The 'What have you just bought' Thread

[alxndrhll]

14 minutes ago, leadly said:

 

 

Some decent footage of the Tac-41 here!

 

 

 

Aye, super impartial from a chap who's good friends with a retailer that carries Silverback products 👀. That, not insignificant, element aside... am I just blind or does this type of video just show nothing?

 

It's been a long time since I bothered with 'airsoft YouTube' largely because it's just a hive of useless (often paid for, but rarely disclosed) information and shite peddling, but even when it was something I engaged with I've always struggled to see the point of this type of content. It's literally someone strolling around while you squint at the monitor to track a BB, only to have sound effects and post production convince you things hit because you sure as shit can't see it for yourself. If it's something you're into, you do you, but I have never understood this type of thing.

[PopRocket123]

9 minutes ago, alxndrhll said:

 

Aye, super impartial from a chap who's good friends with a retailer that carries Silverback products 👀. That, not insignificant, element aside... am I just blind or does this type of video just show nothing?

 

It's been a long time since I bothered with 'airsoft YouTube' largely because it's just a hive of useless (often paid for, but rarely disclosed) information and shite peddling, but even when it was something I engaged with I've always struggled to see the point of this type of content. It's literally someone strolling around while you squint at the monitor to track a BB, only to have sound effects and post production convince you things hit because you sure as shit can't see it for yourself. If it's something you're into, you do you, but I have never understood this type of thing.

I mean it tells me what I needed to know. It's pretty consistently accurate judging from the times I could see the BBs flight path and looks like a smooth and easy to operate bolt at UK limits. Seems to be pretty quiet too but obviously that's hard to tell accurately from the video, especially with his weird asmr voiceover. I don't have the funds to sink into a vsr or striker money pit build so this seems perfect for me. 

[rj1986]

15 hours ago, PopRocket123 said:

I mean it tells me what I needed to know. It's pretty consistently accurate judging from the times I could see the BBs flight path and looks like a smooth and easy to operate bolt at UK limits. Seems to be pretty quiet too but obviously that's hard to tell accurately from the video, especially with his weird asmr voiceover. I don't have the funds to sink into a vsr or striker money pit build so this seems perfect for me. 

 

The video that sold me (i cannot stand Sniper airsoft videos - too heavily edited, the annoying VO, the holier than thou attitude) was the Scottish guy doing a range test, that was pinging 80m targets out the box.

That plus it comes in around £400 with mags so is an "acceptable" cost if it is pants and sold on or to be used as a platform for upgrades

[Asomodai]

One of my holy grail guns - LCT AMD-65

 

 

x2 ASG/Lonex AK Flash mags. 

 

Edited July 6, 2021 by Asomodai

[Oneshotscott]

-Tdc 2.0

-2 x tec innovations quake 8 holster 

-Anti-cant scope level 

-Scorpion piston 

-2 x rapax springs (2 & 3 j) 

-Emerson helmet counter weight pouch for battery

-Anker astro battery pack

-Nuprol go pro mount

-Go pro 7 black 

-Go pro super suit (I've no idea if this with be good or bad) 

-Some kind of camo sticker for my bolle x800 from skirmshop as well. 

 

 

 

[MagpieTactical]

Just got a selection of flags for a bargain price.  Only had one Previous, Scottish owner. 

 

Edited July 7, 2021 by MagpieTactical

[Oneshotscott]

I was after an Italian one.... Il wait till Monday.... 

[Skara]

15 minutes ago, Oneshotscott said:

I was after an Italian one.... Il wait till Monday.... 

Don't think so

 

[Druid799]

Been trying to buy one of these but no luck so far !😉

 

[Enid_Puceflange]

It Left HK today 😎

 

[Guest Mr. No_Face]

MP7 side rail segments ordered from France. Quick delivery but these should really be included with a gun you're spending £400 on. At least KWA had the courtesy to issue the rail segments a long with their Ronin TK45c's.

 

 

 

Now for a few mags and we can run this li'l baby as a primary.

 

Edited July 9, 2021 by Mr. No_Face

[Speedbird_666]

21 minutes ago, Mr. No_Face said:

MP7 side rail segments ordered from France. Quick delivery but these should really be included with a gun you're spending £400 on. At least KWA had the courtesy to issue the rail segments a long with their Ronin TK45c's.

 

 

 

Now for a few mags and we can run this li'l baby as a primary.

 

 

Even cheapo £100 JG G36s come with side rails, so it's shocking that gun costing 400 notes doesn't come with them.

 

The gun looks good though.

[Stratton Oakmont]

A camelback crux and a warrior back panel camelback pouch to put it in.

if I’m going to wear a plate carrier instead of a chest rig for my mws  I don’t intend to drop from dehydration 

[Guest Mr. No_Face]

49 minutes ago, Speedbird_666 said:

 

Even cheapo £100 JG G36s come with side rails, so it's shocking that gun costing 400 notes doesn't come with them.

 

The gun looks good though.

 

Yeah, I was pretty pissed. A lot of their budget went on licensing and making sure the buyer sees all their "cool" HK logos plastered all over the box and manuals. A lot of that budget was blown on the package alone. 

 

Here's how KWA ship their Ronin's out. No wasted money on the package. They didn't give a fuck about box, didn't even include a manual. There's literally a print out inside that tells your ass to go online for the instructions lol.

 

 

 

KWA ship out their TK45c's in a flimsy box with 2 bits of foam that barely hold the gun in place but at least you're getting a top tier gun and all it's components. I'd rather that than a nicely packaged box, meticulously crafted by a goldsmith but missing the necessary components to complete the gun.

 

Edited July 9, 2021 by Mr. No_Face

[Skara]

Or a gun that runs well out of the box and reflects the price tag..

 

You know, those little things

[Guest Mr. No_Face]

13 minutes ago, Skara said:

Or a gun that runs well out of the box and reflects the price tag..

 

You know, those little things

 

It's been running more than just well out of the box.......it's godlike out of the box. Comparable and even better than my Ronin. As far as I can see the Gen 2's have addressed the issues and this thing's a motherfucker on the field. 

Edited July 9, 2021 by Mr. No_Face

[alxndrhll]

Why bother spending budget on decent packaging when you spank it all on marketing...

[Guest Mr. No_Face]

9 minutes ago, alxndrhll said:

Why bother spending budget on decent packaging when you spank it all on marketing...

 

That's kinda what I said 54 minutes ago. Even referenced the Ronin TK45's packaging as an example.

To cut Umarex/VFC some slack they actually have delivered on a top-tier AEG in the form of the gen 2s. 

[alxndrhll]

5 minutes ago, Mr. No_Face said:

 

That's kinda what I said 54 minutes ago. Even referenced the Ronin TK45's packaging as an example.

To cut Umarex/VFC some slack they actually have delivered on a top-tier AEG in the form of the gen 2s. 

 

I'm not sure if I'm lost in a loop of piss taking or not (of which there is no better loop to get lost in), but my statement was aimed at KWA. I wouldn't be shocked if part of the premium you pay was at least in part to cover how obscene their marketing budget allocation is.

 

Aaaaand to get us back on track, slapped the stretch panel on the AirLite rig in anticipation of getting my Krink back. The mags are also new, crossing my fingers that Cyma internals in E&L externals will do the trick.

 

 

 

Edited July 9, 2021 by alxndrhll

[Guest Mr. No_Face]

Just now, alxndrhll said:

 

I'm not sure if I'm lost in a loop of piss taking or not (of which there is no better loop to get lost in), but my statement was aimed at KWA. I wouldn't be shocked if part of the premium you pay was at least in part to cover how obscene their marketing budget allocation is.

 

 

 

Can you explain why KWA's "marketing budget allocation" is obscene? I am genuinely interested to hear this. I would've expected this from the likes of Umarex.

Enlighten me sir.

[alxndrhll]

18 minutes ago, Mr. No_Face said:

 

Can you explain why KWA's "marketing budget allocation" is obscene? I am genuinely interested to hear this. I would've expected this from the likes of Umarex.

Enlighten me sir.

 

For sure, stockists get a sizeable amount of point of sale (PoS) material from KWA... stickers, patches all that sort of freebie merch stuff (limited edition clothing which is 'free' alongside a limited edition colourway of a RIF is a prime example). They seem to provide a lot of very highly quality images to stockists with online stores (I'd say this just in general, but especially compared to what others provide).

And then we move to the sponsored content side of things and 'collabs' with content creators, KWA are very prevalent in terms of YouTube partnerships (or whatever they're called these days).

 

They also produce a large amount of content themselves across their various social media platforms and put a lot of time and energy into their brand/branding. Ultimately it's all part of KWA being a US company, which means their marketing is all much more 'Westernised' compared to most other airsoft companies due to where the vast majority are based. I don't have a particular deep understanding when it comes to professional website building costs, but I know enough to summise their website certainly wouldn't have been cheap because it's at least making some attempts to take the customer on a 'journey' which is a very 'professional Western website-y' thing to do.

 

Umarex very much lean into, hell some might argue entirely rely on, their licensed branding (HK plastered all over the packaging as you've highlighted) but I wouldn't say they put much into marketing it at all. But Umarex aren't an airsoft company per se, so it's perhaps an unfair comparison to make.

Edited July 9, 2021 by alxndrhll

[Guest Mr. No_Face]

35 minutes ago, alxndrhll said:

 

For sure, stockists get a sizeable amount of point of sale (PoS) material from KWA... stickers, patches all that sort of freebie merch stuff (limited edition clothing which is 'free' alongside a limited edition colourway of a RIF is a prime example). They seem to provide a lot of very highly quality images to stockists with online stores (I'd say this just in general, but especially compared to what others provide).

And then we move to the sponsored content side of things and 'collabs' with content creators, KWA are very prevalent in terms of YouTube partnerships (or whatever they're called these days).

 

They also produce a large amount of content themselves across their various social media platforms and put a lot of time and energy into their brand/branding. Ultimately it's all part of KWA being a US company, which means their marketing is all much more 'Westernised' compared to most other airsoft companies due to where the vast majority are based.

 

I see, Being an individual that runs his own business I'd say these are all smart moves not to mention healthy investments that will garner a healthy return. The business model here seems more than stable. So I'm not totally understanding how there's much of a negative marketing to budget allocation ratio here. Unless you're eluding to the idea that they're incurring unnecessary costs that affect their profit and capacity to address other areas; Or choosing not to allocate their finance in the essential areas? They themselves could be choosing to allocate finances where they feel beneficial to growth and neglect other aspects willingly, such as product packaging. Cutting costs where possible, that's kinda conservative and not a bad format

 

Umarex, on the other hand is an entirely different issue.

Edited July 9, 2021 by Mr. No_Face

[alxndrhll]

27 minutes ago, Mr. No_Face said:

 

I see, Being an individual that runs his own business I'd say these are all smart moves not to mention healthy investments that will garner a healthy return. The business model here seems more than stable. So I'm not totally understanding how there's much of a negative marketing to budget allocation ratio here. Unless you're eluding to the idea that they're incurring unnecessary costs that affect their profit by doing this or choosing not to allocate their finance in the essential areas? They themselves could be choosing to allocate finances where they feel beneficial to growth and neglect other aspects willingly, such as product packaging. That's kinda conservative and not a bad format

 

Nope, not at all implying it's a negative or stupid thing... not without evidence anyway. It's just a very Western approach to an predominantly Eastern dominanted market (at least to my knowledge).

 

The only part we could ever really question would be the return on investment (ROI) of their various marketing activities, which I doubt we'll ever know... and truthfully any publicly available numbers wouldn't reveal much. I've never owned a KWA RIF to speak for their quality first hand, most of what of seen is fairly positive in terms of OOTB performance with the main critiques being 'on the pricey side' (with CYMA going from strength to strength this'll start to be applied to everything), stock hop buckings aren't great (with the exception of Marui this extends to pretty much everything) and proprietary part(s) (this is just the tappet plate if memory serves)... none of these are unique to KWA so perhaps their allocation to marketing is what they're doing to separate themselves from the pack so to speak. Is it working? 🤷‍♂️, fucked if I know.

 

I guess the reason I say 'obscene marketing budget' is very much a comparitive statement when compared to other companies in the same market.  Generally speaking marketing budgets are allocated per project when it comes to the usual 'manufacture goods, sell goods' model, and RRPs tend to be chosen based on the margin after combining those costs... so I'd say it's safe to assume the end user is covering a portion of those costs in some way/shape/form (again, not unique to KWA... KWA just do more with marketing so that portion wouid likely be higher).

 

For reference of where this is all coming from, I design and develop board games for a living (on salary for a company, not as a freelancer) part of that job includes product development with some marketing input and juggling budgets etc. While aware there won't be an exact translation across markets I imagine it's much of a muchness, there's a pretty cookie cutter way businesses of a certain size are run these days. So yeah, not entirely plucking it out of my arse, I'm aware you didn't ask, but I figure some background might be useful to the conversation.

Edited July 9, 2021 by alxndrhll

[Guest Mr. No_Face]

1 hour ago, alxndrhll said:

 

Nope, not at all implying it's a negative or stupid thing... not without evidence anyway. It's just a very Western approach to an predominantly Eastern dominanted market (at least to my knowledge).

 

The only part we could ever really question would be the return on investment (ROI) of their various marketing activities, which I doubt we'll ever know... and truthfully any publicly available numbers wouldn't reveal much. I've never owned a KWA RIF to speak for their quality first hand, most of what of seen is fairly positive in terms of OOTB performance with the main critiques being 'on the pricey side' (with CYMA going from strength to strength this'll start to be applied to everything), stock hop buckings aren't great (with the exception of Marui this extends to pretty much everything) and proprietary part(s) (this is just the tappet plate if memory serves)... none of these are unique to KWA so perhaps their allocation to marketing is what they're doing to separate themselves from the pack so to speak. Is it working? 🤷‍♂️, fucked if I know.

 

I guess the reason I say 'obscene marketing budget' is very much a comparitive statement when compared to other companies in the same market.  Generally speaking marketing budgets are allocated per project when it comes to the usual 'manufacture goods, sell goods' model, and RRPs tend to be chosen based on the margin after combining those costs... so I'd say it's safe to assume the end user is covering a portion of those costs in some way/shape/form (again, not unique to KWA... KWA just do more with marketing so that portion wouid likely be higher).

 

Oh, Kinda got that impression from your initial statement. "Why bother spending budget on decent packaging when you spank it all on marketing..." and the use of "obscene" to describe their business model. If I'm not mistaken many parts are proprietary too, hop-up, air nozzle, receiver/shell (Although somewhat of a shitty move to us) is another effective way of increasing revenue by keeping things in house. I also believe KWA are very aware of how this could be perceived by the public and have made sure to deliver worthy products to compensate. In terms of the quality of the RIFs The Ronin TK45 has won AEG of the year and was recommended by numerous "established" airsoft, content creators out there. And having the chance to buy one myself for that price I honestly do think it's worth it. Especially since I've had the opportunity to try it out alongside other AEGs with similar price tags. The RIF is built sturdily mostly comprised of metal hence the reason one of it's drawbacks for some is the weight. But it's a very well built bit of kit. You're also getting something compatible with AEG 3.0 that whole "simulated recoil gimmick" with the help of a conversion kit. Anyway enough of me blowing the Ronin Series.

 

I honestly think they're producing well made products and marketing in a healthy and stable manner that will perpetually be beneficial to their brand. Their decision to sponsor and represent Speed/QB events and content creators is another good business move because lets be honest. SpeedQB is pretty much the only form of airsoft that will more than likely become mainstream. You'll be hearing about KWA for a long time I feel.

 

 

Edited July 9, 2021 by Mr. No_Face

[Stratton Oakmont]

A load of internal gubbins (Titan included) for my Tm scar ngrs so I’m now skint

and before anyone says don’t touch it aaaaaaaagh think of the poor magic gearbox pixies I have a socom that I have warmed over and have previously done the full tinker to a 416 devgru and as good as the range is, with the internals changing the difference is night and day in response/crispness and no semi lock up. Having compared the two back to back until I sort the scar I’ll continue to use my old school socom as it’s that much more pleasant to use.