FreeFrag.UK

Wishlist. At the moment I'd love to see a return of a decent line of FAL's, specifically an L1A1 SLR. If the Ares was half the price then I'd probably grab it simply due to a lack of options but given the plethora of known issues it's a firm pass. Admittedly I wouldn't mind picking up an M-16A2 but these seem nigh impossible to find, especially with trades. I'd love to see a GPMG/FN Mag but if I'm being completely honest I probably wouldn't buy one myself. I'd like to see a decent Browning Hi-Power but based on the most recent WE Hi-Power Mk.3 I suspect it's another case of keep on dreaming. I can think of a few other hand guns I wouldn't mind seeing (be it due to them not being produced or due to wanting to see it from a better manufacturer) such as a Tokyo Marui Sig P228 or P229. Beyond that the main stuff on my wishlist would be accessories such as an LLM 03 (maybe we'll see one from Element in the not so distant future?) or the accessories required to throw together late 80's to early 2000's impression kits. That's not to say that these accessories can't be found, at least the early 2000's stuff, but it is very challenging to find at times. I'd also like to see the UGL front end for the L85 re-released, even if it came from Angry Gun (think it's AG) who currently make the RIS for the L85 platform. The boring stuff. I think part of the issue is that as soon as you start to stray out of the immediate realms of your average Nato/Russian grunt or "Tier 1" Operator then options start to diminish rather rapidly. While there is certainly a demand for airsoft kit that falls outside of the last 10 - 20 years of usage, this demand seems to diminish rapidly as you move further back across the years and/or as you move progressively further away from the big NATO countries and Russia in terms of armaments. Thus creating products outside of this range gradually increases the likelihood of incurring a loss. I think some other major issues worth considering are clashes in terms of trademarks, design copyright, import/export issues and distributors. Another growing trend in recent years is the seeming increase in various unnamed companies pursuing the purchase of licensing rights which in turn only further hampers things, be it through companies facing potential lawsuits or due to inferior products at a premium price all for the sake of a name. I'd also argue companies such as Nuprol are a major issue in the UK/Euro market at the moment as they seem to be causing significant price hikes while simultaneously throttling supply.

Finally found an airsoft version of the SA80 Bayonet. It fits my ICS L85A2 with repro Surefire flash hider and in theory I should still be able to fire with it on the rifle although I suspect it will largely live in a sheath. Now I just need to get a surplus MTP sheath for it and the black plastic component (think it's referred to as a bayonet frog?). Once I've sorted out the sheath I guess I'll finally sort out my comm's and a batch of new mag's for my L85.

Maybe this should become a wider discussion regarding films in general and airsoft? One of my personal pet peeves is seeing "spec ops" using Baofeng's in various shows or plate carriers with nothing but air occupying the spot where there should be plates. Are these actors so unfit that they can't even manage some hollow plastic dummy plates or some foam plates? I think my favourite blooper is in Den of Thieves where Gerard Butler is advancing up the line of cars, focused on aiming down sight and clearing... only for the magazine to be missing at one point. I don't understand how that could have happened... surely someone would have noticed the magazine was missing?!?! It's a shame as I quite like Den of Thieves (it's probably as close to a contemporary Heat as we'll ever see) but it just seems like such a stupid oversight. Apologies if this has hijacked the thread somewhat, I think I just needed the rant, haha.

I can't say I've looked into it as of yet but I'm starting to plug some gaps for certain kits in anticipation. Admittedly I'll still be hedging my bets and waiting to see how thins develop as the rules are relaxed and the inevitable press of bodies occurs amongst the wider public.

Stumbled across this by chance and thought I'd share it: https://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/news/19178437.police-called-covid-breach-seven-people-travelled-airsoft-game-beggarwood/ I suppose part of me isn't surprised that there haven't been more reports of similar activity over the course of the successive lockdowns but let's all be honest, it's more negative publicity which the hobby simply doesn't need. For a silver lining, at least the author gave a pretty reasonable, unbiased, description of what airsoft is.

@EDcase Admittedly, I previously owned a Tokyo Marui MWS and parted with it, somewhat reluctantly, for a few different reasons. Admittedly I never found that I suffered against AEG's in terms of volume of fire/rate of fire but I'm perhaps in the minority that runs low/real cap's and tends to favour semi-auto (I do use short bursts depending on the circumstances) over full auto. I was curious as to your position and reasoning on the matter, hence the question, I definitely appreciate your thoughts and feedback. Part of the draw for returning to a GBBR for my primary is that I find the maintenance far easier (and less stressful) than AEG's. @Nick G I'm a bit surprised to hear that you run them on red all year round, out of curiosity why is this? As a further curiosity which three GBBR's do you run from WE? Are there any particular pitfalls (or other quirks/traits) to be aware when venturing into WE's GBBR's?

@Adolf Hamster To be honest if it wasn't for looking into the WE L85 then I'd probably just replace my AK's with a single GHK GBBR and keep the rest of my NATO stuff as AEG's. @EDcase Based on your experiences then would you be of the inclination to recommend sticking with AEG's for regular skirmishing and longer duration events? Admittedly the parts availability and variety were points of consideration when looking at the viability of the WE's. I read any article from around 5 years ago last night and while they'd noted various bits of wear over the 15k - 20k BB's it had had through it they noted that it probably still had another 5k - 10k before looking at replacing anything due to regular wear and tear. He stated that the only part he'd replaced was adding in an NPAS, which I'd definitely be doing right out of the gate anyway.

So over the last few months I've been considering picking up another L85. Originally I was considering just grabbing another AEG (preferably an L85A1) and throwing a SUSAT on it, idea being that it would serve me for the mid 80's through to late 90's. More recently I've been toying with the idea of picking up a WE L85A2 GBBR as I figure a lot of people don't know the difference between a A1 and an A2 (at least without the help of a rail system) and I figured the SUSAT would still be befitting, at least up to the point where my ICS workhorse could/would take over. My main hesitation is picking up magazines just for a single gun (yea, ok, I do it for a lot of AEG's and GBBP's so I guess this could be seen as hypocrisy) and this in turn got me wondering about the other GBBR's from WE that run the STANAG magazines (M4 mag's for those who don't know what a STANAG mag is). I was curious if anyone had any first hand experience (or immediate knowledge) of how the current batch of WE M16 and M4 GBBR's are in terms of quality, reliability, longevity and performance. As it stands I'm thinking about the M16 with the intention of throwing on an M203/Heatshield combo (assuming this would even fit?). Admittedly a big reason for this question is that it would help further cement the idea of getting the GBBR L85 due to the mag's being useful for more than one gun. I know that TM and GHK both tend to hold the crown when it comes to GBBR M4's and M4's/AK's but at this stage any M4/M16 would purely be to add value to the magazine investment attached to the WE L85 GBBR.

Unfortunately product availability in the UK is hit and miss at the best of times. Let alone inflated prices for many products.

Admittedly there are various bits I'm looking at ordering (a full new set of magazines being one) but given all the Brexit issues I guess I'll be waiting for it all to settle down a bit more. Fingers crossed people get their stuff ASAP.

Admittedly it has crossed my mind. Perhaps if I replace my ICS with a WE Apache then I can mess up the ICS to reflect a post-apoc setting/feel although I also appreciate arguments where people have suggested that if you had any knowledge you'd do everything you could to protect and preserve the condition to ensure reliability... decisions...

I keep toying with the idea of putting together a rifle with post apocalyptic styling (or cyberpunk perhaps) but unfortunately the only L1A1/FN FAL I'm aware of is the abomination from Ares. Admittedly I'd probably be better off with something significantly shorter but I was trying to consider weapons which might be found in armouries in the UK. I suppose this logic would lead to the argument of an L85 but I quite fancy something from the Cold War era, perhaps early 90's at a push. Excellent work on the outfit to say the least and the gun certainly looks the part.

Might have to check these out myself, would save me swapping optics and having to re-zero all the time.

Makes me think of a ray gun from an old sci-fi film.

@rocketdogbert - His and hers shocktrooper helmets?

I think this one is the winner from what I've seen:

Not the most exciting thing but Dump Pouch arrived today. It's a little larger than I expected but it feels very robust I'm considering either a WAS Universal Holster or a specific one for my CZ-75. I'm a little conflicted at the moment on which route to go.

Unfortunately LCT have slipped over the past couple of years in terms of QC and by failing to look at what their competitors are doing (magwell spacer inclusion by E&L). Admittedly LCT are starting to roll out their QC gearboxes. For me the biggest draw to LCT over E&L is that they are far better when it comes to aftermarket parts compatibility. @Sniper780 - Whenever I look at pricing I'll try and stick with the same product in order to assess it fairly. If you start heading down a route of "well x is the nearest competitor" then it opens the door to a slippery slope, at least in my opinion. When it comes to the GP-25, I was attempting to treat it fairly as they still seem to hold a lot of appeal to many (I'm assuming because of how iconic it is). Admittedly given the choice between the GP-25 and GP-30 I'd opt for the GP-30 on every occasion. My reason for this would be, as @Sniper780 rightly pointed out, based on the fact it'll accept standard 40mm rounds.

I'm of the inclination to say that this is worthy of a mention here. The LCT AK-74M can readily be found for £299 brand new (possibly a bit less with some shopping around). The LCT magwell spacer is typically £19 (still say these should come standard but it's a futile argument with LCT) and genuine LCT mag's are readily available for approximately £11 a piece. CYMA magazines tend to be similar in the UK but can be found far cheaper elsewhere. Overall I estimate the gun to be worth around: £265.00 all in (calculated at about 65% retail using UK prices). I'll have to give some concession to the launcher although I will say these used to sell for around £85 brand new in the UK. Despite the owner insisting they're discontinued, they're not but they are very hard to find. For the sake easiest comparison and easiest to find I'll compare it to the King Arms GP-30 which can be found for around £130.00. I'd be of the inclination to estimate the value of the GP-25 in this area given its rarity. Thoughts? I'd say the 6SH117 Ratnik Vest isn't too far off the going rate for it from a retailer by the time you're done with all your import fees and postage. I suspect it can probably be found a bit cheaper with some perseverance. To sell it all as a bundle I suspect it would probably need to come down to around £550.00 but I could be wrong and there's every chance I'm being a little harsh in my valuation for the AK-74M and the launcher.

I've picked up a Karrimor SF dump pouch to replace my old one as my old one was incompatible with molle. I've been contemplating ordering a few bits and pieces but it's hard to justify when I'm just not getting the play time due to trying to reduce my risk of exposure to ze plague.

Site list - This is by no means inclusive of every site but it does contain many UK based sites. Site reviews and feedback. - There are a significant number of topics here covering various sites from up and down the UK. Again, this is by no means a conclusive list of sites but there's certainly useful information in many of these topics. While others may have specific answers and/or recommendations for your local area, it might be worth considering posting your own introduction thread in the New Players and Arrivals sections. I'd recommend introducing yourself and it may also be worth including the fact that you're looking for sites within x amount of miles of Warrington. If you can provide us with a rough distance you're able and willing to travel then this will potentially improve any feedback. Finally, I'd strongly advise familiarising yourself with the various stickied topics across the forum which are relevant to yourself such as the New Player Guides and Info.

Whelp, I've taken my first step and put in stock notifications for when the real wood Kar98K springer becomes available again. I figure I'll set it up for ~350fps/1.14j and build a 352nd Infaterie Division inspired kit around it. I realise the power range puts me at a disadvantage as the ranges close but I figure it keeps it CQB friendly should it ever get used indoors or descend to CQB ranges. @MSSW Rune - Excellent photos and brilliant kit.

@ak2m4 Ordered a few bits and bobs off you previously and had nothing but great experiences. I was wondering if you had any word on when you were expecting a restock of inner barrels? Specifically the Zci 247mm.

Apologies if this is laziness but out of curiosity is there a decent quality wooden springer Kar98k on the market? @B.S - Great kit, excellent job. How are you finding the Sten?