Issue 09 - May 2012 by Airsoft Action

IBN W ASG SA

II STEN MK IAND WE H! POWER

ACTION

THE Airsoft Magazine

OPERATION

STRONGHOLD

KING ARMS BW15 SNIPER

BIG BOYZ TOYZ: SKILLS: LAYING WELBIKE AN AMBUSH

It was a new one to us – Blackwater licensed rifle

British paratroopers on mini- Billy Basics tells you all you motos? You better believe it! need to know...

Iconic weapons: mac 11 ❱ D-boys kac pdw ❱ wardogs filmsim ❱ iron plate action

MAY 2012 - £4.25

AMBUSH AT LONGMOOR

May 2012

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CONTENTS AIRSOFT ACTION - MAY 2012

Editor: Nigel Streeter

READERS’ GALLERY YOUR CHANCE TO GET YOUR FACE IN THE MAGAZINE!

KIT TEST: TAB GEAR TAB GEAR IS QUALITY KIT, BUT IS IT GOOD FOR AIRSOFT?

AIRSOFT NEWS NEW STUFF FROM IWA 2012, JUST BB GUNS SHOP AND MORE

YOUR FIRST SKIRMISH DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU NEED FOR YOUR FIRST GAME?

REVIEW: ASG BSA STEN MKII RATTY TURNS BACK TIME FOR THIS WWII CLASSIC FROM ASG

ICONIC WEAPONS JAY SLATER EXPLAINS WHY CHUCK NORRIS IS BETTER THAN YOU (WITH A MAC 11)

COMPETITION ... AND ONCE YOU’VE READ THE REVIEW, WIN IT (AND MORE!)

COLD WAR WARRIORS GADGE TACKLES THE HUNTERS FROM THE SKY

THE WARGAMES CENTRE BAZ C GETS ROUND TO HIS LOCAL SITE IN ARDEER

YOUNG GUNS COMMON MISTAKES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM

AMBUSH AIRSOFT, LONGMOOR NIGE REPORTS FROM AMBUSH ADVENTURES’ OP: STRONGHOLD

FILMSIM: WARDOGS NEW FACE MICHAEL JONES ON GUNMAN’S FILMSIM CAMPAIGN

RIFLE: KING ARMS BW15 IS THIS SDM ANY GOOD? RON M PUTS IT TO THE TEST

SKILLS ROOM BILLY BASICS LAYS AN AMBUSH

SKILLS ROOM DANNY P TAKES US THROUGH SOME VITAL CQB SKILLS

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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 Cover photograph courtesy of Matt Limb

Full UK 12-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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IPAS NIGE VISITS THE WORLD OF IRON PLATE ACTION SHOOTING

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KIT BAG STUFF WE WANT THIS MONTH RIFLE: D-BOYS KAC PDW MATTY PHILLIPSON FALLS IN LOVE WITH A D-BOYS CLONE

BIG BOYZ TOYZ BRITISH PARAS ON MONKEYBIKES? BELIEVE IT!

THE MOLE GARETH HARVEY PROTECTS BRITISH INTELLIGENCE IN GUNMAN’S COLD WAR EPIC

MAKING YOUR MARK MIKE BUTTRICK TRACES THE PARALLELS BETWEEN AIRSOFT AND OTHER SUBCULTURES

SNOW WOLF BARRATT M82 SCOTT ALLAN TRIES OUT THE CHEAPEST LIGHT FIFTY AROUND

GAME REVIEW ALEX WHARTON TAKES ON ALL COMERS IN WARGAME: EUROPEAN ESCALATION

KIT TEST: PLATE CARRIERS LAST BUT NOT LEAST: DANNY P TRIES THREE TOP CARRIERS

o it’s ofﬁcially summertime and, surprise, surprise, the sun is actually shining – well it is as I write this at least! Welcome to Issue Nine of the UK’s BIGGEST airsoft magazine, and to another month of awesome airsoft! It’s been a pretty hectic four weeks at Airsoft Action; there has been so much going on with new sites opening and loads of new guns – plus the arrival of the much-anticipated ASG Ashbury ASW338LM (JD Airsoft has kindly let us borrow one and we will have a full review in Issue 10). Though if you listened to all the doom and gloom merchants out there it seems people have forgotten how to enjoy themselves. That is simply not the case – not for airsoft anyway. Over the last few weeks I have spoken to players, retailers and sites from all over the UK and almost to a man (or woman) they have said the same… It is tough out there but airsoft is not only surviving, it is positively thriving. I believe that is because airsoft is no longer ‘under the radar’, hidden from view and seemingly frightened to raise its head above the parapet. Since we launched Airsoft Action there has been a seed change in peoples’ understanding of what airsoft is and that it is played by responsible people who don’t go waving imitation guns around in the high street! So far as I am concerned, the more people we get ‘onside’ that appreciate what we do for fun and that we do it as safely as possible, the better. In a recent conversation with a government department I got to talking about airsoft and mentioned I am the editor of this magazine. Imagine my delight at being told: “I saw that the other day and bought a copy. It looks really good fun!” (he actually said “it looks the bollocks!” but I’m not sure I can print that here)! And even better, he followed it up with: “Where can I play?” For me, that was a terriﬁc compliment and illustrates perfectly that we are succeeding by promoting airsoft (in all its forms) and attracting new players to the game. So whether you are new to the game or a veteran, have a great month – whatever and wherever you’re playing! See you out there, 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’ GALLERY Send your pics into anthonyp@blazepublishing.co.uk and see yourself in the mag – the more the merrier!

Thanks to Eddy ‘Ghost’ ots – Stanhope for these cool sh loving the paintjob!

Luke Turner sent us this picture of him playing at Airsoft Skirmish

Paul at Warminster Airsoft: apparently it was just a little bit chilly that weekend!

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May 2012

AIRSOFT ARMED FORCES DAY Armed Forces Day takes place this year on 30 June. More than 50 events will take place across the United Kingdom in June, raising awareness for and showing support of the UK Armed Forces. The day honours everyone involved with the Armed Forces from veterans of war to cadets, service families to serving troops. The national Armed Forces Day event is held in Plymouth.

Dozens of celebrities from all ﬁelds and walks of life have voiced their support of the event – including Her Majesty the Queen, the Prime Minister, Rebecca Adlington OBE, Sir David Jason OBE, Chris Ryan, Bruce Forsyth and the entire cast of Eastenders. People are encouraged to attend an organised event, hold their own party, leave messages of support or even simply wave a Union Jack – ultimately Armed Forces Day is a time to show you are proud to be British, and proud of our Armed Forces and what they do day in and day out. To ﬁnd out how you can get involved and show your support for UK Armed Forces visit the website at: www.armedforcesday.org.uk.

SUB-£500 CELCIUS PTW? Airsoft Action has heard a tasty rumour on the airsoft grapevine that Specialist Tactical Training Solution (S-T-T-S) and Celcius are about to launch something very special exclusively for the UK market. We believe there’s a Celcius Professional Training Weapon with a UK-backed warranty for less than £550 on the cards – and if the ﬁgure we heard is correct it will actually be under £500! S-T-T-S would not comment at this time

and told us to watch the news pages of its website (as well as JD Airsoft and BadgerTac) for any updates. However, just as we were going to press we received two images – one a logo, and the second presumably the beast in question though we have no reference to it at this time. We will of course keep digging and keep you posted… Keep an eye on the website at: www.celcius-ctw.co.uk

AIRSOFT NEWS UKAPU UPDATE Let’s start with some good news – Josh at Gunman Airsoft (www.gunmanairsoft. co.uk) has started a discount scheme for all UKAPU members playing at any of the Gunman sites. Any member attending Gunman Norwich, Tuddenham or Eversley will receive a £5 discount on their green fees. Annual UKAPU membership costs the same so you can see why this discount is such great value for members! UKAPU members can also get 20 per cent off their ticket price if they introduce a new hire player at Gunman. These incentives can’t be combined. Last month we started the search for a player that would like to represent UKAPU in Northern Ireland, helping to run a regional section. Nominations for the representative are still open so if you are interested in assisting then please drop Matt Furey-King at chair@ukapu. org.uk. Lastly, UKAPU has received further correspondence relating to the lethality testing carried out last year. We wish to clarify that any testing carried out last year was designed only to provide guidance as to the lethality thresholds of an airsoft replica – in no way do these results change existing laws. Thankfully the majority of airsoft skirmishers are continuing to demonstrate commonsense and play well within the recommended limits. UKAPU also recommends site owners follow the advice from the United Kingdom Airsoft Sites Governing Body (www.ukasgb.org.uk) which clearly sets out recommended fps limits that keep the hobby both safe and enjoyable for all players. If you have already joined UKAPU then thank you. If you want to join, annual membership costs just £5 and is available from the UKAPU website: www.ukapu.org.uk Chris Neill – UKAPU Press Ofﬁcer

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Cybergun’s/Brains4Solutions’ Softair Battlezone is designed as a city-centre one-stop-shop for airsoft catering especially to those new to the sport

New stuff at KWA: GBB M4 PTS and AKS-74U

NEW STUFF AT IWA 2012

WA is the biggest firearms tradeshow in Europe – and Airsoft Action was out in force at IWA 2012. Airsoft was incredibly well represented here and a staggering amount of exciting new stuff was unveiled. Our friends over at G&G announced they will be launching five innovative new products throughout 2012. The first, the long-awaited M1 Garand AEG, will be

available for order in June. G&G also revealed details of its MIT – Military Intelligence Tracer Unit. This nifty little device is a tracer unit, chronograph, shot counter and laser aiming device all in one. Self-powered by its own LiPo battery it will shut down if it detects no activity in the last 10 minutes. No release date or price at this point, but deﬁnitely one to watch. Elsewhere, ASG let us take another look at its highly-anticipated CZ Scorpion Evo 3 A1 which got us excited at SHOT Show this year.

Highly-anticipated: ASG’s CZ Scorpion Evo 3 A1

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We also got a first-look at its new range of suppressors for the popular MP9 series and hands-on with its newest 6mm replica pistol, the Bersa BP9CC, a CO2 powered officiallylicensed handgun that will be available in both blowback and non-blowback operation. At the ICS stand the soon-to-be-launched M1 Garand took pride of place. Airsofters have been waiting for a good replica of the classic rifle for some time and they’ll soon have two to choose between. It was also a good time to pick up a few freebies to add to our camo competition pot! KWA had a bunch of new stuff on display too. Of course the KWA Kriss Vector was there, reminding us we can’t have one yet. Apart from that though a whole wall of new rifles to be released this year caught our attention – including a gas-powered AKG-74SU we’re particularly looking forward to! We were also introduced to Camo Systems, a New Zealand-based company specialising in ghillie suits. Unfortunately they had no samples we were able to take for testing but watch this space – its products look affordable yet effective, and ideal for British summertime. Umarex, which as we all know holds the exclusive worldwide license for this news piece, has a ridiculous amount of airsoft gear launching this year. Pictures of it all wouldn’t fit here and a list of it all would be boring – but a few favourites worth mentioning include the new Elite Force 74 Tactical, H&K HK417D,

AIRSOFT NEWS ASG OPEN

BLASTER

Browning Hi-Power MkIII and the awesome Legends PPSH-41. Oh, and don’t miss SRC’s awesome RPK – the quality of the wood put SRC’s SR41 to shame! Last thing to mention is Cybergun/ Brains4Solutions ‘Softair Battlezone’. The culmination of 10 years’ design and development work the Battlezone is an airsoft centre intended for urban placement to get non-softers involved with the sport. Incorporating shop, café, shooting ranges, dynamic ranges and modular battleﬁeld it is an interesting concept, and one we may well be seeing more of this year...

ActionSportGames (ASG) has released its new biodegradable Open Blaster BBs. Speciﬁcally designed for those looking for the best performance from their ammunition, the new Open Blasters are manufactured to exact dimensions with a +/- 0.01mm tolerance. Open Blasters are non-toxic and designed to give better grouping than you can currently achieve with biodegradable BBs at longer ranges. On top of that, Team ASG is giving away 72,000 of these beebs every week through its Facebook page – www.facebook.com/ actionsportgames – enough to see you

through a few games we would hope! To enter the competition be sure you’re watching the Team ASG page at 4.00pm BST (5.00pm CET). Be warned, though, they’ve got some absolute ﬁends devising the questions… take last week’s: A famous music producer needs a new big V8 engine, what does that mean for ASG products? And the winning answer? INFINITY U-30000 long axle. Yeah, good luck folks!

JUST BB GUNS OPENS STORE

Pride of place: ICS’ forthcoming M1 Garand

Online retailer Just BB Guns (www.justbbguns.co.uk) has opened its ﬁrst store in Wokingham, Reading. The move from cyberspace to shopfront coincides with the retailer gaining UKARA approval after a year’s effort, and it is now able to offer RIFs as well as two-tone weapons. The retailer will of course continue to do business online as well as face to face. MD Mark Watts said: “We’ve been selling two-tone guns online for three years now. But two-tone is just where you start in the sport, and we tended to lose our customers once they got into airsoft proper. Besides that the area we are in has quite a few sites nearby, yet the nearest shop is in Watford.” Though very familiar with retail Mr Watts concedes it will be “very interesting to serve the needs of the hardcore skirmisher. We’ve got good range of black guns, including six or seven M4s and AKs in both plastic and metal, from the likes of Cybergun, ICS and King Arms.” Just BB Guns also plans on moving more into the clothing, kit and accessories areas too. Besides the hundreds of weapons Just BB Guns’ new shop, spread across three units of the Space Business Centre, also features a shooting range and repair centre. If you want to check out the new shop for yourself the address is: Unit 24-26 Space Business Centre, Molley Millar Lane, Wokingham, Berks RG41 2PQ. Just BB Guns: 0118 357 3502, www.justbbguns.co.uk

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ASG (AGM) BSA STEN MKII Ratty turns the clock back to take a look at ASG’s airsoft version of the venerable BSA Sten MKII

hen I started airsofting all those years ago Tokyo Marui ruled the roost, even with a fairly limited range of AEGs. Site guns were FAMAS and you were a god if you had an XM177. Other Japanese companies were producing some really oddball items but were megaexpensive (the Shoei MP44 springs to mind). There were many discussions in the Safe Zone at our Greenham Common site, along the lines of ‘I wish someone would do a [insert almost any gun] gun’ – and the Sten certainly came up time and again. A while ago Viva Arms released its Sten, which was very nice to hold but on the expensive side. But with ASG holding the (worldwide exclusive) license for BSA there is now a Sten MKII on the market that is cheap and (hopefully) more reliable and a lot more useable. With one of my all-time favourite ﬁlms, A Bridge Too Far, doing the rounds on TV recently I thought It was time to turn the clock back and give one of these a good going over.

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Real-steel history After suffering massive losses at Dunkirk, not just in men but also equipment, the British Army was forced to replace lost weapons and expand its numbers at the same time. Prior to 1941 (and even after) the British were purchasing all the Thompson submachine guns they could from the United States, but these did not begin to meet the demand. The Royal Small Arms factory at Enfield was commissioned to produce an alternative; the Sten gun emerged while we were in the midst of the Battle of Britain. The name Sten is an acronym derived from the credited chief designers. These were Major Reginald V Shepherd and Harold Turpin, while the rest came from Enfield. Stens were made primarily at the Royal Small Arms factory in Enfield, but also by the famous gunmaker BSA. It would later be built in many countries around the globe. A simple design and low production cost made it ideal for re-equipping armies. In fact, its basic design and easy maintenance made it very effective and popular with resistance groups and insurgents around the world.

Stoppages were a common issue with Stens, and I’m going to upset a few folks here. A good way to cause a stoppage was to grasp the magazine with your supporting hand while firing (as you see in about 90 per cent of WWII films). This tended to wear out the magazine catch and alter the angle of feed into the chamber. This practice meant I received a good few whacks off my Skill at Arms instructor when firing our issue Stirling SMGs in the late 1980s! The open-bolt mechanism and the use of 9mm pistol ammunition severely restricted accuracy and meant the Sten really only had an effective range of around 100m. On the upside, due to its minimalistic design, the Sten was capable of firing without any lubricant. This proved useful in the desert where oil attracted and retained sand and dust. The Mark II is the most common variant of all the Stens, with over two million produced. It was a much rougher weapon than the MKI. Visually, the flash eliminator and wooden handguard were removed. A removable barrel was fitted which projected

THE ARMOURY

“The Sten was either loved or loathed in equal measure by those who operated them. It was nicknamed Plumbers’ Nightmare, Plumbers’ Abortion or Stench Gun by some frontline troops” 3in (76mm) beyond the barrel sleeve and a special catch allowed the magazine housing to be rotated 90° counter clockwise, even with the mag partly removed, covering the feed and ejection ports and allowing the weapon to lie ﬂat on its side. The barrel sleeve was shorter and had three sets of three equally-spaced holes on the shroud, which helped with heat dispersion. An insulating lace-on-leather barrel sleeve guard was sometimes issued to allow a soldier to hold a Sten by the hot barrel sleeve. The other distinctive design on the Mark II was the basic strut-type stock. The Sten was either loved or loathed in equal measure by those who operated them. It was nicknamed Plumbers’ Nightmare, Plumbers’ Abortion or Stench

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going to be fun – blatting through the ﬁrst few mags was bliss! Then I tweaked the hop to get the best performance out of the Blaster Devil 0.20g BBs I had loaded into the mags. Once I was happy I set some targets up at various ranges and reloaded all six mags. At short ranges I was achieving some rather good groupings and was still getting rounds on target at just over 120ft. Amazing! The gun might be full-metal but it doesn’t seem to gain weight, like other metal AEGs, the more you carry it. Just like the real thing it’s nimble and agile in a CQB environment. Next test was the chrono. It achieved readings of between 308-320fps, so useable on every skirmish site I can think of without needing any mods. If you’re the kind that needs everything at just below 350fps then don’t be put off by these results as the hop unit and the results I got mean it’s as good as anything that ﬁres at the 350 mark. Gun by some frontline troops, due to its questionable reliability. But a well-maintained and properly-functioning Sten was a devastating close range weapon.

The ASG BSA Sten Mark II The BSA Sten Mark II is well presented and included in the package apart from the gun and a 50-round (MP40) magazine is a pistoltype speedloader, a separate UK and EU battery charger and an 8.4v 1200mAh sticktype battery. There are also a couple of Allan keys – one for undoing the backplate to allow battery installation and the other to adjust the hop. There’s also a decent instruction manual, in good English! Taking the Sten out you feel how robust it is. It’s full-metal and you feel conﬁdent that it can handle a knock or two. The mag housing is downward-facing so needs to be rotated though 90° to use, but while it is facing down you can see the hole in the top of the receiver where the hop adjuster is located. The stock tube is thicker than on a real Sten but, as this where your battery has to go, you can overlook the discrepancy. To ﬁt the battery (with the larger Allan key) just unscrew the bolt and slide down the whole backplate/ stock assembly. This exposes the small Tamiya connector and once your stick type battery is plugged in and slid into the stock tube, reassembly is easy. On the left-hand-side of the receiver is a BSA logo and Sten Mark II markings, while on the right-hand-side of the receiver there’s a small ASG logo and a 6mm calibre marking – after some use or some weathering I am

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sure they will soon disappear! The cocking lever is really there for aesthetics and needs to be screwed in tight to minimise the risk of it falling off. To rotate the mag into the ‘use’ position simply pull back on the catch located on the forward side of the mag housing, rotate the housing through 90° and let it lock into place. The mag release catch is located on the top of the mag housing. All of these are simple to use and as they’re metal help to keep that robust feel. One thing you cannot help notice is the lack of any kind of safety/ﬁre selector. This means when coming off the ﬁeld of play, you will have to clear your weapon thoroughly before entering the Safe Zone. You will also notice some rough weld marks on some parts of the AEG, just to add to that air of authenticity.

On test Okay then, down to the nitty-gritty! It certainly looks the part, but how does it perform? Only one way to find out… With a fully charged 8.4v 1400mAh stick battery fitted I loaded up the standard 50BB magazine as well as five King Arms MP40 mid-cap mags, 110-rounds in each mag. Due to the way the mags are fitted the Sten isn’t able to use hi-cap mags as they would not be able to feed properly on their side. When fitting a mag into the housing it’s always worth giving the end cap a tap to make sure it has located properly. First thing to do was to set everything up correctly. On first pull of the trigger a stream of BBs flew from the barrel. Oh yes, this is

Summary You have to hand it to ASG. With all the licenses the company holds the variation and quantity of weapons that it sells is immense. Despite this (and unlike some other licence holders) ASG has always kept its pricing realistic, so still affordable for the end-user. The ASG BSA Sten MKII is no exception. Priced at around £200, the Sten is a timeless weapon that can be used with many different load-outs. It looks the part and is sturdily built. The battery that comes in the package is ﬁne as a spare but personally I would advise running a good branded one as your main. Overall I was really impressed performancewise. If you are not worried about the fact that you cannot use hi-cap magazines with it (and let’s face it, most themed game days require limited ammo anyway) then this makes a really sensible all-rounder. Now, do I go for a Denison smock and a set of 37 pattern webbing, or kit myself out with a beret, stripy t-shirt, neckerchief, satchel and a bicycle? Au revoir mes amis! ■

BSA Sten MKII Licence held by ASG Length: 710mm Barrel Length: 229mm Weight: 2,630g Construction: Mostly metal Magazine: 50-round magazine Hop-up: Adjustable Muzzle velocity: 308-320fps Price: Expect to pay around £200

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. .. N I .W .. N I .W .. N I .W .. N I .W .. N I .W .. N I WIN...W

ASG BSA STEN MKII and WE BROWNING HI-POWER!

BOTH SEEN IN THIS ISSUE OF

AIRSOFT ACTION! That’s right folks – one lucky winner will get this set of two iconic weapons! The BSA Sten MkII (review beginning on page 12) is a fantastic replica of the WWII classic, ofﬁcially licensed by ASG. The WE Hi-Power (featured on page 68), meanwhile, is probably the ﬁnest of all repros of the classic Browning Hi-Power featuring exquisitely-detailed imitation wood grips. Thanks to ASG and MilSpec Solutions for prizes! Fancy owning this pair of vintage weapons? Answer the question below!

QUESTION: In which of these ﬁlms will you NOT ﬁnd a Sten MKII? Pan’s Labyrinth Dr. No

■ ■

■ Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me ■ The Eagle Has Landed

Post your entry to: Sten/Hi-Power Competition, Airsoft Action, Blaze Publishing, Lawrence House, Morrell Street, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV32 5SZ. Or, email your entries to competition@blazepublishing.co.uk, quoting ‘Sten/Hi-Power Competition’ in the headline. Entries received after 10 May 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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THE WARGAMES CENTRE SITE REVIEW

In his quest to review every site in Scotland Baz Collins heads back to one of his favourites – Ardeer’s Wargames Centre

he Wargames Centre, just outside the town of Ardeer in Ayrshire, has been around for just over a year now. It is one of the best CQB sites in Scotland – with a twist! Instead of the usual ‘ofﬁce’ room style CQB building, the guys at the Wargames Centre have created an indoors street with loads of props. I will point out from the start that Ardeer (as the regulars call it) is my main site and I play here a lot. The Wargames Centre is on the east coast of Scotland roughly 35 miles from Glasgow

city centre. It’s just outside the town of Ardeer in an active industrial estate. There are plenty of shops just a few minutes down the road, including a McDonald’s – perfect for some serious refuelling after playing here! The Wargames Centre is open most days for private and corporate games as well as the regular walk-ons every fortnight and Tuesday night games each week. This is a dedicated airsoft site so you won’t end up covered in paint or anything like that. Arriving at the site you are greeted by a large car park which has active roads – no huge pot holes and ruined suspension here.

The Safe Zone is located within the building which has functioning toilets and charge stations which are free to use if you run out of juice mid-game. The safety brieﬁng is like most other sites’ concerning general health and safety and rules for the day. One thing I really love about this site is the chronoing rule – all guns are chronoed and tagged to prove it; 328fps is the limit for the site and there are no exceptions. The bang rule doesn’t exist here, to try and keep things realistic. Ardeer is a large indoor arena set up to resemble a street. Buildings line each side,

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“On this particular day the fallback was brutal, fast and tiring. I wasn’t sure how I’d survive the whole day when I was knackered after the ﬁrst game!” tight multi-room areas, and several vehicles are strewn about including a single-decker bus. This site has had a hell of a lot of time and money invested and it really shows. The ﬁrst game of the day was a fallback game, one team pushing the other back

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to the kill house against the clock. This is a smashing game, probably the best warm-up I’ve played here. On this particular day the fallback was brutal, fast and tiring. I wasn’t sure I’d survive the whole day – I was knackered after the ﬁrst game!

After the warm-up the marshals told us that the new building across the road was open for play. I didn’t even know they had a second building – the guys at the Wargames Centre are always striving to expand the site and they really outdid themselves on this one. The new building is more like traditional CQB: tight corners, multi-level, office cubicles, and long corridors with multiple entrances/exits. The players were split from the main site, half went to the new building and later the other half would have the same chance. The first game in here was a bit more complicated: one team had two players with key cards (not real) which opened a room with a briefcase in it. The opposing team was to retrieve this briefcase and take it to the exfil point (front door). I was in the defending team, carrying a card and holed up on the upper level. The game was relatively quiet for me as I listened to the guys downstairs having a

huge firefight. Our teammates were slowly being picked off, leaving downstairs empty and allowing the OpFor to move up on us. I can genuinely say this was one of the best games I have ever played at any site – the amount of pistol kills I got in this one game is more than in all other games I’ve played combined. I was eventually taken out and my card was lost. The OpFor won that game but it took them almost a full hour to do so. With the benefit of hindsight the turn-around was swift – we took the objectives in under 20 minutes. At lunch I (along with almost the entire site – marshals included!) went right to McDonald’s and we occupied the shop. The games were discussed in great detail; all the guys who had never played in the second building were struck by how good it is. At the Wargame Centre you get the usual camaraderie that you find at most places, and again I think it’s one of the best aspects of our sport. After lunch we went back to the main building for ‘Casualty Evac’. The objective was to take the injured comrade (dummy on stretcher) to the evac point (mock-up chopper at the back of the site). Two players are needed to carry him and if they are hit while carrying he must be put down immediately. Regen rules were one hit

SITE REVIEW and back to respawn for attackers, while defenders had one medic life then back to respawn. This game was very difﬁcult: I was in the attackers and we got bogged down so much it was hard to move. This was probably the only bad game of the day for me, though in the turn-around the other team suffered the same fate and they too were bogged down. Neither side completed the objective, though I still got a fair amount of kills so I was happy! The last game of the day was a standard ‘cool-down’ in the form of a pistol/shottie game in the main site, nothing fancy. I was gubbed after this and already looking forward to my bed! The Wargames Centre offers CQB airsoft in a totally different way by allowing you to play a FIBUA-style indoors, which I love as I am a bit of a ‘weather softer’ and hate playing in the rain. If you’re not too far away then I strongly recommend a trip to this site, though it may be more suited to the seasoned player as it’s fast-paced, up-close and can be painful at times – but it’s all part of the experience! ■

THE WARGAMES CENTRE Stevenston, Ayrshire KA20 3LN Prices Walk-on: £20 Riﬂe hire: £25 (includes AEG, facemask and 3,000 BBs) Contact www.wargamescentre.com, 08456 434326

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AMBUSH ADVENTURES

OPERATION: STRONGHOLD I

f you have ever spent time living on Camp you will recognise how I felt as I drove through the entrance to Longmoor. It isn’t possible to put into words but you just know that you have crossed the invisible line between what is civilian and what is military – and Longmoor gives you that feeling in spades! I had been invited down to Longmoor to cover Ambush Adventures’ return to the Camp after a two-year hiatus and, with over a hundred players booked in, it promised to be a good day. Longmoor Camp’s history goes way back to Roman times when a camp was established at the intersection of three Roman roads, one of which is still in use within the camp today (although buried

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LONGMOOR CAMP Nige took a trip out to cover Ambush Adventures’ long-awaited return to Longmoor Camp under a few layers of gravel and tarmac). It was bought by the War Department in the mid-1880s; construction at Longmoor started in 1900 and led to two historic occurrences. During the initial construction phase materials used to build the Camp were transported from the local railway station at Bentley by traction engine, resulting in considerable damage to local roads and leading to the British Army’s ﬁrst trials of

pneumatically-tyred lorries. The second was due to the location of the camp, which was built on wet, marshy ground, and led to many complaints about the unhealthy effect on the infantry brigade stationed there. The decision was taken to move the troops to nearby Bordon Camp, including their accommodation. A railway track was constructed from Longmoor to Bordon and the barrack huts were lifted

GAME REPORT

whole onto trolleys to be pulled by teams of horses to the new site. In total 64 huts were moved this way over the three years from 1903 to 1906. Over subsequent years, the railway was extended such that it eventually ran from Oakhanger to Greatham and on to Liss to join with the British Rail mainline railway at Liss railway station. This was the only military railway line in Britain and was used until its closure in 1969.

Today, Longmoor is used predominantly as a training camp and many Cadet Units spend weekends here. It is also the home of a FIBUA (Fighting In Built Up Areas) training ground, complete with a small section of railway line (with three wagons still on it), an awesome tunnel complex and loads of buildings. The buildings are ex-married quarters (so not just breeze-block boxes arranged in lines to approximate a street)

while the addition of a maze of alleyways adds to the challenge of fighting here. Let’s face it, this place is used by regular guys (evidenced by the large number of used blank-firing cases that litter the area), so it makes for a wicked airsoft site! Ambush Adventures has been around for many years. I remember the company from back in the day when I was deeply involved in paintball. It was like coming full-circle to be back again after all this time. With sites at Chobham and Southampton, Ambush ran regular games at Longmoor up until a couple of years ago when the contract was given to a different company. Now that agreement has come to its end and Ambush is back. This was the first game in more than two years and over 100 players had turned up – some old, some new and all anticipating a great day’s airsofting. Ambush is run by Charlie James and if you’ve been to one of Charlie’s pre-game briefings you know he tells it like it is. No

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bang rule here, no hi-caps and deﬁnitely no cheating either. Charlie is still ‘in’ and runs his airsoft games as close as he can to the real thing, while serving up a huge dollop of entertainment and adrenaline to boot. To add a little spice today’s game was between The Brits and The Yanks, so friendly rivalry was the order of the day. With banter

already ﬂying the teams made their way out to the playing area and blasted out of their respawn areas at game on. Within seconds the chatter of airsoft weaponry was reverberating across the site, only drowned out by the friendly ‘encouragement’ from Dave, one of the marshals (and no, I wouldn’t tangle with him either!). Mindful of the ammo limitations players were being careful not to spray and pray, and seemed to be picking their shots with more care and accuracy (until the adrenaline kicked in, then all hell broke loose and any thoughts of restraint went to ratshit!). Dead players had to make their way to respawn, where a colour-coded clock indicated which team could re-enter the game and when. I was immediately struck (not by BBs!) by the level of honesty and fairness with which the game was being played. I saw players in good positions take a ‘lucky hit’ that their opposition could not possibly have seen and call themselves out and, although gun hits and ricochets were not counted, I saw more than one player take the hit in ‘50-50’ situations. No I wasn’t hit by BBs, but by something else… I like adrenalin. Whether it comes from moving through woodland with a

determined OpFor close by, or working around buildings where the slightest error can lead to the sting of a 6mm BB, it makes you feel alive – although it is a rare thing to get the same feeling as a spectator rather than a participant. As editor of Airsoft Action I have been privileged to find myself in quite a few ‘adrenalised’ situations and this was most certainly one to add to that list. The sheer enthusiasm of both players and marshalling staff, coupled with the area itself, makes for an infectious cocktail of fast-paced, non-stop airsoft action where first one side then the other gains the upper hand before being pushed back again. If you could bottle the atmosphere and sell it you would make a fortune! I won’t go into a blow-by-blow account of each game; suffice to say that Charlie had put together a package guaranteeing maximum play with minimum down-time and after a short break for lunch players couldn’t wait to get back at it again. To keep them on their toes, a different game and objective awaited the teams in the afternoon. Beyond the rows of houses, alongside a clearing bordered by a semi-derelict house, rubble and trees, stands an ‘Afghan

“Within seconds the chatter of airsoft weaponry reverberated across the site, only drowned out by the friendly ‘encouragement’ coming from Dave, one of the marshals”

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GAME REPORT

Compound’. It is constructed, as would be expected, of sand-ﬁlled walls protected by razor-wire surrounding the central area, with over-watch positions at the corners and a protected entrance. Starting their line of defence at the furthermost row of houses, the defending team would slowly fall back (when hit) to the next row and then the next, until they had collapsed back to the compound. The attacking team’s objective was simple: push them back into and take the compound. The attackers were not allowed to assault the next objective until the current one had been cleared and the defenders were not allowed to ﬁre on the attacking side until

the next phase of the assault began. This made for some very, very intense gameplay, where having just one more Mk5 in your pouch could be the difference between successfully clearing a house or not! One of the many moments of the day came when an attacking player charged gallantly into the compound entrance, completely failing to notice the trip-wire attached to a forward-facing claymore… which failed to detonate! With light starting to fade and the temperature dropping again it was time to wrap up

the day and head home. Who won? Do you know, I forgot to ask but I don’t honestly think anyone cared. What mattered was that everyone had had a brilliant day. There were so few people in the Safe Zone that even Ratty, who had set up his mobile BadgerTac Shop, had come out to watch the action. If ever there was an indicator as to how much the players were enjoying themselves, that might just be it! ■

AMBUSH ADVENTURES See our Site Directory (p102) for Ambush Adventures’ site locations Many thanks to Charlie and all the guys and gals from Ambush for a truly excellent day. At the time of writing, the next date at Longmoor (14 April) is already fully booked, although there are still a few places available for Operation Hell Fire on 20 May priced at £40 game fee with a £10 deposit required. Contact 01252 315225, www.ambushairsoft.com

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KING ARMS/BLACKWATER

BW15 SNIPER RIFLE

Ron Mahoney was looking for an SDM riﬂe when he came across this uncommon AR platform – but how does it perform?

first saw the King Arms BW15 late last year. I was looking at putting together a Squad Designated Marksman (SDM) rifle, either from off-the-shelf or by building one from scratch. I had looked at many variants out there and was probably heading towards an M14 platform when I happened upon a banner on the website of Huddersfield’s airsoft armoury, Patrol Base. I did a little bit of homework into the real-steel versions, and how pleased King Arms/Cybergun were to gain the Blackwater

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license and how faithful the two companies would be to the original. I decided I’d give the BW15 a whirl. With any licensing deal, the company who wants to use the trademark and license has to sit down and work out how much value and kudos the name that they are licensing is worth. For example, if a company

making a breakfast cereal wants to stick a Disney character on the front it is going to cost them a damn sight more than a picture of the Chuckle Brothers; the whole point about licensing is that the identity or name being licensed helps sell more products. Why am I telling you this? Well, the licensing bods at King Arms/Cybergun must be wondering just what they signed off for when, in February 2009, Blackwater announced that it would be changing its

THE ARMOURY

“The ﬁrst thing that strikes you about this package is how well everything was originally balanced. Starting at the back you have probably the best butt on the planet today – with the exception of Carol Vorderman’s, of course!” name to Xe Services as part of a companywide restructuring plan. Sure, there is still a dedicated company pushing the BW brand, but was this how King Arms and Cybergun really envisaged the deal? And does this explain why this riﬂe – which should be a very attractive package – isn’t very widely available?

Real-steel history The BW15 was conceived by the Blackwater Armoury in 2006, when a new team of armourers was assembled to build a ﬁrearms repair centre to support Blackwater’s training. They were also tasked with modifying Bushmaster carbines to the requirements of deployed contractors. This team included a

retired US Navy special warfare armourer, a combat-decorated US Marine armoury chief and a retired law enforcement armourer. They started to put together an ideal platform based on their experience of what worked and what most commonly failed in the AR platform. This experience led to a number of systems that were made available to the shooting public at large, and offered as the ultimate tailor-made AR system. It was backed up with excellent service; if you wanted it, Blackwater could build it. The BW15 soon gained a faithful following and good reports in the US shooting press. If you search for Blackwater sniper riﬂe on your favourite search engine you will see

many ﬁne examples of civilian riﬂes lovingly (and no doubt expensively) furnished with top-notch optics and accessories. Funnily enough, there’s not many pictures of the BW15 in active service!

King Arms build quality The first thing to say is that the name ‘sniper’ rifle is pretty much a misnomer as far as this rifle is concerned – it is an out-and-out marksman’s rifle. With the ability to select both semi and full-auto and firing at around 360fps from the box you might be wondering why anyone would bother with this oversize M4. The first thing that strikes you about this package is how well everything was originally

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balanced. Starting at the back you have probably the best butt on the planet today – with the exception of Carol Vorderman’s, of course! The Magpul PTS PRS stock is the most versatile and adjustable on the market today and has the advantage of being readily available, unlike many of the highlyspecialised alternatives from bespoke gunsmiths. In case you’ve never used the stock it is very simple to adjust for both length of pull and the height of the cheekpiece, so you can attain the perfect sight alignment. The stock holds the tubular LiPo battery, which in mine is an 800mAh 7.4v which I tend to swap out at half-time during a day; you could probably get a full day (especially if using the trigger sparingly and in semi-auto as an SDM should be) but I err on the side of caution, especially with LiPo batteries. Moving forward you have the removable rear sight mounted on the upper receiver top rail, and then everything is pretty much basic M4 layout. Note the right-hand fire selector is false and doesn’t move. Dropping down is the ‘sniper’ style PSG pistol grip which I’m not a great fan of, and I don’t really think it brings a great deal to the party. It looks good but I can count the number of times I’ve used the BW15 prone and under range-like conditions on one gloved hand. The Blackwater logo and an individual serial number are laser etched onto the side of the magazine well. The rifle has a CNC aluminium 350mm free-floating handguard with three 90mm rails and a lower 210mm rail, on which I have mounted both a bipod and vertical grip. Floating inside the grip is a 480mm one piece outer barrel finished with a very practicallooking flash-hider. The foldable front sight is attached to the barrel and a false gas tube projects back into the stock. If I had one gripe about the overall package it would be that the V2 gearbox is a bit too noisy for something branded a sniper rifle; King Arms could have considered making the action a bit quieter. I’m pretty sure that the whole range has the same internals as there is also a CQB and carbine version BW15. Apart from a few lock-ups in semi-auto mode I would have to say that the performance of the rifle has been what you’d expect from an AEG at around the £370 mark.

Centre-mass results Centre-mass target results were recorded on a day with a really harsh crosswind blowing

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down the range. Our 100 yard lane has trees and bushes along the right-hand-side that offer a bit of protection but the wind was swirling through them. It wasn’t the best day to get an accurate picture of what the BW15 is capable of, but I decided to publish the results as we don’t always play in perfect conditions and, considering the high winds, I think they are pretty damn impressive. I did want to try the BW15 out to 60 yards but I was aiming that far right of the target that it was out of the scope picture at 6x zoom. I ﬁred 30 shots with .25 BB Bastards at each of the given ranges and the results were as follows:

CENTRE-MASS TARGET HITS Distance (yards)

Hits (semi-auto)

Hits (full-auto)

I’ll probably do a test on a day with far less wind and bring the results to Airsoft Action readers at a later date.

Skirmishing I added a 3.5-10x40 MK2 scope on top and an over-barrel silencer to give it a bit of an SR25 look. This has also helped quieten the action down a little. I tend to hang back when playing in an SDM role, and ﬁnd it more satisfying to be ﬁring single-shot or double-tapping at the enemy. I can certainly compete with most AEGs on the park. The hop-up is easily adjusted via the locking bolt-catch. Recently I caught the T-bar charging handle and snapped part of the mechanism which led to me over-extending

the return spring. I just took the cover out and now keep the dust cover closed. Apart from that rough and tumble the BW15 has served me well and I’ve enjoyed many a longrange engagement with the snipers on the opposition, with the advantage that I can go quickly to full-auto burst should I need it.

Summary I wouldn’t think that either Blackwater’s or King Arms’/Cybergun’s future profits would be affected by the licensing arrangements – if anything it was probably a shrewd move for all parties. As I’ve pointed out it is certainly not a sniper rifle, at least not in the military sense (maybe Blackwater’s PMC and security work brought about this designation). If you are looking into the longer M4 or M16 style rifle like the SR25 you might want to have a good look at the BW15 – and as far as the UK goes you’d be joining a pretty exclusive club. ■

SPECIFICATIONS BW15 Manufactured by King Arms Blackwater trademarks used with Cybergun’s permission Weight: 3,640g Length: 990mm (stock retracted); 1,015mm (stock extended) Inner barrel length: 509mm Construction: Aluminium and polymer Gearbox: V2 Battery: Stock tube LiPo Velocity: ~360fps Price: £370 Available now from Patrol Base: 01484 644709, www.patrolbase.co.uk

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It’s hard, it’s fast and it’s full of adrenalin. Danny P looks at the basics of ﬁghting in an urban environment

FIGHTING IN BUILT UP AREAS T

hroughout history we have seen the effects of bombardment on cities, often reducing them to piles of ash and rubble. Yet defenders will always find a place to hide and strike from, often using guerrilla tactics to increase the rate of attrition among the attacking forces. The only way to remove the defenders is street by street, building by building and room by room. Fighting in built up areas (FIBUA) is one of the most physically and mentally demanding types of combat to face a modern soldier. With more MOD urban sights becoming available to airsofters it puts a whole new spin on the tactics players have learnt in a woodland game environment. What I am going to do is briefly explain some basic elements of FIBUA, concentrating on movement towards a building and then an attack on that building. What you must remember is that a built up area offers excellent cover and concealment for both the attacker and the defender. The defender does have the

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SKILLS ROOM Once the outside of the building has been secured you will need to determine how many floors the building has and enter through the lowest floor, to start clearing from the ground up. Wherever possible, it will be a four-man team split down into two assault groups with a covering fire team outside. If you can imagine a ground floor with three rooms, a grenade will be posted through the entry point by the assault group, who follow immediately after it has exploded. Immediately after room one has been cleared by assault group one, assault group advantage though, as the attacker must expose themselves to move through the area and approach any buildings. Also, while approaching the target the attackers may not be able to locate enemy fire coming from within buildings due to the fact that most shooters will not expose themselves at windows or doors. The attacker has to think in three dimensions while the defender only has to focus on what he sees in front of him. There are many other variables that will affect your ability to approach the target, everything from smoke and dust collecting in the street to sound echoing between the buildings, making it difficult to identify where these sounds have come from. Once you have made it to your target area and selected the buildings to be attacked you must then start to sweep through them. This is where these types of operations become labour and time intensive, as every building must be cleared thoroughly, room by room. This is where teamwork, communication and, more often than not, a big bag of pyros come in handy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; nothing clears a room more quickly than a grenade through the window! How you clear a building often depends on the type of building and the available assets. Many of you might have seen a film with a helicopter dropping a team on the roof and the team working down, clearing as they go. It has been proven that it is easier to work down to clear, rather than having to fight up a building. Obviously there arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t too many helicopters available in airsoft so we have to do this the hard way!

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“This is where teamwork, communication and, more often than not, a big bag of pyros come in handy – nothing clears a room more quickly than a grenade through the window!” two will follow and clear room two in the same manner. Assault group one will then follow through and clear room three – and it’s all done in the same way as the initial entry. As most FIBUA involving normal forces does not involve friendlies (hostages), all targets identified within the building should be treated as hostile and put down (unless your intelligence briefing has identified civilians in the area). Commonsense comes into play here. Once the ground floor has been cleared (assuming the building has more than one floor) the next problem arises: staircases. Mounting a staircase is really quite simple: it must be done while being covered by one of your oppos. One of you moves to the first landing while being covered by your opposite number. You then provide cover for them while they move past you and up to the next landing/

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floor. They then stop and wait for you to re-join them and then your room clearance drills come back into play. Now this may seem like I am teaching many of you to suck eggs. Although many of you know how to do this and have done it many times in games, I have seen a building taken by players who do not want to continue forward and would rather sit tight in a building and (in effect) become a defender. Objectives are often lost because of the inability to give up a building once taken. FIBUA is all about surprise, speed and aggression. The quicker and faster you are the better you can surprise the enemy, and an aggressive nature (using grenades and speeding through the buildings) often enables you to take more buildings and achieve objectives. With recent conflicts in mind, much combat now takes place in urban

environments whether it be the streets of Iraq or the compounds of Afghanistan. FIBUA plays a major part in any soldier’s career nowadays. Luckily for airsofters who want to experience FIBUA many of the MOD training sites that have now become available have some form of built-up area as part of the site, such as Longmoor, Catterick and of course Copehill Down. Learning or honing these skills can only enhance your gameplay and make you a more successful player in urban environments. Many of the airsoft companies using MOD sites offer some form of training package which, if you are interested in learning how to do the drills properly, I highly recommend. Soldiers train continually for this type of fighting – and given the style of warfare we have seen in recent years they are likely to carry on for some while to come. ■

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TAB GEAR Mike Buttrick gets hands on with TAB Gear equipment to ﬁnd out how useful this real-steel kit is to the airsoft world

KIT REVIEW

AB Gear is little known in the UK. Popular with military operators, particularly snipers, it is made in the USA by a small company. Its products are developed alongside military and Special Forces personnel to ensure they actually work in the roles they are designed for. Airsoft Action recently stumbled upon TAB and Sporting Services kindly loaned us a few things to see if they would work for the airsoft market: TAB Gear Riﬂe Cover, Tab Gear Tactical Sling (with Fastex buckles), Tab Gear Standard Sling (without Fastex buckles) and the TAB Gear Rear Bag. Following the Airsoft Action ethos – that kit reviews should be conducted by actually using the kit in the manner that it was designed for – I was charged with the task of taking these items to a game so that each could be put through its paces. So, how good was the kit?

RIFLE COVER PRICE: £120 Right, so this one was a bit of a bugger – Airsoft Action had requested the small size cover. I looked at it and thought it would be too small for use as a gun bag, but first impressions are often wrong and on this occasion I am happy to admit that the cover clearly does have a purpose. A few moments on Google led me to www.riflesonly.com, the producer of TAB Gear in America, and the official TAB Gear instruction videos. The informative video showed the cover in action in the manner it was intended to be used – transportation of, and quick access to a single rifle. This bag allows a rifle

to be stored and carried in a safe and comfortable manner but also allows quick access so that the gun can be brought to

action quickly. The bag is made of high-quality 1000D Cordura Nylon in a multicam pattern; the webbing is 1in milspec and the rapid access comes through effective positioning and use of Fastex buckles. The look and feel is very professional and even a quick glance will confirm that the quality and workmanship of the cover will not let you down – from the thickness of the material to the multilayered stitching I don’t see this cover breaking quickly. The only negatives that I could find with the cover were that the length is only suited to shorter models of rifle (though a long cover is available too, for barrel lengths up to 27in). I sometimes snipe with a G36 and this cover will only just fit one. The bag is designed to allow a bipod to be opened so that the gun can be stood in ready position with the cover on – but this will only work with a forward folding bipod unless the rear folding bipod is attached to a much smaller gun.

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TACTICAL SLING PRICE: £67 This sling is made up of three individual sections (one with an adjustment loop), an HK hook at each end and 1.5in Nexus Fastex buckles connecting the middle segment to each end segment. At first the design looks unusual, but makes sense when you know the sling was designed to allow the user to get out of the sling quickly. It is also designed to enable a rifle to be quickly and safely removed from an injured shooter – perhaps not such an issue in airsoft! Again this is exceptionally well-made from high-quality webbing and buckles, with strong multilayered stitching. I have no doubts that this sling would last a particularly long time even given regular use in harsh environments. I used this sling for much of the day and found it comfortable and easy to use, and it was easily capable of supporting the weight of a full-length battle rifle. A major benefit of this sling is that the HK hooks can be replaced with heavy duty swivels or flush cup swivel attachments if needed.

Though pricey, the TAB Tactical Sling is regularly used to dangle real-steel riﬂes worth well over £5,000 so will have no

bother keeping your airsoft weapon safe and to hand. Available in OD, black and coyote.

two in the context of use with airsoft AEGs, mainly due to its simplicity and ease of use. The HK hooks can again be replaced with heavy duty swivels or ﬂush cup swivel attachments. There’s not an awful lot to add to what I’ve already said – for the money you’re guaranteed a sling that will probably outlast your weapon (and the next one,

and the next one…). A 3in-thick section at the rear of the sling can also be used as a rest if needed. Available in OD, black and coyote.

STANDARD SLING PRICE: £50

This is a far more streamlined sling that comes as one-piece, ﬁtted with an HK hook at each end and an adjustment loop in the centre. It is made of the same highquality, industrial-grade webbing with multilayered stitching. The Standard Sling was very comfortable and easy to use, and in my opinion it is probably the better of the

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KIT REVIEW

REAR BAG PRICE: £20

I will admit I was confused when I took this out the box. First glance had me convinced that it was a military version of a wheatie bag that is used to relieve muscle pain – but again the manufacturer’s videos showed me the error of my ways. This product is designed to be versatile and act as a ﬁring rest/support for your riﬂe, allowing for stability and accuracy when shooting – it

can be used to rest the barrel upon or to provide a height adjustment for the riﬂe butt when you are laying down to take a shot. Again this is made from 1000D Cordura Nylon in a multicam pattern and has multilayered stitching. It contains highquality beads which allow the shape of the bag to be altered. It also has a small loop of webbing on the rear and a longer loop on

the front so that the bag can be attached to a bipod. Although made to a high-quality standard, and a very novel piece of equipment, I would question the need for one in the realms of airsoft where accuracy is not as imperative as in the real world of marksmanship. I would also point out that again this item is not suitable for use with all AEGs, as it would not ﬁt over the stock of a G36 and was not easy to ﬁt over the bipod on the same AEG.

TAB Gear is very well-made and thoughtout. Some of the kit will be more useful than others in the realms of airsoft but all were of the highest quality, and the price is a reﬂection of this. To be honest I think the price of all the kit seen here is more than fair when you consider the length of service it will undoubtedly provide.

SPORTING SERVICES Many thanks to Sporting Services for supplying the TAB Gear kit on test here. Contact: 01342 716427, www.sportingservices.co.uk TAB Gear manufactured by: www.riﬂesonly.com

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FIRST SKIRMISH Trying to decide if airsoft’s for you? Get yourself booked on an open day – veteran airsofter Gareth ‘Gadge’ Harvey explains everything you need to know

ou’ve booked in on your first open day; it’s a week away but you’re raring to go already. You’ve seen all the amazing shots on the internet and in Airsoft Action of battle-ready airsofters decked out in awesome military kit – but what do you really need to take with you to your first skirmish? For this article I’ll be looking at a hypothetical visit to a woodland skirmish site that caters for first time players and is able to provide the basics of eye protection, hire gun and ammo. It’s worth checking first as not all sites can, or will provide these basics! As said we’ll work on the premise that your first site is a woodland one. It might be an urban arena, in which case most of the following advice still holds and where possible I’ll mention the urban alternative.

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Open day? An open day is the grass roots of airsoft. Usually it’s one or two days a month where the airsoft site opens itself to all comers. Some players will be new to the sport like yourself, others may have been playing for years and have come along to test out their latest bit of kit or gun before going away on some hardcore SAS-style weekender; either way everyone’s there to have fun. Don’t be put off by the guys fully trickedout and looking like they’ve walked out of Modern Warfare. They won’t necessarily be any better than you – it’s quite possible to have all the gear but no idea. Most open days are broken up into a morning and afternoon session divided by lunch. Over the course of each session you’ll play three to ﬁve ‘battles’ over different parts of the site such as ‘capture the ﬂag’ ‘recover

the ammo’, ‘rescue the downed pilot’ and suchlike. There will be a fair amount of running about and shouting involved – and you just might get shot a bit too!

The essentials Strong boots or shoes are a must. Trainers just don’t cut it and you might even ﬁnd you lose your best Nikes in a particularly stinky marsh. Wear something with good grip, ankle support and durability for a day’s skirmishing – nothing will ruin your day quicker than a destroyed trainer or a twisted ankle. The only other thing you really need to take is old clothes for exactly the same reason. While not essential it’s a good idea to take a spare set of clothes to travel home in, and some wet wipes and a towel to save spending the next day cleaning out the inside of the car!

GAME REPORT STARTING OUT

“Don’t be put off by the guys fully tricked-out and looking like they’ve walked out of Modern Warfare. They won’t necessarily be any better than you – it’s quite possible to have all the gear but no idea” That’s the basics, but it doesn’t hurt to take a few cheap extras with you. For a start food and drink are a must. While most sites’ open days provide a buffet or BBQ lunch, many can’t or won’t so it’s worth checking and potentially bringing something to eat at the midday break. At the very least take some high-energy snack bars or chocolate bars and a bottle of water – you’d be surprised how much you sweat during a skirmish, even in winter.

The good food guide In fact, hydration is paramount. While you can ‘get by’ with a bottle of water in the Safe Zone it’s a good idea to take a bottle out onto the field with you for a slurp between games. You don’t need anything as exotic as a camelback just yet (who knows, you might hate airsoft and never go again) but an old army surplus plastic water bottle in a belt pouch or haversack is cheap, effective and not likely to soak you by exploding the first time you dive onto it like a bottle of mineral water will! To be honest you can’t take enough water, especially in summer. One handy tip is to fill

your water bottles with ice cubes as well as water to keep it cool all day long. Food wise, take something that’s quick and easy. If you have to cook it then make sure it can be done in minutes. The lunch break might only be half an hour and you don’t want everyone hanging about waiting for you to finish cooking up a Jamie Oliver masterpiece in the car park. Although pretty useless nutritionally, Pot Noodles and the like are fine for a quick fill-up (as long as you have hot water), but camping store ready meals are excellent and only cost a few quid more. Some folk like army ration packs – but to be honest they are in the scope of an entire article of their own.

Clothing Old, comfy, practical clothing is the key. While the site can usually provide overalls you have to bear in mind that at best these will have been worn and (hopefully) washed hundreds of times – at worst they will be using old army nuclear warfare suits. These are hot and sweaty in winter, let alone summer, so it’s never a bad idea to take your own jacket and trousers. Any neutral green/brown/tan/grey

shades will work well, and for urban games aim for black/greys/blues; don’t worry about having expensive camo kit as you don’t really need it. If you’re dead set on your own fatigues for your ﬁrst event then I heartily recommend used German army Flecktarn or British DPM (Disruptive Pattern Material) combats from your local army surplus store. Both patterns are equally good in British woodland (and red-brick-based urban sites for that matter) and are cheap and hardwearing. We will look at your ﬁrst kit purchases in a later article though.

Always use protection Most sites will provide you with safe and secure eye protection – I strongly recommend you use the protection provided. Standard eye protection is usually a fullfacemask with a mesh visor. These have two advantages: ﬁrstly the mesh wont fog up and leave you blind until they demist, like shooting glasses can; and second they usually have a lower section to protect your mouth against BBs which have been known to break exposed teeth. In the pages of

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this magazine and on the internet you’ll see hundreds of airsofters who have opted to wear more minimal protection (such as a pair of shooting glasses or goggles on their own) – these airsofters are much more used to the game and usually have their own strategy for protecting their teeth (even if it’s as simple as pulling a scarf up over their mouth or wearing a boxer’s mouth shield). For your ﬁrst few games it’s worth wearing a full-facemask until you assess how safe you feel without one. A pair of cheap wool or leather gloves can be handy (no pun intended!). In summer they can protect you from annoying insect bites, nettle stings and thorns, and in winter they are just as useful as nothing stings quite like a BB hit to a cold hand! What you don’t need are helmets, kneepads, body armour or anything like that. I’d say that in airsoft, 90 per cent of these are worn by experienced players purely for the

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‘look’ of their load-out, and are not something you need to worry about until you’ve decided airsoft is for you.

Staying alive Airsoft isn’t dangerous. Well, that is it shouldn’t be if you take normal sensible precautions, hydrate properly, wear the required face protection and don’t do anything really stupid (like playing while drunk or under the inﬂuence of less savory substances). Remember that it’s still possible to be a bit drunk the morning after a heavy drinking session… if you’re too hungover to drive or eat, you’re probably too hung over to skirmish. What’s more important, however, is to bear in mind any medical conditions you have and how these might affect you as well as the site staff and other skirmishers around you. Take asthma for example: while not normally a problem for most airsofters

it is always a good idea to let those around you know where your inhaler is in case you have an attack and simply can’t breath well enough to tell anyone! Many sites will require you to inform them of any health issues and keep any specialist medication in a particular pocket – but it never hurts to be prepared.

Best ‘til last… guns! It’s probably the reason you’re attracted to airsoft in the first place, and the reason you’re reading this: the bewildering proliferation of cool-looking BB chuckers out there! So the first bit of advice for choosing your first gun for your first skirmish is don’t! Nearly all sites providing an open day for skirmishers will provide hire guns. It’s a good idea to take advantage of this for the first few games to find out which model suits you the best. We’ll look at ‘What’s the bestest gun ever?’ in a later article – for now it’s probably best to consider the ‘look’ of the gun and try out a few wildly different styles. While you might love the look of the Steyr AUG you might never get used to the bullpup configuration (magazine behind the trigger); similarly you might be mad for the US M4 carbine but find that in reality you prefer the Russian AK47 with it’s massive hi-cap magazines. It really is all down to personal choice at the end of the day, but it makes sense to try as many hire guns as you can to find out what ‘fits’ you best. If you go to the first skirmish with a mate who is also hiring it might well be worth taking different types and swapping guns half way through. An important thing to remember about using your hire gun is to have realistic expectations. Many people spurred on by movies, computer games and even real life army experience open fire at a tempting target 100m away and are dismayed to find their enemy still firing back. The truth is the effective range of most airsoft guns is nowhere near as far as you think it is. Firing too early wastes ammo and gives away your position, and can lead to accusations that the other side is ‘not taking their hits’ when in reality the ‘hits’ fell short a good 10m before their position. So hopefully, armed with these words, you‘re a little more prepared to take your first steps into the exciting world of airsoft. In future issues we’ll look at choosing your first combat gear and also some key points to consider when choosing your first gun. ■

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THE 35MM MAC The MAC-10 may not be beastly in size but it most certainly is in stature – and never underestimate its ability to ﬁll you with holes. Jay Slater recounts the ultimate SMG’s history in the real world, ﬁlm and airsoft

nake Plissken was to blame. Kurt Russell’s grizzled anti-hero from John Carpenter’s Escape from New York (1981) used the MAC-10 to good effect. The ridiculously small weapon overshadowed by a mammoth silencer and impractical scope made a lasting impression on this writer in the early VHS days: it spat death, destruction and looked über stylish. Hell, even the legendary Isaac Hayes couldn’t wait to get his hands on it. And who could have blamed him? As a short-range submachine gun, the MAC-10 and MAC-11 are iconic and unbeatable, their simplicity of design and construction key to decades of success.

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Reliable, compact and fun, it’s a manstopper at 25 yards and chews bullets with abandon. Fitted with an impressive silencer it’s no wonder that ﬁlm studios and videogame developers took a shine to the MAC. From Charles Bronson in Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1984), Arnold Schwarzenegger in Last Action Hero (1993), Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction (1994) and Nicholas Cage in Bangkok Dangerous (2008), the MAC laid waste to thousands. For the ultimate MAC fantasy, Invasion USA (1985) is hard to beat with Chuck Norris as a one-man army, the ﬁnal reel spattered in crimson and cordite. After spraying commie punks with a double MAC rig – without

suppressors – Norris despatches lead nasty Richard Lynch with a bazooka. No body bag necessary. However, that’s Hollywood for you. A film star can fire a MAC one-handed on full-auto while riding a motorbike at 100mph, but in real life, dump a whole magazine without a good grip and you’ll be spraying bullets everywhere but the target. Same goes for firing a MAC sideways on full-auto – forget it, it’s not going to happen. Cinema gangsters can, but you try it and the gun will snake up and sideways. And MACs can be fired in each hand on full-auto? Chuck Norris can do it, but you can’t. Find out the hard way that controlling either gun is almost impossible.

ICONIC WEAPONS

The MAC in history Gordon Ingram designed the MAC-10 in 1965 – hence the ‘Ingram’ moniker – with production commencing in 1970. The MAC, an acronym for Military Armament Corporation, embodied the spirit of making personal weapons smaller, more compact and less expensive. The open bolt MAC-10 was offered to the US military during the Vietnam War for special operations but was criticised – its small size and extremely high rate of fire made it impractical. To compensate for the excessive muzzle climb on full-auto, a number of MACs were fitted with a foregrip. This continued to be awkward in the field so an efficient Sionics Two-Stage Sound Suppressor was found, a suitable solution allowing the weapon to be operated with both hands. Once cured of its muzzle climb issue the MAC-10 was appreciated by CIA and SEAL units for its efficiency, rate of fire – over 1,000 rounds per minute – and ability to easily pepper bad guys with lead. The MAC-10 and MAC-11 differ only in use of cartridge type, weight and barrel. Both have their advantages and disadvantages according to preference. The earlier design was made of thick stamped metal and is deemed more comfortable in stock form due to its heavier weight and slower rate of fire. It is also the larger weapon of the two, and at about 1.5x times larger than a Colt M1911 pistol it packs an atomic amount of fire wallop in a tidy package. The MAC-10 can be a devilish handful in stock configuration. Those without experience can be suddenly overwhelmed by its tendency to swing and spiral wildly in operation, but with some customisation the older MAC – known as Fat Mac – is an impressive bullet hose. The MAC-11 is lighter in construction with a heavier barrel, many

Bruce Willis as Butch Coolidge with a suppressed MAC-10, in Pulp Fiction (1994)

“MACs can be fired in each hand on full-auto? Chuck Norris can do it, but you can’t” available upgrades and peripherals and is armed with an astonishing rate of fire with 1,600 bullets gone in 60 seconds. Remember to aim low and cut it in half. One reason the MAC-11 is so popular with armed forces and bad guys is that its operation is so simple that functional problems are rare. It is notoriously known as the most reliable submachine gun ever made. Considering its size it packs a lot of firepower and with upgrades will outperform the MP5.

That said, the sights and trigger assembly are crude, the stock is known to collapse during firing and there are reports of poor craftsmanship. Also, its extreme rate of fire and lightweight build makes controllability a problem. And the MAC-11 feasts on bullets. With an appetite that beats Vanessa Feltz into bloody submission, 16-round, 30-round and a 72-round drum kit mags are available although there are many conversions on the market. The MAC-11 was later refined with the Cobray M11/9. Optimised for the 9x19mm round, it featured a horrible plastic mag and was looked down upon by the US gun community who referred to it as ‘the Chevette of submachine guns’. Steven Seagal thought differently, though, in Under Siege (1992). MACs are found throughout the world, notably in civil war zones, urban crime – a drive-by shooting favourite – and South America, where they are much appreciated. Compact, tidy and deadly, the MAC is hardly a long-range weapon of suppression: it was designed to kill at close quarters and rip people to shreds, and it does so admirably. For a MAC-11 in the US, prices range between $3,500-4,000. Expect to pay around £130 for an airsoft equivalent in the UK.

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manufactured by HFC, Well and KSC. Arguably, the latter is the more reliable shooter. But all three suffer from an internal gremlin that will sooner or later fail: a plastic bolt. The ofﬁcially licensed Cobray M11 is produced by ASG (manufactured by KWA), which holds the worldwide license for Cobray Company. With improved internals – and ﬁnally a metal bolt – ASG’s offering is a real beast.

KWA MAC-11 NS2 ASG’s Cobray-licensed M11 with double stacked 40-round mag

The airsoft MAC “Daddy would have gotten us Uzis.” Night of the Comet (1984) The MAC is fairly well represented in airsoft, although only one can be recommended. A recent model is the Umarex TF11 MAC-11. Powered by a CO2 bulb its power and rate of ﬁre are bombastic; however it feels cheap and tacky, and surprisingly lacks a stock. Nice try baby, but no cigar. Tokyo Marui’s MAC-10 is electric powered. As an AEP it is more reliable in frosty temperatures. It is versatile in terms of looks as well as ease of use and beneﬁts from the rubber stamped approval of internal TM workmanship. But it’s not full-metal, suffering from lightweight plastic and a toy-like silencer with a visible seam line – and the hardcore airsoft veteran would question the need for a 480-round magazine. Where’s the realism? When it comes to brute strength and authenticity, gas power is hard to beat. Increasingly reliable in cold weather gas guns appear menacing, are less prone to malfunction, satisfying to shoot and feel so good. For the gas hog, the MAC-11 is

Tokyo Marui’s electric-powered MAC-10 with suppressor and hi-cap 480-round magazines

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Even before venturing onto the field, eyes of the enemy were focused on the KWA MAC-11 NS2. They were fearful, and for good reason. It means business and looks seriously intimidating. Welcome to the kingpin of MAC11s. The NS2 system with its magnesium bolt is extremely reliable, allowing superior gas efficiency, faster cycling and crisper blowback. It is accurate and can be used in both CQB and woodland. Such is the excellence of its build quality that this MAC-11 can be used as a primary if one has a fistful of magazines. The gun has an excellent balance to it and is very comfortable to hold. The receiver is a sturdy, high-quality polymer and everything else is metal. If the airsoft world went post-apocalyptic overnight, this would be the weapon of choice. The KWA looks the part and feels great – the rate of fire is criminally insane at 30 rounds per second. Yes, the 50-round magazine will be exhausted in less than two seconds. In other words it’s a beast and a sniper’s best friend. Just cocking this MAC-11 is sheer nirvana and gets the blood racing as it rams home with a gleeful clack. On inserting the magazine the inner-power and confidence this gun gives is undeniable. I used the KWA in anger for the first time at a recent skirmish. Preferring to play a sniper, an

The original KWA MAC-11, the M11A1 NS1, suffered from poor internals; the ofﬁciallylicensed NS2 version solved these issues

unfortunate chap came too close. He had to be taken out. I decided to let rip with the MAC-11, my sidearm. I let him have it with a whole mag. The open bolt released an impressive plume of spent gas on blowback and the sound was a deafening saw of power. The MAC-11 rocked with satanic rage side to side, up and down, a possessed ﬁend as .25 BBs screamed towards the surprised foe, his body buckling under the ferocity of the payload. Despite the range it must have hurt. As the dead man limped to join his deceased brethren, all were curious; one asked: “What was it like to be shot with the MAC-11?” That’s how good the KWA MAC-11 NS2 is. Chuck Norris, move aside, if you please. ■

DID YOU KNOW? For Escape from New York, Carpenter’s influence for the glider landing on a roof of the World Trade Center may have been the Gran Sasso raid by crack SS troops in 1943. On Hitler’s orders, elite paratroopers landed nine gliders on the roof of the Campo Imperatore Hotel. Storming the complex armed with MP40s. Italian dictator Mussolini was freed without firing a shot, much to Hitler’s delight who exploited the daring operation as propaganda. Also, in Carpenter’s film, a passenger jet crashes into one of the Twin Towers. Cut to 9/11...

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This issue Gadge Harvey recreates the Fallschirmjägerbataillon 5 – hunters from the sky – of the National Peoples’ Army of East Germany

COLD WAR WARRIOR

EAST GERMAN FALLSCHIRMJÄGERBATAILLON

t is surprising, for a country so instrumental in pioneering airborne warfare, that East Germany dedicated so little of its resources to it. The lightning raids made the German fallschirmjäger (literally ‘hunters from the sky’) legendary in WWII but the tradition was not widely continued. In fact only one airborne battalion of around 500 men was formed, making this small and elite unit of great interest to historians, militaria collectors and airsofters. We’ll look at the history, weapons and equipment of the men of the ‘Willi Sanger’ battalion, as the NVA paratroopers were known.

Shortly after the creation of the East German Army (the NVA) the DDR started to look at creating its own airborne forces. In 1960 a motorised rifle battalion was chosen to be converted to a parachute regiment and renamed Fallschirmjägerbataillon 5. The number referred to the fact it came under the auspices of the DDR 5th Military District, and wasn’t a deceptive measure to imply four other battalions existed. The unit in itself was one of the smallest formations within the fledgling East German armed forces. Even at its peak it would be a fighting strength much smaller than other nations’ airborne troops. This comparative weakness was not limited to the amount of men under arms – in a break

with traditional Warsaw Pact airborne doctrine the FJB 5 was minimally equipped with armour and mechanised support. By contrast, Russian VDV formations included airborne APCs, assault guns and motorised ﬁeld guns.

Sabotage troops Fallschirmjägerbataillon 5 was given the name Willi Sänger, as was common among elite NVA formations in 1969 (Sanger was a sports hero and anti-Nazi partisan in WWII). In 1972 the battalion lost its allegiance to its military district and came under direct control of the Headquarters Land Forces to form a wartime strategic reserve. The wartime role of the battalion has often been reported to have been deep

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penetration raiders and diversionary forces, similar to Soviet Spetsnaz units. In German publications they were often referred to as ‘commandos’ rather than paratroopers. Likely targets for the NVA paratroopers would have been NATO command centres, nuclear weapon sites and supply routes. Like their Soviet airborne brethren the battalion put more and more emphasis on helicopter-borne operations, while still maintaining high levels of skill in military parachuting techniques. Training for the paratroopers was arduous and unrelenting. Considered to be on a par with units like US Army Special Forces or British Royal Marines, the paras were constantly pushed to their limits and instilled with a selfreliance and determination necessary in men who might be required to act under their own initiative in sabotage work far behind enemy lines. Standard of physical ﬁtness was exemplary. Recruits were required to undertake forced marches of up to 100km while wearing respirators, 15km runs in combat kit, mountain climbing, skiing and diving. As well as the expected competency in day and night time static and halo parachute jumps, the paras also received training in foreign languages, explosives, unarmed combat and sabotage.

Well-equipped specialists As with other East German Army units of the time the ‘Strichtarn’ camouflage pattern was used on both uniforms and equipment from the early 1970s (and consequently the lifetime of the battalion). Many specialist items of equipment were produced solely for the fallschirmjäger though. In fact NVA para equipment is probably of the highest quality (by DDR standards) and our paratrooper here is equipped in the very best equipment East Germany could offer in the years just before reunification. His headwear consists of either the grey/brown airborne beret with national cockade or his dark green jump helmet with camouflage net. The subdued brownish beret was purely for use in the field and replaced the rather conspicuous, bright orange fallschirmjäger parade beret worn in barracks and on parades. His jump helmet, following usual eastern bloc practice, was intended primarily to protect the wearer from bumps and ground impact rather than bullets or shell fragments. It gives little

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COLD WAR WARRIOR

ballistic protection. While some photographs show parachutists wearing the regular East German M56 stalhelm it would appear that this was only ever worn by airborne soldiers in training. The jump helmet itself is one of two models worn by the DDRs para commandos; the other was either a licensed copy of the Polish airborne helmet (that we will feature in a later issue) or indeed actual loaned helmets from the Polish military (very early photos of pre-battalion strength DDR paras show the men wearing Soviet jump helmets as well). The fallschirmjäger jump uniform is distinguished mainly by the addition of knitted cuffs at the wrists, ankles and neck – no doubt intended to prevent air rushing into the uniform and filling it during a jump. Other than a few minor details in the placement of pockets and the uniform’s cut it is not noticeably different to the standard field FDA uniform at a distance. Perhaps the most noticeable departure from traditional East German military style is substitution of the regular army marching jack boot with lace-up ankle boots – an almost unique feature in the NVA’s combat units. Again, one presumes this is to facilitate parachuting as the regular infantry boot is loose fitting around the calf and ankle.

pouch for his personal weapon. His respirator haversack, containing immediate NBC kit, was worn alongside the vest.

In WWII German paratroops landed at Crete armed only with pistols, having dropped their rifles in separate canisters for later recovery, and were outgunned on landing. Learning from this mistake, the NVA understood the need for the airborne soldier to drop with all the equipment he required to fight upon landing. To this end our soldier carries the folding stock variant of the AK74 assault rifle, and the folding stock AKM was also regularly seen with East German paras. The FJB lacked any integral anti-armour support, and to help compensate for this a special version of the RPG7, which could be broken down into two parts and jumped with, was designed – although regrettably Airsoft Action was unable to source one for our photoshoot! ■

Learning the lessons of WWII While early pictures of the ‘Willi Sänger’ battalion show them using regular NVA webbing, later pictures show most paras in a specialist assault vest. This comfortable vest has numerous pockets and loops to store or attach equipment. A standard army belt carries the paratrooper’s ammunition

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G N U YO GUNS Everyone makes mistakes. It’s human. But knowing what they are can help stop you from repeating them, says Jezz Blume

seem to be on a ‘noob’ topic at the moment, trying to help out as many young gunners as much as I can. So in the same thread, here is a list of common ‘noob’ mistakes made in airsoft. It is by no means complete – and while these are listed as ‘noob’ mistakes doesn’t mean I haven’t seen veterans making them as well. I still make them in fact, and I’m perfect! Some may be repetitive, because most people don’t always pick up on things the first time. Not you, of course! ■ Not maintaining awareness of your surroundings. You should always be looking around you and avoiding tunnel vision. Keep your head on a swivel. ■ Firing on a target that is out of range and unaware of you. This just gives away your position. It is interesting to note that most veterans have longer-ranged weapons, so just because they are out of your range doesn’t mean you are out of theirs. You just made your affiliation, location and awareness known to the enemy. ■ Using trails and other methods of easy travel. Veterans do this too, but a lot of the time it’s done just because you’re too lazy to find an alternative route. In other cases it means speed is more important than getting ambushed and wiped out.

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YOUNG GUNS ■ Following orders is crucial for a team victory. If you aren’t a team player then go play CoD or MW, you won’t be popular on the airsoft ﬁeld. Valuable players are the ones who accomplish missions and take care of their teammates. If you like playing solo maybe you should change your callsign to BB Bait. Annoying noobs get ‘special’ missions that get them out of the way while others get the job done.

■ Lack of aggression. You aren’t going to shoot anyone hiding behind a tree. If you aren’t going to do anything, that doesn’t mean the enemy won’t. It is better to try and fail than to not try at all. ■ Use cover and concealment at all times. When you are running at an enemy it is more effective to keep a large tree, hill or something solid between you and them while you get close enough to take a good shot. ■ Don’t be afraid to retreat and try a different approach. The reality is that stalemates happen and both teams can get stuck in a gruelling slugfest that accomplishes nothing. Like the trench warfare of WWI this leads to high casualties, lack of tangible results and lots of pain. ■ Do not fire while moving. It can be done but not without a lot of practice. You will always be more accurate firing from a stationary position. Firing while moving advertises your position, slows down your movement and is often done exposed, which means you make a nice slow target and your fire is not effective. ■ Spray and pray is for the movies. Yes, weapons are automatic but short bursts are more effective than using a BB hose unless you have a SAW and lots of ammo in your magazine. The spray and pray method makes it much easier to locate you, depletes your magazines faster and will leave you reloading at the wrong time. ■ Teamwork is essential. Talk with your teammates to see what is going on and how you can contribute. ■ Spend a significant amount of your time watching your teammates so you can keep track of where they are going and looking and what they’re doing so you can watch another direction. Just don’t get separated.

■ Keep your distance. Clustering together in a small group makes a very tempting target for some psycho with an automatic weapon and an itchy trigger finger. His chances to get all of you increase dramatically the closer bunched you are. ■ Attack! Do not hunker down behind something solid and wait for someone to order you around. Nobody ever won the VC hiding behind a tree. ■ Maintain a covered and concealed line of retreat when possible. It is one thing being able to get into a tight spot but it is the mark of a professional to know how to get out of one. ■ Doing something is always better than doing nothing. When you do nothing you cede initiative, tactics and the chance of victory to the enemy. ■ Being skilled in Call of Duty or Modern Warfare (or any other videogame) does not mean you are skilled in airsoft. Tactics used in video games rarely apply in airsoft. ■ Look around. Don’t get focused on one thing or direction. This is still important. ■ Don’t be afraid to ask questions and make suggestions. The only really stupid question is the one you don’t ask – and making suggestions goes back to not taking any action. The best way to make a suggestion is to phrase it as a question: “Do you want me and my buddy to flank them on the right?” You can’t learn if you don’t communicate. ■ The mission is more important than the body count. So many people are obsessed with shooting people and don’t bother to learn or pursue the objective. Sometimes it really is better to avoid shooting and let the enemy by you than to open fire and get into a big firefight that will keep you from your real objective.

■ Goggles on – always. The only exception is on those extremely rare occasions that a clearly defined ref says it is okay to take them off, and everyone has removed their magazines and put their weapons on safe. There are no excuses for taking off your goggles on the field, none, period. Don’t become known as the one-eyed noob. ■ When exiting the field remove your magazine and shoot the weapon a couple times into a safe area. Don’t be the moron standing around the staging area with a magazine in your weapon. Safety is important. ■ Dress appropriately. I’ve seen people show up wearing shorts. I’ve never seen an idiot finish the day wearing shorts. Good boots are crucial if you don’t want a sprained ankle. ■ If you have a plan make sure you communicate it to your buddies. If they aren’t expecting you somewhere don’t be surprised when they demonstrate how fast they can saturate you with a massive volume of high speed BB’s. ■ Prepare the night before. Make sure all your gear is ready and in working condition. ■ Unless you have something important to say don’t talk. Talking draws fire and irritates everyone around you. If you talk too much about irrelevant stuff you will draw friendly fire (probably lots of it! I know I would.). ■ Don’t zig-zag. You are just as likely to get shot by a friendly as an enemy. Zig-zagging only works at longer ranges with real weapons and when someone is aiming. Automatic weapons chase and in airsoft when you zig-zag you are just slowing yourself down when you should be trying to get from cover A to cover B as quickly as possible. ■ Not taking and drinking enough water. You can be a heat casualty without collapsing. ■ A radio is good to have but do not transmit unless you have something to say about the mission. Don’t tie up the channels with stupid chatter, be professional. This is WarWolf signing out until next time. ■

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FILMSIM

S G O D R A W THE WORLD OF

Guman Midlands’ Wardogs campaign strikes the middle-ground between an open skirmish and a hardcore MilSim event – Michael Jones has the lowdown

t is the year 2022, and reality TV has come a long way. Public fascination with conﬂict and slaughter, combined with unrestricted media coverage, has given birth to Wardogs, the most exciting interactive show on television. Tune in to watch Packs of modern-day barbarians enter the G-MBL Zones at the behest of the Argent Company;

revel in the action as they battle and befriend their rivals to complete their contracts; and laugh out loud when it all goes tits up at the hands of a Lone Wolf operative. Is the same old skirmish routine wearing you down? Perhaps you’re just bored with the snowball ﬁght of skirmishes, or hungry for strategy or story. Either way, Gunman Midland’s FilmSim-inspired Wardogs

campaign ﬁlls the gap, and gives you the freedom to play the game how you want. Wardogs is set in a near-future where G-MBL, a chemical agent dating from the end of WWII, has been unleashed in several areas across the globe. Areas that have been contaminated with G-MBL, in both active and inactive war zones, have become known as Gamble Zones. In 2017

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CONTRACTS A: Assassination Target: Third Topdog Detail: Eliminate the third-ranked Wardog. Proof of completion must be provided before payment can be authorised Reward: 200c B: Demolition Target: Underground bunker Detail: Place the bunker buster charge in the correct location. Use intelligence obtained throughout the day to locate the target zone Reward: 300c it was decreed that Wardogs alone have the authority to deal with incidents and interests in the Gamble Zones. This meant governments, corporations and private individuals globally had little choice but to hire Wardogs in order to pursue interests in these restricted areas. Players enter the fray alone – as a Lone Wolf – or in mercenary Packs of up to six players. This cap on numbers creates many pockets of resistance for opposing teams to persuade to ally, or fight against. Teams select and attempt to complete contracts for Wardog credits, striving to acquire corporate sponsorship and secure the public vote. The riskier the contract is, the greater the reward. The ultimate goal for any Wardog is to be in the top five Packs, and employee of the month for the Argent Company. Last season saw the Packs war their way through battle zones across the globe. Quebec, Canada hosted a snatch and grab as the downed satellite of the Northern Lights project re-entered the earth’s atmosphere and crash landed. A highly valuable source of information, it wasn’t going to be left unattended for long. Several world governments hired mercenary Packs to battle their way to the downed satellite in a bid for dominance. Later that year, a former Russian Mafia drug manufacturing den was under keen eyes from different parties, all trying to acquire the long forgotten ‘Dynamo’ formula. Wardogs were dispatched to ensure their parties’ guaranteed use of the powerful drug. Dynamo has since become an exponentially popular (albeit addictive) drug among Wardogs, who can use it to effectively regen themselves.

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FILMSIM

“Tactics, teamwork and strategy are the victor here – not whoever has the gun with enough ‘bling’ to put a rapper’s chain to shame”

The year ended with a finale in Nova Varos, Montenegro. An active minefield saw the Wardogs pushed to their limits as they battled while watching their feet for traps and mines. It was the Wardogs’ last chance to claim a spot in the top five and had players battling down to their last round. The day, and year, finished as it had started: smiles all round, barely concealing a fervent competition. Freedom is a huge part of the game mechanics. If you enjoy an hour of action with a well-earned tea break then it’s yours. If you prefer to be out all day with only a quick toilet break then that’s fine too. The missions are ready whenever you are. This means there is no one holding you back by taking all day to reload, and conversely you

don’t feel pressured to get moving if all you want is a quiet break for a breather. Some players just want to shoot in an organised team with little interest in the story; some read every mission brief and outcomes religiously. Either way, however you wish to play, there’s a space for all. There’s a lot going on in a normal day. To make the operation run smoothly someone has to have their eye on the ball. That duty lies in the careful hands of creators and organisers, Jim Sephton and Andi Coulton. Both started their alternative hobby path in LARP (live action roleplay) until a few years ago when they jumped feet ﬁrst into airsoft. This grounding within a heavily story-based hobby has given Wardogs a rich story and plot, making the battles come to life. Like many FilmSims, players can choose their class function and speciﬁc load-out. These range from the standard grunt, medic, grenadier and even an assassin class. Once a player or team has selected their roles they’re ready to get out into the Gamble Zone and get a mission under their belt. The Gamble Zones are traitorous places to be held up in. Other mercenary units,

mineﬁelds and of course the Lone Wolves mean you’ll soon be in the ‘raised hand’ position if you don’t keep your wits about you. With ammo and lives limited (low-cap and mid-caps are now obligatory) and a medic rule in place, every little white bundle of joy has to count. Run round a corner and start hosing and you’ll soon ﬁnd yourself dry and giving the enemy some target practice. When ammo is scarce the game changes. This isn’t a negative – tactics, teamwork and strategy are the victor here, not whoever has the gun with enough ‘bling’ to put a rapper’s chain to shame. So, you’ve completed a few contracts and got some credits – now what? Credits don’t just count towards your position in the leader board – they can also be used to unlock ‘load-out slots’, giving a player more weapons and perks. These can range from an extra mag, the medic rule, pistol use, riot shield. The list goes on and on. For the free spirits among us there is a selection of chemical enhancements to choose from. All have powerful advantages, but make sure you read the label as the side-effects can be dire. Most importantly, credits can be transferred to real discounts in store. Every

CLASSES DOBERMAN – SCOUT/ASSASSIN Ammo limit: 240 rounds per mission Equipment: Pistol, Knife, Optional Shield, One Grenade This Wardog class is the only role capable of executing a player who is waiting for a medic ST BERNARD – MEDIC Ammo limit: 360 rounds per mission Equipment: AEG, One Grenade This Wardog class is the only role capable of healing a player without causing the loss of a life BULLDOG – GRENADIER Ammo limit: 360 rounds per mission Equipment: Shotgun or Grenade Launcher, Six Grenades or Two Planted Explosives This Wardog class is the only role capable of repairing a weapon in ﬁeld (10 count)

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100 credits can be used to accumulate a one per cent discount. This is capped at 10 per cent discount for 1,000 credits, but we can still dream. Enough of what it is – let’s tackle the why. Why is Wardogs such a successful, and growing, campaign? The ﬁrst season saw an average of three or four Packs and two or three Lone Wolves each episode. By season end the leader board was tight. Team Swafat tipped their

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way to victory leaving rivals Black Company to settle for a very respectable second place. This year has kicked off with an average turnout of six Packs and two to five Lone Wolves. This healthy 40 per cent increase in numbers from the start of last year gives everyone some fresh faces to befriend or betray. Season two has begun with an almighty bang. Wardogs have battled across Allagir in Georgia and fought their way through the blizzard of Almaty, Kazakhstan. With new rules introduced this year, the veteran Wardogs have been removed from their comfort zone and flung into the cold with everyone else. Everyone starts with a bare-bones basic load-out of their choice. Thinking caps are coming out to make sure teams are balanced for the more intricate missions to come. Strategy will be key. Unlike WWII and similar themed events you won’t have to buy lots of expensive gear to play. Guns don’t need to be period and the only change regular skirmishers will need to make is to swap from hi-cap to midcap magazines. Another benefit Wardogs has over historically-based games is that there are no victories or defeats until the player lives them. There are no restrictions on who lives or dies, or who loses a base on a certain date. We can make our own history – or future, rather.

This isn’t just a leader-board game with a set of stock storylines. It’s an intelligent, evolving yet accessible campaign designed by some of the best minds in the business, with players’ freedom to choose as its backbone. The contracts are waiting, all you need to do is sign up and join the ranks of the Wardogs – will you be a Pack member or a Lone Wolf? ■ Follow the Wardogs on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Wardogs.Airsoft

Wardogs is organised and run by Gunman Airsoft Midlands Balsall Common, Coventry, CV7 7FP Prices The Grange walk-on: £20 RAF Honiley walk-on: £30 Riﬂe hire: £20 (including jacket/ trousers, face mask) Contact Gunman Airsoft Midlands, 01676 532384, www. suspensionofdisbelief.co.uk

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ight, as I’ve already said patrolling is the basis of all soldiering activities. So far we’ve looked at the types of patrols and their composition, from lightly-armed four man recce patrols and beefed-up fighting patrols to standing patrols. But the one that really conjures up the image of a well-executed professional display of daring, cunning and military skill is the ambush. We all know roughly what one is, and we will all have done it before, usually for a crack with our mates or family (and sometimes no doubt while under the influence – not that I condone that kind of activity). For several priceless examples of ambushes on TV watch the old Peter Sellers Pink Panther films where Inspector Clouseau’s housekeeper Cato has a unique welcome for him each time he comes home from work. If you were to look it up in the dictionary of military stuff and things, you’d discover that an ambush is in fact a ‘Surprise attack by a force lying in wait, upon a moving or temporarily halted enemy’. It is usually a brief noisy affair on ground of your choosing, at pretty close quarters. If planned well it can be devastating to the enemy – but if it goes pear-shaped you’re in major trouble. Sound simple? Load of guys (and girls) armed to the teeth lying in a bush, the baddies turn up, you let rip and miraculously every round finds its mark just like on the telly. Well don’t be fooled, it might sound easy but if you’re tasked with leading one you’ll soon realise that it’s a beast with many moving parts, all with a mind (or ego) of their own. All of these parts need to be carefully controlled or you’ll lose it. The best way to control it, and to achieve a successful outcome, is to know where those moving parts should be, what they should be doing, and to convey your plan to the team. If you’re building a house you’d want a plan to work from and it’s the same when planning an ambush. A picture paints a thousand words and the way I like to illustrate it to the lads is to position everyone on the ground where they’ll eventually end up at ‘Ambush Set’. I then work back to the start point, through

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AMBUSH This issue Billy Basics teaches us how to effectively set up an ambush the different phases, so that everyone understands how they’ll eventually end up where I want them, and what they need to take with them to get the job done. Needless to say you then need to go through it several times in the right order or you’ll have guys all over the shop. So let’s look at what you need to start with. Your band of warriors should be split down into the following groups: Killer group; Left cut-off; Right cut-off; Rear protection. The Patrol Commander (PC) will always be in the killer group – it’s the largest group where the big guns will be and the reason you’re all there, the business end. All the other groups are there to assist the killer group.

When the time comes the PC will make the call to initiate from the killer group, or to sneak back into the undergrowth and take the fight to the enemy another day. Many more ambushes are collapsed and taken home still in the wrapper than ever go noisy – after all if it’s a gleaming ambush site and you’re confident you haven’t been seen, but the small enemy group that appeared wasn’t worth the bother, you can always come back later if you get better Intelligence . The next groups down the hedgerow are the left and right cut-offs, providing flank protection for the killer group. Both groups will be in comms with the PC in the centre, to warn of the enemy’s approach.

SKILLS ROOM come from. That way there won’t be any nasty surprises. Do you remember what we talked about a few articles ago with regards to all round defence? The same principle applies to our ambush patrol – despite the fact that they’re probably out of sight of one another. The arcs are fairly self-evident – the killer group covers the front, the left and right cover their respective arcs and the rear protection, usually the smallest gang, covers your backs. The guys in the rear protection have an important job too. Although they’ll probably miss out on all the fun they are literally ‘in the rear with the gear’ – the killer, left and right parties will leave their day sacks here in the rear and take only the firepower they need to destroy the enemy. But that doesn’t mean that the rear protection can sit on their behinds and attempt to eat crisps without making a sound, or rustle sweety wrappers – they guard the rear 180° and may have to aggressively repel a much larger force for several minutes until the forward elements can get back to support them if they are attacked from the rear. Now you can see what a complex subject it is. Next month we’ll go through the phases of the occupation, springing, clearing the enemy and the withdrawal – until then train hard, fight easy. Billy out. ■ Back in the day comms would have been para cord, which would get snagged on every wretched branch, barrel and root in the area. It was a nightmare to layout and communicate with, via a complex system of tug and counter tug which we all forgot anyway, and it was a pain to reel in afterwards, stuffing a huge bird’s nest of branches, thorns and string into your pouch. Nowadays comms will most likely be via radios, but you must also have a no comms procedure so that when the comms goes down (and it will) you all know your jobs. The last thing to mention about the right/ left cut-offs is that, when laying out your groups when you first occupy your ambush site, the group that gets on their belt buckles first are the cut-off group in the direction from which the enemy is likely to

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Putting away his riﬂe, Nige got in his old jalopy and travelled to the Wild West (well, Barnet actually) to see some pistol-packing shooters in action

he man stood still, very still, waiting for his breathing and heartbeat to slow. He could feel the gun at his hip, the pressure of its weight against his upper thigh. His hands were raised to either side of his head in the classic ‘I surrender, I am no threat’ position. With unblinking eyes he concentrated on the ﬁve of them, standing a few metres in front of him, unmoving. He knew he couldn’t falter, he had to be faster than his opponents or he was ﬁnished. Those gathered around him sensed what was about to happen and fell silent, some

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drawing back to get a clearer view. Slowly he drew breath, and as if by magic a pistol seemed to appear in his right hand. Five shots – five hits. He’d done it! It was fast enough to win, and a ripple of applause ran through the audience. But the man was not happy: “Two point three seconds? Far too slow! I usually do it in just over one!” Welcome to the World of IPAS – Iron Plate Action Shooting. Iron Plate Action Shooting is a relatively new sport and came into being after handguns were banned in 1997. Shooters use CO2 powered pistols firing .177 metal BBs, or lead pellets which flatten as they

hit the plates, reducing the risk of injury from rebound (it also makes for a good, audible sound which is used for timing purposes). The objective is simple: from the ‘surrender’ position, draw and hit the designated targets, in the correct sequence, in the shortest time possible. Speed alone is not enough to be successful – you also have to be accurate. Being accurate without speed would be like having a pub with no beer and the motto seems to be: “It’s not the ﬁrst shot that counts, it’s the ﬁrst shot that hits that counts!”

PRACTICAL PISTOL

More recently, with the emergence of a whole raft of high-quality airsoft pistols, more and more Shooting Clubs are allowing them into IPAS – and if you’ll pardon the pun they are making quite an impact, especially when comparing the cost. For example, at the time of writing I found a .177 BB Sig Saur P226 on sale for £160, while the KJ Works P226 sells for less than £115. For ammo, a box of approximately 435 copper .177 BBs cost £3.50, while

3,000 Blaster Devil 2.5s would set you back less than a tenner. So what’s this IPAS all about and how does it work? A few weeks back a good friend of mine who works with real-steel invited me along to the East Barnet Shooting Club (EBSC) to meet some IPAS shooters and see what they get up to. EBSC originated from a WWII Home Guard Unit, ﬁrst becoming a Riﬂe Club

then a Rifle and Revolver Club before adopting its current name in 1964. The club’s objective is to promote shooting and encourage as many people as possible to take part. They do not shoot at animals, or at targets that depict either animals or humans, preferring paper target diagrams similar to those used in archery. For IPAS, however, 2mm-thick iron plate targets are used in three different sizes: 10in/sq, 12in/sq and 12in x 18in. These are mounted on posts of various heights. Groups are set out consisting of between two and five targets, at a range of between 5m and 25m from the shooter. The plates are colour-coded to indicate their role: Primary, Stop or Option. Unless specified otherwise, Primary and Option plates can be engaged in any order but the Stop plate is always engaged last. A shot timer is used to measure the time taken to complete the round. As with all shooting sports, safety is of paramount importance and IPAS is no different. A Range Officer controls

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the shooting and very strict safety rules are enforced with penalties, including disqualification, for any breach. The evening I visited EBSC there was a five plate 10in/sq match taking place, with two Primaries to the left of the shooter, two to the right and Stop plate in the centre. Individual shooters were called forward and each shot five rounds, with the time taken to complete each round recorded. The longest time is then ignored and the remaining four totalled to give a final score for each shooter. Before each round the shooter is instructed to “Load and make ready” by the Range Officer. The shooter prepares

both his pistol and himself, by adopting the surrender position. Having done so the Range Officer issues the command, “Shooter ready – standby.” After a short pause (between two and five seconds) the start signal sounds. During this time any ‘creeping’ or hand movement by the shooter is assessed as a penalty and five seconds added to their time. As you can imagine, there are a huge number of variations available. What I saw was just a snapshot of what IPAS is about. I’ve got to stick my hands up here and say that pistol shooting has never been of much interest to me – but watching these guys made realise that, as an airsofter, I

could really benefit from the disciplines involved. I like the adrenalin that comes with CQB and if I can gain even one second over my opposition when entering a room, by being faster and more accurate, then my kill-rate will improve (and I might last a bit longer before having to trudge back to regen!). One other thing I noticed (that reminded me of something Andy Nightingale from Pro-Tact told me) was that every shooter was using hip, as opposed to leg rigs. When I commented on this each said it was because it cut fractions of a second off their time due to the shorter distance the weapon has to travel before coming onto target. Mind you, I still think a leg rig looks damn cool! IPAS is growing in the UK, as are other disciplines such as Practical Pistol/Rifle, and is huge in the States where there are regular competitions between professional shooters. According to Wikipedia the record for five shots on target is held by Ed McGivern who, back in 1932, achieved it in 0.45 seconds – while in 1999 Jerry Miculek fired eight shots on four targets (two hits on each), in 1.06 seconds! Still, I wonder how fast they would have done it if the targets had been shooting back… ■

If you would like to know more about IPAS, ﬁnd your local shooting club on the tinterwebs and give them a call. Alternatively, there is quite a bit of info on the East Barnet SC website – www.ebsc.co.uk – and a contact page if you have any questions

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Bollocks to diamonds and rubies, here are a few of my favourite things this month

WE HIPOWER £95 WE’s gas blowback replica of the infamous Browning Hi-Power is probably my favourite pistol in terms of looks and feel. It’s incredibly faithful to the original design, ﬁts the hand nicely and has a realistic weight to it. The imitation wood grips look the part unlike some other manufacturers’ tacky plastic attempts, and the rest of the pistol is full-metal. Gas power has its obvious limitations but depending on the gas you use expect around 260-280fps. Features adjustable rearsight as per the real-steel and comes with 20-round single stack mag.

Available from MilSpec Solutions: 01257 453689, www.milspecsolutions.co.uk

HELIKON DELTA JACKET £52.99 The Delta Jacket, part of Helikon’s Urban Tactical Line, features a laminated softshell body and internal ﬂeece lining. While it’s perfect for airsoft the nondescript look makes it ideal for pretty much any outdoor activity, and even for everyday wear. The high collar is lined with mesh polar and the jacket has a full-front zipper, adjustable Velcro wristcuffs and six zip pockets. The Shark Skin softshell body is complemented by internal ﬂeece lining, insulating and protecting from the elements at the same time. Available in black, coyote, foliage, jungle and olive, sizes S-3XL.

Military 1st: www.military1st.co.uk

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KIT BAG CA MP5K SPORTLINE VALUE PACK £200 We reviewed this in full last year (Airsoft Action December 2011) but still love the little beast of a package. Classic Army’s Sportline range is affordable but still with the same high-quality CA manufacture you expect. This full-ABS MP5K comes complete with battery, charger, shooting glasses and hicap magazine. A perfect back-up weapon for woodland players and primary for urban enthusiasts, and suited to ﬁrst-time AEG buyers thanks to the battery, charger and mag included. A real bargain for the price.

Thanks to BadgerTac for original review gun: 01296 658600, www.badgertac.com

GERBER CRUCIAL MULTITOOL Around £50 The new Black Crucial multitool from Gerber is an improvement on the older Crucial design. Small and lightweight – 9cm closed end to end, at just over 140g – it’s the ideal portable toolbox, and doesn’t have all the useless tools found on most. Featuring: 2.5in half-ﬁne-edge, half-serrated blade; Philips screwdriver; ﬂathead screwdriver; V-cut wire cutters; strap cutter; and of course the pliers that hold it all together. Ergonomically-curved handles make for better grip and more torque. Gerber kit is rugged and built to last, and the new Crucial is no exception.

ANGRY BIRDS PATCH Price: $8 (includes shipping) A recent giveaway on our Facebook page generated a huge amount of interest – but of all the things we gave away none was more sought after than the awesome Angry Birds patch from Brit Kit USA. It seems a lot of airsofters love chucking spherical birds at bricks as much as they like chucking little plastic pellets at people. Well, now you can show your love for Angry Birds on the skirmish ﬁeld with this embroidered, Velcro-backed patch measuring 80mm diameter. Plus, all of Brit Kit USA’s prices includes postage to anywhere in the world – no excuses now!

Available from Gerber dealers

Available from Brit Kit USA: www.shop.britkitusa.com

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In a return of the clones, Matt Phillipson takes a look at the Knight’s Armament Company PDW from D-Boys

D-BOYS

KAC PDW T he Knight’s Armament Company (KAC) PDW was designed in 2006 as a compact and lightweight weapon able to achieve better ranges than a standard SMG. In the airsoft world it has been reproduced by VFC, and as happens to virtually every airsoft weapon VFC’s replica has been cloned by D-Boys. This was my ﬁrst experience of a D-Boys AEG. Taking it from its polystyrene casing I was immediately impressed with the feel of it. Everything but the pistolgrip is fullmetal, and while lightweight and compact it still looks and feels much more expensive than it is.

First impressions As I gave the KAC PDW the once over I noticed a couple of things. The lower receiver is essentially a short M16-style

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receiver so the selector, mag release and other typical features are pretty much exactly where you’d expect them. The upper receiver is KAC’s own creation. Curiously there’s not a single marking anywhere on the weapon itself – though the included vertical grip has a KAC logo stamped onto it. Besides the rifle and the vertical grip the package comes complete with both 8in and 10in outer barrel and a dummy PEQ box to house the 7.2v battery that’s included. There’s also a fast charger with EU pins and a mid-cap magazine that looks and feels horribly tacky – the one thing about this stock configuration that looks as cheap as it actually is. Appearance-wise it is faithful to the real deal mag, though, all the way down to replicating the little slide on the bottom with an utterly useless bit of plastic that will, in my experience, vanish PDQ when you hit the field.

The folding stock design makes the PDW an incredibly usable weapon in urban environments. The stock is a metal skeleton-style side-folder, and with stock out it is very sturdy with no wobble, and still shorter than a standard M4 by a sizable amount. The catch that holds the stock when folded is pretty useless and it doesn’t take much for it to detach and flap about. Because the weapon’s so short I just left it extended for the majority of the time. The rifle has flip-up iron sights, front and rear, and points to take the swivel sling mounts. There’s also enough rail space to trick it out with laser, torch or optic alongside the battery box and vertical grip. I should mention that the spec of the top rail seemed to be ever so slightly out; my reddot was a bit tight and I had to just scrape it along to mount it. After I’d given her the once over I still had to remind myself she cost less than £200. A full-metal, cut-price

THE ARMOURY

AEG that’s a little more interesting than your standard M4 (yet takes most standard M4 mags) – well, if she performs alright I think I’ve just found my new CQB weapon.

On test I didn’t have any spare batteries to ﬁt so gave the supplied one a few rounds of the fast charger until a dry-ﬁre pull felt rapid

and sharp. After applying a bit of grease in the usual places I filled the 130-round midcap that came with it and various other M4 mags that were lying about. It might look tacky and feel plasticy and cheap but apart from that there’s nothing inherently wrong with the stock magazine. It fed well to the last round, and it’s actually quite refreshing for a rifle to come with a mid- rather than hi-cap. The length of the PDW suggests it’s best for CQB, where range isn’t a particular issue, but with the 8in barrel fitted she still reached out to about 80ft with ease. The 10in barrel is just for aesthetics and I didn’t bother with it (the dimpled barrel design is replicated from the real-steel, by the way, and was apparently a weight-saving design feature). The hop-up is found just where you’d expect it to be on an M4-style rifle. With the hop set right it might push 100ft but

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certain, as an entry-level ﬁrst-ever AEG you could do a hell of a lot worse for your money. Yep she’s £50 more than say a CA or ICS Sportline, but she’s full-metal (yet not overly weighty), comes with everything you need and (in my experience at least) isn’t super-hot velocity-wise.

Summary

“It’s a bit like an overgrown MP5K with more oomph, or a P90 that doesn’t look silly. One thing’s certain, as an entrylevel first-ever AEG you could do a hell of a lot worse for your money” it will probably be just slightly out-shot by any decent full-length assault rifle (though definitely holds its own against similar-sized weapons such as the P90). On single-shot the trigger pull is firm and clean, and kept up with my nimble fingers as I double-tapped the targets set at 30ft, 50ft and 60ft. On the last mag, a VFC mid-cap which unsurprisingly worked fine, I just had to crank the dial and empty it on full-auto. I was impressed, and a smile spread across my face as first the 30ft target was ripped apart, shortly followed by the 50ft as short full-auto bursts found their mark. Unfortunately, before the mag ran dry the rate of fire noticeably dropped and the trigger pull became a bit sluggish. The battery was running low, and it was the only one I had. I didn’t chrono it on this occasion – but when I finally did get round to it she gave an average reading of 287fps. Now I’ve read on plenty of webstores that this gives 420fps out of the box. Perhaps mine was the odd-one-out as far

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as velocity goes, but to be honest I’d prefer it to be giving me 290fps than 420fps. With a better battery and a bit of mumbo jumbo on the internals I could quite easily get her doing 320fps and I’d be happy with that – so if she is the freak in the batch I’m glad!

In use I’m well aware this gun is a Chinese clone of a VFC weapon. I’m well aware the insides will not be fantastic, and I’ll need to get them stripped and replaced eventually. But to be honest I don’t care, and when the day comes I’ll take her to my favoured tech and get her sorted. She’ll still have cost me less than a Magpul out-the-box. I gave the PDW its ﬁrst run around at an indoors CQB skirmish venue. Though I was alternating between a few guns I kept coming back to the PDW, and eventually decided it was the most nimble in this environment despite being full-metal. It’s a bit like an MP5K with more oomph, or a P90 that doesn’t look silly. One thing’s

I’ll admit I fell for this gun straightaway. I’ve used plenty of clone weapons but very few match this in terms of appearance – it’s fullmetal, matt black and has zero markings, and it is really quite an attractive carbine. With M4-style lower receiver there’s no surprises when it comes to operation and while I know plenty of people who despise PEQ battery boxes I find them quite efficient. You could probably modify it to take a stick-type if you really wanted. As with any clone the biggest letdown will always be the insides. This one is no different – but if you know what you’re getting yourself in for that’s fine. Preparation is the first step toward peace of mind. Keep her well-looked-after and clean as possible, ensure you use only the best BBs (I was on G&G bios, by the way, and they ran great) and maybe swap out those parts which commonly give out on cheaper guns (hop rubber and bearings spring to mind). The fact is that I forgave the PDW for its somewhat poor performance because it looks good and doesn’t cost a fortune. If you’ve been skirmishing for years and are looking for your next all-round rifle, this probably isn’t it. But if you’re reasonably new to the game, perhaps buying your first or second RIF (or don’t want to spend more than £200), and don’t want to be another M4 or AK-toting player then I would definitely recommend it. Grab a handful of decent M4 mags, a solid battery or two and enjoy it while it lasts – after all it’s less painful when a rifle packs in if it didn’t cost £400! ■

SPECIFICATIONS D-Boys KAC PDW Weight: 2,588g Length: 670mm (stock extended); 440mm (stock folded) Construction: Full-metal Battery: PEQ box 7.2v LiPo Velocity: 280-300fps Price: £190 Available from NoVatCombat: 01481 715051, www.novatcombat.com

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THE WELLBIKE

Paras on mini-motorbikes? Surely not – but apparently so, as Ratty explains…

uring WWII, all sides invented various machines to carry out specific tasks on the battlefield. Britain, the eccentric nation that we are, created some absolutely mad contraptions. I am reminded of some film footage of the top secret prototypes for clearing beaches ready for the D-Day landings – but perhaps most famous was a bomb that bounced! Airborne forces were still a new force on the battlefield at that time, with techniques and specialist equipment adapted to suit as they went along. After features on helicopters, hovercraft and all sorts of other vehicles, this month I thought something smaller and a little more personal would be appropriate. The Welbike is one of those machines, now mostly forgotten about. Very few survived the last 60 years – and those are far between – so on the rare occasion that one comes up for sale they command high prices. There were some

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replicas made a few years ago, but because the design was so basic you can, with limited tooling and a bit of the old grey matter, create your own variation on a theme. Let’s ﬁnd out more about this very ‘British’ bit of kit.

Early development In 1942 the British wanted a vehicle that could be dropped by parachute, but no British plane was capable of lifting a Jeep or other suitable motorised transport. Lt Colonel John Dolphin, the Commanding Ofﬁcer of Station IX, the secret Inter Service Military Research Establishment based in a mansion called the Frythe, near Welwyn in Hertfordshire, had an idea for an air-droppable motor scooter. The Excelsior Motor Company, along with SOE motorcycle enthusiast Harry Lester, developed an original prototype. Their experience building scooters and motorcycles before the war helped them in the design and development

of a lightweight motorcycle. Interestingly, all machines developed at Station IX (SOE) were given the prefix ‘Wel’ such as the Welcar, Welboat and Welsub. (So that’s where Batman got the idea from!) The aim of the Welbike was that a paratrooper (initially an SOE operator) could remove the bike from its special green container (which was marked with the white lettering ‘Motor Cycle’) with its easily-identifiable coloured parachute and be on the road in 11 seconds. The prototype survived extensive drop testing at the Special Operations School at Arisaig in Scotland, where it was also demonstrated to commando forces. The prototype was then returned to Excelsior for further development and a number of pre-production ‘pilot’ machines were built for further testing and experimental modifications at the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment at RAF Sherborn-in-Elmet near

BIG BOYZ TOYZ made the scooter uncomfortable to ride on anything other than a paved road. In combat situations the Welbike could prove a liability, as paratroopers needed to get under cover as quickly as possible once they had landed. Before they could even start assembling the bikes they had to find the containers. Due to the difference in weight between the bikes and the paratroopers a canister would often land some distance from its operator, rather defeating the object – some were even captured by the enemy or lost before they could be used. The low power and small wheels meant that they struggled to cope with rough cross country and battlefield terrains, so were often abandoned by the troops who found it easier to continue on foot instead. In all, it wasn’t the handiest of vehicles! There were three production versions of the Welbike. The first 1,200 produced were called the Mark 1 and were really the developed version of the original prototype with the tuned engines, but no rear mudguard. The next version was the Mark 2 Series One, of which, 1,400 were manufactured. These featured a range of minor modifications – including a rear mudguard! The last batch of 1,340 Welbikes were Mark 2 Series 2.

Service life

Leeds in September 1942. It was here that they discovered that the engine was seriously underpowered when ridden by a fully equipped soldier, so it was returned for more power modiﬁcations.

The Welbike The Welbike weighed in at 75lbs and was designed to be folded to ﬁt inside a standard parachute airdrop container, measuring 51in (130cm) long and 15in (38cm) high by 12in (30cm) wide, and had to be easily assembled as quickly as possible. Powered by a Villiers single-cylinder 98cc two-stroke petrol engine it generated 1.5HP. The fuel tank held 6.5 pints of petrol-oil mix and the operators’ manual stated a range of 90 miles. Work that out – it’s 111 miles per gallon! It could allegedly hit 30mph too. The fuel tank was lower than the carburettor, which meant that the fuel tank had to be

pressurised (in the same way as a camping stove) before the fuel would ﬂow into the carburettor. This was initially done before being packed into the container to save time on the ground. However, it would need pressurising again, using the small handpump on the tank, every 10-15 miles thereafter. Due to the very limited space in an airborne equipment container the Welbike was packed at an angle, with the rear wheel to the base of the container. This lack of space meant that the Welbike had no suspension, no lights and just a single rear brake. Once it hit the ground, and was out of the container, all a para needed to do was twist the handlebars into position, lock them on spring loaded pins, pull up the saddle, fold out the footrests, push-start the two-stroke engine and ride into battle! The Webike’s small size restricted its payload to a single paratrooper in full kit, limiting the bike’s practicality. The lack of any suspension

Due to the mechanical limitations of the Welbike SOE quickly decided they didn’t want it, so it was given to the Parachute Regiment in the hope they would find the machines more suitable for their Operations. Late in 1942 the Welbike went into full production; its simple design meant it was quick and easy to produce. By 1943 it was widely used by ground assault forces, including Commandos and the Royal Marine Commando units, particularly for Beach landings at Anzio and Normandy. The small size meant it was very useful as general airfield transport with the Royal Air Force and aircrews based on large airfields, who would ‘acquire’ and stow away a Welbike if they could find one. They were used extensively during training exercises for airborne troops, but only really used twice in combat. The first time was on D-Day; the second, and most famous, during Operation Market Garden (Arnhem) to help the paratroopers cover the vast distances from the drop zones to Arnhem as quickly as possible. There is also a possibility that Welbikes were dropped for Operation Varsity (crossing of the

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“The aim of the Welbike was that a paratrooper could remove the bike from its special green container with its easily identiﬁable coloured parachute and be on the road in 11 seconds” Rhine) but there is no documented evidence to conﬁrm this. Welbikes were exported to different parts of the Empire too, seeing some limited service in Burma among other theatres of operation. By late 1944, air transportation for British forces greatly improved when the RAF obtained DC-3s (Dakotas) from the Americans as well as developing its own large-capacity cargo gliders, capable of carrying Jeeps. This made a single person short-range motorscooter useless in the combat zone and pretty much rendered the Welbike obsolete as soon as they were distributed.

Post-war life After the war ended the remaining Welbikes were declared surplus by the British army. Many Welbikes were destroyed by the military, considered unsafe for use on British public roads. A signiﬁcant number of bikes were saved and some were even registered for UK road use in the late 1940s, taking advantage of the Welbike’s fuel economy while there was still wartime fuel rationing (which wouldn’t end until 1950). When the Ministry of Transport introduced vehicle safety inspections in the

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early 1950s the last of the Welbikes were forced off the road. In 1946, Gimble’s Department Store in New York bought all remaining military surplus Welbikes and shipped them to the USA. They were repainted and sold as a personal motor scooter for a few years. Nearly all that surface in the US today are from the Gimble’s batch. The Welbike was only intended for short-term use so those who owned them after the war soon found that parts wore out quickly and many machines were junked or scrapped. However, John Dolphin took an interest in ‘civilianising’ the Welbike. An agreement was made to use the original design and many modiﬁcations were made. The new motorscooter was called the Corgi and it went on sale in 1946. This was the ﬁrst popular British motor scooter of the 1950s. Even though the Villiers engine suffered the same basic problems as the Welbike, over 25,000 Corgis were sold. Many were exported to the USA and branded as the Indian Papoose. Some were painted army green but were never adopted by the British Army (although some Corgis were used by the Royal Navy). Sadly, with the introduction of the likes of

Vespa the Corgi’s popularity didn’t last and its shortcomings soon became obvious. Production ceased in October 1954.

Welbikes today There are small number of people dedicated to owning and maintaining these machines. Welbikes are mostly seen today at anniversary celebrations of Operation Market Garden, held every year in September in Holland, as well as at other similar occasions. Many survive around the world as far aﬁeld as USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa and India. They are still being found in attics and warehouses too, albeit mainly in the USA and on the most part from the Gimble’s batch. Welbikes are very rare and very few survive with the original War Department Number intact as they were painted on. The only permanent identity of a Welbike is the frame number, which is stamped on the front of the frame. There are also several Welbikes on display in various museums around the UK, Normandy, Belgium and Holland, and some further aﬁeld including the South African National Military Museum. There are examples at the Imperial War Museum, British Airborne Forces

BIG BOYZ TOYZ Oddly enough, some original Welbikes have surfaced in India as late as 2005, giving credence to the theory they were exported to different theatres of warfare throughout the Empire.

Closing thoughts

Museum, Pegasus Bridge Museum and at the 1st Airborne Museum at Hertenstein Hotel, Arnhem. A few years ago, a group was started by one person’s desire to own a Welbike. It was too expensive to purchase an original one so he built his own. This replica was taken to the 55th Anniversary of Operation Market Garden and enough potential owners expressed an interest in doing the same that a club was formed and the decision taken to make a limited amount of Webikes. After six years of work, 21 replica

Welbikes were completed and the group ofﬁcially disbanded. Each replica uses a real Villiers Junior engine and each member was required to provide their own. These came from a variety of sources, most commonly from lawn mowers. The rest of the bikes were built from scratch, using the WWII line drawings and a real Welbike for reference. Hours and hours of machining, forging, casting and welding created a machine that’s as close as you can get to an original Welbilke. But of course there is nothing original about these bikes!

When I ﬁrst contemplated writing about the Welbike I didn’t realise how complex and involved this little machine is. As I said it’s one of those unique oddball machines that we developed that was pretty much immediately superseded by new technology, which moved at lightning speed during wartime. Both the Germans and the US developed something similar but the British Welbike will be the one that is remembered. I really enjoyed researching this feature – although I think Mrs Ratty’s pleased it’s all over – she soon got bored of my mutterings of: “Wow! I never knew that!” and “Dear, did you know that…” and so on… Even as I ﬁnish this off I have to remind myself that, in the 1990s, British Airborne Forces began to be equipped with quadbikes and trailers to carry heavy equipment (and guys) for long distances from landing zones to combat. So the Welbike spirit lives on, albeit in a slightly different form! ■

Pictures courtesy of Pathﬁnder Parachute Group Europe

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THE MOLE

Secret agents, supercomputers and a plan for world domination – no, we’re not talking about James Bond! Gadge Harvey reports on Gunman Airsoft’s Cold War FilmSim event

s I contribute Cold War Warriors to the magazine it’s probably no surprise that I’m a big fan of Gunman Airsoft’s Cold War weekenders. Once again I got all my 80s Brit kit together and set off to take part in the next instalment of this ongoing epic. As some of you might know these games are set in an alternative world history: It’s 1983 and WWIII is well underway! In our Cold War story the war has kicked off good and proper and is now in full swing across Poland. In the last episode the Russians had laid a cunning plan to divert NATOs main effort by faking the existence of a new type of chemical weapons launcher. While NATO redeployed much of its recce forces to find and nullify this threat the Soviets had punched through allied lines. Now the Soviets are stalling; they have found out that NATO seems to know their next move before they make it. Top KGB agents have discovered that classified information is falling into NATO hands via a codename known as ‘The Mole’. Believing this to be a defected Soviet officer who has access to the top secret war plan, and determined to find and recapture this traitor, the Soviets have deployed an elite VDV airborne battalion, East German para commandos and a land-based reconnaissance unit to track him down and capture or kill The Mole. This was the state of play that Gunman’s head honcho, Josh, revealed to us at the start of the event. After a short but comprehensive safety brief, a slightly lengthier brief about the specific ‘FilmSim’ rules for this event followed.

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SITE REVIEW GAME REPORT

Like being in the world’s best war film As with other Gunman FilmSim events, Josh explained to the players that it was more about pretending to be in the best war film ever than getting kills. Players were asked to drop to the ground screaming when shot instead of just shouting hit (and they were also asked to lie there for a few minutes to add atmosphere as you advanced past the ‘dead’ enemy). Similarly, players were expected to try and stick to their squads and the battle plan rather than wandering off looking for someone to shoot – it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but a growing number of airsofters are moving towards this halfway house between MilSim and free-for-all open days. Chuck in some extra 80s Cold War rules to add colour – limited ammo (only 300 rounds per ‘life’), chemical attack rules, section leader only radios and the ability for players to take on roles such as engineer, sniper or support gunner, which would govern their ammo loads, grenades and lives – and we were set to go. This rules briefing is the only real downside to these events, as it does take some time. While in theory every player should know these rules from the event forums prior to turning up to the event it’s never safe to assume everyone has read them and so it’s a necessary evil. With the briefings underway the Soviet commanders were led out into the field to reach their starting locations. The NATO forces gathered around the British command area as the Major in charge of the ops (that would be me then…) outlined the real plan using a sandpit model scooped out of the ground. Unbeknown to the Warsaw Pact, however, The Mole was not actually a person but a high-tech piece of software contained within a portable hardened case capable of predicting Soviet strategy and breaking their codes. It would be NATO’s job to keep this vital hardware on the move between key checkpoints throughout the day. Never ones to miss a good laugh, the second part of the plan was to dress one of our chaps in a Soviet camo suit and move him throughout the day to decoy locations in the guise of a prisoner: our ‘rabbit’ to lure the hounds, to avoid them savaging our Mole.

Soviets guessing, and send our decoy out with one of the other parties, the British forces put out one section as HQ security. The US lads were the recce force and the remaining two British sections were decoy and ‘Mole’ carriers. The ﬁrst day proved to be a relatively quiet affair for some players and utterly frantic for others. As the NATO forces patrolled about and tried to ﬁnd secure routes to their checkpoints they were frequently ambushed by small Warsaw Pact units. While these were repeatedly and successfully negated

they did force NATO to skirt around obvious paths and tracks and as a result a lot of the Soviet troops set up as garrisons at bunkers and checkpoints were bypassed. While historically feasible and great fun for NATO we were not surprised to find that some of the Soviets had had a frustrating morning without any sniff of the brave men of the Royal Union Rifles or the Rangers. But this can happen, as anyone who has been to this sort of event knows – and an hour of quiet patrolling makes the resulting firefight all the more intense. As with many FilmSim games there was no break for lunch; it was up to individual units to put up an all-round defence while their buddies quickly got some scoff down them or made a quick brew. This, combined with a couple of spring showers from the heavens, caused quite a few guys to start to flag and it took the platoon NCO’s best efforts to rally them and get the fighting spirit going again. Something must have worked as by mid-afternoon of the first day the Soviets managed to capture the fake Mole and find out they’d been duped. Knowing the game was up the NATO forces put all their efforts into safeguarding the real computer program Mole – and it looked like they were going to pull it off until, with only about 45 minutes of day one to go, we were dismayed to find that the Russians had finally captured the vital technology.

The hunt is on So with a sound plan to move the real Mole to key posts at regular intervals to keep the

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Race against time Now it was a race against time, with tiredness and hunger as additional enemies. All four NATO sections went all out to recover the hardware. Back at base I was almost despairing as it looked highly unlikely we’d be able to recover the package and casualty reports were coming in thick and fast from the sections. Then, miraculously and with minutes to go, a rather chipper British trooper told me the Mole was safely back in NATO hands and they were on their way back. At this point the heavens truly opened up and under the cover of a downpour (and pursued by a few Warsaw Pact commandos) the plucky chap ran back to HQ clutching the hardware. This pretty much drew a close to day one, and at about the same time as the ﬁnal whistle was blown for endex the rain abated.

Time for much need food and drink, a change of clothes and some tall tales of derring-do round the campfires… all too soon it was time for bed if we wanted to have a fresh start for the second day of the adventure. As the sun warmed the crisp spring morning air Josh explained that the Soviets, knowing they had been duped – and having suffered the double ignominy of letting the real Mole slip through their fingers – had ordered the air assault battalions back into the battlezone with the express order of wiping the NATO forces out. Gathering up our kit the NATO lads went to deploy in one of five prepared defensive positions they were tasked with holding throughout the day; as one fell the guys were ordered to fall back to the next one and so on. If all five were taken by the end, the Soviets would have gained the upper hand again!

Day two was a relatively linear affair with some excellent defences and assaults put in by the respective forces. As a commander I was frustrated at times; wide flanking moves by the enemy made it impossible for NATO to put up a lengthy defence as we frequently found our regen point ‘camped’ on. This was no real fault of the opposing players, rather the nature of the locations to defend and the difficulty of noting boundaries of approach – something the organisers agreed future events will bear in mind. All in all it was a close-run thing – with a mere half-hour to go the last NATO position fell. If the Soviets could make it to their exfil point they would be truly victorious. At this point I’d love to regale you with a great tale of a climactic end, but unfortunately due to sheer chance (and the difficulty of denoting areas that could or could not be used), poor disposition of my forces and communications errors the majority of the Russian forces found a path back to the helicopters that took them safely past a section of Brits who could clearly see them but couldn’t engage as they were held apart by a 200m area that was out of bounds. A few of the Russian horde did fall foul of NATO’s flank guards, but not enough to stop the majority getting away scot free! These minor niggles aside, it was yet another fantastic and immersive event by Gunman airsoft. Like the WWII genre before it, Cold War airsoft seems to be coming on in leaps and bounds, with more and more people signing up to battle each time. Not only do the numbers seem to be increasing but also the sheer detail, quality and diversity of players’ load-outs too. Cold War is fast becoming the next hot topic! ■

GUNMAN AIRSOFT Gunman Airsoft runs a range of FilmSim and other events, holds open skirmish days and more Contact: 07854 277264 www.gunmanairsoft.co.uk

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“W

eirdo!” Who hasn’t been called it, or thrown a look that silently implies it, when telling someone about your love of airsoft? Other common terms might include ‘geek’, ‘immature’ and ‘sad’. Being described as weirdos sets us aside from the ‘normal’ people of society and, as such, means that the airsoft community is a subculture – but is that a bad thing? In 1985 French philosopher Michel Maffesoli coined the term ‘Urban Tribe’ to describe urban micro-groups with similar interests, beliefs, dress codes and behaviour patterns that are different to the social norms of the time. These descriptions could have been created for sections of the airsoft community alone, but of course ﬁt every other subculture from punks to goths to intellectuals – and to the world of tattooing and piercing.

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Mike Buttrick examines the link between airsoft and tattooing and argues that airsoft, like tattooing, is a subculture Tattooing and piercing is the original subculture. It can be traced back more than 5,000 years to Ötzi, the iceman whose tattoos predate the earliest Chinese tattoos by 2,000 years – indeed, he proves that the oldest human skin discovered was covered in tattoos. Yet it has only started to become socially acceptable in the UK within the last 15 years – thanks to the likes of David Beckham and Robbie Williams bringing some much-needed media attention to the art form. And why does any of this matter? Well we airsofters represent a subculture – but what about the subcultures within our subculture?

Certain parallels can be drawn between airsoft and tattooing: unless you wander about supermarkets wearing camouﬂage and carrying an AEG no one would know you enjoy airsoft, and likewise tattoos and piercings often remain hidden under clothing. When it comes to buying airsoft kit and weapons people are often led by personal choice alone – and the choice of a piercing or tattoo is an intensely personal decision. When I began to write this article I sent out a message on the LAC forum asking if players with tattoos would like to be photographed and have their images

SUBCULTURES

Punishing: Mike’s ﬁnished ink

“Peoples’ choice of airsoft kit and AEGs are often led by personal choice and the choice of a piercing or tattoo is an intensely personal decision” featured. The response was impressive and conﬁrmed my belief that there are many players out there who have a foot in both camps of the airsoft and tattoo subcultures. Of the players that came forward only a few could be photographed due to time constraints but the pictures that I did obtain demonstrated the varied range in styles of tattoo that were out there among the players – a mix of traditional, tribal, urban, modern and medical styles. Another offer really surprised me and is probably the most original tattoo concept that I have encountered (but that will remain under wraps until my next article).

People I meet may not expect me, an experienced and senior professional, to have tattoos or piercings. I had my first piercing done at 16 and my first ink at 18. Upon starting this article I was up to three tattoos, which in the scheme of things isn’t many but this is due to two reasons. Firstly I learned from my grandfather’s mistake that a tattoo is for life, and must be chosen wisely – if you get a tattoo of your girlfriend’s name, Mary, make sure you’ve got a second Mary on back-up! Secondly I was waiting to have a special design for my kids – which is now on hold pending significant funds.

Contemplating this article set me on a journey to get more ink done – but it also highlighted another airsoft parallel to me, namely that when getting a tattoo done it is vitally important to go to a highly skilled professional. With this in mind I found my design and went on the hunt. Using recon skills honed in airsoft I trawled the urban jungle for intelligence and found myself on the phone to The Road To Nowhere tattoo studio in Barton Upon Humber. The studio’s name felt apt; airsoft is a real road to nowhere when you consider that we may win or lose a game, yet the next is a fresh start and the journey continues without any ultimate destination. The Road To Nowhere impressed me with the level of professionalism. Courtney Graham (studio manager; experienced in tattooing, piercing and biopsy punching, apparently) could not have been more excited about the idea of an article relating to the comparisons between subcultures and was keen to show tattooing in a positive light. Leigh Ann Owen (co-owner) was exceptionally friendly and Cheryl Gouldthorpe (resident artist, with a Degree in Illustration) was on board with my ideas immediately.

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Tattoos, like airsoft guns, are varied and personal

I knew I had chosen the right studio when Cheryl and I were discussing my choice of tattoo. I showed her the design and we talked about colours and styles – but rather than simply agree to my choice of design, she told me what she believed would and wouldn’t work well, before helping me to make a decision on the ﬁner details. Having seen her work beforehand this was not such a great leap of faith as she is clearly a very talented artist. There was also a nice dose of humility displayed by all of the staff when we were discussing the differences between male and female artists. Cheryl was in agreement that there are now far more female artists than there have ever been, but still not enough, yet she feels that neither male or female are better than the other and quite often it comes down to the ‘people skills’ of the artist and the preferences of the customer. People skills might not be quite so important when it comes to airsoft, but this distinction between the genders (or lack thereof) is something we should all be mindful of.

Again, like airsoft, standards are vitally important and the premises at the studio are brightly lit, welcoming, strike a good balance between privacy and a safe environment and, most importantly, are exceptionally clean – which realistically should be the ﬁrst thing you look for when entering a studio. Considering that blood is involved in tattooing, cleanliness and infection control cannot be forsaken for anything else. When the day came to have tattoo number four I knew I would be impressed with Cheryl’s work – but I was not prepared for how much so. She showed me what she had done with the design I had provided. I had given her a modern stylised version of ‘The Punisher’ logo with the motto ‘Si vis pacem, para bellum’ (If you wish for peace, prepare for war) – but her interpretation took me totally by surprise. As you will see from the pictures her design is fresh, mixes divergent colours in a vibrant manner and, most importantly to me, it is a unique take on a well-known logo. Throughout the two and three-quarter hours that I was in the studio Cheryl was attentive throughout and regularly checked to make sure that I was not in too much pain, but to me the most important thing was that she engaged me in interesting conversation to keep my mind busy. Just like in airsoft, the tattooing experience can be problematic if boredom sets in and lack of stimulation allows time to focus on discomfort. Although my appointment came several weeks after my ﬁrst meeting with the staff at Road To Nowhere it was nice to see they had not lost any of their enthusiasm for being

featured in an airsoft magazine. They talked about it with a real buzz and had also been very quick to check out Airsoft Action and my airsoft photo archives on Facebook. This left me with an amazing feeling, knowing that I had breached a divide between two subcultures and brought airsoft into the lives of people who most likely never even knew anything about our sport beforehand. Some of you may be wondering how my tattoo relates to or ﬁts in with airsoft. To me it is quite simple: in airsoft we mimic the look and actions of soldiers, and the motto Si vis pacem, para bellum is the motto of the US 31st Marine Expeditionary Force, RAF Spadeadam and the Royal Navy – some of the services that we mimic. This is the simplistic reason but more importantly to me, The Punisher is a comic book hero with no superpowers; instead he defeats his enemies with his amazing arsenal (every airsoft player should have a modiﬁed 1911 in their kit), plus the sheer will to do right and win in the face of adversity. This serves to remind me of the forces personnel who bravely defend us as a nation on a daily basis with nothing but the basic kit issued to them, their wits, skills and the bonds of brotherhood. This, I believe, is something that we can all aspire to – none of us are superheroes but we all have the innate ability to do wonderful things with our lives. ■ Remember…Tattoo virgins, please remember the point that I made earlier: If you wish to get a tattoo then make sure it is something that means something to you and that you will enjoy for years to come – unlike BBs, tattoos do leave a lasting mark!

ROAD TO NOWHERE The Road to Nowhere Tattoo and Body Piercing Studio: 01652 660 651, www.roadtonowheretattoos.co.uk

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SNOW WOLF BARRETT M82 The cheapest replica of the Barrett Light .50 around, is Snow Wolf’s M82 a skirmishable sniper? Well, no, says Scott Allan Introduction Snow Wolf might sound like a DVD you’d find in the Tesco bargain bin – but it’s actually a low-cost manufacturer from China. It has produced a few interesting products but nothing really of note, until now. Chinese manufacturerzs are almost 10 a penny these days – Jing Gong, Cyma and D-Boys to name a few. Most make a knock-off Tokyo Mauri rifle, or knock-off of a knock-off. Snow Wolf’s M82A1 is no different – it is another knock-off... of a knock-off. There have been a few airsoft Barrett replicas over the years. I owned one of the first ever made: the VFC gas-powered 8mm

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version. I was £1,200 lighter, 12kg heavier and had purchased the coolest paperweight in the airsoft world. I was utterly dismayed and sold it a short time afterward, resigned to the fact that there would probably never be a good one. The only alternative back in the day was the Hurricane kit. This required a donor M16 riﬂe, most often a TM M16. The kit alone was £700, and the donor riﬂe another £200. Given enough time and effort you would have a fairly nice M82 that did 280fps. A host of upgrades were required to get the power up – and the price continued to rise steadily.

More recently Socom Gear, a Taiwanese manufacturer, released a complete version of the M82. Based largely on the Hurricane kit and using Jing Gong internals this was the first ‘affordable’ version, at around £750. The workmanship was good with high-grade wiring and pre-fitted mosfet, but the price was still high for what was essentially just an M16 with a heavy body. Now Snow Wolf has had its kick at the ball, the cheapest way possible. The external finish is not too shabby at all: the metalwork and paint finish all look pretty fair. At £360 it is a mere sniff compared to any of the others.

THE ARMOURY “We have tried replacing just about every part inside them but I guess it is like trying to make a Fiat Panda into a Nissan GTR”

Real-steel deal

Snow Wolf M82

The M82 A1 is manufactured in the USA by Barrett Firearms Manufacturing. Also known as the ‘Light Fifty’ due to its .50cal round (12.7mm in new money), it is primarily an anti-materiel rifle, for vehicles and long-range sniping. At 14kg in the real world you are not going to clear a compound with it, that’s for sure. There has long been an argument about semi-automatic sniper rifles and their real world application. I can’t say who is right or wrong but I guess if I knew the enemy had one I would not be the first to stick my head around a corner.

The Snow Wolf version is full-metal, all the way from the awesome flash-hider that oozes coolness to the magazine which is nearly the size of a video cassette (for those who remember them). The paint has a nice grey flat finish which seems even and neat. It comes with the 20mm RIS mounted carry handle, which seems reasonably up to task but I would not trust it entirely. The magazine is a VN M16-style high-capacity magazine with a giant case around it, so you have around 160 rounds before it runs dry. The top rail is massive and easily takes the 50mm scope that comes with the rifle. The

mounts did not hold very well to the rail and had a slight wiggle. A layer of electrical tape to shim it seemed to sort it out. The bipod is removable but this is one of the few riﬂes I would leave it on – it is easy to use and seems quite tough-wearing.

The insides I immediately do not expect much from the riﬂe, purely because it is an electric-powered semi-auto sniper. Chronographing around 430fps out of the box it deﬁnitely has the power, but as you would expect the outside is nicer than the inside.

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It is okay, and that is as far as I would go. We have all had a Chinese rifle that blew us away in term of performance, because it cost you £100 and lasted ages. If it broke you didn’t care because it only cost you £100. The Snow Wolf Barrett is £360, which is nearly Magpul Masada money. Now I don’t hate this rifle or think it is a waste of money per se, but at the same time I would not recommend it to anyone as a useable sniper rifle out of the box.

Performance Electric semi-auto sniper rifles rarely impress me – they just do not work as well as gaspowered offerings. We have upgraded these rifles but they never seem to shoot all that much further or better. We have tried replacing just about every part inside them but I guess it is like trying to make a Fiat Panda into a Nissan GTR. Personally I would be tempted to downgrade it to 350-360fps – then you have no engagement distance limitations on game sites (most sites have a 20-25m engagement distance for higher-powered rifles). I feel you do not gain the extra 20-25m at the far end of your range and would rather have it at the short-end of my range. These can do full-auto as well… if one was so inclined. Would I have one of these rifles? Well yes, I do have one. But would I use one of these rifles? Perhaps for my own perverse amusement but nothing else. As a platform for upgrading these are great, as a show-piece they are even better. I still do not think they perform as well as a standard Warrior L96, my sniper rifle of choice. Undoubtedly someone will own a cracking out-the-box version of this gun, and will disagree with what I have written; such is life. I know two players who use these rifles – Scott and Cliff. Scott is a new guy who wanted a massive rifle that looked mean and is chuffed as a pig in the proverbial with the Snow Wolf Barrett. Cliff, meanwhile, is a crazy Australian who runs about with his like he was back chasing kangaroos in the outback. They both love them and they do get kills with them, proving they work. Cliff says he often has players come up to him after a game, happy they were shot by such a great-looking rifle, an odd side-effect but there you go! I have never met someone who does not like the Barrett aesthetically, but I know many who would not buy one. It is more a question of would I use it versus do I like it, and while not great out of the box they do give fair value for money. ■

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SPECIFICATIONS Snow Wolf M82 A1 Weight: ~5,000g Length: 1,450mm Inner barrel length: 650mm Construction: Full-metal zinc alloy Gearbox: V2 M4/M16 design Calibre: 6mm Velocity: 430fps Price: £360 Includes battery/charger, detachable bipod, detachable carry handle, hi-cap magazine, 50mm scope

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Alex Wharton takes a trip back to the Cold War to explore battles that ‘could have been’ if history had taken a wrong turn in Wargame: European Escalation

o you want to be a General, huh? Command vast forces from tanks to artillery to helicopters? Well allow me to introduce you to Wargame: European Escalation, a grand-scale strategy game from developer Eugen Systems. Set during the Cold War years of 19751985 the game centres round the division of Germany into East and West. Wargame takes the tension of the period and asks “What if?” You play out various battles that could have taken place should the Cold War have gotten a little more heated. Right from the outset you realise that

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this game is all about depth and detail. You don’t have just one tank at your disposal but a whole range of tanks that would have been available to that army at that time. This applies to all unit types as well. The maps are huge and you can zoom right out to get an overview, or right in to see the detail of what happening. With the game set in Europe the battlefields are mostly green fields and forests, with dotted villages to hide in. Small hills and ridgelines are present but most of the time it’s relatively flat. To get around without being destroyed you have to use forests and hedgerows for cover, and block the opposition’s line of

sight with buildings until it’s too late for your enemy. There are over 300 different units in the game including infantry, tanks, helicopters, reconnaissance, artillery, anti-air and support units. Each and every unit is accurately modelled on the real counterpart so has the correct armaments, speed, range and ammunition count. Variations of particular models are included, meaning you might be ﬁelding a T-72 tank basic alongside one with some upgrades, a bigger machinegun or main cannon for example. The fog of war plays a part in this game but it’s slightly different than in other

GAME REVIEW

strategy games. You can see the whole map from the outset but if you don’t have eyes on an enemy unit then you can’t see it. You will occasionally detect movement and the game places a standard vehicle in its place but it will be blacked out and the info tab won’t tell you anything. It could be a small jeep or it could be the unholy god of death bearing down upon you! Until you can identify it you just have to play safe. This mechanic does mean you can move around the battleﬁeld fairly ﬂuidly. Recon vehicles become a massively powerful tool due to the further sight range, allowing you to detect things coming at you and help you maneuver your units into the best attacking position. Hitting things is not quite as easy as telling your unit to attack. If you’ve been moving you will be slower to aim, and if they are moving they are harder to hit. If the morale of the unit is lower they are more prone to panic and therefore work slower. And just because the unit has its target in sight and is

“While the AI is cold and calculating, online players are shrewd, smart, and cunning. Show even the tiniest weakness and they will punish you”

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ready to fire doesn’t mean they won’t miss! You might hit front armour and the shot ricochets, or you might smack them perfectly and destroy them in a single salvo. Both can happen and it gives firefights a real sense of danger. That your tank is the biggest and heaviest only means it should win the fight, not that it will. Battles are fought over large tracts of land, with small areas within denoted as control zones. If you control these you can bring reinforcements to that location, or add to your points tick to allow you to buy more. Controlling these is vital to winning, and they are usually spread out enough that they become their own islands. You rarely have the resources or units to hold a line all the way across the map, so instead you hold a

point and try to gather enough to move on to the next one. The AI created for the singleplayer is certainly no slouch. It keeps you on your toes right from the outset. On the very ﬁrst level I played I overstretched myself, and all of a sudden enemy tanks were taking out my reinforcement location, forcing me to hastily pull back to stop them. The computer will ﬂank you, pick on weak spots in your line, send helicopters in when you are missing anti-air and generally make you seriously consider your strategy. But the story campaign is just a taster of the games that you will face online. While the AI is cold and calculating, online players are shrewd, smart, and cunning. If you show even the tiniest weakness they will

punish you. Overstretch and you will ﬁnd yourself cut off and surrounded. If you want to compete here then you have got to bring your A game. Wargame is set up for online gaming as well. Whenever you log in you are greeted with your online stats, the wins and losses you have and your rank in the world. That’s really what Wargame: European Escalation is about. It is a thinking man’s game. It progresses at a slow rate and punishes you brutally for mistakes. It is a game of chess. You have to outwit your opponent, ﬁnd their weak spot and strike. Unfortunately, that’s where I fall down. I am not a grand strategist – I sit back, defend, use artillery and then tank rush. In Wargame this doesn’t work so well. If you can juggle which units are best for what, which units need resupplying, and where the enemy is, though, perhaps you are just the person to take on the battlegrounds of Cold War-era Europe. There may be several thousand games in this genre, both RTS and TBS, but few do it as accurately and successfully as this one. ■

WARGAME: EUROPEAN ESCALATION Out now on PC only Developer: Eugen Systems Publisher: Focus Home Interactive Price: £29.99 www.wargame-ee.com

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See your ad here Call Hannah on 01926 339808 hannahb@blazepublishing.co.uk

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From Special Forces, to police, to airsofters – platecarriers are now a common sight around the world. Danny P puts three of the best to the test

KIT REVIEW

PLATECARRIERS W

hat I am reviewing here is probably very well-known to most of you and is a piece of equipment that has gone from being used solely by special operations units to being issued to every solider, sailor and airman on the battleﬁeld. The humble plate carrier has also become very popular with airsofters. For those of you that don’t know what they are, the clue is in the title! These bits of kit give the user the protection of body armour and take ceramic plates, yet are also able to carry all the equipment needed for their operational requirements. The three vests tested were supplied by Blackhawk, Paraclete and UK Tactical.

UK TACTICAL WARRIOR ELITE OPS DCS PRICE: £99.95

UK Tactical has fast become one of the leading suppliers of tactical equipment in the United Kingdom. I have seen its platecarriers used on airsoft playing ﬁelds – and in use by private security contractors and, in the past, by UK forces as well. The carrier I had on test was one of the new generation of platecarriers, designed to be lightweight and more comfortable than previous models. It is also a lowproﬁle rig capable of carrying plates and soft armour in the front, rear and sides to protect against IEDs (less of a worry for airsofters!).The carrier has plenty of MOLLE for attaching as many pouches as you want and comes with adjustable shoulder pads. One thing to note is that the vest has mesh on the front and back to allow the torso to breathe and aid in circulating air so you don’t get too hot.

Another thing to mention is that UK Tactical sends the vest out with foam inserts already inside, to help those customers wishing to use the vest in airsoft (a nice touch I thought). This carrier is also fully adjustable at both shoulders and waist. I used this vest on a mixed urban/ woodland game and have no complaints. It does exactly what it says on the tin, is nice and lightweight (even though it had soft armour inside) and I had no issues with rubbing which you sometimes get with carriers. It was so comfortable that I occasionally forgot I was wearing it – and it is priced very reasonably too. Colours: Crye Multicam or coyote tan Thanks to the guys at UK Tactical for supplying test kit (www.uktactical.com)

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PARACLETE PRICE: AROUND £470 Paraclete is a very well-known company based in the United States and has supplied body armour to the police and military for a number of years. These carriers are used by United States military as well as United Kingdom Special Forces and many others. The carrier I have on test is another of the new generation of platecarriers: both front and rear have room for your plates and soft armour, but unlike the older more bulky carriers this carrier has been designed to be low-profile and lightweight. There is room on the side too, for you to insert soft amour and plates to give protection against fragmentation. The reason the carrier has been made is to allow greater flexibility and movement. It also rides a little higher than the more common Osprey-type carriers and again, this is due to the nature of the operators that use these carriers and the type of jobs that they go on. The vest has plenty of MOLLE for attaching as many pouches as you desire and, as we all know, the great thing about MOLLE is that you can decide which pouches are needed where for your load out to suit your personal preferences. If you do need to carry any additional equipment there is room underneath to allow you to wear a belt – with even more pouches if needed. The carrier is fully adjustable at both the shoulders and around the waist allowing you to adjust as needed. I used this carrier on an urban day recently and found it very comfortable and easy to use and I had no issues with rubbing or overheating. The one thing I would say is that you need to put some sort of foam into the carrier as they are designed to have plates in them, but all in all a good all-round carrier available in an assortment of colours. Priced at around £470 it was the most expensive vest on test – but you know what they say about getting what you pay for. Many thanks to Edgar Brothers for supplying the review item: www.edgarbrothers.com

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BLACKHAWK STRIKE CUTAWAY CARRIER PRICE: AROUND £270

KIT REVIEW

Another very-well-known name in the military and airsoft world is Blackhawk – I tested one of its STRIKE Cutaway carriers. As the name suggests, this vest has a system that allows the operator (if hit) to pull a release handle and cause the vest to come apart for easy access to any wounds that may have been sustained. You might well ask why anyone would need this function in airsoft. Well, in 90 per cent of cases you never would need to use it, but as we all know we play a very physically demanding sport on terrain which can be hazardous (especially when running flat out in the wet) and injuries do occur. If this was to happen to you I can tell you from experience that getting rid of the weight of a plate carrier helps no end. Having said that, I also have to say that this is one of the lightest cutaway plate carriers available on the market today – but back to the task at hand… This platecarrier is designed to give all-round protection and is one of the older-style of carriers (what I mean by this is, to give all-over protection it sits all the way down to the waist). It has room for soft armour and plates in the front and rear and has plenty of MOLLE to allow you to carry pretty much everything including the kitchen sink. This carrier also has mesh at the front and rear to allow ventilation and to keep you cool in hot environments. It’s also fully-adjustable at the shoulders and waist. I used this vest on a weekend MilSim event and it was everything I expected of Blackhawk. Once it was on it felt like I wasn’t wearing a carrier at all (I had soft armour in this one as well). A good all-round vest for those wishing to carry a little more equipment but still be comfortable. Occupying a tidy middleground between the Paraclete and the UK Tactical option in terms of price, STRIKE kit is known for its reliability and quality, and the price reflects it. Available from plenty of good airsoft and tactical equipment outlets. Shop around!

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