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As much as this is <oh-well-anyway.gif>, it's also a yellow flag about the state of retail and airsoft in particular in the UK. We really don't want to have to be importing individually from Abroadland.

CAMOraids in Essex is almost exclusively a TM shop. With some other high end gear added into the mix. They also run a site and events and it seems to be good enough for them. Whilst the decline of the Brick and Mortar shop is obvious. I think this is Zero Ones own doing. They never innovated, kept with a very confusing to operate and filter website, so many things out of stock and the stock was very inconsistent in terms of the type of things they sold. It's one of the only Airsoft shops that I never looked at when searching for a specific thing, because I knew they wouldn't have it or it would be more expensive than others.

It auto applies the discount at checkout - it fooled me too.

Oh no, what will happen to their forum? Oh wait, they drove that into the ground years ago, nevermind.

Overcooked

That's really scummy. One thing I appreciate about bricks & mortar retail is that you can usually speak in person if something goes wrong with whatever you buy and have less chance of being ghosted with emails or phone calls with a web-only retailer. The fact that people would "showroom" and order online on the premises without asking for a price match shows shameless contempt.

Yep, business rates/rents etc are crippling most walk in stores, irrespective of the products they sell, add to that the rising stock costs means most businesses are walking a tightrope in fear of the next setback, I wonder how many heard the gloom predictions regarding the next budget & are literally thinking "should I jump before I'm pushed ?". The other big issue is t'internet, we're now the generation to learn about the must have airsoft stuff via it, we then scour it for availability & best prices, & if a retailer wants us to buy from them, their having to virtually shoot themselves in the foot financially to get the sales. It's a sorry state of affairs🙁

I don't know about you guys but I never bought anything from them so I guess they didn't have competitive prices. Hopefully its not going to be a trend with other retailers.

It's based on a dumb joke. Say my name very fast.

I don't think that makes you a bad player. It shows you to be a player willing to go out there for whatever objectives and risk being hit instead of obsessing over having at least a 1.0 k/d ratio so I reckon most players will respect and even admire that. Welcome!

https://www.facebook.com/ZeroOneAirsoft keep an eye out for sales.

Don't know if I'm too late to help here, but all I can say is I've had great successes with my WE P226, I typically run it on red gas both winter and summer, it kicks and barks quite nicely, it's not the most accurate but then that's the price of the lovely WE package. My experience with the TM one was it felt almost, tacky? Wayyy lighter than the WE, did not give that "Holy hell" feeling. If I could, i'd chose the WE again, the mags are holding up well too, and having disassembled it, the internal parts seem of good quality. Anyway that's all I can say, hope this helped despite being a late reply

A little*too* well, in fact! With an M95 in, and the 500mm XT barrel it was putting out 1.22J Luckily this version has a quick change gearbox so with a little rummage through my bag o'springs™ it's now a satisfying 1.1J.

Ok well I got around to trying out the Marui hop unit, along with an XT barrel and everything seems to be running very well. No misfeeds, drops in power or anything so far so fingers crossed, it all seems to be solved! 😃

Yep. When I was in the previous iteration of the Z1 retail shop (they had a unit near Bournemouth Airport before consolidating operations into a new showroom at their warehouse) I watched that exact thing happen. One kiddie was moaning that he didn't have signal to order whilst his mate was testing the pistol on the little range they had. Thing is, Z1 would price match provided the cheaper retailer isn't listing whatever you want as a 'sale' item. I used the facility a number of times.

Yup, I'm pre-tightening my belt. And fine-weather hobby suppliers tend to call it a day in autumn, you see it with bike dealers as well. Mmm, some comments in the Facebook post about punters trying out guns at retailers, and then buying online while still in the shop, without even asking for a price match. That's a proper dick move.

I was in the Z1 showroom a couple of months ago (i'm relatively local) - midday on a Saturday. And I was the only customer. Spent 45min in the shop chatting with Alex - no one else came in during that time. I also noticed that they were also renting out parts of their unit (downstairs) to another company. Never a good sign as that was part of their huge warehouse. I think that people forget that Z1 was one of the very first UK online Airsoft retailers. I remember looking at their website as far back as 1999/2000 on the college PCs wishing I had the money to buy to put together a metal body TM build from parts. They had some cool shit in stock back in those days. Sad to see the retail side of things go - but such is life.

It's a shame to see any retailer go that's been around for as long as they have, but they chose to invest a hefty chunk in a new showroom at just the wrong time. Add to that the location not being cheap and airsoft being rather a luxury, the current economic climate was sure to have an effect sooner or later. To be perfectly honest I was more upset when ProAirsoft shut down.

I never bought from them, purely for not having anything I really wanted at the time but it's a shame. As already said, it's a warning of the state of UK retail though I blame business rates and property leases (along with the lack of relief) for the most part. I've always bought new RIFs and other expensive items from the UK only where possible to support retailers.

It's not completely closing. They say the website as is will go away but they're launching a new website next year where they'll only sell TM stuff. The showroom is shutting down so they'll be online only.

I bought some mags from them as they were the only stockist. Never the cheapest that I've seen, little low end stuff, and the site is an utter shitshow for actually finding what you're looking for. I do understand that their prices have to be higher to cover the costs of the bricks and mortar, but that's really only a draw for people shopping and buying in person. Mmm, good news is that the business will go to them, bad news is that it's autumn and the lean times are already starting - and Zero One is fire-sailing their stock. I mean, if they actually get around to applying the promised discount, which it doesn't seem like they have.

Looks like it has a bit of rubber in it, which could be swapped for something chunkier. Or the packing method will still work

Wait, we're supposed to take playing dress up and running around with toy guns seriously ? 😆

i see thank you for your help, the actual part that pushes down from the arm is just a plastic block and isn't adjustable or changeable in anyway (see piccys below) which doesn't help at all.

Great day at Red Alert yesterday. The threat of bad weather seems to have put a lot of people off but numbers were good enough for balanced teams and good gameplay! The rain didn't actually appear until around lunchtime then promptly buggered off just as we were going out for the first game of the afternoon. So that was nice.

"I want a MP7" "We have MP7 at home" MP7 at home.

My kind of player, if everyone took this to 110% serious levels then a lot more people will be leaving to take up some other sport like golf, or cricket or squash. Long may you and those like you reign sir!!🤣🤣

Essentially no, it comes down to the hop up. If you have a GBBR and an AEG, both capable of hopping .48s and both shooting at 1.1J, they will perform about the same. However, there's usually issues when it comes to voluming for AEGs which I'll go into in more detail. If you're interested in me absolutely nerding out over tiny details, continue reading. If not, you have been warned! I think it's probably because gas when it comes to propelling the BB works differently and most AEGs have voluming issues for heavy weight BBs. I've recently been properly delving into cylinder to barrel ratio stuff for my SRS, so I actually have a good understanding of it now. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me, but this is my understanding from my work on my own guns though my knowledge on AEGs is all theoretical because I just can't work on gearboxes; I've tried and failed way too many times, but I'm well-practiced on gas guns, from gas bolt actions, to GBBRs and GBBPs (and mk23s...) I'll start by citing my sources (ooooh, look at me being all professional and stuff) because we stand on the shoulders of giants http://airsofttech.dk/Guides.cshtml?Page=CylBarVolRatio_Page1 https://www.airsoftsniperforum.com/threads/cylinder-barrel-ratios-explained.14303/ Basically, a heavy BB requires more pressure to push through a barrel and takes longer to get from the start point to leaving the barrel. A .2g BB accelerates incredibly quickly through the barrel and leaves a lot quicker than a .48, assuming the same power level, so your cylinder to barrel ratio for heavy BBs tends to be higher to make sure you're pushing the BB appropriately through the barrel; you want a lot more air in the cylinder to push the BB through the barrel and also around the BB as it travels, creating a sort of air cushion around it. As an example (it's not an AEG, I'm sorry, but the mechanics are the same) I've got my SRS at about a 3.36:1 cylinder to barrel ratio for chucking .48s, so my cylinder volume is 3.36x the volume of my barrel and that seems to be about right for it (though not 100% accurate without me getting a barrel and testing it and cutting it down 10mm every time to see where it's the best. Most AEGs really struggle to volume properly which causes inconsistencies. Funnily enough, the best guns AEGs for chucking heavy BBs are things like mp5s or short m4s with shorter inner barrels. If there is too much volume it can push your shots off course after it leaves the barrel, causing inaccuracy. If there is not enough volume (a lot of AEGs using heavy BBs) it starts decelerating inside the barrel, which causes inconsistencies. With GBBs, the gas constantly expands as it pushes the BB through the barrel, so you have constant acceleration much like a real firearm; a 10.5" AR-15 firing the same 5.56 ammo as an 18" AR-15 will struggle to hit ranges that the long barreled one will hit with ease because the long barrel is giving the bullet more time to accelerate through the barrel. GBBs work in a similar way in that when the hammer strikes the magazine and releases the gas, it's constantly expanding and accelerating the BB through the barrel, so there's no issues with voluming in the same way AEGs have issues, and it compounds with heavy ammo as heavy ammo spends longer in the barrel, so it has more time to accelerate. This is why you get so much joule creep in long barreled gas guns. One of my gas m700s has a 640mm inner barrel and I find it tough getting it shooting the correct power on .48s and 144a during the summer; fortunately it's the one I don't use and is more of a collectors item However, let's assume that we have an AEG correctly volumed for heavy BBs for the sake of argument. In this instance, no, there is no inherent advantage that a GBBR will have for hopping heavy ammo. And I just saw this so you may disregard everything I typed (but I'm not deleting it because it took me time to write and I like nerding out!). I think GBB hop rubbers tend to be a bit better than AEG rubbers for hopping heavy ammo. Longer hop patches thanks to unbridged barrels certainly help getting a more even and consistent spin on heavy ammo. I put Flamingo buckings in my GBB hop rubber stuff and the patch is noticeably longer than the patch in the Maple Leaf MR rubbers I put in all my AEG rubber stuff

Don't cheap out on line. Airtac sells a very decent one or if you want to spend more Amped Airsoft makes quality pieces, too. Depending how much you spent at Airtac in the past you can claim certain things for 'free'. A line probably should sit around 1600-2000 psi points.

I'm actually quite a fan of the lines that high pressure airsoft do: https://highpressureairsoft.co.uk/products/hpa-custom-lines Their jungle one is a pretty nice woodland camo style one and is the one I have. They're rated for up to 160psi and I don't think I've ever run anything higher than that (and I only run bolt actions and DMRs as HPA, so I tend to crank up the psi a bunch) And I'd advise getting a tool to adjust it. Under pressure I believe it'll be a lot harder to adjust, but I can't confirm at the moment because both my HPA tanks are empty as I am using co2 for the VSR and just plainly not using the m21 because I can't stand an external line, and one is past its hydro date so I'm definitely not filling it. Only thing I'd say is you need to confirm whether your stuff has US fittings or EU fittings. I think most stuff tends to have US fittings, but you never know...

Quick update, I fixed the AEP gearbox and cleaned the factory earwax grease out. I don't hold much appreciation for the engineer that designed the gearbox, as it was quite a nightmare to reassemble. With a fully charged 7.4v and barrel installed, I think it sounds rather nice for an AEP. A quick shooting test gave me an indication that it should give surprisingly decent range with 0.25 or 0.28 BBs. I suspect the soft foam "nub" is causing inconsistent hop to be applied, so I'll be modifying the arm to accept an omega or H-nub tomorrow. Hoping it's not an air-seal problem. VID_20240905_203238823.mp4

I've found hand sanitiser gel is good for getting a fire started, especially in damp conditions. I've also made fire starters by taking a section of bike inner tube, filling it with tumble dryer lint and taping up the ends. The inner tube keeps the lint dry and will also burn when wet This. A good rule of thumb is to treat it like foreplay. Whatever you think is enough double it

And another for the brit kit. An LCT HK53, set up as the L101A1/2 RM Close protection variant. Can't afford a real trijicon RX06, so this AIMO reflex will have to do. Note to self.... this collection is getting out of hand now... 🤣

went to Red Alert's boot saleamathingy today and picked up a bit of a bargain. It's a PTS Masada for £80.

Not mine, but my buddy Made an horrific discovery on his Aps cam 870 😳