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AirDog: The Drone That Will Auto-Follow You In An Airsoft Game

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AirDog

For the ultimate selfie-taker or the action sports film maker, this thing will be a godsend. I was very much impressed after watching the video and just a bit disappointed that the product will be shipping in November rather than now as it's a season for many airsoft events and this drone will be very helpful. AirDog, which its designers claim to be World's First Auto-follow Drone for the GoPro Camera, is something for airsoft players and even organisers should look forward to.

There are drones which already have the "follow me" features though the implementation is more of an afterthought. AirDog's basic concept is the same, with the exception that it's designed from the ground up to do just that function --- follow its owner like a dog on a leash.

The AirDog Drone is just half of AirDog, with the other half being the leash, or the Airleash as called by the developers. This is the wireless device that  sends information about your movement to the AirDog Drone so it will follow you accordingly. It can also send commands such as altitude and angle  to the drone. It is still bulky but buttons are easy to operate even with your gloves on. The developers said they could have gone with the smartphone as the Airleash but  you need more precise tracking points so they developed the Airleash. Besides, I would not bring my smartphone whilst wakeboarding or surfing.

AirDog will tenaciously follow the owner as long as it gets information from the Airleash. The most important thing here is that you will not need a camera man to control the drone to follow you with what you're doing. Just turn on both AirDog and Airleash, input the elevation and angle from which to follow you then off you go and the AirDog will be just right behind or above you. Now, you get aerial videos of your airsoft games with yourself being in the middle of the action rather than being in the sidelines controlling the drone with no footage of you.

For now, here are the "Auto Follow" or "Follow Me" Modes of AirDog:

  1. Auto-follow. Will work with almost any sports. In this mode AirDog will follow you repeating exactly your movement trajectory while maintaining its position in preset distance and altitude from you. It will follow you at speeds up to 40 mph.
  2. Relative position follow. In this mode AirDog will maintain constant offset relative to magnetic north from the rider. For example, you can set it to keep a 10 meter distance at 4 meters high to the east from your position. Even when you change your direction, the AirDog will stay at the same preset angle from you. We suggest this mode for straight line wakeboard cable parks, surfing, and some other sports.
  3. Follow track. This is the safest way to operate AirDog. Simply go for one lap with AirLeash and it will record your track. Then adjust AirDogs trajectory to your liking in smartphone app. AirDog will repeatedly fly over the exact set trajectory and the camera will be continually adjusted to aim at the rider.This is the most creative mode where you can become a true director of your movie. Adjust AirDog's trajectory to avoid obstacles like buildings or trees. You can even make it to shoot you from different angle on different spots/kickers in the track. It might sound complicated, but its a simple few tap process in AirDog smartphone app.
  4. Hover and Aim. The Hover and Aim setting allows AirDog to stay in one position above the ground, but constantly directing the camera at the AirLeash. This setting is perfect for tight places such as smaller skateparks, narrow forest trails, or for activities such as bungee jumping or base jumping, where clearance from equipment is important.
  5. Circle. In this setting, AirDog makes circular rotations on a set radius and altitude, keeping the camera aimed at the AirLeash. This for slow speed or static shots to show impressive view around you.
  6. Look down. The most simple mode but can produce very stunning results. Simply "walk" your AirDog above a ramp or kicker where you are about to throw some epic tricks and with push of a button it will freeze its position and aim camera straight down. Now make sure you don't go too high.

They are also implementing the no-fly zone and obstacle avoidance via software. This will then make the Airdrone go or not go into areas as determined by its owner.

Already convinced? You may want to support this project and get your own AirDog by making a funding pledge on Kickstarter. With just 2 days remaining, they had already raised around US$1.8 million which is way over their initial funding request of US$200,000. AirDog is seen to be retailing over US$1,500 when it hits retailers after the campaign and thus, you can get an early bird discount by pledging to give funds to this project.

I guess the only problem is for most narcissistic selfie takers out there who might just abuse the use of AirDog, but other than that this is a very cool project that can be very much useful in airsoft. Drones are already making their presence felt over the airsoft fields and AirDog will just make aerial film making in airsoft even easier when it gets released.


Organisational Update And The Future of UKAPU

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Matt UKAPU

Some of you have been asking why the association has been so quiet in recent times. Unfortunately, our committee positions are mostly vacant. We’ve had a period where we didn’t manage to get normal replacements for guys who were leaving (people tend to come and go) and then a general feeling of being worn down by the enormity of the task caused two of the remaining committee members to resign at the same time. As such, we’re down to a single committee member at the moment (out of 5 positions). To add to our misery, our membership database has broken down at the same time.

Bearing these facts in mind, James (our Treasurer) has stopped all new member registrations and member renewals. It just wouldn’t be fair to take your money if we’re providing none of the promised services. We did recently discuss the idea of dissolving the association, in a worst case scenario we’d rather that we closed shop than allowing it to limp on with no-one at the helm.

UKAPU was set up with the sole aim of becoming the manifestation of players will, a tool for you to use. But after 5 years of successfully defending many players who have been wronged by the law, and representing members to the media and different parts of government, UKAPU still doesn’t have the weight of the airsoft community behind it. It seems like the majority of players don’t want to be involved in airsoft outside of playing or don’t care to research the precarious situation. Threats to players rights aren’t just coming from outside of airsoft though; as with anything in life if you don’t make your voice heard, someone else will talk on your behalf, and we know, for a fact, that the people illegitimately holding the power in UK airsoft right now are petitioning for things like a ban on personal RIF imports. Sadly, other new airsoft groups also have deep inherent flaws; an absence of transparency, democracy and management with heavily vested interests. So, you can see, the need for a strong players association hasn’t reduced one iota.

In spite of these recent issues our South East Representative, Bruce Clark, has volunteered to step up as Chairman and lead UKAPU. Bruce is a Captain in the Merchant Navy,  ex-forces, has a lot of spare time on his hands and is extremely keen on Airsoft. He is the perfect man for the job. This week we’ll get Bruce officially slotted into the Chairman position, and I’ve high hopes that Bruce’s fresh ideas and enthusiasm will knock UKAPU back into life from the stagnation which has come about this year. Massive thanks to Bruce for stepping up.

Lately we’ve also had a respectable volume of volunteers step forward to fill the other vacant positions and I promise to be in touch with them during the next week (sorry it's not been sooner, I have a lot going on in my personal life at the moment). So, with a fresh team on the job and the old guard on hand to pass on their knowledge and experience, I can see UKAPU achieving great things in the near future!

Despite the new committee, the association still won’t last without more support from all airsoft players, and active participation from more members. My thanks to those who have continually talked us up and the core of awesome people who been loyal members over the years. UKAPU wouldn’t be here without you. But for those who have refrained from ‘picking a side’ or generally haven’t taken an interest in the future of airsoft, this could be your last chance to get behind a resource which is created for you and could be extremely valuable in your future.

Please post on our forum if you are interested in working for the association as a volunteer:

http://ukapu.org.uk/forums/index.php

For those of you who aren’t currently members, we’ll ask you to sign up (or renew) soon. Keep an eye on our Facebook page, twitter account, website or our articles in gun mart and airsoft action magazines. We’ll let you know as soon as the new membership database is back up and running.

https://www.facebook.com/UKAPU
https://twitter.com/UKAPU
http://ukapu.org.uk/

Matt Furey-King
Consultant
UKAPU

Soezimax's Osaka Shunkashuto Project Debuts With Action Videos

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Soezimax Osaka Shunkasuto "If you were able to meet Moshimo"

We'll be writing features of what's happening in Japan again relevant to airsoft, especially that we'll be getting a report of the Tokyo Marui Festival happening this weekend which hopefully we get to post first thing on Monday, (or Tuesday). But for today, we go back to the story of the young girls from Osaka whom director and actor (and also a firearms and airsoft enthusiast) Soezimax had worked with using crowdfunding to produce music videos, and a mini-album which we mentioned about last year.

Using all the replica firearms he can lay his hands on, which are mainly airsoft guns, Soezimax have released the music videos to promote the Osaka Shunkashuto (Osaka - Summer, Fall, Winter) mini-album "Dawn of My Lifetime" which contains four songs available on iTunes right now. This mini-album is comprised of the following song titles: "Dawn of My Lifetime", "If you were able to meet Moshimo", "Dawn of My Lifetime (English edition)", and "Tears In The Last Moment."

The main song in is the "Dawn of My Lifetime" which perhaps takes its inspiration from the "Dawn of the Living Dead" as members of Osaka Shunkashuto fight it out against zombies.They were eventually overwhelmed, turned into zombies themselves, with the exception of one member. The remaining member was rescued by JSDF soldiers before she the her zombie friends got to her.

"If you were able to meet Moshimo" is a more kickass MTV where Osaka Shunkashuto went after the baddies with guns blazing. But it also looks like of a father-daughter relationship where it ends with the father, who is the leader of the gang, gets killed in the end by his daughter.

All the resources poured into this project were through the Japanese Campfire crowdfunding site where Soezimax was able to exceed his target of 1 million yen in order to produce this. I am not sure if the two videos and mini-album are all the results of the project, or there will still be the short film called SGS9R as we know that are some footages of more gunfights that haven't been put together yet.

Proceeds from the mini-album will be used in the promotion and growth of Osaka Shunkashuto. You can also follow Soezimax on Facebook to get updated on his projects.

A Look At PMCs In Vice's "Superpower for Hire: Rise of the Private Military"

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Vice Superpower for Hire: Rise of the Private Military

The announcement of the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare FPS video game has brought the topic of Private Military Contractors (PMCs) at the forefront. In the past two or three years, the PMCs have managed to stay low in the public spotlight and avoided much controversy. But with this Vice documentary, it looks like that PMCs have grown bigger and more involved in security operations whether for governments and even private individuals in many parts of the world.

Previously, Vice and Call of Duty gave us a quick look at the documentary made by the former. "Superpower for Hire: Rise of the Private Military" was released to set the tone for COD: Advanced Warfare and here is the full documentary 15-minute documentary released last 24 July 2014.

There are worries of some people knowledgeable about PMCs and those who are in the industry itself of the growing power and capabilities of such companies that they can operate without being accountable to any government or even a supra-national organisation of nation-states, only accountable to themselves, their shareholders, and to their clients who usually pay top dollar to avail of their services.

Also, there is that extreme concern that the objectives of PMCs will be in conflict with that of governments and that one has to control the other in order to operate well. As one interviewee says at the end of the documentary, "I think the PMC of the future can manipulate governments. We're at a stage now that I think it can happen."

He's not kidding as these PMCs are mainly highly-trained military men who can tap their buddies through the old-boy networks in the militaries who may have already risen in the chain-of-command that they are in a position to influence national security policies.  Please do bear in mind that national security is not strictly defined along lines of military capabilities but also encompasses the political, economic, and diplomatic responsibilities required for a state to be viable.

PMCs are becoming large multinational companies rivaling Fortune 500 or FTSE 100 companies. Whist these companies wield a lot influence through their sheer wealth, these companies do not have one thing that the PMCs such XE (formerly Blackwater), G4S, and Aegis have--- highly trained military personnel who can help topple governments or protect their businesses of these multinational companies located in conflict areas.

The documentary leaves us something for us to ponder upon: "You have to wonder if the next superpower won't be a country, but a corporation." PMCs are here to stay, but how big are they allowed to grow, only governments can say that and if PMCs allow themselves to be closely regulated.

Customers Are Left Empty-Handed w/ Black Ops Airsoft's Disappearance

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BOA MIA

Thanks to the posting of Thumpy's 3-D House of Airsoft, this news is getting exposure in airsoft communities so that anyone with any information about Black Ops Airsoft and its principals can be submitted. The Tracy, California company was supposed to move to a new place as they have announced last June 26, 2014. But a month has already passed and there's no trace left of the company. The old shop on 2221 N. Tracy Blvd remains closed and there's no information on where the new shop is.

You can find more Black Ops Airsoft here.

We posted about the news of the moving out, including their announced Summer Sale to lessen their inventory prior to moving out which is usually a standard business move when one shop moves to a new location.

But now, according to a report on FOX40, the mystery of Black Ops Airsoft are leaving customers "confused and frustrated."


With the non-appearance of the Black Ops Airsoft in a new location, many customers are wondering where their airsoft guns, which run into hundreds of dollars per customer, are right now.  Black Ops Airsoft are well-known for their custom gun services, such as us upgrades and paint jobs. They had customers not only in the U.S.A. but also overseas.

Since there's no one to contact to even if their website is still up, the phone number appears to be disconnected and their Facebook account looks like it has been closed, customers have reported the company to the Tracy Police Department. Furthermore from FOX40:

"The Tracy Police department considers this a civil dispute, so they are not intervening with the two parties. However, if the store closed and took with it their customers’ property, it could turn into a criminal investigation."

There appears to be problems with the company when one customer not receiving his airsoft guns after he dropped them at the shop for upgrades 8 months ago.  We wonder how many customers have realized that their guns are now missing, and suppliers not paid.

We would like to hear from the shop owners of Black Ops Airsoft if they read this story what they plan to resolve the issues with their customers such as return of the airsoft guns left to their care. If they did take other people's property, the Police will then make this a criminal case, turning the owners into fugitives from the law.

"Mad Max: Fury Road" Trailer Will Turn You Mad Waiting For Its Release

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Mad Max: Fury Road

You will turn mad after watching the trailer of "Mad Max: Fury Road" that was released for the San Diego Comic-Con last Sunday, finding that it’s set for release in Summer 2015, making it a full year of waiting. The trailer was presented at the Comic-Con to loud cheers from attendees last weekend, which means it did make an impression to a group which many of them might have not been born since the last Mad Max movie, Thunderdome, was released in 1985.

Mad Max: Fury Road also took the long, but sad road from its inception in the 1990s. It suffered setbacks in financing in the last decade of the 20th Century, and production did not happen in the first decade of the 21st Century due to security concerns. But finally, the fourth Mad Max movie will be hitting the Big Screen next year with Tom Hardy as Mad Max. We do have high expectations with Hardy, given his highly-acclaimed performance in Batman: The Dark  Knight Rises."

Tom Hardy will be with Charlize Theron and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in this movie, which will be distributed by Warner Bros.

Will this movie follow in the big footsteps of the first three Mad Max: Movies with their impact on popular culture like Star Wars? That’s how high the expectations are in the fourth movie of the highly acclaimed dystopian sci-fi series of George Miller.

Many of us in the airsoft community who have grown in the years of Mad Max will be going over the vehicles and weaponry that will be used in the movie. For the younger ones, this will be more about visuals, having been spoilt with 3D imagery and iMax quality sound. With the Comic-Con trailer  impressing just about everyone who have seen it in San Diego, this movie better have those, but we'll be happy to settle with great sound engineering if 3D is out of the question.

As we have said before, it’s time for Mad Max-theme airsoft event. I hope Moondog is reading this and is planning for one after his Fall Out-theme airsoft series.

How To Spot Genuine FOBUS Holsters & Pouches From Fakes

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Fobus KMSP Holster

As being the authorised dealers of Fobus Holsters for the East and Southern Asia District, we from Centurions Option recently have come across some weird packaging of Fobus Holsters and Pouches, most of them were bought by customers from an online shop. Now, we are formally issuing this notice, to let our dear friends to identify the fake from genuine.

These are the Fobus KMSP Paddle Holster for the Kimber and 1911 Series with rail and the Fobus 4500 Pistol Magazine Pouch:

PACKAGING

Our holster and pouches are all made in Israel, which are quality, durable, and combat proven. From the packaging, you can find all the information you need about Fobus and the Holster. It's just simple as that.

MAG POUCH SURFACE

You can see several clear mould engraved markings:

  1. The model number: which is 4500 in this case, a double mag pouch for 1911 style magazines.
  2. 'PAT. PEND', I don't think we really need to explain further this one.
  3. 'Made in Israel' -  which should be obvious as all Fobus Holsters are made in Israel. No matter where you bought it, it's a proudly made in Israel.

***Fobus does not have a factory or plans to establish a factory in China****

BACK OF THE HOLSTERS AND POUCHES

At the back of the pouches and holsters, you can find the tough metal is engraved with the word "FOBUS" in capital letters.

Sometimes we find a China copy with this marking too. However, you will find the font size and the spacing of the word is extremely uneven if you look at it very carefully.

SIZE

Fobus products are all made with advanced materials technology and do no use NOT ABS, PLASTIC, etc., that's why you could smash it, drive-over it, burn it, or even blend it and it will still do its job.

Check this video made by our friend Doubletapper:

China copies always shows a big gap between the holster/pouch body and the paddle.

***ONE THING you may not noticed: We haven't seen a China COPY of our ROTO-DEVICE!***

KMSP

How different is the fake from the genuine one? It's shown in the marking on the holster surface, in this case, we have the KMSP.   Sometimes, you will find the China copy is poorly finished with some fragile plastic and shiny surface. It's just ugly.

THE PADDLE

Like we said, the China Copies are always stuck with the paddle one. Now it's time to tell how to distinguish the paddle from a fake.

  1. Colour: China Copies always show a smooth surface, you can't even hold the holster in place.
  2. Marking: China Copies shows a very ugly version of the logo and word "FOBUS". As explained above, the font size and spacing between logo can clearly tell the difference.

If you do find any trouble in identifying the fake products, please feel free to contact us by Facebook message, or e-mail: centurions.op@gmail.com.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Campaign Story Is About Corporate Power

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Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Campaign Story

Now that we're about less than 4 months from the announced release date of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Sledgehammer Games just made a timed release of the Campaign Story with a new a trailer. Initial impressions from the three-minute Campaign Story trailer put this latest COD title to have a tightly written story. I just hope the story is really good and compelling as Kevin's Spacey's acting which does a good job in making us keen in following the game's progress.

What the trailer reveals is that the campaign story starts with news of  global terrorist attacks at nuclear power plants in 5 continents and these were done simultaneously. The attacks have been effective and devastating that it has left governments and militaries paralyzed that they have to resort to an organisation that has the largest standing military in the world that is not controlled by any government --- a private military corporation with advanced technologies called Atlas and headed by Jonathan Irons which is played Kevin Spacey.

With over reliance of Atlas to conduct overt and covert operations, more power and responsibilities have been entrusted to the company. Irons knows well how to flex this power and he can conduct operations without any congressional oversight given that Atlas is a private company. This means also that Altas has become a dangerous entity that can unleash its own military power without fear of being accountable to any government.

Such proclamation by Irons near the end of the campaign story trailer makes the story interesting as the ethical and moral implications of giving a company more power will be debated upon. In the collaboration between Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Vice on the documentary "Superpower for Hire: Rise of the Private Military" they have ignited the debate on the role and accountability of PMCs.

Will the actual single player campaign story tackle the story of PMCs well? I just hope that the writers have spun a good yarn in creating the story for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare as compared to the Black Ops series. With some game developers eschewing single player campaigns and going directly into multiplayer releases, Sledgehammer and Activision will have to make sure that they make the interest in the single - multiplayer modes formula still high amongst gamers. Will recruiting Kevin Spacey continue the winning streak in terms of sales for the Call of Duty Franchise? We'll find out in November 2014.

And have you noticed at the end of the trailer of a multiplayer peak. Better get ready for some new tactical moves with the new technologies for Advanced Warfare. It will be different than the previous multiplayer modes as Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare wants to introduce a whole new way of FPS multiplayer gaming.


The Shooting Starts Today At The Airsoft Surgeon 2nd Euro Championship

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Participants at the Airsoft Surgeon European Championship 2013

It's European Airsoft Practical Shooting weekend as the 2014 Airsoft Surgeon Airsoft Practical Shooting European Championship starts. The top airsoft practical shooters in Europe and some elite shooters from Hong Kong will be participating in a 3-day event  where speed and accuracy matters much. Popular Airsoft will be there to cover all the action.

Last year's host, The Grange in Coventry, United Kingdom, will be again hosting this year's big airsoft practical shooting event.  This is a 16-stage event with an approximate total of 300 rounds spread out over a three days with a one day Pre-Match. The event has the following divisions and categories:

Divisions:

  • Open (Max 28 rounds BB in each magazine)
  • Standard (Max 18 rounds BB in each magazine)
  • Classic (1911 single stack GBB only) (Max 10 rounds BB in each magazine)

Categories:

  • Male
  • Ladies
  • Junior (11 - 18 years old)

Organised together with RedWolf Airsoft, the shooting starts by 1300H BST today. On Saturday, there will be a BBQ right after the last stage for that day. The declaration of winners and presentation of awards and prizes will be on Sunday, the 3rd of August 2014.

If you want to see the airsoft practical shooting first hand, you're free to visit The Grange at Frog Lane, Balsall Common, Coventry CV7 7FP.  We encourage British Airsoft players to take a serious look at airsoft practical shooting as it is so far the most competitive and structured amongst different types of airsoft competitions.

The after action report with photos and videos will be posted next week. Below are the videos of last year's competitions. See you in Coventry later.

Operation Bad Blood 2014 After Action Report

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Bad Blood 2014 AAR

It was the longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice. We were in the jungle-like woods of the Hudson Valley an hour and half north of Manhattan's concrete jungle. Here, a thousand of airsoft players came together from all over the United States to trade plastic and raise donations to find a cure for blood cancer.  The event was hosted at Paintball Sports, organized by NYC Airsoft and sponsored by Evike.com, who game away tons of amazing prizes and premium guns. Evike's away team was on hand, lead by Evike Matt. They joined the scattered Tribal teams defending the hidden objectives in the field.

All the factions fought hard. But for most of the day, many were unable to find any stamps. Frustration hit hard for the first 2 hours but by games end all the teams secured at least one stamp.

The Marxist and Deus X teams tied for first place with 3 stamps each. As a tie breaker the CO's of both teams were invited to play duel amid hundreds of players in the City Field. The winner of Rock-Paper-Scissors was Mark Twain of team Deus X.

Here was the event in their words…

AAR
by Karl (OD Mercs)

A friend, myself, and one other member of the OD Mercs had decided to flank the majority of the day and had a blast, here's the highlights:

Out of the OD Mercs spawn, we hung back and waited for the main force to hit contact. After they made contact, we flanked to the right and followed the path just below the hill a bit back from the staging area. At that time, the Blue team was infiltrating and we made contact twice and tallied up 6-8 kills between the 3 of us.

Later on while looking for teams to harass, we came upon the forward element of the black team. They came right on top of us so we decided to pop the scout, however the entire force came charging through and we had to fall back. After more walking around, we came upon the main village which was just captured by the black team. We went prone and were hidden pretty well, however one black team member walked right on top of us and we have to fall back again, whilst being shot by 20 AEGs in the open, again.

My favorite part was when we came from the back side of the village and managed to get in to the tower when the tan team (or desert camo team?) was trying to take it from the tribals. My friend managed to take out one sniper in the tower, however he was shot by the other... point blank with a sniper rifle. I managed to get the last sniper and shoot the remaining 6-7 players in the village, clearing it for the team trying to take it. Unfortunately, I was then shot by one of the attacking players.

AAR
by Mark Twain (CO of Deus X)

THANKS to those who serve, past, present, and future, in pursuit of our freedom and way of life.

I'll add the "in character" AAR later but just wanted to thank Moondog, Evike, Chris and his staff at PSI, and all those that helped make this a great event. And of course a huge shout out to the "Airsoft Widows" who kept it all moving.

The DEUS X team was amazing. From the briefing where we were just 150 individual players DEUS X gelled into combat effective elements. The element leaders, Headhunter, Moore ( thanks for stepping in to help Foerender and myself), Harlem, and Troysofter ( our stamp collector as well ) along with the squad leaders took charge early on. When they worked or weren't jammed comms were effective thanks to the diligent work of the ELs/SLs.

Thanks also to Super Mario and Rowdy as our excellent Embeds who kept us in the hunt.

I truly feel that because of the effectiveness and commitment of the elements we were able to amass combat power where it was needed when it was needed. And just like everyone else the South field kicked our ass.

The samples were hidden well and protected even better. Great job by the always pesky and deadly Tribal ! I felt that we had very thorough search patterns and even re-searched several fields and still only came up with three. I do have to laugh as I later found out that one sample was hidden under a bridge where at least fifty of us had passed.

And just a quick note here about the commitment of MT Swift and his team. They arrived on Friday only to have vehicle issues at their hotel and would not be able to make the game. We talked late Friday evening and they had worked on the vehicle in the parking lot for several hours with no success. They were many hours from home but wanted to play so badly that they located a U-Haul dealership that would open at 7 am on Saturday and were able to rent a vehicle to drive to the event. Kudos to their efforts and this just exemplifies the spirit on DEUS X.

It was an honor to be part of such a great team. Thanks again to all!

AAR
by Speefy (Tribals)

With early warning of imminent hostile forces, the TROLLS were ordered into action. For the longest time, we were told to blend in with the locals and to secure all virus samples. Evac and exfil were to be determined as the operation progressed. However, with no sign of relief and impending hostile activities about to commence, we were told to scatter the samples and prevent them from falling into enemy hands.

Given the size of the area, it was elected to divide up the six samples among the three areas of operation: East, West, and Southern Congo. Local militia command gave us the Eastern congo as our field of operations, with two goals: Harass and distract. We were ill equipped for a long campaign...the best we could do was hide among the local populace (if any of them survived) and utilize hit and fade tactics.

TROLLS had a team of 8 members in the Eastern Congo. Zaire City was in our territory and was going to be our holding point. But any fool looking at the map would look into these major areas and suspect something was hiding in it. A pair of TROLLS were dispatched to the footbridge near Abbit forest, with orders to hide the sample. After all, who would suspect a TROLL under the bridge? The rest of the team was directed to distract and 'hold' Zaire City.

Daybreak came and hostile forces were deployed against the entire Congo. Our militia force (Henceforth called the Tribals by our enemies) were spread out. Harass, hit and fade. Delay them from finding those virus samples. Knowing full well what we signed up for, we resigned to our fate.

An entire company of Blue Shirts were staging just outside Zaire City. They lulled about and prepared. Suddenly, they all massed and charged the city. Many of them were taken out, as it was open ground from the city to their muster position. However, their numbers soon overwhelmed our forces and we were forced to withdraw. We regrouped on the western part of the city to force them out. Soon afterwards, a company of black shirts began probing and advancing from the West. Our forces lured the black shirts into the city limits, where they began engaging with Blue Shirts. We again faded, having done our job of distracting.

Many of our enemies were hungry and lusting for blood...but not virus samples. Throughout the day, our sample package remained safely nested under the bridge, away from the action. Our enemies had zero clue it was underneath their noses the entire time. We lured our enemies into fighting one another, occasionally directing them into false directions, or baiting them into small fire fights, which escalated into full volumes of fire across companies.

When the dust settled, we retrieved our safely hidden samples and awaited our extraction. Maybe someone will have remembered about us now...

AAR
Mr. Spank (CO of Marxists)

Marxists immediately flooded Westward into the pipes field, sweeping the many man-made structures. We pushed to the burnt out clinic, and then back to the pipes. Formed a skirmish line and marched Northward onto Maha Village. First brief firefight. With the assistance of Deus X, we crushed the local resistance, acquired what we needed, and proceeded with our plan and rolled back. On the way out, we pushed onto the wrecked truck to check it for samples, second brief firefight. Returned to our starting area, got on our ferry and traveled to the nearest Southern dock.

After disembarking from our ferry, we were under heavy fire from Blackshirts, who were dug into the top of the ridge. This was a oneway firefight, I guess you don’t have to count it. Survivors pushed through Southward to the dump. 1st Squad was left to maintain a foothold on the trail while the rest of us swept Eastward. We had a lot of junk to check, but we covered the entire South Eastern corner of the AO. We got back on a very rough and stretched out skirmish line and pushed up the hill towards the ridge. Which was still occupied by the Blackshirts. Like as if they had no where else to go. Which made me think that perhaps they were just Tribals, guarding their land. That assumption was incorrect. But under that assumption I had the Marxist advance, as if we had the advantage in numbers. Since they were Blackshirts and not Tribals, this was an unfortunate error. This was a long and slow firefight and even slower advance from the East up the ridge to the West. Triage had gotten pushed practically back up to the river. This was fortunate because while Blackshirts had their attention towards their East, I wanted to hit them from the North. That maneuver was another firefight, but also slow advance. Until our earlier comrades showed up at that dock. We were able to push harder, and eventually take the ridge. Sweeping Southward we discovered our next objective and proceeded to sweep every ridge and steppe of the Southern field. Snaking the field and drastic changes in elevation resulted in stragglers and failure to communicate. All radios are limited by the ability for signals to travel between antennas uninterrupted. There are many barriers with the rolling hills down there. There were a couple of firefights during the sweeps. There were also some that happened due to interference by tribals pitting comrades against each other. Well played Tribals.

Due to the comms issues, and perhaps poor land navigation skills, the stragglers were having lots of trouble regrouping at the South West dock. The long regrouping period allowed an opportunity for the Marxists in position to re-hydrate, re-arm, and rest. It was approximately 20 minutes spent waiting on stragglers. I got them across the river, issued the next set of orders, and then more stragglers were discovered, so I had to get them and bring them over in a 2nd ferry. They managed to hustle, and we successfully regrouped and joined the next sweep.

We swept the entire far Western field. Zero contacts there. The next move, which I know most don’t like, was to go through the swamp. Because I didn’t want them going past staging and getting tempted to get out of the game. I also wanted to avoid having to fight through the pipe field and Maha Village again. We made it to Ziare Forest, at the foot of the hill, by the stream and Maha Village, I sent 1st squad to check on the structures in the treeline North of the Maha Village, and sent the rest of the Marxists Eastward, up the hill and through the woods to Zaire City. While at the foot of the hill, we did have a brief firefight with the Blue Bloods. There were brief firefights as we swept up the hill, clearing the structures. It seemed like Blackshirts had been coming at us from our rear. We had firefights on our Western flank from downhill and our Eastern flank from Zaire city. It was an unfortunate sandwich. Shooting it out with different factions and the tribals. Making some progress to move in ⅓ of the way into Ziare City, we got pushed back out, and this repeated with trying to get in from the West side of the city and perhaps two other factions pushing in from the East and/or South of the city. We had to agree to another truce with Deus X, so that we could continue through our position and we could get through the city. After sweeping through everything in the vicinity of the city, we continued pushing Eastward along the Northern path.

We pushed until crossing the stream. There we had very long range fire fight. This was probably General Greene’s forces. They had some fantastic long range shooters. They effectively halted our advance at just over the stream. Having swept the area, we had to break through, but that was further hampered as more hostiles arrived on our rear (again). I believe it was Blue Bloods. We were wiped out, and regrouped out of the way of those two factions. We continued sweeping Eastward, and then South to the last village. We had another firefight there, with villagers, after knocking them out the main game was over.
Another half hour and we would have covered 100% of the field. If instead of breaking for that mega battle (that wasn’t), then Marxists would have secured two more stamps, and there would have been no need for any rocks-papers-scissors. Theoretically.

In general, I’m proud of the Marxists of 2014. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of terrain we managed to cover. And tying for the win is better than tying for second place like in 2013. Skill and teamwork and sticking to the mission objectives is what got us to where we got to. Random game of rock-paper-scissors has no bearing on your accomplishments. A game of luck shouldn’t make you feel less triumphant in a game of skill.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Moondog is the founder of Moondog Industries and New York's definitive guide to airsoft: NYCAirsoft.

A Former Employee Writes About The Black Ops Airsoft Issue

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Black Ops Airsoft  Patch

With Black Ops Airsoft's promise of moving to a new store didn't materialize as promised, some customers who have sent their airsoft guns for servicing and customization have been left in limbo in what happened to their airsoft guns and the money they have paid for the services. So far, there's no word if the company will be answering the allegations about improper business practices as reported.

Today, we will be posting a former employee's message that was sent to us last week regarding the problems that were happening at the company. Hiding behind the name "Mr. Happy", this is the first time that we have heard from someone who has had connections to the company, having worked there before. But we would caution our readers of quickly jumping into conclusions as resolution of the issue will be up to courts if it becomes a civil or criminal case and that the contents of the message may or may not be proven to be true.

We would like to hear from the owners of Black Ops Airsoft if  they would like to reply to this. So far, no word has been heard about them and what we know about the issues the reporting on FOX40.com and this. We would be willing to post any statement from them to shed light on this matter or if they still intend to honor the promise to their customers.

For now, let's hear from Mr. Happy:

Hey folks, Mr. Happy here with a bit of insight on what's going on at Black Ops Airsoft Inc. I was a former employee at BOA and for legal reasons, I can't reveal my real name.

Anyways, I wanted to share what really happened behind the store front. Let me begin by saying that BOA was not a big corporation like they tried so hard to project. There was no off site warehouse where everyone's orders were. There was just the store on 2221 N Tracy Blvd. In the store, there was the owner, Debbie; the managers, Buster and Danny; and the rest of the regular staff, Carlos and Flip who worked all media exposure (youtube, facebook, etc) and Jorge who did the tech work. We all enjoyed what we did when it came to bringing airsoft to a new level and wanted to see the store turn into something really great. Debbie and Buster (henceforth named "the management") had a completely different agenda.

Anyone who has hired BOA to do work on their system, or made a really large order has experienced having to call the shop to check on a status update only to be told it'll be ready next week. Only thing being: next week never came. Here's the thing: on most occasions, your hard earned money was already spent on something else. The money that was meant to order parts or hydrodip a gun, would instead be put towards filling a PD order, or paying back a distributor. I know sometimes in business, you do what you've got to do, but when the irate phone calls come, the owner and manager were "no where to be found" to take responsibility. Instead, we the staff, were forced to lie on their behalf.

With our jobs literally being threatened, we were forced to make excuses such as a part is on back order--which really meant your money was already spent on something else, or that they were going to have another tech look at it--which most likely meant Buster wanted the techs to work on another project (most of the time, regarding PD or a personal favor Buster promised his friends)

On the web side of things, it wasn't uncommon for online store orders to just sit, ready to be shipped, on a table for weeks on end. Debbie didn't see fit to spend the money to ship one order at a time, and would instead have us tell customers that their order was already shipped but the tracking information was lost on some one else's desk.

I know it's a terrible excuse to basically say "I was just following orders" as everyone got screwed over...but even the employees weren't spared by Debbie and Buster's greed. Paychecks were never consistent. It wasn't uncommon to go weeks without pay and be met with conflict when we asked where our checks were. We too, were fed excuses such as, the payroll company is behind, or lost our checks...any conceivable excuse as to why we weren't getting paid, trust me, we've heard. That is until we discovered that our checks were actually being put towards Debbie and Buster's wedding.

At that point, we've all already been looking for better opportunities, anything to just get out of the shop. One by one, we all left knowing it was just a matter of time until the doors closed for good.

If anything is taken away from this, please let it be this: these are not good people. Debbie and Buster are criminals and should be treated as such. They have lied, cheated, and stole to get to where they are. Don't believe me? Run a background check on Buster Pierotti and you'll see that the man's a felon. Police call this a civil suit, but where else would that be the case if a company disappears with thousands of dollars worth in other peoples' property???? Debbie made sure to make friends with high ranking police officers..it's no wonder there hasn't been an investigation yet.

Do you want to know where they are right now? Literally going on vacations, they just bought a new house.

Folks, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they're selling your guns, the guns I know most of you have worked very hard to build up..worst of all, they're getting away with it!

Become outraged, call the police and demand an investigation. Contact the Tracy Chamber of Commerce and complain about BOA. If needed, contact the city if you feel the police aren't handling the investigation as they should. This is a serious matter and if you contact any of the employees, they could vouch that every word that I just wrote are true and then some.

Please folks, take back what's yours and see to it that these criminals get what's coming to them.

Sincerely,

Mr. Happy

A Whole New Level Of Competition At The 2nd Airsoft Surgeon European Championship

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Airsoft Surgeon 2nd European Championship 2014 02

During the 1st Airsoft Surgeon European Championship for Airsoft Practical Shooters which took place last year, I wrote that the growth and success of airsoft practical shooting in Europe, would hinge on this event.  And boy was I right and for this year's 2nd Airsoft Surgeon European Championship that took place last 1-3 August 2014 at The Grange in Coventry, it was a smashing success as shooters from more countries took part in this event.

Spread over three days, this year's Championship brought even more skilled shooters, with Belgian real steel IPSC shooter, Jurgen Ronsse, joining in the event, taking up airsoft practical shooting a few weeks before the event upon the invitation of Vincent of V Dynamics which sponsored the targets used in the tournament. More experienced airsoft practical shooters from Hong  Kong were present, and most of last year's winners were also present.

There were concerns about the weather for the weekend as reports predicted rains for Friday and Saturday with clear skies on Sunday.  Arriving on Friday, the organisers pushed hard to have the shooter squads shoot as many as stages as possible as Saturday promised heavier rain.  Unlike last year, most of the stages were out in the open with only three stages taking place indoors.

Clarence Lai, the Airsoft Surgeon himself, together with the full support of RedWolf Airsoft UK led by Chris Kong, and The Grange, led by Jim Septhon,  had put together a very exciting 16-stage competition with different levels of difficulty. There were more stages that came with moving targets that would make even the most experienced shooter think hard in planning the best way to shoot them in the fastest time possible.

It did rain on Friday afternoon, but the squads have already accomplished the stages for Day 1 and some stages for Day 2 which made the organisers less worried that even if the predicted heavy rains on the next day, they will still be on schedule.

It really rained hard late Saturday morning delaying some of the stages planned for the day, but there was still enough time to go through the day's stages when the rain stopped. More airsoft practical shooting took place with shooters working hard to get the best possible scores and times at each stage. Even if the grounds were wet, the shooters went about shooting their targets with gusto.

Whilst it rained, we managed to get to have longer chats with top-ranked IPSC shooter, Saul Kirsch, who owns the Double Alpha Academy based in Holland. Apart from being one of the world's top IPSC shooters, he is also an accomplished author of practical shooting books, and designed  a new timer called the DAA Shotmaxx in cooperation with the Competitive Edge Dynamics (CED) of Hong Kong which was used by the ROs for all the stages.

The highlight of the Day 2 was the Barbeque Night with the Airsoft Surgeon donning an apron to serve all attendees with burgers, chicken, and sausages from the grill. We all went back to our hotels, tired but sated with all the food fed to us by the organisers. After a further round(s) of drinks with some of the shooters, especially from the Netherlands, we hit the beds earlier than Friday, and I was able to rest well for that night.

Day 3, which was Sunday,  was warm and dry though a bit windy as some of the metal poppers kept being knocked down by the wind which caused some minor inconvenience as some stages got delayed for the ROs to reset the course runs to put back the poppers up. But for the shooters, this was the final day to up their game in order to earn a place in the winners' circle for this year. All the stages by this time were being accomplished quickly and by mid-afternoon all the squads were done with the stages.

By around around 1630H, the officials were back with the results though the announcement of winners was reserved for last. Sponsors of the event were thanked such as V Dynamics, Double Alpha Academy, CED, G&P, Stitch Me Up, and MadBull Airsoft. Airsoft Action Magazine and Popular Airsoft were the media partners for this event.

The raffle prizes were something to look forward to, especially the custom Airsoft Surgeon airsoft pistols which we all know to be worth a lot and winning one is priceless. For this year, there were more airsoft pistols up for  raffle, with winners of these pistols going home like winners of the various divisions.

The event was a success with more exciting stages for this year but there are even bigger plans for next year.  For those who have missed this year's tournament did really miss a lot as there was lots of shooting action that they wished they were there. But there's next year for them to prepare for as even more exciting stages are being planned for.

The list of winners for the 2014 Airsoft Surgeon Airsoft Practical Shooting European Championship below with the full list of Overall results, Category Results and Stage results available at the AIPSC UK website.

European Champion
Jurgen Ronsse
(Overall highest point scoring European shooter from any category or division)

Men's Open Division
1st - Chun Keung Ng
2nd - Jurgen Ronsse
3rd - Ka Chung Chow
4th - Roy Juurijoki
5th - Luc Majaron

Men's Standard Division
1st - Alwin Roosen
2nd - Ben Leach
3rd - Luis Emerton
4th - Justin Cooper
5th - Jesse Nio

Men's Classic Division
1st - Ho Fung Cheng
2nd - Roy Juurijoki
3rd - Armon Edwards

Ladies Open Division
1st - Ka Ying Lam
2nd - Tina Palmones
3rd - Dawn Williams

Ladies Standard Division
1st - Tiffany Lau
2nd - Katarzyna Rybarczyk
3rd - Paulina Wolyniec

Junior Division
1st - Dylan Ackroyd
2nd - Callum Stead-Odames
3rd - Brandon Stevenson 

More photos and videos will be posted at the Popular Airsoft Facebook Page and YouTube Channel.

Still Wanting More Zombie Entertainment? Wait For Syfy's Z-Nation

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Syfy's Z-Nation

Another collective groan can be heard again when another Zombie-themed TV series is announced.  I honestly can understand those groans since I cannot still fathom the fascination with zombies in the tactical communities, even in the airsoft community. But with the popularity of The Walking Dead Series, Zombie run events, etc.. they're just too many to count now, I just can't help but write about this new series from the Syfy Channel.

Called the Z-Nation, this would probably The Walking Dead fans would either welcome or dread, though initial feedback is that some are already hostile to this show.  The story is about the United States three years after it got devastated by a zombie virus. There's a survivor whose blood is needed by a lab in a California which they think contains antibodies that could be used to make a vaccine. The problem is that the survivor has to be escorted from New York to California, a three-thousand mile travel and zombies along the way to stop them and have their  brains. A group will have to escort the survivor as he probably is mankind's only hope from the zombie hordes.

What the group doesn't know is that the survivor has a dark secret that can be a threat to all of them.

The more prominent of the cast are Harold Perrineau (Lost and The Matrix)  and DJ Squalls (Road Trip) with the former being the leader of the group and the latter a hacker who joins the team  to help them find their way to California.

Z-Nation's first season will be comprised of 13 episodes with no announcement of a second season in te works. Syfy will be premiering Z-Nation in September 2014. This is produced by the Asylum, known for "Shakrknado", so would we expect something similar to that in Z-Nation? We don't know but one can't help comparing Z-Nation to The Walking Dead when the series start next month.

For those who can't get enough of Zombie entertainment, here's another one for you. Perhaps it can also be a good basis for developing another variation of the "Escort the VIP" game scenario but with the OPFOR being zombies this time.

And those who'll cry, "Not another zombie thing again!" It is just unfortunate the zombies are now part of pop culture and can be good money earners. The living dead have won television.

Another Bill To Regulate Airsoft Guns In the Philippines Filed

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Redwing KM14 December 2012

For the airsoft community in the Philippines, they can collectively sigh and say, "Here we go again." As laws and regulations covering airsoft guns come and go in the past 7 years. Airsoft players won significant concessions with Republic Act 10591 in 2013 which declassified airsoft guns as firearms but subject to confiscation and arrest if used in criminal activities. But this means that registration of airsoft guns is not needed.

The Philippine airsoft community is one of the oldest in the world and it has such a unique history that even if it was underground for most of its existence, it is still one of the biggest and liveliest in the world. With new changes, airsoft can be considered as a mainstream hobby, readily available for any citizen to take up.

Recently, a bill was filed at the recently opened 16th Congress to regulate airsoft guns in the country. House Bill 3805, or the  proposed "Airsoft Imitation Firearm Law" was filed by Representative Rufus Rodriguez and co-sponsored by his brother, Party List Representative Maximo Rodriguez, aims to have airsoft guns to be registered again.

The bill's proposal is not exactly new as previous to the enactment of RA 10591 which recently removed airsoft guns from the list of firearms. In 2008, there was the PNP Order No. 12 Series 2008 which allowed airsoft players to legally own airsoft guns by allowing owners to register their airsoft guns with the Philippine National Police. HB 3805 is actually based on PNP Order No. 12 series 2008, strengthening it further. The highlights of the HB 3805 are the following:

  1. Airsoft guns should only be used for sporting and wargame simulations only.
  2. Airsoft rifles or pistols shall not exceed 550 feet per second velocity using .20-gram BBs.
  3. All natural and juridical persons who intend to manufacture, import or sell airsoft rifles or pistols shall apply for permit from the Department of Trade and Industry and shall be registered with the PNP.
  4. Airsoft rifles and pistols must be painted with bright red or orange color at the tip of the muzzle not less than 6.35 centimeters in length.
  5. A one-time registration with the PNP for those airsoft rifles/ pistols with no serial numbers, a barcode sticker bearing a permanently assigned unique serial number shall be affixed on a conspicuous part of the airsoft rifle/ pistol. Said barcode sticker shall remain valid for the lifetime of the gun.
  6. Any person registering an airsoft rifle or pistol must not be below 18 years old and must be a bonafide member of a duly accredited airsoft club. Airsoft teams or clubs shall seek accreditation with the PNP.
  7. Each airsoft club shall have a minimum of 10 registered owners of airsoft rifle or pistol, who shall be local residents, and shall abide by the Code of Conduct, Safety and Rules of Engagement for Games which shall be formulated by a National Airsoft Association for airsoft players and shall be applicable and binding upon all, during games.
  8. The operator or duly authorized person in charge of the proposed airsoft game site shall inform in writing the Chief of Police who has jurisdiction over the said area for the conduct of any game, simulation, shooting competition or exhibition of airsoft rifles or pistols. When located in populated areas the game site must be enclosed and secure from public view. No person below 18 years old shall be allowed inside the game site.
  9. Any person or entity found to have violated provisions of the proposed Act shall be liable to a fine of not less than Php100,000 or an imprisonment of not less than six months, or both at the discretion of the court.

The proposed bill was filed in reaction to recent events that certain persons have been using airsoft guns to commit crimes and in a viral video, a road side altercation showed one person pulling out a pistol to intimidate the driver of the taxi involved in the incident. Later on, according to news reports, the owner of the pistol admitted it to be an airsoft pistol. Video below reports on the recent event and the proposed law (please turn on your language caption to get a rough translation):

Via Facebook, with the help of Fox Actual who with other RedWing members were interviewed in that news report, we asked for comments from some airsoft players on the proposed law:

The issue was brought up again because a man claimed the gun he used in threatening the taxi driver was a "toy gun". Regardless, he should be tried as if it were a real gun. The funny thing is, they implicate the tool the man used and not the man himself. Just like the SM robberies, they are looking into the hammers/wrenches rather than catching the criminals. What stops a criminal from putting an orange tip on his real firearm?

Some parts of the bill are alright. Actually, we self enforce them. Such as not showing your airsoft gun in public. Always putting them in proper carrying cases. The 550 fps at .20g is already a law in effect. Again, we self regulate by lowering our gamesite FPS limits to 400-450 fps which is still somewhat high based from FPS limits in other countries (US/UK).

It's fine if they want to regulate the guns. But don't just pull laws from their asses. Talk to the community. Get feedback. Ask what we think about a certain law they want to pass. We are more than willing to work together to make this hobby safer and more enjoyable.

Fox Actual

Didn't they have us register them before? Then they scrapped it. Now they want it back?

If they make the regulations reasonable (i.e. You do not have to go all the way to Crame to get things done, FPS limit should be at most 700 because we're just shooting plastic pellets, etc.) then I'll agree to it. I don't think it's a good idea because it's hard to have all those restrictions blocking your way for playing a sport.

Baseball bats, golf clubs, and arnis sticks have been used countless times but we don't ban them. I mean, there are paddles for fraternities, and motorized vehicles that also are a lot more lethal than airsoft, so why attack the tool for the sport? If ever, I think people should have a licence, just like a driver's licence before owning one, and I would understand serial numbers on the firearms registered to the license, but anything more than that, I believe is overboard.

I'm thinking they should register things like they would register cars. Plate Numbers to Owner License, and that's about it. Treat it as if it were real. If you don't own the airsoft gun, and you're using it, the owner should also be the one liable for it. Same thing with a car. The owner is the one with the problem, so both the driver and the owner are at fault. That lowers the risk of people lending airsoft guns to other people for crimes.

Gear should be restricted in comparison to our country's military, that I can agree with. The rest of it, however, should be allowed as well. (This is just in case they try to pin something on the uniforms we use as well.)

Anything else is just overboard for a sport.

Matt Ld Villapol

I personally have nothing against regulating the Sport/Hobby. It might even be beneficial to the community to have clear cut guidance and moderation with regard to ownership and use of these "imitation firearms". We ourselves self-regulate our own circles of influence in the airsoft community because we see this as beneficial to us. It will help promote more responsibility and accountability amongst the owners of these "toy guns".

However, I do not agree with the slant that this piece has taken that these "toy guns" themselves are the problem. It is the intention with which they are used and carried that poses the real threat. And that is something that i believe cannot be subdued or restrained by mere words on paper. People with intent to harm can and will always find ways around these laws even if they are enacted.

Will implementing these laws really target, regulate and discourage those who intend to use these "toy guns" for harm? Or will it merely be an added burden to those who responsibly own and operate these "toys" in their compliance to the law, while those we are trying to safeguard against remain totally unaffected?

This can be a good thing, if done correctly. This is not something that should be done haphazardly as a stop-gap for a need as it arises. There are knowledgeable people in the community who can give better insight into the finer points of this matter. The government should not sound like it is cracking down on the airsoft community, but instead seek their cooperation to be able to implement this proposition more effectively.

Cindel Tiausas

The whole thing's just crazy. Why are the innocent being harassed for one guy's fault? I follow the rules. My friends too. Even if the government didn't tell us there's a limit on our airsoft guns we would still put a limit. Coz i know airsoft is supposed to be a safe action game. Where friends can basically play "tag" and not get hurt. Coz at the end of the day. It's just a game that I like to play, and get some exercise and meet new friends. Now that we are affected, (nothing we can do about that) how do we move forward from this? It's just a toy after all.

Jay Trinidad

For me, I guess registration and regulating airsoft is a way to crack down on consumers who want to take advantage of the proliferation of airsoft units that look like real guns.

I have nothing against airsoft regulations, these were meant to segregate the "good" from the "bad". and although some rules may seem a bit overboard of you know what I mean. The only thing being questioned here is the integrity and consistency of those who will implement these rules. We need ongoing implementation, not a "One Hit Wonder" kind of project where implementation will be strict NOW to a few days, then taper off to becoming lax over time.

Concerned senators and congressmen should also talk to the airsoft community to get an idea of what is actually happening.

If this is to become a reality, I would like to contribute because I love playing airsoft, but I hope reliable and reasonable implementation would be in place by that time.

RenLi Crisantus

It’s good to have registration and regulation on airsoft. They have done that before, then they scrapped it. Now they want to do it again. May I say before making another law, let the Senators and the congressmen study the situation very carefully. Seek the airsofter’s perspective. Knowing the pros and cons on these matters are very essential to create effective rules and regulations. And please be consistent upon the implementation and see to it that the price of registration are very reasonable.

Audie Aquino

The initial comments have no problems with registration of airsoft guns if that's what it takes to help minimise crimes involving airsoft guns. But for them the law should be simple and it should only cover registration, limits, and transport of airsoft guns. Some of the provisions, are overboard and useless such as requirements to be a member of a club which goes against the basic tenets of freedom association as enshrined in the Bill of Rights in the Philippine Constitution as one person can decide to join or not to join a club as it is his/her right to do so.

So far, there's no counterpart Senate Bill for HB 3805 that even this gets approved in the House of Representatives, as long as there's no Senate version of this bill moving forward, it will be far from being turned into a law. With the Philippine Congress under strict scrutiny by its citizens to work on relevant laws needed for improving the lives of citizens rather than fight over pork barrel (Congressman Rodriguez is implicated in the Php 10 Billion Pork Barrel Scandal rocking Philippine, which he declares he's innocent),  this bill may not be a priority one.

Still, for the Philippine airsoft players, they will have to monitor the progress of HB 3805 as it goes through committee hearings and floor readings. Along the way there might be amendments to the Bill provisions that may just make it either worse or better for them. Nothing wrong with being highly vigilant these days.

Motoped's Survival Bike: Black Ops Edition Can Help You Outrun Zombies

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Motoped Survival Bike: Black Ops Edition

Since we're back to writing about post-apocalyptic topics with either having a dystopian future with Mad Max: Fury Road, or the ever endearing zombies, we might as well talk about a new toy for the zombie mad folks. We've seen some zombie theme guns, optics, chainsaws, and targets; but now it just got a little bit bigger --- a motorized mountain bike that you can outrun and even kill zombies with.

If you’re  thinking of zombies of The Walking Dead, then speed is not exactly a worry though it’s still best to put distance between you and the zombies. But if we're talking about the zombies of the World War Z, then a speedy mode of transport is what you will require and the Motoped's Survival Bike: Black Ops Edition may be a low cost solution to your needs.

Made by moped guys of the Sta. Cruz, California Company, Motoped, the Survival Bike: Black Ops Edition is what those who have some ready bug-out bags will need. It'll carry them faster from one point to another carrying their stuff rather than walking. 

Since it’s a survival bike, you can configure it to carry the stuff that you will need for zombie-killing or for hunting food for survival (and against living humans planning to take your Survival Bike away too).  As this is a DIY bike kit, you can get the standard DIY Kit, but prepare to add a bit more for extras that are made to fit the bike such as a saw, an axe, a crossbow, a survival shovel, rope, harpoon, blade, flashlight, gas tanks and even a .50 Caliber machine gun! But don't forget that your bug-out bag is still the most important load carrying item as it contains the bare essentials to survive the zombie horde.

At the handle bar, there is a mount for your smartphone or GPS device so that you can use it for navigation provided that you carry something with you to help you charge any electronic device you have, which basically means a portable solar-powered charger.

Since it's a DIY Bike Kit, you can build one for yourself for US$1,500. But the kit is just the chassis/bike frame and you need to buy the 50cc engine separately so you'll have a souped-up mountain bike that would help you get away from the brain eaters.

But if there are no zombies to kill, you would still look cool riding it towards your airsoft game field  as it's tacticool enough.


Mancraft Develops Gas Conversion Drop-In Kit for Spring Airsoft Sniper Rifles

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Mancraft SDiK Kit for Spring Rifles

A very young Polish airsoft company, Mancraft, announced a product that would surely make airsoft snipers consider this. The Mancraft Sniper Drop In Kit (SDiK) is a drop-in kit for spring-powered sniper rifles for easy conversion into gas-powered sniper rifles. This is almost like the PolarStar Fusion Enginer and Wolverine SMP in drop-in kits, but for airsoft sniper rifles. They have provided us with initial information about their company and their products, so let's hear it from them.

Mancraft is a small company in Poland (www.mancraft.pl) founded by two graduates of Wroclaw University of Technology. We are producing airsoft parts -mostly for airsoft sniper rifles.  We are working hard on conversion kit for AEG. That will be available in coming months.

We started two years ago (02.08.2012). We are producing by ourselves. We have cnc machines which are the basis of production. For some parts production is outsourced within in Poland. In thsoe two years we were mostly selling for people from Poland (basicly because we had small processing capabilities). Inventing, designing, and office work by ourselves.

At first we started producing sniper kits for SVD rifles. Next was L96 and VSR standard (for almost all brands and types). In 2013 we decided to start our own regulators line: 'normal' and 'with manometer'. They have infinitely variable pressure from zero to 15bar.

We are also producing our own CO2 cartridges for 12g co2 capsules.

For now our main product is the SDiK or the Sniper Drop in Kit. The SDiK is a set of components which allow converting a spring rifle into gas-powered rifle. It is cheap and very effective method to upgrade.

The entire structure was designed from the ground up, as evidenced by the patent issued. The whole kit is based on a simple and effective system of gas supply that is reliable and durable.

With proper construction and materials, the mechanism does not burden other components of a gun that are standard (e.g., the trigger assembly, cylinder etc). The rifle can be reloaded with one finger - overcharging is very smooth.

By using an appropriate regulator it is possible to obtain a very stable (+ /-3fps), satisfactory fps.

Using the Mancraft regulator provides to continuous adjustment velocity from zero to maximum for the replica (depending on the length of the inner barrel).

Installation of the conversion kit is simple. It usually does not require any modifications.

Test results for 12g CO2 cartridge:
Rifle: L96 with Prometheus 550mm barrel.
Temperature: 15*C

The SDiK can function 100% when used during the winter. Low temperatures are not problem.

Example values for L96 (which is the Well MB-08 Well rifle), 590mm length EDGI barrel, modified hop up chamber:

As always: We do not prefer such high results, but negligible scattering and very easy to reload – this is what we were looking for.

BRIEF INFORMATION ON OTHER UPCOMING PRODUCTS

PDiK– semi-auto conversion kit for AEG rifles. No electronics, no batteries – just pneumatics.

EPDiK– full-auto/burst/semi-auto - fully configurable conversion kit on solenoid.

Both of them will be made for Version 2 replicas in first. The next versions will be for all other types of gearboxes: for AK, P90, M249 etc.

V2 version: Fully modular, adjustable, semi-auto conversion kit. You will be able to quickly exchange your body (put conversion kit in other replica) by unscrewing any screw. Stock, Pistol grip, magazine lock – they all will be with the replica all the time. More information soon.

If interested in the SDiK or to get updated in the development of the PDiK and EPDiK, you can visit our website at www.mancraft.pl or follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/mancraftpl.

More Brightly Coloured Real Guns Confiscated By The Police

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Pink Glock

This story from Guns.com is circulating amongst various forums, especially the airsoft communities, and I even saw a comment by Thumpy's 3-D House of Airsoft, "We told you so!" This is about an increasing number of real steel firearms painted to look like toys from afar being confiscated by the police from criminals.

For those who are familiar with the "color your replica" stories, this is about the campaign by politicians to have firearm replicas, especially airsoft guns, painted bright to distinguish them from real steel firearms.  This is not only in the U.S. but also around the world, even in the UK where 2-tone airsoft guns can be purchased without any requirement of a Valid VCRA defence by customers aged 18 and above.

In the Guns.com report, it says that:

Police in and around San Francisco voiced concerns earlier this week about a disturbing trend they’ve noticed during recent gun seizures: criminals painting or otherwise obtaining vibrantly colored guns that, from a distance, appear to be toys.

Pleasant Hill Police Chief Pete Dunbar told reporters last week that Oakland area precincts were flooded with officer safety bulletins to be on the lookout for guns that are realistic facsimiles of toy guns.  Reports indicate people are painting handguns and rifles with high quality Duracoat, often in dramatic color patterns and design schemes that clearly resemble children’s toys

The airsoft communities in affected areas have been warning authorities that such colour requirements don’t really work to distinguish airsoft guns from real firearms as criminals will just paint their guns. It will pose a problem for the police as they may just let their guard down when they see a brightly painted gun, thinking it’s a harmless toy gun until it's too late. It can also be used on unsuspecting people who can easily get robbed or harmed by someone with something that they think "looks harmless."

Since it's an effect of regulations which are either in effect or being proposed,  police may now have to look hard at every brightly coloured toy guns that can be wielded by even children they see. This also presents danger for kids who do not know how to react when ordered by the police who may have their guns drawn to put down their toy guns in public and can just result into fatal consequences.

It's a dilemma now for both gun owners (including airsoft gun owners) and law enforcement since politicians thought that it's an easy way of regulating replica firearms. This means that also the orange tip requirement for airsoft is now a useless thing since criminals would also do the same.

But the good thing for those in the airsoft community is that we have been instructing airsoft players to treat airsoft guns as real ones and thus transport them in gun bags and not to display these in public places. This should remain to be a strict rule in the community even if airsoft players are carrying brightly coloured airsoft guns.

The U.S. Army Looks Into 3D-Printed Food For Personalized Soldier Meals

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U.S. Army Sgt. Alyson Brown with a Platter of Food (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Mario A. Quiroga)

3D Printing is really hitting the U.S. Army big time as they find many potential uses for it. 3D Printing can revolutionize a lot of areas for them in terms of logistics such as soldiers in the field being able to print spare parts for their equipment rather than waiting for the next resupply; and Army surgeons are looking into being able to print out human organs and body parts to replace lost by injured soldiers. Now, they are looking into what is one of the most important aspects of running a military organization since man began fighting each other for power, prestige, resources, or supremacy of an idea --- food.

In the July-August 2014 Issue of Army Technology Magazine (freely downloadable PDF magazine), they delve into various ways that the 3D Printer can be utilized. But many are interested in 3D printing of food. “We are thinking as troops move forward, we could provide a process or a compact printer that would allow Soldiers to print food on demand using ingredients that are provided to them, or even that they could forage for,” Laruen Oleksyk, who leads the food technology group researching on 3D applications for food processing, said. “This is looking far into the future.” But one thing many soldiers would welcome is the ability to customize the food according to what he/she wants rather than relying on standardized meals such as those issued MREs (Meals Ready to Eat or affectionately called "Meals Rejected by Everyone").

Lauren Oleksyk, team leader of the Food Processing, U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center.

If you are an avid follower of 3-D printing development, you should have already known by now that 3D printing of food is already a reality especially in the confectionery segment as these are used for chocolates and candies. Other companies are getting more ambitious with 3D printing, looking into printing meat and other nutritious products. But I guess for now, the target is achieving a semblance of a hot meal through 3D printing with all the nutrients needed by a soldier, taste be damned. But once the technology matures for 3-D printed food, then flavors and more familiar menus can be worked on.

The most important thing is to be able to print out food required by the soldier depending on the mission. But it would be fun if one can print out a pizza or a complicated food with many ingredients. It can also help lessen food wastage through cooking as computer controlled 3D printing would just use the right amount of ingredients for the meal that the soldier wants.

I just hope that any 3D food printer can print fast enough when feeding a platoon or company of hungry and big soldiers. It would be tough to have a food riot in a base or a camp because printing a fried egg takes 3 minutes whereas before the mess hall attendants can just shove that unto a soldier's platter in under one second.

I just find it hard to digest 3-D printed food yet, but I might get used to it if becomes widely available. Airsoft fields are not famous for their gourmet food, but if a 3D printer is in the field to print out a cheese burger that tastes like those from In-N-Out or Five Guys, then I am sold!

"One Way" Tracer Rounds Can Give Advantage To The Shooter Without Being Seen

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Tracer Rounds (Defense.gov)

This story got my attention early this week as it's something that project's researchers can get inspiration from airsoft tracer BBs. The U.S. Army's Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey are working on coming up with new tracer rounds that can be used effectively at night as well as during the day and reducing the visual signature of the soldier shooting the tracer round. This means that the soldier can shoot and do corrections to his/her aim without the target being able to pinpoint the origin of the shot.

Tracer rounds are bright that it's easy for the enemy to shoot back by just aiming at the direction where the tracer rounds are coming as their pyrotechnic streak is long enough to reveal their originating position. For those who have been using Tracer BBs during night games, they understand this as their position is quickly given away once they starting lighting up the darkness with their luminescent BBs. The tracer BBs light-up as soon as they're light-treated inside the tracer units which are designed as mock suppressors in airsoft guns. The advantage of tracer BBs is that they don't emit a long streak as compared to existing tracer rounds, which make it harder for the enemy in airsoft game to immediately determine the position of the shooter of tracer BBs.

Tracer Rounds

Called One Way Luminescence (OWL), this new generation of tracer rounds are being researched by the engineers from the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC).  Tracer rounds are shaped like the hollow or pointy bullets but with the OWL, they are looking into ball rounds with lesser or no pyrotechnic materials used.

OWL Tracers

In Defense-Update's report, here is what the ARDEC group says about the project:

“OWL is a technology approach that doesn’t allow an enemy target to trace back to who is firing rounds at him, even if the target is using night vision goggles,” said Christel Seitel, Quality Assurance Lead for the OWL program.

ARDEC engineers are experimenting with a variety of potential solutions. With one of the OWL technology concepts, “we’re just putting a thin layer of material on the back of the ball round. So, instead of burning pyrotechnics, our luminescence is like a glow-in-the-dark sticker. You excite it with specific wavelengths of light. The ultimate goal is to replace the tracer rounds with the OWL rounds and, potentially, put OWL on the back of every ball round,” Seitel said.

The OWL in action is shown in these two videos from PNW Arms:

With the objective of not using pyrotechnic materials in the manufacture of OWL tracer rounds, it makes them easier to manufacture as pyrotechnic materials are highly flammable. And since tracer rounds using pyro materials reduce in mass as soon as they are fired, the trajectory is not exactly the same as the other rounds. With the OWL, they can be fired for longer distance and can be adjusted easily for accuracy, allowing shooters to "walk their rounds" to the target.

In the same Defense-Update report, the OWL program expects to be a formal acquisition program in 2015 with a design being adopted in 2017. Actually, multiple contracts were awarded to companies to help spur the design via competitive proposals.  If the program goes according to plan, we can expect the OWL tracer rounds to be in service before the end of this decade.

The 2nd Airsoft Surgeon European Championship Videos Are Now Online

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Tiffany Lau In Action At the 2014 Airsoft Surgeon European Championship

Whew! That's a lot of videos to go over, do some minor editing, then upload to our YouTube Channel. It’s a total of 70 videos of airsoft practical shooting runs as shooters during the 2014 Airsoft Surgeon European Championship are now online. We prioritised the stage videos first as these are the meat of the event. There are still some more videos of the event to come.

We're actually pushing hard for the adoption of airsoft practical shooting in countries where airsoft as a skirmish or milsim sport has taken root. Why so? Airsoft practical shooting is already based on sets of rules of highly competitive and mature shooting sports, such as IPSC, IDPA, or 3-Gun. There is structure and organisation in airsoft practical shooting, and international competitions are already happening in Europe and Asia with these two continents already sending their shooters to compete in events in both continents. Airsoft skirmish or tactical competition as sports events still have a long way to go since overall, there is no standard that is already set that can be adopted by airsoft competition organisers in countries.

Airsoft practical shooting may not be as tacticool as other segments in airsoft, but it is nevertheless an already mature competition sport that can be taken up by those who are into milsim and skirmishes (there is also airsoft speedball which has a big following in the Philippines). It helps in developing shooting skills, especially in the speed in accuracy department, that can crossover into tactical airsoft events.

The videos show a good number of shooters from recently held Airsoft Surgeon event in the United Kingdom, although not all the shooters are featured here as I interchanged between still and video cameras when I covered the event. You can watch how the shooters go through the stages, understand some rules, see them handle their airsoft pistols, and how the Range Officers (RO) tirelessly worked to ensure that each shooter goes through all the stages.

Hopefully, you'll try to take any of the airsoft practical shooting disciplines that suits you and see you in the field.

Click on the screenshot below to immediately go to the Popular Airsoft YouTube Channel to start watching the shootfest.

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