Asomodai

Hello all! Welcome to the third end of year review with yours truly. What a year it has been! very frustrating due to closures, but I still managed to get in a number of skirmishes when things were slightly better. I totted up 9 new sites in the South East, 3 in the South West and a few revisits which is probably way more then most! Like last year, more sites have closed down then opened, with a few new ones that never came to fruition (Echelon I am looking at you!). This year the standard of site has been much better then the previous years. No site was truly awful which makes a change! Sites that bit the dust in 2020: Incursion/EAG Dorking Combat South Urban Assault Grange Bravo One The Depot Glasgow Sites that changed hands: Zed Adventures -> Gunman (Battle Lakes) Sites that have opened/reopened: Zed Adventures Z-Mart Incursion Epsom Bunker (2019 but meh) Doomsday (Not sure how they re-opened considering the issues they have had, but I am thinking they are still on life support) AP The Tower Last year I announced that 2020 would be the last year I would do this due to trying to start a family. For various reasons this may no longer happen so I will continue with the reviews into 2021! This year I have been ably assisted by my buddy @Albiscuit who has graciously given me lifts to many of the sites this year. It's been nice to play with someone else rather then going on my tod for so long! Sites I hope to visit by the end of 2021 are: Finmere Airsoft, AP - The Tower, Special Ops HQ, IronSight, Gunman Camp Alpha, Z-Mart, Epsom Tunnels, Mayhem South East Longfield and Canterbury. @Albiscuit and I are hoping to bring you a special weekender report at a couple of very interesting sites up t'North at some point. I am also hopefully making a return to the South West to clean up some of the sites I missed near Bristol such as Black Ops Cribbs and HMP Gloucester. We are running out of sites in the SE to visit... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So without further ado, here is the SE Tour Awards for 2020. 9 new sites were visited to add to a grand total of 37 in the South East alone. Best Overall Site – This is the award to the best overall site in terms of everything. 1) Airsoft Plantation (Essex) 2) Dogtag Airsoft (West Sussex) 3) Imperium Airsoft (Kent) AP: Retains the top spot for the third year running, though it was really pushed hard by Dogtag this year. I popped to AP a few weeks before writing this and had a great time with the lower numbers due to covid. It has some work to do to keep top spot though. Dogtag Airsoft: Knocked Driver Wood off the 2nd spot, such a varied and "shapely" area. We didnt get to see all of the areas available so we cant wait to go back! Safe zone was probably the best one I have seen outside. Food was great too. Imperium Airsoft: Suprise entry considering I had slated the organisation of the day, but they have gone strength to strength to improve the playing area and have now provided a covered safe zone. Considering how unique this place is, it deserves a tentative spot in third. Best Medium/Long range Playing area – Variety and/or quality of the playing area. 1) Reforger Airsoft (Herts) 3) Airsoft Plantation (Essex) 2) Apocalypse Airsoft (Kent) Reforger Airsoft: Reforger has knocked Airsoft Plantation off of it's perch. Though Reforger has very few man made features, it's natural stuff completely makes up for it, it's a huge site which really lends itself to long range engagement. AP: Has fallen to second place, even though it has the largest variety in terms out outdoor playing area. It is mostly flat and with few water features, the sheer changeability of the terrain and vegetation, interspersed with manmade obstacles. Apocalypse Airsoft: Has fallen one spot due to Reforger Airsoft. Surprised me in its decent size, huge variety of woodland sections and best of all the variety and scale of the buildings used. Best CQB playing area – Variety and/or quality of the playing area. 1) Longmoor Camp (Hampshire) 2) Reaper Ops The Fort Borstal (Kent) 3) Gunman Airsoft Tuddenham (Suffolk) Longmoor: Creme de la creme for CQB. Play in a perfectly recreated suburb is fantastic. I would love to go back again during the day. Reaper and Longmoor have switched places this year as I feel I got it wrong! Reaper ops: The Fort is a really interesting era Fort, A moat section, plenty of elevation, tunnels and turrets. A really unique site with really good views over the Medway. Since the downfall of the Mall this has now essentially replaced it at the top. Gunman Airsoft Tuddenham: Has replaced Erebor due to it closing in 2019. Tuddenham has so much going for it for it's CQB action, they have just put in a new trench system which improves things. If they got rid of the silly grenade rule in use inside the huts, this could climb the places. Best purpose built buildings – This means actually built for the site and not already existing. 1) Dogtag Airsoft (West Sussex) 2) Apocalypse Airsoft (Kent) 3) Mayhem Paintball and Airsoft (Essex) Dogtag Airsoft: With the demise of Dorking, Dogtag deservedly takes the top spot. The constructon of the buildings especially in the CQB area is incredible. The quality oozes out of the construction. There are more buildings planned as well. Apocalypse Airsoft: Drops down to 2nd this year. The sheer variety of buildings at play, well-spaced out, multiple tiers and well looked after means this is a great site for snipers and CQB assaults. The trench system is also worth a mention. Mayhem Paintball and Airsoft: The sheer amount of obstacles and buildings means this is worth an entry at number 3! Best Safe Zone – Safe zone is classed as the setting up area. Enclosed? Felt Safe? Lots of space? 1) Dogtag Airsoft (West Sussex) 2) Mayhem Paintball and Airsoft (Essex) 3) Red 1: The School (Herts) Dogtag Airsoft: Almost like it was built for social distancing in our covid times. Almost everything is under cover and is of really good construction. Mayhem Paintball and Airsoft: Has a huge multi roomed indoor/outdoor safe zone. Heated inside and benches everywhere. Shop and Toilets were pretty good as well. Red 1 The School: It's completely indoors, which is the only reason it gets in this spot. Its not quite big enough and the toilets are pretty bad. But hey... indoors? Best on-site shop – Shop selection. 1) MPA Hockley Airsoft Arena (Essex) 2) Battle Lakes (Kent) 3) Airsoft Billericay (Essex) MPA Hockley: is a new entrant and absolutely deserving. It's a full retail shop with a small skirmish area attached to it. Its well appointed even for an airsoft shop. I have my doubts they will ever be topped. Battle Lakes: Had a very large indoor shop with lots of interesting weapons and gear for sale, also sold second hand stuff. Airsoft Billericay: Has a very large selection of gear is available at reasonable prices. It has gone slightly downhill recently but still claims 3rd spot. Best Catering – Catering selection. 1) Dogtag Airsoft (West Sussex) 2) Invicta Airsoft (Kent) 2) Airsoft Plantation (Essex) Dogtag Airsoft: Had a hog roast and a freakin' Ice cream truck turn up. Invicta Airsoft: Not the best tasting food, but you got LOADS of it. Breakfast was included in the price and they have lots of vegetarian options too. AP: Has a proper burger van, all the sauces, reasonable prices and a vegetarian option. Tasted good as well. Best Marshals – Marshals that made sure you had a good time, were friendly and weeded out troublemakers. 2) Airsoft Plantation (Essex) 1) Gunman Camp Bravo (Hampshire) 3) Invicta Airsoft (Kent) AP: Has climbed back to the top spot after playing the weekend before writing this review. They will do anything to help you and bend over backwards. Gunman Camp Bravo: Had such a friendly bunch of people running it, really professionally run. Invicta Airsoft: Award goes for the most marshals and staff on one site for so few people! They were everywhere! Site where (We) had the most fun in 2020 – Might not have been the best sites, but definitely had the best experience. 1) Dogtag Airsoft (West Sussex) 2) Gunman Camp Bravo (Hampshire) 3) Invicta Airsoft (Kent) Dogtag Airsoft: Dogtag definitely took the top spot this year, we both had an amazing time and had something for both of us to like. (Considering how we are very different players!) Gunman Camp Bravo: A very solid day, couldn't quite put our finger on it, but we had a great time and could have played for another couple of hours. Left us wanting more! Invicta Airsoft: More of a pick for @AlbiscuitIt was a good day in terms of personal performance for him and he loved the Invicta CQB area! Best site inside the M25: 1) Red 1 Chislehurst (Kent) 2) Doomsday Airsoft (Kent) 3) Mayhem Paintball and Airsoft (Essex) Red 1 Chislehurst: Retains the crown as the best site inside the M25. Steady improvements despite thieves taking away part of the safe zone. Doomsday Airsoft: Needs to sort out its sometimes open/sometimes closed status. Mayhem Paintball and Airsoft: Fantastic playing area, good variety, but poor organisation lets it down. Most Disappointing site - For sites we had high hopes for but was a bit of a let down on the day. 1) Splatoon Airsoft (Essex) 2) AirsoftGB (Essex) 3) Mayhem Paintball and Airsoft (Essex) Splatoon airsoft: Went for a Battlesim, it was one of the most poorly run events that we have ever been to. Had so much promise. Shame, considering the site itself is not that bad. AirsoftGB: Was the biggest let down. We heard many many good things about it. But when we got there just saw a bowl of grass with a bunch of structures in it. The Farmyard section was quite good, but the rest of the experience wasn't fantastic either. We didn't quite get the hype. Mayhem Paintball and Airsoft: The photos on the website didn't disappoint. But I didn't realise how quite bad organisation could get until I played here. Spray and “prey” award: For the third year running, I still have nightmares of Tactical Warfare in Croydon. I just cant bring myself to go back due to the liberal usage of plastic death. Best moment: When we first saw the "Village" at Dogtag Airsoft. Jaw dropped and we looked at each other knowing it was going to be good. Here are all of the in-depth individual reviews for your viewing pleasure. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There have been more changes this year in the awards then last year. The standard has been overall much higher. Though there were a number of "middling" sites, which just couldn't quite get on the board. Not much to say this year, I think people are just hoping to see the back of it. Definitely more of a year for purchasing gear that I haven't played enough to get around to using! In 2021 I am hoping to get to more sites outside of the South East, just for a bit of variety. So don't expect too many SE reviews... Not enough sites left to add anyway! See you in 2021 folks! Z-Mart, be there!

I could say that of the vast majority of Airsoft related shops However in this case I don't doubt what they say is true.

Interesting from Airsoft World.

Pretty certain I have finally ascertained that my Fast hop is to blame for my problems since purchasing my A2 in April. My shots were always off. Never centre, Despite numerous nubs and bucking's. The nub never seemed straight. Silverback kept telling me to follow the installation video (Of course that's what I used!) and anyone who commented on my help posts blamed my installation. Ordered Adventure Stan's Barrel Alignment Tool to see what's up. As you can see, it's either the Inner part of the Fast hops BB Feed tube cut is not in the right place, or the outer part of the fast hop does not align with the inner. Adventure Stan's tool makes sure the inner barrel, bucking and fast hop is perfectly straight. So I can only conclude it is a badly produced fast hop. This happens on all bucking's and nubs I have tried. If I twist either the inner barrel or outer part of the hop unit then the nub is no longer centred and just as useless. We'll see what Silverback say, I just wish I didn't have to fork out the money to prove my theory right!

They are definitely longer on an E&L AKS74U. You can get the E&L specific 83U style handguard. I think Begadi has them. edit: E&L AK 83U Rail Handguard (begadi.com)

I thought that was the case with the stocks. They use the larger pins like the RS stuff. The E&L handguard is longer then even the RS to fit in all the gubbinz I believe, But what gubbinz that is, is anyone guess. E&L are also great at replicating RS "knackered alignment" of the front sight with the receiver/rear sight. All three of mine are off. Deploying the hammer to the AKS74U and a buttload of retention compound to massage it into the right place on Thursday.

Especially the E&L as it's handguard is an extra 1/2 to 1 inch longer on the AKS74U then any other brand!

Depends on the brand. E&L? No not without a fair bit of modification.

Yeah I am good for it! Just need to wait til I get paid 😄

After promising myself not to buy anything else this year, saw that a particular forum member put up a lovely G&G F2000 Tri rail for sale for 50 roubles. A no brainer.

Aye'. This happens all too often! We've visited some great sites this year. All a little bit too far for regular visits!

Site Name: Invicta Battlefield Contact details: 07876 263290 Website Address: www.invictabattlefield.co.uk Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Invictabattlefield Site Address: Pook Hill Farm, Wilden Park Road, Staplehurst, Kent, TN12 0HP I'm back! After a brief stint visiting sites I had already reviewed, it was time to go to somewhere different! The latest site that @Albiscuit and I visited is Invicta Battlefield in Kent (06/12/2020). This site has been on my list of must visits for some time. It has glowing online reviews and a good community surrounding it. Due to its distance and difficulty in reaching the site, it had constantly been sent to the back of the visit queue, until today! The photos that I found of the playing area were few, but showed a large tower and bunker setup which looked very interesting. This is a small woodland site, which is incredibly undulating on the length of one side and a flattish road on the other. It being winter there was very little foliage around, though the area to the far right and on the Safe Zone side did still have some greenery. The ground was covered in leaves which hid large branches and holes, the ground was quite slippery throughout. There were many buildings through the site. Due to the thickness of the woodland and undulating terrain, sight lines were quite close and as such this is predominantly a short to medium engagement distance type of site, with some notable exceptions. Good: Playing Area: Invicta has very good variety for a site as small as it is. It has pretty much everything you could want to wish for in terms of natural features. It's tough going, but rewarding if you can sneak around the back of the enemy. There were many buildings including a small valley with a large cabin/bunker building which is overlooked on all sides. Overlooking the bunker on two sides are a Checkpoint area and Bunker section. This area, whilst very tough on people trying to get to the Bunker, is very well executed. The main attraction of "Invicta" is "Invicta", the name given to the large tower and village/barricade complex. This is an imposing structure overlooking a clearing in the woodland. It's a tricky complex to attack, which requires multiple attempts and angles. It's a great selling point to the site and we were slightly disappointed we didn't get to do small team CQB at the end of the day inside it! Shop: Platoon stores run the shop on site and is very well stocked in Tac gear, rifles, pistols, gas and BBs. Food: As part of the £30 entry, you get a free breakfast, of which there are vegetarian options! Al opted for the Egg in a bun and a cup of tea. For me, not liking egg and not eating pork I was given a hash brown AND they managed to dig up a couple of veggie sausages for me! I had a very hearty breakfast. Lunch was more typical, with burgers, chips and what not, Al got essentially a box of filth (In a good way) full of food. It was a stomach stretching meal, though it was somewhat expensive. Safety Brief: Was pretty good and explained everything quite well. People listened, I had no queries or qualms and only a few site regulars interjected with poor jokes. So it's good! Clientele: Due to social distancing Al and I had an area to ourselves, so not the usual safe zone banter, but we did find some space at lunch to have a distanced natter. Lots of regulars who were on first name basis with the marshals. Its a real good community feel. We had roughly 30-35 players today, which apparently is quite a poor turn out. I heard very little to no moaning throughout the day. (Apart from Al and I!) Safe Zone: The area was quite compact much like the site itself, it was right next the car park, the shop, marshall area, chrono station and set up areas were within a few seconds walk of each other. All of the set up areas had a roof, some had lights for when it got dark. It was almost full, so I think on a normal days turnout it would be overrun, so a possible expansion should be considered. Marshalling: SO MANY MARSHALS. it might have been the reduced player numbers, but there were marshals everywhere you looked! Loads in the safezone, at 4 in the field. They were professional, pushed the teams they were shadowing and dealt with any issues. Average: Game Modes: Were fairly basic, mostly defend and attack games throughout the day. It worked quite well and probably takes the small size of the site into account, however it would have been nice to see some fall back games, maybe an escort mission etc. Value: £30 with Breakfast. Maybe slightly more expensive then average for the size of the site. Chrono: A mandatory chrono was in play. Guns were NOT marked, but the FPS was noted against your registration number. I would prefer the guns to marked as anyone could switch out during the day without being noticed. AEGs 350fps, DMRs 450fps, Bolties 500fps and a 25 metre engagement distance was in play for the latter two. Turn around time: Was reasonable. 5 minute warnings to go back out turned into 10 minute warnings. About average. We didnt feel cheated out of our time. Hit taking: There were some issues with hit taking during the day. There was one particular player at the end of the day in the CQB mini games that seemed to be made of teflon and he had to be told multiple times by marshals that he had been shot out (Tracers for the win!). BUT it really was not that bad from the vast majority of players. So putting this in "average". Car Park/Entrance: Quite muddy and a tight turn on the driveway up to the safezone. Reasonable sized Car park. Bad: Toilets: A single portaloo that I saw. Really needs more then one. I cant comment on the cleanliness as I didn't use it. Conclusion: We came away from the day with slightly different experiences. I had quite a niggling day in terms of equipment and personal performance so I was feeling a little downhearted, but could definitely see the site was pretty good. @Albiscuit himself was very very pleased with what he saw and had a whale of a time. I had the most fun defending the checkpoint and the CQB centric games. So in conclusion. I was expecting a far larger site going by what I was hearing from other players and photos online, but It's a compact site that fills a lot in, it's hard going in the mud so you get a workout and the buildings are very good. I reckon it would be worthwhile returning to the site in the summer to see how the woodlands bloom! Bullpup Watch: Only my PDR-C and F2000 😕

Oh I SEE how it is Getting shuffled around like dead weight!

It's why I went for them over the E&Ls! They are unfortunately a little scarce these days.

Gas shotguns with mag adapters? 😄 I think they weren't allowed at the Mall.

And I thought I got a great deal on mine! (£260)

Boat squad unite! The new G&G F2000 with hunter scope (Post piston replacement after 50 shots :/) With the Cyma/JG F2000 tactical.

*Breathes in* From Fire Support: 4x ASG UltraAir gas 1x WE 3.0 Red gas 2x 3 Laylax Marui Gas inlet valves From Ebay: 1x 3W Cree LED star board for MK23 LAM Unit From Skirmshop NL: 1x STTI MK23 Feeding lip in case I screw up the HFC lip mods. 2x Overige TM MK23 LAM unit upgrade lens 1x Rapax Modular 2+J SRS Spring 1x Silverback SRS 60 Degree rubber 1x DTD MK23 Retention Holster 1x Hadron Designs H-Arm for Mk23 1x Hadron Designs Twin Screw plate TDC 1x Maple Leaf Autobot 50 degree 1x Amomax Belt Clip From AK2M4: 2x Rocket M105 Spring 4x ZCI M100 AEG Spring 2x AOLS M100 AEG Spring 1x ZCI 6.02mm 128mm AEG Barrel (For Poseidon Kit build) 1x AOLS 6.01mm 247mm AEG Barrel (For E&L AKS74U) 2x AOLS 6.01mm 363mm AEG Barrel (For JLS RX4 and Umarex MTAR build) 1x AOLS 6.01mm 380mm AEG Barrel (For Cyma F2000, so I can take the 420mm Laylax out and put in my new G&G F2000) 1x ZCI 6.02mm 450mm AEG Barrel (For E&L AKM) 1x Rocket 16:1 gears. (For JLS RX4) I think I am done for the next 2 months!

I am counting for just myself though I will probably getting a lift with Albiscuit and I am not sure how many he is bringing. I am available Feb: Sat the 6th and Sat 27th I am available all of the Saturdays in March.

Grey Shop can get very expensive. But snagged these on the Black Friday sale. Mordor Tech Gorka-1 "Afghan" Repro. Gorka 1 can be used in almost any conflict from the Cold War onwards. SSO/SPOSN AK Smersh 2x SSO/SPOSN SVD Smersh pouches to swap out the AK ones as needed.

Personally I wouldn't pay anymore then 250 myself.

LCT M4 Hop unit 5x G&P AK47 mid cap mags.