Issue 11 - Jul 2012 by Airsoft Action

ACTION

THE Airsoft Magazine

W IN G

&G TR15 RAIDER X REVIEWE L – D ISSUE – W THIS OR OVER £30 TH 0!

KING ARMS

THOMPSON M1A1 NEPTUNE TACTICAL

STIRLING AIRSOFT

TIER 1 MIL SIM

Operation Greenhill: The West Side Boys come to Kent

Operation Sea Angel: Special Forces on the water

Operatin Deadfall: 36-hours of hardcore evasive tactics

best beginners' gun ❱ airsoft arms fair ❱ training estate ❱ F&O upper heyford

JULY 2012 - £4.25

THE ORIGINAL SUB MACHINE GUN

July 2012

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CONTENTS AIRSOFT ACTION - JULY 2012

Editor: Nigel Streeter Assistant editor: Anthony Platt Graphic Design: Steve Dawson Art director: Chris Sweeney Ad design: Anna Makwana Advertising: Toni Cole Operations director: James Folkard Assistant publisher: Ruth Burgess Editorial director: James Marchington Publisher: Wesley Stanton

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

MILSIM: NEPTUNE TACTICAL MARTIN STONE CHECKS OUT NEPTUNE’S FIRST EVENT

AIRSOFT NEWS ASIA IS RISING – PLUS SHOEI, REDWOLF AND BCB NEWS

WORKSHOP MICHAEL JONES TEACHES US THE IMPORTANCE OF SCREWS

REVIEW: KING ARMS M1A1 RATTY GIVES KING ARMS’ THOMPSON SMG A RUN-ROUND

KIT TEST: SCOPE REVIEW MATTY P TRIES TWO DIFFERENT TASCO SCOPES

MILSIM: STIRLING AIRSOFT NIGE GETS HIS SEALEGS WITH STIRLING’S OP: SEA ANGEL

MILSIM: TIER 1 MATT BRAZILL TRIES HIS HAND AT ESCAPE AND EVASION WITH TIER 1

BIG BOYS TOYZ RATTY CHECKS OUT A LESSERKNOWN BIT OF SOVIET KIT

SITE: FIRST AND ONLY RATTY’S RIGHT AT HOME AT RAF UPPER HEYFORD

GAS MAINTENANCE JAY SLATER SHARES A FEW TIPS FOR RUNNING AND SERVICING YOUR GAS RIFLE

TRAINING ESTATE SPECIAL GUEST AUTHOR KIRSTY WILLIAMS HAS THE LOWDOWN ON MOD TRAINING ESTATE

67 70 74 79

KIT BAG CHECK OUT OUR NEW TOYS AIRSOFT ARMS FAIR NIGE BRINGS SOME BIG NEWS BACK FROM AAF5 SKILLS ROOM BILLY BASICS GETS NOISY COLD WAR WARRIORS GADGE LOOKS AT THE ROLE OF AN SAS TROOPER IN THE EVENT OF WWIII

WHAT AM BESTEST GUN? GADGE ROUNDS OFF HIS SERIES AIMED AT THE NEWBIE

YOUNG GUNS RELOADING IS A SKILL WE NEED TO PRACTISE, SAYS JEZZ B

MEDIA REVIEW THIS MONTH, ALEX W CHECKS OUT SOME GREAT INDIE GAMES

SITE DIRECTORY FIND YOUR CLOSEST GAME SITE

ast year, in the midst of all the doom, I made (what some considered) a bold, possibly rash statement. I said that 2012 would be a good year for airsoft. Here we are at the beginning of June and I want to change that statement; I was wrong. It turns out 2012 is not going to be a good year for airsoft – it’s going to be an excellent one! Even with the recession, rising prices and the government taking chunks out of our disposable income, airsoft in the UK has continued to grow at a phenomenal pace – and so has the level of investment being made. Think about it: barely a week goes by without news of a new site or shop opening, and it’s not just that this is happening –it is the level of ﬁnancial commitment these companies are making. You only have to stick your nose into the new JD Airsoft shop to see what I mean. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that an eye-watering sum of money has been invested – not just in premises and stock but in people too! As I write this I am off to see a company tomorrow, one that has been on the fringes of airsoft for quite a while. They too have taken the decision to invest heavily… how can I put this? Well, let’s say that if I could put the same amount of money into a pension, I wouldn’t have to worry about retirement – not that I will be retiring any time soon but you know what I mean! Redwolf Airsoft has opened its new retail shop, First and Only continues to open new sites, Badger Tac has had a very successful Arms Fair and there are loads of exciting products scheduled for the rest of the year – and maybe a couple of surprises too! Oh yes, 2012 is going to be an excellent year for airsoft – and we’re only half way through! See you out there! Nige.

Find us on… www.facebook.com/AirsoftAction Search ‘Airsoft Action’

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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READERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; GALLERY Send your pics into anthonyp@blazepublishing.co.uk and see yourself in the mag â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the more the merrier!

Sam Foster rocking his ghillie cape

Metin Ali playing at R ed 1 Airsoft skirmish sit e (above)

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AIRSOFT | NEWS

AIRSOFT NEWS NEW BODY FOR AIRSOFT BUSINESSES Airsoft businesses now have a new way to make their views heard in the corridors of power, as industry leaders are poised to get behind a new initiative to represent the interests of the entire industry – the Airsoft Industry Association (ASIA). ASIA is a new umbrella association that will be all encompassing, representing the interests of all businesses involved in the airsoft industry. It represents site-owners and managers; manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors; media owners; and those in the business of retailing airsoft products. At the time of going to press, a committee of representatives from each sector is being invited to inaugural discussions to help develop a communications and promotions plan to keep airsoft growing and set a context for the way forward. ASIA’s board will include representatives from the United Kingdom Airsoft Players Union (UKAPU), and will also promote the interests of retailers by seeking to work closely with UKARA (the United Kingdom Airsoft Retailers Association) and grounds via the United Kingdom Airsoft Sites Governing Body (UKASGB). Airsoft businesses have been under constant attack from legislation more suited to that for firearms, and some have found themselves at the mercy of HMRC who have treated airsoft guns – essentially toys – as firearms, claiming a big chunk of import duty in the process. The United Kingdom Airsoft Retailers Association (UKARA) has a vital role to play for those at the sharp end in retail, but legislative and tax issues now facing airsoft businesses are wider than for retailers alone, according to Airsoft Action’s owner and publisher Wes Stanton. “UKARA has done sterling work in protecting airsoft during and after the VCR Acts and must be applauded for ensuring there is a legal defence to sell realistic imitation firearms. But the issues now facing other airsoft businesses

today, including grounds and those in the supply chain, merit more than single-issue campaigning. We view UKARA as incredibly important for retailers, and UKARA’s representatives will be welcomed on board alongside other businesses with a passion for airsoft.” “ASIA seeks to represent the interests of the whole airsoft industry – among our stated aims is to have ASIA included as a constituent member of the British Shooting Sports Council (BSSC), a body I have worked in close association with in the past, and which is the right channel to make our views known to government alongside other shooting-based activities. “We shall be able to draw on the experiences from our colleagues at the Gun Trade Association, the United Kingdom Practical Shooting Association, the National Smallbore Riﬂe Association and many others who have had issues relating to legislation, tax and, in some cases, downright prejudice. Though some may argue that airsoft stands alone, and should be treated as outside the scope of anything to do with ﬁrearms or airguns, my view is that we should hang together with those who have similar experiences in business – or else I fear we shall hang separately.” Several major airsoft businesses have pledged support for ASIA, including distributors Edgar Brothers, Armex (UK distributors for Umarex) and Redwolf Airsoft, plus retailers JD Airsoft, Badgertac, The Grange and Outdoor Pursuits, and skirmish organisers Lincolnshire Airsoft Club and Gunman Airsoft. To enroll your business in ASIA and get behind the industry, please contact Hannah Benson or Wes Stanton via hannahb@ blazepublishing.co.uk, call 01926 339808 or write to the Airsoft Industry Association (ASIA), Lawrence House, Morrell Street, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV32 5SZ, United Kingdom.

AIRSOFT SURGEON: NEW CONTRIBUTOR The Airsoft Action team is super excited to introduce our newest contributor. Wellknown throughout the Asian world for his incredible practical pistol skills, Clarence Lai will begin penning a regular article on the discipline from next issue. We met the Airsoft Surgeon at the recent Airsoft Arms Fair and managed to persuade him to write exclusively for

Airsoft Action. Look out for his ﬁrst article in the August issue! While you’re waiting, check out Clarence’s range of bespoke competitionready pistols, sold via Redwolf Airsoft: www.redwolfairsoft.com

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UKAPU NEWS As I write this the sun is shining and there’s barely a cloud in the sky. It can only mean one thing – the one fabled week of British summer may be upon us! Luckily, it happened to appear at the same time as the ﬁfth Airsoft Arms Fair, which is held at the Grange in Balsall Common, West Midlands. The next is in October, and tickets are available now, so be sure to grab yours before they’re gone! It was a very successful day and as usual UKAPU manned a stand, awareness of the association, safety in our hobby and generally getting to know everyone. These kinds of events are critical to UKAPU’s success – we try to attend whatever big games we can – so if you have an event coming up where you think we might be able to attend to spread the word then please reach out to Gareth Neale (events manager – events@ukapu.org.uk) with details. This month UKAPU will be attending the Fireball Squadron Weekender on 15 June. After that we will be leaving for Operation Berget – ‘The World’s Greatest Airsoft Game’ – in Sweden on 26 June. UKAPU members will be attending as a group (the Poldavians since you ask…) heading across in a minibus departing from the south of England. If you are attending please say hello and if not – well, why not? Even better, why not join UKAPU and come along with us next time? The association can be a great way to meet other likeminded players and arrange larger trips like Berget, helping keep individual costs down by clubbing together. If you have already joined UKAPU then thank you. If you would like to join, annual membership costs just £5 and is available from our website: www.ukapu.org.uk Neill – UKAPU Press Ofﬁcer

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REDWOLF RETAIL Redwolf Airsoft has announced it will be opening its own retail shop in the UK. Redwolf will be turning half of its warehouse space – located in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire – into shop front.

Keep an eye on our Facebook page for more details as they’re announced – and if you’re in Gloucestershire, watch out for another stellar airsoft shop on your doorstep!

NEW PRODUCTS FROM BCB INTERNATIONAL BCB International has announced two innovative new products for the military markets. The UK-based survival equipment specialist unveiled its new cooking fuel, Fire Dragon. Made from sugar beet it boils twice as fast as current standard Hexamine. Derek Taylor, project manager for Fire Dragon, explained: “Fire Dragon is ethanol-based and has the consistency of candle wax, so it’s easy and safe to transport. It burns clearly and cleanly with a zero carbon footprint in its production and use. “A number of other products on the market are toxic and sold with health warnings. Some give off cyanide

derivatives when burnt while others release formaldehyde in certain situations. “Comparative tests with the currently-issued Hexamine fuel show that Fire Dragon would enable service personnel to waste less time cooking and spend more time getting on with their job.”

Shortly afterward, BCB announced its new design field cooker, the Crusader Cooker. Described as ‘Russian-doll-like’, all the cooking gear a soldier needs – cup, canteen, cooker, water bottle, flint and striker – slot inside one another. The whole thing weighs just 312g and fits inside a standard issue PLCE bottle pouch. Using the Dragon Fire fuel it boils 500ml of water in five minutes. BCB International’s spokesperson, Philippe Minchin, said: “The Crusader Cooker has already sparked great interest because it includes some neat touches to make life easier. “To speed up boil time and reduce the smoke it gives off the cooker has a windshield and heat exchanger. Our troops can wave goodbye to wasting time and energy gathering tinder wood because the device comes with ethanol fuel sachets which are easy to light.” www.bcbint.com

AIRSOFT | NEWS

OBITUARY: MICHAEL JOHN CHRISTOPHER BRADBURY 2 January 1973 – 20 April 2012 Airsoft Action was shocked to hear the sad news of Michael Bradbury’s death last month aged 39. A devoted husband and father, Michael leaves behind his wife, Tina, and young son Cole. Michael died at home of a cardiac arrest on 20 April, at the tender age of 39. A service was held at Slough Crematorium on 4 May. It was very well-attended, reflecting how wellknown and highly-regarded Mikey was in all the circles that he moved in. Many airsoft shop and site owners, operators and players were in attendance. If you’ve been involved with airsoft in the southeast in any way in the last 16 years you will likely have met Mikey. A good friend of many, Mikey was also one of the first to promote UK airsoft. Born 2 January 1973, Mikey became involved in airsoft in his early 20s when the sport was very much in its infancy this side of the pond. A regular at Airsoft Adventures’ Greenham Common site, Mikey soon started marshalling and undertaking repair work on airsoft rifles. He was one of the crew responsible for organising what is considered the first ‘national’ game in the UK, held at Neath in 1998. Around the same time, Mikey and AAcontributor Ratty set up a new site at Sopley Camp. Though a qualified marine

engineer, Mikey became resident engineer at Wolf Armouries after Airsoft Adventures’ demise. He soon started making custom rifles, both for the shop and to customers’ specific requirements. While he was at Wolf, Michael met his future wife Tina. In 2001 he left Wolf Armouries and started his career in the security industry, qualifying as a CCTV installer and engineer. He stuck with this career to the end but never lost his passion for the sport. In his spare time Michael worked for Team Frontier. Not long after Airsoft Armoury opened in 2002 Mikey became one of two Classic Army certified engineers there. He became a regular player at Xsite Airsoft in High Wycombe and soon became a marshal there. If you played there between 2005-2009 there is a good chance you have been given guidance by Mikey. His other regular haunt was Elite Action Games, both Epsom and Dorking sites. He soon became a member of the Hit Takers group whose events he really enjoyed and threw himself into. Michael other interests and hobbies included American cars and fishing, to name a couple. The thoughts of all at Airsoft Action are with his family. Airsoft has lost one of its most devoted, long-standing players, promoters, engineers and all-round good guys.

SHOEI NEWS Shoei, Japanese manufacturer of WWII-era replicas, has launched its MP38 Transformation Kit. Used with an AGM MP40, the kit is simple to ﬁt. It consists of: upper receiver, mag catch button, cocking handle and three screws to attach it. Available direct from Shoei, the Kit costs around £150. As we were going to press Showei also

conﬁrmed it had limited stock of its MG42 airsoft replica. A total of 30 were manufactured, with 15 dispatched immediately as preorders. For orders, contact: info@ shoeiseisakusho.co.jp. To see the MP38 Kit in action visit: goo.gl/6xOjn. Shoei: www.shoeiseisakusho.co.jp

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KING ARMS M1A1 THOMPSON

SUB MACHINE GUN

Synonymous with well-dressed American gangsters, the Thompson M1A1 is a true iconic weapon. So how does King Arms’ real wood and full-metal replica fare? Ratty ﬁnds out

n the last week or so there have been two iconic films on the gogglebox. I’ve seen them both countless times, but despite that (and having both on DVD) I did what we all do: stay up late to watch them all over again! Big Hollywood names feature in the films, but one of the stars of both these films is undoubtedly the M1A1 Thompson Sub Machine Gun. Guessed the films? If your answers are Saving

Private Ryan and Kelly’s Heroes then pat yourself on the back and help yourself to a prize doughnut! There have been a few airsoft

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Thompsons available; Tokyo Marui produced the ﬁrst, which is still an awesome bit of kit and many still rave about. If you want one that’s full-metal and real-wood, though, there’s only really one option: the King Arms. Although it does sit at the more costly end of the market it has the build, performance and a bit of real tree to help justify this pricetag.

Military Thompsons I’ll not bore you with the full real-steel history as the information is readily-

available. Sufﬁce to say the ball was set rolling in 1915 by John T Thompson, though the ﬁrst Thompsons weren’t produced in time to see action in the Great War. The Marines used Thompsons during the American/Caribbean Wars and in China. There were some complaints from the Marines about the Thompson’s weight, inaccuracy at anything beyond 50 yards and lack of penetrating power. Some early Thompsons were bought by agents acting on behalf of the Irish Republic. A load ended up with the IRA; some were still in use 50 years later!

THE ARMOURYTHE | KING ARMOURY ARMS THOMPSON | KA THOMPSON M1A1

The Thompson really achieved early notoriety in the hands of the gangsters and lawmen during the prohibition and Great Depression era of the 1920s and ‘30s. The Federal Bureau of Investigation got its first Thompsons in 1933, following the Kansas City Massacre. Many were also sent to China in their war against the Japanese. The US military adopted the Thompson in 1938. It served throughout WWII and beyond. There were two types available, the M1928 and the M1, which later became the M1A1. Over 1.5 million military Thompsons were produced during WWII. The M1928 could use box or drum mags and came with a Cutts compensator, cooling fins on the barrel and a charging lever on top of the receiver. The M1 and M1A1 had a barrel without the cooling fins, a simplified rear sight, could only use the stick magazines and the cocking handle was on the right-hand side of the receiver. There were complaints, as the only stick mag available had a 20-round capacity. This led to the development of 30 and 40-round stick mags, with

the 30-rounder made standard issue in December 1941. Military Thompsons were issued to many Allied troops, mainly to NCOs, patrol leaders and scouts. It was issued in great numbers to British and Canadian Commando units as well as US Army Paratroopers and Ranger Battalions in the European Theatre of warfare. They all liked the Thompson because of its high rate of fire, its stopping power and its effectiveness in close combat. The Soviets also got Thompsons under the Lend-Lease agreement, but due to a shortage of appropriate ammo on the Eastern Front they were not widely used. In the Pacific Theatre, Commonwealth forces and the Australian Army used the Thompson extensively on jungle patrols and ambushes, again favoured because of its high rate of fire. It was found to have its limitations in heavy jungle as the .45ACP round would not penetrate through the plantation cover. Thompsons were used early in the New Guinea and Guadalcanal campaigns too. The Thompsons were supposed to be gradually replaced by the M3 and M3A1 SMGs, but due to delays Thompsons were still being purchased until February 1944.

The M1 and M1A1 The M1 was standardised in April 1942 and first issued in 1943. Rate of fire was reduced to 600-700 rounds per minute. The M1A1 was standardised in October 1942. They could be produced in half the time of the M1928 and at a much cheaper cost. By February 1944 the cost had dropped from $200 to just $45 each, including accessories and spare parts. In 1939 the US government was paying $209. A simplified firing pin machined into the bolt face became standard. Rear sights were a simple L-shape with triangular wings either side to protect the sight unit itself. Interestingly, the magwell was redesigned and could no longer accept the drum magazine, and on the M1A1 it was full-auto only. By now the 30-round

stick magazine was standard issue with Thompsons.

Post-war Thompsons have seen extensive use since the end of WWII. All sides used the Thompson during the Greek Civil War! It saw service during the Korean War with both US and South Korean forces, even though it had been officially replaced by the M3A1 ‘Grease Gun’. American forces were surprised to encounter Chinese Communist groups using it during the Korean War. However Chinese forces used it up until the Communist revolution in 1949. Some of Fidel Castro’s rebel guerrillas used the Thompson as well. In Vietnam, the Thompson was used by the South Vietnamese Army, US advisors and some other American troops. Closer to home, and as mentioned earlier, the Thompson was a key weapon in both the Official IRA and Provisional IRA’s armouries and were used extensively well into the 1970s. The FBI used the Thompson until 1976 whereupon it was declared obsolete and all Thompsons in US government possession were destroyed, bar a few kept back as training aides and museum pieces. Some Thompsons, or copies of them, have been seen on more modern battlefields including the Yugoslav wars, Bosnia and Kosovo.

King Arms M1A1 Thompson Real Wood This airsoft replica makes an incredible ﬁrst impression. Taking it out of its box the real wood furniture is striking and of a very high quality, unlike some I’ve seen. It’s a dark wood and really sets the gun off nicely. The all-metal receiver and barrel lets you know that you are carrying something that is solid and robust. In fact the whole thing looks too damn good. A Thompson should look a bit battered and weathered, to give it that air of authenticity of being through many a conﬂict. The battery (a large 8.4v) is housed in the easily-accessible stock.

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against the metal fig 11 target. Oh yes, this is good fun! Another burst, then another, and it didn’t take long to empty the mag. After a couple of refills I adjusted the hop slightly and let rip some more. It’s a bit twiddly to alter the selector switch when the weapon is shouldered, but that is more about familiarising yourself with the rifle. I did some shorts on semi, but like the real thing this thing works best with short bursts on auto. When put through the chrono it achieved a very reasonable 335-350fps.

Summary

The stock also has the rear sling mounting swivel point. Moving down the left-hand side of the licensed and logoed receiver, the first switch you come to, located just above the pistol grip, is the main safety. Two options are available: safe or fire. Just in front of the safety is the fire selector. Again just two options: single or full-auto. Just below that is the mag release catch, although it’s more of a lever. Using any of these switches requires a bit of effort. Not that they’re really stiff, but they are not loose and unlikely to move of their own accord. Definite movements ensure you know it’s definitely engaged. The pistol grip is also made of real wood and is quite large – not really suitable for folk with tiny hands. Forward of the trigger housing is the magwell. The two allow

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the mag to slide in straight, avoiding any potential misfeeding. The hop adjustor is also located here, and is similar to that found in the G3 series. More wood on the forend, along with the front sling swivel mounting point. On the right-hand side of the receiver is the cocking lever which moves back and forth manually, though purely for cosmetic reasons.

On test With a fully charged 8.4v battery fitted I loaded the included 420-round magazine with Blaster 0.20g BBs. After winding this up I slotted it into the magwell and popped onto my test area for a blatt. Ok: safety switch onto fire, selector switch to auto and away we go. First pull of the trigger and a stream of BBs flew down the range. All of them thwacked

The Thompson is one of those guns that everybody thinks can only be used in a WWII situation. Wrong. Researching this article made me realise quite how long and varied a service life these things have had. Vietnam, Korea, Bosnia… let alone its life in law enforcement and crime. So this one gun can bring to life a dozen different load-outs and scenarios! King Arms, in the most part, produce quality AEGs and accessories. There have been some bits and pieces that haven’t impressed as much as I had hoped for – but this is NOT one of them. These really do rock. It’s robust enough for one of Oddball’s Sherman’s to drive over and still use it afterwards. Ok, maybe a bit overdramatic, but you get the gist! It is weighty, so be prepared for lugging it around all day. When you are letting rip on full-auto, though, the weight will soon be forgotten. The wood furniture is top quality and the whole gun will give you years of enjoyment and serious gaming. Is it worth saving up the extra money for? Yes, deﬁnitely. Hell, it’s not like you have to go and rob a bank behind German lines to afford it! ■

KINGS ARMS THOMPSON M1A1 WEIGHT: 2,930g LENGTH: 805mm INNER BARREL LENGTH: 315mm CONSTRUCTION: Aluminium, zinc alloy, real wood MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 420 rounds HOP UP: Adjustable BATTERY: Large 8.4v VELOCITY: 340fps

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

G&G TR15 RAIDER XL AS SEEN IN THIS ISSUE OF

AIRSOFT ACTION! Right, as usual we’ve got one top-quality rifle to pass on to one of our readers. Check out the review starting on page 24 to find out more about this exquisite electric blowback rifle from G&G. Fancy your chances? Answer the question below and send your entry by post or email to the usual address.

QUESTION: Which of these is NOT a real G&G riﬂe TR15 Raider XXL

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TR16 R4

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TR4 CQB-H

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TR16 CRW

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Post your entry to: Raider XL, Airsoft Action, Blaze Publishing, Lawrence House, Morrell Street, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV32 5SZ. Or, email your entries to competition@blazepublishing.co.uk, quoting ‘Raider XL Competition’ in the headline. Entries received after 5 July 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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OPERATION:

SEA ANGEL Stirling Airsoft’s continuing ‘Tour of Duty: Alex 3’ sees UK SBS and US Navy SEALs trying to prevent the theft of missiles from Equatorial Guinea April 27, 19:47 – somewhere in the Gulf of Guinea The five men tried hard to look like ordinary fishermen and not stare as the grey leviathan bore down on their tiny vessel. They knew they were safe as the ship was flying the White Ensign and they were in international waters. Still, the pile of weapons hidden under nets made them nervous and furtive glances confirmed the pressure of being under the gaze of a British warship. The ship didn’t slow and as it drew astern one of the men slowly moved the throttle up, trying to put water between them but

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not look like they were running. The distance grew and the men started to relax and smile. They had fooled the Royal Navy – wouldn’t that be a story to tell later that night! A warning shout soon replaced the smiles with frowns; two small craft could be seen leaving the side of the ship and heading their way at high speed. Assault craft! What were they doing? Surely they did not mean to board them, not in these waters? Despite the seeming futility the throttle was pushed hard against the stop as their craft struggled to increase speed in the choppy sea. It was starting to get dark.

Perhaps if they were lucky they might just be able to escape and if not, well what could the British do? They were just fisherman after all and the British wouldn’t dare come onto their boat. As it turned out, they were wrong on both counts! The RIBs covered the distance between the two vessels in a matter of minutes and the ‘fishermen’ soon found themselves face down on the deck, their weapons discovered and the muzzles of numerous automatic rifles pointed in their direction. Even now they were not particularly concerned – after all they had heard of this happening to other

EVENT REVIEW | MILSIM pirates and, although their weapons would be thrown overboard, nothing else could be done. They would return to port and get ready to go ‘hunting’ again tomorrow. Nervous glances turned first to shock and then to fear as, one by one, the men were hauled up and placed into the RIBs. Despite loud protestations the five were soon bouncing around in the bottom of the boats as they pounded back the way they came, to the now stationary ship. Their captors’ hard eyes betrayed nothing as they were herded aboard, the more observant of them noticing the ship’s forward deck gun being readied for firing as they were ‘encouraged’ down a vertical ladder into the blackness of a small cargo hold. The last sound they heard in the darkness as the hatch closed above them was that of rounds smacking into their boat and the resulting explosions as it was utterly destroyed. As it turned out, for them it was simply a case of wrong place, wrong time!

April 28, 05:30 – an island just off the Coast of Guinea The Recce Team had been through a rough 24 hours. Covertly inserted into the area the day before, they had pushed their way through dense jungle before ﬁnding a suitable harbour area. Having cached their packs and grabbed a couple of hours of much-needed kip they were now ready to head out. Their brieﬁng had been quite straightforward: intel had been received that suggested the Knights of Azear, aided by elements of The Divine Brotherhood of Roy, were planning to raid a missile site in Guinea and smuggle the missiles back into Chad.

The purpose, as the KoA saw it, was to launch a ‘spectacular’ strike against the centre of President Aluma’s powerbase in N’Djamena. The ground to air missile battery protecting the Gulf of Guinea made an ideal target. It was on an island, so could be attacked from any direction. There were plenty of coastal landing points, along with rivers leading inland to other places where the missiles could be loaded onto boats – although this would be tide-dependent. At the very least it would give the KoA a corridor through which they could move weapons and other materials with impunity. This could not be allowed to happen. They had been tasked to locate the missile system and do a close target recce of the enemy force and their positions, while securing a landing location for the UK SBS and US SEAL teams currently at sea. The plan was for the Recce team to meet up with seaborne forces and assist them to secure the rockets before the KoA had chance to capture them – but even the best laid plans can sometimes go awry… A patrol had left after dark to identify a suitable landing area. This exposed an immediate issue with the island – the topography was badly affecting signals and making comms extremely difﬁcult. As nothing to the contrary had been heard it was assumed all was OK and other patrols were despatched to locate the missile system and opposition forces. It wasn’t long before a message was received that the missile battery, an old Rapier system, had been located – then all hell broke loose! The harbour had been discovered and came under ﬁerce attack, with enemy forces trying to surround those who had remained

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to defend it. With grim determination they fought back and managed to repel the assault without too many losses. As the ﬁring died away they knew the respite wouldn’t last long. Then a message came through that the patrol on the missile system had been lost and the Rapier taken, just as the next attack hit them. With men going down all over the place it seemed the area would be overrun and was only stopped by the timely return of the night patrol, who tore into the approaching enemy and pushed them back. It turned out that they had received instructions from the ship to recce opposition numbers in a local village and were then to return to the beach area to re-establish comms with the ship and assist

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with the landing. With no rest, the patrol immediately headed out again – and that was the last time they were heard from. As the day wore on the attacks became more sporadic, almost as if the enemy knew what was going to happen and were saving their strength. Then some very unwelcome news came through – there was a Force Nine storm blowing and it was doubtful the SBS and SEALs would make it ashore! Imagine everyone’s sheer relief when, completely unannounced, a half-dozen

Multicam and AOR1clad soldiers appeared, closely followed by the rest of their teams! It was not all good news though; due to the approaching storm they would only have six hours before heading back to the beach so it would be impossible to set up a counter-attack to recover the missiles. All they could do was provide cover while the rest of the Recce team pulled back to a more secure position, from where they could conduct ‘guerrilla strikes’ against the opposition.

EVENT REVIEW | MILSIM

“With men going down all over the place it seemed the area would be overrun and was only stopped by the timely return of the night patrol, who tore into the approaching enemy and pushed them back”

Not happy but with no choice, they gathered their kit and silently moved away. As it turned out, the ‘distraction’ developed into a fierce firefight that resulted in the deaths of Nick Dundee, along with his sidekick Michael Muchiri – both were HVTs on the Task Force’s ‘most wanted’ list and had evaded capture for over 18 months. A third HVT, Financier Didier Machon (aka Uri Razmanov), who had been brought in to arrange payment for the missiles was also killed.

April 28, 14:45 From their new position atop a steep slope the Recce team had a good view over the valley in front of them and were protected at the rear by dense foliage, so it came as

something of a surprise when they started taking hits! Snipers had worked their way onto the opposite slope and were doing a great job of picking off them off – it was all the medic could do just to keep up with the wounded! Realising their predicament, some of the guys started pushing their way through the foliage in an attempt to flank the approaching KoA forces. This led to an event that would ultimately change the whole course of the conflict. Caught completely off-guard, the KoA advance was quickly overrun and one of the fighters was recognised as a very important KoA leader, Victor Von Loon. Unfortunately he died during the violent struggle to capture him and with Von Loon dead the

remaining ﬁghters seemed to lose heart and disappeared into the trees. With their position compromised the Recce team had no option but to push on with their task and so began a series of raids on the enemy positions at every opportunity – going in stealthily, hitting them hard and getting out quick. It was just after one of these raids, as the guys were hidden in a small copse, when the ramiﬁcations of Von Loon’s death started to become apparent. A vehicle was heard moving along the track that bordered their position and as it came alongside it stopped. Two men, hands raised, got out of the vehicle and one walked straight towards where they were hiding. With the pair of them covered by guns he

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asked to speak to the Squad Commander and indicated that he had something very important to discuss. It turned out the guy’s name was Victor De Vere; he had taken over the KoA leadership after the death of Von Loon and wanted to ‘do a deal’ – involving a large sum of money, safe passage, immunity from prosecution and new identities in the USA for him and his men. In return he would turn against his former allies and help to either capture or destroy the Rapier system – at the very least making sure it would never leave the island. It was now 18:30 and a second meeting was arranged for 20:00, at the same location.

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Although heavily outnumbered the Recce team had so far employed guerrilla tactics very successfully, but now they had to wait around. exposed, for nearly 90 minutes. It’s a risky strategy at the best of times – and on this occasion it turned out very badly indeed. Having recognised their situation the Squad Commander led the team up onto a high ridge. From here they could observe the meeting point and keep an eye out for enemy forces. It didn’t take too long before they were being harried from the far end of the ridge – and while pushing forwards to clear the ridge they

were hit from the rear by a massed force supported by vehicle-mounted machineguns. They were completely outmanoeuvred, outnumbered and outgunned and were simply swept from the ridge, and those not killed were taken prisoner – including the Squad Commander. As darkness fell the wind started to build; while the few that managed to escape the carnage on the ridge doggedly continued to probe the enemy defences, eventually they were forced to seek shelter as the full fury of the storm swept over the island. At some point in the night a series of explosions could be heard coming from the village, but no reports as to what caused them.

EVENT REVIEW | MILSIM

April 29, 06:00 The storm had somewhat abated as the remnants of the Recce team huddled under cover, trying to piece together what had happened and what to do next. The only two bits of good news were that during the night the Squad Commander had managed to escape (probably the cause of the explosions) and approval had been granted to accept Victor De Vere’s proposal. With this is mind a hasty plan was agreed upon to prevent the missiles from leaving the island. There were only three roads on the island and the Rapier, being towed behind an old Land Rover, had to come down one of them. The plan was to identify which road it was on, block its exit with another vehicle, kill the occupants, capture the missiles and get the hell out of there. Men were positioned along each of the roads and could rapidly move to ambush the Land Rover wherever it was stopped.

The distinctive sound of a heavily-laden Landie percolated through the trees and the blocking vehicle moved into position. Surprised at the sight of another vehicle in front of it, the Land Rover came to a juddering halt as a fusillade of shots rang out. They had to move fast – it wouldn’t take long for the KoA to ﬁgure out what had happened and reinforcements to arrive. Too late – they were already here! Shots were still coming from the Land Rover and the KoA were pressing hard from all ﬂanks. Whatever happened next, the missiles must not be allowed to leave the island. To be continued… ■

STIRLING AIRSOFT Stirling Airsoft runs a range of MilSilm events and training days. The next event, Op: Diamond Strike, takes place on 16 June. CONTACT: 07831 429407 www.stirlingairsoft.com

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G&G TR15 RAIDER XL G&G’s Top Tech range of riﬂes features some immensely capable weapons, says Matty Phillipson – and the TR15 Raider XL is one of the best

art of G&G’s Top Tech ‘Advanced Series’, the TR15 Raider XL is a little more than ‘just another M4’. Those of you who have been around a few years may know of G&G’s reputation of old – a reputation for producing pretty shoddy weapons with dodgy internals. Well, I wasn’t around then, thankfully, so I had no preconceptions about the company’s offerings. I’ve met many a seasoned player who has automatically assumed my Raider XL cost the price of a box of grapes and has about the same longevity. I take great pride on wiping that all-knowing smirk off their face with a well-placed single tap from a distance

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they didn’t believe I’d tag them at. Anyway, enough of that. I’m not going to do a real-steel history as I don’t know it and you can read Wikipedia as well as I can, so lets get straight into it.

First impressions The newer G&G boxes are smart, matt black affairs with just a picture of the gun and a bit of blurb. Very neat looking, and that’s continued inside. The usual polystyrene cofﬁn houses the riﬂe, hicap magazine, vertical grip, rail covers, cleaning rod and a very comprehensive cleaning manual. This is a pretty good package; no battery or charger included but to get the vertical grip and rail covers as

standard is a nice touch. Both are plain and black, minus the G&G Armament marking. The rifle is full-metal, with plastic stock, pistol grip and front sight. It’s pretty long, and a solid platform to build upon for a DMR. Starting from the back we have a sturdy six-positional crane stock with a thick rubber buttpad. As with most stocks of this style there is a bit of wobble in it, though it locks firmly in position. As most people will tell you, the look and feel of a rifle is an important thing in airsoft. Well, when it comes to look and feel this is a stunner. Shouldering the rifle is smooth and the full metal construction gives it a solid weight,

THE THE ARMOURY ARMOURY || G&G KA THOMPSON RAIDER XL

though not uncomfortable. I can (and have) ran about with it for a full day without problems. Just forward of the stock is the rear sling point, beneath the charging handle which opens the dust cover and gives access to the hop up. The receiver is a standard configuration affair, with fire selector on the left-hand side just above the pistol grip. This deserves a mention; described as ‘ergonomic’ it fits the hand extremely well and a bit of texturing allows for improved grip. On the magwell is a big G&G Top Tech logo and serial number, but apart from that and the ‘safe-semi-auto’ marking it’s devoid of trades. The front end features full, 10.5in RIS rails, so plenty of space for pretty much anything you might want to stick onto it. The continuous rail gives the gun an extremely streamlined look, and it’s big enough to mount a proper scope if

you were looking at developing a DMR platform.

On test I tested this gun out on my range at home before getting it to a game. I wasn’t being very scientific about it, just getting the rifle bedded in – but the first thing I noticed was how much I liked the blowback action. This was my first EBB experience and I was sold immediately. The Raider XL is a realistic looking beast when it’s sitting there doing nothing, but add that EBB blat to it and in action it’s a menace. The gun comes with a G&G 450-round hi-cap magazine so I stuck with that for testing as it feeds very well and feels sturdy enough. With an 9.6v mini-type battery in the crane stock the rate of fire was decent – I might consider a 7.4v LiPo though, when I’m a bit more confident about using them! After a few hundred rounds and a bit

“Steel gears, high-torque motor, reinforced gearbox, 8mm bearings, 6.04mm inner barrel, the works. G&G has come a long way from the days of yore” www.airsoftactionmagazine.com

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Conclusion I hope this has all been some use to you. Many of you will not be a fan of any M4-style rifle, no matter what I say. That’s fine; you’ll never please everyone! But if you might consider an M4-type AEG – perhaps had your eye on the HK416, or something along the lines of a PDW – you could do much worse than this. It’s not a cheap rifle, which is reflected in its quality of build. Full metal, full RIS, crane stock, extra goodies as standard… out the box it really is ready to rock, and the internals leave little to be desired. Steel gears, high-torque motor, reinforced gearbox, 8mm bearings, 6.04mm inner barrel, the works. G&G has come a long way from the days of yore – old hats take note, because this is not to be scoffed at! The final word is that this is a super sturdy, reliable rifle, ideal for newbie or veteran. Don’t be put off by the pricetag as it’s worth every penny. M4s are a bit Marmite – love ‘em or hate ‘em – but to be honest look past the ‘platform’ and you’ll see this is a versatile, high-quality EBB AEG that every style of airsofter could find a reason to add to their armoury. Old habits die hard, but reputations are made to be broken – well, let’s hope G&G embraces its new reputation as purveyor of fine firearms! I for one will be keeping an eye on what the company is doing this year. ■

G&G TR15 RAIDER XL

of care of the moving parts and whatnot I put it through a chrono for the first time (using ASG Blaster 0.2g). Almost dot-on as advertised it averaged out to 323fps. I was pretty astounded, to be honest – out the box this is about as perfect a rifle as you could ask for. For most UK sites there’s no need to go any higher velocity-wise, but it churns out a decent rate of fire and can hit a

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man-sized target at 100ft and probably beyond. I’d like to take this as a base weapon to build a single-shot DMR. I’d considered the HK416 by Umarex/VFC but the blowback action of the Raider XL is the cincher. They’re both beautiful bits of kit, but one sounds nicer than the other – when it comes to airsoft, that’s pretty much all I need to know!

LENGTH: 770mm (stock extended); 680mm (stock retracted) INNER BARREL LENGTH: 233mm WEIGHT: 2,560g CONSTRUCTION: Full-metal MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 420 rounds HOP UP: Adjustable VELOCITY: 320-330fps PRICE: £320 Huge thanks to Pro Airsoft Supplies for supplying test riﬂe PRO AIRSOFT SUPPLIES: 0208 292 6548, WEB: www.proairsoftsupplies.co.uk

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SOVIET 2S1

GVOZDIKA

SELF PROPELLED GUN Named after a flower, the Soviet 2S1 ‘Gvozdika’ is one of the lesser-known bits of Soviet armour. Over to Ratty…

egular readers of Airsoft Action will remember I reviewed a tank driving experience day at Tanks A-Lot last issue. Among the vast array of kit there (and one of the vehicles driven by course attendees) was the 2S1 Self Propelled Gun. If you speak to anybody and ask them to name a Soviet Cold War armoured vehicle, you will get varied response (T62, T-72, BMP, what have you) but I am fairly positive the 2S1 would not be on anybody’s list. So for Big Boyz Toyz I thought it worthwhile to take a closer look at this little-known wagon.

History The ﬁrst prototype was ready for trials in 1969. The chassis was a development of the

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already existing MT-LB armoured personnel carrier (APC). The MT-LB chassis has six road wheels whereas the 2S1 has seven. The 2S1 first entered service with the Soviet Army in the early 1970s and was seen in public for the first time at a Polish Army Parade in 1974. All Soviet Self Propelled Gun series were given names, and strangely enough were named after flowers. The 2S1 was given the Gvozdika designation, which translates as ‘carnation’. The Americans designated the 2S1 as the M1974 or SP-74. 2S1s were built at a number of Russian, Bulgarian and Polish state factories. Although described as a Self Propelled Gun, the Russian press described the Gvozdika as a Howitzer.

BIG BOYZ TOYZ | GVOZDIKA

“Should the Mujahideeen return fire on Soviet forces the gunners would fire one or two ranging shots in an attempt to quickly engage the targets before they slipped away. Once confirmed they would fire a massive bombardment onto the position” used by some non-Warsaw pact countries too. They saw active service with Russian forces in Afghanistan as well as in the Bosnian war. Through upgrade programmes and the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, the 2S1 is still in wide service around the world today – it last saw action in the recent Libyan uprising.

Capabilities The Gvozdika’s introduction into service coincided with the expansion of the Soviet motorised rifle regiment’s artillery battery to a battalion. They were deployed in large numbers: 72 per tank division and 36 per motorised rifle division. With its amphibious capabilities, plus the option of two different track widths for different terrains, the 2S1 provided the Soviet Army with highly-mobile, long distance firepower that fitted neatly in its doctrine of the offensive. It was in service with virtually all Warsaw Pact countries and was also found to be

The boat-like hull gives a bit of a clue that this vehicle is amphibious. It also contains the engine compartment housed in the front right-hand side. The driver’s compartment, apart from being tiny, is located at the front left, with the driver’s hatch to the left of the gun tube. Like most Soviet vehicles the Gvozdika was designed to have a low proﬁle and the whole thing measured in at 7.26m (23ft 10in) long, 2.85m (9ft 4in) wide and just 2.73m (8ft 11in) high. The power plant is a YaMZ-238N V8 diesel producing 300hp, giving the 16-tonne 2S1 a top road speed of 60kmh (37mph), or cross-

country of around 30kmh (18mph). In water it could achieve 4.5kmh (2.8 mph). The fuel tank held enough fuel to give the Gvozdika a range of 500km – some 310 miles! The engine was mated to a manual gearbox so involved a hefty left foot to work the clutch. As I said earlier it had the option of two track widths; the wider tracks lowered the vehicle’s ground pressure and made it easier to travel across soft terrain. The tracks also propelled the 2S1 when in the water. Very little preparation was required to make the vehicle fully amphibious. Lightweight and low proﬁle, it could also be easily air lifted if necessary. The ﬁghting compartment (located in the rear of the hull) is topped by a low-silhouette, rotating turret. Atop the all-welded turret is the Commander’s cupola (with a single hatch cover) located on the left side of the turret, with a loader’s hatch on the right. The gunner, also located in the left side of the turret, has no hatch. Both the Commander and driver have IR nightvision equipment but

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the gunner has none! An interesting feature on the turret is a teardrop-shaped port cover on the left front near the gunner’s position. The 2S1 also has a direct fire sight beside its panoramic telescope. This direct fire mode meant it could be used for engaging other armoured vehicles or breaching minefields and other obstacles. As with nearly all Cold War-era armoured vehicles, the Gvozdika was fitted with a collective NBC overpressure and filtration protective system. The long 122mm Howitzer mounted on the rounded front of the turret is derived from the towed 122mm Howitzer, D30. The double baffle brake is flush with the forward edge of the hull and has a fume extractor located midway along the tube. Manned with a good crew, a Gvozdika was able to fire a consistent five rounds per minute and, depending on ammo type, could hit targets between a minimum of 1,000m up to 15,300m. With rocket-assisted ammo this could be extended to 21,900m! They are capable of firing a mixture of ammo types including HE (high expolsive) leaflet, HE/RAP (high explosive armour piercing) flechette, as well as chemical rounds. The 2S1s were not without their limitations though. It is lightweight and was never intended to be right on the front line, so it has very little armour protection for its four-man crew.

Service history As I said earlier they saw wide service with the majority of the Warsaw Pact forces. Thankfully they never saw active service in this role while overrunning Europe! However, in Afghanistan they were deployed by battery or battalion, supporting raiding motorised or air assault forces. Prior to

the raid, the Gvozdikas would fire three, five-minute sessions on pre-determined targets. Should the Mujahideeen return fire on Soviet forces the gunners would fire one or two ranging shots in an attempt to quickly engage the targets before they slipped away. Once confirmed they would fire a massive bombardment onto the position. Since then they saw active duty in both outbreaks in Chechnya, both Iraq wars, throughout the Yugoslavia wars, Kosovo and Georgia during the South Ossetia war in 2008. During the Bosnian civil war they were used in a multitude of roles, from providing long range artillery for softening up towns and villages, to providing heavy support for ground forces, breaching defensive positions and such. In fact, the seven 2S1s at Tanks A Lot were bought from the Serbian Army. They were used more recently by both sides in the Libyan uprising.

That the Gvozdika is still in service with more than 30 different countries, including Russia, Poland, Romania, Iran, Ukraine, Syria and Kazakhstan, shows how popular and versatile this vehicle is. With upgrade programmes available for both powerplants and gunnery systems, the 2S1 series undoubtedly has a few years of active lifespan left.

Summary Until the other week it had been a long time since I had seen a Gvozdika up close and personal. That time they were on the other side. It still amazes me how basic a lot of the Cold War-era Soviet kit is. Researching for this article, I didn’t really realise how competent these vehicles were – and indeed still are. We were always taught that the Soviet kit wasn’t particularly well-made or effective but that they had the sheer numbers behind them to win them the day. That said, I’m not so sure! This is one very underrated bit of kit and thankfully I never had to look at them down my Chally gunner’s scope. Not that it would have mattered – I would probably have missed anyway! ■

ON THE MARKET Judging by the internet results, there are less of these up for sale compared to vehicles featured in these pages previously. To give you some idea, we found one up for sale ‘as is’ for $22,300. As always, ask questions and consider joining the MVT (www.mvt.org.uk)

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HAVE A GAS After playing with the WE M14 Ra-Tech Lvl2, Jay Slater’s learnt a thing or two about running a gas blowback weapon. Here he shares his hard-learnt wisdom

he gas blowback gun (GBB) is a complex beast. Just getting to learn the basics on what gas to use and how to maintain a GBB is rich in complexities and confusion. That said, the GBB has many advantages for the more serious gamer and is highly rewarding. Where realism is concerned the gas gun beats electric hands down. An AEG with its gearbox and sewingmachine whine doesn’t come close. Where AEGs enjoy high-cap magazines, enabling the player to hose down the opposition with wild abandon, the GBB forces a distinct style of play in conserving ammunition and taking shots when necessary. For a growing number of GBB converts it offers a level-headed and enjoyable experience, far removed from the AEG where realism truly left the building. Therefore the GBB has its merits. The GBB can be realistic. They strip like their full-steel brethren and weigh the same – they’re so damn close that military forces employ their use for training scenarios. The magazines often hold the same amount of BBs as a real magazine would (the WE M14 Ra-Tech L2 holds 20, but can be modified to house 30) and the blowback is sheer nirvana with a joyful metal clack. Also, the kickback echoes that of a .22 round. Another feature is the NPAS (negative pressure air system) that allows the velocity to be customised. For example, the M14 can be configured to a low fps to suit close range automatic skirmishes or that of a sniper at 450-500fps. Or go for a bombastic 550fps to rupture beer cans in the garden. Another benefit is that the trigger response or ‘lock time’ is similar to that of a real firearm and without the delay of an AEG. Once mastered, gas takes airsoft up another notch.

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FEATURE | GAS GUNS DEMYSTIFIED The downside But there are gremlins. Cold weather can affect performance, velocity is rarely consistent – an issue for snipers – and magazines can leak gas, especially if the O-rings are damaged or cracked. If the magazines are not locked tight they can vent gas, freezing metal parts. The magazines are heavy and expensive and maintenance is paramount. Besides that, it can be frighteningly expensive to buy a good GBB and fuel it, and the magazines can be damaged fairly easy. You see, the GBB is a love and hate relationship. Think of it like being married. To be a GBB veteran, lubrication is your friend. Without perverting impressionable minds with the carwash scene from Debbie Does

Dallas, lube is essential. And Vaseline is a strict no-no. Silicon oil, which can be found in most hardware shops for a few quid, is all you need. However it has to be 100 per cent silicon lubricant that is both rubber and plastic friendly; petroleum-based sprays such as WD-40 will eat away at the seals and compression areas of a GBB and magazine. It’s an easy mistake to make – and a costly one. Spray all metal areas of the gun that move/slide and cover the interior with a generous amount of lube. Also, gently spray a little into the magazine’s gas reservoir, onto the O-ring and the bottom plate that accepts the gas adaptor – you can never have too much

GBBs are often preferred by MilSim players for their increased realism

Airsoft Innovations’ propane adapter kit provides everything you need to run your GBB on propane

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FEATURE | GAS GUNS DEMYSTIFIED silicon on the vital parts of your gun. This is usually done the night before a gaming session so that the gun and magazines are well sealed with the shiny stuff. And after the day’s game, the guns and magazines are cleaned and lubed again. Just like the real-steel.

Decisions And this is where confusion reigns: what gas should I use? Duster gas, or 134a (now 144a), is used to clean the internals of computers and is safe for fragile, plastic GBB pistols; but its power range is weak. There is also the lesser-known red gas. This bad boy goes by the names of Chlorodiﬂuoromethane, HCFC-22, R22 or Freon 22, and is used in refrigeration systems. It has a bad reputation in terms of higher-than-acceptable power and is being phased out. Besides those we also have CO2 gas capsules or bulbs. These have the advantage of not suffering in cold extremes, but some pistols punch an ASBO of an fps and some sites may not permit their use. However, CO2 is growing in popularity in the GBB world and rightly so. (WE, please take note with your M14 magazine.)

Abbey Solutions’ range of gas maintenance products includes everything you need to keep your weapon running smooth

That then leaves us with the most common and accepted gas on the UK airsoft market: green gas. At over £10 a bottle, ﬁlling eight or so magazines becomes an expensive habit. But this begs the question: what is green gas? Some bright spark asked the same question and was surprised to discover that it consists of 99.7 per cent propane, with minute particles of water and acid (the remainder of around .3 per cent is silicon). Airsoft Innovations asked that same question, and produced its GunGas Propane Adaptor Kit. Airsoft Innovations’ reasoning is: why settle for expensive green gas that is mostly propane when you can buy a bottle of propane much cheaper from a hardware store? Consisting of a sturdy plastic adaptor, the kit screws tightly onto the blue propane bottle and

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then ﬁll your magazines as usual. The kit also comes with a bottle of liquid silicon oil to drop directly onto the valve of the propane bottle after every ten or so ﬁlls. As the blue propane bottle contains no silicon this is essential for maintaining the correct propellant-lubricant mixture. And for good measure, spray silicon oil over the vital parts of the magazines. Propane can be stinky – a purposeful decision to help locate gas leaks at home – whereas green gas is slightly fragranced. A word of caution: it is not a good idea to leave bottles of gas and silicon near someone who smokes.

Conclusion You pays your money and you takes your choice. You can ﬁll without concern with green gas, but propane needs a little work and dedication (some say propane is somewhat more powerful). Each has its weaknesses and strengths. As a consequence, I use both for my GBBs. The gas gun may be a bridge too far for the casual or new player, but it raises the game, adds something and feels the part. In other words, it’s a gas. ■

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OPERATION: GREENHILL

New contributor Martin Stone travelled to Kent for Neptune Tactical’s ﬁrst game at Apocalypse Airsoft, an exercise in realistic MilSim action

like to get to airsoft events early, always have done. Starting the day scrambling into gear and dropping mags and BBs all over the floor, under the disapproving glare of the game organiser whose safety briefing you’re holding up, isn’t the best way to make friends and influence people. So although it wasn’t unusual for me to be heading off to an airsoft site at 7am, this time to review Neptune Tactical’s Operation: Greenhill in deepest Kent, it was strange knowing that most of the other players had already been in-game for 10 hours, with another 30 to go before endex. No safe zones. No breaking for lunch. Hell, no

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breaking for sleep even! This was full-on, round-the-clock airsoft. MilSim players like it hardcore and the Neptune Tactical guys take the concept of hardcore to a whole new level. The events they run are about as close to real military exercises as it’s possible to get. The company doesn’t own or lease any airsoft sites themselves, preferring to rent existing sites for one-off events and tailoring the scenarios to the features of the site. This means that every Neptune Tactical event is different and players aren’t divided into one group that knows the terrain like the back of their hand and the rest who don’t.

For Operation: Greenhill, the organisers had hired Apocalypse Airsoft, 63 acres of mixed woodland just off the M2 near Sittingbourne. Game-on had been called at 21:00 on Friday and would run without break until at least 12:30 on Sunday. Players had been turning up throughout Friday night, the first ones at 20:00 and the last six hours later at 02:00. On arrival they had been taken to their designated encampment areas and given personalised mission and safety briefings. Apart from making it easier for players to travel to the site after finishing the week’s work on Friday evening (some had come all the way from Norwich), these staggered

EVENT REVIEW | MILSIM start times added to the realism of the event and meant players were completely unaware of the site layout or location and disposition of other forces. Both the enemy and other friendly forces could be anywhere and in any number. Each team needed to hit the ground running to ensure that they had a secure area protected by sentries in which they could rest for the night and from which they could launch their preliminary recon patrols at daybreak. According to Jon Harris, the lead organiser and founder of Neptune Tactical, this kind of thing is what makes his events stand out from the competition. It means that even the seasoned pros start each game alert and enthusiastic, instead of having to hang around waiting for other players to get their act together before listening with glazed eyes to yet another massed group safety briefing. Nor are there hard and fast end times at Neptune events. If players need another hour to finish a firefight before sounding game over, then they have another hour. All these details are great for the players but a helluva lot of work for Jon and his team. Like all the best MilSim games, Op Greenhill had a scenario loosely based on

real historical events. In this instance we transported ourselves to West Africa in the year 2000. Speciﬁcally we were in Sierra Leone at the tail-end of the country’s civil war – itself the result of a failed military coup in 1997. By 1999 the Junta forces were on the back foot and the UN had sent in peacekeepers to restore order and disarm the rebels. Our scenario saw a contingent of British Special Forces from the SAS, SBS and Parachute Regiment tasked with neutralising a faction of the notorious West Side Boys. The West Side Boys are guerrilla ﬁghters who, when not off their faces on homegrown cannabis and palm wine, had spent the last few years hijacking UN relief convoys and generally making a nuisance of themselves with the local civilian population. On arrival at Apocalypse Airsoft I was met by Jon, who took me through the site. He explained that after eight years of airsofting and four years of running games for other people, he wanted to address what he saw as a gap in the market – MilSim games that were challenging and highly-realistic while remaining customer focussed.

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“Being the bad guys is fun. To be honest it makes a change not to have to do all the military stuff. We can do it if needed but the guys that we are supposed to be portraying wouldn’t have operated like that” “I want people to come away thinking, ‘Yeah, that was fun’. We don’t make things easy for our players but it’s important to remember that they’ve paid money to enjoy themselves. I’ve seen other sites use paying players as cannon fodder for whoever the home team is and I was very keen not to do that”. It hasn’t been an easy ride. Jon’s business model means that he is reliant on cooperation from other airsoft companies to rent their sites. He’s been disappointed by the hostile reception he’s had from those who see him as a threat to their customer base. After a brief altercation with an angry farmer in a Land Rover, who accused Jon of leaving yellow paint on his neighbour’s trees (dealing with irate landowners and members of the public are all part and parcel of being an organiser), Jon took me to the West Side Boys’ base camp. I found myself surrounded – not by drug-crazed teenage killers listening to gangsta rap – but by a group of friendly and enthusiastic guys wearing a mishmash of assorted tactical gear and toting a variety of

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EVENT REVIEW | MILSIM automatic weaponry, presumably purchased with blood diamonds. Adam, a member of Active Denial airsoft group, talked about the ethos behind playing OPFOR. “Being the bad guys is fun. To be honest it makes a change not to have to do all the military stuff. We can do it if needed but the guys that we are supposed to be portraying wouldn’t have operated like that.” Even though they had already located the UKSF compound the West Side Boys clearly intended to take the day at a leisurely pace. Despite being a high value target for the Brits,

their cutthroat leader Declan suggested that we all have a nice cup of tea before heading off to see what the enemy was up to. To make things interesting the event rules stated that unarmed civilians, or those pretending to be civilians, should not be ﬁred on. The West Side Boys had already made full use of this rule by stashing weapons and ammo and innocently wandering around to assess enemy strength. As in real situations where conventional ground forces are faced with hostile insurgents, the Brits had quickly become frustrated at being unable to engage an enemy force masquerading as civilians. Instead they

had retaliated by detaining a couple of Declan’s boys for ‘threatening behaviour’. For me, this sort of stuff adds an interesting level to events but many open-day players have a problem with it, as it involves doing more than just shooting at people. To get the most out of a MilSim game you need to be comfortable with a certain degree of role playing. We’re not talking about Dungeons and Dragons but a willingness to engage with the other players in the spirit of the game scenario. If you’re supposed to be a ruthless mercenary, then you should act like a ruthless mercenary. A good game involves good interaction between players on both sides and Jon admitted that his biggest gripe was the type of player who behaves in a way that spoils it

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for his other customers. “If someone wants to act like an idiot, that’s up to them – but if it ruins someone else’s game then I need to step in and put them straight. Fortunately it doesn’t seem to happen all that often.” MilSim does seem to attract a more mature type of airsofter, and marshalling them is less of a headache for game organisers. As expected, Neptune Tactical doesn’t employ guys in ﬂuorescent jackets to shout at players about not taking their hits and straying from the game zone. That’s not to say that their games are totally unregulated but if there’s a problem with a particular player, a quiet word is considered preferable to a public bollocking. Jon also likes to have his own guys embedded within player teams, either as HVTs that won’t object to being thrown in a cell for six hours if they’re captured, or as military advisors who make sure that the game runs smoothly. The idea is not to have a scripted event where the organisers make all the tactical decisions, but to keep the game from getting bogged down into stalemate. Tea with the rebels was cut short by news that an enemy patrol was heading in the direction of the encampment and the West Side Boys grabbed their guns and quickly moved into action. Directing his unit in a

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suspiciously professional manner was squad leader Jeff, a mild-mannered American expat who later ‘fessed up to having served four years in the US Marine Corps and another six in the US Army. Interestingly, a military versus non-military player divide is something that Neptune Tactical is very keen to avoid; players are assigned to squads and given command roles on the basis of aptitude and experience rather than real (or imaginary) military careers. After scoping out the surrounding area, Jeff’s unit patrolled about half a kilometre from their base before heading back. Enemy troops were seen in the distance but didn’t appear to have spotted us and Jeff made the decision not to pursue them. To people unused to MilSim it can be a big surprise how little shooting there is. There is a good reason for this. Players need to be self-sufficient for the duration of the event and running out of BBs or batteries can be a big problem. As in a real combat zone there is no on-site shop and players need to make sure they don’t waste what they have on unnecessary firefights. It’s fair to say that not everyone who likes airsoft will like Neptune Tactical events – just as everyone who likes motor sport will not necessarily like the Le Mans 24 hour race. Personally I love it!

If you want to catch up with Jon and the rest of the Neptune Tactical team they will have a stand at the 2012 War and Peace show, the biggest military vehicle and living history show in the UK. Jon won’t be charging kids £3 to fire a few BBs at a target though. Instead he wants to use the opportunity to spread the MilSim gospel to the thousands of military enthusiasts who will flock to Beltring this July. As to future Neptune Tactical events, all we can say is: watch this space. Jon wants to increase event realism even further by blurring the boundaries of airsoft and other action sports. As someone with a boating and scuba diving background, he’s keen to incorporate the idea of waterborne infiltration scenarios. At present he’s actively looking for airsoft sites with lakes and water features that have so far been out of bounds to players for obvious health and safety reasons. Jon sees it differently: “Provided everyone has a lifejacket and a safety briefing and you have a suitable risk assessment for the insurers, there’s no reason why boats and can’t be used in-game”. Where’s the ‘like’ button? ■

NEPTUNE TACTICAL The next Neptune Tactical event – Operation: Furious – takes place 29 June-1 July at Apocalypse Airsoft. CONTACT: Jon on: 07815 966094 WEB: www.neptunetactical.co.uk

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FEATURE | WORSHOP

SCREW LOOSE They may not be glamourous, and are probably a bit of kit you’ve never given a second thought – but Michael Jones takes us back to basics as he explains why you should take care of your screws

inding a few screws loose after a repair or service isn’t uncommon. There are lots of them, so surely the odd one or two missing won’t hurt? These little bits have a place in keeping your gear intact and strong. Losing that odd screw in the field or down the sofa may not seem like the end of the world now – but when you turn up to play all you have is a bag full of bits instead of a rifle, that one or two may suddenly seem a little more important. In this article we will look at some of the more common parts that hold our gear together, and some guidance on how to keep them firmly fixed to where they’re meant to be.

A closer look The two screws pictured are the most common small parts that you will find

in an airsoft rifle. Now it’s obvious that they’re different, but its why they‘re different that is the important point. The silver screw is a countersunk, selftapping screw, dubbed screw A. The black screw is a pan-head, machine screw, and we’ll call it screw B. Screw A is designed to sit flush with its clamping surface. Its thread will cut a path in the hole it is going into. Usually this type of screw is used for plastic or soft metal. Screw B will sit on top of a clamping surface and was designed to fit an already threaded hole. These differences are important because the wrong one will just damage whatever it is going into, leading to serious headache. Now that we know what we’re looking at, let’s move to the practical side.

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TOP TIP When reﬁtting a self-tapping screw, it pays to give it a turn in the opposite direction until you hear a click. This will cause the screw to ﬁnd the previouslymade thread and not cut a new one, minimising the risk of damage

Good practice guide The first thing to consider when tinkering is the area in which you shall be using. A cluttered desk or sofa isn’t the best place to start dismantling your favourite shooter. A clean, clear and preferably flat surface is best. Good lighting is important when working on the fiddly bits. Finally something that I cannot do without is a container to store the small parts in. If I didn’t have that most of my kit would be held together with superglue and tape. Over-tightening is a sure fire way of making your life a little more difficult, either

A tidy workspace will help prevent things going missing

There are areas of an airsoft riﬂe that are prone to working their way loose. Stress, strain and vibration are usually the culprits. A drop of thread lock to grip stock and receiver screws will ensure they stay where they’re meant to and wobble free. Thread lock can be found in most DIY shops for a few pounds.

Final words

Screws are a vital part of all airsoft guns – if you don’t want to turn up to a game with a bag of bits, that is!

immediately or at some point in the not so distant future. Unfortunately there is no real way to ensure something is just tight enough, excluding an expensive torque drive. It’s just something that comes with practice. One thing that may help is the way in which you hold a tool when tightening. For plastic, holding the tool between the thumb and little ﬁnger can ensure less force is applied. For metal, thumb and index

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ﬁnger. Again this is not a science but may help with the learning curve.

Tools You wouldn’t use a shovel to ﬂip an egg, and you wouldn’t use a spatula to dig a hole. This applies to everything. Using the right tool helps no end – and if you look after it, it will look after you. Building a tool kit takes time but when ﬁnished should last a life time if used correctly.

Never force anything. There is a way to dismantle something without a hammer. Guides and manuals are invaluable when working on something unfamiliar. The web is your friend. Most important of all, if something gets damaged – a grub screw starts slipping, a thread gets crossed, whatever – stop! It’s much easier to get a replacement screw than to drill out the offending item. Most good DIY/engineering shops will have what you’re after and will cost peanuts in comparison to a new receiver. ■

FAMOUS LAST WORDS If you take one thing from this article, make sure it’s this: if you look after your kit, it will look after you. Don’t be the tit running about with half a gun – check your gun before you head out, and again when you get home. Good luck!

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KIT TEST | OPTICS

TASCO ON TEST Matty Phillipson checks out a couple of scopes from Tasco, a name more familiar to fullbore hunters than airsofters Tasco Red Dot 1x42 First up is Tasco’s Red Dot optic. This has a decent weight to it unlike some other budget optics which feel like toys in hand. It’s pretty chunky too, with 42mm lenses. The objective lens is tinted red to reduce glare. On top you’ll find the windage and elevation adjustment knobs. As usual these are covered and will require a flathead screwdriver to adjust. The bigger knob is the brightness adjustment, with 11 different brightness settings. This wheel has deep grooves cut into it which helps when turning, especially with gloves on. It features built-in mounts with robust screws, which is good to see; it will fit any standard rail and only requires a few

inches of rail space. Fitting it is quick and simple and requires no tools. Be careful not to over-tighten, though, or you may need those tools after all! I’m getting more and more into CQB gameplay and the Tasco Red Dot is the ideal optic for getting up close. Magniﬁcation is set to 1x, so really this is an exercise in target acquisition – and in my experience aiming becomes more ﬂuid and quicker, too, with this scope up top. As an apprentice I don’t have buckets of cash to spare. While I’d love to be able to afford an AIMPoint or EOTech it’s just not feasible – but I reckon I could be convinced to part with £60 for this. There’s very little to fault given the price – the main gripe is that the dot itself isn’t very, well,

dotty; expanding red blob might be more accurate. But that is indeed a small gripe and I can cope with a non-symmetrical dot. I was a bit scared of doing a direct impact test, but as you can see from the pictures it didn’t even scratch it. For those interested, it was shot at a range of 10m with a spring rifle that had been chronoed at 299fps. If you’re into your CQB skirmishing too I can definitely recommend the Tasco Red Dot. If you’ve not had much experience with optics you’ll find it soon becomes an indispensible bit of kit.

PRICE: Expect to pay around £60 WEB: www.tasco.com

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“With a good 40mm objective lens you get clear, bright images and at 3x magnification it is crisp and gives a great field of view” Tasco Pronghorn Riflescope If you prefer your optics a bit more traditional, consider Tasco’s Pronghorn. The one on test was 3-9x40, which is a bit extreme for airsoft use (it is for me, anyway) so I tended to leave the magnification on the lowest. The main advantage of the Pronghorn is a very wide field of view – so despite that extra magnification power you don’t lose sight of what’s going on around you. According to Tasco it has a field of view 10 per cent bigger than most comparable scopes. I had to borrow a rifle to put this through its paces – and now I think I need to buy a good bolt-action rifle, as well as the scope. It’s a bit small to look good on something like the M200s we’ve had in the mag, but suits an AW-type rifle exceptionally. No mount rings are included with the scope, which is a bit of a gripe, but considering the price of this you can hardly complain. Once you’ve got hold

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of some suitable 30mm rings, mounting the scope is straightforward. Just make sure it’s the right way round and the elevation turret is on top – don’t be the pillock I was, staring down the wrong end of my scope wondering what’s wrong! Again, don’t over-tighten – it can damage the lenses inside the scope. It took me a bit of time to get it zeroed in, but once done I didn’t lose zero all day. Not enough to cause problems, at least. As said I didn’t bother playing with the magnification at that time, purely because I had absolutely no need to – but I might’ve been stood about adjusting things a fair bit longer if I had. With a good 40mm objective lens you get clear, bright images and at 3x magnification it is crisp and gives a great field of view. The reticule is a standard crosshair, not illuminated. The scope’s profile is quite slim, and it’s rather lightweight. Tasco assures it is shockproof, waterproof and fogproof

– most of which I can attest to, having dropped my rifle after slipping in 2ft of water! The rifle was a bit buggered but the scope kept slogging on (shame it can’t fire BBs…). As I said earlier I’m starting to play more and more CQB games, and this type of scope just doesn’t really have a place there. However last issue I think I revealed my amateur love of sniping, and for the level I play the sniper role at this scope would be perfect. First off it’s affordable, which is always my number one concern; second it’s bloody good, and so far survived a few weeks under my command, which is saying something. I’d not heard much about Tasco but having used both these optics for a few weeks I can’t really fault the brand. It’s well-made yet well-priced, and judging by the reviews all over the ‘net I’m not the only one who thinks so!

PRICE: Expect to pay around £40 WEB: www.tasco.com ■

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EVENT REVIEW | OP: DEADFALL

TIER 1:

OPERATION DEADFALL Op: Wendigo veteran Matt Brazill steps outside his comfort zone to join the escape and evasion team on Tier 1 Military Simulation’s newest adventure

t’s stupid o’clock in the morning. Thanks to the frosty weather I’m shaking like a crackhead stuck in a lift. I’ve been stood alone for about two hours guarding our meagre kit among some trees on the edge of a densely wooded area about 4km from the Afghan/ Pakistan border. It occurs to me that the cover afforded by my position was only effective in darkness and I need to be a bit less obvious while I wait for my brothers to come back from a reconnoitre of our proposed lying up position (LUP). Given that my personal defence weapons are a dodgy-looking pistol stolen from an infidel and my tactical banana, hiding under a bush is my only real option. A couple of seconds later my stealth pays off; I can hear the unmistakable sound of feet upon the forest floor. I’m expecting my brothers back and it should be them, but they were supposed to radio in before returning to the RV; my heart would probably have exploded if it hadn’t already stopped from the cold. Flattening myself to the ground as much as possible I held my breath and pointed the business-end of my gun at the approaching sound as I waited to see if it’s my brothers, the local militia or one of the large groups of infidel dogs we know are hunting us… Let’s step back from the roleplay and rewind a couple of

weeks to one of my most dubious decisions – agreeing to join the E&E team on Operation: Dead Fall in the Clocaenog Forest in North Wales. Tier 1 Military Simulation teamed up with Assault Troop to put together another spectacularly-challenging weekend of MilSim goodness. Yours truly was sat comfortably chairsofting at work and the idea of a weekend making like a wily fox in the largest non-military training area in the UK seemed like a right laugh-riot. It was not. I have scars.

Scenario The basic premise was that a small number of AQ were hot-footing it from Afghanistan to Pakistan with vital intelligence (the route map), attempting to avoid the US Task Force that had been dogging them thus far. To spice things up, a similarly-sized militia force set out with the intention of causing everyone trouble (most of the time). The AQ (or escape and evasion team as we became known) would be heavily-restricted in terms of kit, weapons and ammo. Everyone else was after us, except at the occasional predetermined RV where (provided we made it on time) the militia kindly gave us some more kit/food/weapons/info. Just to give you some idea of how basic the kit list for the E&E team was, there was no sleeping bag, half a 24hr ration pack for a 36hr game, one pistol and one magazine between two and very little in the way of warm/ waterproof clothing. Friday night arrived; the sheep were nervous

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and so was I. I drove to the initial RV before sunset in order to view the massive game space: rolling hills, a broken landscape of new and established pines and semi-cleared areas covered in leg-breaking debris as well as thick brush and waterlogged marshes. That’ll make running a hoot, I thought! After a quick chat with a couple of the Tier 1 guys I met in Sweden it was down to business with Greg and Kelvin, the E&E team leader and 2IC respectively. Along with Tony (the other team member) and I we set about deciding what kit we wanted to add to bags for the RVs and how to distribute our starting gear between the four of us. Then everything started to go wrong. I’d tested my pistol earlier in the week and all had been well, but Sod’s law dictated that both of my mags decided that now was the time to start leaking like chocolate teapots – not good as Greg’s pistol had also spectacularly failed that evening. This meant that, although we could start out with the prescribed two between four, we wouldn’t have two to pick up at RVs and would be short for the duration.

And then Phantom turned up with Dodge (see Airsoft Action June 2012 if you don’t know who they are), both wearing beaming smiles and full Ghillie suits and telling us they were on the hunter force. Bugger.

Game on At 23:00 hours the four of us climbed into a 4WD and were deposited at the furthest point from our ﬁnal objective. After a quick slap of cam-cream we headed for our ﬁrst RV, some 2km northeast, trying to take advantage of the fact that the hunter force wasn’t due out on the ground for an hour as far as we knew. As soon as that hour was up the tension stepped up to a ridiculous level. The combination of the stress of being hunted, the pitch dark under the forest canopy and navigating brush that ripped your skin off started to show and tempers started to fray. After a couple of minor incidents (including acquiring a really good-looking head cut) even my medicated patience was wearing thin and a waist-deep dive into a poorly-pointed-out ditch had me breaking noise discipline with words my mother would have slain me for.

Pic caption if needed

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EVENT REVIEW | OP: DEADFALL

“All the patrol had to do was move down beyond us and look back and the game would be up – talk about tense!”

Fortunately we reached the RV soon after that, and a hot coffee and the news we were ahead of schedule seemed to bring us all back together at just the right time. It was decided that Greg and Kelvin would recce the LUP for the morning while Tony and I awaited their return at the RV. Tony received some terrible news as I was wringing out my socks; his wife had come down really ill and he had to leg it back home as soon as possible to look after the ankle biters. He was gutted, obviously, but lent us his pistol and stoically made his way north back to his car for the long, agonising trip home. So I was left alone on the forest ﬂoor. To put you out of your misery, it was Greg and Kelvin returning from the recce and although I nearly shot Kelvin, it wasn’t their fault – the radios were pretty useless in the thicker sections of the forest. We hoped that would be to our advantage the next day, as we were such a small team compared to the others. Not long after that we spotted two lonely ﬁgures searching around near our RV. We established they were the friendly militia, collected our prize and continued on to our LUP with an extra bag containing some nice warm gear and, despite being down one man already, in reasonably high spirits as the sun crept over the trees. At our LUP we set to planning our day’s mayhem. Greg and Kelvin are both ex-forces

by the way, with a signiﬁcant amount of experience behind them, whereas I am an ex-boy Scout with nothing but hot air behind me – so when I say ‘we’ planned the day, they tried to include me as much as they could but essentially I was happy to be on E&E, and not A&E at this point.

Compromised For shits and giggles we decided to leave most of our gear behind and attempt to get as close to the Task Force as we could to try and establish where their harbour area was en-route to our next RV. If possible we’d try to steal some gear from the vehicle we knew they had. I can honestly say I crawled more that day than I have since I was in nappies and I learned that one of the key parts of E&E is to go where the hunter force won’t. If I had thought the previous night’s brush was close I was mistaken; have you ever had to retrieve a ball from deep inside a conifer hedge? It was like that for about three hours. As we broke from the brush to the edge of a gully we heard a patrol moving nearby, and as moving back would have brought them on to us all we could do was stop and hope they passed by. I was right on the edge of the brush and buried my head in my arms; Kelvin was behind me further in and well-concealed, but Greg was out in the open, with only foliage between him and the patrol. All they had to do

was move down beyond us and look back and the game would be up – talk about tense! Luck was on our side though and the patrol moved off to our northeast. Deciding that our fun was over for now, an hour’s crawling and creeping later we reached the area for our next RV – only to find the Task Force attacking the militia at almost exactly the RV opening time. Suspecting we had been compromised we bugged out and headed toward where we thought the Task Force harbour was instead. We were right in an obvious bottleneck we knew we’d eventually have to cross, and my already huge respect for Greg’s navigational abilities jumped to hero worship status as he brought us to within 50m of the Task Force’s 4WD, where we left them a nice little note and a fag. Deciding it was too risky to approach any further we crawled back to the RV and set up an observation point (OP) to wait for the RV to reopen, but it didn’t so we headed back to the LUP for some hot food. Greg and Kelvin even managed a bit of shut-eye (being able to sleep in the field is definitely a sign of experience – I get too bloody cold). From this point on we were pretty sure that the timings and locations for the RVs were compromised, so as the next RV was the other side of the bottleneck we decided push as far north as possible in order to slip through as early as possible. We sneaked up to the

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northern edge and made a heart-pounding dash across a road into what we expected to be an area full of snipers (I was still very aware that Phantom was out there, somewhere…), but discovered that there was a vehicle right where we wanted to go and we had to change our plan.

Dangerous ground Moving into another dangerously open area under taller pine trees, I turned to Kelvin and said: “We’re going to get shot here.” Clearly I was tempting fate, and a few minutes later at 15:27 hours on the Saturday I was shot by a member of the Task Force. We had been well spread out at the time with Greg leading, Kelvin in the middle and me as tail end when we heard sounds from our front, right and rearright. We all went to ground immediately but I was spotted by the guy at the rear – all I could do was yell “Leg-it!” As we dashed off I felt the tap, tap, tap of automatic ﬁre on my back and I was hit. Greg and Kelvin managed to escape but as one Task Force member medic’d

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me I could hear the other calling in support. Things were bad. My game was more or less over so I decided to roleplay a little bit, going as slow as possible and cracking every twig and fallen branch I could to see if my brothers would come to rescue me. They weren’t bothered about me, but unfortunately I was carrying the package at the time of my capture and their brief would be to get it back if possible. Sure enough my captors kept calling out sightings of Greg and Kelvin as I was frogmarched to the Task Force harbour area – but despite best efforts I was brought before the Task Force 1IC (Ed, the Tier 1 boss) and the package was discovered in my bags. This is almost the end of my report, as from 15:57 hours onwards I merely observed and took some photos for this article, but in the 10 or so minutes between being brought to the harbour area and my bleed-out time, I still had a bit of fun. Unfortunately for Ed, while the two guys who had captured me were experienced airsofters they were obviously not trained in real world scenarios. They searched me for weapons while looking for the package, but they only searched for airsoft weapons and failed to register the rather large machete (in its sheath, obviously) that had been on our E&E kit list. So as the next shout of ‘Contact front’ came in and I was pushed into a ditch next to Ed, I had a moment of clarity and a plan formed… I managed to knife kill Ed and his Radio Operator, much to their surprise. The next bit was fun too; they stripped me of bags and

kit after that, and had me face-down with my arms behind my head. However the same guy who shot me earlier figured that was me done and wasn’t watching as I got up and legged it in the direction I though Greg and Kelvin to be. To be fair I got about 10m before he grabbed me (he was much younger and fitter than me) but by then I was pretty much done in anyway so it was time for tea and medals (well, tea and hot food at least). I would just like to give massive kudos to Greg and Kelvin, who went on for a further 14 hours after my capture and not only completed their mission with a large portion of their rations missing (they were in my bags) but also tagged the 2IC just prior to blowing up the two humungous pyrotechnic charges Andy B had laid for the finale. I would also like to thank Ed for having enough faith in me to allow me to attempt the E&E role as I know there were many other applicants. It challenged me massively and I really enjoyed all the crawling about and the adrenaline of it all; I just wish I could have tried for the full 36hr E&E experience as I still don’t know if I can do it. Oh well, there’s always next time... ■

TIER 1 MILSIM The next TIER 1 event, Combat Operation Jawbreaker, takes place at the MOD’s largest urban training facility – Copehill Down FIBUA village, Salisbury Plain, 29 June 2012. WEB: www.tier1militarysimulation.com

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FIRST AND ONLY: RAF UPPER HEYFORD Ratty loves old military bases so it was only ﬁtting that we sent him along to First and Only’s ﬁrst game at RAF Upper Heyford

hen I got the call about reviewing First and Only’s new skirmish site my initial response was yes, sure, whereabouts is it? But when I heard it was at former RAF Upper Heyford that became: “Count me in, I’ll be there!” After sorting out timings I eagerly counted down the days. I love old military bases and RAF Upper Heyford is one of those iconic Cold War air bases. It’s just 10 minutes from Junction 10 of the M40 so is very well located and easy to get to. Initially purchased by the Royal Flying Corps in 1918, Upper Heyford has seen many uses; between 1946 and 1950 it was a parachute training centre for the RAF. During the Cold War Upper Heyford initially served as a base for United States Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) strategic bombers, and later United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) tactical reconnaissance, fighter and fighterbomber aircraft in the UK. Upper Heyford was unique among bases in the United Kingdom as only the flight-line area required military identification to access. The rest of the base, save the commercial facilities, was accessible to military and non-military alike. The airbase closed way back in 1993 and most of the airfield side is now an industrial/business park. The former married quarters were sold off and are now a very busy housing estate. So what area has First and Only got, I hear you ask?

Game day It was a dry and overcast morning when my oppo and I arrived at Upper Heyford. We pulled in off the main drag and were met by two marshals handing out the usual insurance paperwork. Just round the corner we found

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Jamie, greeting everyone and making sure that all the paperwork was correctly filled in and (most importantly) collecting the day’s play fees. From there we were given directions to the parking and Safe Zone area. There’s plenty of space for parking and, more importantly to players loaded with kit, it is spitting distance from the Safe Zone. The Safe Zone is inside a very large room in one of the buildings. There were approximately 120 players on the day and there was plenty of space for kit explosions and bad admin without getting into each other’s pockets, not to mention the very well-stocked on-site shop. They even had a generator running so there was power and lighting inside (don’t forget this is a derelict air base… nobody pays the electric bill anymore!). The generator was important for three main reasons: the lighting, battery charging service, and most impressively (in my opinion) to keep the Burco boiling vessel on the go all day with complimentary brewmaking facilities, disposable cups provided! We were called upon to make our way outside to an area just inside the game zone for the safety briefing. This set the tone for the day. There was a huge emphasis on fun, which is nice, but be under no illusion: the site has strict safety rules which are robustly enforced. As a player and a paying customer this should fill you with confidence in the staff, their ability and commitment to customer service and safety. The main safety point that stood out for me was the fps limits. They are rigorously enforced. (Please check with F&O in case they change them – I don’t want to be responsible for you going home early). Everybody gets chronoed and numbered at

SITE REVIEW | FIRST AND ONLY the beginning of the day and there is random testing at re-gen throughout the day. This may sound a little over the top but I can assure you that when you are pinned down in one of the hundreds of rooms or corridors and all of the OPFOR are coming after you at CQB/pointblank ranges, you do not want a hot gun out there ruining your adrenaline-ﬁlled day. Every player was issued with a map of the site, and like all military bases all the buildings are numbered. While the brieﬁng was going on you could see everyone looking around them at the variety of buildings they were going to be able to play in. There was everything from single-storey buildings up to three-storey accommodation blocks, as well as many other buildings of different shapes and sizes. At this point the sheer size of the playing site had not yet hit home with most people.

Game on The first game started and everyone was in high spirits. Bearing in mind that this was First and Only’s very first event here there was a little confusion on some of the site rules. Many of the players, including myself and my oppo, Bill, have never played at a First and Only site before, and the site is still new to Jamie and the marshals. As we all know, what works on one site doesn’t necessarily work on another. I am absolutely positive that as more games take place here the little niggles will get ironed out. The first couple of games were quite basic, just to warm everyone up and get them used to certain parts of the site. In between games you had 10 minutes to bomb up and sort out any malfunctioning kit before the next game brief. If you were late then you were at a loss as to what was going on. I really, really like this way of doing things – those who want to play the day maximise their time out in the field of play, instead of hanging around for an extra 20 minutes because two guys want to chat in the Safe Zone about their new Gucci holster! Third game of the morning was a little more complex and the Yellow Team had three different areas to hold – one at a time of course. Once hit they had to drop back to the next area and so on. I stood back and watched the carnage commence! The Red Team were really aggressive and were attacking hard. The Yellows defended well but it was a constant onslaught. I quite often saw my buddy Bill darting from one defensive position to another as the Reds pushed hard. With time rapidly running out the Yellows were defending their last building, a former

police training centre of sorts (with its own interrogation room!). The Reds were stacking up on the only entrance while teammates put down fire to suppress the Yellows. They weren’t giving up that easily, and heavy return fire kept the Reds at bay. My lasting memory of this little scenario was a member of the Red Team who crawled under an open window, grenade in hand ready to pop it in through the gap, when just as he was about to do so, a thermobaric grenade was thrown out of that room landing next to the guy outside. Five seconds of panic followed with both grenades going off simultaneously! After this it was back to the Safe Zone for lunch. Hot dogs, bags of crisps, choccy bars and a can of pop for everyone! There was even seconds on the hotdogs although this did incur a small charge. Lunch break is just a half-hour long, again to maximise time spent playing. My capacity on the day was purely just to cover the event, but despite this Bill talked me into getting stuck into combat myself. Admittedly it didn’t take much talking, as I was already chomping at the bit to at least have a game. I soon realised how much I missed playing regularly – and how unfit I really am at the moment! We were up and down stairwells, clearing rooms and then moving between buildings to do the same with the next one. Fantastic! Unfortunately, Bill and I had to leave the day early due to personal commitments, but after talking to many of the players throughout the course of the day I had a pretty good feel as to their views of the site and First and Only’s way of running the day. The following is from Bill – a good friend and

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regular airsofter with many years’ experience. So here is a player’s perspective… “We played on just a portion of the available site using only a handful of the buildings. This was as much a learning curve for the marshals as it was for us and as it was the first time the site had been played, the staff quite rightly wanted to gauge it for themselves and ensure maximum fun for all players. “Primarily we used the multi-story accommodation blocks with their balconies going the full perimeter of each floor, office and recreational buildings. We played up to three stories high in quite literally hundreds of rooms, dozens and dozens of corridors and a smattering of stairwells. Some doors were locked, loads were open. Windows, curtains, blinds, rooms so dark you needed a tac light just to determine the size of it. There was even an interrogation room with the two way mirror… and if that wasn’t enough in a single building, you also had the building to building aspect – across open ground, car parks, fences, gates, through alley ways, hedges, trees, fire escapes, brambles, grassy knolls and builder’s skips. This place had everything, including a number of kitchen sinks! “Many of the accommodation rooms had an en-suite bathroom which linked it to another bedroom. Cover one door thinking you’re all sneaky with the ambush set, and suddenly you’ll find yourself taking a suppressed Mk23 double-tap to the bum cheek. ‘Arrggghhh! Hit!’ “Some stairwells were boarded off. We left one unguarded as you couldn’t gain access to the stairs from the ground floor, a fatal error of judgement. The OPFOR climbed onto the first balcony (7ft or so high) and then had the drop on just about everybody… The sneaky bar stewards! “There was no single point which could be

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classed as a ‘camper’s paradise’. Everywhere was both defendable and vulnerable, depending entirely on your communication and movement as a team, which are essential in order to avoid being smoked. The standard of play and sportsmanship was brilliant – I would go as far as saying benchmark. Several shouts of ‘Hit! Nice shot!’ followed by ‘Thanks! I thought I missed.’ There was also lots of ‘gun hit’ or ‘Jesus! That was close but a miss.’ You don’t need to shout out unless you are hit, but it’s a game and so sportsmanship and etiquette should be part of the day, and it was – in abundance! Handshakes for particularly bold or sneaky manoeuvres were also present. There was no deliberate point-blank shooting but there were a few Tarantino moments where opposing players turned the same corner and ended up with a muzzle in the arm pit followed by reﬂex shooting. “I believe it is the atmospherics that make the day. If the atmospherics are not right, we could be let loose on the Ark Royal, Buck House or Alton Towers and still go away saying ‘That was crap… didn’t take hits… cheating…’. From my point of view it was a perfect, sporting and gentlemanly (or ladylike) day out.”

Summary Being totally honest, I could have written this review in about a dozen words: awesome, professional, fun-ﬁlled, friendly, must-play and fantastic would all be in there. If you like CQB airsoft sites then this is a must. If you have never played at a First and Only site before, then this is a second must too! Although I only played for an hour or so myself it has been a long, long time since I enjoyed myself so much. I cannot wait to return in the near future (as a player) and see what the site will play like with the other areas and buildings in play…

I may even need to sell a kidney in order to ﬁnance the pyro I would like to bring along! Bill and I would like to thank all the players who were loaning out spares, tools or advice to each other. The pair of us tried to spy on all of you to get a feel for the place for this review and the camaraderie we saw gave us a warm fuzzy feeling that proves to us 99.9 per cent of airsofters are thoroughly decent people. It was interesting talking to as many of you as we could; some had driven for over three hours to be there and some of you we had only seen the day before at the Airsoft Arms Fair. You all had really good things to say about the site and how the day was being run. Another good indicator for the day was the amount of faces we saw who are also in the airsoft industry, both shop and site owners and operators. I recommend to anybody reading this, even if you have to travel and make a pilgrimage of the weekend, go and play Upper Heyford! It is wow, mega and frikking awesome! On a ﬁnal note, we would also like to extend a massive thank you to Jamie and all the staff at F&O for their professionalism and attention to detail throughout the day. As a general rule health and safety bores us to tears, but in this instance we were both very grateful for the zero tolerance policy on unsafe practice. All I can add is, see you all really soon! ■

FIRST AND ONLY RAF Upper Heyford: Oxfordshire, OX25 First and Only is running bi-weekly open events at RAF Upper Heyford. It also operates more than 15 other game sites around the country. WEB: www.ﬁrstandonlyevents.co.uk

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MILITARY

NATURE Ever played an event at a MOD training camp? Kirsty Williams tells us more about the MOD’s military training estate, its history, how it’s managed and the crucial role that it plays in supporting the work of our Armed Forces

id you know that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) owns 230,000 hectares of land? And that more than two-thirds of this is held solely for the purpose of training our Armed Forces? The land that makes up the MOD’s military training estate is known as ‘rural estate’ – in other words not airﬁelds, ports or barracks. Many airsoft events take place on the military training estate. Catterick Training Area in Yorkshire, Longmoor Training Area in Hampshire, STANTA (Stanford Training Area) in Norfolk and Copehill Down village on Salisbury Plain are just a few of the places that host airsoft events.

Defence Training Estate The MOD’s military training estate is made up of 16 major training areas and 104 other minor training areas, ranges and camps. It provides the Armed Forces with the facilities they need to train in thorough, tough and realistic conditions. Training in

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these surroundings enables soldiers to learn and develop the essential skills they require to meet their operational commitments successfully and to the highest professional standard. The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is the part of the MOD responsible for providing, developing and maintaining a safe and sustainable training estate and facilities to meet the requirements of Defence. DIO’s aim is to deliver military training facilities that support and prepare troops for operations worldwide, in particular to meet the requirements of units and formations deploying to Afghanistan. The safe operation

of ranges and live ﬁring areas, including public safety, is also a prime consideration. The Defence Training Estate (DTE) was created in 2005, when the majority of the MOD training estate was brought together into a single ‘supplier’ organisation. The original Army Training Estate (ATE) formed the nucleus of this organisation with over 128,000 hectares of land. Training estate from the Royal Navy (mainly Cape Wrath and Langport), the Royal Air Force (air weapons ranges at Tain, Pembrey Sands, Donna Nook, Wainﬂeet and Holbeach) and training estate in Northern Ireland and the Armoured Centre’s training areas and ranges

FEATURE | MOD CAMPS

“Public access is balanced against the need for safety. People are encouraged to use the training estate whenever and wherever possible, although access to the range impact areas is prohibited at all times” Troops training on Sennybridge Training Area

at Bovington and Lulworth were added to the original ATE – along with some smaller Adventurous Training huts – to provide the ﬁrst comprehensive, tri-service Defence Training Estate. The DTE is headquartered at the Land Warfare Centre in Warminster, Wiltshire. It is subdivided into six regionally-based areas covering the whole of the UK. Each region has its own headquarters and staff and encompasses a variety of training sites, some of which have been used by the military for well over 100 years. Some 9,000 servicemen and women use DTE facilities each day – and this can surge

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Kestrels observing the landscape at Sennybridge Training Area

international importance for the breeding, feeding, wintering or the migration of rare and vulnerable species of birds found within European Union countries ■ 60 Special Conservation Areas ■ 25 RAMSAR (wetland of international importance) ■ 700 Scheduled Archaeological Monuments

Impact on nature

up to 30,000. There is also a traditional boost in numbers in summer, when training camps are provided for the Volunteer Reserves and Cadet Forces annual camps. This diverse landscape is not only used to support the training of military personnel, but also for the rehabilitation of soldiers. In September last year, for example, a group of injured soldiers were taught the fundamental skills of archaeology on Salisbury Plain training area as part of their physical rehabilitation. Eleven soldiers from 1st Battalion The Riﬂes learnt a series of excavation, land survey, drawing and mapping techniques. The course was also designed to improve their written communication and presentation skills. The archaeology project will help to facilitate a return to the regiment for successful participants or provide a focus or hobby for those that may leave. It also provides a sense of worth and purpose for the participants through learning new skills and building on team-working and social skills. Alongside the needs of the military, the MOD also has a role to play in balancing environmental considerations. Using the rural estate for military training has, in fact, preserved much of the landscape and the MOD actively manages these sites to maintain their conservation interest. The majority of designated sites held by the MOD are DIO’s responsibility. They include more than:

There is a presumption in favour of public access on to the military training estate – on public rights of way – and this is balanced against the overriding national requirement for safe and sustainable military training and conservation. The public is encouraged to use the training estate wherever and whenever possible, although access to the range impact areas is prohibited at all times for safety reasons. Where public access restrictions have been imposed, wildlife has notably found sanctuary. Many rare or uncommon species of plants, insects and birds manage to coexist with the ‘bangs and ﬂashes’ associated with military training activity. Castlemartin in Pembrokeshire, for example, has the highest concentration of seabirds on the Pembrokeshire mainland, including guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes. It also accommodates the chough. These shy birds do not settle in areas which people have regular access to, and Castlemartin supports about a dozen pairs. The grazing regime on the coastal heath and unimproved grassland encourages many birds such as wheatears, skylarks, meadow

■ 170 Sites of Special Scientiﬁc Interest – the country’s very best wildlife and geological sites ■ 40 Special Protection Areas – areas which have been identiﬁed as being of

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Black grouse on Otterburn Training Area

pipits, stonechats, and various species of warblers. On Salisbury Plain, temporary puddles made by the passing of Challenger tanks have become an ideal habitat for Chirocephalus diaphanous, otherwise known as the fairy shrimp. The complex system of temporary pools created by tank tracks provides an excellent habitat for the fairy shrimp, with eggs transported between them on the tracks of armoured vehicles. Training areas across the military training estate are also of considerable landscape and archaeological value, which DIO’s stewardship over many years has helped to conserve and even enhance.

Future The military training estate exists to support the demanding training needs of military personnel but not all parts of the estate are required for training purposes every day. DIO must generate income from the ‘irreducible spare capacity’ on the estate, which has become even more important to help with funding of works in these challenging times. As long as proposed methods do not interfere with any of the Armed Forces’ vital training activities, this spare capacity can be hired out for private or commercial use. The income generated helps to reduce the financial burden on the taxpayer. The military training estate has been used for many purposes, from filming to falconry, motorsports to model aircraft flying, corporate training events to concerts – and of course by participants of airsoft events! ■

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KIT BAG | STUFF AND THINGS

GUNS AND GEAR Jack Pyke LLCS Ghillie Gloves The eagle-eyed among you may have spotted these in use in the June issue of Airsoft Action. LLCS stands for ‘Light leaf concealment system’ and is a pretty meaningless acronym – essentially they’re thin, lightweight and comfortable gloves covered in 3D ‘leaves’, similar to the Deerhunter suit seen last issue. As such they are the perfect complement to any camand-con endeavour, negating the need for cam paint and helping hide the very human shape of your hands. Made from Lycra with precision-cut nylon leaves, the gloves are available in English Oak (pictured) or English Woodland pattern .

Price: Expect to pay around £20 Jack Pyke: www.jackpyke.co.uk

Viper Spec Ops Top Viper’s trademark UBACS is an inexpensive, effective shirt for use with assault vests. The Spec Ops Top comes with a daft amount of padding in the arms, shoulders and elbows, making the weediest of boy Scouts appear a Popeye-esque action man. Fortunately this can be removed, so you don’t have to run about all day looking like you’ve overdosed on spinach. Comfortable, lightweight and cool, for the price it is a damn good bit of kit. When it comes to UBACS you can spend hundreds – but you don’t need to, as Viper proves.

Price: Expect to pay around £30 Viper: www.viperkit. co.uk

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Swiss Eye Red LED Mini Light We spotted this nifty little light at the bottom of a parcel and immediately grabbed it out for a play. A single red LED is housed in sturdy plastic casing, attached by rollerball to a robust crocodile-style clip, perfect for attaching to your shirt collar, cap peak or glasses frame. Capable of 360 degree rotation it is ideal for covert operations or night-ops, as red light is known to help preserve night vision while maintaining a relatively low profile. According to official data will last for 12 hours’ continuous use (or two months’ intermittently). Powered by four mini watch batteries, it weighs just 9g with them fitted!

Price: £11 Military 1st: www.military1st.co.uk

Helikon Folding Knife Rescue We’ve debated for some time about whether there’s a place in airsoft for proper knives. Certainly there’s no place for the jungle bowie or actual bayonet – we don’t mean using it in game! – but is there a practical reason for chucking a multitool or folding knife into your kit bag? Well, yes, we reckon so. The Helikon Rescue Folding Knife features 9cm half-serrated half-ﬁne-edge blade with a tanto drop.

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It also has a wire/strap cutter and a screwdriver head at the bottom of the handle, making it a versatile bit of kit. Helikon branded, you can be sure it’s well-built and up to the job. It costs less than a tenner, and while it’s unlikely to be your most prized possession it certainly can be handy in the Safe Zone.

Price: £9 Military 1st: www.military1st.co.uk

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AIRSOFT ARMS FAIR 5 With the Fair on Saturday and an AIPSC Competition on Sunday, Nige was kept pretty busy at the Airsoft Arms Fair – and came away with some big news!

ollowing last October’s Airsoft Arms Fair, Jim and the guys at The Grange decided to revert to a single day rather than spreading it across the weekend. Because of the limitations on the number of attendees this makes good sense and helps to keep costs down. It also meant the Sunday would be free and provided the perfect opportunity to hold a full AIPSC Competition, spiced up by the attendance of Airsoft Surgeon, Clarence Lai (more about that later). This was the ﬁfth Airsoft Arms Fair and, although there were less trade stands than previously, the old stalwarts BadgerTac and TAG Airsoft (previously known as Airsoft Skirmish) were there, along with new names such as Milspec Solutions, First and Only and Redwolf. First and Only has been operating retail shops from its numerous

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sites, but this was the ﬁrst time we had seen Redwolf’s retail operation in action. Based upon the attention they received I think they are going to make quite an impact. Outside the main retail display marquee a number of traders were selling both new and secondhand gear. As at previous Fairs they seemed to be getting a lot of attention and doing brisk business. I bumped into a good friend (who shall remain nameless just in case his wife reads this) carrying a pile of kit and commented on the fact that he’d been shopping. “I only went to the loo,” he said, “but bought over four-hundred-quid’s worth of kit on the way! Gonna keep my legs crossed from now on!” Beyond the main sale area, Edgar Brothers were once again sponsoring Stirling Airsoft to provide visitors with

EVENT REVIEW | AAF 5

“I only went to the loo but bought over £400-worth of kit on the way! Gonna keep my legs crossed from now on!”

a couple of short training sessions: Compound Clearance and VIP Protection. These were conducted by a gentleman with real-life experience and proved immensely popular – not least due to the number of bangs that could be heard every time a scenario was running! Before the session began every team was briefed on the objectives and given a walk-through/talk-through of each situation. Clearing the compound was just a simple matter of eliminating the ﬁghters holed up in two buildings contained within a small compound and, although very experienced, the defenders didn’t get it all their own way (evident by the numerous hits they took!). The VIP protection detail saw the team in a two-vehicle convoy moving into a built-up area and being hit by both roadside IEDs and hostile forces. The objective was to get their VIP safely away from the area while ﬁghting off the attack. I spoke to a number of players throughout the day and, to a man, they said how much they had enjoyed these taster sessions, with quite a few saying they had also learned something at the

same time – chalk one up to training! Back up at the main area, Chris Kong from Redwolf Airsoft had arrived with the weekend’s special guest: Clarence Lai, Airsoft Surgeon. If you don’t know who Clarence Lai is, this is from RedWolf’s website: ‘Clarence Lai has become a most prominent figure in airsoft. His work as an airsoft gunsmith and with the IPSC has helped him to gain recognition and respect the world over. From the resplendent beauty of his one-off pistols to his active work in promoting the IPSC in Asia, his work within the airsoft community is highly admirable. Not only has Clarence assembled custom guns for some of the most notable race shooters around the world (including the owner of Infinity Pistols), he has also provided many of his creations for use in films. ‘Clarence has almost two decades of experience as an Airsoft gunsmith, and produces an array of custom guns and upgrade parts under his own brands – Airsoft Surgeon/CL Custom. After co-

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EVENT REVIEW | AAF 5

founding a well-known Airsoft shop in Hong Kong he moved on and went independent; from this Airsoft Surgeon/CL Custom was conceived. Clarence continues to play an active role in the airsoft IPSC shooting community, as well as in real-steel shooting competitions.’ Basically, the man is a legend and his Practical Pistol Workshops were pretty much sold out as soon as they were put on the Arms Fair website. I was privileged to be given total access to Clarence and his workshops and was hugely impressed by his teaching style. No matter what your age or ability, when he works with you he immediately puts you at ease and makes you feel that your success is more important to him than his. Tell you what though… Watching him handle a pistol is not like watching someone simply holding a pistol – it is as though it has become an extension of his arm and he doesn’t have to think about doing something with it, he just does it! During a break between sessions I got to spend some time with Clarence and am delighted to announce that Clarence Lai, Airsoft Surgeon, will be writing an exclusive column for Airsoft Action starting in the very near future! Clarence will be writing a series of articles looking at all aspects

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of pistol shooting, from the very basics to advanced techniques that will be useful both in competition and on the airsoft field. Those of you that read my article about the last AAF will know my own prowess with a pistol was pretty lacking, so I for one will be taking close note of what he has got to say! I also have a sneaking suspicion that the large number of pistols sold at the Arms Fair had something to do with Clarence’s workshops, and proved that a sidearm is not just there for show – it is a valuable (some would say vital) part of your load-out. By about 15.30 most visitors had emptied their wallets and started to head home as trade stands were packed away. It can be difficult to gauge whether an event is a success or not but, based on feedback from the retailers I spoke to, from the Airsoft Surgeon Workshops and from what I saw out on the field, Airsoft Arms Fair 5 was most definitely a success – now if only it could be made bigger! ■

AIRSOFT ARMS FAIR The next Airsoft Arms Fair will take place in October 2012. Keep an eye on the website for details. WEB: www.airsoftarmsfair.com

See your ad here Call Toni on

01926 339808 tonic@blazepublishing.co.uk

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GOING

NOISY 074

July 2012

SKILLS ROOM | AMBUSH

Billy Basics initiates his ambush and collapses it – now it’s your turn!

e have left our poor old ambush party in position for a month now, which is a bit of an epic, and they wont be happy. It’s not the longest one I have ever heard of though – a heli was shot down in Afghanistan by a group that lay concealed on a mountain top under tarpaulins for five weeks. Now that’s discipline! But back to our ambush. The enemy approaches down the track and are seen by one of the cut-off groups who alert the PC, either by comms cord, usually repeated tugs which should not be mistaken for anything else (because he covered that in his orders), or by radio. So if you are laying the comms cord out and it gets snagged, the solution is not to yank repeatedly on it or they’ll think you’re crying wolf. You can see now that the cut-off group has a number of functions: it acts as early warning for the approach of the enemy, protects the flank of the party as a whole, and if the ambush goes noisy it can mop up the stragglers as they try and flee the killing area. It also has another function that we’ll come to in a minute. The tension mounts. The enemy arrives in large enough numbers, or key personnel are spotted in the group, and the PC decides to initiate and give them the good news. One minute the air’s full of tension and a second later it’s full of flying lead – hopefully aimed,

accurate lead and not ‘spray and pray’. You’ve hauled it all this way on your back, make it count. Lots of lead in the air going one way is good for you but bad for the baddies. Now a quick word about initiation: it’s best to initiate with gunﬁre rather than a loud Blackadder style “Ready, aim, ﬁre!” By the time you’ve got all that out your blokes will be looking at you mouthing WTF, the baddies will have stopped for a laugh, got on their bellies, tested and adjusted and will be ripping apart the bushes that you’re trying to get out of. So Patrol Commander, always opt for a well-understood signal with the two lads lying either side of you – thumbs up, vigorous tap or slap of the shoulders and everyone opens up. But make sure your signal can’t be confused for another gesture as that’d be embarrassing!

A mate of mine jumped out of a heli on a para jump by mistake in the US once. The signal for ‘GO’ was thumbs up, but the jump got scrubbed and the message got passed around the group. He hadn’t been paying attention though. As the loadie was giving the thumbs up to the pilot in response to something he’d said on the internal comms, the silly sod jumped out. He landed in someone’s pool, and was then invited to lunch by the owners and spent a very nice few hours before getting picked up. But I digress. The killer group are now scything through the bad guys and are picking their targets carefully, not just gratuitously expending ammo so they don’t have to carry it back again. It isn’t over until it’s over, and you might be followed up by a very cross enemy who want a bit of you, so use just enough to destroy the enemy and no more.

“Just as they’re approaching in a haste onto your left ﬂank they get a second ambush right in the gob. It’s unlikely they’ll try that dance move again in a hurry” www.airsoftactionmagazine.com

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Practising drills is the surest way to perfect them

The left and right cut-offs in this instance are holding their fire. The advantage to these groups keeping their powder dry, so to speak, is that they remain concealed. Surprise is always a good thing to have on your side; the enemy might withdraw to lick their wounds and mount a flanking counterattack, and just as they’re approaching in a haste onto your left flank they get a second ambush right in the gob. It’s unlikely they’ll try that dance move again in a hurry. But let’s assume for argument’s sake that the baddies have been beaten, or at least given a bloody nose and have fled, leaving their dead and wounded colleagues in the killing area. So what next? Next comes a period of watching and waiting. Everyone will be intently watching their arcs with their hearts pounding away, waiting for movement and probably for the ringing in their ears to subside (if they’re anything like mine they never will sadly). The enemy might mount a desperate counter-attack, or he might be planning a follow-up. You now need to search the enemy for

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stuff they might be carrying which will be vital for your side’s efforts, so as soon as the PC is happy he’ll issue the signal for the searchers to go out. They should be clearly identiﬁed to the the killer group as searchers, either by shouting what they’re doing (‘searchers out’ or ‘searchers moving’) or wearing arm bands. But they won’t just run out front, have a quick snoop round and come back in with their thumbs down (‘Nah, didn’t see anything’). They will normally, depending on the terrain, be the two guys on the left edge of the killer group (or they might be from either the left or right cut-offs) who will move forward to the left extent of the dead and work their way through the bodies ﬁnishing at the right. When they re-enter the cover where the killer group are they’ll be saying ‘Searchers coming in, searchers coming in,’ keeping it simple, keeping it easy. The PC will want the information and documents immediately, then it really is time to go. Searching the baddies effectively takes some time and the guys will be keen

to be gone. There are three important things to remember about collapsing an ambush, whether you’ve gone noisy or are sneaking off to fight another day. Firstly, groups go out in reverse order they came in, so the last group that took their place will be the first up and out of there. It’s easy to remember and means that the first cut-off we placed, to get eyes on the likely enemy approach route, will be the last ones there, watching for any enemy follow-up. The second is to do it carefully, methodically and thoughtfully. If it becomes a big ball of knots and you are bumped there’ll be blokes all over the shop, and you’ll lose the upperhand quickly. Keep the guys in their formations – and lastly and most importantly do a headcount before you move out. That way if you have left some poor fella behind wondering where you’ve all gone it’s just a quick trip back to grab him. Thanks for your patience and interest, that was a quick jog through a complicated subject. Good luck with yours. Billy out. ■

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077

WIN

KING ARMS

ASHBURY

THE ORIGINAL SUB MACHINE GUN

IS IT WORTH THE HYPE?

THOMPSON M1A1 best beginners' gun ❱ airsoft arms fair ❱ training estate ❱ F&O upper heyford

RIFLES REVIEWED

THE ART OF SNIPING

SITE REVIEW UCAP: SANDPIT

This month: APO 338LM, Beta Project M200, G&G G96

The Sniper teaches the skills required to be a master shot

Nige heads to Kent, and one of the biggest sites in the UK

your first load-out ❱ sniper gear ❱ Inside: The Range ❱ CQB TArget systems

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

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ASHBURY

KING ARMS

ASW338LM

THOMPSON M1A1

IS IT WORTH THE HYPE?

STIRLING AIRSOFT

Operation Greenhill: The Operation Sea Angel: Special West Side Boys come to Kent Forces on the water

TIER 1 MIL SIM Operatin Deadfall: 36-hours of hardcore evasive tactics

best beginners' gun ❱ airsoft arms fair ❱ training estate ❱ F&O upper heyford

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THE ORIGINAL SUB MACHINE GUN

RIFLES REVIEWED

THE ART OF SNIPING

This month: APO 338LM, The Sniper teaches the skills Beta Project M200, G&G G96 required to be a master shot

SITE REVIEW UCAP: SANDPIT Nige heads to Kent, and one of the biggest sites in the UK

your first load-out ❱ sniper gear ❱ Inside: The Range ❱ CQB TArget systems

THE Airsoft Magazine

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July 2012

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Operation Sea Angel: Special Forces on the water

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NEPTUNE TACTICAL

THE Airsoft Magazine

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THE Airsoft Magazine

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COLD WAR WARRIOR | SAS TROOPER

After blasting into the nations’ living rooms in 1980 as they stormed the Iranian Embassy in London the SAS became the world’s best-known ‘secret’ Special Force. This month we look at The Regiment’s role in WWIII, had it happened in 1975!

SAS TROOPER

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IMAGES: Guy Berresford Photography (guyberresfordphotography.co.uk)

hile their counter-terrorist exploits became front page news, their reconnaissance and fighting skills were kept far more secret in 1982 during the Falklands War. SAS units landed well ahead of the British task force and laid-up in hides (often in extremely close proximity to Argentinean forces) while monitoring enemy troop movements. They called in accurate naval gunfire and RAF bombing runs on enemy positions, spending up to 30 uncomfortable and tense days at a time in their hidden observation posts. Rumours abounded that the ‘Regiment’ operated on the Argentinean mainland, but these have never been officially confirmed. The SAS lead the pack among the world’s Special Forces. They offer a first class package of reconnaissance and combat skills that few can equal. Their success in ‘small wars’ across the world since WWII has made them perhaps the world’s most famous battalion-sized combat unit and a force that many other countries model their own special operations assets upon. This month we’ll be looking at the lessglamorous role assigned to the regiment had a third world war broken out in Europe. Contrary to the popular belief held by many players of Modern Warfare of the SAS as door-kicking, hard-as-nails killing machines, the real SAS in the future war would have needed quiet and dedicated men capable of spending weeks inactive, but alert, before bursting into explosive action. The Cold War mission of the regiment (which largely consisted of ‘called up’ territorial SAS members) was primarily intelligence gathering and identifying targets for airstrikes – much as they had done in the Falklands. While in the Falklands the SAS had

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IMAGES: Guy Berresford Photography (guyberresfordphotography.co.uk)

“Contrary to the popular belief held by players of Call of Duty of the SAS as door-kicking, hard-as-nails killing machines, the real SAS would have needed quiet, dedicated men capable of bursting into explosive action” conducted a few hard-hitting night time raids, against the juggernaut of the Red Army these would have been almost pointless.

Quiet, patient, deadly Skills learnt in the fields of Northern Ireland and the rocky crags of South Georgia were equally applicable to the German plains as small four-man units would, under the cover of darkness, create observations posts (OPs) behind the enemies’ frontlines. Constructing simple dugout hides, usually little bigger than the size of two or three men, they would lie in place for weeks at a time (observing, eating, sleeping and even defecating in the cramped bunker). This feat required immense amounts of patience and dedication – they had to stay alert to monitor the progress of enemy troop movements, locate air defence, supply dumps and command assets on which to call down fire missions. The one thing the SAS trooper really did not want was a stand-up fight with the Red Army! Even as late as the 1990s this was still

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the main mission of the SAS in times of open warfare. The ill-fated B20 mission was a reconnaissance task monitoring Iraqi supply routes that went horribly wrong. While the patrol carried immense ﬁrepower those weapons were intended for getting themselves out of any trouble, and not for waging a guerrilla war. In this article we’ll look at the weapons and equipment of an SAS trooper, most likely a territorial member of 21 SAS or 23 SAS, called up in time of war to supplement the regular 22 SAS contingent of the British Army. Our man is tasked with making his way to an enemy-held river crossing to monitor Soviet forces utilising the bridge, spot ‘signature equipment’ that gives away their nature, mission and force size – then report back in to HQ without being seen or heard.

Specialist equipment Ironically the SAS traditionally eschew any truly unique equipment or insignia that would give them away in the ﬁeld as anything

other than a regular infantry solder. Despite that their considerable freedom of choice in personal kit often gives them away as much as any US-style ‘ranger’ flash would. While the British Army’s standard L1A1 SLR was used in quantity by the SAS, substantial amounts of the US army’s M16 rifle can be found in the British Army’s inventory for times when a lightweight weapon with a high rate of fire was preferred over long-range stopping power. SAS recce patrols (most NATO countries refer to reconnaissance or scouting as recce; the US uses the term recon but this is never used within UK forces) would try to avoid contact and combat where possible. If compromised, however, they needed to be able to put down a lot of rounds in the direction of the enemy and bug out fast. The lightweight M16 was perfect in this capacity. A US 1911 Pistol is carried as a sidearm, while the Browning Hi-

COLD WAR WARRIOR | SAS TROOPER Power was the standard British Army pistol of the 1980s. As with all things, SAS troopers were allowed to carry weapons according to personal preference, local ammunition supply and mission requirements. Clothing is largely standard British Army issue but in a combination rarely seen in the same place at the same time. While the sand-coloured beret is the regimental headdress of the SAS it is never worn in the ﬁeld and our trooper here wears the 1970 pattern DPM peaked combat cap. In the 1970s and 80s the combat cap was pretty roundly despised by regular soldiers and given a variety of insulting nicknames including jap cap and crap hat (and a few we can’t print in a family magazine), as it was the headgear that recruits in training were forced to wear until they had ‘earned’ their regiment’s beret and capbadge. Within the ranks of the SAS, however, it was a popular and practical item – although they were often customised by shortening the brim and removing the ear ﬂaps that are normally folded under the cap. Over a standard British Army olive green shirt our trooper wears the distinctive ‘SAS smock’. Made of lightweight tight weave cotton this smock was windproof, shower-proof and extremely hardwearing. Examples sometimes found their way into other regiments and corps (note the issue windproof and arctic

smocks are very similar and often sold as SAS models) – but they were most common within British Special Forces units. SAS smocks are notable for the absence of epaulettes or tabs to hold rank slides as the SAS do not wear rank in the field (in fact they do not refer to each other by rank when on operations). Tasked with reconnoitring a river crossing our man wears tropical pattern jungle trousers as these are hardwearing and dry fast when wet. Their high plastic content can make them something of a risk in areas where the enemy might be using incendiary devices (such as Northern Ireland) but for a recce role they are ideal. This lightweight outfit is finished off with a pair of US Army Vietnam War-era jungle boots. Again selected for their lightweight, quick drying and rugged qualities, the UK jungle boot of the time was a pretty inadequate high leg baseball boot! (Note: at the time of going to press Airsoft Action had just managed to acquire some vintage ‘SAS windproof trousers’ which were worn as a less-risky alternative to tropicals but were unable to source them in time for our photoshoot). Traditional webbing is eschewed and a lightweight ‘belt kit’ containing ammunition, water and essential survival supplies is carried instead. The rest of the equipment the trooper required for his recce work and

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“A lightweight ‘belt kit’ is carried instead of usual webbing” survive for up to 48 hours – in reality few carried a pistol but we have included one as a more practical option for skirmishing.

The eyes and ears of the army As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, the main role of the SAS trooper is reconnaissance. To this end our man is equipped with tools far more vital than his rifle or pistol… a map, compass, binoculars and a Morse transmission radio set! As the eyes and ears of the British ground forces (and to a degree the RAF) our soldier is able to observe enemy troop movements using binoculars – carefully camouflaged with scrim and netting to counter any reflection or glare – plot them on a map of the operational area and quickly send back to base a rapid Morse transmission of the enemy’s plans. In a four-man SAS patrol or OP, one man would be a specialist signaller (and all would possess good Morse and radio skills) and would be able to transmit the information back quickly. Later models of Morse and radio sets would often be able to store the inputted Morse (or speech) message and send the finished message as an ultra-short ‘burst transmission’. Morse was often the ideal solution as most sets could transmit Morse code for significantly further distances than speech. For this photoshoot Airsoft Action

IMAGES: Guy Berresford Photography (guyberresfordphotography.co.uk) for living in the ﬁeld for prolonged periods is carried in his bergen rucksack or in the pockets of his combat smock. Here our belt kit is optimised for the sport of airsoft and is slightly more aggressive than that which might normally have been carried. To the front the trooper carries two US ALICE ammo pouches for his M16; troops issued M16s (including line regiments such as the Parachute regiment) were given some latitude to customising their webbing with more appropriate US pouches where

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available – but in the SAS the construction of the belt kit was entirely up to him. It was not unusual to see belt kit consist entirely of non-standard webbing items from a variety of civilian and NATO sources. Alongside the pouches is a Spanish water bottle carrier, a British holster for his US M1911 pistol, a commercially-available jungle survival knife and ‘escape and evasion’ pouches customised from 1944 pattern webbing pouches. On this belt kit is everything the soldier required to live and

was able to obtain a rare 1970 Special Forces Morse set issued to units like the SAS and secret operators. This small but mighty unit could be powered by either a battery carried in the bergan, external power sources or even a dynamo handcrank! So for those of you fancying a Cold War SAS impression we hope we’ve not shattered your dreams of gung ho, doorkicking wildcats with this account of quiet professionalism; rest assured there is still a role for those with the right mindset to play SAS in Cold War airsoft battles. Out of the open day arena many a MilSim event has been won or lost on the strength of a side’s intelligence gathering skills… and if you’ve got the stealth, the patience and the nerve – that’s where YOU come in! ■

MIDLANDS

SOUTH EAST

NORTH WEST

SCOTLAND

DEALER LISTINGS

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WHAT AM

BESTEST GUN?

We’ve done our ﬁrst skirmish and bought our ﬁrst load-out, so now it’s time to pick a weapon. In the last of a series, Gareth ‘Gadge’ Harvey explains why there’s no ‘bestest gun’ – it all comes down to your preferences and play style

ne of the commonest questions we get from newcomers to the sport (and on every airsoft forum on the interwebs) is: ‘What is the best gun?’ Well the good news is that there is a deﬁnite, conclusive and easy answer to that – there isn’t one. That’s right; the ‘best’ gun is entirely subjective and relevant to you. There are numerous factors that can contribute to making a particular airsoft electric gun (AEG) right for you – and what’s great for one person might be totally unsuitable for you. The ﬁrst thing to consider is the aesthetics or ‘look’ of the AEGs you see. Airsoft is as much about the style as the substance to many players and it’s important to get stuff that looks ‘cool’ to you. Otherwise we’d all be playing paintball with weird contraptions that look like they’re made out of plumbing. In fact the look of the gun is probably the single most important factor in choosing one. Let’s face it: you’re going to be splashing

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out over £100 (at the very least). If you don’t like the look of it you wont keep it for long and you’ll soon be selling it on, part-exing it or swapping it for one you do like. And a lot of this is because – and I’m bound to cause controversy here – besides the look the vast majority of AEGS are pretty much the same beast. It’s not like real-steel ﬁrearms where you have to consider caliber, range, stopping power, reliability … At base level you’ve got a smoothbore peashooter that ﬁres 6mm plastic balls on an electrically pumped cushion of air. There are some things worth considering though, with regard to practicality, comfort and cost effectiveness. These are: ergonomics, barrel, battery and magazine.

Getting to grips with your gun Put quite simply, ergonomics is the design, shape, balance and feel of your gun. You’ll find most assault rifle types beak down into two camps: traditional or bullpup configurations. A good example of the standard configuration is the AK47 design.

From shoulder to business end you have the stock, receiver and trigger group, magazine and then barrel. This tends to create an easy to use, easy to shoulder, conventional design that can be a little long if you’re in buildings or tight spaces. In contrast, the bullpup design sees the magazine (and the majority of the working parts, like the piston and gearbox in an AEG and the bolt carrier, sear and return spring in a real rifle) sited behind the pistol grip. This allows for a much shorter weapon with a barrel as long as a standard rifle. Now some people love bullpups and others just can’t get used to the magazine placement. As with all designs it’s a case of finding the right one for you. For another example of practical ergonomics we’ll go back to looking at the AK47. The Kalashnikov series of rifles, while classic designs, have very long magazines sited directly under the receiver. While this isn’t necessarily a problem it can make aiming while lying down or ‘prone’ more difficult. In a similar vein the Belgian P90 has a top-fitting

BEGINNERS AIRSOFT | GUN CHOICE

“If you’re 5ft tall and 8st then an M60 machine gun probably isn’t for you – no matter how good it looks in the movies” magazine that doesn’t get in the way while ﬁtted but is very large. It can be tricky to store spare magazines in most webbing systems. Lastly, it’s a good idea to be realistic in the size of your AEG. If you’re 5ft tall and 8st then an M60 machine gun probably isn’t for you – no matter how good it looks in the movies. Be honest with yourself and check out something more manageable like an MP5! It’s safe to say you need to make sure the AEG you’ve chosen feels comfortable, is easy to handle and looks good to you.

Barrel We’ve briefly mentioned the barrel and suffice to say there is a whole article’s worth of theory on barrel length, tightbores, rifled barrels and so on. One basic premise to consider, however, is that with a smoothbore 6mm barrel you’re never going to be an Olympic shooter – in general barrel length is a contributing factor. A longer barrel won’t necessarily make your rounds go further but will make it more stable for most of its flight. A thought worth bearing in mind and it’s often a good idea to take into account the nature of your local site. If you regularly play in a tight, closely confined CQB site then that M14 SOPMOD with an extended barrel fitted through the flash suppressor you’ve got your eye on will be pretty pointless.

Hop-up It wouldn’t be fair to talk about the accuracy advantages of various barrels

LAW OF THE LAND Before you jump right in and go off to buy a gun, learn about the laws that govern the sale of airsoft guns. First off, no one under the age of 18 can buy a gun, be it two-tone (brightly coloured) or realistic (known as RIFs). Over-18s can buy two-tone guns from any retailer, online or otherwise. Age is the only requirement for buying these guns. To buy a RIF, you must be both over-18 and able to prove you are an active airsofter (or ‘skirmisher’, as the law terms it). Re-enactors are also covered by this defence in the law. Many involved with airsoft – including retailers and site owners, worryingly enough – do not understand the law and believe one MUST be a member of ‘UKARA’ to buy a RIF. This is utterly untrue; being a member of UKARA is a defence that allows one to buy a RIF, but it is not a legal requirement and it is not the only defence. You can read the full Violent Crime Reduction Act (2006) online at www.opsi. gov.uk. It is well worth familiarising yourself with the laws which govern our sport. Knowledge is power!

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and not mention hop-up. I played my first skirmish blissfully unaware my hop-up was set all the way down and thought my gun was rubbish…after having ‘hop-up’ quickly explained by a veteran player I was soon getting hits with the best of them. Quite simply hop-up is a small rubber bump between the piston and the barrel that puts a backspin on the BB and stabilises its flight through the air much the same way as a golf ball flies. These days having hop-up on a gun is a given but some older models lack this feature and will have a noticeably shorter range. Usually the hop-up is adjustable to compensate for the weight of your chosen ammunition but again, on some models, it’s fixed and you’ll find this forces you to play with a set BB weight if you want to actually hit anything. It’s always worth

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checking in the store what sort of hop your chosen gun has and, if it’s ﬁxed, whether it can be changed easily with aftermarket parts.

Battery Airsoft batteries have come a long way in the last ﬁve or so years. Generally, airsoft batteries come in three main types: NiCad, NiMh and LiPo. NiMh batteries have now generally replaced NiCad in airsoft, as they’re more efﬁcient, offer better capacities relative to size and have a longer lifespan. Until the introduction of LiPo batteries one of the factors in choosing an AEG was the type of batteries it could take. Small SMGs, carbines and weapons with folding stocks were limited to ‘mini’ or ‘stick’ batteries that required charging or

changing halfway through a day’s play (or more if you have a heavy trigger ﬁnger), whereas a full-stocked AEG (like our old friend the AK47) could take a large battery that would probably last you a whole weekend in the ﬁeld. Batteries are not cheap, so for many new players the large battery is the best option (especially as many starter guns came with one) as you’ve also got to take into account buying a battery charger – the one that comes with many cheap AEGs is at best poor and possibly dangerous and really shouldn’t be used. With LiPo batteries you can get the effective storage of an old-style large battery in a package the size of a mini or stick battery. The only downsides are that a completely different type of charger is required and a little more care in their

BEGINNERS AIRSOFT | GUN CHOICE usage needed. Unlike regular NiCad or NiMh batteries, allowing a LiPo to run ﬂat will kill it dead! Given their sensitivity and need for greater care I wouldn’t recommend LiPo batteries to a beginner – stick to the hardier NiMh until you’re more comfortable. For a new player batteries can be a confusing thing. As one of the world’s self-confessed Luddites I had to have a pal on my team explain NiCad batteries to me, and it went a bit like this… Batteries have two ratings, voltage and amperage. One governs the rate of ﬁre and the other the battery’s capacity. The battery is like a bucket, and the current the water inside. The amperage can be thought of as the size of the bucket… the higher the amperage the more BBs you can push out of your gun

(roughly about one BB for every unit of amplitude – thus a 3000mAh battery will fire about 3,000 rounds). The voltage is like a hole in the bucket that lets the water out – the higher the voltage the bigger the flow to the motor and the faster the rate of fire. Thus a 10v battery makes you gun fire faster than an 8.4v battery – but it also puts more stress on the internal components and gears. It’s always safest to use the type of battery your gun is designed to take; you can ramp things up but don’t email me complaining when your gearbox seizes up.

Magazine Magazines for airsoft guns (as in the BB feeding device, not what you’re reading now) are again available in a bewildering assortment of sizes, shapes and styles. Consider your playing style and choose an AEG that can take the sort of mags you need. For most AEGs, mags come in three broad types. First there is the low-cap or

‘real-cap’ magazine, which are often cheap (sometimes marketed as ‘disposable’) and hold about 30-50 BBs. They appeal to the ‘MilSim’ type gamer who wants realism. The second type are mid-caps that come with most Tokyo Marui guns and hold around 100-200 BBs. Like real-caps these are spring-loaded like real firearm magazines and mechanically very reliable. Lastly we have ‘hi-cap’ high-capacity magazines, which hold anything from 300odd rounds for an M16/M4 mag though to a whopping 500-600 in the AK47 or G36 series. In this category we can also include box mags and C-mags, which are used in the real world to put light machinegun quantity ammo loads onto assault rifles. In airsoft they hold 3,000 or more BBs at a time. The immense capacity of the hi-cap and box mag type magazines usually require them to be powered by clockwork or electrical mechanisms as no spring could cope. Once again it’s a tradeoff between capacity and simplicity – box mags can be great but frustrating when they fail to feed at a critical moment. If you’re the type of guy who likes to spray and pray, putting out hundreds of BBs each battle, then you’re going to want at least a couple of hi-cap magazines that hold several hundred BBs each. On the other hand, if you’re the quiet and stealthy sort then low-caps might be more your thing. Most players opt for hi-cap magazines when they start off for a couple of reasons. Some simply don’t have the discipline required for real- or mid-caps at first, and tend to run out of ammo quickly. Others play a fast-paced game where real-caps and the required reloading time slow them down. Yet others choose hi-caps because it’s more cost-effective to buy one 600-round hi-cap than three 200-round mid-caps. So there we have it, some simple advice on what to look for when buying your first AEG, as we’ve said the sheer choice is bewildering but you probably already know in your heart roughly what you want before you even read these words. Do try and bear some of the advice in mind: while you’ll never be happy with an AEG you think looks stupid or ugly – no matter how reliable or effective it is – you’ll equally never be happy with one that you can’t carry! ■

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YOUNG GUNS O

ne major difference between airsoft and videogames is reloading. Plenty of people practise shooting but very few of them actually practise tactical reloads. Videogames gloss over this problem by making it an automatic, timed response to a situation. In the world of airsoft it can be anything but. The reality of the situation is this. ■ You realise you are just shooting air – inconvenient because if you were shooting BBs your target would (in theory) be hit. ■ You must remove your current magazine. Drop it on the ground like in the movies? Are you crazy? That thing can cost up to £50! So you have to put it somewhere, and you only have two hands – one to hold your riﬂe and one to fumble with the magazine. Maybe you should put the riﬂe down? You have to look at what you’re doing so now you’re not watching what the enemy is doing – and he’s probably not standing there patiently waiting for you. ■ You not only have to get the mag out, you have to put in another magazine too.

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Jezz Blume gives advice on the art of reloading Do you still have any full ones? Which way is up? ■ It sure is harder to reload while you’re trying not to get shot. And who said reloading in cover was any easier? Hard to put the magazine in the drop pouch because it is pressed up against your cover and if you ‘unpress’ it you will be exposing yourself to enemy ﬁre. ■ Now that you’ve taken your eyes off the enemy (and assuming he hasn’t taken advantage of the situation – thanks buddies!) you have to ﬁnd him again. It isn’t likely he was waiting for you to reload so you could shoot him. ■ Was the expended magazine properly secured or will you be walking around soon with a death rag on looking for it?

Theory vs practice As you can see it ain’t pretty. There is more to it and when you screw it up you will lose a magazine, get shot, or look like a fool standing there fumbling with your gear. Reloading is one of

the most under-practised skills. The theory is that you should be able to reload without taking your eyes off your surroundings or lowering your weapon – you should always have a round in the chamber to ‘school’ the guy who wants to take advantage of you while you’re vulnerable. Essentially, while you are reloading you should do it in the safety of cover. Theory and practice are two different things because you always run out of ammo when it’s most inconvenient (like during a charge, in the middle of providing covering fire for a buddy, immediately after entering a room full of enemies or the second a new firefight starts). Reloading is supposed to be done quickly but is not always the case and it is a lot harder to reload while lying down than most people think because Sod’s law dictates you are lying on the magazine you need, or your drop pouch, and that those bushes, branches, leaves and dirt all get in the way.

FEATURE | YOUNG GUNS Consider it takes maybe three to ﬁve seconds to reload quickly. You should move to cover so you can duck if the enemy shoots at you but you should always maintain tactical awareness – keep your eyes on the enemy, not your gear. Taking your eyes off your enemy can guarantee that you will lose track of him when you have the chance to shoot again.

Reloading in the ﬁeld Here’s what you should do in the event you need to reload. ■ Immediately seek cover and concealment. Do not ‘bunker down’ if you can help it. You should be able to reload while watching for the enemy but you should be able to duck into cover if they start shooting. ■ Notify your buddies (unless you are going solo). By telling your buddies you give them a chance to protect you. If you are providing covering ﬁre for them then your warning is a good notice to them to take cover and stop moving. It also informs the enemy you are vulnerable, so keep that in mind. Established teams might come up with a code word to

indicate weapon problems or reloading. ■ Always keep one hand on the weapon near the trigger so you can shoot. Use the other hand to remove the mag and place it in a drop pouch. If you are reloading before you run dry you might still have a round in the chamber that can be used if needed. ■ Don’t try to put an empty or used magazine back into the pouch where it came from. This takes up too much time, can be confusing when you are looking for a fresh mag and requires more attention to accomplish. Keep it simple.

When to reload You don’t have to wait until you are empty to reload. Unless you’re sure your magazine is full you should reload when: ■ You are about to assault an objective (room clearing, bunker assault, trench clearing, what have you) ■ You just survived a major firefight and nobody is shooting at you ■ You are about to provide covering fire for a buddy who has to move some distance or needs intense covering fire ■ You are in a defensive position and the enemy is about to rush ■ You are in good cover, nobody is shooting at you and you aren’t sure how many rounds you have left ■ It would be extremely inconvenient to run out of ammo in the next few minutes ■ You’re at respawn and unsure about your ammo level Try different methods of reloading and find out what is most comfortable and quick for you. Different people have their brain wired in different ways and what’s good for you may not be good for others. Dropping a magazine in the snow or dirt means you are likely to get snow or dirt in your weapon. This can be bad – don’t do it. There are many tools and utilities to help you reload, from elastic tie magazine pouches to ‘ranger tabs’ that attach to the bottom of a magazine for a thumb or finger to hold. Reloading should be an automatic, thoughtless process, but never is. The only way to get there is to practise it constantly. Practise it without watching what you are doing and then practise it some more. Once you feel you have practised enough, practise some more. This is WarWolf signing out until next time. ■

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Trine: stunning side-scrolling puzzler

INDIE GAME

PICKS Resident gamer Alex Wharton gives the lowdown on a few choice indie releases

t’s been pretty quiet on the gaming front recently and all I’ve found myself playing is older stuff (Skyrim drew me back in) and some smaller indie games that I picked up on the cheap! So here are a few games that I think you should take a look at – good quality time-wasters you might just fall in love with. Quick note: Running With Riﬂes – www.modulaatio.com – was originally included in this list and is worth a look, but unfortunately we didn’t have space to include it in the ﬁnished feature.

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Trine 2

This gorgeous side-scroller is based around three characters and their adventure through the land. It is primarily a puzzle game, although you do get to bash the odd goblin! You can choose your character from: Amadeus the Wizard, Pontius the Knight and Zoya the Thief. The Wizard is able to move large items or conjure boxes and planks. He’s a handy character for moving through the game’s tricky puzzles. The Knight is a champion of the realm and a powerful ﬁghter – when the goblins attack you will need his sword and shield. Lastly, the nimble Thief has a grappling hook that allows her to move around the world and get to the difﬁcult spots, from which she can rain arrows down upon enemies.

Throughout, puzzles use fire, water or gravity to make it difficult for you to pass, so you are going to need some help. Thankfully the game can be played cooperatively! So grab a couple of friends and enjoy the visually-stunning world together. The developers have really gone to town on the graphics engine here. At times it looks like it’s been painted and should be static, and then the water starts flowing or flames flash out. It really is rare for a game to look as good as this one. The gameplay is well-paced, with difficult puzzles mixed with story segments and fighting. It’s kept simple – you won’t have to sort a puzzle while in the middle of combat, so you can take your time and think them through. Overall Trine 2 is a supremely enjoyable, nice game. You can certainly waste a few hours with some friends – and finding all of the secrets will take you even longer!

TRINE 2 DEVELOPED BY: Frozenbyte PUBLISHED BY: Atlas Out now on Pc, Mac and Linux, Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade PRICE: $15 WEB: www.trine2.com

GAME REVIEW | INDIE RELEASES

Shoot Many Robots: manic co-op shoot ‘em up

Shoot Many Robots Another side-scrolling platformer, Shoot Many Robots is also, well, a shooter. The game centres around a hillbilly, armed to the teeth with guns and beer in post-robot-apocalypse world. Each level consists of wave after wave of robots, ranging from a small melee bot up to gigantic beasts that shoot back – usually with an even bigger boss battle at the end. You are then scored on how many robots you kill and how many Nuts you pick up from dead robots. You can play cooperatively with up to four players, which allows for some friendly competition while you shoot and bash your way through the levels. And don’t worry, there’s loads of them! The more you kill, the more you level up, and the stronger you get. You can also spend the Nuts you pick up on items ranging from hats to new weapons. Each of the items have different stats and effects – for example, buy a helmet and you may get a jump and then a head slam attack. Likewise, equipping a huge backpack gives you more ammo, but you will move slower. There are tons of items to choose from so you and your friends will start to look very different to each other in no time. The gameplay is manic: robots launch themselves at you from all directions and bullets and explosions rock around the levels. Sometimes what appear to be hundreds of robots are on the screen at any one time! Shoot Many Robots is a crazy concept depicted in a fun, cartoony fashion. This doesn’t detract from what is a great and fun game to play though. Whether co-op or solo this game will consume hours of your life at a time (or just a few minutes, as it is very easy to drop in for a level now and again). Well worth a look.

MineCraft: limitless creative freedom

SHOOT MANY ROBOTS DEVELOPED BY: Demiurge Studios PUBLISHED BY: Ubisoft Out now on PC (via Steam only), Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade PRICE: £8 WEB: www.shootmanyrobots.com

MineCraft MineCraft is an epic game about utter freedom and creation, set in a world based around blocks. Each block is made of a different material. When you start you have nothing but your bare hands but very quickly you will learn to make tools, create a home and start surviving in the world of MineCraft. And learn this you must, as at night and in the dark reaches of the land, monsters spawn. These include beasts from your average zombie right upto creepers, a sneaking four-legged monster that blows up if it gets near you. As you learn the ways of the MineCraft universe you realise they have created a sandbox game with massive depth. You can choose to take many different paths depending on what you want to achieve – maybe you enjoy the farming and spend your days growing new crops before retreating to the safety of a house at night. Or perhaps you kit yourself out with armour and weapons and go adventuring, exploring

the deepest of caves and searching for hidden loot. Or perhaps you just want to create things. If you take a look around the internet you can see many examples of what can be done in this game. Players have recreated real locations and monuments from the world. They have built vast castles to live in, and even cities! I’ve even seen someone that used the wiring system in the game to build a giant 8-bit computer! You can play MineCraft on your own or join a multiplayer server. There are hundreds out there and many have vast communities that all play and create together. There are even mods for it to help in this respect, adding new items and things to do. Overall MineCraft is what you make of it. I chose to make a base, which grew into a tower, complete with inﬁnity pool on the roof. I had an automated wheat farm so that I could bake bread to give myself lots of supplies for my adventuring. Eventually I plan on making my own DeathStar, but that’s in the long-term plans and is going to take some working out! ■

MINECRAFT DEVELOPED BY: Mojang PUBLISHED BY: Mojang Out now on Android, iOS, Xbox 360 PRICE: £17 WEB: www.minecraft.net

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091

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The Retreat - SRP £10.99

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SAS Operation Storm - SRP £25.00

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