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For me it's whenever the person gets their rose tinted glasses out. I remember being new to airsoft and hearing all these stories about amazing events that happened "just" before I got into the sport were.......cut to a few years later and I am hearing these amazing stories about events that I went to that I thought were shit but had nuggets of gold in them. The stories tellers made it seem like every game'/event was pure gold and it wasn't shit was a couple of good moments. Chat to people now about Tier one at Stanta and lots of people will reminisce with fond memories. At the time it was basically the same event 3 times in a row at stanta with almost no variation except for a decrease in the quality of the game play and event each time. They'll chat about CAG and their events at Otterburn.....that happened like twice. Or the sandpit and how amazing it was, despite the fact they used about 10% of the site (was amazing for big event games though!). I'd always encourage people to just make the best of it now, what's happening now, what events/sites are there that exist now. Sparta closed recently (never went) and people were obviously upset to lose a great venue, well.....if it's so great - go! Don't just settle for just going to your local week in week out - get out there, vote with your feet and do the stuff that looks interesting now, before you look back on whatever site/organiser it is, cause it's just a matter of time before they close down.

I'll not deny that I have been nostalgic of late about airsoft. I'm currently stuck at home in half-term with round 2 of the 'rona so have had plenty of thinking time whilst the kids have been entertaining themselves. I don't know a lot about the airsoft skirmishing scene around the early to late 90s. I started buying RiFs at the War and Peace Show, Sussex Model Centre and Battle Orders from about 1995 onwards. Most RiFs on offer were TM. The move from springers to gas felt like going from a Spitfire to a Tornado. For me, the pre-VCRA era of airsoft, around when I started (2005), was the best time. It felt like all of the mainstream AEGs where on a fairly level playing field performance-wise, there were dedicated magazines showing us weird and wonderful new releases, it was easier to buy what you wanted, especially from Asia and there were amazing retailers like GnG2, Battle Orders and such. There were several forums which were taking off and were a hive of knowledge and insight (obviously this one still is). High end surplus kit is eye-wateringly expensive and fairly hard to source. I got my first AEG in this time - TM Beta Spetsnaz AK47 - and it was like going from a Tornado to a Typhoon. Then, Facebook arrived, along with very affordable ACM AEGs. This my be, for many, when airsoft really became 'Golden'. Between 2007-2016, airsoft seemed to massively grow (in my eyes). The costs dropped, and importing was still pretty straight-forward with a UKARA number. But a few big brands started to disappear - at least from these shores - Systema, Western Arms, Tanio Koba, Classic Army, G&G, whereas others emerged; ASG, Real Sword, A&K etc. There also seemed to be a widening gulf between out of the box performance (QC?) and what could be achieved through tinkering. It is getting easier to buy high end surplus kit. Post 2016 to present day and the effects of Brexit, a weak Pound Sterling and costs have affected, for me at least, the ability and ease of importing from abroad, especially from the once cheap Polish retailers. But the technology, innovation and range of available high-end models has increased. Bolt, E&L and LCT have grown. High end surplus kit is very easy to find on ebay. This could be other people's 'Golden Age'... When was yours?

The op hasn't been on for nearly three years, you join & 1 minute later put up a post wanting to buy his gun that everyone else has said is not worth messing about with. Is this a school holidays thing ??? 🤔

It's a tough one for me, honestly, and so this is going to be a long post. I think I'd say that personally I enjoyed airsoft the most around when I started in 2004 up until about 2010 when I took my first break. The VCRA was a bit of a kick in the nuts, but it wasn't the end of the world, but I remember game days fondly from back then. However, I'll be talking about the reasons why the modern day is still good. Airsoft is a constantly evolving thing and that comes with both positives and negatives. Anyway, I'll list the reasons why 2004 - 2010 was my golden age: Social media wasn't as prevalent. This is THE big one for me as social media breeds a lot of what's wrong with airsoft these days. Whether it's people like Kicking Mustang making yet another "I RUIN NOOBS DAY WITH SAVAGE HEADSHOTS FROM OVERPOWERED PISTOL" video, or the milsim-elitist-geardo crowd showing off their ridiculous loadout with real NVGs and a thermal imaging drone and real-steel everything and telling you, directly or indirectly, that your gear is shit (you know the types). I think social media is the root of a lot of negative things, not just with airsoft but that's a discussion for another time I never had anywhere near the number of issues back then than I did today, with the only glaring example being when a bunch of guys from the year below us at school decided to come to a game day and rampantly didn't take their hits, but they didn't last long and after another game day or two they were completely gone. We were slinging .2s and *maybe* .25s if you were going heavy, but people still were able to take their hits reliably. It was a bit more trustworthy. Nobody chrono'd (and I'm not saying we shouldn't, definitely think it's needed these days), but we didn't really need to as there were never really any issues with people running hot guns or people getting injured (unless they came out of the box hot, which some did, but even then I don't remember seeing any injuries). I know my Dboys m4 was about 390fps out of the box or something, and I had a Warrior L96 sniper rifle without a sidearm, but I never full-auto'd people up close and never took shots within my MED. Similarly, I never had any issues with someone running some stupidly hot gun and injuring people. When I played in Spain between 2008 - 2010 (probably my absolute favourite time playing and my true "golden age") we didn't even have marshalls as "official" airsoft sites didn't exist at that point; we just showed up to abandoned urbanisations, of which there are a LOT on the south coast of Spain, and played BB wars and it was a LOT of fun. We also hired the land next to a hotel (and booked a lot of rooms at the hotel) for a weekend event and it still remains my favourite event I've ever been to; again, we had no marshalls, we had some players who organised what the games would be and the objectives and we just had fun. As you said, it was a mostly even playing field. There were some guns that were just... really good, but even fine tuning guns didn't create such a divide. The best guns I remember from back then were... A sniper on the team I was a part of had a Tanaka m700 or m40a1 or a TM VSR-10 (can't remember exactly, but it was one of those) which he had tweaked a whole lot, two German guys in Spain had KJW m700s that they had tweaked and my Cyma m14 SOCOM were the ones that immediately come to my mind. Less ghillies. I know, me, a bush wookiee, complaining about ghillies, but they're bloody everywhere now. Back then we didn't have anywhere near the number of them and if you wanted one you had to make it. I still remember as a 17 year old going to a fabric shop and buying a bunch of burlap, dyeing it three different colours in a bucket on the outside terrace in the Spanish townhouse we lived in at the time, and then tying it onto a Webtex concealment vest, supplementing it with natural foliage on the day. Nowadays, anyone can just buy a Novritsch rifle and a KMCS and be done with it. I don't think that's a bad thing (development and offering more products is generally good) but I think combined with the social media point it's making a lot of players play timid. Guess I should touch on that as well. People weren't anywhere near as... fragile(?) as they are now. People flung themselves into games and had a laugh when they got lit up, but nowadays it feels like everyone sits out of range of each other just spraying BBs at barricades. Also, if you hit someone with more than a single BB, there's every chance they're going to throw a hissy-fit over "overshooting" because 5 BBs hit them. It's part of the reason I'm ditching my ghillie for the next few game days at least, to see if I can galvanise some activity. However, I would also argue that today is the golden age: There are a LOT more players nowadays. A "very busy" day in my golden age was like... 30 players. Now, you're looking at over 100 at my local site and I know some get even more. New blood in the hobby keeps the hobby alive The sheer range of internal upgrades and how effective they are. Getting a 1.1J build to shoot accurately to 60m is pretty simple these days, where getting a bolt action to shoot 60m back in my golden age would've been considered witchcraft. I think my Cyma m14 SOCOM was a DMR at 420fps (1.6J) and it probably fired to 50m(ish) Accessibility for newer players. As I said when I was moaning about there being too many ghillies, it's incredibly easy for people to get into the hobby and do what they want. This is definitely a good thing and contributes to the hobby having a healthy player count. The guns are way higher quality than they were. Back then, you either paid a LOT for a TM, Tanaka, Systema etc, or you bought a Cyma that would probably break because the externals were made of pot metal, or you bought something where the internals would crap themselves after a small amount of use. Gear is way higher quality than it was. I remember Viper gear was utter shite back when I first played, so like with guns you either paid for some expensive Warrior Assault Systems kit, or you bought a Viper rig that fell apart. Nowadays, I have nothing against the repro brands like Viper or 8fields and have a lot of their kit; it's sturdy and does the job at a fraction of the cost, though I will always love my WAS stuff, since I still have the chest rig I used in Spain and it still works just fine and shows no sign of breaking any time soon. I'll stop waffling any more than I already have. TL:DR, 2008 - 2010 was my golden era when I was living in Spain, though that's also partially down to the sites we played at!

I ordered the S1 From the same seller I got my Spectre from, it was a whole £2 dearer than the cheapest available, but I had a good experience when I had an issue with the Spectre that was resolved amicably and quickly. You pay your fees etc at the checkout, so no additional surprises when it arrives at the uk , and a quicker delivery to your door. My Spectre arrived within a fortnight , and keeping in mind I ordered it at Xmas time, it arrived a good 2/3 weeks faster than their eta - and has been dispatched already. I watched the video attached above, the one with the chap comparing like 6/7 all together. There is a pre owned one in the classifieds just now, but for the price difference I just decided to get a fresh out of the box one 👌 The seller is Poptactcalgear , recommend

I initially decided against installing it, as it seemed very tight and bad things happen when I take a file to a gun. However I ended up going back to it and realising it didn't need any modification (I just needed to braver). I wanted the green lower as have several black or tan guns. Just an aesthetic thing, innit.

I run the Ruger lower (because I've fully converted mine to a Ruger .22) and I prefer it to the stock lower. Bonus points if you can get some nice wooden grips for it too!

Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be

More like trying to bait someone into some kind of scam....

Yes You're welcome. Loz

I can't remember the last time I attended a skirmish and it took longer than ten minutes to hear "Those cheaters aren't calling their hits!" When did that become so prevalent?

I think it's one of the weird obscure rifles from India or Korea etc with some dubious modifications . I'm more concerned about him pointing it at his mate's head

I think mostly you hit the nail on the head with the last line. It's obviously a matter of opinion and yes age/experience, predominantly sway that. I bought my first Airsoft gun in 2016, age-wise I could have started playing around fifteen years earlier. When I started looking at other RIF's, it was right when Glock had kicked-off about using their trademarks and anything bearing it, dried up pretty quickly. Leaving me feeling like I'd missed out! Also I don't remember looking at any Western Arms models and it seemed like the last of the G&P aegs were rapidly going out of stock. Having spoken with people who were playing several years+ before I started, it does seem like it was smaller groups meeting up to play and everyone's gun was about the same level. Basically just having a laugh. It seems a bit like cars, the classics are way cooler but realistically can't compete with modern, high-end stuff. So I'm a relative Newbie but I have been feeling more and more players emphasis is on "DESTROYING the enemy with this OVERPOWERED BEAST!!!!" rather than tactics....and yes I do blame YouTubers for that attitude.

Can only give my own experience but I ordered my ESS Profile Pivots from Powair6 which is in France I believe. About 150EUR and I didn't get charged duty/extra tax or anything. If you're looking for HPA stuff in the UK try Airtac.me or highpressureairsoft.co.uk

To clarify, this isn't entirely accurate, though it is in the instance of this order due to the value of it (assuming it's correctly declared by the seller anyway). You can still wind up paying duty, seemingly entirely pot luck, if the item you've ordered is over £135. Depending on exactly how they're shipped you can sometimes wind up being charged a handling fee by whichever courier handles the parcel once it hits the UK. Those two are usually bundled together, and it's unlikely (at least in terms of anecdotal experience on my part) you'll get hit by a handling fees if you haven't had to pay duty. Very much aware there is an element of faux pas here because the one on the classifieds you're referring to is mine, but I see a lot of confusion around what fees have and haven't been paid when ordering from overseas.

I'm in the hospital after being diagnosed with bad camouflage disease. They've just moved me to ICU.

I just ordered one of the HW eotech clones from Ali Exp last night, it was dispatched earlier today. watched more than my fair share of video comparisons about it Fingers crossed 🤞

Discord groups are saying 400 at the moment. But looking at other opinions. I already have two 7.62 AKs, no need for another. I use my AMD65 for Tacticool!

I can, the bottoms are just to cover the hex key for the CO2 bulb so they're not needed. I'll probably do that. I'm looking at picking up an aap-01 too at some point so the combat master will likely be relegated to display/when I want to pretend I'm good at shooting 🤣

What do you guys think? The windage and elevation dials aren't perfectly centered in the cutouts, but it looks straight to me. I suspect my quick attempt to wedge the sight protector into place had pushed it askew (which doesn't say great things about the screws fitting the hood to the sight, but hey-ho) Edit: Seems I'm going to be spending a lot of money on airline tickets shortly, so frankly a few quid here or there will make sod-all difference in the grand scheme of things - I'm now leaning a little towards sending this back and ordering the HW S1, as I now have 2 reasons to prefer it: [1] the reticle hopefully won't distort when viewed in the corners, [2] the screws aren't made of cheese and the hood will stay in the right place (though I do like cheese)

I don't know about calories but I'm having trouble keeping my head above water! I went to a pub in Yorkshire and brought home some of their souvenirs. I bought a beermat, a glass, a box of matches and serviettes. A lot of Ilkley Moor Bar tat.

Got out to battleastations activities on sunday for the 1st time in nearly a year. Thoughts. ICS mars rocked as usual. KWA erg, new hop rubber and a bit of tlc rocked along (thankfully). I suck with pistols. Dynatex timed bfg's are so darn reliablke even if i have set myself on fire with one before. I can also fog up anything in existence. ESS crossbow supressors, fog stop, Delta Mike face pro and a helmet. Blind as a bat. Marathon training meant i didnt feel as knackered as i usually would. Battlestations site. Maybe it's nostalgia. But i prefer the old site with battletown and modern warfare. But the new site works well enough. Just feels a tad samey between the 2 fields. Could also really use some netting between the 2 gamezones to stop the accidental shooting across zones.

DSG builds beg to differ. Guy who worked on my SR-25 brought his DSG build down to Worthing last month (with no intention of using it in game) because he knew the marshalls would see the funny side of it. You can definitely make AEGs go brrrrrrrrrrrrrttttttttttt. At that rate of fire, it's usually the mags that become the failing point as they just can't keep up. I also don't buy into the "high ROF = will win", but then again I run bolt actions and "DMRs" so I never have high ROF Also in terms of power difference, if they're cheating then they're cheating. I could just as easily show up to chrono with my SR-25 which I've kept as an AEG, pass chrono and then go off and change the spring over because it has a quick change spring and slap in a massive one that takes it way over the limit. Also I could take my gas guns to chrono on 144a with .2s, then go away and slap black gas and .48s in all my mags to bring them to something ludicrous like 4J. Couldn't do it with my blowbacks because they'd explode, but m700 and mk23 are both NBBs and my clone mk23 magazines will take high power gas without dying like my TM ones would. It's not the system, it's the players and the staff.

Misinformation ahoy! You're mistaking a site/sites for failing to regulate joule creep and instead assuming it's malicious intent on the players part. Hanlon's razor: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. I can't be bothered going over the rest of it, the chip on your shoulder is too heavy for me to lift off. Just consider that your perspective is tainting all of your opinions, and these fabled other players perhaps aren't the only one that could do with adjusting their attitude. In the meantime enjoy wallowing in your victim complex, because it's thoroughly entertaining to read the no doubt embellished escapades.

The only way HPA hurts more than an aeg, bbs (assuming they're the same weight etc) travel faster, the BBS do more damage etc is if the joules of that rif is higher than the aeg players. If the hpa player has changed their joule setting after chrono it's because they are a cunt. If the site refuse to deal with cunts ....why do you want to play there? Why attend a site/give them your cash and time that has pandering to cunts as it's business model? Why take your child to a site that doesn't deal with players that break health and safety rules that could risk your child's eye sight? An AEG with the same joules and same weight bb will do the same thing as hpa. Hpa can be tuned to firing very fast, I have seen aegs that have been tuned to fire very fast, generally this is just down to the person behind the system but yes, hpa makes it easier for cunts to cunt. My AEG clocks in around 340 fps with a .2, which is just under the 345 limit of the skirmish site I attend. Typically I use gbbr (and the fps is very gas dependent) and I get as many kills etc as when I use an AEG, yet I have far fewer BBS, so I don't buy the whole faster rate of fire/mass of suppression will always win. Though it can have an impact. As for where on the body you can and should be shot simply put you have to expect to be shot anywhere, hands, groin, face etc and wear ppe as per your comfort levels. I've aimed at players chests 15 meters away (or so) and ended up getting them in the face, there are many factors that can impact how accurate a bb is you can't get upset about hand shots etc. It's part of the sport.

It's not the HPA, it's the player and more importantly the site staff and enforcement of the rules. HPA at 1.2 Joules is no different than spring or AEG at 1.2 Joules, the BB doesn't know or care what system is providing the motive power. Find somewhere else to play.

If the players at the site you play at are breaking rules, then your first port of call is to report them to the marshalling staff. If the staff cant/wont do anything about it then vote with your wallet, show them that their failure directly results in loss of customers and revenue. Go somewhere else. If none of the sites you can travel to are able to provide a decent game then maybe it's time to consider other hobbies.

Couple more of my matching(ish) pairs. First up is my Samson B-TM with a Ruger MK4 style AAP. And then a recent one that I think is finished now, a G&P WA system Semi only SR15 and Airsoft Masterpiece Infinity 2011. The SR15 handles beautifully and the old school roller bolt makes a glorious noise! Yes, I’m aware it’s got a MP5 mag in it… necessary evil for us Sodastream Ghostbuster players

@DannyGIf u still have that gun, I would love to purchase it.