Ordnance Survey (OS) mapping it was simple for me to understand and follow. Earlier this year I went to the Outdoor Trade Show, where I found Memory-Map had a stand and was displaying its latest range of handheld GPS devices, including the Adventurer series.

With its big bright touchscreen display I was immediately struck by the Adventurer 3500 and wondered: does it have a use in airsoft? Only one way to ﬁnd out: borrow a unit from MemoryMap and try it for myself. The unit I was sent is the GB Edition, which comes with OS Landranger 1:50,000 maps for the whole of the UK. These maps are great for walking and suchlike, but for airsoft something even more detailed would be required such as the 1:25,000 OS Explorer series. These are available for download from Memory-Maps’ Digital Map Shop. With two weekend events coming up (Gunman Airsoft’s opening at Eversley and Stirling Airsoft’s England v Scotland game at Catterick) I decided to try the unit at both. Supplied in the box is the latest version of MNav for PC and a whole bunch of accessories, such as chargers (mains and car), cables, and a bike mount, plus both hard and silicon cases. Quite bizarrely, though, when it’s connected to a PC using the supplied USB cable the unit functions as an external storage device and not, as you might expect, as a GPS. Although there are plenty

of other devices listed, such as Garmin and Magellan, there are no MemoryMap units listed in the GPS drop-down. Notwithstanding that glaring oddity, the MNav software has always been good and allows you to plan routes as well as download data from the unit to display on screen. Using overlays it displays marks, tracks, routes and any text that has been entered – and that is something worth thinking about. Not so much for normal skirmishing, but for things like MilSim or re-enactment debriefs it might be useful to see exactly where speciﬁc units were at a certain time, or in relation to each other. If every unit carried one of these devices the plots from each of them could be over-layed on a map and you could see exactly where each was, and when. While covering the Gunman event there was more than one occasion that I needed to move from one location to another quickly and, having previously entered each into the unit it was simply a matter of selecting the one I wanted and following the on-screen pointer. Of course, because of the mapping I could also see paths, contours and other natural features such as rivers. I kept a full plot of the ﬁrst game and was surprised when I saw that I’d been round in circles a couple of times without realising it! The only other niggle I had was with the 3.5in touch screen. It is both bright and clear (the brightness can be altered on the settings page) but unless you use the rather natty little plectrum-type stylus supplied with the unit the screen tends to jump around. It is almost as though it is too sensitive. You can change the screen calibration but this didn’t seem to improve matters very much and I doubt that it

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“I kept a full plot of the ﬁrst game and was surprised when I saw that I’d been round in circles a couple of times without realising it!” would be very easy to use with gloved hands either. At Catterick I switched the unit on, put it into the supplied hard case, stuck it in a jacket pocket and left it running for the whole of the Saturday. Looking at the recorded track later I don’t think there was a single area of the site that I hadn’t visited, and I’ve got to say it seemed to be very accurate. You could even see places where I had moved from building to building by crawling through mouse-holes in adjoining walls. I was also glad of another feature of the unit: it has an IPx7 waterproof rating, meaning it can be immersed in water to a depth of 1 metre for up to 30 minutes. There were times over the weekend I felt that this might be sorely tested! Luckily, whoever was in charge

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of Weather Ops pulled whatever strings they needed to pull and the rain stayed away for the most part. So the unit works well, it is simple to use and only (for me) had a couple of what amounted to really minor irritants – but the whole point of this was to see whether it is a useful tool for airsoft. Unfortunately, I think the answer has to be no. Yes, I can see occasions where it would be helpful, such as for ﬁnding your way around at an event on a huge site. I can also see a use for recording your team members’ movements – but as an everyday airsoft accessory, I don t think so. To me this is a real shame, as I really like the device and was looking for a way to justify the £300-odd it

would take to buy one. All is not lost though! Memory-Map Free is an app available for iPhone/iPad that has many of the functions found in its bigger brother. Maps are only available via download from Memory-Map’s Digital Map Shop but the app comes with a free 90-day licensed Topo Sample Pack. This allows you to download both Landranger and Explorer maps and try the app without any cost involved (apart from your mobile fees of course). All Memory-Map devices and software can also be used with marine and aviation charts and, if you buy the paid-for version of the app, you can exchange V5 maps between your PC and phone. ■

MEMORY-MAP The full price for the Adventurer 3500 is £380. Memory-Map currently has a special offer on its online shop, with the unit priced at just £299, and you can get an extra £50 cashback when you trade in any old handheld GPS. Personally speaking, I think £250 represents very good value for money for a unit of this quality, especially when you consider the number of accessories supplied in the box! Memory-Map: www.memory-map.co.uk

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Alex Wharton turns his steely gaze towards Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and asks: “Is it all hype?”

he biggest selling games franchise has released another record breaking title. Once again it sells faster than the last one, once again sells more and, supposedly, once again ups the ante on spectacularness! But is the new one actually a good game – or is it just hype and advertising? I’m going to start with a confession… I don’t like Call of Duty. Or more accurately, I don’t like what it’s become. I still remember playing the very original all those years ago, and loving it. I also enjoyed the ﬁrst Modern Warfare. The second was mediocre – and in my opinion the third has continued this decline.

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The story centres round a terrorist that’s duped Russia into attacking the rest of the world. The game follows the (now outlawed) Task Force 141 and the US Marines in their fight to stop the terrorists and invading armies. But there are some strange moments that are slightly confusing. The main one that irked me was that Russia manages to successfully invade the whole world all at once. Now I know Russia is a big old place, with plenty of people, but you don’t get to move troops all over the world without someone asking some questions! Playing through the single player campaign left me feeling I’d done it all before. Sure the story is going to new locations but the gameplay is the same and, as it is the third game in a series, I’ve done it all twice before. The set-pieces are bigger and more impressive than ever, but the pace didn’t ever seem to dip and you can’t have climactic peaks if there hasn’t been a build-up. If everything is already blowing up, another explosion isn’t really a climax! Attacking a moving submarine was certainly a memorable experience, but after forcing it to surface the interior fight was relatively boring and the boat chase that followed felt reminiscent of game I played 10 years ago – not what I expect from the greatest selling series of games ever. The plot twists and tie-ins were certainly unexpected and did add some surprise, but it didn’t take the story anywhere I wasn’t expecting it to go. The enemy AI still hasn’t been improved over older Modern Warfare games either – you kill a soldier and another runs to where you killed the first. At times if you push up too far everyone will suddenly focus their attacks on you, quite literally punishing you for attempting to push the battle forwards. The game ends up

becoming a trial and error experience about where you can move and which soldiers to shoot first. At least it seems to load you back to an extremely recent checkpoint pretty quickly! They have also now included the obligatory ‘shock’ level (and of course upping the ante from the previous games). But to be perfectly honest it wasn’t until after I beat the game that I remembered it asking whether I wanted to view the ‘disturbing’ level, and had to try and work out which one it was meant to be. Is it not shocking enough that I just killed about 4,000 soldiers? Sure, media and games have desensitised me to these things but Modern Warfare 2’s airport level made national press and caused mothers to go on mighty crusades about video game violence. The supposedly ‘more shocking’ level in Modern Warfare 3 passed without so much as a blink. The game sounds pretty good most of the time, except when you start shooting. I understand that modern rifles make more of a crack than a boom, yet MW3 seems to have gone down the Hollywood action movie route and made the guns go boom. They also sound really scratchy. The best example of this was the standard M4 – if I had a rifle that sounds like it does then I’d have serious reservations about actually shooting it! The rifle noise also seems to change as you burn through the magazine. Now this is pretty handy for telling when you are going to need to reload, but it’s massively unrealistic and just pulled me out of the game.

GAME REVIEW

“It was at this point that it dawned on me: Call of Duty has become the modern-day Quake. It’s big, it’s loud, it’s in your face and it’s based totally around speed and agression”

I spent quite literally months playing the multiplayer on the first Modern Warfare, so I’ve tried to go into the MW3 multiplayer with an open mind. Unfortunately I just find myself being killed repeatedly by someone who is dual-wielding, barely aiming and bunny hopping about the place. Maybe it’s a sign of my age but I want a game that requires some tactics rather than total twitch gameplay. The unlock system seems really cool: I want to unlock the next addon for a gun, and gain levels to get that next unlock – but I just find myself trying to play tactically in a game that rewards speed. I also find it massively distracting that money explodes out of my body when I die (and that’s not mentioning that objectives, should you choose to step away from team death-match, are surrounded by big glowing auras). It was at this point that it dawned on me: Call of Duty has become the modern day Quake. It’s big, it’s loud, it’s in your face and it’s based totally around speed and aggression. Now all of this picking doesn’t mean it’s a bad game. I just found it too much (and this is coming from a guy who loved the Transformers movies!). I can appreciate that the game has been made to a quality that few titles can match – it’s just that I want more from a title. I’ve done this before, twice in the Modern Warfare games and plenty of other times in various other shooters. I want more out of a shooter now. I want to feel like a Special Forces soldier (after all that’s why I play airsoft!) and Modern Warfare 3 just didn’t do it for me. There was just too much ‘one man army’ in it for me. But hey, that’s just me; I know there are plenty of you out there that will disagree with me. If you’ve never played the CoD series (where the hell have you been?) but enjoy your first-person shooters chances are you’ll love it. Personally, I wanted something more. ■

CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 3 Developed by: Inﬁnity Ward; Sledgehammer Games Published by: Activision Out now on Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC and Wii Price: From around £30 depending on platform

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