Chock

This are by miles the bestest gun, it is miles more betterer than any other of them guns. It iz proper realistic and are shiny: http://www.moretoyguns.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=4T&Product_Code=250P&Category_Code=9700

Actually, UKARA is more a case of being a very convenient way for retailers to provide a defence for having sold a realistic looking weapon to someone, and for us, as buyers, to more easily prove we are legit when buying a RIF; so yeah, it's bugger all to do with the law. If you have been at an airsoft site often enough to have filled out the forms for a UKARA, then the mere fact that you have been there often is actually enough of a defence, even if you never filled out the UKARA application, since you could simply ask the proprietors of the site to vouch for you (and in fact, the UKARA scheme is simply an organised way of having airsoft sites do this for the benefit of the retail trade), but the CPS could simply check any airsoft site's records, and if they found your name on the site's books a few times, then it would be apparent that you were at least attending airsoft events regularly. If they found your name listed once, then I doubt they'd take that to mean you were a regular airsoft player, any more than going to one footy match would make you a diehard supporter of a club. Thus the law is, as always, open to interpretation and often the plaything of some clever wording from a barrister for the benefit of a jury. So the very fact that a UKARA application expects you to have been to three airsoft events, minimum, and these over a period of at least two months, is intended to prevent someone who is merely looking for an excuse to own a RIF from simply rocking up to an airsoft site, throwing fifteen quid at them to attend a game - making that payment a matter of record - and then never going airsofting again. We may not necessarily like the UKARA system, but it was at least fairly well thought out in terms of preventing that sort of abuse of airsoft sites, in not providing an easily-abused excuse for any idiot to simply go once, buy a RIF and then be a d*ckhead with the thing. And beyond merely having a RIF, it's particularly important to have a credible defence for having 'manufactured a RIF', as the act of doing this is specifically mentioned in the Violent Crimes Reduction Act as being a bit suss unless you have a legitimate reason for having done so. Simply having attended one airsoft event is hardly an ironcast defence for this, and I personally would not want to rely on that. Whilst it should be borne in mind that it is still the burden of the prosecution in any court case to prove any intent upon the defendant's part to commit a crime, the better you are able to substantiate your legitimacy, the safer you are from bogus accusations of criminal intent. Thus the possession of a RIF alone does not mean you are going to hold up an armoured car in your local high street any more than having a kitchen knife in your kitchen means you are going to stab someone down at the local boozer, however, going to the extent of making a RIF, and then of course possessing that RIF after you have made it, is two boxes ticked, and that means making an accusation stick will be a little bit easier, as it shows you were 'planning' to do something, and the CPS love sh*t like that, because the word 'planning' always sounds devious, although you should bear in mind that the law is not trying to catch you out, if you are legit and can prove you are, then it's all good. It just makes good sense to ensure you can easily do that, and acting responsibly helps us all. Just go to a few games and get the UKARA. It's not that much of a pain in the arse to do.

It's my guess that ironically, the dry firing was probably wet firing, in the sense that the presence of the water was likely causing a blockage or feed jam, whereupon the shot where no BB came out would be blasting the water out of the feed mechanism, clearing the jam and causing it to work once more, until the water built up again. So long as wet electrics didn't short anything out, it will probably be none the worse for wear after having been dried out thoroughly. If all else fails, apply as a freelancer for the CIA or KGB and tell them you are interested in 'wet work'.

Yeah, no big deal. DIY is half the fun.

Yup, you are correct, there is a big screw on the bottom of the pistol grip which secures the bottom of the gearbox to the pistol grip. If I recall correctly, normally on decent gearboxes, that screw allows you to adjust the meshing of the motor's drive gear with the other gears by moving it tighter or or backing it off, so it looks likely that a decent gearbox will drop right in and be able to be fitted and adjusted properly without any issues, although I guess we'll see when that gearbox I bought arrives from Hong Kong.

AK12 - an AK which actually kind of suits putting modern stuff on it...

Thing is, it all depends on how badly you want an AK12. This Black Viper one is a bit of fun and isn't a bad lookalike for the real thing, but it is undeniably a cheapo airsoft gun, so to make it half decent anyone is going to be into 120 quid at least. For that kind of money there are probably better options for anyone who isn't particularly bothered about the 'completist' aspect of liking AKs. Fair enough, if one does like AKs and is a completist, one has to consider whether there will even be a decent airsoft AK12 made by anyone else. If not, this may end up being the only viable option to enable you to have one on your wall, unless you want to spend the best part of a grand on the fancy NPO-AEG Russian airsoft AK12 that is supposedly on the way next year, assuming you could actually get hold of one, and had the cash. After all, the AK12 was passed over by the Russian military, and although there are some claims that special forces and some security forces in Russia might use it, there are literally loads of variants of modernised AKs, and other makes of weapon that these units already have access to, and, since all special forces units tend to have free reign on choosing weapons on their merits, rather than having them forced upon them, I should imagine the Russian Spetsnaz could have any weapon they wanted, Russian or otherwise if they could find a suitable justification for requesting it. Nor can the AK12 gain popularity in the US, since Obama has banned the import of Russian made AKs to the US as a sanction measure because of the conflict in the Ukraine. Yes the AK12 appears in some computer games and proves popular in those, but is that enough for an airsoft manufacturer to risk developing a decent one when it isn't a popular choice in the real world? So whilst this is a bit of a fun project for me because I like Russkie stuff, the fact is that the AK12 may end up simply being a footnote in history, and only a small part of the Kalashnikov story.

Mine's a cheapo one and is totally stock, don't even have any optics on it. I usually leave it in my car as a back up, but I do have some spare thirty round mags for it, just in case:

Indoors CQB is nearly always really hot. I'm normally sweating my ass off after going to Trojan, and all I'm wearing when I go there is combat pants and boots, a long sleeved t shirt, a light tactical vest and a PASGT helmet. In motorcycle leathers you'd seriously dehydrate inside of an hour. Probably wouldn't feel a lot of BB hits either, so not good for keeping you honest either. It's also worth noting that motorcycle leathers (well unless they are shite) are designed to be comfortable when in the riding position on a typical race/sports bike, so they'll be really uncomfortable in any other position for a prolonged period. So unless you plan on riding around on a GPZ 500 whilst you shoot at people, I can't see it being a great idea.

Welcome aboard.Trust me, if you are only north of thirty, then you are not an old git. I'm 49, but I've treated life like Blackjack and stuck at 21; you are as old as what you do and how you feel (and as the woman you feel lol). There are quite a few starter advice threads stickied on this forum, so I'd suggest looking at some of those, but the gist of it is, go and play a couple of games with hire equipment from a local site whilst you see what kind of gear others are using and discover what you think might suit your playing style (which you will develop). This may vary from site to site, since some sites are purely indoors CQB and other woodlands, whereas some combine the two. Many sites use the kind of guns you might expect as hire guns, i.e. G36cs, M4/AR15/M16s, MP5s and AKs of various types. But whatever you end up with as a hire gun, you'll find that most airsofters are friendly enough to let you have a good nosey at their gear, and it is worth asking about, and holding a few weapons to see what fits you well, so turn up early and get chatting. For example, if you've never had an early variant M16 in your shoulder, you might be surprised as to the position of the buttplate and so you might like an AK47's stock position better. Obviously something small and easily handled such as an MP5K or a Skorpion or an UZI is going to be a better choice in the tight confines of CQB, whereas out in the woodlands, full size rifles such as an AK74, an M16 or a SIG 556 or some such would be a wiser choice. This is the reason many people go for an M4, since you can get short versions with a collapsible stock that suit both situations. That and the fact that there are tons of airsoft M4s available and lots of fancy add ons and gizmos you can customise them with, way more is available for the M4 than any other airsoft weapon. This is also why many people on here will recommend the G&G Combat Machine M4, because it is a very good and relatively inexpensive weapon which will serve you well for a long time and suit many different combat styles. But, if you find yourself preferring Eastern Block stuff, then there are of course many AK47/74 variants with folding stocks that can be used for CQB and longer ranged engagements. If you prefer something else, many site use Jing Gong G36Cs as hire weapons, those are alright actually. At some point you will probably want a pistol, as a back up sidearm, but to be fair, this can wait a while unless you are intending to go to a more CQBish site, in which case it might be a sensible purchase somewhat sooner. There are certainly lots of pistols to be had, and what you see with pistols is more variety in the propulsion they use, some are simple cock and fire spring powered affairs, some are electric semi-automatic, and some are gas blowback (GBB) semi-auto, using either green gas can refills or Co2 capsules. You should be aware however, that GBB pistols are affected by temperature in terms of performance, so if you are going to get a pistol, weigh things up carefully and do plenty of research. Look at it as a long term objective if the idea appeals, and just go for for an assault rifle of some kind in the interim. Also, avoid the notion of being a sniper when starting out. Being a sniper is often expensive to get into and requires you to start customising weapons to get the best out of them, whereas a decent electric airsoft assault rifle is pretty much good to go right out of the box, although on that subject, chuck away any BBs which come in the box your rifle arrives in, the chances are they'll be shite and can even damage your guns internals, always use decent polished ones. Obviously if the notion of Milsims appeals to you, you might already have decided that either NATO or Eastern Bloc stuff is your preference, so that will have a bearing on what you should consider getting hold of. But some things you certainly could consider getting hold of sooner rather than later, would be protective gear. Most sites insist that players under 18 must wear full face protection (and they will rent it to you), whereas over that age (as you are) they will only insist you wear eye protection. Whilst only wearing eye protection is appealing from a milsim point of view, you should be aware that it is fairly common for those who don't wear lower face protection, to end up getting teeth shot out, so I would recommend going for some kind of goggles and some sort of lower face mesh as well. Note that perspex goggles are notorious for fogging up, so you might prefer mesh goggles, which are able to breathe. Don't go for something bulky either, since it will end up preventing you from getting your weapon up to your cheek to aim! Some knee and elbow pads help, they keep your knees dry when you kneel and stop stone floors hurting your knees too, and modern infantry soldiers wear them anyway, so they are milsim-ish. Likewise elbow pads, which also protect you from a BB hit in the elbow (which bloody hurts). On the subject of which, I'd also recommend a Keffiyah scarf (also known as an Arabic shemagh), since they protect you neck from hits (which also hurts, especially on the Adam's apple), these too are very milsim-ish as well as practical, in fact, the British army now issues these to troops going to desert theatres of operation, and the Yanks used to ban soldiers from wearing them, but have now relented and let them do so. Obviously a helmet is not a bad idea too, although frankly, a baseball or forage cap will stop most BBs from hurting if they hit you head, so just use one of them whilst you suss out what you want. Thin leather gloves will stop you getting painful hits in the knuckles. A decent water bottle is a good idea, but get something small enough to be portable easily, i.e. a plastic water/coke bottle from a corner shop will do. Most people wear webbing equipment belts to carry spare mags and all their other crap, but don't worry about that too much when starting out, since most hire guns will have a high capacity magazine which shouldn't need reloading much, if at all, although it has to be said that webbing and equipment belts do stop BBs from getting you in the nipple (that bloody hurts!). Ebay and Amazon are your friends for a lot of stuff, but if you want an easily navigable site which has a lot of the kind of stuff you might want to consider, then here's a useful one which is fairly cheap (although it is mostly NATO stuff). As a general rule, don't just look on one site, shop around: http://www.tacticalgeartrade.co.uk/ Last but not least, be honest and call out your hits if you feel or hear them, and if in doubt, take the hit. Unlike paintball, airsoft relies on honesty for people to call their hits much of the time, and without that honesty, it is ruined.

Yep, it's all fairly standard fare on the internals as far as I can tell, which I suspected it would be. That gearbox is basically a plastic knock off pattern part of a standard V3 one as far as I can tell, so, not wanting to spend a fortune on what is essentially a cheap ass gun, but still wanting it to last more than five minutes, I bought this gearbox to throw into it: http://shop.ehobbyasia.com/cyma-full-gearbox-set-for-cm-028-ak-series-aeg-cm-02-1.html#.VFZv7sm2j_p If I don't get stung too badly on import costs, that'll mean it was about 120 quid in total. Needless to say, for 40 quid that isn't the best gearbox ever, but will probably be an improvement on what is in there presently. Forgot to mention that the fire selector linkage parts are all metal, so in using those they hopefully won't be a weak link in the chain. Might throw a better barrel in there too at some point. I'll borrow the tactical foregip off my G36C and put that on the thing's bottom rail and sling my tac light on it so I can and see how it does at dark CQB for a laugh. It is popping BBs out at about 290 fps at the moment, which is really about as high as I prefer in CQB since anything more is a bit over the top at those sort of ranges. Frankly, it's a bit on the longish side for CQB, but what the hell eh? At least it will be entertaining showing up with an AK12 instead of my M4 or MP5.

Welcome aboard

Ok. Bit of an update. I've taken the AK12 apart, painted it up in black/blued metal. Ordered a new gearbox for it, and taken some pics and video for you all of what it is like inside. It comes apart fairly easily, there's around about 15 screws in total to get the thing apart, because the three tactical rails are what clamps the two halves together. Video of it in bits: Some pics of the hop up unit and barrel. The barrel is indeed alloy and is 265mm long (approximately 10.5 inches). If you get one yourself and take it apart, note that the rear terminals are spring loaded, so be ready to catch anything which flies out!. The rear sight is also spring loaded (like most AK sights):

Hop up bit in the AK12, close up:

Hi. welcome aboard

Nothing really that vague or long winded about the title of the thread, it says 'war or military novels'. I'm not averse to it diverging into non-fiction and reading some decent recommendations from people, but there is nothing semantic about the word novel, it's pretty clear what that was referring to. Anyway, (nearly) back on topic, here's one that isn't a novel but is definitely one to read: Robert Mason, Chickenhawk. His memoir of being a Huey pilot in Vietnam. Now that is a really great book.

Welcome aboard. Was out of airsofting myself for a long time, but came back to it this year. Used to live in Cornwall too (Camborne) years ago when I was at college. They were good times.

Yeah I know that technically you don't need a UKARA at all to paint the thing up, and i cetainly don't need a UKARA even though I have one, because at the start of the video, you can see the training room where I teach CGI film effects, including how to do all that CGI which was at the start of the review, and personally, I think VCR Act is a bunch of typical UK-esque knee-jerk reaction bullshit, nevertheless, I'm very aware that - especially on a youtube video - we airsofters do not want to come across as irresponsible dickheads, so I think it best to err on the side of being seen to be responsible. I know ten inches isn't massively long, although I'm sure my girlfriend would disagree lol. With regard to all the other stuff, I'll take some still pics soonish and that should clarify other things, although it does look TM-ish to me, and yes, the gearbox is a bog standard V3 CYMA=esque AK gearbox in terms of the position of the fire selector, with some fishplate linkages to enable it to connect to the standard fire selector axle. The flash hider may unscrew, but I've tried turning it (both ways) and it is on there good and tight, and it's not moving, so I think it might be glued in position.

Okay guys, took a while to make the video review, and it's pretty long (21 minutes), but you do get a very good look at it with some extreme close ups, plus some history and fun stuff like that...

Fair comment, and I do indeed have bookshelves literally groaning under the weight of the hundreds of factual books I have on all kinds of warfare, from medieval times right up to modern day, as it is certainly a major interest of mine and is something I know we can all learn from. Funnily enough, when people come to my house and see the guns all over the place and all the books on warfare, they are often incredibly surprised, since they generally know me as some pony-tailed guitar playing lefty who is fairly anti-war for the most part, although even though I am of the opinion that war is a truly horrible thing I would never say that there can be absolutely no justification for going to war, and that opinion stems from having read a lot about it. So what I tell them, is that if one is not prepared to learn from history, then one is neither equipped to comment on it, nor able to avoid repeating its failures. But I still think that some of my friends find it difficult to reconcile the fact that I could actually be hugely interested in warfare, but almost always dead against it if and when it occurs. That's why I like airsoft, the weaponry and equipment is generally very realistic, but it is quite literally 'war without tears'. But with regard to military novels being largely pointless when there are so many factual accounts to be read, I would say that there are still plenty of reasons to read novels on the subject, since there are many wars from history where there is very little concise reading material. A good example would be the Roman Empire. Most people are fairly convinced that all Roman troops were kitted out in shiny Lorica Segmentata, wielding a gladius, and carrying a rectangular semi-circular shield, painted red with a yellow lightning bolt design on it, because that gear looks cool and, as a consequence, is what Hollywood goes for, a bit like when they have every Wehrmacht soldier carrying an MP40. But there are actually only two sources of genuine information for that notion, Trajan's column in Rome, which depicts that segmentata equipment, and a very badly preserved section of a shield which was recovered from a cave in the early Twentieth Century, and it is known that segmentata armor was used in only a small period of the Roman Empire's term. So in order to become really knowledgeable about Roman Army equipment, or their tactics, you have to become quite the scholar in terms of reading material, studying dozens of books from academic authors such as Adrian Goldsworthy and the like, and that kind of commitment to study is not for everyone. Nor can you solely rely on writings from the time, such as Julius Ceasar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico if you want to get a true depiction of his campaigns in Gaul and Ancient Britain, because for one thing, he was writing them with a view to setting himself up for a political career when he got back to Rome, so they are largely propaganda, and for another, he doesn't half dress up some of the battles where we know in reality he got his arse kicked. Thus when someone such as Simon Scarrow writes works of fiction about the Legions, he has taken the time (as I have too) to become widely read on factual studies of the Roman army, its order of battle, tactics and equipment, thus Scarrow's novels are both entertaining and as accurate as we can hope such a book to be, which means Joe Blow can pick one up and read it, learn something accurate, but without having to read tons of other stuff on the subject. The same is true of the Napoleonic Wars. You can certainly find many factual books on them, and I have many of them myself, but the average reader is more likely to be inclined to read Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series of novels, because for one they are brilliant, but perhaps more importantly, they are brilliantly researched, and thus as accurate as we could hope for. Whereas if you want to read something from someone who was actually genuinely experienced in those naval battles, you're basically limited to a smaller choice of books, perhaps most notably, the brilliant Mr Midshipman Easy, by Frederick Marryat, who is notable for being an author that even Charles Dickens was in awe of. Marryat was genuinely a midshipman on board HMS Imperieuse in 1806, and went on through the ranks to end up as a Captain, so his novel is written with knowledge and wit, and is, naturally enough, one of my favourites. Thus the average person who fancies a bit of a read on Napoleonic warfare is far more inclined to do so via Bernard Cornwell's novels about rifleman Richard Sharpe, or Patrick O'Brian's Captain Aubrey, than they are to read an 1849 copy of Nautical Routine Spars and Rigging, and yes, that one genuinely is on my bookshelf lol. Fascinating it may be to history buffs, but I know the average person wouldn't want to trawl through that to learn that the term 'I don't like the cut of his jib' refers to the Bourbon alliance's practice of trimming their jib sails smaller to allow better steering in the strong winds found in the bay of Biscay, thus enabling British captains to identify French warships when they were still a long way off by their smaller jib sails. Far more exciting to read Captain Aubrey saying, 'I don't like that jib, it's cut too small to be a British ship.' You still end up learning the origin of the term, but in a more entertaining and accessible way.

Some good suggestions on this thread, however, many of them are not novels but rather factual accounts - novel: a fictitious prose narrative of book length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism. So anyway, pedant mode off, here's three unusual recommendations, in that they are all, on the face of it at least, children's books, or at least books aimed at young adults. Of course you shouldn't let that put you off, after all, being one of Heinlein's 'juvie' novels, Starship Troopers was aimed at early teen readers, and we all know what a cool book that is, if a little controversial. So, one from each realm of war, air, land and sea... If you're interested in WW1 and aviation, then as far as novels are concerned, I would seriously recommend reading W.E. John's very early Biggles novel - Biggles Learns to Fly - for whilst it is true that in later novels, Biggles books were very much intended to be 'thrilling takes' for adolescent boys, the early Biggles novels, and particularly Biggles Learns to Fly, was written before Johns had really established his young audience, so it is actually quite adult in its approach (fairly grim in places) and is certainly not afraid to cover subjects such as death and what we'd now call post traumatic stress disorder. It's also notable for being more than a little autobiographical; W.E. John's was in the RFC, and later the RAF, although unlike his fighter pilot fictional hero, Johns was a bomber pilot, which of course required no less skill or bravery. Thus what we have in the early Biggles novels, is the rare combination of a skilled writer who is writing about a subject with which he was intimately familiar, particularly since Johns was in fact shot down, survived the incident, was a POW, though sadly, his gunner did not survive the encounter. Many of these experiences make it into the book in fictionalised form. I like this book so much that I re-read it every once in a while, and I must say that every time I do so, it reminds me of the times when I was a nervous student pilot, learning to fly myself. Seriously, don't be put off by the notion that this is a kid's book, because it really isn't, it's a cracking read. And speaking of cracking reads, here's another supposedly 'kid's book' which is well worth getting hold of - Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam, by Cynthia Kadohata. This is interesting in that it is written from several viewpoints of the various characters in the book, including that of a young boy's pet German Shepherd Dog, Cracker, who is taken up by the US Army and trained as a booby-trap sniffer dog for service in South East Asia during the Vietnam War, after the boy's father loses his job and cannot afford to keep Cracker. And yes, I know that the notion of writing from an animal's point of view sounds cheesy, but trust me, it is not, it is in fact unbelievably convincing and insightful (I have a GSD myself, and I found it utterly convincing). Again, this is a book which is not afraid to tackle difficult subjects such as death, loss and the like, and not least the sense of loss the boy feels when he has to give up Cracker. It also focuses on how poorly many veterans were treated upon returning to the States after serving in Vietnam, which is why I would hardly call it a kid's book. But perhaps of more interest to people in this forum, is the level of research and authenticity in the military aspects of the book, particularly when Cracker and his handler are seconded to work with a Special Forces unit in the jungle (it came as no surprise to learn that again, much of the book is based on a true story). I actually learned quite a few things I did not know about SF operations before from this book, and trust me, I've got rows and rows of books on the pretty much every war, including Vietnam, so I considered myself fairly expert on it, yet still learned some new stuff. Seriously recommended, although warning, it will make you cry, but not for the reasons you may suspect, however, I won't spoil it for you. Certainly one of the most exciting and innovative war novels ever, particularly for its writing style and intuition into how dogs might perceive us. Even your girlfriend will like this book, but you'll probably like it more. I would go so far as to say that this is the best war novel I've ever read, and I'd put money on you agreeing with me if you do read it. Can be found cheap on ebay too! The Lame Duck by Richard Armstrong, is again aimed at young adults, and I in fact did take this out from my local library and read it when I was a kid, since it was published in 1961, but I had such fond memories of it, that I sought out a used copy of it (since it is long out of print) and read it again a couple of years ago, and was pleased to note that it was not mere nostalgic memories that impressed me, it is a very good tale and is one of a series of novels which follow the same characters throughout their war service. Armstrong was a radio operator in the Merchant Navy between 1920 and 1937, but worked as a typist in WW2. He started writing novels in 1942, most of which centered around the Merchant Navy convoys in WW2, so his novels are written with much authority and knowledge, and it shows in the finely crafted stories and details. The Lame Duck focuses on a young lad serving aboard a Merchant Navy tanker, when his ship is hit and left behind as the convoy it was part of maintains speed to avoid also being torpedoed, and the remainder of the story focuses on the efforts of the crew to keep their lone ship afloat and make it through with vital supplies, limping along whilst severely damaged and playing cat and mouse with the U-Boats of the Kriegsmarine. A compelling story of heroism from those who had to step up to the plate and find courage to fight the enemy even when they were not in the military, often a part of the war which receives little attention. It's hard to find a copy of it, but like any book which is hard to find, www.abebooks.co.uk nearly always comes up trumps and is well worth bookmarking on your browser if you are seeking a rare out of print publication.

A lot of laws in the UK are born out of knee-jerk reactions to things which get hyped up in the tabloid papers. This is like a red rag to a bull for many Z-List backbencher MPs in the UK's Parliament, most of whom are trying to make a name for themselves. The favoured MP's method for that, is to 'crusade' a certain flavour of the month issue, since it means they'll get their face on current affairs TV programmes. Sadly, there are a lot of politicians in this country for whom the notion of being an Member of Parliament, is less about having a burning wish to spread their heartfelt political beliefs, or desire to serve their fellow countrymen, and more about setting themselves up for a career path which consists of serving three terms of office as an MP (which in itself is not a bad wage), then the hope that they'll get some sort of gong or honour sponsored by their party (Knighthood, CBE, MBE, OBE, peerage or some such letters after their name). Such an accolade means they can then get a non-executive directorship with a big corporation, then sit back doing feck all for the rest of their life, whilst on a pretty good director's salary. Most big UK companies like the idea of having someone on the board who has 'Sir' or 'Lord' as part of their name, since this looks good on their company stationery. The fallout from all that self-serving bollocks which a good many UK politicians indulge in, is that we often end up with dumb ass laws sponsored by someone who rarely knows much about the subject at hand, or doesn't think a great deal about consequences and effects of what they are attempting to force through as a law. The VCR Act is a case in point for this, most of it stems from the press baying for legislation changes after some loony tune has gone postal in some town centre, whereupon some MP sees this as his or her gravy train pulling into the station. It matters not one jot that when somebody does flip out like that and kill a bunch of people, the press are hardly concerned with the real issue - since that requires some thought - which is that anyone who does flip out like that, should clearly have been dealt with by getting assistance for their mental issues long before they ever got hold of a weapon, certainly in any country which really is concerned for the welfare of its citizens, and such should certainly be championed by newspapers if they really were the moral compasses they pretend to be. For if not, such potential killers could just as easily flip out and attack people with a hammer, screwdriver, kitchen knife, half a brick etc, but even if they do not do that, such mentally ill people have clearly fallen through the safety net of society, which should be offering assistance to people with mental health issues which might cause such destructive behaviour. It should be obvious to anyone who applies some intelligent thought to the matter for more than a nanosecond, that since the vast majority of people can be trusted to not go out and massacre their fellow man if they have access to a rifle or pistol, then the solution to much gun crime is therefore to be found in seeking to help those who have problems which result in them not being capable of such trust. For if not, then we'd better ban kitchen knives, half bricks, screwdrivers, hammers etc.

Welcome aboard.

So... Just got back from Trojan's Purge CQB night, where I teamed up with fellow forumite Jangalak (who is a very nice bloke by the way, and a bloody good shot from what I could gather), and looky what had been delivered to my rainy doorstep... Yup, that's right, bet you'd never thought you'd read this on the forum... full marks go to www.bbguns4less.co.uk for service, because I ordered it Tuesday morning, and it arrived Wednesday teatime, that's a little over 24 hours from placing the order to delivery, and that was with the free postage option as well! They also texted me twice with status updates for the order, plus tracking data for my package, as well as sending me three emails on the status of my order whilst it was being picked and packed. Those BB gun sites sometimes get a bad rap, not always undeservedly to be honest, but the fact is that that is really awesome delivery service. Anyway... It's late now, so this ain't my review - I'll do that on Friday - but here's just some initial impressions of the thing... In the well-packed for transit plain cardboard box with a Black Viper sticker on it, you get: the rifle held in your regulation polystyrene box inner, a printed sheet with some basic instructions, a couple of hundred fairly crappy yellow BBs (straight in the bin), an unbelievably long unjamming rod, a charger, an 8.4v 700 milliamp battery, a cheap and nasty two point sling (also going in the bin), and a black plastic high cap windy-wheel mag (which I believe is about 350 round capacity). The battery goes in the stock by means of the buttplate sliding up, the stock itself also has a release button which enables it to completely slide off, so if you changed it to be front wired (and there is room to do that internally), then you could run the gun with no rear stock for a bit of CQB fun, but as it stands, when you slide the stock on it makes electrical contact with two connectors on the rear of the receiver, so it will be a full stock for a while at least. There is plenty of room inside the stock for a bigger battery, even though that would probably over-stress the current gearbox internals. The gun itself is a combination of ABS plastic and metal, the metal bits are: the outer barrel, the gas tube (although the large flash hider at the tip of the barrel is plastic (which is a shame, as that's the bit you always ding into walls in CQB), the trigger, mag release switch and the rear sight (typical AK type) are also metal, as is the ramrod under the barrel, which can be removed with some persuading, and there are metal bayonet mounts under the barrel too. The upper and lower receiver and body up to the front grip are all molded transparent ABS plastic, although this is split in two halves longitudinally, and secured with black crosshead screws on the right side, which means you definitely can take it apart easily and could drop in a decent metal-geared V3 gearbox. It also means that you could spray the inside of the body black, and not have the paint wear off. The detail on the molded body, is also faithful to the real AK12 in terms of contour and surface detail, so it is certainly a good lookalike for the real AK12. Unlike the real AK12 however, which has a split rail along the top to facilitate the hinging of the upper receiver cover plate, this AK12 does not have a hinged cover, even though the rails are correctly split and it at least looks like the thing would hinge. Similarly, the stock might look like it is collapsible, but it is not, being fixed in the extended position, nor is the stock foldable (on the real AK12, you can fold the stock either way, because parts can be swapped over to make the real AK12 left or right-handed, with it able to eject shells either left or right). Similarly, the fire selector switch, whilst an accurate visual representation of the real improved AK12's fire selector switch (i.e. you can reach the AK12's fire selector with your thumb whilst keeping your finger on the trigger), is only present on the right hand side (the real AK12 has an ambidextrous fire selector switch, present on both sides). Also, the real AK has the ability to fire a three round burst, whereas this airsoft AK12 only has safe, semi, and full auto, so more like a traditional AK, although frankly, I tend to triple tap on semi anyway, so who cares lol. The selector switch is quite stiff, which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned, because the fire selector switch on M16s/M4s is a pain in the ass for accidentally going onto full auto when it rubs against your webbing, whereas there's no chance of that happening on this AK12. It's pretty light - only weighs 3.19 lbs - and despite it having a metal barrel, it's not in the least bit nose-heavy, in fact it is actually very well balanced. It comes up to your shoulder nicely and feels like it would be good for quite long-range aiming, this is helped by the fact that the rear sight is - unlike on traditional AKs - at the back of the upper receiver, which is a definite aiming improvement over traditional AKs. Looks-wise, although it seems a lot longer than a normal AK, this is merely an optical illusion caused by the acres of rail space it has along the top (this thing has more rails than Crewe Junction, it's a gadget fiends's wet dream), however, in spite of it appearing longer than a normal AK, I put it up against my CYMA AK47, and it was only about two inches longer than the AK47, and most of that appeared to be because of the fecking massive flash hider it has, which on the real AK12, ports gas out to control the recoil. The rails incidentally, are all plastic, but it is decently tough plastic and they are on there good and tight, secured by hefty crossheads screws, so I would have no qualms about sticking gear all over the thing and not have it move around at all, which is more than can be said for the rails on the sides of my D-Boys M4. Moreover, with it being so light, it would still be easy to haul around even with craploads of things added to it, which is just as well because this is finally an AK which actually won't look stupid with a modern optic on it. The black plastic pistol grip is contoured, and it is actually quite nice, with a sort of grippy, rubberised feel to it in spite of it being merely the surface molding which gives it that feel. It is quite a hefty sized pistol grip, certainly bigger than an AK47s, in fact, it feels a lot like the grip on my Thompson sub machine gun, which is a good thing, although I think anyone with small hands might find that pistol grip is bordering on the large side. Overall, for seventy quid, I think it could potentially be a bit of a bargain if you throw a decent gearbox into the thing (since that would only take it up to about 110 quid in total), which I probably will end up doing, although I'm gonna paint it up and take it to a skirmish with the stock internals, just to see how it fairs. Look out for a proper vid review shortly.