colinjallen

To be completely blunt, the best advice that I can give you is to give up this idea. At the prices you are looking to charge, your market in the UK can probably be counted on your fingers and toes. Sometimes, there is a very good reason why nobody else has done something.

It is indeed Patrol Base.

Exactly; that is what I find hard to understand. "Normal" players are supposed to wear their armband where it is clearly visible, whereas, in many cases, it is ok to conceal it once you start dressing as a shrubbery.

Given an overheard conversation about how he enjoyed bouncing BBs off people's heads, I suspect that he may have been an acolyte of that particular twat. I don't quite buy the 'super sneaky ghillie wearers should be allowed to conceal their armband as much as possible' viewpoint. As someone who is sneaky and who tries to match camo to the site, the weather and the time of year (except for the Mimetico Deserto!), I have to put up with having a brightly coloured armband that sometimes gives my position and team away. I don't try to hide it because I consider that to be unsporting and ungentlemanly. It seems to be an example of what might be termed 'ghillie exceptionalism' to argue that the clear wearing of the team armband should not necessarily apply to folk who want to dress like a bush (not Kate, George or George W).

True enough! I had to admire him for getting where he had so quickly but the whole idea of clearly displayed armbands is to enable players to identify who is on which side.

I have seen it happen from time to time and have heard complaints of it happening far more often than it has happened. Some players just seem to be unable to accept that they are not elite Squeal Team Six operators who should win every time.

What say you? At a recent game, I encountered a ghillied-up sniper towards the rear of our position, facing towards the building we were defending and any flanking enemy. I looked at his right arm, no armband; I then moved to look at his left arm and he shot me with his pistol. It turned out that he was on the other team and had his armband pretty much hidden around his ankle.

But did you enjoy it?

So, how was it?

Today was another trip to Tower Airsoft in Essex; for those who don't know it, this is a small, wooded site with a castle, a church, a village and a bridge complex. Last time I was there, 150 players turned up, which was a few too many for the site, resulting in the gameplay being rather constrained; this was due to Airsoft Plantation, which is run by the same company, being closed that weekend. Today, around 40 players attended, which meant there was much more room for manoeuvre and sneakiness. It was a great day of airsoft, played in a positive spirit with no arguments or allegations of non-hit taking. It was good to run into the Reaper Ops guys for the first time in several years; the last time was when I was marshalling at Battle Lakes. My personal high point was an epic last stand in the castle; a young lad and I were the last players there and held off the attackers for a considerable time. Not long before that, I had been in the woods, working with others to stop the other team, who were the attackers, crossing the track. A BB hit me very firmly in the back, so I shouted "Hit", stuck my hand up and started walking back to the castle, passing the player who had shot me; I raised my thumb to him to acknowledge his skill in sneaking round us and into a position behind us. At that point, we both noticed that we were both wearing blue armbands! The low point was my VZ58 eating its piston; however, it is an Ares and their pistons seem to be designed to fail. It needed opening up anyway as the power was low; those wonderful Ares compression parts! I need to decide where to go next weekend now.

Yeah, the guns and the pyro; they are not exactly insignificant, are they?

It isn't just about when they are playing; they have everything they need to cause mayhem in the campsite.

The problem is that people who have got absolutely wrecked via drugs and or alcohol should not be anywhere near airsoft guns; that is a situation where, due to impaired reactions and decision making, along with, in some/many cases, increased aggression, there is a very real risk of harming someone else. It is not about not liking being around people who are off their tits on drugs or alcohol, although I do dislike that; it is about safety.

Perhaps the problem wanted to live somewhere else; just at the point that your gun started working properly, someone else possibly discovered that theirs was making a horrible scraping noise.

Do you have to practice being a twat, or does it come naturally?

What people do for post event relaxation should be of no interest to other players or event organisers provided it is done off-site; however, what we were discussing was people playing while under the influence. Rogerborg's comment was clearly about that and you responded with a childish attempt at a put-down. Your attempt to reposition yourself is weak. Strangely, many of us make do without either a post-event joint or post-event drunkenness. Spending too much of my life around people who were/are long term users helped me understand the medium to long term impact of drug use, even of cannabis.

Of course it is; it is yet another rule that cannot be enforced.

It has nothing to do with age; I know, and have previously known, some older folk who are or were into drugs of all sorts ranging from a bit of weed to Heroin. in terms of Airsoft, what it is about is safety. Do I trust some twat who has been sniffing coke or even someone who has enjoyed a joint to make the right decisions? Having spent far too much of my life with people like that, the only possible answer is NO.

They do mention that anyone even smelling of alcohol will not be allowed to play, although I wonder how effectively they can police that.

That is almost exactly the same as my rationale for not going; to be honest, I can think of few things worse, except any festival involving hippies. Which is worrying as I am doing projections and lights at one in September that my band is playing at.

I use the AKU pilgrims as everyday footwear when I am not wearing a suit. They are great boots, very comfortable, reasonably sturdy and probably ideal for indoor CQB. However, I would not trust them very far over rough or difficult ground. The only thing that a couple of us have found with them is that the insoles seem to be designed for people with supinated (high) arches and can be uncomfortable for those with neutral or hyperpronated arches. However, insoles are easy to change. For light use, I would also recommend looking at the Iturri patrol boots.

Yes, the Gore-Tex guarantee now seems to expire as soon as you put the boots on. For serious walking, I use issue Iturri CWW boots; they are utterly solid, completely waterproof and very comfortable, but quite heavy. I would not use them for airsoft as they are far beyond what is needed. My son swears by his issued Defenders for walking. However, for outdoor sites, I do think a good, solid pair of waterproof boots are essential, which, for me, means leather boots and either Graingers Waterproofing Wax or Altberg Leder-Gris.

My son and I are both using Bundeswehr issue Haix Commander boots; they are tough and give good support. I bought two unused surplus pairs for £58.50 each.

My first "proper" airsoft toy was an A&K Masada, bought from Airsoft World at Military Odyssey many years ago. Do I still have it? Yes, sort of. The only original parts are the upper receiver/rail assembly, the outer barrel and flash hider, and the small lower receiver parts (pins, selector, mag catch).

I would start with the hop unit and related parts, if you can get them. http://www.wiitech.com.hk/product-detail.shtml?product_id=14&path=34_96 http://www.wiitech.com.hk/product-detail.shtml?product_id=16&path=34_96 http://www.wiitech.com.hk/product-detail.shtml?product_id=61&path=34_96 or: https://airsoftpro.cz/en/gun-parts-upgrade/aeg-inner-parts-upgrade/chambers-barrel-locks/chambers-for-scar-masada/nabijeci-sachta-hopup-komory-ak-masada-detail https://airsoftpro.cz/en/gun-parts-upgrade/aeg-inner-parts-upgrade/chambers-barrel-locks/chambers-for-scar-masada/kompletni-cnc-hopup-komora-pro-ak-a-cybergun-masada-detail https://airsoftpro.cz/en/gun-parts-upgrade/aeg-inner-parts-upgrade/gearboxes-and-inner-parts/nozzles/standard-nozzles/hlinikova-tryska-s-tesnenim-pro-ak-masada-na-originalni-ak-hlavu-35-mm-detail (for stock cylinder head) https://airsoftpro.cz/en/gun-parts-upgrade/aeg-inner-parts-upgrade/gearboxes-and-inner-parts/nozzles/standard-nozzles/hlinikova-tryska-s-dvojitym-tesnenim-pro-ak-masada-35-mm-detail (for standard cylinder head) Alternative hop unit: https://airsoftpro.cz/en/gun-parts-upgrade/aeg-inner-parts-upgrade/chambers-barrel-locks/chambers-for-scar-masada/cnc-hlinikova-hop-up-komora-ak-masada-detail Despite what I wrote earlier, I like the A&K Masada; the Ares/PTS version is better but, being an Ares, still needs work.