Airsoft Action - January 2021

feature
THE FUTURE OF AIRSOFT
static or dynamic military vehicles.
“A good safe zone should have a tea station, ample
secure nearby parking, no hills and of course clean,
flushing toilets and washing facilities. Add plenty
of player cover with benching for kit, and battery
charging, for those who don’t wish to work from
cars. A great firing range and delicious hot food is
also important (thanks Dominos!), plus a solid supply
of the essentials like pyro, bbs, and gas. We are lucky
enough to have the mobile battlefield supply station
that is Platoon Stores (https://platoonstores.co.uk),
with a fantastic selection of almost everything on
site at every gameday. Having these things are very
important, especially for the new player who isn’t as
well organised or familiar with the realities of airsoft,
compared to the veteran, old-school airsofter. The
new generation doesn’t know what they need
until they need it, hence the requirement for
caring, and a well-stocked site shop and all
the rest of it. Whereas, if you’ve been playing
10+ years you’ll be used to having near to no
facilities at a typical site - but that doesn’t mean
players don’t appreciate them. Our Safe Zone
has come on leaps and bounds in the last year
with all these things, although we will make it
far better once we get past this phase of the
pandemic.”
AA: What do you feel physical development
of the site brings to the game in terms of
structures and physical props?
Jim: “The experience on the site must
remain as immersive as possible. We are against
building anything that doesn’t feel natural or
in scenario to the player, so you won’t find a
pallet at Imperium being used for cover! You
will find yourself behind a large earthen berm,
which feel’s right and natural (but chances are
we put it there with a 14 ton excavator). The
extensive sand-filled HESCO, the
ISO containers, the static Military
vehicles, such as our Lynx Helicopter,
Saracen and Saxon APCs all add
to this Battleground environment,
without ever making it feel like a
“manufactured” arena.”
AA: You do make great use of
vehicles and mobile props from
what I’ve seen. What do you feel
this adds to the player experience?
Jim: “Imperium have a taskforce
of Military vehicles! Our 5 Ton,
MG42-wielding UI1300L Unimog,
a 15 Ton Saurer Infantry fighting
Vehicle, with its Oerlikon 20mm
Cannon (gas firing!), a 12 Ton Saurer APC (the sports
tank!), two Steyr-Puch Pinzgauers, 10 man Tactical
Off-Road Vehicles, A WOLF G-Wagon and couple of
Pickups acting as technicals. Due to the size of the
site, the terrain and the amount of roads we have,
along with our team’s shared passion for Military
Vehicles and Off-Roading, this was naturally going to
be our USP. Imperium players get a massive kick from
being dropped into battle by APC, Truck or Pickup. It
brings so much excitement and immersion to airsoft
that just takes the whole thing to the next level.
Sitting in a bunker and feeling the ground tremor as
a tank rumbles by is an amazing feeling and creates
awesome memories for players, memories that are
unique to Imperium Airsoft.”
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