VORSK VISION

LATE LAST MONTH BILL HAD AN INVITATION TO VISIT TO VORSK CREW AT THEIR “SKUNKWORX” TO CHECK OUT THE VERY LATEST DEVELOPMENTS AND UPDATES ON WHAT WE CAN EXPECT TO SEE FROM THEM IN THE VERY NEAR, AND MORE DISTANT, FUTURE! TAKING UP THIS PRIVILEGED OPPORTUNITY, HE NOW OPENS THE LID ON EXACTLY WHAT SHAPE THIS WILL TAKE!

It’s pretty much six years since I wrote my first ever article on VORSK, and oh my, what inroads they’ve made into our big, wide world of airsoft of adventures since then!

I’ve been with Airsoft Action for quite a few years now and moved on up to run the magazine on a day to day basis, but before that I played and ran games of my own. In my time within “the industry” I’ve seen some brands come, and indeed some brands go, but my relationship with those that have weathered the vagaries of the international airsoft market has, in some cases, moved from professional to real friendship!

Whatever industry you may work in, you will undoubtedly make real, deep and lasting friendships with certain individuals that are outside your own company, but that you deal with on a daily basis, and such is my relationship with Ross at VORSK.

I am incredibly proud of him, someone I genuinely call “friend”, having seen him flourish to become a massively key part of a successful and multinational airsoft business, and whilst I already knew he would go on to great things within the industry, as the “development head” behind the VORSK range, he and engineering guru Mark have truly established themselves as real innovators and true “gun makers”, and now Matt has joined them to ensure that we know all about the latest models as soon as they come into being!

It seems only yesterday that I was writing about the new VORSK models, both pistols and now a GBB SMG that I myself have come to love and trust, but these have been on sale for some time now and garnered superb feedback in terms of durability and performance already amongst the player base. However, Ross and his team don’t let the grass grow! Although the pistols have become an established and highly respected presence in the global airsoft market, the VMP-1 SMG has only been released to market for a relatively short time, and the next VORSK models, the

VMP-2s are set for release later this year… and the response from the industry and players both has been staggering!

The VORSK “project” has been ongoing for over six years, and the models already out there have proved that taking your time with your own concepts from just that, a concept in the form of a scribbled sketch, through formal design both traditional and 3D, creation of bespoke tooling, development and testing, and creating close relationships with their factories for final manufacturing has proved to be time very well spent indeed.

The existing pistol range is now pretty vast and encompasses some of my personal favourites, pistols like the VX-9, 5.1 Hi Capa, the Vengeance, and especially the highly collectible REQUIEM models that look simply stunning… in fact I’m waiting on a REQUIEM EDITION Vengeance that I saw at IWA as I just have to put one into my personal armoury!

Of course the VMP-1 has arrived and is now a settled model in the VORSK range, and although I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge there were some cosmetic teething issues with a handful of models, this neat little SMG has delighted thousands of owners already (including me and a number of the AA Crew!) and opened the eyes of many to the absolute delights of owning, and skirmishing with, a GBB! This is no mean feat in itself, as although we all embrace GBB tech for our secondaries, having a gas-driven primary is still a surprisingly cool novelty for many. Simply put, VORSK have helped to move the GBB agenda forward in a very meaningful way… and that ain’t gonna stop any time soon from what I’m seeing, and what I saw last month!

FRONT TOWARDS ENEMY!

VORSK have never been afraid of doing things differently as their approach to date has illustrated very clearly indeed, with clever design work from concept stage, through to high levels of raw-material picking, to excellent QC and player support for their finished products. The VMP-1 project has shown this more clearly than ever, with direct support for owners via the online user-group and their retail partner network; players with even the smallest issue can ask for solutions direct from VORSK online, and in the most extreme cases can even return their VMP-1 to the retailer they bought it from for further direct assistance if needed!

In all my years of being involved with airsoft brands this is quite frankly unsurpassed, and brings a whole new level to the relationship between the manufacturing brand and the player; the team at VORSK are both visible and present, and their approach to their customers I believe tolls the death knell of companies who simply dump a product onto the market and then leave you to get on with it, good or bad! Our expectation these days, rightly or wrongly, is that we want to know not just everything about a specific product, but also who the people are behind it.

sufficiency, something that seems oft-lacking as I see it, and not just in airsoft…

But I begin to digress, so I will pull myself happily back to VORSK, and what that future holds for them, and for us, and oh boy, it is exciting!

Diving Deep

So, arriving on site and being greeted by Matt I was soon ushered, coffee in hand, into the depths of the VORSK “Skunkworx”, and I would challenge any airsofter not to have a little shudder of anticipation when offered this opportunity! I do already know the VORSK crew pretty well as I’ve stated, and they keep me largely up to date with their developments and projects, but I always know when I visit there will be MORE…

VORSK do this superbly, and I can only commend them for creating somewhat of a rod for their own backs so to speak. For me, I buy something and run with it, solving any problems that I find myself or with the help of my more tech-able comrades… but then I’m old and I believe in a high degree of self-

Sitting down with Ross, Mark, and Matt I’m always amazed at all the things that I see; they now prototype a lots of ideas and concepts, and indeed potential parts, in-house using first-class design software and high-grade 3D printing… there’s always little things almost casually laying in the background of their office space, workshop area, and photo/ video studio that I think I shouldn’t see (or perhaps I should?) that I will ask about but not comment upon publicly… such is the level of trust between AA and our brand partners that this is often the case, but it’s always more so with VORSK.

IWA showed us all the pre-production samples of the VMP-2, and there are three models in what I believe to be “the first wave”; the VMP-2D is the semi-only DMR variant, the VMP-2MD is a shorterbarrelled semi-only “recce rifle”, and the VMP-2M will be the full-auto rock n’ roller for we more “take ground and take names” style players. They all look superb!

However, all three models have received some subtle and precise design changes since we saw them in Germany, mostly internal, to make them even more performance-oriented and durable when it comes to potential “service life”; Ross explained all the changes to me by way of excellent 3D design renders where he could show even the tiniest pin, bolt or internal mech spring, and this in itself was engrossing… if you want to know exactly what parts in a GBB platform are for, and just how they can be improved upon if you REALLY know what you’re doing, then this is simply amazing!

We then got into discussing materials and I was shown some new high-grade polymers and alloys that will be incorporated as things move forward again; I won’t go into all the precise changes that have been made to the original designs right now as I’ll cover that off when the production VMP-2s arrive later this year, but what I can tell you is that they are all sensible and meaningful, and will ensure that the final package is just as good as it can be. Given the opportunity to actually shoot a VMP-2M for the first time I can only say… WOW… and this from a confirmed GBB primary user!

And of course the story doesn’t end with the arrival of the VMP-2s… there’s far, FAR more to come with the overall “VMP Program”! There are some new parts in development, and tweaks to existing parts, that will make the VMP-1 SMG even more missionadaptable and modular, and the range of accessory parts under discussion will 100% make sure that the modularity of the VMP family as a whole will offer we, the players, a level of personalisation that most companies would give a limb or organ to be able to provide.

The first one that is pretty much a done deal is a new, short 20BB VMP magazine, something that I personally asked for from the outset; this will mean that the VMP-1 can be made even more “concealable for scenario reasons”, as well as providing a shorter, more prone-friendly option for the VMP-2D DMR. Then there’s some new stock interfaces that will allow even more choice for the VMP models than what already exists… and we know that this choice is already first-rate, and then there’s some new, lowprofile, rail-mounted fibre-optic “irons”, another thing that pleases me greatly…

At the end of our time together Ross and the

VORSK crew told me;

“At VORSK we are constantly looking for ways in which we can improve our products and build a community that loves what we are creating. With the success of the VMP-1 (which was above all expectations), we are always working away to bring new parts/products to build upon the modular design.

“Since IWA 2024 we have taken any and all feedback and gone back to the CAD software and tinkered with the VMP-2 to make it as user-friendly as possible. We are so excited for players to get their hands on it and see how people will take advantage of the modular platform.

“Not only is the excitement building for the VMP2M, MD, and D we are already working hard on the next iterations of the Vorsk Modular Platform to add something different to our repertoire. We have an exciting 18 months already on the drawing board and we can’t wait to continue bringing enjoyment to players with our products.

“Vorsk will always listen to feedback and design and create parts/products that people are after. We are very excited for the next 18 months and hope that our communities will be just as excited as we are.

“Get Your Gas On!”

Overall the “VMP Project” is looking pretty stunning, and I for one eagerly await the first finished production models of the VMP-2! VORSK have shown that they can accomplish magnificence in innovative airsoft form, and with their comprehensive and friendly approach towards the end-user in terms of after-sales-support their formula continues to be a winning one.

I just wonder WHERE they’ll head NEXT! AA