Tommikka

Curious …….. I’m on the same device (iPhone) and the first image has now disappeared as below: It may be an issue with the hosting rather than the way you have embedded it, as originally I saw both perfectly well ……. In theory, copying a link from your photostream could be the issue - but it’s not due to that being personal to you as I could see the image

Those two work I’m in two minds about embedding or linking Links are a good habit to support a forum Back in the day I hosted team signature block images, which had the ‘benefit’ of managing consistency, and allowed for event promotion (subject to advertising rules) both for our own events and also when playing a role in another teams/organisers event My moderator head says to link from a hosting site, this of course saves resources and costs for the site owners - and that’s how I used to do things - across a few hosting sites to keep it free and also as part of my organising. Over time those sites have gone onto different pricing, so I went through a review ensuring I didn’t lose anything that I hadn’t archived, and fixed a few shares to maintain, but a number of forums now have dead links Embeds ‘fix’ my problem of organising links, but contributes to forum costs. I aim to scale appropriately, and some of my older pictures are ‘banked’ to give me some flexibility to scale down and retrieve capacity in the future - or I could decide that protecting the ‘integrity’ of a thread in the future can be served by lesser quality as opposed to a good balance between quality & size for a current thread

I do like a tree photo Not both?

Start with a basic action camera, then learn what works for you. GoPro carries the name, and does have the right features and specs which come with the price to go with them Alternative action cameras are up to the job - all in recent years exceed the ‘quality’ of anything you would be showing them at - YouTube etc Old YouTube footage from 15 to 10 years ago which looks like it was filmed with a potato gets highlighted with much nostalgia value and You are dependant on the sensor and chip set. If you’re going in and out of buildings then the ‘better’ cameras will cope better with the change in light conditions - but anything current should cope in a reasonable time frame Most important is what you want to do with footage. Are you making a full film of all your awesome actions, telling the story of your day? Are you making a click bait kill cam video? Are you making training feedback footage to review what happened? Or do you just want to film some stuff and see what you get? The ‘best’ footage is of multiple angles - but means lots more editing. eg barrel cam - which mostly shows the ground and air, but gives shooting footage Reverse barrel cam - films you Sight cam - which gives zoomed in ground and air Head cam - which shows where you were looking, but can make people sick when you keep looking left, right etc, and will also show the tree or brick wall that you were hiding behind Body cam - similar to head cam without the left/right twitching but more bouncy (check the stablisation specs) Back cam - Strap a pole to your vest and mount a camera that films a 3rd person view Combine a few of those and you can edit a story - for the extra cost of multiple cameras and mounts plus edit time Alternatively forget all of those, get a generic action camera with case and an assortment of mounts. Try it in different positions and see what you get Note that a scope camera is ‘better’ when accompanied by another camera giving a wider view

You are wise In case of future justification, Keep it in your back pocket that airsoft is a safe fun activity that bears little relation to real life despite the stitch counters But the wise man knows when to and when not to take ladies to gun related activities

Sometimes ignorance is bliss Even following instinct on a no go can result in issues We were entertained by a team mates stalker issues - until I declined a no go and ended up with my own stalker

‘Low’ is of course relative A few pounds and under a centimeter go with our Mk1 but are a lot of pressure for the mk2 A (very) careful player can notice and step back from low pressure, and that of course is also a successful device - once players know that there are trip wires around they slow down and avoid obvious routes 👍

I’ll comment on fishing line as a trip line. There are of course many factors to consider with a trip line, we haven’t liked fishing line. It has some stretch to it (Which is a good and a bad thing depending on placement and intent) If you are giving careful people a small chance to notice that they have caught a trip wire then the stretch and tension gives them that moment. It also depends on the force required. Physical devices such as these have the plunger spring tension against the safety pin, and that gives some friction against the sideways pull of the pin. You therefore need a ‘strong’ enough line to pull against the friction Add this friction with some stretch and that is the chance you are giving the player to detect - if they are running then it’s too late, if carefully walking then they have a chance. If opening a door they may or may not detect ‘tension’ We primarily go for pyro based systems, and have devices with electric trigger systems which means we don’t need the physical force of an impact for a blanks percussion cap, therefore less need for a ‘strong’ line I don’t like to discuss specifics on our device designs (and I also work with those of an Army engineers background including some of EOD experience which also influences how much I’d publicly say about our designs!) For trip devices we’ve had two core designs. Mk1 had some ‘physics’ and needed a level of tension to pull it. Similarly to blank devices a fishing line or cord would be needed but would have a level a stretch before ‘popping’. Wire doesn’t stretch, but can be too obvious when strong enough. Mk2 designs are very sensitive, only needing a light touch which would enable something more fine, or any ‘stretch’ in the line would trigger

I keep having thoughts that it’s a pressure mine, which would reflect you not having something to lock it as primed, but that would only work if the pin / blank can be impacted properly when stood on etc So I think that you are right that mystery object which needs to be recognised to establish if something is missing or the priming method needs to be identified Dynatex have made many products based on the same principles, some of which have a sleeve / enclosure as a grenade - but I would have still expected somewhere for a safety pin

Going in blind, I’m assuming that it’s a blank firer which sets off by a striker pin on the the plunger But devices can be many things, blanks, crow scarers, 12gram co2 cartridges etc the holes look like the safety side vent of a blank firer. More information is needed

Can you give more pictures in other angles? Are there signs of equivalent parts being missing or that the design does not appear to account for such parts ?

(I believe) that the overseas registered VAT is to be accounted for & paid to HMRC on a quarterly basis, so would be held for a period Package declarations should cover all of that, and presumably with the companies HMRC reference - with past experience I wouldn’t be surprised if someone from overseas sent packages with declarations but didn’t have any arrangement When parcels pass through its then a question of whether there is any tracking of what is declared on the package vs quarterly accounts On the matter of what is actually charged and what is subsequently declared, that again depends on ‘proper’ accounting. Unless it’s a VAT invoice the specifics aren’t there. Legally that’s irrelevant as VAT applies or doesn’t, but if for example a European seller lists inclusive of local VAT but sold as export then they could still charge €120 but keep the €120 from an overseas sale, but with a local sale kept €100 and paid their tax man €20 If declared as UK vat paid then they would be paying the €20 In £ to HMRC …………. Ive just had a recent European import of some custom work - I dealt with the European office, but my invoice came from a different UK company (the guy is their ‘UK rep’) so I paid UK VAT The European company sent it to him, and he forwarded it to me I never saw the package which went through customs, so either multiple items came and split out or he took it out of one package and then sent on to me UK customs therefore will have seen a business to business package and HMRC got their cut on the UK to UK sale

China subsidises export postage for low value high volume businesses

Go to “account”, “my attachments” https://airsoft-forums.uk/attachments/ That will tell you your remaining allowance and show you what attachments you have stored in the forum Either delete those no longer required, or go to the relevant posts and replace with a scaled down copy I use this on my iPhone, free to use with adverts: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/image-size/id670766542

She spends time with you, has told you how many shoes she has *, and has planned to go out for the day at the weekend - your work is done - just ask before she cools off No big plans required (and best avoided) * assuming you didn’t hide in her cupboard and count them yourself

The EG18 & EG18X are 55mm in diameter so probably too fat unless there’s some give, the others tend to be 40mm Mk5s slot nicely in MOLLE strapping

Women are unusual creatures Ask her out I’ve punched well over my weight many times - you just have to ask

A 45 second burn time for the Eg18X compared to the EG18s 90 second burn https://enolagaye.com/products/eg18x/ https://enolagaye.com/products/eg18/ The X isn’t (supposed to be) on general sale, it’s recommended for ‘professional use’ Bandoliers are for the amateurs They wouldn’t let me pack that one into my car An alternative to the proper bandolier is from the various ‘beer can belts’ However, the official EG bandolier came with a hook so that you can pull the pin one handed You can sometimes find the older products around once in a while

Purely on the dog situation, hopefully they have a justified case to allow it in the game zone plus all the relevant risk assessments and insurance in place if they are ever inspected or the dog is reported in the game zone Councils and the RSPCA don’t have much of a sense of humour where animal welfare is concerned For dog walkers etc when we first ran an event at Ambush Alton and conducted the initial site walk going back across the full site into old zones and the areas between zones the common dog walker / rambling routes were pointed out to us, even with no right of way. We set off a publicity campaign between us and the site to make the locals aware and put up numerous signs around the paths etc to warn off the date and timings that gameplay will be taking place across the wider site All was going smoothly until I took a radio call from a marshal who had discovered not only a member of the public walking through, but they decided to follow the noise and walk up to an active firefight to get a better view On the opposite extreme at Camouflage Bournemouth we put out extra boundary tapes in some areas - which was colour coded for different ‘categories’ of territory. A ghillie crawled off to find a nice spot and kept circling away from groups of players. He didn’t look up at the boundary tapes, came to a fence and turned. He eventually found himself at the boundary and roadside - and chose to walk up the road trying to sneak back in undetected through the car park Cue Sunday morning traffic congestion near to the airport

Most importantly let me declare my interests, that I am part of a sponsorship relationship with Enola Gaye (They provide the pyrotechnics for our events) I’ll categorise as smokes, bangs and ‘projectile bangs’ Smokes: Cover and effects In event running my interest is as an atmospheric effect and as an objective marker etc In game play it’s cover and/or a distraction The worst use is to take one standard smoke in a wide open area, throw it, look at it and then find that the cloud has dispersed with no body moving The beat use is to check the environment (is it windy?) and to either throw and go as soon as any smoke is produced or to throw multiple smokes dropped close by but with some spacing - then use the cover This brings the decision of whether to use larger smoke grenades for one cloud or multiple smaller smoke grenades to build a cloud Enola provide a guide to compare the capabilities across the range The general standard smoke across most manufacturers is Enolas WP40/TP40/friction and was traditionally set off by friction striker.* Each part of the range also has a designed burn time. In the above image the different models with the cloud in red have burn times mostly of 60 to 90 seconds but also includes the twin vent which emits smoke from both the bottom and top halving it’s contents burn time from 60 seconds to less than 30 The EG18 on release became popular for the bigger cloud over 90 seconds of burn and it also can ‘fit better’ in a manly hand giving a good weighty throw Some prefer the EG18, some prefer two standard smokes The EG25 is less of a cloud maker, but does get good results in small areas - this was more aimed for photography and effects Bangs: When I began playing these typically were only for noise, but gradually were taken into account in rules such as ‘within x metres’ is an elimination and of more relevance ‘within the room’ is an elimination Back then it was ‘normal’ to use Mk9s which meant that even if it didn’t count for any eliminations etc it caused players to react when a mk9 went off beside them Now the site standard tends to be Mk5s When on a ‘standard’ designed flash bang the mk 5/9 would be a guide to how much explosive is in there and how much of bang ‘volume’ you can expect experience, but the real science is in the combination of the chemistry of the bang and the shape/density of the grenade, such as how packed the cardboard tube is. This can change the volume and ‘feel’ of the bang - and have a significant difference in a confined space I was handed some of the compact bang to try out, and I stumbled when stepping away from the first one I ignited. In a semi confined area of an outdoor CQB space I felt a kick in my backside the of detonation ‘blast’ There is video footage, but I possess it and it’s not getting published For reusable bangs etc I have little experience other than those that I have watched in use. They cost more per grenade, but less per bang - provided you don’t lose it Projectile bangs: I have little to no experience of these, having used some of the early airsoft grenades and paintball grenades that ‘propelled’ either dried peas or paintballs when detonated. This was ten to fifteen years ago and I found them ineffective - let alone whether anyone took any notice of them In some cases the rules would count them as hits, but only if anyone took the hit Designs have improved over years but I’ve had no use for them nor have I been involved in their product testing. * Strikers/ring pull ignition: Enola have aimed towards using wire pulls due to the issue of players being heavy handed with strikers - the striker system has a chemical reaction between fuse and striker and only needs a gentle touch, over do it and you just sandpaper the top of the fuse away Pay attention to the instructions for ring pulls as to avoid players burning themselves on ignition EG designed ring pulls to be pulled sideways so that your hand is out of the way of ignition, and if you pull up it will deliberately fail. Due to the inability to read instructions (especially on the US market) a top pull system was also introduced - check which ignition system you have, and if you are heavy handed with ignition fuses carry a lighter (and only use it on the tip of the fuse) Further details on each in the Enola range linked here: https://enolagaye.com/general/ https://enolagaye.com/combat/ Other pyro manufacturers are available

Don’t be stupid How about roughly 25 guns when playing once a year, rising to over 30 while not playing and moving to twice per year ? Perhaps I might get to 3 next year, or dare I try and align my social life to fit 5????

Are you sure that they don’t know what they’re talking about ? The successful proposal put up by the ABA, UKARA & governing body which resulted in the skirmisher defence was an airsoft licence scheme: https://www.popularairsoft.com/news/ukasgb-ukara-aba-proposal-vcr-bill The Scheme would involve the following: The ABA would undertake to issue Player Licenses. This would result in recognized players. The UKASGB would undertake to register, monitor standards and regulate itsmember sites. The sites would either register with the police or the local authority. Not all sites are members of the UKASGB for varying reasons. However, we feelthat this should not preclude them from forming their own body and then applyingfor HO recognition. UKARA would undertake to register dedicated Airsoft retailers and provideguidelines and standards for their operation. We also propose that dedicatedAirsoft retailers be registered with the local constabulary so as to provide an audittrail that is transparent and clear for examination. It would appear that following the need of the complete UK airsoft community to get together to protect the game that only the UKARA still stands in line with the 2007 propositions (not surprising as this is the element that protects retailers from potential prosecution) As was flagged up recently when coming out of covid the initial reopening of airsoft sites fell through due to the lack of a Sport England governing body - which existed in 2007 with the UKASGB

The VCRA (plus additional elements by ‘statutory instrument’) define the defences. UKARA in itself is not a legally required defence, but it is a scheme under which your status as an ‘airsoft skirmisher at insured sites’ can be documented. The 3 games rule is not specified in the legislation, but it aligns with the proposed methodology by the airsoft business community’s lobby groups while the VCRA was a bill. It is the retailer / seller who could be committing an offence under the VCRA, and therefore the UKARA retailers association put into place a scheme based on the proposals at the time of the bill, is most importantly credible if a retailer has to go to court - and has a level of value to the airsoft sites that administer it. The UKARA database is a central register compiled from local site membership schemes, which without the VCRA would be a membership marketing method of encouraging repeat business VCRA defences: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/38/section/37 VCRAsection 37.2)Those purposes are— (a)the purposes of a museum or gallery; (b)the purposes of theatrical performances and of rehearsals for such performances; (c)the production of films (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (c. 48)_see section 5B of that Act); (d)the production of television programmes (within the meaning of the Communications Act 2003 (c. 21)_see section 405(1) of that Act); (e)the organisation and holding of historical re-enactments organised and held by persons specified or described for the purposes of this section by regulations made by the Secretary of State; (f)the purposes of functions that a person has in his capacity as a person in the service of Her Majesty. Note that they include caveats to justify each Defence, b, c & d don’t include ‘making prank YouTube videos, or student films, e requires organisation of historical re-enactments rather than just deciding to dress up, and f has ‘in the capacity’ of their service. (Claims of needing a RIF to practice weapons handling get brought up every now and again - weapons handling has a defined meaning in armed services and includes full safety procedures, stripping etc - which don’t work with an AEG etc, plus if you are conducting practice drills or extra practice shooting then an IF would do and no VCRA Defence would be required) The airsoft Defence covers the purpose of ‘airsoft skirmishing’ and caveats the intent to skirmish at insured sites. Your shop that decided they will be happy to sell to you either has been convinced of your true intent, or just does not care about the unlikely risk of being taken to court and is happily selling to anyone whilst giving lip service to the defence. As a buyer anything that the seller will accept is good enough - but with another potential downfall (if anything made it to court) There is a shop that introduced the ‘cosplay Defence’, complete with partnering to a Comic-Con with links to their rules which forbade RIFs and therefore documenting a conspiracy to defraud involving the retailer, the Comic-Con and the buyer. (Cosplay is not a VCRA defence, however professional cosplayers that truely perform as opposed to turning up to a Comic-Con as a paying customer could qualify under theatrical - if they have appropriate insurance) Your shops response has more substance - they tell you that you have convinced them that your intent is to skirmish

‘Correct’ it may be, and perfectly valid to adopt as a team. But to get the random Joe Bloggs who happens to be at the next tree or corner to know what you mean then ‘first floor’ would work for the man off the street, the Signals scaley and the Infantry dealer of death, whereas ‘floor one’ could be interpreted as ground or first floor depending on experience & knowledge

Getting others to join in and do so is difficult, but not impossible. Calling out direction is likely to get you ignored But practice with your son, and then acting upon it can have an effect - those keen to do the same will join in, and then those who see some progress will tag along At a standard day just play as you wish and see if others tag along At a more organised event, even if not a MilSim etc check in with any assigned faction leader, tell them what / how you’re interested in playing - some people just want a shoot out, others an organised push and others a focused mission At one major event, the faction we would play for traditionally lost overall. One year the faction commander was a current US soldier posted over here. He had two core plans: Plan A - his wife co-oridinated a ‘command centre’ just inside the main entry point. She had players stood outside asking respawning players what they wanted to do, and with the aid of maps and the current state of play advised on the direction to go for a good shoot out or for a mission objective, and ‘organised’ teams would be on a cascade network of radio channels Plan B - If it started to go wrong he planned to play the Ride of the Valkyries on a bull horn and to walk around the game area. Any players within earshot would join the growing group and attempt to plough through Sadly Plan A worked and the game was won. I wanted to do plan B Keep it simple, and not necessarily to the book. On the more ‘extreme’ my buddy would try making Hollywood & documentary style calls and hand signals Those are fine if you regularly train together, are ex Army with similar experience (and doctrine generation) or are watching the same things, eg assigning colours to the front, back, left and right of a building enables consistency whichever direction you come from - but is meaningless to Fred & George who just turned up In a building for floors he would call one, two etc based on Hollywoods American first, second floor etc but in the UK it’s ground and first (sniper in window on one would have people looking up, and sniper in red one would mean nothing)