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Ban Hammer

If the average airsofter can tell the difference between pre modern day Russian kit and what is in use to invade Ukraine now then I'd wear that. But because I know the average airsofter wouldn't know the difference and that many modern Russian units still use kit from decades ago, I have chosen not to wear anything Russian at this time.

Thought I'd drop my Shughart M14 build on here. If anyone has a spare G&G stock going that has textured areas around the pistol grip and in front of the magazine well, i'd be keen to get it as the real stock I have turned out to be entirely too much faff to work into it.

i must admit, having used mainly russian gear mostly in the name of comfort (having never really gotten into the exact replicating a loadout thing) it's a tricky one. as has been mentioned a lot of loadouts can be interpreted offensively depending on the person viewing it, and it's generally accepted that it's just part of the game and often people's choice of loadout doesn't mean an affiliation with that nations politics. but given the present circumstances it's probably best to avoid it if you can for the time being, presumably if you're a site regular then folk will probably for the most part understand if you show up in the same kit you always wear because that's what you have. on the flip side, you could argue that no matter what you wear taking part in pewing whilst the ukrainians are having to deal with it for real has an element of disrespect, and perhaps, as someone mentioned in a status update, sending this weekends pewing fee's to the red cross or similar humanitarian organisations would be the right thing to do that this time.

You won't be laughing when Sea of Tranquillity Airsoft is up and running and making mega bucks.

Simple question , in the light of what’s going on as we speak do you think it is or it’s not acceptable to wear obviously Russian kit on game days now ? Me personally I say no you shouldn’t wear it , yes you may have spent an awful lot of money on your load out but you’d have to be one seriously insensitive person to turn up at a gameday wearing your digi flora or gorka 3 kit when the people who wear it for real are currently invading a democratic country simply because the dictator in charge of their motherland wants to put the clocks back 40yrs . Please discuss .

Just had user 'drewhigh01' message all 3 of my wanted ads saying his 'mate' has all the items i'm after amnd to contact him via email.... obvious scam please be aware.

A gentle reminder of the playbook for when you get a call / message from someone claiming to be a reporter from the Daily Drama, demanding that you explain why you refuse to disavow the Russian-Nazi-Nonce-Lizards infesting your hobby. 1) Put the phone down / delete the message, and block. Give them nothing, not one single word. 2) Repeat as necessary for up to 7 days. 3) The story is over.

It is, perhaps obviously, a hard no from me. I don't consider myself to be a particularly sensitive snowflake and I recognise the arguments that the world has always been in conflict so whatever loadout you pick you risk offending someone. The whole "Good/Evil is a matter of perspective and the truth is in the middle" only holds to a certain degree and right now, the lines seem pretty well defined. However, at this exact moment in time, we're talking about running around playing pew pew in the woods and laughing about it whilst 80 year old grannies are getting a crash course in using AKs in a futile attempt to stop Russian tanks and shelling from destroying and stealing their country. I don't know, but I just don't have the stomach for it. Suspension of disbelief is about making it seem real, and it's already more real than I'd like. Not to mention that, well, you know how people can be and there's guaranteed to be some clown on site who thinks its all hilarious or some marshall that thinks setting themed objectives around the current conflict is a good idea. As someone pointed out, the devs of This War of Mine are donating profits from sales at the moment to Ukraine Red Cross and there are *still* people on the comments berating them for it and saying they should "stay out of politics". I'd hate to think I'd accidentally gone and developed some empathy this late in the day, but it's kind of looking that way and I know I'd have a shit day out if I went. So, each to their own. If you're out this weekend have fun, but I think I'll give it a miss for now.

Personally I won't have anything to do with Russia now or ever. (I wouldn't dress up as a Nazi either)

If my kit was Russian, I'd burn it right now. However, if I turned up to airsoft on Sunday and someone was wearing Russian gear, it wouldn't bother me. I wouldn't see it as them endorsing what bad Vlad is up to, rather it's an aesthetic choice. Reagan was right when he called them the evil empire.

I think it's right to show some sensitivity at this time. However, if the only kit I had was Russian, I'd still wear it. But I'd understand if I got some comments or looks - and be prepared to explain / have a thick skin about it. Unfortunately there's definitely a bad guy at the moment

To play devils advocate, is it any different to WW2 German/Axis forces kit, any sort of Opfor loadout that is based upon a real force? Personally, I’d hold off wearing it for now as the events are happening. Maybe in a few months?

If anyone wants to sell an ak105 with full zenitco cheap, I’ll take it. too soon?

Once again I would like to remind people not to drink and buy....

Now as an ex-journalist, you probably have some decent contacts knocking around, from whom you can get first or second hand info (unless your journalism was working for the Dorking Gazette, or similar). CNN used to be pretty decent, but are now an example of how Fox News has moved the reporting goalposts. They're not as extreme, but they're becoming more politically biased because down-the-middle reporting isn't retaining the viewers, it seems. So I go with Lozart's approach. The consensus from BBC + Sky + A N Other if there's any doubt. The people usually telling us to "do our own research" are way too often talking about their own echo chamber YouTube / Facebook / Reddit channels. And they fail to see the irony in what they're spouting. If you ever want to laugh at Flat Earthers and their conspiracy theory brethren you'll see it in action, and it's a horrible thing when all logic and obvious truths are cast aside just "because it's what The Man wants you to believe - so I don't believe it"

British Red Cross have a Ukraine appeal running if anyone felt like skipping playing war for a weekend and sending the green fee over there instead.

I doubt that there is a single member of this forum who should be allowed out of the house with wallet and without adult supervision

Personally I couldn't give a shit what loadout someone wears to play. If someone else is going to get offended then that's their problem not mine. As for the gutter press getting hold of photos, I remember a few years ago the scum published photos from a site who used shemargs to ID teams. At the time there were lots of people saying it would be the end of airsoft but in reality it was just next weeks chip paper

I don’t have problem with people using a Russian Federation load out. No one gave a shit during 2014 Crimean occupation, MH17 shoot down, Chechnyan wars and South Ossetia etc. Why start now? If someone is running about saying what a hero Putin is then that’s different. Dressing up up to play soldier games doesn’t mean that person supports that regimes ideology. Makes too many assumptions for my taste. I can’t think of many modern armed forces that haven’t been involved in some disreputable acts in living memory or indeed the last few years. I’m thinking of drone strikes on 9 year olds…..

Hey while you got that on get ya mam to run round it wiv a pair of scissors! 🤣🤣 I used to have a basin cut when I was a nipper.Hated it but it only cost a shilling. Lol. Two for nothing? Kind of deal I like 👍 Regards

Airsoft for most seems to be an escapism hobby. For myself, this is both disconnecting from the real world for a short period of time and disconnecting myself by lets say dressing up as if from a different culture and/or time period. It's up to the individual to decide how detached to the real world (and its current issues) their loadouts are and where to draw the line. For example, its common to represent a middle east insurgent, but perhaps putting a black headband on with white writing isn't the best idea, same classic thing comes up with german ww2 loadouts. I don't think a gorka and an AK crosses this line. However, as the world changes, issues change and so that line fluctuates. If it were the 70's and airsoft was a thing, I don't think many people would do VC loadouts. My favorite rif is an AK74 and with it my chi-com kit and russian camos. However, I now feel like that detachment between the real world has shrunk from comfortable to uncomfortable, so I will most likely slip into a more PMC role. I must say that yesterday wasn't the best timing for my Partizan camo suit (ordered a couple months ago) to arrive, delivered to work. 😶

You mean that's not what the AF in AFUK stands for?

CNN? Not clearly biased? [insert J. Jonah Jameson laughing meme here] Personally, I don't believe any of the mainstream media outlets any more and tend to find my news from multiple, independent sources, having been a journalist myself. You can give a journalist a set of facts and then they can write 3 different articles using the same set of facts, each telling a totally different story. It's really not that hard to do.

In the middle??????? Are you joking? There is absolutely NO truth in anything coming out of that communist dictatorship

It's amazing the number of people who'll make light of him or stand up for him. (Yeah Trump, I'm looking at you first) My Quora feed is enough to make my blood boil tbh. I really ought to unsub from that troll-filled pile of cack. But there's usually some interesting or amusing factoid to be gleaned from the steaming mess it almost always turns into.

I've got no problem with people turning up in Russian kit because at the end of the day I know they aren't pro-Russian wannabe militia; they're a nerd playing BB wars in the woods. Will I be wearing Russian kit? No, though I've never really been interested in Russian stuff. I'm more about independent loadouts, but assuming I was big into my Russian kit, I'd probably look to use something else while this is going on. Would I blame someone for not doing so? Absolutely not, it's my personal choice not to run it and I don't much care about what other people do with their choices. We're a free society at the end of the day. Also, this is very true. Having been a journalist I can very much say that the media would put some horrific spin on it because shock content gets clicks, which is all they're chasing at the end of the day. For that reason alone (we know how journos love to paint our hobby anyway) I think it's probably a better idea to hang up the Russian kit for now, purely to safeguard the hobby from those who would destroy it for their own gain (journos, politicians etc).

Unless we're all stumbling around a radioactive wasteland, in ten years time the history books will be divided like this * Russia - We won against the rebels and protected our people blah blah blah * Everyone else - Putin was c*nt and invaded an independent country Victors writing their own history books will be in a minority of one. And they'll be wrong.

Me neither, never had the slightest interest in their kit. And thinking about it, yeah it'd be pretty shit for Airsoft in general if the press got hold of pics of players in Russian loadouts at the moment, you can imagine the spin they'd put on it.

Indeed, this occurred to me too. I've salved my conscience by deciding to both pew, and donate. Although like an absolute plankton, I managed to donate to the wrong Red Cross appeal (don't just google Red Cross Ukraine and click on the 'donate £20' link, like I did - that's for a UK appeal! Only realised once I'd finished) https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwif55ab2pr2AhVCsO0KHaS5CUIYABABGgJkZw&ae=2&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESWOD20PIflYLL7va-NGQ6E8IMX0a_NXg6ZK59fFJ1WFvIWNO5dUZvO0X1PMOLj2DWnqUmCfqjOo0vK1ct-E8XdJ3igTZnm12HEeYTQpNpnWxRe_Kxw1DN6QI&sig=AOD64_1323A7qVN1X4AASS-9W8Nk35M48A&ved=2ahUKEwiv4I2b2pr2AhXloFwKHZFJAtEQqyQoAHoECAIQBQ&adurl=https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwif55ab2pr2AhVCsO0KHaS5CUIYABABGgJkZw&ae=2&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESWOD20PIflYLL7va-NGQ6E8IMX0a_NXg6ZK59fFJ1WFvIWNO5dUZvO0X1PMOLj2DWnqUmCfqjOo0vK1ct-E8XdJ3igTZnm12HEeYTQpNpnWxRe_Kxw1DN6QI&sig=AOD64_1323A7qVN1X4AASS-9W8Nk35M48A&ved=2ahUKEwiv4I2b2pr2AhXloFwKHZFJAtEQqyQoAHoECAIQBQ&adurl=https://donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/ukraine-crisis-appeal

You’re just confirming my point indefensible actions from “our”point of view but history books are written by the victorious so I expect we will find out who was right in 10 years or more i personally won’t be dressed as a Russian but then I run a galil (two countries of which who used it have questionable ideas about who is right and wrong and I offer no defence for them either, I just like galils)

I'd say that right now, it's in fairly poor taste given the reasons why the Russians say they're in Ukraine. I don't see that it's in any way the same as rocking up in WW2 German kit though. That can be viewed through the lens of historical reenactment etc playing as Russians would only really be the same as wearing Nazi gear if you were LARPing in France while Germany was invading Poland.

I very much agree with this, there is metrics by which you can measure the quality of gear like this (weight, durability, fitness for purpose etc) but I do think there's an amount of subjective judgement to be made as to whether something is "good enough" for you. I'm not entirely sure that brand plays a huge part in the cost of tactical nylon so much as reputation and small batch sizes. Looking at companies like Platatac for example that sell off contract overruns they're really not that expensive for what they are. Companies like Crye, Mayflower/Velocity etc spend a lot of money getting military contracts and that is always going to be reflected in the cost to the retail consumer (who aren't really their primary market). Like you say, there's definite strata within the Asian nylon market, I have gear from TMC, Emerson, Flyye and Condor and they're all perfectly good for airsoft. I have some Warrior Assault Systems gear and plagiarism claims aside, their kit is made well enough for the price and is certainly more than good enough for airsoft. I have a number of friends who have Crye, Spiritus and First Spear kit (none of whom have mortgages, just FYI) and on the face of it, they don't carry their airsoft mags and grenades any better than mine do. They'll probably outlast my gear but I change my mind fairly regularly on what I want to run so paying "real steel" prices just isn't going to work for me.

While I see the concerns, I also have absolutely no misconceptions about what we do, we play dress up pew pew games, it's not real & generally only the hardcore snowflakes are likely to be offended by a loadout. Me personally, I know feck all about ruski loadouts, so other than those mental lids that some players are using, I wouldn't know the difference anyway.

It's an acute situation, but there are few real world LARPs that don't have the potential to result in offence being taken by someone who identifies strongly with the other side. We live in a multi-cultural society, and not every UK resident views UK forces as the "goodies". But for a multi-cultural society to work, we need to live in this society, not import identities and conflicts from other places or other times. That said, restraint goes both ways, and it would be a dick move to flex about your Spetsnaz costume right now. Since I don't identify as a Russian conscript or a Ukrainian partisan (and couldn't recognise either at three paces), I have no Sukhoi in this fight. My only real interest is in not having anything kick off for real while I'm trying to enjoy my own LARP. Shrugs, I guess, this too shall pass.

You’re only the bad guy if you’re on the other side.

Better ? nope wouldn’t say so from my limited experience of it but is it ‘truly quality’ ? Now that’s a question for debate !😁 think it’s like everything else you buy you get what you pay for(but I’d also add the caveat that once you pass a certain price fresh hold I do believe your paying for the name as much as the quality) there are price bands that the products sit in , you’ve got kit that’s cheap shit and it looks it , then you’ve got the stuff that ‘looks’ ok but you know even in a Chinese sweatshop full of 9yr olds you just couldn’t make it at that price for it to be any good so they must have cut corners on it . Then you’ve got the biggest band the “looks ok , feels ok” kit and that’s where I think the likes of TMC/8Fields/1tigris/Nuprol/etc etc live , and from my limited experience I’d say Invader Gear is definitely in that band of kit quality . The next is a bit of an odd one where you’ve got the brands that are still Chinese knock off’s but your paying a lot more for it that the last lot , Flye/Emerson/Condor/etc live here , me personally I’m in the quandary over these brands as I do wonder do I buy these or do I pay that bit extra and move up to the next price range ? then you hit the ‘real’ kit when prices start getting(to me anyway)from “bit expensive but worth it I’ll treat my self !” to “nope sorry that’s a very silly price for Airsofting !” , you’d be a bit of a pillock not to realise this is the best kit you can have but if just a belt from a particular brand costs as much as a new pistol then I’ll stick with my knock offs thank you very much ! 😉 ultimately once you reach a price bracket it comes down to personal preference , you want to spend that much on a what ever ? Go for it but don’t make out you ‘had to buy it” no you WANTED to buy it just admit it , it’s your money you spend it on what ever you want .👍

Ongoing might qualify as "too soon".

Is it in Ukraine ?

Honestly, not my intention 🙈 😅

🤐 Payday tomorrow, alreadying prioritising my next purchases 😁

@Mobius Strip Bloody show off !!! 🤣

Hello, anyone here have 3d printer who wouldn't mind printing a few prototype parts for me please. These are picatinny accessories, They are only small. Will want 1 of each part initially and then if any refinements need making I can make them and get another made. Then once finalised will want maybe 10 or so of each one. Materials... I'm thinking possibly TPU for 2 of them and something harder but not brittle for the other, not sure on what material would be suitable. Let me know if this is something you can offer and I'll PM the files and discuss price. Thank you

Well there might be a few players flogging there kit of cheap now…

OP has left the building...

Neither a full gun nor a picture. But something you'll probably never thought about or wished to see. A JLS RX4 Outer barrel getting some weight reduction on a lathe today. The JLS Outer Barrel is surprisingly made of very solid steel, as such, it is very front heavy. A buddy of mine has access to a lathe at work and shaved a few mm to cut it's weight down by a quarter. Annoyingly it is only Steel on the part of the outer barrel inside the receiver. Once it is external to the receiver they decided to epoxy a Zamac outer barrel extension to it (Which has oxidised due to age). Whyyyy?

My "stuff" was getting everywhere, so I picked up a cheap secondhand bookcase and turned it into a Airsoft storage unit 🙂