Hubert

Managed to get a 'proper' shirt for my loadout, rather than just a random T-shirt. £10 from topman, it looks like the old British Army 'wooly pully' jumper, but it's actually a nice t-shirt. Here it is in an action photo-

It looks like the Knights Armaments rail kit, but at the same time, it looks a bit too blocky and bulky to be said RIS kit. (Which is the model used in the upcoming MW3 on the MP5A2) Also, here is my LSW, during a break from the skirmishing (my ACOG died, so I had to go around sightless for the day...it was an 'interesting' experience...)

Unless I parade around my front room, with the blinds and curtains open, whilst playing really loud marching band music, it's pretty unlikely I'll get seen with my stuff. Back garden and house are pretty covered, and my closest neighbour knows about my LSW - but I find it helps to have a healthy sense of paranoia...you never know when/if someone will randomly walk up the drive, look in through the window, see me cleaning the LSW, decide that the 18 year old obviously has a machine gun, and call up Plod saying "Terrorist!"...

Jeeze, has no-one heard of paint?! Or the coka-cola treatment trick? I've heard of doing that to gear, like a chest rig, but a gun? Cerbo, that P226 looks lurrvley... How different (visually) are the other grips you had? As for the police...there's a reason why whenever I'm working on my Saytie or SIG I always close the curtains, and work in a backroom...

Thanks guys Took me a long time to get that nice polished look on the slide and the ejection port. I feel it was worth the effort Also Cerbo, do you think your USP was dropped by the previous owner (creating what can only be described as the most interesting break I've ever seen) or do you think it broke in another way? *Your photography is very nice by the way

My lovely customised SIG-Sauer P229. Tempted to replace the grips, but to be honest I'm happy with it as it is, and as the saying goes, 'if it aint broke, don't fix it'. *The random blue lines are a reflection of my hoody, my camera flash is a tad stronger than normal...

EDIT - Review on P1 has been updated and modified. Does the L85/L86 take other mags? Short answer: Yes. Long answer: Possibly. Like Lep has said, I've had next to no luck in getting magazines to fit. And if they do, they probably won't feed... I know a few other ICS Saytie owners who can, and do use other mags. The magpul P and E Mags can fit (but only the EMAG is meant to), and King Arms magazines are meant to fit. On another forum, there are a few L85 owners and 1 L86 owner who use P and E Mags interchangably. I've got to say, the black PMags look very nice... I do know that TM mags do not fit.

I've responded to your PM, but I might as well post this here for everyone else. The actual spring put in by the factory as of 2009 (when the L86 was released, and ICS slightly changed the design of the L85) should be an M120. Some people with the very first generation L85s say they have M100s.

Yeah, the hop does indeed have disadvantages. I meant that in theory it was a great design (easy to adjust in game) In practice... Over-hop. (The following info has been collected by me whilst talking to a gun smith, and 4 ICS IW/LSW owners and a F&O marshal/shop guy) It seems that most of the ICS Sayties (IW and LSWs) are supplied with thier hop-arms being too long (anywhere from 0.5 - 4mm to long), meaning that even when it is fully off it can still be applied pretty strong - which results in your rounds sky rocketing after a certain distance. I have that problem, and hopefully its being sorted out. And pistons. ICS seem to have a thing with leaky pistons, and mine dropped in FPS from 380 to 240... Again, hopefully thats being sorted out. That said, I love my LSW. I honestly cannot think of any other firearm I'd replace it with. I can't wait to get it back from the overhaul As for SUSATs - I know that RSOV sells a SUSAT clone that is apparently quite good. I do know that the G&G and S/A versions aren't too good, as the eye relief is pretty poor (unless you don't wear eye protection, which I wouldn't recommend)

Nope not at all. Pretty sturdy, I've (so far) never seen or had any bend. It does happen on the S/A version(s), as the barrel and bipod outrigger are only very loosely connected to the gun. The result is that as soon as you deploy the LSW on it's bipod, the weight of the gun causes the barrel to bend upwards - this creates a noticable change in the curve of your ammunition. On the ICS LSW, the barrel and outrigger are connected via 6 very large screws/bolts, and the barrel has 4 more connections inside the reicever. I wouldn't say rock solid, but I have NEVER had any barrel bend.

Hahaha Craig, when I attempted to change the spring setting I had the motor clamped between my legs, whilst I firmly pushed the spring into the right place, in fear of seeing the thing launch itself under the sofa, to never be seen again Thanks for the comments Tristan Orr. I find LSW lovers few and far between, its nice to meet someone else who enjoys them. Can I ask which bits you disagree with? Just curious Also - my reasons for not cutting a barrel - I lack the skills or tools to do so, and don't want to ruin a £50 barrel. If you have the tools and know-how (and it sounds like you do) then go ahead and try it. I'm not sure if anyone is or will make a 610 tightbore. I can't think of many real steal firearms (that are avaliable in airsoft) that have a 610 barrel Cheers again

Those look really good Dev I'd love to have 'em on my kit And the velcro bit is really handy, saves me having to re-learn my sewing skills!

Thanks guys I started it when I realised that attempting a Brit-Kit was a tad expensive, especially since I was making my jokey TF141 kit, so merged them. Works fairly well. Alex, I have to agree with Matt!, the smoke grenade photo is a very nice , 'ghost' like picture.

Sorry for the double post, but I thought I really should add this - Whilst ICS's design (L85 and L86) is far easier to open and maintain than Star/ARES - it is still a nightmare! Dave and I spent the afternoon tinkering in it, and trust me, you need 6 hands to open/close it. Not you need 2 other people with you, you specifically need 6 arms (the 2 other bodies do get in the way) That said - it is still a walk in the park compared to the previous G&G L85 design. We'll see in a few weeks whether the tightbore and hop-up mods Dave gave it do much to improve it. Tightbores - the real barrel length is 610 - however, as of yet, no-one makes (affordable atleast) 610mm tightbores. I've gone for 590, however I know a guy who runs a 550 (you can try 650 and cut it down if you want, but that leaves you with 40mm of cut off barrel...)

URL=http://img535.imageshack.us/i/p1011404i.jpg/][/url] My 3-in-1 loadout, UKSF civvies / generic PMC/Merc company. Top to bottom (trousers and beanie hats) Urban load (generic grey-green camo I picked up in tesco for £5) Standard uniform, Woodland DPM (wear this the most) Summer ('desert', but since I live in Yorkshire, I'm somewhat lacking in desert sites to play at) Without the hat, this forms my TF141 Favella loadout. The strange brown-grey thing in the top right corner isn't a cat, it's my russian hat and red scarf, for cold weather games (and for if I start a Russian loadout...) I'll try and get a pic of me in gear at somepoint.

You only need it when you're down prone, or in a firing position. It's the LSW's equivilant of someone pressing their hand down flat against the top of the reciever on an M60 - try that on the real LSW, and the charging handle will slice your fingers off. And, the grip has another use - if you take the mag out, you can rest the gun over your legs, the pistol grip and rear grip keeping it over you.

Model: L86A2 LSW (Light Support weapon) The Bren Gun of our time... Now updated with more technical information - 10 month ownership Just remember - I'm like Oddball from Kelly's Heroes - I only play with 'em, I don't know how they work... Manufacturer: ICS. It's just their L85, with a longer barrel (610mm), bipod+outrigger combo, rear grip and folding shoulder support. FPS: Variable. Has adjustable spring guide. Lowest setting (with stock spring) is 315-320 fps. Highest setting 390fps. Should have M120 spring Hop-up : Adjustable. Slide back the charging handle to see it. Has a philips 'X' screw-head, meaning you can use a screwdriver to adjust it, if you, like me, have huge fingers. A big problem with ICS Sayties is the hop-up arms. Mine (and a few other owners I've talked to) have had their hop-up arms too long by a few MM - meaning that even when turned 'off' completely, the arm is still putting hop on the rounds causing them to sky-rocket. You may wish to replace the stock rubber for a stronger one too. SpringM120 Piston Described to me as 'standard'. Can take standard 0 type cylinder heads. GearsStandard V2/3 gears. However, the tappet plate is unique to the ICS SA80 family. Magazines:Supplied with 2 470 round hicaps. These are bigger than Armalite mags (IRL, both Armalites and SA80s use STANAGS) so that the magazine will fit properlly in the ICS SA80 family. Battery: Not supplied. Most LSWs have small-type adaptors. Not much room for batteries - I use 'nun-chuck' style batteries (1 is 1600 mAH, the other is 2000 mAh) Metal/Plastic: Like the Real Steel, the majority of the externals are, well, steel. Plastic parts are the foreguard, pistol grip, cheek rest, butt-pad and rear grip. Quite a hefty beast, weighng just a tad over 13lbs (if ICS are right) Optics: Comes with the standard Iron Sights/carry handle. They do their job, but I'm not a fan. As standard, it has the 19mm 'dovetail' rail mount. This is like the real SA80s. It fits 2 things - a SUSAT, and the iron sights. ATM, I don't believe there are that many SUSAT replicas on the market, and those that are avaliable, aren't very good. You can buy a 20mm RiS rail to replace the 19mm, and then mount whatever you like - I've got the rail, just need to find a suitable optic. To be completely honest, I've run it in for 2 game days without any sort of optics/sights - and it shoots fine, the mounting block for the front iron sight is good enough. Just looks weird... Appearances - well, it's an L86. I love them, have done since I saw one when I was 6 . ICS have gone for reliability over looks, so this isn't a 100% accurate, 1:1 scale replica of an L86. If you want that, go to STAR/Ares. If you've handled the real thing, you will notice the colour difference of the plastics. It is a little hard to describe, but the plastics are either too bright, or too brown. However, even if you are a hard-core MilSimmer/re-enactor, I doubt many people will actually say "the colour's wrong, its a fake"... Comments: There are a few problems - some are due to the RS design, others seem to be ICS problems. Deploying the bipod is a juggling act, a 3rd hand is needed(but, unlike the ARES version, the bipod does not fall out of position/down whenever you move, as this has a locking system on it). The fire selector switch is in possibly the worst place possible, as you can knock it with your body. This causes a problem with the piston - if you accidentally knock the gun into semi whilst you're shooting in fully automatic, you will shred the piston. Be very careful. And the weight. Why, after Steyr had released (10 years previously) the almost all plastic AUG family, RSF made the SA80 out of steel, I don't know. A sling isn't just reccomended, its downright needed (but that isn't to say you can't do a 'Try Again' Bragg or Rambo with it) The ICS problems - The hop-up. Sometimes, the gun comes supplied with the arm is too long, it needs to be trimmed (by 1mm, possibly 2). Very serious case of overhop. BUT - this isn't always the case - it's the main problem I've found with ICS, some hopups are superb, others are... not so great. The trigger link. This is a small plastic thing. Should you get semi-lock up, don't yank the trigger. Infact, just stop shooting all together. Because the link is plastic - yep, you guessed it, yanking it will snap it. This is a very small plastic part. The fix? Buy a new trigger set, for £35... The solution to semi-lock - switch to full, blast a few rounds off, then switch back to semi. Don't go mental in semi. Long, drawn out and careful trigger pulls will avoid lock up. Quick, rapid yanks of the trigger in an attempt to put up a wall of fire ["blam-blam-blam-blam-blam-blam-etc"] (use fully automatic muppet!) will cause semi-lock up. Overall comments/Disclaimer (I don't want to get sued!)I can't say that this is the best airsoft gun, nor can I say it is the best L86LSW airsoft. Simply because I have only used a select few weapons - I have used the AA and G&G R85/L85, a STAR L85 and (very briefly) an ARES L86. Personally, I prefer ICS's SA80 family to STAR/Ares - ICS is much lower on the maintenance front, and easier to take-down - very simple and basic (but me being a technophobe, it's still something I don't enjoy doing) - S/A has an near-endless ammount of screws and bolts to undo, and miles of cables to move - ICS has few cables. However, there are trade-offs - S/A look far better, more realistic. ICS are also cheaper (than S/A. Still pretty pricey, especially after the price increase last summer). I can't comment on G&G anymore, as they've had a re-release, so may have solved any problems. I'd give it 8/10. There are problems, but they're mostly due to the RS SA80s. I think the LSW is like marmite - you'll either love it, or hate it. I, am firmly in the 'love it' camp. I really enjoy using this. You can wield it as either a big assault rifle (you have longer barrel, but shorter overall length than an M16), or you can sit back, deploy the bipod, and give covering fire. Or, you can do as I plan, and put a tightbore and new hop-up nub in play marksman, and watch as you out-range nearly everything. Hope you've enjoyed reading this, feel free to Q&C.

...which is the great bit, because even post-patch, on a great net connection, BO aint working. Matchmaking takes ages, and even if you do find a game theres no guarentee that you'll: a)Leave the lobby in less than 15 minutes (done a time check, this was average) or b)stay in the game longer than 3 minutes before the game boots everyone (apart from 1 player, which is always entertaining, especially if you're said player) back to the lobby for another 3/4 of an hour wasted doing nothing. Zombies is the best part of the game. But, it too suffers from crippling connection issues, and a lack of players. I went on to it on Saturday, noon - according to the lobby, there was only 20 players worldwide. I've given up. It's still buggy, knifing is still ridiuclous, and they've now made sniping to easy. I've moved on. I much prefer Halo Reach now - atleast I can mute and perma-ignore the legions of 11 year olds, and have some decision as to who I play with (quite, polite -team workers)

I like the top set. Specifically the bottom left variant. Cost wise, it'll be better if you do them in bulk (100+). Dave and I searched for prices for our own team patches - and for 12, it would have costed £120 (I can't remember the cheapest Dave found, but it was certainly too much cost to bother) *edit - although we were both looking for patches that came on/with velcro - it would probably just be cheaper to buy the patches and slightly bigger squares of velcro, and let the buyer sew the two together...

Take it for what it is. A Treyarch game, and their usual standards. 40% gaming, 60% unskippable cutscenes. Cuts, which I might add, blind you with constant flashing lights and numbers. They serve one use - hiding the game - they're used so you don't actually see one transition from one level to another - they're basically there to fulfill the same use as a big puff of smoke a wizard uses to hide transitions from one part of his trick to the other. And they do it badly. An awful plot. The orrigional draft, (I saw in July) was so much better. Longer, more exciting, spanning numerous Cold War eras. US & UK missions The only reason I'd finish the campaign is if you want to play as JKF, Nixon, Castro and MacNamara in the Pentagon zombie map. And even then, there is a way to get it without enduring the story. Or, complete the campaign if you're one of those (odd) individuals who feels the need to get ever achievement/trophey in a game. Voice acting is bad, hilariously bad at times. Apart from Pentagon Zombies, where the voicing is excellent. Visuals change widely from worse than CoD 4 to only just better than MW2 ( when MW2 is on low graphics settings) One or two parts - when you're holding a knife in 'Nam, looks great. The rest of it, not so much. Zombies and Multiplayer is where this game excells. (Except there are one or two bugs with multiplayer) The Enfield is a near perfect model of the XL64 (and before someone complains about the weird rear-iron sight it has in game, remember, the real steel XL64 and XL70E3 L85 prototypes only ever had SUSATs and a folding fore-sight) There are, as Dave pointed out, some huge flaws (lets not forget time-traveling AUG A2s, M203s on M14s...). The ability to pick and choose what attatchments and camos you get is very useful - rather than the previous - use X, Y times to unlock Z. So - is this game good? Not really. Especially for £45. Not even nearly worth the price tag. Which is why I got mine for £25, and picked up Halo reach at the same time. Its an average game. Mulitplayer is ok, but once the bugs (mainly joining games) is fixed, it isn't great. I'd give it 5/10