Centrepoint Airsoft

Ghost Recon Future Soldier Trailer

2012-01-31T13:37:00.002Z

The latest installment in Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon series. Not sure about this though, looks a bit too much like a John Cena movie. The game looks pretty good though, check out some multi-player footage at Ubi.com.

Hatin' on Glocks

2012-01-26T12:02:00.004Z

Just for laughs, here's some Glock hating images I found on zombiehunters.org.

The Wasteland Crow Project

2012-01-26T11:46:00.002Z

Nothing at all gun related or tactical here, just some old-fashioned, post-apocalyptic, zombie-killing blades and leatherwork. Beautiful craftsmanship on both parts from the Wasteland Crow Project.

.950 JDJ - Not Sure That's Entirely Necessary...

2012-01-25T16:31:00.003Z

According to Wikipedia, the .950 JDJ round is

"The .950 JDJ is the world's largest, and most powerful caliber rifle cartridge.[citation needed] Loaded .950 JDJ cartridges are approximately the length of an empty .50 BMG casing (i.e., 4"), and are based on a 20x102mm case shortened and necked up to accept the .950" bullet. Projectiles are custom-made and most commonly weigh 3,600 grains (230 g) which is 8.2 ounces or over half a pound."

These guns are too heavy for anything useful, cost upwards of $8000 and rounds are $40 a pop. My favourite factoid about this beast is "The muzzle energy of the .950 JDJ is comparable to the kinetic energy of a 2,800 lb (1,300 kg) automobile traveling at 20 mph (32 km/h).". Errrmmm...

Skirmish Airsoft Mansfield

2012-01-23T10:44:00.002Z

Great news for Nottinghamshire airsofters, Skirmish Airsoft near Mansfield is reopening. It will be great to have a site less than an hour from my house for a change.

Offensive Morale Patches

2012-01-20T09:19:00.003Z

I don't think I've said this before, at least not in print. I have voiced my thoughts on this to a few people, but have never written it down.

Morale patches are not really my thing. I've just recently bought a Tactical Beard Owner's Club patch from the guys at TBOC, and subsequently, a Mil-Spec Monkey hat from Fire Support to mount it on but apart from that and the Bravo Company team patches I have from the now almost defunct airsoft team I used to play with, I've never worn patches on my gear.

Having said that, they don't bother me. Some of them are pretty cool and/or amusing, but they don't really do it for me. What does offend me massively are the 'Pork Eating Crusader' and 'Infidel' style patches that have been going around for the last few years. The pages of Wikipedia describe the term Infidel as:

"An infidel (literally "one without faith") is one who has no religious beliefs, or who doubts or rejects the central tenets of a particular religion – especially in reference to Christianity or Islam.

Infidel is an ecclesiastical term in Christianity around which the Church developed a body of theology that deals with the concept of infidelity; which makes a clear differentiation between those who were baptized and followed the teachings of the Church vs. those who are outside the faith. The term infidel was used by Christians to describe non-Christians or those perceived as the enemies of Christianity. The usage of the term for non-Christian monotheists distinguishes the term from heathen or pagan. As such, the term infidel has often been applied to atheists, whose disbelief is viewed negatively by both Christianity and Islam."

Are these patches specifically designed to offend and alienate an entire culture? If they offend me, then surely the Muslim population as a whole must be horrified, not least when they see it written in their own language on someone that is supposed to be helping their country. This strikes me as counter-productive and distasteful at best and behaving like a naiive and immature wanker at worst. If someone from another country walked down the street outside your house armed and in full combat geat with a patch on their arm that said 'Satanist' or 'Church Burner' or the like, I'm pretty sure a great many people would be offended, not least members of the conservative Christian republican persuasion (who, by definition, should also be deeply offended by the term Infidel). In the eyes of extreme fundamentalists, I would imagine a violent reaction might ensue, presumably something that would be actively discouraged rather than provoked. If, however, someone can provide me with a valid reason as to why these patches are a good idea and not just ill-advised and in bad taste then I'd be prepared to listen and reconsider, but I think this is unlikely.

I'm not going to link to any specific manufacturer or retailer as there are a great many producing these items and I wouldn't want to pick out individuals, needless to say, I consider the manufacture, retail and use of these to be pretty irresponsible. I don't know how prevalent the use of these patches is in the current middle eastern conflict areas, but they are pretty popular in the airsoft community and, to summarise, I don't like it.

The MagBus

2012-01-17T15:43:00.004Z

This thing is badass. Magpul's promotional Unimog, which can currently be seen cruising the strip in Vegas for the SHOT Show.

Here's another short video of another Magpul-sponsored Unimog traversing some pretty deep water on the Couch Offroad Engineering website. Read all about this 'mog, christened 'Bam Bam', on the Couch Uniblog.

SIG Carbine Conversion

2012-01-10T16:58:00.004Z

There's already been one for Glocks, now here's a gay carbine conversion from SIG Sauer. info care of SoldierSystems.net.

In all fairness, this one does look pretty cool, but even so. What's wrong with just using the handgun on its own?

This Week's Project...

2012-01-03T19:34:00.003Z

I have a (potentially) small project for this week. Last time I visited Urban Assault I took my G&P Stoner. When I got it chrono'd, it fired at 349 feet per second. Four feet per second over the site limit. FOUR FEET PER SECOND OVER!

Having still not used this gun (story of my life) I have bought a Systema M100 spring to replace the stock, and slightly hot G&P one. Now all to do is to figure out how to get the beast apart.

Pics and swearing will follow shortly.

Modify One-Piece Hop Unit

2011-12-23T12:36:00.002Z

Stolen from the Airsoft GI website, this looks pretty impressive for anyone who wants a finely adjustable, high quality hopup unit...

Item details:

Description:
There has been many Hop up units to claim that they are the best hop up unit to date, but Modify’s new hop up unit may actually fit that bill. The Modify Hop-up unit features a one piece, metal unit which is perfectly cast and does not display any seam lines, burrs or any other casting defects. Next we move onto the actual hop up adjustment gears, Modify constructed their gears with metal sleeve inserts which are secured with O-rings to ensure little to no lateral movement. Modify redesigned the hop up arm to be wider then most and features gearing inside to allow for finer tuning and to ensure that the arm does not move and being properly set. The unit comes with two hop up arms as well, the other arm differs by the hop up nub being built into the arm which is advantageous because the nub cannot shift, move, flex or change shape which provides more consistent results. Simply put, the Modify M4/M16 1-Piece Metal Hop Up will provide the user with extremely consistent hop up and might just be the best hop up on the market.

Specifactions:
Manufacteror: Modify
Model: 1-Piece Metal Hop Up
Design: M4/M16

Features:
One piece metal construction
High quality adjustment gears
Redesigned hop up arms

Somebody picked the wrong diner...

2011-12-21T08:50:00.001Z

11th in Google.co.uk 'Airsoft Blog' results...

2011-12-16T15:03:00.002Z

I'm pretty happy with that, considering all of those above me (with the exception of Everything Airsoft are affiliated to shops or airsoft sites. Not sure I should have given EA a link there either...

Travis Haley Talks FN SCAR

2011-12-16T14:26:00.001Z

Not a huge fan of the FN SCAR (although it does depend on what mood I'm in), but this is certainly interesting stuff.

SHTF Urban Survival Vest

2011-12-16T13:57:00.001Z

Had to share this, thanks Alex. Originally from the Survive2Day.com blog.

Kydex Holsters

2011-12-16T11:22:00.002Z

Been thinking recently about holsters. I recently bought a railed Marui SIG 226 and an Army Detonics .45 Combat Master. The SIG is pretty easy to accomodate holster-wise until you get the M3 torch on it, then it becomes a pain in the arse. Unless you want to spend top dollar on a holster, which I don't really as I rarely use a handgun on the airsoft field. You also have to consider the difference in the width of the Marui SIG's slide compared to the real thing, especially when buying Kydex holsters, there is always the chance that they just won't fit.

The Detonics is similarly difficult to holster because of the placement of the nearsight. Lots of US manufacturers make holsters to suit the Detonics fans but again, you have to spend a lot of money to get a good one.

The alternative is to make your own holster. Kydex looks like a pretty easy material to work with and is relatively cheap. For a holster that costs around the $80-100 mark, which, by the time you've factored in shipping to the US and the inevitable customs charges, you are going to be paying around the same in £Sterling, which is too much cash for something that will be rarely used other than to just hold a sidearm that never gets pulled on the airsoft field.

In my search for the wisdom of the Kydex holster masters, I've found some pretty good info on the net. I started out looking at the high end Kydex holsters and found Raven Concealement. Raven's gear is used by Chris Costa and features quite heavily in the Magpul training videos. Their stuff looks top notch with a wide variety of choice of styles and supported weapons platforms. this site is my benchmark for determining whether it is actually worth investing in time, tools and materials to try and make the holster. Let's see how that works out. Sometimes the cost is not so important as the challenge and the learning of new skills (this is still the justification for the amount of time and money I've poured into my L119A1 when I could have just sent it to Fire Support and got them to do it).

As far as obtaining the materials, I found a couple of sites in the US. KnifeKits.com, as the name suggests, supplies kits, materials and tools for making knives and sheaths and the like, inlcuding Kydex sheets. ParacordSecrets.com don't actually supply kydex sheets, but have a bunch of kits for sale (knives and magazine carriers rather than holsters) and a load of interesting articles and bits of hardware for sale.

By and large, so far, the most informative article I've come across is this one on the 1911 Forum giving a step by step set of instructions on making a really professional looking kydex holster. Now the guy who wrote this tutorial has a fully equipped workshop with some awesome power tools, but nothing that could not be achieved with a normal drill and toolbox and a bit of care and attention.

Now I need to get some kydex sheets. Watch this space...

Military History: Top Sniper II TV Series

2011-12-14T15:52:00.003Z

I have no idea if this has been shown in the UK but from the first ten minutes, it looks excellent. Looks like most episodes are available on YouTube too. Enjoy.

RMJ Tactical Warhammer

2011-12-14T09:01:00.003Z

Dear Santa,

I know it's a bit late in the day, but if you're passing through Chattanooga on the way to my house, could you pop into RMJ Tactical and pick me up some of their goodies, specifically their incredibly bad-ass warhammer (as seen on MilitaryTimes.com). I fully expect the zombie apocalypse to happen soon, so supplying me with this bad boy is practically a public service. Oh, and a tomahawk and kydex holster would also be cool.

Love,
David

Navy Seals for the 21st Century?

2011-12-12T16:07:00.001Z

An unprecedented blend of real-life heroism and original filmmaking, Act of Valor stars a group of active-duty Navy SEALs in a powerful story of contemporary global anti-terrorism. Inspired by true events, the film combines stunning combat sequences, up-to-the minute battlefield technology and heart-pumping emotion for the ultimate action adventure. Act of Valor takes audiences deep into the secretive world of the most elite, highly trained group of warriors in the modern world. When the rescue of a kidnapped CIA operative leads to the discovery of a deadly terrorist plot against the U.S., a team of SEALs is dispatched on a worldwide manhunt. As the valiant men of Bandito Platoon race to stop a coordinated attack that could kill and wound thousands of American civilians, they must balance their commitment to country, team and their families back home. Each time they accomplish their mission, a new piece of intelligence reveals another shocking twist to the deadly terror plot, which stretches from Chechnya to the Philippines and from Ukraine to Somalia. The widening operation sends the SEALs across the globe as they track the terrorist ring to the U.S.-Mexico border, where they engage in an epic firefight with an outcome that has potentially unimaginable consequences for the future of America.

More info about Act of Valor on IMDB

$7 for this? Seriously?

2011-12-07T11:53:00.003Z

The Tourniquet Retainer from Mayflower costs $7. A good idea, but is it worth the money? It would take longer to set up the sewing machine than it would to actually make one of these. Seven dollars plus shipping for two short pieces of webbing and a few inches of shock cord? Come on.

Lost the screws from your SERPA eh?

2011-12-06T14:23:00.004Z

Fear not. If you have a junior hacksaw or Dremel tool or something like that, pop along to your local Screwfix store. These screws will serve as replacements for the three that hold your SERPA holster to the MOLLE or belt attachment.

Rawl BZP Machine Screws Pan Head M4x20mm (Pk25)

Part No 97740-0025

£1.52

As mentioned above, youll need something to cut them down as these are 20mm long anf they only need to be about 8mm. No big deal considering the screws were only £1.52. I hate to think how much Blackhawk would rush you for some replacement screws, but a pack of five 25mm bolts with nuts in B&Q was £6.08.

EDIT: disregard the above, it's rubbish. When I got home and tried the screws properly, it turns out they are the correct size but have the wrong thread - only screwing in a couple of turns. Back to the drawing board.

Travis Hayley Talks Airsoft

2011-11-03T13:44:00.002Z

Travis Hayley of Hayley Strategic Partners talks about the benefits of live-ammunition shooters cross training with airsoft guns for safety, confidence-building and cost-effectiveness reasons.

The Raid

2011-11-03T12:01:00.001Z

Deep in the heart of Jakarta's slums lies an impenetrable safe house for the world's most dangerous killers and gangsters. Until now, the rundown apartment block has been considered untouchable to even the bravest of police. Cloaked under the cover of pre-dawn darkness and silence, an elite swat team is tasked with raiding the safe house in order to take down the notorious drug lord that runs it. But when a chance encounter with a spotter blows their cover and news of their assault reaches the drug lord, the building's lights are cut and all the exits blocked. Stranded on the 6th floor with no way out, the unit must fight their way through the city's worst to survive their mission. Director Gareth Evans (Merantau) and rising martial arts star Iko Uwais reunite in this adrenaline-fueled action film.

5.11 Select Carry Pack

2011-10-29T17:25:00.003+01:00

Just killing some time before I go out looking for Zombies, I was surfing the net for MP5K carry solutions when I came across this from 5.11. Unfortunately, it costs £105 without the optional pistol pouch, which is way too rich for me for something I would only use very occasionally, but is way cool all the same. More info on the 5.11 website.

FPSRussia: Dragon M-50

2011-10-26T13:51:00.001+01:00

Shit, here they come, they've got a fifty cal, let's hide behind this reinforced concrete. Err, no.

Tactical Double-Barrelled Shotgun

2011-10-24T16:43:00.001+01:00

Yet another vital tool for the impending Zombie apocalypse, this time, a tactical double-barrelled shotgun. Full length Picatinny rails, high-visibility iron sights, sweet.

Brought to my attention via Tactical Gear Magazine's Facebook page.

Battlefield 3 Launch Trailer

2011-10-21T15:06:00.001+01:00

Hell. Yeah.

Wasn't sold on this until now.

EDC: Everyday-Carry.com

2011-10-19T13:57:00.002+01:00

Everyday Carry, or EDC, generally refers to small items or gadgets worn, carried, or made available in pockets, holsters, or bags on a daily basis to manage common tasks or for use in unexpected situations or emergencies. In a broader sense, it is a lifestyle, discipline, or philosophy of preparedness.

This is a nice simple little website featuring the contents of people's pockets with regards to preparedness equipment. Usually a ' knife/multitool/torch/keyring/wallet' sort of affair, but interesting nonetheless.

Everyday-Carry.com can be found here.

Hornady Anti-Zombie Ammunition

2011-10-18T10:41:00.001+01:00

Even serious ammunition manufacturers are getting in on the zombie apocalypse thing. Hornady, a well respected US ammunition manufacturer has started advertising a range of Zombie Max ammunition, preparing you for the zombie apocalypse.

Be PREPARED -- supply yourself for the Zombie Apocalypse with Zombie Max™ ammunition from Hornady®! Loaded with PROVEN Z-Max™ bullets...yes PROVEN Z-Max™ bullets (have you seen a Zombie?). Make sure your "bug out bag" is ready with nothing but the best!

WARNING: THIS IS LIVE AMMUNITION. THIS IS NOT A TOY.

Disclaimer: Hornady® Zombie Max™ ammunition is NOT a toy (IT IS LIVE AMMUNITION), but is intended only to be used on...ZOMBIES, also known as the living dead, undead, etc. No human being, plant, animal, vegetable or mineral should ever be shot with Hornady® Zombie Max™ ammunition. Again, we repeat, Hornady® Zombie Max™ ammunition is for use on ZOMBIES ONLY, and that's not a nickname, phrase or cute way of referring to anybody, place or thing. When we say Zombies, we mean...ZOMBIES!

The original article can be found at The Firearm Blog and more information on Hornady ammunition and the Zombie Max range can be found at the hornady website. Check out the advert below.

Ares Armour RAD Pack

2011-10-17T13:46:00.003+01:00

This is fricken' awesome. I've just seen this on the Airsoft international Facebook page. More info can be found on the Ares website.

"The Patents Pending Ares Armor R.A.D. (Rapid Armor Deployment) Pack is the next level of concealed weapon carry. If your enemy brings a gun to the fight, One up him with a full armor system and a weapon of your own."

"You can go from being an average unnoticed citizen and in under 2 seconds deploy a full armor system with a weapon giving you an unexpected advantage in an active shooter situation."

Badass of the Week: Dwight Johnson

2011-10-17T12:31:00.001+01:00

Nothing better than a good war story. There is also little as entertaining as the Badass of the Week website. Here is an article that encompasses both. Ladies and gentlemen, the story of Medal of Honour recipient, Dwight Johnson.

Handguns

2011-10-14T12:07:00.001+01:00

With the exception of my Western Arms ParaOrdnance 14-45 Compact (which was in the loft at the time of taking these photos), this is my current handgun collection. Not much of a collection, I know, but with this pair, I think less is more. WE Colt 1911 and Army Detonics .45 Combat Master.

New FPS Russia Vid

2011-10-13T13:45:00.001+01:00

Wait until the end of this one...

New From Tokyo Marui

2011-10-13T09:08:00.004+01:00

Tokyo Marui have been displaying their next batch of releases at the All Japan Model and Hobby Show. There's a bunch of pictures on this site. It's all in Japanese but the pictures explain it all. Out of all of them, I'm really liking the SCAR-H recoil version.

Here is the same site through Google Translate.

G&P Stoner 63A

2011-10-12T15:10:00.001+01:00

Let's get one thing straight. I love this gun. I'd be happy with it if it just sat on a shelf somewhere and did nothing else. I have wanted a Stoner since they were announced by G&P over a year ago. Every time I've had the money for one, they've been out of stock in this country. This time round, I was lucky enough to get a good deal on a second hand one. Unfortunately, I've not been able to use it yet as the FPS quoted by the seller (around 330fps) turned out to be 348-349 fps when chronoed at Urban Assault last weekend, making it 3-4 fps over the site limit. As a result of this, I've not had a chance to use it in anger yet, that will have to wait for the next outing at Fireball. Until then, I'm happy to just take it out of the box every now and then.

This thing is solid. I had heard rumours of fragile stocks and external parts. I have found quite the contrary, it is weighty and feels up to the quality that you expect from G&P products. Thst'a all I'm going to say about it here. I may add some more when I've used it, but if you Google the phrase 'G&P Stoner review' there are thousands of words out there on t'internet extolling the virtues of this gun. All I will add are some slightly below par photos.

If you're into Stoners and the whole Vietnam vibe, I would also like to take this opportunity to recommend the work of Darryl Young and his book The Element of Surprise. It covers the first tour of duty of SEAL Team 1's Juliet Platoon member Darryl Young. Not only is this book endearing and exciting, it is incredibly detailed, going into the equipment and weapons that each man carried on operations. not only that, but this man carried a Stoner, and boy, did he love that gun. Well worth a read. More information on Darryl Young can be found here.

Gearbox Challenge

2011-10-12T09:09:00.001+01:00

Last night, for the first time, I opened up a V2 gearbox, had a nose around and then closed it up again. I've never done this before, mostly out of fear, but as I had a spare V2 gearbox (from my Marui XM177), there was very little to lose from having a go. As it turned out, it was pretty straightforward. Undo the screws, keep track of which one goes where as they vary in length, have a dig around inside, reset the gears to where they should be and stick it all back together again.

The only problem I ran into was the 'reset the gears to where they should be' bit. In the course of fumbling around getting it to fit back together again, the pin on the sector gear that moves the tappet plate got stuck underneath the plate rather than being in a position to push it back, this meant that the two halves of the gearbox shell wouldn't fit together properly. After a bit of head scratching, I realised what the problem was and sorted it, gearbox back in one piece.

I've probably posted this before, but it's very useful if you don't know how the inner workings of an AEG gearbox do what they do.

V2 Gearbox Disassembly Guide

2011-10-11T13:57:00.001+01:00

Here more for my own reference, but glad if it helps anyone else out. I will be attempting to take a gearbox apart tonight for the first time.

Warbelts

2011-10-11T11:34:00.003+01:00

Over the last 12-18 months I have branched out into the worlds of Vietnam airsoft and M14 ownership, I have also expanded the amount of gear I own in an attempt to support these two new areas as well as updating some existing gear.

Whilst building these belts, I've been faced with some interesting dilemmas:

How do I carry everything I need to carry?
How do I carry everything I need to carry without overloading the belt with unnecessary crap?
How do I make the belt versatile enough to support more than one weapons platform?

All of these belts were required to carry the following:

Magazine pouches for at least eight rifle magazines.
Magazine pouches for at least two pistol magazines.
Space for at least one 1-litre water bottle or canteen.
Space for at least 1000 spare rounds (0.2g BBs).
A handgun holster.

More or less all of the above criteria has been met in the three belt kits I am presenting here. The Vietnam-era belt kit will carry eight 30-round M4 magazines (four in each pouch), but only four M14 magazines (two in each pouch) which requires me to carry the rest of the magazines in a Claymore bag or pockets or some such. Adding a third magazine pouch will probably require e to move the pistol magazine pouch to the webbing strap or something, but that is a problem for
another day. MOLLE, in the case of the modern M4 belt, allows you to stack pouches, as in the case of the triple pistol magazine pouch on top of the double M4 shingle, which makes better use of belt real-estate and the stacked warrior utility pouches allows space for a canteen, ammo or SAW pouch and batteries and presents much less of a problem when faced with the requirements that I placed on the equipment, in fact the only real change to this belt compared to when I originally posted it here is the larger Warrior utility pouch to allow the belt to carry a 1-litre canteen if required.

This belt doesn't conform to the magazine requirements as it will always be worn with a chest rig (currently either the Tactical Tailor two-piece MAV or the 5.11 mini chest rig).

The belt that I had most trouble with was the M14 rig. As this is designed as a stand alone rig, unlike the M4 belt, and will not be worn with an accompanying chest rig or plate carrier and as a result has to carry four large magazine pouches which take up most of the belt. The belt is currently supported by a USGI load bearing vest, but I'm not keen on this and the additional pouches serve very little use when carrying an M14. Ideally, I would like a MOLLE version of this load bearing vest, but there is no real MOLLE analogue. The FLC comes close but features a built in belt and is not available in OD. If I can find a cheap coyote FLC I may give it a try, until then, this will suffice. Once I have equipped the M56 belt with a more appropriate harness, the LC2 suspenders will find there way back onto this belt. The pistol magazine pouch will also get swapped out at some point for one in OD.

The one thing I'm really not happy with on this belt is the SAW pouch. Can't quite put my finger on it, but it's not quite right. I think a large Tactical Tailor utility pouch may replace it in the near future.

With all that in mind, I bring you the 2011 Autumn warbelt range.

The M1956-based Warbelt

Still a work in progress, this belt consists of mostly M1956 webbing (pistol and rifle ammo pouches, belt & compass pouch) and also features a pair of later M1967 water bottle pouches and a 1963 dated leather 1911 holster.

Unfortunately, this is currently all held up with LC2 suspenders until I can get hold of a pair of long M1956 or '67 suspenders but will do for now. Other stuff I'd like to put on this includes a third rifle magazine pouch and a jungle first aid kit (if I can find the space) and maybe a couple of period carabiners.

This is intended for use with my M14 and also the Stoner, although this renders the magazine pouches redundent as they are too small for a Stoner ammo box. Plans are also brewing for either a G&P CAR-15 or XM-177, not decided yet.

The M14 Warbelt

Another work in progress. This is waiting on another pair of Tactical Tailor M14 pouches to replace the cheap and nasty Pantac quad magazine pouch. I would also like to change the Flyye SAW pouch but this comes in useful for the spare box mag when carrying the Stoner.

The Contemporary M4 Shooter Warbelt

Not much else to say about this fella. It's been used a few times in this configuration and I'm pretty much 100% satisfied with it.

Friday Motivation

2011-10-07T14:36:00.001+01:00

...and you don't need much more motivation than three miniguns.

Firearms Filmed with High Speed Camera

2011-09-28T13:54:00.002+01:00

Found this just now on The Firearm Blog. This footage was shot by Insight Visual Media Productions to test a new high speed camera ...

Heavy Artillery In Slow Motion from Insight Visual Media Productions on Vimeo.

Link to original article

Shooting Drills

2011-09-25T15:40:00.002+01:00

Just some stuff I found while cruising YouTube that I thought were worth sharing:

US Marine speed reload...

David Sevigny competition shooting demonstration...

The fastest pistol reload I've ever seen...

Most Tactical Loadout Ever...

2011-09-25T15:23:00.004+01:00

Best bit is about 1:50 in. This dude is so cool, I wanna be just like him.

Edit: had to edit this after I'd posted it to add the guys other video - MTAR: Most Tactial AR-15. Brilliant.

Angled Rail Adaptor: Why has no-one thought of this before?

2011-09-23T09:59:00.001+01:00

Such a simple idea, but so cool. Why has no-one thought of an angled rail adaptor before?

Firing a Minigun the 'Professional Russian' Way

2011-09-23T09:11:00.002+01:00

Wait for the glowing barrel part. Have nice day.

Handguns Fired Underwater

2011-09-22T13:59:00.003+01:00

More good stuff from the guys at Smarter Every Day is this video of them test firing a Ruger P95-DC and a revolver in a glass tank filled with water, capturing this on a camera running at 2,200 frames per second. Today's phrase of the day is 'Toroidal Vortex'.

Enjoy!

Dragon's Breath Rounds

2011-09-22T11:57:00.004+01:00

Now, you've probably seen the FPSRussia dragon's breath video (if not, here's a link. If you have, and want more, try this video, care of the Smarter Every Day YouTube channel. It's a selection of footage of a guy firing off some DB rounds in the woods at night, shot from various angles with a bunch of different cameras. Pretty spectacular.

Vietnam Airsoft

2011-09-21T12:36:00.002+01:00

A couple of weeks ago, I went airsofting at Fireball Squadron. Nothing really new there to report, slow news day, I hear you cry? Not so. I've recently been investing in some Vietnam gear, the airsoft craze that seems to be sweeping the nation. Everyone is doing it, lots of sites are running Vietnam themed events from Gunman to Combat South. I have a bunch of mates who have been doing the whole Vietnam thing for a while and are pretty serious about it, so I thought I'd join in. I already had an M14, an XM177 and a 1911 so most of the expense of changing themes was covered.

After a visit to Soldier of Fortune, eBay and some private purchases, I was ready to go. Toger stripe fatigues, a combination of 56 and 67 pattern webbing, jungle boots, claymore bag and my favourite guns of the moment, my Marui M14 and WE 1911.

I had been wondering why there was so much interest in VN airsoft recently. There have been a few tasty releases by G&P, notably the XM177, CAR15 and the awesome Stoner LMG (currently riding at the top of my wishlist), but no new Vietnam movies, not like the Ranger/Delta craze that went round following Blackhawk Down or the interest in Seal jungle ops with the advent of Tears of the Sun, oh no. So where has this upsurge come from.

Unfortunately, I have no answer. My theory is that it takes airsoft and the tactics involved therein right back to basics. No fancy optics, no bolt-on grippy bits, no Magpul accessories, just you, some basic web gear, your rifle and it's iron sights. All the trappings of modern day airsoft are stripped away taking you back to a time close to that experienced when you started playing. When you had only an AEG and some basic (probably DPM or Flecktarn) clothing and a couple of pouches. Vietnam era airsoft is a distillation of airsoft, forcing you to only go out with what you need, not what the latest magazine, website or training video tells you you need. It is a thing of real beauty.

When playing airsoft, you very rarely need to carry all of the equipment that you take with you. Obviously, there are exceptions, like weekend milsim events, but even then, I could have supplemented what I used at Fireball with a rucksack and that would have sufficed, even for an entire weekend.

I still love my two Armalite rifles, even if they are a little overburdened with accessories, but the purity of fun I got out of playing lo-fi airsoft was refreshing, to say the least.

XM177E2 Upgrade

2011-08-10T11:22:00.002+01:00

Last night I stripped and rebuilt my old Marui XM177E2 in the space of a couple of hours. It was the first electric airsoft gun I bought, second hand from a friend and served me well for a couple of years before I upgraded to an M4RIS. It's a great little gun and has been sitting in the loft for far too long now. As I have completely rebuilt the M4 now, I had an EG1000 motor and M4 gearbox spare so I decided to take the XM apart, give it a clean and rebuild it with the superior M4 internals.

Being plastic, it was a bit fiddly and delicate and, despite all my best intentions, I managed to snap off one of the receiver lugs (unsurprisingly as they're the Achilles heel of the plastic bodied Armalite) although this didn't affect the feel of it when reassembled. Couldn't believe that it only had an EG650 motor inside. might be a bit closer to competitive on the skirmish field now. old photo, but nothing on the outside has changed. See you at the Fireball Vietnam day in September.

Now with Added Google+

2011-07-26T14:12:00.001+01:00

I've managed to post to Facebook via Twitter from Google+. Let's see what happens with a Blogger entry.

Intelligent Armour MACH Helmets

2011-07-19T14:02:00.004+01:00

Just had an email from Alex at Intelligent Armour about their new range of ballistic helmets. I'm no expert on ballistic helmets so I'll let this excerpt from the website explain:

The MACH range is aimed at the Military and Police special tactical units and close protection teams, Intelligent Armour have upgraded our standard Military Advanced Combat Helmet MACH 1 and added Ops-Core 2010 ACH-ARC Kit & Ops-Core VAS Shroud to enhance compatibility with all NVG and communication systems.

The Ops-Core rail system will be familiar to anyone intently following the changes of equipment that UKSF units are going through. The American Ops-Core rail system featuring heavily on the FAST ballistic helmets now believed to be in use by Tier 1 UK Special Forces, as well as their US counterparts, a range very similar to Intelligent Armour's MACH helmets.

As well as the MACH+Ops-Core range, there are more traditional MICH/ACH and PASGT style lines to choose from. Each of the helmets in the range has a downloadable PDF fact sheet with a full description and specification, like this one for the MACH1+Ops-Core helmet.

If you want even more reassurance of the quality of these helmets, there is also a ballistic test report from Wiltshire Ballistic Services Ltd outlining the MACH1, 2 and 3 helmet's ability to defeat 9mm FMJ rounds to NIJ 0108.01 level IIIA.

As I said, I'm no expert and this doesn't mean a great deal to me, but sounds very impressive. Email the guys at Intelligent Armour or phone them on +44 (0) 1453 700574 for more information.

Intelligent Armour are also on Twitter and Facebook if you want to keep up to date with future products and services.

Tuesday Gun Porn: Shooting Range Action

2011-07-19T09:14:00.001+01:00

Care of my gun loving buddies on Facebook. Johnny Cash + assault weapons = pure enjoyment.

Blah, blah, blah, Zombies. Blah, blah, blah, shotgun.

2011-07-13T15:40:00.001+01:00

Survival kit shotgun anyone?

Tuesday Gun Porn: The AA-12 Shotgun

2011-07-05T11:20:00.001+01:00

Never Have I Craved a Shovel Quite so Much...

2011-07-05T11:17:00.002+01:00

...but I crave this, the ultimate zombie fighting shovel, or Crovel, as it's correctly titled. Get your own Crovel Shovel here for a mere $98.99 plus shipping.

Gun Porn From Surefire Promoting Hi-Cap STANAG Magazines

2011-07-01T08:49:00.004+01:00

Surefire have started shipping their 60 and 100 round 5.56 STANAG magazines to dealers. Click here for the promotional video on their youtube channel.

Worst Idea Ever

2011-06-28T15:03:00.002+01:00

It's an umbrella that looks like it has a gun hidden inside. How to get shot by the police in one easy purchase, it's a Gunbrella!

The Iron Curtain Countermeasures System

2011-06-28T14:36:00.003+01:00

Iron Curtain is an Active Protection system (APS) that defeats many of the most challenging armored vehicle threats.

How Iron Curtain Works

(1) A C-band radar detects and tracks an incoming round, alerting the system and switching it from armed-ready to an armed state. (2) At close range, a distributed optical sensor classifies the threat to select aimpoint and determine which countermeasure (CM) to fire. (3) The CM acts straight down, killing the threat with minimal collateral damage to personnel in close proximity.

More info at the Artis website.

FN SCAR Mini

2011-06-24T16:48:00.001+01:00

I'm not a huge fan of the FN SCAR, but the SCAR mini PDW looks pretty fricken' sweet.

NV Contact Lenses: Truth or BS?

2011-06-24T16:11:00.002+01:00

BS or not, sounds sort of plausable and cool as hell. Apparently, the SeALs who took Bin Laden down were wearing these. Or the helmets with the peripheral-view PVS-15's also mentioned in the article. Either way, who cares.

Read the article at Kit Up.

Battle Mug

2011-06-02T11:17:00.000+01:00

Battle Mugs. One of these is definitely missing from my life.

Official Zombie Preparedness from the CDC

2011-05-20T16:36:00.002+01:00

Do they know something we don't know? Is the zombie apocalypse impending or is it just a case of a US Federal Agency having a sense of humour. It's all here in this CDC Zombie Apocalypse Preparedness page.

One Shot by FreddieW

2011-05-20T15:33:00.001+01:00

More excellent YouTube work from FreddieW, this time with added Eliza Dushku...

Hobo Stove Part Two: If It's Going to be Hobo, It's Got to be Strongbow

2011-04-29T14:36:00.000+01:00

Here we have my first attempt at a hobo spirit burner. Made in about half an hour with the help of a Mora knife, drill and scissors. I dar say, with a good knife and something pointy to make the holes, one of these could be knocked up in the wild without to much adoo, not that it's hard to find empty cans lying around. I'd recommend a decent pair of gloves though, 'cos the edges of cut cans are bloody sharp.

Once build, I ran this for about five minutes on three fills of methylated spirits (one fill being enough to fill the depression in the top of the can). It was a bit tricky to get it lit as it was pretty windy and the burner could probably do with being a bit smaller so that the meths heats and pressurises quicker, but with the help of a little more meths in the bottom of an old tuna can and about 20 matches, the burner was soon going strong. When it's a little less windy, I'll get the rest of the stove out and try rustling up a cup of tea. Cheers!

The World's First Zombie-Proof House

2011-04-28T10:11:00.002+01:00

This is so awesome, I can hardly find the words to describe it, so I'll just drop a link to this, the world's first zombie-proof house.

More Bolt-On Crap You Don't Need

2011-04-26T14:18:00.004+01:00

I've just seen this in the Airsoft International Facebook feed. It's a product made by LaRue Tactical which has already been cloned by the Chinese and is up for sale at ebAirsoft. It's called the POD (Prone Optimization Device) and apparently 'Converts your Magpul CTR into a precision-rifle stock'. Really? Surely it's just another piece of bolt on crap that people will buy to make their rifle look cooler. I know that's where it'll hit the airsoft market, definitely. For US$89 for the original and US$15.48 for the Chinese repro version, plus the cost of the Magpul CTR stock you'll have to have to fit it, will it make a significant improvement?

A couple of years ago, someone said to me that I had too much tech bolted on my rifle. I couldn't agree more now. Since then, all but one of my airsoft guns have undergone a pairing back process where I am slowly removing all un-necessary bolted on tat. My M14, even though it only had a scope rail has had that removed. My L119A1 has been rear-wired, removing the necessity for a PEQ box to put the battery in. Only the 10" CQB M4 still has a whole mess of tat attached, hopefully, I can do something about that in the near future too.

I get the whole accessorisation thing. It appeals to the geek in me. More stuff on your gun = cool gun? Not necessarily. There's a fine line between having loads of cool stuff on your gun and having loads of crap bolted onto your gun that you don't need. The POD is a prime example of this. Many moons ago when I rode and lived for BMX, the bike company GT produced a whole range of freestyle accessories and marketed them under the tagline 'bolt-on is better'. I fell for this hook, line and sinker much to the chagrin of my mates who renamed this marketing ploy 'bolt-on is bigger'. The same can definitely be said of much of the airsoft and active/tactical shooter market at the moment.

Ray Mears Extreme Survival: Military Survival

2011-04-26T14:10:00.002+01:00

I've seen most of Ray Mears' TV shows but this one must've slipped past me somehow. I found this whilst browsing the wonderfully informative and beautifully named MungoSaysBah.com bushcraft blog.

Hobo Stove

2011-04-21T10:11:00.002+01:00

Having been reading about these on the internet for a while now on places like Zombie Squad and Practical Survivor, I decided to have a go at making one myself. One of the best examples I've seen so far is the one in the video below.

I wanted something a bit bigger than that so my hobo stove consists of a baby milk can and a sugar tin with lid. I have a small half litre kettle (currently in the loft so I have yet to see if my theory pans out) that should also sit neatly on the top of the milk can.

I started by marking a length of tape with 8 marks 1.5 inches apart for the large half inch ventilation holes around the bottom, this tape was wrapped around the bottom of the can. I then marked up four strips of tape with marks one inch apart for the smaller holes. These were placed vertically on the can with the bottom mark overlaying every other large hole mark so that the strips were a couple of inches apart. I then drilled a pilot hole in each mark before drilling half inch and quarter inch holes.

Having drilled these holes, I gave each one a few tap with a hammer to flatten the burrs out and cut the rectangular hole in the front with a Dremel (this was done over the course of two days, but like the iPhone advert, steps have been removed to shorten the sequence).

The pot rest is made from a couple of lengths of wire coat hanger which I will replace with a couple of old tent pegs when I can get to the camping gear in the loft. The wire coat hanger sections are okay but not very sturdy. On top of them, I've used a PC fan grill that was lying around. You can get these off eBay for about £2.50. I had to cut the screw holes off so it would fit in the milk can, but then it fitted perfectly.

Two holes were drilled in the sugar can to allow the attachment of the wire coat hanger handle as well as a hole in the lid for the knob. The only things missing are a small bag for tinder and firelighting gear, a tin for some hexi blocks and perhaps a steel mug with a folding handle to nest inside and a meths burner to give it a true multi-fuel capability. Oh, and a pouch (preferably suede or leather) to keep it in. All in all, this probably took me about two hours once I had all the parts together. Job done.

Eotech 552 (Chinese Knockoff)

2011-04-15T11:30:00.002+01:00

This just arrived from China in 7 days. How does this happen when Royal Mail/Parcel Force often struggle to deliver in that time, anyhoo...

Cheap 552 replica from KHMountain. Looks the part but the buttons don't do what the instructions say they do and the reticle is blurred, good job it's only airsoft. Let's see how I get on with the 552 and I'll maybe think about buying a decent one, can't complain too much for just over £30.

The L119A1 Project: Yet Another Rebuild

2011-04-14T21:49:00.006+01:00

Yeah, you heard. Another rebuild of the albatross of a gun that is my L119A1. All that is left of the original Tokyo Marui M4RIS is the motor base plate, stock tube and stock. The rest has been completely replaaced with custom parts that I have spent hours hunting over the last five years or so. Can't believe I've spent that long and that amount of money on a gun which is yet to prove useful but them's the breaks. Here's the latest set of pictures showing the installation of the MadBull tight barrel, G&P 8mm Bearing Gearbox and G&P M120 motor. As you can see, I got the whole thing together before realising I'd forgot to install the forward assist. Oh how I laughed.

Knowing my luck, it will now be over the limit at every site I play at, that would be sod's law, but I'll have to wait and see.

All that is left now is to fit the stock magazine pouch and dummy magazine a tidily finish off the rear wiring. Wish me luck.

MiliDroid: Tactical Apps for Android Phones

2011-04-11T19:05:00.003+01:00

Screw you Apple, why should you have all the fun. Here's a tactical information site for Android phone featuring tactical phone applications such as a ballistics calculator and a range estimation calculator. There is also some snacky multicam wallpaper for all you multicam fags out there. Check out MiliDroid for more.

Helikon Tactical Gear

2011-04-07T12:42:00.003+01:00

Being six foot two with a 34 inch inside leg, it gets pretty tricky to find combat trousers long enough without having to import them from the US. Most UK retailers I've tried seem to think that 31 1/2 inch inside leg is normal, I disagree. When I discovered Helikon Tactical gear, I was very pleased to see that they tailor for people like me as well as folks with regular and short legs and don't charge a premium price for it.

The first Helikon item I bought was from Military 1st who have a huge range of Helikon gear in all shapes, sizes and colours (well, OD, coyote and black, if you want to be specific). The Classic Army Fleece in olive arrived in no time - Military 1st's delivery times are among the best I've encountered, both times I've used them, the item has arrived the following day - and I was far from disappointed. The material is a good quality, as is the stitching. There are three pockets, a hip pocket on either side and a chest pocket, all with zips. The shoulders and elbows are reinforced with a windproof material giving the garment a bit of extra weatherproofing. The cuffs have an adjustable velcro fastening and the collar and waist benefit from an adjustable shock cord to keep the weather out that little bit more. The description on the website reads as follows:

Comfortable and warm Classic Army fleece made of quality and strong polyester. It fastens with a sturdy two-way zipper and features high collar which can be fastened to the neck, two side pockets and one chest pocket, all with zippers, reinforced elbows and shoulders as well as adjustable waist with drawstring and adjustable wrists.

* Front zipper
* High collar
* 2 side pockets
* Chest pocket
* Reinforced elbows and shoulders
* Adjustable waist with drawstring
* Adjustable wrists with Velcro
* Material: 100% Polyester
* Manufacturer: Helikon

I've worn the item quite regularly over the last month or so and have found it to be very comfortable. My only gripe would be the sizing. On the Military 1st website, the XXL is recommended for a chest size of 44-47 inches. I'm about a 45 chest, and being six foot two have pretty long monkey arms, so I went for the bigger size. It fits nicely, but is a touch on the big size, which is fine for everday use but if I was going to wear this for airsoft games when it's a bit chilly or as a mid layer under a jacket, I would want a smaller size. I tried it on under a Tactical Tailor two-piece MAV and there is a lot of excess fabric sticking out. I'd like to try an XL and may well get another of these fleeces in black, at £32.99, it's not out of the price range of most people who take their outdoor gear seriously, and it certainly compares and performs favourably against similar North Face gear I own. I have no experience of similar garments on the market that this item is directly competing with, such as 5.11 and Blackhawk as well as the classic US issued Peckham fleece (which the design is very similar to), but the price alone should make it a competitor. For anybody wanting more 'big-boy' features, the next model up in the range, the Liberty model, benefits from double-layered fabric, armpit zips, sleeve pockets and cordura shoulder and elbow reinforcements, all for a very tidy £44.99.

The Helikon SFU Trousers NyCo Ripstop trousers are a similarly nice quality, roomy and long in the leg (if you buy the long leg length, obviously) with sizeable and plentiful pockets, reinforced seat and reinforced knees with a double layer closed with velcro to allow the use of some sort of kneepad, although I could not find any such thing on the Military 1st website. Cutting some rollmat to fit would more than suffice. The official description reads thus:

These quality, heavy wearing and comfortable Special Forces Uniform (SFU) cargo trousers features 9 pockets, double layer on the knee and on the backside as well as pockets with Velcro closure on each knee for padding. Suitable for general forces personnel and cadets. Ideal for airsoft and paintball enthusiasts or fishing and hunting.

* Button fly
* Two regular front hand pockets
* Two rear pockets with Velcro
* Two roomy cargo style pockets with Velcro flaps
* Two smaller pockets at the front
* Small knife pocket with Velcro on the right leg
* Reinforced seat for longer wear
* Knee patch reinforcements
* Two Velcro slots for knee pads
* Side waist adjusters
* Internal drawstring tie bottoms
* Belt loops
* Material: NyCo Ripstop (50% nylon, 50% cotton)
* Manufacturer: Helikon
* Brand new

As you'd expect of any combat-type trouser, there are two hip pockets, two back pockets and two big thigh pockets. In addition, there is a calf pocket with a two-column row of elastic and a two-column row of PALS webbing stitched on three sides to afford a place to keep items like cyalume sticks or similar without fear of them falling out. The calf pocket itself is about the size of a STANAG magazine, probably designed for a field dressing or two. The other extra pockets sit over the hip pockets and again, are around the size of a STANAG rifle magazine, although putting one in this pocket, it sticks out the top of the pocket about an inch or so and would probably be at risk of falling out when in a crouching position, but it gives you an idea of the size, these pockets are probably better suited for soft objects to avoid the contents digging in. The rear and thigh pockets have velcro closure rather than buttons, which is a bit of a shame as I would have preferred buttons, but each to their own, it is a minor personal preference. Whilst browsing the Military 1st website, I did notice that the Helikon BDU trousers have button pockets and their M65 trousers have popper fasteners rather than velcro so there is plenty of choice if, like me, you find velcro pockets a but unwieldy. At £25.99 a pair, I can't really moan too much though.

Check out the full range of Helikon gear at Military 1st.

The L119A1 Project: Final Phase?

2011-03-31T16:11:00.001+01:00

What's the point of having a really pretty gun that's had a lot of money spent on it that only fires at about 215fps and sits in a bag under my bed all the time?

The (hopefully) final phase of the L119A1 project has been put into motion with the purchase of a G&P gearbox (from Land Warrior Airsoft, G&P m120 motor (from eHobbyAsia and a MadBull Black Python tight bore barrel and new hop rubber (from Fire Support all to the tune of about £190. Watch this space for more pics, swearing, scuffed knuckles and a blow by blow rebuild monologue.

Old School M14 Rig

2011-01-18T20:04:00.004Z

In my search for a load bearing solution fr my M14, I decided to eschew the normal MOLLE route and throw together a few bits I already had lying around. Add a couple of Tactical Tailor 7.62 magazine pouches (okay, almost eschewing MOLLE) and you have the results below. It could do with another one or two magazine pouches (Tactical-Kit.co.uk only had two OD pouches in stock, more due in soon) but apart from that, I'm pretty happy with it. The HSGI holster may stay or go, possibly in favour of a USGI belt mounted model. It's 90% there I reckon.

More info on ALICE gear can be found on Wikipedia here.

Benelli M4 - Zombie Killer's Choice

2010-10-07T20:30:00.001+01:00

Knew I was right buying the full length Benelli. As used by Tallahassee in Zombieland.

New Stuff

2010-10-07T20:25:00.000+01:00

New Stuff

2010-09-22T13:50:00.003+01:00

Double Eagle Benelli M4 Shotgun

For a while I had a hankering for a shotgun. Now whenever I've seen shotguns in action on the airsoft field, they never seem to be very effective so I didn't want to spend upwards of £150 on something that can only really be described as a whim purchase. Again, the Chinese come to my rescue in the form of the range of shotguns produced by Double Eagle. The one I really wanted was the shorter barrelled version, but in the end, and as result of the complete lack of stock of these guns, I went for the DE M56DL Tactical M4 Full length from Airsoft World.

Rather than re-type what I have already said about this gun, I'll post the review that I did for the Airsoft World website...

I bought this shotgun, the DE M56DL Tactical M4 Full length from Airsoft World. I ordered it on the Thursday morning, paid the extra for Saturday delivery and it duly arrived Saturday morning. When I opened the box I was very surprised with the quality of this fifty quid gun. It's sturdy and feels well made and solid with rubberised grip surfaces. The gun comes with a single cartridge, a pistol-mag style speedloader, a bag of cheap yellow ammo, two point sling and a small allen key (which seems to be for adjusting the nearsight). I took it out of the box and had a go straight away. It's a good sized gun, I'm six two and it feels big for me. The extending stock would help smaller folk, but it would still be bulky and just to reiterate, feels more expensive than the price tag suggests.

The pump action is pretty stiff, and it makes a solid noise when fired with no rattles from the internals. The gun fires three rounds each time and holds a single 30 round cartridge in the compartment just in front of the trigger guard and can keep a spare in the hollow in the pistol grip, but I'm not sure I'd trust it to stay in there. My only complaint, and it was something mentioned in the description text on the website, is that the stock tube does come loose, which it did almost immediately. This requires a really long 4mm allen key (about six inches, which I'm still trying to source) to do it up. A minor gripe, but still a bit of a pain if you don't have the right tool for the job. I'm going to threadlock it too when I find an allen key to tighten it up again. My only other problem is finding somewhere with the spare cartridges in stock, then I'm taking it out for a go at a skirmish. Considering the price paid for this gun, approximately a third of the cost of a comparable Marui item, it's a brilliant bargain. I may even buy the short barrelled version as well sometime.

What I would add to this is that when the stock comes loose (which in my experience is as soon as you take it out of the box) you will need the aforementioned really-fucking-long 4mm allen key. Six inches is the bare minimum length and don't think, like I did, that you have a socket screwdriver or similar because the inner diameter of the stock tube is too small to take socket screwdrivers or the adaptors that are usually found on the ends of them. After a lot of trial and error, I found a suitable allen key made by specialist cycle tool manufacturer Fat Spanner. This allen key has approximately six inches of exposed shaft and is just long enough. A bit pricey at £4.50 for a tool you may only use a couple of times, but always worth having the right tool for the job. I eventually bought one from Bunney's Bikes in Nottingham.

Last night, as you can see from the picture, I set it up in full tactical mode with the Aimpoint from my M4 and a torch and torch mount. The torch I've had for a while, the remote switch is a Spiderfire item and the mount was a cheap one off eBay. Looks pretty good like this.

Blackhawk Crossdraw Vest

I've wanted a Blackhawk vest for a while. Not something I was desperate for, but from watching Stargate and Blackhawk Down, I quite fancied owning a DOAV (Delta Operators Assault Vest) at some point. I'm still on the lookout for a DOAV as they don't seem to come up for sale very often. In the mean time, I'll settle for this crossdraw vest that I bought off the UKAZ forum recently. Not used it yet but I have tried it on and it's pretty comfy. It needs a bit of adjustment, of which there is plenty. Velcro adjusters on the shoulders and drawstring adjusters at the sides of the rear panel and I imagine that this would fit most people.

I'll write some more about this on the future when I've had more of a play with it, until then, enjoy the picture.

Ares M16 85 round magazines

I promised to take a couple of mates airsofting for the first time recently. I had guns to lend but not enough magazines so I bought a box of these Ares plastic 85 round mags. The three problems I ran into are thus:

1. They are a bit fatter than metal mags and asa a result, are a bit of a tight fit in both the Classic Army and Guarder receivers of my two Colt rifles. I dare say they'll wear down with use, but at present, it's a bit of a squeeze getting them to seat properly and then less than graceful trying to get them out again. Low speed, high drag.

2. They don't feed very well, at least the couple of times I used them over the course of a days skirmishing at Urban Assault, I had a couple of feed issues which resulted in me ditching the mag and going to the next available metal one.

3. They re described as black, the label on the box says black. They are mid- to dark grey at best.

Complaints aside, a bit of silicon spray will probably fix the feed issues, grey is nearly black and I'll just have to fight with them whenever I use them, and to be fair, they'll always be the last mags to be used. For £45 including postage from Zero One you can't complain too much if they don't last forever either.

Holster Bad-Assery

2010-09-20T13:49:00.002+01:00

I've just found a link to Andrews Leather over at the Zombie Hunters Forum. Not only do they make a brain-blistering array of leather holsters, but they also have excellent 70s cop show style guys modelling their wares. My personal favourite - the Firepower rig, designed specifically for "narcs who wished to make a good first impression on their customers".

Airsoft International Magazine

2010-09-08T10:58:00.001+01:00

I very rarely criticise Airsoft International magazine. Yes, it is not the most accurate or informative publication in the world, but it supports Airsoft in this country and is only £4 a month so I can put up with a lot from it, hell, I've even learnt stuff from it on occasion, so generally, good job AI.

Unfortunately, in this month's edition there is an artice about British Commandos of world war 2. In this article, the word 'Catalyst' is printed as 'Cartelist'. Typos are expected in magazines, newspapers and websites. The hopeless inability to spell, in a national or in this case international magazine, is pretty unforgiveable.

C-, could try harder.

The Expendables: A Call to Arms

2010-08-18T09:34:00.001+01:00

Completed Work - L119s & Warbelt

2010-08-17T11:18:00.004+01:00

It's taken a long time but the L119A1 projects are finished. A Readymag is in the post, but apart from that, you see in front of you two finished guns.

The fullsize L119 consists of a Marui M4A1 RIS, although all that really remains is the stock and the internals. The 10" SFW is a piecemeal of Classic Army receiver and internals and Marui RIS.

The battlebelt has gone through a few incarnations but I'm finally happy with it. I'm trialling the weapon retention strap to see if I get on with it, this may stay or go but the rest is pretty much set in stone.

Apologies for the poor quality photos, I'll get some better ones up shortly. Just wanted to show off not one, not two, but three finished projects.

Michelle Rodriguez Publicity Shot for 'Machete' Movie

2010-07-28T10:36:00.002+01:00

This movie looks better and better every time I see something about it...

The L119A1 Project: L119A1CQB

2010-07-21T14:03:00.002+01:00

Some new bits arrived from Hong Kong this morning after being stung by customs for £25.99. These are the first stage of changing over my generic M4CQB into a 10" L119A1. I must be a glutton for punishment.

Most of it is largely cosmetic. It is essentially a Classic Army M4 with a Marui Receiver. I bought it from a mate a couple of years ago to tide me over while the fullsize 119 was being built. It's a good little gun and has done me well, so now it's going to get the UKSF treatment.

New First & Only CQB Site in Leicester

2010-07-15T14:10:00.003+01:00

First and Only Airsoft are continuing their plan for global domination with the opening of yet another site, this time in a disused shoe factory in Leicester.

The Leicester CQB site opens mid July. There's not much information up yet and I could find directions to see where the site was either, all in good time I guess.

Aologies for the terrible music on the following clip...

Machete Trailer

2010-07-15T12:32:00.002+01:00

This could give The Expendables a run for it's money this summer.

MACHETE: Trailer. Watch more top selected videos about: Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal

The L119A1 Project: Lessons Learned

2010-07-12T13:38:00.000+01:00

Once upon a time, there was a perfectly good Tokyo Marui M4A1RIS. One day, some idiot saw a thread on ASCUK about the L119A1 SFW, otherwise known as the Diemaco, the standard assault rifle of the UK special forces. The weapon came to prominence in the books 'Bloody Heroes' and 'Operation Certain Death' by Damien Lewis. The aforementioned idiot thought it would be a good idea to a) build his own L119A1 and b) make this his first airsoft rifle build project.

Anyone who has built an L119A1 will know the pain that this idiot went through. Initially, the components, such as the correct receiver, the barrel and the foresight were all very difficult to get hold of. Army Code produced limited runs of the barrel and then a very limited run of the extortionately priced foresight. DragonRed similarly did a limited run of the barrel which was far superior to the Army Code product (and the one that went on my rifle).

My personal build project also had the problem that the Marui RIS is shorter than the real M4 RIS and, by default, any accurate replica such as the Classic Army or DBoys M4 RIS which meant that the L119A1 barrel was built around the real thing, so that when installed, the Marui RIS was too short.

Cosmetic details apart, when I started this, I knew very little about the inner workings of the AEG. I know a lot more now and my next project (god help me) will be to upgrade a gearbox. When I put my L119A1 back together initially, it all seemed to work, but lacked power, range and accuracy. I had no idea what this could be so I scoured the internet for inspiration. As it happened, I thought I found the answer in the August 2010 issue of Airsoft International magazine. I sat down on Friday evening with tools and AI open on the table and pulled my gun apart.

The problem was in fact, twofold. When I bought the Guarder receiver, it came with various bits and pieces of cosmetic hardware as well as a new plastic one-piece hopup unit. With the hopup was a tiny piece of clear rubber tube, what I though was going to be a spare hop-bucking. This turned out to be the actual hop bucking. I thought that the hopup unit would be ready to install, complete with hop-bucking and the instructions (such as they were) gave me no reason to suspect otherwise. Being a complete novice, I left this essential piece of rubber out. As a result, practically no spin was being applied to the rounds coming out of the rifle and they were going all over the place.

Problem number two was where AI came in. The August edition featured numerous how-tos, one of which was upgrading a Marui M4 Sportline, very similar to the M4 RIS in most respects. One of the modifications that they suggested was to glue a small piece of plastic to the front of the hop-up to shim it against the receiver and push it up closer to the gearbox. I duly followed the instructions and it eventually worked. The piece of plastic I used was too think to start with but with some patient filing and inevitable swearing, I got it to fit very snugly, making the receiver pins quite tricky to get back in, but at least they won't drop out like they were prone to before this mod.

Threadlock and PTFE grease purchased from GEE DEE Models in Nottingham so the threads were locked and the gears greased (as much as possible), as were the sides of the gearbox to make it easier to insert back into the very snug receiver. All back together and a couple of rounds fire down the garden (much to the consternation of my fiancee and the three cats) and I can safely say that it appears to be firing as well as it ever was.

I'd like to say that I've enjoyed my first build project, but I can't. I'm very satisfied that it's finished (finished in as much as it is back together and working) and I've done it all myself, but it has been a right royal pain in the arse. I have learnt a lot and I may well start another build project in the future (most likely an L129A1 DMR). The L119 still has bog stock internals so the next job is to replace the barrel and upgrade the gearbox. I may get a shop to do the gearbox as I'm not feeling brave enough to butcher the gun again. If I can find a cheap, faulty gearbox, I may use that as a project base rather than ruining a good working gearbox, we shall see.

Almost as a postscript, I would like to mention Airsoft International magazine again. The magazine has it's critics, myself among them. Some of the spelling, grammar and punctuation leaves much to be desired, as much the fault of the proof readers as the authors and many of the articles are badly researched and lacking detail. that said, it is a very useful resource. I have been buying it for the last two years. Most of the articles I have read have not been particularly useful but some of them are worth their weight in gold, such as the one that helped to rescue my gun project, plus it supports Airsoft which is commendable in it's own right.

This gun has cost me around £500 including the donor gun. It has also cost me countless hours of frustration as well as days and days waiting for parts to arrive from China. To anyone considering building a custom project gun, think long and hard about why you want the gun and read everything you can about it, even if it seems irrelevent. And good luck.

Parts Summary:
Tokyo Marui M4A1RIS donor gun
Guarder Colt Canada metal receiver
DragonRed L119A1 barrel
Guarder large AR15 grip
DBoys RIS
DBoys PEQ-2
Marui M4 stock, stock tube, foresight, flash hider and internals
ACM ACOG 4x Scope
Marui BUIS
AR15.com stock pad (incorrect one - to be replaced)
Single-point sling mount (Unknown make - to be replaced)

Gear Review: Blackhawk Advanced Tactical Elbow Pads

2010-07-09T09:53:00.003+01:00

I had a nice email the other week from Matthew Milner at PatrolStore.com telling me that he liked my site and would I add a link to his store. In return, he said send me a pair of Blackhawk Advanced Tactical Elbow Pads to review. Never one to refuse free stuff, I agreed. The pads arrived this week as promised so here goes.

The packaging is typical Blackhawk with the big, bold logo on the heavy cardboard header stapled to the cool (and also reusable) ziplock bag. Inside are a slightly dusty pair of Blackhawk elbow pads. Not sure what makes them advanced, guess that would be Blackhawk's marketing department (or possibly the ridge on the inside to help stop the slipping off your elbow). On first inspection, they seem pretty robust and well made. The rubber elbow cap, embossed with the Blackhawk logo, is reassuringly bulky and there is plenty of padding underneath. I've never been one for wearing elbow pads whilst playing airsoft, but I guess a few hefty knocks there would soon change my mind, especially somewhere like Urban Assault where there is plenty of door frames to clout your elbow on. Having been a BMX freestyle rider many
years ago, I know how much it hurts to fall on your elbow, these could have saved me a lot of pain many times over.

According to the Blackhawk website, and repeated on the PatrolStore pages, are the official list of features:

• Substantial protection in a lightweight, durable package
• Non-slip, flexible, molded polyurethane cap
• 600 Denier nylon shell
• New contoured interior ledge prevents pad from slipping downward
• Closed-cell foam padding provides excellent shock resistance and prevents water absorption
• Hook and loop elastic straps

When you put them on, they are pretty comfy and not particularly restrictive. I usually wear knee pads when playing on urban sites, my current choice of pad is the Alta Superflex. they are pretty good but still move around and dig the elastic into the back of your knees, makes me wonder what elbow pads would be like to wear all day. I'll give them a try and when I do, the after-action report on these pads will appear here in the near future. The one thing I did notice when putting them on was that the 'New contoured interior ledge' on the inside of one of the pads was slightly bigger on one pad than on the other. This ridge is there to help stop the pad slipping downwards off you elbow, it's a sort of lopsided foam cup inside the pad with the upper edge (that would go around the top half of you elbow) being more pronounced than the lower half. I'm guessing that this is a minor flaw in the production of this one set of pads and doesn't really affect the way they are worn and I imagine they will bed in a compact with use, it was just something I noticed when putting them on.

If you want to order a pair of the Blackhawk pads (available in Black, Olive or Coyote) for a very reasonable £16.99 (that's less than £8.50 an elbow, when you get to 40 you'll be glad you did), click along to PatrolStore.com or give Matthew a call on 01737 642 424.

On to the Patrol Store site. I hadn't heard of them before getting the email from Matthew. The site itself seems more geared towards Police equipment with the homepage showing links to a whole host of law enforcement duty gear. When you dig deeper, the site continues on this vein, but if you hunt around, you can find offerings from 5.11, Blackhawk, Hatch and Mechanix and boots by Lowa, Magnum and
Bates. The gadget fan in you will also be pleased to see knives, tools and torches from Gerber and Fenix and weapon optics from Aimpoint & Eotech.

It's always nice to find something you've never seen before and one of my favourite things on PatrolStore.com was the range of tactical vests from Protec Covert Equipment, like this this one. Again, these are exclusively aimed at police officers (the cuff, baton and pepper spray pouches give it away, along with the enormous 'POLICE' patch on the back) and, sadly, are only available to police personnel, but are cool nonetheless.

In summary, I would say that this site is not as useful to the airsoft world as a lot of the tactical gear sites out there, but it is still worth a visit and the friendly introduction I got to the site from Matthew coupled with the swift delivery of the pads can only speak well of their customer service.

Night Vision USA

2010-07-08T15:42:00.003+01:00

Night Vision USA have a huge collection of high quality night vision equipment including night goggles, night vision cameras and rifle scopes at very attractive prices.

Peter Morris from NVUSA sent me an email asking if I could put up a link to his site. Having had a look at Night Vision USA, I'm more than happy to do so. they have a massive selection of NVG gear, day & night systems and thermal cameras. I don't know very much about night vision gear, but from what I do know, I'm very impressed with their range.

Gear Review: Warrior Grab Bag

2010-07-08T12:18:00.003+01:00

Okay, so I've had this just over a year and I guess it's time I did a review on it. What we have here is a Warrior Grab Bag, originally bought about sixteen months ago from UK Tactical. I bought this bag in that tactical manbag frenzy that did the rounds about that time, just as the fad for Claymore bags was dying out and people were snapping up something cooler, more tactical and more expensive. I have to admit, I jumped on the manbag bandwagon with this, coupled with the fact that I wanted to buy myself a birthday present and didn't know what else to spend the money on.

Warrior do several configurations of their grab bag. All utilise the same basic bag but have options as to the pouch configuration attached to the front MOLLE straps, you can have 3 double 5.56mm mag pouches, two mag pouches and a holster, three single 5.56mm mag pouches or three smoke pouches all in either olive drab or tan. I ended up coughing up about £70 for the grab bag with holster and a spare magazine pouch for the single reason that each variation of the bag is £54.95. A spare mag pouch is £8.95 and the holster is £14.95 so this seemed like the best value for money.

At the time, I wasn't sure how useful this bag would be but I have ended up using it all the time as an everyday-carry bag with all my work stuff in, as well as a load of tat I don't really need but fulfills the GHB /BOB (get home bag/bug out bag) purpose of the item.

Since I bought the bag, I have replaced the mag pouches with two Warrior medium utility pouches that I bought from an airsoft forum. They are OD, and a little big, but work pretty well on the bag. When I get round to it, I may change these for a couple of Warrior small utility pouches in tan to match the bag, but I'll leave it as it is for now.

As far as I can tell, the bag, like much or Warrior's gear, is a copy of a much more expensive, US branded item. In this case, the Blackhawk grab bag. The Blackhawk bag is about £100, so this is pretty good value as far as I am concerned. If you are bothered by brand names, and would rather carry a US branded bag, feel free to go out and buy the Blackhawk one, but I would be inclined to say you were wasting money.

The Warrior grab bag has a single main compartment with two internal pockets, one of which is velcro lined (loop) and comes with velcro backed (hook) pistol mag pouch and an elastic loop backed with velcro (hook) that you could get a STANAG magazine in, but usually contains my iPhone which fits like a glove. The flap of the bag doubles as a map or document case with a clear plastic inner sleeve, accessed from the side by some hefty velcro. On one end of the bag is a small utility pouch, big enough for a cellphone, small PMR446 walkie talkie or field dressing. Mine contains my Petzl head torch. At the other end, originally, was a removable MOLLE double pistol mag pouch but this has been replaced with a 5.11 Water Bottle Pouch, another single pistol mag pouch was also attached to the MOLLE webbing on the bag's strap, but this has been removed and usually sits on my belt with my Leatherman in.

If I had to complain about one thing it would be that this grab bag isn't very grab-able, it would very much benefit from a grab strap as well as the shoulder strap, but apart from that, I've been very happy with my man-bag so far. My bag gets used every weekday for my general work and everyday-carry gear, some of which is probably not needed every day but I feel better carrying it with me. So far the bag is not showing any wear and tear despite being dumped in my car boot twice a day, there are a couple of scuffs on the buckles and the tiniest bit of wear on the bottom, but no signs of failure or breakage.

If I was going to complain about this bag, it would be that it should have a grab handle. When getting in and out of the car, or grabbing it from under the stairs, you have to grab a handful of shoulder strap or the bag itself.

Considering it is called a grab bag, it could be a bit more grab-able. The other minor gripe would be to have a removeable shoulder strap. I can't give a good reason for this, I just feel it would be useful and the quick-release clips (which usually have a swivel on) would make untwisting the strap easier. With a bit of work on the sewing machine, this mod would be easy to add, but it'd be nice if it came as standard. Whilst writing this article, I saw a thread on UKAZ advertising the new Flyye range over at eHobby Asia, which includes the FLYYE Low-Pitched Equ Bag (whatever that means), which is essentially the same bag (as far as I can tell from the pictures) as the Warrior one, but with a removeable shoulder strap.

The contents of my bag, should you be interested, usually resembles the following with room to spare for sandwich box or other miscellaneous tat (as you can see, you can get quite a bit of stuff in there):

Main Compartment
External HDD & cables
Phone & cable/charger
Misc USB cables
Book
Monocular
USB drive(s)
Misc paperwork, couple of CDs
Bluetooth headset

Front Right Pouch
Pocket Buddy containing Leatherman, Gerber Scout torch, spork, emergency whistle & sharpies/pens
Mini prybar
Small can of deoderant
Compass, Tool Logic credit card tool, mini-glowstick, Pen

Front Left Pouch
Sunglasses case containing Oakleys, Choob & Croakies
IFAK
Headphones for phone

5.11 Waterbottle Pouch
Nalgene bottle & Firefly lid
Tatonka steel cup

L129A1 DMR

2010-07-07T12:53:00.002+01:00

There seems to be a lot of interest about the new British Army sharpshooter/DMR rifle, the LMT L129A1 so here's a video. Looks good.

Link to Combat Arms article over on the LMT website.

Tactical Camera Gear: When Two Gear-Obsessed Worlds Collide

2010-07-06T08:59:00.000+01:00

Being a keen photographer and tactical-gear nerd, I wondered if there was any middle ground between the two. Cameras are obviously used in the Military and Law Enforcement fields for surveillance and the like, so there must be a requirement for hard use gear for storing and transportation of expensive and fragile electronics and optics. I thought I'd look into it.

I'm currently using a LowePro Toploader bag for my Sony a200. It's okay for the time being as I just have the standard lens that came with the camera and a couple of small accessories and cables that just about fit in the front zip pouch, but if I need to carry anything else, like a tripod or gorillapod, I have to carry another bag or rucksack, which isn't ideal. Something bigger and more practical is required.

The first site I found having typed in 'tactical camera gear' into Google was this camera grip/mount thing made from a wooden rifle stock with a couple of RIS rails, a torch and bipod attached. Not only really cool but practical and not entirely very complicated to make. This has been added to the future projects list. Unfortunately not really what I was looking for. I'm also not sure what the Police in the UK would make of you carrying it round in public.

Back to the old search engine, there are, as I expected, a couple of options from some of the major tactical gear manufacturers like Diamondback Tactical, and Flyye as well as a couple of Chinese airsoft sites like Toy Soldier and Airsoft Club. The DBT offerings consist of a camera/optics bag and a camera/optics bag with a laptop sleeve on the front. Both look as though they are designed as an insert for a rucksack or assault pack, although I could be mistaken. Toy Soldier and Airsoft Club, obviously at the other end of the tactical gear price range, have more of a variety. Toy Soldier boasts several items including a camera go-bag, single-point sling type camera straps and a couple of chest rig style offerings, with Airsoft Club having a more multi-purpose, multicam shoulder bag at a very reasonable US$22.99.

Although not particularly tactical, but still worth a mention are professional level photographers luggage manufacturers CCS who have an excellent range of gear ranging from simple compact camera pouches to full blown camera and lens rucksacks. If you can't find a bag on there, you haven't looked hard enough.

MOLLE systems are nowhere near as exploited by the photography industry as they could be. I found a few manufacturers that made individual MOLLE components that, combined with a battle belt, chest rig or drop leg panel could be very useful, not to mention cool-looking. Items such as the Forward Observer pouch from Hazard 4, the Spec-Ops padded utility pouches as well as some of the more military-oriented MOLLE accessories like dump pouches or clamshell style medic pouches and you could have a very versatile as well as individual camera-bearing solution.

Finally, although not a manufacturer or retailer, this guy clearly knows how to put together a camera rig such as the one I mentioned above, making use of commercial MOLLE components. Read his blog here.

Coming Soon...

2010-07-05T11:30:00.003+01:00

Once again, I've been a bit lazy with my posting. I've been doing some gear reviews but haven't got round to taking the photos yet, I'll try and do that this week.

Coming soon:

Gear Review: Warrior Grab Bag one and a bit years on.
Gear Review: 5.11 Tactical Nalgene pouch/Flyye Nalgene Pouch Comparison
Tactical camera gear
Site Review: PatrolStore.com
Gear Review: Blackhawk Elbow Pads

That's what's coming your way when I can get round to doing them. Stay tuned.

Monday Gunfight

2010-07-05T11:29:00.001+01:00

A bit of a teaser for the upcoming Expendable movie. Enjoy

Armadillo Documentary Movie Trailer

2010-05-18T09:06:00.004+01:00

'Armadillo' is a new Danish movie currently showing at the Cannes Film Festival. If the trailer is anything to go by, this account of the conflict in Afghanistan from the perspective of two Danish soldiers and, if the trailer is anything to go by, this movie is going to be dark and harrowing and difficult to watch in places. Beautifully shot though with some stunning action scenes, made all the more dramatic because you know they're real.

Synopsis (from the website):

ARMADILLO is an upfront account of growing cynicism and adrenaline addiction for young soldiers at war.

Mads and Daniel are on their first mission in Helmand, Afghanistan. Their platoon is stationed in Camp Armadillo, right on the Helmand frontline, fighting tough battles against the Taliban. The soldiers are there to help the Afghan people, but as fighting gets tougher and operations increasingly hairy, Mads, Daniel and their friends become cynical, widening the gap between themselves and the Afghan civilisation. Mistrust and paranoia set in causing alienation and disillusion.

Armadillo is a journey into the soldier’s mind and a unique film on the mythological story of man and war, staged in its contemporary version in Afghanistan.

Obscene Revolver

2010-05-12T16:49:00.001+01:00

So sweet, but ridiculous at the same time. Although, if you're gonna have a massive revolver, why not go balls out and get one like this.

Email from Chinese battery Manufacturer

2010-04-29T13:42:00.003+01:00

This just turned up in my Spambox. Not sure how Tina worked out from my website that I was 'a Wholesale Division of Airsoft gun in Hongkong' but there you go. Someone may find the contents of this email useful, even if you don't it's quite amusing to read (although to be fair, Tina's English is a damn sight better than my Chinese).

Dear David:
How is going ! So glad to email you , First ,i wanna introduce me to u ,this is tina from Dongguan China , From your website ,i know that you are a Wholesale Division of Airsoft gun in Hongkong .Happen to be ,our company is specializing in producing li-po and NI-MH battery for airsoft guns .So I wanna to show you some of our company's products and hope there will be some cooperation opportunity between us .maybe you have some fixed battery suppiler ,but you can add me as another choice.in order to protect your benefits ,we can send some samples to you to verify its performances first .we are not a mid-trader,so the price must be more benefit for you .the May day is coming ,hope u have a good holiday and good luck !
(Dongguan victory battery co,ltd ) is a manufacturer who specialized in producing and marketing Ni-MH (high power ,imported seperated PP,pure Nickle metal in positive pole enhance its conductivity,lowest resistance )and Li-po battery (the main chracteristics : enviromental friendly ,light weight ,high power ,no memory effect ,long recycle life ,low self-discharge ) for electric airsoft gun and RC hobby.The latest product information ,u can choose to browse our websitewww.victorybattery.com.cn.CE ,UL ,ROHS (international certification is available , OEM is welcome too )
1. For li-po batteries we can design and produce :

voltage : 3.7V /7.4V/11.1V/14.8V/18.5V/22.2V

capacity :40mah to 10000mah

discharge current :15C/20C/25C/30C/35C/40C/45C/55C

2. For NI-MH batteries we can design and produce :

voltage :1.2V

capacity:700mah to 10000mah

remarks:a. samples available

b.100% inspection before shipment.

c. one year after services ensure

d. (OEM) Customized service like design, packing is acceptable.

e. manufacturer (not a mid-trader,price will more benefit for u )

f:have rich experince in exporting around the world(airfreight cooperration parter UPS)

any need ,you can add my MSN :tina19865211314@live.cn or u can leave me your another contact ways,MSN or Skepy all welcome . Looking forward to hearing from you soon .except the business thing ,i also wish we can be friends in near future.

Below is our company's latest products and the 7th shanghai international model exhibition 2010 catalogue :

Best regards
tina
010-04-29
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dongguan Victory Battery Technology Co., LTD

Email ：tina@victorybattery.com.cn

Tel : 86-769-82605822-8011

Fax: 86-769-82605811

Mobile: 86-0-13416825415

MSN:tina19865211314@live.cn

Website : www.victorybattery.com.cn

Address: Huilong Industrial Area, Huilong Rd, Dakan Village,Huangjiang Town, Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, PRC 523760

Block 3 SOPMOD Accessories Previewed

2010-04-15T11:51:00.001+01:00

Stolen from Epic Winf FTW.

Gear Review: Guyot Designs Firefly Bottle Lantern

2010-04-12T12:33:00.002+01:00

Since I bought it about two weeks ago, I have begun to think that this item, while being cool and gadgety, is a little extravagant. It's a Guyot Designs Firefly Lantern Bottle Lid for Nalgene-type polycarbonate bottles. It replaces the lid of the bottle, takes 3 AAA batteries, and when switched on, emits a warm, bright glow from the three LEDs inside doubling up the usefulness of your bottle from just bottle to bottle and lamp, ta-dah! The LED compartment shines down into the bottle illuminating the contents or just the empty bottle itself.

The lid is pretty sturdy and is attached to the bottle by a black nylon cord locked around the neck of the bottle with a little grub-screwed plastic cinch doohicky making it all nice and secure. Batteries are fitted in a waterproof compartment in the top of the lid secured by three small screws. All the parts are chunky and feel pretty robust as you would expect from an item in this price range. The only problem I've found so far is that the on/off swuicth doesn't always work first time, which is a bit lame for something this expensive, but not the end of the world.

It's pretty cool if you want to travel light (no pun intended) meaning that you no longer have to carry a camping lamp with you although, to be honest, you could just take the normal nalgene bottle (or any other bottle that takes your fancy) and carry a head torch too. You'd be £18 richer, but would have no gadget-nerd fun.

Seriously, this is useful, but at nearly £18, plus the price of the bottle (which can be anywhere between about £3 and £10, you'd probably be better off (in both senses of the phrase) buying a '58 pattern bottle and a cheap head torch, but this is pretty high tech and gadgety, so if like me you're a bit of a sucker for that sort of thing, go for it.

The Firefly was bought from Wilderness 1-2-1. The bottle took just over a week to arrive, which was longer than I'd have expected, but this was over Easter so is entirely forgivable. Wilderness 1-2-1 were nice and friendly, with a personalised typed letter in with the item, which is a nice touch that you don't often get. The letter also suggested that carrying coloured fruit squash in the bottle could be less detrimental to your night vision. Good tip.

The greatest action movie ever?

2010-04-05T10:18:00.000+01:00

Co-written and directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone, and featuring Jason Statham, Jet Li, Eric Roberts, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny Trejo, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis, Micky Rourke, Charisma Carpenter and the late Brittany Murphy, The Expendables can't possibly be anything short or pant-shittingly awesome. Even the mighty neck of Sly Stallone was overwhelmed with the full-on action awesomeness of this movie, having to have emergency surgery and a plate put in after breaking his neck whilst filming. Bad. Ass. Don't believe me? Just look at the poster and the trailer. Awesome.

Death Valley Magazine, The Old School Man and 1000 Rules

2010-03-31T11:27:00.000+01:00

Allow me to introduce you to three interesting, informative and (especially in the case of OSM) hilarious websites.

I came across the Death Valley Magazine when, for some reason that I am eternally grateful for, DVM started following me on Twitter (cheers guys!). I duly read a couple of tweets, read a few more, then followed the links to the DVM website. I won't go into too many details about who writes DVM other than the fact that they are a bunch of witty and intelligent American guys who also happen to work in Private Contractor circles. Don't let that put you off though, they mock their own trade as much as anyone elses, ripping into the Urban Bug Out Bag in more or less the same breath as tactical baseball caps and Multicam whilst simultaneously praising old school weapons like the FN FAL, baseball bat and knuckleduster (just don't mention plastic knuckledusters).

Shortly after following the ling from DVM to Old School Man had me snorting in my tea, specifically the habits of old school man. This list is in much the same vein as the Chuck Norris facts that went round the internet a year or two ago, but geared more around Steve McQueen. Literally hilarious.

Considering how many men are in therapy crying about how their mommies didn’t breast feed them enough it is surprising that the Old School Man still only has 2 emotions: Angry and Not Very Angry.

The other link I found via the DVM site was 1000 rules for surviving the zombie apocalypse, a subject, as many of you are aware, is close to my heart. this site, presumable influenced by the recent movie 'Zombieland' takes the whole rules for zombie survival thing that much further.

Rule 997: Stay out of the woods. In the Zombie infected world the woods are only for deer and people who want to be eaten.

Give theses three sites a read and I guarantee you will laugh at at least one of them. Enjoy.

Nottingham

2010-03-23T13:50:00.003Z

My home town...

Gear Review - Condor Tear Away EMT Pouch

2010-03-22T19:36:00.002Z

On my arrival at work this morning, sat on the reception desk waiting for me amongst the rest of the post was my long awaited Condor Tear Away EMT Pouch from the nice people at SOLO International.

Having waited since the beginning of November for this from another reailer before cancelling the order and re-ordering it from SOLO last week, I was looking forward to having a look at this and getting it installed.

The reason I bought this over other Individul First Aid Kit (or IFAK) pouches ws because this one is actually detachable from the base. The pouch can be mounted on a MOLLE platform in the same way as thousands of other different pouches, but this pouch is in two parts, the base, which attaches to the MOLLE platform, and the pouch itself which is connected to the base via hook-and-loop and a securing strap with a quick release clip meaning that it can be torn away from the base in the event of an emergency, or in the case that the pouch is simply easier to use when not attached to a belt, chest rig or plate carrier. Although designed as a medic pouch, I could quite easily see it in use as an E&E pouch or toolkit, especially in an EOD capacity.

The pouch is opened by means of two paracorded zip pulls which run around three sides of the pouch meaning it can be opened completely to allow access to the contents. Inside, there are two internals pockets in the back panel as well as a row of elastic loops to insert items into. A further two elastic straps run down the other half of the clamshell, and the pouch is completed by a zip-up mesh pocket attached to the bottom. There are also four paracord loops, one in each corner of the clamshell to attach clips, carabiners or lanyard to to secure loose items.

The overall quality of the pouch is pretty good. Although not top quality, I can see it taking a fair amount of punishment. The only area I would be concerned with is the quick release clip on the securing strap, this is made of quite cheap plastic and although it could be easily replaced, I would like to have seen a better quality item for the money, especially when the clips on other competitively priced brands such as Warrior Assault Systems have good quality plastic hardware. The same could be said of the zip, which also feels a little on the cheap side and is noisier than the zips on Warrior gear.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with it. Not sure what I'll use it for, as a medic pouch of this size just for airsoft is a bit overkill. You can get quite a bit of stuff in this pouch so it could easily double up as a medic pouch and tool kit with a bit of spare room left for the odd Mars bar.