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Yeah, but while we're on the subject of shooting glasses and/or workwear with kite marks coming out of their arses, let's just remember that someone got hit in the eye not long ago wearing this type of eyepro. Fortunately it seems he will be ok: fucking fortunately. It happened because these are not designed for airsoft. If they were there would be no/next to no gap between the frame and the wearer's face no matter from which direction a projectile approaches, because, as happened in this case, a ricochet can come at you from a direction which a direct shot cannot, such as directly below the frame if the BB bounces off a mask or, depending on the shape and angle of your head, off your gun or rig. £900... well, I'm another one who thinks the better part of valour lies in not adding up how much I actually spend on airsoft, since that way I cannot be asked to justify a figure which I do not have by any significant other/s. Although last week or so I attempted to buy a 3" piece of 1.6-ish mm stamped mild steel with literally no other redeeming features than its shape for over £30 posted and was not relieved but gutted when it turned out to be out of stock after all. I did have the good grace to know and fully admit that it was the kind of extravagance at which whatever passes for my snook is habitually cocked however and i'm here to echo other's advice regarding trying the sport before you spank your wallet and to tell you that if you plan to spend that much money in/around the time it takes to get UKARA registered and not long thereafter, you had best budget for a lot more as your annual spend because a good deal of what you get will turn out to have been stuff which is good, but not so much for airsoft, good for airsoft but not good for you, or entirely inappropriate and/or just shit. We've all done it, some more egregiously than others, and no doubt you will too*... thought something looks brilliant and how could it possibly not be good, only to discover that actually what works in films, or on real gunfighters in Afghan or wherever, is either not much use for airsoft or actively a pain in the arse... I'll take gloves as a glaring example. In ordinary airsoft they have 3 functions: keeping your hands warm; protecting your fingers from hits, which sting there a lot more than you'd imagine and girly screams go a long way towards ruining function 3 of looking cool. A lot of us wear hard knuckle gloves, because we want to look like the kind of operator who may decide that, rules of engagement with weapons being what they are, punching someone is on the agenda. I have a pair myself, although mine are clones and, since 1 thumb got shredded by being between me and an exploding BFG which I incautiously leant on, are also heavily modified to cushion my fingers when cocking my spring sniper rifle and take some of the following experience into account: Most of them are made for the kind of places soldiers are currently likely to go - hot and/or dry environments and so breathability is far more important than waterproof... not so on a cold wet Sunday in some muddy hole in Yorkshire. If a soldier gets shot in the hand, a piece of flexible moulded plastic held by its shape a few mm's away from his fingers will not save them, but this design is far and away the most effective protection from BB hits, beating even Pyrohide & Kevlar despite costing only a fiver, however even worse, for most of us, than looking a bit namby pamby, they look a bit paintball-ish! Military kit tends to be made with tough situations in mind, made to be operable just as well when roughly grabbed by desperate hands caked in shite as when being demonstrated calmly on a range, so anything a soldier may need to get hold of in a hurry will not have its operation hampered by the wearing of gloves through which the wearer can feel 3/5ths of fuck all... not so in airsoft: things that spring to mind are the flap/slide which keeps the BB's inside a hicap mag, speedloaders for mid/lo caps, blanks and loading tools for BFG's, the striker tabs/caps of pyros, and everyone who has ever paid £6+P&P to replace a lost one's favourite... AEG body pins of which some designs require the removal in order to change batteries. Now imagine if you had just spanked £65 on a pair of Southcombe Bros'? No matter how unsuitable they turned out to be, how much would your unconscious need to justify the expense to yourself, and others if we know about it, goad you to take issue with what I have just written? Ah but these ones are special... yeah whatever; tell it to yer missus when you next see her eyeing up shoes. I wrote this guide mainly for people who want to get into the sport/hobby but do not have your resources with which to proceed, but I reckon there's a lot to be said for starting out with forum and fleabay fifth hand specials while you rent guns, then buying a wombat machine and doing your best to make them work for you - you will know what features of expensive kit you want most ie the solutions to actual problems that you personally have had, what are not so important, and what don't matter at all, despite hiking the price up. Like many of us who bought cheap but good guns to start off, you will probably find that you will want to keep it even when you have plenty of more expensive options to pull out of your arsenal. *However we can but hope that, whatever your particular style of Nobheadery© and/or flavour of Emperor's New Clothes™, it doesn't cost you more than a month's enjoyment of the sport due to lack of funds for something which would have done the trick cheaper/better/with less anxiety over whether you will lose or break some part of it/etc. and in the absence of that, that someone lurking may read this thread and take note.

Hey folks I'm after some info from some fellow airsofters if at all possible. I have been playing airsoft for a few years now, and play regularly at Spartan in Bristol with my team the VC (Valley Commandos). I am currently studying towards a degree in design and am working on a project centred around airsoft. As part of the project I have to carry out some market research and the most important aspect of that is to get the perspectives of you guys. With that in mind I would appreciate it if you could pleas get back to me with some information about any frustrations or issues, any room for improvement in your experience of the game / sport of airsoft. This can be equipment, game-play related, or just anything that has frustrated or annoyed you during your experiences with airsoft. I really appreciate any input, and a massive thanks to anyone who takes the time to reply. Thanks

Hell no, CQB is all about full face... my smile isn't all that but it'd look a shitload worse with gaps!

Try chilling the whole thing in a freezer then use a lighter (preferably a turbo flame for soot-free operation) to heat just the bushing - that should get them apart.

And gives blufor the unfair advantage they need to be in with a chance.

Never bought guns from them, but have bought bits and pieces. Never had a problem with them. Things normally take a couple of weeks to arrive but their communication is a lot better than many UK suppliers.

G&G Firehawk

Received my firehawk today. First impressions, very impressed, a nice weight to the rifle. Very good quality feel with very little wobble in the stock and mag. Shoots with a lovely sharp crisp sound. Battery is a little bit fiddley but that was expected. Looking forward to using it on Sunday.

the flip down lenses on those Emerson FAST helmets are borderline dangerous, I wouldn't use one if you paid me to do it: A guy from Arnies Airsoft forums did a test on them, the full write up is here: http://arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/index.php?%2Ftopic%2F159597-helmet-pictures%2Fpage-82 My 2p on it is that if you're wearing that as protection you'd be better off with a couple of layers of cling film, at least it won't shatter when the BB comes through it. If your eyepro is ANSI z87.1 rated then it'll withstand birdshot from a shotgun, airsoft won't even leave a mark on the lenses.

Just working on the detail now with the Okto Eight guys. Should have information about the loadouts and ammo rules by the weekend.

To the OP from a noob to another Buy the following: Trousers, Boots Mesh mask Beany hat/head covering of some type & some goggles. From ebay/local surplus store, the above will set you back minimal amounts, (even look at using normal clothes in muted colours) Do a day using a rental. Then you will notice what you will need. maybe the next time you will return with a back pack ......but you will go on from there. don't waste your time writing out a long shopping list of stuff you may not even like once you have it, all your doing is messing about with list's & budgets. Get out & get shot & crawl about in the mud for a day......you will learn more & have fun while doing it.

My WAS Quick mags turned up today. Fantastic service from UKTactical! The pouches are fantastic, as i would expect from Warrior. A bit of a fiddle to get set up just so but are now set and fitted to my DCS. No need to make any adjustment to use either my recoil Pmags or my M14 mags. VERY happy. Just need another 2 and i'm set.

oh god, a running total would probably make me hang myself.

I'd rather not check how much I've spent on airsoft this year... I'd probably start crying and rolling on the floor.

Yeah. I did that once. Worked out I had spent £1800 in six months. Not doing that again (working it out that is).

Don't monitor spending, it will just terrify you With your budget I would suggest you might want to build up a proper loadout. Maybe think of your favourite war film and gradually acquire the gear to become someone from it? Not all at once, but choose some camo clothing that fits the look and gradually build towards it bit by bit (half the fun is building the loadout). Chest rigs are good but what if you decide to get a gun that uses different shaped mags? Find out how you play, work out what gun you want (it doesn't have to be an M4) then choose a look to go for and put some thought into which bits you need 1st.

What Mr B said, for 500 pounds you can get a very good gun, you can get a very good one for even less. I started off with a budget of 450 euro's so around 370 pounds, and got everything I needed (oke it is a budget rifle I admit ^^"), so gear does not have to be expensive. About the luggage, I go by public transport so I use a carrying bag for my gun, that isn't too obvious, if I had a car, I would have gotten a gun case, since when you arrive at the site you just drop your stuff somewhere I think you should follow mr B's advice, around 500 pounds on the gun (and maybe attachments) and 400 left for the gear. Try to look around what you want, and make an excel sheet. You can get some good stuff in my opinion for that money.

battery and speedloader storage... or as the rest of us refer to them; pockets.

This.

You have a choice of four different camos for the MDF or the MPF You can wear DPM or M81 !

Baz, DPM and/ instead of M81?? Probably open it up to more people without the need to buy a new set of camo

You just need the correct helmet now Personally while everyone else has moved from DPM to the more modern MTP, I went the other way The Pre-DPM UK camo pattern: Brushstrokes

Looks awesome. I'm still deciding whether to sell most of my gear and move over to MTP, though almost everyone at my local sites has a full MTP load out, so I kinda stand out a little bit with my DPM kit.

Dates and location is looking very good, might be able to come down. Looking good so far, Baz.

I own a TM one. Allow me to go off on one here: It's big. Really big. Pistol's quite large too (ba-dum-tiss). Only realy way to holster it is with a Viper belt mounted adjustable holster. it's as big as a desert eagle. If you have small hands, forget it. If you want a pistol that is 'fast' forget it. If you want to be able to transition to it quickly, forget it. (Admittedly I do alright with mine, but I've used it almost every skirmish for the last 3 and a half years, often as a primary.) If you have the suppressor attached whilst it's in the holster (and you'll want to) your draw length is from grabbing the pistol at your hip, the pistol isn't free and usable until you have lifted the pistol grip up to your armpit. Don't think you can get around this with a leg holster, then you'll never be able to kneel down again. There are a lot of negatives with this pistol. BUT. Jesus christ. If you want a pistol that you can rely on, buy one. and only one. You will only ever need one. This has to be the most robust anything ever. Mine had taken a beating over the years. Then I dropped it. Fell out of my holster. Lost. Gone. My favourite RIF lost. not to mention it was £200 worth of pistol. This happened in November 2012. Every game I played I looked around for it. Then. Mid August. Peeking out from under some leaves. NO. FREAKING. WAY. 9 bastard months. The coldest winter for years, plus all the usual yorkshire countryside weather. Plus the heat from summer. My MK23 had been out in it all. I would guess temperatures ranged from -5 to about 20 degrees over those months. I picked it up. looked over it and pulled the trigger. 'thumf'. sheeeiiiiiiit It still worked. Hadn't let out ANY guess. Aimed at a target 'thumf' again, straight as a die. better check it over before I do any damage to it. Popped the mag out, took out the takedown lever and slid the slide off. yup, frame looks fine. Check the upper. a slug, A mother fucking slug. right in the mechanism. and it wouldn't let me down. The pistol is awesome. It outranges most peoples AEGs all day erryday. It cannot be heard outside of 10m and is impossible to locate the exact direction of the shooting within hearing range. It's had more kills on its own that the entire rest of my arsenal, I'm convinced of it. Some days I'll take out £800 worth up Laylaxed up VSR and do better with the MK23. If I'm unsure about what to take to a game, I know I'll still have a good time if the MK23 is coming with me. oh, and just for balance, I DO also have the ASG one (same as KJ etcetcetc) and it's wank. Just utter crap. Yeah, I know what other people say about theirs, so maybe that shows how highly I hold this pistol. (and how terrified other players at my site are of it) and to clear up some misinformation in this thread so far: the TM MK23 and mags DO take Greengas, it will also take duster, 134a, 144a, red gas AND Guarder Black gas. I would imagine it handles propane fine, but I am NEVER putting that stink through my lovely pistol. Special forces don't use it 'a lot' it is too big and too heavy for a sidearm. and to agree with some other sentiments from the thread: If you use one, you cannot be cooler. They are stupid accurate. They are THE BEST sniper sidearm They are THE BEST woodland sidearm, regardless of playstyle They are (playstyle/game dependednt) one of the best CQB sidearms. BUYITBUYITBUYITBUYITBUYITBUYITBUYITBUYIT

Not airsoft but picture related it is ED (gonna get banned ... :S) ED IS THOR!!!!!

My first though after reading that.... Alas it appears me and you are the only ones interested in teh lulz Ed

You forgot to add the fully maxed out Boss-o-meter above Stamina, you idiot! Pfft.

Amazingly enough another 3 secondhand Mid Caps, that's 9 this week...well at those prices it would be rude not to ( all 9 came to less than £40 all in) LOL