Airsoft Action - April 2023

CONTENTS

8 ARMOURY: VFC HKMP5K GBB

VegaForceCompany (VFC) certainly appear to be ploughing a great deal of resources into releasing an ever-increasing array of gas blowback rifles and submachine guns, replicating increasingly exciting fully-licensed retro and ultra-modern platforms from some of the legendary names in the real steel realm! Stewbacca takes a look at the latest and much-loved MP5k!

18 ARMOURY: SPECNA ARMS J08

Way back in ISSUE 113 Bill got his hands on one of the first of the then-new J SERIES “AK” AEGS from Specna Arms, and then updated things with a look at the J08 in ISSUE 125! Now Miguel adds his vast experience to Bill’s as he reports back on the latest J08 that just had a major upgrade to fall in line with the rest of the latest Specna Arms AEGs, and what an upgrade it is!

Editorial Director: Bill Thomas

Deputy Editor (Asia): Stu Mortimer

Graphic Design: Calibre Publishing

Ad Design: Deadshot Design

Publisher: Calibre Publishing

26 ARMOURY: HUNTSMAN H-SERIES GBB

Web: www.airsoftaction.net

©Calibre Publishing Limited 2023 All

this

FIND US ON… LETTER

IDEA OR QUESTION?

Got something to say? A question for our experts? An article or article idea?

Drop us a line and let us know. Either email the Editorial Director: bill@airsoft-action.co.uk, or talk to us on Twitter or Facebook.

In Issue 144 we introduced the new AEG models from HUNTSMAN TACTICAL courtesy of our old friends at iWholesales and this time we’re pleased to report on the next step of their release program with their H-SERIES GBB pistol models as THE HUNT MOVES ON! Bill picks up the story…

32 ARMOURY: VORSK VM9

In an airsoft pistol-world somewhat dominated by 1911s, Hi Capas, and G-Series GBBs it’s always refreshing to find something that breaks out of this mould and goes in a different direction! Recently launched and first seen by many at IWA this year, Bill has already spent some time with the new VORSK VM9 and finds his opinion on an old campaigner changed by it!

38

Stewbacca found it can be difficult to source clothing in his sizes in Asia and a lot of apparel in particular can be over-engineered or less suitable for his new life in the tropics. In the first of hopefully many cooperative efforts with ‘Military’ Anny Wu, he finally got around to checking out TRU SPEC Asia’s Taiwanese headquarters in the far East of Taipei, to meet their team and see what their product lines consist of!

At SHOT ‘23 our AA Legionnaire and US-lead Dan sat down with Tom Ceraso from Amped Airsoft to discuss the rise and use of night vision equipment in airsoft, Amped Airsoft’s plans for national events, and where the future of night vision might be headed!

Last month Bill got together with the members of THE AA LEGION to talk about how their experience has shaped what they wear and use for a simple day of skirmishing, experience that has been gained over many years, and many, many games! This month he’s turned their attention to what they add to this basic kit list when they need to be out overnight!

Our talented in-house Tech Jimmy continues this month in his quest to perfect HPA systems within his primary platforms, and this has led him to the hallowed doors of a well (but should be better) known name in airsoft engineering, those of the mighty MANCRAFT! He now details his experience of fitting and fielding their V3 PDIK engine and V3 CNC HPA Shell!

48

We’re taking a small break from our regular testing report this month! The team have been away to IWA as although Red Cell was created as a long-term, group-testing entity it’s also at the very core of everything that happens at Airsoft Action, be that days on the range, event attendance, or working with the manufacturers direct. Bill opens up our in-house “box of airsoft tricks” to talk about this, and about Red Cell plans for the future!

58

In a new column for Airsoft Action, Stewbacca will be talking to prominent figures within the industry, allowing you to get to know them personally! He’ll be looking at how they got into airsoft as a hobby, or as an industry they work in, what they do within the community, what they want to accomplish, plus how they want to effect positive change and who they work with.

80 AA LEGION: TAIWAN

The Taiwan IDPA organisation and its local membership has continued to grow since Stewbacca’s initial interview with their team back in late 2020 when they were already passing three hundred local practitioners and around twenty safety officers dotted around the island, they are now nearing a thousand members incountry and an ever growing number of staff! Our “Man in taiwan” picks up the story again at their 2022 “Nationals”!

96 RELOADED: LCT LK-33/53

Way back in Issue 117 we brought you the “first look” at the stunning new LK-33 from LCT Airsoft, and in Issue 140 it was the LK-53. Now they’ve spent some considerable time with both models Bill and Stewbacca update on how they are performing now, and any changes they have made!

Once again it’s the time when Airsoft Action hit the biggest firearms and airsoft trade show in Europe, and what we found at IWA in Nuremberg this year was an airsoft industry that is returning to 100% full-form! Bill takes us on his journey through the show halls in Part 1 of his annual report, and along with Jase and Jimmy start with all that’s new and improved directly related to RIFs and accessories!

KIT & GEAR: TRU SPEC ASIA

RED CELL: SPECIAL REPORT

INDUSTRY INSIDER: GETTING PERSONAL

44 THE CAGE: OVERNIGHT GEAR

76 TECH: MANCRAFT

64 TECH SPECIAL: AMPED AIRSOFT NIGHT VISION

88 AA LEGION SHOW REPORT IWA PART 1

KOOL KURZ KUSTOMER

VEGAFORCECOMPANY (VFC) CERTAINLY APPEAR TO BE PLOUGHING A GREAT DEAL OF RESOURCES INTO RELEASING AN EVER-INCREASING ARRAY OF GAS BLOWBACK RIFLES AND SUBMACHINE GUNS, REPLICATING INCREASINGLY EXCITING FULLY-LICENSED RETRO AND ULTRA-MODERN PLATFORMS FROM SOME OF THE LEGENDARY NAMES IN THE REAL STEEL REALM! HECKLER & KOCH ARE NO EXCEPTION, ALONGSIDE THE PSG-1 GRAIL GUN HE ACQUIRED PREVIOUSLY, STEWBACCA IS ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR NEW GERMAN GUNS FOR HIS COLLECTION AND NOW TAKES A LOOK AT THE LATEST AND MUCH-LOVED MP5K!

MOA2022 hailed the arrival of VFC’s HK53 GBBR, MP5SD2, and MP5k early model so I’ve got a lot to look forward to getting my hands on over the coming months, starting with the smallest of the family, released just prior to Christmas; the MP5k early model.

As we alluded to in the Red Cell feature of Issue 144 (December 2022) the legendary benchmark Machine Pistol 5 is a firm favourite of many of Airsoft Action’s cohort of Legionnaires, and I am very much an avid fan of the platform. Even six decades after its inception, it remains the yardstick many use to

measure newcomers against, with its much loved sewing-machine-like operation.

The roller delayed blowback allows it to have an atypically lightweight bolt compared to the straight blowback pretenders to its long standing throne, and even Heckler & Koch’s own attempts to replace it with more modern and economical alternatives have in many cases failed to convince its long standing following in counter-terror and armed police or special forces, albeit the relevance of true submachine guns has admittedly lessened with the advent of reliable ultra-short AR carbines that allow

for 5.56mm or 300 Blackout platforms in the same footprint, there are nonetheless many users who refuse to relinquish them though.

A decade after the earliest full-size MP5 models, H&K responded to the growing needs of personal protection and specialist units to field an even more compact and concealable variant of their already hugely popular and widely adopted SMG. The earliest MP5k (kurz - short) variants appeared in the mid1970s, with a shortened barrel half the length of the full-size models, as well as a shortened receiver and bolt unit, with a rear plug featuring a sling swivel and internal buffer that replaced the telescopic or solid stocks of other variants, requiring the SAS style “sling press” technique or a similarly rigid two hand hold to facilitate aiming and controlling of the stockless and shortened beast. It also had a slightly higher rate of fire as a result of the shortened bolt system and its travel.

It is this classic ‘early’ version replicated here, complete with the S-E-F trigger group, with the reinforcing rib-clad polymer pistol grip group, and left side only/right hand use only fire selector lever which is not only physically larger than later ‘Navy’ variations, but has a longer throw in general between fire modes as well as much more positive detent locking in each position. The pistol grip itself also features an integral thumb shelf and gentle finger grooves on its front face as well as a less pronounced thumb rest on the right side for left handed use - clearly it wasn’t geared all that much towards ambidexterity back in the day. Besides these idiosyncrasies, the VFC MP5k follows the format of their previously established V2 system models, the MP5A2, A5, SD3 and MP5k PDW, with the same “30 round” real capacity and real external dimension magazines; these are much slenderer and easier to handle than alternative manufacturer’s, and with the correct amount of curvature as well as having a complete wraparound outer shell. One of the things I like most about VFC’s magazines is that the realism extends to the feed lips and method; it’s a true double stack double feed system with two rows of BBs stacking beside/between each other and presenting left and right column heads which are stripped and fed into two separate left and right ramps on the HOP unit’s internal face. Not only does this look way cooler

than the typical double stack single feed of most GBBR magazines, but it makes it noticeably easier to load and unload BBs into the magazines, as well as leading to zero feed issues whatsoever in all of my present testing of them.

INTO THE WILD!

I picked up my review sample from VFC’s Pentagon Service Centre at the start of February while I was dropping my FAL and PPQ NPA off for servicing as well, and eagerly took it home to start planning around its assessment and integration into my gameplay and gear. That Sunday team Taichi went to Linkou CQB, a perfect testing environment for a platform intended for close protection and clandestine operatives. I added a simple quick detach Fastex buckle on a length of nylon webbing to attach to my integrated sling systems on my plate carrier, giving just the right length of pull to allow me to employ the “SAS sling press-out method” myself, pushing the MP5k to bent arm’s length and making use of the open iron sights.

I also added the B&T format sight mounting rail I had lying around to enable the addition of red dot sights. Initially the T1 style enclosed tube I tried using proved a little difficult to ”find the dot” in, and I ended up just using the iron sights after trying the MP5k on the outside range during HOP setting and range testing using 0.30g BLS BBs and 12kg “green gas” as is my typical standard. The recoil impulse of VFC’s latest in the MP5 range is very stout and reliable; it’s hard to describe, but compared to my alternatives I’ve had for much longer, it just feels better and is less noisy in terms of the bark and metallic or spring related clanking and reverberation. It’s a much more pleasant and reliable system in general, a real joy to shoot and not something that is overly noisy or unnecessarily clunky; the balance of the springs and the gas recoil system as well as the general construction of the action and the whole receiver and furniture just inspire more confidence. Granted my other brand GBB MP5’s are not only second hand and worn, but are also a lot older in terms of the maturity of their systems.

Many have found fault in VFC’s GBB offerings in the past, and in all honesty when I first arrived

“I ADDED A SIMPLE QUICK DETACH FASTEX BUCKLE ON A LENGTH OF NYLON WEBBING TO ATTACH TO MY INTEGRATED SLING SYSTEMS ON MY PLATE CARRIER, GIVING JUST THE RIGHT LENGTH OF PULL TO ALLOW ME TO EMPLOY THE “SAS SLING PRESS-OUT METHOD” MYSELF, PUSHING THE MP5K TO BENT ARM’S LENGTH AND MAKING USE OF THE OPEN IRON SIGHTS.”

in Taiwan and witnessed their earlier V1 system MP5, UMP and G36C GBB models at the inaugural MOA in 2017, they did have obvious issues in terms of gas efficiency and the apparent inability to finish a full magazine of BBs before the gas was either expended or vented. Suffice to say, the intervening years and the obvious improvements made have assuaged such issues entirely in my experience, and with VFC’s ever-growing GBB pistol, SMG and rifle range (especially with the likes of their officially licensed variants from HK, SIG, Glock and Colt) have been blowing me away in terms of their power, reliability, construction quality and practical range and operation, let alone the all-round user experience! I personally own a PPQ NPA, Glock 17, FAL and PSG-1 from their range, and I’m honestly considering just buying this loaned MP5k to the family and perhaps an MP5A3, MP5SD2 and the much awaited HK53 to the family and phasing out older examples of HK replicas from other manufacturers that I have; if that isn’t a ringing endorsement of the product I’m not sure what is… it’s just a horrendously fun to shoot little gun!

RACK, LOAD, SLAP!

The handling and manual of arms follow the classic rack, load and slap and an important note VFC released relates to the reloading cycle and, thus far at least, to my mind the only drawback of the system. The MP5 platform’s magazines are so compact in cross-section that it precludes the use of a system similar to the PSG-1 or G3, as well as apparently the HK53 where the valve on the rear of the magazines have extension arms which swing out of alignment once the final BB is fired and the magazine follower reaches the top of its travel; this gives the user the realistic ‘dead trigger’ click on empty. The older alternatives I own

“I’M HONESTLY CONSIDERING JUST BUYING THIS LOANED MP5K TO THE FAMILY AND PERHAPS AN MP5A3, MP5SD2 AND THE MUCH AWAITED HK53 TO THE FAMILY AND PHASING OUT OLDER EXAMPLES OF HK REPLICAS FROM OTHER MANUFACTURERS THAT I HAVE; IF THAT ISN’T A RINGING ENDORSEMENT OF THE PRODUCT I’M NOT SURE WHAT IS… IT’S JUST A HORRENDOUSLY FUN TO SHOOT LITTLE GUN!”

has

hang the bolt half-open on empty, so the trigger goes completely dead, rather than dry firing. You do admittedly get a noticeably different recoil impulse on that final shot, as you do with any system that locks open on empty, so you tend to realise prior to trying the trigger on empty.

To avoid damaging the follower or the BB dislodging and feeding protrusion on the VFC V2 MP5 system’s bolt head it’s imperative that you do the proper lock open and reload to retract the bolt first before removing the magazine, otherwise you’re likely to impart undue amounts of wear on the parts and more rapidly find yourself with reliability and feeding issues; good drills required, I suppose. This is basically the only major complaint I’ve found thus far after a whole month of weekends skirmishing it, although the HOP unit is also a bit over-sensitive to my mind and the front foregrip retention body pin is extremely stiff to begin with; I’m hoping it loosens up over time as it’s nigh on impossible to reseat properly from the outset when taking the front furniture off to adjust the HOP.

variant I have on a 0.20g BB, and the HOP tends to just fall short on 0.30g as set from the factory, but then the next click up tends to over adjust upward somewhat. I imagine slightly heavier ammunition will alleviate this issue in the longer term and help you reach out with it.

Those minor setup woes aside I’ve been loving running the model I got and really don’t want to give it back in all honesty! It’s just good fun, although I would be inclined to buy then folding PDW stock separately and allow me to switch between stockless and stocked versions on a whim as the stock would give you a better playing experience and allow more ready use of a red dot or even just consistent sight picture using the iron sights. I managed to make use of the sights with the sling press method, but fighting with your hands to present and aim each time can be a bit haphazard in all honesty; it’s great fun if you want the ultra-short look or need it to be this format for the loadout you are going for, but adding the PDW stock to this without having the tri lug muzzle on the front would complete both the look and usefulness for me, giving a “Mission Impossible III” setup that

looks awesome and handles nicely without the extra bulk of the silencer or its related QD attachment muzzle device.

SIGHTING IN

On our last skirmish prior to writing this evaluation, at our Yangmei site I did manage to effectively make use of a replica SRO open reflex red dot sight, so perhaps having something low lying that allows for some level of iron sight co-witness is ideal for the less consistent sights presentation without the stock. It can be done to some extent but is probably harder than using a pistol with a red dot as your hands are further apart and again you’re fighting with them to get the gun aligned properly each time you bring it to bear.

One thing I really appreciate about the VFC MP5 series is the ease of maintenance I encountered; after the Yangmei skirmish I field-stripped the whole thing during my photography phase and beside the aforementioned stiff front handguard pin it was easy and less problematic than my other variants. The recoil spring assembly is much better designed and doesn’t spring out the rear when the stock or rear plug is unpinned and removed which is a pleasant change, while the fire control and pistol grip group comes off easily and the entire trigger pack is easily removed as a single unit by merely lifting the fire selector to the vertical position and pulling it out to the left, thus releasing the trigger pack itself from inside the grip.

I did notice some wear already on the bottom of the bolt guide rails and the striker valve assembly, probably where the magazines have been inserted and removed during my usage of it, but otherwise it has been solid and inspires confidence in the system in general, again to the point where I’m leaning towards preferring it and just retiring my older models and perhaps outright replacing them. Clearly the upgrades to the internal components are making a noticeable and positive impression on me as of late.

The modularity and interchangeability of the whole family of VFC HK MP5s also means you can dress up your particular gun exactly as you like, with apparently all members of the system having both modern ‘navy’ trigger groups as well as classic S-E-F non ambidextrous setups which honestly I’m leaning towards preferring as well. The large, longer-throw selector levers just suit me better and feel more positive in their operation as well as looking old school and thus inherently nostalgic.

For the final day of testing prior to writing I also took the MP5k to my IPSC club’s new shooting facility and enjoyed a light-hearted day of competitive shooting on paper and poppers, complete with the

custom suspenders and sling system I threw together that allowed me to carry the MP5k at the ready concealed quite effectively under my business suit; hey, I have to have some additional fun with this all eh?

The reception from my teammates on the skirmish and competition fields has been resoundingly positive, and most of them get to get hands on with my own toys and many things I test; as you’ll see in other articles Military Anny has also been joining us recently and was also enjoying emptying magazines through the MP5k at our Hutoushan shoot midway through my evaluation process! I also managed to get an elimination using it to shoot through some pretty heavy foliage that day, although in the longer term I’d probably want another two magazines for my loadout especially for outdoor use as you can quickly get through 30 or even 60 BBs with this little beast; your ammunition will be gone, but the grin across your face will endure a little longer at least!

So, all told, I’m trying to find an excuse not to part with my money and not give the guys at VPSC this back, because I’ve enjoyed using it so much, and the growing family of VFC’s MP5 range and inherent magazine compatibility and the better handling of them over my existing alternatives make me really tempted to phase out the old and bring in the new with these! The drawbacks are fairly minimal compared to my positive user-experience and the gleeful mag-dumping of everyone else who’s had hands on with it.

So, bottom line time...

If you’re in the market for a compact SMG/PDW that will serve you well as a backup gun for the likes of sniping, or just close quarters or to max-out particular loadout requirements for an impression you’re going for, this old school beauty is definitely worth your attention to my mind!

As always I’d like to extend my thanks to our friends at VFC and their VPSC staff for entrusting me with the MP5K, and I look forward to justifying not giving this back as well as checking out their other upcoming H&K releases.

Until next time, fellow shooters… AA

NEW AK LIFE!

WAY BACK IN ISSUE 113 BILL GOT HIS HANDS ON ONE OF THE FIRST OF THE THEN-NEW J SERIES “AK” AEGS FROM SPECNA ARMS, AND THEN UPDATED THINGS WITH A LOOK AT THE J08 IN ISSUE 125! THINGS CONTINUE TO MOVE ON THOUGH, AND NOW MIGUEL ADDS HIS VAST EXPERIENCE TO BILL’S AS HE REPORTS BACK ON THE LATEST J08 THAT JUST HAD A MAJOR UPGRADE TO FALL IN LINE WITH THE REST OF THE LATEST SPECNA ARMS AEGS, AND WHAT AN UPGRADE IT IS!

Bill: I’ve been really, REALLY happy with the J08 that I got my hands on back in early 2021, and it’s proved to be a thoroughly solid and dependable AEG! As much as I do love my “SUs”, and have almost since I started playing airsoft seriously, the J08 with its more “105” length has definitely won a place in my heart, especially with a PBS-1 fitted… it from different brands fit and function well. I always

find that other than steel versions, AK mags can feel a little insubstantial and even “flimsy”, but the Specna Arms versions fit and feed well; the inclusion of two mid-caps to me suggests, as does the keen pricepoint, that the J08 was aimed at the slightly more experienced player, or the player who wanted a solid AEG from the get-go that would last them

50m-plus now though!

“OVERALL THE 2021 J08 HAS PROVED TO BE A VERY RESPECTABLE AEG, AND I’M VERY PLEASED TO HAVE IT IN THE “AK ARMOURY”; BUT OF COURSE THINGS DO MOVE ON, AND THE J08 THAT I HAVE HAS NOW BEEN SUPERSEDED BY A NEWER VERSION…”

A 7.4V LiPo battery fits easily under the top cover, but if you’re judicious you can squeeze in an 11.1V pack which brings up the ROF quite seriously! My only quibble with the very first of the J-Series was the top-cover latch, which seemed a little “short, and I felt needed to be a couple of millimetres “prouder” to ensure a solid lock, and I’m pleased to report that SA

away. But now Specna Arms dropped some of their J-SERIES models in the EDGE 2.0 range, and oh boy, there was this J08 looking right at me, so I had to take the opportunity. My first impressions were “yeah, this is it”; solid build and good wooden feel in the handguard (made with plywood). I know that the J08 is a mix of a 74U and a 105, but, after 15 years, for

But now let’s focus a bit more on the airsoft player’s and of course the ASTER electronic trigger from GATE. issues with the replica, BBs fired, and now even an FPS

it kept breaking my mag lugs, so I ended up storing it

using the ASTER to get the GATE cable, so you can

“THESE SERIES COME WITH A LOT OF UPGRADES COMPARING TO THE NORMAL EDGE, LIKE A REINFORCED ORION V3 GEARBOX, THAT ACCORDING TO THE BRAND IT CAN HANDLE UP TO M140 SPRINGS, THE ESA2 QUICK SPRING CHANGE SYSTEM... AND OF COURSE THE ASTER ELECTRONIC TRIGGER FROM GATE.”

connect the replica to your PC or Smartphone using the GATE APP; in the box you do have a configuration card, but only with APP will you have access to all the possibilities.

DOWNRANGE

Time to go a bit over the performance; I’ve been using the J08 for a few games now, enough to get a good feeling about its performance and range. Hell, I even got some good feedback from players from opposing teams/factions about shots that I was able to make during some confrontations! I do recommend the use of 0.28g or 0.30g BBs, although this model doesn’t have the Helium flat hop like the other EDGE 2.0 models, this way you will take the most of the whole system. Of course, since FPS limits change from country to country, it’s better if you do some testing with different BB weights to find the best option. Even having a short/medium size barrel, it’s not hard to shoot over 50m with good precision and around 60m with some dispersion. Out of the box my J08 measured around 391 FPS, a bit over what’s allowed here, so a spring change was in order. I installed a M105 and now it shoots at a regular 368 FPS.

On the outside, the J08 is still a solid piece of kit; everything is metal except the pistol grip and the handguard, nothing wobbles and even the AK S-MAGs fit like a charm! But of course there are some points that I don’t like, the top cover is still a pain to work with, and I also got feedback that the sling point in the stock can come off, it hasn’t happened to me, but it’s a warning…

Overall, I’m really enjoying this new Specna Arms J08 within the EDGE 2.0 range. It’s well-built, and it comes with a lot of goodies inside; it’s hard to find something like this at this price range. The performance is not that different from the other EDGE 2.0, even without the Helium flat hop up. So if you are looking for an AK, the J08, or any other J series, should be on your list.

Bill: So, another step forward, one that brings our beloved AK in line with all the “uber-ARs” already out in the wild! It’s always fabulous to see something that we have tested, and continue to test, receive some love and attention, and hats-off to Specna Arms for continuing to show the not-so-humble-anymore AK some true love!

As Miguel notes, the latest iteration of the J08 clearly ups the game yet again, just as its predecessor did when I first saw that! Seeing new innovation and technology being incorporated into existing gameproven platforms is a joy to behold, and promises to add even more to their owners airsoft experience!

Many thanks to www.gunfire.com for supplying the test model, and to check out the very latest just head on over to www.specnaarms.com and keep an eye on their social media pages for regular updates! AA

THE HUNT MOVES ON!

IN ISSUE 144 WE INTRODUCED THE NEW AEG MODELS FROM HUNTSMAN TACTICAL COURTESY OF OUR OLD FRIENDS AT IWHOLESALES AND THIS TIME WE’RE PLEASED TO REPORT ON THE NEXT STEP OF THEIR RELEASE PROGRAM WITH THEIR H-SERIES GBB PISTOL MODELS AS THE HUNT MOVES ON! BILL PICKS UP THE STORY…

Iseem to be saying this a lot right now, but after the lengthy delays that we saw for some brands during the pandemic, new airsoft platforms seem to be hitting the market, and the player communities, on an almost daily basis! After looking at the new AEG models from HUNTSMAN TACTICAL only a few issues back, and coming back to them after three months last issue, it appears that the development cycle is already farprogressed for the brand as their pistols are already “out in the wild”!

And what a great choice they’ve made for their initial models as they’ve concentrated on the ever-popular “G-Series” (H-SERIES in HUNTSMAN

“AFTER LOOKING AT THE NEW AEG MODELS FROM HUNTSMAN TACTICAL ONLY A FEW ISSUES BACK, AND COMING BACK TO THEM AFTER THREE MONTHS LAST ISSUE, IT APPEARS THAT THE DEVELOPMENT CYCLE IS ALREADY FAR-PROGRESSED FOR THE BRAND AS THEIR PISTOLS ARE ALREADY “OUT IN THE WILD”!”

the style as it’s such a popular game, TV and movie regular that they already feel at home with.

It’s also a somewhat brave move as I can’t think of another style that is more contentious in terms of legal wranglings; we in airsoft often cannot say the name that we love as some agressive licencing prevents this, and I believe that there are other factors at play here too. Whilst I am the very first to stand up and say that using actual trademarks without the correct licence is 100% wrong, having a “look-alike” is a different matter entirely. I honestly truly believe that the firearms company here have a far greater agenda and are using airsoft OEMs to create a “safe trainer” for the worldwide firearms community that they will make $$$$ from… I’ll actually say it that I believe that GHK may well be on shaky ground right now given their development investment in a project that I cannot see them making successful in a meaningful way… honestly, I think they’ve been used.

However, that’s just me gobbing off, and I have to say that what iWholesales have produced within their HUNTSMAN GBB pistol range may look like a handgun that we all know and love, but is distanced even in categorisation and nomenclature, so let’s talk more about “H” models and be done with the politicking!

THE RISE OF THE SECONDARY

More and more of us are carrying “secondarys” these days, and having one that provides solid performance whilst not breaking the bank can be a real bonus! When it comes to airsoft shooting we talk an awful lot about how repetition and the construction of a “muscle memory” can help us to become a better, safer, more controlled, and ultimately more effective shooter and although I do try to cross-train with multiple platforms, when it comes to my personal choice I am pretty much a foreswarn “17/47 man”

“long” of choice; if truth be told though my rifle-shooting days started with the venerable SMLE in .303, so I’m a believer in those big-boy rounds, something that led me to becoming a fan of the AK! But time, and the popularity of certain platforms, waxes and wains and although for different disciplines I now use different platforms, when it comes to skirmish-day there has only really ever been one single personal choice for handguns, and that’s a “17”! Now I know that might not gain me many fans amongst certain parts of the airsoft shooting fraternity, and I will admit to a bit of a failing when it comes to Hi Capas and “1911” models, but my first ever airsoft pistol was a “17” (unlicenced!) so again, it’s kind of stuck with me.

During my early days living and playing in Florida all my American friends would carry a sidearm, but as a “Brit Abroad” I was very much of the opinion that “the primary is king”, something drilled into me from many years in the cadets and then OTC… in the USA though I was a bit like a kid in a candy store as I was

Huntsman H17 Custom

“DURING MY EARLY DAYS LIVING AND PLAYING IN FLORIDA ALL MY AMERICAN FRIENDS WOULD CARRY A SIDEARM, BUT AS A “BRIT ABROAD” I WAS VERY MUCH OF THE OPINION THAT “THE PRIMARY IS KING”, SOMETHING DRILLED INTO ME FROM MANY YEARS IN THE CADETS AND THEN OTC…”

able to try pretty much anything on offer at my local store and at games! Eventually I bought a DPM vest with a concealed handgun pocket, and I inevitably ended up with a “17” in it thanks to Andy Ho at AEX…

So the “17” has been with me as a trusted airsoftgame-partner for nigh on seventeen years now; yes, they (and it is “they” and not “it” now as I have a collection of “17s!”) have seen me out of many tricky spots in-game, and have consistently performed and been great fun on the range. That “muscle memory” has truly been established, and even in the nowrare instances when I can use a real 9mm version it feels “comfortable”. I know the feel, the weight, how it works with my holster, where the triggers break, and how to get the best from what is ultimately a very simple pistol.

CHEAP, AND VERY CHEERFUL!

And what iWholesales have done with the HUNTSMAN H-SERIES is to create something at a very attractive (sub UK-£100 even for the headline “CUSTOM” model) price that will be affordable for any airsofter, but guarantees solid performance based on excellent QC from the get-go, pistols that whilst relatively cheap in price will make you extremely cheerful when it comes to your shooting experience!

In the “launch range” for the H-SERIES are just three models, the H17, H17 TT Custom, and the H18c, and you know what? I’d be happy with any of them! Okay, I’m not a huge fan of the full-auto function on the H18c, but this is also true of that style of offering from other brands… I do however appreciate that some of you love this style, especially with an extended magazine!

However, the “basic” H17 and the H17 TT Custom sing to me… quite a lot to be honest given the prices! In the UK the H17 will set you back iro UK£80, and it’s a solid, workmanlike pistol that I believe will serve any airsofter very well indeed. It’s no frills “17”, but

it is nicely put together, and everything is tight, with minimal wobble (and I mean minimal!) in the slide/ frame interface which is creditable for a pistol at this pricepoint, especially as the slide is of alloy and not plastic. I mention this as I hear so many newer players complain about “wobbly slides”; let’s not forget that this is an airsoft pistol and not a real firearm, and that the motive force generated by a real cartridge is absent! Airsoft pistols are driven by gas from the magazine, and as such the tolerances are necessarily not as precise as those of a real firearm until you get into serious competition territory!

And the basic H17 is NOT a competition pistol (although certain shooters will probably prove me

returning!) 0.89 Joule/310fps pretty darn consistently the H17 is by no means a slouch, and it max’d out at 0.92 Joule/315fps which is pretty tasty given the price! Thus far it is still performing very nicely indeed at 10m on steels with solid accuracy at that distance, the realistic maximum distance I would usually expect

“WHAT IWHOLESALES HAVE DONE WITH THE HUNTSMAN H-SERIES IS TO CREATE SOMETHING AT A VERY ATTRACTIVE (SUB UK-£100 EVEN FOR THE HEADLINE “CUSTOM” MODEL) PRICE THAT WILL BE AFFORDABLE FOR ANY AIRSOFTER, BUT GUARANTEES SOLID PERFORMANCE BASED ON EXCELLENT QC FROM THE GET-GO”

Huntsman H18C

to use a “secondary” at.

I’ve run the H17 on green gas so far, and although it has only had two back-to-back range sessions to date I’ve had no major issues with consistency of power, and the 28 BB magazine has performed well too with no leaks apparent. The action of the pistol has now been Maglubed and offers the smoothness that it had when it first arrived with me; in fact, if anything the action cycles even more efficiently the more you use it, and it just goes to prove that every model needs a little time and some use to “bed in”.

So, as a committed “airsoft 17” user, what do I feel about the HUNTSMAN? I’d say that even if it were more expensive it would still be a steal! And that’s before you get to the “TT Custom” (I wonder what the “TT” alludes to?) as this raises the bar a little further still; with a more “up to the minute” slide design and aggressively pre-stippled grips this is another pistol that screams out “movie gun” and I love it! As much as the basic H17 is a game-day workhorse that will serve you well for years if you look after it, the “TT Custom” is a pistol that I would own just because it looks REALLY cool… not that looks mean anything in airsoft of course!

I do believe that iWholesales are properly heading in the right direction so far with HUNTSMAN TACTICAL, and the GBB pistol offering really adds to the existing line of AEGs. I do wonder where they will head next, but if they keep on releasing well-priced, durable and functional airsoft replicas then I feel that they will be pleasing a lot of players, both old and new!

Check out the whole HUNTSMAN TACTICAL range by visiting www.iwholesales.co.uk for more information and availability, and the pistols should be appearing in all good stores soon! AA

“AS A COMMITTED “AIRSOFT 17” USER, WHAT DO I FEEL ABOUT THE HUNTSMAN? I’D SAY THAT EVEN IF IT WERE MORE EXPENSIVE IT WOULD STILL BE A STEAL! AND THAT’S BEFORE YOU GET TO THE “TT CUSTOM” (I WONDER WHAT THE “TT” ALLUDES TO?) AS THIS RAISES THE BAR A LITTLE FURTHER STILL”

CIAO BELLA

IN AN AIRSOFT PISTOL-WORLD SOMEWHAT DOMINATED BY 1911S, HI CAPAS, AND G-SERIES GBBS IT’S ALWAYS REFRESHING TO FIND SOMETHING THAT BREAKS OUT OF THIS MOULD AND GOES IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION! RECENTLY LAUNCHED AND FIRST SEEN BY MANY AT IWA THIS YEAR, BILL HAS ALREADY SPENT SOME TIME WITH THE NEW VORSK VM9 AND FINDS HIS OPINION ON AN OLD CAMPAIGNER CHANGED BY IT!

I’m going to come out and say it; I have NEVER been a fan of Beretta-style GBB pistols! I find them clunky in comparison to my 1911 and G-Series handguns, and although their design may have been “futuristic” back in the 80’s, handgun design has moved on, and the M9/M92 styles seem somewhat lost to a bygone age!

Sure, I’ve had a number of M92/M9-style variants from different manufacturers over the years, and some have been solid airsoft platforms whilst others have been absolute garbage! When I lived and played in the USA the “M9” was very much still the “service pistol” for the US Army so I kind of had to have one when we were running “US Infantry” loadouts as we did at many local games; even then, like many in the “real world” I found shortcomings with airsoft “M9s” and often reverted to my classic 1911…

Looking to the history (and some interesting

factoids) of the M9, officially the “Pistol, Semiautomatic, 9mm, M9” online and in my own collection of firearms books this was the version of the Beretta 92FS used by the United States military, and the M9 was adopted by the US Army as their service pistol in 1985. The whole journey actually

“WHEN I LIVED AND PLAYED IN THE USA THE “M9” WAS VERY MUCH STILL THE “SERVICE PISTOL” FOR THE US ARMY SO I KIND OF HAD TO HAVE ONE WHEN WE WERE RUNNING “US INFANTRY” LOADOUTS AS WE DID AT MANY LOCAL GAMES”

began way back in 1979 due (if you can believe it!) to research on a multi-functional holster to be ready for a new pistol to replace the much-loved, but in some cases much-over-dated M1911A1. The resulting M12 holster was designed by Bianchi and Nicholas, and what has become known as the “Bianchi Holster” has served well for many, many years, and was officially adopted at the same time as the Beretta… yup, that’s right, it would appear that the holster actually came first while testing for the new service pistol was still being undertaken, although ultimately the two were issued together!

Again, research into the history and development of the M9 as a military service pistol tells me that the 92FS performed successfully in a number of survivability trials, which included, and I quote directly, “exposure to temperature ranges between −40 to 140 °F (−40 to 60 °C); salt water corrosion tests; repeated drops onto concrete; and being buried in sand, mud, and snow”. After the testing process (which also included firing more rounds through the test models than they could possibly be expected to fire in “service life”) the 92FS came top of the trials and was touted as “THE PISTOL” to replace the M1911A1. It only just pipped the SIG P226 for cost reasons (another great example of cost v quality perhaps?) and although it been officially “adopted” earlier, it only entered general service in 1990.

Time moved on, and the increased issue and regular use of handguns even by regular infantry troops soon began to show some shortcomings in the M9 platform; I’ve talked about this before, and anyone that knows the service history of the M9 will know this well! So, as part of the US Army “Future Handgun System (FHS)” program, and then the “Joint Combat Pistol (JCP)” which eventually morphed into the Combat Pistol (CP) program, the number of pistols for general issue was majorly cut back. The US Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps as we know are replacing the M9 with the SIG Sauer M17 and M18 (what goes round, comes round!) and of course certain specialised units continue to use a variant of the old, but much-improved 1911!

NEXT GEN COOL!

Things though have a habit of moving on as the history of that development and adoption program

shows, and what at one time was very much “THE PISTOL” has been superseded by more modern performance models. Although used by the US military the M92/M9 really entered public awareness fully as it featured in some of our favourite movies and TV shows of the 80’s and 90’s (Yippee Kay Ay…) of course there’s now another movie franchise that is a joy for lovers of “uber handguns”, that of Mr Wick!

Now I know JW doesn’t use a Beretta (and probably never will, but who knows?) but the 92FS Inox does make an appearance in the original movie. However, if Mr Wick were to use one then I honestly believe that it would a little bit like the VORSK VM-9! This pistol has a very futuristic look to it, very much in line with current cutting-edge handgun design from creators in the real firearms world, and it strikes me that the design is very much what Beretta themselves should be looking towards; perhaps they ought to speak nicely to VORSK!

The VM9 though is 100% definitely NOT an M92/ M9 and does not pretend in any way to be one, but obviously it shares the basic “shape-DNA” that made the Italian pistol a hit in the real world initially. What the VORSK VM9 is though, is a GBB of full metal construction that features VORSKs distinct style and flair whilst incorporating more modern tactical and performance elements that bring an old platform not just up to date, but take it forward in a very positive way.

One element I will get out of the way immediately is the raised rail section on the back of the slide that both houses the rear green-fibre sights and provides a stable platform for aftermarket rail-compatible RDS’. This rail features a cut-out through the centre, which actually works extremely well to aid in creating a very clear, intuitive sight picture and a clear line to the corresponding green-fibre front post. However, I believe that this element will be a little “marmite” as you’ll either love it like I do, or think that it spoils the otherwise clean slide-line of an attractive pistol. The rear rail section is created as a part of slide so it can’t be removed, but again like me, if you’re intending

“THIS PISTOL HAS A VERY FUTURISTIC LOOK TO IT, VERY MUCH IN LINE WITH CURRENT CUTTING-EDGE HANDGUN DESIGN FROM CREATORS IN THE REAL FIREARMS WORLD, AND IT STRIKES ME THAT THE DESIGN IS VERY MUCH WHAT BERETTA THEMSELVES SHOULD BE LOOKING TOWARDS”

barrel is also threaded for aftermarket suppressors and tracer units so the choice is yours!

When cocked with the trigger in “single-action” position, the clearly-marked safety lever can be moved through to the “safe” position which de-cocks the hammer and also disengages the trigger ensuring the VM9 is completely “safe” (although obviously you want it made fully safe for the Safe Zone);

you can then fire the VM9 using the double-action function. Other controls are as you would expect in relation to the slide-release, magazine release and hammer, and the VM9 has very simple slide-removal that will enable you to keep up with maintenance and lubrication easily.

The magazine is also more modern-looking as it features a “bumper-style” extension that provides

capacity up to 30 BBs and a larger gas reservoir than the standard VORSK VM9 magazine that was supplied with the VM9 OSIRIS; this looks super-cool on the VM9, but being the same base platform as the OSIRIS I’ll tell you now that standard and extended 50 BB magazines fit and feed perfectly, and these are easily found with VORSK stockists.

As much as the VM9 setup is a brilliant lightweight design that 100% updates an “old campaigner”, if anything it shoots even better than it looks! On VORSK V6 FUEL from the box it delivered a consistent mean of 0.77 Joule/288FPS on a .20g VORSK BB. It has a solid recoil impulse, even more so when you use an extended inner barrel and suppressor shroud as the power increases to a mean of 0.89 Joule/301fps on a .20g, again on V6. With that little extra “oomph” the VM9 for me steps into that 10 to 15m ground when I may need to transition to my pistol, and as I’d hoped at this distance it absolutely rocks! Once you’ve set up to your chosen weight of BBs (0.28g worked well for me), at 10m it’s deadly accurate which makes it an absolutely ideal “secondary”, especially with an RDS and extended barrel kit fitted.

But even as standard, on the 10m range using the fibre-optic sights I was happily ringing the steels, and this was with the standard-length 6.03mm inner barrel; my thoughts are that with a bit of fettling the power is certainly there to reach further, and with good shooting technique you’ll actually be hitting what you aim at each and every time!

I started this review by stating that “ I have NEVER been a fan of the Beretta-style GBB pistols” so does the VORSK VM9 change my mind? Actually it does, and for a number of reasons. The work that the VORSK team have done on the overall design brings the “look” of the VM9 totally up to date, and by re-designing the slide and removing weight it cycles brilliantly! I do love the double-action, de-cocking operating system, and the fact that I can run a fulltime RDS makes me very happy indeed. With the extended magazine, an RDS, taclite and the barrelextension kit fitted the VM9 looks totally, utterly badass, and it has the performance even as new to back those cool looks up!

Would Mr Wick approve? I think he very much might; it’s time to consign the old M92/M9 style GBB to history and say a big “CIAO BELLA” to the all-new VORSK VM9!

My thanks go to www.vorskairsoft.com for providing me with the test model; you’ll be able to see more on the new VORSK models by visiting the AA website, where Neil’s video from IWA really sets the scene! AA

THE L119A2 IS JUST ONE POPULAR EXAMPLE OF OUR CURRENT RECOIL MODELS, BASED ON TOKYO MARUI’S FANTASTIC SYSTEM - FITTED WITH THE ANGRY GUN RAIL SYSTEM AND REAL STEEL MAGPUL FURNITURE

TOP SPEC!

WHILE STEWBACCA HAS ALWAYS BEEN A DIEHARD 5.11 FANBOI SINCE THE BRAND CAME TO THE FORE IN OUTDOOR EQUIPMENT AND TACTICAL GEAR MARKET, AND WHILE THERE ARE SUPPLIERS, AND MANUFACTURERS, OF THEIR PRODUCTS IN ASIA, HE FOUND IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO SOURCE CLOTHING IN HIS SIZES, AND A LOT OF APPAREL IN PARTICULAR CAN BE OVER-ENGINEERED OR LESS SUITABLE FOR HIS NEW LIFE IN THE TROPICS. IN THE FIRST OF HOPEFULLY MANY COOPERATIVE EFFORTS WITH ‘MILITARY’ ANNY WU HE FINALLY GOT AROUND TO CHECKING OUT TRU SPEC ASIA’S TAIWANESE HEADQUARTERS IN THE FAR EAST OF TAIPEI JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS 2022, TO MEET THEIR TEAM AND SEE WHAT THEIR PRODUCT LINES CONSIST OF!

When I emigrated to Taiwan I was dragging a bunch of 5.11 rolling luggage in my wake; my SOMS 2.0 was packed to the gunwales with clothing, boots, shoes, and trainers to suit my large and in charge frame and pontoon sized feet (I was nicknamed ‘landing craft’ in the air cadets for the displacement of my combat boots!) that is somewhat atypical compared to local physiques, and much of that stockpile has served me well but slowly degraded despite attempts to get things repaired, or has otherwise proven less suitable for use here just as a result of the sheer heat and humidity of the climate here.

5.11 Taclite pro pants and shirts are just a whole lot heavier than is needed in this environment, and I’ve found myself gradually defaulting to very lightweight sports-wear; synthetic moisture wicking T-shirts or active wear style garments and shorts when I don’t have to be ‘suited and booted’ for work, or when I have to leave the comfort of climate controlled environments into the considerably hotter and stickier outdoors, especially in summer, with highs of 48*C and 100% relative humidity being the record thus far for my worst case scenario.

Being a “Brit Abroad”, even in winter I sometimes get quizzical looks from the locals, or my native colleagues voicing concern for my well-being because I’m still in short sleeves, despite my continued efforts

to express how Taiwanese winter is basically British summer for the most part. Thankfully since being here I’ve become aware of more suitable domestic products and manufacturers tailoring the tactical gear and outdoor wear; on one of my first forays to the Eastern Coast of Taiwan I and a colleague who’s also from the UK and also an avid outdoorsman ended up in the chilled out paradise of Hualien, where I happened upon a local airsoft supply shop near our hotel and found some great tiger stripe cargo shorts in my size which I jumped at the opportunity to buy and made good use of during my stay in arguably one of the most tropical parts of Taiwan’s main island.

Looking inside at the label I found ‘TRU SPEC Asia’, a name I had seen in passing online but not given much thought to due to my previous biases towards more familiar brands I’d already found sources for in Taipei. However the seed was set in my mind, and once I’d finally worn out this first pair a few years later I decided to search for replacements on Ruten (Taiwanese eBay) and managed to find out that there is a local distributor in Taipei. At the time it was just more convenient to order a single pair online and try them out, then I ended up ordering a bunch of their cargo shorts in black, OD, tan and khaki which have similarly served me very well since their purchase; with a variety of very usefully sized, placed and fastened pockets for multitools, eCards for use in convenience

“BEING A “BRIT ABROAD”, EVEN IN WINTER I SOMETIMES GET QUIZZICAL LOOKS FROM THE LOCALS, OR MY NATIVE COLLEAGUES VOICING CONCERN FOR MY WELL-BEING BECAUSE I’M STILL IN SHORT SLEEVES, DESPITE MY CONTINUED EFFORTS TO EXPRESS HOW TAIWANESE WINTER IS BASICALLY BRITISH SUMMER FOR THE MOST PART.”

stores and on public transport, sunglasses, bottled drinks, cases and all manner of other things I feel the need to carry when I venture out into the urban (or very real) jungle of my island paradise.

I saved the location of their distribution centre and front of house showroom in Xizhi at the far East end of Taipei and made a mental note to go and visit them in person… eventually. Another year or so passed and I found myself once again wanting for full length tactical trousers, having moved outdoors with team Taiji playing in genuine jungle sites many weekends with the kind of plants and bugs Austalians joke with the rest of the world about, I figured it was better to transition to covered up legs, despite the sweating induced! Having already grazed my shins slipping on a climbing excursion with aforementioned outdoorsman colleague, skin damage in tropical heat and humidity tends to get pretty grim quickly and easily infected, and myself and many others bear scars of scrapes and bites which just don’t seem to heal effectively in this environment.

So, how to avoid such injuries without dying of dehydration in the process? Thankfully TRU SPEC have the answer! Their own brand of domestically developed products are produced from durable but much lighter and more breathable materials than some of my other favoured brands, making them cooler and more comfortable in the great outdoors here, and as it happened Anny had mentioned she knew the people behind the store personally and was making a trip to cover their business as part of her own local blog (https://anny.cc/).

GETTING IT ON!

I figured a personal introduction as well as an excuse for tactical shopping and an article to boot were well worth using one of my few days off the day job and other side projects for, so off we went, making our way on the MRT way across town and thankfully getting a ride from the station to the store itself courtesy of their staff; one of the reasons I’d been reticent to go all the way there on my own was the distance and relative inconvenience to get to during office hours given where I live and my day/night job requirements.

We arrived at the Yaxin Tactical Outdoor Gear

store, the local business name that represents the TRU SPEC Asia brand, and got to work taking pictures, checking out the plethora of camouflage and solid coloured trousers, shorts, shirts, UBACS, jackets, hats and all manner of tactical gear, bags, boots, patches, as well as products from Kryptek and even civilianised outdoor and active-wear that sits under their own co-brand of Urban Force. While I have become accustomed to the sheer variety of goods available in physical stores in Taiwan that I never had near me in the UK, this was still a bit of a ‘kid in a candy store’ moment for me, mostly as a result of already knowing that my required sizes were supported in at least some of their product lines.

A little later in the day the store manager himself came by and I was introduced to Mac Chen, whose thankfully excellent command of English alleviated any of the worries I had about conducting the interview in my still non-fluent Chinese plus Google translate approach!

Originally established as ATLANCO in 1950 and then as a sub-brand of their surplus and outdoor gear activities in 1961 in the US, TRU SPEC has focused on supplying not only serving forces and security services personnel, but also the typical civilian outdoors people who put their equipment through demanding treatment. TRU SPEC Asia and the local storefront in Taipei was founded in 2012 to develop the brand and its products to suit the local market better, as part of its umbrella company based in Indonesia where the production actually happens. Prior to the impact of COVID on people’s movements and shopping habits and capabilities there were actually four different storefronts dotted around Taipei, but unfortunately the reality of the pandemic forced the company to scale back operations and rationalise everything into their present upstairs warehousing and ground floor showroom, with a smaller staff of around ten personnel in total as a result.

Mac explained how the brand has nonetheless grown in success domestically and in the Asia Pacific in general, with that being the pure focus of their distribution, as the name would imply, and the majority of their business is derived from supplying local Taiwanese military and police forces with duty wear and equipment. This accounts for around two

“THIS WAS STILL A BIT OF A ‘KID IN A CANDY STORE’ MOMENT FOR ME, MOSTLY AS A RESULT OF ALREADY KNOWING THAT MY REQUIRED SIZES WERE SUPPORTED IN AT LEAST SOME OF THEIR PRODUCT LINES.”

thirds of their domestic turnover, with the remaining third being from Taiwanese civilian consumers, no doubt many of them airsofters! All told TRU SPEC Asia turnover the best part of ten million New Taiwan Dollars annually at present… around a quarter of a million finest UK pounds!

Furthermore their larger umbrella company activities based in Indonesia also supply the militaries, police and security forces of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong, while also stocking and distributing Kryptek and 5-Star gear brands for specific camouflage pattern garments and tactical gear such as plate carriers and pouches. With plans to add further brands currently they are in talks with various suppliers in the US to expand their product lines available in country and Asia as a whole.

TRU SPEC Asia’s primary focus has been on adapting product lines and ideas in western environments to be better suited not only to local customers physical builds, but also their personal needs as well as the obvious aforementioned environmental variations and demands, particularly in terms of the use of thinner, lighter but still durable materials, as well as adapting the patterns and cuts for smaller natives and eliminating superfluous features and implementing new ones where necessary. The vast majority of domestic customers have little use for twin AR magazine pockets and other shootingactivity-related features found in many rival brands or the US based TRU SPEC’s original offerings, given the vastly more restrictive firearms legislation in Taiwan.

Mac also told me that their tactical apparel makes use of the latest materials and processing to ensure durability and functionality, with use of either genuine Gore Tex branded materials in some lines, or allegories in more economy focused offerings, with duty or hiking trousers, shorts, shirts, smocks, and all weather jackets, as well as domestically manufactured duty or combat boots and a number of gun cases for police or airsoft use, while 5-Star gear supply the vests, rigs, duty belts and associated pouches or attachments in their current lines.

Urban Force as the name implies is their own sub-brand more geared towards street-wear or outdoor civilianised gear that adopts the same design, development practices and materials application as

the main tactical brand has already implemented, but in more neutral colours and cuts with more emphasis on practical garments for the very active hiking, climbing, watersports, cycling and other outdoors communities that Taiwan lays claim to.

RESET, MOVING ON!

Now with just the main headquarters and store remaining post pandemic, TRU SPEC Asia rely more recently on secondary distributors online (as with my own Ruten related adventures in purchasing) as well as physical stores like the one I found in Hualien and direct to consumer sales through their own extensive and well laid-out online webstore https://www. truspecasia.com/. Hopefully with the increasing trust and awareness in their brand at the hands of services personnel, they will continue to grow and recover well with their planned expansions in terms of their own and cooperating brands increasing their reach in the market.

Of course it would have been rude to waste the opportunity to meet my own consumer needs, so along with a nice lightweight Kryptek long sleeve moisture wicking top that was too large for the staff who usually get gifted the free samples of new products, I also invested in a trio of their BDU trousers in tan, black and OD/Black mix, which have already been put to good use over the winter months in both IPSC training and outdoor and CQ skirmishing, offering me great protection from the elements and incoming fire already!

Many thanks to Mac for his time and attention in answering my questions, and his team for going out of their way to ensure I got exactly what was suitable for me, and of course to Anny for setting up the meeting and dragging me along (kicking and screaming, clearly!) to what will hopefully be the first of many tactical shopping and collaborative efforts; I imagine you’ll see more of us in our TRU SPEC Asia Multicam BDU’s in the field sooner than later. AA

“TRU SPEC ASIA’S PRIMARY FOCUS HAS BEEN ON ADAPTING PRODUCT LINES AND IDEAS IN WESTERN ENVIRONMENTS TO BE BETTER SUITED NOT ONLY TO LOCAL CUSTOMERS PHYSICAL BUILDS, BUT ALSO THEIR PERSONAL NEEDS”

TURN YOUR PHONE INTO THE MOST AFFORDABLE VIRTUAL SIMULATION SHOOTING SYSTEM.

WORKS WITH REAL FIREARMS, GEL BLASTERS AND AIRSOFT.

THE CAGE: SWEET AIRSOFT DREAMS

LAST MONTH BILL GOT TOGETHER WITH THE MEMBERS OF THE AA LEGION TO TALK ABOUT HOW THEIR EXPERIENCE HAS SHAPED WHAT THEY WEAR AND USE FOR A SIMPLE DAY OF SKIRMISHING, EXPERIENCE THAT HAS BEEN GAINED OVER MANY YEARS, AND MANY, MANY GAMES! THIS MONTH HE’S TURNED THEIR ATTENTION TO WHAT THEY ADD TO THIS BASIC KIT LIST WHEN THEY NEED TO BE OUT OVERNIGHT!

As a new “summer airsoft season” hovers on the horizon I always get a little tingle of excitement as to what it will bring me in event terms. Many of us continue to skirmish during the winter, but it’s the thought of those longer days and lighter evenings that really get me thinking about which games I’m going to sign up for. I’m as fond of a good “Sunday Skirmish” with the team as any player, and the occasional, fully immersive MilSim is always good to get you on top of your game, but it’s the middle ground that I enjoy the most!

I’ve played weekend games that have encompassed military training areas in the UK and USA, vast tracts of forest woodland, French mountains, and even former monastery buildings on Crete, and a good “overnighter or weekender” to me is the best possible form for an airsoft game as not only will it usually give more gametime, possibly with a night game thrown in, it will also give me an opportunity to catch up with fellow players that I know, and speak to newer players that I don’t! There will always be a bit of a “social” element to an overnight or weekend game with good friends slinging “plastic death” at one another all day long and then coming together when play ceases.

Tactics from the day will be analysed, new kit will be discussed and rated, and new RIFs will be drooled over; it’s always great fun, especially if it’s warm and fair, and the evenings are mild. But in many countries of course we must always be prepared for that “liquid sunshine” moment, and the preparation of our gear, what we carry, and how we carry it must always be a primary consideration. Of course you’re already going to have all the gear you would normally play in as we discussed last month and that’s a very personal choice so we won’t get into that again; what we are going to alk about this time is what you need in addition to your “line gear” to make your overnighter or weekender fully enjoyable!

I always pack the same set of gear whether it’s an informal longer game, or a more structured MilSim event; the real things to consider for any longer game are actually quite straightforward and can be broken down into eight key elements; Load Bearing, Hydration, Food , Cooking, Lighting, Sleeping, Hygiene, Comfort, and First Aid (I’m assuming here that most of us carry some type of

First Aid Kit as part of our usual gear). When the shooting has stopped then you need to be looking at the key elements of that list and one of the best phrases I ever heard to describe this was from an American friend who referred to it as “Snivel Gear”, that being the things that will not only let you spend a night out in the field, but let you do so efficiently and comfortably… any fool can be uncomfortable after all!

Now this is a topic that I’ve written about extensively before, and you’ll find a wealth of information in our “BACK ISSUES” section on www. airsoftaction.net so this time I’m going to throw things over to the members of THE AA LEGION…

TEAM TALK

As always I put up a question in the AA LEGION chat group online; as there are now members all over the world, much like all of you we keep in touch online each day. This month I asked them;

“What would you add to your basic skirmish load for an overnight game? What would be in your pack? Bivvy bag, sleeping bag, pad/ sleep mat, and food obviously... cooking gear? Hydration system? Other “snivel gear”? What would you absolutely 100% have in there?” and this is what they had to tell me…

Boycie: In my “kit” would be a Jetboil. It does so much for a small package, bit like L’il Stu! Mostly food wise I use snack bars/sausage rolls and the like. Something quick to get to and be able to eat; depending on the scenario I can eat them cold so as not to give away positions with food smells. I also carry Jelly Babies; these are great not only for a morale boost, but also what are really good for instant energy boost!

Robbie: Mega hydration… HYDRATION! A few snack foods (I can easily fast as needed, I do it all the time under exertion), always my blowout, booboo and hygiene kits, along with any medicines and e-cards. My night vision (PVS 14s) if appropriate, my thermal vision as needed, and my Syonix colour night vision digital camera. Appropriate batteries and power-banks, IR lasers, snap glow sticks, and IR illuminators, then onto white lights with red and blue covers… fun stuff like sensors and alarms, other sound and spook devices as allowed. The it’s weather appropriate layers, Tac BDUs, boots, spare socks, and a mini towel. If I am camping/sleeping my bedroll and ground pad. Then it will be extra BBs, gas, cleaning and mini tools with spare parts as I will probably need to fix stuff for others. Don’t forget something to give to newer guys who have nothing; bring a bag of old

stuff and make those poorer or younger super-happy!

Chris: I pack light; poncho with liner, jumper or fleece, some form of cooking kit. Extra socks; “you need 4 pairs minimum”… extra points if you guess the quote! Some form of snack, coffee (100% COFFEE!), water (2-3L), wet weather gear (helps keep the wind off at night if it’s Gore Tex or similar) and if I’m going for super comfort a half-size Thermarest!

Dan: I try to pack light, but make a few concessions here and there. Ounces = pounds = pain, as they say. For a night or two where I might actually be sleeping (as opposed to “powering through” to the morning) I might bring a ground pad for keeping one from freezing, Gore Tex rain poncho and paracord (this can be made into a nice canopy for staying dry or grabbing some shade!), inflatable pillow, MSR pocket rocket (a tiny gas cooker, lightweight and boils water fast!), and a good ol’ fashioned stainless canteen cup as this can be used for cooking, making coffee, or whatever; it’s a little heavy, but it won’t melt or poison you either!

I swear by freeze-dried food for a few bigger meals. Coffee is a must, but mostly I load up on snacks because I’m always starving or “bored-eating” at long MilSims! Extra water; this can be transferred into my hydro pouch on my vest to restock that, but is also used for cooking, cleaning, and anything else where water is needed. A Surefire headlamp with a red lens cover. TP and a small stash of wet wipes; nobody honestly uses pine cones for this task unless they are a sadist! A small med stash; aspirin, band-aids, alcohol swabs, anti-diarrheal, just the basics really!

Then there’s a Surefire headlamp with a red lens cover, along with spare CR123A’s for the Surefire Taclites and night vision. I might bring a spare change of uniform depending on the expected conditions. If it’s colder / wetter, I’ll usually bring both the Arc’teryx LEAF Atom and First Spear Windcheater. These are both lightweight and packable, and can be layered to make a nice windproof shell and warm layer, but these also breathe well, so they don’t sweat you out. If it’s absolutely pouring out, then that’s where the Gore Tex poncho steps in. At least 2x spare wool socks; I wear wool socks year round and never have feet problems. They aren’t as hot as people think they are too. I always also have 2x 50gal. trash bags; for overnighters here they are usually a site requirement, but useful for many things; you can turn it into a rain poncho for the guy who forgot to pack his! Some events I have been to have shown the need for an E-Tool for digging fighting pits or a hole in the ground. I’m usually hesitant to bring such a thing because it’s a massive chunk of weight and space and admittedly I will “be

that guy” who begs it off of someone else or presses a nice solid stick into service. But if I was doing it a lot, I’d consider investing in a titanium digger. Things that are 100% not useful!

• Giant pig-sticker knives: You are not John Rambo and nobody cares about your Strider.

• Tomahawks: You are not James Reece and nobody cares about your Winkler.

• Sidearms: (MOUT/FIBUA sites being the sole exception here) If you’re on a 1000 acre woodland site then it’s just dead weight.

• Juggernaut phone cases or silly electronic suites: You can browse OnlyFans™ when you get back to your couch!

Stewbacca: Most of the MilSim I’ve done in the past has been forward operating base (FOB) related with respawn or a requirement to return

to base for rearming due to ammunition limits or just regular tasking, and as such I haven’t really done field-camping /LRRP/LARPing style games and the one MilSim I’ve done since coming to Taiwan was another secure camp out of game with a cessation of game overnight.

Nonetheless, as I mentioned in the writeup of that event, and to an extent with my experiences in the UK, the main change for me would be hydration and lot of it. Even back in blighty carrying additional magazines, ammo/day sack or FOB bag on your back on the way out or during game can drain you or get you hot and bothered under all the typical garb like full BDUs and load bearing gear, especially if you’re running a relatively heavy or bulky weapons system.

I have a Camelbak Hydrotanium 3 Litre bladder which goes nicely in a hydration pouch or backpack, or a SAAV vest spine pouch or similar and served me well back in the UK and in Taiwan. I also got hold of one of the hydration plates to go in my carrier which worked quite well but I only used it the once for the MilSim here thus far; I might try it on my back next time as it does tend to make the whole carrier a lot more rigid as a result of using it so can make your gear behave differently at the front when reloading. Otherwise I tend to be carrying extra snacks and further bottled water to keep me going or refill the hydration systems when required, as well as additional gas or ammunition where permitted by game rules. I’ve never had to brew up or eat hot food in the field as yet, but if I did a Jetboil would be high up my list if I were to do such things as it seems comparatively fast, light and versatile. Likewise camping gear has always stayed at the base of operations for me so I’ve never had to carry it thus far… perhaps it’s time I gave it a go as reading what the team has written here, I may be missing some real fun! AA

RED CELL SPECIAL REPORT

WE’RE TAKING A SMALL BREAK FROM OUR REGULAR TESTING REPORT THIS MONTH, AND THERE ARE A COUPLE OF VERY GOOD REASONS FOR THIS! FIRSTLY THE TEAM HAVE BEEN AWAY TO IWA AS ALTHOUGH RED CELL WAS CREATED AS A LONG-TERM, GROUP-TESTING ENTITY IT’S ALSO AT THE VERY CORE OF EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS AT AIRSOFT ACTION, BE THAT DAYS ON THE RANGE, EVENT ATTENDANCE, OR WORKING WITH THE MANUFACTURERS DIRECT. THIS TIME BILL OPENS UP OUR IN-HOUSE “BOX OF AIRSOFT TRICKS” TO TALK ABOUT THIS, AND ABOUT RED CELL PLANS FOR THE FUTURE!

It’s coming up now to three years since I set up Red Cell, and that time has forced all of us to adapt and overcome like never before! In the summer of 2020 I finally made reality of a concept that I’d been playing around with for some considerable time, and assembled a group of fellow Airsoft Action contributors and trusted friends to create a rolling, ongoing long-term test program to look at all aspects of 6mm “platforms”.

These “platforms”, a term that I unashamedly ripped from the firearms world, could be anything and everything that we use to fire BBs when we’re playing our beloved game, and since the very first day the group have shot many, many different models, from pistols through DMRs and boltactions to support guns! We’ve tested, abused, and continued to punish these models both on the range and in-game, sometimes to utter destruction, and we’ve reported back on them as we have!

All too often I’ve heard, and indeed still hear to this day, that the majority of airsoft reviewers only concentrate on what is new and shiny, and whilst we do love a scoop and an “exclusive”, we also know that many of you out there, just like all of us in the past, only have a limited budget for your “airsoft armoury” and therefore I feel very strongly that we should be looking at models time and again so that we can REALLY recommend them to you! This way I, and we, KNOW that when we tell you “buy this gnu!!!” that what you’ll end up with is fit for purpose and will

remain that way if you maintain it correctly. And it HAS been a challenge to do this month in, month out as of course between the creation of Red Cell and today we’ve had that darn zombie outbreak… sorry, I meant C-VIRUS… or pandemic… call it what you like, but it REALLY put a dent into how often “The Cell” as it’s become known in-house could actually gather to test and evaluate as a group. As the “I/C” of the group it was down to me to find solutions to this, and I did so by creating, with the help of airsoft manufacturers who trust me and want ongoing data for their AEGs and GBBs, a constantly growing “pool” of test platforms covering every category that we could think of! This pool has continued to get larger and larger, with new manufacturers entering the program year on year, and my solution was to send models out to all the members of “The Cell” so that they could use and test individual platforms using an agreed common test procedure and provide data when I needed to update and disseminate this. To give you an example, we now have half a dozen different models of “HK416” within the pool of different ages, and six different members of Red Cell testing them individually to provide a wealth of information on this one platform alone!

Where we started with Short-Barrelled AR Rifles (SBR Category) we can now break that down into further sub-divisions (HK416, Mk18, etc) and provide information on each and every one! We can now

“I FEEL VERY STRONGLY THAT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT MODELS TIME AND AGAIN SO THAT WE CAN REALLY RECOMMEND THEM TO YOU! THIS WAY I, AND WE, KNOW THAT WHEN WE TELL YOU “BUY THIS GNU!!!” THAT WHAT YOU’LL END UP WITH IS FIT FOR PURPOSE AND WILL REMAIN THAT WAY IF YOU MAINTAIN IT CORRECTLY.”

do this for G-Series pistols and 1911s, SMGs, PDWs, SBRs, Mid-Length ARs, Full-Length ARs, historical models, AKs, DMRs, Sniper platforms… hell, we can even tell you all about springer shotguns! And yes, we have, and update regularly, the data on all of them… Red Cell will continue to test and evaluate as a group all the models that we can lay our hands on; where is this all leading you may ask? Well, my goal is to provide at some point in the future a definitive catalogue of every single AEG or GBB that has gone through our hands, even including those that have failed, but concentrating on the models that have truly excelled and are still giving fabulous service to this day!

I will continue to work with all our valued manufacturing partners to ensure that this process continues forward, and that every snippet of information that we garner is shared with you. Red Cell may have evolved in a different direction than that I first envisaged, but the “DNA” of the project will remain unchanged; in the spirit of the true “Rogue Warrior” Richard Marcinko we will continue to fire thousands of BBs through a whole host of platforms until we’re happy that we know each and every one intimately!

NOT JUST A TESTING GROUP!

And in that spirit of the real “Red Cell”, or “The Naval Security Coordination Team OP-06D” to give it the full real-deal title, in-house “The AA Cell” takes on many taskings above and beyond just taking airsoft

platforms to the range and shooting the living… stuff… out of them! AA’s Red Cell as I said earlier is at the very beating heart of everything that we do, from reviewing gear n’guns, to attending games and events, and even forming the base team working with manufacturers for photoshoots.

Last month we were the very first anywhere in the world to talk knowledgeably about the new VORSK VMP-1, and as I write this article I believe that I am still the only person in the world outside the VORSK team to have actually shot one! This will change soon as I understand that the VMP-1 has already been a huge success in terms of sales to retail, and therefore they will soon be in the hands of discerning players everywhere. All the Red Cell team, and indeed all the members of our associated AA LEGION are as keen to get hands-on as anyone, and we’ll be reporting back in detail once our testing of the production model is complete…. Yeah, we don’t rush our testing either!

However, to give you an example of how we roll in this respect I’ll tell you the story of just how we put the photoshoot together, and yes, it involves a number of UK manufacturers and not just VORSK, although of course the focus was very much on the VMP-1!

I met with the VORSK team late last November, strictly under an NDA, to discuss just how we could work to show off their new model to best advantage, and just like a “real world op” research and planning began in earnest last November. Although I wanted to work with VORSK to showcase what I believe will be

“RED CELL MAY HAVE EVOLVED IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION THAN THAT I FIRST ENVISAGED, BUT THE “DNA” OF THE PROJECT WILL REMAIN UNCHANGED; IN THE SPIRIT OF THE TRUE “ROGUE WARRIOR” RICHARD MARCINKO WE WILL CONTINUE TO FIRE THOUSANDS OF BBS THROUGH A WHOLE HOST OF PLATFORMS UNTIL WE’RE HAPPY THAT WE KNOW EACH AND EVERY ONE INTIMATELY!”

a ground-breaking GBB for them, indeed the start of a new era, I discussed with them that it might be an opportunity to showcase a couple of other UK brands that I work with regularly, namely VIPER and KYDEX CUSTOMS.

Whilst VORSK would provide a primary in the shape of the VMP-1 and a secondary with both their GBB EU models and the then-just-launched VX-14 I decided to approach Ian at VIPER for the kit side. We’ve been using VIPER clothing for our Red Cell rangewear pretty much ever since I got the program rolling, and apart from the odd broken zip (which was diligently reported back to them) we’ve all been more than impressed by what

went straight onto the list, as did the FRONTIER jacket in V-CAM as we’d be out doing our schtick in the UK in January!

Although all of us wore our own belt kit (more on this shortly…) our choice of load-bearing/tactical gear was a bit of a no-brainer too as we’ve all been working with the VIPER multi weapon system which is based around their VX Buckle up GEN2 Carrier; this is a cracking system, especially as they recently introduced even more quick-detach placards for pistol, carbine and SMG to the range, and of course as the focus of the shoot was and SMG… well, I’m sure you get the picture!

As we knew that we would also be working with the VORSK pistols my next stop was with KYDEX CUSTOMS, and after some discussion Taig very kindly loaned me a number of their excellent Multicamwrapped holsters. These proved a real success with the VX-14, although the model available at the time did not accommodate the VX-14 suppressor shroud… Taig tells me that this is now in hand so you should be able to carry a VX-14 with the suppressor (and extended inner barrel) attached now with their new Tracer Series Light-Bearing holsters as these are designed to work with up to 36mmwide cans!

Although we would be taking our own pictures at the shoot, as would VORSK, I also asked if I might bring along our

they offer, so it was a no brainer to put together a clothing list… I wanted for the photoshoot for Ben, Jase, Jimmy and I to have a generic “SF” look to the clothing, so the VIPER ELITE trousers and their new SPECIAL OPS combat short in V-CAM BLACK

LEGION Associate Josh from KRIOS PHOTOGRAPHY… I wanted this shoot to be 100% righteous, and having a dedicated professional photographer who I respected and trusted on board meant that I could concentrate on making sure everything looked and performed well. So Josh got an NDA to sign too, and away we went…

I’ve included a number of Josh’s superb images here for you to check out, as of course last month we really wanted to zone-in on the VMP-1; in addition to the VORSK SMG and pistols I also put together VFC Mk18, SR16, and M110 models featuring NUPROL

“I WANTED THIS SHOOT TO BE 100% RIGHTEOUS, AND HAVING A DEDICATED PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER WHO I RESPECTED AND TRUSTED ON BOARD MEANT THAT I COULD CONCENTRATE ON MAKING SURE EVERYTHING LOOKED AND PERFORMED WELL.”

accessories specifically for the shoot, although in fairness this is pretty much how that stay set up anyway.

Now you may ask given my relationships with numerous “real deal” tactical kit and clothing manufacturers I chose to run with VIPER in the majority, and there’s a super-simple answer to this… we are airsofters, and VIPER make gear for airsofters with sensible prices to match! I hope you’ll agree that the gear shown in the pictures, whilst in fairness it’s mixed with some very gucci items that the guys and I own already, looks absolutely great when you put it all together as a team effort. In my mind it just goes to show just how cool you can make your loadout look with a little thought and some pre-planning… without breaking the bank… and I have to say the whole V-CAM BLACK/V-CAM mix really works for me, and us!

Suffice to say that the day proved to be a real success, and that everyone had tremendous fun, and it’s 100% something that we will do again. It also allowed me to showcase what I believe to be the “Best of British Airsoft Guns n’ Gear” in one place, and it was a true pleasure working with our good friends at VORSK, VIPER, and KYDEX CUSTOMS.

WHAT FOR THE FUTURE?

Again, as I write this article Jase, Jimmy and I have just returned from Germany and IWA 2023, and you’ll find our report in this very issue! This is what I has always intended Red Cell to become… not only our in-house testing team, and a real team that lived, worked, and

enjoyed our time together covering every aspect of airsoft. Boycie, Li’l Stu and Dan are also members of “The Cell” and were our team that reported on SHOT 2023, whilst Stewbacca handled MOA all on his own. Miguel is also now feeding into Red Cell and it is my sincere hope that as soon as my budget allows all of us will be hitting a show together… and then it will be “Oh my... Here comes the AA Red Cell crew!”

Will we continue to test? Of course we will, and I’m already in negotiations with a number of manufacturers and distributors to run specific test days for their brands so that we can continue to really dig into the detail when it comes to both the platforms and the brands themselves! We want you to know who you’re buying from, to engage with them in a very positive way from a position of knowledge just like we do, and to have confidence when it comes time to buy a new AEG or GBB or a new piece of gear.

Another moan I hear from many about those of us creating content online is that we keep things to ourselves to somehow make ourselves look better or more “important”, but this is NOT the Airsoft Action way, and it is most certainly not the Red Cell way either! When we know something we’ll share it with you, good or bad; yes, there may be some instances where we can’t talk about something immediately because we’ve signed an NDA, but that of course is just good business practice and allows us to get involved in projects like the VMP-1 even earlier, and this ultimately means that our understanding of a new technology, platform, or piece of gear has even more depth… eventually we can share that knowledge with you as I did with the new VIPER Soft Shell jacket that I

“WILL WE CONTINUE TO TEST? OF COURSE WE WILL, AND I’M ALREADY IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH A NUMBER OF MANUFACTURERS AND DISTRIBUTORS TO RUN SPECIFIC TEST DAYS FOR THEIR BRANDS SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO REALLY DIG INTO THE DETAIL WHEN IT COMES TO BOTH THE PLATFORMS AND THE BRANDS THEMSELVES!”

believe AA talked about first in our daily web news!

Many content creators would like to believe that they are somehow “your friend”, and that because they share intimate details of their lives with you, you will trust them. Me, I don’t give a rats ass whether you like me personally or not, and in the words of Mr Eastwood in Heartbreak Ridge “I’m not doing this because I want to take long showers with you assholes”; also in character as Gunny Highway “You can run me, you can starve me and you can beat me and you can kill me. Just don’t bore me…”. I aim not to bore you but to ensure that Airsoft Action, and particularly the members of “The Cell” and the AA LEGION never bore you either…

However, if you want content that will educate, enlighten, and hopefully entertain then keep tuning in, as AA Red cell still has a long journey ahead; we may change, we may adapt, but we will always aim to overcome, and whatever life may throw in our way we will continue to do the thing we love most, and that’s talk about AIRSOFT and everything that is included in it!

My thanks again go to the guys at www.vorsk.com, www.viperkit.co.uk, www.kydexcustomsuk.com, and www.kriosphotography.com for images used in this article. The Red Cell team and I look forward to working with you all again soon! AA

Red Cell is supported by:

GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE GUNS!

IN A NEW COLUMN FOR AIRSOFT ACTION, “INDUSTRY INSIDER: GETTING PERSONAL” STEWBACCA WILL BE TAKING A LOOK AT PROMINENT FIGURES WITHIN DIFFERENT FACETS OF THE INDUSTRY AROUND THE GLOBE, ALLOWING YOU TO GET TO KNOW THEM IN A LITTLE MORE DEPTH PERSONALLY! WE’LL BE LOOKING AT HOW THEY GOT INTO AIRSOFT AS A HOBBY, OR AS AN INDUSTRY THEY WORK IN, WHAT THEY DO WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, WHAT THEY WANT TO ACCOMPLISH AND HOW THEY WANT TO EFFECT POSITIVE CHANGE, ALONG WITH WHO THEY WORK WITH AND IN WHAT CAPACITY…

For the inaugural article of “Getting Personal” I sat down with Taiwan’s Specna Arms Ambassador, and representative of many domestic brands “Military” Anny Wu, and found out what it’s like for her ‘playing with the boys’ and making headway as a positive role model for young women in what is still a largely male dominated industry and hobby.

Even before I made landfall in Taiwan back in late 2017 I was already aware of ‘Military’ Anny Wu; from earlier mentions in Popular Airsoft articles and other online media and product promotion work I’d seen coming out of Taiwanese airsoft manufacturers or other social media I’d begun to follow given my interest in moving overseas and my long term addiction to the hobby in general.

Once I arrived it was only a matter of time before I had the pleasure of meeting her in person, given the relatively tight knit community over here, and in fact it was only a matter of a month or so after getting here that I first saw her at the inaugural MOA show, working with our friends of Centurion’s Option on their booth at the show, decked out in a pink Warrior Assault Systems ladies’ T-shirt, black BDU trousers, boots and sporting a battle belt, gloves, shemagh and ear-pro, and standing nearly 1.8m tall, she certainly made a first impression, and always a pleasant and cheerful one ever since, at that! She’s been working numerous shows and booths since then to explain

the latest products from an array of domestic and international companies, as well as being actively involved in promoting national defence, shooting, sporting and other outdoor activities and products in local television shows!

More recently we’ve begun to work more closely together in an effort to better share contacts and knowledge, integrate her experiences and very much welcome female perspective into our activities at Airsoft Action, and develop our respective language skills through co-operation on visits and articles. My Chinese has improved somewhat since arriving, and Anny wishes to improve her English to open up a wider world of opportunity on the international stage, so we look forward to bringing you more from the both of us!

Having recently returned to the fold after a year or so out of the game due to health restrictions keeping her from strenuous activities, we welcomed her along to a shoot with my regular team Taiji cohort at our long range Xindian site in the hills south of Taipei, and she was apparently very much enjoying the opportunity to get involved once again in the gameplay aspect with us, and was a most welcome addition among the team. Following that and our resultant photographic exploits, we discussed her entry into the airsoft scene with a mixture of my work-in-progress Chinese and the benefit of Google translate; we managed to communicate with each other effectively enough on a regular basis, so, through those mediums together we can bring you her story:

GETTING TO KNOW YOU!

AA: Hey Anny, and thanks for talking with me! So what got you interested in guns/airsoft/militaria?

Anny: Before getting into airsoft, I was an avid surfer; but my parents objected to me doing that and worried for my safety. Following that I took up ballroom dancing, enjoying the Viennese Waltz and other traditional styles, however my instructor and dance partner unfortunately got married and moved out of the area and I was left without anyone to dance on with.

GETTING PERSONAL

Like many people, I was introduced to “survival games” (skirmishing) by a friend already involved in it, and I slowly began to fall in love with the hobby after my first game starting way back in November 2007! I began to research the equipment, the history behind the real guns being replicated, and eventually set up my own website (https://anny.cc/) to share my many articles written related to military themed tourism, product unboxings and longer term reviews and product testing.

AA: What were your experiences as a female player earlier on and more recently?

Anny: In this hobby and industry there are many men and very few women; when I first began playing many of the opponents would be overly polite and not shoot, or hesitate when they encountered me as a female player, but I however would not hesitate, and would tell them that on the field there should be no distinction whether you are a man or a woman! If you fail to shoot me, I won’t show mercy and will shoot you all the same.

Initially I also had a bad temper at times, when I played survival games my blood would rise easily; I wore sleeveless tops and liked to match them to my tactical gear, but that often left me more open to the pain of being hit… I ended up fighting with others. In one instance when I couldn’t eliminate all the players I slung my gun and began walking to the opposite side; one of the opponents shot me accidentally and I began cursing as I walked away… my teammates were dumbfounded by me and dragged me back to the safe area; later the opposite team came to apologise.

Looking back, I used to be very temperamental, and this incident in particular made my reputation grow, becoming known as a girl who shoots and plays very aggressively!

AA: How do your friends/family/ co-workers react to your involvement with a “combat sport”?

Anny: Before getting involved in survival games, I had already dabbled in surfing, ballroom dancing and skateboarding, so my family were surprised by yet another new direction in my interests, but continue to support me in my airsoft activities! My neighbours too are well aware of my involvement; they will see how I dress during holidays or my time off, and if they see me with a tent they know it’s a weekender event I’m headed to!

AA: Have you encountered any difficulties working in the industry (& in particular as a woman)?

Anny: Every industry has its

own different difficulties, but aside from the aforementioned early incidents, and an occasion of a sexist player questioning how I could defeat a man as a woman, I only remember the amusing or interesting quirks worth bearing in mind, and for the most part I don’t have any issues with people failing to take me seriously anymore.

AA: Who do you work with within the industry, and in what capacity?

Anny: I have already co-operated extensively with many well-known Taiwanese airsoft manufacturers such as VFC, Maple Leaf Creative Workshop, Modify, King Arms, G&G & RATech and of course more recently as a Specna Arms ambassador for Taiwan. In terms of soft goods or tactical gear solutions providers, I have worked with Tru Spec Asia, J-Tech, Psi Gear, 5.11/Solomon in Kaohsiung, KAM Tact, Leatherman, Hazard 4, Lowa, Armoured Claw and Centurions Option.

I’ve worked with these manufacturers and distributors as either a military model for promotional materials, a product demonstrator or reviewer, working their booths at exhibitions to help promote

upcoming releases, or just to raise the profile of their companies.

I’ve also worked with local airsoft chain stores such as AOG Airsoft and KUI Airsoft, as well as dealing with local media such as Taiwan Military Magazine, Youth Daily, and appearing on various TV news or special interest shows or features as a specialist contributor or general ambassador for airsoft, as well as featuring in newspaper and magazine features and radio interviews over the years of my various activities.

AA: Why do you do what you do; what do you enjoy most about it and what motivates you?

Anny: Taking part not only in the active games and MilSim activities, but the more specialist training and the media facing activities all increase my own confidence and motivation.

AA: What have you achieved so far in the industry and as an individual shooter?

Anny: Alongside all the exploits mentioned before I’ve also been overseas to the Philippines to take part in real steel shooting, using pistols, submachine guns, carbines, rifles and shotguns, and have also tried my hand at SCUBA diving, and been through rappelling training with Itsuya in Japan along with joining her for other specialist Japanese Self Defence Forces training.

GETTING PERSONAL

I’m also very honoured to have been selected to represent Taiwan as our country’s Specna Arms Ambassador on a more international stage and raise the profile of airsoft here.

AA: What are your plans or goals for the future?

Anny: I want to continue to help raise the profile of Taiwan and educate people with respect to our lifestyle, history, military activities and other aspects of our lives and culture here. I’d also like to improve my English abilities and in general be invited to participate in more exhibitions locally but also overseas as well; IWA or SHOT Show are high on my list, among others.

I’d also like to work with more brands to highlight their products, as well as perform more unboxings and testing or review opportunities to use my skills and knowledge.

Finally I’d like to increase people’s awareness of myself, and help them find out who Military Anny is!

AA: How do you feel about other women viewing you as a role model?

Anny: I don’t personally think I’ve reached the level of being viewed as a role model myself, but I will continue to work hard and with integrity towards my goals.

AA: How can the community and industry integrate

more women in a positive manner?

Anny: In general survival games could be seen as an “extreme sport”; I think it’s important to raise the awareness and positive profile of airsoft and its community as well as support new players and particularly encourage more women to get involved.

So as you can see, despite her own attempts at being ever the humble and occasionally unwilling figurehead, Military Anny is a formidable and storied lady who can do it all, and can no doubt be seen as a positive role model even if she doesn’t believe herself one! She continues to work towards promoting airsoft and engaging more people to join our ranks… at the next team shoot after her first initial foray with team Taiji she was already introducing a new friend to our addiction who wanted to try her hand at shooting activities!

Many thanks to Anny in general for her time and in general for her continued support of my own activities in Taiwan over these past few years; I look forward to bringing you more exploits of our strengthening friendship and cooperation here along with those of others in our community who we should know better, and not just as faces on our screens! AA

OWNING THE NIGHT!

AT SHOT ‘23 OUR AA LEGIONNAIRE AND US-LEAD DAN SAT DOWN WITH TOM CERASO FROM AMPED AIRSOFT TO DISCUSS THE RISE AND USE OF NIGHT VISION EQUIPMENT IN AIRSOFT, AMPED AIRSOFT’S PLANS FOR NATIONAL EVENTS, AND WHERE THE FUTURE OF NIGHT VISION MIGHT BE HEADED!

Major industry shows are always an opportunity to get together with friends from every part of the airsoft community, and to speak with experts in specific fields. It was my pleasure to meet with Tom from Amped Airsoft based in Pittsburgh and discuss with him “all things NVG”, so without further ado, let’s get into it, there’s a LOT we talked through!

Tom: Hi, name is Tom and I am with Amped Airsoft. I am head of the Tech Department, Head of the Night Vision Department there (which is kind of connected to the Tech Department) and I am Head of National Operations. So, any of the national operations we go to, I help coordinate with and I go to probably about 40 -50% of them.

AA: Can you tell me more about Amped Airsoft’s role in the national operations?

Tom: So we started going to events, I want to say, about 6 – 8 years ago, actually going outside of Pittsburg and Pennsylvania events to national events. But this past two years we kicked it up like crazy, and now we go to all the way to New Mexico with our mobile store and we drive all the way there. We hit about 65 events last season doing a variety of MILSIM events. And this season we’re going to probably kick it up an even higher notch from last year. It’s pretty crazy.

TECHNICAL

AA: Are you operating out of a booth?

Tom: So what we do is kind of a booth. What we have is a 24’ racecar trailer that we converted to hold a bunch of grid-wall, a bunch of tables, and a checkout area. We drive that to any event we go to and it’s pretty much a gigantic mobile store. It’s a crazy, crazy setup and we have a whole crew of guys that help out with it. And because of that, we started getting into the night vision side of it, because a lot of people at events want to use NOD’s. They want to rent, they want to buy, and they want to be able to use it at events.

So with that we started looking into it. We tried to reach out to a few industry partners and just didn’t really get anywhere with it. We looked into it a little deeper and found out Photonis was one of our neighbors, they’re actually located in Lancaster Pennsylvania, that’s where one of their headquarters is. We took this crazy idea and were like “alright, let’s just call them!” They took our phone call and started working with us.

After that we got in a lot more housings, like PVS14’s from Carson, Tanto’s from Nocturn Industries… We carry DTNVG’s, RNVG’s, any housing you can think of, we make sure that we have it in. So we pretty much have a full catalogue. We carry L3 tubes, we carry ELBIT tubes, so pretty much any tube manufacturer in the USA, we try and carry those. It’s become its own beast. It’s kind of crazy that we’re at the level we are at.

And it’s kind of funny that when you show up to an event like that, or you even show up to a real firearms event (because there’s a lot of those around us that we show up to and do the rentals for) you show up and are like “hey! I’m with an airsoft company and they’re looking at you like “Are those real NOD’s or are they…?”

AA: Yeah, they are expecting something like substandard knock-offs…

Tom: Yeah, they are expecting like a digital thing or something that has terrible glass. Nope, they are real. We have a full suite of equipment to make them. It takes a little bit of shellshock first, then they’re like “Oh! Wow, this is actually a thing! This is actually to the standards I normally see.”

AA: How many units do you say you rent out at an average event?

Tom: 10 – 15 an event, at any one event we go to. By the end of this season our goal is to have the rental fleet sitting at 40 units. Currently we have two dualtube units, but we’re probably going to be working with Nick and Jeff at Nocturne to get more Tantos in the fleet because of their Daisho bridge.

The Daisho bridge is a powered bridge unit that you basically take two of their version of the PVS-14, so you take the two Tanto’s and the Daisho bridge goes together and now you have a device that basically looks and operates like a dual tube unit. So what we hope to do with that is get in a bunch of the Tantos and then when people want to upgrade to a dualtube unit we can just throw a bridge on it and they’re good to go for that event.

AA: Yeah, I think I saw in one of the airsoft or night vision groups where Nocturne was showcasing that…

Tom: Oh yeah, Nick and Jeff are all over that (laughs).

AA: Well that’s cool. Do you see night vision use in airsoft expanding more? It seems like its really gaining traction here in the US in the last few years.

Tom: Absolutely. Especially here in the States. What I would really like to see more of is the EU side of stuff picking up more, which I know is really hard because of ITAR regulations in the US, so we can’t export any of the L3, Elbit or anything that meets the standards. But I think specifically here in the states you’re going to see a big uptick in their use. I think if you continue to provide options for people to access them outside of buying them, so like renting is a good way for people to use and use, until they finally build up enough money to buy one. They’ll go: “Hey, this is something I have been using a lot throughout the last year and now I’d like to buy one.”

AA: Right, they build up that familiarity with them…

Tom: Yes. Once they build up that familiarity, that’s where a lot of our sales happen: If they’ve ever met us at a show, or we’ve demoed it for them at a MILSIM event, or they’ve rented them from us… most of the people who are buying from us have also rented from us because they had previously never tried it out before. And once they try it out they immediately go “Oh God! I need this!”

AA: It’s easy to sell someone on night vision, you know, from the cool factor. But I think you’d agree

“MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BUYING FROM US HAVE ALSO RENTED FROM US BECAUSE THEY HAD PREVIOUSLY NEVER TRIED IT OUT BEFORE. AND ONCE THEY TRY IT OUT THEY IMMEDIATELY GO “OH GOD! I NEED THIS!””

with this: the biggest hurdle is going to be the entry price!

Tom: It’s 100% the entry price. That entry price is something that we have looked at that we are trying to be creative in with providing ways for discounts or maybe some rent-to-own plans. Stuff like that.

AA: Right. I know a lot of manufacturers offer a payment plan system.

Tom: So we have a payment plan through PayPal on our website right now. If anyone wants to break in, we can do it like that. We are going to be looking at a few other companies for different options. But that’s a big issue, that’s where it is, just that initial price. I know it took me a very long time myself to afford a set of night vision units. It’s ridiculously expensive, ridiculously expensive.

AA: I actually was a night vision dealer in the past through another company I worked for. We were able to get it at dealer pricing, of course, but even then it was very expensive. It’s always been expensive. Back then we didn’t have dual-tube anything; it was PVS-7’s or PVS-14’s and that was really the top end stuff you could realistically get. And that’s where I’m at right now with my personal set. But I would love to make the jump into duals.

Tom: Yeah, so what’s the 14 you have?

AA: It’s actually a MUM style housing, but it’s the MV-14 Pinnacle, which is a Gen 3 with 72lp/mm. It was a hand picked unit and at the top-end spec you could get at the time.

Tom: It’s funny, my first unit was actually a MUM-

14! And that was something off the used market that I don’t think the guy realized had a Gen 3 tube in there because he let it go for cheap. Which I got very lucky on. Then I opened it up and realized this is an OMNI 7 green-phos tube that was really not very blemished at all. That was very lucky that I got that. But still, that was like US$1600 - $1800 used. That price is something I laugh at, because I’m like, even if we sell them used it’s still more expensive than any of our custom HPA builds. That price is nuts, man. It’s something we are constantly battling.

Especially since airsofters do not necessarily have the same budget that real firearms owners do. Real firearms are very expensive, and if you are buying multiple firearms a year, you could probably take one or two of those, not buy them, and buy a PVS-14 instead. With airsoft, it’s more like if you don’t buy like 8 or 9 guns, then you can maybe afford something like this. (laughs)

AA: (laughs) Yes, some of us spend a lot on our airsoft guns…

Tom: Oh god yes. Me and West, the head of our media department, we were talking about how much money do you think you have invested? Do you think you have more money in your guns, or more money in your gear sets? And we both just looked at each other like, “I don’t even want to think about that answer or put it on paper (laughs).”

AA: (laughs) I’m really guilty of getting a new airsoft gun and I’ll literally write myself a blank check for what I want to do to it… But kind of leading off of the last point regarding expense, do you think there’s going to be any sort of major market disruption in the night vision industry, say someone like Holosun steps into the market and starts flooding the market with cheap night vision?

Tom: Yep, yep. So I think Holosun is a very good example of this. Specifically because they are a cheaper (I shouldn’t say cheap!) they are a more affordable option for optics that have night vision compatibility. They have night vision settings on it. I think their new product, from what I see Nick Chen posting on it, I think that’s them saying “hey, we’re going to start doing that market

an airsofter using a night vision unit, you could save possibly a US$1000 and just go with a Photonis tube in your PVS-14. For a lot of people, that’s a lot of money, especially for people in airsoft. That’s what I highly recommend.

To a lot of people in the night vision world who aren’t industry people, I would say look at this like a Gen. 2+ hybrid. The fact of the matter is, the performance in most use cases for Photonis is very good; comparable to gen 3, L3 filmless or Elbit thin filmed. They are absolutely not the same, mind you, especially when you start to get into very dark, dark conditions. Then Elbit or L3 are going to completely do better. But for what I like to say the 95% of use case that airsofters will be seeing, Photonis units are absolutely fine.

So getting back to price, I think

Photonis units were definitely a market disruption. I think the adoption of night vision into airsoft, that was a market disruption. I think about 3 - 4 years ago when Sionyx came out, that was also another market

disruption you are talking about.” Because they have the cheaper manufacturing ability that a lot of companies in the States unfortunately don’t have… but that’s also why the cost is so high here.

But also, if you look at Photonis they’re really high quality tubes, but they come in at a much lower low price point. A lot of airsofters I talk to are like “I want L3, or I want Elbit.” You should definitely try and afford those if you have the budget. But for the vast majority of instances that you are going to be

disruption. I actually had a Sionyx Aurora Pro, and I’ll be honest, it works in about 30 -40% of use cases for an airsofter. For me, that’s not enough, and there’s a very big restriction on performance. Now the OPSIN, there’s an increase in refresh rate, but marginally and for me it’s still not there.

I think what’s going to happen in the next 5 to 8 years, digital is going to catch up. I think what we’re going to see is digital isn’t going to really outperform, but it’s going to be more of an apples to apples comparison instead of an apples to a ‘weird orange-

thing’ comparison. And it’s going to be more of a debate of “I can buy this digital thing for US$1,500 or I can buy this Photonis for US$3,000.” As digital comes up in performance, analog is going to go down in price. now that’s probably going to be a little hard to do just because of the chemicals and processes involved in making an image intensifier. But I think just because of how things have gone in that market, I do think that digital will eventually come up. Digital offers a lot more too, things like augmented reality features. There’s a lot more that digital offers, that analog units have to have built in to offer that stuff. You’ll probably start seeing some digital stuff from L3, Elbit and so forth.

As far as airsoft goes, and it kind of sucks, whatever happens in the gun industry, airsoft will pick up on.

AA: Yes, they’re more interlinked than people realize. Even though a lot of the gun industry likes to segregate themselves from us.

Tom: Oh definitely (laughs). We are definitely the red-headed stepchild. Definitely the red-headed stepchild! But it’s very cool that we have guys like Garand Thumb, Mojo with Travis Haley, Lucas…

AA: …The Administrative Results guy…

Tom: …Yes, those guys are really pushing it. I met all those guys at Copperhead, AMS, and those guys are so supportive of our industry and I really do appreciate those guys.

AA: It’s really cool to see that kind of open mind from the firearms side. They see the value in it too. Sometimes when you try to explain it to a guy who’s got his foot firmly entrenched….

Tom: …Yes, “That can’t be good! What’s wrong with you? That’s a toy!” But then you have COVID and ammo prices started going up in the firearms industry and people didn’t want to pay those prices. Instead of paying US$150 for 500 rounds of 9mm you started paying US$400 - $500 for the exact same quality and exact same amount. So a lot of people started picking up airsoft guns for training.

AA: Yes, that’s what I noticed when the pandemic hit. It was beyond my expectations, but Airsoft actually made a stratospheric rise. They were my

busiest years ever, but you know, the product wasn’t always there to deliver to people. But it’s been cool to witness that.

What is your opinion on the controversy regarding IR lasers in Airsoft?

Tom: So I am really close friends with Gun Gamers, and I bring that up because they just started Gun Gamers Productions, and they are one of the only people I know of who are running games and checking if lasers are actually eye safe. Now I think that’s a really good thing. One, because civilian grade lasers are going to be less likely to bloom too, and also they are eye safe. That’s a lot better for people who don’t really know, or don’t have the background to know what good muzzle discipline is. If you don’t have good muzzle discipline, then you probably are not going to have good laser discipline.

I think the thing with lasers in airsoft, is it’s been a thing for a while and it’s been a big debate for a while. A lot of people don’t care. They want their lasers and I completely understand that. I run a laser on my gun for night vision, but I don’t run it in the day. I have it on my platform, but I don’t run it during the day because I don’t need it. I run it for night vision because it is a good way to signal people with or without night vision. You can be like “Hey, white light users (vis laser on) shoot in that general area.”

I think high-power though; I think a lot of people need to recognize that it’s regulated for a reason. But if you treat it responsibly, I don’t think there’s a reason for people to not have it. I just think that for what we are doing, I think there’s ways to get very cheap civilian grade lasers for very cheap. Most of the cheaper high powered devices are coming from Taiwan or China and they’re labeled as a toy or something like that and they are not regulated. I would advise people that if they have the ability to grab an eye safe laser, to do so, if they are trying to get into airsoft and night vision. Holosun specifically. Holosun makes very effective units.

If you go for a really cheap unit, like a clone PEQ…

AA: …Somogear or the like…

Tom: …Somogear is really

interesting because it’s like a US$400 unit and will in some cases even hold up to recoil. It’s a really cool unit.

AA: You can pay an extra $10 to have it potted and it will handle recoil better.

Tom: Yes, but if you compare something like an FMA, you’re paying something like US$60 - $80 and that thing is not zero-able. I think a lot of the time when you get someone buying these cheaper units, they don’t recognize that I can’t really zero this thing, or maybe I can, but it doesn’t work that well. Then they try and use it at night and are like “Why am I not hitting anything?”, well it’s because your laser is like a red dot, and a lot of people just think “Oh it’s a laser, I’m just going to point and shoot...” and they haven’t actually zeroed it to their rifle.

90% of Airsoft is about “looking good”, we all know this! So if you want to throw that PEQ on your gun, by all means. It looks hard as hell. But recognize that you shouldn’t point it at someone’s face. Just be careful where you are aiming these things because you can damage people’s eyes.

AA: One of the things I have noticed with night games is the rise of more passive aiming solutions, so now your OPFOR has night vision. It used to be I was the only guy showing up on the field with night vision and it was like ‘God Mode’ and I would kill everything and everyone! It’s not like that anymore.

Tom: Absolutely (laughs). 100%. You would go to a game and they’d allow an hour or two of night play, and you would dunk on everyone. Those days were fun, but they are totally over now!

AA: I went to one event, and this guy had what I think was a 6x Raptor on his bolty and a full ghillie, everything. You just could not spot him. Even with our night vision, we had a full squad of night vision equipped guys, he was just picking us off. Totally passive aiming through his scope.

Tom: Yes, passive aiming, and you see it already in the gun industry, where you have guys who are moving totally to passive aiming now. We do a lot of rentals for firearms trainer facilities too. Most of the dudes there who are running NODS don’t have a laser, or if they do, its use is very minimal. Most are running a SIG Romeo 5, or a Holosun, or a Vortex, and it’s like the US$200ish model that has night vision compatibility. And honestly, passive aiming is a lot

better if you’re not going to or need to be signaling.

A US$200 sight is a lot easier to acquire and use than a US$1,500 laser. And honestly it’s even cheaper than a US$400 Somogear that’s zeroeable and is probably the cheapest end high power device you could go. With that, the only downside to passive aiming is that it’s almost not really doable with monocular’s. Or it is doable, but you need to have very clear glass through whatever red dot you’re talking about, and then you start stepping up in price. But using a red dot at night is inherently easier for people to learn as they’re also using it in the day too. Like you said, I think everyone is going to start doing it.

AA: I usually tell guys, “Hey, just get the Holosun HR403R. It’s got night vision settings and is only US$145 roughly.” It’s one of the cheapest most durable optics you can get into for airsoft use.

Tom: Absolutely. It’s a great optic. And honestly you have some of the higher end VISM, NcStar stuff that gets up into US$110 that will kind of work too.

AA: They even have a lifetime warranty now.

Tom: They do! But they don’t always have good night vision compatibility, and their glass is not as clear as Holosun glass. They don’t have the light permeability to feed the tube so you can actually see what you’re doing or get a good picture on who you’re aiming at. So if you’re the person who’s going to buy a VISM sight, in my opinion, for night vision you should go out and buy the Holosun because it has the actual night vision settings.

The one thing I did want to touch on is we are not the only ones in the game right now or in the airsoft world. But the one thing we are trying to do is push it so people have as much access to it as possible. I think it would be a disservice for me to not touch on Night Vision Inc. They were one of the first guys to do night vision rentals and they are still partnered with MilSim West. They’re the ones who provide MilSim West with their night vision rentals.

However, pretty much any other game you go to, we want to be providing night vision rentals. We want to provide it at the 150 person game for the people who don’t have experience with it and we want to be providing at the 900 person Copperhead games so that everyone who goes to those can have it.

The more you can integrate night vision and airsoft use together, I think it’s just always going to be a

“I HAVE NOTICED... THE RISE OF MORE PASSIVE AIMING SOLUTIONS, SO NOW YOUR OPFOR HAS NIGHT VISION. IT USED TO BE I WAS THE ONLY GUY SHOWING UP ON THE FIELD WITH NIGHT VISION AND IT WAS LIKE ‘GOD MODE’ AND I WOULD KILL EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE! IT’S NOT LIKE THAT ANYMORE.”

net positive. The more availability people can have to it, the more fun people will have. And it’s going to attract more people from the gun industry too. Because they’ll say, “Oh I actually now have a quoteunquote real world use for my night vision that I sometimes only use for hunting.”

AA: Exactly. I know a lot of guys who have it, but only use it maybe once or twice out of the year for 30 minutes at a time. That’s very little experience in practice.

Tom: It’s a good excuse for people. It’s a big excuse for these types of people. Night vision is actually a really big way to get gun guys into airsoft. It’s a really attractive feature.

AA: One of things I mention when trying to convert gun guys is your average airsofter spends more time under their NOD’s than the average square range shooter throughout the year. You can go to

out the batteries on my NOD’s was at a Grimnir event because they did 48 hours as well. RealSim is someone we will be working with as well; they also put on a 48 hour event. A lot of people when they’re renting for the first time they have this idea that ‘okay, I’m just going to lightly do it’ especially for a 48 hour event, or they’re in the other camp going into the dark totally blind.

Then they get into it and are like “I need night vision. I literally met an enemy force and I can’t see them or the hand in front of my face. And this dude? I’ve been holding his shoulder all night and I’m sure he’s very annoyed with me.” I was that guy once. I was literally holding a shoulder trying to go through a bush and it was like “Okay, I’m not having fun and I’m sure this guy does not like me being on his back right now. I can’t see anything, and I’m just fearing for my life and holding my ankles waiting for death.”

NVG Page: https://ampedairsoft.com/nvg/ NVG Rentals: https://ampedairsoft.com/nvg-rentals/ Upcoming Events for Rentals: https://ampedairsoft.com/amped-event-schedule/

MIGHTY MANCRAFT

OUR TALENTED IN-HOUSE TECH JIMMY CONTINUES THIS MONTH IN HIS QUEST TO PERFECT HPA SYSTEMS WITHIN HIS PRIMARY PLATFORMS, AND THIS HAS LED HIM TO THE HALLOWED DOORS OF A WELL (BUT SHOULD BE BETTER) KNOWN NAME IN AIRSOFT ENGINEERING, THOSE OF THE MIGHTY MANCRAFT! HE NOW DETAILS HIS EXPERIENCE OF FITTING AND FIELDING THEIR V3 PDIK ENGINE AND V3 CNC HPA SHELL!

It is becoming the norm these days for more and more airsofters to seek the holy grail of upgrades for their chosen airsoft platform and as everyone knows the Polish have fast become major players in bringing us some fantastic equipment. The list of products coming from Poland is very vast and ever growing and it is great to see the airsoft manufacturing industry flourish on their soil.

I have been lucky enough to work on a lot of these offerings so I have a fair amount of experience. It is with great pleasure that I can now add another great name to my list and that name is MANCRAFT. If you are not familiar with the name then I suggest you get surfing and find out who they are and what fabulous products they offer!

Back in 2022 I wrote an article on my favourite sniper platform the TM VSR10 with the addition of MANCRAFT’s sublime HPA engine, the SDIK, which stands for Sniper Drop In Kit; being a big fan of the SDIK I had to know more about MANCRAFT and wanted to see what their other products had to offer. After my initial contact with Radoslow they agreed to send out a few products for us to have a look at and test.

To my surprise and delight we had been sent a V3 PDIK engine and the exquisite V3 CNC HPA shell along with some other fantastic little items. Two of the new

“Mjolnir” sound amplifiers, two air lines, CNC trigger, bolt release, magazine catch and a fire selector for the AR platform. You can’t beat CNC parts, there is something very satisfying about it especially in their raw form where the machine marks are still visible. The bulk of this article will look mainly at the PDIK engine and I have to say so far I am very pleased with this engine, one that offers everything I need as an airsoft sniper.

So who are MANCRAFT? As previously mentioned

“MANCRAFT… ARE A POLISH AIRSOFT MANUFACTURER WHO PROVIDE SOME OF THE FINEST UPGRADES AT AN INCREDIBLY RESPECTABLE PRICE AND THEY CATER FOR MOST DISCIPLINES BE THEY SPEEDSOFTER, SKIRMISHER OR MILSIMMER”

they are a Polish airsoft manufacturer who provide some of the finest upgrades at an incredibly respectable price and they cater for most disciplines be they speedsofter, skirmisher or milsimmer. Founded over 10 years ago by Michal Smalec they have grown over the years to become specialists in HPA and CO2 propulsion, producing specialized equipment for converting airsoft replicas into something rather special. All of their products are manufactured by them 100% in Poland. 95% of their products are high precision CNC machined and coated with a hard and durable anodising. If you want to see for yourself exactly what I mean then hit the link https:// shop-mancraft.com/en/ and enjoy the wonders. I can guarantee you will be as equally impressed as I am!

PDIK TIME

So looking at the V3 PDIK and casings they are truly gucci. The shell itself is perfectly machined specifically for the PDIK engine so no more do you need to modify your existing gearbox shell to get it to fit correctly, all you need to do is fit a trigger and depending on your RIF a selector plate.

The engine itself is a mechanical system so you don’t have a fire mode but may need the use of a safety. MANCRAFT make the HPA shells in a raw finish which exposes all the machine and tool marks which I love the look of. They look great in the pictures but much better when in your hand. It is my understanding that the dimensions used when machining the shell are those exact to JG, a wellknown brand in airsoft.

The kit itself is a very wallet-friendly introduction to HPA and a very good option if you’re looking to build a DMR platform, so bear that in mind if thinking about converting an AEG into single shot. Due to its capability to run higher pressures it lends itself well to the role of a sniper and can operate between 100 & 230psi and because of these higher pressures it gives a realistic feel and weight to the trigger, so for you purists it will fit your bill rather well.

The major advantages of a semi-only system are the lack of components needed to operate the engine. No FCU, no electronics, no wiring, no battery which makes for an incredibly easy drop in installation and it has fewer moving parts. MANCRAFT have

designed the engine to utilise an AEG nozzle and does offer a degree of adjustment, also allowing you to fine tune your nozzle length for a perfect marriage with your hop unit; this again is a brilliant design as AEG nozzles are very easy to get hold of and pretty cheap to buy.

It is incredibly easy to fit a new nozzle but you do need to be careful with the locking ring and nozzle retainer as the threads are very fine and can be easily damaged. Now because of it’s simplistic design this engine along with the other PDIK engines in the range is an “all weather” design, meaning you can use it in the rain you can use it in the cold also. If you look on their website you can see a video of the PDIK being fully submerged and still operate flawlessly; that is a very bold test but it just shows the quality and the confidence MANCRAFT hold in their products.

Installation was a doddle and I love just how easy it is. I fitted the V3 Shell into my much-loved Nuprol Romeo Recon Bravo, a very solid modern tactical AK platform. It took me longer to remove the parts no longer needed than it did to install this kit and I was able to shed a fair bit of weight which is nice as my AK is quite a heavy object.

I removed the complete gearbox and set that aside as I would require none of the components in or on that shell other than the motor cage which is only needed for the grip to screw on to. I had a Retro Arms trigger kicking around so naturally that went in and bolted the shell back together; I would recommend the use of a trigger spring as it helps with the trigger reset.

The shell fitted in very easily and required very little adjustment of the selector bar to allow me to simply centre the shell for nozzle alignment giving me a perfect centre fit of the hop unit. A more centralised nozzle makes for better feeding and gives much better accuracy over a long distance.

I came to a hurdle when it came to a fitting for the IGL as I didn’t have any attachments that would fit the 6mm Airtac hose, so I had to improvise a little and use one from another IGL, but it fitted perfectly on the inside of the line and so far is holding well. MANCRAFT do offer a wide range of fittings and attachments but at the time I ran with what I had and it has had no adverse effects on performance.

“INSTALLATION WAS A DODDLE AND I LOVE JUST HOW EASY IT IS. I FITTED THE V3 SHELL INTO MY MUCH-LOVED NUPROL ROMEO RECON BRAVO, A VERY SOLID MODERN TACTICAL AK PLATFORM. IT TOOK ME LONGER TO REMOVE THE PARTS NO LONGER NEEDED THAN IT DID TO INSTALL THIS KIT”

FIELDING THE BEAST!

Out on the field it really showed its true colours and the performance was amazing. As mentioned regarding the lack of all the electronics and associated gubbins (a technical term you know!) set up on the day is so quick connect the line to your regulator and to the engine you are ready to go.

Prior to my first outing I set the pressure and chrono’d using 0.36g BBs at a hair over 100psi on my regulator and it was coming in at 1.87j, and sat very consistently over 50 shots between 1.85j and 1.87j with a very stable velocity around 333fps; using a 0.20g BB equates to 448fps, perfect for my local site, very close to the edge but legal nonetheless.

Over the course of the day I had some fantastic long range hits out to around 70m, and that’s true meters not airsofter meters (lol) but I know I could reach out further with a better barrel and hop rubber as the ones I have fitted aren’t the greatest for long range shooting.

It soon became apparent that this engine is not for the trigger happy spammer due to the mechanical design and the pressure build-up behind the trigger valve; you can notice it after a while and my trigger finger did get a little fatigued but rest easy as MANCRAFT have released a new generation trigger valve which I am confident will eliminate this.

You would think that because of the higher pressures you would consume air very fast, but that isn’t the case and over the course of an afternoon I consume a little over 1000psi, I can’t recall exactly how many shots that was but I did empty a 400 BB hicap mag rather quickly!

So are you thinking of converting to HPA? Looking for a cheap, quick and easy way to build a DMR? Looking for quality? If your answer to any, or all, of these questions is “yes” then I seriously suggest you look no further than MANCRAFT; you won’t be disappointed, that I can guarantee!

This is the start of a long journey I am embarking on at present and there will be more to come from me on MANCRAFT, but I shall take this opportunity to say a massive “Thank You” to Michal for allowing us to get up close and personal with their products, as well as Radoslow who is our main contact.

Credit where credit is due, from myself and all the AA team! AA

“THIS ENGINE IS NOT FOR THE TRIGGER HAPPY SPAMMER DUE TO THE MECHANICAL DESIGN AND THE PRESSURE BUILD-UP BEHIND THE TRIGGER VALVE; YOU CAN NOTICE IT AFTER A WHILE AND MY TRIGGER FINGER DID GET A LITTLE FATIGUED BUT REST EASY AS MANCRAFT HAVE RELEASED A NEW GENERATION TRIGGER VALVE”

IDPA NATIONALS 2022!

AS THE TAIWAN IDPA ORGANISATION AND ITS LOCAL MEMBERSHIP CONTINUES TO GROW SINCE STEWBACCA’S INITIAL INTERVIEW WITH THEIR TEAM BACK IN LATE 2020 WHEN THEY WERE ALREADY PASSING THREE HUNDRED LOCAL PRACTITIONERS AND AROUND TWENTY SAFETY OFFICERS DOTTED AROUND THE ISLAND, THEY ARE NOW NEARING A THOUSAND MEMBERS IN-COUNTRY AND AN EVER GROWING NUMBER OF STAFF! OUR “MAN IN TAIWAN” PICKS UP THE STORY AGAIN AT THEIR 2022 “NATIONALS”!

Taiwan IDPA is the largest such organisation in Asia, and their national level competition was held in the very South of Taiwan the weekend after my previous TPSA IPSC action air competition, so over the Christmas weekend I went South once again to cover the event.

Christmas is supposed to be a time to be surrounded by the ones you love, and while it isn’t as much of an event for most in Asia due to the prevalence of Lunar New Year celebrations and related cultural differences, I managed to nonetheless spend time in good company among the local shooting community that has become somewhat of a family away from home since my arrival in Taiwan. Continued integration (and perhaps a little infamy) has allowed me to become a part of the fine folks who take up replica firearms for pure hobbyist or defence training reasons on our little island paradise on the Pacific here.

Just over the river, and county border, from the new TPSA shooting centre in far-eastern Kaohsiung I was at the long weekend before, in Pingtung (the capital of the most southerly Taiwanese county of the same name) Taiwan IDPA’s 2022 national competition was held in the Pingtung county gym over the

weekend of the 24-25th of December. Being the opposite end of the country from the majority of the aforementioned growing numbers of practitioners seemed like an odd choice to me, but it is with good reason; talking to our old and trusted friend Ray Chang of VFC it turns out that the local Pingtung county government was very supportive of hosting the competition and promoting national defence and civilian shooting activities as well as local tourism and business in the process.

An atypical olive branch from the greater government apparatus which (at least on a national level) seems to be intent on regulating anything remotely gun-shaped into the annals of history was a refreshing change in tone, and indeed on the Saturday some of the local politicians even came and got involved! They helped with both opening remarks and general support for the local residents who have their own IDPA team, as well as trying their hand themselves at running and gunning some of the first day stages for their own enjoyment and the cameras, and positively reinforcing the growing demographic of people interested can only be a good thing, especially if we can get some of the folks in charge to take an interest, as well as demonstrate

the controlled environment and safe practices in local and national media in a more positive light to increase the longer term public attention and potential growth. As it happens I couldn’t really justify taking a further Saturday off the day job having already had two long weekends for MOA and IPSC in December alone as well as my time off a month earlier for the Japan adventures, so once again I only managed to catch the Sunday’s second day stages, four of the total twelve held over the weekend. With the event starting the midday before, giving people time to get south and prepare, and finishing that afternoon again to give people time to get back home ready for the next working week, as a result I had to heave my slumbering mass out of bed before the day’s first light and take a taxi to Taipei main station to get on the first high speed train available to get all the way to Kaohsiung before transferring to another train through the city and over the county line, followed by a final taxi to the event… arriving just in time for the 09:00 start of festivities, and being ushered in to the

administration office for my press pass and to drop off my bag and free up my hands for the photographic exploits to ensue!

FRIENDS AND COMPETITORS!

Given the longer distance to travel, the number of competitors was reduced to some degree, which at least made administration a bit more manageable, and made it easier to get everyone through the stages and reset or reconfigure them between squads. Around a hundred and sixty competitors took part in the end, with over twenty of the hard working Safety Officer and administrative team of Taiwan IDPA making sure all the wheels were greased and turning to move things in a well-oiled machine-like fashion. I made my way out to the gymnasium floor where the teams were preparing their equipment and dry running the stages presented to them, while some of their families or other folks watched the action from the stands above; this also provided

“THERE WERE EVEN A FEW INTERNATIONAL GUEST SHOOTERS FROM THAILAND, MACAU AND HONG KONG WHO WERE VISITING TAIWAN AND HAD BEEN ENGAGING WITH THE LOCAL SHOOTING TEAMS AND COMMUNITY ON THE RUN UP TO THE COMPETITION”

a great vantage point for some of the photographers, myself included! Many friendly and familiar faces greeted me, and while this year I didn’t have the time

or opportunity to dabble in some of the stages myself I nonetheless felt right at home in the good company and pleasant atmosphere of sportsmanship as always.

Safety Officers and competitors from many of the Taipei teams I know well who straddle both worlds of competitive shooting were in attendance; 165 Fighters (IPSC Team Spring Rain’s IDPA team) from the Southwest of Taipei, team 32D shooters and team NH2No Hostage; No Hesitate - from the North end of Taipei, Taiwan Shooters Union, Deja Vu 1911, Polar Light’s own team, VFC’s own shooting club team, and once again the gents from active military service team who I’d met at the previous year’s event when I was squadded with them! There were even a few international guest shooters from Thailand, Macau and Hong Kong who were visiting Taiwan and had been engaging with the local shooting teams and community on the run up to the competition.

Pingtung’s local team were also present and Paul Lai, one of the leading Safety Officers, and a Pingtung native was apparently largely responsible for the organisation and coordination with the local government to help bring the event to fruition in the local area. Another thing I immediately noticed was the increased attendance of youngsters and ladies, and indeed Paul also supports his own two young daughters in practising the activity, with many other women and kids of varying ages getting actively involved in IDPA and this national level competition, an excellent continuing development to my mind. Alongside the variety of people was once again the sheer variety of replica gun setups being used; with the service gents being allowed to open carry their sidearms, most of them using peanut butter VFC Glock 19Xs or standard frame black Glock 17s, a choice the vast majority of the other competitors also seem to have made their standard, with the occasional variation such a CZs or Walthers, and even a few revolvers being used.

“I IMMEDIATELY NOTICED ...THE INCREASED ATTENDANCE OF YOUNGSTERS AND LADIES, AND INDEED PAUL ALSO SUPPORTS HIS OWN TWO YOUNG DAUGHTERS IN PRACTISING THE ACTIVITY, WITH MANY OTHER WOMEN AND KIDS OF VARYING AGES GETTING ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN IDPA AND THIS NATIONAL LEVEL COMPETITION, AN EXCELLENT CONTINUING DEVELOPMENT”

There were also a number of people using submachine guns or full-on AR carbines for the PCC and rifle divisions, and again the pistols were separated up into the numerous subdivisions which I am still trying to learn and navigate the requirements of; with CO; carry optics, CCP; concealed carry pistol, SSP; standard service pistol and ESP; enhanced service pistol being just some of the categories people were awarded prizes in.

As I made my way around the remaining stages of the second day I was able to take in a lot of the trials and tribulations of some of the finale with my own IPSC & Skirmish teammate ‘Tacticalcat’ Ou JiaCheng who unfortunately had suffered a fairly crushing mechanical failure of his Glock 34 with red dot towards the end of his very last stage which snatched his otherwise assured podium finish from him; conciliatory man-hugs all round. Despite a few disqualifications on safety or procedural grounds (again these are always approached more as teachable moments in IDPA where lessons are reflected on in a more positive aspect) many competitors were excelling and getting into some very fluid shooting and moving, again in the typically supportive environment I’ve become accustomed to in the Taiwanese competitive shooting circuit.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE!

With a variety of stage layouts testing competitors cover and movement, shooting from awkward positions or engaging swinging, twisting or disappearing and reappearing target sequences, as well as a variety of novel activators and other obstacles or requirements to consider, there was certainly something for everyone and I was impressed to see the guys running revolvers operating them so adeptly and pushing through the round counts despite their obvious disadvantage in reload speed and general capacity. Many of them were sporting Clarence Lai’s swish-looking holsters, and no doubt his revolver modification components as well.

The stage areas comprised lots of temporary fence units and internal barricades which allowed

me and the other photographers and observers to safely move around the whole shooting arena and get some great shots looking up-range at the competitors in action rather than being stuck looking at the backs of people during their runs. Obviously everyone wears eye protection as a matter of course, and me sticking my head over the 6ft fences to grab action shots was of course no exception!

As the morning turned into the afternoon the competitors began finishing their runs and packing away their gear and progressively dismantling the stages and cleaning up as the last practitioners finished up their last required stage and everything was packed away ready for transport back to the respective shooting clubs who’d provided their barricades, targets and activators. With everything left as it was found, including a full on FOD walk style final sweep, people started filtering out for the trip south to the ‘Fish Hotel Pingtung’ whose function room had been booked out for the closing banquet and awards ceremony; I tagged along with some of my friends from 165 Fighters as they walked the thankfully quite sunny and warm southern streets… it’s always a good few degrees hotter in the deep south of Taiwan!

Despite rolling up without much forward planning and not being a competitor as such the crew went out of their way to accommodate me as always and I was found a place on the VIP table and was even asked to present some of the awards to the victors! As always there were plenty of giveaway prizes both for performance and as part of the competitor raffle; a VFC BCM MCMR GBBR being one of the grandest prizes taken by one of the RoC Marines, along with a CLPD Dan Wesson 712 revolver which was snapped up by one of the RoC Army guys, a Modify PP2K GBB SMG, and an array of VFC 1911s, Glocks, PPQs and a plethora of Safariland hats, mugs, T-shirts,

holsters and quick detachment systems… lots of people walked away with swag and a smile, as well as everyone enjoying excellent food, drink and of course company during the progression of the awards ceremony.

With the evening drawing on a little and the ceremony coming towards a close people began gathering their effects (and prizes!) taking team and group photos as well as the SO’s and organisers getting group shots taken on stage, and I made my way back to the HSR station in Kaohsiung thanks to Ray & Fred from VFC who kindly gave me a lift all the way across town in the back seat with the Carl Gustavs M3s and other effects that had been brought along to man the VFC presentation booths outside. I once again made my way home to Taipei as part of the Sunday evening high speed rail rush hour, although at least this time I managed to get a reserved seat to save the suffering of the previous weekend!

I’d like to extend my thanks as always to those within Taiwan IDPA, Polar Light and VFC who organised the event and as always went above and beyond to accommodate me, as well as the practitioners and friends in the community as well as congratulate the winners in the various divisions; one of the RoC marine guys went away with so many awards around his neck and in hand that he must have had backache! I look forward to seeing the continued growth and success of Taiwan IDPA and the wider acceptance of shooting activities within Taiwan’s society at large… and of course I shall report back again when this happens! AA

IWA 2023 PART 1: AIRSOFT

ONCE AGAIN IT’S THE TIME WHEN AIRSOFT ACTION HIT THE BIGGEST FIREARMS AND AIRSOFT TRADE SHOW IN EUROPE, AND WHAT WE FOUND AT IWA IN NUREMBERG THIS YEAR WAS AN AIRSOFT INDUSTRY THAT IS RETURNING TO 100% FULL-FORM! BILL TAKES US ON HIS JOURNEY THROUGH THE SHOW HALLS IN PART 1 OF HIS ANNUAL REPORT, AND ALONG WITH JASE AND JIMMY START WITH ALL THAT’S NEW AND IMPROVED DIRECTLY RELATED TO RIFS AND ACCESSORIES!

As I always say each and every year, IWA is most definitely my very favourite show of the year when it comes to airsoft; all too often airsoft is an “also ran” alongside the mass of the shooting sports industry as a whole, and all too often we airsofters are looked down upon by that mass. 2023 for me though marked yet another change … for reasons that will become apparent throughout my report. My main observation of this year’s show in Nuremberg though was one of “togetherness”, with old friends returning at last after the pandemic, and new friends made over the three days that we were there!

Last year, whilst by no means a “bust” as many said, there were very obvious absences, and the “airsoft hall” was most definitely not what it had been in previous years. I’m very pleased to report back this time though that many of the “absentees” from 2022 were back in full force this time, mainly centred around Hall 5 with a few outliers still… I spent as much time at IWA 2023 just simply catching up with old friends in the industry on a very personal level, and there was definitely a feeling of increased closeness… when you’ve been through a bad shared experience (the C-VIRUS) and come out punching, it most definitely cements relationships that were strong already.

Each and every year pre-covid IWA got bigger and better, of that there is no doubt, and it’s most definitely back to being a huge show; the Nuremberg Messe covers multiple show floors, some of them as big as a football stadium. To put that in perspective, when I first attended IWA fifteen years ago now, only

six of the halls were in use, but the show just kept on growing to eleven halls at its peak, and although it has slid back a little, it is now properly back on track, and I believe it will grow yet again next year!

IWA 2023 have confirmed now a notable turnaround during this year’s show, with bustling activity and an inspiring atmosphere; approximately 1,100 exhibitors attracted 34,000 trade visitors to Nuremberg from 119 countries! Once again it has become the leading international exhibition for hunting and shooting sports, outdoor equipment and equipment for civilian and official security requirements, and of course AIRSOFT! IWA has been the meeting point for manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, retailers and mail order firms, authorities and the trade press from the relevant sectors for many, many years.

Basically, for the week of IWA (and the allied Mil/LE EnforceTac show) Nuremberg plays host to everyone who is anyone in the European shooting sports family, and to many that come from far further afield! IWA is where tactical and airsoft writers like us can stand toe to toe with manufacturers from around the globe, discuss their plans, check out all their latest products, and provide feedback to them from the community. Whilst nobody at Airsoft Action would deem themself a “voice of the community” we are of course involved with many groups, and make note of any genuine problems we see; we also see and test a large number of RIFs and a huge pile of gear every year, so amongst the 30+ contributors to the magazine we have a pretty good overview of what has worked and where problems exist.

“IWA 2023 HAVE CONFIRMED NOW A NOTABLE TURNAROUND DURING THIS YEAR’S SHOW, WITH BUSTLING ACTIVITY AND AN INSPIRING ATMOSPHERE; APPROXIMATELY 1,100 EXHIBITORS ATTRACTED 34,000 TRADE VISITORS TO NUREMBERG FROM 119 COUNTRIES!”

I did say this last year too, but I know that many of you have a good laugh at us when the topic of IWA comes up, but let me assure you… it’s bloody hard work! Yes, we do get first look at all the new “shiny things”, but the schedule is brutal! After making a 500-mile roadtrip, seventeen-plus hour days are the norm from start to finish, and just as much work gets done after the show as in it. This year I actually tracked my footfall in the show and it came in at over TWELVE MILES a day, and that’s just inside the show itself! When you see a picture of your favourite content creator cracking a cold brewski at the end of the day, believe me, they have bloody well earned that - and so has everyone that’s been on stands all day long!

Suffice to say that we pack in as much as possible to the days we are at the show, because this is our chance to be with all the manufacturers and distributors of airsoft goodies in person, and the opportunity must be embraced in full so we can continue to bring you the stories you want to read all year round. Jase puts things in perspective wonderfully…

“This time last year the apprehension ran through me like a steam train on the long drive to Germany and this year was no different as I sat in the airport lounge while Bill and Jimmy wound their way through the French, Belgian, and German motorway systems. Time off for me was 04.30 and the lounge filled up with people heading off on their travels. This particular lounge had free food and drink and I was aghast at the amount of travellers drinking beer and wine at such an early hour; sat in front of me was a gentleman who I can only describe as “Andre The Giant” and on his table lined up were four bottles of beer which he put away faster than Hereford’s finest going through an Embassy window! Only thing I put away was a plate of ‘Full English’.

“Last year was a big deal for me; being invited as a part of this amazing magazine to cover the 2022 show, this year is no exception but I’m sure Jimmy was feeling what I felt back then as he embarked on his first industry trip. It’s been over two years that I am proud to say I have been working alongside Bill and the rest of the AA Crew both home and aborad, in that time we have worked alongside the great

people of Nuprol, iWholesales and Viper to name a few and I couldn’t wait to meet back up with some familiar faces.

“Nuremberg is a fantastic location to host the IWA show; it’s a city steeped in history with a fantastic transport system. I landed into a crisp but sunny German morning, and once through passport control I was quickly onto the U-BAHN speeding my way to the centre of town. By 1130 I was checked into my hotel room, which was a pleasant surprise, then headed to meet the AA gang. As we sipped a fine German adult beverage, the sun beamed down onto us as we discussed our battle plan for the next few days that lay ahead. Bill had lots of meetings lined up with various companies (business needs to get done after all!), some which we were to attend, but the main mission for Jimmy and I was to mooch through the many halls looking for new and interesting products!”

Jimmy went on to say:

“That one time in Germany”… actually it was my first time abroad and it was a bit of a running joke all week. I think I wore it a bit thin but nevertheless, IWA is the largest outdoor trade show in Europe and boy was it fun! The travelling not so much fun (I can’t believe Bill has done this year after year!) but we made the most of it and Bill certainly kept us entertained with his many stories about the history of the airsoft industry! I didn’t know what to expect of Nuremburg but it did not disappoint. Great company, great food although I never did get that schnitzel I was longing for…”

GOOD TO GO

So, enough of our scene-setting, let’s get on to what you really want to hear about! Although we run pretty fast and loose at the show it’s amazing to see the level of professionalism with many of the guys in smart shirts and suits, and the girls in suits too with some lovely blouses! Everyone looks absolutely tippity-top, and the great thing for us is that are all on hand to answer our every question!

Our first meeting of the show as usual was with a VORSK, back at the show this year with a stunning dedicated stand the entire team was on hand to meet and greet, and they really showed to the world

“SAT IN FRONT OF ME WAS A GENTLEMAN WHO I CAN ONLY DESCRIBE AS “ANDRE THE GIANT” AND ON HIS TABLE LINED UP WERE FOUR BOTTLES OF BEER WHICH HE PUT AWAY FASTER THAN HEREFORD’S FINEST GOING THROUGH AN EMBASSY WINDOW! ONLY THING I PUT AWAY WAS A PLATE OF ‘FULL ENGLISH’”

the professional face of the airsoft business in the UK! Following the run-up to the launch of the muchanticipated VMP-1 GBB (which I’m pleased to say we had a little bit of a hand in!) we were finally able to get our hands on the production samples in black, grey and tan, and OMG they looked “in-the-flesh” even better than the images I’d seen beforehand!

what can be done yet again, the G&G team told us that they are still refining the hop, but that it does actually work… folding down to a minimalist size I can totally see this as a “bag gun” for OPFOR! But that wasn’t all, as G&G have pushed onwards with the SMC-9 platform to offer another option with a Beretta inside; again this will not appeal to everyone but it’s yet another step forward with a platform that is pretty much universally respected!

I believe it’s safe to say that the VMP-1 was the standout launch-product of the show and, given the many conversations I’ve now seen in many online airsoft groups, the enthusiasm for this stunning little SMG was not just from those present in Nuremberg! Of course, VORSK were also showing the new VX-14 and VM-9 (which you’ll find reviewed earlier in this issue) along with their vast array of exciting existing pistol designs, gas and BBs… I’ve said this year on year, but it is just stunning to see a British company doing so very well in the worldwide airsoft market!

G&G also always have something fresh and this year was absolutely no exception, and in fact they blew many, me included, away with their continued development depth. The one model that stole attention immediately was the FAR9/556, “FAR” standing for Folding AR! This is still in development and won’t be available for a while yet, but a trifold AR, whilst gimmicky to some, will be sure to delight others as it did us… Pushing the boundary of

And even that’s not all, as they had the finalised SGR556 which features a full metal CNC-machined M-LOK rail and receiver with front and rear flip-up sights, and G&Gs latest GOS-V8 buttstock. Under the hood, the SGR556 is a remarkable AEG that boasts G&Gs absolute newest tech! First, it has their latest G3 technology which comes with their very first SPLIT GEARBOX DESIGN! It has a true quick spring change and an easy quick-change MOSFET module; new modules drop in for easy replacement. Digging deeper into the gearbox the SGR556 has G&Gs new optical selector switch module. This feature allows

an adjustable trigger to travel to one of THREE levels and adds a pre-cocking mode that can be programmed by the trigger or wireless programming remote control. Add to this a new “MP5” and a whole host of pistol models and G&G once again had it ALL going on!

ASG had moved stand location this year as the show continues to grow back to full form, but as always they were “loud and proud”! News included the announcement of the CZ SP-01 Bronze Special Edition and the CZ Scorpion EVO 3 A1 BOOST edition, and it was a real pleasure getting “hands on” the latest CZ Shadow 2 Orange Special Edition

“I BELIEVE IT’S SAFE TO SAY THAT THE VMP-1 WAS THE STANDOUT LAUNCH-PRODUCT OF THE SHOW AND, GIVEN THE MANY CONVERSATIONS I’VE NOW SEEN IN MANY ONLINE AIRSOFT GROUPS, THE ENTHUSIASM FOR THIS STUNNING LITTLE SMG WAS NOT JUST FROM THOSE PRESENT IN NUREMBERG!”

pistol which is simply stunning both internally and externally. They also were showing the new CZ P40C which looks like a GREAT little pistol, and we hope to hear more on this soon!

concentrating on the new offerings! Okay, Stewbacca reported in depth on most of the new models launched at MOA last December, but they revealed some super “BCM crossovers” mated to their updated AVALON platform, and… drum roll!... a prototype Stechkin with the holster/butt assembly that will be sure to delight other “OPFORists” like me. Again, this is still in development, but it looks bloody GREAT!

AND ON WE GO!

Next up was LCT whilst their display at the show was of largely existing products, they did have some great new rails and accessories to drool over, especially those designed to fit the AK-12! As an AK-12 fanboi I’ve always wanted just a bit more railspace, plus an even more modern look, and LCT have most certainly delivered on this front with what I can only describe as a “micro-lok” with rail sections to go with it… and a new drop-in pistol grip and trigger-guard assembly

As usual REDWOLF were leading from the front, with some stunning new BAD AR replicas to drool over, and their stand, as always, was absolutely chock-a-block with airsoft goodness and innovation

too! They also showed us a new quick-change AK buffer tube attachment to line up with their existing models which is exciting, along with a dedicated tool to remove the stock pins (a darn tight-fitting pin!) for their own AEGs and GHK models too! Add to this some pretty darn funky “Star Wars” themed AKS and the stainless steel AKM and this was a visit that I REALLY enjoyed!

Talking of “recoils”, a trip to meet with VEGAFORCECOMPANY (VFC) saw me reunited after three years with my very good friend Ray, and yes, we did spend far more time talking as old mates than

from the likes of LayLax and Heretic Labs HPA systems (Jimmy will talk about these more technically at a later date). One thing that particularly caught my eye, was the new range of TITAN batteries and chargers which are superbly cutting edge; I look forward to having a closer look at these in due course. Of

“AND… DRUM ROLL!... A PROTOTYPE STECHKIN WITH THE HOLSTER/BUTT ASSEMBLY THAT WILL BE SURE TO DELIGHT OTHER “OPFORISTS” LIKE ME. AGAIN, THIS IS STILL IN DEVELOPMENT, BUT IT LOOKS BLOODY GREAT!”

course, the real “showstopper” for many of us was their own stunning custom models and even those were surpassed by their RWA pistols, along with their continued collaborations with Agency Arms, Battle Arms Development, and there will be even more absolutely righteous looking RIFs on the way soon!

SPECNA ARMS really came to the fore this year, and their “customs” were just as jaw-dropping as usual! Their range of product continues to grow and grow, and seeing and experiencing their own new

with the GATE family and will be reporting back on this in more detail as a standalone at a later date.

One meeting that I had very much been looking forward to was with ARCHWICK, as these guys have been doing some remarkable things over the past couple of years!

electronics showed me that these guys REALLY mean business! The HAL2 TM is a high-tech electronic unit that provides unprecedented trigger sensitivity, over 500 points of adjustment, as well as responsive operation, while being insensitive to dirt or external light. The single-board design ensures quick and trouble-free installation, while the built-in Bluetooth Low Energy module provides an easy and stable connection to your phone for configuration while ensuring long operation on the replica’s battery. This was pretty darn “Star Trek” in operation on their range, as the guys were able to reset the trigger remotely while I was actually firing! Magic I tell thee… Magic!!

Also on the Specna Arms stand were GATE, who obviously have a long-term relationship with SA in their native Poland. Jimmy spent some quality-time

Of course, we all know them for their tightly controlled production of models like the L119A2 GBBR, which caused a real stir amongst my MilSim buddies, but these guys are really pushing things on under their new B&T licence, with the APC-9 gas SMG and the SPR 300 PRO bolt-action sniper platform! Having now had my hands on both models, I am 100% certain that they will be a huge success for ARCHWICK and of course, Stewbacca will be covering these models off “at home” in Taiwan as soon as they are available for evaluation!

iWHOLESALES were, as always, on hand to meet with their global customers, and I had a couple of very pleasant meetings with them looking at new models from the brands they represent so ably! With a stand absolutely chocker-block with airsoft loveliness, I particularly set my eyes on the latest “308” platforms from ARES and the stunning R615 TTI SAND VIPER

pistol that will be just one of a number of models from “JW4” that they’ll be offering! I’ve already lined one of these stunning-looking pistols up for review as

“SPECNA ARMS REALLY CAME TO THE FORE THIS YEAR, AND THEIR “CUSTOMS” WERE JUST AS JAW-DROPPING AS USUAL! THEIR RANGE OF PRODUCT CONTINUES TO GROW AND GROW, AND SEEING AND EXPERIENCING THEIR OWN NEW ELECTRONICS SHOWED ME THAT THESE GUYS REALLY MEAN BUSINESS!”

soon as it returns from Germany - as currently it‘s the only one they have!

Before I wrap up, as usual I have to make a couple of “honourable mentions” of things that I saw that I thought to be first rate.

SLONG AIRSOFT had some truly wonderful models and accessory/technical parts on show, but

model that uses G-Series magazines - exactly the same magazines that many of us use in our secondary! I’ve been saying for years that the first company to do this would be onto a winner and, as they’ve designed the platform around one of their Black Rain Ordnance models, it is simply STUNNING! Will it work? Who knows …but it certainly LOOKS awesome!

thank heaven for Google translate! I also had an excellent meeting with EVOLUTION and our testing

ROUNDING OUT

To finish up on our airsoft report I’m going to throw things over to jimmy and Jase again...

program with them should soon be fully back on track! AIRSOFTZONE I hear are once again shipping worldwide, but I’ll talk more on them next month in our “IWA Gear Report”. I also had fabulous meetings with the guys from ROSSI and DELTA ARMORY. I’ve been speaking to both these super little companies for a while and I’m very pleased they’ve both agreed to join our testing program in the future, so watch this space!

To conclude my main report though, I have to talk about KING ARMS

Yup, good old King Arms! This is a brand that’s been involved in airsoft almost as long as me, and every so often they pull of a total blinder and this year was one of those years! In addition to some really cool-looking and fully-licenced Lancer Systems L15 Carbon AEGs, they were also showing something that immediately got my pulse racing… Finally an AR

Jimmy: It was great to meet and be introduced to so many new people within the manufacturing side of airsoft; Vorsk, Archwick, VFC, G&G, RWA, Gate, EPes, the list is pretty long! As Bill said earlier I managed to have a couple of long meetings with GATE and EPes and talk in-depth regarding their new products with my wingman “Smooth” Jase keeping notes for me …thanks bro! I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the trip and was gutted we had to leave, but home was calling and I missed my comforts to be honest LOL! However, I look forward to doing it all again next year!

Jase: With all the above gucci kit that Jimmy and I had come across over the three days, we agreed that one other thing stood out and that one thing was a few company’s story.

Over the three days we chatted to countless companies but certain ones stood out from the rest, ones that had passion and energy. Let me elaborate. Over the years Airsoft Action has worked with VORSK, I’d never met the owners; how these two amazing characters set out in the world of business, with a tight bond they have over some 40 years been very successful business men and the combination of what is VORSK today. They are more than just a business but a family which rings true whenever I was chatting

“SOMETHING THAT IMMEDIATELY GOT MY PULSE RACING… FINALLY AN AR MODEL THAT USES G-SERIES MAGAZINES - EXACTLY THE SAME MAGAZINES THAT MANY OF US USE IN OUR SECONDARY! I’VE BEEN SAYING FOR YEARS THAT THE FIRST COMPANY TO DO THIS WOULD BE ONTO A WINNER AND, AS THEY’VE DESIGNED THE PLATFORM AROUND ONE OF THEIR BLACK RAIN ORDNANCE MODELS, IT IS SIMPLY STUNNING!”

to Ross, Danny, Jean, Tom, Matt, Josh, Megan and Kelly. Passionate, focussed and fun are how I would describe them, a company worth supporting!

The next company that hit Jimmy and I in the feels was GATE, an airsoft tech company from Poland started in 2009 and owned by brother and sister combo Marcin and Gabrielle and their cousin. For those of you that don’t know much about GATE, they produce products like the Titan, Pulsar, EON and Aster to name a few. Now a formidable ETU force in the market, it was fantastic to meet them and understand what they are now up to within the industry. Learning of their machining set up, I was blown away. It was joyous to hear Marcin talk so enthusiastically about their future.

Finally as fate would have it, Jimmy stumbled across a company, one I had not personally come across and not in the correct airsoft hall, EPeS AIRSOFT! Milos, one of the co-owners, was euphoric with enthusiasm to explain who EPeS where and their foundations and this is a company that we look forward to speaking with more soon! Jimmy and I were blown away by the personal drive to create parts for AEG, Gas and HPA shooters. What I took away from their company was the attention to detail; their own production of some 60 different sized nozzles had me in awe, along with coatings for smooth movement. It was a pleasure to meet them!

Airsoft companies continue to innovate and grow and, as I said at the start of this report, there appears to be a new dynamism and professionalism apparent wherever you may look, but now with a very human face. This is something that I shall embrace, as of course “business is business” and we only just tip the rim in the meetings we can physically have over three days, but after IWA 2023 I believe that we are all finally moving together to a brighter future all over

the world when it comes to airsoft. However, I always conclude our IWA Airsoft Report with a single word… “MEALSIM”! Bigger, bolder, better, and MUCH louder than before! Together we joined as a global airsoft community and feasted!

Next month we’ll head into the gear halls for our usual clothing, footwear and gear report, but for now I’ll just say that IWA 2023 was a tremendous show again, both for me personally and for Airsoft Action, and I hope to see just as many folk from the global airsoft community next year. The show has already been fixed for 29th of February to the 3rd of March at the Messe Nuremberg, so get it in your diary and the Airsoft Action crew look forward to seeing you in Germany next year! AA

WAY BACK IN ISSUE 117 WE BROUGHT YOU THE “FIRST LOOK” AT THE STUNNING NEW LK-33 FROM LCT AIRSOFT, AND IN ISSUE 140 IT WAS THE LK-53. NOW THEY’VE SPENT SOME CONSIDERABLE TIME WITH BOTH MODELS BILL AND STEWBACCA UPDATE ON HOW THEY ARE PERFORMING NOW, AND ANY CHANGES THEY HAVE MADE!

LCT GOLD STANDARD!

The LCT LK-33A2 and LK-53A3 have been getting some rangetime both at home and abroad, and today we’ll focus in on how our test models are still performing after some hard use. I got into the LK33A2 in Issue 117, and Stewbacca looked at the LK53A3 in Issue 140 when we first had “hands on”, and thanks to our mates at NUPROL I’ve had an LK-53A3 in the UK for a while now too, and although we will go into more detail I can tell you that it both models have stood up to our testing program very well!

When it comes to the LK-33 this has now been with me since the summer of 2020, and from the tip of the distinctive steel flash-hider to the rubber butt-end this is an AEG that still screams “get me to a game… NOW!” For those of you out there that own a G3 or have owned one in the past, the 33 is going to feel like coming home, and if you have ever used an MP5 this is going to feel comfortably like a “big bro” as all the safety and operation controls are of course based upon that original “Gewehr 3”.

“THE LK-33 THIS HAS NOW BEEN WITH ME SINCE THE SUMMER OF 2020, AND FROM THE TIP OF THE DISTINCTIVE STEEL FLASH-HIDER TO THE RUBBER BUTT-END THIS IS AN AEG THAT STILL SCREAMS “GET ME TO A GAME… NOW!””

Everything about the LK-33 is rock solid; it’s made in the majority from steel, with not a groan, squeak, flex, or indeed any movement, of any kind, anywhere after being dragged around and generally abused! This brings me neatly onto the magazines, and I’m pleased to say that LCT have listened to player feedback and moved on from the mid-caps that originally released with this new model!

Whilst “your” LK-33 may still arrive with the original 130

but things do start to “sing” with an 11.1 if I’m honest; a 7.4 will drive things happily, but the 11.1 really seems to give the 33 that “powered up” feel, and makes everything feel more “snappy”. With the A2 model received for testing the battery lives in the butt and is accessed via simply pressing off the rubber butt-plate, so you can use as big a battery as you like to ensure all-day-power.

Performance-wise the LK-33 still rocks! There’s an easy-to-adjust rotary hop, and to change out springs you simply remove the entire butt unit (one large push-through pin, and it slides off, which means you can also fit the sliding A3 stock which is offered by LCT as a “spare”) to access the quick-change function, and this literally only needs a screwdriver to achieve! The test rifle came pre-fitted with the LCT QM PK397 spring which is quoted at 0.83 Joule/300fps/90 m/s on a .20g BB, although LCT offer springs up towards 450fps with their QM PK401 if

BB mid-cap, LCT have also released two additional magazines in the form of a 300 BB and 600 BB hi-cap, which means again that with just a couple of mags you’re good to go for most skirmish situations.

The magazines are all of full steel construction too and feel like you could hammer nails with them; I have used the 33 with all the magazines of different capacities and all feed excellently with no jams or misfeeds, although I did note that the longer style needed a little extra care when seating; inserting the magazine is a little like a mix between an AK and an AR in that you need to place it into the magwell slightly nose first and then press it straight up for it to fully engage; this is slightly unusual, but something that no doubt will become second nature over time.

7.4v and 11.1V LiPos will power the beast happily,

your country allows this legally!

With the QM PK397 spring though the LK-33 is quite enough for me (and the law in the UK too!), and on chrono using .20g RZRs I got a consistent reading of 0.91 Joule/314fps/95.7 m/s, exactly as was stated on the printed report stamped and signed by the factory manager! In terms of range and accuracy the 33 definitely has some grunt, and once the hop is set to accommodate .30g RZRs (I’ve worked up from .28g…), and the iron sights were dialled in I’ve witnessed a consistent, absolutely flat BB trajectory out to 50m, hitting small steels each and every time at

“EVERYTHING ABOUT THE LK-33 IS ROCK SOLID; IT’S MADE IN THE MAJORITY FROM STEEL, WITH NOT A GROAN, SQUEAK, FLEX, OR INDEED ANY MOVEMENT, OF ANY KIND, ANYWHERE AFTER BEING DRAGGED AROUND AND GENERALLY ABUSED!”

that range, and at 70m prone I can now easily hit a 240mm x 210mm steel with each and every BB sent!

I’ve always personally fancied an “HK53” to add to my collection too; as a Brit it’s an important model to me as it’s believed that “The Regiment” used the HK33KA3 carbine variant for close protection duties, usually keeping the rifle in the vehicles, so it sits perfectly alongside my SLR, Sterling, and Browning. The shorter of the two has particular resonance for UK players and fans of a “Brit Loadout” too! For those of you that don’t know, this model is one that was used by both UKSF units and by various close protection units within the British military, including the Close Protection Unit Royal Military Police and Royal Marines Police Troop before being replaced by the C8 CQB carbine.

I’m really happy with both models in terms of ongoing performance and most certainly in respect of the 33 the look now too as I’ve fitted an “old skool” slimline fore-stock, also an LCT accessory! However, I’ll now throw things over to Stewbacca for an “in-game take” as he’s been out and about with his LK-53 again too.

SHORT AND STILL VERY SWEET

The HK53 has a much longer lineage in the use of security forces worldwide, however; originally developed along with its full size HK33 sibling during the early 1960’s to compete with the AR platform (which had reliability issues in general during the Vietnam conflict, but especially with regard to its earliest shortened carbine versions) many special forces turned to the HK53 as an ideal recoil/ roller delay operated, handy weapon which was less sensitive to ammunition and the environmental conditions which gave the M16 and XM177 such a bad initial reputation.

With high profile users such as the US Navy SEALs, UK SAS and other special forces, as well as extensive use by air crew and Royal Protection details among other special purposes, the HK53 is a bit of a silent partner that many airsofters or impression/loadout lovers might otherwise overlook due to the lesser fixation upon it in media and historical prominence. Despite this it clearly offers a great primary choice and enables you to match it with an array of different military or police forces impressions should you choose to.

I recently took the LK-53A3 out for another day’s shooting in a large CQB style environment having reacquired my old LK-33 and a bunch of the shorter magazines meaning I had more spares to hand; it was especially useful given that it was quite an unusually cold day, especially by Taiwanese standards, and for once our gas guns were struggling a bit.

I switched out to the LK-53 at times to avoid such issues and found that after a little retuning of the HOP between games (again made very easy even with large fingers thanks to the drum style wheel in the ejection port) it was repeatedly peppering a container at about 30m away and I was easily hitting an expended gas canister every shot at 15m, to the point I knocked it off the table it was on and chased it around the floor with semi auto fire.

Evidently the HOP has bedded in nicely and is performing consistently. My teammate’s G36C gas gun also broke its bolt carrier nozzle due to the cold making it brittle, so I loaned him the LK-53 for a few rounds and he managed to make a good few eliminations with it.

The cold weather did make the turnover and rate of fire noticeably less snappy due to the battery no doubt being affected by the lower temperature, but nonetheless the LK-53 soldiered through the day without missing a beat otherwise, and I’d forgotten just how much LCT’s more recent EBB system shakes it around comparative to the GBB MP5A5 I was also fielding that day.

Still very much impressed with the handling, consistency, build quality and the electric blowback experience, I must say!

My thanks go to Bella at www.lctairsoft.com for arranging the review sample of the LK-33 and Stewbacca’s LK-53; I’d also like to thank Tom at www.nuprol.com for providing me with an LK-53 in the UK so that Stewbacca and I can compare direct notes. For more information on both models, along with other models from LCT, please do pay their websites a visit! AA

“FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DON’T KNOW, THIS MODEL IS ONE THAT WAS USED BY BOTH UKSF UNITS AND BY VARIOUS CLOSE PROTECTION UNITS WITHIN THE BRITISH MILITARY, INCLUDING THE CLOSE PROTECTION UNIT ROYAL MILITARY POLICE AND ROYAL MARINES POLICE TROOP BEFORE BEING REPLACED BY THE C8 CQB CARBINE”