Chock

It's definitely an AK74, not an AK47, but it's been put together as a hybrid by someone who has not done their homework, as there are some features which mean that it could never be a real-world weapon (although don't let that put you off, as the error is easily correctable, if you like it and think it looks cool, then go for it). Here's why we know it is an AK74... First up, take a look at this picture I've knocked up for you: Okay, that puts it pretty much beyond doubt right? So here's the problem: We have an AK47 magazine on the thing. We know it is an AK47 magazine because it has a very pronounced curve, which had to be the case on the AK47's mag in order to accommodate the larger calibre rounds, which are considerably tapered. The AK74 uses the smaller calibre round, which is less tapered, so the magazines are straighter. This means there is no way it is the correct magazine for an AK74. Physically, it is possible to fit an AK47 magazine into an AK74, even though the thing would not feed properly since the rounds are the wrong calibre and would not fit into the breech, although the other way around (i.e. fitting an AK74 magazine into an AK47) is not possible at all because the AK74 mags have a little raised bit on them to prevent the magazine seating properly, which was done because if you could have fitted an AK74 mag onto an AK47, the rounds would have chambered, but would of course be rattling around in the breech, so it would possibly fire a round of the wrong calibre with potentially disastrous results. Other bits. It's a Galil folding stock as you know, which I guess is okay since the Galil is basically a rip off of the AK. The top half of the fore grip looks like one found on some East German AKs made at the Ernst Thaelmann VEB Factory , although don't take that as gospel. The rear sight is like that found on the AK47 and the Chicom Type 56 rather than the one typically found on the AK74, although they are interchangeable, so it isn't actually impossible, just a bit odd, not that it matters for airsoft, since you can't shoot out past 800m with an airsoft gun. I think it looks pretty cool actually, and it would look like a real world possibility if you got some spare AK74 mags for it instead of that AK47 one.

CYMA-02 Gearbox has arrived from Hong Kong, so I'll be attempting to swap out the original plastic one for the CYMA one this weekend. The CYMA one looks like it uses an allen-key for the motor gear meshing height adjustment on the bottom of the pistol grip. Note that it cost me an additional 3.11 quid in DHL 'handling charges', so the total cost for the gearbox including postage and that handling charge was 40.13 quid (approximately 60 US Dollars). This was from www.ehobbyasia.com. It arrived well packaged and it took eleven days from placing the order, until it arrived, so not too bad time-wise from Hong Kong. I reckon it will drop in fairly easily, possibly without very much, if any tweaking at all, but I guess we'll see. Will post some pics of it when done.

True, but then again, no helmet at all won't give me any protection at all!

Well. I suppose the site could specify that you have to wear a helmet and full face protection (which I already do anyway). Yeah it gets a bit warm in that gear, but I know people are throwing grenades about, which is why I keep my PASGT helmet and mesh lower mask on when in the fire zone. I've seen too many people get teeth shot out and big cuts on their head to not wear that kind of protection, and I guess it would work for these kind of frags too.

A 500w PSU is way too low powered for any half decent PC these days, get a heavy duty power supply of at least 800w or you will experience instability on the power rails. It is even the case that with some high end graphic cards, that the thing wouldn't even fire up with only a 500w PSU in it, since many decent GPUs draw power directly from a plug from the PSU, and if it did fire up, it would cut out the moment the GPU started having to do any real processing, or if you added any peripherals which drew power through a USB. Also, 8Gb of RAM is not typical of most PCs you'd buy these days, a better baseline would be between 12Gb and 16Gb of RAM. It'll work with 8Gb of course, but if you want to do any fancy video work or play very high end games, then it may very well result in longer load and processing times. Whatever amount of RAM you go for though, make sure it is DDR3 with the fastest bus speed that motherboard will support.

The price difference you are seeing is that Umarex ones are licensed by H&K and are also made by Ares, so they are authentic in terms of detail and generally decent quality, although where Umarex is concerned, there are several differently priced Umarex G36 variants, some electric blowback, others not, although they are all fairly decent quality. Most of them have a quick change spring feature on the gearbox. Having said that, the Jing Gong G36 is a favourite at airsoft sites for use as a hire gun, because it is pretty robust and reliable, but of course it is not licensed by H&K, nor made by Ares, which is one of the reasons it is cheaper than the Umarex one. As Monty mentions, the SRC G36 is good too, so give that a look, but be sure to note that the SRC G36's magazine is well known for being problematic, suffering from feed jams. No big deal though, because other brands of G36 mags do fit the SRC G36, so not a major issue. And of course you will be wanting more mags anyway, to take advantage of the funky jungle clip system the G36 mags have. On the subject of which, most airsoft G36 mags will work in other airsoft G36s, with the notable exception of Well ones, which are very different from other G36 mags in terms of where they feed. If you want low cap G36 mags, ironically, the cheap Double Eagle compatible ones are worth checking out (they take 30 rounds).

The VCR's Commencement Order makes no mention the UKARA scheme. What it actually mentions is the following: For airsoft skirmishing, the Association of British Airsoft is putting in place arrangements to allow retailers to check that individual purchasers are members of a genuine skirmishing club or site. The key elements of these arrangements are: new players must play at least three times in a period of not less than two months the two months before being offered membership membership cards with a photograph and recognized format will be issued for production to retailers a central database will be set up for retailers to cross-check a purchaser’s details a member’s entry on the database will be deleted if unused for 12 months. The defence for airsoft skirmishing can apply to individual players because their purchase of realistic imitation firearms for this purpose is considered part of the “holding” of a skirmishing event Whilst this mention in the VCR Act's Commencement Order is similar to what eventually became the UKARA scheme, it is quite evidently not the UKARA scheme. The most notable difference is the 'membership cards with a photograph and recognised format will be issued'. Have you got one of these? Nope, neither have I, and I am most definitely UKARA registered. Good luck finding 'The Association of British Airsoft' too, because as far as I'm aware, the organisation does not exist. It did do at one point, but no longer does as far as I can tell. The UKARA registration database, as its acronym suggests, is run by the United Kingdom Airsoft Retailers Association.

PPSh-41. Like the bastard child of a Thompson and an AK, it combines the coolness of both of them. I know the drum mag was a bit prone to jamming if you dented it, so the stick mag was better, but along with the T34 and some good old fashioned guts, it nevertheless kicked the Nazi scumbags arses from Stalingrad all the way back to Berlin, and then tore them a new one when they got there. Both the tank and the gun proving that cheap and cheerful in large numbers beats technically superior and complex in lesser numbers any day of the week. PPSh-41_from_soviet.jpg

Welcome aboard.

Can we please stop putting this kind of erroneous information out there? UKARA is not some sort of 'license' to buy or own a realistic imitation firearm; you absolutely do not need a UKARA to buy a RIF, UKARA is merely a convenient way for a retailer to establish that you have a reason for buying a RIF, so in the absence of you having a UKARA number, all you actually need is the ability to prove that you have a legitimate reason for wanting to own one, nothing more. And even this is not part of the law, it is simply so that if you subsequently flip out and rob a bank with your RIF, or indulge in some other nefarious deed with it, the shop which sold it to you can legitimately claim that they sold it to you with good reason, thus removing the possibility of them being prosecuted for aiding you in the crime, because the Act of Parliament which covers this matter is the Violent Crimes Reduction Act, i.e. it is intended to reduce the likelihood of, and the means to acquire the necessary equipment to, commit a violent crime. If you can convince a retailer that you have some other legitimate reason for wanting to purchase a RIF, one which would also provide them with a suitable line of defence should the police subsequently question the retailer on why they sold a RIF to someone, then they will sell you a RIF without you having a UKARA number. If this was not the case, then you'd have special effects departments, prop buyers, museums etc having to send some member of staff to three airsoft events just so they could go about their legitimate business. Yes, UKARA is a convenient system for airsofters and retailers, but it is in no way the law, nor is it the only means by which you can prove your legitimate reason for wanting to purchase a RIF. So if I walked into an airsoft shop and showed them my ID for Soho Editors - which is the movie CGI post production special effects company I work for - and told them that I needed a realistic looking M60 machine gun so I could show the effects department at Pinewood Studios how to CGI muzzle flashes, an ammo belt feeding shells, and the empty cases ejecting, from a machine gun for the Vietnam War Movie they were making, then that absolutely is a legitimate reason for wanting to buy and own a RIF and that reasoning also covers me for spray painting toy guns black, moulding rubber prop guns etc, etc, because I have a genuine and legitimate reason for doing so, and this is regardless of the fact that I do have a UKARA number. The Violent Crimes Reduction Act goes into some detail on this matter, giving specific examples of legitimacy, such as the aforementioned movie and theatre production, museum work, historical re-enactments, educational purposes, etc. Similarly, if you go to an airsoft site regularly, the staff there will know you, so if they have a shop at their site, they would likely sell you a RIF regardless of whether you had applied for a UKARA number or not, because they would be able to prove that you are an airsofter simply by virtue of you having attended their site numerous times, and would have a record of you having done so. UKARA is not a licence, is not a part of the UK's legislation on firearms, is not compulsory for airsofters, is not even mentioned anywhere in the VCR Act - since it came into being after the VCR Act - and is absolutely not a requirement for anyone who owns or wants to own a replica/realistic looking imitation firearm. If it was, you would be applying for it at a Police Station and not at some airsoft site or airsoft shop. It probably is worth getting a UKARA registration if you are an airsofter simply for the convenience of confirming your legitimacy to a retailer, especially if you want to buy from abroad, but that is merely a convenience and is in no way mandatory.

Welcome aboard. Nothing wrong with going for a GBB rifle of course, but if you are new to airsoft, I'll echo what others have said about it probably being wiser to go with an electric gun. But, it's your money. Just be aware that AEGs are generally a hassle-free 'work straight out of the box solution', whereas GBB weapons can take a bit more TLC to get the best out of them, notably my GBB MP5K. To give you an example of some of the things you have to be aware of with GBBS, I bought three brand new MP5 GBB mags a couple of weeks ago for my MP5K, and all three of them needed the seals fixing upon arrival, not one of them would hold enough gas for more than aboutt three shots. Now to be fair, this is a reasonably common issue with large capacity MP5 GBB mags, so I was expecting they might need sorting even though I bought them new, and it's not that hard to fix when you know what you are doing and have the correct tools and such, but it is an example of the maintenance you sometimes have to get into with GBB weapons. AEGs on the other hand simply require you to remember to charge the battery. Then again, you might like the 'armourer' aspect of loking after guns, and if that is so, then don't let me or anyone else stop you from getting a GBB, although you do also need to be aware that their performance can be quite severely affected by temperature and air density. Balancing against those more labour intensive aspects of GBBs, is the fact that they are more akin to real firearms in both action and operation, and in the fact that the 'firepower' is contained in the magazines rather than in the rifle, making changing mags a more satisfyingly realistic affair. I'm sure if you have been playing CQB a bit, then you will already know a few of the plus and minus points of it. Notably that a quieter gun is a bonus, a shorter gun is also a bonus, and that whilst high magazine capacity is a bonus when in a close fight, the rattle which high cap mags make can give your position away. You are also far more likely to clang your gun into a wall in the close confines of CQB as oppsed to when outdoors, so metal barrels and flash hiders are also a bonus, as plastic tipped barrels and flash hiders can easily break. With all that in mind, shortened carbine variants of the Armalite rifle, such as the M4 and AR15 are good CQB choices, as are shortened Kalashnikov rifles such as the AK74U, the U standing for Ukorochenny (shortened), as indeed are various MP5 variants, particularly the MP5K, the K standing for Kurz (short). Having said that, pretty much any weapon with a folding or collapsible stock, or a weapon which is not overly long will do for CQB, including pistols, although if you like realism, don't use a G36 rifle with the stock folded for CQB, since the real G36 cannot be fired with the stock folded without damaging it, i.e. its folding stock is designed for storage purposes and to make it easier to get in and out of APCs. Anyway, back on pistols, you could also consider dual-wielding pistols, which might be kind of fun. Either way, a pistol is quite handy to have as a back up to your rifle, and is vastly more usable in really tight CQB spaces, so is absolutely worth considering, and, since GBB pistols are more common (and cheaper than rifles for the most part), this might feed your hunger for a GBB weapon even if you get an AEG rifle, i.e. you could get a GBB pistol and something like a G&G short M4 and probably stay within your 250 quid budget if you shop around a bit.

Here's an interesting tale which you may or may not know, about children and guns, which sort of highlights the need to lock them away and how important it can be to teach responsibility. It concerns General Charles Elwood 'Chuck' Yeager... Despite having risen to the rank of General, being one of the top scoring fighter pilots in WW2, and probably the most famous test pilot of all time, in having been the first pilot to take the rocket-powered Bell X-1 past the 'sound barrier', Yeager came from extremely humble beginnings. He was quite literally a hillbilly kid, living in a sharecropper's shack, with his family eeking out a meagre living from working farmland and hunting for food with rifles, often to quite literally avoid starving because they were so poor. One day, when Chuck was about four years old and his brother Roy was about six, they came across their father's twelve gauge shotgun laying on the table. Roy began playing with it, with he and Chuck sat on the floor. Roy found some shells for the thing and managed to load it, then Roy accidentally fired it, unfortunately hitting their two year old sister, Doris Ann, who was killed by the blast. In recounting the tale, Yeager says that rather than admonishing the boys, since it was a tragic accident, and despite his heartbreaking guilt at having left the gun unattended, their father took them aside and taught them how to handle the gun properly and safely, which admittedly as Yeager points out, he perhaps should have done sooner. Nevertheless, he does say that one can only learn from such sad occurrences and there is little else one can say about the matter. It's interesting to note that the early exposure to being taught how to shoot well, coupled with his mechanical ability gained from tinkering with aging farm machinery in attempting to keep it going, is what led to Yeager's success, since in spite of his humble beginnings, the Air Force could hardly deny the talent of a man who was one of the first piston engined pilots to shoot down a jet fighter, and who also managed the feat of shooting down five aircraft in a single sortie, even though they did actually insist on him taking some elocution lessons when it came to his being picked for stardom and promotion, as his hillbilly accent was not the kind of image they wanted for their heroes. As for Yeager himself, he always attributes his success as a fighter pilot to his ability to shoot well, and although he was a talented pilot, he regarded flying ability as a very definite second to being able to shoot properly and judge the amount of 'lead' required to hit a target, which he learned from his father showing him how to shoot well when it really mattered, i.e. when putting food on the table during the Depression Era.

Welcome aboard

Nope, there is no problem in you owning a two toned airsoft gun at all, the problem is with purchasing one where the retailer asks if you are over eighteen (as they should). And to be frank, a lot of the notion of money changing hands so someone over eighteen hands over the cash and 'gifts it to you', can simply be a 'paper exercise' to stay within the letter of the law. After all, the police are hardly going to get an injunction to view bank transactions to find out whether you gave your dad some money from a paper round or whatever so that he could pay for an airsoft gun, so long as you aren't a dick with the thing and do actually use it for airsoft skirmishes. The Police have far more important people to chase, what with their limited manpower and resources, such as drug dealers, bank robbers and terrorists, who are certainly not going to fret about whether they qualify for a UKARA database registration. Of course nobody can be seen to admit that this is the case, but we'd have to be very naive indeed to imagine that sort of thing does not go on. Remember, the laws are intended to to stop violent crime, not to stop people having fun, so just behave responsibly and there will be no issue. That's why they called it the Violent Crime Reduction Act and not the Miserable Pedants Stopping People Having Fun Responsibly Act.

Some people just take things far too seriously. Yes it is annoying when you get shot and you are out of the game, either through a misunderstanding or whatever, and yes it can sting a bit, but really, who in airsoft has never had that happen to them? Getting shot the odd time when you out of the game, or are walking to a respawn, or when someone can't see your hand up, or missed hearing you call hit or whatever, is inevitable, it is going to happen every once in a while. Thankfully most of us would simply yell 'stop fecking shooting at me' or 'dead man' or whatever, rather than resorting to throwing a punch, and if they had any other issue, would take it up with a marshall, since that is their purpose. I would suggest that the kind of person who would resort to punches rather than more civilised means, is probably the kind of person who would do so in other situations too, so frankly, I'd ban them from the site. If they can't be trusted not to slap someone over something which is inevitably going to occur once in a while, then why go further and trust them with a gun? Even an airsoft one. Fact is, it's completely unacceptable behaviour.

I think that's a bit of hyperbole on their part, what they mean by 'these transparent rifles were custom built for us by G&G', is that the company made some transparent versions of their weapons for the benefit of UK retailers, so that they would comply with the VCR Act's rules on two-tone weaponry for those who do not have a specific defence for owning an airsoft weapon, and that in being clear/black, they look a lot less crap than orange/blue/green ones. Internally they will be the same as the completely black ones.

Just so you know I'm not completely talking out of my arse, I'm background checked and registered with Ofsted to allow me to work with and teach children, even though I more often than not teach adults (I did all that Ofsted stuff mainly because my girlfriend is a childminder, so that I could assist her if necessary without causing my GF any problems work-wise). Nevertheless, I have very often worked with the kids my GF looks after professionally, where she has to monitor their development, keep records of it and submit reports about it, so I know a fair bit about what is and is not a good idea with kids from about age two, up to around age seven. At four years old, children are just starting to understand responsibility, but they are not always aware of consequences, and so the level of responsibility they can be trusted with is fairly minimal. The classic example of this is family pets, children often want a pet, and invariably say they will care for it in an attempt to persuade parents to get a pet, but that commitment often wavers very quickly. It's worth noting that we are talking about a creature's welfare with that example, which is not a trivial matter, and so if we extrapolate that to cover people's safety and welfare with weaponry (even airsoft weaponry), it shows that responsibility may not be fully there with young kids, even if they manage to persuade you that it might be. That said, not all children develop at the same rate. Of course when not worrying about if their kids are normal, most parents proudly imagine their kids are amazing whenever they do or achieve something new, so it can often be difficult to know how bright your kid is in comparison to others, but generally speaking a parent will know if their kid is ready to learn something, because it will very quickly become apparent if their attention wavers the moment you start talking about something in more detail. So, if your child is inquisitive and curious about your airsoft guns, then by all means explain them to the child, but keep the following in mind... You will get arguments from sociologists about whether young boys are predisposed to want to play with guns, but the likelihood is that deep in there somewhere, are the genetics of the hunter/gatherer which will make boys more inclined to be interested in weapons. It may not please those in favour of equal opportunities among the sexes to acknowledge that, but it is generally rather pointless to do battle with nature. Like it or not, your kids will be exposed to guns in the media, in computer games, via their friends at school, etc, etc. So it's probably not a bad idea to at least try to install some sort of responsible attitude towards weaponry. However, at the age of four, whilst most little lads like nothing better than running around with other kids pointing a toy cap gun at them and shouting 'pow, you're dead', the concept of death has very little meaning to a four year old, and such games are more about power and imagination than about blowing someone's head off. Thus it is a bad idea to prohibit or snatch toy guns from little boys, imagining they will somehow be shielded from the world. Rather than angrily proclaiming to them that 'guns are dangerous', you should emphasise that it is 'fun to play' and 'pretend', as this is what young kids are doing in exactly the same way as they do when playing with toy trains and cars. Where toy guns are concerned, it is the perfect way to introduce the notion of playing safely, by pointing out your airsoft weapons are 'daddy's toys which he plays and pretends with'. You can emphasise that you too find it fun to imagine and play, but that you have to follow rules and play responsibly, just as they do, because even toys can hurt someone if you don't play nicely with them. So there is absolutely nothing wrong with you showing your children your airsoft guns, it might even provide some good lessons and help stimulate their imaginations, but you should be at pains to emphasise safety - you don't have to go all 'drill sergeant' on them - just a simple mention every once in a while is probably all that they are likely to understand anyway at a young age. With that in mind, perhaps get a secure cabinet you can put your weapons away in. After all, you probably tell your kids to put their toys away in a toy box, so why not set them a good example and do the same? Kids want to emulate their parents and learn by example, so there's an opportunity to impart a propensity for being tidy! As with everything child-related, it's better to praise than to admonish, if you can manage it. So if you are teaching them how to play with nerf guns or water pistols or whatever, then praise them when they play safely and teach them some basic safety rules. Again, keep this simple, such as asking them not to point their toy guns at those who are not playing. What is helpful, is to buy toy guns which really do look like toys (i.e. very obviously not real looking in terms of colour), as this helps to emphasise the difference between toys and real guns, and helps to define the borders of play versus real life. Save the RIFs til later though, they're a bit too young to be handling them apart from when you explain what they are before locking them away (and very bloody securely, kids are devious and clever).

I like both, they each have their attractions. CQB tends to need more in the way of tight teamwork, or at the very least considering what others in your squad are doing because of the tight confines and limited firing angles, but when you get an assault right in CQB, there really is no better feeling. Out in the open, it's a bit more obvious how one can go about fire and move tactics, so less consultation is need for everyone to do their part well, which is far more important in those situations, since there are more opportunities for flanking and such. Probably cheaper to get into outdoor, since you don't need to rely on frags so much, but as I say, it's all good really.

Frankly, it would make more sense to get a shortened G&G which uses the same mags in order to maintain magazine compatibility, but if you want a SCAR then go for it. The heavy and light SCAR differences in airsoft are irrelevant incidentally, it's purely cosmetic, they have the same internals as the calibre is always 6mm on airsoft (unless you include the odd 8mm airsoft weapon). Short M4s are really good for CQB, but then again, so are short AKs, MP5s, Skorpions, UZIs etc, etc, so get whatever floats your boat. I would definitely consider a either a three point sling, or a one point off your webbing/vest too if you are not already using one. Two point slings are not ideal in CQB. What is also important is a light, maneuverable and easily accessible loadout. It's often the case that you have to get to stuff quickly in cramped and darkened areas in CQB, especially when stacked up, so pockets and pouches which fall easily to hand are a good idea, practice getting mags in and out of pockets with your eyes shut, if you can't do it easily, then the loadout is no good for CQB. Bulky loadouts don't help in that respect, a light tactical vest is a better choice, not least because it gets hot indoors, but also because it's less likely to be scraping on walls making tons of noise, or rattling from all the stuff you might have dangling off a more complex loadout. With a 500 quid budget, you can consider throwing a decent pistol into the mix too, as these are, if not a must have, then certainly a desirable thing to have in CQB. Likewise a knife is a good idea as well and these are only about a tenner. If any of your budget is left over, then a grenade or two can be a game changer in CQB, as there are often choke points which can only be realistically passed safely with the aid of a frag. All of that stuff can easily be held with a light tactical vest and a drop leg holster, although as with the slings on your rifle, be sure to tape up any loose D-rings or carabinas, since they rattle around and give away your position when in close contact. Be sure to have a tac light which can be easily switched on and off, typically via a thumb pressure switch on a tactical foregrip, so in considering which weapon to buy, either get one with such a grip or with a rail to which one can be added. One last important point with CQB rifles is the tip or flash hider; it's extremely likely that you'll ding the end of your rifle into walls in CQB when sneaking about tight in to walls, and if the flash hider is plastic, it's gonna break, full metal weapons are much more suited to that environment.

Just wanted to point out that it is correctly named and spelled Remembrance Sunday, not Rememberence. If a mod could correct the spelling it would help, after all, if we are trying to be respectful we should at least ensure it is spelled correctly! Anyway, it's nice that there is a thread on it here, as we should not forget all who have served and paid the ultimate sacrifice.

A&K's SVD Dragunov is worth considering if you don't want to break the bank and have not got a UKARA, since it is inexpensive and can be bought in a decent two-tone colour without any UKARA registration for 120 quid: http://www.geniestuff.co.uk/dragunov-airsoft-sniper-rifle.htm Although it is technically a DMR in real life (according to Soviet Doctrine at the time it was designed anyway, since they deployed it at a squad level as standard), the fact that it is a big long rifle (and I mean really long) means most people regard it as a sniper rifle rather than a DMR. This is particularly true of airsoft variants, since most of them are spring action single shot affairs with a thirty round mag, whereas the real SVD Dragunov is in fact semi-automatic, so actually a bit better suited to close action. In any case, the A&K SVD is a very good rifle if you want to be a bit sniperish, and there are many upgrade parts available for it too, including a kit where you can convert it to gas blowback semi automatic, which would make it more usable as a DMR. It's worth noting that although it does have pretty good AK47-style iron sights, you'd really be wanting an airsoft replica of the PSO-1 sight which is specifically for the SVD Dragunov (you can find those on Ebay for about sixty quid). Warning, the A&K SVD is a bitch to cock when it is new, as the spring is very strong (i.e. it shoots at about 480 fps straight out of the box), although you can buy an extended cocking handle which makes life easier, and it does sort of 'break in' and get easier to cock after a while, although some of that is down to getting used to the technique required to do so.

I go with paypal. It's one more barrier in the way of fraudsters as opposed to directly typing in your credit card details.

Hi and welcome. As others have said, regardless of what gear you want to dress up in when skirmishing, be it a NATO grunt, jeans and a t-shirt, or even Terry Taliban, be sure to get good head and neck protection, those are the parts of your body which you'll poke out of cover the most, so are the area you are most likely to take a hit. Some advice on that... Perspex goggles or glasses tend to fog up, especially this time of year, whereas mesh goggles can let the vapour out and they don't impede your vision as much as you might imagine, so I'd recommend mesh ones. If you are over eighteen, most airsoft sites will let you skirmish without wearing lower face protection, but I've seen plenty of people get their front teeth shot out with airsoft BBs, so I would strongly recommend getting some lower face protection too regardless of your age, as dental work ain't cheap and airsoft masks are. Personally, I use a mesh lower face protector similar to my mesh goggles. Whilst there are one-piece masks which cover your entire face, I would not personally recommend those, because you don't want to take off your eye protection at any time when in the skirmish area (for obvious reasons), but you may want to have a sip water whilst in battle, and you can't safely do that with a full mask, whereas with separate lower face protection, you can drop that quickly, take a swig and then pop it back up into place with minimal fuss. In addition to which, bulky one-piece face masks can prevent you from getting your rifle up to your cheek to take aim, which is another reason why they aren't such a great idea. And on the subject of taking a swig of water, that's another thing you need to make sure you get hold of; some kind of small water bottle you can carry with you, because trust me, even at this time of year if you are running around in combat gear with a mask and helmet on, carrying a rifle, pistol, magazines etc, etc, you are gonna get hot. Don't need anything fancy, a small plastic coke bottle you can shove in a pouch or pocket will do, although you can of course get military gear if you like the notion of that. Thin gloves are also a good idea, since that is another area where you can take a disproportionately higher number of hits compared to pother bits of your body. They need to be thin and close-fitting enough to not impede you working things such as the fire selector on your weapon (many people use fingerless gloves for that reason). I use thin leather current-issue RAF pilot gloves, which have the advantage of being long enough to also provide some wrist protection, but really, any sort of gloves which allow you to operate your weapon easily will do. You are going to be squatting, kneeling and crawling, and that means knee and elbow pads are a good idea, they stop your knees getting wet when you kneel to take a shot, and they stop BBs from hurting your elbows too, since your forearms and elbows are another place where you tend to take quite a few hits. Some sort of hat or helmet is a good idea - a BB in the forehead really hurts and can cut your skin there easily - doesn't have to be a military helmet, although there are airsoft replica helmets available for around about a tenner if you search the 'net, but even a baseball cap or military forage cap will do the job. Likewise, a good scarf, such as an Arab keffiyah (shemagh) or scrim is a good idea too, since a BB hit in the throat can hurt a lot and your skin is pretty thin there too, so such a hit might even draw blood if you are not covered up. All that clobber is why you will get hot! Some decent boots are obviously a good idea, most army surplus places will turn something usable up for about 20 quid or so. Failing that, you can wear sturdy trainers, but make sure they are high ankle ones, to give you some support and protection. I use army wet weather boots, since they are a mixture of breathable goretex, leather and rubber so they are comfortable for long periods (I wear them to work a lot of the time) and they are very waterproof. You'll see if you look around this website that lots of airsofters are obsessed with webbing and tactical vest and armor plate carriers etc. Don't worry too much about that when starting out, so long as you have something to carry as few bits and pieces (and pockets will do that), you don't need to have millions of pouches all over you - it's not as though you are going to be behind enemy lines for three weeks - and in fact, most airsoft guns use high capacity magazines which can take three hundred or more BBs, which means if you only fire on semi-auto, you might never have to reload the thing all day long. Having said that, airsofting for many people is as much about dressing up in the right gear as it is about actually fighting, let's face it, we are playing toy soldiers, so if you want to get some webbing or a tactical vest or whatever, go for it. They do at least help to protect you from painful hits from BBs. Last but most definitely not least, when you do go to your skirmish - which trust me, you will really love - be honest about calling out your hits, and if in doubt, take the hit anyway. Stick your hand up and shout 'hit!' loud enough for people to hear. Airsofting relies on people being honourable about taking their hits honestly, and without that honesty, it would be crap.

Correct, it is a US company, which they make no secret of, and in fact it is a bit of a giveaway when they have 'Thanksgiving' special offers, which is obviously a very American thing. Even though Thanksgiving was originally a Puritan celebration (so actually quite European originally), having been initiated in what is now the Continental US when the Pilgrim Fathers first landed at 'New England'. The celebration was later coopted by American revolutionaries such as John Hancock and George Washington, to give thanks to God for various things having gone their way during the American War of Independence, stuff like when they totally kicked the Armies of King George at battles such as Saratoga in 1777. So it's hardly something a genuine British website would be using as an occasion for special offers lol. Anyway, Tactical Gear Trade do ship all over the place and the prices are pretty decent too, service is good as well, so I've no hesitation in recommending them, particularly for things like BDUs and such. For example, I've just bought this lot from them: USMC Navy Multi Camo V3 BDU Uniform Set Shirt Pants USMC Molle Combat Assault Plate Carrier Vest Multi Camo US Army M88 PASGT Helmet Cover Multi Camo Total cost including shipping was 106.72 Dollars, which is 67 quid. There's no denying that 67 quid for what is essentially a full Multicam combat outfit (minus the PASGT helmet itself and some boots of course, since I already have those), is pretty good value, especially when you consider that the plate carrier I bought has the mag pouches included with it. Although be careful when ordering, because the checkout defaults to the most expensive shipping method, so make sure you pick the cheapo one.

Disassembly is not necessary at all, a bit of tidy masking with proper masking tape (from a cheap pound shop) will do. To mask intricate areas or fiddly bits, use Blutack and mold it around the part you wish to cover. What is more important when painting, is to work methodically and not rush things. Get the spray gun (or aerosol can) moving before you start spraying and stop spraying before you stop it moving, in this way you are never stationary when spraying and this will avoid getting blotches of paint. Lighter coats are better and will dry faster. Spray from a distance of around ten inches or so, as this will avoid blasting the paint onto the surface, if you are too close when spraying, you'll get an orange peel effect caused by the propellant blast. So spray lightly and give things time to dry before going again with another coat. Do it outside in a well ventilated area and wear a spray mask to prevent breathing in paint vapours. If you can, choose a dry day to do your spraying, and if it is windy, wet the floor of the surrounding area, as this prevents grit from blowing up in a gust of wind and landing on your paint. Make sure your weapon is grease-free when you paint it, i.e. give it a damn good clean before you start painting. You can hold big fern leaves or rags above the surface to quickly mask off areas and then spray past their edges to get nice natural patterns, the further away from the surface you hold them, the more feathering you will achieve on the edges of your paint. Keep in mind that the objective of camouflage is twofold; 1) blending in with terrain colours and - more importantly - 2) breaking up easily recognisable outlines to make guessing the range harder. So paint accordingly, i.e. imagine what direction an enemy is likely to see your weapon from, and try to break up the outline of it when viewed from that direction. Think about the main colours of the terrain you normally skirmish in and go with those.