In another thread it came to my attention that Airsoft World are now carrying the TAG launcher system, which looks like this if you are not familiar:
They're not new, but until recently were not available from UK retailers. Indeed there is some question over their legality under the letter of British law, since here it definitely is illegal to fire explosive projectiles out of/with anything. I'm hoping that these fall outside what the law defines as 'explosive' for the purposes of the law and perhaps someone can enlighten us on that score. In any case the law is intended to prevent dickheadery on a monumental scale, not to stop us adding a much needed dimension to airsoft, accurate indirect fire, or to stop people having a laugh with well designed safe equipment. There is a vid somewhere of someone allowing himself to be shot with this system, but I cannot find it. If someone can help me out there, I'd appreciate it. Anyway, it shows that the system is safe for our purposes.
I'm definitely going to get some and sooner rather than later, just in case some jobsworth takes it upon him/herself to end the fun. However the question arises, from what to launch them? Most of my loadouts are Soviet/Russian so my first thought was the D-Boys GP-25 underslung noob tube for AK's:
...but apparently it makes an AK uncomfortably front heavy
and they take a funky shell, like a Russian VOG grenade:
...so the TAG may not even fit.
There is a steel GP-30 made by a company called Danmu which does fire any 40mm MOSCARTs, but it was £80 shipped last time I looked, which did not compare favourably with prices for the D-Boys effort, however since taiwangun.com have discontinued free shipping except on mahoosive orders, it starting to look less outrageous... especially considering what you get for the money.
Nonetheless, if there is one thing I hate it's front heavy guns - they make my left arm ache within 10mins. So that leaves stand alone launchers, unless I was to add weight inside the stock of my AK-74. The latter is a viable possibility because I've rewired her to carry her battery under her top cover, like all my other AK's, but I'm interested to see what you recommend also.
Now would seem to be a good time to discuss what else you can launch from tubes also, such as Enola Gay smoke bombs and, has anyone ever fired a thermobaric 'nade like this (by just jamming it into a 203 in front of a 40mm 'nade gassed up but without BB's)?