Hubert

I use glasses/goggles with insert lenses, and have done for almost 4 years now. From my experience - Pros Should your eyes change, getting new inserts will be cheaper than getting a new set of glasses. My prescription has changed twice over that time, and only having to replace the inserts has saved me a fair bit of cash. One frame, many glasses/much customisation. Mine came with a normal clear goggles set, a mirrored shades set, and both yellow and red high contrast lenses. Whenever I'm driving on a sunny day, I use the mirrored shades as my driving glasses. Really useful. The contrast lenses are brilliant for playing in low-light environments. Cons Fogging. I find the the space between the goggles and my lenses can fog up a fair bit. (May be a problem related to my goggles though, not a generic thing) Field of view. The inserts are considerably smaller than proper glasses. I have difficulty aiming at times, due to the frames of the inserts getting in the way.

The Lancs were stationed at my cousin's airbase a couple of weeks ago, I got to see them flying around then. Absolutely spectacular. If anyone is near by, I suggest visiting Duxford this weekend, as they've got their Autumn air show on this weekend. Should be entertaining. (And loud )I was there last week, to kill some time before heading into London. A "normal" day for the museum had the following flying: 2 Spitfires (the 2-seater training version, £109 to ride in...), Wirraway (Aussie WW2 light bomber), Catalina flying boat, B-17 E, P-51 Mustang, F6 Hellcat, F8 Bearcat, an F4U Corsair and a Jet Provost. I repeat, this was just a "normal" day for the museum... Absolutely knackered my phone taking so many photos and videos.

SIG P228 - for my FBI kit, it's carried in a right-handed IMI holster on my belt, on my left hip. (I'm more comfortable with a cross-draw than a left-handed holster). Spare mags are either in a pouch on my right hip, or, if I'm wearing it, held in the in-built mag pouches on my (blue FBI/cop) ballistic vest. For my Army and PMC kits - it depends on what else I'm using. Normally belt-mounted, but occasionally drop-leg. Never worn on my plate carrier, as I find it uncomfortable. Walther PPK and P99 both have custom made brown and black leather shoulder/armpit holsters. Pistol goes on the left, 2 spare magazines on the right. Made by a family friend who is a leather worker. (Normally does work for historical reenactors and museums). Tailored to fit me, and to hide under a suit/dinner jacket. Incredibly comfortable. A lot better than many of the shoulder holsters which are available to buy in stores.

KJW - Unreliable P226 and P229 -showing their age, as the designs are a few years old now. In warmer climates they run well enough, but in colder, milder temperatures, both pistols suffer reliability issues. Leaks gas quite badly, due to rough construction around the piston. The use of heavy metal slides do not help gas efficiency, especially in colder weather. Recoil is mild - it does not 'feel' correct. For the P226, the magazine seals are awful, and the things fail at the drop of a hat. P229 magazines are better, but still fail frequently. Added bonus, the P226 can use TM P226 magazines. Due to the leaks and poor seals, the FPS and range of this pistol is not consistent, and can be incredibly variable. For the price, and their age, they're not bad. It's rare for parts to break, which is also good. The downside - is that for a large part of the year they simply don't work properly in the UK, and for that reason I'm listing them as unreliable. I should add that while CO2 kits/versions are available, I have not bothered to try them, largely because I stopped using both my P226 and P229 by the time KJW released the CO2 stuff. WE - Reliable F228 (P228) Feeds flawlessly, even in very cold weather. It's possible to empty a full 40 rounds in 9 degree temperatures before it starts to cool down or stop firing. Recoil is crisp and firm, it actually feels like you're firing something. The weight and balance is fine. Barrel and hop up are a good combination, produce fairly nice range and accuracy, with good consistency. Minimal gas leaks (however, using the de-cocker forcefully, as in full on ramming it, can occasionally cause the gun to momentarily vent gas). Can use KJW P229 magazines (not that you'd want to). Am unaware of parts breaking. FPS is around the 290-310 mark, and remains consistent. CO2 magazines are available, but I have yet to feel the need to use them. In my opinions, reliability is good enough without them. I could mention WE's L85 but won't go into detail, as it seems that a lot of other owners have different opinions of it. Some people feel the need to replace everything, others (like myself) have managed to continue using it with the original stock components. All I'll say is that fitting an NPAS is a must, and that the W.E bolt carrier is utter shite, but there aren't really any good alternatives.

I would use my boots rather than hammers, but there are some places where only a hammer can fit, and my size 11 feet are going to cause more damage than good... Mid-battle manicure, gotta look my best A few of my GBB-rifles suffer from having bolt-carriers made from very soft, easily deformed metal. Whenever fired the bolt carrier can deform slightly - while not necessarily a huge issue, it can cause the rifles to jam after a while. Sometimes I need the files to try and gently re-shape the bolt carrier back to something that works, or shave off anything that's not going to go back into place. Annoyingly, even though my L85 uses RA-tech's "steel" bolt carrier, the thing still deforms and jams. Have yet to find a solution to this, and it's the worst GBBR I have in terms of jamming/deforming bolts.

Used to carry a ridiculous amount of tools whenever I used my AEGs, largely because the two I usually took to games with me required a lot of different tools. No parts commonality. Since I switched over to using GBB-rifles May 2013, my tool kit has become considerably smaller. Lint-free rags, silicone lube, duct tape, 2 metal files (1 round, one flat), 2 allen keys (the ones I need), 2 miniature screw drivers and both a 1lbs and 3lbs hammer. If the problem can't be solved by the liberal application of hammers, it's beyond fixing.

I've been dealing with them since last Easter, when I took the plunge and bought my WE L85. I still have contact with them, and purchase stuff from them. I've had nothing but great service from them. I'm not going to deny that they can be blunt, but they have always been friendly and honest with me, and unlike one or two other stores I've dealt with, they've never been patronising, rude or insulting. I consider them to be an old-school "no nonsense" style business - blunt but honest. One thing Ed - my email accounts do sent Milspec's emails to the spam folder, no matter what I do, so that genuinely could be the reason. It's a personally run store - rather than some faceless online site. (I'll preface the next bit with this: I always phone them up prior to making a purchase) They actively get involved in sales, and (usually) make sure the customer understands and knows everything prior to purchase, and continue with after market support. They seem genuinely enthusiastic to assist customers. I've had perfect service, and I'll continue to recommend them. Regardless of the quality of service, they certainly know their stuff.

I say go for it! It might not look pretty, it isn't the most authentic piece of kit - but that doesn't matter. So long as you like it and it works, it's fine. It's not beyond impossibility for it to happen anyway. A few years back (possibly 5, honestly can't remember), quite a few websites showed that the Philippines military (willing to be corrected) had done a similar thing to their rather old M3 Grease guns. Rails, lights, grips, the works. Absolutely bloody mint. At the time it was an interim thing, until they could afford something else. The internet response was... interesting. The type of people who furiously masturbate over pictures of 'pure' fire-arms (you know the types I mean; "if it wasn't an official design which saw service, it's heresy") were up in arms, decrying what they called 'sacrilege' of a historic firearm. They completely ignored the justifications of the military that, as a country which lacked a multi-trillion dollar defence budget, they couldn't afford to buy lots of flashy, high-tech, polymer guns covered in rails at the time. And that actually, the modifications worked pretty well. So seriously, go for it! I look forward to the pictures

One other thing Ed, watch the body pins like a hawk. They have a habit of sliding out if you fire too quickly/too often. I've managed to keep mine, but I know a few other owners who have managed to lose one or both of the pins.

Nickona, that Galil looks amazing. To be frank Ed, I wouldn't use 6 full mags in day again. Even RA-tech parts are not indestructible ("we use steel" - yes, but there are countless types of steel, all with varying quality...). I'm not saying don't do it, but... you'll certainly see enhanced wear and tear if you do. That said, assuming you get the kind of accuracy and range I do, you'll be lucky if you ever need more than 2, possibly 3 mags in a day, as once I know what range it's shooting (on that day) I can generally just point and click. Do give it a chance though. Mine drove me nuts when I got it, but I'm glad I kept with it. The moment there's a place to post it on the forums, I'll be adding my review, from the perspective of 6 months use.

So your bolt release actually works? Interesting... On mine it seems to be completely cosmetic, like the hold-open catch. No matter what you do Ed, the grip will remain pretty wobbly. MilSpec do their best to fix it, but the grip really id just a pretty piss-poor design by W.E. If you think it's bad now, wait until you put something heavy (like say, an optic) on it. 6 months in, and every time I use it I'm paranoid the grip will finally fall off.

Oh shush, it was awesome and you know it. Bonus points for making that guy (claiming to be ex-army) cry. Good to know about the TM MP7. Ever compared it to any of the other GBB MP7s on the market?

How is the TM MP7? I've never seen one in person, no one seems to have them round at either of the sites I attend. Back in London, and my SUSAT has arrived. Now mounted on the pride of the fleet -

In a word, superawesomemagicfuntimehappiness . As much as I love my ICS, this thing, with it's lack of electronics and gears, is far easier for me to understand. I went for bog-standard internals (apart from the NPAS, and MilSpec fixing the pistol grip), my plan is to upgrade parts only when absolutely necessary. I've had to make some minor modifications to the bolt and guide-rods, as they kept getting caught on each other. 5 minutes with a round metal file, and it seems to work. The bolt release (square switch on left, above fire selector) is a bit fiddly, and can get warped with use. Hold-open catch (on right) is non-functional, and will break if touched (it's not actually held in place by anything) Entirely stock, it's giving me great range and accuracy, and a fairly consistent FPS of 300-350. Not the most reliable weapon in the current temperatures, but due to the accuracy & range, this is my out-doors weapon, while my ICS has been relegated to indoors/CQB only.

Ed - I hope this makes sense, but if not, I'll go grab the camera and photo mine to explain it better. The answer is yes and no, Ed. The ICS adaptor and the Madbull rail will fit on the WE, but, it will be such an incredibly lose fit the handguard will wobble all the time. Much simpler to get the WE adaptor for the Madbull rail. The alternative to the Madbull rail + adaptor is the WE rail kit and replacement gas-block kit (as I did), but I wouldn't. While the fit and set up is more realistic (the sling-loop bolt goes through the gas block and hand guard holds it in place), the quality on mine was way off, and I had to get the hole for the gas block re-drilled so I could fit the rail in place. Not the only person to have this problem with the WE rail and gas block either. I've just bought a WE SUSAT (or ESAT as they call it). Aside from the hideous "Phantom" WE trades printed on it, it's quite nice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGK8IC-bGnU (still no idea how to get the video to appear in the post) Just because I love making SA80 purists cry - based on one of 25 experimental rifles from 2005-6, when the MoD was updating the L85. This is my CQB rifle. Very comfortable and fun to use.

"A gun and a radio? Hardly Christmas, is it?" "What were you expecting, an exploding pen? I'm afraid we don't go in for that sort of thing any more..." I forgot to upload these after it arrived last week. It's an absolute beauty. Perfect for all indoors CQB sites.

It's currently at the cleaners, but a (very old, and now far too big) tux is one of my options, as well as a full piece suit. Choice of PPK and P99-Suppressed.

As I'm usually playing at all indoors CQB sites these days, my need for a camo, webbing and armour has been somewhat reduced. This was the first loadout I came up with. Cheesy American daytime cop dramas and crime shows provided the inspiration. SIG-Sauer P229R, X4 15 round magazines. If I need more ammunition than that in a game, I've done something very wrong. Swiss-arms flashlight Point Blank overt/covert ballistic armour, rated to 7.62mm AP rounds (£10 on eBay) Civilian clothes of choice (currently various shirts and jeans or black/navy combat trousers)

Wait until you see the totally awesome MW2 red-tiger stripe camo inspired scheme I painted my WE L85 in... I kid, even I wouldn't paint an L85...

Well, I'm still waiting for the suppressor/tracer unit, but this is what I'm currently using. I know Ed is simply just going to love this. The best part? It's based on a real L85 design. Which I got the chance to play around with a few weeks back for my dissertation research. How I love winding up the SUSAT lovers with this thing...

Gone for some vintage 1940's German design. Walther PPK, spare magazine. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to spend the next week rest of my life sneaking around the house while listening to this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye8KvYKn9-0

Back when I used to run my LSW a lot, I had a few younger players asking me why I "wasn't using it with a drum clip like I should be, that's how it is in MW2". After Black Ops, I've been told a few times when using my L85 that I need to "stop using that Enfield, the famous is much better" Then there was the genius who evidently played the scuba TF-141 missions a few times too many. Despite being in the middle of a wood on the outskirts of Sheffield, he turned up to the site in full scuba gear. In the middle of summer. Play started at 9.00. He was back in the safe-zone, almost completely dehydrated and exhausted by 9.25.

Posts in topic 3 times. Well, bye-bye Ed! Wait until you see what my L85 actually looks like now. Based it on a real L85 I was allowed to play with during my dissertation research, and I guarantee that you'll hate it