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GREY MATTER
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RWA FALCON FILL YOUR HAND! THIS SPS CO2 FROM REDWOLF PACKS A PUNCH!
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ASG M40A3
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TAKE ON THE URBAN JUNGLE WITH 5.11
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FOREWORD WORD AIRSOFT INTERNATIONAL VOLUME VOLUME911ISSUE ISSUE14
AIRSOFTER MAGAZINE OF CHSOIC E
CALL IT QUITS?
paul@ai-mag.com
Hello all and sundry and welcome to none other than Volume 9 of It has International! certainly been ofright, thosewemonths Airsoft Yes,one that’s are into our ninth year of where problems havefrom reared their heads publication and it’s true, tiny acorns mightywith oaks agrow! Things vengeance. No, progressed my car hasn’t exploded or and the we like to have changed and a lot over the years house hasn’t flooded. I’m talking about REAL think Ai as an entity has evolved into something much more than problems. Airsoft problems. I have had couple what we started out with and we certainly won’ta be stopping any time soon! At this notable I’d like to once again thank you of gun failures and as juncture such, I’ve spent a good readers support,playing enthusiasm and passion portionforofyour thisoverwhelming month’s evenings about every step of the to way, it simply have happened without you! and tinkering get thingscouldn’t back up to speed. So then, doifpeople decide callifitI quits? I’m notwhy sure it’s just me to but knowI’m onenot oftalking about magazines here, but quite airsoftright in general. in a while you’d my guns isn’t working or is Once completely see poster up atI the local skirmish “Quitting outa of action, can’t quite rest site until I knowAirsoft it’s Sale, All Kit Must Go” you see in a digitalthe medium. On sorted. I’ll and findnow myself upthe andsame workington forums Facebook. What of makes person justbecause lose interest and thingsand at bizarre hours the anight just stop airsofting? Family situations I guess are a valid reason, kids, curiosity got the best of me and I couldn’t help finances and real life can get in the way and make it difficult to play but dig in and work out what was broken. that much, but surely just once in a while even if it’s only once a The is that Lawairdictates notcobwebs? year, it’sproblem good to get out inSod’s the fresh and blowthat out the one ofisyour guns,tobut them will develop Health also going be aALL validofconsideration but even then we someofkind fault at refuse abouttothe same time. know guys of that simply quit and have actually played Doesn’t matter how often you use them or how CQB in a wheelchair, that’s pretty inspirational! long youthe have them, if one goes down, the and the I guess mainhad reason is that people become bored othersdies willbut play too! Maybe there’s kind passion it’sup possible to prevent thingssome from becoming stale ofprogressing contagionthings out there our started gearboxes? by along.that Backinfects when I first playing, my Who knows… biggest worry was being able to afford to keep my gun running and moreover, pay for fixes. I dreaded out ofpiloting action for a couple In between jockeying allen being keys and of months and having spend the money I’d otherwise screwdrivers I havetoof course been getting this spend on BBs andofwalk-on fees onand labour solution was to learn issue Ai together it’scharges. been aMy great issue. to fix things myself it was truly liberating. Since With a little helpand from military1st.co.uk we then if my gun has gone downa fixing isn’t a big thing, £10out on using a spare part and a assembled greatitlightweight load couple of hours of my time and I’m back in. 5.11’s new Storm Grey colour kit and I have found Things are always to getcombat stale if you onlyin gothe to the same perhaps my new going favourite pants sites in, week outTDU too, so make surea you keep things fresh, formweek of the Stryke set. Truly great piece visit new places and try new things. Even if you don’t really like of kit and one that I’m enjoying day to day as the what you find at another site, at least you’ll be thankful for what weather is hot. you have at the “local”. New challenges are essential too; the I also managed spend time with theinto very nature of airsoftto makes forso an much awkward translation M40A3pastime I mightsohave hadperson to acquire myself a be aASG competitive the one you should really new toy… isI thought guns were challenging yourself. Ifme youand are bolt used action to playing a game with 5 high through before I got this puppy andshooting VFC skills. If caps, try cutting down to hold 5 midof caps and test your have an incredible job try of putting together you trydone and achieve an objective, it next time but try not to get one iconic rifles our time hit at of all.the Pushmost yourself andsniper you’ll soon findofyourself uninterested infor theASG trivialities of others taking hits or complaining about games here. Elsewhere, Ai designer Benno has being unfair, be improving YOURtreated game. himself to caught theyou’ll comms bug too and progression is what keepsitthings interesting aUltimately, new TRI radio. To compliment he picked up a and it’s the very High thing Ground that has given its longevity. We’ve made progressed as lovely Gear Ai pouch specifically time hasHe’s gonegiven on andus we’ve overcomeon new challenges and made for it. his opinion this specialist new achievements on our laurels. Try doing that kit in the Tried &without Testedresting section. yourself becauseabout it’s what airsoft Ai500 such angame engaging and Excitement themakes upcoming absorbing hobby! is building now and we are rapidly closing in on Seedate. you onPersonally the field! I cannot wait to get back in the
BEN WEBB EDITOR
bwebb@ai-mag.com
A fresh face at the wheel, ready to steer Ai on to the next level.
BEN DICKIE ART DIRECTOR
designteam@ai-mag.com
The Rambo of shapes & colours.
JONATHAN WADE JAMES KENTON CONSULTANT STAFF WRITER
jonathan@ebcon.co.uk jay@ai-mag.com
A veteran of upgrading the Canadian Finding and theArmed perfectForces lends AEG ishis hisconsiderable holy grail. knowledge.
JAMES KENTON CONNOR JAMES STAFF WRITER
jay@ai-mag.com connor@ebcon.co.uk
Finding and upgrading the perfect With a wealth of knowledge under his AEG is hisa holy grail.addition. belt he’s welcome
FRENCHIE JACK BAXTER STAFF WRITER
frenchie@ai-mag.com jack@ai-mag.com
Our Frankiefor Boyle. Hethings knowsapart, what’s Has own a penchant taking what and isn’t scared todon’t speakhave his mind! he’ll break stuff, so you to.
CONNOR JAMES BILL PRYCE THOMAS STAFF WRITER
connor@ebcon.co.uk bill@ebcon.co.uk
With a wealth of his knowledge his Bill joins us with technicalunder experience belt a welcome addition. and ahe’s ‘wild’ passion for ‘Namsoft!
CRAIG ATKIN ILLUSTRATION
craig_atkin@hotmail.co.uk
With a pen in one hand and a 1911 in the other, this talented guy has us covered!
STEPHEN DEMAGALSKI AI TEAM OPERATIONS
dddemo@ebcon.co.uk SUBSCRIPTIONS Away missions and excursions, Demo is SIGN UP TODAY AND GET AI IN BOTH HARD AND DIGITAL in and88our man on point. FORMAT! CHECK first OUT PAGE FORkey MORE INFORMATION Order online at: www.ai-mag.com Or over the phone on: 01775 750005
PUBLISHING PAUL MONAF: SALES AND PUBLISHING DIRECTOR PUBLISHING paul@ai-mag.com
PAUL MONAF: SALES / PUBLISHING DIRECTOR SHARON MONAF: ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR paul@ai-mag.com
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SHARON MONAF: ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR
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A I R S O F T I N T E R N AT I O N A L
The publishers of Airsoft International (Ai) magazine do not condone the possession of firearms, airsoft models or replica weaponry for illegal purposes. The hobby sport of airsoft skirmishing is conducted at specialist skirmish sites or clubs throughout the world, in controlled conditions where strict safety policies are implemented. Airsoft International magazine does not publish articles on real firearms or blank firing weapons. Airsoft replicas should not be confused with real firearms, air rifles or BB Guns. In accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Home Office in the UK (overseas readers may be subject to different laws), airsoft replicas are not to be used or brandished by any individual in a threatening manner in public or in any way to cause a person to fear personal injury. Airsoft replicas are recommended for use at professionally run skirmish sites. Individuals ignoring this advice will be breaking the law and can expect severe penalties imposed upon them from their local constabularies.
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DISCLAIMER
V O L U M E
Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of articles in this magazine, but the publisher accepts no responsibility for any errors contained in material from independent sources or authors. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photography or illustration in any form without permission from the publisher/editor is strictly prohibited. We welcome articles, photographs or artwork. Airsoft International cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage to unsolicited material. Please enclose a SAE if you wish your material to be returned. Competitions will be judged on the dates specified. No correspondence will be entered into and the judge’s decision is final. In the event of the published prize not being available due to circumstances beyond the control of the magazine, a suitable alternative of similar value will be provided.
the game after having to miss the last one for personal reasons. I’ve spoken to a good few guys out there and I know I’m not the only one eager to get on the ground at RAF Kirton Lindsay! Until next time, enjoy this issue of Ai as much as we did putting it together and I’ll catch you in the GUNS! GE A R! GEAR ZONE! safe zone! ! TECH ! TASTY TREATS FOR YOU AND YOUR GUN!
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A MIXED GRILL OF MOUTH WATERING CHOICE CUTS IN GEAR ZONE THIS MONTH TEAM WORK IN OUR NEW SECTION ‘SOLDIER SKILLS’ WE FOCUS ON FORMATION 416D RECOIL HOW DOES MARUI’S NEW REPLICA HOLD UP IN OUR FIELD TEST?
INSIDE UPGRADES WE TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT ALL THOSE CRITICAL COMPONANTS FERRO CONCEPTS INNOVATIVE LIGHTWEIGHT GEAR FOR THE MODERN WARRIOR... STAY LIGHT! FIGHT RIGHT!
SWORDS IN THE SAND GOOD GUYS IN BAD LANDS - GOING UNDERCOVER
GET NATIVE AND GO UNDERCOVER WITH TWO ORIGINAL
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TRIED AND TESTED! DOWNLOAD AI NOW! TEAM SCENE! GALLERY WE TRY BEFORE YOU BUY! OUR HONEST OPINIONS!
WE ARE NOW AVAILABLE TO READ ONLINE! SEE PAGE 68
GET YOU & YOUR TEAM RECOGNISED
YOUR PHOTOS IN PRINT
JUNE 2013 VOL-9 ISS-1 £4.25
The man that started it all. He calls the shots behind the scenes.
OF THE 2015 POPULA AIRSOFT PLAYERS R CHOICE AWARDS
T PAGES nphoenix CHECK OU om/games/falle g.c HOW TO www.ai-ma TEST INFO AND LA OKED E BO TH FOR TEAM AND YOUR THOUGH AS GET YOU QUICKLY ARE ES IN! MOVE SID BOTH PLACES ON ATCHED UP BEING SN ! VERY FAST
PAUL MONAF
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR
WINNER!
AI500 NG BOOKI EN! P O W NO OR VISIT 16 AND 17
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GEAR UP & GET YOUR TEAM RECOGNISED
SWORDS IN THE SAND - CHECK OUT PAGE 22
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CONTENTS INCOMING! 8 GALLERY
Reader’s images from around the globe! Got a shot of you or your friends in action? Send it through to editorial@ai-mag.com
12-13 LOCAL LOADOUTS
Send in your load out to earn your place within the pages of Airsoft International! Turn to Page 14 for more information.
16-17 FRIENDLY FIRE
Find out who’s in the running to win £500 with their custom gun. LAST CALL FOR ENTRIES!
18-19 READY ROOM
Every month we hit up a real world airsoft team to find out how they play and where it all goes down!
FEATURED
22-30 GREY MATTER
We gear up with 5.11’s latest uniforms in their hot new colour option, Storm Grey all thanks to Military 1st.
34-35 AI500
AIRSOFT INTERNATIONAL
VOLUME 11 ISSUE 4
34 WANT TO PLAY IN HERE?! WELL YOU CAN AT THE NEXT AI500!
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Find out how to get involved in our biggest game this year. SPACES LIMITED - ACT NOW TO SECURE YOUR SPACE!
GEAR LOCKER
38-39 TAG IT AND BAG IT
Military 1st help us showcase a great selection of luggage products to help you get your show on the road. This month we take a look at the range from Condor.
40-44 BIG GAME HUNTER
With weekend games like the Ai500 fast approaching, We spread out all the kit you’re going to need to take on the biggest and longest games of your life!
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ARMOURY
48-50 ASG M40A3
We have a long, hard look at the beautiful ASG M40A3 and also a few of the essential extras you can buy for it.
52-54 RWA S.P.S. FALCON
RWA follow their recent string of releases up with a lovely value-priced CO2 1911, made for competition shooting but tough enough to skirmish.
56-57 G&G CM16 SRS
Frenchie reviews this modernised AEG from G&G, based on the proven Combat Machine basis.
58 STAFF SHOOTERS
Ben picks up a charity case in the form of a Classic Army M249 and works out how to make it live again!
62-67 TRIED & TESTED
Every month we test a selection of kit to let you know what’s hot and what’s not!
70-71 FIRING POINT
Once again Frenchie presents a point of discussion for this month’s feature and this time it’s Camo. Why do we bother?
SKILLS
72-73 THE WORKSHOP
Jay forges on with his crazy creation. Find out how the Carl Gustav is coming on.
75-80 SCAR-H DMR BUILD
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Part two of our guide on upgrading the Marui SCAR-H to pack a mighty punch!
INDUSTRY INSIDER 82-83 ECHO1 AK700
Echo1 are a big name outside the UK so we check out their budget friendly AK700 to see what we are missing.
84 READER OFFER!
Snag a bargain with our Reader Offers. Check back every month for new deals!
86 FRENCH LETTER
Why do we almost never seem to review bad products? Frenchie explains why we have it better than ever.
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READERS GALLERY YOUR SHOT S IN PRINT! - YOUR SHOT S IN PRINT!
READERS GALLERY!
ACTION FROM SKIRMISH AIRSOFT EAST ANGLIA NORWICH
FREE FIRE ZONE REGULARS TAKING A WELL-EARNED BREAK FROM THE BB STORM!
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL “CORBEN CREASEY” NORFOLK - BY ALEX THORPE
ASSAULT ON THE BORDER-CROSSING AT BULBY WOODS
ACTION FROM SKIRMISH AIRSOFT EAST ANGLIA NORWICH
SUNSET OPS FROM THE LAST AI500 AT ANZIO
SEND US YOUR PHOTOS TO: BWEBB@AI-MAG.COM
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SEND YOUR LOAD OUTS TO: EDITORIAL@AI-MAG.COM
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AI NEEDS YOU! YOU’VE SEEN OUR “LOCAL LOADOUT” PAGES BEFORE, IT’S YOUR CHANCE TO HAVE A WHOLE SPREAD DEVOTED TO YOU, YOUR KIT AND YOUR AIRSOFT, AND TO TAKE PART, WE ONLY NEED A COUPLE OF THINGS… A FULL-LENGTH PICTURE OF YOU, BOTH FRONT AND BACK, AND A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE KIT YOU USE.
■ THE PITURES We’re not expecting masterpieces when it comes to images, unless of course you are a consummate camera man, all we need is a clear, full length shot (with your feet and head in frame) of you, from the front and the back, just like the example pictured here. Don’t worry about any fancy photoshopping, our trained monkey does that! He will take time to ‘cut’ you out of your background, like the example pictured here. Your image size needs to be as large as possible, so use a dedicated camera if possible. DSLR or Compact camera or mobile, it doesn’t really matter as long as you send us the FULL SIZE image, which may be around 5mb in size. Don’t worry, our email inbox can take the strain. Please don’t send screen grabs from your phone or tiny images because we just can’t use them based on the way digital images are printed.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO USE A PROFES SIONAL CAMERA TO TAKE USABLE IM AGES, ALL YOU NEED IS SOME DE CENT LIGHT (HEA D OUTSIDE DURING THE DAY FOR BEST RESULT CLEAN BACKGROU S) AND A ND. TRY TO STAN D ON A FIRM, FL AT SURFACE, IDEALL Y CONCRETE OR SL ABS NOT GRAS OR SHRUBBERY S AND STAND SQUA RE ON TO THE CAMERA WITH TH E CAMERA LENS AT CHEST HEIGHT MAKE SURE YOU . DON’T CROP YOUR HEAD, FEET OR ARMS OUT OF THE FRAME AND WATCH OUT FOR BLUR AS THAT WILL REALLY RUIN THE PART Y!
■ THE WORDS We don’t need a huge essay from you when it comes to words, it’s just a matter of filling in the blanks really, either copy the text from the bottom of the page, or download the document here - http://wp.me/p4Uh1B-7U
■ SENDING IN
HELMET/HEADWEAR:
When you have gathered your text and images, the next bit is simple, just attach it to an email and wing it over to us at: editorial@ai-mag.com - Easy!
Make/Model/Price/Why you use it…
✓ Your name ✓ Your age ✓ Where you’re from ✓ Your airsoft Team ✓ Your home Site ✓ About Me The ‘about me’ section should be around 150 words about how you got into airsoft, where you play, your favourite game and who you play with.
UNIFORM/CAMO TOP: Make/Model/Price/Why you use it…
EYE PRO: Make/Model/Price/Why you use it…
PLATE CARRIER/CHEST RIG: Make/Model/Price/Why you use it…
BELT RIG/HOLSTER: Make/Model/Price/Why you use it…
BOOTS: Make/Model/Price/Why you use it…
ANY EXTRA ACCESSORIES: Gloves, pads, comms equipment, backpacks, hydration etc… Make/ Model/Price/Why you use it…
UNIFORM/CAMO BOTTOM:
WEAPON:
Make/Model/Price/Why you use it…
Make/Model/Price/Why you use it…
IT’S REALLY AS EASY AS THAT! SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET CREATIVE AND SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD!
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OUR MOST POPULAR COMPETITION, FRIENDLY FIRE IS LAUNCHING AGAIN! YOUR CHANCE TO WIN £500 TO SPEND AT FIRE SUPPORT IS BACK WITH A VENGEANCE AND WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT YOU HAVE COME UP WITH THIS TIME ROUND.
WHAT’S THIS ALL ABOUT THEN?
We’re always showing you guns, AEGs, GBBRs and pistols, but we asked what you wanted and you told us. You wanted a chance to show off your personal armoury and we heard you loud and clear, here you have it, Friendly Fire, your chance to show off your arsenal. Not only do you get to see your shooter in print, but you’ll also get shortlisted to win a fantastic prize, £500 to spend at Fire Support! Simply send us your pictures following the guidelines below, and we’ll showcase them for the world to see.
ASSAULT RIFLE
This category is for the M4s, the AKs and the G36s and everything else of a similar shape and size. We want to see custom though. Not just bolt-ons, this is about reworking that gun and making it turn some heads.
SUB-MACHINE GUN
Have you made a wild MP5 variant or gone to town on a gas blaster to make it something special? This is the place for you! Anything that fits between a pistol and a rifle should go in here!
SNIPER RIFLE/DMR
Made a long gun? Scopes? Silencers? Bipods? Sounds about right for this category. If you have a penchant for precision and have built a monster, enter it here!
SUPPORT GUNS
Sometimes you need to break out the big guns! If you prefer box mags and blasting a wall of BBs, make sure you enter your custom gun in this section!
PISTOLS
They might be small, they might be easily hidden but that’s no reason you can’t make them something to show off when the time is right. If you love handguns, show off your creation in this category!
SHOTGUNS AND LAUNCHERS
Finally, shotguns and launchers is the category to show off anything with a big bore! 40mm or 12g replicas and anything in between, wheel out your cannons here!
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Obviously, we all know what an M4 looks like, so anything custom, crazy or plain adventurous will stand a better chance of making it, so show us what you got!
THE CATEGORIES
This time around Friendly Fire will be made up of several categories and you’ll have to select the one that fits your gun most. Each month we’ll pick a shortlist from each of those categories and after 6 months, those shortlisted entries will be sent forward to a public vote. This vote will then decide the overall winner of Friendly Fire!
JUDGING
Because the last round goes down to a public vote, the final decision is in the reader’s hands. To make it easier to decide, the Ai team will hand pick the shortlist. Performance is not a factor but each gun must be a functioning airsoft gun that fires either 6mm or 8mm BBs via any method of propulsion. We’ll be looking for painstaking effort, attention to detail and uniqueness. We’ve all seen scopes clamped to RIS rails before so do yourself a favour and go one step further. It’s all about turning heads, catching eyes and making people’s jaws drop.
HOW TO ENTER
Entering your gun is simple. Email your entry through to friendlyfire@ai-mag.com. To ensure your entry is valid, include at least one HIGH QUALITY image of the entire gun and perhaps a few close-ups if necessary. Include your full name and a valid contact phone number and email address along with approximately 200 words on what your creation is, how it started life and how long it took you to build. The more details you can include, the better, because the story behind a gun is often as important as the end result!
IT’S THAT SIMPLE!
Entries will close on the 13th June 2015 but may be accepted at any time prior to them. Shortlisted entries will be published in the soonest available copy of Airsoft International and all entrants will be notified of the start of the public vote, allowing you to garner as much attention for your gun as possible!
F R I E N D LY F I R E @ A I - M A G . C O M
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PURPOSE BUILT FOR URBAN OPERATIONS GREY HAS TAKEN THE TACTICAL WORLD BY STORM AGAIN IN RECENT MONTHS AND NEWLY INTO THE FRAY IS 5.11’S APTLY NAMED STORM GREY LINE. JOINING THE STAPLE BLOCK COLOURS AND PATTERNS 5.11 OFFER THROUGHOUT THEIR RANGE OF TACTICAL EQUIPMENT AND APPAREL, THIS UNASSUMING, LOW-SIGNATURE COLOUR GIVES YOUR LOAD OUT A FRESH EDGE AND WORKS PERFECTLY IN URBAN SCENARIOS AND THANKS TO GREAT DESIGN FEATURES REMAINS JUST AS PRACTICAL AND FUNCTIONAL AS EVER.
“5.11 Tactical apparel combines precision engineering, modern construction materials, and a dedication to quality that sets the standard for tactical clothing worldwide. Each product in the 5.11 tactical clothing wardrobe is designed to excel in a specific role while providing unique and innovative features that make your life easier. From patrol duty to tactical operations, and from the gun range to the mountain range, 5.11 Tactical clothing provides the power, durability, and versatility you need to maintain peak performance. All 5.11 clothing is guaranteed against workmanship or materials defects, and each garment passes our rigorous quality assurance standards, ensuring that your 5.11 Tactical clothing exceeds expectations across the board.” 5.11 are a time-honoured and established business within the tactical industry and are popular with operational personnel, military contractors and shooters, both real steel and airsoft. The name comes from 5.11’s roots in rock climbing, where the climbing difficulty level known as 5.11 in the Yosemite Decimal System is defined as “After thorough inspection, you conclude this move is obviously impossible; however, occasionally someone actually accomplishes it.” 5.11s first product is arguably one of their finest and still remains part of the range today, this is their original Tactical Pants featuring trademarked tactical straps and slash pocket designs. Developed for climbers these pants hit the market with a low price point but provided a great fit, durability and dependability in use for wearers,
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cementing the 5.11 brand as one to take seriously. Since 5.11s early days the range has expanded massively and joining their acclaimed pants a comprehensive range of items are manufactured under the umbrella mission statement; “We are innovators who make purpose-built gear for the most demanding missions.” Every product is created to enhance the safety, accuracy, speed and performance of law enforcement, military and firefighting professionals.
STORM GREY Storm Grey is 5.11’s exclusive mission-specific colour built to meet the needs of today’s law enforcement special operations units working in urban environments. Units dressed in Storm Grey have a less militaristic appearance while affording outstanding concealment in urban environments. A full range of products is available in the colour including uniforms, plate carriers, chest rigs pouches and accessories. This spans from regular uniforms and shirts to the enhanced tactical duty uniforms, plate carriers, chest rigs, bags, pouches, boots and more, there’s literally enough to outfit an entire army in Storm Grey! In time honoured fashion though, we decided to keep things light, fast and practical instead of getting bogged down in nylon. This has the benefit of making things easier and more comfortable ad also a little cheaper to build up, with the right selections though, there’s no need to sacrifice on performance.
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UNIFORM The uniform has long been 5.11’s strong hand so we were eagerly awaiting the new TDU set and were not disappointed, The grey colour itself is a solid, consistent mid-tone grey that quite a warm tone and indeed, should blend in with urban surroundings like concrete and stone well. If you like a tactical edge in your everyday life too, it’s not garish and the odd item will blend seamlessly with your day to day wardrobe.
STRYKE TDU PANTS When it comes to pants, or trousers if you prefer the non-American vernacular, 5.11 could do no wrong in reproducing their classic styles in this new material and colour however with the Stryke TDU Pants, I think they may have hit upon an improvement. Sticking with their tried and tested pattern of a low-profile design that packs plenty of utility pockets but with a streamlined outline, the Strykes feature thigh high cargo pockets on the outsides but these are pleated to fold totally flat when empty. These pockets have 5.11’s “back up belt” system utilised inside in the form of velcro loop dividers meaning that pouches can be stuck in position inside to assist in organisation and tactical use. The material used all over the pants has a slight stretch but taking cues from the likes of Crye Precision, 5.11 has also included some higher stretch areas to aid movement in use. These areas are primarily the crotch and inside the slashed hand pockets. Additionally there’s also a panel behind each knee that not only provides a great range of motion but also cooling ventilation. These panels are easy to miss because unlike other designs, they are actually colour-matched to the main material and don’t contrast at all. The effect of these stretch panels is not only a more comfortable garment that affords a greater range of motion in use, but also based on the placement, they allow the pockets to be accessed far more easily and comfortably, even when kneeling and the material is pulled taught across the thigh. This utility is further enhanced by the use of breathable mesh material inside the pockets making for a lighter, cooler overall feel with less bunching and bulk of cloth.
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With a fantastic fit and a massive range of sizes to suit all potential wearers, there are only two small issues we have with the Stryke TDU pants. One is the ties that are sewn into the hem at the ankle. They are a heavy flat lace and we didn’t feel compelled to use them, they can be simply snipped out if you don’t want them dangling around. The other issue is the rear pockets. they use a velcro flap and we have found the actual opening into the pocket to be a little narrow in comparison to their depth which can make it awkward to fetch your wallet out without having to root around! At least nobody will be able to nick it!
“The 5.11 Stryke™ Tactical Duty Uniform Pant establishes a new benchmark in tactical efficiency by offering unparalleled manoeuvrability, utility, and durability in demanding mission environments. Built from our patent pending Flex-Tac® mechanical stretch fabric, the 5.11® Stryke TDU® Pant features canted, ergonomically placed cargo pockets at each thigh and a Teflon® treatment that repels stains, soil, and moisture for a professional appearance in any setting. A fully gusseted crotch provides full freedom of movement, double layered and articulated knees are compatible with 5.11 neoprene kneepads (sold separately), and stretch panels installed at the waist and behind each knee maintain a secure fit when you’re on the move. Reinforced construction and enhanced bar-tacking throughout increases durability and ensures long garment life.”
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OVERVIEW 5.11 STRYKE TDU PANTS: Light, durable, and highly mobile. Teflon treated for stain, liquid and soil resistance. Canted ergonomic cargo pockets. Double layered articulated knees. Fully gusseted crotch. Stretch panels at waist and behind knee.
SPECIFICATIONS: Flex-Tac stretch ripstop fabric. Support 5.11 neoprene kneepads. Reinforced construction. Enhanced bar-tacking throughout.
The RRP of the Stryke TDU Pants is £80 (+VAT) but they can be purchased from Military1st.co.uk for just £72 with free shipping.
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FLEX-TAC MATERIAL Flex-Tac material is a revolutionary fabric utilising proprietary fibres and developed exclusively for 5.11 Tactical. Strong and highly breathable, Polycotton Ripstop material incorporates mechanical stretch yarns, providing enhanced performance and agility during periods of increased activity, while flexible main body ensures strong moisture control and a compressed fit throughout the day.
STRYKE TDU RAPID SHIRT 5.11 haven’t always jumped to the fore when you think of combat shirts but thinking back, were had hands-on time with some quality garments from them in the past. The Stryke TDU Rapid Shirt is no different. Using a design similar in principle to the now common UBACS-style shirt, the TDU Shirt used a soft, stretchy and fast wicking torso with harder wearing sleeves and shoulders. This protects your body, remains comfortable under armour and also ensures the shirt lasts a good while. Unlike some similar shirts, the TDU shirt isn’t an OTT, all singing, all dancing shirt covered in pouches and velcro, instead it’s actually pretty slick and streamlined and if it had a slightly more traditional collar, you might get away with it in a casual situation. It has a great fit and the material is highly comfortable, keeping you cool when you get moving quickly but also stopping the chill during downtime. Oddly, one of our favourite features of the TDU shirt is the absence of something and in this case, it’s the fields of velcro on the arms. it’s nicely to have a slick, comfortable shirt without a bulky pocket and a field of fuzz. 5.11 do actually include the velcro panels along with epaulettes and a badge holder should you with to sew them on to the shirt in order to make if more uniform-compliant. “When seconds count, the 5.11 Stryke™ TDU® Rapid Shirt gives you the mobility and reliability you need to operate at peak levels. An accelerated version of our traditional Tactical Dress Uniform Shirt, the 5.11® Stryke TDU Rapid Shirt offers increased responsiveness and freedom of motion without sacrificing tactical utility. The torso is built from a blend of polyester and spandex, providing strong moisture control and a compressed fit that enhances performance and agility during periods of heavy exertion. Our 4.84 oz. patent pending Flex-Tac® mechanical stretch fabric at the shoulders and sleeves is light, durable, and Teflon® treated for resistance to soil and moisture. Vertical sleeve pockets offer added utility, adjustable cuffs and a zip front with a mandarin collar ensure a perfect fit, reinforced articulated elbows enhance garment resilience, and the included badge tab, loop patch platform, and epaulette kits allow quick and complete uniform integration.”
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OVERVIEW 5.11 STRYKE TDU SHIRT: Lightweight, manoeuvrable, agile. Moisture wicking, snag resistant torso. Teflon-treated mechanical stretch shoulders and sleeves. Vertical sleeve pockets. Loop patch platform. Badge tab and epaulette kit included.
SPECIFICATIONS: 87% polyester / 13% Spandex torso. Flex-Tac stretch sleeves and shoulders. Reinforced articulated elbows. Adjustable cuffs. Mandarin collar.
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STRYKE TDU SHIRT (ALTERNATIVE OPTION) If you are after something a little more traditional than the TDU Rapid Shirt, there’s always the standard Stryke TDU Shirt with a design closer to the old school BDU blouse design. Made entirely from Flex-Tac material, the shirt is still light but it uses a full zippered front instead of the fast-wicking body. The same low-profile bicep pockets and collar are used but the shirt incorporates breast pockets too. Much like the TDU Rapid shirt, this one lacks the velcro fields, badge holder and epaulettes but still includes them should you wish to attach them yourself for a more uniformed look. “The 5.11 Stryke™ Tactical Duty Uniform Shirt establishes a new benchmark in tactical efficiency by offering unparalleled maneuverability, utility, and durability in demanding mission environments. Built from our 4.84 oz. patent pending Flex-Tac® mechanical stretch fabric, the 5.11® Stryke TDU® shirt features canted front chest pockets and vertical sleeve pockets that provide ample space for your kit, and a Teflon® treatment that repels stains, soil, and moisture to provide a
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crisp and professional appearance. Adjustable cuffs and a full zip front with a mandarin collar ensure a perfect fit, reinforced articulated elbows enhance garment resilience, and the included badge tab, loop patch platform, and epaulette kits allow quick and complete uniform integration.”
OVERVIEW: Lightweight, dependable, comfortable. Teflon treatment resists stains, spills, and soil. Canted front chest pockets. Vertical sleeve pockets. Loop patch platform. Badge tab and epaulette kits included.
SPECIFICATIONS: 4.84 oz. Flex-Tac mechanical stretch fabric. Reinforced articulated elbows. Adjustable cuffs. Mandarin collar. The RRP of the Stryke TDU Shirt is £78 (+VAT) but they can be purchased from Military1st.co.uk for just £70.20 with free shipping.
The RRP of the Stryke TDU Rapid Shirt is £75 (+VAT) but they can be purchased from Military 1st for £67.50 with free shipping.
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FLAG BEARER CAP It wouldn’t be a load out with some form of headgear and here we have gone for 5.11’s Flag Bearer cap. It’s simple, effective, missing that annoying stud on the top that always jabs you in the skull and it has velcro panels for morale patches. It also comes complete with a velcro adjuster for a “one size fits most” fit. The Flag Bearer cap can be purchased from Military1st.co.uk for just £15.30 with free shipping.
LOAD BEARING In terms of load bearing, we’ve made the most of the light-weight, low drag nature of 5.11’s latest gear and gone with their TacTec Chest Rig. Despite being a lightweight rig the TacTec has an abundant amount of storage space integrated into its design and plenty of scope for expansion via the MOLLE compatible external surface. The rig is built around a total of 6 compartments that can be used in numerous different ways. For a simple load out, these can all be employed as magazines pouches since they all have forward opening flap toppers, or alternatively can be laced up with bungee tops that are included. Inside these pouches, magazines can be retained with internal elasticated bands. This is useful when using smaller, thinner magazines like those fused in submachine guns or even pistols.
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The pockets to the extreme left and right can be used in a dual role. They are slightly wider than the central pouches and as well as the flap toppers, they have an adjustable velcro band, accessed at the rear of the rig, that can be used to tailor the fit of the pouch. This makes them idea for radios or even securing a compact sidearm. The rear of the rig, between the pouches and the body, has a mesh dump pouch sewn in to retain items that you need to stuff in there.This is ideal for jamming a spent magazine in, in a pinch, or even wedging you gloves in when topping up on ammo. This is all just the integrated storage and you can happily add any MOLLE compatible pouches to the front of the rig. The padded straps are lightweight and compliant material with an air-mesh backing against the body. Unlike webbing straps these won’t cut into your neck and chafe. They can be worn as a H-harness with the cross piece in place or for a simpler set-up it can be removed and the straps can be crossed over on the back. MOLLE
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coverage is in place on both straps to route wiring, attach extras and the left shoulder even includes a useful velcro panel that can be used to affix PTTs or other extras like a VIP strobe. “The TacTec Tactical Chest Rig from 5.11 Tactical® provides a sturdy and reliable foundation for your tactical kit, and can be worn H-Frame or Rhodesian (x-back) style. Six easy to reach front facing compartments can be configured for your chosen storage, twin outside compartments can be used for accessories or as hydration slots, and a rear admin pocket provides quick access to maps or documents. Lightweight, durable construction ensures our chest rig provides full range of movement in any environment, and a weatherproofing treatment keeps all your gear dry and secure. The integrated web platform across the chest rig exterior is MOLLE and 5.11 SlickStick® System compatible, giving you the freedom to expand and organise your gear and accessories for the mission at hand. Both nylon cover and bungee retention options are included.”
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OVERVIEW 5.11 TAC-TEC CHEST RIG: Reliable, durable, customizable. SlickStick/MOLLE chest rig webbing. Optional hydration storage. Waterproofed. Configurable front pouches. Map/admin pocket at rear.
SPECIFICATIONS: All-weather nylon construction. Padded shoulder straps. Can be worn H-frame or Rhodesian. Elastic band retention. Nylon cover or bungee magazine straps. Durable Duraflex® hardware.
The RRP of the Stryke TDU Shirt is £80 (+VAT) but they can be purchased from Military1st.co.uk for £72 with free shipping.
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EXTRAS To complete this load out, we just needed to add a few little extras for functionality and comfort. Thanks to the extensive catalogue, there was no real need to deviate far from 5.11 as a brand!
LARGE DUMP POUCH Although a great chest rig, the retaining bands inside the TacTec are a little tight and as such, they hinder your ability to get mags back in the rig at speed. This is a common issue and can be worked around by using a dump pouch to drop spend magazines in. 5.11’s Storm Grey Large Drop Pouch is ideal and carries over a similar set of features to the original Maxpedition Roll-Up dump pouch. The MOLLE attachment system is just as apt for mounting the pouch direct to your belt as it is to a dedicated platform. “Designed to provide expandable storage space on demand, the Large Drop Pouch remains folded and compact when not in use. The 6” wide mouth offers quick-drop convenience, while a water resistant back coating keeps your cargo safe and dry. Double stitched seams and heavy bartacking allow you to safely carry as much as you need, an integrated elastic draw cord can easily be operated with one hand, and the Large Drop Pouch is compatible with MOLLE and SlickStick System™ web platforms for quick and easy integration into your tactical load out.”
OVERVIEW: Expandable drop pouch provides storage. Integrated elastic draw cord. One-hand accessibility. Water and weather resistant. MOLLE, and SlickStick compatible.
SPECIFICATIONS: Rugged 500D nylon construction. 10” high when fully expanded. 6” drop-in main opening. Durable Duraflex™ hardware. Double stitched seams. Bartacking at major stress points.
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The RRP of the Large Drop Pouch is £19 (+VAT) but they can be purchased from Military1st.co.uk for just £18.99 with free shipping.
PISTOL BUNGEE/COVER We’ve attached a single pistol magazine pouch to the front of the chest rig to provide some storage space for our multi-tool. As with most of 5.11’s latest range of pouches this can be configured in either bungee top or velcro flap top closure systems, for easier access. “The Single Pistol Bungee Cover offers full compatibility with both MOLLE-based web gear and our proprietary SlickStick System, allowing you to customise magazine storage for the mission at hand. With a modular, stackable design and an option for either standard flap cover or bungee cord retention, this lightweight, high performance magazine retention pouch operates quickly, quietly, and effectively in any situation. A water repellant coating and durable Duraflex® hardware ensure smooth and reliable operation in wet or cold climates.”
10 cubic inch total capacity. Non-slip pull tab grip on cover. Bartacking at major stress points. Heat-treated seals and seams. The RRP of the Pistol Bungee/Cover Pouch is £15 (+VAT) but they can be purchased from Military1st.co.uk for just £13.50 with free shipping.
OTHER EXTRAS To totally top out our load out we picked up a few final extras from other brands. A Fobus holster for the M&P9 is hooked on the belt via a paddle, some Mechanic Originals gloves are called into duty and a simple grey “snood” or neck gaiter was picked up on eBay for the very reasonable sum of £2.99.
OVERVIEW: Fully compatible with MOLLE and SlickStick web platforms. Choice of cover flap or bungee retention. Water repellant back coating. Elastic band compression for stability and noise reduction. Stackable design. Duraflex hardware. All-weather reliability.
SPECIFICATIONS: Tear-resistant 500D nylon. 5.25” H x 1.5” L x 1.25” D main compartment.
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AI5002015
18- 19- 20
SEPTEMBER
OPERATION VIPER 'S STRIKE D O N ’T M I SS O U T ! L I MIT E D ! P L A CE S L E F T
At it’s simplest, the AI500 is a bi-annual airsoft game, run and hosted by Airsoft International. It is however much more than that. It’s a community, it’s a group of airsofters with a particular mindset. They want to play hard and laugh just as hard. It’s not MilSim, but it aims to be challenging. At the heart of each event is a strong story line, often running over more than one event. It’s an opportunity to meet friends old and new. It’s the chance to play on sites that you’ll otherwise never have access to. The Airsoft International name carries a bit of clout, and we can access sites that are otherwise simply not available. That doesn’t mean we don’t also play at established sites – in the last two years Anzio
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Camp and the Sandpit have both hosted our particular brand of airsofting. The next game, in September 2015, will take place in Lincolnshire on a huge airfield never before played by airsofters. There will be buildings – lots of them. There will be challenges – plenty of those. There will be hard gaming and silliness in equal measure. The Ai500 is for players who play the game, who know it’s a game and who put as much into the fun as they do the shooting. Don’t take that to mean that we’re not serious about what we do and what we deliver for you – we are – we just believe that a great weekend of airsoft needs more than 12 hours spent on stag.
LOCATION: RAF KIRTON LINDSEY, GAINSBOROUGH, LINCOLNSHIRE. DN21 4HY
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THE RULES
RESPAWN
Like any big game, the AI500 has a list of rules and regulations to ensure the safety of the players throughout the weekend as well as giving them all the information they may require regarding gameplay rules. These rules cover everything from safety regulations to gameplay information. Please make sure you familiarise yourselves with these rules, as anyone caught breaking them will be ejected from the event.
The game will use only fixed respawn points. Spawns cannot be camped, any player found doing so will be sent back to their own spawn point with a flea in their ear.
FIGHTING IN BUILDINGS You may shoot full-auto out of a building. You may shoot full-auto into a building. You will use ONLY SEMI-AUTO inside any building. This ties in with the next rule…
man” when exiting. It’s not realistic but no one wants 40,000,000,000 rounds of plastic death unloaded into a tin box while they are inside. Players firing from a moving vehicle CAN be engaged. Please DO NOT aim at the drivers deliberately. Anyone caught doing so will be removed from the game. Vehicles CANNOT drive over mines if placed on the road. If they do they are considered disabled and all players on board must respawn. Smoke tossed UNDER a vehicle in motion will disable it forcing all players to dismount.
DRESS CODE
10 METRE RULE
PMC or Civilian clothing. Block colours only.
All engagements below 10 metres should be semi-auto. Consider this a politeness.
TEAM VIPER
MEDIC RULES
LOCATION RAF Kirton: Lindsey, Gainsborough,
Camouflage of any description, block colours only usable for load bearing equipment.
First hit – player can be tagged in by any other player by tying their bandage onto them. Second hit, straight to respawn, remove bandage rejoin game. This will make vulnerable players more obvious and allow both sides to make informed decisions about who to shoot (as if airsofters ever make informed decisions about who to shoot!)
Lincolnshire. DN21 4HY United Kingdom. TERRAIN Urban/CQB PRICE £90 per player (£45 deposit) GAME DATE 18/19/20 September 2015 HIRE GUNS No SHOP All airsoft supplies available on site.
LYSANDER SECURITY FORCES
MARSHALS There will be a number of hi-vis marshals on site during the game. Their word is final on any infractions or disputes. Richard Mitchell is the head marshal for this game and in operational command of all marshals. If you have any grievance regarding a marshal’s decision, please see either Richard or Frenchie. There will also be a number of player-marshals on both teams.
DEMO CHARGES If a building is rigged with a demo charge and this is detonated, ALL players in the building must go straight to respawn. No exceptions.
FPS LIMITS
GUN HITS
■ AEGs: 350 max. No variation. ■ Pistols & shotguns: 350 max, no variation. ■ DMRs (must be locked to semi): 400 max. ■ Single action rifles, spring or gas: 500 max.
If you are hit on a slung weapon it should be treated as a body hit – medic rules apply. If the weapon you are USING is hit, you may call “gun hit” and revert to a secondary. The hit weapon cannot be used again until you have respawned.
AMMO LIMITS ■ AEGs: 600 rounds in magazines. ■ Pistols & shotguns: 600 max per weapon carried in magazines/shotshells. ■ DMRs: 300 rounds max in magazines. ■ Single action rifles: 150 max in mags or loose. ■ Support guns: One box mag – no loose ammo.
PYROTECHNICS Max MkV or 9mm blank MAXIMUM. Pyro has a 5 meter kill-radius. No medic, straight to respawn. Be sensible about the use of smoke in buildings. If there is no wind it will persist for a long time and can cause problems for other players. Try and avoid it’s use if possible.
BANG RULE There will be no “bang rule”. You may invite a player to take their hit but they are not obliged to do so.
EOD TECHNICIANS Mines may be used in this game. ONLY an EOD tech can clear a minefield, and while doing so he/she CANNOT engage the enemy. You will therefore have to protect them. When clearing a minefield it is not sufficient to remove a narrow lane, the minimum lane width is 3 meters. Removed mines should be placed aside, not carried to be used as discus… Any player stepping on a mine must go straight to their respawn. EOD techs may lift and retain TWO mines for use in building entrances or to stop vehicles. A team can only have 1 EOD tech per 20 players.
VEHICLES If used, these rules apply. You CANNOT shoot into a vehicle, or at players dismounting from a vehicle until the last man’s boots hit the ground. The last man to exit a vehicle MUST shout “last
AI500 INFO
As a full weekend game, players will need to be on-site and registered on the evening of Friday 18th September. Gameplay will commence on Saturday morning and will finish on Sunday afternoon with a rest break overnight.
BOOKING AND PAYMENT
Please visit www.ai-500.com for fast and secure online payment options. Payment methods include Paypal and Credit/Debit cards. You can also book and pay or over the phone at the Ai HQ event telephone number: (+44 1775 750 005).
Booking in for the AI500 is very, very simple; however we do have a number of different payment structures to cater for everyone.
OPTION 1: PAYMENT IN FULL Those of you who wish to pay for your place in full can do so now at a discounted price of £85.
METHOD 2: DEPOSIT Those who wish to confirm your place with a deposit can do so. This method will see you pay £45.00 now, and £45.00 on the day of the event.
METHOD 3: RETURNING PLAYERS Like every year, returning AI500 players (Those who attended the last event) will receive a discounted price. Returning players can either choose to pay a deposit via www.ai-500.com or by calling us on (+44 1775 750 005). ALL PLACES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE AND NO REFUNDS WILL BE MADE FOR DEPOSITS OR PAYMENT IN FULL. PLACES HOWEVER ARE TRANSFERABLE, SHOULD YOU WISH TO TRANSFER A BOOKING PLEASE CONTACT THE OFFICE AT +44 1775 750 005.
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CONDOR!
SPREAD YOUR WINGS
Condor Outdoor has it’s roots as a camping products manufacturer, building goods that enabled people to get out and enjoy their life outside the confines of 4 walls. After enjoying success in that market sector Condor branched out into tactical apparel and equipment offering goods in subdued and camouflaged patterns. Along with the pack and bags here, there are also many utility textile items available in Condor’s extensive catalogue. From weapon slings to flashlight pouches, quality of build and value for money are paramount.
£63.99
MISSION PACK
The Mission Pack from Condor is a fully MOLLE compatible backpack featuring three large compartments with two-way zip closures and pull tabs, padded back and shoulder straps, fully adjustable and with quick release buckles, and large front Velcro patch area. An expandable main compartment on the Mission Pack comes with large zipped mesh pocket, large padded sleeve hydration pocket with three nylon hooks for attachment of hydration bladders, compression strap with quick release buckle, secure passage hole at the top for hydration hose and grommet at the bottom for drainage. The middle compartment features one large and three smaller mesh pockets with durable zip closure. An outer compartment goes with multiple practical admin sleeve and mesh pockets, pen slots and Nylon strap with carabiner. Wide padded shoulder straps together with adjustable and detachable waist belt and chest strap help to distribute weight evenly and relief the pressure. The side compression straps with quick release buckles allow the backpack to be adapted to the size of carried kit and prevent it from shifting inside the bag, which may cause unnecessary noise, discomfort or disturbance to the balance. Multiple MOLLE attachment straps featured on the front, side and shoulder straps of the Mission Pack allows for mounting various MOLLE accessories while quick-release buckles let the backpack to be quickly dropped on the ground when required. Also featured are a durable top carrying handle with removable padded Velcro pad and two side concealed pockets with zip closure and inner Velcro.
£79.99
URBAN GO PACK
The Urban Go Pack is designed with practical pockets, enough to fit everything without having to dig through a main compartment, but not so many that they are too small to carry necessary gear. This heavy duty day pack features 1 large compartment with sturdy 2-way zipper, 1 extra zip mesh pocket on the front wall, and a nylon sleeve to carry large documents. There is also aerial/ hydration tube port, covered with loop Velcro patch, and 2 drainage holes on the bottom. There is 1 pocket on the front of the bag that can serve as an admin pocket, featuring 2 map/ document pockets, 2 zip pockets, 1 phone pocket with Velcro flap, transparent ID pouch, 4 pen slots and 1 plastic carabiner inside. Under the admin pocket there is a small compartment with 2 internal mesh pouches for other utilities/peripherals. Additionally the bag goes with 2 tall side pockets for power supply, nalgene bottles, etc., and padded compartment on the back that can be use for storing insulated hydration bladder or a laptop (it will fit up to 15.4” laptop), and 1 small quick-access gadget pocket on the top lined with non-scratching fleece - perfect for storing your phone or eye-pro. 2 heavy duty compression straps with quick release buckles are placed on both sides of the backpack, and 3 strong carrying handles can be found on the top and just over the side pockets. The Urban Go Pack comes with a specially shaped padded back for extra comfort and maximum airflow, ergonomically designed and adjustable in length padded shoulder straps (about 7cm wide), a chest strap (2.5cm wide) with elastic section, as well as padded and removable waist system with approx. 4cm wide nylon strap. Both chest and waist straps are adjustable and open with strong plastic buckles. The rucksack gives a possibility to attach additional equipment through a number of robust nylon MOLLE straps all-round, as well as sewn-in webbing and D-rings on both shoulder straps. Furthermore there are also 4 nylon loops placed at the bottom part of the backpack for attachment of a sleeping bag or bivi.
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GET READY FOR THE BIG GAME! NO, WE DON’T MEAN HEAD DOWN TO THE SUPERMARKET AND PICK UP A FEW CRATES OF BARGAIN BOOZE AND SOME MULTIPACKS OF DORITOS TO WATCH THE MATCH ON TV, THIS IS ABOUT GETTING SET TO SURVIVE A WEEKENDER OF EPIC PROPORTIONS, LIKE THE AI500! IF YOU ARE BOOKED ON TO A GAME LIKE THIS, GETTING PREPARED CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HAVING A GOOD TIME AND HAVING THE BEST AIRSOFT EXPERIENCE OF YOUR LIFE SO WE ARE HERE TO GIVE YOU A RUN-DOWN OF THE ESSENTIAL KIT!
With a bit of know-how and some sound planning, packing what you need to get through a weekender need-not be a trial, it’s actually pretty straightforward. It can be tempting to take EVERYTHING but in practice, putting the contents of your entire house on the road is more hassle than it’s worth and you’ll spend most of the time you have keeping organised and tidy. We are going to break this down into two halves. First we’ll cover what you’ll need for gaming, then we’ll cover what you need to keep comfortable, fed and healthy feeling!
GUNS
First off we are going to deal with the subject of guns. Despite most airsoft players seemingly owning an arsenal of weapons that would make a hitman blush, we often find players in the position where they are high and dry with nothing to use on game-day. We all love tinkering with out guns and kit and pushing them to the limit but with this practice comes unreliability and dumb luck says that something will usually give out when you need it the most. We feel a little like we are preaching to the choir here, but always take a spare gun to use… If you have space, take a spare one to back that up too but keep it simple! Yeah, we know you are probably going to want to give your all singing, all dancing, newly upgraded, super BB blaster from hell a whirl but what if it doesn’t pass muster? What if the hop isn’t working so well or even if a piston strips? Yep, you’ll need to reach for your trusty back-up and ideally, you’ll want one with a full compliment of magazines to keep you in the fight.
OLD FAITHFUL
It might be a long-shot, but you can bet your last fiver on the time you are furthest away from home, all your guns will go down or the electricity fairy visits during the night and drains all your batteries flat. For that reason, we always take along an “old faithful” gun, usually spring powered, that is simple and will keep you on the field. Be it a sniper’s rifle or a springer shotgun, something like this might not give you the ultimate in firepower bit it’s definitely worth taking along just in case all else fails. Truth be told, we’ve all had games where it’s all gone wrong with our complex, finely tuned kit but going back on relying on the simple, pure experience of a springer let us enjoy the game for what it really is… A tactical challenge.
BATTERIES
We’ve already mentioned batteries, but there’s no way we can put this list together without giving them the space they deserve. Batteries for your gun and batteries for your accessories are critical to keep them working. Take spares and where applicable, make sure they are FULLY CHARGED before heading off and that doesn’t mean pick them up from the shop on the way to the game in the case of gun batteries. Get them ahead of time, get them charged and test them out before you head off. There will be no sympathy if you suddenly find that pack you just ripped out of it’s packaging only has a tiny amount of charge in!
TAKE CHARGE!
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Many chargers offer the ability to hook up to your car either via a power outlet or by connecting directly to the battery. If you have one that is designed to do this, it’s best to pack it and take it with you in order to keep your power packs juiced up and ready to go. Even if you don’t need a charger yourself, you’ll be the most popular person on your team if you can help another player out!
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AMMO
Most sites will have some sort of shop facility in place, especially those running weekenders. BB are variable and guns can be fussy so always make sure your gun will feed and fire the BBs you have. If you know you have a fussy shooter or demand peak performance, take the BBs you need with you and never assume the specific brand you want will be available when you get there.
GUN BAGS
Sure it might be a boring thing to spend your money on, but a good gun bag, or bags for that matter, is absolutely essential. They are never more so than when you have a car full of your team, 20 odd guns and you are making your way down the motorway to your destination. It goes without saying that you need to keep your guns well out of sight until at the event but you also want to keep them protected and safe during transit.
HYDRATION
The quickest way to ruin a good time is by letting yourself become dehydrated. This much is true in the scale of a smaller game and even more important when we are talking about 2 full days out. When playing you will go through a lot of water and you need to replace it otherwise you’ll feel rough as old boots. Simple water is best. It doesn’t fizz up, it isn’t sugary and sticky and it has no extras like caffeine or taurine in. In terms of drinking water, take at least 3 litres per day JUST FOR DRINKING. You’ll need more when it comes to cooking and washing. Some places might be happy for you to indulge in a few “adult beverages” once the guns are away for the evening, but don’t kid yourself into thinking these are a viable replacement for hydration. Likewise, avoid loading up on sugary drinks like Red Bull or Monster. They will soon give you a raging headache and a bad stomach.
EXTRA WATER!
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You won’t need water just for drinking, you’ll also need it for washing (yourself and cooking equipment). Factor this into the water quantities you take along and include a little extra just for good measure, even if the site you are visiting has water supplies. It’s best to be able to be self-sufficient so take no chances.
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FOOD
It’s surprising how quickly being hungry can slow you down and put you in a bad frame of mind and it’s also surprising how much food you will go through in 48 hours! When travelling away for a big game we generally always pack dehydrated or ration-pack style meals to keep full and loaded with energy. These are the most compact, easiest-to-cook and most hassle-free option requiring the least amount of water to prepare and also the least amount of cleaning afterwards. Sure, if there’s a burger van on site treat yourself, but living on greasy burgers and hot-dogs will soon leave you feeling sluggish and out of the game!
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COOK!
Many ration packs are fit to eat cold and some luxurious ones are even “self heating” as in they come with chemical heaters that activate when immersed in water. These can be a bit hit and miss and you often end up with an only partially heated meal to slurp out of a foil packet. If you literally want to dine like the king of the campsite, a camping stove system is the way to go. The preference here at AiHQ is the Jetboil system, simply because it’s compact, rugged, easily cleaned and highly versatile, plus it works in all weathers from hot-as-hell to icy cold.
CLOTHING
You’ll obviously need some clothing to rock up at a big game otherwise you’ll probably get arrested for indecent exposure on the way. Aside from covering your shame, you’ll need a uniform to wear in-game. Depending on the rules stipulated by the organisers you might need to wear block colours or camouflage patterns to suit the team dress code. Beyond that, you’ll be wise to take a spare set of “combat” clothing just in case you rip or tear something, and also a set of casual clothes for wearing during downtime and travelling (including spare socks and undies!). Firstly, travelling home in sweaty, mucky camo is not that pleasant and you don’t really want to be looking like some sort of vigilante militia when you pull up at McDonalds for a well-earned Happy Meal!
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BOOTS
It seems like no issue goes by without some mention of footwear and that’s cool with us. Your boots are essential and without something solid connecting you to the ground, you are gonna have a bad time. Take a couple of pairs of shoes along to a big game. Firstly your boots to actually play in and also a second set. Nobody likes it when you stomp your filthy, stinky boots all over the interior of their car on the way home. Also, it’s worth noting that it’s not a great idea to break in your newly purchased boots at a weekend game. Make sure you know your boots fit and are comfortable because blisters are no fun.
SLEEPING
We all know at least one person that has decided to brave it without a sleeping bag, but they will only do it once. In all but the hottest weather you get damned cold when sleeping (like a good can of Coors Light). Without a sleeping bag you’ll wake up every 15 minutes shivering no matter how many layers of clothing you have so take one, whatever the conditions. Just trust us on this.
ROLL WITH IT
The ground is hard and uncomfortable and it also works like a heatsink, drawing warmth out of your body. Even a thin roll mat will make a world of difference and with self-inflating versions becoming cheaper and cheaper, they are compact, lightweight and there’s no excuse for not having one in your pack.
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Eye protection is as critical as ever but due to the changing conditions you will doubtlessly encounter due to the wonderful British weather, it’s wise to take a couple of sets. Clear or lightly tinted glasses will be better as the light drops. Our favourites are from Smith Optics or Wiley X. These companies both produce multi-lens sets which are ideal for the job. As always, it’s best to pack spares in the event of a breakage or failure.
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FIRST AID
Nobody goes to an event expecting to get hurt and all organisers SHOULD have a First Aid kit on hand in the case of an emergency. It’s always wise to pack some basics along with you with could help reduce something from a “game off” injury to merely an inconvenience. Bandages, plasters, antiseptic wipes and the like will generally suffice for and bumps and scrapes you might pick up along the way. We highly recommend ‘Lifesystems’ first aid products, availble in high-street stores like Millets etc.
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HYGENE
We don’t want to condescend and treat you guys like kids, but it’s easy enough to forget to pack a few things that will make the weekend a lot more enjoyable and pleasant for not only you but those around you. Essential in this area being a loo roll in a waterproof bag, some wet wipes (for a freshen up), toothpaste and a travel toothbrush. Throw in an extra loo roll too! To cover all your basic needs and get them stashed away neatly and securely in a tidy little grab-bag, we recommend the ‘Aftermath’ wash bag from Maxpedition.
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Just like a sleeping bag, it’s not advisable to head out without a tent if at all possible. Even in the best of weather the temperature drops sharply at night and without shelter it’s unbearable. Lots of weekenders will allow you to bunk down in building but the majority of these tend to be bare, concrete structures than can be tough to make habitable. A good tent will make things a lot more enjoyable. It’s tempting to go the whole nine yards and get some sort of canvas behemoth but remember you do have to take it down again at the end of the event so something nicely manageable is advisable. Make sure you are up to speed when it comes to putting the tent up and taking it down to… Have a practice run in the garden before show time!
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T HE A ME R I C A N S NIP E R
A S G ’ S
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ASG M40A3 THE M40 HAS A LONG AND ILLUSTRIOUS SERVICE IN THE HANDS OF THE MEN THAT MAKE UP THE US MARINE CORPS WITH IT’S ORIGINS IN SERVICE DURING THE VIETNAM WAR. THE PULL OF THE BOLT ACTION SNIPER RIFLE IS STRONG ALREADY BUT WHEN SOMETHING THAT’S THIS BEAUTIFUL COMES ALONG, IT’S NIGH ON IRRESISTIBLE! BELIEVE US WHEN WE SAY THE PLEASURE WAS ALL OURS IN PUTTING THIS REVIEW TOGETHER... LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE GET ACQUAINTED WITH THE ASG M40A3, MANUFACTURED BY VFC. Since the Vietnam War, there has been a weapon in the USMC armoury designated the M40. Not to be confused with the US Army’s M24 (a long action Remington 700), the M40 is a Remington 700 Short Action that is traditionally bedded into a McMillan stock. In the case of the original M40A1, this stock was made from wood but later revision saw the M40 utilise a synthetic version to avoid warping in combat conditions. Although the M40 lineage has now progressed to the A7 variant, what we have here is an example of the A3 although visual differences in terms of an airsoft replica are very slight between this and the A5. Things actually get a little hazy when it comes to categorising this replica as the rifle in it’s “out of the box” state most resembles the A3 but with numerous accessories provided by ASG, it could be argued that it was almost an A5. We’ll look into the parts in more detail after we have had a good look at the gun.
ASG’S M40A3
VFC have recently begun manufacturing 2 different variants of the M40. We’ve been lucky enough to get some hands-on time with both over recent months. One is gas-powered and the one we have reviewed here is spring-powered. We opted to review the spring variant as experience tells us that although it might have a heavier, harder to cycle bolt-action, the general consistency and practicality may well be considerably higher. One of the great allures of the spring-powered rifle is the simplicity and the purity; no batteries, no gas, no fuss and no hassle. Just cock and fire every time. Interestingly, ASG appear to have picked up the licensing deal on the spring A3 variant only, so we can only assume that the gas A5 (complete with muzzle break and RIS unit as standard) is
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not officially licensed, perhaps based on the fact it is made as a limited edition only. From here it’s tough to tell exactly what’s going on. We are also aware that price is indeed a factor and at £313 at Redwolf Airsoft UK, the spring gun comes in at over £100 less than the gas one. Most of that cost could be attributed to the small extras you get included with the gas A5, including scope mounts and a RIS adaptor unit. These parts, as we have demonstrated here, are available separately though.
EXTERNALS
With that area of potential confusion out of the way, let’s concentrate on the gun in hand and take in a few of the finer details. The stock is the first part of the gun that you take in. it’s an
AS WELL AS THIS REVIEW OF THE ASG M40A3, MADE BY VFC, HERE, WE WILL BE GIVING THE GUN A LITTLE MORE PAGE SPACE IN NEXT MONTH’S “AMERICAN SNIPER” THEMED PHOTOSHOOT AND LOAD OUT GUIDE. WE’LL BE LOOKING AT NOT ONLY GETTING THE LOOK, BUT BUILDING A USEABLE LOAD OUT FOR SNIPING IN URBAN SITUATIONS
OD finished replica of the McMillan bench-style stocks used on the M40A3 and it is beautifully rendered. The colour finish is smooth and flat with minimal reflectivity. There are mould lines around the seam in the centre of the stock but after checking out the real deal, these are actually MORE pronounced on the genuine article! The forward portion of the stock is characterised by its square profile giving the otherwise thin, sleek barrel a blockier, chunkier profile. The grip built in to the stock is chunky and very, very steep compared to what you might be used to on an assault rifle. These precision guns are not intended to be wielded in the same manner as your average M4. Behind the grip, the butt of the stock is cut away into a thumb hook to allow for a stable
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M A N U F A C T U R E D but compact firing position that allows proper trigger control (minimal, light pressure to prevent “snatching”). The stock, as per the real M40A3, features an adjustable height cheek piece to allow you to achieve an exactly tailored cheek weld. The piece is made from a rubber coated plastic and allows you to get in position on the gun without any slippage. The height and angle can be adjusted freely with the two thumb-knobs on the right hand side of the gun and depending on your preference, these can be switched from the left to the right hand side of the stock. The length of pull of the stock is adjustable via stacked polymer spacers that can be added or removed to tune the weapon to your preference and to achieve optimal natural eye relief on the scope you are using. As standard 2x 1/4” and 2x 1/2” spaces are included. The rear of the stock is finished off with an over-moulded rubber pad featuring a grip texture and embossed with the McMillan logo, a neat little mark of authenticity. Around the grip area and on both sides of the fore-arm of the stock you’ll find an aggressive “concrete” texture to provide grip in adverse conditions. Aside from the stock, there’s not a massive amount to deal with left. The actual barrel and receiver are not drastically different from the glut of Tokyo Marui VSR-type rifles out there. The finish here though is far more detailed with
a smooth, satin black on the metalwork. The parts don’t appear to be machined but rather cast or extruded but they are definitely made from a harder, higher quality than you’d find on a Marui gun. At 24” long, the barrel is hardly CQB friendly, in fact it lends some considerable weight to the gun adding to the level of realism. Along the barrel some highly realistic engravings can be found that match up to the data we could find about the technical details of the real M40A3 barrel’s technical spec. The receiver keeps pace with similarly replicated forge markings and serial numbers, a metal RIS mount is firmly bolted above the breach opening allowing for plenty of space to mount a scope of your choice.
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Beneath the receiver, the trigger unit of the gun is mounted on the underside of the stock. Made from metal, the looped trigger guard and lower plate are fixed to the receiver. There’s a small catch that protrudes inside the trigger guard that allows you to drop the small plastic magazine free. Of all the parts on the M40A3, the cover that flaps open to give you access to the magazine feels perhaps the most vulnerable to breakage. This component is made from metal, intuition just tells us it’s in a great place to get caught and damaged at some point. Overall though, the gun seems robust and durable and certainly has more about it than most spring powered sniper rifles, without being too over the top…
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T HE A MERIC A N SNIPER INTERNALS
Internally the M40A3 uses a modified version of the VSR10 system that Marui designed. Some parts of the gun differ significantly but the trigger unit and sears seem to be an almost exact replication. This is generally the area that is most prone to wear in use since the sears must hold the piston back under the spring tension. What you get fires at around 430FPS though, significantly higher than TM guns, so the sears could be considered “pre-upgraded”. The trigger is a simple 45 degree sear and we expect this could be upgraded to the 90 degree trigger upgrade that ASG made available around the time they bought out the ASW .338LM. The Barrel appears to be consistent with the VSR design, so could easily be upgraded to any one of the tighter bore aftermarket ones that are already available. The hop rubber itself appears consistent with this format too, however the hop unit itself uses and entirely different design that allows adjustment via and externally accessible wheel on the underside of the stock. This design is nothing short of genius and allows you to make fine tuned adjustments between shots to really dial in your zero. You could do this with the VSR design but the M40 adjuster is far more positive and has clicked increments so allows for a more precise adjustment without even needing to look at the dial. The cylinder itself is a black chrome material that not only looks great but also feels very smooth to work. Even though the gun is pushing out BBs at well over 400FPS, the action is remarkably light. Because of the position of the magazine, the nozzle of the cylinder has a groove in it to accommodate a loading fin that rakes the BB along a track in a similar method to the Tokyo Marui L96 and the aforementioned Ashbury ASW .338LM. The system isn’t particularly forgiving of inferior ammunition and it’s certainly not the mechanical arrangement to be operating using brute force, so if something does feel smooth and precise, definitely do not try and force it otherwise something will definitely give out. In testing we used some BB King .36 ammo and found it to be utterly awful in terms of feeding in this gun, however several other brands ran through with no issues at all.
A S G ’ S M 4 0 A 3 R IF L E
PERFORMANCE
As mentioned, the ASG M40A3 is running at around 430FPS on a .20g BB. At this level the action is light and easy to work. Realistically you could get a shot off every 2-3 seconds without too much trouble but ideally, you want to be hitting your quarry first time around. We’ve long believed the slower, more methodical loading process of a spring-powered, bolt-action gun results in a more accurate and consistent shot based on the steadier positioning of the BB within the hop chamber. The M40A3 capitalises on this by packing inner barrel stabilisers as standard making shot-to-shot placement more consistent. At 77m, we tested the M40 with a variety of ammo. As mentioned the BB King .36g ammo we tested failed to feed. Marui Perfect Hit .28 g ammo worked flawlessly and gave consistent hits on a NATO Figure 11 target (1114mm x 432mm) without the influence of wind but predictably, the premium choice that is Maruzen SGM .29g ammo gave the outright most consistent results. Bear in mind, that this is a stock, out of the box gun. This leads us to think that perhaps the best upgrade you can buy for this thing, Pound for Pound, is quality ammo. We don’t feel particularly compelled to upgrade the M40A3 to the common bolt action weapon limit of 500FPS but curiosity may well get the better of us before long because this shooter certainly seems to have the potential!
ASG M40A3
VITAL STATS
■ WEIGHT: 3,000g ■ VELOCITY: 430fps ■ HOP UP TYPE: Adjustable ■ LENGTH: 380mm ■ BARREL LENGTH 470mm ■ MAG CAPACITY 20 rounds ■ PRICE: £313 (accessories sold separately)
ADDITIONAL EXTRAS
It’s the little extras that really make a gun stand out from the crowd and with a few small enhancements on the M40A3, you can give it an A5 makeover and really push it up head and shoulders above the rest.
RAIL
One of the most eye-catching things about the new M40 is the rail system fitted forward of the optics. This makes a great mounting point for a laser designator, flashlight or even clip-on NVG systems. The rail fits a special blanked cut-out in the stock and firmly clamps into place with no permanent modifications.
BIPOD
This is a purpose built bipod, designed especially for the McMillan M40A3 airsoft sniper rifle. With this bipod you get a more stable shooting platform. The legs are adjustable and lock in position giving the option to adapt to any shooting position. The feet of the bipod have a grip pattern on the bottom for optimal traction. Mounting and adjustments are easy, ideal for fast changing conditions.
MOUNT RINGS
Set of 2 low-profile mounting rings for the McMillan M40A3 airsoft sniper rifle, CNC machined mounting rings for scope or red dot. Features CNC Machined Aluminium construction, 30mm Inner diameter, 22.5mm centreline height and a 20mm RIS.
SCOPE
The Strike Systems 50mm objective scope fits the bill perfectly with proportions to match the rest of the gun. The sight picture remains clear and bright throughout the 3.5-10x zoom range, allowing you to observe and fire upon your anything that falls within the illuminated Mil-Dot reticule.
BOLT ACTION RIFLES AREN’T FOR EVERYONE AND PRESENT A MUCH BIGGER CHALLENGE THAN A FULL AUTO OR EVEN SEMI AUTO RIFLE. WHEN YOUR HARD WORK PAYS OFF THOUGH IT’LL BE ALL THE SWEETER WITH THIS M40 IN YOUR HANDS! 050
SILENCER ADAPTOR
Adapt the standard muzzle cap of your M40A3 to take accept a 14mm CCW threaded muzzle device or silencer with this simple threaded cap. Great for muffling the sound of your rifle and enhancing the aesthetics along the lines of the M40A5.
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CYAN, MAGENTA, YELLOW, BLACK
AIRSOFT IN June 2015 vol 11 iss 1
COMBAT PATROL UNIFORM®
EUROPEAN PATENT No. 001832254-0001 U.S. PATENT No. US D696,487 S Main bottom apparel from Urban Tactical Line®. Keeping the impression of casual pants, the UTP® provide load bearing capabilities and comfort typical for strictly utilitarian constructions. Designed for Law Enforcement operators, Urban Tactical Pants® enable carrying all essential equipment around hips and thighs line. Low-profile pocket setup keeps the EDC gear and ammo close to body’s center of gravity, which, combined with stretchable fabric, leads to fluent and quick tactical movements. Furthermore, all these solutions give the outcome of clear and useful product for concealed carry tasks. UTP® are available in two raw material options, for hot and moderate climate as well.
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SPS FALCON CO2 ONE DAY WE MIGHT RUN OUT OF M4 VARIANTS, GLOCK DERIVATIVES AND 1911 BASED PISTOLS TO REVIEW, BUT TODAY IS NOT THAT DAY. HERE WE HAVE THE RWA S.P.S. FALCON FOLLOWING HOT ON THE HEELS OF THE PRESTIGIOUS RWA NIGHTHAWK GRP CUSTOM. THIS PISTOL THOUGH, INSTEAD OF TAKING A PERCH AT THE TOP OF THE ELITE PISTOL TREE, IS A MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE OFFERING FROM THE SAME MANUFACTURER. HERE WE TAKE A LOOK AT THIS CO2, ALL METAL 1911 REPLICA TO SEE IF THE FAMILY HERITAGE TRICKLES DOWN THE RANGE. The RWA S.P.S. Falcon is a replica of the real-world Falcon 1911 from SPS, a Spanish manufacturer that specialises in competition pistols. The Falcon is a single stack 1911 weapon designed for use in the production classes of IPSC shooting. These are race guns that must be kept as per their factory configuration as opposed to the “open” class guns you might be more familiar with, those are the ones with the sights, cocking handles and additional extras. The Falcon is quite the opposite, being a simple, sleek and uncomplicated shooter. Browsing the SPS website we can find the Falcon as part of their range in a number of variants. The one that most closely matches up to the replica here
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is the Falcon 5” but immediately we notice that there’s a slight external difference. The real steel Falcon 5” only seems to be available in a non-railed frame whereas this replica comes with a railed lower to allow for the fitment of a light or laser. If you are looking for outright accuracy in reproduction this might be considered a bad thing but honestly, you are actually getting a better set of features with the replica. Considering this pistol is as likely to be used as a skirmish pistol as it is to be used as a competition gun, the ability to fit extras is equally likely to be viewed as a bonus. Other than this slight digression, the rest of the pistol is impressively close to the real thing with the same trigger details, the same latticed hammer, the same grips and the same serrations on the slide that actually do assist in
the cocking of the weapon since there’s quite a heavy recoil spring fitted inside. The RWA S.P.S. has a hefty feel and a solid weight in the hand thanks to its full metal construction. it’s not made from nearly 100% steel like the Nighthawk GRP is, but then you have to consider that this gun is on 1/10th the price! Everything the hand makes contact with is made from cold, hard metal with the exception of the diamond chequered polymer grip panels. It has the unmistakable feel of a modern 1911, for better or worse, which is obviously based on your own preferences. Personally the 1911 format, although rather intuitive, is not my
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preferred set-up although you can deny it works. The full beaver tail at the top of the backstop prevents the hand from riding too high but I find, thanks to the shape of my hands, this inhibits my ability to comfortably get a good, high grip on the gun. The grip safety in this instance is lightly sprung and with a definite, positive action, not the mushy sponginess some other replicas suffer with. The ambidextrous thumb safety, only operable when the hammer is retracted, has a positive feeling too with a distinct click between fire and safe modes. Possibly my least favourite functional component of the while 1911 platform is the slide release catch which I find positioned uncomfortably far forward to operate. Thanks to the heavy recoil spring in this model there’s a good deal of tension on the catch meaning it can be difficult to operate. I don’t tend to rack the slide based on habit so this does slow the reload process down somewhat for me. Speaking of reloads, there’s the magazine catch on the left hand side of the gun, well placed to allow access for right handed users. Unlike the Nighthawk GRP the magazines are not supplied to only drop out half way and will indeed full fully clear of the mag well when the release is depressed so do watch out for hard surfaces and be sure your mags don’t take a hit! The trigger inside the rounded 1911 trigger guard has a curved face in the traditional style. The pull is a little heavy but it is smooth and consistent which is definitely more desirable than having a hyper-sensitive but jittery pull. The traditional 1911 trigger guard isn’t the roomiest and with thicker gloves on there
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certainly isn’t much space for your digit. This design has prevailed for long enough now though, so it seems unjust to complain about it at this point! On top of the slide, there are simple combat-style sights that are unfortunately non-adjustable. The rear sight is a notch marked with two pure white dots and the bladed post at the front is marked with a single white dot. These are easy enough to acquire under normal conditions and lend themselves to rapid shooting in all but the lowest of light. With them being non-adjustable though, you’ll have to rely on hold-overs and judgment at range. Finally the finish of the gun is a simple, painted black all over, apart from the outer barrel and muzzle cap which we will return to. This black looks smart altho not hugely realistic. It seems durable enough at present but only time will tell how it fairs after extended use. Experience tells us that it might be prone to wear. The marking on the gun are smart, white etchings with the S.P.S. and Falcon logos on the slide. The lower carries marking pertaining to manufacturer under and S.P.S. license and also a small RWA logo and a 6mm BB caliber marking. There’s also a Made In Taiwan notice. it’s easy to be critical of these details when you are counting stitches and have your realism fanatic hat on.
INTERNALS
Striping down the S.P.S. is straight forward and uncomplicated, even for a gun of this design. You retract the slide to the designated point and
push the takedown pin through before removing the slide off the front of the frame. The pin removed without tools in this instance yet isn’t too loose. It strikes the perfect balance. Inside the lower, all the components are made from metal and are neatly assembled and adequately lubricated. The 1911 design hides away most of the components so there’s little on show to get gritty and dirty in use. Inside the slide there’s more to look at. The first components are the recoil spring guide rod and the recoil spring itself. As mentioned previously this has some tension to it giving the gun a snappy feel. To counter the impact of the slide battering back and forth a sorbothane washer is used as a damper. Beneath the recoil spring assembly there’s the barrel set-up. This is made from chromed metal and makes for a smooth operating system. It also gives the gun a distinctive and striking appearance. There’s a secondary spring mounted over the outer barrel that helps to stabilise the part and prevent rattle. Just like the Nighthawk GRP, this spring CAN be removed without negatively affecting performance but the whole gun feels tighter and more solid with it in place. The outer barrel is a one-piece component and runs smoothly inside the slide. The hop unit itself fits inside this and can be adjusted via a small wheel. It’s a slightly different design to the Marui hop unit but gives a reasonable range of adjustment. From the factory the Hop rubber looks like it could be seated a little better on the barrel and in the hop unit itself as it’s slight squeezed and the nub does not sit centrally in the barrel.
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F A L C O N
SPS FALCON CO2 The blowback unit is a polycarbonate design which is pretty standard in almost all 1911 pistols and gas pistols full stop and gives us no room to criticise. It’s well finished and tough enough for CO2 use and it moves forward and backward smoothly. Inside the fluted valve is compatible with KWA NPAS system so the output of the gun can be adjusted with the addition of one of these simple components. Overall, the internals of this gun compliment the externals nicely and there’s nothing that calls out to us as needing attention apart from perhaps reseating the hop rubber.
PERFORMANCE
As a CO2 powered gun, the RWA S.P.S. Falcon has a predictably snappy cycle and plenty of bark making it very satisfying to use. One CO2 cartridge will give you about 3 magazine full of BBs, maybe a little less
in colder conditions. In terms of accuracy, as with any pistol this is largely dependent on the shooter but here, there’s plenty of hop to lift a .30g BB out to beyond 50m with a torso-sized grouping. Unfortunately as standard we were finding chrono readings coming up at between 360-370FPS but as mentioned, an inexpensive NPAS valve will have this issue easily resolved and the gun will be skirmish ready. At just over £110 and with additional magazines coming in at around £27, this is a great value pistol that will be a formidable and reliable sidearm. If you want a modern looking, metal 1911 and you want to be free of the concerns of using a green gas powered single stack magazine system, this looks to be one of the best value offerings out there. We have perhaps unfairly drawn quite a few comparisons with the RWA Nighthawk GRP, a gun that costs 10x a much as this one but when it comes down to it, this S.P.S. replica holds its head up with pride when it comes to shot-for-shot performance.
SPS WAS FOUNDED AS ARMS MANUFACTURERS IN 1996. AFTER 15 YEARS IN THE MARKET OF HIGH COMPETITION PISTOLS, CONTINUING WITH THE EFFORT TO IMPROVE, THEY INTRODUCED THEIR NEW RANGE OF PISTOLS WITH ATTRACTIVE DESIGN, COMBINING THE BEST HARD CHROME IN BLACK AND SILVER TREATMENT, AS WELL AS CUSTOMISED FITTING. THEY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES OF OUR CNC MACHINES ENABLING THEM TO MAKE VERY HIGH QUALITY FRAMES, SLIDES, BARRELS, AND OTHER SPARE PARTS.
SPS FALCON VITAL STATS
■ PRICE: £116 ■ WEIGHT: 900g ■ LENGTH: 220mm ■ HOP: Adjustable ■ MAG: 17 rounds ■ FPS: 370fps
EXTRAS
No extras included, just great value!
THE GOOD STUFF
Excellent value and great performance.
THE NOT-SO-GOOD STUFF
Not the most accurate licensed replica.
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TAL K ALL
G&G UNDER OUR SPOTLIGHT
THE CM-16 SRS - TH
CM-16 SRS
G& G : A L L TA L K ! AH, G&G, A WONDERFUL BUNCH OF INNOVATIVE, FORWARD-LOOKING AND FRUSTRATING GEAR MAKERS. THE FIRST TWO ARE SELF-EXPLANATORY, THE FRUSTRATION COMES FROM THE FACT THAT FOR EVERY FEW STEPS FORWARD THEY TAKE, G&G WILL DO SOMETHING TO MAKE YOU LOOK AT THEM AND SAY “REALLY?!”. THE GSS FOR INSTANCE, WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT? IT FOLLOWS THAT SOMETHING NEW FROM G&G COULD BE AN EITHER/OR PROPOSITION AND I MUST CONFESS THAT OF LATE I HAVE BECOME SLIGHTLY MORE CYNICAL THAN IS POSSIBLY NECESSARY ABOUT THEM
Which brings us to the CM-16 SRS. The CM tells you that this is a Combat Machine, so the lower end of the G&G range – no blowback, aluminium inner barrel and a preponderance of plastic. One big positive is that wherever else G&G may have gone wrong, the Combat Machine range has generally punched well above it's weight. If you ask around on any skirmish site you will find loads of players who have one of these tucked away, either to lend to new players or because it refuses to fail and is their ultimate get-out-of-jail card when everything else decides to take a week off. Expectation is therefore high, but tempered with the lurking feeling that G&G may have had a brainstorm during the design process. Initial impressions are fortunately good – the usual expanded plastic packaging and accessories, specifically one high capacity magazine. The rifle itself has clearly been spending a lot of
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time gazing at the Mega Arms catalogue, I mean a lot of time... The receiver is made from the now-familiar dense nylon fibre material that G&G have been using for a few years and of which I am personally a big fan. I know some of you really, really like your all-metal guns, I've just never been that bothered and in the real world manufacturers are desperately trying to move into the use of polymers for as many components as possible and reducing recoil as much as possible – the complete opposite of airsoft manufacturers. I could therefore argue that G&G are much more in step with the real world than many of us, but hey, it's horse for courses. I like polymer because it makes for quieter guns being less resonant and it's lighter. Not only that but because it's flexible it has more give before it breaks – the alloys used in airsoft
are generally quite brittle. In the case of the SRS the entire receiver, lower and upper, are moulded from a dense, black polymer and is if anything over-moulded due to the design. My normal rule of thumb test, squeezing the mag well, resulted in no movement whatsoever, this is very solid indeed. This isn't just down to the material but to the design of the lower. The lower edge of the magazine well is easily twice as think as the rest of the receiver which obviously contributes to it's solidity but it's worth also noting that there is very little movement in the receiver whatsoever. The short keymod rail is fixed to the receiver using three allen-headed bolts, it lines up perfectly with the upper and is rock-solid. Both the lower and upper receivers are pretty straight copies of the Mega Arms design philosophy, with a number of distinctive differences to avoid expensive legal action. The markings are all G&G and the grooves on the upper receiver are both more numerous and forward-sloping rather than the vertical ones found on the original. The SRS also has an ambidextrous magazine release, which isn't a feature of it's inspiration. The fire selector is mounted on the left hand side only but has a nice positive action, the reasons for which will become clear shortly. The short rail is nicely cast from alloy, and through the keymod holes you can see the one-piece outer barrel and the low profile gas block and tube. The flash hider is made from the same material as the receiver and is styled after the SCAR flash hider with a coarse threaded screw for a quick release suppressor. Although there is plenty of rail space to attach optics, there is a set of perfectly useful
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- THE CM-16 SRS - THE CM-16 SRS - THE CM-16 SRS
flip-up iron sights supplied. They're adjustable for elevation and windage and work perfectly well. Obviously if you want to attach lights or lasers you are going to have to source keymod compatible versions or get hold of a converter for your existing railed accessories. The stock tube is the usual one-piece alloy affair found on the CM range but the stock itself is a really nice bit of design. With the air of a slimmed-down SOPMOD stock, it incorporates the neat AA-sized battery-storage tube of earlier G&G designs and a new, hinged but pad which swings out of the way without the use of tools to permit the fitting of the main batteries. This is genuinely nice and G&G get full marks for this – it's practical and comfortable. Batteries need to be inserted into either (or both) sides of the stock as the tube itself is rather full, and this brings us to the biggest change to be found in the SR. The gearbox is is largely standard G&G Combat Machine fare – radiused edges, alloy cylinder, steel gears, no blowback but the traditional switch gear is gone, replaced by a micro-switch allied to a MosFet unit housed outside the gearbox. It looks very like an earlier version of the ASCU, although the fire options aren't as extensive. I haven't been a fan of G&Gs forays into MosFets, the first series
were prone to burning out and frankly caused much more trouble than they were worth. This rifle incorporates the newer version of the unit issued by G&G to address the earlier issues and is easily programmed between full-auto and three round burst modes. The trigger pull is pretty standard, but it will be relatively easy now to shim the trigger to reduce the pull. Response from this new setup is predictably, err, predictable. Cut off is controlled by the new switch unit although there is nothing to suggest that the setup incorporates active braking. There shouldn't be any issues with 11.1v lipo batteries as the MosFet will take care of that and I had no issues with motor over-spin during testing, something that some G&Gs are prone to with higher-voltage battery packs. I have to be wary of getting too excited about this – it is just a better way of doing the simple task of making the gun work, but it is worthy of note. Providing that the MosFet proves to reliable I have to applaud this as a useful step forward. The original AEG switch design is adequate but has been long overdue an overhaul. The only downside is the presence of the circuit board in the stock tube which makes it harder to put even a slim lipo in there. It can be done, it's just not as easy as it was. Performance is as predictable as the trigger pull, this is a Combat Machine after all. Punching out 349 fps with 0.2g ammo over my chrono, that combined with the green G&G hop
The CM-16 SRS is a worthy successor to earlier Combat Machines, offering out of the box performance at a very affordable price. It has an RRP of £185.00 but is available from Landwarrior Airsoft currently for £172.99.
rubber and a plastic hop unit delivers excellent performance. You could obviously upgrade this rifle, but I'm not sure that I would bother. Reaching targets in excess of 60 metres with 0.25g ammo is not a problem and consistency is everything I would expect from that hop rubber/ hop unit combination. G&G got this part of the Combat Machine equation right from the start and I'm pleased to see that they haven't messed around with this winning equation.
At £172 from Landwarrior Airsoft the CM-16 SRS is a bargain in anyone's book. Add to that a couple of batteries and some ammo and you really are good to go. The original Combat Machine M4A1 is looking a bit old school now and even the Raider variants aren't exactly up to date. The SRS brings the look of the rifle right up to the present while still retaining the fundamental attractions of the range – great prices and reliability allied to solid performance. Providing that the new switch and MosFet stand the test of time, and the initial indicators are that they will, the CM-16 SRS deserves to be an out-and-out winner and I'd expect to see them on skirmish sites in the near future.
FE AT URES/ SPECS
Material: Stainless/Aluminium/Steel/ Zinc/Plastic/Nylon/Fibre. Overall length: 750 mm. Weight: 2255g. Gearbox: bearing 8mm oil-less. Motor: 18000rpm Hi-torque Long axis. Inner Barrel Length: 205mm. Magazine: 300 Rounds. FPS: 350 with 0.2g ammo.
Our thanks to Landwarrior Airsoft for the loan of the review model.
J O I N T H E D E B AT E W I T H 4 7 0 K O T H E R S O N O U R FA C E B O O K PA G E : FA C E B O O K . C O M /A I R S O F T I N T
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STAFF SHOOTERS INSIDE THE AI ARMOURY
Ai STAFF S R E T O O H SCHARITY CASE - CLASSIC ARMY M249 I LOVE A BIT OF A WHEEL AND DEAL, WHO DOESN’T? RECENTLY A FRIEND OF MINE POSTED A FEW ITEMS FOR SALE ON HIS FACEBOOK PAGE AND ONE OF THEM CAUGHT MY EYE, WE STRUCK UP A BARGAIN AND A FEW DAYS LATER A DELIVERY DRIVER KNOCKED ON MY DOOR BEARING A LARGE BOX WITHIN WHICH A CLASSIC ARMY M249 RESIDED. I WAS INFORMED ABOUT THE FEW QUIRKS THAT THE GUN HAD WELL AHEAD OF TIME, IN THIS INSTANCE A FEW BITS MISSING HERE AND THERE AND SOME NOT-QUITE-SO-SOLID EXTERNALS. HEY, I LIKE A CHALLENGE AND THE CA M249 GEARBOX DESIGN IS AN ABSOLUTE BRICK OF METAL, SO THERE’S AT LEAST SOME POTENTIAL INSIDE THE GUN. Unfortunately what we do have is missing sights, a broken trigger housing lug and a missing carry handle. Sights should be no problem to source, the carry handle is available as a spare in a few spots but the trigger housing lug… Now that’s going to be a bit of a challenge to source. We’ll have to get on the phone and see if anyone is breaking a CA or A&K 249 down for spares and hope we get lucky. Failing that, it’s not a massively complex shape so it might be possible to get it measured up and a new one fabricated. So, what makes the CA M249 worth the effort? Well, as mentioned previously, it’s got a great gearbox inside that body. It is literally a block of cast metal with some simple parts whirring away inside. It uses a simple Microswitch trigger and it only has a full-auto setting, so there’s very few parts to break or go wrong. This, in my mind, makes the CA M249 preferable to the G&P offering which is powered by a basic V2 gearbox which inevitably just blows itself apart after a few thousand rounds. Another cool feature of the CA gun is the ability to run it from a box magazines or
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alternatively, you can just plug a regular M4 magazine in the side of the receiver to feed ammo. That’s a feature carried over from the real weapon and originates from the weapons design as a squad automatic weapon. A bit of support gunning is always fun to do. It’s been a while since I’ve had a support gun running reliably enough to use with any regularity but hopefully we’ll get this up and running by the end of the year. If all it all falls through and I struggle to get it back in action it’s no biggie, I’ve actually got a half formed idea in my head for a completely custom gun that the internals from this 249 could be salvaged for. I’ll be sure to keep you up to date with any developments when it comes to either restoring this blaster or salvaging it and getting creative in the workshop. USER: BEN WEBB GUN: CLASSIC ARMY M249 PRICE: A STEAL! OWNERSHIP: ONE MONTH USAGE: FIXER-UPPER PROJECT
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TIRED OF FOGGING ISSUES AND SUBSTANDARD DESIGNS?
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■ EXCELLENT CHEEK WELD ■ REMOVABLE CHEEK PLATES WITH BUILT IN MAGNETS
■ MICRO FANS WITH FAN SPEED CONTROL,
■ FORWARD AND REVERSE SWITCH
KEVLAR VERSION
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PB
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THE PITCH BLACK NIGHT VISION FIELD MASTER OFFERS AN ASTOUNDING SPECIFICATION AND PERFORMANCE BUT WITHOUT A SKY-HIGH PRICE TAG!
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✹ 300 yard digital day & night vision unit. Providing better clarity and picture definition than any Gen2 equipment currently available. Hard focus range from 15 yards to infinity.
✹ Bespoke Sony sensor allowing for use in direct sunlight and total darkness. ✹ Hi-Resolution, full colour view screen with auto level horizon feature. ✹ 50mm lens offering both 5x magnification and wide angle viewing. ✹ Custom design reticule with one shot calibration. ✹ Quality lithium-Ion polymer power cell with circuit protection. ✹ Intelligent power management providing up to 12 hours run time from only 2 hours charge time. ✹ Removable Osram Olson Black T20 infra-red emitter with 3 power settings, focus feature, charger, remote switch and 2 sets of batteries.
✹ Removable 1000 Lumen visible spectrum flashlight with 3 power settings, focus feature, charger, remote switch and 2 sets of batteries.
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E YOU BUY - WE TRY BEFORE YOU BUY - WE TRY BEFORE YOU BUY WHAT’S NEW AND WHERE TO GET IT - WHAT’S NEW AND WHERE TO GET IT - WHAT’S NEW AND WHERE TO GET IT
HD R OIPG- DHO W N GP RRC - 1O5 2UP ONU CDH
THIS MONTH WE HAVE ALL KINDS OF TOOLS AND GOODIES ON SHOW IN GEAR ZONE, MOSTLY SUPPLIED VIA SOCOM TACTICAL BUT THERE ARE A COUPLE OF TREATS IN THE MIX FROM THE LIKES OF FERRO CONCEPTS. AS WELL AS COOL-GUY GEAR WITH ALSO FOCUSSED ON SOME PRACTICAL TOOLS AND UTILITY ITEMS LIKE CHRONOS, STUFF A FEW ISSUES BACK,MAKE WE REVIEWED ‘TRI PRC-152’ THAT’S OFTEN OVERLOOKED BY WILL YOUR LIFE THE SO MUCH EASIER. RADIO AN THEN
IN THE FOLLOWING ISSUE; THE ‘TRI COMTAC III’ HEADSET, ALL AVAILABLE ONLINE, DIRECTLY FROM ‘TACTICAL GEAR TRADE’. SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM THERE? WELL, ANTENNAS, PTTS AND CABLE EXTENSIONS ASIDE, WE’RE FIRSTFALLS GOING TO NEED A POUCH TO KEEP OUR RADIO SAFE AND SECURE. WHEN DARKNESS
A quick online search presented us with a can go for and we have found many chest rigs plethora of options, but the one item that kept and plate carriers actually offer ready-to-go, rearing head the way ‘Drop-Down PRC-152 built-in pouches pockets, Tracerit’s BBs are was a great to track your rounds in the darkness of aand night game specifically design Pouch’ fromglow tactical gear giants;up High for these radios. ButIRif light. you’re after an external but their needs charging by Ground. a dedicated tracer unit that emits Unlike units othercan radio the the Drop-Down a desired location, These bepouches, fitted inside gun or often areoption fitted to in molle-mount the form of ain tracer PRC-152 Pouch that offers you a molle mounted PRC-152 from High Ground unit silencer contains the LEDs required insidethe theDrop-Down tube, batteries platform is designed be opened is THE Daddy of radio pouches and you’d be and all. that These two ArmytoForce optionsand cater for quick closed with only one cantraditional keep hard-pressed to find anything as well made and detach systems andhand alsoso theyou more one handon onsolution. your weapon all times, as solid as this. thread With at either one whilst accessing yourbe radio buttons, and fitted, you’ll ablescreen, to High Ground proudly boast this as track your rounds directbattery. to the target. This also “head eyesto on the enemy” philosophy. FE AT URES/ SPECS works both ways and thetheir target will up, be able track the rounds directly back to you cleverly but when it Single-Hand Secured: The pouch provides an zip looks as cool as it does, nobody cares! openingreally located at the underside, so you can One hand on your gun. change batteries on the go without having Zippered Battery Access: PRICE: FROM £49.99 to disconnect from PTTs, antennas and Cables/antennas stay on From: SOCOM TACTICAL head-sets etc. Also, by routing your cables while you change battery. through the cable retention points on each Smart Cable Retention: side of the pouch, this prevents your radio Cables never impede from getting hung up on cables every time drop-down access. you want to view the screen. Port Access: Side ports for Silynx connectors. This is a really solid, high performance and quite frankly; massively over-engineered piece Weight: 0.34 LBs. ofCertain gear, but allwhen this attention to detail and Materials: jobs assembling, disassembling or maintaining your airsoft guns500D. can be a real pain high-end materials comeshave at athe price. At £47.50 Colours: ACU, in the butt if you don’t specifi c tools for the job. You’ll find they takeMulticam, FAR longer and (plus this is a realthe treat load parts or injuring yourself Coyote Tan, CoyotetoBrown, youpostage) drastically increase riskfor of your damaging if you attempt bodge out and comms gear! As earlier, Green. something together. If we youmentioned find yourself frequently working on your ranger guns, why not ditch the hackthere are otherand options there like thatayou job methods startout working pro? A simple armourer’s wrench will allow you to keep the critical locking rings and barrel nuts on most M4s nipped up good and tight and thinks like motor pinion presses will allow you to fully strip, salvage and repair AEG motors. Good tools are worth investing in because before long, you will find them paying for themselves.
ARMY FORCE TRACER/SILENCERS
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
PRICE: FROM £14.99
From: SOCOM TACTICAL
PACK-A-PUNCH
ARMY FORCE CO2 CHARGER
Need your gun to pack an extra punch? Don’t let the colder winter months sap your enjoyment of gas blowback with this 12g CO2 bulb adaptor. It’s made from reinforced metal with a bleeder valve for safety and can withstand high pressures over a massive temperature range. Simply screw the CO2 bulb into the charger and then fill your gas magazines directly with it, it’s been engineered specifically NOT to leak for long periods and is much more compact and easy to carry than a larger green gas can at just over 16cm long. You’ll have to make sure your weapon can withstand the higher pressures exerted and it goes without saying you should check the peak FPS on a chrono before skirmishing.
PRICE: £23.99
From: SOCOM TACTICAL
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WEAPON MAINTENANCE TOOLS
PRICE: £47.50 (PLUS POSTAGE) FROM: WWW.TACTICAL-KIT.CO.UK W W W . T A C Twww.ai-mag.com I C A L - K I T . C O . UAI K 039 063
11/09/2013 15:09 27/07/2015 11:09
TRIED & TESTED WE TRY BEFORE YOU BUY
TRIED AND TESTED FERRO CONCEPTS THE DANGLER! WE’VE HAD OUR EYE ON THE IDEA OF A DROP POUCH THAT HANGS (OR DANGLES) FROM YOUR PLATE CARRIER, EVER SINCE FERRO CONCEPTS ADDED A PHOTO IN THEIR ‘CUSTOM WORK’ GALLERY ON THEIR WEBSITE A FEW YEARS BACK. WELL, NOW THE WAIT IS OVER! FERRO CONCEPTS HAVE PROUDLY ADDED THE APTLY NAMED ‘DANGLER’ TO THEIR RANGE AND IS NOW AVAILABLE TO BUY HERE IN THE UK AT HUEYS.CO.UK - WE COULDN’T BE HAPPIER!
In the past we’ve tried and tested the ‘Ab Panel’ from TYR and we’ve all agreed it looks the absolute business when attached to the bottom of your plate carrier, but in use, we’ve found it to be a bit impractical, unless you want to carry exposed chem’ lights or det-charges/pryo on your paunch? And that’s the problem with the TYR Ab Panel, it doesn’t really hold anything you need safely. In the real world the Ab Panel justifies its existence, as they can be ordered with soft armour to shield your gut, but in the skirmish field we are ideally after something with a bit more stash value… Step forth The Dangler; a painfully simple drop pouch designed to perform as a tactical ‘fanny pack’ to hang (or dangle) from your plate carrier. In essence Ferro have created a lightweight, durable and flexible tool/admin
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organiser to ensure you always have what you need, within easy reach for the job at hand. The inside of the Dangler offers a mix of 1.5” elastic and 3” loop lining to keep your tools, pens and admin secure, with enough general purpose space for a large bag of BBs or anything else you may need fast access to. The front of the pouch also provides a 4”x4” loop for callsign patches or if you still insist on having those tactical items exposed; attaching a chem’ light holder. The Dangler can be mounted either under the front flap and cummerbund or inserted into your plate pocket on most carriers. It’s compatible with virtually any armour carrier that has loop Velcro on the front. We would advise checking your carrier prior to ordering for the correct Velcro layout, but in all honesty we’ve not found a plate carrier that doesn’t happily accept the
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Dangler. Dimensions: 8.5” x 6” x 2”. Necessity is the mother of invention, and this is certainly the case here. It’s clear from operators like the SEALs and units like DELTA who needed a way to extend their chest rigs to provide that bit of extra storage space without with sacrificing vital, operational equipment. And by hanging modded general purpose pouches by a bit of paracord, this was achieved and is still a proven and effective way to expand load bearing capabilities. Ferro Concepts have cleverly spotted this demand and by including it to their line have provided the user with a great little package that increases your load bearing effectiveness and inspires other brands to innovate and push products in the right direction.
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PRICE: £39.99 FROM: WWW.HUEYS.CO.UK
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TRIED & TESTED WE TRY BEFORE YOU BUY - WE TRY BEFORE YOU
TRIED AND TESTED RUNNING WITH RIFLES REVIEW! “THAT’S NOT AN AIRSOFT THING!” WE HEAR YOU CRY… WELL NO, IT’S NOT DIRECTLY BUT WE’LL BE DAMNED IF THIS AWESOME LITTLE GAME DOESN’T APPEAL TO YOU. RUNNING WITH RIFLES, AVAILABLE VIA STEAM ON MAC AND PC IS A TOP-DOWN SHOOTER THAT SEEMS TO BE THE RESULT OF MICRO MACHINES AND CALL OF DUTY GETTING JIGGY WITH IT. DESPITE IT’S CARTOONY AND SIMPLISTIC GRAPHICAL INTERFACE IT’S ACTUALLY A STARTLINGLY IN-DEPTH TACTICAL GAME WITH LARGE, INTERESTING MAPS AND PLENTY OF COOL STUFF TO BLOW UP THE OPPOSITION WITH.
For a start, there are 3 factions, Greenshirts, Greycollars and Brownpants… These forces themselves roughly represent the US, Germany and Russia and you can tell this by the weapons they use. Yep, along the way you’ll be able to pick up miniature M16s, AKs and G36s along with a host of weapons like the M240, the PKM and even an MP5. You can launch missiles, throw grenades, ride in tanks and even call in air support on certain points but don’t be fooled, it’s not a game about getting powered up and running riot. All it takes is one stray bullet and you are back to the spawn point… As the game says, you are just one of many and it’s
up to you to use cover, crouch, crawl and run in order to flank round and capture objectives whilst clearing out the enemy at the same time, take them by surprise and you can knife them for a little more XP. As you progress through a campaign, building more and more XP, you’ll rank up and gain a bigger squad that follow you around. Eventually you’ll end up with a enough buddies to crew one of the many vehicles scattered around the maps, from jeeps to tanks and even full-on gunboats.Everything is vulnerable to getting blasted by RPGs and grenades though, so you have to keep sharp and be ready to bail out
before it blows! You can play single player against the AI through a campaign or in a quick match or you can head online to play a couple of different game modes against human enemies. The game is still under development and your purchase gives you early access so you can look forward to receiving periodic updates as development continues. We’re not sure how far things will progress but recently it seems like there was even a map of the infamous Copehill Down Village added to the online modes so who can say? Either way, we’ve definitely already got out £8.99 worth of fun out of this game!
PRICE: £8.99 FROM: WWW.STEAM.COM
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E YOU BUY - WE TRY BEFORE YOU BUY - WE TRY BEFORE YOU BUY
SPECIAL FORCES
IN THE WAR ON TERROR AUTHOR: LEIGH NE VILLE - PUBLISHED BY OSPRE Y PUBLISHING
SPECIAL FORCES (SF) ARE A POPULAR SUBJECT FOR MILITARY BOOKS, UNFORTUNATELY THE RESULTING WORKS ARE TOO OFTEN RIDDLED WITH HYPERBOLE, INACCURACIES OR BOTH. IT IS THEREFORE IMMENSELY REFRESHING TO ENCOUNTER A BOOK WHICH IS ALMOST ENTIRELY DEVOID OF BOTH VICES, OFFERING INSTEAD A COMPREHENSIVE OVER-VIEW OF THE ROLE SPECIAL FORCES HAVE PLAYED IN THE GLOBAL WAR AGAINST TERROR SINCE 9/11. Neville is at home with his subject and his knowledge is evident throughout the book. This is not a work for wannabes, rather it is a timely and well-written exploration of the vital role that these often mythologised but seldom understood forces have played in the current world climate. Beginning with the attacks on the Twin Towers in 2001 and the resultant actions against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, Neville takes the reader on a journey through all the campaigns that Special forces from many nations have been involved in. At times this feels a bit like acronym spaghetti, this is hardly Neville’s fault rather it reflects the way that the military of various nations chooses to name and define their various forces and command structures. We think you’ll be forgiven if you find yourself reaching for the glossary on several occasions just to work out who is doing what to whom!
Once you penetrate the jargon, you will find a clear narrative describing the roles assigned to Special Forces in the past decade or so along with accounts of various operations that they were involved with. If the book seems to concentrate on the US military that is just a reflection of the high level of activity by their various SF branches. There is a section in the book outlining the various SF groups deployed by other nations, their specialities and the operations they were involved in. This isn’t a technical book, one which concentrates exclusively on all the ‘Gucci’ gear used by SF personnel, however it is clear that Neville is not lacking in knowledge and his commentary on equipment shown in the plentiful pictures in the book is spot on and accurate. Although probably not intended as such, this is an excellent resource for re-enactors or anyone interested in capturing the look and load-outs of current and recent SF operations. It is also an engrossing history lesson about
the changing face of warfare in a world of uncertainties. Whilst it is true that the full might of Western military forces were deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan it is sobering to reflect upon the achievements of a relatively small group of highly trained soldiers, who, working with local forces in Afghanistan drove out Al Qaeda and the Taliban in less than two months. It is regrettable that thereafter the same forces were required to run many operations and to pull many tours to counter the insurgencies that resulted. Published in hardback and of impressive coffee-table dimensions, it might be easy to dismiss this book as eye-candy rather than a work of history. That would be a mistake. There is a story being told here, one that is on-going and relevant to the world we currently live in. It is to Leigh Neville’s great credit that he manages to capture and encapsulate the difficulties and dangers of these operations without straying into the territory of the wide-eyed adulation where everything that SF personnel do is surrounded by a God-like haze. Their work is dangerous, dirty and necessary and things do go wrong. ‘Special Forces in the war on terror’ is timely book. The threats it describes are still around, in some respects increasing. Although the world is statistically a safer place than it has ever been, you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. The requirement for the skills possessed by Special Forces around the world is not diminished simply because politicians have decided that an end-game has been reached in this country or that. If you want an understanding of what these secretive units are truly capable of and why they remain so important to the maintenance of peace and freedom, this book is definitely for you. It is a history book for our times, and we suspect for many years yet to come.
PRICE: £25.00 IN HARDBACK FROM: OSPREY PUBLISHING
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CAMOUFLAGE... WHY BOTHER?
WRITTEN BY FRENCHIE - ILLUSTRATED BY CRAIG
AIRSOFTERS LOVE THEIR CAMO AS THE OVER-SUBSCRIPTION OF THE VIPER TEAM FOR THIS SEPTEMBER’S AI-500 GAME WILL ATTEST (VIPER TEAM WILL BE WEARING CAMO IN CASE YOU HADN’T GUESSED). THE THING IS THE GAME WILL BE TAKING PLACE ON AN OLD RAF AIRFIELD – LOTS OF BUILDINGS, GRASS, A FEW TREES BUT NOTHING THAT SUGGESTS THAT ANY CAMO IS GOING WORK...
The same is true to some extent for most airsoft sites, be they urban or woodland, camo doesn’t really work terribly well so why do we persist in using it? Military camouflage developed in response to the improvements in firearms technology in the 19th century. Up to that point you had to be so close to the enemy to shoot at them with a musket or beat and poke them with something unpleasantly sharp that any attempt at camouflage was frankly wasted. As engagement distances increased so did the desirability of not being obvious, at first this tended to be the replacement of bright colours with more subdued greens and then to the Khaki developed by the British in India. Although there were many proponents of what we would regard as disruptive pattern camouflage, their ideas were largely ignored by military authorities. The Germans and Americans made some use of camo patterns during World War II but it was to be some years later that disruptive camouflage become common amongst the world’s military. Even the US Army in Vietnam were still using plain olive drab with only specialists making use of patterns like ERDL. These days it is accepted that armies will use at least one form of personal camouflage and quite often they will have camo patterns to better match with various terrains, urban, arid and tropical/temperate. Private companies such as Crye Precision have invested huge amounts of money and time in developing better, more effective patterns,
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many of which are keenly taken up by airsofters. Here’s the thing though, are they actually worth the effort and cost for airsoft? Worth and cost are subjective terms – it may well be worth it to you in order to look the part you want to play and therefore the cost is acceptable. If the measure of worth was concealment however there is a real question as to whether or not camouflage in airsoft has any real value. Camouflage works best when the wearer is stationary - the human eye detects movement far better than it picks up colour or shapes and airsofters are not noted for their ability to remain still. In fact most airsoft games are geared towards keeping players moving which dramatically decreases the effectiveness of their camo. Moreover that effectiveness depends upon achieving an appropriate match between the pattern and the terrain, by that measure most players would use woodland camouflage as the majority of sites are woodland-based. Camouflage does work in urban environments but works better when the uniforms have had a chance to get dirty and to literally absorb some of the environment. I know some of you don’t wash your kit, but the majority of players do and therefore start every game with pristine, relatively bright camo. The question is whether or not they would be any more likely to be hit if they weren’t wearing some form of disruptive pattern? Short of running a controlled experiment, which I’m not about to do, there is no absolute way to know for sure. Subjectively I can say that my experience in urban environments is that it makes no difference whatsoever whether I’m wearing full Multicam or woodland trousers and a black hoody. The backdrop is too unforgiving and the distances between me and the opposition almost never exceeds 50m, even outside. In those conditions the best you can hope for is cover from sight which still allows you to see the enemy or trusting to speed of movement and cover from fire to keep you intact. Camouflage has little to offer in terms of concealment here. In woodland things aren’t quite so clear cut. Lots of players these days favour arid camo patterns, understandable as most of the recent military actions have taken place in the dust of the Middle East and that’s their reference point. It also looks good and it’s current. Multicam which is still very popular was designed as it’s name suggests to work well in mixed environments, and it does but it requires some conditions to be met. Lack of movement is a big one and the ability to choose your concealment position is another. In woodland, where you are constantly moving it is at something of a disadvantage compared to older camo patterns like British DPM or German Flecktarn. Even those stalwarts cannot hide a slightly clumsy player ploughing through bushes and shouting at the top of his voice although the best example of camo working I ever saw involved old, faded flecktarn and a player motionless against a bank of earth and scrubby grass. When he stood up I nearly had a heart attack! The thing about camo is that it only works as part of a combined approach – presuming your aim is to remain concealed in the first place. Distance from the enemy is a significant factor, terrain matters, discipline in movement
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is a factor – the list isn’t endless but it’s reasonably long and is comprised of things that are very difficult to realise during the 45 minutes your average airsoft game. I don’t think that much of this is disputed, after all there are plenty of airsofters who make little or no effort to conceal themselves (I count myself amongst those players) so we have to conclude that the real reason that camo is so widespread in airsoft is simply because we all want to look like soldiers in one form or another. If that’s true, the only argument you can have about choice of camo is whether or not it is appropriate to the player’s load-out and even that is really pretty unimportant. You probably don’t want to hear me suggesting that our use of camo is nothing more than dressing-up for grown-ups but I suspect that it’s the truth. It would account for the large variety of camo patterns found on every site throughout the country, if it doesn’t really work, then you can safely wear pretty much anything you want to, including stuff that is essentially civilian. Most of us draw the line at bright colours – there is no point in making it too easy for the enemy – but I have been known to wear Hawaiian shirts on occasion and not always to my detriment. A lot of the nonpatterned gear worn these days is an attempt to replicate the gear worn by special forces, many of whom seem to favour block colours and use clothing and boots drawn from the world of hiking. This is understandable when operating in environments where ease of movement is more important that concealment, for instance in the mountains of Afghanistan. There the presence of rocky outcrops, gullies and unforgiving terrain present many opportunities for concealment and observation that are not dependent upon perfectly blending in with the background. These kind of load-outs make a lot of sense for airsofters, despite the fact that all of us will wear camo away from the skirmish on occasion, a pair of Craghoppers is a far more versatile investment than the latest Crye Precision uber Multicam trousers. I’m not saying that they are inherently better, just easier to wear for a quiet Saturday doing normal stuff than a pair of trousers with built in knee-pads and forty-two pockets. It will come as no surprise therefore if I reach the conclusion that camo is pretty ineffective for the majority of airsofters despite the minority of you who are super-stealthy and wring every drop of cover out of your clothing and environment. We wear it because without it, to an extent, it is harder to portray the military personnel that we are pretending to be. I doubt that hit rates during WWII skirmishes are any different to normal walkon games and there is a dearth of camouflage on show during those. It will also startle no-one when I also suggest that players should wear whatever the hell they like – if it makes you happy, if it helps you to achieve the look you want on a Sunday then go for it. If anyone else has an issue with it, tough, it’s their problem not yours. Camouflage clothing is a valuable asset to troops on the ground, but to us mere airsofters I remain unconvinced that it makes a whole lot of difference to how the game is played.
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PART 5 T H E C A R L G U S T A V R E C O I L L E S S R I F L E - T H E C A R L G U S T A The first part is a functional one so we can open and close the venturi. We start by milling a block of PVC to shape, then drilling a hole through it.
We then turn some 6mm steel rod to length and thread it to M6 at one end.
THE END IS IN SIGHT! JUST A BIT OF SET DRESSING AND SOME PAINT AND THEN OUR PROJECT CHARLIE G IS READY TO GO. THIS ISSUE WE CONCENTRATE ON THE MORE TIME CONSUMING BITS AND PIECES THAT’LL TRANSFORM PROJECT CHARLIE FROM PLUMBING SUPPLIES TO SOMETHING A BIT MORE WARLIKE... Even though our recoilless rifle is now functional it still looks a bit, er, like a collection of parts picked up from the drainage and plumbing section of B&Q (which, to be fair, it mostly is) so we need to do something about it, and to that end we’re going to start to add (mostly) a bit of set dressing. This issue we’ll concentrate on the brackets and levers around the breach, and the carry handle that’s seen on the M3 variant, then next issue we’ll finish it off with the iron sights, grips, shoulder brace and an optics mount. Then we’re onto painting it and we’re all done. OK, so where do we start? Logically, we might as well commence operations at one end of it and work towards the other. We’ll start with the brackets that are found at the back of the barrel where the venturi swings into place. As can be seen (when you look at any picture of a Charlie G) there are two black knobs located on the right hand side of this assembly. The rearmost of these is used to swing the venturi up to access the breach to either load a fresh round or remove an empty case. There is, however, a little more to this than can be seen, as not only does this assembly provide a means to open and close the breach, but also makes up part of the breach locking mechanism itself. The second part of this locking mechanism is made up of a pivoting bracket that locks against the venturi in order to secure the two parts together. Even though we don’t need to make these parts (from a purely functional point of view) it would look a bit pants without them, so we’ll fire up the mill, lathe and heat gun (effectively a glorified industrial-strength hair dryer!) to get it done. Then we’ll move forward a bit and deal with the carry handle. The one found on the real deal is a slightly odd shape, and to replicate it requires quite a few machining operations (to say the least). Ironically, for something that looks so simple it’s actually the single most time consuming part of our project
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Charlie G to manufacture. The short version of it is that we start with 30cm or so of PVC bar, then turn it down to 2.5cm in diameter in the centre, then down to about 1.5cm at each end. We then have to put it on the mill and take a fly cutter to it to flatten it off on one side. It’ll look a bit basic when we first put it together but once we get around to the point where we’re going to paint it we’ll use a serious amount of PVC filler and then sand and file it to it’s final shape – a job that will be very, very messy (not to mention one where you really want to use a dust mask when undertaking). As expected, we’ll be using a lot of PVC for these parts, so it’s time for a bit of a health warning (yes, a bit boring, but it’s got to be said). It’s perfectly fine to heat PVC to form it into a desired shape, but you should avoid – at all costs – going too far (in other words, setting fire to it). Burning PVC gives off some very nasty fumes in the form of Hydrogen Chloride. When this combines with moisture in the mouth or the respiratory tract it forms Hydrochloric Acid. In other words, a rather strong acid – and needless to say it’s not exactly the healthiest of stuff. To that end, if you do go too far when heat forming PVC then do not, under and circumstances, breathe the fumes. This is also a very good reason to do any work that involves heating it up outside. You have been warned...
This is then press fitted into the PVC block and a black plastic knob screw screwed on. This is then set aside so we can weld it to the venturi before we get around to painting it.
With the first part of the breach locking mechanism manufactured we then move on to the second, starting with a flat piece of PVC, 4mm thick.
This is cut to shape using a number of different tools on the mill (mostly end mills and slitting saws) as well as a coping saw.
A second strip is then cut, and as with the larger part is then butchered to it’s final shape.
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GUSTAV RECOILLESS RIFLE - THE CARL GUSTAV RECOILLESS RIFLE
Then we need another PVC bracket, this time to mount the ball shaped knob used to lock the venturi in position, so it’s back to the mill to shape and drill another block of PVC.
We then need to heat-form it to fit the profile of the barrel, but it’s not as simple as it first seems as we need some clearance between this part and the barrel. To that end we roughly cut a couple of sections about 5cm wide out of a section of spare PVC tubing then slit it on one side. These are then forced over the outside of the rest of the spare tubing so we can use it as a former.
The first of the PVC strips is then heated up and laid over the former and clamped in position.
Once it has cooled the second PVC strip is then heated up and laid over the first one and clamped in position.
Once cooled, these parts are then solvent welded together.
Now to get on with the single most time consuming part of the build – the carry handle. A section of PVC is turned to the right diameter for the grip section of the handle, and then turned down a further 0.5cm for 6.5cm at each end.
After that another length of steel rod is turned to length, threaded to M6 and press fitted in position, and another of the black plastic knobs screwed into place. When we’ve assembled the whole Charlie G, it’ll be solvent welded into it’s final position.
With that done we move forwards and on to the carry handle, and pverall, it’s not exactly the easiest of shapes to replicate. We start by roughly cutting out two squares out of 4mm PVS sheet. These are then thrown in the 4 jaw chuck and drilled.
They are then bolted together (just an M8 bolt and a couple of nuts) and mounted in the 3 jaw chuck. After that, they’re turned from squares into discs.
These are then heat formed against a spare section of the same tubing we used for the barrel.
The carry handle is then attacked with a file to before being mounted in the milling vice and flattened off on one side with a fly cutter (probably the single messiest piece of mill tooling around – it’ll happily throw chips twenty feet).
Using the heat gun the carry handle is formed to its final shape and the ends of it then first milled flat before filed to a slightly concave shape (tp match the curvature of the discs we’ve heat formed to the shape of the barrel).
Last but not least it’s time to start welding it all together. First the two shaped discs of PVC are welded on, and then the carry handle goes into place. If you use enough pipe weld, then you’ll get a very solid joint. Before painting, we’ll build them up to the correct profile by using PVC filler and then filing and sanding to shape (a rather messy job, it must be said!).
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THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL
BUILDING A SCAR-H DMR
SCAR-H LAST MONTH WE STARTED BREAKING DOWN THE SCAR INTO ITS MAJOR COMPONENT PIECES AND THIS MONTH WE ARE DELVING INTO THE GEARBOX IN ORDER TO GET OUR UPGRADE PARTS INSTALLED. WE ARE GOING TO DISMANTLE THE GEARBOX AND TAKE A DETAILED LOOK AT SHIMMING IN ORDER TO GET THE GUN RUNNING AS SMOOTH AS CLOCKWORK! We’ve not gone all out with a “full” upgrade solution with this gun, instead we have opted to do only the essential work to keep the price as low as possible. Yep, there are a few parts that other techs might deem essential but in our experience of TM Recoil guns, this selection of upgrades will cost you the least and allow you to keep the price as low as possible without sacrificing power or longevity. If you want to spend more though, we’re not going to stop you!
BUILDING A DMR
To do the role of designated marksman justice, you will be looking to enhance certain attributes of the weapon. Some of these attributes can be enhanced by using simple bolt on accessories.
WE ARE WORKING ON A TOKYO MARUI RECOIL SCAR-H HERE BUT THE TECHNIQUES AND GUIDE WORK EXACTLY THE SAME WITH ITS LITTLE BROTHER, THE SCAR-L!
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SUPPRESSOR
Suppressors can be hit and miss on airsoft guns, with some muffling the sound of each shot distinctly and others not being so effective. This PTS AAC SCAR-H specific model seems to work well, possibly because it's simply massive! It uses a QD function so it can be added and removed easily in the field so you can leave it off for moving into position and then fit it when you need to make some discreet and precise shots.
GOING DEEPER
There’s only so much you can achieve with bolt-ons alone and you’ll likely want to enhance certain performance features of the gun via internal upgrades. Depending on how you find the guns performs, how much you want to spend and your own personal preferences, you can pile a huge number of parts into a gun. Right here, without devoting the whole magazine to the subject alone, we realistically only have space to cover the bare bones, the basics of what we recommend that every DMR has.
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BARREL
The inner barrel of a DMR is critical. Most players will want to extend the outer barrel or naturally choose a gun with a long barrel anyway. Over the years we’ve found that the Systema BS 6.04mm inner barrel gives great consistency and accuracy without the need for excessive cleaning or fussiness in terms of BBs. Yes, you can get tighter barrels, but for a sensible starting point, there’s little that beats the Systema BS.
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SPRING
GEARS
Since we are upgrading the spring, the gears will be under greater strain. Although the standard Marui gears do last reasonably well, SHS make some well priced and serviceable parts that should prove years of faithful service even under higher load.
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ATLAS BIPOD
To achieve a greater level of accuracy at long ranges, a bipod is often used to steady the gun and the replica “Atlas” bipod here is a great alternative to the commonly seen Harris Bipod. It integrates a sturdy adjustable design and also a vertical fore grip for when the weapon is not being rested on a supporting surface.
We are going to need more power from the gun and simply, the way to get this is by upping the power of the spring inside. Eagle 6 make recoil specific spring that give a consistent and predictable output power in the entire recoil range. Here we will be aiming for 400FPS and as such we will be using an M110. This might be rated at only 350-380FPS but with the tighter, longer barrel and a bearing spring guide, we expect to be on the right side of the 400 mark.
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VISION KING SHORTCUT
The Vision King Shortcut is a 1.5-5x magnified telescopic scope with a characteristic small objective lens. They are made to be used on real rifles but at around £70 on eBay, they are very popular with airsoft shooters and offer a much clearer sight picture than some Chinese clones. The sight we have here is fitted with a replica “Docter Sight” reflex site for rapid snap shooting at closer ranges.
MOTOR
To give the gun a more rapid cycle speed with the more powerful spring, we will be upgrading the motor. This will ensure the gun cycles snappily and those critical shots get on their way to their target faster. We will be using a Lonex Titan A2.
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THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL STEP 1
Last month we freed this beast from within the body of the TM SCAR-H and now we need to crack it open in order to install some parts. The process is a little different from other guns, so let’s go through it in detail.
BUILDING A SCAR-H DMR STEP 3
With the shroud removed you can progress through the strip down by removing this recoil weight guide rod from the top of the gearbox. Pull it out forward. To get a grasp on it you might need to poke the rear end of the rod through a little with a small tool or allen key.
STEP 2
Start by removing the black hop unit guard/shroud at the front of the gearbox. This is held on by 3 screws that need to be fully removed. Undo them and set the part safely aside.
STEP 4
With the dude rod removed the rear weight retainer can be slotted out of place by sliding it slightly forward against the spring tension and lifting it out of the runners.
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THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL STEP 5
Be aware of the two springs that you will free up in the process of removing the rear retainer. The small spring runs inside the larger one. Make sure you set these aside safely.
BUILDING A SCAR-H DMR STEP 8
Underneath the wiring guard you’ll find the cut out lever that gets actuated by empty magazines. This cuts out the gun so you don’t dry fire in game. You need to remove the small levers and the spring by taking out the small screw that holds them down.
STEP 6
The whole recoil weight assembly should now slide backwards and lift out of the main gearbox. Some of the connected parts at the front end will now be freed up too. These simply lift away now.
STEP 9
Make sure you catch the tiny spring before lifting out the linkage of levers. Without it your bolt-stop won’t work when you put the gun back together.
STEP 7
What you are left with now isn’t a huge amount more complex than working on a simple Version 2 gearbox, but there are a few parts you need to be aware of. Firstly, pry the plastic wiring guard away from the gearbox with a screwdriver blade.
We are working on a Tokyo Marui Recoil SCAR-H here but the techniques and guide work exactly the same with its little brother, the SCAR-L!
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THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL STEP 10
You can now start splitting the gearbox shell. Firstly, remove the screw that is underneath the bolt stop levers.
BUILDING A SCAR-H DMR STEP 12
With all the casing screws removed, the next step is to lift off the casing. Before you remove it though, insert a small allen key into the back of the gearbox to hold the spring guide down in the lower half of the shell. This should prevent the spring tension inside shooting in out.
STEP 11
You’ll now want to switch to a Torx bit driver and remove the rest of the screws holding the gearbox casing together.
STEP 13
Once you have removed the upper casing, the gearbox is now open for you to work on. If the standard spring is still fitted to the piston, there will be little tension to worry about.
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THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL STEP 14
You can now start to lift out all the components ready to refit some upgrade parts. We are mostly emptying the gearbox shell in order to fit the new gears and ensure the shimming is correct.
STEP 15
One component to keep an eye on is this block that’s also associated with the cut-out levers. Note its position as shown here and carefully remove it by just lifting it out.
BUILDING A SCAR-H DMR STEP 17
With the shell mostly empty, apart from the cut-off lever that can happily stay put, you can clean any excess shims and grease out and get ready to install the new parts.
STEP 18
Dropping your new gears in is easy but getting them to run smoothly requires some good shimming. it's easiest to shim your gears with the gearbox in this empty state… Read on to find out how here…
STEP 16
To remove the trigger switch, make sure you remove this one small screw. The switch system will them lift out of the shell easily.
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THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL
SHIMMING
Instead of just skipping over the subject of shimming in one sentence, this month we are giving you a little more detail about the process and that’s because it's vital to the smooth functioning of the gun one it's tuned up. You can use packs of multi-thickness shims from a variety of manufacturers but here we are using Eagle6 0.2mm shims and if we need a thicker stack, we’ll just use more of them. This prevents us getting mixed up and instead we can just note down the amount required. For our demonstration here, we have shimmed a standard Version 2 gearbox but the process is the same for 99% of all gearboxes and the principles are identical.
BUILDING A SCAR-H DMR STEP 4
Now take the final gear (the one that pulls the piston back) and put one shim on the bottom. First off, you need to check that it doesn't rub on the face of the middle gear. Look carefully, and if it does, add a shim to the bottom to just clear it. You only want a fraction of a gap here, so play with the spacing until it's just right.
STEP 1
Take the middle gear and add one shim to the bottom spindle. Now drop it in the clean, dry gearbox and put the top part of the shell back on.
STEP 5
Now pop the top of the gearbox shell on and check for play as you did before. Again, you want a tiny bit of lateral movement. In the unlikely even that the gear is too tight before you add any shims to the top spindle, you'll need to remove shims from the bottom, which will mean putting a thinner shim beneath the middle gear, and resetting that one too, so that the two don't start rubbing.
STEP 2
Make sure it's sitting tightly together, then see how much play there is from side to side by pushing a screwdriver against both sides of the spindle (or holding the box on its side so gravity keeps the gear dropped down, if you can't get to the other side).
STEP 6
STEP 3
Also put your finger inside the gearbox and try to move the gear laterally. You're looking for just a fraction of movement, maybe a quarter of a millimetre or so. If it's more than that, open the box, but leave the gear in the bottom of the shell. Now add one shim to the top spindle, replace the top shell and feel for play again. Keep doing this until the gear spins freely, but has a minimal amount of play. You do NOT want it to have no play at all.
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When the two gears are correctly set up, you can add the first (pinion, or motor) gear. Here you don't need any shims on the bottom spindle, but leave the one that was in place on the top. This is because the motor's own gear will keep the pinion gear pushed up against the gearbox.
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LATEST ISSUE OUT NOW!
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A N A K D AY
T HE E CHO1 A K 700 UNDER OUR SPO T L IG
THE ECHO1 AK700 THE TACTICAL AK IS UNDERGOING SOMETHING OF A RESURGENCE AND UPDATING THIS CLASSIC WEAPONS SYSTEM HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER THANKS TO A PLETHORA OF AWESOME PARTS HITTING THE MARKET IN BOTH REAL-STEEL AND REPLICA FORM. THIS MONTH WE’LL BE GETTING TO GRIPS WITH THE ECHO1 AK700, A VERY WELL PRICED AK AEG BECAUSE, AS THE SAYING GOES, “AN AK A DAY KEEPS YOUR ENEMIES AT BAY!” Echo1 might not be a name you are familiar with and that’s because they are sold in the USA far more than anywhere else in the world. With strong ties to Madbull, Echo1 produce predominantly licensed replicas of weapons and that’s because the US market is far more stringent with policing of unlicensed trademarks than Europe or elsewhere. Yes, Echo1 kit is generally a rebranded, reboxed product that you might be able to pick up elsewhere, obviously with the licensing applied and thanks to the interjection of Madbull, usually an extra layer of QC and some upgraded components. The AK700 looks promising in terms of price and also specification, so we are keen to take a closer look…
ECHO1 AK700
The Echo1 AK700 is licensed by Rifle Dynamics of Las Vegas, Nevada and is modelled on their RD701 model AK74, chambered in 7.62x39. Rifle Dynamics custom fit a number of additional components to the basic AK and this configuration includes a modified front end with a custom Rifle Dynamics gas block. An Ultimak scope rail gas tube is also fitted and a choice of pistols grips including Magpul and US Palm AK grips can be selected. As standard, the Echo1 guns comes with most
THIS AIMPOINT T-1 REPLICA GIVES YOU A SIMPLE RED OR GREEN DOT TO PICK OUT YOUR TARGETS AND CLAMPED TO THE INTEGRATED RAIL AT THIS LOW HEIGHT GIVES YOU A GOOD CO-WITNESS WITH THE IRON SIGHTS BUT WITH MUCH FASTER ACQUISITION.
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of these components with the exception of the pistol grip, (which has been swapped out for a PTS US Palm grip). The gun, aside from the grip and hand guard, is entirely metal, finished in black with white laser engraved markings. The triangular folding stock is also made from pressed plate steel and gives the gun an authentic feel and weight. As per the standard for AKs, you have the slightly rattly receiver cover and the pressed metal controls. The bolt slides back and forth the to reveal the hop unit and is sprung to keep it in the forward position.
VITAL STATS
■ PRICE: $199 from Evike.com ■ WEIGHT: 2,950g ■ LENGTH: 685-915mm ■ BARREL LENGTH: 455mm ■ MAG CAPACITY: 500 round Hi-Cap ■ HOP UP TYPE: Adjustable (V3 AK) ■ VELOCITY: 380fps (330 with M90)
Instead of breaking down like the Marui AK AEG design, the gun uses a more realistic setup involving a cross-pin to remove the front end. There’s a few small allen screws to get at but the gun is quite easy to strip down once you have loosened them. All in all the gun is solid externally, there’s enough to get going straight away and is a good basis to build a modernised AK on. In the UK we are free to remove the blaze orange flash hider included as standard.
INTERNALS
One of the major issues with the Echo1 gun was the power it was firing at. With a .20g BB were were getting around 380FPS on the chronograph which is too hot for most places. We needed to open the thing up and swap out the spring so we could bring things down to a slightly more realistic level. This gave use the chance to give the gun a thorough going over to see what was what. Upon removing the gearbox, we quickly realised that this was simply a rebranded CYMA gun with the tell-tale CM markings on the outside
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T L IGH T - T HE ECHO1 A K 700 UNDER OUR SPO T L IGH T
ECHO1 ARE PERHAPS NOT A BRAND YOU WILL SEE MUCH OF IN THE UK, BUT IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN IMPORTING SOMETHING A BIT DIFFERENT FROM THE NORM, THEY ARE CERTAINLY A BRAND WORTH LOOKING INTO NOT LEAST FOR GREAT VALUE.
of the metal gearbox casing. This is hardly a cause for concern though since CYMAs shooters, especially the AKs, have a fearsome reputation for value for money and sharp shooting. Despite working well, this gearbox wasn’t exactly a thing of beauty to behold. Messy thread-lock work and easily worn paint finishes aside, the inside of the gearbox is overly lubricated with a thick, gloopy grease. It wasn’t as bad as some we have seen in the past but certainly the assembly job could have been neater. In terms of components, you get a simple, run of the mill selection in here with basic metal gears and polycarbonate parts including the clear air nozzle and piston. they work but they are certainly not that pretty to look at. The spring guide is a metal and runs on a bearing which should lend a little consistency to the gun. After a good clean out and replacement lubrication, we swapped the spring and reassembled the gun after finding a small metal disk inside the gearbox along the way. It appeared to be the middle of a gear shim that had fallen in along the way. This could certainly
have caused a problem down the line if it was free to rattle about, potentially jamming up the gears or worse. After popping in an M90 spring and fully reassembling, we discovered the gun was putting out around 330FPS which is comfortably within site limits and ideal. Teamed with the metal V3 hop unit and pre-upgraded mad bull rubber, we hit the field with the gun.
PERFORMANCE
During it’s first full day skirmish, the AK700 performed admirably with its reduced velocity. The solid hop unit provided great performance and let very little to be desired. In this day and age of MOSFETs and additional electronics and complication, it’s easy to overlook the fact that good range and accuracy is born of a solid hop unit and a good air seal inside the gearbox. This gun might only have a basic workhorse selection of parts but you don’t NEED more. That said, it’s not going to stop users buying and upgrading and I’m sure this exact gun with get spruced up in time to come.
AT JUST $199 SHIPPED FROM EVIKE.COM, YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY GOING TO HAVE TO FACTOR SHIPPING AND THE POTENTIAL FOR IMPORT DUTY ON TOP, BUT YOU ARE STILL PICKING UP A STORMING BARGAIN OF A GUN WHETHER YOU WANT TO RUN IT AS IT IS OR USE IT FOR THE BASIS OF AN UPGRADE PROJECT. UPGRADES
This AK700 has been fitted with a number of upgraded external parts: PTS US Palm AK Grip. PTS US Palm AK Mid-Cap Magazine. Blue Force Gear Vickers Sling. Blue Force Gear Universal Wire Loop Sling Mount (Front). GBase Aimpoint T-1 Replica. Haley Strategic Partners Thorntail Mount with Ring. Inforce 6VX Light. PTS Battle Comp 1 CCW Flash Hider.
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...OR END UP BEING REVIEWED This is one of those random subjects, insofar as there is much in the way of planning for French Letter. I have just done another gun review for Airsoft International and as expected, all was sweetness and light. You may well have noticed that most gun reviews are generally sweetness and light, sure there will be certain things we don’t particularly like – maybe the style of gun, the markings or some peculiarity of manufacture, but we generally don’t publish reviews along the lines of, “Oh My God! This is totally the most awful piece of gun-shaped poo we have ever had the misfortune to clap eyes on!” Believe me it would actually be quite fun to write the odd review like that but it almost never happens. I doesn’t happen not because we are firmly in the pocket of “the man” kept sweet and compliant with gifts, money and more free airsoft gear than you can imagine (and I know you can imagine lots and lots of free gear) but because on the whole we don’t get bad guns to review. You might thing that companies take care to ensure that review guns are double checked for fit and function before being sent to us, but you’d be wrong. Most of them come from retailers and most of them are too busy to waste time checking that the new M57 XP3W is absolutely the dog’s danglies before sending it to a bunch of hacks. No, by and large what we get is pretty much what you get and in some cases exactly what you get because we have actually bought the damned things ourselves. This being the case, why the lack of negative reviews?
The answer is depressingly simple, the vast majority of airsoft guns are actually pretty good straight out of the box. The CM-16 SRS I did for this issue is a very good example; well made, building on a previously reliable model, from a well-known maker with a few improvements and far better aesthetics than the previous model and not much more expensive. What’s not to like? That was from G&G, but others like G&P do what they do so well that it is really quite difficult to find a duffer. Even ICS who are not high on my list of favourite manufacturers are consistently turning out solid, reliable guns even if they are not always to my taste. Modern manufacturing has a lot to do with it; once you have designed and prototyped a gun and put it into production it is rare that you discover that you have any major problems with it. Missing something serious is an expensive affair and ardently to be avoided. Computer controlled everything
ensures that each cut-off lever, each pistol grip, each rail is exactly like every other, so if you got it right to start with, they should all be right. The G&P M16 VN I reviewed a little while back did actually have a fault, but it was of such a random nature that I couldn’t really hold it against G&P – a broken winding in a motor which only made itself known when the motor stopped in a certain position. Easily fixed and could have happened to any gun so you can’t really get too upset about it. I know that conspiracy theories and mutterings about ‘cartels’ and ‘the Illuminati’ are so much more interesting but the sad truth is that you get generally favourable gun reviews because guns are, well, generally favourable. There were a few poorly conceived dogs that came out of China some years back, and G&G have done some interesting things that haven’t always worked, but the vast majority of airsoft guns are well-designed and pretty well made. It must be said that this makes our job a bit harder, not that I’m looking for sympathy you understand! Imagine if you will being faced with about 7 1911 variants over successive months. Imagine further that despite the name on the box they were all made by the same company. Now spare a kind thought for those of us who had to try and come up with something a bit different to say about each one when every fibre of your being wanted to write in big, red, crayon letters “IT’S A 1911 – YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS!!!!” These are the crosses we must stoically bear in order to inform and entertain; it’s a hard job but someone has to do it... Sods Law dictates that the next gun I get to review will be awful, fail to shoot at anything other than 90 degrees to the bore and set fire to my cat when I’m not looking, Murphy’s Law dictates that this will probably never, ever happen. The reason you get good gun reviews? Simple – most guns are pretty damned good, regardless of price. For that I suppose we should count ourselves lucky.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
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