Rogerborg

Ahoy and welcome. Should be a few sites down there, I'll let the locals chime in. If you don't find anyone looking for love, I'd encourage you to just book a rental day at any of the local sites and go along solo. Airsoft is a very welcoming hobby, it's super easy to get talking to people. All you have to do is ask someone about their gun and then your problem is getting them to stop talking to you. 😆

Think? Dunno. Want? Obviously. Thought prompted by the campaign to get Gun Jesus a cameo.

Mmm, it does seem that GHKs are out of stock everywhere in the UK. Sad times ahead if anything a bit off the beaten AEG track becomes direct import only, with the current state of imports.

I'll go in slow and lubed. New as in "rented, played, loved it", or new as in "saw it on YouTube, found my new hobby for life"? I ask because if you're looking at dropping $900 plus magazines, shipping, VAT, duty and courier fees on something that will come essentially without warranty, you'll want to be sure that both airsoft and gas blowbacks are right for you. We generally recommend buying a cheaper AEG as a first gun, until you're sure that you really enjoy the hobby once the buzz has worn off. It's always good to have a robust backup or loaner around, you're unlikely to stop at one gun (or two, or three, or...) And you never will. It's a defence - one of many - not a licence, and it's a UK retailer scheme which only incidentally benefits players. In practice, this works out much the same, but it's a significant difference during import where it may or may not suffice depending on the courier and the mood of HMRC on the day. We've seen some folk recently having to fill out import declarations rather than just having it come through on a UKARA number, and some even having visits from the police afterwards to ask them what they're doing importing RIFs. The tl;dr version is: you need to be sure that importation is worth the risk, even with a defence. Nope. Purchase or attempt to purchase is fine if you're 18+. The offences are sale, manufacture, modification (of a non-realistic firearm into a realistic firearm) or importation, including causing it to be imported. So, yes, it does apply to this situation, but you're fine to try and persuade someone to sell you a RIF within the UK, without any legal problems - they're the one committing any offence, and some UK retailers sellers (and many private ones) either don't care or will accept other (or spurious) defences. Ownership is fine, no offence is being committed. Public possession needs a reasonable excuse every time - there is no licence or general defence to that, it's case by case. Yup, I'm surprised they're not more up-front about it. You'd have to be very, very lucky to get anything past customs now without it being caught. First I've heard of them. I know it's tempting because of UK stock levels at the moment. But you'll get hit with 20% VAT, plus some duty, plus a courier fee for paying it, and people are seeing lonnnng delays on deliveries from the EU let alone Taiwan. I've given up on importation for the moment (other than low value non-RIF stuff from AliExpress that's coming in with VAT pre-paid), it's just too big a gamble for the meagre cost benefits. It's up to you, and the more that gets imported into the UK the better for all of us, but I wouldn't bet my money on it.

Should be fine from an reputable shop, if it's done by an experienced tech rather than some trainee, and if they've done loads of the same upgrades before, and if the wholesaler hasn't changed the spec on the base toy, and if the OEM hasn't changed their quality control, and if they're able to get the usual parts, and if the spec on those parts hasn't changed, and if those parts don't have defects, and if everything goes together smoothly, and if they actually test if, and if they take it apart to remedy any issues after they test it, and if they have the parts and ability to do so, and if they repeat that process until everything works as intended, I don't see what the problem could be.

Harley were fined bigly for flogging so many not-road-legal tuning kits for their potato bikes that it was clear that they were effectively viewed as necessary equipment by owners. There's a reasonable analogy there to the number of airsoft owners who ask "wut upgrayedds need b4 play?" while their new toy is still in transit to them. I've upgrayedded my toys for the personal pleasure of the process, not because I believe that it substantially increases my winr8. I realise that other opinions are available and that this explains why Tier 3 toys are offered for, and sometimes bought at, a significant premium over the stock examples. It does continue to baffle me though. I suspect this is a big factor. The thrill is more about the buy and unboxing than the ownership or play experience. The bigger the number, the bigger the buzz. #NotAllBigSpenders, obviously.

Oh, to clarify, what I really meant is that we tend to buy a private seller's claim about what they're selling. Even if they provide a real, legitimate receipt for work that was done, and parts that were fitted to something, unless you strip the toy down, how would you be sure that what you've been sent is actually the thing that's described in that receipt? Honesty among BB-bros? Well, the BT33 postcode is a thing. And some sellers might be flogging on a pig in a poke that was mis-sold to them, or genuinely forgotten what's in there, or got one of their dozen or so spare toys mixed up. I mean, we see some sellers list what they think they're probably selling, which I find refreshingly honest. If you're happy with what you receive, great, that's the whole point of airsoft. I just wonder how much stuff gets sold as "Tier 3" when it never was, or isn't still.

The Inquisition would like to know their location. Huh, actually more than I thought still open. Glasgow, Edinburgh and Perth up here. Mostly independents though, and I doubt they give so much of a stuff about purging the heretic as long as they're turning a few £££ on the occasional Codex or piece of plastic crack. As I understand it, GW are still hugely profitable, although it'll be interesting to see how long that continues if they don't keep getting Little Johnny hooked with starter packs.

I'd consider myself one, but wouldn't pay extra for it, for the simple reason that with the mileage that I do, it's not worth my money to pay for it on a low value car that's already done enough miles to warrant it. I'd rather just save the money and take the risk. Likewise with airsoft guns. Consider how little use a typical airsoft gun gets, and how much difference expensive work makes, using an honest self audit. You can upgrade it to Tier Eleventy, and that might buy you an an extra few dozen hits out of the thousands of rounds that you'll put through it in a year. Meanwhile Hicap Harry is having just as much fun hosing BBs downrange making very close to the same hits per shot, game or hour. I might pay more for one that shoots empirically better when I try it. Based on a claimed parts list, not so much. This is why we test drive cars, especially used and Barried examples to see if they live up to the claims of Real Ultimate Power. What's amazing to me is that so many airsofters are prepared to pay a premium to be sent a gun shaped shell, that could, de facto, have pretty much anything or nothing inside it.

Good to hear you got it sorted, and M95 sounds about right with o-ringed and lubed airseal. Was the stock spring noticeably short? The one in my CYMA M4 had clearly been cut down, it was only just barely under tension with the piston forward.

If you can find someone who understands that, and they're choosing between two otherwise equivalent cars, and they think that the extra you're asking is worth it. Trying to flog a 10 year old car for essentially the same price as a new one because half the parts on it are under 10 years old and it's got a dustbin exhaust is... optimistic. But you do have to find one. I don't grudge people trying to find their unicorn buyer, but while they wait and wait and wait I'm going to 🍿 it out.

Oh, Lord, are techs actually going with "upgrade tiers", like in Call of Modern Tarkov Duty?

Well, if you want one now, I guess that's the price you'll have to pay, take it or leave it. I'd be amazed if anyone takes it, but at least he can claim to his missus that he's technically put it up for sale. Let's just hope that she doesn't find out how much it really cost.

Is a very interesting question to which I didn't come up with a great answer with I considered doing this myself, for much the same reason: most coiled cables that I looked at were intended for very low amperage applications, and thicker wiring isn't as easily available in springy coils. You could form your own coil by winding some higher rated cable around a mandrel (and a heat cycle would probably help), but a coil will add significantly more length of wire than you actually need, with resistance scaling with length. So if I were to do it now, I reckon I'd just use a straight run of mains power cable (an old kettle lead or similar) starting from my shoulder as a simple lanyard, rather than a coil. As I already use a lanyard with pistols anyway, it would just be a matter of switching from paracord to cable.

Generic M4, Section 5 prohibited firearm, lost the M90 spring, doesn't come with the parts shown, lower specced than the Edge series, £30-£60 more than full retail. But it's beige.