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Granted I went for whatever the standard shipping is, but I ordered something toward the start of December last year... it's yet to turn up 😅

Ahh, right you are. Feel like a right berk now.

I’m not sure a stock adapter, stock, foregrip, red dot, weapon light and suppressor really help with that high a price to be honest 👀. Though I will say I’ve never understood the comparison of prices between airsoft RIFs and ‘real gnus’. They’re very different beasts, bought for very different reasons. No matter how much cheaper I could pick up a real AR for versus my airsoft one, I’ll never be able to skirmish with it so it’s a somewhat moot point... not to take away from the fact that the Redwolf price is absolutely wild, but still.

Will definitely be keeping an eye out in regard to these mags, silly as it sounds the availability (or lack thereof) of decent p-mags for the MWS is genuinely the thing that's stopped me picking up another MWS.

I had mine through via an email at about 22:45 tonight, just clicked the link in that email and payed following that (using PayPal, which was a nice option to have). £50.69 (nice) on a £170, £155 in goods, £15 shipping, order for anyone curious. £39.19 in ‘Government Charges’ and £11.50 in Brokerage Charges. An equivalent order from a UK retailer, which don’t tend to stock some of the things in my order, would have been north of £300.

Did you not get an email from TG (email address was [email protected]) with the header starting 'INVOICE taiwangun.com' followed by the names of the attached files? Assuming you ordered a RIF that should have your warranty information and an invoice (both in English) attached, both as PDFs. If you didn't order a RIF I'll assume it's just the invoice, but couldn't say for certain.

I genuinely hope it's at least moderately useful. I've been in a very similar situation multiple times across my time in the hobby (give or take 15 years), some for similar reasons and some for entirely different ones. In this instance I think you've hit the nail on the head, not being able to go out and play definitely amplifies the 'is this all really worth it' element. I've nearly thrown in the towel at least 3 times in the last year, but I know full well being honest with myself that without airsoft things to enjoy/grumble about the last year would have been significantly harder because I'd have had very little to be looking forward to at the tail end of all that's going on. Waffle away, getting it out there is a damn sight healthier than having it all bouncing around your noggin entirely untamed.

My reply wasn’t a simple ‘if you don’t like it, find something else’. That was very intentionally the final option listed. You in no way need to defend how you wish to make your purchases, everyone is entitled to their preference. But you’ll need to answer the question yourself as to how set in your preferences you are, and whether the need to deviate from that is enough to put you off entirely. Because that’s ultimately where we are now, like it or lump it (the vast majority of us falling in the latter camp I imagine) things aren’t the way they were. If your criteria is as set in stone as you say it is, the second hand market seems to be the closest thing to a solution I can put forward. If that’s a no go for whatever reason, then I’m fresh out of ideas.

Eh, is it though? Is filling out and returning a very simple form and paying some import fees really that much of an inconvenience? I’d imagine the time taken for things to arrive will smooth out in time, if things taking to arrive is really considered a downside. I guess I’ve been shipping things over from elsewhere in the world long enough to just never really be in much of a rush. Main consideration is whether it actually winds up much different to UK prices when all is said and done. Granted cost savings have never been the draw of importing things in for me, it’s mostly supply/availability. Nevertheless, being patient and keeping your eye out of classifieds/putting up wanted ads is an option. Failing that, either make do with what you have, or sell up and find something else you want to do with your time. Not intending to totally blunt, I’m just struggling to piece together the part that makes it feel like a real hardship to import things. The chasing folks are doing is born more from impatience or other external factors that weren’t considered as potential issues at the time of ordering more than it is a necessity. Side note, turns out my previous post on expected arrival time wasn’t correct. On the UPS app date is displayed in US format so it hadn’t actually updated. ‘Parcel Progress’ is DD/MM/YY, but ‘Scheduled Delivery’ is MM/DD/YY... good job that isn’t confusing. However, it has just update with ‘Export Scan’ and the scheduled delivery is this Friday. Whether that’ll actually happen... 🤷🏻‍♂️.

Aye, though there definitely seems to be a developing pattern from some companies of late. A decent portion of the more recent KWA stuff for example, especially their 'limited edition' runs, feel like they're after a very different market than most others out there. Not quite up there with being as over the top as the Thunder Maul and the Vorpal Bunny, but definitely feels like they're targetting a persona that isn't 30+year old folks.

My tracking updated at some point over the weekend to give an estimated delivery date of 03/04/2021, seems slightly more realistic than last Thursday as was intially shown. In terms of the overall process so far I've done the RIF form and value declaration email, but I'm yet to receive anything regarding any additional fees.

I guess it entirely depends on: A) How much the company care about their reputation. B) How slick the set up is for the folks handling correspondence to their senior team/board. (I'm open to being wrong, but I highly doubt Mr Cook ever actually read your message) C) What anyone in the company can actually do about the situation. (Someone 'at the top' facilitating a resolution of your issue is likely much easier than trying to pluck one parcel of out of millions which in the exact same situation) Based on everything you can see on the internet regarding UPS at the moment I dare say their hands are somewhat tied for resolving anything that's going on. No, moderately intelligent, company would sit back and have their name dragged through the mud if their was something they could effectively do about it. Generally agree with what folks were saying earlier in regard to under-staffing and 'business decisions' which have been made in regard to furlough and the like being the most obvious root cause. Nevertheless, if this thread has demonstrated anything to me it's that irrelevant of how keenly you're chasing after UPS none of it is actually making anything move faster... so the path I'd advise taking doesn't change.

I imagine writing to a CEO of pretty much any large company with something that, to them, would be so trivial is largely just a waste of your time. I personally probably wouldn't be spending any time chasing after UPS, I'd attack it from the otherside of looking at options of extending my active UKARA by contacting the site I hold it with, explaining the situation and going from there. To my knowledge you're never actually removed from the UKARA database, it's simply a case of whether it's 'active' of not, though I could be wrong. Other options are to look into acquiring another defence which doesn't have the same requirements as UKARA. There are a few, but I can't remember what they are because I've never had a need for any of them.

Aye, I wasn't commenting on your own personal preferences. Was merely pointing out that a seller being thorough when carrying out the checks and balances (shit, now I'm saying it) shouldn't, in my opinion, be something that's looked at in a negative light.

Proof of age should be a bare minimum that folks selling RIFs should be requesting ahead of accepting payment in my opinion. The exact defence folks want proof of may vary, but knowing that the buyer meets the age requirement should be non-negotiable. From the classifieds forum rules: 'The Law Your sale must be in compliance with Great British law, especially relevant; the VCRA, which has laid down various restrictions on the trade of Imitation Firearms (IF) and Realistic Imitation Firearms (RIF). Remember, the seller is responsible for checking and verifying the legality of a sale. Please see the UK Law section of the forums if you need any guidance on this and open a topic if you're unsure. None of the below is legal advice. In short: As a seller you are liable for who you're selling to. No airsoft gun can be sold to someone under the age of 18 irrespective of whether it's 2-tone or a RIF (i.e. black/realistically coloured) As a seller you must take precautions to satisfy yourself that who you're selling to has a valid defence against prosecution for owning an airsoft gun - for the majority of cases this means the person you're selling to should be an airsoft skirmisher. Some things you can check are: Skirmishing site membership UKARA database membership Photographic proof that a member is a skirmisher (i.e. pictures of them playing)'

All of the best financial decisions are those made past your bed time. Even better when you make said decisions, completely forget you made them when you wake up and get a lovely surprise parcel in the next few days.

I dare say you've landed on the answer yourself in the question. When us... more matured chaps were growing up the influences around us were very much in the 'present day' category, ARs, AKs, 1911s, Glocks. It's certainly no coincidence that these are still the most commonly produced replicas. Cinema, TV, video games... it was all largely depicitions of weaponry that was in present use that time. Take a look at the same media now, geared toward that audience, the aesthetic of popular modern media to the younger crowd is shifting toward this look (refering to whatever that weird JG thing is). Especially in video games...Fortnite, Apex Legends, Overwatch to name just a few. Like it or not folks get conditioned to think this looks nothing like a 'cool gnu' because we learned what we perceive a gnu to look like when we were younger, the young 'uns nowaday likely have a slightly different idea of what makes a 'cool gnu'. Side note, my opinion lines up with yours. I think it looks wank... but I was trying to present an actual answer to your question, despite the fact I suspect it was rhetorical.

Hahahaha, regrettably I don’t think I ever spent more than 5 minutes at a time ‘ghillied up’ indoors (largely because the dog was not a fan of it at all). Generally just threw it on to make sizing adjustments and get my long suffering girlfriend to take some photos so I could check for halo screen/raffia coverage. And now the vast majority of my ‘leafy boy’ stuff has new homes. Throughout it all I’ve definitely found a additional use for chest rigs and plate carriers with ‘emergency doffing’ capabilities. It’s been a close shave with answering the door to delivery drivers in the full ensemble on a few occasions 😅.

Hell, the fashion show side of things is the only part of the hobby we’ve been able to engage in over here for the past few months. I’ve been ‘slaying the catwalk’ (read as, walking around my office bored out of my mind trying out various setups for general comfort) more than I care to admit. I’ve typed out many a thread on here in the evenings fully kitted up sat in the desk chair feeling very sorry for myself (and my bank account)... whatever gets you through at this point 🤷🏻‍♂️.

I also had the phone call and subsequent email to fill in a form and send over a ‘proof of value/cost’ (or words to that effect) earlier today. Certainly not expecting much to move anytime soon, mine is in Dobra Strykow like others above and has been for a few days. But having known the form would need to be filled in I’m glad it’s out of the way so I can go back to ignoring it until it shows up or I’m contacted again. Did find it funny that the email alongside the form mentioned if I hadn’t provided the required details within 3 days I’d be charged £13 a day for it being stored until details were provided... like it’s going to have moved anywhere within the next 3 days as is... cheeky cnuts 😂.

Certainly not something I’m an expert with when it comes to GBBRs, but as far as I’m aware mechanically there is very little difference between GBB, HPA and AEGs when it comes to loading/loading nozzles. A BB running down a barrel with the hop off is entirely normal in many cases. It’s not so much to do with the ‘air seal’ as it is the lip tension in your hop unit. Some hop rubbers will have more tension, some will have less. I could be entirely misremembering but I believe Maple Leaf buckings have more lip tension than most stock buckings... but I’ve been through so many different brands of bucking on so many different RIFs at this point I get lost. If the rubber has a lower amount of tension on the lips it’s often the contact patch alone being depressed into the chamber that prevents them rolling down of their own free will. Conversely, too much lip tension can wear out/break a loading nozzle prematurely. You have all the tools available to you to verify your results. Rather than speculate ‘I don’t think this happens with the stock components in place’, check them. Don’t be lazy, reinstall the original parts and see how it’s performing.

I wouldn't change anything until you've had a run out with it. You'll pretty quickly figure out what you like and what you want to change for your own preferences and tweak from there. There isn't (for the most part) a right or wrong way to run your gear, as long as it works for you then it's doing what you purchased it to do. Only thing I would consider, as you're running midcaps, is have a speedloader on you (the Marui AR mag style ones are very good, but there are cheaper clones)... which means making sure you've got somewhere to put it, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with using pockets as long as they're secure. For my personal preference I'd ditch the black mag pouches and replace the one on the left with a fold up dump pouch (doesn't have to be fold up, I just like keep it small and out of the way until I feel need it). I tend to run 5 midcaps on me, 4 on my gear and 1 in the RIF. As I say, don't change anything until you've had a run out, just food for thought.

2 weeks? You know nothing of the pain of waiting for stuff to turn up from HK. I ordered something at the start of December and it isn't here yet, such is the nature of wanting things that aren't readily available anywhere else!