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I really hope this thread dies and my Mrs never sees it .

One of my biggest fears is that when I die the missus will sell my kit for what I told her I paid

I have managed to be very frugal over the years, but I think the amount of time I've actually spent playing means it works out as tremendously expensive. I've got much better value for money from my two £400-500 guitars than I have with any of my boneyard specials. However, I get a certain level of intangible joy from having toy guns knocking around... I was running around my garden with cheapo plastic guns at an embarrassing late stage of my teenage years, and now I get to do it all over again with much higher quality and more fun versions of the same thing

I would, but my shelves are all still full of toilet rolls left over from lockdown.

That's why we need to stockpile now, like those crazy yank preppers lol?

£400 for a cyma boltie ? https://prefired.co.uk/ads/cyma-cm-700a-m40a3-spring-sniper-rifle/

As others have posted, whoever you get to do the work to set it to 1j on whatever your preferred bb weight is (personally I wouldn't go below .28g). This will keep you below the limits for 99% of UK sites. The fps limit will differ for different bb weights as the heavier the object being moved, the more energy is required to match velocity of a lighter one. Hence why a fully loaded car will accelerate slower than an empty one. The 3XXfps is a throwback to when virtually everyone used .2g bbs so it was easier to just use fps I wouldn't touch that site with a barge pole. That's a hell of a lot of money for a gun where you don't know the make and half the upgrades listed are very vague about what you're getting. They're also making some claims which are frankly ridiculous, eg the realistic sound and that shaving a couple of teeth off the piston saves on weight Unfortunately there's no mention of restricting it to semi auto so I'm hoping it's something that was forgotten or is aimed at players in countries where higher muzzle energy is allowed. I wouldn't put money on it though considering the number of UK shops who will happily sell (usually clone) guns which are way above uk site/legal limits

No. Once again the muzzle energy is over 1.3j so is a section 5 firearm and with a rof that high you're going to piss people off very quickly. There's also the issue of what happens when it gets into the country. If HMRC get their hands on it and you can't provide a defence it'll go in the crusher and you won't get your money back. Is there any reason you're not wanting to buy from a UK shop?

Well lads, you can't take it with you and there's no use crying over spilt milk! Consume and be merry.

Its from the same company in the US so no. Buy one from the UK, preferably a shop you can actually visit.

It's all a mess the hole system needs revamping. Sadly if they ever do get round to it, it will probably only turn out to be bad news for the shooting sports. They will invariably take the opportunity to ban or make it harder to get some items.

I wouldn't trust any retailer website that doesn't give their address and a contact number, let alone one that wants nearly a grand off me. In the UK, businesses are legally required to show an address on their website if they are selling goods or services. For limited companies it must be the company registered address. For sole traders it's a bit more woolly and I believe they can get get away with a PO Box for example, but I'm not sure I'd chuck money at a company that only uses a PO Box address. I would have thought there would be similar laws in the US?

@Jez_Armstrong come over the dark side mate, we have cake??

Tell us where abouts in the country you are and we can recommend a good shop that will steer you right. As previously commented by someone you come across as a newcomer to the sport, if so forget about custom guns. Get a good solid gun, low to mid end and some experience. Don't even consider a custom build or boutique build untl you know what you are talking about.

I’m not short of a penny but I’m as tight as they come so I’ve mostly done airsofting on a budget over the years. I was an early adopter of Chinasoft replicas and loved the fact I could import reasonably decent RIFs for a fraction of the premium brands you’d buy in the UK. I’ve also never held on to stuff that doesn’t get used enough. It gets sold on so I never have that many RIFs at any one time. I did treat myself once to a 2nd hand Systema PTW that cost me around £1k. That was an amazing bit of kit and a lot of fun to use. But when I stopped playing as much I sold that on. I’m just as happy these days with my CYMA M14 that cost me less than £100 ? There was a guy at a site I played at recently who had a £2k thermal scope on his rifle. It was bloody amazing but not something I’d personally spend out on.

The prices are in whole numbers of GBP, which suggests it's a UK seller, but "1.4 Joules 40 RPS about 390 FPS with .2" is a Section 5 firearm. ?‍♂️ The lack of any name, address, contact, shipping or warranty information - and the Skylar Reddit Tech vibes - gets the hardest of hard nos from me. If you have that money to spend, I'd get on to Luke at https://negativeairsoft.com/contact/ to discuss what you want. Be precise, and prepared to have the piss rightfully ripped out of you if your requirement is "Bestest airsoft gnu evar to dominate the field at airsoft wars, mister".

I don't spend money on gear because I don't see the point. What I mean is that I don't need a Sordin for 300 quid or gucci plate carrier because I don't go to war and it doesn't matter one bit if it's branded Viper Tactical or Agilite. Majority of the people you meet don't care what's on you regardless if you try to impress others or not. Hardcore mil-sim events are obviously different but in that case you know exactly what you signed up for. There is obviously some truth to "the buy once cry once" motto regarding gear. Can be a good investment as long as you don't end up in the classifieds trying to get rid of it for a small fortune and no one buys it. ?

It's best not to think about it.

So your gonna by a gun built and tuned to a high level from an american company. Running at that sort of performance ( to be honest if you are shooting at 40rps your gonna be getting into a lot of trouble or banned from sites ) it will need maintenance and any guarantee is next to worthless as shipping a gun back to US is expensive and requires US Govt issued Paperwork. Why not but a good solid gun from a UK shop, run it for awhile and see what if any upgrades you want. You won't get the fancy laser engraved topographic design, but you could get a simpler and custom to you design engraved on or cerakoted. Honestly mate that US Gun is a bad idea.

Starting to realise I might have a type

Almost 100% markup on a new one! - https://www.davescustomairsoft.co.uk/cyma-cm-700a-m40a3-sniper-rifle-olive It doesn't even include the scope ?

I tried goggling their location, what I got was very vague, but as you've mentioned, everything had a US feel which would be a big concern for me if I was chucking a grand at a gun (it'd never happen lol). @Yashy, no offense, you've been here a while but the questions in your post makes me feel that your still quite new to the airsoft "scene" ?, if this is the case, why do you feel the need to blow a grand on an airsoft gun that only it's sellers sing the praises of, with fairly outlandish claims, when that kind of spend could get you two or three very good quality guns in the uk, which would also be reassuring when it comes to returns, technical assistance, or spares etc.

I would love to help out if that's possible?

I'd like to know what they were on when this was given the green light

After contemplating selling my LCT G3 and handling it and realising it was absolutely bomb proof in build quality decided to keep hold of it....and ended up buying an LCT HK33 from a fellow member on here, just need to find 4 reasonably priced midcaps by end of the month so i can use it at my next game!

I should preface this is entirely within the context of Firearms Act 1968, in particular the offences related to air weapons. And that all this time I had the impression that airsoft is not air weapons. But I am raising this question because I saw this. The police website says airsoft guns are air weapons. https://www.met.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/fi/af/firearms-licensing/air-weapons/ If airsoft is air weapon, it would become illegal to gift minors airsoft, so will gifting them plastic BBs, under s 24(2). I saw some prior discussions here but cannot find any concrete conclusion. Most websites out there seem to suggest it is ok to gift airsoft to someone under 18, implying that airsoft is not air weapon. I also had the believe that gifting airsoft to under 18 is ok. But if airsoft is air weapon then it would be illegal. It also says you must be above 18 to hire one. So under 18 cannot hire rentals? (What about paintball?) CPS considers paintball guns as air weapons. Pouring over the Firearms Act it doesn't give any indication either way. The definition of air weapon in Firearms Act s 1(3)(b) does not really exclude airsoft, like how airsoft is excluded from firearms. One can say the wordings of Firearms Act would imply air weapon is a subcategory of firearm (e.g. section titles, subsection structures), therefore by virtue of airsoft not being a firearm it is automatically excluded from the air weapon definition, but this is not super explicit, can definitions be interpreted like this? (Any experts of statutory interpretation?) Interestingly, the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 would explicitly exclude any air weapon that is not a firearm, and airsoft which is not a firearm would qualify. So airsoft is certainly not air weapon in Scotland at least for licensing purposes. However, the Act also implies that there are air weapon that is not firearm ("the expression [air weapon] does not include ... an air weapon which is not a firearm"). The dictionary meaning of "air pistol" and "air rifle" and "air gun" would literally include airsoft because of the use of compressed air. Therefore unless air weapon as defined in s 1(3)(b) is strictly a subcategory of firearm, it is possible to count airsoft as air weapon, similar to how airsoft is also imitation firearm. One can argue, if it applies to paintball, it should similarly apply to airsoft, so if paintball is air weapon, so is airsoft? Tangentially, are airsoft fields operated the same way as paintball fields? Particularly in rentals to under 18s?

Just an idle thought on my day off, I'm fully aware of the cost of my collection & even I find it embarassing at times but... After seeing NVG in the classifieds for £4000.00 & over £4000.00 worth of clothing from one seller last week my question is basically how much you willing to pay for 'THE' right kit for your loadout? I think the most I've paid is a shade over £600 for my L86A2 & around £300 for my ACU Molle II (much of that was postage from US & EU), at the same time I'm happy to pay £10 - £20 odd for boneyard items. I know quality outshines quantity but what are your thoughts on kit you have?

Yup, I spotted that, but blithely assumed that the whole-number GBP figures implied UK. However, it seems that prices in all currencies have the pennies rounded off, except for USD, where some $99.99 style prices can be found. That (and the orange tips) actually supports it being US, and a super-duper-mega hard "no", given the whopping duties, postage and import shenanigans for what might turn out to be a bag of rocks.

Paintball guns are ‘low powered air weapons’ as far as legislation is concerned (Even when CO2 powered - originally Scotland considered paintball sites to be committing section 5 offences as CO2 was used, whereas the rest of the UK accepted CO2 use as a reasonable interpretation of the intent of the law - that interpretation loophole was subsequently rectified) Airsoft was under the umbrella of low power air weapons, but that changed with the 57a amendment as noted by @Cannonfodder- for compliant Airsoft guns Paintball falls into many grey spots in the legislation, with interpretations from the Home Office backing up paintball - but interpretations are always subject to change at any time

Eh. I'd always go by the statute. S22 (1) purchase or hire is only for firearms. S22 (4) possession of an air weapon or ammunition, OK, they got us. But 23 (1) and (3) supervision will apply at any airsoft site. Transporting to and from site without a 21+ adult is problematic, but only if you're actually caught with it. At that point, you need your "reasonable excuse" for S19 possession of an imitation (realistic or otherwise) and once you've produced that and calmed the copper down, you'd have to be phenomenally unlucky to be prosecuted. S24 (4) Gifting air weapons to under 18, OK, got us again. So, don't gift it, retain ownership and lend it under supervision, as per S24 (4) (b) / S23. We can update our advice to mums and dads. Just keep doing what we've been doing, and we'll be fine, not fined.

Also don't forget the list price doesn't include postage which will push the total cost up significantly

No, bad idea, same firm, same bs, same nightmares if anything isn't right. If they ship it over & it has ANY issues, are you gonna happily sit on your hands while it trundles slowly back the usa, & hope that when (or if ?) it comes back it's sorted. Alternatively, for 600 quid, buy a long & a short specna with quick spring changes, & bask in the smug glory that success brings? We are all assuming your in the uk ?

I do my best to achieve cost neutrality with my Airsoft expenditure... Well, kind of. I relentlessly hammer my train company for delay repay, and all the compensation is paid into my PayPal account (cough, toy fund), which is then spent on the next Airsoft purchase once it builds to the requisite amount. It makes all those waits on overcrowded trains just that little bit more bearable...

Like others I try not to spend too much on kit. Partly because I'm tight (I must have Scottish ancestry) and partly because I don't see the point in spending extra for Gucci gear when the cheaper options will do for running around for a few hours once a month. My biggest expense is probably travelling to games as I don't drive. Often the price of a train ticket is the same, if not more than, the green fees I'm glad I'm not the only one

While I try to be frugal when buying gats & all the associated kit, if I think of a conservative figure, maybe 1.5 to 2k per year, but then times it by years playing (23ish), that's just mad?

Probably made worse by having optics on things which are as expensive as what they're mounted to. I'm still technically well inside of what the prices could have been had I bought things new - working on the principle of had I bought them new, I would be significantly worse off. KWA was a trade, so no extra expenditure. RATech M4 was £400 with 7 WE PMags (the rifle new before shipping and taxes is over £1000 and each of the 6 extra mags were about £40-50, so lower end of £1300ish) DE N4 cost me £150. Even with the other crap i've bought since for each of them, I'm still in my (convoluted) mind, something like negative £5-600 ?

I'd say no as section 57A has specific exemptions for airsoft guns not to be classed as firearms https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/27/section/57A

I didn't realise they're in the USA, that fits for the 400 fps. However it doesn't detract from my other points. Tbh I kind of feel the same about the Bolster stuff from PB. Over priced clones where only the sellers singing their praises. As we all know in airsoft more expensive doesn't necessarily mean better

Lovely c-more clone that was slated for a 9th of december delivery decided to come today, seems lovely so far and was cheap as chips. Looks awesome on the MP5 and I'll probably try it on the AK at some point.

Well that is a right result thank you very much looks like it will work. Thank you ??

Almost certainly a scammer, do your best to avoid. They say friends and family only as apparently G&S doesn’t work with their account which is a load of tosh.

Sounds like you would like a project Jez. Become a Mod and you can set up the new topics and move all the posts from gun picture topic into the new ones .

£600 with the stock & mag that would fly out ??

You will soon grow out of that ?

So I bought my second GBBR…

My brother! I have done the same thing to my Marui and G&G MC51, I followed this guide: https://www.gtapex.com/08/airsoft_g3sbs.html @Hatchet has already provided you the pictures contained in my link, but I think you'll find useful information as well. AND the link itself, which at the moment is working. Here a picture of my second iteration of the conversion: EDIT: corrected myself

As someone who’s owned a few different manufacturers GBB M4’s at one time or another over the years, for me Tokyo Marui is the one to go for. I’m very similar to you in that mine are collection pieces, with a few rounds put through them every now and again. Therefore, looks and feel are more important than performance and Tokyo Marui cannot be beaten. The Cerakote finish is spot on and it just feels right. Both weight and quality are top notch. Also, the performance is better than most. There’s also plenty of upgrades available. Personally I’d leave the internals alone, other than an Angry Gun heavy buffer and HAO steel bolt end to increase the felt recoil if you want more recoil. If it’s only going to be lightly used, the extra pressure from the heavy buffer and bolt end shouldn’t cause to much of a problem. I’ve had no problems with any of mine so far, (touch wood). There’s loads of external options as well. Rail upgrades and the like. As far as other manufacturers go: WE - Decent enough products, cheaper than TM, but if you want trademarks you’ll either have to buy from Asia and hope there’s no issues with customs, or buy a trademarked lower receiver and switch the blank lower out. VFC - Difficult to get hold of a VFC M4A1 these days although MK18’s, XM177’s and the 733 are available. But, it just doesn’t feel as nice as the TM. I love VFC stuff and their internal build quality is much better than it was, but I prefer a TM. GHK - If it’s a standard M4A1 you’re after, you’ll end up with one with Navy SEAL markings on the receiver instead of Colt trademarks. They now do the URG-I version and the MK18 which both have Colt trades, but, by all accounts, GHK’s quality control isn’t as good as it was. Golden Eagle - I’ve not had any experience with. I think they may have plastic receivers. I may be wrong, but I think that’s the case. Also, I don’t think they have trademarks. Double Eagle - I’ve got the Noveske N4 and it is nice. Comes with TM style internals. But, I don’t think they do an M4A1 and I’ve not had a good enough look over it to judge the quality of the internals. The externals look great though. For me, personally, if I’m planning a build, I’ll go for a TM if I know the parts I need are available. If you’re after a GBB that feels great out of the box, that you can just unbox and manipulate and be happy with, but also upgrade if you want, I think you can’t go wrong with the TM. (And no, I don’t work for TM. ?)

I can ask for this gun to be lowered in fps and jouls, If i wanted to make it compatible with outdoor play at 0.25 or higher. (I'm still not understanding the fps requirement in sites) So to make this gun compatable and not get kicked out of every site what can I ask the person to do make sure I can fit the requirements of nearly all sites in UK? https://www.therealdealairsoft.com/products/pre-build-mk18-goblin