BrightCandle

Another area where it isn't consistent is air guns. You can get a 6ft/lb (8j I think) pistol that fires either pellets or steel BB's and get them in real steel look and feel without any UKARA, the only provision being a face to face sale. Admittedly its not an assault rifle but if you get a considerably less dangerous airsoft pistol (1j and plastic BBs) its got to be two toned. That makes no logical sense at all. But as a responsible adult and airsofter I jump through the governments hoops when it comes to firing and owning firearms. I bring no attention to myself, I don't share the hobby with my family or most of my friends and I just keep it under wraps. Our country has a cultural aversion to guns because some horrible people have done some horrific things with them. For now at least I am happy that I can still get a RIF airsoft gun and go run around and play solder and shoot at least some real steel guns in a rifle club.

A prime example of the short of trade off you'll be making is with mag pouches. So far I haven't yet found any double (2x3 this is) SR25 compatible mag pouches. So if you went with a RackMinus chest rig you would get say 12 columns and could only stack a total of 6 magazines on there and room for nothing else. Now presumably you might want something else on there as well so you probably are only going to get 4 magazines worth of actual space on your rig. Grand result is 5 magazines total at 450 rounds total. If you compare that to the M4 pouches blue force do a double stacked one, in the same space you can get twice as many magazines (all be it they stick out more) so you can have them take a lot less overall space and have room for more. Someone might have a double depth SR25 magazine pouch but all the places I have looked so far don't seem to have any and I started checking the manfacturers websites (like blueforcegear.com) and found they don't even sell them. Whether the trade off of small magazines (90 rnds) combined with difficult to find mag pouches and more expensive magazines with no competition is really the choice to make. Of course like I say the SCAR L is a dead end, its not going to get used in the US military anymore only the SCAR H is in there going forward. Ultimately there is a reason lots of people buy M4's, lots of parts lots other kit that is all compatible and you can choose how authentic you want it and what price to pay for metal v polymers etc. The SCAR H's at this point in time are much more expensive to kit up with and I am finding that despite my desire for one I don't really want to only carry 5 magazines around, that is just a little short for my liking and the magazines are kind of small for a mid cap.

The article says it was the spray painting that got him in trouble, the possession of a knife and the guns wasn't something he received a record for. That does tell us at least that a magistrate might very well give you a conviction for painting over the bright coloured parts of an IF without a valid skirmishing defence. Thus it would seem its not a good idea to do that before UKARA is obtained.

Its mostly just aesthetic differences which bring about practical differences. The mags being special means they are more expensive, and require less available pouches (SR25 pouches tend to fit the scar mags). The guns are otherwise pretty close really in terms capabilities, rails and such. In real life the SCAR L has basically failed to take hold in the US military, they have by and large kept the M4. The SCAR H on the otherhand is being adopted by Rangers and SEALS so its becoming a big gun in the special forces world. So really the choice is mostly fashion, are you trying to achieve a particular load out that has a decent element of realism or are you trying to get a gun that is maintaince easy for skirmishing. I view the SCAR L v SCAR H as one of those classic fashion verses ease of use/price of use aspects in airsoft. The SCAR L still looks like a SCAR, its just the wrong SCAR!

They are full seal glasses I guess, or perhaps small googles. If I use the strap instead of the over ear bits they really do look like googles. If I use the over ear they look like glasses. The full seal is optional (except when using the prescription carrier as its needed to hold it in) so I wont ever not use it in "googles" mode. Not quite sure what to call them really, most people looking at them assume they are glasses until they see they fully seal all around.

They are :-( I will update on what happens, I am trying a different anti fog on them initially (mine does not work on glass) and then I might either need a reglaze with polycarbonate or just go all the way replace the lot with a fan based googles. All in all it sucks.

The main differences are: - TRMR doesn't use a pin, its just twist and throw - TRMR safety is just a twist back so its quick to get it to safety. The end result is that the TRMR is quicker to prepare, load and throw and you can't loose the pin because it doesn't have one. They are a little more expensive but use shotgun caps (super cheap). Having looked into this with Thunder B's and TRMR's and Ohshiboom's my intention is to get the TRMR. About the only disadvantage I know is its a little less likely to go off on soft ground like in woodland. I made a post asking this only a week ago I think.

I am considering getting a Tokyo Marui Scar H (recoil shock next gen etc) gun in about a month. One concern I have is upgrading the FPS so its closer to the site limits. As far as I can tell this gun comes < 300 fps by default and to get to 328/350 its going to be need a more powerful spring. TM are obviously famous for their hop up and the quality of the parts but is the gearbox going to be up to a spring that increases the power that much without modifications? If so due to the highly special nature of the TM gearbox and hop up unit etc am I going to have any issues getting this changed? More to the point is it worth getting that FPS upgraded or is the so called magic hop up unit that it comes with likely to make this a good range gun anyway? How upgradeable are these TM's with recoil shock, bolt locks for empty magazines and such?

How are things coming along? Its the beginning of May are you still on for a mid May opening?

Bunker 51 are very strict with 328 +2% but on Saturday they allowed guns up to 340 so long as it stayed on semi auto even in the auto allowed games (of which there was 1). Email them/ring them and ask then at least you'll know how strict they are about it.

Just find the sites near you on here: http://www.airsoftmap.net/Skirmish/ Gun is fine don't need to do anything, UKARA is all about purchasing new Realistic imitiation firearms not existing ones. You also need some protective gear, face mask etc. Some of the sites will let you rent just that but you'll soon want your own if you intend to stick to it. Ammo, battery and hopefully you are good to go.

The mall is 328 fps with a maximum chrono of 340 on variance. So if its very consistent then it should be fine, but if it tends to average 335 and it goes above 340 at any point they are not going to allow it.

I got from land warrior, its a dytac H hop spacer large, I replaced the G&G nub and just stuck it there with some silicon lube. Its black and hard plastic, the g&g nub is a rubber piece with a hole through the middle and just a basic cylinder. I also sealed around the barrel with silicon lube on the bucking and the hop unit as it all went back together. I will try the dytac small h nub at some point but I will want to try this in a game to see what it does at range and what adjustments I will need to the setting.

And after I put 3000 rounds through it last night (that was a very heavy fire game, was all on semi and just 3 hours of gameplay!) FPS has dropped to 316. I am assuming this is just a bit of initial part wear but if it goes much lower it looks like I could go back to the M100. Sigh.

So I decided to see if a H nub would change the situation with my over hopping. So I bought the light and heavy H nub made by element and fitted the heavy one today. With both .20 and 0.25 BB's I seeing less hop being applied by default and the groupings are much more consistent vertically. I no longer get a slight nub protrusion from the outset. The difference in performance is mostly consistency. I could get groupings of about 2.5cm before but they would be higher than the sight and I would get about 4/10 fliers that would be in and around a 8 cm radius, both vertically and horizontally. I tried the same firing test with the H nub and the grouping was 10/10 within the 2.5cm, so all the inconsistent rounds that made a wide pattern are completely gone. At 10 metres I can now shoot through the same hole all day long, its quite incredible. It seems to work a little better with the heavier 0.25 BBs that the 0.2s but it has had an effect on both. Mighty impressed with what is basically 10 minutes of time and a £1.50 for a simple upgrade that makes a massive difference in the spread of rounds landing.

I can see the appeal of getting a gun that can take a scope, flashlight and grip. But I don't know if modifying an old style Thompson is the best way to achieve it, for the cost you might be better off with another gun. I doubt the WW2 milsim groups would be happy with a tactical sten and so its more a modern gun but not really. If you are looking for a project then fine but I doubt its got much resale and you loose a key aspect of having a WW2 replica.

I can't fault my CM16 carbine in all honesty. The Transparent looks better than a classical two tone and you see a lot of them at games. Its actually pretty accurate and the FPS out of the box is perfect for woodland although maybe a little high for CQB. Of the 5 other guys I have met with CM16 transparents (all carbine models for some reason!) the FPS has ranged from 328 through to 340 with more than half at 335-340. That is a smidge too high for CQB so just bare in mind you might need an M90 spring downgrade potentially on it for 328 fps sites. But mine has never jammed, its gone through 2500 rounds tonight without fault and the BBs go right where I put them. There is a reason people recommend them, they are great starter guns. Mine does 12 rounds per second on a 7.4 lipo which is quite a low rate of fire, the motor is definitely underwhelming. The barrel is not brass and neither is the piston so these are definitely the bits where they are saving some cash on it, but it fires pretty accurately. I do also have the problem mine is very slightly over hopping on minimum, its about 2 inches high at 10m but after that it is pretty close to zero for as long as I have so far fired it (all CQB).

Tonights game was much different. There was only about 20 players in total and this helped the game move on a lot. There was still the classic fatal funnels that make up this site but both sides managed to push back and forth through it a few times as the numbers were lower. In addition the floor was dry as they had laser tag running before hand and thus not slippery and it was not caked in brown sludge. I didn't have a problem taking a knee or going prone today, it wasn't completely disgusting and the place didn't smell like rotting paintballs. Games were a lot more fluid and the site was in a better state, it was a lot more enjoyable. Its also a lot easier to see in there with clear googles instead of mesh. Its still kind of dark. What it really needs is some air con!

Update on my googles and fogging. Tonight played Bunker 51 and it was hot, much hotter than 3 weeks ago and I was sweating like a river. This time I had the Raiders with the prescription lens in the carriers. I had almost immediate rain out in the glasses, the polycarbonate hit taking part of the glasses was fog free but the presciption lens fogged/rained out immediately after I put them on. After a little while it would often clear, but with games in Bunker 51 only last 15 minutes on average before reload they often didn't clear enough. So while I am more than happy with how the googles themselves are performing a standard set of lens in the carrier isn't going to work out as it was often impossible to see. Protected my eyes perfectly, took a shot right in the centre of the right eye at close range and it didn't even leave a scratch but I didn't see it coming.

I recently bought a pair of Bolle Raider glasses/googles. They seal all around and they take a prescription carrier that I could get my glasses prescription made for. These are exact glasses from Bolle and I found a seller on Amazon: http://www.bolle-safety.com/tactical-spectacles/raider-raiderkit On wednesday this week I took them into Boots Opticians where my prescription was done a few weeks ago and unfortunately its taken them all week to not manage to work out how to glaze them. I walked down the road to Specsavers this afternoon and within 20 minutes of first entering their store I walked out with glasses glazed, they did the work immediately, for £39. Frankly I think that is service above and beyond and if anyone in London is looking to get glasses glazed immediately Woolwich Arsenals Specsavers has a 15 year veteran glass fitter who has done loads of these. Once I walked into the right shop it was quick and relatively cheap to get the glazing done.

Condensation forms on small particles on the glass. So if you had a perfectly clean glass then in theory they would never form. Practically that is impossible. So the second best thing is a material on the lens that makes the water more likely to form bigger particles so that it rans down and doesn't produce a fogging effect. You could for example use washing up liquid rubbed onto the lense as it breaks down the surface tension of the water droplets. This is basically what any effective anti fogging product does - it breaks the water tension allowing the water to flow down the googles. Toothpaste may very well do that. The fundamental issue however is despite the material over time the water will carry it away. The amount of condensation could easily exceed the capabilities of your anti fogging material and eventually it will fog up. There just isn't anything physically that can be done about it. All of the known solutions and any solution based on applying something to the lens will fog up eventually. Its inevitable.

A very quick run down of scopes: - Anything with zoom - unnecessary in Airsoft since ranges are <100m and mostly less than 60m. Obviously not appropriate for an MP5. - Aimpoint style - Easy to make robust against BB hits with a killflash, but are tubes and tend to restrict vision more than other close up sights. - Reflex - hard to near impossible to protect against BB strikes. They are by far the most open and easy to acquire target scope but they don't last very long. A BB shield will help a little but they really lack robustness and they get shot out pretty quickly. - Holo scopes - They aren't really eotech holo's, they are just basically red dot but in a short package with a rectangular window. You can get covers for taking BB strikes and they are usually pretty robust against BB strikes. My advice is either holo or aimpoint and probably holo for an mp5 in preference to the aimpoint.

The law requires more than 50% in a bright colour. Its a decently bright green and certainly more than 50% of it is that colour. I would suspect the police would considered this two toned under the existing laws.

The bucking catches the BB whether an arm is pushing on it or not, they tend to protrude some amount into the barrel by default (mine does anyway). You get some amount of hop up effect without the arm pushing it down although it will be reduced and its probably moving about as the BBs pass. You may find that the hop up produces less consistency as an impact (less accuracy). Hop up units aren't that expensive comparatively and they are so important for range that you should probably go about getting it replaced as soon as you can.

So what I used last night was Ops drops by McNett - http://www.ukmcpro.co.uk/equipment/eyewear/eyewear-accessories/op-drops-lens-cleaner-anti-fog-detail.html Bolle Raiders - http://www.bolle-safety.com/tactical-spectacles/raider-raiderkit The Raiders might look like glasses but they actually come with a prescription carrier that is also a foam seal around the edge, they are thus effectively lo profile and less disturbing to lower face mask googles, although you can certainly use them just as tactical glasses if you wanted. Played 2 hours in Epsom Bunker, was reasonably cool down there (its still got quite a few puddles after the flooding) and I sweat impressively. I washed them in soap warm water before heading out, then couple of ops drops on each lens and buffed it in. Between games I just cleaned and reapplied and buffed again. Games were each about an hour long.