Super64

Some interesting photos on VFC’s Facebook page from their stall at TADTE 2023. Nothing close up or specific, but definitely an MP5SD and a bunch of M16’s. Hopefully all GBB’s. Looks like M16A1 with original and later handguards, also an M203 setup which would be awesome, and what looks like an M16A4. If these are GBB’s coming out next year then my bank account is going to be taking a hammering again. It’s a shame there’s nothing there with the A2 style carry handle though.

I guess I'm just going to have to put it down to experience. It's going to hurt for the next week or so, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not that big a deal. I was happy to pay the price at the time. I hate to think how much I've spent over the years and I'm guessing most of us are in the same boat ?

Bloody typical. I’ve been mulling over the idea of buying one of these ever since I saw them for sale on High Pressure Airsoft. No where else had them and so I debated backwards and forwards and eventually decided to take the plunge and got one around 2 weeks ago. It appears it was the last one they had in tan, because after I bought it the tan was showing out of stock. I felt pretty good about it, glad I hadn’t missed out. I felt even better about it when it arrived as it’s gorgeous looking and feels really good in the hand. Of course, that good feeling has reduced a bit when I see Defcon now has them in stock, £200 cheaper than what I paid at High Pressure Airsoft. More annoying is I was intending to wait until payday on 15th, but being an impatient sod, I didn’t wait. Could have saved myself £200 if I’d been less impatient. Oh well. The joys of our hobby I guess ?

That’s unfortunate. I was looking forward to it coming out. Hopefully they’ll be able to sort out whatever the issue is with Umarex and get it released. The Gen 3 is nice, but my understanding is the Gen 5 was going to have improvements to the trigger. Guess it’s a case of watch this space.

The URG-I is the in thing at the moment, both in airsoft and the U.S. real steel market. So this will probably sell by the sack full, particularly in the U.S. If I hadn’t already built my own MWS based URG-I, I’d definitely be looking to get one of these. Personally I’d love TM to do a retro AR, fixed carry handle MWS, particularly with the A2 carry handle.

Do you wear a helmet? There’s a number of helmet mounted face protectors you can use. That would keep it away from your face, but still give you the protection you need.

Yeah, same here. I’d rather keep the steel barrel and try to widen the hole in the gas block to make it fit. The problem is I don’t have the tools to do the job properly and so I’ll end up bodging it and possibly irreparably damaging the gas block. I’ll have a look and see what I can do. It’s times like this that I wish I’d stuck with my machining YTS in the 90s instead of joining the army.

That’s what I thought. So it suggest the issue is the Z-Parts barrel is thicker and so I have to decide whether to try to alter the gas block, or buy another original barrel.

Is there a difference between the VFC 417 V1 and V2 gas blocks? I’ve damaged the original outer barrel on my V2 and so I decided to replace it with a Z-Parts steel outer barrel, but the gas block doesn’t fit. It seems that the gas block narrows towards the front and so it slides on, then jams. Is this the same with the V1 gas block? Am I better off sacking the idea of the steel barrel and get another original barrel? Has anyone any experience with fitting a Z-Parts steel barrel too a V2 417?

The only one I’ve seen is this one https://www.davescustomairsoft.co.uk/airsoft-weapons/assault-rifles-aeg/DCA-KAC-KS1 But it’s a hell of a lot of money, by their own admission it isn’t going to be an exact copy and doesn’t come with optics. Although it does come with the suppressor.

Suppose it makes sense. If the MOD are spending money on giving the Rangers and Marines Gucci kit, it stands to reason the tier 1 assets will already have it. Most of my focus has been on U.S. special operations kit recently with the builds I’ve been doing. There’s not as much info about UKSF. What decent resources are there for current UKSF kit?

No mate, not aimed at you specifically, just an observation from over the years. As I said, I’m a firearms enthusiast who has a particular interest in the GWOT and SF weapons and kit in general. I often find people chipping in to discussions, both on forums and in person, trying to make out that either me or others are in some way trying to pass ourselves off as special forces operators, when that’s nowhere near the case. I just have an appreciation for what they do and the kit they use. Sorry if I came across as having a pop, that wasn’t the intent. Time to draw a line under this aspect of the conversation and allow the thread to get back on track?

For me, it’s not about playing with the best gun or best kit. Actually, it’s the opposite. I have no intention of taking any of my builds to an airsoft field. I just use a bog standard AEG and some relatively inexpensive Multicam. As @JimFromHorshamsaid, for me, it’s all about the build. Buying the parts to make a build I have in mind, mostly based on real world military firearms. As a firearms enthusiast, this is the closest I’ll get to owning anything like the real steel. If I lived in the U.S. I’m sure my builds would be real firearms, but as I don’t, airsoft replicas is the best I can get. There’s a huge cloning scene in the real firearms world, and that obviously stretches over to the airsoft world as well. No one likes the guy that turns up in £1000’s worth of kit, running around like a full on operator thinking they’re better than everyone else, but in the same vain, no one likes the guy that try’s to put people down for spending money on their hobby. Each to their own. It’s all about having as much fun as possible in the limited time we have available. The fact is, most people who aren’t in to firearms or airsoft think we’re all weird anyway, possibly even dangerous. So, for me, if a guy comes on here or any other forum asking for advice about a build, they should be able to get the advice they want or need, without someone coming on and making it awkward. If you’re not interested in the subject, move on.

I know they’re using the MCX, and the Knights Armament KS-1 is rumoured to be a replacement for the L119A2, but are they in service yet? Or is there something else I’ve missed? The Rangers and Marines are getting the KS-1 so it would make sense for the SAS and SBS to have it as well.

A longer barrel with a suppressor is doable. My Clay Spenser 416 (the top one in the picture) was more difficult to manoeuvre then the 10’5 below it, but once you get used to the length, it’s fine. The U.S. Marine Corps M27 is around a 16 inch barrel and they mostly run them suppressed. It’s all about practice, but a suppressed 10.5 is much easier. If you already have a 14.5 then it’s probably better to get used to manoeuvring that around than forking out for a new gun. But, it’s always nice to buy new things.

If you’re looking at Delta or Devgru HK416s, then 14.5 with an SMR rail wouldn’t be totally wrong, but the 10.5 with a suppressor would be more common. There are a bunch of resources you can use to help with your build. Loads of videos on YouTube, GarandThumb, T-Rex Arms and Larry Vickers all have 416 videos, just to name a few. AR15.com is a good forum with sections on Delta and Devgru weapons. Also, the SEAL Team TV show is a good resource. A lot of the production team and actors are ex U.S. military including Delta and Devgru and they take kit authenticity really seriously. So a lot of the kit and weapons used by Bravo Team are as authentic as they can be. Although operators have a lot of freedom to pick their own kit, within reason, both Delta and Devgru have a lot of commonality when it comes to the kit they use. The attached photo is 2 of my builds based off SEAL Team, if it helps.

As has been mentioned above, you need to be a bit more specific about what SF unit you’re looking to replicate, which role and from which country. UKSF, both SAS and SBS us the same weapon, L119A2, usually with an Acog and mounted red dot. U.S, it depends on which unit. Both Delta and Devgru used HK416 with the SMR rail, but Devgru seem to be moving to the Noveske N4. U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets) us the M4 with the Geissele URG-I upper. Rangers and none JSOC SEALs I think are still using Daniel Defence uppers on their M4’s. All interspersed with a bunch of MK18’s. Many U.S. special operations units are moving towards low powered variable optics with an offset red dot. Each country has their own SF with their own specific weapons and load outs. Even within units there are specific roles that will require specific weapons and load outs. Google, as always, is a good starting point. I’m sure if you say which particular unit you’re interested in there’ll be a wealth of knowledge available here.

Got notification that mine is on the way. Probably early next week for it to arrive. Can’t wait ?

Excellent. I’ve got a few TM’s so the fact it’s compatible with what I have is great. Guess that’s going to be my next purchase then ?

It looks really nice and so that’s a positive. What’s it feel like? Is there any wobble or creaking? Does the build quality feel robust enough or do the materials feel cheap? If it was a Tokyo Marui I’d buy it without hesitation, although it would be a lot more expensive. But, I’ve no experience with Double Eagle other than knowing they’re a cheaper, Chinese brand. With this being up around the Tokyo Marui price bracket, it would be nice to know it’s worth getting before spending the cash.

High Pressure Airsoft was where I was potentially going to buy from as they have the tan version in stock. Unfortunately, they are more expensive than JD.

Has anyone taken the plunge and bought one of the DE versions? I’m seriously considering getting one, but I’d like to know what the quality is like compared to the Tokyo Marui MWS? More interested in build quality, particularly externally, and overall feel of the gun.

Excellent. All preorders at the moment, but still good to to know prices for budgeting.

Sixmm apparently have the collapsible stock available for around £75 plus postage. I haven’t seen the Para stock available yet though.

I did the same and put a preorder in with Dave’s on my credit card. It will be more expensive than waiting for it to become more widely available in the U.K, but I’m too impatient to wait. I keep checking WGC for the nutsack box magazine as they tend to get VFC stuff fairly quickly, but no joy yet. I’m also trying to decide whether to go with the Para stock or the collapsible stock.