Rogerborg

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.

On reflection, other platforms are available.

Bwahahahah. Oh, wow.

It's not that the revolver is too small, it's that the pocket is too big.

Sure. Camo tape aka sniper tape is a common option. Strictly speaking, modifying it into a RIF is an offence, but doing so for the purposes of airsoft skirmishing is a defence to that, there's no age limit on that defence, and in practice, if you're doing it at an airsoft site, it's entirely within the letter and spirit of the law, and zero risk. Nobody there will give a stuff what you've got or how you got it. There's generally a mix of rentals, folk with a pile of cheap guns (hello), milsim geardos with fUlLy uPgRaDeD electric guns, and speedsofters with scuba tanks strapped on their backs brrrting 3 birrion rounds a second out of pistols. The thing is, the BBs really don't care what they're being shot out of, and the difference in performance between the cheapest and most expensive guns isn't really that big in the real world. If you're there to take hits cheerfully rather than to make them, you can have a blast with just about anything. Some of us deliberately play with poverty spec or quirky stuff just for the satisfaction of getting a Hard Mode hit from a shotgun or revolver. Are you intending to give it a try yourself? You might find some sites want you to supervise in-game rather than just from the safe zone. It's a fun hobby, and worth trying at least once to see if you get hooked.

Nice one! Oh... "[Robustness] testing shall be done in accordance with 3.2 of EN 168:2001." Gaa, I'm out.

Mmm. His early stuff wasn't too bad, but he quickly decided to go full clickbait with a toxic super-cereal hard-man persona (in a game of dress-up hide-and-seek with toys), and sadly, it's worked out for him - in terms of views, anyway. He's just abusing sites and players to create fictional content now, with careful editing and comically fake hit markers to create the impression that everybody (except him, naturally) is a useless hit dodging cheater. I really wish he'd sod off and find a different hobby to parasite on, since anyone who comes into airsoft because of watching his shenanigans is unlikely to enjoy themselves unless they're causing similar grief.

Thirded. Considering that rental packages come with a ~£10 of BBs, you're only really paying £10-£15 for a day's gun rental (and support), which is a bargain compared to sinking multiple hundreds into a hobby that he doesn't really enjoy after the initial euphoria. As to age ranges, airsoft isn't like laser-tag, it's mostly sweaty old(er) geezers playing army dress up.

Ahoy and welcome, @-Cowboy-, and don't sweat it (I mean, not figuratively) about age and fitness. The only thing I'd suggest is taking at least 4l of water and rehydrating as the first thing you do after each game, don't rely on getting by on cans from the site shop. The bloke in camo, and the tall bloke in camo, will see you right.

Really, with inflation being what it is, and classic vehicles going up in value, can you afford not to buy it?

Actual footage of a rental encountering Kicking Mustang for the first time.

Safe in several senses, as you won't interfere with any use that actually matters. Still technically an offence, so don't do it, of course. But don't do it less than you wouldn't use any other channels. Cheers, chap, lovely citations.

That's kind of why I was hoping that it would have leaked to us peasants by now.