Lozart

I honestly think you're over thinking this. MTP looked good in your first picture because it was sunny and the tones matched the lit up foliage. DPM will look better when it's less bright. Against a sun dappled background, yes a solid block of OD will stand out but if you're standing in the open instead of hiding behind a tree or at least attempting to use the available concealment then the colour of your plate carrier is pretty irrelevant. There's a similar thing in action every time I go to the Mall. Different, granted but similar - loads of people go for the all black SWAT/SAS look presumably thinking that if that's what the big boys use it must be right but actually apart from the dark areas all black sticks out like a sore thumb. ATACS AU works a lot better because it blends with the surrounding colours but more importantly it breaks up your outline. Let's face it, when it's dark you can't see what colour you're wearing anyway. Same with outdoors, as long as you break up your outline and don't silhouette yourself then you'll be better concealed at 40m than someone wearing all multicam standing in the open.

The gearbox isn't entirely "standard M4" though is it? Built in mosfet, QD spring etc. Granted, nothing that hasn't been done before but still. Personally I quite like the look of the Krytac stuff. I had a feel of one at the airsoft expo and it's certainly well put together. Time will tell I guess.

It ultimately depends on whether or not you need active braking. I use AB mosfets in my guns and while yes, it may put some additional strain on the motor none of them have had an issue yet. Plus....I'm all for being thrifty but seriously ready made fets are so cheap now why would you fuck about making your own? Yes, £30 is more than £4.50 but the cheap DIY ones don't come with all the features you'd get in even the most basic Gate device.

Go nuts: http://www.military1st.co.uk/combat-gear-vests/?catid=371658&cfSearch1=website_colour&cfvalue1=olive http://www.military1st.co.uk/combat-gear-chest-rigs/?catid=250141&cfSearch1=website_colour&cfvalue1=olive Pouches from the UK Tactical sale section: http://www.uktactical.com/c-626-warrior-od-pouch-sale.aspx (seriously - they're so cheap you'd be mental to buy anything else)

Also - what colour were you looking at? Plain colours (black/OD/coyote) tend to be cheaper than the camo stuff (with the exception of good old DPM) because of licencing costs (some patterns like Multicam, ATACS, Penncott etc) are trademarked.

As per my PM, £100 is a bit low for a WAS rig with pouches unless you can find one second hand (great kit though) You could also look at www.military1st.co.uk and check out the range they do. Cheaper end brands they sell include Condor or Flyye which are both pretty decent for the money. Personally I'd avoid the "assault vest" style with built in pouches as the can be a bit restrictive on placement but if you go down the webbing/chest rig route then your budget will go further. Take a look at South African Assault Vests (SAAV for short) for a good example of a good, basic and cheap rig!

Just buy one.

Do you want it to come with pouches for £100?

ak2m4.co.uk run by Pete who is a member here!

As above, Royal Mail/Parcelforce. There is a minimum service that you must use (1st class signed for at minimum) and it must be declared and insured correctly (don't just put "toy" for example). The details are all on the Royal Mail website (look for "restricted items" or similar). You don't HAVE to use Parcelforce express48 but it's more than likely the dimensions of the package will push you down that route anyway.

I swear by Gate Electronics ones. I have a Nano AB in my M4 and a Pico AAB in my AK. They're well built and a decent price with full instructions. If you don't need active braking then the SSR models are the ones to go for. Lots of places sell them (including Amazon).

You're right with what you were thinking up to a point, that's why lots of people go the route suggested of mixing high speed gears with a high torque motor. The motor overcomes its inertia more quickly and the gears allow it the top end. Not as a rate of fire as with a high speed motor and not as high potential FPS as an all out torque setup. The manufacturers mentioned were in order of cost by the way - cheapest (ZCI) to most expensive (Lonex/Siegetek) but they're all good. I'm about to do a build like this for a buddy in his MP5 with ZCI 13:1 gears, Lonex POM head, SHS Hi Torque motor, Core airseal nozzle and a ZCI piston. Sorbo pads from ProAirsoft and new set of shims.

Get better at not being seen. Airsoft distances aren't that huge!

hooooookay then. First off 13:1 is a high SPEED set of gears not high TORQUE. What you actually want is a high torque MOTOR (ZCI, SHS, Lonex) coupled with high speed gears (ZCI, SHS Supershooter, Siegetek) or just an out and out high speed setup. High torque gearboxes are built to pull big springs for high FPS and generally aren't terribly "snappy". If you're looking to improve your trigger response then a Mosfet - hardwired not plug and play - is the easiest way to do this. If you're planning on running an 11.1v LiPo then it's a must to stop you burning out your trigger contacts. AoE correction using sorbo pads will help quieten your gearbox, also look at a Lonex POM piston head. Trigger pull - http://www.fire-support.co.uk/product/speed-m4-blade-trigger-silver OR just fit a BTC mosfet that replaces the trigger contact block. While you're at it, get a set of shims because the gears you fit will not fit the same as the gears you take out.

I buy a lot from abroad too, don't get me wrong. The issue with UK stores is that there's a much higher overhead to cover the costs not only of running a business but of running a business IN THE UK. Add to that the fact that most UK retailers know full well that they're up against people that can buy at the same price (if not better) as themselves then there's little wonder that they have so little stock available. What's the point? Of course, the point is that it all helps the UK economy. You buy something in the UK, you pay VAT on it, the business (hopefully) pays tax on their earnings and the system continues to operate putting a roof over someones head and food on their tables. We all complain about how the UK is "ripping everyone off" but the fact remains that a high standard of living costs money. We all want a better standard of living or to be able to help those that have a low sstandard of it but it all costs money. Yes, the exchequer taxes the living fuck out of us but they can't tax what doesn't get spent. If we all bought everything from Hong Kong the only people getting rich would be the Post Office and the People's Republic of China. Rant over. For now.

Most "old school" AKs have the battery under the top cover laid flat along the top of the gearbox so yes, you should be able to get one in there!

I used to spend a lot of time on a motorcycle forum. They allowed non-motorcycle related ads in their For Sale section (albeit in their own sub forum but still). I think it would be a good idea personally to have a sub forum for "anything goes", there's loads of people here that are gamers for instance that might want to shift an Xbox to pay for a new rifle.

A lot of people prefer to shop in the UK though, whether through distrust of shipping/customs/foreign websites or if they actually just want to support the UK economy. I've seen plenty of CYMA M14s second hand priced higher than they are new from TWG, BUT they are the right price for a gun originally bought in the UK. Just because you are happy to buy all the extras from the UK doesn't mean the seller has.

It's not whether the barrels touch so much as if the hop unit still lines up properly with the nozzle (which you should be able to see if you do number 2 in the list as the nozzle won't cycle in and out of the hop unit properly).

1) try with your hop turned all the way off 2) take the mag out, turn the gun over and look into the hop unit while you try and fire it - does the nozzle go in and out of the hop unit? 3) does the gearbox cycle properly when you pull the trigger? Is the motor getting overly hot? 4) were the inner barrel/hop removed to enable you to change the outer barrel or was it all left in situ and then the outer just slipped on over the top? 5) try taking the silencer off and shooting - is the silencer blocked/misaligned?

He's using a GHK gas conversion kit, he doesn't have a spring.

If the gun was sent by standard 1st class post that may be why it was seized. RM rules for rifs states 1st class signed for as a minimum requirement.

Seriously though a lot a cheap sights aren't designed with gas blowback guns in mind so actually the answer isn't as daft as it sounds. Have a look at the higher end ones and maybe at sights listed for airguns/target shooting.

Little from column a, little from column b. He was impressed with my WAS based load out and the m249para (which was his weapon in the squad) but very scathing of walts. Well aware of the huge difference between the average airsofter and a Walt though.

I've ably sidestepped the removing the pressure pad problem by having enough torches and pads to have one each on all my guns....