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ARMOURY: ARMOURY: SPECNA E21 PDW G&G PIRANHA

PROUD TO SUPPORT PILGRIM BANDITS CHARITY JUNE 2020 - FREE 16 28 Editor: Nigel Streeter Graphic Design: Calibre Publishing Ad Design: Deadshot Design Publisher: Nigel Streeter

Wyche Innovation Centre, ACTION AIR: Walwyn Road, PHOTO SPECIAL: Upper Colwall, Malvern, CL CUSTOM TAIWAN Worcestershire, WR13 6PL Tel: +44 (0) 1684 878 003 Web: www.airsoft-action.online ©Calibre Publishing Limited 2019 36 38 All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the express permission of the publisher in writing. The opinion of the writers do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions prior to print.

SPECIAL FEATURE: FEATURE: CAPTAIN TOM AIRSOFT COMMS

FIND US ON… facebook.com/AirsoftAction Search ‘Airsoft Action’ 46 51

LETTER, IDEA OR QUESTION? Got something to say? A question for our experts? An article or article idea? Drop us a line and let us know. Either email the Editor: [email protected], write to us at SPECIAL FEATURE: SPECIAL REPORT: the Calibre Publishing address above, or talk to us on Twitter or Facebook. REAPER OPS TV CHINA MILSIM Contents CONTENTS JUNE 2020 JUNE 2020

8 ARMOURY: SA-E21 PDW 38 FEATURE: AIRSOFT COMMS Specna Arms are on an absolute roll and it Using radios in an airsoft game is something seems they release more new models of AEG that many aspire to do well but it’s a perishable each month and head in new directions at the skill like any other that needs constant practice same time! Bill has spent some time with one and updating. Our “Legionnaire” Sean, from of the latest models to be released, the SA-E21, Blackline Simulations in Canada, gives us some and brings in his findings… pointers on how to ensure your comms are effective and how you can get the best out of 12 ARMOURY: G&G PIRANHA them. Although “airsoft replica military models” are still amongst the most popular AEGs and GBBs 42 THE CAGE: BELT UP! that we all buy, it is interesting to see new We all love our “nylon gear” for airsoft but designs hitting the market, concepts drawn sometimes the old adage that “you can spot the up by airsoft manufacturers themselves. Bill veteran airsofter with just an old AK and belt has been living with the new G&G Armament kit” is truer than you might think! This month Piranha Mk1 GBB pistol for a couple of months Bill got (virtually) together with the AA team to now and this is his verdict on this unique pistol discuss “Battle/Shooter Belts” and asked them design. “Do you use one? Why? …and if you do, what do you use?” 16 PHOTO SPECIAL: CL CUSTOM GUNS There cannot be too many airsofters that have 46 SPEICAL FEATURE: REAPER OPS TV an interest in custom guns who have not heard At the beginning of May Bill was invited to take the name “Clarence Lai”, although they may part in Episode 2 of “Reaper Ops TV” to talk well know him by his “other” name, “Airsoft about our recent change to digital publishing Surgeon”. and although the show ran to nearly two hours, there were still questions unanswered and things 22 KIT & GEAR: BLACK CAM left to say, so here he brings you a round-up of In the last issue of Airsoft Action regular the entire interview! contributor Steve T gave his thoughts on the latest VCBLK gear from VIPER. This month 51 EVENT: POST-LOCKDOWN MILSIM Bill takes it a step further and puts together a As lockdown restrictions are slowly eased around complete set of gear on a budget that features the world, Airsoft Action “Legionnaire”, Hana “Black Cam” from a variety of sources! Xu, reports from the first MilSim event after lockdown was successfully held in China. 28 ACTION AIR: THE FRESH PRINCE… Airsoft Action’s “Man in Taiwan”, Stewbacca, 52 ARMOURY: CYMA 096 PLATINUM gets his groove on as he writes about his journey When is an AR not an AR? When its an AR/AK to Taiwan and into Action Air. hybrid of course! Having looked closely at the SR-47 in Issue 111, this month Bill gets his hands 32 ARMOURY: ICS GARAND on a more price-friendly AEG alternative that’s To many, looking in from the outside world, appeared in the latest CYMA 09 series - and airsoft would sometimes appear to be all about finds it very much to his liking! the very latest tricked-out AR, or the newest “tacticool” AK but there are also replica models 56 WORKSHOP: LD MAINTENANCE PT2 that both the re-enactor and collector of classic Frenchie has been maintaining kit for longer firearm models can enjoy. Bill looks at one of his then we dare mention and continues his new favourite historical rifles, in the form of the ICS series with a look at GBB maintenance. M1 Garand AEG. 58 LAST POST: AIRSOFT IN LOCKDOWN 36 SPECIAL FEATURE: CAPTAIN TOM With the country still (mostly) “confined to Military Historian, Will Fowler, gives us a brief quarters”, Frenchie poses a simple question: look back at the history of a man whose “When the country is in lockdown, where do determination earned him the gratitude and you play airsoft?” respect of an entire nation.

Photo by Victor Karlund. https://www.instagram.com/victorkarlund ULTIMA JACKET BLACK / DARK COYOTE / GREEN / SRP: £89.95

armoury

SA-E21 PDW EDGE™ CARBINE EDGING OUT THE

SPECNACOMPETITION ARMS ARE ON AN ABSOLUTE ROLL AND IT SEEMS THEY RELEASE MORE NEW MODELS OF AEG EACH MONTH AND HEAD IN NEW DIRECTIONS AT THE SAME TIME! BILL HAS SPENT SOME TIME WITH ONE OF THE LATEST MODELS TO BE RELEASED, THE SA-E21, AND BRINGS IN HIS FINDINGS…

honestly think I’d be hard-pushed to think of another guns I personally own and use these days are internally AEG manufacturer that has consistently released so “stock”, as what you get as standard from the likes of I many models and variants in such a short space of time, Specna Arms are AEGs that actually have most of the bells as although Specna Arms have been knocking around for and whistles we used to add internally, fitted as standard. a while now, their recent output can only be described It wasn’t so long ago that MOSFETs, for instance, were the as “prolific”! I remember seeing the brand appear on the stuff of fantasy and being able to set your AEG to anything Gunfire stand several years back with a small range of other than semi or “full chat” wasn’t even an option we “AR-inspired” models and, if memory serves, our very first considered. Tightbores were things that the “techies” fitted mention of them actually spelt the name wrong! - and don’t even get me started on the size of batteries… I believe it would now be impossible to make that Although we are constrained right now in our ability same mistake, as Specna Arms have become an “airsoft to actually get out and use our airsoft kit in earnest, the household” name, with a wide range of retail stockists fact is that in my opinion we are living in somewhat of throughout Europe and further designs on expansion “golden age of airsoft”, where most firearm models are into the US market (if their presence at SHOT Show is any available as really quite excellent airsoft replicas and our indicator of intent). choice is bigger and wider than ever. And that, to me, is And the fact is that they have the goods to back all this where manufacturers like Specna Arms (there are others!) up and they continue to innovate and inspire with new have stepped into the ring with gloves raised to take on all models to suit any (and every) airsoft player out there - comers in a thoroughly professional way. models that are well-built, well-priced and perform from Not only are we seeing the “business model” of airsoft the box. This, ultimately, is what we, the players, truly want changing but, as I have said before, we are seeing airsoft if we’re honest, as although we are bombarded with words, manufacturers going their own way to pursue design pictures, and videos from folk telling us to “fettle, change, concepts of their own and turn those concepts into reality. and upgrade” our AEGs and GBBs, what most of REALLY Trust me, from conversations I had at SHOT earlier this year, want, especially at the moment, is to get out and play a there are those in the “real shooting” community that are game! looking quite hard at what the airsoft world is creating right It may surprise many of you that most of the airsoft now and new relationships forged by Specna Arms with

“THIS, ULTIMATELY, IS WHAT WE, THE PLAYERS, TRULY WANT IF WE’RE HONEST, AS ALTHOUGH WE ARE BOMBARDED WITH WORDS, PICTURES, AND VIDEOS FROM FOLK TELLING US TO “FETTLE, CHANGE, AND UPGRADE” OUR AEGS AND GBBS, WHAT MOST OF REALLY WANT, ESPECIALLY AT THE MOMENT, IS TO GET OUT AND PLAY A GAME!”

8 JUNE 2020 armoury

SA-E21 PDW EDGE™ CARBINE

most certainly at the price. It is a series that stresses great craftsmanship and care for all external parts. Every element of the EDGE series, not just this E21, has been made and fitted with the utmost care in every detail and the body even features a Nano Coating that prevents scratches. The body also bears Specna Arms markings as well as an individual serial number. the likes of Daniel The stunning looking E21 that I received in Specna’s Defense promise great new “Half Bronze” colour scheme is one of the things for the future! shortest of their ARs, a true PDW length at just 570mm with the stock compressed (660mm with NEW AND GOOD the stock fully open) and it’s fitted with a 150mm TO GO M-LOK free-float rail. This rail is only two slots long Now that’s all very well but is just big enough to fit the included foregrip and and good, but you may well ask additional accessories if you want them, plus there are QD how all of that relates to the SA-E21 sling points at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock. The top of the E21 has a EDGE AEG model that I received for continuous top rail from front to back and comes with flip- evaluation from Specna Arms? What I up BUIS of Specna’s own design, which are very functional will tell you is that this is the first model and easy to use. There’s also a QD pistol grip that provides from them I have had to try that features easy and rapid access to the motor without having to use their own take on the “PDW” sliding stock, so tools. I’ll address that first. Internally we’ve now become quite blasé about the Although I saw the Specna Arms design a little while quality that Specna Arms offer as standard and this little back now, this is the first time that I’ve had the finished carbine features a factory-fitted MOSFET X-ASR module product mounted on an AEG and I have to say that they’ve from GATE. This high-quality MOSFET looks after the done a tremendous job. Whilst a “PDW Stock” can only be internal components, improves the trigger reaction and SO different, this one is very neat and functions very well extends the lifetime of the electronics and the battery. It will indeed and when it is compressed it is neat, tidy and mates also help you diagnose basic malfunctions inside the AEG with the battery compartment and receivers perfectly, in - and there’s even a neat little “crib card” included in the fact you’d be hard-pressed to slide a fag paper between the package to help you troubleshoot on the go! joins! The E21 has a short 6.03mm precision inner barrel that When open - and there are three positions for this - the helps with accuracy; the barrel works in tandem with a new stock is as solid as a fixed version and although the polymer type of a rotary hop chamber that allows for very precise pad is small for me (all PDW pads are small for me!), it’s a and “set once” adjustment. The E21 also features the great shape which means you can shoulder the little carbine ESA Quick Spring Change System, so it’s simple to quickly well. The release of the sliding stock is also very neat in that change the power to field conditions without having to you have a “paddle” to the left but with a button on the access a workshop or a set of special tools. All you need right that will also activate the release; a small thing but to do is remove the stock assembly to gain access to the well-thought out and efficiently achieved! spring, so that it can be removed without having to pull out This new addition is nothing less than I’d expect, as the or disassemble the gearbox and Specna even throw in an EDGE is a line of AEGs that combines an array of solutions extra M90 spring if full-time CQB is your preferred medium! and technologies hard to find in others on the market, At the beating heart of the E21 is the ORION gearbox, “WHILST A “PDW STOCK” CAN ONLY BE SO DIFFERENT, THIS ONE IS VERY NEAT AND FUNCTIONS VERY WELL INDEED AND WHEN IT IS COMPRESSED IT IS NEAT, TIDY AND MATES WITH THE BATTERY COMPARTMENT AND RECEIVERS PERFECTLY, IN FACT YOU’D BE HARD-PRESSED TO SLIDE A FAG PAPER BETWEEN THE JOINS!”

www.airsoftaction.net 9 armoury

SA-E21 PDW EDGE™ CARBINE

which is based on a reinforced frame and equipped with a main spring release. The ORION gearbox is rated to work with springs up M140. As well as the gearbox itself you’ll find a reinforced polymer piston with steel teeth, aluminium air-sealed nozzle, aluminium double air-sealed cylinder head, aluminium double air-sealed piston head with bearings, a set of steel gears, and 8.mm bearings.

BBs DOWN RANGE The E21 is a really easy AEG to work with due to its ultra- compact size. The battery is housed inside the mock buffer tube that forms part of the sliding stock assembly, and the compartment is easily accessed by simply unscrewing the tube. I fitted an 11.1V LiPo, which is a little bit of a squeeze given the small space, but once in, the battery disappears from sight. The E21 comes with a pair of Mid-Cap 125BB S-MAG magazines, which have an unusual but visually appealing characteristic as they feature an amalgam of the Specna Arms logos! This actually makes them very tactile though and the S-MAGs are designed for smooth and uninterrupted feeding of BBs even with a high ROF. I did, as usual, try a whole heap of other “AR” mags though, and all of them worked perfectly. So, all set up it was off to the targets for some range time and the E21 performed just as I expected… wonderfully! It’s a super little carbine to work with, with great ergonomics and a very positive cheek weld even with the minimalist stock. Adding the short foregrip makes it very easy to drive the muzzle from target to target and the overall length of the rifle, the full 660mm for me, makes it easy to work with, even in tight spaces. Once the rotary hop was set, an easy control to adjust, the E21 was shooting a straight shot out to the end of the 30m range at a site-friendly 1.09 Joule/344fps average on a .20g RZR BB. The trigger is light yet crisp, with very little lag so it’s easy to get consistently accurate shots away time after time. Switching it up to full auto sends a nice stream of BBs downrange in quick time… In conclusion I would say that if you are looking for a “PDW-Style AR”, then the SA-E21 PDW EDGE is certainly most worthy of your consideration. It’s a great looking replica, especially in the “Half Bronze” style, performs just as well as it should out of the box, is solid as a rock, and at just £231.00 at the time of writing it’s an awful lot of little gun for the money! Many thanks indeed to Gunfire who kindly provided me with the AEG sample for this review. You can check out more details on the SA-E21 PDW EDGE and the rest of the extensive range of Specna Arms models by visiting www. gunfire.com. AA

“IT’S A GREAT LOOKING REPLICA, ESPECIALLY IN THE “HALF BRONZE” STYLE, PERFORMS JUST AS WELL AS IT SHOULD OUT OF THE BOX, IS SOLID AS A ROCK, AND AT JUST £231.00 AT THE TIME OF WRITING IT’S AN AWFUL LOT OF LITTLE GUN FOR THE MONEY!”

10 JUNE 2020 From everyone at TacTree we want to say thank you to our customers as well all the keyworkers who are working tirelesslyto keep us safe. As a thank you, we have 15% OFF* on our website throughout May. Simply use code THANKU at checkout.

------USE CODE: THANKU ·nHMS APPLY armoury

G&G PIRANHA MK1 GBB A PISTOL

WITH BITE!! ALTHOUGH “AIRSOFT REPLICA MILITARY MODELS” ARE STILL AMONGST THE MOST POPULAR AEGS AND GBBS THAT WE ALL BUY, IT IS INTERESTING TO SEE NEW DESIGNS HITTING THE MARKET, CONCEPTS DRAWN UP BY AIRSOFT MANUFACTURERS THEMSELVES. BILL HAS BEEN LIVING WITH THE NEW G&G ARMAMENT PIRANHA MK1 GBB PISTOL FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS NOW AND THIS IS HIS VERDICT ON THIS UNIQUE PISTOL DESIGN.

don’t know about you but I’ve certainly been spending and especially in a small space it’s actually far easier to do more time than usual with my handgun collection in the this with a pistol than even a carbine. I find (and this is a I past weeks! Even while you’re stuck at home, if you have somewhat guilty admission) that I spend far longer working a back garden or yard where it’s safe to shoot, then a pistol on my “long drills” than I do for my handgun skills, but is the ideal thing. You only need about 20-30 feet, your then I am of the “old skool” that feels if you need to go eyepro, some BBs and gas, and some targets set into a solid for your “secondary” then something has gone seriously backstop, and you’re good to go! wrong! I do have neighbours but they’re all used to seeing me I’ve actually been enjoying spending more time with “out back” with AEGs and GBBs, as I’ve taken time to my GBB handguns and although I have my favourites, speak with them and “educate” them that what they see it’s always nice to try something new isn’t it? A couple of me shooting are “6mm BB replicas”. In fact, my immediate months back, when I paid my last visit prior to lockdown neighbour, Steve, whilst 100% NOT an airsofter now to the NUPROL office near London, I was lucky enough to regularly sticks his head over the fence to ask me “So what secure a test and evaluation sample of the new Piranha model is that?” - and I’ve invited him to come and have a Mk1 GBB pistol that, as G&G distributor for the UK, they go when we’re able to “mingle” once again! had receieved for the product launch. As I posted recently Now I know that everyone reading this may not be as on the Airsoft Action website, this model is soon to be with lucky as I to have a range at home, but even if you can’t retailers and therefore available to everyone! shoot, you can still be running draw and manipulation drills

“I FIND (AND THIS IS A SOMEWHAT GUILTY ADMISSION) THAT I SPEND FAR LONGER WORKING ON MY “LONG DRILLS” THAN I DO FOR MY HANDGUN SKILLS, BUT THEN I AM OF THE “OLD SKOOL” THAT FEELS IF YOU NEED TO GO FOR YOUR “SECONDARY” THEN SOMETHING HAS GONE SERIOUSLY WRONG!”

12 JUNE 2020 armoury

G&G PIRANHA MK1 GBB

MODERN STRIKER you could still argue that by mimicking the action of the I’ll get this out of the way first… The Piranha is most real world “Striker Fired” concept, it allows you to get definitely not a replica of a “military or police” pistol but your follow-up shots on target more quickly and efficiently something far more interesting! It’s a unique design that and the rest of the Piranha follows this ethos. Like many G&G have created in-house and, in my opinion, it “Striker Fired” handguns, the Piranha has a shows the very best of the current

drive for airsoft manufacturers to play with polymer their own concepts, ones frame which consists of a one-part front that feature all their latest rail section, trigger guard, and grip. The technology all wrapped grip angle is more “Glock” than “Colt” up in a pleasing and which personally I like. ultimately very usable The slide is all alloy which gives the finished product! pistol a nice weight (773g overall) and balance, but The Piranha, to me again there’s something a bit different about it in that it’s a looks, like a “Striker Fired” two-piece design. The front section of the slide housing the pistol but one with some barrel is semi-fixed which should aid accuracy and it’s only super features. For those the rear section that moves, which, in principle, means that of you confused by the if only 50% of the weight of the slide is moved during the term “Striker Fired”, shooting sequence, then gas efficiency should be optimised just picture the rear end of for faster cycling but more on that later! a Glock, where there is no Controls are simple and easy to use, with a Glock-like visible hammer and nothing “safety trigger”, slim slide release and a chunky magazine to catch on anything. release. In addition to this is a large, ambidextrous take- In a real firearm, what makes down lever and that, basically, is all she wrote! But what a gun striker fired or hammer more do you need? fired? The differences come from the parts that make up The hop design is one that I’ve seen on the new line the action, the mechanism of the gun that loads, fires, and of G&G pistols and one that I like immensely, with precise ejects a round and how those parts work together. adjustment an easy task; this super external adjustment With a “Hammer Fired” semi-auto pistol your first means you don’t need to remove the entire top slide, which trigger pull is in double-action mode and every shot is a really cool feature! Fine-tuning is very straightforward following is shot in single-action, as the cycling of the slide and requires only the included “bullet tool”, which comes cocks the hammer. Having two different trigger pulls has its with a key ring so that you can add it to your keys for easy pros and cons; while some find that the initial “trigger pull” retention, or dummy cord to you or your gear. Simply insert is safer, others find it difficult to adjust to a lighter trigger the “bullet tool” into the muzzle to make tiny adjustments pull following the first shot, which is reflected in their shot and by turning it you are pulling the inner barrel tighter into placement. the outer barrel, which presses onto the hop rubber itself. Glock are still probably the prime example and the Simple, ingenious and works perfectly! striker fired pistol has become extremely popular with many With any gas-powered platform you need to keep an shooters. The striker fired pistol does not rely on a hammer eye on the action if the temperature starts to drop and the hitting a firing pin to ignite the primer of the cartridge. Whirl Cylinder Valve that G&G have created will certainly Racking the slide to chamber a round partially cocks an help you when things cool down, or when you’re “having internal spring and when the trigger is pulled, this cocks the at it” in earnest! With a light slide weight and spring the spring the remainder of the way, which causes the striker Piranha is already very gas efficient, but the ceramic “Whirl pin to hit the cartridge and fire the round. Valve”, which spins when you shoot to break up any ice Although this has little real bearing on an airsoft pistol, deposits inside the nozzle, takes performance further still.

“ALTHOUGH THIS HAS LITTLE REAL BEARING ON AN AIRSOFT PISTOL, YOU COULD STILL ARGUE THAT BY MIMICKING THE ACTION OF THE REAL WORLD “STRIKER FIRED” CONCEPT, IT ALLOWS YOU TO GET YOUR FOLLOW-UP SHOTS ON TARGET MORE QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY AND THE REST OF THE PIRANHA FOLLOWS THIS ETHOS.”

www.airsoftaction.net 13 armoury

G&G PIRANHA MK1 GBB

the accuracy of many of my pistol collection would start to fade a little beyond that distance though, the Piranha is still bang on the button. Upping to 20m using the classic three-dot sights I was still happily hitting sandbags! G&G Armament really seem to be pushing things forward right now when it comes to interesting and unique design concepts, and I have to say that to date I’ve thoroughly enjoyed shooting the GTP-9, the SMC-9 (which shares the pistol operating system), and now the Piranha Mk1. As I write, G&G have just added the Piranha TR to their pistol line and this adds a top rail to the overall feature set. Whilst this a great addition for those that want to run some form of Micro RDS on their pistol, for me it detracts from the sheer elegance of the Mk1 which harkens back to the “feel” of the original CZ75 and the Browning Hi-Power. Both of those models were, and still are, superb “combat pistol” designs that were slim, light, and easy to manipulate, and IF there is any nod to them in the overall design for the Piranha, then the G&G pistol is all the better for it! My thanks go to G&G (www.guay2.com) for providing this sample for evaluation and to NUPROL for facilitating this as my country G&G distributor. The Piranha is currently available in plain black or black/silver as tested. AA

IT’S GOT TEETH! I set the Piranha up with .20g RZR BBs for chrono in the 24BB magazine (this is slightly larger than the magazine of the GTP-9 and sadly not compatible) and got a pleasingly consistent and perfectly playable 0.8 Joule/295fps over the course of the magazine on NUPROL 2.0 “Green”. And as much as the Piranha is a very attractive, lightweight modern design and a lovely thing to behold, at the end of the day it’s how it performs that we all want to know and if anything, it shoots even better than it looks! As I stated earlier, for me a handgun is a backup and certainly one that needs to excel on the 10m range, and as I’d hoped, at this distance the Piranha has some serious bite! Once you’ve set the “muzzle hop” with the sweet little “bullet tool” to your chosen weight of BBs (0.25g worked well for me), at 10m it’s deadly accurate! Where

“THE PIRANHA IS A VERY ATTRACTIVE, LIGHTWEIGHT MODERN DESIGN AND A LOVELY THING TO BEHOLD, AT THE END OF THE DAY IT’S HOW IT PERFORMS THAT WE ALL WANT TO KNOW AND IF ANYTHING, IT SHOOTS EVEN BETTER THAN IT LOOKS!”

14 JUNE 2020

PHOTO SPECIAL

CLARENCE LAI: CUSTOM GUNS

“Clarence Lai has become one of the most prominent figures in Airsoft. His work as an Airsoft gunsmith and with Action Air (Airsoft IPSC) has helped him gain recognition and respect the world over. From the resplendent beauty of his one- off pistols, to his active work in promoting Airsoft IPSC globally, his work within the Airsoft community is revered and admired.”

There cannot be too many airsofters that have an interest in custom guns who have not heard the name “Clarence Lai”, although they may well know him by his “other” name, “Airsoft Surgeon”. Globally known for the incredible work he does in creating some of the most exotic and exciting pistols, alongside being a master of Action Air, his creations are sought after by shooters who want to take their sport to the ultimate level. However, he does not confine himself to just pistols, Clarence has also produced some truly wonderful pieces of airsoft art in the form of rifles. More recently he has turned his attention to some of the most well-known pistols, working on both the internal and external parts and, in turn, producing top-class weaponry that any shooter would be proud to own. In a tribute to his work, over the next few pages we want to show you some of his marvellous creations. You can find more pictures and information on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ clarence.lai.73.

16 JUNE 2020 PHOTO SPECIAL

CLARENCE LAI: CUSTOM GUNS

www.airsoft-action.online 17 PHOTO SPECIAL

CLARENCE LAI: CUSTOM GUNS

18 JUNE 2020 PHOTO SPECIAL

CLARENCE LAI: CUSTOM GUNS

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KIT & GEAR

BLACK CAM BLACK CAM IN ASSOCIATION WITH FOR RED CELL IN THE LAST ISSUE OF AIRSOFT ACTION REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR STEVE T GAVE HIS THOUGHTS ON THE LATEST VCBLK GEAR FROM VIPER. THIS MONTH BILL TAKES IT A STEP FURTHER AND PUTS TOGETHER A COMPLETE SET OF GEAR ON A BUDGET THAT FEATURES “BLACK CAM” FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES!

s we continue to be stuck indoors, I’ve been using highlighting vulnerabilities of military installations and the money I normally spend heading out to games vessels, and would regularly “use fake IDs, jump fences, Aand events by creating myself a new loadout. It barricade buildings, take hostages, and kidnap high was with great interest that I saw last month that my ranking officers and admirals.” The original “Red Cell” “mucker”, Steve T, has been working along similar lines (OP-O6D) even went so far as to plant bombs near Air with his new VIPER V-CAM BLK clothing. Force One and infiltrated submarine bases (that housed The whole “MCBLK” theme is one I’ve been toying operational nuclear weapons!) and took them over. They with for a while but never got round to putting together would video their missions and show them to everyone as a complete loadout, largely because (like many of you monitoring the exercises. Many people that participated reading this) my money usually seems to go on “guns in the exercises felt embarrassed by their tactics because n’ BBs”. However, with a bit it exposed their weaknesses and of time and a bit of budget in vulnerabilities, and you could hand, I decided that I’d quite like say that Marcinko very quickly a new loadout for when games “MADE SOMEWHAT INFAMOUS became “persona non grata” recommence, so it was time to DURING THE 1980S UNDER THE with his superiors! get back in (MC) black! COMMAND OF FORMER TEAM SIX Marcinko has claimed, among As someone with a keen FOUNDING CO, RICHARD MARCINKO, other things, that Red Cell interest in rather “unique” “RED CELLS” WERE CODENAMES FOR successfully captured nuclear military units, there’s one THE US NATIONAL SECURITY CO- devices from United States in particular that I seem to ORDINATION TEAM (NSCT).” Navy facilities and proved the always return to when I’m viability of plans to penetrate looking for a theme for a new and attack nuclear-powered loadout, and that’s “Red Cell”. submarines, destroy subs by Made somewhat infamous during the 1980s under the using them as dirty bombs and capture launch codes command of former Team Six founding CO, Richard for nuclear weapons aboard the subs. Former members Marcinko, “Red Cells” were codenames for the US of Red Cell maintain that these exercises were a cover National Security Co-ordination Team (NSCT). These teams to move special warfare operators around the world for were designed to test the effectiveness of American tactics covert missions against real-world terrorists but in 1990 or personnel and the name was derived from “Red Team”, Marcinko was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison a term for the opposing force in war games by western and fined $10,000 under charges of defrauding the nations during the Cold War and a reference to the government over the price of contractor acquisitions for predominantly red flags of Communist nations. hand grenades! During the “Marcinko years” Red Cell members To this day Marcinko maintains that he was the subject made merry with both training budgets and their role of a “witch-hunt” for his work with Red Cell and that

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the fraud committed revealed the weaknesses of military and will definitely add comfort beneath a rig. security. Marcinko detailed his arrest and confinement in Within their updated clothing range for 2017, Viper the last chapters of his autobiography and I actually had extended their line of lighter-weight fleeces by adding the great pleasure of meeting him in person at SHOT a three new models and the TACTICAL HOODIE is a fleece few years back. Whatever the truth may be, Marcinko was that I wear on pretty much a daily basis. Constructed one hell of an operator, from Vietnam through to who of a lightweight and durable fleece it’s the absolutely knows where and the story of the original “Red Cell”, of perfect mid-layer, and although it does sport velcro on how they trained and operated, is still an inspiration to both arms it’s very low-key. Its quite close fitting, which is me! technically correct to maximise breathability but the hood and “kangaroo” pocket means that you can really warm BACK TO BLACK yourself up easily. When I got to thinking about “MCBLK” my immediate VIPER’s ripstop polycotton Elite Trousers have now thought was “this is properly Red Cell shizzle” and from moved into Gen 2 of their design and these just keep that moment on my plan for a new loadout REALLY getting better and started taking shape! Now I didn’t want to bankrupt better. Although myself going down the “real deal” route but at the same the basic trouser time I wanted a set of “infiltration gear” that would be can be had for less, functional and, if I’m totally honest, kind of cool too the latest V-CAM Like Steve, my first stop was with VIPER for the basic BLK camo version clothing. For is most definitely years now worth the extra VIPER have money if you been providing want something great entry level REALLY distinctive tactical clothing and that fits with and gear but this particular their latest theme. With additions take multiple adjustment things up into features, these a whole new trousers can be level! Although modified to the they have user’s own shape produced all for comfort and sorts of gear and feel. clothing before, The only place its superb to where I ventured see the new outside the VIPER “V-CAM BLK” range for clothing is in relation to some colder weather range, which gear and this is only because, at the time of writing, VIPER takes their haven’t yet added a V-CAM BLK jacket to their line. I clothing in chose a MT Black PATRIOT jacket from Kombat UK (mainly exciting new directions. The fabrics used and the quality because my mate Pete from Platoon Stores had one that achieved are better than anything they’ve done before in looked VERY sharp when I saw him wearing it!) which is a my opinion and the designs are bang up to date. fleece-lined softshell garment that features many pockets, Not only have they developed new products but along with a storm-proof main zip and a fleece-lined they’ve obviously had a very close look at how trends have hood. I also spotted on the Military1st website a really developed in the tactical world. The latest designs reflect neat softshell vest from Mil-Tec in MULTITARN BLACK, a thorough understanding of the “light is right tactical which offered a little extra protection form the elements, athlete” approach and this can be seen in their MESH-TEC or would act as an additional layering garment in cold T and MESH-TECH ARMOUR TOP. Both these garments weather, without adding serious weight or bulk to my are made from high-performance polyester material and clothing system. provide long-lasting comfort and durability, even during the most extreme workout. Lightweight and quick drying, BUCKLE UP these shirts features flatlock seams for reduced friction Whatever your style of airsoft may be, from full-on and raglan sleeves for improved range of motion. Thanks MilSim weekends to occasional skirmish days, the fact to their moisture wicking properties these all-purpose is that you’re going to need some way of carrying extra shirts will keep the torso cool and dry throughout the day magazines, ammo, pyro and general sundries. I first

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discovered the 8FIELDS “Buckle Up” range of gear lurking place. Running on the Taiwangun website a couple of years back, and I hot and heavy have to admit for the price that this system has given me CQB? No great service since I added it to the “gear locker”! For problem, just relatively inexpensive tactical gear it’s stood up to some add the “AR hard use both in games and in photoshoots for Airsoft or SMG” mag Action - and it’s still going strong. panel and The premise of the Chinese-made “BUCKLE UP” you’re all set. system is really all about the plate carrier and how you Rocking an set that up. Some of us have been around long enough AK? Again, no that we have multiple sets of gear to use with different issue as there’s AEGs, with different pouch configurations to take that even a panel into account. What the “BUCKLE UP” system does is to specifically for take that principle and give you a solution that is totally this! customisable and that’s achieved by having different Basically, pouch panels which do indeed simply “buckle up” to a with the single plate carrier. “BUCKLE UP” system you can have a plate carrier with magazine carriage options for under £50 which is a bargain in anyone’s book. If, however, you want to add even further to the modularity of your overall system, then there are even chest rigs that will slot right in, or by adding a few 8FIELDS pouches (I chose a larger UTILTY POUCH for a fiver and a MODULAR ADMIN POUCH for £4.50) and an integrated pack or back panel (the ASSAULT BACK PANEL for me, for reasons I’ll come onto…) you can really tailor your load exactly as you want it. I’m impressed with the “BUCKLE UP” system and as well as running my original model at a few skirmish days it’s also been used on a couple of photoshoots. Not only does it look great but it’s already stood up to the same abuse as my “real world” gear and acquitted itself well. If money is tight but you fancy some great-looking, robust tactical gear then I’d say do have a look at the 8 FIELDS “BUCKLE UP” system as I believe it’s tremendous value for First off is the ASSAULT PLATE CARRIER in their “MB” money! camo pattern and whilst this looks like other, much more expensive items that I own, it retails for under £30! Now LOAD HAULING you might think that for that price you’ll be getting Thus far everything I’ve chosen for the new loadout is very something “cheap and cheerful” and while the 8FIELDS much angled to creating it within a sensible budget but gear probably wouldn’t stand up to a real-world combat there’s one area where I’ve learned never, EVER to scrimp zone, it’s certainly well enough put together to stand up and that’s when it comes to gear haulers. to the rigours of your local airsoft field! The fabric used If you’re out on a skirmish site for the day and you can looks and feels to be a tough nylon mix and seems solid return to the Safe Zone pretty much whenever you like, enough and the stitching is actually far, far better than I then frankly there’s no real need for a pack but if you’re at thought it might be and some attention has been given to a weekender, scenario game, or MilSim where you need to this area, with reinforcement in all the right places. stay out on the field all day (and possibly longer!) then a The plate carrier features front and rear plate panel decent pack is a crucial part of your loadout! pockets (hard plastic “plates” are included but you might All too often - and not just in airsoft - I’ve seen folk want to upgrade these to something like those sold by have an absolutely terrible time because their pack didn’t J-TAC Custom) with loads of MOLLE, good shoulder fit correctly, or worse still, that a seam or shoulder strap padding, a cummerbund for a great fit and a fast-clip/ failed and dumped their gear on the ground. Again, not a velcro front panel for quick changes of your kit to save problem if you’re close to the Safe Zone but a major ball- time. These clips and the large velcro panel are compatible ache if you’re humping your home on your back a mile or with all “BUCKLE UP” pouch panels and chest rigs - and two away. herein lies the clever bit! To this end, this is where I’ll spend some money and Say you want to set up your plate carrier for general return to the Wisport pack range. As someone who “recon”; well simply attach your panel of choice (say for worked with rucsac manufacture in my younger years, I’ve “7.62 recce rifle” magazines) to the velcro and buckle it in

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been massively impressed by this Polish manufacturer. I attachment of hydration bag and a conduit for hydration wrote about them at length in Issue 109 (which you can hose or antenna. The pack features a front compartment check out via the BACK ISSUES section of the AA website) with zip closure and multiple quick release buckles but suffice to say, they’re a well-respected supplier of allow it to be quickly dumped if required. The side packs to top-tier military units, so they’re more than good compression straps allow the pack to be adapted to the enough for me! size of carried kit and prevent it from shifting which may There are two models that I’ve picked up, the first cause unnecessary noise, discomfort and disturbance being the ZIPPERFOX 40L. This is a pack that will suit me of balance. This is a cracking little patrol pack and one for multi-day MilSim excursions, as it’s big enough to that is, although it’s not the cheapest option out there, hold all my essentials for operating in the field away from a companion that will see you through many airsoft support (apart from water re-sup). The newest addition in encounters for years to come! Wisport’s line of military backpacks, the ZipperFox 40L was One thing I will quickly recap on before I close is the created as a modified, slightly larger and more versatile, panel I chose for the back of the plate carrier. This I intend version of their Silverfox 30L backpack that I’ve used to leave in place even when I’m wearing a bigger pack, before. so it’s important that is goes down as flat as possible Designed for one or two-day long trips (I’ll stretch it when not in use. If I’m using the 40L pack then this can to three!), this new generation of single compartment be dumped at the Patrol Harbour where I set up my tactical backpack benefits from an extremely lightweight basha and essentials can be added to the back panel yet durable construction, great functionality and for operations and patrols; plan ahead, be effective and innovative technology. The main feature is an inverted efficient! “U”-shaped clamshell zip opening, which allows for Although all of the gear mentioned is still pretty new, quick and easy access to the main compartment from I have the feeling that it’s all going to stand up well to the top and both sides at the same time. The ZipperFox some serious abuse and will acquit itself well. There comes with re-designed SAS Plus back system which now are still more items in the overall loadout that I haven’t includes profiled straps, removable buckled waist belt, included (such as the excellent Emerson Multicam Black rigid construction and highly breathable padding. Thanks FAST helmet cover that also came from Taiwangun), not to the ergonomically profiled straps sewn in permanently, because they’re not good but because they are still to be the backpack provides excellent stability and is great under added and fully tested. All of the items I have mentioned load! though are already through my first stage of evaluation Of course, you and they are all working together well. may not need a This is purely “my take” on a loadout with a “Red pack of this size Cell” feel to it but it’s a loadout that will, quite literally, for most one-day allow you to choose your gear from head to toe without games, so another breaking the bank! Now I just need to finish building my little Wisport “Mutant AR/AK” and I’ll be good to go as soon as sites gem to consider re-open. is the SPARROW My thanks go to the great teams at VIPER, Taiwangun, 16L model. and Military1st for their assistance in pulling this article The smallest of together. To keep up to date with the new VIPER tactical Wisport Sparrow products as they become available please visit www. family, the viperkit.co.uk. Do check out www.taiwangun.com for the Sparrow 16 is the 8FIELDS gear - and I’ve noticed that it is also beginning latest generation to appear now with certain retailers in the UK too. And of compact of course, thanks to www.military1st.co.uk who stock backpacks made not only VIPER gear but also a comprehensive range from of extremely Wisport. Do give them a look and check out the “Choose durable 500D by Colour” function of their website if you’re looking to Cordura Nylon create a complete loadout from scratch! AA and developed in collaboration with Polish Military forces. The main advantages of the Sparrow 16 are the removable, ergonomically shaped and lightly padded shoulder straps, spacious hydration compatible main compartment and multiple MOLLE attachments points. The main compartment of Sparrow 16 pack comes with an internal hydration sleeve pocket inside, a zipped pocket and multiple elastic loops for easy organisation. Additionally, above the sleeve pocket is a hook for

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ACTION AIR - TAIWAN

THE AIRSOFT ACTION’S “MAN IN TAIWAN”, STEWBACCA, GETS HIS GROOVE ON AS HE WRITES ABOUT HIS JOURNEY TO TAIWAN AND INTO ACTION AIR

OF ACTION AIR

“In East Midlands; Lincolnshire, born and raised, ranges and firearms ownership in the Philippines these days - on the airsoft forums was where I spent most of my days, those of us who are less mobile, or want to practice on a regular planning games, arguing and buyin’ softin’ goods, basis, are “relegated” to the use of airsoft GBB pistols to get our then shooting friends and strangers out in Midlands woods. fix and work on our drills.

“When a few politicians worked up some reports, 6MM TRAINING and started making it harder for me to play my sport The transferability of weapons handling experiences gained in airsoft, being applied in real steel environments, is probably I got fed up of the laws and to myself, I despaired; worth an entirely separate article when I find the opportunity. No I’m moving to Taiwan, and getting into Action Air!” doubt most people are aware of TRex Arms’ Lucas Botkin, taking a Japanese player, Liku (who had never had experience of real hat somewhat (intentionally) whimsical and musical summary firearms but plenty of GBB usage), under his wing and having as a nod to everyone’s favourite Will Smith TV series, at least him burn down the range among more seasoned US real steel Tsets the scene for a subset of my numerous activities since I arrived in Taiwan in late 2017. While a lot of my previous writing and playing has been centred around “traditional” skirmishing - if there is such a thing - and particularly a focus on CQB games, indoor or urban playing and involvement in Copehill Down weekenders or operations in Spain before my move abroad, since arriving on my island paradise I’ve become increasingly aware of Airsoft IPSC, or “Action Air” practical shooting disciplines. With the long-standing restrictions in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and, of course, the Chinese Mainland that mirror the last few decades of tightening firearms regulations in the UK, those who wanted to get involved in target shooting and related sports on this side of the world usually had to resort to trips to Thailand or Cambodia - including myself, having finally gotten hands on with a real M16A1 and AKM in Siem Reap back in 2015, on my third trip to Asia. Whilst IDPA and IPSC are growing in the less restrictive Asian countries - including a great deal of shooting sports or public

“WITH THE LONG-STANDING RESTRICTIONS IN TAIWAN, HONG KONG, MACAU AND, OF COURSE, THE CHINESE MAINLAND THAT MIRROR THE LAST FEW DECADES OF TIGHTENING FIREARMS REGULATIONS IN THE UK, THOSE WHO WANTED TO GET INVOLVED IN TARGET SHOOTING AND RELATED SPORTS ON THIS SIDE OF THE WORLD USUALLY HAD TO RESORT TO TRIPS TO THAILAND OR CAMBODIA ”

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ACTION AIR - TAIWAN shooters in short order and impressing everyone with his things perhaps a little too seriously. So, having dabbled in the fundamental abilities. aforementioned competition last year, I decided to prepare myself Similarly, an increasing number of police and military for the imminent move to pastures new by investing in the proper organisations are seeking to use airsoft or related systems in Double Alpha Academy belt kit and Safariland holsters, to go with force on force training, including the Taiwanese police and SWAT the TTI Glock 34 I got for my 34th birthday. teams, who sometimes train during the week at the same Linkou Despite the continued language barrier that my limited “Taiwan CQB Club”/”North Training” facility we skirmish at functional Mandarin presents I was able to pick up the movements on some weekends. Also, an increased emphasis towards local and key points relatively easily, thanks to Mars Liu’s tutelage and attentions on my first session and I was soon turning up on a regular basis to hone my skills. It has all been somewhat hectic in reality, fitting in around 20 training sessions within the first three months since starting but as usual, I don’t do things by halves!

GETTING LICENSED Having started off March with our first Speedsoft-oriented tournament in Taipei - as featured in my previous Island Insider article ‘”Live and let DYE” - I decided to end it with qualifying for my Action Air Competition License following a whole day seminar. I understood a surprising amount, despite not always being able to translate every single word on the fly but it certainly helped to have prior understanding of real firearms, or live fire competitions and the material as they tend to transfer into Action Air rules and procedures. Those halcyon days in my school’s Combined Cadet Force and breezing through weapons handling tests were gladly put to good use once again! Following a morning of procedural and administrative matters, as well as general structure, distribution and operation of the manufacturer’s T4E (Training For Engagement) systems shows that different levels of officials in the Asian region, we broke for lunch attitudes are changing and airgun shooting sports and training and got on with the practical assessment in the afternoon. Having techniques are gaining more acceptance as of late, despite already practiced, with Mars holding a few mock tests for me, on (perhaps) some earlier snubbing by many real steel users as the lead up to the examination day, the practical shooting side “pointless” or “ineffective”. was a breeze and, thankfully, the examiner also has an excellent With all that in mind, I decided to throw my hat in the ring and give it a go. I’d already dabbled in early 2019, when my Filipina skirmishing teammate, Belinda, invited me along to a friendly competition at her local AIPSC/Action Air “Spring Rain” team’s facility in South-Western Taipei and had been wanting to get into it more seriously since that first foray. However, until I moved up to Taipei properly, the logistics were just too prohibitive given most team’s training times conflicted with my afternoon and evening teaching work.

FIRST TASTE Happily, in February a local friend noticed I had been getting my equipment repaired at KIC Airsoft’s shop in Sanchong, North West Taipei and told me that he trained in Action Air not far from there. Having struggled to get involved with the other teams in the area, such as “Spring Rain” (SR) and “Taipei Focus Action Shooters” (TFAS) due to my evening teaching work timetable for the last few months, I jumped at the opportunity to train with “Setup Project Practical Team” (SPPT), just a short bus ride from my new digs in central Taipei. And so, after a brief exchange of details online I was welcomed along to my first session to get an idea for my abilities and what Action Air involves. I imagine I made a decent enough first impression, as I always have to be “that guy” who takes

“FOLLOWING A MORNING OF PROCEDURAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS, AS WELL AS GENERAL STRUCTURE, DISTRIBUTION AND OPERATION OF THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF OFFICIALS IN THE ASIAN REGION, WE BROKE FOR LUNCH AND GOT ON WITH THE PRACTICAL ASSESSMENT IN THE AFTERNOON. ”

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ACTION AIR - TAIWAN

level of English so made sure there were no misunderstandings in of where you go in the world, shooting sports (or combat sports what drill was expected. in general) attract the same kind of focused, disciplined, like- By the end of a long day there were 11 new certified shooters minded and decent folk who have to endure poor press and public from the various aforementioned teams spread around Taipei reactions due to everyone else’s misunderstandings of our hobbies inaugurated into the Action Air/AIPSC shooting community. Were and interests. it not for the ongoing issues related to the Coronavirus causing Hopefully, out here I can put a bit more of a “big friendly cancellations, I would have immediately gotten involved in my foreigner” face on the whole thing and thus far I’ve always had first competition shoot barely a week later, in Hsinchu, where I plenty of interest from local players, young and old, as to what had first lived and worked when I moved here. Unfortunately, me and my other expat teammates are up to here and how we as it was I had to wait until April for the next shoot in Northern got into airsoft. I usually tell them that I’m a previous addict and Taichung, not too far from where my other half originates from - that I moved here because it’s where airsoft seems to be focusing she was also very patient on the exam day and good enough to and flourishing the most. I’m very glad I did, given the warm wait around all day in case there were any language issues that reception and how easily I have been able to get involved in not arose. Translating the written exam would certainly have been a only playing, but communicating with local players and companies lot harder without her but I managed to scrape through it with as well as bridging the gap and introducing Taiwan’s airsoft her help and that of the others who had less of a language barrier community and manufacturing abilities to our global readership. than myself, so many thanks to the ever-helpful Ms. Stewbacca! So, now I’m properly licensed to put pellets through paper against the clock, I’ve joined the SPPT regular team and continued LOOKING FORWARDS my training regime at home and their training space. In my next One thing that I’ve noticed in all my adventures in airsoft and installment I’ll be telling you how our experience of the first Action Air here, is that despite me still having a limited ability in competition of the year in Taichung went - so keep your eyes conversation, or terminologically-specific material, everyone is still peeled for that and join me on my continuing adventures in my very welcoming and accommodating nonetheless and, regardless new found Action Air addiction. AA

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ICS M1 GARAND OLD GARANDS NEVER DIE... THEY JUST GET BETTER! TO MANY, LOOKING IN FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD, AIRSOFT WOULD SOMETIMES APPEAR TO BE ALL ABOUT THE VERY LATEST TRICKED-OUT AR, OR THE NEWEST “TACTICOOL” AK BUT THERE ARE ALSO REPLICA MODELS THAT BOTH THE RE-ENACTOR AND COLLECTOR OF CLASSIC FIREARM MODELS CAN ENJOY. BILL LOOKS AT ONE OF HIS FAVOURITE HISTORICAL RIFLES, IN THE FORM OF THE ICS M1 GARAND AEG.

f you are looking on as an outsider to the wonderfully Idiverse world of airsoft, it must appear that the sport is dominated by the “AR” platform and, to some degree, I’d have to that has had a (somewhat sadly) admit that there are probably crack at building it! more variants of the modern American rifle out there than As I still have a toe in the anything else! Vietnam Living History world I’m quite Over recent years though, I’ve watched an upswing in regularly asked by re-enactor friends about airsoft replicas the use of other platforms, particularly that of “Comrade from that era and I’m pleased to say there are some Kalashnikov”, in the game and if you take time to look extremely fine examples, like the MX177, M16A1 and closely at what is actually available in 6mm replica form, even the rather splendid Stoner and RPD LMGs. If asked by there are some absolute gems. For the collector of firearms, someone from the “WWII world” I’d have to say that this is albeit in 6mm form like me, there are actually very few also true for that period too. military models that do not, or have not ever, existed in Although there are many manufacturers that make Colt airsoft guise. M1911A1s Thompson SMGs for the “WWII US” airsofter Like many “flavours of airsoft”, historical periods seem or re-enactor, the M1 carbine is still all but impossible to to come and go and come again in a never-ending cycle, find in electric form. I own a couple of very nice gas M1 quite often driven these days by a movie, TV series, or video carbines but one is in 8mm form, whilst the other is 6mm game launch. I’ve seen replicas in airsoft form ranging from but too powerful for most airsoft games in the UK. I hope pirate, through Napoleonic and cowboy, to WWI, WWII and that one day someone will address this and create an the Vietnam War - and you can bet your bottom dollar that electric version. Until a couple of years back I had never if a firearm has existed there’s an airsoft tech somewhere owned an M1 Garand for the same reason but thankfully,

“I’VE SEEN REPLICAS IN AIRSOFT FORM RANGING FROM PIRATE, THROUGH NAPOLEONIC AND COWBOY, TO WWI, WWII AND THE VIETNAM WAR - AND YOU CAN BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR THAT IF A FIREARM HAS EXISTED THERE’S AN AIRSOFT TECH SOMEWHERE THAT HAS HAD A CRACK AT BUILDING IT!”

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ICS M1 GARAND

“THE UNITED STATES WAS THE ONLY COUNTRY TO EQUIP ITS TROOPS WITH AN AUTO-LOADING RIFLE AS THE STANDARD INFANTRY WEAPON OF WWII, AND IT GAVE AMERICAN TROOPS A TREMENDOUS ADVANTAGE IN FIREPOWER, LEADING GENERAL GEORGE PATTON TO CALL THE M1 GARAND, “THE GREATEST BATTLE IMPLEMENT EVER DEVISED.””

Taiwanese airsoft manufacturer ICS have a super version of producing more than 4,000,000 M1 rifles by the end of the this for all players and collectors to enjoy! war in 1945! The United States was the only country to equip THE FIRST ISSUE SEMI-AUTO! its troops with an auto-loading rifle as the standard At the back end of the 19th Century the Maxim Gun was infantry weapon of WWII, and it gave American troops creating quite a stir amongst military users around the a tremendous advantage in firepower, leading General world and firearms designers scratched their collective George Patton to call the M1 Garand, “The greatest battle heads on how to apply the auto-loading principle to rifles implement ever devised.” and pistols. Because of the low power of its small bullet, But this was not the end of the story. the pistol was relatively easy and semi-automatic handguns Following WWII many M1 Garand rifles were mothballed began to appear quire quickly - but applying Maxim’s and put into storage but when North Korea attacked South principle to a military rifle was much more difficult due to Korea in 1950, M1 rifle production was resumed. Although the the power of the cartridge. the primary source remained Springfield Armory, two new The use of the machine gun and in the latter parts of manufacturers were contracted, International Harvester WWI, the sub-machine gun, taught the value devastating Corporation and Harrington & Richardson Arms and it is nature of heavy infantry firepower and in 1918 U.S. estimated a further 1,500,000 new M1s were produced Ordnance began to search for an auto-loading infantry between 1952 and 1957. rifle. Over the next ten years many inventors Of course, in the early 1950’s U.S. Ordnance had already begun the development of a new infantry rifle, one that would have a larger capacity magazine and selective fire capability and after much trial and error (and no little controversy) an updated M1 was adopted in 1957 as the

submitted designs for testing, however, none proved acceptable. If they could stand up to the punishment, they were too heavy and if they were light enough to be carried easily (a relative term for the “PBI” who had to carry it!), they were M14 Rifle. The Garand necessarily of small calibre. is still used by drill teams However, one of the more promising designs was and military honour guards submitted by a young, Canadian-born inventor named John to this day though and it is also widely Cantius Garand, who was quickly employed by Springfield used by civilians for hunting and target shooting and has Armory in Massachusetts to develop his rifle further. become a prized military collectible, so much so that under After many stop/starts with his original design, Garand’s a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. improved rifle tapped off the propellant gases of the fired Army and the Civilian Marksmanship Program, M1 Garand bullet and used it to cycle the rifle. This design eventually sales are now regulated. beat out all the competition and was adopted as the standard U.S. infantry rifle in 1936. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE “PING”! Mass production of the M1 Garand began at Springfield I am extremely lucky as, during my time living in the USA, I Armory in 1937 and the first rifles were delivered to the actually had chance to shoot a real Garand on the range a Army in 1938. In 1940 a second line was opened by the couple of times and let me tell you that this big old .30-06 Winchester Repeating Arms Company who were contracted is actually a joy to shoot and, quite frankly, the rifle was to manufacture the rifle. Now fully on a “war footing” both way ahead of its time! Springfield and Winchester operated around the clock, Unlike modern rifles it doesn’t have a detachable box

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armoury

ICS M1 GARAND magazine but loads instead with eight round clips. These are inserted into the open action from the top and retained inside the rifle until the last round is fired, at which point the clip ejects with the final fired cartridge case and with the much-commented on “‘ping”; a sound which, if I’m pushed, I would say would go largely unnoticed in the heat of battle, although others would beg to differ I’m sure. While you don’t get the “ping” with the ICS airsoft replica of the M1 Garand, I’m going to tell you that this is one of the few things that isn’t there, as this is a truly stunning replica! I get to shoot MANY airsoft replicas on the range each and every year - and that’s before I count the models I get to try at demo days and shows - and to my mind, the ICS Garand is a standout model, as it’s truly a visual work of art. The linseed-finished woodwork is absolutely lovely, feeling almost “sticky” as new; this rifle looks just like it’s come direct from the Springfield Armory! At 1,102mm long and weighing in at 3,600g this is by no means a small rifle but it still feels well balanced in airsoft form and actually is an AEG you could happily carry all day in game. The metalwork is also beautifully finished and details, there are many. Internally you get a gearbox with 8mm bushings for reliability and durability, along with steel gears, an uprated MIM set, a nylon-fibre piston and a one piece cylinder head, all driven along by a top-end ICS Turbo 3000 motor. You also get (as standard) a MOSFET to eliminate high switch temperatures, a real bonus as the Garand is semi-auto only! And talking of which, how does this all translate to the range? Using .20g BBs the Garand gave a mean chronograph reading of 1.37 Joule/385fps, which was totally consistent and perfectly site friendly if your site of choice makes use of a “semi-only DMR” rule. Setting the trigger safety to fire will send BBs downrange with an extremely satisfying crack and the long, 537mm inner barrel really comes into its stride. The Garand is quite astonishingly accurate, hitting sandbag targets easily at 30m at the extent of the range and with a .30g BB this lovely retro-rifle definitely has some legs! Overall, the ICS M1 Garand is a truly stunning replica and I can really see it acting as your main AEG if you want something for a living history impression that will double- date at your local Sunday Skirmish! For the quality of materials, construction and performance I do not view this as an expensive replica as you can have one for around £425 with a pair of unique 42BB mags included, and for this price you are getting a slice of firearms history and a great deal for you money! My thanks as always go to www.fire-support.co.uk for supplying the rifle. Please do check them out for any and all of your ICS Airsoft needs and much, much more! AA

“THE GARAND IS QUITE ASTONISHINGLY ACCURATE, HITTING SANDBAG TARGETS EASILY AT 30M AT THE EXTENT OF THE RANGE AND WITH A .30G BB THIS LOVELY RETRO-RIFLE DEFINITELY HAS SOME LEGS”

www.airsoftaction.net 35 AA SPECIAL

CAPTAIN TOM MOORE

LT COLONEL THOMAS MOORE AKA “CAPTAIN TOM” MILITARY HISTORIAN, WILL FOWLER, TAKES A BRIEF LOOK BACK AT THE HISTORY OF A MAN WHOSE DETERMINATION EARNED HIM THE GRATITUDE AND RESPECT OF AN ENTIRE NATION. f you live outside of the UK, the name “Captain Tom” number one single! might not be familiar to you but here, he is a national Tom Moore was born on April 30, 1920. His parents Ihero. and family were local builders in Keighley, Yorkshire, where On the 6th April, at the ripe old age of 99, Captain he spent much of his life. He attended Keighley Grammar Tom, a former British Army officer, began to walk laps of School as a child, and later went on to complete an his garden aiming to reach his goal of raising £1,000 in aid apprenticeship as a Civil Engineer. But in 1940, aged 20 he of NHS Charities Together by his 100th birthday, on the enlisted in the 8th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regiment 30th. His challenge captured (8 DWR), the British public’s hearts and The Regiment was donations started pouring stationed in Cornwall as part in, so much so that on the of 203 Independent Infantry morning of the 30th April the Brigade (Home) to defend total raised by his walk had the coast as the threat of a passed £30 million and by the German invasion. He was end of the day (and his long selected for officer training walk), was just shy of £33 in 1940 and posted to an million! Officers Training Unit (OTU) His 100th birthday was before being commissioned marked by with a flypast from as a Second Lieutenant on 28 the RAF’s Battle of Britain June 1941. Memorial Flight, a video call In November 1941 8 DWR from the Secretary General of was re-rolled as an armoured the United Nations, Antonio regiment 145 Regiment Royal Guterres and a personalised Armoured Corps (RAC). All birthday card from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. personnel continued to wear their DWR cap badge but He was also appointed as honorary colonel of the Army on the RAC black beret. Later, Tom Morre was transferred Foundation College and featured in a cover version of the to 9 DWR , which left Liverpool for India on August 28, song “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, with the sale proceeds 1941 arriving in Bombay on October 25, 1941, then, on going to the same charity. The single topped the UK music November 1, 1941 it was re-rolled as 146 Regiment RAC charts and made Captain Tom the oldest person to have a and drew its first three Valentine tanks. By October 1942

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M3 Lees and subsequently absorbed ‘B’ Squadron which, therefore, moved onto M3 Lee tanks as well. The Lee had a hull-mounted 75mm gun with restricted traverse but this matched the limited visibility of the jungle, while the turret-mounted 37mm gun now had a canister shot that was ideal for infantry support. The crews worked out an effective method of bunker busting, using their HE shells to clear away any camouflage and their AP shells to break up the bunkers. The regiment’s constituent squadrons had largely regrouped into a regimental formation again by early 1944. By 1944 the Lee was the primary equipment of the regiment, except for ‘A’ Squadron which was then equipped as a light armoured vehicle squadron. 146 RAC was an active participant in the Second Arakan campaign and A Squadron, supported 26 Indian Division in landing and later fighting on Ramree Island, (Operation Matador) in January and February 1945. On May 9th, Tom and his comrades heard that the war in Europe was over and VE Day was being celebrated but they knew that for the 14th Army the war was far from it had been fully equipped with Valentines and had an over. armoured car troop in Ford Indian Pattern Carriers. Six During July 1945 the 254 Indian Tank Brigade, having Universal Carriers were added as part of the mortar troop returned from Burma, became established at Ahmednagar, in November 1942. in Maharashtra State. One of the brigade’s constituent A photograph from this period shows a youthful units, 7 Light Cavalry needed to be relieved, and 146 RAC Lieutenant Moore, along with a brother officer, siting on was assigned as its replacement. The regiment’s 1945 the front deck of a Valentine surrounded by the crew. reassignment to 254 Brigade led to the introduction of the The two officers are wearing the black RAC berret with M4 Sherman tank, though a report of June 1945 shows regimental cap badge. that 146 RAC was not considered battle-ready at that In Bombay, Moore, who went on to win trophies in stage, having received only 12 Shermans for the entire competitive motorcycling after the war, was instructed regiment and, with three quarters of its manpower being to set up a motorcycling course for the regiment. The made up of new recruits, it had insufficient training on the regiment then moved east to Calcutta, a road trip vehicles that took three weeks through the driving rain of the In 1945 Tom Moore moved further south with the monsoon. 146 RAC was assigned to the 50 Indian Tank regiment, reaching Rangoon where they linked up Brigade and initially based at Kirkee Barracks in Poona, with amphibious forces who had landed in “Operation later moving to Dhond until July 13, 1942. Dracula”. The war in the Far East ended on August 15, On 1st October 1942, Tom Moore was promoted to 1945 and the regiment was sent to Sumatara in the war-substantive Lieutenant and to temporary Captain Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) to ensure stability on October 11, 1944. With this rank he was probably following the Japanese surrender. Second in Command of a tank squadron and responsible On his return to Britain, Tom Moore served as an for the administration and re-supply. The regiment then instructor at the Armoured Fighting Vehicle School in moved to Lohardaya (under XV Indian Corps) until January Bovington, Dorset until the troops were demobilised and 1, 1943 and then to the Ratu-Ranchi area. returned home. AA The various squadrons were then split off and assigned to different fighting forces across Burma. ‘A’ Squadron was attached to the 72 Indian Infantry Brigade, ‘B’ to the 29 Infantry Brigade and ‘C’ Squadron as the divisional reserve. ‘A’ Squadron was located at Madh Island, Bombay with its brigade. When the order of battle of the 36 Indian Infantry Division changed, the division was allotted only two squadrons. It returned before entering the Arakan and the regiment was located during the first six months of 1944 at Pashau Camp in Poona, where they gradually converted from Valentines to M3 Lee tanks. By May 1943, the Regiment’s ‘C’ Squadron had been fully equipped with Valentine Mk III Tank Tunisia 1943

www.airsoftaction.net 37 KIT & GEAR

AIRSOFT COMMS NO COMMS, NO BOMBS THREE WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR RADIO COMMUNICATIONS USING RADIOS IN AN AIRSOFT GAME IS SOMETHING THAT MANY ASPIRE TO DO WELL BUT IT’S A PERISHABLE SKILL LIKE ANY OTHER THAT NEEDS CONSTANT PRACTICE AND UPDATING. OUR “LEGIONNAIRE” SEAN, FROM BLACKLINE SIMULATIONS IN CANADA, GIVES US SOME POINTERS ON HOW TO ENSURE YOUR COMMS ARE EFFECTIVE AND HOW YOU CAN GET THE BEST OUT OF THEM.

t was probably about five minutes into your very first 1. LEARN BASIC PROCEDURES event when you realized how important communication While different sectors and militaries have different Iwas going to be in your new hobby. Organizing units standards for communication, many share common over long distances, coordinating attacks and calling for fundamentals. Messages clearly identify the sender and help all require a way to get in touch with your team. Those receiver, they use strategies to ensure the message is easy messages have to be fast, clear and preferably not yelled to understand and they only allow one person to speak at into the air where the enemy can hear them! So it’s no a time. These fundamentals are often referred to as “Radio surprise that airsoft players have turned to radios to solve Operating Procedure”. that problem. If this concept is new to you, one of the easiest Dozens of radio solutions get deployed on the field. You procedure formats to use is the “Receiver, Sender, Message, can find low-cost handheld units like the Baofeng UV5R, Over/Out”. Begin your message with who you are trying to fully functional replicas of the AN/PRC 148 MBITR and AN/ reach, then add your own callsign so everyone knows who’s PRC 177 radios and high-end professional Motorola models speaking. State your message, then finish with “over” used by law enforcement. All of these serve their users well, OR “out” (not both!). End your message with “Over” if from simple communications to high-quality impressions. you’re finished and ready for the next person to speak. Unfortunately, as more people pick up communications Use “Out” if you are finished speaking and are ending tools it becomes clear the problem isn’t always with the that conversation. This simple format makes each message type of radio. a clean package that is easy to understand and helps the listener know when it is OK for them to speak. If you want “Can you hear me?” to be more authentic, do some research on your local “Comms check.” Military and Law Enforcement units to see how they format “Someone is hot mic-ing!” their messages. “What did you say?” Clear messages also rely on clear speech. This can be *Static* challenging when it comes to strings of letters or numbers that sometimes sound the same over a radio. Confusion The best comms gear you can buy will only be good is even more likely if transmissions aren’t perfectly clear. for Instagram photos if there isn’t a competent operator NATO utilizes the “NATO Phonetic Alphabet” - a system of behind the microphone. We can’t cover everything in words and pronunciations that make it easier to understand a couple of magazine pages but we can suggest three what letters and numbers are being spoken. This system self-study areas you should focus on if you want to be an was designed to work well in English, French, and Spanish. effective communicator. Your country may have a system of its own, however, if

38 JUNE 2020 KIT & GEAR

AIRSOFT COMMS you want to use the NATO alphabet, there’s a great chart 2. KNOW YOUR GEAR available. Unfortunately, the only way to learn it is through This self-study area goes way beyond knowing what memorization. You could try reading local vehicle license radio model you’re using. It’s a formal challenge for you plates using the Phonetic Alphabet for practice. to understand your equipment’s placement, function and capabilities. Phonetic alphabet Semaphore The NATO alphabet became effective in 1956 and, a few years later, turned into the Semaphore is a system in which a person sends information at a distance using established universal phonetic alphabet for all military, civilian and amateur radio Alfa hand-held flags – depending on the position of the flags, the message will vary. The NATO communications. (al-fah) signaller holds the flag in different positions that represent letters or numbers. phonetic alphabet, International Morse Code A Panel signalling Where your comms gear is placed makes a big codes  signals Morse code transmits text through on-off tones, light-flashes or clicks. It was widely used a Panels are visual signals for sending simple messages to an aircraft. Using a limited in the 1890s for early radio communication, before it was possible to transmit voice. code, ground forces can send messages to pilots, for example to request medical supplies. Flaghoist communication The ability to communicate and make yourself Ships use flags as signals to send out messages to each other. The use of flags, known difference in how effective it is. For example, one of the understood can make a difference in life- as flaghoist communication, is a fast and accurate way to send information in daylight. threatening situations – imagine for example that you are trying to alert a search and rescue helicopter of the position of a downed pilot. To ensure clear communication, NATO most common causes of “hot mics” (the accidental radio uses a number of well-known formats which Bravo Charlie Delta Echo Foxtrot are in general use. NATO standardization (brah-voh) (char-lee) (dell-tah) (eck-oh) (foks-trot) agreements enable forces from many nations B C D E F to communicate in a way that is understood by all. b c d e f transmissions that block the channel for everyone else) is Some standards can be found in everyday civilian and military life. “Bravo Zulu”, typically signalled with naval flags on ships at sea and meaning “well done”, is also commonly used poorly placed gear. If your “push to talk” button is in a in written communication by the military, for example by replying “BZ” to an email. Golf Hotel India Juliett Kilo G (golf) H (hoh-tel) I (in-dee-ah) J (jew-lee-ett) K (key-loh) place where it’s hit every time you go prone or shoulder Numbers g H i J k

One (wun) your rifle, you’ll be effectively jamming the frequency for 1 1 Tw o 2 2(too) Lima Mike November Oscar Papa your friends. Poor placement can cause other malfunctions (lee-mah) (mike) (no-vem-ber) (oss-cah) (pah-pah) ree L M N O P 3 3(tree) l m n o p Four like snagged cables, bent antennas and dials being turned 4 4(fow-er) Five ( fe) when you absolutely need to communicate without fail. 5 5 Quebec Romeo Sierra Tango Uniform Six (keh-beck) (row-me-oh) (see-air-rah) (tang-go) (you-nee-form) (six) Q R S T U 6 6 q r s t u To address this, suit up in your gear and go prone, roll Seven 7 7(sev-en) Eight around, shoulder your weapon, bend side to side. Move 8 8(ait) Nine Victor Whiskey Xray Yankee Zulu 9 9(nin-er) V (vic-tah) W (wiss-key) X (ecks-ray) Y (yang-key) Z (zoo-loo) as you would in a game to see if you trigger your radio. Zero v w x y z 0 0(zee-ro) Look at your cables to ensure they’re weaved into your

More information on NATO's codes, signals and standards can be found on the NATO Standardization Office (NSO) website: http://nso.nato.int/nso/ – More on the history of the NATO phonetic alphabet: http://www.nato.int/declassified/ Created by Communications Services, Public Diplomacy Division, NATO HQ, Brussels, Belgium – NATO 2018 This poster can be downloaded at http://www.nato.int/alphabet Phonetic transcription is based on English pronunciation. gear so they can’t be pulled out or snagged. Double-check “Over” and “Out” are called “Procedure Words”, or to see that your radio is covered well and protected from “Prowords” for short. These are standard words that accidental contact. reduce the amount of speaking required and clarify what is Placement and function go together as well. Antenna being communicated. While these too vary by country and relocation kits that get your antenna away from a pouch language, here are a few of the basic ones used in Canada and up to the highest point on your body aren’t for show. and the United States. Antennas for UHF frequencies get better reception if they’re higher up. Sometimes that will apply to you too. You may “Over” - My transmission is over and a response is have to find higher ground in order to get your message necessary. Send your message now. out. Understanding how the frequencies you’re using are “Out” - My transmission is over and no response is impacted by the environment will help you troubleshoot required or expected. poor transmission or reception issues. There are functional “Roger” - I have understood your message. aspects of your radio you’re going to have to understand “Say Again” - I did not understand your message. too. Do you know how to program frequencies into the Repeat your last message. device? Do you know what antennas work best? What “Read Back” - Repeat my message back to me so I can about how far you can transmit? These are some basic confirm you received it correctly knowledge skills you should have for your radio before you “Affirmative” - Yes hit the field. “Negative” - No A great way to deal with these equipment challenges is to build yourself a pre-operation checklist. Start with some While there are many more prowords to learn, basics and add to it as you encounter problems during this is a great start for someone unfamiliar with radio events so you can deal with them before they come up. communications. Some basic pre-operation checks may include: [ ] - Radio tests completed and radio is operational [ ] - Volume is set [ ] - Primary battery is charged [ ] - Secondary batteries are charged and packed [ ] - Cables are attached and secured [ ] - Microphones, headsets and PTTs are connected and functional [ ] - Radio is secured and protected

3. THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK You’ve got your format down. You know the phonetic alphabet. You’ve gone through your pre-operation checklist three times. You’re ready for the largest challenge… actually forming a message! Often, those who are new to using radios squeeze down on the push to talk button and begin sending a stream of

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KIT & GEAR

AIRSOFT COMMS consciousness out onto the frequency. They’ll make guesses can do on your own or with friends to improve your radio about what they’re seeing, mention vague locations, or communications skills. There is a lot more to learn about provide information that’s not required. All the while, they comms, including how new technologies like Zello are pause and delay which jams up the frequency for other changing the game, or how to employ PACE plans and urgent traffic. Signal Operating Instructions (SOI’s) for more robust and Learning to form a short, concise message is hard. secure messaging. However, the fundamentals are key and It takes lots of practice to filter the situation you’re in should be part of your regular training plan as much as and push only the most necessary information onto the reload and contact drills. network. For your self-study, consider these few tips for If you’re new to radio communications and are excited more effective messaging: to learn, or if you’re looking to practice more advanced techniques, Blackline Simulations offers two Radio Start with Writing Communications courses. Built around the fundamentals Practice with friends in a low-stress environment and and military simulation applications, the Introductory Level write your message down before you send it. It’s harder Course teaches radio basics, message formats, and the to write than speak and you’ll naturally want to write as phonetic alphabet. little as possible. Your written message will likely be much The Advanced Level Course focuses on reports, SOI/ shorter and accurate than the one you made up as you PACE and virtual operations to test your abilities. Both spoke. include a number of sessions with other students to give you a chance to practice your skills from anywhere in the Facts Only world, using a network radio PTT app called “Zello”. If Communicate exactly what you see and don’t guess. A the idea of working with like-minded learning-focused person may look like they’re carrying a gun but if they’re players appeals to you, check out the courses here: too far away for you to be certain, then communicate what www.blacklinesimulations.com/events and here: www. you know. You see an individual carrying a long dark object. blacklinesimulations.com/post/comms-at-blackline-zello- Speculating creates misinformation and doesn’t help your and-uhf-working-together AA team understand the situation you’re in.

Don’t Rush The goal is to communicate the correct information as quickly and as accurately as possible. Ironically, that means you should slow down. Speak firmly, clearly and at a moderate pace. This is especially true if you’re sending coordinates. If you’re too fast, people will not understand your message and you’ll be forced to repeat it - actually increasing the amount of time it takes to deliver your information.

Learn Basic Reports The military has been sending radio transmissions for the better part of a century. They’ve made simple standardized reports that make sure all the necessary information is included as concisely as possible. Research standard reports like SITREP, SALUTE, and the 9-Liner MEDIVAC reports and consider using them. Modify them for your use or build your own. The key is to be simple, efficient, and complete, while also being fast.

Use Common Reference Points “Near the building” is a useless description unless there’s only one building in the region. Use products you build with your team in advance like Grid Reference Graphics, map waypoints, or MGRS locations to help orient the listener to what you’re seeing and where it is.

A Canadian Special Operations soldier once told us. “Push to talk, not push to think.” That’s a great way to look at effective radio transmissions. Learning basic procedures, knowing your equipment and thinking before you transmit are three things you

www.airsoftaction.net 41 THE CAGE

BELT KIT THE CAGE: BELT UP! WE ALL LOVE OUR “NYLON GEAR” FOR AIRSOFT BUT SOMETIMES THE OLD ADAGE THAT “YOU CAN SPOT THE VETERAN AIRSOFTER WITH JUST AN OLD AK AND BELT KIT” IS TRUER THAN YOU MIGHT THINK! THIS MONTH BILL GOT (VIRTUALLY) TOGETHER WITH THE AA TEAM TO DISCUSS “BATTLE/ SHOOTER BELTS” AND ASKED THEM “DO YOU USE ONE? WHY? …AND IF YOU DO, WHAT DO YOU USE?”

hen it comes to “belt-kit” you’d be rightly me their new, at that time yet to be released, LOW excused for thinking of “old school” webbing PROFILE DIRECT ACTION MK1 SHOOTERS BELT, at which Wkit that was cheap as chips - and about as point I rolled my eyes and told him “Yup, of course…” durable! Time, along with design and components, moves The setup, which is sold as a complete unit, features on though… Not so long ago if you’d spoken to me the WAS Low Profile MOLLE Belt (LPMB) DA MK 1, about “belt-kit” then, undoubtedly I would have nodded which offers a two-stage low profile platform that has sagely and talked to you about “SAS style” hand-tailored been configured for the needs of the modern shooter. pouches suspended from a roller-pin belt. However, Stage One is a reinforced slimline belt that is covered technology and design moves ever onward and in more in loop Velcro and is designed to be threaded through recent times I’ve seen the adoption of the “battle-belt”, sometimes with protective inserts, which made use of the MOLLE system, allowing you to tailor the make-up of your belt to your own specifications, whilst (importantly!) keeping everything firmly in one place. In the past couple of years though things have moved on even further, with lower profile systems coming to the fore and new technologies being embraced to ensure strength and durability whilst keeping the weight well and truly down. The “two piece shooters belt” seems to be in vogue and having now tried a few different models from a variety of manufacturers, I can understand why this is so. When I was at IWA a couple of years back I managed to catch up with Scott from UK-based Warrior Assault Systems (WAS) and (after “chewing the fat” for a while) I your trouser belt loops and acts in the same way that a asked him if WAS intended to follow this growing trend. traditional belt would. Stage Two of the system is made He simply grinned, went behind the display and handed up of a low profile MOLLE belt covered in two rows of Mil

“IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS THOUGH THINGS HAVE MOVED ON EVEN FURTHER, WITH LOWER PROFILE SYSTEMS COMING TO THE FORE AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES BEING EMBRACED TO ENSURE STRENGTH AND DURABILITY WHILST KEEPING THE WEIGHT WELL AND TRULY DOWN. ”

42 JUNE 2020 THE CAGE

BELT KIT

Spec webbing; this belt has a row of hook Velcro on the inside which marries up to first belt, it is then secured by way of a removable belt and composite GT Cobra buckle. Although it’s marketed as a two-piece system there are, in fact, three components to the system; the inner trouser belt, the outer belt with the GT Cobra and then a MOLLE sleeve which covers that. Overall, this means that you have a versatile and very strong system that will support the weight of multiple pouches and a holstered pistol. And talking about pouches this is, in my mind, where WAS have been thinking ahead, as the system comes complete with a variety of their excellent models, including a Single Pistol Magazine Pouch, two Rifle Magazine pouches, a Slimline Foldable Dump Pouch, IFAK Green for training and one in PenCott GreenZone for First Aid Pouch, one Small Horizontal Pouch and their games. Both are set up identically with a safety tether, incredibly useful Universal Pistol Pouch/Holster (UPH). two primary magazine pouches, two secondary magazine Although you can add and subtract from the pouches pouches, a dump pouch, a TQ pouch and an IFAK (all the provided, the Universal Pistol Pouch/Holster is a godsend pouches are DA or Helkion-Tex, and the HTX Modular for me as it saves having to change out my holster when Individual Med Kit pouch is an absolute gem!). I use I’m testing different pistols on the range. Also, if I’m holsters from Taig at Kydex Customs with QD belt clips attending a real firearms course overseas and don’t know so I can swap out my secondary as desired. I’ve worn the exact pistol model the trainer will be providing, I can my personal setups regularly both at home and abroad take the UPH confident that it will retain virtually any and already given them some serious abuse and, thus model safely and securely. far, they’ve been nothing but exemplary. In fact, I’m so This, I have to say, got me started on the two-piece impressed that I’ve just ordered the slightly wider Direct belt and since then I’ve also come to love the lo-profile Action Warhawk outer belt! Mustang system from Direct Action. The inner belt works simply as a trouser belt and as a stabiliser for both the WHAT THEY SAID! Mustang and Warhawk outer belts. As it attaches to the So, with this in mind I spoke to the rest of the guys on the inner Velcro loop panels of those belts, it prevents ride- AA team and asked them what they were currently using up during dynamic movement or when drawing a pistol and this is what they had to tell me: from a holster. With this belt in place there’s no need to Scott: “I use a belt to hold my jeans up because I can’t use suspenders or a drop leg panel in order to achieve a do my jeans up as I’m getting fat stuck indoors! I’ve never secure pistol draw. Made out of proprietary laminate and used belt kit other than in a sniper role years ago; I always Velcro this is simply a flat, feather-light accessory to keep find chest rigs easier all round.” your pants up and your working equipment belt where Callum: “I have two go-to belts; my Tactical Tailor belt you’d expect it to be. The ultra-thin profile of the trouser with Blade Tech Fast Mags for my Mk18, and a Wartech/ belt effectively eliminates “buckle over buckle” discomfort ANA mash up for my Russian kit with the 104.” and can be worn all day long. Jon M: “A very bare bones WAS Shooters belt setup Made of heavy duty tubular webbing, proprietary for me; Holster, Dump Pouch, Retention Lanyard, Glove laminate and lined with Velcro loop the Mustang Rescue/ Holder. It’s all I need.” Gun belt is bartack-reinforced in stress points, stiffened Stu: “I used them a lot more back in the UK and liked to carry the weight of holsters and magazine pouches the comfort and convenience of having everything set and secures with a certified AustriAlpin Cobra buckle. up on different belts for my various primary guns like my There’s an anchor point for carabiner/lanyard/tether next QBZ97 and SVD which had very different mag geometry, to the buckle and this is compatible with FROG buckle as well as running a lot of Five-seveN mags on one. or shackles. It’s Velcro-loop lined on the inside so that it They’re great for weight distribution and carrying stuff on mates perfectly with the inner trouser belt, so you can your hips/waist instead of straining your back or shoulders have all your range-ready kit pre-mounted and be good to which is an issue for my buggered back at times. More go within seconds. recently I’ve switch to 6094 plate carriers or the JPC 1 I have two of these setups now, one in simple Adaptive since moving to Taiwan, but all my guns run similar mags

“THIS, I HAVE TO SAY, GOT ME STARTED ON THE TWO-PIECE BELT AND SINCE THEN I’VE ALSO COME TO LOVE THE LO-PROFILE MUSTANG SYSTEM FROM DIRECT ACTION. THE INNER BELT WORKS SIMPLY AS A TROUSER BELT AND AS A STABILISER FOR BOTH THE MUSTANG AND WARHAWK OUTER BELTS. ”

www.airsoftaction.net 43 STRETCH PANTS BLACK / DARK COYOTE / GREEN / SRP: £69.95 THE CAGE

BELT KIT so I can get away with only having a normal belt for my pouches, and two or three rifle Taco pouches that can pistols and just attach pouches each game due to running accept AK or M4 mags (depending on range setup or less gear in shorter closer CQB games.” combat) a folding dump pouch, water bottle pouch, and Christopher JW: “I use FRV Tailoring’s Shooter Belts, blow out kit. they are great! Velcro belt on my trousers then put on “I wear mine in a system, as a base for the range or whichever belt setup I want in seconds. I have two of them, when working; it goes belt set, armour and/or chest rig, one for my Mk18 set up and the other for my Mk46.” then back bags as needed. Since issue firearms can include Phil: “WAS Low Profile Direct Action Shooters Belt with AK or AR or even MP5/SMG types I prefer the HSGI Taco very minimal kit on it. A double mag pouch for primary pouches which let me just use what I need. I have several and a double for secondary mags, and a WAS universal belt rigs in formats for range, stealth-protection work, PMC holster or a Safariland depending if I’m running a Glock or work, airsoft indoor, airsoft outdoor, but my most favourite something else. I don’t like loads of weight on a belt.” belt set is 100% HSGI with a custom MOLLE holster for my Craig: “I used to use a “battle belt” style but found it Glock. On the other hand, my preferred running gear for kept slipping around when running. The two belt systems airsoft is a Russian SMERSH belt and suspender set!” AA with the soft velcro on the trouser loops and the hook on the belt itself hold everything in place perfectly for me, and there are many version on the market from FRV Tailoring, Ronin Tactics, TMC and the like. Personally I have the TMC versions, and they’re great for a fraction of the cost!” Jonathan L: “Mine’s a Ronin Tactics Shooters Belt with just a G17 holster, M4 mag pouches, and a fighting knife!” Rob: “I run a belt set as my base both for work and for airsoft, a thin padded three-line MOLLE ultralight with built-in belt and belt keepers (I wear thin flat suspenders with belt on my trousers so that I can just take the belt on and off with or without having to remove my armour when it is work issued). Kydex holster with shock cord retention when needed that tucks away, three pistol Taco-style mag

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REAPER OPS TV

AT THE BEGINNING OF MAY BILL WAS INVITED TO TAKE PART IN EPISODE 2 OF “REAPER OPS TV” TO TALK ABOUT OUR RECENT CHANGE TO DIGITAL PUBLISHING AND ALTHOUGH THE SHOW RAN TO NEARLY TWO HOURS, THERE WERE STILL QUESTIONS UNANSWERED AND THINGS LEFT TO SAY, SO HERE HE BRINGS YOU A ROUND-UP OF THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW!

’ve always shied away from “online TV” before as I’m me prior to broadcast! a firm believer that any enterprise is a sum of all those ROATV: “Aren’t Magazines Dead? “ Iinvolved and not just a single individual. That’s said, when AA: “It depends on what you class as a “magazine”. my old mate Jim from the airsoft and tactical shop Platoon If you mean the traditional paper publishing style of Stores suggested I join him, along with Dan and Alex from magazine, then I would definitely say that for niche interest local site Reaper Ops, on their new channel (Reaper Ops areas then yes. Sadly, the circulation numbers alone will Airsoft TV, or ROATV for short) to talk about the changes at dictate that (economically) a paper publication with a Airsoft Action, I felt that the time for me to speak up had smaller circulation is going to fall away as it will simply not come! be viable. I’ll come onto exactly why later but no airsoft I’ve been a customer with Pete and Jim at Platoon Stores publication in paper format can really ever have a global on and off for some considerable time and always enjoy a reach. visit to see them and played at the Reaper Ops site earlier “If by a magazine you mean a focused “product” this year, coming away very impressed both by the site and utilising multiple channels and formats of communication, the gameplay. So, what better group to spend a Sunday where a group of knowledgeable individuals join forces evening talking airsoft with …albeit “virtually”? to produce something that is useful, informative and Jim had suggested possible topics for conversation entertaining, that appears in a set format on a regular before the broadcast but as always, a plan never survives basis and that is free and available to all, then I believe that first contact and we all ended up having way too much format is still very valid. fun, talking about a whole diversity of airsoft topics which I “As one such “product”, we now have many ways of hope that those who tuned in enjoyed. Nige and I thought putting what Airsoft Action does in front of that huge though, that you might like to hear more about what has global audience and Nige and I just made a simple decision happened at Airsoft Action recently and how we REALLY to maximise our readership and reach by placing everything view things. I’ll base this article on the questions Jim gave online and making it freely accessible. Greater reach and

“…WHEN IT COMES TO AIR POLLUTION, THE PRINT INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTES BY RELEASING VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS) INTO THE AIR FROM USING SOLVENTS. IN CANADA, AS AN EXAMPLE OF THIS, THE PRINT INDUSTRY IS ONE OF THE MAIN (STATIONARY) SOURCES OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUND EMISSIONS!”

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more readers means the manufacturers will be interested include air pollution, handling and disposing of hazardous in what we offer, therefore we have more to write about materials, waste management, and energy use. and readers will have more to read… it’s a bit of a “self- “For instance, when it comes to air pollution, the fulfilling prophecy deal”.” print industry contributes by releasing volatile organic ROATV: “Was the jump to digital dictated by the compounds (VOCs) into the air from using solvents. In change in technology, reader’s habits, the newsagents and Canada, as an example of this, the print industry is one of stores changing or is it a need to be more environmentally the main (stationary) sources of volatile organic compound friendly or something else?” emissions! AA: “Honestly, it was a combination of all those things! “All of this is basically a personal thing but it did It is true that the “paper product” market is slowly but make me think when we discussed leaving paper behind inexorably collapsing, largely a problem of its own making. that this could actually be a good thing in more than As paper magazine volumes fall worldwide the net result the obvious ways. Of course the changes in how people is that the physical printing of a magazine has become consume “news” has changed dramatically in recent years more expensive; it costs more to produce, so it costs the and we needed to adapt to that, and now the technology reader more to buy. Sadly, it’s simple economics; less is so freely available and easy enough for even muppets magazines to print, higher cost per unit at the printers, like me to use, why would we not make use of it? higher cover price at the newsagents or for subscribers. “But the “obvious ways”, for me, are that by going “Paper, at least decent quality paper, has also become digital we can offer a magazine that’s free to read due more expensive so this again negatively impacts the price to cutting out printing and shipping costs and, most per unit and it’s true that certain “news stand” stores also importantly, we can react faster (i.e. immediately!) to have you pay through the nose to stock your product, incoming news via our website and associated social which in turn makes it more expensive again for the media platforms, plus our product can have a far wider, reader. Yup, you heard that right! Magazines have to pay even global, reach! We can now talk to the airsoft newsagents for them to stock and sell a product… go community worldwide every day and have them talk back figure? to us! “From a personal perspective as an outdoorsman “This could not be achieved with a paper product as (I spent much of my life involved with the outdoor the cost of shipping internationally is absolutely prohibitive pursuits industry before I started writing full time), and again has an “environmental footprint” implication! the environmental aspects of paper printing has also We need to balance this implication against what we do come into the decision, as there are many negative and if there is a better, cleaner, more environmentally environmental issues caused by the print industry. These friendly way of doing things that also happens to tie in

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with how readers will consume what we produce, than and based on mutual trust and appreciation and we’re again that’s a “win-win-win”. incredibly thankful to all of them for helping us to move “We have a fabulous group of contributors, the pool forwards, even in the hardest of times.” of which internationally is now above 40! Not all of these ROATV: “Is it important to pick a side and “banner great airsofters contribute to every issue, but it just means wave” for brands you personally feel passionate about or we can always have news from experienced contributors for do you have to remain impartial as a journalist?” each and every issue, not just from the UK but from around AA: “Impartiality is the bedrock of great journalism the likes of the USA, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, The for me and everyone else Airsoft Action! The door must Netherlands, Sweden, Africa, Australia and New Zealand... ALWAYS be open for new innovation and new ideas “We just ran out first collaboration piece in Japanese, and everyone should be able to access our “outlet” on a the article about the Airsoft Surgeon Championship that balanced and equal basis if they have a story to tell. AA is also involved in and has actively championed, with a “As I said before though, we do have some incredibly translation and even more pictures available via the website close and strong relationships with a number of brands and this, I’m pleased to report, was massively popular. It and I won’t deny that but this is largely down to them shows absolutely the increased flexibility that being digital being confident to work WITH us. Whilst I for one see allows and we want to see more of this type of thing done little point in slating a particular product (when did that in the future.” become worthwhile news???), I will always liaise with the ROATV: “Has the lockdown made it harder for you manufacturing brand if they send me a right lemon! You because of the uncertainty of things or has it been a could say that it’s sometimes what is NOT in Airsoft Action blessing in disguise, allowing you to catch up? I assume that tells a tale… there is always more things happening than you can cram “This process is one that few fully understand. I see in.” somewhere upwards of six to ten “new” airsoft models AA: “To be completely blunt, my workload has actually a month, every month and have done for the past seven increased dramatically since we went into lockdown! Prior years or so, and that’s a LOT of AEGs and GBBs - you can to the lockdown we already had our new business model work out the total for yourselves! That of course doesn’t in place and, in fact, the physical move to digital has been take into account the models I might see when I visit a the culmination of nigh on two years of planning. As you game, shop or show, so I am seeing and shooting well over know, we released the first fully digital edition of Airsoft a hundred AEGs and GBBs each and every year! Action just prior to things kicking in and were planning “As I’ve been in the industry for a while I work directly a big website change to announce at IWA as part of the with some manufacturers as they develop new products Airsoft Meetup that is held every year. and let me tell you, I send back a lot of “concept” products “Nige and I had really just started ramping up the new back with “improvement notes” before they ever get format “live news” website when everything kicked off in to market! By the time they reach me for testing and earnest and I’ve been working super-hard on that. I mostly evaluation there’s an entire process that has already been work from home as our main office is in Worcestershire and undertaken and even occasionally when I do get a bad one, I’m based in Kent, so not much has changed for me! I will usually speak with the manufacturer in question to try “It has, however, given us an opportunity to prove both and rectify a problem. I will always say: “Sorry, not going to to the player community and the manufacturers that we are give a positive review on this because of X or Y, but if you able to not only sustain a viable product in the best of times fix the problem I will check this has been rectified on re- but also in the most challenging of times! testing and then provide the final review NOTING that you “Since the UK lockdown started we’ve continued have made the change”. to populate the new website, as well as producing the “I believe this is far more pertinent that simply saying monthly “magazine” bang on schedule and the next online “this is crap” and trying to big yourself up! Manufacturers issue of Airsoft Action will upload on the 15th of May as are people and I deal with people as I would wish to be usual. dealt with. This is also the overwhelming ethos of Airsoft “I won’t say that we haven’t had to face some major Action… we deal with everyone as human beings… fairly challenges as, obviously, now the magazine is free to the and with respect! reader and supported by the industry itself. The entire “Personally speaking, as a reviewer I can only comment industry has taken a huge, major knock right now and on what is physically put in front of me, what I physically so they’re suffering as much as anyone. However, we take to the range to shoot and these days the majority of have some extremely strong industry partners who have things are good to go immediately. If what I test performs continued to support us; these relationships are long-held to the level I expect then that’s what I will say. Others may

“LIKE MANY OTHER SPORTS AND HOBBIES THAT INVOLVE SOCIAL INTERACTION, AIRSOFT HAS TAKEN A BIG KNOCK DURING THIS PANDEMIC BUT MY PERSONAL FEELING IS THAT WE WILL COME BACK JUST AS STRONG AS BEFORE - DIFFERENT SURE ENOUGH, BUT JUST AS STRONG!”

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REAPER OPS TV have different experiences with the same model and those still talking, possibly even more regularly than ever but the experiences are totally valid, but if I test something (and I tone is one of fellowship and understanding, of help and test everything using the exact same criteria) and it works support, rather than the usual mire of negativity that we’ve well, then I’ll say so. If it’s poor in testing it will go back come to expect in many groups! I hope this continues in to the manufacturer with my testing notes politely saying: the future! “Must try harder…”” “For the industry itself, I believe that many ROATV: “How easy is it to balance between content and manufacturers are currently taking stock and seeing where advertising goes and what readers want over the business/ they can add value to existing products. I’ll take G&G as publication needs?” an example here, with their ETU program, where they’re AA: “When Nige started the magazine he stated that he adding value to existing products without increasing wanted to maintain a strict minimum editorial to advertising price at retail. I’d also come back to the development ratio of not less than 60% editorial. We have both worked process as most manufacturers are working months, if for publications in the past where “the advertising dollah” not years, ahead. Okay, we’ve had a hiatus in those new has been more important than giving readers value for developments and products hitting the market right now money but, as airsofters ourselves, we passionately believe but once things free up a bit I believe there’s an awful lot of that our readers do not want to be bombarded with goodness coming our way! adverts, they want to read about airsoft! “From my perspective as a player? I know that games “However, we also appreciate that advertisers need to and events are already restarting around the world and we know their adverts are being seen by the maximum number will see that happening here too. Site operators are talking of potential buyers and, as the magazine is now 100% together to see how they can effectively run games; will supported by income from the industry itself, we will always sites need to change their SOPs? Yes, I believe they will and try to ensure they are positioned in the most relevant those conversations are already taking place as to how best place in the magazine, where they will gain the maximum get games going again safely in line with recommended exposure. With our recent move to digital-only and free- safety guidelines. Like many other sports and hobbies that to-read, our readership has already grown massively and involve social interaction, airsoft has taken a big knock now with many more thousands of airsofters being able during this pandemic but my personal feeling is that we will to get an instant response to adverts by simply tapping on come back just as strong as before - different sure enough, them, our advertising partners benefit from a much larger but just as strong! potential customer base. “Bizarrely, Airsoft Action is in a far better position than “If by your question you mean “do [we] pander to our I believe we’ve been in for a long time! We have a great advertisers or give positive reviews where they are not digital product produced by committed and experienced justified because they pay us”, then I’d have to say that’s airsofters, along with many, many new ways of bringing a categorical “NO!!!” We cover guns ‘n gear from those you the very latest news from the airsoft world. There will that pay for advertising and also from those who don’t if be more to come still, hopefully later in 2020 but given the their guns ‘n gear are good! I’d also refer back here to that current situation some of our plans may be a little delayed! “developmental process”; by being involved in projects “But come they will… and I don’t know about you but from concept inception onwards, something that is a I’ve set up a couple of new AEGs and a GBBR whilst stuck fundamental part of a strong and trusting relationship, we at home that REALLY need to be shot!” know whether something is going to be good WAY before most people get to even hear about it.” Our sincere thanks go to the team at Reaper Ops TV; if ROATV: “Where would you like to see the industry go you missed the broadcast you can find it on the Reaper post lockdown? What do you think will change for the Ops Airsoft Facebook page, on YouTube (https://www. better or things you’d like to see disappear?” youtube.com/watch?v=ADwyEtAytA4), or by listening in to AA: “Bad “airsoft reporting” is most definitely one the podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the- of the things I’d love to see disappear! Bad, lazy, and reaper-ops-tv-podcast/ unprofessional reporting just makes it harder for those of us that try to do a good job - as we see all too often! We deal (in some cases) with companies and manufacturers that service both the police and military, the professional and not recreational users and a lack of respect from one individual or publication can see said company or manufacturer ceasing to deal with the airsoft community altogether! “One of the positive things that has been glaringly obvious to me during the global lockdown, is how the “interwebz” have actually become a much nicer place to be. Like you guys, I belong to a whole host of online airsoft groups and the tone of pretty much all of them has changed positively during the last few weeks. Players are

www.airsoftaction.net 49 COVERT BOOT BLACK / BROWN / TITANIUM / SRP: £49.95 SPECIAL report

AIRSOFT RESUMES IN CHINA AIRSOFT RESUMES IN CHINA AS LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS ARE SLOWLY EASED AROUND THE WORLD, AIRSOFT ACTION “LEGIONNAIRE”, HANA XU, REPORTS FROM THE FIRST MILSIM EVENT AFTER LOCKDOWN ENDED WAS SUCCESSFULLY HELD IN CHINA.

hina had more than two months in lockdown at PRECAUTIONS FOR EVENT home because of COVID-19 and began to return Ensure environmental and regional health after Henan Cto work in March and then gradually opened the province had been effectively controlled. And players was restaurant, shops and all services, including Airsoft venues spontaneously equipped with surgical masks or other in April. In addition to booking their own games against masks. Airsoft at the venue, players also successfully held a small- scale MilSim event at 24-25th April. “Spring Offensive” was local organized by Xinxiang · Three Seven Club and Zhengzhou · Blue Wargame Club and with the supported by Yulin Amy Tactical Team in Henan province (the central in China).

EVENT BACKGROUND A group of militants raided X Armoured Brigade armored ground, taking two armored vehicles and evacuate to the armed militants are deep in the mountains near the ground. After receiving the news of the armored vehicle being plundered, X Armoured Brigade quickly gathered During the lockdown all players are looking forward to personnel, formed a going out and play with our teammates, but it is still safety more attacking team, first in anytime. After our region or country makes effective armed enemy positions progress and safe, you can start to enjoy our game in the on unmanned aerial near future. Stay safe and hope we can meet again soon. vehicles (UAVs) and other means of investigation, Many thanks to GunDream for the interview and photos.AA in determining the composition and distribution of the militants. Immediately organized attack team was made up of many different direction raids began to enemy fighters and began to do battle with the enemy fighters. Eventually, after an afternoon of heavy fighting, the armored vehicle was recaptured and the enemy militant leader was successfully targeted. The event adopts the coordination of armored vehicle and butan, providing transport and scene, which can be moved for players but without launch.

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CYMA CM.096 PLATINUM IN ASSOCIATION WITH CYMA

WHEN IS AN AR NOT AN AR? WHEN ITS AN AR/AK HYBRID OF COURSE! HAVING LOOKED CLOSELY AT THE SR-47 IN ISSUE 111, THIS MONTH BILL GETS HIS HANDS ON A MORE PRICE-FRIENDLY AEG ALTERNATIVE THAT’S APPEARED IN THE LATEST CYMA 09 SERIES - AND FINDS IT VERY MUCH TO HIS LIKING!

have to admit that (like many of you) I am fascinated by performs, as new from the box in this format) but as a all aspects of firearms development and having spent model that’s been used hard. Personally, I find this more Isome quality time now with the BOLT SR-47, I have to valid and more useful to you as players that will want to use say that the familiar feel of the AR design but with AK your chosen rifle, carbine, or pistol again and again! magazines and loading/unloading drills has really endeared With that said, I’ve been blowing the heck out of the it to me. Although, in my opinion, the BOLT is a super AEG, 097A and 098A (this has now been physically restricted to the fact is that you’re going to need to drop iro £400 for semi-only as a DMR) and both have had upwards of 15K the URX 3.1 version and I have found that it’s a little picky BBs through them …and more in the case of the 097A! on what magazines it likes to devour. Both AEGs are operating and shooting just fine and, as As regular readers will know though, I’ve been following the hops have now bedded, I’m more than happy with the rollout of the latest CYMA 09 series of AEGs and been accuracy. I want to get the 098A onto a longer-distance mightily impressed at what they offer for the money. I do range again to see what it’s “legs” are like now but that honestly believe that this series offers tremendous value will still have to wait a while longer. without any compromise in performance, and longer So, with both of these models performing well there was duration testing has proved to me that they are going to one other model in the 09 series that I really wanted to try give continued great service as they bed in. and that was the CM.096. CYMA already do a passable I’m lucky enough to have a range, albeit only a 30m one, SR-47 replica, the 093, but what caught my eye in the new at home, so even during the lockdown period I have been series was the 096 and this is because it replicates another able to continue testing. With a longer-term goal in mind, A/AK hybrid, namely the CMMG Mk47 “Mutant”! I’ve been testing a whole bunch of AEGs and GBBs during the last few weeks and I’m soon going to need to order MUTATED TO PERFORM another case of BBs! I’ll be feeding back my findings on Launched back in 2015, Central Missouri Machine Gun, all of them in the coming months, not simply as a review or CMMG as we best know them, wanted to create a of a new gun (we can only report on how the gun is, and shooter’s rifle that took the best attributes of the AR

“I DO HONESTLY BELIEVE THAT THIS SERIES OFFERS TREMENDOUS VALUE WITHOUT ANY COMPROMISE IN PERFORMANCE, AND LONGER DURATION TESTING HAS PROVED TO ME THAT THEY ARE GOING TO GIVE CONTINUED GREAT SERVICE AS THEY BED IN.”

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“WHEN YOU FIRST LOOK AT THE “MUTANT”, OR MK47, YOU MIGHT BE RIGHTLY MISTAKEN THAT IT’S JUST ANOTHER AR; THE RAILED UPPER RECEIVER, BUFFER TUBE, CHARGING HANDLE, FIRE SELECTOR, STOCK, PISTOL GRIP AND RAIL SCREAM OUT “.308 AR”…” platform and married those up seamlessly with the utility The original Mutant shipped from CMMG with a single and proven effectiveness of the 7.62x39mm AK cartridge. Magpul AK-type 30-round P-Mag. Externally it featured the In the words of CMMG Production Manager Tyson CMMG RKM KeyMod front rail, with an upper and lower Bradshaw at the time: receiver manufactured from 7075-T6 billet aluminium. Now “(We wanted) consumers to have a reliable, US- referred to as the RESOLUTE 100, 200 and 300 by CMMG, made rifle that could properly handle the the MK47 lineup is engineered without any compromise dimensions of the 7.62x39 mm cartridge. on quality. The “basic” RESOLUTE 100 rifle comes with a To do this properly, it required 16-inch barrel and is designed for balance, accuracy and CMMG to build the rifle manoeuvrability. The latest models feature a CMMG A2 around the caliber. Muzzle Comp, Billet 7075-T6 AL Mid-Size upper, Billet Using AK 7075-T6 AL Lower, and an RML15 M-LOK rail. You also get (as standard) an A2 style pistol grip and “LE” style six position stock. The RESOLUTE has a Hard Coat Anodized finish for the receivers and rail. CMMG also offer a “Mk47” in their dedicated SBR/AR Pistol range these days in the form of the “BANSHEE 300”, which benefits from all the plus-points of the full-length rifles whilst cutting down barrel length and

magazines was an easy decision to make, because they featuring are known to be some of the RML6 the most reliable magazines M-LOK rail. This is a available that work properly with super-neat package but the tapered cartridge” frankly must be a real CMMG decided to call their hybrid “The handful to use, just like Mutant” and whilst this description may fill your the short AKSU variants! head with thoughts of malformed and mismatched horrors Although Mk47s ship from from the void, what they did was to create a rifle where CMMG with that single Magpul each part was carefully selected to provide the standards of P-Mag , they state that the rifle should performance that modern shooters expect. also work with any standard AK magazine and of When you first look at the “Mutant”, or Mk47, you course good quality AK magazines, both new and surplus, might be rightly mistaken that it’s just another AR; the are easily found these days. railed upper receiver, buffer tube, charging handle, fire selector, stock, pistol grip and rail scream out “.308 AR” ELECTRIFIED! but the lower - and especially the flattened-out “industrial So, this is quite the story as far as I’m concerned… style” magwell with a paddle magazine release - begins to A rifle that has moved on from the original and incredibly tell quite another story! Of course, when you seat that big rare “military” KAC hybrid, to something that is a bit more old AK “banana mag” into the magwell all becomes clear. mainstream “shooter and looter” and is available for sale The CMMG receivers for the Mk47, uppers, and lowers in the USA right now! If you want something that, like are actually a hybrid AR platform though and they are not the real deal, has all the modern ergonomics and familiar compatible with standard AR-15 or .308 WIN platforms. control functions of an AR but is a bit different, then you’re

www.airsoftaction.net 53 Airsoft & MilSim News Blog

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Airsoft & MilSim News Blog

@airsoftmilsimnewsblog

&

AWARD WINNER

WWW.AIRSOFT-MILSIM-NEWS.COM armoury

CYMA CM.096 PLATINUM going to like the CYMA CM.096 …a lot! on the outside, as you get a reinforced dedicated gearbox As part of the CYMA “Platinum” series, these AEGs are frame with quick spring change system, processor unit produced to a different specification from some of their with built-in MOSFET, a steel tooth polycarbonate piston, cheaper models, with the receivers, stock tube, outer barrel, CNC machined steel gear set (ratio: 13:1), CNC machined fire selector, magazine release, trigger, charging handle and aluminium silent cylinder and piston head set, and 8mm the front and rear sight all manufactured in top-grade alloy. bearings. There is also a high-speed motor as standard to Each model also has a unique serial number. rock things along nicely! What you get with the 096 is a rifle-length AEG with Weighing in at 2990g and at 865mm long (950 mm with the stock at full extension), the 096 feels great and shoulders well; it’s an AEG you could carry all day long and over the last month I have really warmed to it! I’ve found that, unlike some AEG “hybrids”, the 096 will happily work with every single brand of AK magazine I have in the armoury, which of course was part of the “design brief” for the real thing! As per my request, the 096 I received from Taiwangun had been set to 1.13 Joule/350fps on a .20g BB at source and this remained pretty constant through the chrono. As I’m a “midcap player” I was delighted with the polymer 160BB model as standard and this fed flawlessly throughout testing. In terms of hitting the target at 30m, this was not a problem and once the hop settled in POA/ the “correct” 16-inch external barrel (with a precision POI were pretty darn spot on! Like the 097 and 098 I’m 6.03mm inner barrel), 14.5-inch M-LOK rail, A3 flat top certain this will improve further once the 096 has had time upper receiver and a dedicated lower receiver that will to fully bed in fully. accommodate most AK magazines and even drums! From So, another winner from CYMA/Taiwangun? Yup, I’d say the box you also get a polymer 6-position sliding stock with so and with a price of just over £200 at the time of writing easy battery compartment access, an ergonomic polymer this review, as far as AR/AK hybrids go this is a real bargain! pistol grip, folding sight set, the new CYMA three-prong As usual, time will tell if the initial performance continues as it should but if the other 09 series AEGs are anything to go by, then the 096 should steam along nicely and will be another superb, yet relatively inexpensive AEG to buy and own. As Taiwangun have kindly agreed to allow us to place these new models into the “Airsoft Action Long Term Test Pool” once I can get back on the range more often I’ll start to run all the models through some extended “torture testing! And report back in full. For now though, if you do fancy something different from the average AR, something a bit “Red Cell”, then the CYMA CM.096 Platinum AEG could be the very thing you’ve been searching for and you can check it out by visiting www.taiwangun.com. AA flash-hider (which looks uncannily like the new SIG model!) with a 14mm CCW thread, an ambidextrous sling plate, and a great-looking, almost “casket-style”, 160BB polymer magazine. The 096 comes in the new CYMA E-EDITION & HIGH- SPEED configuration and, as standard, has a velocity of around 1.48 Joule/400fps on a .20g BB which, in combination with a LiPo battery, gives a ROF around 25rps and a super trigger response. Internally things are as tidy as

“IF YOU WANT SOMETHING THAT, LIKE THE REAL DEAL, HAS ALL THE MODERN ERGONOMICS AND FAMILIAR CONTROL FUNCTIONS OF AN AR BUT IS A BIT DIFFERENT, THEN YOU’RE GOING TO LIKE THE CYMA CM.096 …A LOT!”

www.airsoftaction.net 55 WORKSHOP

BASIC MAINTENANCE - PART TWO LOCKDOWN AIRSOFT MAINTENANCE FRENCHIE HAS BEEN MAINTAINING KIT FOR LONGER THEN WE DARE MENTION AND CONTINUES HIS NEW SERIES WITH A LOOK AT GBB MAINTENANCE.

s promised, this month I’ll turn my attention to Gas seals and nozzles thrown in for good measure. Blowback (GBB) maintenance. Now, there is a real Adanger that I’m teaching my granny to suck eggs KEEP IT CLEAN! here, as people with GBBs who don’t perform regular First and foremost therefore, keep your GBB clean. Like maintenance are called “players without guns”! real firearms there is a potential for dirt or other foreign Some GBBs are pretty tolerant of careless use but the bodies to enter the action and stop them working. Bolts majority aren’t, so ignore this at your peril. I will also and slides have to move and in doing so, they expose confess that I am no wizard when it comes to GBBs - I’ve the inner workings in a way that electric guns seldom always been far more comfortable with AEGs and spring do. Fortunately, most gas guns disassemble in a manner guns, however, I have worked on gas guns for decades that closely replicates the firearm they are based on, so and it’s always a delight when they respond as I hoped if you’re unsure, refer either to the user manual or check they would! In part this is because I prefer either electric YouTube - someone has almost certainly posted a video of pistols or a shotgun as a secondary – and from that how to take your particular gun apart. statement you may fairly deduce I prize function over the Let’s be clear what I mean by “disassembly”; in the “boom factor”! I know AEPs (Automatic Electric Pistols) real world it would be referred to as “field stripping”, are rightly the butt of many jokes and scathing remarks the level of but they work, and if you invest in a Marui, they work disassembly really well. That, however, is a subject for another day. required to Back to gas guns. Personally, the greatest appeal perform basic of GBBs for me has always been their proximity to maintenance. the workings of real guns - only the motive power, On a typical compressed gas rather than a chemical explosion, really pistol that differentiates them. It follows that maintaining them will involve is far closer to maintaining a real firearm than say, an removing the AEG. Fundamentally that comes down to cleaning and magazine lubrication, with a few extra annoyances in the form of and the slide

“THE ONE ABSOLUTE RULE IS NEVER USE MINERAL-BASED LUBRICANTS. SO NO “THREE-IN-ONE” OIL, NO “WD40”. THAT APPLIES TO ALL AIRSOFT GUNS AS MINERAL- BASED LUBRICANTS CAN (AND OFTEN WILL) DAMAGE THE SEALS ALL GUNS REQUIRE FOR EFFICIENT OPERATION.”

56 JUNE 2020 WORKSHOP

BASIC MAINTENANCE - PART TWO and extracting the barrel and recoil spring(s). That leaves for that purpose and secondly, if you are looking after your you with all the principle components free for inspection, guns on a regular basis the lubricant isn’t going to be there cleaning and lubrication. Going beyond that is the remit for long, as you’ll clean and replace it. It is arguable that of the tech or the keen. Unless there is a problem, there even with heavy use, by airsoft standards, silicon grease is is seldom a need to strip down the hammer and trigger more than robust enough to handle the task. You would group, although some pistols do make that relatively easy. never use it on the gears in an AEG, but few of us use our Once apart, clean the components. That may just be a gas guns to anything like the extent we cane our electrics. wipe down with a clean J-cloth (dead handy things) or a bit If you want to use what the suppliers recommend for of a work over with an old toothbrush. Remove any bits of metal to metal, Abbey’s LT2 grease is ideal, although it is forest you may have acquired during your last outing. Don’t mucky, stringy stuff. They recommend it for all metal to forget to clean the barrel. metal contact and far be it from me to argue with them, Inspect the parts for wear or breakages. Generally, wear but meh. I would, however, concur with Abbey where GBB should be superficial - finish becoming worn due to friction rifles are concerned, as they are moving much larger and but as steel is little used and light alloys abound, it’s worth heavier chunks of metal around and will benefit from a making sure that nothing is worn and shiny that shouldn’t more robust lubricant between those parts. be. Clean off existing lubricant from the slide and frame Key to all of this is the word “sparingly”. Once you have and wipe down the hammer group as far as possible. This is bought your various lubricants, they should all last you where that toothbrush can come in handy. a long time. There is a phenomenon I have encountered occasionally in airsoft which I can best describe as “squaddie lubrication”, which involves putting as much lube on a gun as possible. Oddly this doesn’t really help and I have seen Marui HiCapas reduced to useless lumps as they fail to overcome a surfeit of love. You just need a little! Abbey describes applying LT2 to the slide rails as “polishing”. That’s very good advice. Magazines, assuming they aren’t leaking, need a little silicon oil applied to the filler port, the release button (the bit struck by the hammer) and the gas router on top of the magazine. If you are stripping your magazine, I would personally use silicon grease on the internal seals to keep them healthy. Beyond that the usual rules about keeping your guns clean and corrosion free apply, although they are more relevant to gas guns because of the nature of the moving parts. Too little cleaning and too much lubrication generally KEEP IT MOIST! spells trouble for gas guns as does a lack of maintenance. We now come to the bit where those who encountered In the UK, with our unpredictable weather and less than me in a past life might start shouting at their screens – encouraging temperatures, gas guns have their work cut lubrication! out. A bit of time and care on your part can ensure that I used to be very dogmatic about this, but age and they at least have a decent chance of performing as you experience have softened my attitudes somewhat. The want them to. AA one absolute rule is never use mineral-based lubricants. So no “Three-In-One” oil, no “WD40”. That applies to all airsoft guns as mineral-based lubricants can (and often will) damage the seals all guns require for efficient operation. Beyond that, as I said, I’m a lot less strict. Silicon oil and grease are probably your friends here. The oil can be used sparingly around gas nozzles, trigger groups and the grease can be used on slide rails. I used to decry the use of any silicon product from metal-to-metal surfaces but a couple of things changed my mind: I could never find any literature which said that silicon based lubricants couldn’t be used

“FIRST AND FOREMOST THEREFORE, KEEP YOUR GBB CLEAN. LIKE REAL FIREARMS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR DIRT OR OTHER FOREIGN BODIES TO ENTER THE ACTION AND STOP THEM WORKING.”

www.airsoftaction.net 57 last post

AIRSOFT IN LOCKDOWN AIRSOFT IN LOCKDOWN WITH THE COUNTRY STILL (MOSTLY) “CONFINED TO QUARTERS”, FRENCHIE POSES A SIMPLE QUESTION: “WHEN THE COUNTRY IS IN LOCKDOWN, WHERE DO YOU PLAY AIRSOFT?”

ell, that’s a good question and one to which the is possible that they are all members of the same family, answer should be obvious – your living room all live together and therefore do not pose an immediate Wperhaps? Clear the bathroom! Attack the attic! infection risk to each other, however, you have to look Where you won’t be playing is on an airsoft site!! As I at the bigger picture. They were willing to make use of suggested a couple of issues ago, like all non-essential land that didn’t belong to them. They did so during a activities, sites have shut down for the duration as they period when emergency powers are in place to prevent represent a risk to life – I never thought I would write that the spread of a virus for which there is no vaccine and line about airsoft. no obvious cure. A virus whose spread is encouraged It would seem, however, that this is insufficient reason by close physical proximity, like for instance 4 amoebas for some people. Scott Allan of Land Warrior recently sharing a car to visit a closed airsoft site, to which they posted a pugnacious video on Facebook concerning the have no right of access during a pandemic. What we are decision by a small number of players to take it upon looking at here is a pattern of behaviour which wouldn’t themselves to make use of his site while it was shut! I particularly trouble Sherlock Holmes, or Poirot. “Ah, my absolutely share Scott’s frustration and anger; I mean, dear Watson, it is entirely obvious! These people are utter where to start? [expletive deleted] idiots!” How about breaking the law that bans the meeting of Thanks to the site security the individuals were more than two people – there were four of them. Now identified, promptly banned from Airsoft Edinburgh and there is no law regarding trespass in Scotland, although their details circulated to all UK sites. Good luck getting there are other laws that deal with criminal damage etc. another game guys… However, poncing about during a lockdown with replica But really… WTF?! guns might possibly get the attention of Police Scotland A good friend of mine, someone I used to work with …were they not busy analysing Strava feeds! (Google it. and who I met through airsoft, has recently been in Ed.) hospital with Covid-19 and I won’t lie, I genuinely feared The antics of these knuckle-dragging simians did, I might be writing another airsofter’s eulogy. Fortunately, however, come to the attention of the landowner, who he’s on the mend but with in excess of 20,000 deaths contacted Scott. Like most sites, the land the site operates at the time of writing, it should be really obvious that on is rented and like most landlords, if the tenant this is not a disease to mess with. But it’s not just that. becomes more of a hassle than the rent justifies, they can, It’s a complete lack of respect for those who make their and will, divest themselves of said tenant. While this isn’t living from airsoft. It’s the complete lack of understanding the case with Airsoft Edinburgh as best I know, it’s always about how airsoft works, how sites are started, built good to stay on the right side of the landowner. and maintained. It’s the arrogant assumption that you’re Airsoft Edinburgh have had to deal with this sort of entitled to do what you want – at any time, never mind behaviour before but never when it could be a matter of right now and the erroneous belief that you won’t get life and death. I don’t know who the four idiots were, it caught.

“AT A TIME WHEN WE ON THIS SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC ARE WATCHING ARMED AMERICANS LAY CLAIM TO ALL THE AVAILABLE DARWIN AWARDS BY PROTESTING FOR THE END OF LOCKDOWN WHEN THEIR STATES ARE STILL RIVEN WITH COVID-19, IT’S NOT DIFFICULT TO FIND EXAMPLES OF TRULY WORLD-CLASS STUPID.”

58 JUNE 2020 LAST POST

AIRSOFT IN LOCKDOWN

Airsoft & MilSim News Blog At a time when we on this side of the Atlantic are every bit as keen to see some kind of return to normality. watching armed Americans lay claim to all the available For some the current situation is a genuinely existential Darwin Awards by protesting for the end of lockdown threat. Fortunately, most couriers@AMNBOfficial seem to be operating when their states are still riven with Covid-19, it’s not and therefore goods can be ordered online and delivered. difficult to find examples of truly world-class stupid. Of course, consumablesAirsoft aren’t& MilSim being News used Blogas no one is In comparison to those gun-toting but mask-averse playing at present, so I suspect pickings are a bit thin at neanderthals, our four anti-heroes are very small beer, present. @airsoftmilsimnewsblog but it’s clear that stupid knows neither borders nor On the other hand, your patience means that you will boundaries. be able to play again, unlike those damned fools who just The simple truth is, unless you are lucky enough to couldn’t wait and may well find every site now closed to own land, or live on a farm and your family are all into them. I doubt they will be missed and they could always airsoft, you’re probably scunnered for a while to come take up knitting or pebble-counting instead of airsoft. yet. If you have a garage that isn’t filled with 20 years of Have fun with that! assorted junk, you could set up a target range and take To the rest of you, be sensible, be patient and most your lockdown angst out on paper targets – you’ll find importantly, stay safe. While the numbers favour you loads online you can print off. I kinda’ wish my garage remaining safe and healthy, this is not an illness to be wasn’t full of Trabant at the moment… messed with for laughs. AA The simple and obvious truth is, as far as playing airsofting is concerned, you can’t! There is much we cannot do at present, most of it for good reason. These are times the likes of which even those of us whoAWARD have WINNER passed the first flush of youth (and the second..) have never seen before and we just have to cope with them until circumstances change. Change they will, this will not last forever although we have no idea what the post Covid-19 world will look like until we have either a reliable cure or an effective vaccine.WWW.AIRSOFT-MILSIM-NEWS.COM You can rest assured that those whose livelihoods rely on airsoft, the retailers and the site operators, are

If you have any old kit or gear tucked away in a cupboard, garage or shed that you have thought about sticking on eBay, or a forum to get rid of it, then why not donate it to the Pilgrim Bandits instead and Tez will make sure any money raised from its sale will go towards helping even more people – and you can be sure of the undying gratitude and thanks of those who it helps to live again.

Please contact Tez on either his mobile: 07748 800 981 or email: [email protected]

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