Rogerborg

Well, the existing list is pretty long. Private ownership, in your own home, is currently a crime for: Knuckledusters; sword-sticks; hand-claws; belt-buckle knives; shuriken; butterfly knives; telescopic batons; blow-guns[1]; kusari-gama; kyoketsu shoge; kusari[2]; any disguised knife; ceramic knives other than cooking knives; any "straight, side-handled or friction-lock truncheon (sometimes known as a baton)"[3]; a sword with a blade over 50cm but only if curved; any blade with a cutting edge and serrated edge but only if it has an image or words that suggest it is to be used for the purposes of violence; or a spiral knife with two or more cutting edges in a helix. ...and breathe. It's genuinely a wonder that they haven't got around to crossbows yet. [1] A tube [2] A string with something tied to both ends. [3] A stick!

People meet the monarch wearing issue boots. Is it possible that you have a boots issue? 🤔

Careful now. Many people would apply the same argument to realistic imitation firearms. And would not consider "running around in the woods dressed up as a pretend soldier going 'Pew! Pew! Pew!'" to be a legitimate reason. We were only granted that as an afterthought, on a Ministerial whim that could be withdrawn at any time. Back on topic, I do agree that this looks like a lot of doom-mongering over a tiny orange band, when airsoft toys seem to come fitted with full orange muzzle devices in the Colonies right now. On a strict reading, you could even paint a bit of orange on the barrel of a pistol that's fully recessed inside the slide, since there's no requirement for it to be visible. However, the kicker might be the interpretation of "manufacture", if it's interpreted to meaning removing or covering up the day-glo. The lawyers will win, as always.

2005 was the year when they switched from adamantium to vibranium for the soles, right?

Genuine question: if you're going to buy boots with textile sections, why bother with the leather bits at all? Dry use, ankle support, light weight, convenience?

Mmm, after my Boots, Surplus, Assault, Gore-Tex, Kingdom, United wore the soles right through after a mere 6 years, I just took a punt on a pair of those Fallschirmjägermilitärstiefel, freshly resoled. They are chonky bois and no mistake, so I'll likely relegate them to motorbike use, and... uh... wear my motorbike boots for airsoft, I guess. 🤔

Oooh, Goretex lined too, and only £50 grade 1 used or £65 new.

Hide-and-seek world champion confirmed.

Seems to me that he's wanting £34 for it.

Come back! We're not done yelling at you yet!

One of the reasons that I got out of reenactment. Reenactors don't have to be part of anything to buy RIFs inside the UK, nor does anyone else at least 18 years old. This isn't on buyers: we're committing no offence. It's entirely a matter for sellers, and what they want to adduce as their defence. I'd actually prefer if they all went down the Fat Bob route of just requiring a checkbox. That would at least be honest.

So we assume, because we're airsofters, and it's been mentioned here in passing. We don't know how widely it's actually being abused though, by airsofters, or others. To be clear, I really wish that airsofters wouldn't abuse it. And "just cos" can die in a fire. I won't buy from AirsoftWorld any more because they started that nonsense. It's a deliberate attempt to bypass the VCRA, and to my mind meets the definition of fraud by false representation. While I hope that it doesn't come to the attention of the State, I'll have zero sympathy for those engaging in it if it does.

And I'd shift my pension fund into camo tape, and Poundland black rattlecans.

Maaaaybe. Although it's the re-enactment defence that's being abused (and the "cosplay" one is pure invention). If we had a governing body (but we don't) then it should be arguing that the UKARA-style airsoft defence is the exemplar, and it's the the other defences that need reviewed.

At £300 a year (or whatever it is now) for access to a pretty simple database, I'm not surprised. It's got that first-mover advantage though, and while retailers are getting pretty flexible, I don't see the scheme going away any time soon. And as annoying as it is to wait those 8 weeks, and stick to one site, it's not actually the worst idea to give yourself some time to see if the euphoria and adrenaline wear off. Once you've been doing it for a while, it does become rather a silly hoop to jump through, especially if you're promiscuous regarding sites. And one thing that particularly irks me is that you don't get a reminder email when a number is about to expire - on checking now, I've just realised that all 3 of my memberships / UKARA numbers expired in May! Hmm, interesting, they just have a freeform text box for entering any evidence / "evidence" that you fancy providing. Military Vehicle Trust membership is £35, I'm not aware of any cheaper reenactor scams schemes. "Just-Cos" cosplayer "insurance" is £20 but that's not a defence, no matter how much they say "re-enactor" in the blurb. But that's the retailer's problem, if they accept it as their defence. Although at that point, they might as well do what Fat Bob's used to do, and just require you to click a checkbox.

I use one, but it's old technology now, and we have had reports of issues with them, even on the genuine ones. As you say, RC gets the goodies, and the SkyRC S65 is what all the cool kids are recommending these days. Being aware that if you're using mini-Tamiya, then the polarity is reversed. But it's easy enough to swap the terminals, and, well... don't use mini-Tamiya.

Yup, it's very well featured for the price. You'll need to do a bit of soldering, but into every life some flux must flow.

It's never a war crime, the first time.

Good choice. It's a well thought out site, solidly run, and the playerbase is generally decent. Just ask the regulars where the objectives are, and you'll have a blast. The other central Scotland site I'd recommend (a bit more) is Area-66, which is a fair bit smaller, and therefore more intense, with more time spent playing versus walking.

It is a rather muddled situation. The seller (you) is the one committing the offence, so needs the defence. But it's the buyer who typically provides the seller with the evidence that they can use to adduce that defence if it ever becomes an issue (which it won't). So we tend to talk about "the buyer needing a defence", because that's the practical situation, when what we really mean, legally speaking, is that the buyer needs to enable the seller to have a defence. Buying (or attempting to buy) a RIF within the UK isn't an offence. If you can find someone who'll sell one to you, no questioned asked (2nd hand sales, for example) then you're fine to go ahead and buy without any worries. However, if you import a RIF (or cause one to be imported), manufacture one, or modify an IF into a RIF, that is an offence, and then you (the buyer/manufacturer/modifier) need to provide a defence for your actions. For importing, UKARA is the best known and easiest way of doing that. For manufacturing or modifying (or private sales), well, see if you can find anyone who will ever care. As long as the use is sensible, it'll never be an issue.

Ahoy and welcome, and, yup, good on you for giving it a go. Renting is a smart move. You should be OK on games where you're on the defensive. Pushing objectives, well, see how you get on. Long term, you might look into going down the sniper or DMR route to get a bit more range. I'd suggest hanging around with someone doing that, as they're likely to know the site and be able to point out good spots for being sneaky. Someone wearing regular camo, not a Bush Wookie wearing a ghillie suit, as they'll want to be super sneaky. I hope it goes well for you.

Yaaaarp. Bulldog are pushed hard by the BBgnuz4U vendors, I expect they've got a decent margin on them. That said, that one is cheap enough, has got all the required parts, and you can get a peach or a lemon from any brand. Most of us have spent more on worse, or will do. It looks like that comes with one midcap, so you'll either need a bunch more midcaps, or a couple of hi-caps to keep him in the game. M4 magazines are generally cross-compatible-ish, but with foibles that sometimes require you to shim them out with tape or the fuzzy side of a velcro strip on the front or back to get them lined up and feeding reliably. Are you OK for batteries? If you got nimh and a £20 "smart" charger pushed on you, well, that happens too. They'll work, and you can switch to lipo/li-ion and something like a SkyRC S65 charger later, if you stick with the hobby. I prefer to use pairs of lipos, in the 1200-1400mAh range, and swap them over at lunch. My only real concern for a first day would be if you get one that's shooting hot, and get knocked back at the chrono. Probably not, but BBgnuz vendors shift so many that they don't tend to actually check them before selling. Still, fingers crossed. Just clean the barrel thoroughly, and I personally wouldn't use anything less than 0.25g in woodland. I find that 0.28g is the sweet spot for price and performance, if the hop unit can lift it. You'll find folk on site happy to let you run some of their BBs through it to find out, without committing to buying a bottle of your own first. That two-tone broomhandle is utter heresy, mind, and might very well be shooting hot on typical "green" gas. I'm seeing it listed at "370fps" or 1.27J which would either get it knocked back or you'd be asked to use it with DMR restrictions, i.e. a slow rate of fire and a minimum engagement distance, which rather obviates the point of a pistol. Again, you won't know until you get it chronoed. If it is hot, you can try running lower pressure "144a" gas in it. This is all sounding a bit doom-and-gloom, but in the grand airsoft scheme of things there's always a way to mend and make do, or muddle through, and once you get out there, it's all grins. If you run into any issues on site, just ask the other players or marshals for help - you'll always get someone on site (hello!) keen to throw stuff at you to test out or help out, up to and including whole guns. I tend to bring at least two backup AEGs, shotguns, pistols and what-not.

Errr. You do require[*] a defence to sell a RIF. You don't require anything to purchase, or attempt to purchase one within the UK, as long as you're 18+. Practically speaking, it's up to the buyer to provide the seller with some evidence that they can adduce as their defence, even if it's just a declaration about the intended purposes. But it's the seller that requires that defence. Pragmatically speaking, nobody is going to be done for a private sale of a RIF. If the tools of the State ever do take an interest (and they don't seem inclined to) it'll be easier for them to go after retailers. [*] Legally speaking

Try finding a Galaxy MP5K after he recommended them - which was after he'd bought up all the UK stock.

Doesn't say what weight of BBs. Actually, that's a good point: why do adverts ask for an "fps" rather than a Joule rating. Tonight we're going to chrono like it's 1999.