alxndrhll

I've actually ended up going back and forth a few times, to the point I'd decided to hold onto a pistol set up for HPA and my 'fanciest' MTW... at least that's as it was as of my last post in this thread. The pistol has since sold (today) and my final MTW is currently up for sale, the tipping point was the implications it had on gear.
 
As much as some folks seemingly mock it, I'm super in to my 'gucci gear'. I probably enjoy the gear side more than I do the RIFs, the RIFs almost exist to justify me having the pile of expensive nylon I own. I do of course thoroughly enjoy playing, but everyone has their own 'favourite part' of the hobby and the kit tends to be mine.
 
I owned a Marui MWS for a brief while during one of the lockdown periods (I'm up North, so that then led to high tier restrictions etc) and wound up selling it on, possibly prematurely, because I simply wasn't confident I could live with the mag capacity available to GBBRs. I definitely want another MWS at some point once everything stabilises a bit, the intent would be to have it as a slow burn project that gets taken out for a spin every now and then but not as my 'primary' RIF. I guess I'm just aware of my comfort zone and I'm not currently willing to leap out it, more gradually step out of it while having my comfort blanket (mid caps) close by.
 
As such I've picked up an NGRS (AR) which is being set up almost identically to my MTW (in terms of externals/attachments, what can I say, I like what I like). I've also ordered a Cyma AK74SU to throw some Zenitco parts on and just generally modernise (I'd started getting parts in for this before and didn't see it through, and I firmly regret not doing so).
 
Short to midlength ARs and AK74SUs (modernised or not) have been my favourite looking RIFs for as long as I can remember, so that's the route I'm running with for the time being. With the plan in future to be set up an MWS that mirrors my NGRS, and a GHK 74SU (which I plan to devil hunter, assuming I can figure out the in's and out's, it's not something I've looked into but I heard a lot about it) that mirrors my Cyma. Ultimately landing me with plenty of choice when it comes to game day as to what I want to run with, and how I want to run it... without any limitation to my kit. If I want to run just a micro chest rig and charge around like a moron, I can, without the burden of a backpack. And that was genuinely the point at which I tapped out (excuse the pun). I'm completely fine with the line, never had a huge issue with it. No more irritating than some slings can be at times, but having my kit choices dictated by having to fit a bottle and regulator on there somewhere, that was the part I landed on not wanting to deal with anymore.
 
HPA is great, and at the time I 'bought in to it' it ticked the boxes I wanted to tick. It's generally more reliable than other systems, and it's easier to maintain (in my opinion). It's simply a case that the boxes I want to tick are different now, and it's taken me a while to properly figure that out. I guess that ended up being the biggest take away, for anyone in a similar position that happens to read this. Just figure out what it is you  want and run with it, there's a whole lot of thoughts, opinions and advice on a whole host of things to do with this hobby... but much of it doesn't take into account exactly what you want. Figure that out and you're golden.
 
Apologies for the essay of a reply, and thanks very much for sharing your thoughts .

I've actually ended up going back and forth a few times, to the point I'd decided to hold onto a pistol set up for HPA and my 'fanciest' MTW... at least that's as it was as of my last post in this thread. The pistol has since sold (today) and my final MTW is currently up for sale, the tipping point was the implications it had on gear.
 
As much as some folks seemingly mock it, I'm super in to my 'gucci gear'. I probably enjoy the gear side more than I do the RIFs, the RIFs almost exist to justify me having the pile of expensive nylon I own. I do of course thoroughly enjoy playing, but everyone has their own 'favourite part' of the hobby and the kit tends to be mine.
 
I owned a Marui MWS for a brief while during one of the lockdown periods (I'm up North, so that then led to high tier restrictions etc) and wound up selling it on, possibly prematurely, because I simply wasn't confident I could live with the mag capacity available to GBBRs. I definitely want another MWS at some point once everything stabilises a bit, the intent would be to have it as a slow burn project that gets taken out for a spin every now and then but not as my 'primary' RIF. I guess I'm just aware of my comfort zone and I'm not currently willing to leap out it, more gradually step out of it while having my comfort blanket (mid caps) close by.
 
As such I've picked up an NGRS (AR) which is being set up almost identically to my MTW (in terms of externals/attachments, what can I say, I like what I like). I've also ordered a Cyma AK74SU to throw some Zenitco parts on and just generally modernise (I'd started getting parts in for this before and didn't see it through, and I firmly regret not doing so).
 
Short to midlength ARs and AK74SUs (modernised or not) have been my favourite looking RIFs for as long as I can remember, so that's the route I'm running with for the time being. With the plan in future to be set up an MWS that mirrors my NGRS, and a GHK 74SU (which I plan to devil hunter, assuming I can figure out the in's and out's, it's not something I've looked into but I heard a lot about it) that mirrors my Cyma. Ultimately landing me with plenty of choice when it comes to game day as to what I want to run with, and how I want to run it... without any limitation to my kit. If I want to run just a micro chest rig and charge around like a moron, I can, without the burden of a backpack. And that was genuinely the point at which I tapped out (excuse the pun). I'm completely fine with the line, never had a huge issue with it. No more irritating than some slings can be at times, but having my kit choices dictated by having to fit a bottle and regulator on there somewhere, that was the part I landed on not wanting to deal with anymore.
 
HPA is great, and at the time I 'bought in to it' it ticked the boxes I wanted to tick. It's generally more reliable than other systems, and it's easier to maintain (in my opinion). It's simply a case that the boxes I want to tick are different now, and it's taken me a while to properly figure that out. I guess that ended up being the biggest take away, for anyone in a similar position that happens to read this. Just figure out what it is you  want and run with it, there's a whole lot of thoughts, opinions and advice on a whole host of things to do with this hobby... but much of it doesn't take into account exactly what you want. Figure that out and you're golden.
 
Apologies for the essay of a reply, and thanks very much for sharing your thoughts .

Yeah I remember seeing the pics.
Lot of work involved but was looking good.
Like you say it was interesting doing it and you learnt something new.
👍
Regards 

Haha, it was. I finished a few actually. Then we all got shut in so it all got taken off ready to be re-crafted once I knew what season we were going to be in when we could play again, so I had a better gauge of the base colouration before adding natural vegetation on site. I've since put the vast majority of the suits up for sale, largely because there is only one woodland site local to me (within an hours drive) and that's only open for half the year, so felt a bit over invested into something I couldn't actually use all that much! It was a very fun thing to learn about and try out though, definitely got me through some of the more boring lockdown days.

I think I've actually gone through more unused variations of eye/facepro during the last year than I have RIFs. Not to say there hasn't been a decent list of unused RIFs, a decent portion of which have been sold on as I trudge through figuring out what it is I want, but yeah a whoooooole lot of protective equipment. But I've finally landed on the combinations I like, which is nice.
 
New unused RIFs (that aren't currently up for sale):
TM G19 TM G17 w/ Guarder Kit (which @Cr0-Magnonwill be familiar with)  
For anyone curious on the eye/facepro, though I imagine that'd be no one:
Valhalla mask, Clawgear balaclava, Heroshark Speartooths and Peltor Comtac XPI's for in the woods. Clawgear balaclava and Dye i5 for the CQBs. (No I'm not a speedy boy, not that I hold that against anyone. I just like my face, teeth and eyeballs intact without the inconvenience of fogging)

is it bad that the first thing i see looking at that picture is "yep, that sums up ghillie suits in airsoft alright"

I tend to disagree with this as a generalisation, it was just much easier to be oblivious to. In my case, partially because I was younger and there were things I simply didn't understand back then... and partially because social media was less of a thing. Granted this was back in the age of the ASCUK forums where you still had a host of 'grumble' threads which tended to take very similar patterns to threads you see on here.

Thread about cheating:
'I hate cheaters.'
'I wish we could all be honest.'
'Marshalls should be better.'
[Someone mentions headshots]
'Just wear full face pro, if you don't it's your own fault.'
[Macho man storms in]
'Who cares it doesn't even hurt.'
[Someone asks if using 0.25g BBs is considered cheating]
'Someone questions why you'd use 0.25g when 0.2g BBs go further' (Note, as we now know this is not true.)
... So on and so forth...
 
Seriously, read through commonly occuring topics and tell me they don't largely wind up taking a very similar path until they fizzle out. I have no doubt that folks who have been around for a while have that 'here we go again' reaction when certain topics crop up.
 
Hell the only thing that's a huge amount different is now half of the threads include someone asking a question regarding UKARA (which wasn't a thing for a decent portion of my time on ASCUK).
 
TLDR, it's always existed... it was just easier to ignore/not be aware of.
 
P.S. Not intended as a dig at this, or any other forum for that matter, forums have been my prefered way of being involved in hobby communities for a long time. Threads on forums for more general topics around a niche hobby tend to be very cyclic, to a point dejavu can set in as you're reading through threads at times. My preference for forums over anything else is that it's simply much easier to filter what I do and do not wish to read and/or participate in coversation with.

I tend to disagree with this as a generalisation, it was just much easier to be oblivious to. In my case, partially because I was younger and there were things I simply didn't understand back then... and partially because social media was less of a thing. Granted this was back in the age of the ASCUK forums where you still had a host of 'grumble' threads which tended to take very similar patterns to threads you see on here.

Thread about cheating:
'I hate cheaters.'
'I wish we could all be honest.'
'Marshalls should be better.'
[Someone mentions headshots]
'Just wear full face pro, if you don't it's your own fault.'
[Macho man storms in]
'Who cares it doesn't even hurt.'
[Someone asks if using 0.25g BBs is considered cheating]
'Someone questions why you'd use 0.25g when 0.2g BBs go further' (Note, as we now know this is not true.)
... So on and so forth...
 
Seriously, read through commonly occuring topics and tell me they don't largely wind up taking a very similar path until they fizzle out. I have no doubt that folks who have been around for a while have that 'here we go again' reaction when certain topics crop up.
 
Hell the only thing that's a huge amount different is now half of the threads include someone asking a question regarding UKARA (which wasn't a thing for a decent portion of my time on ASCUK).
 
TLDR, it's always existed... it was just easier to ignore/not be aware of.
 
P.S. Not intended as a dig at this, or any other forum for that matter, forums have been my prefered way of being involved in hobby communities for a long time. Threads on forums for more general topics around a niche hobby tend to be very cyclic, to a point dejavu can set in as you're reading through threads at times. My preference for forums over anything else is that it's simply much easier to filter what I do and do not wish to read and/or participate in coversation with.

Very much ‘just another mayo AR’, but it’s my ‘just another mayo AR’.
 
Finally got around to modifying the dust cover so it holds shut, and threw a PDI 6.05 barrel in there (no idea what effect that’s going to have until I get an opportunity to shoot it further than I currently can). Just waiting on a Mini2 replica to show up from HK (ordered mid December, so lord knows when that’ll show up) and I reckon the dishes are done.
 

 
Turns out the colour of BCM FDE looks nothing like it does in person in photos 🤷🏻‍♂️.

My slow grow on the Crye chest rig ended up not being particularly slow grow at all. A lot of inspiration taken from the Reptile House blog (read as 'largely stolen entire set up'), as many seem to with this particular rig. I am planning on picking up one of the Crye stretch panels at some point but couldn’t resist the draw of the regular detachable flap. Alongside that there’s a 6x6x3 GP pouch, a full length KYWI, a TacBelts AVS adapter and a bunch of WTFix straps. Looking forward to messing around with this over the weekend to see what setup I land on.
 
Also had a BCM stock turn up which I completely forgot about ordering.
 

My slow grow on the Crye chest rig ended up not being particularly slow grow at all. A lot of inspiration taken from the Reptile House blog (read as 'largely stolen entire set up'), as many seem to with this particular rig. I am planning on picking up one of the Crye stretch panels at some point but couldn’t resist the draw of the regular detachable flap. Alongside that there’s a 6x6x3 GP pouch, a full length KYWI, a TacBelts AVS adapter and a bunch of WTFix straps. Looking forward to messing around with this over the weekend to see what setup I land on.
 
Also had a BCM stock turn up which I completely forgot about ordering.
 

My slow grow on the Crye chest rig ended up not being particularly slow grow at all. A lot of inspiration taken from the Reptile House blog (read as 'largely stolen entire set up'), as many seem to with this particular rig. I am planning on picking up one of the Crye stretch panels at some point but couldn’t resist the draw of the regular detachable flap. Alongside that there’s a 6x6x3 GP pouch, a full length KYWI, a TacBelts AVS adapter and a bunch of WTFix straps. Looking forward to messing around with this over the weekend to see what setup I land on.
 
Also had a BCM stock turn up which I completely forgot about ordering.
 

I’m cynical so would tend to suggest the seller was more than aware that it being two-tone at some point in its life would hurt the sale price so the information was intentionally withheld, but ultimately there is no possible way I could ever prove it... simply seems to be the most likely situation.
 
Either way the feeling of having the wool pulled over your eyes is never a nice one, if the buyer isn’t satisfied I hope they’re able to come to an amicable resolution.

I’m cynical so would tend to suggest the seller was more than aware that it being two-tone at some point in its life would hurt the sale price so the information was intentionally withheld, but ultimately there is no possible way I could ever prove it... simply seems to be the most likely situation.
 
Either way the feeling of having the wool pulled over your eyes is never a nice one, if the buyer isn’t satisfied I hope they’re able to come to an amicable resolution.

Did this thread just go full circle? For anyone first joining the thread here, no the initial topic wasn’t talked about for 9 pages.
 
What was discussed? Gun laws, stupid people, the phrase ‘checks and balances’ appeared a lot, various hand to hand weapons (some conventional, some less so), charts and graphs... and I’m pretty sure a UKARA question some how snuck in there.

I'm pretty content with where I'm at currently RIF wise. Only two things I'd like eventually under the assumption things return to some form of normal, and will hold off on the tempation of picking either up until that time comes. Very much holding off on RIF purchases until we know what that landscape is (and seemingly ploughing funds into fancy gear because there would still be a market for that should airsoft collapse, not intending to be overly negative, but keeping an eye on what could be the worst case... I digress):
 
1. A flavour of Sig MCX with a Polarstar Kythera thrown in it.
2. An AAP. Had one, really liked it, didn't have much of a use for it so sold it, now would like another as a CQB primary as backup if my Hicapa goes down.
 
And the most fitting to a wishlist, in that I'll likely never actually go through with it:
 
3. An AKSU/PP-19-01 of some description that has been dragged through the Zenitco catalogue. Very heretical, probably with an F2 or Kythera thrown in it.

My obsession with gucci battle bras continues, was very happy with the Spiritus Micro Fight but couldn’t resist the temptation when the Crye AirLite came back in stock. Suffice to say ‘I have plans’ for that one, but I imagine that’ll be a slow grow project while waiting for the various components I want to be in stock. Frequently refreshing the Ferro Mini Dangler page in the hope they’re back in stock (in MC) before long, for no other reason than being impatient.
 
Very happy with an eBay find a week or so ago with a 10l Source Assault backpack (predominantly for HPA tanks to live in). And a few PDI barrels for various RIFs.
 

My obsession with gucci battle bras continues, was very happy with the Spiritus Micro Fight but couldn’t resist the temptation when the Crye AirLite came back in stock. Suffice to say ‘I have plans’ for that one, but I imagine that’ll be a slow grow project while waiting for the various components I want to be in stock. Frequently refreshing the Ferro Mini Dangler page in the hope they’re back in stock (in MC) before long, for no other reason than being impatient.
 
Very happy with an eBay find a week or so ago with a 10l Source Assault backpack (predominantly for HPA tanks to live in). And a few PDI barrels for various RIFs.
 

Looking good! Are those parts for the long awaited 4.3? How long is it till you do a chrome slide and barrel with carbon fibre-esq grip and detailing to match your Thompson? 🤣
 
I love how this all started as a ‘modifying an SSP’ and has spiralled so wildly. In short, this thread is airsoft in a nutshell 😂.

My obsession with gucci battle bras continues, was very happy with the Spiritus Micro Fight but couldn’t resist the temptation when the Crye AirLite came back in stock. Suffice to say ‘I have plans’ for that one, but I imagine that’ll be a slow grow project while waiting for the various components I want to be in stock. Frequently refreshing the Ferro Mini Dangler page in the hope they’re back in stock (in MC) before long, for no other reason than being impatient.
 
Very happy with an eBay find a week or so ago with a 10l Source Assault backpack (predominantly for HPA tanks to live in). And a few PDI barrels for various RIFs.
 

My obsession with gucci battle bras continues, was very happy with the Spiritus Micro Fight but couldn’t resist the temptation when the Crye AirLite came back in stock. Suffice to say ‘I have plans’ for that one, but I imagine that’ll be a slow grow project while waiting for the various components I want to be in stock. Frequently refreshing the Ferro Mini Dangler page in the hope they’re back in stock (in MC) before long, for no other reason than being impatient.
 
Very happy with an eBay find a week or so ago with a 10l Source Assault backpack (predominantly for HPA tanks to live in). And a few PDI barrels for various RIFs.