Tommikka

It is, and the last amendment for that section is 2009 It’s a 15 to 20 year old section, which has had the predicted legislation put into place (subject to consultation and review) If they were to pursue further controls as detailed they would still be subject to the legislative process (though the skirmisher defence isn’t core legislation and can be subject to the strike of a pen) there remains the matter of getting through the majorities required to raise legislation, including every MP that gets petitioned by their constituents - especially businesses/employers in their constituency. Tag on the preservation argument from sites and land owners about use of the forests of the UK generating a level of income to the owning farmer from the site and the associated rates & taxes going into the treasury It is of course a potential risk, but one that can be managed

That is an extract from a brief dated in 2004, which relates to what subsequently went into consultation and ended up with the VCRA legislation (covering the quoted film & theatrical uses and clear IF definition) and the additional statutory instrument which resulted in the Skirmisher defence https://www.greenparty.org.uk/files/reports/2004/Gun control.htm As others have posted airsoft (and other recreational gun like activities) aren’t really on the politicians radars. Scotlands politics is a very different beast with a long tradition in politicians targeting ‘guns’ Back in the day when paintball arrived in the UK the nearest legislation was for low powered air weapons, but paintball ran on CO2 (and still does for some) The difference between CO2 and air was ignored for the majority of the UK but not for Scotland. In England paintball (on legal & safe commercial sites) was ignored, but in Scotland paintball sites were regularly raided and prosecuted for firearms offences. Ultimately CO2 was added to the law on air weapons In recent years the ‘air weapon certificate’ was introduced, and though the specific legislation wording could be interpreted differently an ‘intent’ was shown that airsoft and paintball would not be air weapons under that legislation (Airsoft has also had explicit amendments to firearms legislation excluding compliant airsoft guns from being firearms / air weapons - paintball has no such exclusion but Home Office guidelines set paintball aside provided other projectiles are not used) Don’t be a dick, keep showing ourselves as ‘responsible voices’ on the forums etc and don’t act in a knee jerk manner in anticipation of a knee jerk action

This announcement has 30,000 military placements for 18 year olds in 2025, but the ONS statistics have 1,577,000 16-17 year olds Under 2% would be able to fit into military national service, and the remaining over one and a half million would have 25 days of ‘community service’ What’s the military placement? 25 days as well? Doing a course ? Great - make people do something for a month to supposedly learn life skills and social values that the community and education hasn’t over almost two decades https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpddxy9r4mdo.amp https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/timeseries/jn5p/lms

Legally the importer is held liable for what is crossing inwards through a border. There may be no comeback on the retailer unless the buyer highlighted the requirement for UK legal specifications or the overseas retailer advertised the availability of UK specifications Many things could happen: The package sits for a while then processes through An import VAT charge is raised against the importer, plus handling charges A RIF declaration & Defence are requested The power is checked / identified Failure to pass the processes can result in destruction or return If very lucky it comes through If slightly lucky it is rejected but returned, and you get refunded - a restocking charge may occur

The photos were working for me and have now died …. But your imagination is spot on

@Spartan09 A nice write up that doesn’t lean to the overdramaric. I had been getting snippets on Saturday evening being read out from Facebook etc - he was of course reading the initial horror stories and taking every mixture of rumour. Well done for not being one of those who gears up RIFs etc on their way to/from comicons and in this venue wandering around the general public areas and especially for liaising with the event on a daily basis - Its all too common to have a level of police involvement and ‘education’ being distributed I was one of the traders up in the marquees on Friday, but was then off to Portsmouth Comicon for Saturday and Sunday. If you had been cosplayed up and I saw you then I would have been trying to get you to look through a binder of Stargate collector cards - perhaps I still did - you weren’t the guy who would have bought the whole collection if you had seen it 45 minutes earlier before the German woman bought 14 of them ?? Basingstoke is a ‘new’ comicon, in its second year. They had taken on board some lessons from last year, and as you say issues can probably be attributed heavily to the number / level of guests they have. It means the big money, the big queues and the big upsets if anything isn’t on plan (and if the public facing staff/volunteers aren’t sure what’s happening with schedule changes) Usually I would be the extra person on our stalls and get plenty of freedom to wander around - or in recent months helping out organisers. But this weekend due to the conflicting dates for Basingstoke & Portsmouth I was running one or the other of our trade stalls at each event -But I did have a personal slave to call upon sending him out for iced drinks orders …..

These gauges can be self replaced. Remember to ensure the air is drained as much as possible. This can be done by shooting etc, but can also be done (slowly) by attaching an ASA adaptor with a line that goes to nothing, eg attach an ASA, point the hose line in a safe direction, slowly screw down the ASA to open the valve and let the air drain Contact your preferred airsoft/paintball retailer even if they don’t list gauges - they may have them in, can get you one etc Secure the cylinder, find a tool that fits over the existing gauge and unscrew - slowly Some brute force may be required to break the seal (ideally it hasn’t been thread locked, just thread sealed Unscrew and check the threads as you remove the gauge - it may help to pull the last twists with the gauge facing downwards in case any dried sealant drops out (rather than into the cylinder) With a pick tool check and clean off the regulators threads. Check the threads on your new gauge - ideally they have been factory prepared with a dry thread sealant. If not then you will need something such as PTFE / Teflon tape Screw it in cleanly and firmly Refill, checking for leaks and that the gauge works Theres a demonstration here: https://youtu.be/KAW_PIrKw10?si=xHMeuvM7rqMV3Gmf

All of the foams do the same basic job of providing padding. Simple basic foam, uncut will happily compress to hold and protect your equipment. You can put pretty much anything in the case, in any position and unless it’s too thick preventing you from forcing shut and as long as you don’t put in too much equipment in too close then it will hold and protect. The items may slip around a bit bumping into each other depending on how close and how tight the fit is vs how hefty the items are. You can cut in to standard foam to make pockets to avoid your equipment sliding and to make shutting easier Standard foam can be cut with a knife with good or bad looking results being dependant on how carefully you cut - or use a laser cut A single piece/layer of foam can be more difficult to cut neatly into the right depths for various different items Pick and pluck is typically used in two pieces/layers - one layer as standard foam, and the other piece/layer as a precut grid with small points uncut. You plan your layout then ‘pick and pluck’ ripping out the squares that you want to place your equipment in. This results in a pixelated style, or you can cut some of the grid with a knife (or laser cut - but if you’re laser cutting then you’ve defeated the object of using pick & pluck) Shadow foam is a brand, which comes in multiple colours, eg standard grey on the top layer and a bright colour in the lower layer(s)*. Therefore when cut to fit your equipment an empty slot is obvious as you can see a coloured ‘shadow’ Shadow foam is inspired by the wall mounted shadow boards traditionally used in workshops, schools and prisons to make it obvious when a tool is missing * Note that I have referred to ‘pieces’ and ‘layers’. These are not technical terms, but just me referring to how many blocks of foam you put into the case. Normally you could think of it as a top and bottom for the lid and base. But the bottom / base could be two pieces of foam such as with pick & pluck - one whole block approx half the depth of the base of your case and a second on top that you cut/pluck apart to form the gaps that you insert your equipment in A single piece of ShadowFoam is made of a number of layers. When you cut the shape you then peel out a layer of foam. A thin piece of equipment can be accommodated with one layer peeled out a thicker piece of equipment needs more than one layer peeled out to give greater depth. Pick & pluck: https://youtu.be/dSC2vEVfSIQ?si=rHpqQ2eESKVJ0JE1 Shadow foam: https://youtu.be/GMBziTVpoWE?si=aIH3vxWDz8aV-A2a

I see a red door and I want to paint it black

Tour of duty of course

It does of course depend on the point. If the point is a brief routine view of general standards then it achieves the goal. Basic levels of cleanliness and safety go together, if you can’t sort that out with 24 hours notice then you’re the true problem. A targeted visit could be different, so the life tip of ‘don’t be a dick’ always helps. If you aren’t a dick and don’t do stupid things then they won’t have anything in particular to be looking closely for

As Colin has said - 99% chance of this being a no, and would get you into trouble. Contact the local society for their advice The norm is that it’s not allowed in halls Societies will have access to storage, but it will vary between Universities. I am aware that in the past Southampton University went through this for their members. Resident members in halls were not permitted to keep RIFs, members in shared houses could and ‘key’ members of the society stored other members RIFs - but that meant that they became responsible for them and had issues when particular members weren’t attended an event. The society had storage via the Student Union, but it was as caged areas in store rooms - and one cage would be shared between two societies. Your specific society will be able to tell you what their arrangements are For something to physically store them in, the best is a hard case & a lock or a padlock. A non gun case is more anonymous for general transporting. The circumstances of your transportation can also vary - your own car, a bus, walking down the street etc

Joule creep is the answer that just keeps on telling us that the ‘standard’ airsoft practice of chronographing with specific BBs is not fit for purpose. In an ideal world everyone chronographs using the BBs that they play with, against a chronograph that can report joules in line with the BB in use or at least in line with a chart / information for chrono staff to cross reference the appropriate velocity. Either that or set your ‘specific BB’ chrono limit that accounts for creep against actual BBs in play

I didn’t say that UKARA is the only valid airsoft defence - it’s the most common recognised defence, but other valid ones can and do exist. (You may note that I also said ‘UKARA etc’) JustCos certainly isn’t, and the ‘operators’ of JustCos also know that it isn’t.

The defences in legislation are: museums theatrical film/TV production historical re-enactment in the service of the crown The legislation goes into further details on the requirements Airsoft skirmishing is an additional defence, not part of the core legislation https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/38/section/37 Cosplay is not a defence, however ‘professional cosplay’ in certain circumstances can fall into theatrical After many years of wondering what JustCos actually provides I purchased JustCos membership to see the insurance policy (and still was not provided with the policy) after another forum member used JustCos as a route to buy a RIF - they had to provide a photo of them playing airsoft for the retailer to accept the sale (therefore the retailer ‘accepting’ JustCos doesn’t actually accept the ‘defence’) (I was eventually refunded and my JustCos membership cancelled because I was ‘too stupid’ to understand what JustCos actually was UKARA etc are not specified defences, but are a route in which retailers can justifiably document a buyers defence. Any retailer can accept whatever they like, one even had a tick box for buyers to state that they intended to play airsoft skirmishing Certain retailers are only paying lip service and just want the sales

Theres a recent video on additional head protection and his preference is a shemagh Make sure that you don’t end up making a hotter head with obstructed airflow. A common problem with using shemaghs as a neck scarf is the resultant blocking/reduction of airflow of players hot breath - and blaming the goggles Lightly cover the areas that you’re having issues with

The Dye i family are what I would classify as ‘premium’ goggles, with the SE, and MI7 being basic level goggles. I started with VForce armour, which are the equivalent of the SE & MI7, and then went to the i3 as a premium. They all fulfil the key requirement of eye & face protection, and when accompanied with a dual pane lens they all do the same job. What matters next is fit and air flow. Fit is dependant on your head Air flow is dependant on a few factors, with the pattern of holes, spacing around your mouth etc and the i4s give lots of air flow by not covering so much of your head Premiums come with better ‘quality’ and will lead on new design (which if novel may not necessarily be better) but budget goggles can catch up on design changes A key difference is the main goggle material, with the basics coming in hard plastic and premiums rubberised. Rubber is more flexible on your head, and if you’re leaning into your gun can give way against the stock etc When I went to the i3 I kept my basic VForce for loans and occasional use, (until they never came back from long term loan) I considered the i4 but I have a big head with the i3 exposing a lot of forehead already, and just about a bit of chin cover. A team mate tried on the i4s in front of me - the amount of head exposure he had told me they wouldn’t touch any of my head. I bought MI7s for a particular colour scheme, and found them a comfortable fit to my head. My preferred goggles are VForce grills, they’re in my premium category, fit my head well, and until Grills 2 came out had been pretty much unchanged for many years due to popularity other than design colours and ‘special’ editions (this actually meant that last seasons fashion suddenly dropped in price) Ive about 4 or 5 sets of Grills, a thing that can happen is that when you come to buying a new lens, and thinking about goggle straps it’s not much more to buy a set of goggles. There is a little difference between the i4 & i5, and a comparison here https://youtu.be/E3tCYKjtZIM?si=xbd1Z3rRvH6SBiAK

It is, and represents the wooded areas The zones still in use may be in more of a square, (and possibly the larger of the woods contains the normal zones) It sounds like the same whiteboard map is still going, and probably wiped away a few times since then For a fuller large scenario we would like to open up into more of a sites. With Ambush having been in the game for many years there were ‘abandoned’ zones which we would have brought into featured points and they will also have shut down & rebuilt new areas since. Parts of the site are prone to flooding so would be available or unavailable at times of the year

DEVGRU, AKA SEAL team 6 Mask or remove moving parts, lightly spray in layers, and make some rough patterns. Avoid too fancy factory type professional camouflage prints and go for a field expedient look … Like this …. https://youtu.be/wAeSKtluE-c?si=YozfS8ntxNmoPQlx

…. Did it look anything like this? When we ran events there, circa 2010, they had a faded whiteboard up with a rough sketch. I can’t remember if we put together the map or they gave us an existing source to overlay ours onto. We produced a giant ‘bare’ poster board edition to overlay event specifics in the safe zone briefs. It should still be in my garage, hung from the ceiling acting as a shelf for tents - but the prints probably disintegrated/rubbed off over the years I like site maps, as a descendant of a dodgy ‘ship wrecked’ Norwegian I have no sense of direction and rely on map/site feature recognition ….. and at Camouflage Bournemouth during pre event setup I lost half the objective props for a while - I had stacked them on top of a hill whilst taking them a couple at a time to set up, and couldn’t find my way back to the hill. So I geotagged every location at Ambush.

Personal preferences do apply, but I agree Real life painted weapons are at that level of ‘standard’ It’s to perform a function in the field

I would avoid soaking in chemicals etc Back in the olden days I decided to ‘unpaint’ model figures to redo them, I tested out acetone successfully, then popped some in to soak, and after leaving for not very long I returned to discover highly disfigured figures melting into mush Keep it simple, test out as others have posted above and stick to rubbing away on the individual pieces

I sacrificed a great photo sequence when I spotted a dead man walking in a tournament There was only one exit out of the field, behind him. Tournament rules alone specify taking the shortest route to the side then out so he was clearly in breach if he had been eliminated His gun failed, so he kept ducked down trying to fix it and the opposing team forgot about him. He stood up, stepped to the edge* ( still in the boundary ) walked towards the oppositions rear and then across to the central scoring bunker for the buzzer * note that this site was very old in the tournament world with the netting & posts at exactly regulation size, so there was no out of bounds on the edge - he could have hugged the net line remaining in game being more deceptive, but clearly and openly walked on One of the referees did challenge him for going the wrong way, and he quietly said that he’s not out. I desperately wanted the photos but I would have drawn attention so waited until he sped across for the buzzer There were complaints, but it was a valid winning move - to official rules

I’d agree with you there, we were hired for someone else’s event and that fallen tree shouldn’t have been used as a bridge - ideally it should be cut away at the water if left in situ I would prefer marshals to err on their discretion side, drawing minimal attention, giving light direction to a potential lost respawnee without giving away a sneaky player It would be similar to a hi vis dressed marshal walking up to a player crawling through the long grass There are rules about how to walk when eliminated, the general minimum is to raise your arm, which we all drop on a long walk but we know that we should raise/announce our status if we encounter players, call out when approaching corners or doorways inside etc

I’m with you on ‘dead man walking’ As long as you aren’t actually cheating (hand up to walk through as a dead player then shooting), and in line with event rules then it’s valid (I also encourage those willing to risk it in my game rules) If in doubt challenge / shoot. If it’s a problem then adopt clear systems such as dead rags (but this is another thread diversion with an often argued topic) It doesn’t, and is now deceased, following the great lightning strike fire of Ironsight Our turret was an event prop/objective, not for players to turn up and use but for players to try and pass or defeat It did have a variety of disablement systems - for safety purposes as a kill switch system, and player activated controls to ‘kill’ it As seen on TV, and an upcoming card game Solaco RIP The ‘intelligence’ of AI are highly exaggerated It has its uses, but many more limitations