Airsoft Action - June 2025

#STANDWITHUKRAINE

ISSUE 174

ISSN 2634-9515

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8 ARMOURY: KWA PTS RADIAN MOD 1

PTS Syndicate, perhaps best known for their prolific licensing with

real steel manufacturers, has once again delivered a new AEG to the

masses, the PTS Radian MOD 1! Dan has been working with this model,

braving winter temperatures to conduct his testing, so now he brings

us his thoughts on the very latest addition to this growing line of unique

AEGs!

#STANDWITHUKRAINE

Editorial Director: Bill Thomas

Deputy Editor (Asia): Stu Mortimer

Deputy Editor (USA): Dan Whedon

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Ad Design: Deadshot Design

Publisher: Calibre Publishing Limited

ISSUE 174

ISSN 2634-9515

18 ARMOURY: SECUTOR ASTRA XI

SECUTOR have slowly but surely been establishing themselves in the

AEG market. We’ve looked in depth at their “762/308” DMR models

and found their performance to be on the money, especially with a bit

of tweaking, and now it appears that they’re moving things forward

with their “556” ASTRA models too. Bill’s been checking out the latest

ASTRA XI and likes what he finds!

Web: www.airsoftaction.net

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26 ARMOURY: ASG NEW MODELS

How is it that we’re already in May and we’re still wading through the

detail of IWA 2025? The fact is that there was SO much to see and then

follow up on that it’s taking some time, but we want to give you the full

lowdown on everything… so this month Bill takes a close look at what

ASG have got in the pipeline for 2025 so far!

36 ARMOURY: CLPD UPDATE

It’s been a minute since we last checked up on the mischief our good

friend Clarence Lai has been getting up to in the custom upgrade

component and complete gun solutions arena, especially in the

competition circuit in Taiwan but also in the wider world community

of Action Air. Stewbacca took the upcoming World Shoot 2025 and his

preparations for it as an excuse to catch up with the “surgeon”!

04

AIRSOFT ACTION - ISSUE 174

CONTENTS

ISSUE 174

48 RED CELL: AK COMMENTS

Once again the thoughts of RED CELL turn to the AK category, and this

time we’ve brought together out “Classic” and “Tactical” AEG armoury

collection to give an overview of the models that we’ve used most over

the period of testing, and why the “AK Life” is one that most of the crew

have adopted during their time playing airsoft! As usual Bill kicks things

off…

62 KIT & GEAR: SPOOKY SOLUTIONS SLINGS

One of the really fun aspects of airsoft is the sheer amount of

customisation options available out there. From externals to internals,

the sky is the proverbial limit, and we all load our AEGs and GBBRs up

with the things we like most... but we’re always looking for something

unique and functional, and Dan finds both in the form of Spøøky

Solutions slings!

68 6MM TRAINING: SETTING UP YOUR CARBINE #2

Once again we’re joined by our good mate and shooting instructor

Andy N from Calibre Shooting who continues his journey with us in

relation to all things “tactical carbine”; this month he takes a look at

grip, stance, and how to set up a simple “home range” to practice those

all-important skills and drills!

74 TECH: PARD PANTERA 256Q THERMAL OPTIC

When it comes to the thrills of night games, thermal optics have been

a topic of growing interest, and the PARD Pantera 256Q is a digital

thermal optic that, although primarily marketed for hunting, has some

serious potential for airsoft use! Our newest “recruit” Bruno takes

a look at who PARD are, while Jase gives a breakdown of features,

performance, and how the Pantera 256Q could fit into your loadout.

82 TECH: OAKWOOD MACHINE WORKS BRANCH

Sometimes there’s a piece of gear you’ve held onto well past its

expiration date for lack of better options. And while you’ve been able to

make it work, the number of shortcomings is not always fully realized

until something better actually comes along and blows the lid off the

charade. Such has been Dan’s experience with nursing along the Wilcox

PVS-14 J-Arm for many years, but now he offers a solution to his woes.

86 KIT & GEAR: AGILITE LOAD SOLUTIONS

Ben has a busy old time when it comes to being “in game” and is always

looking for kit that does its job “just right”, not only for himself but also

for other players of a smaller stature too; this month he reflects on his

time with some of the latest kit from Agilite, what works for him, and

why!

88 AA LEGION PORTUGAL: KIA V

Regular fixtures in our annual “airsoft schedule” are starting to kick

properly into gear now, and as always Miguel and his fellow GHOT OPS

team-mates have been on point, and fully-immersed in-game already…

they have returned again to “KIA”, and Miguel brings us all the action

from this year’s game!

94 RELOADED: VFC LAR GBBR

Stewbacca having, like many, eagerly awaited the arrival of VFC’s FAL

GBBR in August 2022 now nears the three year mark of owning his

own and using it in a variety of environments for his initial review back

in ISSUE 143, and at many events or regular games since, as well as

even in a rifle competition down in the south of Taiwan. So what are his

longer term thoughts and experiences?

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ARMOURY

KWA PTS RADIAN MOD 1

BEAST MAX!

8


ARMOURY


PTS SYNDICATE, PERHAPS BEST KNOWN FOR THEIR PROLIFIC LICENSING WITH

REAL STEEL MANUFACTURERS, HAS ONCE AGAIN DELIVERED A NEW AEG TO THE

MASSES, THE PTS RADIAN MOD 1! DAN HAS BEEN WORKING WITH THIS MODEL,

BRAVING WINTER TEMPERATURES TO CONDUCT HIS TESTING, SO NOW HE

BRINGS US HIS THOUGHTS ON THE VERY LATEST ADDITION TO THIS GROWING

LINE OF UNIQUE AEGS!

The PTS RADIAN MOD 1 marks the third

licensed replica created in collaboration

with KWA Performance Industries, starting

with the Magpul branded PTS RM4 Scout, which

kicked off the famous ERG lineup many years

ago, then later following up with the hugely

popular PTS Centurion Arms CM4-10. With the

former releases, these were based around the

AEG 3.0 gearbox, which featured fully functional

controls, last round cutoff and mechanical

recoil.

The Radian MOD 1 takes on a different tack

with the adoption of the AEG 3.0+ gearbox,

omitting the last round cutoff function in favor

of an ETU compatible gearbox design, yet still

maintaining that simulated recoil that fans of the

ERG system have come to love.

Externally speaking, the MOD 1 sets out to

“THE PTS VERSION HAS REPLICATED THIS QUITE WELL, FOLLOWING SUIT WITH

A BILLET STYLE UPPER AND LOWER RECEIVER FEATURING AN INTEGRATED

TRIGGER GUARD AND FLARED MAGAZINE WELL. THE LOWER RECEIVER DESIGN

INCORPORATES THE SAME A-DAC DESIGN PHILOSOPHY; I.E. WHAT RADIAN TERMS THE

“AMBIDEXTROUS DUAL-ACTION CONTROL.””


ARMOURY


replicate the 14.5” version made by Radian.

Among the myriad AR-15 style configurations

out there, Radian’s certainly stand among the

“most distinctive” category in the aesthetics

department. The PTS version has replicated

this quite well, following suit with a billet style

the MOD 1 has closely replicated the design of

the Radian Talon selector switches, with some

slight differences. There seems to be some

added voodoo, however, as the indexing seems

to be even

better and more

upper and lower

receiver featuring

an integrated trigger

guard and flared

magazine well. The

lower receiver design

incorporates the same

A-DAC design philosophy; i.e. what Radian terms

the “Ambidextrous Dual-Action Control.” This

consists of fully ambidextrous controls, from the

dual-lever charging handle to the selector switch,

to even the bolt release, all of which is easily

accessible from either side you prefer to run the

gun from. Similar to the iconic Magpul P-MAG,

the lower receiver also replicates the pattern

found on the sides of a P-MAG, which creates a

cool aesthetic when fitted with said P-MAG style

magazines.

In my humble opinion, KWA’s have always held

onto the title for having the best ambidextrous

selector switch design in current production. It’s

crisp, positive, and best of all it does not require

that it be disassembled to access the gearbox.

This greatly simplifies the disassembly process,

which as an airsoft tech I can appreciate. Here,

precise

than what is

found on other

KWA models.

I would even go

so far as to say that

this is among the best feeling ambidextrous

selector switch out there.

Both the magazine release and the bolt

release levers work perfectly from either location.

The bolt release serves the function of simply

locking the mock bolt plate open to access the

hopup chamber. The left side paddle is notably

larger than your average AR-15 bolt release, with

a similar design to the Geissele Maritime bolt

catch. If you’re a righty, the right side lever can be

actuated with a little effort via the trigger finger,

but if one was running the gun as a lefty, it’s much

easier to just press this home with your thumb as

you would on the other side. Curious readers will

be happy to note that I have physically verified

“IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, KWA’S HAVE ALWAYS HELD ONTO THE TITLE FOR HAVING

THE BEST AMBIDEXTROUS SELECTOR SWITCH DESIGN IN CURRENT PRODUCTION. IT’S

CRISP, POSITIVE, AND BEST OF ALL, IT DOES NOT REQUIRE THAT IT BE DISASSEMBLED

TO ACCESS THE GEARBOX”

10


ARMOURY


that it is possible to drop in an AEG 2.5/3.0

gearbox and gain the last round cutoff function…

with the ambidextrous bolt release levers working

without any issue with it, no less!

Rounding out the ambidextrous parts lineup

EPBUIS iron sights are all standard equipment

here. While the real MOD 1 typically features

a Magpul CTR stock, the PTS EPS is a design

concession owing to the fact that the buffer tube

is taken up

entirely by

the recoil

weight

is the Radian Raptor charging handle, which has

extended dual-levers allowing you to run it as a

righty or lefty. This also features the prominent

Radian branding on the main body of the handle.

SOLID AESTHETICS

The upper receiver maintains the same billet

aesthetics as the lower, with a distinctive flaring

of lines towards the 14” length M-LOK rail. This

mounts up to a large cylindrical barrel nut

via four screws and an anti-rotation pin to

prevent the rail from twisting out of alignment.

The outer barrel consists of a heavy profile

diameter with standard 14mm CCW threads, a

mock gas block and chrome-plated gas tube. As

they come out of the box, you get an anodized

orange aluminum flash hider.

The one discrepancy to the visual flair here

is that the PTS has a carbine-length gas system

installed, whereas the real MOD 1 uses a midlength

setup. Presumably this was done for cost

saving measures, though one is reminded the PTS

Scout of yesteryear featured a mid-length gas

system.

Naturally, being carried under the PTS name

this also features the usual bevy of PTS Syndicate

furniture; the EPG motor grip, EPS stock and

assembly;

thus, you pretty much are required to have a stock

that will accommodate a battery somewhere.

In this case, you really can’t do any better than

the EPS stock which will house a wide variety of

battery types. Everything from nunchuck style

Titan Power Li-Ion’s, or LiPo’s, to buffer tube style

packs will fit down the side tubes. The buttplate

area itself will easily house some rectangular

bricks in the 1400mah capacity.

Aside from this, the only other notable

departures between the replica and the real MOD

1 are going to be the ejection port cover, lack of

trades on the push pins (though these are the

low-profile design), the absence of the Vertex

trigger, and the non-fluted buffer tube. All in all

though, this is pretty dang close replica of the

Radian MOD 1, and also the only one ever done

in airsoft. Like any modern KWA, the bodywork is

solid, tight fitting and it’s well finished throughout.

All of which is also to say… this is a somewhat

heavy AEG in the hands. On my scale, I measured

7.6 lbs (3.4 kg) with the magazine. Comparatively,

the current flag-bearer of the ERG line, the Ronin

T10 is coming in at 6.5 lbs (2.95 kg) with the

magazine. I would attribute this weight increase

largely to the thicker billet-style receivers,

the heavy contour outer barrel, as well as the

additional length of the rail and barrel.

In some respects, it is a bit curious that the

“CURIOUS READERS WILL BE HAPPY TO NOTE THAT I HAVE PHYSICALLY VERIFIED

THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO DROP IN AN AEG 2.5/3.0 GEARBOX AND GAIN THE LAST

ROUND CUTOFF FUNCTION… WITH THE AMBIDEXTROUS BOLT RELEASE LEVERS

WORKING WITHOUT ANY ISSUE WITH IT, NO LESS!”


ARMOURY


14.5” length was selected here, when the general

trend over the last five or so years has been

towards shorter carbines and SBR’s. The 14.5”

length may feel a little odd to one used to rocking

their 10.5” MK18 or the like. Conversely, I could

also see the longer length appealing to players

who wish to develop their play style and their rifle

around an SPR-style concept. If one is familiar,

the Radian MOD 1 feels a lot like the Krytac LVOA

in handling.

UNDER THE HOOD

Being as this was a new release, I was curious

to see if there were any new and notable design

changes to the AEG 3.0+ format. Whether you

consider it remarkably consistent or not, the

Radian remains exactly the same as what is found

in other KWA’s. Which is to say, under the sleek

exterior of the Radian MOD 1, you have a stock

Ronin T10 ETU.

Despite the ambidextrous controls, none of

these required removal to extract the gearbox,

so it’s still the same quick five minute job to pull

the box and get to the guts of the beast. Here you

have KWA’s reinforced AEG 3.0+ gearbox shell,

which houses their recently released in-house

Electronic Trigger Unit. The ETU itself features

easy programmability of various functions via the

trigger. Pre-cocking, adjustable trigger sensitivity,

burst mode, semi-auto only lock, and trigger

equalizer are standard features, and as well, the

ETU features brushless motor compatibility. Being

amongst the beta testers for this ETU in the past,

and having spent some time with them in the wild

now, I’ve so far found it to be a pretty good ETU

and reliable (knock on wood)… I haven’t had any

come back in for failures yet.

My one and only gripe with the ETU is not with

the ETU itself, but with the decision to mill the

gearbox shell to increase the available length of

pull on the trigger. In my opinion this has been

increased to an almost absurdly large degree

as few will really want a trigger pull with such

long travel. This does not mean you are stuck

with a long pull per se, as you can program the

firing point so you only have to pull the trigger a

minimal distance to fire the gun. But because

the trigger itself does not have an overtravel

adjustment, you will have a lot of “dead air”

behind said firing point. So ideally, outfitting this

with an aftermarket trigger that allows you to

set the amount of travel you want will result in a

cleaner setup in the trigger department.

Some of this could possibly be circumvented

another way via the Gate TACTICKER, which is a

“real feel” trigger simulation device. I have not

had opportunity to check compatibility with the

KWA ETU as of yet, so this is just speculation.

But the TACTICKER does work perfectly in

conjunction with a Gate TITAN II in the KWA AEG

3.0+ gearbox. Unfortunately, the lower receiver

has not adopted the larger cutout for the trigger

as found on other KWA models, so fitting any

aftermarket trigger will require increasing the

length of the cutout… again, not hard, just

inconvenient.

For those unfamiliar with the ERG system,

the recoil impulse itself is generated via a large

brass recoil weight reciprocating within the buffer

tube on a pair of stiff springs. This has often

erroneously been referred to as “electronic”

recoil, but is in fact purely mechanically driven by

the rearward stroke of the piston. This is a wellestablished

and reliable design… in fact, far more

robust and harder kicking than Tokyo Marui’s

NGRS system! And unlike NGRS, the KWA is 11.1v

capable out of the box too. For the US market,

these typically will chrono in at 390 - 400 FPS (1.4

- 1.5J).

However, players restricted to sub 350 FPS or

lower velocities will likely want to stick with 7.4v’s

to avoid premature engagement damage of the

piston. This can be remedied through technical

fixes, so one can enjoy the massive boost in

“THE EPS STOCK (WHICH) WILL HOUSE A WIDE VARIETY OF BATTERY TYPES.

EVERYTHING FROM NUNCHUCK STYLE TITAN POWER LI-ION’S, OR LIPO’S, TO BUFFER

TUBE STYLE PACKS WILL FIT DOWN THE SIDE TUBES. THE BUTTPLATE AREA ITSELF

WILL EASILY HOUSE SOME RECTANGULAR BRICKS IN THE 1400MAH CAPACITY”

12


ARMOURY



ARMOURY


trigger response an 11.1v affords. Like anything in

airsoft: “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.”

With respect to the rest of the gearbox, you

have KWA’s usual 9mm caged bearings, steel

minimum. I would like to see KWA make the

transition to ported piston heads and full metal

rack pistons at some point.

anti-reversal latch and 18:1 ratio gears. All of

these have stood the test of time, and being

something of a KWA specialist myself for the

past fourteen years of teching, I have very rarely

encountered a broken KWA gearset, AR latch or

bearing, and I consider them among some of the

best OEM parts made.

The motor has been slightly updated to

feature a CNC’d end bell, which in theory should

help with heat dissipation. This otherwise still

appears to be the same 19 TPA format with ferrite

magnets; in combination with the gear ratio and

an 11.1v LiPo, you should expect around 18 -

19 RPS on average out of it. The ETU has really

helped to improve on the trigger response versus

pre-ETU models. This can be improved further,

notably by changing out the motor, but as it

comes stock, it’s pretty respectable.

The compression parts consist of the GEN

III tappet plate with the integrated polymer air

nozzle and O-ring, polymer cylinder head, brass

cylinder, billet piston head and polymer piston.

These parts are generally fine on their own when

the system is run in the ideal velocity envelope

of 1.4 - 1.5J, but in my experience they will reveal

their shortcomings when you attempt to ‘hot

rod’ the gun, in which case you should consider

upgrading the piston and piston head at the very

POINTS TO NOTE

Curiously, this example of the MOD 1 was

outfitted with a shorter 6.05 diameter 303mm

length barrel. This has been a bit of an interesting

trend I’ve observed with some of the new KWA

releases, with both the Q10 and M10 having

shorter barrels their outer barrel would otherwise

accommodate. Whether this is due to conscious

decision or product shortages remains to be

seen; that being said, it has no appreciable

difference on the outcome as I was still able to

turn in a respectable 393 FPS (1.43J) on average

with .20g.

The hop up chamber retains the same excellent

rotary design. I am not an especially ardent fan

of KWA’s bucking, but that’s also to say I’m not a

fan of most any stock bucking. I consider them

“placeholders” in lieu of dropping in something

better. Reportedly, the KWA bucking has been

developed for the warmer heavy humidity climate

of their native Taiwan, but in my experience this

often struggles in our colder northern climates.

I’ve often seen where it requires a full magazine

to be run through the gun to warm up the bucking

to where it’ll hop properly.

As well, you might struggle to adequately

lift heavier BB’s; case in point, at maximum

adjustment of the hopup wheel, I was able to

“THE ETU ITSELF FEATURES EASY PROGRAMMABILITY OF VARIOUS FUNCTIONS VIA

THE TRIGGER. PRE-COCKING, ADJUSTABLE TRIGGER SENSITIVITY, BURST MODE, SEMI-

AUTO ONLY LOCK, AND TRIGGER EQUALIZER ARE STANDARD FEATURES, AND AS WELL,

THE ETU FEATURES BRUSHLESS MOTOR COMPATIBILITY”

16


ARMOURY


push .30g’s at the heaviest, but maybe not quite

at the ideal trajectory I would have liked. With

.28g’s, it did better and I’d say the bucking is really

optimized best for .25g to .28g’s. Fortunately,

take full advantage of the ambidextrous controls.

Certainly the design of the outer barrel and ease

of which one can remove the rail lends itself

easily to having a SBR kit sold as an accessory.

Time will tell if such a thing becomes available.

The exterior of the rifle is, of course, beautifully

a bucking is a

simple

matter to replace and there are a lot of

excellent choices on the market these

days. I have been a big fan of the GEN

III Tru-Hop and 4UAD Quantum as two

notable examples.

All in all, the PTS Radian MOD 1 is a solid

choice of an AEG rifle, with some minor quibbles

that largely stem from my desires as a tech to

maximize everything that passes across the

bench. For the average player who doesn’t want

to crack things open right away, I think the only

real detractor might be the extra heft (do you even

lift, bro?), but some will not find it appreciable. I

would like to see the lineup expanded a bit with

the shorter 10.5” version for us SBR nerds, and

it would make a lot of sense to also outfit it with

the cutoff series gearbox as another option to

done, solid as a brick

outhouse, and no doubt will be eye-catching

to AR aficionados. I particularly love the tactile

feel of the selector switches. KWA have long

maintained a tradition of consistent quality

control year after year, on par with the likes of

Tokyo Marui. You can take KWA parts that were

manufactured ten years apart and they’ll just

plain fit without hassle.

Contrary to internet mythos, KWA’s are also in

fact quite easy to upgrade, with a lot of options

in this department to consider. After conducting

my review of this MOD 1, I upgraded it for the

new owner with a Ulysses Recoil Kit, Solink SX-1

brushless motor, Gate TITAN II Bluetooth, JVAN

CNC 18:1 gears, Angel Custom KRATOS piston,

Lonex piston head and cylinder head, stainless

steel cylinder, MAXX CNC trigger and air nozzle,

and a MAXX CNC M4A rotary hopup chamber,

Gen. 3 Tru-Hop and Lambda One barrel…

It’s truly a formidable beast now! AA

“ALL IN ALL, THE PTS RADIAN MOD 1 IS A SOLID CHOICE OF AN AEG RIFLE, WITH

SOME MINOR QUIBBLES THAT LARGELY STEM FROM MY DESIRES AS A TECH TO

MAXIMIZE EVERYTHING THAT PASSES ACROSS THE BENCH. FOR THE AVERAGE PLAYER

WHO DOESN’T WANT TO CRACK THINGS OPEN RIGHT AWAY, I THINK THE ONLY REAL

DETRACTOR MIGHT BE THE EXTRA HEFT (DO YOU EVEN LIFT, BRO?)”


ARMOURY

SECUTOR ASTRA XI

IN SOLIDUM

SURCULUS

18


ARMOURY

SECUTOR ASTRA XI

AFTER SO MUCH SUCCESS WITH THEIR EXTENSIVE SHOTGUN RANGE, AND SOME

CRACKING PISTOLS SECUTOR HAVE SLOWLY BUT SURELY BEEN ESTABLISHING

THEMSELVES IN THE AEG MARKET. WE’VE LOOKED IN DEPTH AT THEIR “762/308”

DMR MODELS AND FOUND THEIR PERFORMANCE TO BE ON THE MONEY,

ESPECIALLY WITH A BIT OF TWEAKING, AND NOW IT APPEARS THAT THEY’RE

MOVING THINGS FORWARD WITH THEIR “556” ASTRA MODELS TOO. BILL’S BEEN

CHECKING OUT THE LATEST ASTRA XI AND LIKES WHAT HE FINDS!


ARMOURY

SECUTOR ASTRA XI

It’s been my privilege over the years to try out

many an airsoft “AR”, and I’ve had countless

“556s” AEG models out on the woods range

and in-game, and new models just keep on

appearing!

PDWs, SBRs, mid-lengths and full-size have

all come and gone, and it really does give you an

appreciation of how intuitive the

AR design is, as you can go one to another

knowing exactly that the same drills and

manipulations will work just as well with them

all, with just small modifications to grip and

stance to take into account different overall

lengths.

The not-so-humble AR AEG is undoubtedly

“king of the hill” when it comes to the majority

of airsoft games, and there’s a good reason

why! The controls are all in the same place,

and mag changes are the same, and optics

placement is largely identical so you can really

get a consistency of operation even moving

from model to model. As a reviewer it does

make my life easier as I can use the same set of

accessories, and pretty much the same set of

drills from rifle to carbine to SBR, which if course

means I get complete consistency in my weekly

testing (and personal training) program. I use

the same batteries and the same BBs for each

and every model, and my method of testing is

consistent too so that I get parity from one model

to the next.

But just like all of you, I do love a new “shiny

thing” and when it comes to new models from

SECUTOR I’m always quietly confident that

I’m going to see something a little bit unique

and interesting. I’ve been playing around with

SECUTOR rifles and carbines since the summer

of ’21 , and I’ve always enjoyed heading to the

woods range with one to run through its paces;

whilst they’re never the cheapest of AEGs in a

highly competitive marketplace their buildquality

has always been superb

externally, sound internally and

readily upgradeable, and bottomline,

they’ve been a joy to shoot.

Back in 2022 I had chance to lay my

hands on one of the original ASTRA AEG models,

and although I liked it a lot with so many “black

rifles” already in my personal armoury already I

returned it to iWholesales after my testing was

complete. From time to time though I wondered

if I shouldn’t have just bought it, as when I look

back on my testing notes I see that I concluded:

“I have to say that the ASTRA XI I had to shoot

really gives a massive amount of quality and

performance for the money. It looks great, feels

great, and shoots like a dream on both semi and

full-chat, so as far as I can see SECUTOR have got

this 100% right.”

I was pleased therefore to see that the ASTRA

has now gone on into “the next gen” so to speak,

and the latest ASTRA XI in coyote certainly looks

the “opr8r biz” for sure; but would it impress me

as much as the first one had? Only range-time

and a whole heap of BBs would tell me that!

“PDWS, SBRS, MID-LENGTHS AND FULL-SIZE HAVE ALL COME AND GONE, AND IT

REALLY DOES GIVE YOU AN APPRECIATION OF HOW INTUITIVE THE AR DESIGN IS,

AS YOU CAN GO ONE TO ANOTHER KNOWING EXACTLY THAT THE SAME DRILLS AND

MANIPULATIONS WILL WORK JUST AS WELL WITH THEM ALL”

20


ARMOURY

SECUTOR ASTRA XI

LO DRAG, GOOD TO GO

So, having tested out a number of the SECUTOR

AEGs, and on the whole been impressed with

them as stock platforms, when I saw the latest

ASTRA I thought to myself “now that’s a bit of

alright!” Okay, I’m a sucker for a tan AR, especially

one with a bronzed rail, and the images

I saw made me

immediately

feature set itself is extremely well thought out,

as you get an ambi selector, ambi mag release,

and very cool straight trigger. The pistol grip is a

comfortable “MP-style”, and on the ASTRA XI the

sliding stock has five positions so you can get it

exactly as you like it.

There are QD sling points inset to the rail and

the carbine comes with a single sling point on the

stock at the rear. Some pretty darn decent flip-up

want

to get my

grubby little

BB-slinging

hands on one!

The original ASTRA in black and

grey was pretty eye-catching, but the

“coyote” version just looked righteous,

and the addition of a slimline stock and

“suppressor” as part of the deal just sang to me.

And when the test model arrived with me, I

have to tell you that the carbine just feels great,

and really is easy to manipulate!

The ASTRA is solid as a rock in every respect,

and the mix of the “SF bronzed” M-LOK rail and

the buffer tube really stand out from the smooth

coyote tan of the CNC aluminium receivers and

furniture, and the finish on all parts is absolutely

first rate with not a blemish anywhere! The

“iron

sights”

are included,

and the ASTRA XI has

a fitted suppressor with

the 6.03mm inner barrel running

to the end of it. There’s a fabric rail shroud which

I actually love; I have been running the ASTRA

XI without the modular foregrip, and just using

the fabric shroud gives a positive lead-hand

reference… if you want to though you can simply

move this up to act as a suppressor shroud (very

“SF”!) and run the foregrip and accessories on the

M-LOK.

The modular foregrip itself is worth a mention

as although this isn’t new it’s a very unique

design, and the guys at SECUTOR have obviously

though this through fully… and it shows that

they too are a team with different tastes and

shooting styles too! But a foregrip is a foregrip,

right? Wrong, as the SECUTOR take is a modular

three piece design that means you can run the

grip super-stubby (my preferred option), midlength,

or long. You simply unscrew the end cap

and inside you’ll find three threaded spacers

“BUT JUST LIKE ALL OF YOU, I DO LOVE A NEW “SHINY THING” AND WHEN IT COMES

TO NEW MODELS FROM SECUTOR I’M ALWAYS QUIETLY CONFIDENT THAT I’M GOING

TO SEE SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT UNIQUE AND INTERESTING”


TAP/CLICK IMAGES FOR MORE INFORMATION

ARMOURY

SECUTOR ASTRA XI

that mate with one

another. The outer

grip itself comes in

three positive slottogether

parts, and

you can mix and

match as you like!

The grip fits directly

to the M-LOK rail,

which again keeps

everything very “lodrag”.

The ASTRA

magazine is cool

too! If, as I do,

you associate

SECUTOR rifles

with those lovely

RAPAX DMRs then

the skinnier mag undoubtedly tells you that you’re

into a different neighbourhood altogether; the

mag itself, a very “P-MAG-esque” 120 BB midcap

with dustcap looks great though, and continues

the tone of quality… yup, just the magazine gives

an indication of the quality of the ASTRA!

INTERNALLY

Internally there’s a lot going on too! First up you

get the EFCS gearbox (with quick-change-spring

function), programmable electronic trigger and

Mosfet so if that’s your thing you can play with

this to your heart’s delight, although as “stock” I

see nothing wrong with the setup! The CNC trigger

also has external travel regulation by means of a

screw to reduce the travel and shooting sensitivity

which is a neat touch, more of this “on range”...

A combination of 8mm bearings and bushings,

a reinforced polymer piston with all metal teeth,

a CNC steel cylinder and cylinder head made

in a single piece to improve compression, and

silver wiring throughout make everything nice

and tight from the outset, although compatibility

with aftermarket parts will give you space to fettle

further if you so desire.

There’s a 6.03 mm precision barrel fitted

as standard that runs right to the end of the

“suppressor” and this married up to what I know

to be a reasonably robust and efficient rotary

hop-unit, with a 60º Maple leaf installed as

standard. Overall this is a very tight package from

the get go, with soild componentry and a tried and

tested program-system, and out of the box you’ll

be able to run it happily in game with a range of

options.

DOWNRANGE

I got hands-on and some righteous rangetime

with the ASTRA XI, and on first impressions this is

an AEG ready to roll with some premium features

and some really superb “modern SF AR” styling.

In terms of spec, everything sounds positive,

and I have to say that as new the ASTRA certainly

worked excellently on the “range in the woods”.

I fitted the rifle with my usual carbine-ready

holosight, and and it was good to go. From the box

the Astra chron’d very consistently indeed at 1.07

Joule/341fps with .20g BBs (which is just a touch

higher than the older version), and once I’d reset

the hop it was more than happy on my gameuse

.28’s although I felt it could actually hop

heavier than this; the new hop rubber and setup

obviously does its job in an agreeable manner.

The 120 BB magazine fits and feeds perfectly, and

trying it with my collection of other brand ARstyle

magazines (real, mid and hi-cap) gave great

results with all.

So, all set up, .28g BBs in the mag, hop dialled

in and optic fitted… 100% game-on!

The ASTRA delivers BBs downrange to the

extent of the 30m range without any problem

at all, which is great for woodland sites, and

although the flip-up sights that come fitted as

standard are more than adequate, and indeed

are sturdily made (which makes the ASTRAs

“THE ASTRA IS SOLID AS A ROCK IN EVERY RESPECT, AND THE MIX OF THE “SF

BRONZED” M-LOK RAIL AND THE BUFFER TUBE REALLY STAND OUT FROM THE

SMOOTH COYOTE TAN OF THE CNC ALUMINIUM RECEIVERS AND FURNITURE, AND THE

FINISH ON ALL PARTS IS ABSOLUTELY FIRST RATE”

24


ARMOURY

SECUTOR ASTRA XI

ready to roll straight from the box just by adding

a battery and some BBs if you like!) with my holo

at 30m unsupported it was easy to get hits on a

torso-sized target with each BB flying straight and

true. I also worked the ASTRA hard on my 10m

range pushing it through hard transitions (after

which you’ll certainly feel all of its 3,080g in your

arms and shoulders!), and the rifle performed

superbly, clanging the steels solidly, and the

responsiveness of an excellent trigger certainly

helps; this bodes well for CQB settings.

As they move forward there are no mindbending

changes to the ASTRA AEGs, but I

have to say that everything just feels a little bit

“tighter” overall, and the power delivery has been

marginally increased as a result.

SECUTOR externals have always been lovely,

and just by refining their airsoft art it would

appear that the performance is fast heading in

the same direction, with consistent BBs on target

now really starting to match up with the good

looks.

Again, as I said earlier, SECUTOR AEGs are

never going to be a cheap option, but these days

I do believe that you’re getting what you pay for in

one attractive, tightly-performing package; I have

to say that the latest ASTRA XI I’ve put through its

paces really give a massive amount of quality and

performance for the money.

I sincerely hope that SECUTOR just keep

making these small yet important steps forward,

really nailing their AEGs down to be as good as

they can be from the get go… right now I feel that

they are absolutely as good as they can be as a

stock AEG given the state of current technology

and I see no reason to change anything… but I do

look forward to seeing what they do next too!

Thanks as usual to iWholesales for providing

the test model; you can check out all the

SECUTOR models they have by visiting

www.iwholesales.biz AA

“SECUTOR EXTERNALS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN LOVELY, AND JUST BY REFINING THEIR

AIRSOFT ART IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THE PERFORMANCE IS FAST HEADING IN THE

SAME DIRECTION, WITH CONSISTENT BBS ON TARGET NOW REALLY STARTING TO

MATCH UP WITH THE GOOD LOOKS”


ARMOURY

ASG NEW MODELS

NEW

PARADIGMS

AT ASG!

HOW IS IT THAT WE’RE ALREADY IN MAY AND WE’RE STILL WADING THROUGH THE

DETAIL OF IWA 2025? THE FACT IS THAT THERE WAS SO MUCH TO SEE AND THEN

FOLLOW UP ON THAT IT’S TAKING SOME TIME, BUT WE WANT TO GIVE YOU THE FULL

LOWDOWN ON EVERYTHING… SO THIS MONTH BILL TAKES A CLOSE LOOK AT WHAT

ASG HAVE GOT IN THE PIPELINE FOR 2025 ...SO FAR!

IWA 2025 as I’ve said many times was a great

show for AIRSOFT ACTION, and the new

models of AEGs and GBBs that we saw at

this year’s show in Germany were certainly very

exciting! I’ve got a great relationship with many

of the airsoft brands out there that have been

built over many years of shared trust and a true

passion for airsoft, and as much as I’ve not

always agreed with everyone on their directions,

the fact is that any “disagreements” have been

short-lived, and ultimately cemented again

positively in understanding that certain things

must happen to ensure that brands remain true to

their goals, and their heart.

One of the longest-standing relationships

that I’ve had personally has been with

ActionSportGames (ASG), and while this has

had its share of ups and downs over the years I

have always had the greatest of respect for this

airsoft-industry leviathan; with a great new team

now fully-established in the UK things are once

again moving forward for ASG, and I for one am

very pleased indeed to see the brand with a new

paradigm and regaining their hard-won place in

the market.

ASG however like to take their time in relation

to development though, only fully releasing a new

model when they are 100% happy that it’s as good

as it possibly can be; looking at past performance

they did so with the CZ EVO and the SP-01 and

both have turned out to be great, beautifully

crafted replicas with superb performance and

durability, and I for one haven’t heard anybody

complaining about either.

The fact that a manufacturer takes time to get

things right from the get go can only be a good

thing for all of us; how often have we seen a RIF

rushed to market because it’s right on the current

trend and been disappointed due to sub-par

performance and a lack of reliability? Over the

“ONE OF THE LONGEST-STANDING RELATIONSHIPS THAT I’VE HAD PERSONALLY HAS

BEEN WITH ACTIONSPORTGAMES (ASG), AND WHILE THIS HAS HAD ITS SHARE OF

UPS AND DOWNS OVER THE YEARS I HAVE ALWAYS HAD THE GREATEST OF RESPECT

FOR THIS AIRSOFT-INDUSTRY LEVIATHAN”

26


ARMOURY

ASG NEW MODELS

years I’ve seen this just too many times, and

although today things are much, much better

there’s still always the possibility of a lemon.

At IWA this year I saw from one manufacturer

several AEG models that were “ready for release

right now” and they’ve yet to reach any market

at all, as design faults were discovered postproduction!

I’d much rather have an AEG or GBB that’s

gone through all the checks and balances,

thorough torture-testing, design and re-design,

and a carefully controlled manufacturing

process before I part with

any cash. I also like a

properly licenced replica

as I know then what I’m

getting is going to be as

close to the “real deal”

as possible, and ASG are past masters

at conforming to all of the aforementioned

processes. Has the build-up to the release of their

latest models been just hot air though, or are they

the platforms we’ve all been eagerly anticipating?

Over the course of IWA Jase and I visited the

good people of ASG at their stand, and it was

great to see Clark, Jordan, newcomer Rich, and

of course our old mate Paul. Clark was very

excited to not only show us around the new lines

on offer but to inform us of their new partnership

with ARMY; after spending the last few years

concentrating on their own licences and models

it’s actually very positive in my mind to see ASG

returning to their “roots” as a distributor for other

quality airsoft brands in addition to their own fine

offerings, and the announcement at IWA that an

agreement had been made with the good people

at DELTA ARMORY only reinforced this.

However, what I will concentrate on here is the

models that we saw under their own licences that

really took our attention, and highlight some of

the AEGs and GBBs that raised our eyebrows and

illustrated that ASG are not hanging about!

SHORTS

The CZ Shadow that I mentioned earlier has, in

all its incarnations to date, been a thoroughly

successful model for ASG all over the world, and

is often mentioned by our own “Man in Taiwan”

Stewbacca when it comes to his practical

shooting adventures, and at IWA we saw the CZ

TS 2, or “the shape of things yet to come” as we

christened it!

The real steel CZ TS 2 (or Tactical Sports 2 to

give it the full moniker) is the sport-special for

competing in the IPSC Standard

Division, or indeed for

target shooting of any

kind; fitted with flat,

silver-anodized duralumin

grips, fixed metal sights,

there’s also an extended

manual safety on the left

side of the pistol, and a

flat safety on the right side.

Alongside the Shadow 2, the CZ

TS2 has fast become the pistol-of-choice for IPSC

shooting marksmen, and ASG told us:

“We knew immediately we needed to bring the

airsoft replica to market, after all, if it’s prowess is

proven in the sporting field, those same features

are going to make a difference to 6mm airsoft

sport-shooters the world over!”

In addition to the pistol’s realistic weight and

feel, it has also been engineered for increased

user performance and usability; its full CNC

“OVER THE COURSE OF IWA JASE AND I VISITED THE GOOD PEOPLE OF ASG AT THEIR

STAND, AND IT WAS GREAT TO SEE CLARK, JORDAN, NEWCOMER RICH, AND OF

COURSE OUR OLD MATE PAUL. CLARK WAS VERY EXCITED TO NOT ONLY SHOW US

AROUND THE NEW LINES”


ARMOURY

ASG NEW MODELS

aluminium grip, magazine release and trigger

guard have been textured to provide a more

comfortable fit into the shooter’s hand and avoid

slippage. Furthermore, the swappable grips have

been anodised a cool silver to look just like “the

real”! The slide includes pronounced serrations to

allow for easier cocking alongside

official

licensed

markings,

and an

enlarged safety catch

finishes the time-to-fire

credentials.

To provide this replica

with

an

authentic

handling

weight and

feel, the TS 2 upper and lower are

crafted from high strength alloy. To

increase the performance of the

pistol, the TS 2 incorporates a fixed

outer barrel which both tightens the tolerances

of the pistol and improves its stability while firing.

Fitted with a single action trigger, adjustable for

pre-travel (before the hammer drops) and aftertravel

(after the hammer drops), the TS 2 offers

precision action and comfort that could well

mean the difference between “being there” and a

podium place!

This airsoft pistol is a full 1:1 replica of its real

steel counterpart, and as such, it includes a fibre

optic front sight and adjustable rear sights to

provide AIPSC shooters with the same top quality

target acquisition as the IPSC. Internally, the TS

2 boasts high quality components which provide

everything shooters need right out of the box for a

smooth and highly accurate shooting experience.

The magazine holds 27 BBs that fire at 1.0 joule

(328fps).

Next up, the long-awaited CZ

P-10C FPV (Full Polymer Version)

gas-friendly pistol should be hitting

stores already, and as Clark said

“good things come to those who

wait...” What really makes the P-10

C special and sets it above other

similar pistols on the market, is the performance,

as it offers unmatched consistency both between

shots and between magazines. Thanks to its

durable design and the inclusion of lighter-weight

polymer parts, the P-10 C retains solid durability,

minimising wear and tear, but minimises the

maintenance required.

Its ergonomic grip provides the shooter a great

grip, offering a

comfortable hold and

satisfying feel that fits

perfectly into your hands.

Inside the box, in addition

to a very cool pistol, ASG

also include changeable

backstraps so that the

“TO PROVIDE THIS REPLICA WITH AN AUTHENTIC HANDLING WEIGHT AND FEEL, THE

TS 2 UPPER AND LOWER ARE CRAFTED FROM HIGH STRENGTH ALLOY. TO INCREASE

THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PISTOL, THE TS 2 INCORPORATES A FIXED OUTER BARREL

WHICH BOTH TIGHTENS THE TOLERANCES OF THE PISTOL AND IMPROVES ITS

STABILITY WHILE FIRING”

28


ARMOURY

ASG NEW MODELS

shooter can customise the grip to match their

own individual preferences; these backstraps

come in small, medium and large.

It also comes

equipped with

traditional iron sights for

fast target acquisition,

and the P-10 C is an easily

customisable pistol with a

lower accessory rail which

can be used to mount

lasers, lights, or other

accessories. Also, the

P-10 C boasts under-frame

safety controls as well

as trigger safety. Its smaller

size not only makes it a great

compact platform to carry discreetly into the CQB

arena, but also makes it lighter and faster to draw.

The P-10 C Gas magazine holds a total of 22

BBs, firing at an average velocity of 0.90 joule

(295 fps) on 0.20 BBs (obviously ASG used their

own consistent, high-quality Blaster’s in testing!).

Again, as ASG told us, “...it is the culmination

of years of pistol-making expertise and a deeprooted

passion for airsoft which results in a truly

exceptional pistol that is ready to let it rip in all

types of airsoft play”, and I have to say that we

agree!

Stepping out of the ASG “stable” for a moment

we also got our first look at the awesome MODIFY

TRINITY, and both Jase and I loved this! Aimed

at both IPSC/target shooting and

skirmish/CQB players alike,

the Modify Trinity is a unique

Hi-Capa pistol designed with

lightning fast, on-the-move, hop

adjustment in mind.

Airsoft pistol shooters have

had to deal with inaccessible hop

adjustment for years; if you’ve ever had to part

strip your pistol in the middle of a game you will

know the stress of that moment all too well. With

a simple adjustment mechanism involving the

slide release the shooter can zero in the BB flightpath

in seconds, even while shooting!

Other great features include a steel firing

mech, short-travel trigger, an aluminium alloy

slide, 11mm thread for mounting of tracers/

muzzle attachments, a hard-wearing and tactile

nylon fibre grip, and a picatinny accessory rail…

bottom line, this thing

looks superb, and I for

one can’t wait to shoot

it!

Coming up after this

article you’ll find an

update on what our old

mate Clarence Lai has

been up to of late, and my

“STEPPING OUT OF THE ASG “STABLE” FOR A MOMENT WE ALSO GOT OUR FIRST

LOOK AT THE AWESOME MODIFY TRINITY, AND BOTH JASE AND I LOVED THIS! AIMED

AT BOTH IPSC/TARGET SHOOTING AND SKIRMISH/CQB PLAYERS ALIKE, THE MODIFY

TRINITY IS A UNIQUE HI-CAPA PISTOL DESIGNED WITH LIGHTNING FAST, ON-THE-

MOVE, HOP ADJUSTMENT IN MIND”


TAP/CLICK THE PAGE FOR MORE INFO


ARMOURY

ASG NEW MODELS

last inclusion in the

“ASG Shorts” section here shows just what

happens when ASG join forces with that

master of precision upgrades with a 6” Dan

Wesson 715 firmly in focus!

The ASG UK guys told me after the show that...

“We had this very special model on display

at IWA and it was super popular! Vistors were

amazed and impressed by the clockwork trigger

and barrel action. With time-to-fire drastically

reduced, we’re taking things to a whole new level

of competitive action. A chrome revolver is a thing

of beauty, but let’s get it out on the field rapidly

taking targets down!”

The Dan Wesson 715 will impress anyone with

a shooters soul due to its precision engineering,

perfect grip and solid feel. From the one-piece

6-inch heavy barrel,

complete with

vent rib featuring threading

for mounting

accessories, to the

imitation Hogue

rubber grip,

the DW 715

stands out

as one of

the finest

replica

airsoft revolvers

on the market!

Clarence (as we well

know) has a passion for

precision engineering within

airsoft sports shooting,

and continues

to surprise with

bespoke parts

options, and

ASG have

said that

they are

always

pleased to collaborate,

as Clarence holds

a special place in our

industry.

The much-loved Dan

Wesson 715 6” version Revolver,

has now been graced with the Clarence Lai

Project Design treatment, and will come fitted

with the CLPD adjustable trigger, improved

grip,Early Bird Trigger Hand which improves

strength and cylinder timing, and the

Competition Upgrade Spring Set that offers

“clockwork precision”. This genuinely is a

thing of beauty, and as the happy owner of

a standard 715 I can only imagine just how

cool, and how smooth the CLPD-fettled version

will be!

LONGS

I’m not going to dwell heavily here on the CZ

EVO as AIRSOFT ACTION has been a part of that

particular story since the very first AEG landed

in the UK, and we’ve followed it ever since…

“THE MUCH-LOVED DAN WESSON 715 6” VERSION REVOLVER, HAS NOW BEEN GRACED

WITH THE CLARENCE LAI PROJECT DESIGN TREATMENT, AND WILL COME FITTED WITH

THE CLPD ADJUSTABLE TRIGGER, IMPROVED GRIP,EARLY BIRD TRIGGER HAND WHICH

IMPROVES STRENGTH AND CYLINDER TIMING, AND THE COMPETITION UPGRADE

SPRING SET THAT OFFERS “CLOCKWORK PRECISION”.”

32


ARMOURY

ASG NEW MODELS

however, it would be totally wrong of me not to

mention that we saw a new version of the EVO 3

A1 Value Pack, and this time it’s a price-pointed

sportsline variation. We all know this model

series well, so the small variations include losing

the three-BB burst but you will get an 11.1v

battery in the box.

I’m also not going to comment as yet on the

ASG branded optics joining the line-up as these

look excellent and deserve their own space when

they hit the market; speaking to the ASG UK guys

I hope that we’ll be able to get “hands-on” with

these soon, and we’ll spill the beans in full later

when we’ve tried them out!

What I WILL focus on though are two AEG

models that are focused on the all-important

entry-level airsofter, but that are more than

capable of holding their own in anyone’s airsoft

armoury. Two models very much took our eye, the

first being an AR-mag-compatible model with, as

he put it “a Masada-like vibe” that Jase liked a lot,

the FLCN 556!

ASG say of this this new carbine-length AEG:

either the left or right side to fit the needs of the

shooter. The ejection port cover locks to the open

position to give easy access to the rotary hop up,

and closes with a press of the ambidextrous bolt

catch.

The lower receiver is also polymer, and accepts

all AR-style AEG magazines, giving you a huge

selection of aftermarket choices. The fire selector

is ambidextrous as well, making the FLCN 5.56

perfect for right or left handed shooters right out

of the box. A six-position collapsible and folding

stock with a four-position adjustable cheekrest

wraps up the entire package, making the FLCN

5.56 great for players large and small. QD sockets

on both the handguard and stock allows for the

easy installation of a sling.

Internally, the FLCN 5.56 has a programmable

electronic trigger with an optical sensor that also

monitors the health of the gearbox and battery

level. The 8mm bearing gearbox has a quick

change spring to easily switch from indoor to

outdoor muzzle velocities in under a minute. A

rotary-style hop-up ensures precise adjustments

“The

FLCN 5.56 Sportline AEG is the ultimate

choice for players looking to stand out

from the crowd. This airsoft rifle has a

sleek modern appearance paired with

high performance that makes it a great

addition to the arsenal of new and

experienced players alike.”

Externally, the FLCN 5.56 has

polymer monolithic upper receiver

that is rigid and durable, but that is

lightweight enough to run happily all day long ingame.

The handguard is slotted to accept M-LOK

accessories at the 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions,

and the charging handle can be installed on

for accurate

and

consistent

shots.

The FLCN 5.56 is

wired

for Deans/T-Plug, but

also

comes with a mini Tamiya

adapter, and the battery is stored in the stock.

Of course, whilst Jase was cuddling the

FLCN 5.56 (he is SO BLUFOR!) I had to take the

OPFOR-stance on the new models, and it was

superb seeing the ARSENAL name come back

fully into ASGs line-up in the form of the Arsenal

SAM7R.

“EXTERNALLY, THE FLCN 5.56 HAS POLYMER MONOLITHIC UPPER RECEIVER THAT IS

RIGID AND DURABLE, BUT THAT IS LIGHTWEIGHT ENOUGH TO RUN HAPPILY ALL DAY

LONG IN-GAME. THE HANDGUARD IS SLOTTED TO ACCEPT M-LOK ACCESSORIES AT

THE 3, 6, AND 9 O’CLOCK POSITIONS”


ARMOURY

ASG NEW MODELS

The SAM7R brings that

classic AK style with a modern visual twist! Just

like Arsenal themselves this product is all about

preserving old-world firearms craftsmanship

whilst adding in modern day tech advances.

Again, this is a fully licensed, 1:1 replica

Sportline AEG that delivers the classic AK

look, but brought right up to date as it comes

attachment-ready with four accessory rails

(Upper, lower and both sides of handguard);

this is a truly iconic design that belongs in every

player’s collection.

Whilst the SAM7R looks the absolute business

in terms of its replication with metal and polymer

where it counts, there’s a lot going on inside too

as you get a T-Plug battery connector, along with

a programmable electronic trigger unit (ETU)/

Mosfet Iron Sights, an easily accessible and

adjustable hop unit, and a mag-locating insert

to ensure a great connection when reloading.

It will also come with M95 and M120 springs

included, iron sights that are good to go, a front

attachment point and rear sling loop, a hi cap

525 BB magazine, and a unique Serial Number. I

understand that an AK, even a “modernised” one

may not be everyone’s

exciting territory again; ASG have

been a bit quiet in recent years but this

year they REALLY got back into the game! I’ll

reiterate my comment here from the IWA report

earlier this year that the thing that impressed

me the most though was the sheer joy and

enthusiasm for airsoft that I encountered on their

stand (along with the new CZ and Modify TRINITY

pistols!)!

I genuinely thought ASG were heading all

“corporate” on us, but the work that they’ve done

on their existing and new platforms is awesome,

and their sheer joy at showing them too us was

100% infectious! Thanks so much to Clark and

Jordan for showing us everything, and if I’ve

missed something here then that’s on me, not you

guys as you were outstanding…

To conclude though, along with all the new and

exciting models, upgrades to existing lines, the

new agreements in place with both ARMY and

cup of joe,

but as a dedicated

OPFOR

platform, or a well-

priced

backup AEG this certainly looks good to me!

Overall what Jase and I saw at IWA was very

impressive, with ASG concentrating on their

“core” models, but also branching out into more

MODIFY and the distribution deal

with DELTA ARMORY I believe we’ve got a lot to

look forward to from ASG as we move through

2025!

This is brilliant news and we wish them

all the very best in their new projects and

brand relationships as they continue to forge

ahead! AA

“I GENUINELY THOUGHT ASG WERE HEADING ALL “CORPORATE” ON US, BUT THE

WORK THAT THEY’VE DONE ON THEIR EXISTING AND NEW PLATFORMS IS AWESOME,

AND THEIR SHEER JOY AT SHOWING THEM TOO US WAS 100% INFECTIOUS!”

34


ARMOURY

ASG NEW MODELS


ARMOURY

CLPD UPDATE

ALL THE

SHINY

THINGS!

36


ARMOURY

CLPD UPDATE

AS THE YOUNG FOLK ARE WONT TO SAY THESE DAYS “IT’S BEEN A MINUTE” SINCE

WE LAST CHECKED UP ON THE MISCHIEF OUR GOOD FRIEND CLARENCE LAI HAS

BEEN GETTING UP TO IN THE CUSTOM UPGRADE COMPONENT AND COMPLETE

GUN SOLUTIONS ARENA, ESPECIALLY IN THE COMPETITION CIRCUIT IN TAIWAN

BUT ALSO IN THE WIDER WORLD COMMUNITY OF ACTION AIR. STEWBACCA TOOK

THE UPCOMING WORLD SHOOT 2025 AND HIS PREPARATIONS FOR IT AS AN

EXCUSE TO CATCH UP WITH THE “SURGEON”!


ARMOURY

CLPD UPDATE

Having last featured our father figure of the

action air circuit back in ISSUE 162 (June

2024), I figured it was past time I covered

what’s been going on since!

I have, as always, been keeping in regular

contact with Clarence and enjoying the fine

company of his good self and his lovely wife

Katherine (and their two cats, one of which

nearly came home with me having made herself

comfortable in my gun bag last visit, it seems!).

With a few instances of newer products

requiring the “Stewbacca blunt instrument test

regime treatment” I am apparently becoming well

known for, many of my Taiji teammates or online

followers regularly quiz me on what I’ve been

using or testing and whether it’s approved or “Stuproof”!

Alongside getting one of the earliest KJ Works

Shadow 2 Orange off the production line prior to

official release in time for the 2023 Level III TPSA

in Kaohsiung, one of the further highlights of

the past year was certainly getting hands on his

customised variant of the WinGun manufactured

CZ P10C with his full steel slide kit and red dot

mount plate, along with acquiring additional CO2

magazines required to cycle the hefty top end of

the superbly comfortable polymer framed Czech

pistol.

Our man Boycie took the lead on the original

cover story gun review of the stock version in

ISSUE 159 (March 2024) and things have most

assuredly moved on.

The steel slide kit is approved and fully licensed

by ASG and includes a steel outer barrel as well,

along with uprated recoil springs to handle the

increased recoiling mass and power of the CO2

which is then assembled with the standard

blowback unit transferred over.

The weight increase, along with the much

heavier recoil, genuinely feel as close to the

experience of a real 9mm pistol, and that’s

based not just on my experiences, but my IPSC

and skirmish teammate Ou, and (Ivo) Bridges of

Heavy Recoil Club who also has the kit and uses

real pistols as well.

This, coupled with the excellent ergonomics of

the base pistol evidently made an impression as

it was the clear winner for me personally in the

“pistol of the year”’ slot for my part of the Airsoft

Action annual roundup, and likewise it made

its way into the Top 5 selection for the Player’s

Choice Awards “best gas blowback pistol”

category, which I also happened to present this

year.

Besides these parts, there was also lots to look

forward to that I first saw on the CLPD stand at

MOA, and with my aforementioned IPSC Action

Air team SPPT teammate Ou JiaCheng deciding

to make the switch to Production Optics (PO)

division alongside me, we both went over to

visit the Lai household to get my own Shadow

2 Orange completely overhauled, and for Ou to

politely ask if he could acquire one as well and

join the CLPD sponsored shooters team spread

around the world as well.

Clarence was also good enough to join Ou,

myself, local shooter DaWei and local brands

Conqueror and TBRM (Tactical Barracks Range

Marksman - our team’s gas and ammunition

sponsor) in putting forward some money towards

team SPPT’s new team uniforms for 2025 and

participation in the World Shoot.

HANDS ON WITH THE MAIN MAN!

So, back in mid-February we found our way to the

south of Taipei and the usual warm hospitality

of Clarence and Katherine, and talked shop all

afternoon and evening before enjoying dinner out

together.

Clarence went to town on my Shadow 2 Orange

and as is his wont, and by the end of things

there wasn’t much left of the original which got

“WITH A FEW INSTANCES OF NEWER PRODUCTS REQUIRING THE “STEWBACCA BLUNT

INSTRUMENT TEST REGIME TREATMENT” I AM APPARENTLY BECOMING WELL KNOWN

FOR, MANY OF MY TAIJI TEAMMATES OR ONLINE FOLLOWERS REGULARLY QUIZ ME ON

WHAT I’VE BEEN USING OR TESTING AND WHETHER IT’S APPROVED OR “STU-PROOF”!”

38


ARMOURY

CLPD UPDATE

unceremoniously cast aside having been beaten

on by me for over a year already and shedding its

paintwork.

The original outer barrel and recoil assembly,

and blowback nozzle were probably the only

things retained; a new silver frame and opticready

top-slide, lightweight blowback housing,

replacement springs and magazine release, as

well as of course his inner barrel and HOP unit

went in, featuring his now standard choice of

4UAD SmartAirsoft HOP bucking, all gunsmithed

together by the man himself in his office adorned

with numerous guns on his walls… a familiar

theme for me!

Ou also acquired his own Shadow 2 Orange,

which he has since added a red dot and US

sourced real steel LOK grip panels to that has

made it a weighty beast of a competition pistol,

and (of course) he’s immediately beating me at

my own game, being much faster on his feet and

experienced with IDPA in Taiwan and related live

fire competitions in the US, having trained under

our Taiwanese American friend Frank ‘The Tank’

Hsu while over there.

Who we have, in fact, teamed up along with two

other Taipei based shooters as a four man squad

to take on the challenge of Team Production

Optics title at the World Shoot as well… I imagine

I will be the deadweight on that front!

As well as sponsoring a raft of shooters in

Taiwan, the Philippines, Hong Kong and further

afield in Europe, Clarence has kept himself

busy churning out a continually growing array of

option or upgrade components predominantly

for the Shadow 2 and Shadow 2 Orange which

I’ve continued to crash test during my own

competitive shooting escapades.

With very few components not addressed at

this point, somewhat like the ‘ship of Theseus’

or ‘trigger’s broom’ for fans of British TV, there’s

nothing much left of my original guns.

BREAKING IT DOWN

But what of those CLPD parts? I’ll outline the

“shiny things” for you, fellow shooters!

Custom aluminium Shadow 2 & Orange

(KJS2SLIDE-ORBK/ORSV black/silver)

Available for some time now, but appearing

after my previous product breakdown article and

thus not included in it, standard geometry but

lightweight CNC aluminium slides in black and

silver allow for faster cycling and more efficient

gas or CO2 usage.

CNC Aluminium Optic ready slides - Shadow 2 &

Orange (KJS2SLIDE-ORBK/ORSV black/silver)

Alongside Clarence’s earlier custom lightweight

CNC 7075 Aluminium slides for the Shadow 2 and

Shadow 2 Orange, the new optic ready variants

are similar but also feature CNC machined optic

mounting slide cuts that match the real steel

equivalents and related blanking or mounting

“CLARENCE WAS ALSO GOOD ENOUGH TO JOIN OU, MYSELF, LOCAL SHOOTER

DAWEI AND LOCAL BRANDS CONQUEROR AND TBRM (TACTICAL BARRACKS RANGE

MARKSMAN - OUR TEAM’S GAS AND AMMUNITION SPONSOR) IN PUTTING FORWARD

SOME MONEY TOWARDS TEAM SPPT’S NEW TEAM UNIFORMS FOR 2025 AND

PARTICIPATION IN THE WORLD SHOOT”


ARMOURY

CLPD UPDATE

plates to suit RMR/SRO, CMore, RTS and Shield

sight footprints as well as Aimpoint ACRO or

replicas thereof.

CNC Aluminium frames - Shadow 2 & Orange

(KJS2FRAME-SV/BK - silver/black)

Clarence’s CNC 7075 frames include the ASG

licensed CZ markings and offer a more durable

alternative to the original cast alloy frames which

- from my own experience - tend to shed their

surface finishes all too readily, unless you pay to

have them cerakoted to your taste.

High performance recoil springs (KJS2HPS3)

Compatible with the ASG KJ Shadow 2,

Shadow 2 Orange and TS2 models, the CLPD

high performance

recoil springs come

in a triple pack of

yellow/green/red

colours that offer

an additional 10, 20

or 30% spring rate

over the stock recoil

springs for snappier

cycling - especially

for those making use

of CO2 magazines - in

which case the added

spring rate will help

avoid the damage I

experienced with my

original Shadow 2 as

a result of CO2 mag

use.

150% loading nozzle

springs (KJS2SP150)

Uprated nozzle

springs compatible

with the whole KJW

CZ Shadow lineup -

the SP01, Shadow 2/

Shadow 2 Orange/

and TS2 - these

stronger springs

will ensure more

rapid retraction of

the loading nozzle

in concert with

the stronger recoil

springs to ensure

reliable feeding

with higher slide

velocities.

“THE STEEL SLIDE KIT IS APPROVED AND FULLY LICENSED BY ASG AND INCLUDES

A STEEL OUTER BARREL AS WELL, ALONG WITH UPRATED RECOIL SPRINGS TO

HANDLE THE INCREASED RECOILING MASS AND POWER OF THE CO2 WHICH IS THEN

ASSEMBLED WITH THE STANDARD BLOWBACK UNIT TRANSFERRED OVER”

42


ARMOURY

CLPD UPDATE

Stainless steel magazine catches Shadow 2 &

Orange (KJS2CMC-SV/BK silver/black)

CNC machined steel magazine catches allow

for a more reliable lock up and stronger material

for resisting breakage, especially when making

use of CO2 magazines, some time last year I

became the market need for that when the button

sheared off my own Shadow 2 during a practise

session - the cast components always seem to

fracture following work hardening under extensive

recoil life cycles, as happened with the outer

barrels.

CNC 6061 + steel reinforced HOP unit (KJS2HU)

Offering improved stability and durability with

CNC 6061 aluminium body shells and a steel

HOP adjustment ring also improves gas seal and

efficiency which can increase muzzle velocity by

as much as 10% as well as improving shot to shot

consistency as a result.

Steel hammer -

Shadow 2 & Orange,

SP01 & TS2 (KJS2SH-

SV/BK - silver/black)

Modeled after the

more recent hammer

design used only in

the real steel TS2 and

Shadow 2 Orange,

the improved steel

hammers allow for

better performance

and aesthetic.

Replacement

stainless steel pins

(KJS2SPIN)

Stainless steel

replacement body pins

for holding in the fire

control group, hammer,

and main spring

retention chassis

allow for an all silver

aesthetic to match the

silver frames.

Stainless steel outer

barrel (KJS2ORCZOB)

The stainless steel

outer barrel allows for

improved durability

and also much better

fixed barrel stability

and accuracy,

eliminating the

Browning tilt action

and related wear.

Steel extended

ambidextrous safety

levers (KJS2SAMS-

SV/BK - silver/black)

For those looking

to use the Shadow 2

& Shadow 2 Orange

as a skirmish or open

division competition

pistol, the extended

safety levers offer

a more convenient


ARMOURY

CLPD UPDATE

method of running your Shadow 2 like an M1911

as well as offering a thumb rest position for recoil

control - of course these aren’t permitted in

production or production optics divisions by IPSC

rules.

Custom CNC aluminium slides - TS2 - Black/

Silver

Joining the replacement slide offerings is one

for the TS2 in the same CNC 7075 aluminium

giving the same lighter weight benefits - a 10%

reduction over the stock slides - and related

performance improvements.

Stainless steel magazine catches TS2

(KJTS2MCSV-OR)

Already making

inroads to create the

same wealth of upgrade

components for the

recently launched ASG

replica of the CZ TS2

target shooting single

action only pistol,

Clarence has also

begun replicating the

success of his Shadow 2

range - the replacement

silver steel magazine

catch offers the same

durability and aesthetic

improvements as his other versions.

Super lightweight Blow Back Housing - TS2

(KJTS2ALSLBBH)

The TS2 compatible two piece lightweight blow

back housing greatly improves performance and

cycling speed with either green gas or CO2 in the

same manner as the earlier Shadow 2 & Shadow

2 orange compatible version.

“AS WELL AS SPONSORING A RAFT OF SHOOTERS IN TAIWAN, THE PHILIPPINES,

HONG KONG AND FURTHER AFIELD IN EUROPE, CLARENCE HAS KEPT HIMSELF

BUSY CHURNING OUT A CONTINUALLY GROWING ARRAY OF OPTION OR UPGRADE

COMPONENTS PREDOMINANTLY FOR THE SHADOW 2 AND SHADOW 2 ORANGE”

44


ARMOURY

CLPD UPDATE

CZ P10C ambidextrous magazine release

The ambidextrous replacement magazine

release allows the user to push the knurled button

releases on either side to actuate the internal

release lever and drop the magazine.

The Shadow 2 and Shadow 2 Orange option

components are also compatible with the 4.5mm

calibre variants of the KJ Works Shadow 2 pistols

which are also becoming popular in target

shooting in Europe and elsewhere.

There are also further collaborative efforts such

as the new ARES CLPD Smith & Wesson CO2

capsule powered revolver line up (which I have

also been furnished with for longer term testing

and an individual review article to produce) along

with the CLPD rubberised caps and stainless

steel cartridges as well as the full-moon clips and

related cartridge installation and removal tool,

so I look forward to bringing you further news of

that once I have more time to test and use it for

competition purposes.

As mentioned beforehand, Clarence has been

sending his products to a growing group of very

capable action air shooters (very much more so

than myself!) some of whom are detailed in the

photos he supplied to us.

Many thanks for Clarence’s continued support

of our efforts at Airsoft Action, as well as my own

personal IPSC Action Air journey and team SPPT

and, in particular, myself and Ou JiaCheng’s

efforts for the upcoming world shoot 2025… I’ll

have more upcoming related features soon! AA

JiaCheng Ou - Taiwan - Shadow 2 Orange

Jesse Nio - Finland - Shadow 2 Orange

“MANY THANKS FOR CLARENCE’S CONTINUED SUPPORT OF OUR EFFORTS AT AIRSOFT

ACTION, AS WELL AS MY OWN PERSONAL IPSC ACTION AIR JOURNEY AND TEAM

SPPT AND IN PARTICULAR MYSELF AND OU JIACHENG’S EFFORTS FOR THE UPCOMING

WORLD SHOOT 2025… I’LL HAVE MORE UPCOMING RELATED FEATURES SOON!”


TAP/CLICK IMAGES FOR MORE INFORMATION

RED CELL

AK COMMENTS

RED CELL

LIVIN’ THE

AK LIFE!

48


RED CELL

AK COMMENTS

ONCE AGAIN THE THOUGHTS OF RED CELL TURN TO THE AK CATEGORY, AND

THIS TIME WE’VE BROUGHT TOGETHER OUT “CLASSIC” AND “TACTICAL” AEG

ARMOURY COLLECTION TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF THE MODELS THAT WE’VE

USED MOST OVER THE PERIOD OF TESTING, AND WHY THE “AK LIFE” IS ONE THAT

MOST OF THE CREW HAVE ADOPTED DURING THEIR TIME PLAYING AIRSOFT! AS

USUAL BILL KICKS THINGS OFF…


RED CELL

AK COMMENTS

An AK is for life, not just for (insert holiday

of choice here)! You might say that airsoft

itself is a bit of a “lifestyle choice”, but

finding the perfect AK AEG is something I believe

that every player out there should aspire to.

Once you’ve bought your first AK it’s the start of a

journey, and it’s a path that will probably see you

embracing the platform and starting your own “AK

Life”, and trust me, when this starts there’s no

stopping!

Over the course of my long and somewhat unillustrious

“airsoft life” like most of you out there

I’ve had ARs aplenty, numerous SMG models,

DMR’s and even bolt-actions, but there’s one

particular model that has a sub-collection in

my personal armoury, and that’s the Avtomat

Kalashnikova, or simply THE AK!

Many moons ago during my time playing and

running games in the USA it was fellow RED CELL

member and now one of my oldest and closet

friends, Robbie, that persuaded me to turn to the

dark side of OPFOR, and this in turn led to me

fully adopting “The AK Life”, initially with a little

“Suchka”, the AKS-74U that was the platform of

choice in our regular setup, but subsequently

with all manner of classic and then “tacticool” AK

variants.

More recently I’ve built up a sub-collection to

the sub-collection with a number of AK-12 style

AEGs from different manufacturers… and luckily

the AEG version seems far more robust in general

terms than the “real” from what we’ve all read

quite recently… this has also led me into the

realms of the very latest, fully-tricked-out models

with all that “Z-style” shizzle, and right now of

course we’ve seen the latest Specna Arms CORE

AKs hitting the market with new licenced KPYK

accessories pre-fitted… and yes, I’ll be needing

me one of those!

But “The AK Life” is not just for those like me

who embrace the OPFOR role seriously, it’s for

anyone that has a true love of firearms, albeit in

airsoft replica form! Anyone that calls themselves

a “shooter” should have at least one AK variant

in their airsoft armoury, and train with it just

as diligently as they do with their beloved AR…

everyone should have a working knowledge of

how the AK differs in terms of operation and

manipulation as if you end up playing airsoft as

long as some of my fellow “greybeards” and I

have, then there will undoubtedly come a time

“in-game” where you end up having to grab a

Kalashnikov and crack on with it…

This is partly what I love about airsoft, the fact

that we can pick up virtually any “firearm”, or

replica thereof and get to shooting it! Whether

you are an aficionado of the classic wood and

steel, minimalist models or the more modern

“tacticool” railed and tricked-up variants, there’s

an AK out there for everyone!

“FINDING THE PERFECT AK AEG IS SOMETHING I BELIEVE THAT EVERY PLAYER

OUT THERE SHOULD ASPIRE TO. ONCE YOU’VE BOUGHT YOUR FIRST AK IT’S

THE START OF A JOURNEY, AND IT’S A PATH THAT WILL PROBABLY SEE YOU

EMBRACING THE PLATFORM AND STARTING YOUR OWN “AK LIFE”, AND TRUST

ME, WHEN THIS STARTS THERE’S NO STOPPING!”

50


RED CELL

AK COMMENTS

TEAM TALK

This time, as I hand over to the members of “THE

CELL” for the final time in this category before we

finally publish our full testing data around the end

of the year, I’ve asked them to not concentrate on

individual models per se, but rather what “living

the AK life” has brought to them… so, over to RED

CELL!

Stewbacca: Historically throughout my airsoft

“career” as one might call it, I’ve never been big

into AKs per se, tending to favour the “bag of

kochs” that has typically been my armoury - allied

forces or local police armoury picks of the H&K or

Walther offerings among others - especially given

the typically “OpFor” connotation on the other

side of the fence of the whole NornIron thing in

the back of my mind and wanting to avoid such

associations.

That said, when it came to MilSims and my

latter years in the UK I relented and finally

purchased the Marui NGRS AK102 along with

my team Honey Badgers teammates in an order

direct from Echigoya in Japan and enjoyed

running it effectively at Copehill weekenders with

the others using the same or AK74s among other

mish-mash weapons of irregular forces! Despite

the otherwise unfamiliar manual of arms to me,

the AK102 AEG was quite capable out to medium

ranges, although I never ran anything besides .20g

BBs in the UK, and didn’t really bother tinkering

inside guns for the most part besides my later

Real Swords that I tuned for improved range and

accuracy.

The battery compartment was very limited and

the full auto was of a largely accurate cadence

to the chugging of the real thing over other faster

platforms, but then, as with here in Taiwan, we

rarely used “full giggle” much anyway. Junglemag-pairs

made managing all eight of mine with

just a triple shingle on my plate carrier easy

enough and that setup was fine for largely urban

adventures without the need to go prone… come

to think of it, I didn’t get around to selling it, so

I might see if Rocco who I left it with can drop it

off with some of the Red Cell guys to add to the

armoury in my absence.

Fast forward a few years from leaving the

shores of blighty and of course my work with

Airsoft Action has brought me into contact

with AEGs, especially the LCT AK74 system I’ve

extensively reviewed and the modular setup of in

last year’s articles, as well as their more recent

AK MOE shorty which I’ll save talking about more

for another day as it’s so unique!

I have to say, the AK74 with modernised

furniture in all-black or perhaps with just the light

brown magazine to accent it does have a certain

aesthetic appeal, and of course LCT sending me

“WHEN IT CAME TO MILSIMS AND MY LATTER YEARS IN THE UK I RELENTED AND

FINALLY PURCHASED THE MARUI NGRS AK102 ALONG WITH MY TEAM HONEY

BADGERS TEAMMATES IN AN ORDER DIRECT FROM ECHIGOYA IN JAPAN AND ENJOYED

RUNNING IT EFFECTIVELY AT COPEHILL WEEKENDERS”


RED CELL

AK COMMENTS

LCT LCKMS

Price: iro UK£370.00

Age: Seven Years

Weight: 3500g

Length: 660mm/900 mm

Magazine Capacity: 130, will accept most AK-style

Cold Chrono: 1.03 Joule/334fps

Hot Chrono: 1.01 Joule/331.8fps

Taclite Compatibility: None

Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW

Supplied By: www.fire-support.co.uk

E&L AKM PLATINUM


Age: Six Years

Weight: 3485g

Length: 916mm


Cold Chrono: 0.99 Joule/327.9fps




Supplied By: www.nuprol.com

BOLT AKS 74U BRSS


Age: Four Years

Weight: 3100g

Length: 510mm/730mm

Magazine Capacity: 120 (2), will accept most AK-style






LCT LCKS74UN EBB


Age: Four Years

Weight: 2685g

Length: 490mm/730mm



Hot Chrono: 1.01 Joule/330fps


Suppressor Compatibility: Dedicated Muzzle Brake


SPECNA ARMS J-08 EDGE


Age: Four Years

Weight: 3245g

Length: 590mm/825mm

Magazine Capacity: 130 (2) will accept most AK-style





Supplied By: www.gunfire.com

52


RED CELL

AK COMMENTS

a large proportion of their accessories allowed

me to experiment to my heart’s content and even

help out teammates set up theirs the way they

liked. As much as I said I won’t go into detail

here, the shorty-MOE was even handier and the

tracer unit on the front made for excellent indoor

and low light gameplay with mixed green/red

ammunition stacked in my mid caps to visually

indicate the last ten rounds in the magazine and

remind me to reload soon.

Consistency and accuracy of the LCT series

has been pretty good with mid-weight BBs such

as .30g or .36g helping me reach out without

even having to soup up the gearboxes much,

and the rear sight mounted red dot and modern

PP19 stock setup really worked well in CQB for

me. The LCTs without included MOSFETs could

leave a little to be desired in terms of gearbox

responsiveness in earlier models, but it seems

they’re increasingly getting on board the on board

electronics train at least.

Still by far not my favourite family of firearms,

but by no means unusable and impossible to

see me fielding, at least the 5.45 platforms use

magazines that are largely compatible with

STANAG load bearing gear or pouches thanks to

their gentler curvature.

Boycie: I’ve had AK’s from as far back as I can

remember, starting with the TM AK47 which would

out range the “oh so super” Systema PTWs of

the day! Yes, the BB would take it’s time to get to

the target but it was accurate. I’ve also owned

Specna Arms, Real Sword, LCT, KWA, Cyma,

Nuprol plus others, too many models to list.

For me it was my go to when playing OPFOR

as Bill mentions, but also when I just wanted to

use something different. Rocking up in jeans,

checked shirt, basic plate carrier and carrying the

AK was just really simple, even variants like the

SR47 back in the days of the hunting in Tora Bora

mountains. The only “sorta” AK I still have at the

minute is my KWA RN47. It won’t be long before a

“pukka” AK finds its way back into my kit for “just

when you have to go basic”…

Ben: I’ve had three AK platforms… two CYMA

make, AK47 and 74U... nothing special about

“WE CAN PICK UP VIRTUALLY ANY “FIREARM”, OR REPLICA THEREOF AND GET TO

SHOOTING IT! WHETHER YOU ARE AN AFICIONADO OF THE CLASSIC WOOD AND STEEL,

MINIMALIST MODELS OR THE MORE MODERN “TACTICOOL” RAILED AND TRICKED-UP

VARIANTS, THERE’S AN AK OUT THERE FOR EVERYONE!”


RED CELL

AK COMMENTS

CYMA CM.048 AK74


Age: Six Years

Weight: 3290g

Length: 960mm






Supplied By: www.taiwangun.com

ICS IK74 (WOOD)


Age: Eight Years

Weight: 3314g

Length: 960mm







SPECNA ARMS SA-J02 EDGE (GATE ASTER)


Age: One Year

Weight: 3545g

Length: 960mm

Magazine Capacity: 130 (2), will accept most AK style






TM NEXT-GEN RECOIL AK47 (TYPE 3) AEG


Age: One Year

Weight: 2800g

Length: 875mm

Magazine Capacity: 90





Available From: www.fire-support.co.uk

LCT LCKS-74


Age: Three Years

Weight: 3500g

Length: 705/945mm




Taclite Compatibility: A whole range of accessories are available!


Supplied by: www.lctairsoft.com

54


RED CELL

AK COMMENTS

them nor did I do anything to upgrade them. My

recommendation with these would be if your kid

or nephew is starting up airsoft and wants an AK

then these are perfectly fine for that!

The third one was a Tokyo Marui mini AK 47...

which was my very first AEG back in the days of

me getting into airsoft and when they first came

out… yes I’m that old and been playing since then

and just before! I’ll never forget being the first of

my friends having a fully automatic airsoft gun,

88 BB’s compared to their pistols of 12/15… I was

loving it!! I have very fond memories of that silly

little mini beast!

Miguel: I’m the proud owner of a Specna Arms

J08 EDGE 2.0, and in my opinion too, everyone

should have an AK in their “armoury”. At least

here in Portugal, there are plenty of games with an

OPFOR side, which most of the time are quite fun

to be a part of! Not only that, you get to test your

metal against those who always play in BLUFOR

and consider themselves the cream of the crop…

so let me tell you, winning has a special warm

feeling!

I’m very happy that Specna Arms have just

launched their tactical models, so I’m also

looking into something like a tactical AKSU.

The new tactical models look to have a solid

configuration that lets you jump straight into the

action right out of the box! First off, they feature

the SPECNA ARMS HAL system with magnetic

sensors, offering active brake, binary trigger, five

trigger sensitivity levels, six precocking levels,

and programmable fire modes.

You also get the new TDC Magnus rotary hopup

chamber, improved, sealed internals with

aluminium nozzle, 6.03 mm precision inner

barrel, quick spring change system, and there’s of

course an excellent “in house” S-MAG magazine

included, although I’ve run mags from other

manufacturers in my existing J-SERIES model!

Update on this… my new Specna Arms AK just

arrived with me, so watch out for a full review on

that soon!”

Bruno: AKs yes... hehehe! So I own a LCT AK

74U AEG, gotta say it’s awesome, and with little

“WHEN IT CAME TO MILSIMS AND MY LATTER YEARS IN THE UK I RELENTED AND

FINALLY PURCHASED THE MARUI NGRS AK102 ALONG WITH MY TEAM HONEY

BADGERS TEAMMATES IN AN ORDER DIRECT FROM ECHIGOYA IN JAPAN AND ENJOYED

RUNNING IT EFFECTIVELY AT COPEHILL WEEKENDERS”


RED CELL

AK COMMENTS

CYMA CM.076A


Age: Five Years

Weight: 3000g

Length: 530/740mm




Taclite Compatibility: KeyMod



NUPROL ROMEO NOMAD BRAVO


Age: Six Years

Weight: 3500g

Length: 805/875 mm



Hot Chrono: 1.03 Joule/333.5.9fps

Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK



ICS CXP-ARK


Age: Three Years

Weight: 3365g

Length: 638/884mm


Cold Chrono: 0.87 Joule/307.4.1fps


Taclite Compatibility: Railed Polymer Foregrip


Supplied By: www.icsbb.com

TOKYO MARUI AK102 RECOIL


Age: Eight Years!

Weight: 2960g

Length: 602 - 848mm

Magazine Capacity: 90, 480 Hi-Cap Available

Cold Chrono: 0.95Joule/320fps

Hot Chrono: 0.97Joule/324fps

Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail Sections



BOLT AKS74U-TACTICAL


Age: Two Years

Weight: 3600g

Length: 710/800mm






Supplied By: www.bolt.tw

56


RED CELL

AK COMMENTS

changes like the hop up rubber, changing the

gears from 18:1 to a set of 16:1 and a high torque

40k motor, its super awesome; I’ve yet to upgrade

the inner barrel and add an ETU, but as it sits,

awesome little replica!

I also have a GHK AK 74NN that I converted to

look like an AK103; I 3D printed an RK3 grip and

extended bolt handle, and added a buffer tube to

be able to slap a crane stock with the fluorescent

yellow paint for Portugal. I made a few mods to

a Cyma railed dust cover to be adapted to the

GHK , fixed a tubular handguard with a railed gas

tube and internally only added a maple leaf hop

up chamber with a Crazy Jet inner barrel and it’s

done!

Dan: My third airsoft purchase many years ago

ended up being an AK. Back then, our airsoft

group was pretty frequently doing OPFOR stuff,

especially acting in the role for the National

Guard and ROTC at FTX’s, so there was some

emphasis on “dressing the part” so to speak.

This was a Real Sword Type 56-1 underfolder,

as classic a bad guy gun as you can get, and it

carried me on many an occasion when I couldn’t

haul my Real Sword SVD out.

Since then, I’ve owned plenty more AK’s, from

multiple examples of Real Sword’s entire Type

56 series (56, 56-1 and 56-2) to an LCT AKM, LCT

AKMSU, LCT AKS-74U, LCT AK105, and an E&L

Platinum AKM and WE AK74UN GBB (which was

the absolute worst AK I’ve owned, BTW). Being a

full-time tech, I’ve also had my hands in the guts

of most every other brand of AK out there.

For me, the AK design is much like the rock

standing solid amidst the flowing stream. Nothing

in the M4 / AR-15 realm imbues the same sense

of solidity the AK does, especially when you’re

working with the brands that use full steel

externals.

The Version 3 gearbox design is robust and

strong and over the fourteen years I have been

teching, I can count on exactly zero hands how

many shells I’ve seen break. By nature of the

hop up chamber being secured to the gearbox

shell and also to a rigid steel outer barrel, the V3

platform is also intrinsically accurate; with a little

tuning and a quality bucking and barrel, you can

get a real tack driver out of these.

Since I am primarily a semi-auto kind of guy,

my preference is to build an AK out for semiauto

response; with the advent of brushless

motors, these have become my go-to choice

for any AK build now. Brushless brings a ton of

advantages to the table, namely efficiency and

cooler operating temperatures. As most AK’s are

limited to stick style LiPo’s, a brushless motor will

gain you a lot more shots per battery charge and

operate more comfortably within the batteries

safe amperage draw threshold too. I usually like

to pair something like a 30K brushless with shortstroked

13:1 gears and do some modding to the

trigger to reduce length-of-pull. With this setup,

you can get down to around 12 - 13A continuous

draw and have excellent semi-auto response.

Of course, it’s no slouch on full auto either; so if

you want to pour on the heat, you can treat your

enemies to a sedate 25 RPS.

I don’t have a particular preference for classic

or modern AK’s, one way or another. While the

classics are indisputably beautiful (as much as

brutallist wood and steel amalgamations can be),

you can’t deny the advantages some modern kit

brings to the table either. Adhering strictly to the

“nyet, rifle is fine!” ethos is restrictive and in my

opinion, counter-culture to the freedom of choice

that is a core tenant of what airsoft is all about.

While I have philandered about with M4’s, MCX’s,

SCAR’s and many other platforms over the years,

I inevitably always find myself circling back to the

AK platform again and again…

Bill: So, to conclude this month it does indeed

seem that there is an AK for all tastes, whatever

your style of airsoft may be! If you want something

for CQB then some form of shorty SU is just the

“I DON’T HAVE A PARTICULAR PREFERENCE FOR CLASSIC OR MODERN AK’S, ONE

WAY OR ANOTHER. WHILE THE CLASSICS ARE INDISPUTABLY BEAUTIFUL, YOU CAN’T

DENY THE ADVANTAGES SOME MODERN KIT BRINGS TO THE TABLE EITHER. ADHERING

STRICTLY TO THE “NYET, RIFLE IS FINE!” ETHOS IS RESTRICTIVE”


RED CELL

AK COMMENTS

ARCTURUS AK-12 (GEN 1)


Age: Four Years

Weight: 3480 g

Length: 700/880/950 mm

Magazine Capacity: 30/130, will accept most AK-style






LCT LCK-12 EBB


Age: Six Years (nearly!)

Weight: 4215 g

Length: 865 - 955 mm


Cold Chrono: 1.08 Joule/336.7.9fps



Suppressor Compatibility: Dedicated


G&G GK12


Age: Three Years

Weight: 3565g

Length: 880-985mm

Magazine Capacity: 120, will accept most AK-style (no cutoff)

Cold Chrono: 1.06 Joule/339fps (after spring change)

Hot Chrono: 1.36Joule/384fps (original spring)



Supplied By: www.guay2.com

DOUBLE BELL AK-12 (MODEL 026)


Age: One Year

Weight: 2300g

Length: 885-995mm


Cold Chrono: 0.96 Joule/322fps (After Spring Change)





LCT ZKS-74UN


Age: Two Years

Weight: 3500g

Length: 467mm (Folded), 667/770mm






Supplied By: www.lctairsoft.com

58


RED CELL

AK COMMENTS

ticket, whilst a classic AKM/AK74 ticks a lot of

boxes for period/themed-scenario events, and

one of the more modern tactical variants will put

you right in the thick of things for a good MilSim

OPFOR tool.

I have to say that I love all of my AKs, but the

little CYMA that I built up from the 076A holds a

particular spot in my heart, as it’s the culmination

of my SU-fixation and has served me well, even

though I still keep messing about with it as parts

wear and break… the latest was a broken trigger

(broken in transit, even inside a hardcase) which

I’ve replaced with a racy flat-face job!

The LCT LCKMS (AKMS) is still a favourite

too, it’s an absolute tank of an AEG… apart

from regular cleaning and a new hop rubber

I’ve not done a thing to it from stock, and it’s

STILL performing brilliantly! LCT really do make

products that are not only cost effective but also

reliable in performance and solid in build quality,

and the LCKMS features the same high-quality

external build expected of LCT products which

will give good, reliable long-term performance. I

believe that the LCKMS is a strong, reliable AEG

for those that love the AK platform and want a

viable “MilSim” alternative to gas for the depth of

winter; you really can’t go wrong with this one!

Currently in my armoury I have an LCKM,

LCKMS, LCKS-74, LCKMSU (modified a little,

“True Lies” style!), and an LCK-12 and I adore

them all for different reasons, so sticking with

LCT my most recent acquisition brings things

completely up to date, it’s the ZKS-74UN.

LCT have now really taken this area to heart

with an entire sub-range of their “Z-SERIES”

parts that are purpose made to work with their

own AEGs (and fit some other brands too!). In

this range you can find anything from simple rail

sections to full handguards, pistol and foregrips,

stocks, muzzle brakes/flash hiders, and even sling

mounts with which to modernise your current AK!

However, if you don’t want to go to all the

trouble of installing accessory parts, or you’re

about to dip your toe into modern OPFOR AEGs

then look no further than the ZKS-74UN! Weighing

in at 3500g and at 770mm (667mm stock folded)

this neat little model comes pre-fitted with all

the base goodies that you could possibly want,

like the distinctive side-folding ZPT-1 stock (I’ve

always wanted one of these, and I bloody love

it!), ZTK-2 muzzle brake, and the ZB rail system;

it’s basically a “Modern Tac SU” in a box and just

needs an optic and taclite added to be good to go!

It is beyond doubt in my mind that LCT have

done more to popularise the “AK” AEG platform in

general than any other single manufacturer, and

thus far I’ve never had an LCT model in my hands

that didn’t deliver the goods in all ways. That said,

we’re constantly seeing manufacturers having

a crack at the venerable AK, and the likes of

Arcturus and now Specna Arms are really, really

moving forward strongly in this area.

Fact of the matter is that there’s never been

a better time to get yourself your very own slice

of “AK Life”, so go ahead and give it a try if you

haven’t already, as any of the models shown will

set you up and serve you very well indeed! AA

Red Cell is supported by:



KIT & GEAR

SPØØKY SOLUTIONS SLINGS

SLINGTIME

SWEETNESS

ONE OF THE REALLY FUN ASPECTS OF AIRSOFT IS THE SHEER AMOUNT OF

CUSTOMISATION OPTIONS AVAILABLE OUT THERE. FROM EXTERNALS TO

INTERNALS, THE SKY IS THE PROVERBIAL LIMIT, AND WE ALL LOAD OUR AEGS AND

GBBRS UP WITH THE THINGS WE LIKE MOST... BUT WE’RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR

SOMETHING UNIQUE AND FUNCTIONAL, AND DAN FINDS BOTH IN THE FORM OF

SPØØKY SOLUTIONS SLINGS!

62


KIT & GEAR


Being a sucker for such things, I often find

myself taking a few of my more special

builds and giving them an extra touch,

something a bit more bespoke and fitting with

the character of the gun, so to speak.

Lately, I have been having a fun time

discovering many of the little unknown shops

and small businesses that populate places

like Instagram, Facebook and others, and in

a way, these are shops that exist in a little bit

of a “frontier zone”, you might say. They do

not typically have a traditional website, or an

email address, and their sole existence seems

to largely be found primarily within the social

media ecosphere they find themselves residing

in.

When the relentless adjudication of the

algorithm isn’t putting its thumb down on

anything it finds disagreeable to its “community

standards” (i.e. guns, airsoft, et. al.) and

throttling post reach and page presence, you can

find some pretty unique variety out there in the

wilds. Case in point, the only reason I actually

discovered Spøøky Solutions was by way of

clicking on a username while reading comments

on an airsoft page I follow.

Spøøky Solutions is a small, one-man show,

created by a fellow airsoft tech that evolved out

of a matter of practicality that soon formed into

a passion project. After purchasing my slings, I

reached out to the owner for a request for review

and to learn a little bit about their backstory. As

“Spøøky Solutions Actual” relates:

“I was big into the MilSim/Airsoft scene. At

one point I was a well-known AEG tech. When

the COVID pandemic hit, my area unfortunately

took a big hit for airsoft. Most of the public fields

went out of business, and we haven’t had a large

MilSim event since March of 2020. Since the

pandemic basically killed MilSim in my area, I

changed gears towards real-steel collecting.

As my collection grew, I was spending more

and more on slings every time I built a new rifle,

as I’m a firm believer in “every rifle requires a

sling.” I’ve always preferred buying US-made

slings, but prices range from 60-120 dollars for

most US-made slings. I decided I could save

some money and make my own. I sourced some

US materials and hardware, an old household

sewing machine, and got to work on making a

few slings for my personal rifles. They turned out

really good considering my limited experience

and tools. So then I decided to invest in better

equipment.

“I purchased a Singer 591 D300AD industrial

machine from a good friend. Including a handful

of materials. I always hated that US companies

only made slings in five colors: Multicam, Ranger

Green, Coyote, Black, and Multicam Black. I

wanted more unique options. I wanted to give

people the same thing that I was looking for;

options. Not just more camo pattern options,

but strap color options, hardware options, and

even down to thread color options. And most

importantly, I wanted it to be affordable.

“The same reason I started making slings in

the first place was cost. I hated buying a US$70,

boring, ranger green sling, then getting hit with

another $10 for shipping. So I decided to offer

fully customized padded slings for $50 and free

shipping within the US (I only charge additional

for international). You can choose from 125+

(and growing) pad color options, multiple strap

colors, hardware types and colors, and even

choose your thread color!

“We even decided to get extra creative,

and come up with the first reversible sling. A

different camo on each side of the pad. The

sling can be disassembled and the pad flipped,

to show another camo of your choice. And

still offer it at the same price. This has proved

to be useful for customers in regions where

they require multiple camouflage patterns for

different seasons or environments. Long story

“SPØØKY SOLUTIONS IS A SMALL ONE-MAN SHOW CREATED BY A FELLOW AIRSOFT

TECH THAT EVOLVED OUT OF A MATTER OF PRACTICALITY THAT SOON FORMED INTO

A PASSION PROJECT. AFTER PURCHASING MY SLINGS, I REACHED OUT TO THE OWNER

FOR A REQUEST FOR REVIEW AND TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THEIR BACKSTORY”


KIT & GEAR


short, I wanted to offer fully custom, US-made

padded slings, with way more options than the

big tacticool companies, at a lower price, and sell

directly to the end user. And I believe that mission

has been accomplished, and continues to be

accomplished every day.”

EVERY RIFLE (OR AEG!) NEEDS A

SLING!

Indeed, there is a veritable wealth of patterns,

strap colors and more that can be perused over

on Spøøky Solutions Instagram page. And if by

chance there is something you’re interested in

that isn’t on the page, he probably has a picture of

it tucked away somewhere to give an idea of the

finished product.

For myself, I purchased two slings, with the

intention of refitting my Real Sword SVD and

PKM accordingly. Of course, some might say that

finding a sling done up in a unique camouflage

pattern is not hugely novel; there are several

companies offering this at varying price points

out there. As a counterpoint, I would argue that

none offer the sheer variety of patterns and

customisation that Spøøky Solutions do and at as

affordable a price-point, to boot. Moreover, I also

have not found any that are offering up Russian

camouflage patterns, for that matter, so as soon

as I saw he had Partizan and KLMK available, I had

to have them!

Spøøky Solutions slings are fabricated from a

mixture of components. The straps themselves

are made from MIL-W-17337 nylon webbing and

A-A-55301 nylon webbing. Depending on the

pattern and availability, the pads can be made

from 50/50 NyCo, 500D Cordura, 1000D Cordura,

and NyCo Twill/Cotton Twill. The hardware used

is MilSpec ITW Nexus and YKK - and you can even

special request either, if you have a preference.

Everything is stitched together using Tex-70 Nylon

thread. And for us US based Airsofters, they

really are a flat US$50 shipped per sling (add

reasonable shipping for international orders).

Remarkably, it only took five days from time of

placing my order to physically receiving the new

slings in the mail!

The padding that the Partizan sling is using

appears to be done in a 50/50 NyCo blend and

it feels amazingly soft and comfortable to wear

around the neck. I intended to run this specific

sling on my customized PKM, and that’s exactly

where it wound up.

Beforehand, I have been using a Blue Force

Gear padded VCAS sling for a couple of years

now. This is an excellent sling and about as

“bombproof”as they come, but the padded

portion itself left something to be desired. The

way Blue Force Gear folds the material and

stitches it together leaves a rough edge along

one side of the pad that unfortunately rubs raw

against your neck; I did not often like to wear it

without some kind of collar to protect my neck

from chaffing.

By contrast, the Spøøky Solutions sling feels

like heaven on the neck. The KLMK sling I opted

to hook up to my Real Sword SVD; being as it is a

‘retro’ camouflage pattern now, I felt suited the

personality of the SVD well.

FIELD USE

Of course, any modern sling these days typically

has some means of adjusting the length on the

fly. Personally, I am a massive fan of the VCAS’s

sliding style adjustment and consider it superior

to all else. By pulling forward on a short hand

strap, you can easily take up slack, stowing the

sling tight to your body, or by pulling it towards

your body, you can increase length to allow you

to shoulder the gun from either shoulder you’re

working off of.

I have briefly used slings that have a long

dangling strap used as their adjustment point, but

I really dislike that style as I found the strap tends

to get hung up on gear and thick foliage. I was

“I’VE ALWAYS PREFERRED BUYING US-MADE SLINGS, BUT PRICES RANGE FROM 60-

120 DOLLARS FOR MOST US-MADE SLINGS. I DECIDED I COULD SAVE SOME MONEY

AND MAKE MY OWN. I SOURCED SOME US MATERIALS AND HARDWARE, AN OLD

HOUSEHOLD SEWING MACHINE, AND GOT TO WORK…”

64


KIT & GEAR


happy to see that Spøøky Solutions elected to use

the same style of adjustment the VCAS slings do.

It goes without saying, you can also get the strap

done up in any color you like too.

These slings do not come with attachment

hardware, so in their native form you will only

be able to lace them through anything that has

at least a 1” wide sling loop available. For any

other type of attachment interface, you will need

to purchase your own components. Of course,

it is a simple matter to lace on a QD sling swivel

or HK hook in this case. The ITW hardware is

sufficiently sized to allow the strap to be laced

through the keeper, then back over and through

for added security. And if you make the jump to

QD hardware, this provides the benefit of being

able to easily transfer the sling to other platforms

too.

As of the writing of this review, I have only had

one opportunity to skirmish with the new slings,

and some extended wearing sessions while

filming video, but so far I have zero complaints

and am very happy with the build quality and

comfort. I will also add that it was nice to be able

to actually talk with the owner and get something

uniquely customised down to the individual

details. Much like him, I am fully in agreement

that “every rifle requires a sling”…- but why not

make it something unique while you’re at it?

You can check out Spøøky Solutions slings

at their Instagram page here: https://www.

instagram.com/spooky.solutions

This review was not a paid endorsement, nor

was it given freely of charge. I purchased these

slings with my own funds for my own personal

use. AA

“I WILL ALSO ADD THAT IT WAS NICE TO BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY TALK WITH THE

OWNER AND GET SOMETHING UNIQUELY CUSTOMISED DOWN TO THE INDIVIDUAL

DETAILS. MUCH LIKE HIM, I AM FULLY IN AGREEMENT THAT “EVERY RIFLE REQUIRES A

SLING”…- BUT WHY NOT MAKE IT SOMETHING UNIQUE WHILE YOU’RE AT IT?”


Airsoft Gas Blow Back (GBB) users often struggle with

year-round reliability due to gas power constraints.

“WHAT IF” there was an alternative?

WHAT IF...

You could use your gas blowback system all year round

Winter and Summer, the same way? Imagine consistent performance regardless of the weather, no

more struggling in the cold or worrying about performance dropping in the heat of battle.

You will not have cool down effect and can shoot full auto at the same fire rate?

Sustained fire rates without performance degradation would be a game-changer, especially in

scenarios requiring rapid engagement.

You could shoot at any angle, even upside down?

Shooting at any angle, even upside down, adds a new level of

tactical flexibility and dynamic gameplay possibilities.

Your mags will be lighter weight?

Reduced weight would decrease fatigue and improve handling,

especially during extended games.

You will have multiple ways to fill your mags?

More convenient filling options would increase efficiency,

and reduce cost, making it a more accessible, viable solution.

Temperature will not impact your gun's performance, same output?

This translates to reliable power across all conditions, meaning more accurate shots

and consistent groupings, improving gameplay significantly.

W H A T I F I T D O E S E X I S T . . .

R I G H T N O W !

The future of airsoft, today.

Regulated CO2 system.

Safety of Regulated CO2: Regulated CO2 ensures controlled power, eliminating the risk of overpowered output that

could damage your gun or cause it to exceed field safety regulations. The MaxTact system is regulated and set to

8kg (competition version/Japan standard) or 12kg (combat version/ commonly used green gas) power, and can’t

be adjusted.

6MM TRAINING

SETTING UP YOUR CARBINE #2

RUNNING

THE GUN

68


6MM TRAINING


ONCE AGAIN WE’RE JOINED BY OUR GOOD MATE AND SHOOTING INSTRUCTOR

ANDY N FROM CALIBRE SHOOTING WHO CONTINUES HIS JOURNEY WITH US IN

RELATION TO ALL THINGS “TACTICAL CARBINE”; THIS MONTH HE TAKES A LOOK AT

GRIP, STANCE, AND HOW TO SET UP A SIMPLE “HOME RANGE” TO PRACTICE THOSE

ALL-IMPORTANT SKILLS AND DRILLS!

In my last article we looked at configuring

the carbine to suit our personal shooting

style, this month I want to press on with the

basic understanding of your chosen platforms

functions and start practising some basic drills

but, before we can start to “run the gun” we must

first acquaint ourselves with the basic rules of

safe “gun handling”, and this applies to airsoft

just as it does to any shooting discipline:

• Treat all guns as loaded.

• Never point to going to anything that you are

not willing to destroy.

• Keep your finger off the trigger until you

intend to shoot.

• Be sure of your target on what is beyond.

These rules were developed by the late and

much venerated Colonel Jeff Cooper (Google

him!) and can be found on almost every range

in the world. They are the most important set of

rules that you will ever need during your shooting/

training sessions, but they also firmly apply on

the battlefield. Once you have grasped the safe

handling rules you can start to practice shooting

the carbine and the first thing we have to get right,

is the hold.

Anyone can pick up a carbine or rifle and point

it at a target, but to successfully hit the target

depends on how you hold it and manipulate it

and, first off we need to know which hand is your

“strong hand”. This is the hand that you pull the

trigger with and is usually your “dominant” hand,

probably (but not always) the one you write with.

For this article we will presume that your right

hand is the dominant (left-handed players can

just reverse the process).

You will need to hold the carbine grip with a

firm grip but do not squeeze the hell out of it. Your

“weak hand”, or the hand that is going to support

the front of the carbine, will need to be placed out

to the front of the platform. There are many ways

in which this can be done.

The traditional “straight grip” of holding the

forestock or rail system directly will ultimately

cause stress in the wrist which will result in

fatigue over long periods of time, as it is not a

natural position in which to hold the platform.

The use of a vertical foregrip will allow the wrist

to relax and give better support to the platform,

as well as providing a positive “index point”.

The further forwards the grip is on the platform

will also cause fatigue in the arm and shoulder,

so further back towards the magazine well the

better, as you can tuck in the elbows and pull the

grip tighter into the shoulder.

The butt plate on the stock should be

positioned deep into the well of the shoulder, but

here lies a problem with body armour. The body

armour will not provide that natural pocket for

the stock to ride in. The need to customise the

body armour is up to you but be aware that body

armour will make a difference to the hold and

you may find the stock of your weapon “walking

away” from its correct position.

The side of the stock itself provides a smooth

surface for your cheek and this is known as the

“cheek weld”. The head should be kept as upright

as possible and tight to the stock. The eye should

be approximately 25mm away from your sights

(on tube sites), known as “sight relief”. Gain

a comfortable hold on cheek weld then have

someone adjust your sight relief if it needs moving

and that’s pretty much about it on actually

“ANYONE CAN PICK UP A CARBINE OR RIFLE AND POINT IT AT A TARGET, BUT TO

SUCCESSFULLY HIT THE TARGET DEPENDS ON HOW YOU HOLD IT AND MANIPULATE IT

AND, FIRST OFF WE NEED TO KNOW WHICH HAND IS YOUR “STRONG HAND””


6MM TRAINING


holding and aiming the combine, it’s not rocket

science at this stage.

POSITION IS ALL

Next up is your position; this is how we stand

when taking the shot. There are a multitude

of different positions but as we are only at the

basic stage of running the gun we will look at the

“traditional” standing position for now.

First off, place both feet approximately

shoulder width apart. The “weak side” foot needs

to be slightly forwards of the strong side foot,

around one step. This will turn the left hip slightly

forwards towards your intended target. Slightly

bend the left knee and keeping your back upright

and stable (if you take the carbine away and keep

in this position you will notice that you’re in a

similar stance to a boxer). The right leg should be

straight, with the foot slightly turned out to the

side.

Once completed the body should stand

about 45° angle to the target. To aid in the recoil

management the shoulder can be brought

forward slightly but not too far as to overbalance

past the right knee.

When you bring the carbine up into that aim

you will notice that the platform is lying slightly

across your body to the left; this is a more natural

position to stand in and aim the platform at the

target without any undue physical effort… this

is the traditional “offhand” stance. The less

physical, or muscle, energy you exert during the

firing process, the less tired you will become

during the aim, thus greatly increasing your

chances of accurately hitting the target. Now it’s

time to run the gun.

We will presume that the platforms sighting

system is zeroed at this stage, as I want to get you

into some shooting drills (at the end of this article

I will show you how to set up a simple range at

“WHEN YOU BRING THE CARBINE UP INTO THAT AIM YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE

PLATFORM IS LYING SLIGHTLY ACROSS YOUR BODY TO THE LEFT; THIS IS A MORE

NATURAL POSITION TO STAND IN AND AIM THE PLATFORM AT THE TARGET WITHOUT

ANY UNDUE PHYSICAL EFFORT… THIS IS THE TRADITIONAL “OFFHAND” STANCE”

70


6MM TRAINING


home in your garden). Stand on the firing point

and load and make ready your carbine in the way

that suits your particular platform. Remembering

all of the safety rules we looked at earlier, take

careful aim at your target and release the safety

catch and fire one “round” at the target. Apply the

safety catch and bring the platform down into a

resting position, then relax.

Once you are ready, perform the same drill

over and over, remembering the safety rules at

all times and remembering to reset the safety

catch after each shot. The drill, although slow and

simple, will get you familiar with your platforms

operation and feel.

The second drill I want to do is for you to have a

small table next to the firing point with the carbine

set on it, along with the magazine. This drill will

start by you picking up the carbine (remember

the safety rules!) load your platform and fire one

“round” into the target. Apply the safety catch and

fully unload the platform before setting it back

down on the table. Repeat this drill until you are

confident in your actions. This second drill will get

you familiar with gaining a correct stance, correct

hold and grip and also help familiarise you with

the loading and unloading process, a must for any

airsoft Safe Zone.

I know what you are thinking here, “I can

already do that!” Well yes, so can I but these

drills help you keep on top of your game. How

many times have you returned fire and had to

readjust your stance and grip? Simple drills like

these help gain confidence and consistency in

marksmanship… never be afraid of going back to

basics!

If you have a garden that is secluded and safe

enough to set up your own range then that’s

great; a word of advice though, be sure to let your

neighbours know that you’re practicing with your

airsoft platform and that you’re just shooting BBs

for fun so as not to alarm them unnecessarily. If

you don’t have a garden that’s safe enough, then

you can still set this range up in your garage or

home, just follow those rules and think of how

you appear to non-shooters… probably best not

to be in full “battle rattle” at this stage, although

training in your kit will come later.

Set up a “round/BB catch” (any receptacle that

will catch BBs will do) at around chest height and

mark back up range 3m, 6m, and 9m; use cones

or flags to mark these distances, and if you like an

old doormat can be placed at these points for you

to stand on to make them totally clear. Make sure

that you load and make ready the carbine only

when you are on the mat. Use a bull clip on the

round catcher to secure the target to the catcher

itself. The use of A5 sized paper in the landscape

orientation is a good target size that matches the

thoracic cavity (the target size of the chest).

If you have access to an electronic target

system like AttackSense then so much the better

but remember to start with you’re only going to be

using a single target set at chest height… all the

clever gubbins can come later! Whatever target

you use, just run the drills slowly and get used to

the feel of your own platform.

Now we’ve got some proper basics in place,

next month I’ll move things up a gear… just

remember those cardinal rules and work to them.

With those in place and mentally logged you’ll be

good to go and welcome on any range you visit.

AA

“JUST REMEMBER THOSE CARDINAL RULES AND WORK TO THEM. WITH THOSE IN

PLACE AND MENTALLY LOGGED YOU’LL BE GOOD TO GO AND WELCOME ON ANY RANGE

YOU VISIT.”


CLICK/TAP IMAGES FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE MILITARY1ST WEBSITE

TECH

PARD PANTERA 256Q THERMAL OPTIC

ALL THE

RIGHT

NIGHT

MOVES

AS AIRSOFTERS WE’RE ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR INNOVATIVE GEAR THAT

CAN ELEVATE OUR GAME, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE THRILLS OF NIGHT

GAMES. THERMAL OPTICS HAVE BEEN A TOPIC OF GROWING INTEREST, AND THE

PARD PANTERA 256Q IS A DIGITAL THERMAL OPTIC THAT, ALTHOUGH PRIMARILY

MARKETED FOR HUNTING, HAS SOME SERIOUS POTENTIAL FOR AIRSOFT USE! OUR

NEWEST “RECRUIT” BRUNO TAKES A LOOK AT WHO PARD ARE, WHILE JASE GIVES

A BREAKDOWN OF FEATURES, PERFORMANCE, AND HOW THE PANTERA 256Q

COULD FIT INTO YOUR LOADOUT.

74


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As we saw at IWA this year, PARD has come

out with a really cool-looking thermal

scope. Actually, for those who aren’t that

used to thermals, you’d say by the looks that this

isn’t even a thermal scope. But before we jump

into it, let me introduce you to their history and

mission.

Before Jase gets into the exciting aspects

of the PARD Pantera 256 Q, let me ask you to

pause for a moment to appreciate the company

producing this ground-breaking product.

PARD Technology isn’t just another optics

firm; they are at the forefront of night vision and

thermal imaging technology and are

known for providing superior quality,

accurate, and cutting-edge devices.

performance and reliability.

• 2018: Introduced the NV007 night vision

clip-on, a resounding success that sold

over 100,000 units.

• 2021 & 2022: Winner of two consecutive

“Night Vision Product of the Year” awards

at the Great British Shooting Awards,

solidifying their position as a market

leader.

Such enthusiasm for innovation has also

fuelled overseas development, with offices

around the world, placing PARD within reach

of customers globally. Their commitment to

excellence is also seen in their constant

pursuit of perfection, always pushing the

boundaries

of what is

Whilst PARD has fostered a top

reputation among hunters, providing shooters

with the means they require to perform at the

highest level, their technology applies beyond

the disciplines of any sport. Their focus on

innovation and performance has enabled

them to design flexible and useable products

well-suited for a wide variety of applications,

including the most demanding of shooting

disciplines, our own beloved airsoft.

The history of PARD began in 2010, based

on a passion for developing high-quality

optic-electronic products. Their dedication to

research and development has resulted in a

series of ground-breaking products:

• 2013: Introduced their first thermal

imaging product, which was extensively

embraced by outdoor users.

• 2015: Launched their first night vision

product, a new standard in terms of

possible in night

vision and thermal imaging technology.

PARD’s mission is straightforward; to

equip individuals with better night vision and

thermal imaging technology. They want to

provide cutting-edge technology that optimizes

performance, allowing users to have the

precision and confidence to perform at their

best in any given situation. It’s not just about

the technology; it’s about the experience,

confidence, and being able to perform at your

best!

PARD’s vision for the future exceeds even

their current success; they see themselves as

a global industry leader, not only distinguished

for their technology but also for their relentless

pursuit of customer satisfaction. They are

committed to forming long-term customer

relationships, working constantly to improve

their products and deliver superior value.

“PARD TECHNOLOGY ISN’T JUST ANOTHER OPTICS FIRM; THEY ARE AT THE

FOREFRONT OF NIGHT VISION AND THERMAL IMAGING TECHNOLOGY AND ARE KNOWN

FOR PROVIDING SUPERIOR QUALITY, ACCURATE, AND CUTTING-EDGE DEVICES”


TECH


While PARD’s origins are rooted in the realm

of hunting, the accuracy and versatility of their

technology puts it in the most advantageous

position to meet the tactical needs of airsoft

players and shooters. The PARD Pantera 256 Q

is the ultimate embodiment of this adaptability,

providing premier performance to a new platform.

It’s a testament to PARD’s commitment to

innovation and to their ability to provide quality

solutions to a wide range of applications.

GETTING HANDS ON

Jase: I do love a good optic, and I am a bit of an

“NV Fanatic”, so when the chance came to work

with Bruno and look into the pre-production

sample of the PARD Pantera 256Q it brought

together two areas that I really enjoy… good glass,

and the ability to operate more effectively in

night-time scenarios! I thought, therefore that it

would be sensible after having “hands-on” with

the optic to break things down.

Design and Weight: The PARD Pantera 256Q

is incredibly lightweight, especially compared

to traditional analogue optics. This is due to

its digital nature, it doesn’t require the glass

components of standard optics. The absence of

these heavier components makes it an excellent

choice for players who need to minimise weight

during long sessions. The unit’s dimensions are

295mm x 82mm x 70mm. Once mounted it still

feels surprisingly light while making the transition

of the rifle up to the shoulder and such and ease.

Visual Quality and Display: The unit boasts

an impressive OLED screen with a resolution of

1024x768, providing sharp and crisp visuals. The

256x192 pixel sensor contributes to the clarity of

the thermal image, making it easy to spot targets

within the 50m to 100m range during controlled

testing. For those in the airsoft world, this

range is typically ideal for mid-to-long distance

engagements. The OLED display ensures that you

get a clear, detailed view of your surroundings,

“WHILE PARD’S ORIGINS ARE ROOTED IN THE REALM OF HUNTING, THE ACCURACY

AND VERSATILITY OF THEIR TECHNOLOGY PUTS IT IN THE MOST ADVANTAGEOUS

POSITION TO MEET THE TACTICAL NEEDS OF AIRSOFT PLAYERS AND SHOOTERS”

76


TECH


whether in greyscale or thermal mode. There

are five different viewing options that cater to

various conditions.

Zoom on the Pantera 256Q offers

several levels—2x, 4x, 6x, and 8x—to

help focus on distant targets. This

zoom can be quite useful, though

it’s worth noting that

holding the optic

steady can

be tricky, especially

at higher zoom levels. For

airsoft players, this could be an

issue while in active play, it could be a challenge.

For those who will be using the 256Q for hunting

will most likely have a tripod or stand and negate

the issue. One aspect to note is that the 1x setting

feels closer to 2x, which could make some airsoft

users feel slightly off-put by the field of view.

Fortunately, PARD has acknowledged this and

mentioned that this could be adjusted in the final

product.

Performance and Features: The 256Q is

not without its quirks; when switching between

modes, there were moments of lag or freezing,

particularly when raising the rifle after running.

While this could be a deal-breaker in the heat

of an airsoft game, it’s worth considering that

this is still a pre-production sample. As the unit

approaches final production, it’s likely that these

issues will be resolved. Another key feature is the

onboard recording and photo capture function,

with a generous 32GB of internal storage. This

allows players to record gameplay or capture

images to review later, adding a unique aspect to

airsoft, players can

relive those key moments

and share them with

friends. For those

interested in a bit of social

media content, this feature is certainly appealing.

While Night Testing I had my NVGs with me.

I had the opportunity to test the Pantera 256Q

in low-light conditions and was impressed by

its performance. The thermal mode allowed for

excellent target identification in the dark, and the

transition between greyscale and thermal was

seamless when tracking targets in low-visibility

environments. The clarity was particularly

noticeable at night, with the thermal imaging

providing a significant advantage when spotting

enemies.

The screen’s resolution helped bring a level

of detail that’s often missing from lower-end

thermal optics, making it a strong contender for

night games or tactical scenarios. During my

night testing, I was also running my Gen3+ PVS14

night vision monocular (NVG’s) alongside the

Pantera 256Q, and I was pleased to find that the

two units worked together very well.

However, I did notice some potential issues

with splashback from the OLED screen.

I deliberately ran the optic without the eyecup

to see if this would be the case, and indeed, the

bright OLED screen caused some noticeable

reflection. This could potentially give away the

position of a player using the 256Q to others

equipped with NVGs. It’s something I’d like to test

further in a MilSim environment to see if this issue

remains true under more dynamic conditions, as

“THE PARD PANTERA 256Q IS INCREDIBLY LIGHTWEIGHT, ESPECIALLY COMPARED TO

TRADITIONAL ANALOGUE OPTICS. THIS IS DUE TO ITS DIGITAL NATURE, IT DOESN’T

REQUIRE THE GLASS COMPONENTS OF STANDARD OPTICS. THE ABSENCE OF THESE

HEAVIER COMPONENTS MAKES IT AN EXCELLENT CHOICE”


TECH


it could have significant implications

for stealth and positioning during night

time operations.

The Pantera excels in its thermal

detection, with the ability to sense

objects up to 1200m away. While I

have yet to test this full range, the

fact that it can pick

up targets easily

at 50m to 100m

suggests that it can

handle mediumrange

engagements

quite well. However,

it’s important to note

that the optic struggles

to see through glass.

Bruno’s wealth of knowledge

tells this is common with

thermal optics, as they rely

on detecting infrared radiation,

which is blocked by glass surfaces.

With recoil resistance and durability in

mind, PARD claims that the Pantera has a

recoil resistance of up to 6000j, which is quite

impressive given that a real AR/M4’s recoil is

about 8j. The level of recoil tolerance should

ensure that the optic holds up well under airsoft

combat and MilSim environments even when

mounted on the kickiest of GBBRs. It’s built to

withstand the recoil from a variety of firearms,

so for our purposes, it’s reassuring to know that

it can take the bumps and shakes of a highintensity

airsoft game.

The 256Q also features connectivity options

through the PARD app, which allows you to view

the thermal visuals on your iPhone or Android

device. While the pre-production sample had

some lag, this feature could be incredibly useful

for team coordination or for players who want

to review their shots in real-time. We can expect

improved functionality in this regard. As the

product nears its final release, I am informed that

the Pantera will go to production at the

end of May, meaning we could see units

drop on shelves for Autumn.

While the PARD Pantera 256Q is

primarily designed for hunting, it

shows significant potential for airsoft,

especially with its impressive display,

lightness and longrange

detection

capabilities. The

ability to record

footage, coupled

with decent zoom

functionality, makes

it a standout in the

thermal optic category.

If PARD can address the minor

issues, such as lag and mode

switching freeze, the final product

could be a great fit for airsoft players

looking to add a new layer of strategy

and visibility to their gameplay.

JC out…

GETTING THE LOWDOWN

Since we have tested and written our article,

Hans from PARD kindly addressed some of our

points with explanations and reasoning, and we’ll

reproduce his comments here verbatim to avoid

any confusion.

As regular readers will know we don’t adjust

our articles as we feel fairness and neutrality is

what makes Airsoft Action a trusted source within

our community, but as this is a pre-production

model, it’s only fair that we let PARD make some

sound comments in response to the initial

comments, which Jase shared with them for

exactly this reason.

Magnification Discrepancy: The

magnification shown on the device refers to

digital magnification rather than true optical

magnification. We understand this can cause

“THE LEVEL OF RECOIL TOLERANCE SHOULD ENSURE THAT THE OPTIC HOLDS UP WELL

UNDER AIRSOFT COMBAT AND MILSIM ENVIRONMENTS EVEN WHEN MOUNTED ON

THE KICKIEST OF GBBRS. IT’S BUILT TO WITHSTAND THE RECOIL FROM A VARIETY OF

FIREARMS, ...IT CAN TAKE THE BUMPS AND SHAKES”

78


TECH


confusion, especially for users expecting a true

1x view. That said, this is something we can

potentially adjust via software updates in future

iterations.

Mode Switching Freezing: What you’ve

experienced is actually a normal behaviour

in thermal imaging devices. The momentary

“freezing” you noticed comes from the shutter

correction (NUC – non-uniformity correction)

process, which ensures the sensor maintains

optimal performance during prolonged use.

However, there is a shutterless mode available

in the settings menu that reduces the frequency

of this correction – especially useful in scenarios

where continuity is critical, like tracking a moving

target.

Zoom Stability: Thank you for highlighting this;

we’re looking into potential improvements here.

In the meantime, we’d also love to hear if you

have any suggestions on how we might improve

aiming stability further for users on the move.

Streaming Latency: The lag in the live view you

experienced is indeed something we’re working

to improve. The sample you tested is a preproduction

unit, and we’re currently optimizing

WiFi performance in the final production

version to ensure a more stable and responsive

experience.

OLED Splashback: The screen light leakage

can be minimized by using the standby mode,

which powers off the display without shutting

down the whole device. That said, for maximum

stealth in night operations, we still highly

recommend using the eyecup to prevent any

potential light exposure.

As the Pantera 256Q moves toward its final

release, we’re excited to see how it performs in

a full-on, live airsoft game. Keep an eye out for

future updates as we hope Bruno and Jase will be

back to test the final production version of this

unit further! AA

“SINCE WE HAVE TESTED AND WRITTEN OUR ARTICLE HANS FROM PARD KINDLY

ADDRESSED SOME OF OUR POINTS WITH EXPLANATIONS AND REASONING, AND WE’LL

REPRODUCE HIS COMMENTS HERE VERBATIM TO AVOID ANY CONFUSION.”


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TECH

OAKWOOD MACHINE WORKS BRANCH

INHERENT

STABILITY

SOMETIMES THERE’S A PIECE

OF GEAR YOU’VE HELD ONTO

WELL PAST ITS EXPIRATION DATE

FOR LACK OF BETTER OPTIONS.

WHILE YOU’VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE IT

WORK, THE NUMBER OF SHORTCOMINGS IS NOT

ALWAYS FULLY REALIZED UNTIL SOMETHING BETTER

ACTUALLY COMES ALONG AND BLOWS THE LID OFF

THE CHARADE. SUCH HAS BEEN DAN’S EXPERIENCE WITH

NURSING ALONG THE WILCOX PVS-14 J-ARM FOR MANY YEARS,

NOW HE OFFERS A SOLUTION TO HIS WOES.

BUT

AND

82


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Okay, my circumstances are

somewhat unique; my night vision

setup consists of a Gen. 3 MVM-

14 Pinnacle, which is housed inside of a

MUM-14 style housing.

For the unfamiliar: the

MUM-style housing

was developed

as a 35% lighterweight

alternative to

compete against the

PVS-14. This new housing

also offered improvements

in environmental resistance

specifications and optical clarity, as well as the

ability to take common AA or CR123A cells.

Here, in the United States, MUM-type units

found favor with some notable three letter

agencies in the US and other select groups.

They were also relatively popular on the export

market, with many examples spotted in the

hands of European counter-terrorism units and

having even been seen in the hands of Russian

SF units.

Perhaps the one linchpin to the MUM housing

was the use of the mini-rail mount, which

ran contrary to the relative industry standard

which was based around the long-established

dominance of the PVS-14. And despite finding

relative commercial success, this probably

contributed greatly to the aftermarket sleeping

on providing accessories to the MUM platform.

Consequently, for many years you only had

the issued plastic J-Arm and USGI “Rhino”

mount to select from, itself a simple adaptation

of the basic J-Arm and helmet mount the PVS-14

has been issued with since at least 2000… the

Rhino mount itself being significantly older yet!

Anyone who has spent time with this ensemble

on either the MUM or PVS housings is well aware

of its shortcomings.

Serviceable as it is, the entire thing is a

wibbly-wobbly, old-timey-wimey mess of

compromises. It wasn’t until some years later

that a third-party manufacturer developed an

adapter plate that would allow you to switch out

to the Wilcox ecosystem, the L4 G24 and J-Arm,

respectively. Back then at least, this felt like a

quantum leap when coming from the old USGI

system.

Better as it was, there were still issues with

this setup, however. The Wilcox components

were, after all, designed primarily around the

PVS-14 housing. The adapter plate limited the

ability to actually swing the monocular from one

eye to the other and hope for things to line up

(they didn’t). Additionally, the J-Arm itself had

only two positions for pivoting and aligning the

unit to your eye, neither of which is quite right.

The adapter plate made by HFG Manufacturing

(whom now appear to be defunct) was also

problematic. A chief issue was this could pivot

on the large thumb screw the Wilcox J-Arm uses

to attach to the adapter plate. Despite all of this,

you could forgive it, because it was still better

than the Rhino mount.

ENTER OAKWOOD

Fast forward to 2025 and whilst sleepily

browsing the new items section on Amped

Airsoft late one night, I spied an interesting new

J-Arm from Oakwood Machine Works, dubbed

simplistically: “The Branch.” What piqued my

curiosity even more was that they had a version

made specifically for mini-rail interfaces. Never

have I hit the “Add to cart” button so fast!

The Branch is an ingeniously simple design

machined out of 6061-T65 aluminum and

featuring two points of articulation joined around

a central linkage. On one end, you have the

common dovetail mount which will plug into

your Wilcox L4 G24 or other mounts that use

this interface. On the monocular side, you have

the option of selecting the PVS-14 screw mount

“FAST FORWARD TO 2025 AND WHILST SLEEPILY BROWSING THE NEW ITEMS

SECTION ON AMPED AIRSOFT LATE ONE NIGHT, I SPIED AN INTERESTING NEW J-ARM

FROM OAKWOOD MACHINE WORKS, DUBBED SIMPLISTICALLY: “THE BRANCH”…

NEVER HAVE I HIT THE “ADD TO CART” BUTTON SO FAST!”


TECH


or the mini-rail mount. The latter is perhaps the

most elegant and low-profile mini-rail attachment

I’ve seen yet.

The central linkage has been skeletonized for

weight savings and is offered in two styles, offset

or straight. I

would say for airsoft

use, most

will want to select

the

offset version

they’re correctly indexed and that you have not

lost the washers either.

The pivot point tension can be adjusted by

tightening or loosening the screws. Ideally you

want it to be fairly rigid so it doesn’t sag or flop

around, but still able to be freely moved into

the ideal position in front of your eye. You can

even lock it out entirely if you simply wanted it

to remain in a static position for all eternity. A

good litmus test of seeing if the tension

unless they

are perhaps using the G24 mount with the

extended rails. Depending on orientation, the

offset allows you to shift the entire monocular

either rearward or forward by approximately 1/2”

when used with the standard Wilcox L4 G24. For

us airsofters, this is advantageous as we’ll be

wearing eye protection, so gaining that 1/2” of

forward clearance for goggles or eye pro is hugely

appreciated.

As it ships, the Branch comes with the linkage

setup to shift the monocular closer to the eye;

this would actually be fine if you didn’t wear eye

pro, but adding that into the mix and you quickly

run out of room on the G24 to shift the monocular

forward. With the linkage reversed, there’s plenty

of room to clear even the thickest of goggles

and still have room on the rails to make fine

adjustments.

It’s a simple affair to reverse the linkage,

fortunately, which is accomplished by removing

the two black socket-cap screws, flipping the

linkage around, and reattaching the screws. The

Branch has been cleverly designed to index the

retainer nuts for the screws so they cannot freely

spin. Still, a little care must be taken to ensure

is correct is to

take it for a run

and

see if you have any

issues

with the branch losing its

position.

The real beauty of this

J-Arm is

that it has vastly more

adjustment

available to it than the old

Wilcox J-Arm

ever did. Additionally, switching the monocular

between either eye is an absolute breeze, which

was not easily possible with the Wilcox J-Arm and

the JDAPT plate, both of which really limited how

you could set things up and align it to your eye.

Another feature I absolutely adore is how tight

you can stow the monocular to your helmet too;

no longer is it jutting out there like a unicorn horn.

You can tuck it in nice and tight alongside the G24

and your lid - whether you are running it from your

right or left eye.

Total weight of the Branch with the mini-rail

interface is 1.3oz, while the PVS-14 versions of

the Branch come in a little heavier at 1.53oz.

Comparably, the Wilcox J-Arm sits at 2.6oz with

the JDAPT plate. The product pictures for the

Branch do not really convey a sense of scale,

“THE CENTRAL LINKAGE HAS BEEN SKELETONIZED FOR WEIGHT SAVINGS AND IS

OFFERED IN TWO STYLES, OFFSET OR STRAIGHT. I WOULD SAY FOR AIRSOFT USE,

MOST WILL WANT TO SELECT THE OFFSET VERSION UNLESS THEY ARE PERHAPS

USING THE G24 MOUNT WITH THE EXTENDED RAILS”

84


TECH


suffice it to say that when you receive it, it’s

actually a lot smaller than expected and feels as

though it floated in on a cloud. I almost thought

I had received an empty box at first! Funnily

enough, it’s also packaged in a small bed of fake

moss, like a branch that’s fallen onto a forest

floor!

ROBUST AND SIMPLE

After showing some photos of the Branch to

friends, the question arose as to how sturdy it

seemed, and my only comparison is to the

aforementioned Wilcox J-Arm; on that, I

have broken the screw that adjusts

the vertical pivot multiple times

now.

A major flaw of

this design is the

tiny screw has

a hole drilled

through it

for a retainer

pin, which

weakens

the

integrity

of the

screw greatly.

Unfortunately,

Wilcox basically

does not

have a customer

support department

for us mere mortal civilians, so attempting to

source spare screws or request a repair is all but

impossible. I’ve gotten by with buying screws and

drilling them myself, but it’s always been a shortterm

bandaid, in my opinion.

By contrast, you can tell the Branch is a

much more robust (and simpler) design with

substantially beefier screws on the pivot points.

Based off my time with it, I have little doubt that

it will hold up for the long term. Notably, when I

had a question about reversing the linkage, the

owner responded promptly to my email inside of

24 hours… while *checks watch* it’s been quite a

few years with multiple emails and zero response

from Wilcox about getting their J-Arm repaired.

So in the rare event that I somehow managed to

break the Branch, I have every confidence that

I can at least reach a human being and get it

repaired.

I’ve been playing around with the Branch

nightly for close to a month now, and while I have

not

had an opportunity to

take it to an event yet,

I have never once

had the mount

loosen up or

present a failure

of function or

material. It’s

been easy to adjust,

stows out of the way

beautifully, and works

110% exactly as advertised.

Honestly, I wish this product

had existed sooner! All these

years later I have now

fully realized just how

handicapped the

Wilcox

and its

compromises

have been. This is a

fantastic piece of kit

for your monocular needs.

You can check out Oakwood

Machine Works at their website:

https://www.oakwoodmw.com

This review was not a paid endorsement, nor

was it given freely of charge. I purchased the

Branch with my own funds for my own personal

use. AA

“HONESTLY, I WISH THIS PRODUCT HAD EXISTED SOONER! ALL THESE YEARS

LATER I HAVE NOW FULLY REALIZED JUST HOW HANDICAPPED THE WILCOX AND

ITS COMPROMISES HAVE BEEN. THIS IS A FANTASTIC PIECE OF KIT FOR YOUR

MONOCULAR NEEDS”


KIT & GEAR

AGILITE LOAD SOLUTIONS

(AGI)LITE IS

RIGHT!

BEN HAS A BUSY OLD TIME WHEN IT COMES TO BEING “IN GAME” AND IS ALWAYS

LOOKING FOR KIT THAT DOES ITS JOB “JUST RIGHT”, NOT ONLY FOR HIMSELF

BUT ALSO FOR OTHER PLAYERS OF A SMALLER STATURE TOO. THIS MONTH HE

REFLECTS ON HIS TIME WITH SOME OF THE LATEST KIT FROM AGILITE, WHAT

WORKS FOR HIM, AND WHY!

Okay, my thoughts and experiences with

Agilite’s pincer placard open top elastic

5.56 triple mag pouch, plus the new multi

calibre mag pouch and the K-19 and K-ZERO plate

carriers...

I’ve had the K-19 for about two years with the

first triple 5.56 open-top elastic mag pouch and

I was mightily impressed, I’ll start with the mag

pouches... when I saw these being released I was

like okay, I need them in my life as it just makes

sense! The reinforced open top mag pouch? Well,

it just makes life easier when it comes to faster

reloads, and the fact you can insert and extract

a mag one-handed is cool, and with a little bit

of practice and muscle memory you can do it

literally blindfolded!

The well-designed elastic pouch was tested

to over 80,000 inserts before any kind of failure

was even apparent, and the ingenious design

of the reinforced open top makes inserting your

mags a breeze unlike other elastic pouches your

always fighting to just get it open. The first Pincer

Placard triple mag pouch was only designed for

AR/5.56 mags, but after this super-success Agilite

reached out to its supporters and asked what

mag-sized pouch should they make next; I can

only imagine the overwhelming response they

got!

I personally asked for a pouch to fit the 4.6 x 30

MP7 mag. Agilite was super on the ball with taking

on board with everyone’s different desires and

asks, so they stepped up the design of what they

already had and came out with the multi-calibre

Pincer Placard … and what a game changer this

is!

The lager reinforced open top allows for a 7.62

mag to nicely fit just as the 5.56 does, with the

next ingenious design a place-able insert divider

for smaller calibre mags; when put in the middle

of the pouch it allows for two Glock or similar

sized mags to sit lovely side by side, or if you’re

like me and want the slightly more awkward-sized

mags then if you just off set the insert divider

piece so you can get it to your desired size, and

have your MP7 mag or other in this one-stopshop

mag pouch and save yourself some money

on getting different QD mag pouch fronts for your

plate carrier. Honestly the Agilite multi-calibre

Pincer Placard is probably one of my best buys

when it comes to my equipment, making my

games far more enjoyable, efficient and effective

on the field and in battle.

PLATING IT UP

Now as for the plate carriers, both the K-19 and

K-ZERO are in my opinion above and beyond

almost all other carriers out there, both supermodular

and future-proof. Agilite didn’t just cater

their design for only their products, so they’re

adaptive to a multitude of other makers and quite

often cheaper.

The overall quality of both these plate carriers

86


KIT & GEAR

AGILITE LOAD SOLUTIONS

is of “Tier One SF” levels as they were designed

by Israeli and alongside US SF in today’s

current modern warfare sphere. Both these

plate carriers are currently fielded by Israeli

forces and no doubt being used elsewhere

around the world, although they serve the same

purpose they are designed for slightly different

approaches in combat.

The K-19 is of a more bulky design, yet with

comfort well in mind it’s thought of more as

the longer running ops carrier, well suited for

carrying pretty much all you could want and not

feel those awkward hot

spots after

a few hours of wearing

let alone days. If I

had to knock it in

any way, shape,

or form it would

be the shoulder

straps and some

of the clips the

way the straps

are placed...

they are of a

slightly wider

V-shape than

most other

carriers which

for me being

a short and

smaller framed

person has its

moments of

awkwardness,

like when kneeling

down the plate carrier

would lift slightly and

a strap would slide off a

shoulder.

Now this is only a personal issue and

probably wouldn’t affect 95% of others; as

for the clips they are made of a good plastic, but

one of mine was hit with a BB and it cracked.

Now I got hold of Agilite about this and they sent

me out a replacement clip but I also suggested

for future design to make clips like this with

metal and solve that issue, to which leads me on

to the K-ZERO

Again Agilite listened to their supporters

and had made this change with the clips and

shoulder straps! The K-ZERO is the more the actnow-fast-response

plate carrier style, slimmed

down with comfort still in place; they cut back

on particular comfort spots but still turned

them into a useful, well-thought out design by,

for instance, using comms cable-management

loops (or even for water lines), and then they

took a step further and looked at the body

structure and design of how the plate carrier was

to

sit and fit around the body more

naturally.

Things like the back

plate sits a little higher

than the front because

of your shoulder

blades so the curve of

the plate contours to

this, giving comfort and

protection where it’s

needed but stopping

the back portion of

the plate carrier from

sliding down your

back. The overall

thought and design

of the K-ZERO is

that next level and

for me is perfect!

Yes, it’s a slimmer

platform but that

really doesn’t take

away from it you can

still load this sucker up

if needed and keep that

more agile movement.

The K-ZERO is the plate carrier

for me with the multi-calibre Pincer

AGILITE K ZERO

Placard mag pouch as it just has enough

adaptiveness yet stays clean-lined and

looks pucker! I highly recommended everyone

to seriously look at Agilite’s multi-calibre Pincer

Placard mag pouch as it’s a top tier buy, you

can’t go wrong with it,...just make sure your

plate carrier is suitable, but otherwise get

yourself a K-ZERO to go with… job done! AA


AA LEGION

PORTUGAL

KIA V –

PMC FTW!

REGULAR FIXTURES IN OUR ANNUAL “AIRSOFT SCHEDULE” ARE STARTING TO KICK

PROPERLY INTO GEAR NOW, AND AS ALWAYS MIGUEL AND HIS FELLOW GHOT OPS

TEAM-MATES HAVE BEEN ON POINT, AND FULLY-IMMERSED IN-GAME ALREADY…

THEY HAVE RETURNED AGAIN TO “KIA”, AND MIGUEL BRINGS US ALL THE ACTION

FROM THIS YEAR’S GAME!

For the last three years, the “Killed in Action”

event (K.I.A.) has been a mandatory

presence for my team. It’s normally the

first major game of the year, and since it’s more

of a complex skirmish than a MilSim, it’s a great

way to start the year, especially when there are

new players in the team, which was our case!

So, we set out Sunday early towards the town of

Alenquer, but with the mandatory stop along the

way to get some breakfast in. Always remember,

it’s important to eat before a game!

When we reached the field, we were welcomed

by the typical “traffic jam”; everyone had to show

their ticket even before entering the parking

complex. Although all it takes is for the staff to

read the QR code, some players forget to have it

ready, and that creates a line of cars waiting to get

in. But, after a few minutes, we got in and parked.

Since we still had time, before fully gearing up,

I took a few moments to say hi to some players

that I know in our community, and of course to

the other members of my team. Like always,

seeing old faces and talking a shop for a while is

part of airsoft, a part that I very much enjoy.

But, in order to take advantage of us arriving

early, we geared up and hit the check in and

chrono, which was almost empty at the time. We

cleared the control points without any problems

or fuss, and then all we had to do was to wait

for the briefing. Of course, during that time, we

checked out the stands that were present, some

guys even picked up a couple of purchases from

a shop, and we hung out with many known faces

who had arrived in the meantime.

Since we were expecting rain, my loadout for

this event counted with the Viper Venom boots

(with waterproof treatment), the Invader Gear

MkII Predator, the MFH Level 5 PCU jacket (you

can see my review in ISSUE 172!), a Viper Tactical

Flex cap, the VX Multi Weapon System, and the

Specna Arms Prime P23.

During this time, we were also blessed by a visit

from the police, in this case, the department of

weapons and explosives, which is the authority

responsible for airsoft in our country. And of

course, this left many players on edge, mostly

because of past situations where the authorities

are there just to be picky and punish us. Our law

leaves room for many interpretations, even within

the authorities, so we never quite know what to

expect. In this case, they started to complain a

bit about the serial numbers of some replicas...

“BEFORE FULLY GEARING UP, I TOOK A FEW MOMENTS TO SAY HI TO SOME

PLAYERS THAT I KNOW IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND OF COURSE TO THE OTHER

MEMBERS OF MY TEAM. LIKE ALWAYS, SEEING OLD FACES AND TALKING A SHOP

FOR A WHILE IS PART OF AIRSOFT, A PART THAT I VERY MUCH ENJOY”

88


AA LEGION

PORTUGAL

and as we know, some brands, or even

models, don’t have a unique serial number!

Luckily, they dropped the subject, and no major

issue occurred...

BRIEFING AND GAME ON!

Soon after, it was briefing time,

so we moved to the location and

got under a tent, since it really

did start raining properly…

yes, it is not all sunshine in

Portugal! The K.I.A. events

have so far rotated between

rain one year and sun the next,

and this year, it was rain’s turn.

As the briefing went on, we

remembered those who were

part of our community but

are no longer with us, players

who most of us have known

throughout the years. So it’s

a heavy moment, followed

by a minute of silence.

The briefing itself was

short, since the ANA has the game

briefing in a podcast during the

week before, where the players

can ask questions live. There is

also a Telegram channel, where

the game information is placed

for all to see. We all knew that

K.I.A. is a “muscled” skirmish

game, with role-play, several

objectives and even active

military staff commanding

both factions. And this year

the game would pit a PMC

group working under a mining

company against a Special

Forces detachment with

orders to put a stop into it.

We were part of the PMC faction and, as

the briefing ended, we started heading towards

our HQ. As the team gathered, we divided

between our designated sections and the starting

missions were handed out. The guys and I were

part of the Delta Section, along a few friends from

the F.O.E. team and two independent players. Our

staring mission was

“SOON AFTER, IT WAS BRIEFING TIME, SO WE MOVED TO THE LOCATION

AND GOT UNDER A TENT, SINCE IT REALLY DID START RAINING PROPERLY…

YES, IT IS NOT ALL SUNSHINE IN PORTUGAL! THE K.I.A. EVENTS HAVE SO FAR

ROTATED BETWEEN RAIN ONE YEAR AND SUN THE NEXT, AND THIS YEAR, IT WAS

RAIN’S TURN”


AA LEGION

PORTUGAL

to activate and control one of the mining stations,

which were part of the main game objective. To

do that, first we had to escort the mining team to

their location, and then locate and retrieve

a device that

would activate the mining location.

Of course, things wouldn’t be that simple, on

our way we got in heavy contact with groups of

the enemy faction, who had the mission

of locating the possible mining locations.

And we didn’t have much choice but to

attack; our objective was to our front,

to our right we had enemy contact and

to our left we had a big drop! Going

around was either impossible, or timeconsuming,

so our section, with the

support of Charlie (who were assigned

the same mission) and a couple others,

started a strong push. And after some

complicated confrontations, we were

able to find a gap among the enemy and

push them hard; the enemy found itself

flanked in several areas, and we were

able to clear them out enough for the

mining team to reach the stipulated

area.

PUSHING ON

However, our goal was not yet complete! We still

had to find a device that would enable us to get

the mining location operational, so

that meant that we had to push even

further infield.... But this time, since

the location of the objective was far

from enemy movements, we had no

issue in locating our objective. While

it was easy to recover the objective,

bringing it back to the mining

location was another story!

The enemy made another push

toward their own goals, and we

had to drive them back. It was a

complicated fight, mostly because

we had few ways to advance and

flanking was out of question. So

as in other instances when all

else fails, we had to use brute

force, even if it meant taking a few “casualties”.

With that, we were able to reach the mining crew

and activate the location.

Now that the platform in our charge was active,

we were ordered to defend it and deliver what

the mining crew found and handed to us. Some

“WE GOT IN HEAVY CONTACT WITH GROUPS OF THE ENEMY FACTION, WHO HAD

THE MISSION OF LOCATING THE POSSIBLE MINING LOCATIONS. AND WE DIDN’T

HAVE MUCH CHOICE BUT TO ATTACK; OUR OBJECTIVE WAS TO OUR FRONT, TO

OUR RIGHT WE HAD ENEMY CONTACT AND TO OUR LEFT WE HAD A BIG DROP!”

90


AA LEGION

PORTUGAL

packages had to be delivered to our HQ, and

others to a nearby chemical lab. And that was

basically our game; our section along Charlie had

to control the spot and deliver the objectives to

the determined locations. It was a push and be

pushed game, we lost the control of the platform

a few times, and recovered it the same number.

But that wasn’t the only area in dispute, we

had two other mining locations that were also

under constant pressure. I’m also aware of some

special missions that dropped, but unfortunately

we weren’t part of those.

Another thing that was constant was the

rain, and I’m so glad for the MFH jacket that I

mentioned in my loadout, every time it started

raining, all I had to do was put on the hood and

I was good to go! In the end of the game I was

dry and ready for more! As the game ended, we

headed towards the Safe Zone, packed our gear

and waited for the roast pig to be ready… nothing

like some good soul food after a long game. There

were also a few giveaways from a few brands and

stores, but as luck dictated it, we got nothing!

Our thanks to the Associação Nacional de

Airsoft (ANA) for another great event! You can

check out what else they have going on this year

by visiting https://anairsoft.com, and I and my

fellow members of GHOST OPS hope that some

of you may come and join us in playing… who

knows what the next iteration of K.I.A will hold,

and are you up to the challenge? AA

“AS THE GAME ENDED, WE HEADED TOWARDS THE SAFE ZONE, PACKED OUR GEAR

AND WAITED FOR THE ROAST PIG TO BE READY… NOTHING LIKE SOME GOOD

SOUL FOOD AFTER A LONG GAME. THERE WERE ALSO A FEW GIVEAWAYS FROM A

FEW BRANDS AND STORES, BUT AS LUCK DICTATED IT, WE GOT NOTHING!”


RELOADED

VFC LAR BCM GBBR MCMR GBBR/AEG

FAL-URE

POINTS

STEWBACCA HAVING, LIKE MANY, EAGERLY AWAITED THE ARRIVAL OF VFC’S FAL

GBBR IN AUGUST 2022 NOW NEARS THE THREE YEAR MARK OF OWNING HIS OWN

AND USING IT IN A VARIETY OF ENVIRONMENTS FOR HIS INITIAL REVIEW BACK IN

ISSUE 143, AND AT MANY EVENTS OR REGULAR GAMES SINCE, AS WELL AS EVEN

IN A RIFLE COMPETITION DOWN IN THE SOUTH OF TAIWAN. SO WHAT ARE HIS

LONGER TERM THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCES?

The “emotional journey” is something I’ve had

a few times with VFC’s offerings over the last

few years, finally acquiring my own PSG-1

almost a year prior to my FAL, and more recently

at the time of writing finally getting my hands on

my own Walther PPKS.

Our friends at VegaForceCompany keep

knocking it out of the park with great releases

that really fit my own aesthetic or Cold War police

and military favourites, and the FAL (LAR in VFC

parlance) has always jostled its way to the top

of the “I love this gun” list alongside the PSG-1.

It seems the older you get, the more you begin

to appreciate ‘lorge boollet’ battle rifles and

derivatives thereof, rather than these modern

contrivances such as the 556 AR that seems to

be the new hotness that the allied world’s right

hands reach for these days.

Has it lived up to the hype? I would certainly

think so, The FAL is still a sturdy, trusty platform

that has seen plenty of use in the intervening

years beyond the initial review requirements;

I’ve used it numerous times in regular skirmish

days as a relatively lightweight (albeit somewhat

long) option that has sent heavyweight BBs out to

the roughly 70m range reliably and with an ever

present recoil impulse that shakes my cheeks

and brings a smile to my face.

It was my primary weapon of choice throughout

the POLK 3 MilSim on Taiwan’s East coast back

in ISSUE 153, as well as being adorned with all

of the eight magazines I managed to acquire…

which are still apparently in demand and shortage

overseas with many other loving FAL owners it

seems! It performed excellently with an ACOG

replica fitted, giving me a great deal of range in

terms of seeing OpFor and landing rounds on

them, with me and my Kiwi teammate crawling

ahead of our lines and throwing down towards

the end of one round, surrounded by our spent

magazines and with huge grins on our faces.

I also made use of it for the eight Kaohsiung

“THE FAL IS STILL A STURDY, TRUSTY PLATFORM THAT HAS SEEN PLENTY OF USE

IN THE INTERVENING YEARS BEYOND THE INITIAL REVIEW REQUIREMENTS; I’VE USED

IT NUMEROUS TIMES IN REGULAR SKIRMISH DAYS AS A RELATIVELY LIGHTWEIGHT

(ALBEIT SOMEWHAT LONG) OPTION THAT HAS SENT HEAVYWEIGHT BBS OUT TO THE

ROUGHLY 70M”

94


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VFC LAR GBBR

TSMOC rifle stages alongside the 12 TPSA

IPSC Pistol stages of the level 3 competition in

December 2022, albeit in a shortened form with

the barrel extension section removed to put

another muzzle device right in front of the faux

gas-block making it a more wieldy carbine setup

for getting around the barricades more easily.

IT’S JUST WEARING IN…

Throughout all of these adventures, it hasn’t

always been plain sailing, however. As an early

adopter I was one of the first players fielding the

FAL for regular skirmishes; there are no “safe

queens” in my collection, even the PSG has

been fielded numerous times and like the FAL

enjoys a nice natural patina of scratches and mild

corrosion that completes its industrial look.

Having acquired one of the earliest first

generation examples, it turned out that the rear

sight systems were initially made a little tight on

tolerances, so just a few months after buying it we

were out on a reasonably hot October Sunday at

our Xindian game sight and I was charging along

to the ridgeline to put fire down on the opposing

team below only to notice something fly off my

FAL during a string of fire… my rear sight itself

had deformed under recoil due to being overly

tensioned as a result of the tight tolerances… cue

a few minutes of me rummaging around the base

of the tree I was taking cover behind hilariously

trying to find my rear sight, adjustment release

button and its related spring! By some miracle I

managed to find all the pieces and not get shot

out as a result, but was obviously having some

trouble aiming after!

Luckily the guys at VFC’s Pentagon Service

Centre are a short trip away by bus or MRT from

the various places I’ve lived since being in Taipei,

so it wasn’t a huge inconvenience for me to go

and get it serviced and a slightly looser newer

production rear sight installed. The original

broke the ring open on its right side and flew off;

thankfully it was an easy fix for me at least, but

if you are a user overseas or just out of Taipei I

can imagine you’d be more nonplussed. Around

the same time I also had the thin gas-piston pipe

break its front end threads off which is another

common issue reported; it’s only a cosmetic

component at least, but requires some form of

running repair with electrical tape just to stuff

it effectively into the port and stop it slopping

around noisily under recoil in normal operation.

A further two months down the line in

December at the Kaohsiung Level 3 competition

I managed to run the shortened barrel

configuration of the FAL through all eight stages

over the two days alongside my pistol stages; I

“THROUGHOUT ALL OF THESE ADVENTURES, IT HASN’T ALWAYS BEEN PLAIN SAILING,

HOWEVER. AS AN EARLY ADOPTER I WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PLAYERS FIELDING THE

FAL FOR REGULAR SKIRMISHES; THERE ARE NO “SAFE QUEENS” IN MY COLLECTION”


RELOADED

VFC LAR GBBR

had experienced some ‘doubling’ as a result of

the sear issues which were replicated from the

real steel equivalent and mentioned in my initial

review.

Finally, after the end of stages I handed it over

to some of the Range Officers to help me empty

all my loaded magazines as a bit of a treat for

them; they work hard keeping the administration

going and rarely get chance to get in on the action

themselves, so they were sharing the FAL around

dumping BBs gleefully when I noticed another

thing fly off the rear end of it… this time it was

the rear sight, still attached to the rear vertical

portion of the receiver… the whole rear sight base

section fractured and flew off during recoil!

This, it turns out, was a somewhat self-inflicted

issue; having watched the ‘Explosive Enterprises’

review teardown video, the fine gents in the US

had advocated for removing the rear buffer block

that reduces the stroke of the bolt carrier group to

improve the cadence and realism of the system.

Unfortunately what none of us realised until my

mishap, and that of some other users on the

Heavy Recoil Discord server, was that when the

bolt carrier reaches the rear of travel the “rat’s

tail” connecting it to the recoil spring in the fixed

stock actually tends to strike the upper surface

of the receiver’s rear portion where the rear sight

affixes… so eventually the upward thrust causes a

brittle fracture in the aluminium alloy.

Suffice to say, since then 3D printed alternative

buffers or other similar efforts have been

made available to allow people to lengthen the

overall stroke of the bolt carrier group without

encountering that final portion of travel that

causes the interference and damage issue…

another trip to VPSC it was, this time leaving it

with them for a few days while the replacement

receiver components were ordered from head

office and installed for me.

Following this I ended up acquiring a further

four magazines in early 2023, having gotten just

four with my FAL when I first collected it in late

2022. On my first outing using them at Linkou

CQB I went to reload in cover and put magazine

No.5 in (I mark all mine with paint pens for

maintenance issue tracking, or instances just

such as this) the bolt was still closed on a loaded

chamber as I was tactically reloading off a partial

magazine prior to assaulting, only to rock and

lock the fresh magazine in and have the FAL start

emptying rounds into the ceiling in a runaway

fashion…

I dropped the mag and cleared the action and

prepared to reinsert it, assuming I was having

some form of further sear issue knowing that

there were minor problems with the fire control

group before only to re-lock the magazine in and

have the same behaviour… most perplexing…

So, yet another trip to VPSC after retiring that

particular magazine for the rest of the day’s

gaming and it turns out the main gas release valve

built into the top rear of the magazine’s head

wasn’t seated fully or was otherwise slightly out

“WHEN THE BOLT CARRIER REACHES THE REAR OF TRAVEL THE “RAT’S TAIL”

CONNECTING IT TO THE RECOIL SPRING IN THE FIXED STOCK ACTUALLY TENDS

TO STRIKE THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE RECEIVER’S REAR PORTION WHERE THE

REAR SIGHT AFFIXES… SO EVENTUALLY THE UPWARD THRUST CAUSES A BRITTLE

FRACTURE IN THE ALUMINIUM ALLOY”

96


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VFC LAR GBBR

of spec and over-length. Basically when I fitted it

to the gun it immediately opened as the cocked

striker face hit it due to its unusually rearward

protrusion compared to normal magazines; a

minor issue all told, but a good job I was pointing

the FAL in a safe direction during the reloading

shenanigans!

LEVELLING UP

A further additional purchase I made fairly swiftly

after acquiring the FAL itself was VFC’s replica of

the DSA heavy-duty replacement top cover with

integral Picatinny rail for optic mounting; this is a

great addition if you want to use more modern rail

mounted optics. I used an SRO clone for the close

range quick target acquisition and situational

awareness for the rifle competition, then the

ACOG replica for longer-range MilSim or skirmish

game engagements, a setup I have also repeated

with the more recent FAL OSW review to equally

great effect.

The only down side of this accessory is it’s a

bit of a pain in the backside to fit and remove due

to the individual mounting

“shoes”’ which clamp the

top cover component to the

side rails of the receiver that

the original flat receiver top

cover slides into from the

rear. It can be a slow and

annoying process lining up

these individual clamp-shoes

on each side of the cover as

you slide it onto the receiver,

then the pairs of bolts on each

shoe that pull them outwards

against the rails require

tensioning in somewhat of a

progressive order to ensure

the Picatinny rail is co-axial

with the barrel, and not

laterally offset or otherwise

causing any deformation or binding.

Over time it appears that it can cause the

aforementioned rails and the receiver walls

themselves to bow outwards due to the way

the mounting shoes pull them outwards as you

tighten them up enough to hold the rail in place,

something that many others have complained

about on the Heavy Recoil Club Discord. I found

my original top cover being somewhat sloppy in

its fit as a result when I switched back to using

it, the VPSC guys clamped and re-positioned my

receiver rails and walls at a more recent servicing,

and thankfully as per my FAL OSW review the

factory-fitted rail top cover uses a much more

substantial and better mounting setup with

machined blocks which engage with the rails

with less side-loading and a more consistent

and simple installation process that makes

reattaching the whole assembly more repeatable

to ensure your optics don’t lose zero too much

due to services or maintenance.

Next up in mid-2023 I was emptying out my

magazines through the FAL (as unloading them

manually can be a struggle, and it’s an excuse to

“A FURTHER ADDITIONAL PURCHASE I MADE FAIRLY SWIFTLY AFTER ACQUIRING THE

FAL ITSELF WAS VFC’S REPLICA OF THE DSA HEAVY-DUTY REPLACEMENT TOP COVER

WITH INTEGRAL PICATINNY RAIL FOR OPTIC MOUNTING; THIS IS A GREAT ADDITION IF

YOU WANT TO USE MORE MODERN RAIL MOUNTED OPTICS”


RELOADED

VFC LAR GBBR

fire the FAL a lot… a win win!)

at our Longtan site when I

had a really hard stoppage

occur; the bolt was utterly

jammed in place mid-stroke

and I couldn’t figure out why

initially. Thankfully it didn’t

affect the day’s gameplay as

we were wrapping up after

the last round, but I had to

remove the railed top cover

later when I got home and

found the culprit… the “rat’s

tail” retaining bolt that passes

through the bolt carrier group

had loosened up under the

intense recoil cycle I put

the FAL through with all

its storied use, and it seemed like the threads

themselves had been stretched longitudinally

and squashed down to their roots making them

less effective at interlocking with the bolt’s

threaded socket.

Either way the bolt loosened off and then

buried itself into the inner face of the railed top

cover as it moved forward on the return stroke

- something to keep an eye on and potentially

loctite in place as the instances you have to take

it out compared to the damage having it loose can

do probably means having to wrestle it out from

loctiting is the lesser of the two evils.

Following the stellar performance of the FAL

at POLK 3, for some reason I decided to start

messing with it to try and push its performance

at range even further; I should have known to

leave well enough alone! I purchased a fulllength

one-piece steel outer barrel to replace the

original two piece aluminium inner section and

steel outer section outer barrel; getting it installed

initially was a bit of the effort for the VPSC guys

(too much loctite from the assembly guys at

headquarters seems to be a common complaint

on a few different models) and they went to town

with a blowtorch and wrenches to get the muzzle

device off the original barrel and fit it to the full

length steel one! I also found the threads tend

to carve into the aluminium receiver’s threads

a little and you need to watch out for shavings

falling off during assembly or disassembly during

maintenance.

A PUSH TO FAR?

At the same time I purchased a Unicorn Airsoft

tightbore 6.03mm x 500mm long stainless-steel

inner barrel to make more use of the outer barrel

space available, knowing how well the 650mm

PSG-1 barrel they gifted me for review worked

previously.

This self-inflicted meddling ended up putting

the FAL largely out of useful action for the best

part of a year while I struggled to get it working

with the new inner barrel; it would consistently

“nose dive” BBs out as soon as they cleared

10m from the muzzle; regardless of the various

hardness and types of HOP rubbers I tried, in

the end I replaced the original inner barrel which

is much lighter and shorter and immediately

“AT THE SAME TIME I PURCHASED A UNICORN AIRSOFT TIGHTBORE 6.03MM X

500MM LONG STAINLESS-STEEL INNER BARREL TO MAKE MORE USE OF THE OUTER

BARREL SPACE AVAILABLE… THIS SELF-INFLICTED MEDDLING ENDED UP PUTTING THE

FAL LARGELY OUT OF USEFUL ACTION LARGELY OUT OF USEFUL ACTION FOR THE BEST

PART OF A YEAR”

98


RELOADED

VFC LAR GBBR

regained the excellent performance I’d already

had before. I’m not sure if the Unicorn barrel was

just too long for the balance of the system or if

the much heavier stainless barrel was sagging

or deforming due to a lack of more rigid support

within the steel outer barrel; the aluminium

standard barrel seems to cantilever off of the

HOP unit and receiver and terminates at the front

sight block. Whatever the reason, the longer and

heavier inner barrel just wouldn’t seem to play

well with the standard FAL system, even with the

CLPD NPAS valve installed jacking up the gas flow

to make use of the longer barrel.

During all this messing around it also seems

like I managed to break the HOP protrusion off

the HOP cradle itself and never really noticed due

to the shininess of the plastic HOP components

behind it which appear to make it look like it is

still there due to the way the light falls on it. I don’t

even know when the protrusion broke off but that

no doubt added to the issues of trying to adjust it

to deal with the longer barrel. Regardless, I took

the FAL for a service to work out all the bugs and

get the newer HOP unit fasteners installed as I

was then having trouble dismantling the HOP unit

in general due to the small retainer pin interfaced

with the adjustment screw drum deforming or

binding up… the guys had to beat the old HOP

unit out and help me fit a new one.

With all of these things addressed and a great

deal of BBs put downrange in numerous settings,

and with the arrival of the FAL OSW which is

much improved as well as sharing the same

magazines (which I now have nine of!) it seems

like I’m finally settling into a better long-term

experience of the VFC FAL. The FAL hasn’t always

been flawless, but regardless of the drawbacks

it’s still been an overwhelmingly positive

experience overall and my love for the platform

has not been diminished by its idiosyncrasies in

airsoft form… and with having two variants using

common magazines I can see myself using them

for the next upcoming POLK 5 MilSim later in 2025

in a similar vein to the M16A2 and M733 setup I

ran for POLK 4 last year.

Many thanks to Vega Force Company and in

particular their Pentagon Service Centre staff

for their continued support and knowledge

transfer regarding the ongoing learning process

of all the tweaks and minor issues that arise in

their products over their service lives. Thanks

to them also for continuing to support my habit

with more recent releases that fill the gaps in

my gun walls! I’m looking forward to running

the FAL and OSW more in future as they’re both

established favourites which turn heads of my

own teammates and tails of the OpFor when I

field them and have a great time running them in

a myriad of game styles! AA

“THE FAL HASN’T ALWAYS BEEN FLAWLESS, BUT REGARDLESS OF THE DRAWBACKS

IT’S STILL BEEN AN OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE EXPERIENCE OVERALL AND MY LOVE

FOR THE PLATFORM HAS NOT BEEN DIMINISHED BY ITS IDIOSYNCRASIES IN AIRSOFT

FORM…”



Airsoft Action - June 2025

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