proffrink

Yup, that's probably a better call - still need everything but the cylinder internals. Also make sure your trigger box is compatible (I think the Laylax one is, and I know the Airsoft Pro one is).

Externals on the JG are certainly better from what I've seen. The Marui design is old. ORGA 6.23 R-Hop Decent hop chamber (PDI or Airsoft Pro or the ASPUK ones) Decent cylinder and head (PDI or Airsoft Pro or the ASPUK ones - which are rebrands AFAIK) Decent springs (PDI or ASPUK ones) Trigger (Laylax or PDI) Barrel spacers Scope that doesn't cost less than £60 BBs above .28 (the R-Hop will lift anything up to .45ish, and the longer R-Hops will do anything you can buy) Springer sniper rifles are quite easy to get right, thankfully. PDI stuff here: http://www.x-fire.org/e.index.htm

Wouldn't imagine so. Looks like they're still out of stock on the site.

You could work on your existing setup. Maybe an R-Hop patch (or maybe just a better bucking) and heavier ammo. Would only cost you ~£15 to get done. What weight BBs are you using right now? To answer your question though, the slightly lower end stuff around the £150 mark is probably not going to compete with stuff that people have tinkered with. That's why people buy nice looking receivers and then work on them as project guns over a year until they have something really nice.

No problem. Let us know how you get on. The inserts are totally worth it though - complete game changer for me. Worth every penny.

That's a bummer. It's possible others (like the X1000s) will provide a higher correction as they're full-frame inserts unlike the V12s. Maybe ask your optician about that too and if the full-frame would make a difference when you're there? I don't think you'll be able to fit glasses under the V12s I'm afraid - they're rather close fitting. Fingers crossed you can get that prescription fitted though - having looked at the same pages you probably have, it appears like many retailers simply copy/pasted the blurb from the ESS website and they've phrased it in a way that they could only fullfill prescriptions themselves that was +/-6, but not that the inserts weren't capable of doing it, so there's still hope. It may be worth shooting off some e-mails to online re-glazers like Glasses Direct with a picture to see what they say too.

There's the tank regulator (goes right on the tank and doesn't come off very frequently at all) - this is basically just a big old valve with a pressure gauge to tell you what's left in the tank. This is the one I'm talking about when I say get the Ninja Pro V2 - frankly you'd have to ask the DG group about Ninja vs Guerilla - I was new to HPA at the time and simply went with the advice of people who've been doing it for years. They all say to do it with the DG system. My lazy ethos is that if you're buying an HPA rig and gun that's going to be costing you around £850 or more, then you want the absolute best possible as it's going to be stuff you use for ages - that's why I spend an extra £40 to get the Ninja reg on my Guerilla bottle (the bottles being very similar you see). It was a bit of a pain, but it can be done. Then there's the actual regulator that steps down that 4500 or 3000psi to something you can use. It's strongly recommended by the DG guys to go with the Redline firebase that Tony has modified, or the Amped Firebase (again modified with that single QD point for DG). This goes ontop of the bottle's regulator. I think I covered the bit about QDs - ideally zero is best, but that's not going to happen. And yes, it makes a noticeable difference given the bore at the QD points is tiny - this is covered by the FAQ on the Facebook page. You can use an IGL and wide bore line to absolutely maximise airflow, and that's something you should be able to do with the 416. It's a matter of air efficiency too - no one with a proper DG setup uses a dual QD reg and line. It's been tried and tested and you'll get the same answer if you were to ask on the FB page. You cannot cut corners on any part of the DG or you'll be getting a significantly worse product - it must be approached with the knowledge that you're buying basically the most demanding HPA setup around, unfortunately. Edit Forgot to answer the bit about the tank - that looks good though. Grab it. My tank is a Guerilla 88/4500 - the difference between the tank brands is negligible as the technology isn't really that advanced and they all need to pass the same hydrotesting so they're all the same. Very big that tank though so be aware that it may not fit in some hydration pouches. It looks about the same circumference as mine, but maybe a little taller. If you like I can measure my one so you buy something that will fit it. That should still fit into something like the WAS cargo pack, though the regulator may stick out the top a bit unless you adjust it to sit horizontally (which can be done).

Hopefully the prescription won't be too much. The insert itself is a tenner - getting them glazed is usually not loads of money and pretty painless if you do it online. Here's another couple of threads where 'over glasses' goggles were discussed - the X1000s are certainly nice, but there may be other options too: http://www.airsoft-forums.co.uk/index.php/topic/26918-face-protection-for-those-who-wear-glasses/ and http://www.airsoft-forums.co.uk/index.php/topic/26797-over-glasses-goggles/

Welcome to the forums. This is a tough one because long-term I'd certainly encourage getting goggles that accept prescription inserts (will run in the region of £65-100 depending on the prescription and coatings etc.) than wearing glasses all the time. Something to bear in mind for the long-run if that ever happens. Two approaches here though: First off is full-face mesh masks which are probably the slightly more affordable option: http://www.fire-support.co.uk/product/black-bear-rampage-black-mesh--mask - basically any glasses are going to fit under those, and there's the added bonus of face protection too (which I'd encourage because losing teeth is never something anyone wants to do). Secondly is bigger goggles, but the brands that make them can cost a lot. The Bolle X1000s are a good choice if a little 'science project-y', but they're a bit pricey at ~£50. However, they do have the added bonus of having a prescription lens adaptor, so in the long run they may well also work out if you ever want to get proper lenses for them so that you don't need to wear your glasses (just the goggles). Jedi_Master should be able to confirm as he owns them. Edit Two other things as well though: Remember to buy lower face protection and also to buy some anti-fog if you go for goggles.

Crane stock Carl is back!

Brutal.

HWI gloves are 50% off on UKT until Sunday. Code you need to use is GLOVE50 http://www.uktactical.com/c-251-hwi-gloves.aspx

Drop them an e-mail. I know I'm waiting for some Redline stuff to come in stock, and apparently they have a shipment which was supposed to be arriving this week. Maybe new batteries will be with it. http://www.overlander.co.uk/extreme-350-mah-2s-7-4v-40c-lipo-battery.html#main-image - just searching for 'mini lipo 7.4v 350mah' turns up things like this. May be worth checking if they'd fit.

Just grabbed one too. Been meaning to get a radio for a while and at £17 then even if it's naff it's not a huge deal (though judging from reviews on here and other places that shouldn't be the case).

The main aftermarket trigger unit brands for the L96 are Laylax and Airsoft Pro - I wouldn't trust any others as they have crappy sears that will wear down after a year or so. The gen 2 Airsoft Pro ones also have the ability to keep the safety which is a nice addition. So long as it's either of those then you're good. Hop wise PDI and ASPUK make the best ones. You may also want to look at a new cylinder, guide rod, barrel spacers, piston, spring etc. but I'm sure you've got all that in mind already.

Well L96s are ok - not as good as Marui's VSRs but they're about half the price. Once upgraded though (like you should be) they perform similarly. The primary disadvantage is the position of the hop unit, which is further forward than in the VSR resulting in a shorter internal barrel length for the same overall gun length. If you're worried about barrel length then the VSR is the way to go as you get more in a shorter space. The G-Spec has quite a short barrel externally, but internally it's about the same as a full length L96.

A string powered bow? Isn't that any bow? Heh

Er, those are paintball bows though, right? You need to do this: http://barragebarrel.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=5&chapter=0 Does say they make them for .22 pellets, but that's too small.

These cannot be bought.

Lonex Flash mags for £15? That's a good deal.

I'll let it play out first and then let you all know, but if you're really interested then it's the only partially built TM M870 with wooden kit on Zero In that was sold recently

Turns out the partially-complete M870 I bought with a wooden stock for £195 was actually some bodge-job painted OEM stock, and the tank I bought (sold to me as a 'Tonic re-enforced' one) was also just a TM stock tank. Seller says this is my fault as it's my responsibility to know what the item is, and that because it was sold to him as being 'wood' that this is now my problem. People have no goddamn honour these days.

You can use an actual tank (plenty do), though the Mancraft regs don't appear to be the best in the world. Not that it really matters when the ROF is so low that there's plenty of time for the pressure to stabilise.

Hey John. Welcome to the site. The main reason for the 'don't go for a sniper rifle' is threefold: Firstly, (and surprisingly more than you'd expect) a lot of people get the impression that snipers are taking people out from hundreds of metres away in airsoft - that's just not the case. Minimum engagement distances on most sites for sniper rifles firing around the 400-500fps mark is 15m, but rarely will you see someone being hit over 50m. Basically most 'kills' happy between 15 and 40 metres, and this is well within the scope of a lot of mid-range AEGs. For this reason, the gun alone is rarely competitive. This brings me onto point two. Secondly, it's a different play style that not a great deal of players are actually suited to. You need to be very patient and you need to show up with the knowledge that you might well just be properly outgunned and outmanouvred and may walk away from that day with only a handful of kills. Many new players get turned off after their first or second game using just a sniper rifle and can't justify forking out more money for a different gun and lose interest. Thirdly is the money. You can't really show up with an out-of-the-box sniper rifle and expect it to out-compete everything else. You can turn up with an out-of-the-box AEG and be on par with some of the very expensive stuff most of the time. Expect to spend upwards of £450 on a sniper rifle (if you include the stock gun) on upgrades before it can consistently be hitting those further ranges, have a decent trigger break and a clear scope. Conversely, there are some good entry-level AEGs that you can get for £150 with everything that you need to get started. That said, if you want to snipe then go for it. There are plenty of videos out there that may give you a feel for what you might be in for (just remember they tend to edit most of the boring waiting around out). I don't think your situation means you can't go the usual route. I joke about a lot of people just standing by trees and popping off shots but that's genuinely what a good portion of players do throughout the day when they're tired of running or just not really wanting to get too muddy - I get it. I feel you'd be fine with an AEG and not moving fast a whole lot - most woodland games a medium sized sites tend to have one or two large firefights and not much else, so excessive moment to push up or fall back generally isn't required. There are quite a few older players who simply use decent knowledge of the site and good cover to score their kills so there's no reason you couldn't do that as well over time.

3D print or CNC some cheap plastic inversion of the two halves of the body then vacuum-form it - wouldn't cost too much and could be done with acrylic quite readily.