Dentonboy

Cheap, as new Bolt in the Boneyard section of Action Hobbies @Enid_Puceflange

What is the 416 like?

If you have an AEG, a battery, some ammo, eye protection and a legal place to use it in, you're good to go. * I'd always recommend a sling ** You may want extra magazines *** A battery charger is quite important too

Good old Action Hobbies!

I may be wrong, but didn't Airsoft Dynamics implode spectacularly, with unfulfilled orders, people losing money left-right-and-centre..?! Still, no Special Airsoft Supplies...

Yeah, camouflage options... CADPAT or Danish were incredible to see. DPM, Flecktarn, US Woodland and French were the most commonly seen (or not...). MARPAT and UCP were the Gucci choices. I went DCU/Night Camo for years, then the MultiCam pull got me. I reckon 2007 was when MultiCam really took off. I had a Chinese clone set in 2006 that faded (still in my folks' loft) and I didn't wear it a lot after that. As said, these days it is mainly MTP (why not?! Surplus gear is so cheap) and MultiCam. You sometimes see a bit of Italian Vegetato, a pinch of DPM and a sprinkling of Flecktarn, and that is it. My go-to for my last few games has been Ranger Green.

Some further observations: IMHO, shouting on about "not taking hits" has been an occurance since I started in the mid-00s. I am more surprised if I don't hear it on a game day. What has changed in my mind is the level of aggression that I see at sites. I wrote about it here (shameless plug): https://thegearconfessional.wordpress.com/2018/07/11/chapter-37-why-so-serious/ I cannot stand this side of things. When I started, I would say a typical day comprised 75% geeks (myself included), 10% impressionists and 15% rentals. The geeks would tinker away at their non-functioning Tanaka gas rifle, or compare slings and swap stories about how a girl once spoke to them. The impressionists wore UCP and fired their CA M249s from the shoulder. The rentals were inquisitive and game for a laugh. The game days were usually good-tempered, respectful events. Now, not so much. The geek element has practically gone now that I've seen, maybe 5% of true geek players now are snipers tweaking their über rifles. 40% are impressionists, although most are geeks at heart. 30% of players now seem to be Monster drinking, loud mouth characters who'd look more at home watching Millwall play. The remaining 25% are rentals; either kids that look barely 13 or people on a stag (who fall into the Millwall fan catagory). I probably fall into the impressionists catagory - purely because I was fed up of cheap clone stuff breaking and had enough disposable income to buy RS kit when I found it cheap enough (sounds like a blog idea...).

Well, if you bought your Galil in a pub car park outside of Crawley...

That is great to hear. Went a bit downhill last we were there. What are the site limits now? Definitely have to go there again then. Cheers!

Absolutely must. Only about 20mins drive from me. Shout when you next know you're going and I'll make some plans! What is it like under the new ownership?

Great stuff, thanks Jez. I'm gutted with how much it all has changed (I know our paths have crossed at least once at Battle Lakes and it would be great to play again there if you're ever playing there again) and whilst the tech has improved, everything else, for me, has diminished.

Just intrigued to find out what people's best/worst ever airsoft RiF are/were. These could be for a variety of reasons: performance, cost, ease of use, etc. My worst ever RiF was an ICS Galil ARM. Ever since 'Heat' it was on my dream AEG list and the amount of times I considered the Inokatsu kit as an expensive buy ran into the dozens. Then King Arms and ICS released their own versions and I sold up my beloved Classic Army Steyr AUG A1 to grab a second hand one from Airsoft World. And whilst it was truly gorgeous to look at, handle and point at things, it was shocking to use. Two separate techs tried to sort the HOP, but it just didn't shoot well. I spent a lot of money on it and for more spare magazines and was delighted to shift it on when I did. Am now looking for an AUG A1 to fully complete the circle! In contention: KWA MP7 GBB - drove me mad with inconsistent feeding issues. Would be my worst had I not quickly shifted it once I realised it was bobbins. My best is the TM M4A1 MWS GBBR I bought from Airsoft World with a shed load of spare magazines. I was at an airsoft crossroads and had lost a lot of joy from AEGs. This GBBR awakened a new found joy and changed how I play and it has been an incredibly consistent piece. Great range, hugely fun to shoot and influenced at least four other people who saw it and/or fired it to buy a GBBR straight after. It wasn't cheap, but it kept me in the hobby. In contention: TM P226E2 GBB. I bought a very cheap RS Serpa P226 holster. But I didn't have a P226, so I found a barely used one on the forums and snapped it up. It is a ridiculously accurate, long ranged beauty. I have played with it on it's own against AEG-toting players and came out on top a couple of times. A phenomenal pistol.

RPKs are definitely far less seen on the field than M249 variants. Plus, you can go all 'Red Scorpion'...

I think YouTube has a lot to answer for...!

I'll not deny that I have been nostalgic of late about airsoft. I'm currently stuck at home in half-term with round 2 of the 'rona so have had plenty of thinking time whilst the kids have been entertaining themselves. I don't know a lot about the airsoft skirmishing scene around the early to late 90s. I started buying RiFs at the War and Peace Show, Sussex Model Centre and Battle Orders from about 1995 onwards. Most RiFs on offer were TM. The move from springers to gas felt like going from a Spitfire to a Tornado. For me, the pre-VCRA era of airsoft, around when I started (2005), was the best time. It felt like all of the mainstream AEGs where on a fairly level playing field performance-wise, there were dedicated magazines showing us weird and wonderful new releases, it was easier to buy what you wanted, especially from Asia and there were amazing retailers like GnG2, Battle Orders and such. There were several forums which were taking off and were a hive of knowledge and insight (obviously this one still is). High end surplus kit is eye-wateringly expensive and fairly hard to source. I got my first AEG in this time - TM Beta Spetsnaz AK47 - and it was like going from a Tornado to a Typhoon. Then, Facebook arrived, along with very affordable ACM AEGs. This my be, for many, when airsoft really became 'Golden'. Between 2007-2016, airsoft seemed to massively grow (in my eyes). The costs dropped, and importing was still pretty straight-forward with a UKARA number. But a few big brands started to disappear - at least from these shores - Systema, Western Arms, Tanio Koba, Classic Army, G&G, whereas others emerged; ASG, Real Sword, A&K etc. There also seemed to be a widening gulf between out of the box performance (QC?) and what could be achieved through tinkering. It is getting easier to buy high end surplus kit. Post 2016 to present day and the effects of Brexit, a weak Pound Sterling and costs have affected, for me at least, the ability and ease of importing from abroad, especially from the once cheap Polish retailers. But the technology, innovation and range of available high-end models has increased. Bolt, E&L and LCT have grown. High end surplus kit is very easy to find on ebay. This could be other people's 'Golden Age'... When was yours?

Not at all Jez, that is one model I have looked at of late, as, IIRC it uses the same mags as the PSG-1...

I do love the Den Trinity website. Only slightly more functional than the Guys N Guns 2 site. Now, they were the best lads back in the day.

OK, thanks all. Do you reckon any retailers just have old stock still, rather than newly made old designs? There must be an Aladdin's cave out there somewhere!

WGC? Can't imagine how financially ruinous it is atm to import from Asia these days. It was bad a decade and a half ago.

Just want to ask the forum if there are any UK retailers out there that are still stocking 'Old school' airsoft products (aka The things I grew up wanting that I couldn't afford then)? I know Fire Support still has some classic TM AEGs in stock. I bought a TM PSG-1 from them in lockdown 1 and added a TM Uzi shortly afterwards from a classified ad. Does anyone still stock Classic Army or G&P aegs anymore?! I do have modern bits, don't get me wrong, but there is just something about those old TM product line catalogues that hit me in the nostalgics... I do of course keep an eye on the classifieds on here. Let me know and I will check them out. Cheers.

My brother had one a few years back. My lasting impression was: - Gorgeous externals. - Internals made of cheese.

I'd be interested if you ever look to sell it.

https://www.actionhobbies.co.uk/products/umarex-vfc-hk416a5-gbb-rifle-used/

https://www.actionhobbies.co.uk/products/umarex-vfc-mp7a1-aeg-5-magazines-used/