Tommikka

In my opinion - no In the opinion of the quoted barrister consulted by the UKPSF - yes If you were to delete the word ‘airsoft’ from ‘airsoft skirmishing’ then I’d agree Based on the Association of police constables fact finding study and previous correspondence between the UKPSF and the Home Office then I’d agree that there have been musings that it could be argued in court as the intent of the law, where as the literal wording of the statutory instrument wouldn’t

It would be interesting to know what the actual story was as opposed to the version he gave: Someone with a history of ‘airgun offences’ reported a lorries dangerous driving, which resulted in his girlfriend letting CID in the door for a search without a warrant https://p8ntballer-forums.com/threads/paintball-and-the-law.171875/page-7 The original Facebook posts have disappeared, and (though only a basic name search) I’ve not found much other than someone with a similar name who would have been in prison at the time for conspiracy to murder

They generally get listed with options of 7.5, 11 or 16 joules in UK shops depending on model / calibre 16 joules is within the 12 foot pounds limit for air weapons/rifles and therefore will be within the approx 300fps ‘legal” limit for a standard 0.68” paintball, but may or may not exceed the general 280fps chrono limit on sites depending on the gun Both 11 & 16 joules would exceed the air pistol limit if 6 foot pounds, and 7.5 joules would comply Theres then the question that hasn’t been answered in court as to whether the just over 300fps case law covers all paintball - and it has been suggested that a standard paintball gun could be classified as an air pistol

@Speedbird_666 @Rogerborg These Home Defence guns do have the attention of the Home Office & Border Force, and they aren’t entirely happy Recent changes by the UKPSF on their guidelines to retailers are related to the increase in Home Defence designs If appropriate versions are here in the UK with the correct velocity limit and paintballs or first strikes then they are UK legal for paintball But if they are dodgy imports (or modified back to full velocity) then they are airguns and could be subject to deciding whether they are legal or illegal airguns Also irrespective of velocity if they are used with other projectiles then they are heading to the illegal side The only approved projectiles for paintball are classic gelatine balls (which can be in non standard sizes) and First Strike shaped paintballs which were subject to testing a few years ago. First Strike testing was conducted on the 0.68” version, other sizes exist Rubber balls have been used in the past as ‘training paintballs’ (reballs etc). These are not approved for paintball Powder balls get used in the UK for some purposes - I’m seen them used for film special FX and for shooting galleries I’m aware of one event that was considering Powderball, but they were worried about legal implications and the event also never happened. They are not approved for paintball Modified projectiles will generate the interest of the courts Self defence is a right in the UK, but a self defence weapon is an offensive weapon Get one of these found in your bedside table during a search by the police and you will be looking at a prosecution (I have seen this mentioned on forums, possibly also on here) Use of a paintball gun for home defence /self defence is a stupid idea. I play that game for fun, and I enjoy going into the middle of a firefight as a photographer or Marshall getting repeatedly battered. It’s not going to put off a burglar, they either wouldn’t care or would be made grumpy. You would have a better chance of scaring them off by waving the wife’s favourite toy at them They definitely do not belong in an airsoft game. On the chrono range its arguable - on the basis of it being a paintballer chrono checking On reporting to staff they should care or advise that it’s been OKd for testing/chrono checks etc - shrugging it off does not inspire me The Umarex guns are not user adjustable. They are preset by the valve. The full HDR models can also exceed the Americans permitted velocity / power, and a number of reviews ‘advise’ to dry fire a few shots on 12 gram change Law enforcement & home defence versions of paintball guns have existed for many years - In fact a few paintball designs are spin offs from the ‘less than lethal’ models. Typically these have been unrestricted valves marketed as home defence / law enforcement and adjustable restricted valves in paintball energy limits Umarex have come into the market as home defence with a restricted valve option. I’ve said many times how much I dislike airsoft glasses, I’ve seen BBs get in the side and glasses dislodged but these guns don’t belong anywhere near an airsoft game They belong with full face protection and at safe power limits Personally I do have an Umarex .50” revolver as a lockdown purchase, and it came from a reputable Uk retailer. It has never been fired and won’t be used anywhere until I’ve done some proper chrono & range testing

Crime and Security act 2010 covers the storage of air weapons, and creates an offence of a minor gains access to a stored air weapon. (Arguably a legally compliant airsoft gun may have been removed from this when firearms act definition were modified) The legislation requires them to be secured if minors may have access to the property, which could be anything from a locked bag to a gun safe. Police guidance recommended gun safes This was brought in following various cases including deaths of children finding air guns

I’m quite fond of ‘experts’ who state with ‘authority’ that a British Army load out is wrong when on operations you get numerous mixes of uniform & equipment in MTP, multicam, DPM, olive, and issue (let alone 1950 era issue belt on just out of Sandhurst 2nd Lieutenant), QM GPC purchase, PRI purchase, private purchase. Then when not on operation there are all the different regimental dress codes, combat loads, shouty man’s dress code etc When the Army can’t agree on sleeves up/down, shirts (light jacket) tucked in/out etc and the CGS sends out an Army wide order on when up/down applies and that C95 is tucked in but PCS is out - but the Army stiffly disobeys, followed by CGSs new order of “I don’t give a shit whether it’s up/down/in/out, you can have local orders - but be fucking consistent”* * not the officially published wording On topic now ….. Loadout guides appear in some magazines as an article, or also as explicit or less explicit advertising, sometimes as web articles etc and can be aimed at airsoft, reenactment, model making etc They can also be research such as Osprey guides, museums, photos & paintings etc Theres a lot of information out there. The thing that may make a difference is whether you are collating and publishing the information or selling guides Many people will be interested in reading a guide, less would pay for it

For any obstacle / bunker and game layout design make sure that it is both attackable & defendable Its a common flaw to design defences to be defended. For example if you make a fort building then leave big wide open doorways on at least two sides and the back of towers exposed.

5 looks ideal for a kill house: Clear out the trees, build a grid frame system of ‘rooms’, put up boards as the walls. Ideally leave an open doorway in every wall ( so each ‘room’ has entrances in every direction ) Then close off some the doorways either by semi permanently screwing them in place, or hang them on hooks so they can be rearranged If possible build some overhead walkways/observation platforms - that way you can have staff watching overhead to run the game and oversee for safety, plus have a couple on the ground to run in for an emergency OSB wood panels should work for a kill house wall system (cut some windows etc for variation) Check pallets for condition - you don’t want customers getting large splinters from rough pallets, or a part broken panel snapping Also check their nails - you don’t want a customer to get embedded onto a rusty 6” nail. Where practical remove loose nails & replace with screws Avoid using pallets as temporary floors, boots will go through and ankles will get trapped Consider covering pallets with hessian sheeting / sacks as obstacles Check tyres for condition. If old tyres are worn unevenly then the underlining wire will be exposed

This type of catering N20 cylinder is at 50bar / 725psi CO2 under pressure is in its liquid state and expands to gas on release in the region of 800psi (But with rapid fire can drop in temperature and go back to liquid) This is partly the reason why paintball HPA regulators and mechanical guns were originally operating at 800psi I don’t know how it would continue to perform in the cylinder or on transfer to a co2 magazine etc for practical use. Assuming it acted like co2 rather than compressed air then it would switch between gas & liquid states, stabilising into its ‘stored’ state and acting like low powered co2 It would be interesting to know the results if you go ahead

It depends on how much / how often you will use air If air is available at the site that you play then that’s the best option. If you need to source your own air then a compressor would be the easiest option, as it will give you the defined pressure. But they do vary in capability. Workshop compressors don’t give enough pressure (and aren’t clean which can be dangerous) There is a very slow option that piggy backs a workshop compressor with a boosting compressor (generally called the shoebox compressor) Professional compressors cost thousands, others have got cheaper (as linked above) Ensure that you are within its operating capacity, that it is maintained and that the air is filtered A cheap & ‘easy’ but requiring physical effort is a stirrup pump. Again it needs to be filtered. This is a fair option for occasional use In between is a dive cylinder. With one of these you are equalizing the pressure between cylinders each time, which slowly drops the source pressure. If you have 3000psi/206bar cylinder then that’s your typical aluminum cylinders maximum. Which means you need to only fill to the minimum that will allow you to play long enough in game and then refill. (eg aim for 2500psi fills to keep it going longer) The larger the dive cylinder is the longer it will take to gradually drop in pressure. If you have a 4500psi/300bar dive cylinder then the initial purchase costs more, but you have 50% more source pressure making. You can then decide to go for 3000psi fills for a while, but if you limit your fills then it will last much longer To fill your playing cylinder you need the appropriate hose fitting for the fill nipple. A compressor or stirrup pump will most likely have the right fitting For a dive cylinder you will need to get a fill clamp adaptor A few of the options are discussed in the following

Was that a bargain price that you paid, or a ‘bargain price’ for the purposes of her indoors ? As in when a team mate commented on the current second hand price of one of his guns ….. “That’s really good as it’s almost what you paid”. He had to bite his tongue when he almost replied as to how that compared with the actual purchase price

@rainyfur The video link I posted literally talks you through and shows the process of making a shotgun blast a flame out of the barrel Anyone with the tiniest bit of a practical minded brain could provide a solution that could apply that and costs pennies. The rest of the video shows the range of different prop guns that could be used and many different ways of ‘live’ SFX including various ways of minimising the risk involved

We tried out one of the multi person catapaults intending to use it to launch across a valley ….. the first test shot (or at least the first one to hit the target) knocked the goggles flying - frame in one direction, lens in another, prop head flying off This sort of thing

I used to be the Army lead in a particular subject area. I’d get at least one call a week with a sob story as to why their problem was special and my 3 answers were: 1) I hear your problem, oh dear how sad never mind. You are in the queue and will get yours sorted along everyone else’s as per priority / resources 2) That’s a shame, I’ll knock up an email endorsing it, and if you call them on Monday everything will be wonderfull But the most common response was number 3 3) You’re in the Navy, call x ”But we’re a bit like the Army and wear green clothes”

Flames don’t come out of guns If you want an effect coming out of a barrel then use a low calibre paintball gun such as .50” or .43”, dry fired with Co2 or air on a cold day and you have gas out of the barrel and of course ….. don’t shoot it towards people even when empty, especially not dry fired co2 near a person There’s at least one person in the UK blind in one eye due to co2 & general residue in the face If you really really must have unrealistic Hollywood gun effects then refer to this

As above the 2.5 joule limit and 8mm plastic applies to airsoft in a specific definition Exceeding that does put things back under firearms legislation, but doesn’t necessarily make something illegal - it could be a low powered air weapon etc Paintball of course exceeds 2.5 joules but fire frangible projectiles. If you fire paintballs or first strikes, within approx 300 and something fps then paintball isn’t exceeding acceptable lethality and is legal (First strikes are a shaped projectiles with a half sphere paintball and were subject to approved testing arranged by an importer) Tag rounds have gone through a few hoops and may or may not be legal, but there have also been other safety concerns (particularly with YouTubers abusing them) and are often likely to be disallowed by sites / organisers or restricted to particular use such as event effects Tennis ball guns can be perfectly legal - but tend to be aimed at the dog owner market with weak springs. (You won’t want one into your eye from a couple of feet away) But we’ve happily used them in a CQB environment for what was supposed to be a comedy weapon but proved to be a players favourite From the video it’s far from dog ball launcher territory! But 40mm launchers have been around a long time, and I’ve had a couple through customs post VCRA (one right in the early days and I managed to justify an import without UKARA based on my declaration) 40mm could still be grey area territory, and they can be used for numerous shell types from BB, paintball and depending on the shell as a booster to tags or nerf rockets etc Having found the price of the Carl Gustav, I won’t be finding out if they pass muster

Magic chrono trees only really tell you that it has been fired with sufficient velocity / energy to reach the tree, and without enough force to knock the tree down

Documentary ? YouTube celebrities can’t qualify for ‘fly on the wall/tree’ observational documentaries, but ‘participational documentaries’ are valid social commentary

Exactly The stated reason is valid, the actual legislation between VCRAs defences & the legal definition of a film would all fit. (and are in actual legislation rather than airsoft skirmishing which is an add on) If I were a retailer then I wouldn’t sell a RIF to a random person on the basis of ‘wanting to make a film’ But looking at the ‘defences’ that some retailers are taking now this is more compliant with the law. I also would prefer that this doesn’t happen, but if the OP can put a plan together, do things in a safe & controlled manner and avoid a public armed response then fair play to him. An alternative that’s not been mentioned, is involving an airsofter / some airsofters to provide equipment & ‘safety expertise’ ….. and talking with some experience as an international male model & TV star ….. as I advised a lady when her sister was interrogating her about this guy she was dating …

Suspended from film school for making a film in a public place with guns - one of them was suspended, presumably the one running that project, and having failed the lesson on planning

It depends on the outcome you are after. Obviously the more you can dismantle & seperate, mask/seal etc the ‘better’ a paint job you could achieve If you want a fully painted factory fresh colour scheme or a US style perfect camouflage job then you want to dismantle as much as possible But if you want some coloured highlights with a pretty design then you can work that around the parts that you are comfortable with disassembling and masking the relevant moving parts, holes etc, or for a classic British field expedient rough & ready camouflage scheme then mask what has to be masked and wave the spray can around Take apart what you can Mask off relevant areas, stuff ‘things’ such as rags, rods etc into the barrel, magazine well etc Prepare the surface as you would normally do - eg cleaning, a bit of rubbing down etc, and then paint lots of thin layers Periodically make sure that anything still assembled that should move still does If you want to preserve the finish then a suitable laquer, clear coat etc will do that If you want ‘wear’ then you can opt for ‘real’ wear as it’s used, or go for the harder option of painting it to appear worn and preserve that in the finish

Will a ping pong firing F432 do instead ? https://youtu.be/f7ga8Du2hv8 https://youtu.be/hk8jsxdgAXo This would be a nice ‘upgrade’ to our Battle Royale tennis ball guns, however I’m not so sure about the velocity and suitability for a CQB kill house of this Carl Gustav version

(As an unrelated / slightly related matter) …… Within paintball the UKPSF (representative body for paintball) have recently gone to a barrister to review legislation as a result of recent dealings with the Home Office & Border Force As a result they have changed their position on the sale of paintball guns from a previous couple of possibilities from the Home Office and now recommend that retailers protect themselves by requiring a UKARA style defence using UKPSF player membership The authorities are paying attention to the sale of gun like things

In which case then you don’t qualify under the terms of users of this forum, and under the legislation would need to be under section 37.2 paragraphs c or d https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/38/section/37 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); 5b goes into copyright, So you could argue that your intent qualifies, as anything you produce that is copyrightable is within 5b (However that could just distinguish the various definitions of the word ‘film’ from ‘a film’) https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/section/5B 405(1) goes into better definition of TV programmes as broadcast etc, which https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/21/section/405 With any purchase of RIFs it comes down to whether or not you can justify your intent to a seller. As noted earlier the seller faces a considerable fine and potential prison time. I would want to see some form of documentation linking to a production company, and wouldn’t touch an individual with a barge pole. An alternative is via the media department college or university, but they can supply props etc, but as they are interested in the work itself would be happy enough with 2 tones etc (Note that one example I point to is Jesus Christ Superstar, it’s a film of a film of actors making a student show and they have things such as Roman centurions with steal pot helmets and SMGs There is the added risk of things going horribly wrong for you and a further knock on effect for the retailer See the example shown by @Rogerborg

Note that for an airsoft gun purchase any offence under the VCRA is committed by the retailer / seller The question is “Would a retailer accept my claimed Defence at risk of a considerable fine and/or a custodial sentence?” The added problem of ‘I want to make a film’ is those who have done so in the past attempting to claim waving a gun in the park for YouTube is filmmaking - and ‘almost proper’ filmmakers getting reported to the police for guns in public. The odds are increased if you getting ‘caught’ and pointing towards your retailer An offence under this section shall be punishable, on summary conviction— (a)in England and Wales, with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks or with a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or with both; and (b)in Scotland, with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or with a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or with both. A level 5 fine is unlimited (a level 4 fine is limited at £2500, and until 2015 a level 5 fine was up to £5000) https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/38/section/36 https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/explanatory-material/magistrates-court/item/fines-and-financial-orders/approach-to-the-assessment-of-fines-2/9-maximum-fines/