Airsoft Action - October 2023

WE STAND WITH THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE 

ISSUE 154 - OCTOBER 2023 

ISSN 2634-9515

CONTENTS 

8 ARMOURY: KING ARMS TWS 9MM SBR GBB 

We’ve been trying to re-establish “clear comms” with KING ARMS 

for a while to get the story from source, and finally having done 

so Bill is going to look at their “9mm SBR” in some detail, and tell 

just why we’ve been wanting to talk about this potential “game 

changer” for some time! 

WE STAND WITH THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE 

ISSUE 154 - OCTOBER 2023 

ISSN 2634-9515 

18 ARMOURY: G&G SGR 556 AEG 

Just when you think that G&G have taken things as far as they can, 

BOOM, off they merrily go in a totally new direction again! We’ve 

been testing an AEG that takes a new direction for them, one that 

we’ve been waiting for… for a while… and Bill now takes a very 

close look at the SGR 556! 

Editorial Director: Bill Thomas 

Deputy Editor (Asia): Stu Mortimer 

Graphic Design: Calibre Publishing 

Ad Design: Deadshot Design 

Publisher: Calibre Publishing 

Web: www.airsoftaction.net 

©Calibre Publishing Limited 2023 

All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be 

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted 

in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, 

photocopying, recording or otherwise without the 

express permission of the publisher in writing. The 

opinion of the writers do not necessarily reflect those 

of the publisher. The editor reserves the right to edit 

submissions prior to publication. 

FIND US ON… 

26 ARMOURY: ICS CXP APE SE AEG 

When we see a new AEG or GBB it’s often the case that we’ve seen 

the total development of a range, and had hands on with many of 

them! Bill looks back at his long association with the CXP program 

from ICS, and sees it mature fully with the new CXP APE SE! 

LETTER, IDEA OR 

QUESTION? 

Got something to say? A question for our 

experts? An article or article idea? 

Drop us a line and let us know. Either email the 

Editorial Director: bill@airsoft-action.co.uk, or talk to 

us on Twitter or Facebook. 

32 ARMOURY: RWA BATTLE ARMS DEVELOPMENT SBR 

We’re very lucky to have regular contributors that are based around 

the world, and when it comes to a lot of the new AEG and GBB 

platforms that we see hitting the market obviously their “source” is 

the Far East! This month our regular speedsoft guru in Hong Kong, 

Larri, brings in his first in-game look at the latest BAD SBR from 

RedWolf!

Contents 

OCTOBER 2023 

38 KIT & GEAR: GEAR UP FOR 

TRAINING! 

“If it ain’t raining, we ain’t training” 

is a phrase that’s much overused, 

but it does set the scene for the fact 

that you should be fully prepared for 

all eventualities when it comes to 

attending an airsoft training day or 

course! Bill reflects back on his time 

with FAST TACTICAL recently and what 

kit he found useful. 

68 AA LEGION: PORTUGAL 

Miguel is back in the field and back 

with the AA LEGION this month as he 

reports on an annual event that takeS 

place in Portugal, which sees teams 

from all over the country gathering to 

test out their “night game” skills as 

they battle through another round of 

“NIGHT OPS”! 

44 THE CAGE: GREEN GEAR 

We’re rolling on with our focus on 

different camo patterns and colours 

for gear this month with a look at 

the many forms of green that are out 

there, why this is such an important 

colour for airsoft, and what specific 

bots of kit that the AA LEGION like 

and recommend! 

76 AA LEGION: UK 

With player numbers back in the 

thousands, The National Airsoft 

Festival (NAF) is still the UK’s largest 

airsoft event and after a cracking 

2022 event there were even higher 

expectations for this year’s gathering 

of airsofters not only from the UK, 

but from across the water too! Bill 

brings in his report on the annual 

event that we always look forward to 

for so many reasons! 

48 RED CELL: SMG UPDATE 

It’s time to revisit our SMG category 

this month, to check in on how all the 

little beauties in the RED CELL program 

are faring after a couple of year (or 

more!) of use and abuse! We’re 

starting to really focus down on some 

specific models, with some great tech 

input as well as our ongoing user-data! 

86 AA LEGION: TAIWAN 

“Military” Anny Wu and Stewbacca 

provide coverage of an exciting 

competitive shooting event held with 

support from the local airsoft industry 

and competitive shooting teams with 

the involvement of our good friend 

Clarence Lai the ‘Airsoft Surgeon’ 

in an apparently very successful 

attempt to open up the competitive 

circuit to new and particularly 

younger practitioners, eschewing the 

typical expensive barriers to entry 

like regulated shooting belts and 

equipment as well as the need for 

lengthy training and certification to 

compete! 

60 INSIDE AIRSOFT: LCT AIRSOFT 

With collaborative efforts between 

‘Military’ Anny and Stewbacca 

intensifying, our dynamic duo turned 

their attention to re-visiting our 

friends in Changhua and spent the 

day with LCT Airsoft catching up on 

their latest releases and upcoming 

products (those they are comfortable 

talking more openly about!), with 

the same dual-language interview 

technique to cover off various aspects 

of their operations. 

94 RELOADED: ROSSI NEPTUNE 

10.5” SAS 

After six months in testing Bill 

now gives his verdict on the ROSSI 

NEPTUNE 10.5” SAS, how it has fared 

so far, and his journey to take it from 

a basic AEG to something that he’d 

be happy showing off at any level or 

airsoft game from Sunday Skirmish to 

full-on MilSim!

ARMOURY 

KING ARMS TWS 9MM SBR GBB 

CHANGING 

THE GAME 

8 

OCTOBER 2023

ARMOURY 


YOU MAY WELL WONDER WHY WE’RE HEADLINING THIS MONTH WITH A GAS MODEL THAT’S 

ACTUALLY BEEN ON THE MARKET FOR A WHILE ALREADY, BUT WE’VE BEEN TRYING TO RE- 

ESTABLISH “CLEAR COMMS” WITH KING ARMS FOR A WHILE TO GET THE STORY FROM SOURCE, 

AND FINALLY HAVING DONE SO BILL IS GOING TO LOOK AT THEIR “9MM SBR” IN SOME DETAIL, 

AND TELL JUST WHY WE’VE BEEN WANTING TO TALK ABOUT THIS POTENTIAL “GAME CHANGER” 

FOR SOME TIME! 

So, the KING ARMS TWS 9MM SBR is a gas-driven 

AR derivative that uses “9mm” pistol magazines. 

It’s a tight little package with some unique 

features that make 

it highly visually 

appealing, it’s 

well put 

together, 

and it 

functions 

very 

nicely indeed. 

So far so good, 

but there’s a host 

of other models out 

there, both gas and AEG, 

that use “9mm” magazines, so 

what makes the TWS 9 stand out 

for me? Simply put it’s the fact 

that not only does it use “9mm” 

magazines, but in this case the 

exact, self-same gas “9mm” mags” 

that power ALL my favourite Glock 

and G-SERIES pistols, both standard and 

extended, gas and C02! 

Yup, you did indeed read that right, as I’ve tested 

the TWS 9 on every single G-SERIES mag that I own 

(which is a considerable amount!) from TM, WE, 

RAVEN, VORSK, Umarex/VFC, AW, Evolution, ICS, and 

ARMY, and every single one powers this superb little 

AR perfectly! 

Why is this important? Why have we used the 

much-overused phrase “potential game changer”? It’s 

because that I genuinely believe, and have believed 

for some considerable time, that the first company to 

create an AR-style platform using simple GBB pistol 

magazines could actually change the face of gasplatform 

use worldwide… and I am totally scratching 

my head as to why the TWS (series, because there’s 

more than one model!) 9 hasn’t got airsofters 

screaming about it! 

A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE 

Let me put this into perspective. Many of us believe 

that gas-airsoft is our beloved game in its purest 

form… yes, I know that there are far more AEG 

users out there, and there always will be for reasons 

I’ve talked about before and won’t bore you with 

again, but to me a good gas platform just sings in 

every way. Although gasses themselves are becoming 

eminently more stable and predictable in a myriad 

of climatic conditions, you do still need to be 100% 

on-tippity-top of your maintenance, but this should be 

hardwired into us in relation to ANY airsoft platform 

that we own. 

We need to love our GBBR with a passion, and 

look to it for use in scenarios where it will really 

perform well and to its best, such as CQB, MilSim, 

themed games, and for training if that is your thing. 

We actually need to set it up right so that optics and 

accessories work properly with it, and of course we 

are still constrained by limited capacity when it comes 

to magazines, with 50 BBs being about the max. 

But… BUT… are you REALLY a good shot? Can 

you make a single BB or a double-tap count? Take 

the focus off the platform for a moment and look to 

yourself, and if you can shoot well, have a reliable 

and accurate platform, and perhaps most importantly 

“YUP, YOU DID INDEED READ THAT RIGHT, AS I’VE TESTED THE TWS 9 ON EVERY 

SINGLE G-SERIES MAG THAT I OWN (WHICH IS A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT!) FROM 

TM, WE, RAVEN, VORSK, UMAREX/VFC, AW, EVOLUTION, ICS, AND ARMY, AND EVERY 

SINGLE ONE POWERS THIS SUPERB LITTLE AR PERFECTLY!” 

www.airsoftaction.net 9

ARMOURY 


“IF YOU CAN SHOOT WELL, HAVE A RELIABLE 

AND ACCURATE PLATFORM, AND PERHAPS MOST 

IMPORTANTLY WORK WITH A TEAM OF LIKE-MINDED 

FRIENDS WHO TRAIN AND PLAY TOGETHER REGULARLY 

THEN IT IS MY BELIEF THAT YOU CAN HOLD YOUR OWN 

WITH A GASSER IN PRETTY MUCH ANY SCENARIO.” 

10 


ARMOURY 

KING ARMS TWS ASG 9MM STEYR SBR L9-A2 GBB 

work with a team of likeminded 

friends who train and 

play together regularly then it 

is my belief that you can hold 

your own with a gasser in 

pretty much any scenario. 

Of course the main 

constraint to gas platforms in 

my, and just about everyone’s, 

mind is cost. Again, I’ve said 

this before, but basic gas 

platfroms, especially AR-styles, 

are coming down and down 

in price and in time even the 

most “bare bones” models 

will get more durable and 

reliable. However, once you’ve 

bought into a gas platform 

the expenditure has only just 

started as unlike AEGs gas 

magazines ARE expensive. 

I’d go as far as saying that 

to date the cost involved in 

setting yourself up as a gas 

user is largely down to buying 

a decent mag load, and you 

can easily double the cost of 

the platform itself by adding 

sufficient mags to actually fight 

with. 

And this is where the TWS 

9 WINS, and I mean TOTALLY 

WINS! I’m a self-professed 

“Glock man”, and in my 

airsoft pistol collection I have 

22 G-SERIES variants… okay, 

there are a number of G17 

models as this is the handgun 

that I have shot and trained 

with “real”, but there are also 

some fancy-pants models that 

are “G-based”. Pretty much all 

of them will use the magazine 

from any of the others, so 

that gives me a large pool of 

potential mags to draw from… 

“THE POINT I’M MAKING HERE IS THAT EVEN IF YOU OWN A SINGLE G-SERIES MODEL 

THE LIKELIHOOD IS THAT YOU WILL ALSO OWN A BUNCH OF MAGS TO GO WITH IT, 

AND ALL OF THEM SHOULD WORK IN THE TWS 9, SO THAT’S A WHOLE HEAP OF COST 

AVOIDED FROM THE GET GO!” 


ARMOURY 


and that’s before I get into spare mags and extended 

models. 

The point I’m making here is that even if you own 

a single G-SERIES model the likelihood is that you will 

also own a bunch of mags to go with it, and ALL of 

them should work in the TWS 9, so that’s a whole 

heap of cost avoided from the get go! 

This is why, to me at least the TWS 9 does indeed 

“change the game”, and thankfully it’s also a lovely 

AR-style platform in its own right, and from what I 

saw at IWA ’23 the basic models (if you can call them 

that) got a whole lot more interesting as they now 

incorporate licenced parts from one of my favourite 

“real” manufacturers, Black Rain Ordnance (BRO)… 

the BRO T800 Terminator STILL ranks up there for me 

as one of the coolest ARs I’ve ever had my hands on! 

GETTING DOWN TO BASICS 

Before I get into the BRO loveliness though I’m going 

to concentrate on the model that I’ve had in testing, 

and that’s the original TWS 9MM SBR. It’s a short 

and light platform at 610/690mm and 2111g, and 

although I would usually choose a longer model (you 

can also buy a longer carbine version 690/772mm) 

the fact that the SBR comes with a full buffer tube 

and sliding stock (more on this in a bit) means that it’s 

comfortable even for me, although for testing I added 

an ARES handstop I got from IWholesales (thanks 

Tim!) rather than my usual stubby foregrip. 

Things kick off at the sharp end with a foretaste 

of “things to come” in the form of a HEXAGONAL 

COMPETITION COMPENSATOR based on that from 

the good guys at BRO, and this is recessed nicely to 

a one piece CNC-machined three-slot metal M-LOK 

handguard which provides a solid rail platform, and 

space for accessories should you wish to fit them. 

If you wish to run a suppressor then you’ll need a 

short outer barrel extension, but my mate Marcus at 

All Ages knocked me one up in about five minutes 

flat to fit perfectly. On top of the rail there’s a short 

standard rail continuation that marries up with the 

flat-top upper, and another one at the front which 

accommodates the excellent metal flip-up foresight; 

this foresight is complemented by the corresponding 

rear flip-up as standard from the box. 

The upper itself is pretty much standard AR, and 

the only comment I would make here is that it would 

have been nice to see a “9mm” ejection port rather 

than the standard size, but this does let you see 

the full glory of the gold high-speed BCG; this has 

reinforced steel bolt-stop parts installed as standard 

for durability. The lower is a different beast though, as 

this is a bespoke solution to ensure that the G-SERIES 

pistol mags work in total harmony, and it looks 

great, with a neatly designed mag release catch that 

accentuates the line. 

Moving inside you have a metal outer barrel and 

delta ring mount to avoid any potential wobble/flex 

and a precise 6.05mm brass inner barrel; there’s even 

a neatly recessed lo-profile faux gas block and tube 

to finish things off. The bolt release, selector lever, 

and trigger are all metal to ensure durability, and 

the trigger, selector lever, hammer, and sear are all 

reinforced from the get go. The trigger itself is a little 

heavy, but you soon get used to it, and the reset point 

is very positive; I can see that the trigger and inner 

barrel are points to look at in the future for potential 

upgrades and refinement, but as standard everything 

works very nicely as a complete unit. The pistol grip 

is an A1 style, and this is the only thing I can see that 

I will replace “from the box” for something more 

ergonomic. 

I said I’d come back to the sliding stock, which 

I love. The TWS TYPE 4 stock is a unique design, 

and it is certainly eye-catching as well as being very 

user-friendly and comfortable. It’s a minimalist, 

ergonomically-angled design that’s easy to work 

with, made from nylon fibre, and can be locked 

down to virtually eliminate movement in the stock; 

a distinct and solid paddle controls the movement, 

and there’s an additional locking lever that literally 

cements everything down when you have it set as 

you like. There’s also a sling point and quick-detach 

stud-point provided for wide variety of sling options, 

although I will probably fit a singlepoint attachment 

too. Although he stock is perfect on the TWS 9, it 

does have an easily-removable recoil pad that means 

that you could also use it with an AEG, and I love the 

fact that it can be quickly converted to fit commercial 

or Mil-Spec buffer tubes; thankfully KING ARMS offer 

this as an accessory part in either black or FDE. 

“THE UPPER ITSELF IS PRETTY MUCH STANDARD AR, AND THE ONLY COMMENT I 

WOULD MAKE HERE IS THAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO SEE A “9MM” EJECTION 

PORT RATHER THAN THE STANDARD SIZE, BUT THIS DOES LET YOU SEE THE FULL 

GLORY OF THE GOLD HIGH-SPEED BCG; THIS HAS REINFORCED STEEL BOLT-STOP 

PARTS INSTALLED AS STANDARD FOR DURABILITY” 

12 


ARMOURY 


DOWNRANGE 

In operation the TWS 9 is an 

absolute beast, and if you’re 

buying it as a training or 

“practical rifle” then you’ll 

need to do absolutely nothing 

to it other than charge your 

existing G-SERIES magazines 

with green gas and load 

up your BBs. I tested using 

VORSK .20g BBs and VORSK 

V6 FUEL and recorded 1.01 

Joule/331fps as an average on 

a warm day (19C) with no shot 

exceeding 1.06 Joule/ 338fps 

; if you’re planning to use 

this as a skirmish gun though 

you’re going to need to keep 

an eye on the power when the 

temperature rises, but that’s 

the same with all “gassers”. 

The provided 50 BB 

extended magazine fed well 

throughout testing, as did 

every single magazine from 

other manufacturers I tried 

in the TWS 9! At 10m using 

.30g this thing drills holes 

in a target as 15mm groups 

are easily achievable from 

a supported position. This 

widens out slightly when firing 

unsupported but is way, WAY 

more than adequate. At 30m 

it‘s possible to hit a sandbag 

target unerringly and I believe 

that the TWS 9 would reach 

out even further than this, 

and will do when everything 

has bedded fully. On semiauto 

the trigger is as I said a 

little heavy, but nice and crisp 

with a proper “reset”, and 

switching up to full sends BBs 

downrange to target time and 

again. 

“THE TWS TYPE 4 STOCK IS A UNIQUE DESIGN, AND IT IS CERTAINLY EYE-CATCHING 

AS WELL AS BEING VERY USER-FRIENDLY AND COMFORTABLE. IT’S A MINIMALIST, 

ERGONOMICALLY-ANGLED DESIGN THAT’S EASY TO WORK WITH, MADE FROM NYLON 

FIBRE, AND CAN BE LOCKED DOWN TO VIRTUALLY ELIMINATE MOVEMENT IN THE 

STOCK” 


ARMOURY 


I have to say that I do genuinely love the TWS 9, 

and if you’re looking for a training tool to keep your 

skills and drills up to date then it works perfectly for 

that as TWS actually stands for “TRAINING WEAPON 

SYSTEM”; as well as for airsoft I run an open-bolt ARs 

to help me with 

preparing to go and 

shoot “real” with 

my friends overseas, 

and although the 

recoil is minimal and 

there’s no muzzle 

blast to mitigate 

with a gasser, the 

“drills” that I need 

to keep on top of 

can be run very 

well with the airsoft 

version. 

As I already 

own a number of 

G-Series pistols, and 

have a grab-bag of 

magazines for them, 

a “training pistol 

calibre carbine” 

is 100% my ideal 

tool… no need to 

buy a whole other 

set of mags, I can 

just use the same 

ones for both 

pistol and carbine 

training! I also 

think that given 

complementary 

mags, any airsofter 

considering moving 

to “full gas” in their 

loadout that already 

owns a G-Series 

pistol will find this a cheaper option too. The superb 

new lower for the TWS 9 is a piece of “airsoft art”, 

and the fact that no proprietary magazines are needed 

is, I feel strongly, a real bonus for both training-users 

and potential “gas carbine” skirmishers…. And the 

fact that AIRTAC have an HPA adaptor that fits too 

(we physically checked this at NAF!) means a whole 

new realm of user-possibilities! 

And to make the deal even more attractive, this 

very thing that led to my discovery of the TWS 9 

has now become 

a reality, as you 

can now have 

the models with 

even more Black 

Rain Ordnance 

loveliness! Okay, 

it’s essentially the 

same platform, but 

where my “original” 

has just that BRO 

comp, the latest 

TWS 9 models have 

much more! Now 

you can have an 

alloy 6061 receiver 

with CNC engraved 

Black Rain Ordnance 

trades, and the evermemorable 

“LET 

IT RAIN!!” laser 

engraved markings 

on the dust cover; 

the licenced BRO 

models also come 

with an EMG 

“ALPHA Combat 

Ready Retractable 

Stock”, although in 

fairness I prefer the 

TYPE 4… 

Overall, is this 

FINALLY the gas 

training/skirmish AR 

I’ve been waiting 

for? Yes it is, as it 

shoots straight, shoots well, is built like a tank, and 

has some cool unique features with both KING ARMS 

and aftermarket parts already in place to ensure 

further development potential. Combat load-carriage 

is also simple as obviously you’re just carrying pistol 

“IN OPERATION THE TWS 9 IS AN ABSOLUTE BEAST, AND IF YOU’RE BUYING IT AS A 

TRAINING OR “PRACTICAL RIFLE” THEN YOU’LL NEED TO DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO 

IT OTHER THAN CHARGE YOUR EXISTING G-SERIES MAGAZINES WITH GREEN GAS AND 

LOAD UP YOUR BBS” 

16 


ARMOURY 


mags, and I’ve been using the 

VIPER VX five-cell pistol mag 

placard on my PC, along with 

the VX Admin pouch for the 

50BB extended mags. 

I totally believe that KING 

ARMS have to come to market 

with a viable gas carbine 

in AR configuration that is 

completely compatible with 

gas pistol magazines, and that 

makes it a winner for me! Now 

WHY are people not singing 

and shouting about the TWS 

9… for the absolute life of me 

I can’t tell you the answer to 

that question as they REALLY 

should be, but believe you me 

I’ll be telling everyone about it 

given the opportunity to do so. 

Game changer? You’d 

better believe it… and 

although it’s not the cheapest 

gas AR platform out there 

right now, it’s a beauty with 

so much going for it, and this 

is why it’s my “headline pick” 

for this month now I’ve been 

finally able to get one on the 

range! 

My thanks go to www. 

airsoftworld.net for facilitating 

the prompt delivery of the test 

model, so please do check 

them out. Thanks also to 

Guang and the entire team 

at www.kingarms.com for 

putting up with my questions 

and pestering, and for having 

the faith and trust in me to 

start telling the story of their 

TWS 9… there’ll be a LOT 

more to come as this enters 

the long-term test pool, and 

I’ll report back again at a later 

date! AA 

“OVERALL, IS THIS FINALLY THE GAS TRAINING/SKIRMISH AR I’VE BEEN WAITING 

FOR? YES IT IS, AS IT SHOOTS STRAIGHT, SHOOTS WELL, IS BUILT LIKE A TANK, AND 

HAS SOME COOL UNIQUE FEATURES WITH BOTH KING ARMS AND AFTERMARKET 

PARTS ALREADY IN PLACE TO ENSURE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT” 


ARMOURY 

CYBERGUN/BOLT G&G SGR 556 AEGBRSS SCAR-SC 

NEXT LEVEL 

COOL 

18 


ARMOURY 

CYBERGUN/BOLT G&G BRSS SGR SCAR-SC 556 AEG 

JUST WHEN YOU THINK THAT G&G HAVE TAKEN THINGS AS FAR AS THEY CAN, BOOM, OFF THEY 

MERRILY GO IN A TOTALLY NEW DIRECTION AGAIN! WE’VE BEEN TESTING AN AEG THAT TAKES A 

NEW DIRECTION FOR THEM, ONE THAT WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR… FOR A WHILE… AND BILL 

NOW TAKES A VERY CLOSE LOOK AT THE SGR 556! 

Any of you that know me, and know Airsoft 

Action will know that we go to great lengths 

to ensure that we have really close ties 

and very open channels of communication with 

the manufacturers that we now see as friends as 

well as colleagues in an industry that is constantly 

moving forward, an industry that is always striving 

to find new ways, and incorporating the very latest 

technology, to make our playing experience just as 

good as it can be! 

You’ll also know that I have a very close 

relationship with G&G ARMAMENT, one that 

I’m proud to 

their “home turf” to report on the G&G World Cup 

event in Taipei, and I’m very much looking forward 

to spending more time with them while I’m there as 

I usually only get to see them at shows where we are 

all insanely busy. 

But that’s still a few weeks in the future, and the 

past few weeks I’ve been lucky enough to have been 

hands-on with something that I’ve been waiting 

for, a new AEG which incorporates both new and 

existing technology in a very, very tidy package, 

the SGR 556! 

Ever since I saw the prototype of this AEG a 

couple of years back I’ve been itching to get 

one on the range as it incorporates their 

new G3 split gearbox design, a first for 

have forged 

over many years, 

and I speak to Rick 

and Apple on a very regular 

basis, usually via messenger 

at the start of my working day, and at the end of 

theirs given the time difference between the UK 

and Taiwan. I’m absolutely thrilled that next month 

they’ve given me the opportunity to visit them on 

them. Okay, Systema, blah blah, 

ICS… yup, both have had split gearboxes 

in the past and I am a fan of the ICS version, but this 

is the G&G “take”, and whilst there has to be some 

common ground as all three… split… as usual G&G 

have taken their time to go their own happy yet 

well-planned way and married this new approach up 

to some other features that extend the finished AEG 

even further than ever before in my opinion. 

And that’s the G&G way isn’t it? They do things 

“AND THAT’S THE G&G WAY ISN’T IT? THEY DO THINGS THEIR WAY AND THEY TAKE 

THEIR TIME, AND ALTHOUGH THEY’VE HAD (LIKE EVERY MANUFACTURER OUT THERE 

I MIGHT ADD) SOME STUMBLES ALONG THE WAY, THEIR STORY OVERALL HAS BEEN 

ONE OF RESOUNDING SUCCESS” 


ARMOURY 

G&G SGR 556 AEG 

THEIR way and they take their time, and although 

they’ve had (like every manufacturer out there I might 

add) some stumbles along the way, their story overall 

has been one of resounding success. Once again the 

echo-chamber that is social media would have us 

believe that the small problems that G&G have had 

over many years of creating some excellent AEGs and 

GBBs are larger than they are in reality… perhaps I’m 

just lucky, maybe my maintenance routine is more 

scrupulous, and maybe I love all my RIFs just a bit too 

much, but to date, and over many models I’ve never 

had a G&G AEG fail catastrophically… and that can’t 

be said for every manufacturer whose AEGs I have 

tested! 

Last month I wrote about the FAR 556, and what a 

development that is! A folding AR, who’d have thunk 

it? But it works, and so far at least it works very well 

indeed… if that’s not innovation I don’t know what 

is, and G&G continue to have this process of constant 

development baked-in, and I’m eagerly awaiting their 

first GBB AR platform as I believe it will be something 

just a little bit special… 

However, as usual I digress… with no apology 

whatsoever! 

ELEGANT AND REFINED 

What’s important right now is the SGR, that AR AEG 

that I’ve waited for somewhat less than patiently, 

and yes, it is ANOTHER AR! Let’s not forget that G&G 

always offer platforms other than the AR (their new 

MP5-alike looks fabulous!), but as for pretty much all 

manufacturers, the AR is still the undisputed “King of 

Airsoft”, and that’s where the volume sales to we, the 

players, still resides. It therefore makes total sense to 

me that this is the platform they have chosen to make 

the most of all their latest advances, and I’ll tell you 

straight of, the SGR is a real piece of ARt-work. 

Starting on the outside, once again the SGR is 

certainly an elegant and refined looking AEG, and 

the lines are, 

to me at least, 100% G&G; this is another 

thing I like about them, that they are among 

a few manufacturers who shun the easy fix 

of the “real steel” world to a degree and 

concentrate on their own unique designs; yes, 

they’ve made some excellent “mil-style ARs” 

with licences in place, and they’ve worked with 

some big names in the “civilian AR” world too, 

but like those civilian firearms designers they’ve 

never been afraid to go their own way. 

So, starting at the back-end for once, 

straight away there’s the GOS-V8 sliding 

stock (jeez, I’m sounding like a stock junky 

this issue!), a design that I love, one that’s 

ergonomic and comfortable, and one that 

also allows easy fitment and replacement 

of even larger batteries. Moving forward 

there’s a singelpoint sling plate fitted as 

standard, which is in addition to the perfectly 

placed QD stud point on the stock itself. The motor 

grip is G&G’s own, a nice design that nods to “MPstyle”, 

and the upper and lower receivers are beyond 

doubt G&G, the upper benefitting from a slick 

modern design with a “butterfly” charging handle, 

and the lower featuring fully ambidextrous controls, a 

flared magwell, oversized trigger guard, and an easyto-operate 

oversized magazine release on the right. 

The top rail is absolutely contiguous to that of the 

M-LOK rail system, which again incorporates QD stud 

points both L/R which will marry up harmoniously 

with those on the stock if you like to run a two-point 

sling; there are also flip-up sights front and rear, 

G&G’s own which personally I believe are some of the 

nicest around! At the business-end you get one of 

G&Gs distinctive muzzle brakes, and then… then… 

there’s the hop adjuster set into the gas block! 

Yup, this is another front-end-adjuster, no need to 

open the dust cover for hop-adjustment! G&G have 

“THE AR IS STILL THE UNDISPUTED “KING OF AIRSOFT”, AND THAT’S WHERE THE 

VOLUME SALES TO WE, THE PLAYERS, STILL RESIDES. IT THEREFORE MAKES TOTAL 

SENSE TO ME THAT THIS IS THE PLATFORM THEY HAVE CHOSEN TO MAKE THE MOST 

OF ALL THEIR LATEST ADVANCES, AND I’LL TELL YOU STRAIGHT OF, THE SGR IS A 

REAL PIECE OF ART-WORK.” 

20 


ARMOURY 


really pushed 

this particular 

agenda over 

the past few 

years, and 

before I 

go 

onto 

more 

technical 

specifications 

I have to say 

that 

this is a feature 

that 

just works, and 

works 

very well; okay, you 

will need a 

flat-head to adjust this, 

but oh boy, once 

you have it set it is absolutely solid as a rock, and the 

36-point incremental adjustment is spot on! 

BELLY OF THE BEAST 

Now it’s time to get inside and get 

to the real “meat” of the SGR, and 

the big news here is the G3 splittype 

V2 gearbox with a QC spring 

function. If you’re familiar with 

other split-gearbox setups then I 

have to say that although there are 

visual similarities once you crack 

the hood, the G&G gearbox looks 

exceptionally tidy, and very refined. 

Everything is neat and precise, and 

even the wiring that is visible looks 

to be beautifully channelled. The 

gearbox of course is the “beating 

heart” of this AEG, but G&G have 

taken this to a new level and then 

made it operate perfectly with all 

the other technology that calls the 

SGR “home”. 

Everything is driven 

along by the tried 

and very much tested 

Ifrit 25K long motor, a 

design that I agree with 

Jimmy is exceptional for 

a stock motor. Next up 

the last-round cut-off 

function; thanks to a sensor in the chamber (which 

detects any BBs present) once all your BBs are fired, 

the AEG will stop firing and you will need to insert 

a new magazine and then hit the functional bolt 

release to continue firing, and this of course works 

with the G&G 120 BB magazine provided, not all 

AR magazines, although most magazines will feed 

perfectly… you just lose the cutoff. 

is 

“THE G&G GEARBOX LOOKS EXCEPTIONALLY TIDY, AND VERY REFINED. EVERYTHING 

IS NEAT AND PRECISE, AND EVEN THE WIRING THAT IS VISIBLE LOOKS TO BE 

BEAUTIFULLY CHANNELLED. THE GEARBOX OF COURSE IS THE “BEATING HEART” OF 

THIS AEG, BUT G&G HAVE TAKEN THIS TO A NEW LEVEL AND THEN MADE IT OPERATE 

PERFECTLY WITH ALL THE OTHER TECHNOLOGY THAT CALLS THE SGR “HOME”.” 


ARMOURY 


I adore this feature as it does indeed bring 

something quite special to our gameplay; you fire 

off your mag, the AEG simulates “bolt locked back”, 

you do you lightning-fast magazine change you slick 

player you, hit the bolt release and you’re back up 

in the game… I don’t know about you, but in the 

heat of a firefight this is something that adds to 

the adrenaline rush even more, especially if you’ve 

not been “counting your rounds” and it happens 

unexpectedly! 

And no, we’re not anywhere close to being done 

with “internal ops” yet, as the SGR also comes with 

a MOSFET (which conveniently and neatly sits on 

top of the lower gearbox) that allows you to adjust 

pre-cocking up to 80%, trigger travel with three 

adjustable modes, 3-BB and 5-BB burst, it will also 

perform ETU diagnostics, and all this is easily achieved 

on the AEG itself or via the provided remote control; 

this controller is well-explained in the instruction 

manual. The ETU is also “modular”, and this means 

that new modules can be dropped in for easy 

replacement; it also makes maintenance a breeze. 

DOWNRANGE 

So, the SGR 556 is a very tight unit with all the bells 

and technical whistles (okay, beeps not whistles!) that 

are at the cutting-edge of the AEG market right now, 

and then adds a few extra features on top! As you 

all know though I am a techno-luddite, and all I really 

want is for an AEG to fire accurately at good range, 

and do it every time I squeeze the trigger, G&Gs semiflat-face 

trigger design in this instance! 

With a battery fitted I got to work using the remote 

controller and set this to PAIRING MODE; I found 

this simple and intuitive to use with the AEG thanks 

to the instruction manual; with just a few button 

presses and an the accompanying beeps as things set 

“THE SGR ALSO COMES WITH A MOSFET (WHICH CONVENIENTLY AND NEATLY SITS ON 

TOP OF THE LOWER GEARBOX) THAT ALLOWS YOU TO ADJUST PRE-COCKING UP TO 

80%, TRIGGER TRAVEL WITH THREE ADJUSTABLE MODES, 3-BB AND 5-BB BURST, IT 

WILL ALSO PERFORM ETU DIAGNOSTICS, AND ALL THIS IS EASILY ACHIEVED ON THE 

AEG ITSELF OR VIA THE PROVIDED REMOTE CONTROL” 

24 


ARMOURY 


I soon had the trigger set to FRONT (sensitive), BURST 

set to 3 BBs on full-auto, and PRE-COCKING on… 

yup, I managed all of this… ME! So, with the simple 

changes I’d wanted to make done of course I needed 

to check it out, so it was off to the Short 10m Range 

to see if I’d been able to work with the electro-magic 

of all that clever stuff, and it had all worked perfectly! 

Crisp, light trigger… lovely! 3 BB burst… yeah baby! 

After check-firing it was off to the chrono! 

As the SGR had come to me direct from Taiwan the 

power level initially was a little high for most UK sites, 

so it was time to check out the QC spring function, 

and within a few minutes I had a new spring in, and 

the AEG was set so as to comply with UK legal and 

field guidelines. On chrono the AEG was as consistent 

as I’ve come to expect from G&G of late, settling at 

1.11 Joule/347fps on a .20g. 

Moving things up to .28g on the 30m woods 

range, performance was in line with other G&G 

models I’ve tried lately, and with that superb hop 

adjusted perfectly both range and accuracy were right 

up there with the best of them to the extent of the 

range. All magazines I tried fed well, and the cutoff 

with all the G&G “120” mags (I have a few of them 

now!) worked perfectly time and again. As I fired 

the AEG I also noticed that the motor seemed very 

muted, and it seemed to hum quietly rather than whir 

(or lawd-forbid screech!) which indicates to me that 

everything is sitting in perfect alignment, and working 

together seamlessly. 

Overall I have to say that as someone not known 

for their love of “tech” everything I have found 

on and in this test model has been exemplary! We 

already know that G&G offer great “bang for your 

airsoft buck”, but if what I’ve had my hands in the 

form of the SGR 556 is what we can all look forward 

to in the future from our G&G AEGs, then the future 

is indeed golden! 

My sincere thanks go to all at G&G ARMAMENT 

(www.guay2.com) for providing this evaluation 

sample, and to Apple for making sure it got me swiftly 

and securely! As I’ve said many times before I look 

forward to seeing what G&G do next… especially 

when they get their GBBR into production… watch 

this space! AA 

“MOVING THINGS UP TO .28G ON THE 30M WOODS RANGE, PERFORMANCE WAS IN 

LINE WITH OTHER G&G MODELS I’VE TRIED LATELY, AND WITH THAT SUPERB HOP 

ADJUSTED PERFECTLY BOTH RANGE AND ACCURACY WERE RIGHT UP THERE WITH THE 

BEST OF THEM TO THE EXTENT OF THE RANGE” 


ARMOURY 

CYBERGUN/BOLT ICS CXP APE SE AEG BRSS SCAR-SC 

FULLY 

MATURED! 

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE CAN SHOUT ABOUT AT AIRSOFT ACTION IS THE DEPTH OF 

KNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE AMONG THE TEAM, BOTH AT A CORE LEVEL, AND ALSO IN A WIDER 

SENSE, AND THAT MEANS THAT WHEN WE SEE A NEW AEG OR GBB IT’S OFTEN THE CASE THAT 

WE’VE SEEN THE TOTAL DEVELOPMENT OF A RANGE, AND HAD HANDS ON WITH MANY OF THEM! 

BILL LOOKS BACK AT HIS LONG ASSOCIATION WITH THE CXP PROGRAM FROM ICS, AND SEES IT 

MATURE FULLY WITH THE NEW CXP APE SE! 

26 


ARMOURY 

CYBERGUN/BOLT ICS CXP BRSS APE SCAR-SC SE AEG 

A 

negative (via anti-social media of course!) 

that has been thrown at the current team at 

Airsoft Action is that we’re all old, and yes, 

it’s true, quite a few of us are “older gentleman 

airsofters” who are no longer in the prime of our 

halcyon days of shootin’ and lootin’! However, the 

age among the team varies considerably from those 

in their twenties pretty much up to me… and yes, by 

the time you read this I’ll be 59! You’d better believe 

that shocks me more than it probably does you, 

and events that I fancy, and now I’m fully recovered 

health-wise I intend to get out to my local site more. 

I know that there are a lot more folk like me out 

there where airsoft has become a huge part of their 

adult life, and that are continuing to play into their 

“greybeard years”… let’s not 

forget 

alleged 

that in this age of youth and 

beauty, in some cultures the elder 

generation are still revered for their 

knowledge and wisdom, and when 

but it means I’ve been 

playing airsoft for nearly half 

that time and I’ve loved every single 

minute of it! 

Fact is that although I don’t play as regularly 

as I used to (and surviving the “Big C” and now 

running Airsoft Action on a daily basis also has had 

something to do with that!), I do still play at games 

this is 

applied to airsoft 

it means that a number 

of the current AA crew 

were out and playing with 

“toy guns” pretty much when the 

whole story began. 

And this leads me neatly onto the latest AEG 

creation from I Chi Shivan, or ICS as we all know 

them these days, as the CXP APE SE (Special Edition) 

shows that ICS AEGs have matured somewhat more 

gracefully than I and their performance continues to 

improve exponentially… unlike my own… 

My association with ICS goes right back to their 

earliest days and I’ve had at least one, if not more, 

ICS AEG in my personal armoury since 1999, if my 

memory serves me faithfully. However, looking back 

at my files it appears that my first published review 

of an ICS AEG was in 2016, and it was the CXP 

Proline CQB! This was swiftly followed in 2017 with 

a review of the CXP HOG SD SR, and my first ICS 

review for Airsoft Action was in Issue 54 and was 

the original CXP APE, so it feels somewhat fitting 

that 100 ISSUES ON I’m once again looking at the 

APE, but oh boy, is it a different beast! 

“LET’S NOT FORGET THAT IN THIS AGE OF YOUTH AND ALLEGED BEAUTY, IN SOME 

CULTURES THE ELDER GENERATION ARE STILL REVERED FOR THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND 

WISDOM, AND WHEN THIS IS APPLIED TO AIRSOFT IT MEANS THAT A NUMBER OF THE 

CURRENT AA CREW WERE OUT AND PLAYING WITH “TOY GUNS” PRETTY MUCH WHEN 

THE WHOLE STORY BEGAN.” 


ARMOURY 

ICS CXP APE SE AEG 

RINGING THE CHANGES 

When I looked at the original CXP APE I commented: 

“There have already been numerous airsoft replica 

versions of the Adaptive Combat Rifle (ACR), some 

licenced and some not, but generally speaking, like 

any replica model it went through its moment of glory 

and then dipped off in popularity for a while. This has 

changed again with new models hitting the market as 

I write and the Masada is due, in my opinion, to rise 

again. 

But what of the CXP APE? Is it a replica of the ACR 

or not? 

I have to say that in my opinion it most certainly 

is as some of the features just scream out ACR. 

Although it does not purport to be an exact replica 

(licenced or not) of the American rifle there are 

just too many similarities to push aside. Starting 

from the rear you have a six-position “SF1” sliding 

stock with rubber buttpad which acts as the battery 

compartment; this also has an adjustable cheek rest 

and folds to the right. The rear sling point sits just 

ahead of the stock as it does with the ACR. The pistol 

grip is pretty much that of the late model ACR, and 

on the ICS it can be changed out as it’s not part of the 

all in one polymer body of the original…” 

So, what has changed? In profile the CXP APE SE 

has the striking self-same overall silhouette of the 

original, that cool modern ACR aesthetic and one can 

only wonder “what if” of the real thing. However, the 

quality of just about everything in the APE SE feels 

somehow more than that of the original; the 2020 

version of the APE was a beautifully presented AEG 

without doubt, but everything on the new version 

just oozes with the external quality that I’ve come to 

expect from ICS, one of the reasons I love them so 

very much! 

I received the grey/black version for testing in 

advance of its release, and I have to say that it’s dropdead 

gorgeous to look at. The counterpoint of the 

grey “lower”, rail and stock looks perfect against the 

black of the other parts, and the sheer feel of the AEG 

is one of “these guys have obviously used the very 

best they can” throughout. 

The upper is a one-piece alloy affair with a long, 

continuous rail along the top, but it’s up front where 

ICS have actually upped the ante by installing a very 

cool lightweight M-LOK system which 

incorporates a flip-up front sight and 

allows you to position a QD sling 

stud in the perfect position for a twopointer(the 

stud is provided, thank you 

ICS!); M-LOK is “all the rage” at the 

moment so ICS are right on the ball as I 

expect them to be with their latest APE, 

and the finish of the rail is absolutely 

impeccable. The fire selector is fully 

ambidextrous which is a very nice 

feature, as are the magazine and bolt 

release catches and charging handle 

(this can be swapped easily 

righty to 

lefty!); 

this 

once 

again 

mimics 

the controls of 

the real-world ACR. 

On the model I received 

from ICS to test the 

lower (now metal too, a 

departure from the 

original!), 

and polymer 

six-position 

stock 

(with five 

height 

increments 

too!) are 

all finished in that lovely grey, 

a slightly different grey to the metal 

rail given the difference in colouring 

disparate materials, but completely 

complementary. The “sharp end” 

is finished off well with a very 

“ACR-like” mock gas block 

and a birdcage flashhider, 

probably the 

single thing I would 

replace…. An “ACR” 

needs a suppressor! 

“I RECEIVED THE GREY/BLACK VERSION FOR TESTING IN ADVANCE OF ITS 

RELEASE, AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT IT’S DROP-DEAD GORGEOUS TO LOOK AT. THE 

COUNTERPOINT OF THE GREY “LOWER”, RAIL AND STOCK LOOKS PERFECT AGAINST 

THE BLACK OF THE OTHER PARTS, AND THE SHEER FEEL OF THE AEG IS ONE OF 

“THESE GUYS HAVE OBVIOUSLY USED THE VERY BEST THEY CAN” THROUGHOUT” 

28 


ARMOURY 


INTERNAL UPGRADES 

Of course internally ICS have always done things their 

own way, yet another reason to love them as their 

“workings” are now very much tried, tested, and have 

been found durable and long-lasting! They are well 

known for their tried and tested split gearbox design 

and this is easy to dissemble and simple to maintain, 

upgrade and even repair if necessary. The hop-up 

adjustment on the APE SE is of the rotary variety, easy 

to adjust, and is accessed by pulling back the cocking 

handle which moves the bolt cover to the rear. 

Okay, so far so good, but this is another area where 

ICS have moved on, and although there are two 

versions of the APE SE (FET and SSS E-Trigger) the one 

I received was the SSS with the SSS E-trigger system; 

this can intelligently detect how the trigger has been 

pulled. In Full-Auto mode, you’ll fire continuously in 

full-auto if the trigger is held down, and the SE will 

fire three BB bursts if you give it a single tap once you 

have it set up; the Unique SSS Trigger system offers 

you the choice of four firing modes between Safe – 

Semi/ 3 Round Burst, and Full Auto through the fire 

selector and is controlled by a micro-chip in the trigger 

system. The Short Stroke Trigger that works with the 

pre-cocking feature of the SSS E-trigger can effectively 

reduce the trigger travel distance too, increase the 

rate of fire, and greatly enhance responsiveness. 

Another benefit of the SSS version of the APE SE 

is that it comes with some uber-tasty internal parts 

pre-fitted; or Techno-Viking Jimmy has raved on time 

“ANOTHER BENEFIT OF THE SSS VERSION OF THE APE SE IS THAT IT COMES WITH 

SOME UBER-TASTY INTERNAL PARTS PRE-FITTED; OUR TECHNO-VIKING JIMMY HAS 

RAVED ON TIME AND AGAIN ABOUT THE MASTERMODS UPGRADE PARTS THAT HE 

REVIEWED BACK IN ISSUE 123, AND THE SE ARRIVES WITH SOME OF THESE AS 

STANDARD!” 


ARMOURY 


and again about the MasterMods upgrade parts that 

he reviewed back in Issue 123, and the SE arrives 

with some of these as standard! Unseen, but most 

definitely there are MasterMods Aluminium Cylinder 

and Piston Heads, Piston with Full Steel Teeth, and a 

Metal Air Nozzle, all of which adds up to even more 

durability and assured performance! 

DOWNRANGE 

In use the CXP is on the money! All the ergonomics 

come into play when you bring everything together 

and it handles well and is easy to manipulate. All 

the controls are easy to use once you get to know 

them, and the magazine setup is similar enough to 

a standard AR that mag changes are instinctive and 

straightforward. The SE comes with ICS’s own 300-BB 

high capacity “T” magazine which provides maximum 

firepower, and is designed with a transparent 

“window” so you can see at a glance how many BB’s 

remain in the magazine. The grippy magazine shell 

also provides excellent grip in all weather conditions, 

although it has very specific dimensions so you may 

find that certain “aftermarket” magazines won’t fit 

the SE. 

After an initial chrono that saw the test model 

kicking out BBs well above the UK legal limit (a bonus 

for players in countries with higher power levels!) it 

was straight off to the workshop to change the spring 

out; thankfully this is simple with ICS AEGs and I was 

soon back at the chrono station! With the magazine 

loaded with my usual .20g test BBs and fitted with a 

7.4V 1450 mAh LiPo battery in the stock (nice feature, 

easy to change batteries quickly with no tools needed 

and the SE comes DEANS ready!) it was time to get 

down to business. 

As stated earlier the SE has a flip-up front sight 

incorporated into the top rail, and ICS provide a 

detachable rear flip site as part of the deal; these 

are adjustable for windage and elevation and are 

perfectly acceptable should you not wish to attach an 

optic. The CXP comes into the aim surprisingly easily 

and with a quick “click” it’s safety off and onto the 

target. With the new spring the SE chrono’d in at a 

very respectable, consistent and sight-friendly 1.03 

Joule/334fps using .20g BBs and once the hop was 

set it was accurate enough for me! At 10m groupings 

were tighty-tight, whilst at 30m I was happily hitting 

my sandbags; the BB trajectory was pleasingly flat, 

with .20g just spinning off at around the 50m mark. 

This was easily rectified by moving up to .28g BBs and 

re-setting the hop, which resulted in “flat to fifty”. 

Switching up to full auto gave a crisp response 

from the excellent flat-face trigger and sent the bolt 

cover (the electronic blowback component) clattering 

happily back and forth; in my opinion this blowback 

area is something that ICS still need to improve as it’s 

a little insipid against my GBBRs, but this is an unfair 

comparison really, and knowing them they will keep at 

it, and it does definitely provide some tactile response! 

The ICS CXP APE SE will come in black or a mix 

of grey and black which is actually a superb as you 

can see. Are you getting an ACR-style rifle with a 

fancy M-LOK system with the APE SE? I’d have to say 

actually “yes” as the similarities between them are too 

obvious to overlook. That said, if you like the ACRstyle 

and want to have something quite different then 

the ICS CXP APE SE is most definitely worth a look. 

The CXP APE SE is a really solid and tight AEG that 

shows the maturity of the CXP program, illustrating 

to me at least that longevity and experience are 

worthwhile traits if you continue to develop them, 

and use that knowledge wisely! Once again ICS 

have delivered an AEG that is stunning in its look, 

beautifully put together and finished, is filled with 

the very latest technology and state-of-the-industry 

parts… and it shoots accurately over distance even as 

new. ICS have upped their game yet again with the 

CXP APE SE, and their constant devotion of resources 

into product design continues to provide their 

customers exactly what they need to play airsoft. As 

they put it, “This is the mission of ICS: Innovation, 

Competition, and Satisfaction.” 

I’d say with the CXP APE SE it’s definitely a case of 

“Mission Achieved”. 

My sincere thanks go to ICS Airsoft for once again 

kindly providing an early test model, and please do be 

sure to visit www.icsbb.com to check out the other 

models from the brand and much, much more! I 

understand that both colour models should be landing 

with your favourite ICS retailer round about the time 

you read this, so keep any eye on ICS/Retailer updates 

for more information on this! AA 

“THE CXP APE SE IS A REALLY SOLID AND TIGHT AEG THAT SHOWS THE MATURITY 

OF THE CXP PROGRAM, ILLUSTRATING TO ME AT LEAST THAT LONGEVITY AND 

EXPERIENCE ARE WORTHWHILE TRAITS IF YOU CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THEM, AND 

USE THAT KNOWLEDGE WISELY!” 

30 


TOKYO MARUI 

L119A2 CUSTOM BUILD 

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THE L119A2 IS JUST ONE POPULAR 

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THE ANGRY GUN RAIL SYSTEM AND 

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ARMOURY 

CYBERGUN/BOLT RWA BATTLE ARMS BRSS DEVELOPMENT SCAR-SC SBR 

BAD TO 

THE BONE! 

WE’RE VERY LUCKY THESE DAYS TO HAVE REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS AS PART OF THE AIRSOFT ACTION 

LEGION THAT ARE BASED AROUND THE WORLD, AND WHEN IT COMES TO A LOT OF THE NEW AEG 

AND GBB PLATFORMS THAT WE SEE HITTING THE MARKET OBVIOUSLY THEIR “SOURCE” IS THE FAR 

EAST! THIS MONTH OUR REGULAR SPEEDSOFT GURU IN HONG KONG, LARRI, BRINGS IN HIS FIRST IN- 

GAME LOOK AT THE LATEST BAD SBR FROM REDWOLF! BILL KICKS THINGS OFF… 

To set the scene, I said I’d help Larri out with 

his very first AEG review for Airsoft Action as 

although we know him for his excellent venue 

and gameplay reports that appear regularly in AA, 

putting together a review of a new AEG platform is 

something quite different. Larri of course has a mass 

of experience both in the intricacies of fast-paced CQB 

action and in the guns and equipment he uses for 

this, but when he, I and Max at Redwolf first spoke 

about the new BAD SBR I decided it was time that he 

unleashed his passion to create a review for us. 

I said to him my knowledge of the “real”, and the 

manufacturers involved would allow me to make an 

introduction to the new AEG, but that the actual 

testing would be down to him, and I’ve been proved 

correct that this is indeed a winning formula! 

Now any airsofter worth their salt will know 

Redwolf Airsoft (RWA), and if you don’t, exactly which 

rock have you been living under??? 

RWA are one of the “plank holders” of the airsoft 

world, and I’ve been involved in more projects with 

them over the years than I care to mention! But for 

this particular piece it’s their long-standing licencestewardship 

and relationship with BATTLE ARMS 

DEVELOPMENT (BAD… to the bone baby!) that’s the 

important bit. 

RWA have really taken the relationship with BAD to 

heart and run hard with it, releasing some fabulous 

parts, GBBs and AEGs under the licence. It strikes 

me that both companies have a similar ethos in that 

they strive for perfection, and as BAD themselves say, 

“engineer superlative performance advantage, added 

value, ingenuity, and attention to detail into every 

product it designs”. 

BAD have been around since B.A.D. Inc. officially 

launched on Independence Day, July 4th, 2009. An 

American and minority owned small business, all 

B.A.D. Inc. products are “100% made in the U.S.A. 

and held to the highest manufacturing standards to 

exceed the expectations of the most demanding end 

users” and their reputation is such that they seem 

to be exceeding even those expectations! What they 

create is cutting-edge stuff, both in terms of complete 

firearms and all the parts that go together to make 

them special. 

And the new BAD SBR mimics one of their designs 

perfectly as far as I’m concerned, The 300 BLK Silent 

Professional SBR which as BAD say “embodies the 

true essence of innovation in the PDW platform 

that the most hardcore operators would envy. The 

modern design and engineering look like something 

right out of a secret agent weapons laboratory. It is 

built on the groundbreaking, monolithic BAD-PDW 

billet 7075-T6 aircraft grade aluminum lower receiver 

with our upgraded VERT© PDW stock. This purposebuilt 

SBR was designed for maximum strength, 

concealment, maneuverability, lightweight, reliability, 

and controllable firepower”. Seems the ideal thing for 

an AEG CQB replica, right? But in 6mm BB not 300 

BLK of course! 

The RWA/BAD SBR in AEG form though actually 

builds on the inspiration as it replaces the standard 

free-float rail/handguard with another licenced 

replica, this time the Fortis Mfg. SWITCH which is 

32 


ARMOURY 

RWA BATTLE CYBERGUN/BOLT ARMS DEVELOPMENT BRSS SCAR-SC SBR 

“THE RWA/BAD SBR IN AEG FORM THOUGH ACTUALLY BUILDS ON THE INSPIRATION 

AS IT REPLACES THE STANDARD FREE-FLOAT RAIL/HANDGUARD WITH ANOTHER 

LICENCED REPLICA, THIS TIME THE FORTIS MFG. SWITCH WHICH IS A LIGHTWEIGHT, 

LO-DRAG M-LOK RAIL” 


ARMOURY 

RWA BATTLE ARMS DEVELOPMENT SBR 

a lightweight, lo-drag M-LOK rail. I’ve been a Fortis 

fan for some time, and have a couple of their rails 

myself, but they say of the SWITCH AR15 Mod 1 Rail 

System “when designing the SWITCH, we wanted a 

handguard that was easy to install, but also be able 

to quickly change rails for a variety of mission or 

competition specific setups”. The real rail features a 

brand new patent pending locking mechanism that 

allows tool-less removal which is replicated for the 

AEG, but c’mon, the rail design not only looks great 

and is cool as hell, it’s very functional, and it adds 

minimal weight to the platform overall! 

So, three GREAT companies working together 

to create something in airsoft form that will tick 

ALL the boxes for many players wanting something 

short, light, fast, and performance-driven for “close 

encounters”… it all looks good to me, so now I’ll 

hand over to Larri to tell you all about performance! 

MEET THE AIRSOFT “SOMMELIER”! 

Good to meet you all again fellow airsofters, It’s been 

a while since my last game and site reviews, and 

this I’m heading somewhere other than community 

and airsoft venues! As you know, I’m a pistol user 

in CQB action; however, I’m always interested in 

short versions of the AR as besides its looks, the best 

thing about AR for me is that there are always new 

directions with attachments and accessories so you 

can customise your guns performance or look. 

So this time I’m going to show you my first review 

on an AR, one which RWA, under the Battle Arms 

Development licence, manufactures. Back in the 

review preparation stage, I talked a lot with Max 

(RWA Gambit in his online persona!), as I always think 

an AR video montage (something that I’m known for 

creating) is cooler looking than with pistols; we can 

install multiple cameras on the gun, and also there are 

several ways to use the AR and as a result, a whole 

video can be edited with more interesting content. 

Max suggested an SBR AEG among his armory, as 

it was perfect for use in CQB, Target shooting, and 

SpeedQB, and that was the very latest BATTLE ARMS 

DEVELOPMENT SBR! 

First of all, this is a fully licensed AEG with Battle 

Arms Development and Fortis Mfg as Bill already 

mentioned; for those who are keen to know about 

which parts are licensed, detail features include: 

• Fortis licensed SWITCH 556 Rail System – MLOK 

• Fortis licensed Muzzle Brake 5.56 

• B.A.D. licensed collapsible VERT Stock 

• B.A.D. licensed 556-LW Receiver 

• B.A.D. licensed Light Weight Low Profile Gas 

Block 

• B.A.D. licensed Ultramatch LIGHTRIGID Fluted 

Outer Barrel 

• B.A.D. licensed BAD-ASS Safety 

• B.A.D. licensed Enhanced Bolt Catch 

• B.A.D. licensed Large Enhanced Modular 

Magazine Release 

• B.A.D. licensed Enhanced Takedown Pin 

• B.A.D. licensed BAD-ATG AEG Grip 

The total length of the gun is only 555mm, so it’s 

perfect for close combat without sacrificing a lot of 

movement speed. As for weight, it is only 2750g, so 

it’s not heavy for an AR. However, as I have played 

pistol-only for several years, the first game took me 

some time to get used to it, luckily with the QD point 

I was able to grab back my old MS3 sling for this 

experience, and with the M-LOK rail system, there 

were numerous possible locations for different kinds 

of attachments, so I installed two cameras and red 

dot sight! 

COMBAT READY 

The default power is 0.83 Joule/300fps on a .20g BB 

which is very friendly for CQB, and from my personal 

experience, I can witness it can handle targets within 

30m without a problem. As it uses a Rotary style hopup, 

you can adjust your hop-up easily, different from 

first-generation Tokyo Marui AEG more than 20 years 

ago! Back in those days, I hated adjusting the hop-up 

when I got a new AEG since it took a very long time 

for tuning it in, plus a lot of parts need to be removed 

to reach the hop-up system! 

The default trigger is pretty sensitive, for a semionly 

game, you just need to slightly pre-pull the 

trigger then it can give you a very quick response, and 

if you are willing to spend some time and few bucks 

on it, it will give you a VERY quick trigger response. 

But, if you want a zero-budget solution for a faster 

rate of fire? The system itself allows you to change to 

binary fire mode, and all you need to do is link your 

gearbox with a smartphone app, then you can switch 

on the binary mode. It’s fast but not every game 

venue or game host may allow this function. 

As I had owned several short versions of AR before, 

the magazine catch of this beast is nice. It is way 

bigger than ordinary AR, so it helps for quicker reload. 

If you want to use 7.4V batteries, you can install them 

from the back of the gun, as the B.A.D. VERT stock 

and a buffer tube extension also provides you a good 

space to install 11.1V batteries, but then the AEG 

will be slightly longer, but it is still user-friendly in a 

CQB environment. However, this gun uses batteries 

more quickly than I expected, a 11.1V battery can last 

around 30 minutes of gameplay at the pace we play, 

34 


ARMOURY 

RWA BATTLE ARMS DEVELOPMENT SBR 

so if you are going for this gun, don’t forget to get 

extra batteries as a backup! 

Installing a Tracer/Suppressor? This is the the easiest 

part, just remove the muzzle brake, and you can 

install any 14mm tracer. 

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER 

Reviewing any kind of airsoft gun, I would base it 

on several factors as my core; response, flex, weight, 

length, range. 

As the BAD SBR is not heavy, with one warm-up 

game, I’m already able to give faster response when 

dealing with close-range opponents; checking corners 

isn’t a hard task with this gun, it is still first-man 

friendly for combat situations. The gun isn’t too 

heavy, and even if there are stairs in the venue, 

you can grab it without earing into your 

stamina, and even in some situations 

when you may need to grab the gun 

with one hand, it is still 

manageable. I 

would still prefer 

a pistol for any run 

and gun strategy, but 

if you remove all 

attachments and 

use a 7.4V 

battery setup, 

I still think it 

is possible 

because 

of its 

magazine 

size of up to 

120 bbs. 

If you want to do 

longer-range covering 

fire, the pre-pulling of 

the trigger method helps 

with the default setting; however 

since the trigger becomes very 

sensitive with this method, you need to be careful 

and gentle while playing to maintain the 

rate of fire without going too 

fast. I used 

.25g BBs 

to play with 

and here I saw 

a power 

level of 0.91 

Joule/280fps 

with this 

weight 

which 

also allowed 

excellent accuracy 

once 

the hop was set. As 

some airsoft players 

enjoy a longer barrel 

AR, RWA also have a 556- 

LW version which is great for 

distance shooting or outdoor airsoft 

actions. 

Finally, I would suggest this gun 

for players who wanted to experience 

different styles of airsoft, it is suitable 

for different scenarios, different game 

modes, and it is easy to manage. As 

I always suggest to new players, 

an AR is a must-have, since you 

can get different types of 

attachments to maximize 

your performance, 

and the BATTLE 

ARMS 

DEVELOPMENT 

SBR 

has to potential 

to be 

customised for 

your exact 

needs. 

For those who 

are interested in how 

this AEG performs in CQB action, please feel 

free to check out our gameplay video here (https:// 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnfmQfqwc3I&t), and 

for more information on the AEG itself just check 

out www.redwolfairsoft.com/rwa-battle-armsdevelopment-sbr-aeg.html. 

Finally, once again 

thank you Max, Redwolf Airsoft Gambit for all the 

information and support! 

And thanks to Max and RWA from all at Airsoft 

Action for allowing us early access to this superb little 

AEG via Larri; we hope it will be the first of many 

reports to come! AA 

“IF YOU WANT TO USE 7.4V BATTERIES, YOU CAN INSTALL THEM FROM THE BACK 

OF THE GUN, AS THE B.A.D. VERT STOCK AND A BUFFER TUBE EXTENSION ALSO 

PROVIDES YOU A GOOD SPACE TO INSTALL 11.1V BATTERIES, BUT THEN THE AEG WILL 

BE SLIGHTLY LONGER, BUT IT IS STILL USER-FRIENDLY IN A CQB ENVIRONMENT” 


Available at all good retailers

KIT & GEAR 

GEAR UP FOR TRAINING! 

ENHANCING 

YOUR 

TOOLBOX! 

38 


KIT & GEAR 


“IF IT AIN’T RAINING, WE AIN’T TRAINING” IS A PHRASE THAT’S MUCH OVERUSED, BUT IT DOES SET 

THE SCENE FOR THE FACT THAT YOU SHOULD BE FULLY PREPARED FOR ALL EVENTUALITIES WHEN IT 

COMES TO ATTENDING AN AIRSOFT TRAINING DAY OR COURSE! BILL REFLECTS BACK ON HIS TIME 

WITH FAST TACTICAL RECENTLY AND WHAT KIT HE FOUND USEFUL… 

Whether or not you believe that there is a 

benefit for “airsoft training” the fact of 

the matter is that many of us will attend a 

training day, or indeed a multi-day training course in 

our “airsoft careers”, and indeed it’s a part of airsoft 

that I actually enjoy greatly and embrace fully! 

As good as we may think we are, be that in a 

greenside or urban environment, one thing that a 

thankfully long life has taught me is to never stop 

learning! We can become entrenched in doctrine 

(right or wrong, but is there actually a “wrong” if 

it’s safe practice?), and fall into habits (good or bad) 

that actually end up restricting our development as 

players. If we only ever play on one team, or only play 

one style of airsoft at a handful of sites, then frankly I 

believe that we’re missing out. 

Why so? Simply put if our habits, that “muscle 

memory” of both physical skills and mind-set, become 

set and that’s where we leave it, then there’s always 

going to be someone out there that does something 

in-game we can’t mitigate against. How many times 

have you heard even veteran players say “we got 

owned by that rental guy”? It’s a hard fact that the 

unpredictable can sometimes shake even the most 

experienced player to the core, a time when those 

“hardwired skills and drills” need re-evaluating and 

some new tools added to the “tactical toolbox”, and 

this for me is where airsoft training plays a vital part in 

the equation. 

And it’s not just a single training day or course 

that I’m talking about here; in all walks of life, 

and especially the military there’s a thing called 

“continuation training”, and if you look to the history 

of any unit, and most of all the elite ones, new skills 

are constantly being learned, new methods and fresh 

approaches considered and implemented. Why should 

we be different? 

In my opinion if you have the opportunity to attend 

a good training course then grasp it eagerly with 

both hands, not once, but often! You’ll learn new 

wrinkles on tactics and gear from the Instructors/DS, 

but you’ll also learn from the other guys that are on 

the course with you. Before I even get into gear the 

one single thing that I would advise you take to an 

airsoft training course is open ears and an open mind, 

as there will always be something that you can learn, 

even if you’re former military! 

To put this in context from my own recent 

experience with FAST TACTICAL, for some time now 

I’ve worked with a couple of excellent two-point 

slings, one from DIRECT ACTION (their Carbine Sling) 

and one from VIPER (the VX). I ditched my much-loved 

old singlepoint and moved to a two-pointer as I’d 

started using longer AEG and GBBR platforms more 

than shorties, but when I went back to my VFC Mk18 

for the course I realised why I’d loved the singlepoint 

in the first place! 

I discussed this at some length with the DS and 

found myself guilty of sliding into a “bad habit” 

where I tried to use one bit of kit for multiple 

environments… lesson learned right there, kit for the 

job in hand and all that! 

IT AIN’T RAINING… 

With that admission made I’ll progress to the 

kit I used; thankfully our day at Silverstone was 

undertaken in lovely British summer weather… it 

only rained a couple of times, so it was largely “fairweather 

gear for all! First up for me was an Operator 

Combat Shirt and MKII Operator Combat Pants from 

CLAWGEAR, and my LOWA ZEPHYR boots, all of 

which have been with me for a while and are worn-in 

and comfortable… never underestimate comfort; as I 

love to say “any fool can be uncomfortable!” 

My belt kit is all DIRECT ACTION, their Mustang 

two-piece belt, this time set up specifically for Mk18 

“IN MY OPINION IF YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND A GOOD TRAINING COURSE 

THEN GRASP IT EAGERLY WITH BOTH HANDS, NOT ONCE, BUT OFTEN! YOU’LL LEARN NEW 

WRINKLES ON TACTICS AND GEAR FROM THE INSTRUCTORS/DS, BUT YOU’LL ALSO LEARN 

FROM THE OTHER GUYS THAT ARE ON THE COURSE WITH YOU” 


KIT & GEAR 


and G17 mags; basically two carbine mags, two pistol 

mags, dump pouch, first aid/TQ pouch, vehicle/helo 

safety lanyard, and my G17/Surefire holster from 

KYDEX Customs. This is the exact same setup that I 

use when shooting “real” and covers all the bases. 

Still DIRECT ACTION, and my favourite plate carrier 

is the modular Spitfire System; I love this as it’s loprofile, 

lo-weight, and you can easily swap out multiplatform 

magazine placards for different missions. 

In this instance I mounted a three-cell Speed Reload 

panel, and on the rear a Utility Back Panel so that I 

could run a 2L hydration system with the tube secured 

at the front with a V-LOCK. 

In terms of “safety gear” I used my old FAST lid, 

along with PELTOR SPORTAC earpro (a cheaper 

but solid alternative to COMTACS if you’re not 

running comms), my BluEye shooting glasses, and 

RAGNAR RAIDS Valkyrie Mk1 gloves. Depending on 

environment a ballcap also works… and as you will 

know my favourite cap is very much “worn in”… 

again, all of these items are very much “tried and 

tested”. 

For my primary I chose the VFC Mk18 GBBR, the 

right tool for the job in hand (urban CQB work) with 

six mags, one in the carbine, two on the belt, and 

three on the Spitfire. I mounted an EoTECH Holo, 

PEQ-15 and Scout Light, the latter pair married up to 

a WADSN dual pressure switch. My secondary was my 

now-ultra-reliable and accurate Umarex G17 with an 

X300, with one mag for the pistol, and two spares on 

the belt. 

Let me pause for a moment here to talk about 

optics and accessories. If you’re going on a training 

course then please, PLEASE make sure that everything 

you mount on your primary is good to go when you 

arrive! Optics should be zero’d beforehand, as should 

any laser marking devices, and do ensure that you 

have fresh batteries installed (with spares on hand!) in 

everything that needs them! Sounds daft, but it’s SO 

easy to swap an optic from one platform to another 

and lose zero… it’s also easy to leave batteries onboard 

for a while and for your electrics to fail you just 

at the wrong moment. Co-witnessing your irons is a 

great idea, but if you’re running lo/no light scenarios 

without NVGs and your white light goes dead that’s 

you pretty stuffed right there… 

“MY BELT KIT IS ALL DIRECT ACTION, THEIR MUSTANG TWO-PIECE, THIS TIME SET UP 

SPECIFICALLY FOR MK18 AND G17 MAGS; BASICALLY TWO CARBINE MAGS, TWO PISTOL 

MAGS, DUMP POUCH, FIRST AID/TQ POUCH, VEHICLE/HELO SAFETY LANYARD, AND MY G17/ 

SUREFIRE HOLSTER FROM KYDEX CUSTOMS” 

40 


KIT & GEAR 


RANGE BAG FTW! 

If you are heading off to a training session, then a 

good range bag is a must, and my choice here is a 

FIRST TACTICAL Recoil Range Bag. Designed with 

tough 600D polyester and closed foam padding 

to keep your gear organised while on the go, it 

has numerous specialised internal pockets and 

compartments, and stiff padded dividers pull out for 

easy organisation. Complete with two padded pistol 

pockets with ten pistol mag pockets, the interior 

pull-out organiser makes keeping everything just 

where you need it simplicity itself. There’s a specialised 

compartment for storage of cleaning kit and tools, 

and the pocket flap unzips and folds down to reveal 

an oil-resistant lining perfect for pistol cleaning needs. 

In a bag like this you can carry extra mags for your 

primary and secondary, along with gas and BBs for 

replen. I also carry a small tool kit, and old unjamming 

rod, some MAGLUBE, and a clean paintbrush… no 

I’m not getting into watercolours, this is for swiping 

away dust in my pistol and carbine to ensure they 

stay clean and perform properly! Spare gear goes 

into the Range Bag too; replacement eyepro, spare 

gloves, ballcap, watch cap and buff, my HELIKON-TEX 

Windrunner and VIPER FRONTIER jacket (you’re going 

to cool down between sessions so be prepared!), and 

my GORE TEX waterproofs just in case it actually does 

become “training whilst raining”! 

Some ranges and training centres may ask you 

to bring along a case in which to transport your 

platforms between training elements, and I used my 

old NUPROL SMG wheeled hardcase for this which 

was perfect; of course any decent gun case or bag 

will do as long as you can easily and swiftly pack 

away or deploy your primary and secondary when 

you need them! I also take along breech flags for 

my gassers; these cost pennies from most good gun 

stores and illustrate a level of safety and competency 

by “showing clear” to both those around you and 

anyone who may be observing; yes, these are replicas, 

but safety is paramount at all times and sometimes 

when we’re on a live-fire-rated site it’s just good 

practice to show that we are serious about handling 

and safety! 

So, a snapshot of MY favoured kit by way of 

illustration of what you might need, and how you do 

need to have things set up for a training day! As I said 

at the outset, you may not believe in the efficacy of 

formal training for airsoft, but from my experience you 

WILL learn something and take away perhaps the very 

skill that you need when it comes to being effective 

on your next game-day. 

What I will absolutely guarantee you is that when 

you attend a training course you WILL meet some 

righteous people, fellow players all of whom bring 

their own style of play, and their own dedication and 

enthusiasm to learning, and this in itself is airsoft 

gold… I met some awesome guys on the FAST 

TACTICAL day, some of which have now become 

mates that I speak to on a regular basis, finding out 

what they’re up to, where they’re playing, and what 

they’re using, along with having a right good laugh! 

And me, what did I learn this time? I added a 

couple of new wrinkles to my own “tactical toolbox”, 

reinforced some stuff that I knew already… and then I 

went home and dug out my old singlepoint! AA 

“OPTICS SHOULD BE ZERO’D BEFOREHAND, AS SHOULD ANY LASER MARKING DEVICES, AND 

DO ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE FRESH BATTERIES INSTALLED IN EVERYTHING THAT NEEDS 

THEM! SOUNDS DAFT, BUT IT’S SO EASY TO SWAP AN OPTIC FROM ONE PLATFORM TO 

ANOTHER AND LOSE ZERO… IT’S ALSO EASY TO LEAVE BATTERIES ON-BOARD AND FOR YOUR 

ELECTRICS TO FAIL YOU JUST AT THE WRONG MOMENT…” 


THE CAGE 

GREEN GEAR 

THE CAGE: 

IT’S GOOD TO 

BE GREEN! 

44 


THE CAGE 

GREEN GEAR 

WE’RE ROLLING ON WITH OUR FOCUS ON DIFFERENT CAMO PATTERNS AND COLOURS FOR GEAR 

THIS MONTH WITH A LOOK AT THE MANY FORMS OF GREEN THAT ARE OUT THERE, WHY THIS 

IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT COLOUR FOR AIRSOFT, AND WHAT SPECIFIC BOTS OF KIT THAT THE AA 

LEGION LIKE AND RECOMMEND! BILL STARTS THINGS ROLLING AS ALWAYS… 

Everywhere we turn these days there seems to be 

a comment about “going green”, and when it 

comes to playing airsoft I couldn’t agree more, 

as historically right up to “The Now” green has always 

been fabulous option for clothing and gear! 

Historically virtually every army in the world has 

at one point or another “gone 

green”, and if you’re looking 

for easy “from the past” 

inspiration then a 

search for OD 

Green or Olive 

Drab will bring 

you images of 

uniforms worn 

from the last 100 years or 

so. Probably the best known 

OD uniform for many will be 

the US “Nam Fatigues” where 

modern features really first started 

to appear on combat uniforms; 

through a number of iterations this 

uniform finally became one of the “founding 

fathers” of all the features we now expect to see in 

our clothing, and the “combat pant” that we know 

and love today owes much to the US design. 

But times they do move on, and new slants on 

both personal protection and functional use dictated 

that what we wear could help to save us from injury, 

and become even more easy to use with features 

designed to help the user get the most from their 

clothing. Knee and elbow pads were incorporated 

into the fundamental design of clothing, mixed fabrics 

were used in the same garment to take into account 

our bio-mechanics, and of course gear became as 

protective as it was lead-bearing. 

Now of course we are spoiled for choice when 

it comes to clothing and gear, with a huge market 

supplied by countless manufacturers of kit both real 

and replica, and one of the easiest colours to buy into 

for total clothing/equipment solution is plain green. 

After looking at the darling of BluFor last month in 

the guise of Multicam, it has always struck me that 

green has now become one of the defacto choices for 

OPFOR use, especially when it’s mixed up with a bit of 

camo! All the go faster kit is available in plain green, 

whether it be OD, Ranger, Adaptive, or RAL7013, 

the last one being my personal favourite. The choice 

of manufacturers making “green gear” is huge, and 

if you pick and pluck from multiple sources you can 

really end up with a righteous loadout, and you’ll see 

mine in my “CQB Kit” article this month. 

But is it just me, or do others in the AA LEGION 

feel the same about green kit that I do? This is where 

things start to pare back a little, as obviously in any 

group, a group no doubt just like you and your airsoft 

friends too, we all have differing opinions, and make 

different choices based on our different operational 

zones around the world. I’m expecting to see some 

unique opinions generated in this sequence of THE 

CAGE, with different members of the crew almost 

“championing” their kit of choice… it’s time to see 

just how similar we all are, whilst at the same time 

rejoicing in the individual differences that we all have! 

TEAM TALK 

So, without further ado I asked the members of the 

AA LEGION a simple question; “Green, OD, Ranger, 

Adaptive... what green kit do you use? Old or new, 

why do you use it, and what is your absolute favourite 

bit of plain green gear or clothing?” 

Miguel: Oh boy! My turn! So as it’s well known 

for The GHOST’s, we like to have our uniforms to 

keep the team well organized in that aspect. We 

have our rules and some guidelines, but one of the 

main objectives of having different uniforms is mainly 

to help us have slots in factions that might have 

“HISTORICALLY VIRTUALLY EVERY ARMY IN THE WORLD HAS AT ONE POINT OR AN- 

OTHER “GONE GREEN”, AND IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR EASY “FROM THE PAST” INSPI- 

RATION THEN A SEARCH FOR OD GREEN OR OLIVE DRAB WILL BRING YOU IMAGES OF 

UNIFORMS WORN FROM THE LAST 100 YEARS OR SO” 


THE CAGE 

GREEN GEAR 

uniform rule, like “desert vs woodland” or “camo vs 

no camo”. With that in mind, we started using a full 

OD uniform as part of our gear, not only as it’s great 

for “no camo” faction, since you won’t lose much in 

terms of camouflage, but it’s also great to mix up with 

other patterns, like our M81 or the ATACS AU. 

In the team, we mainly use combat uniforms, 

with most of our members using the Gen3 Combat 

Uniform from Primal Gear (courtesy of Gunfire), but 

I really liked my old Viper Tactical Warrior Uniform, 

it was tested, used and abuse for many years, and it 

never failed me; the colours faded away a bit due to 

the wear and tear, but my only shame is that Viper 

only remade the Warrior Shirt and not the combat 

pants (Ian!). I’ve also used a Primal Gear Gen4 OD 

combat uniform, but the colour is more of a RG than 

an OD. 

One thing that we have been testing is that the OD 

top works REALLY well with ATACS pants, normally 

the ground is always more arid and the bushes 

are green, so it 

works really well 

as camouflage. 

Besides the OD 

uniforms, for over 

10 years one of 

our rules is that all 

gear (vests, belts, 

holsters, etc) must 

be OD. Throughout 

the years, we have 

switched uniforms 

more than once 

and having our gear 

in OD makes the 

change easier. Also, 

in my opinion, the 

OD gear fits well in 

most pattern. 

Stewbacca: Since coming to Taiwan my flat OD 

kit has been somewhat limited; I had a lot more 

plate carriers or other gear in OD back in the UK. I 

have fragments of the 58 Pattern webbing belt gear 

that my sister sent me for my FAL review, the Irish 

getup which I already used with the FAL mags for the 

shooting competition. 

Besides that my Helikon-Tex OD Soft shell jacket is 

something that I’ve kept hold of for years; we bought 

them as a team standard back in my latter years in the 

UK, and it continues to serve me well out here as it’s 

lightweight and a good sun or wind blocking option, 

as well as feeling relatively cool in the tropical heat 

with a cold feeling on the skin. 

It isn’t the best in terms of waterproofing as it tends 

to just saturate quickly in the rain out here, but for 

going up mountains or running outdoor events or 

expos it’s a compact lightweight option I can throw on 

which has open-able vent zips and velcro for patches 

and whatnot. 

Bill: And for me? Although I’ve got a whole 

wardrobe of “green gear” these days that I’ve talked 

about (and do so again this month!), one of my fave 

pieces is still the DCS plate carrier. Over the years I’ve 

been privileged enough to run a number of plate 

carriers and load carrying systems featuring integrated 

body armour protection, and although these days I 

tend to run more “light is right”, the Warrior Assault 

Systems DCS has stuck as my personal favourite for 

full-on scenario games; it has become my default 

“battle” plate carrier design and the Ranger Green 

colour from WAS merges with my RAL7013 clothing 

perfectly. 

The DCS (Dynamic Combat System) is a lightweight, 

low profile system 

which is rugged, 

yet ergonomically 

designed to provide 

exceptional comfort 

and functionality. 

Designed with direct 

input from active 

S.F. Operators the 

DCS is suitable for all 

types of operating 

environment 

and is available 

in a number of 

camouflage patterns, 

plain colours and 

platform specific 

configurations. As 

well as the Ranger 

Green version shown here with the WAS Open Top 

mag pouches, they also have closed top M4, G36 

(which will carry 7.62mm mags) and AK specific 

setups available from stock. 

You can purchase the DCS rigs on their own, or as a 

ready set up, complete system. The DCS DA 5.56mm 

(Direct Action) comes as standard with five Open Mag 

Pouches for 5.56mm Mags (inc PMAGs and EMAGs), 

and two Small Utility / Medic Pouches. I’ve added a 

large Utility Pouch, one of WAS’s excellent Rip Off 

Personal Medic Pouches, a front opening Admin 

Pouch, and a Cargo Pack with hydration compartment 

to my personal rig which pretty much covers all the 

bases. AA 

46 


THE CAGE 

GREEN GEAR 

“WE STARTED USING A FULL OD UNIFORM AS PART OF OUR GEAR, NOT ONLY AS IT’S 

GREAT FOR “NO CAMO” FACTION, SINCE YOU WON’T LOSE MUCH IN TERMS OF CAM- 

OUFLAGE, BUT IT’S ALSO GREAT TO MIX UP WITH OTHER PATTERNS, LIKE OUR M81 OR 

THE ATACS AU” 


RED CELL 

SMG UPDATE 

RED CELL 

STILL SHORT... 

AND VERY 

SWEET! 

IT’S TIME TO REVISIT OUR SMG CATEGORY THIS MONTH, TO CHECK IN ON HOW ALL THE LITTLE 

BEAUTIES IN THE RED CELL PROGRAM ARE FARING AFTER A COUPLE OF YEARS (AND MORE) OF USE 

AND ABUSE! WE’RE STARTING TO REALLY FOCUS DOWN ON SOME SPECIFIC MODELS, WITH SOME 

GREAT TECH INPUT AS WELL AS OUR ONGOING USER-DATA! 

48 


RED CELL 

SMG UPDATE 

So, SMGs… don’t we all love ‘em! When it 

comes to CQB-play this is what the SMG was 

ultimately designed for, so it’s the ideal platform 

for that environment, but with airsoft ranges and 

engagement distances as they are it’s also a platform 

that many choose overall, be that for indoor, urban, 

or woodland airsoft adventures! 

I’ve used an SMG as my primary so many times 

in the past, and I’ve had models in my personal 

armoury ever since Tokyo Marui unveiled their 

awesome (but oh my lawd, SO hard to work on!) 

Uzi. I’ve had AEGs and gassers aplenty of my own, 

and even more that I’ve tested and reviewed, and I 

have to say that it’s an area that I love coming back 

to… in fact you could say that this category is my 

personal favourite of all that we’ve tested over the 

last two year! 

Whether you’re a skirmisher, a MilSim fanatic, or 

a dedicated OPFOR-ist there’s and SMG for you out 

there, and as time goes by there seem to be more 

and more available! We won’t be concentrating on 

the VORSK VMP-1 in this update as we’ve only just 

reviewed the production model (last issue), but for 

me this is a fabulous indication of how a really good 

SMG can, and will, be adopted by players embracing 

all styles of airsoft… from the sheer number that I 

saw down at the NAF I know this to be true, and 

every proud owner of a new VMP-1 only had good 

things to say about it… and this was on a verymuch-woodland 

site! 

Before we get into the meat of things, also at 

the NAF a number of you asked me more about 

the Red Cell program itself, so I believe it’s time to 

clarify exactly what it is, and how we run it, again. 

Basically we started a little over two years ago with 

a number of categories covering the majority of the 

most common airsoft platforms, and between the 

members of the testing group we brought together 

a basic ten models in each category to start testing 

with the goal of running them all through a five-year 

testing cycle. 

And no, these are not all MY platforms (I bloody 

wish!), but models that are owned also by members 

of the Red Cell team who kindly allow everyone in 

the group to try their AEGs and GBBs and keep a 

running tally on use and continued performance. 

Thanks to the way the program has been embraced 

by certain manufacturers (we thank you!) who wish 

to know how their AEGs and GBBs perform over an 

extended period there is indeed also a “Test Pool” of 

models that is kept (in stock, out of the box form) in 

the AA Armoury, and many of these end up with Red 

Cell members to test over time as well! 

As you can see, this is all about seeing how the 

models we have perform not just as new, but with 

continued hard use. Yes we maintain them, but 

unless there is a very specific reason, none will be 

upgraded from new… we want to see what breaks 

over time, how easy the fix is, what that fix costs, 

and what performance we can get from some basic 

and minimal upgrading. 

Thankfully numerous manufacturers now feed into 

the program on a regular basis, so our “Starting 10” 

has now in many cases become 15+ by category! 

By the end of the program each and every model 

will have an “on-par” BB count although of course 

some may be newer than others. Bottom line is that 

Red Cell hammer them, break them and fix them 

so you can have all the info and an assurance of 

performance when you choose to add a new model 

to your own armoury! 

THE LOWDOWN 

So, nuff said on that, and let’s get to THE GUNS! 

It’s cool to see that among Red Cell there are some 

real SMG fiends, including me, so we’ve distilled our 

joint experiences to compile this update on some of 

the models that we own ourselves, or have run for 

some considerable time from the pool. 

Although there is one MP5 here, if you’ve 

followed the program then you’ll know that “THE 

FIVE” has a category all to itself, and yes, we’ll be 

following up with that in due course. This time, as I 

said, I’ve asked the guys to really start digging down, 

taking a real “deep dive” into individual platforms, 

so I’ll shut up now and let them get into it! 

Jimmy: I have become somewhat of a SMG fan 

over the past couple of years and have built up quite 

a collection, most of which are more the modern 

type. My favourite has to be the UMP45 as this for 

“WHEN IT COMES TO CQB-PLAY THIS IS WHAT THE SMG WAS ULTIMATELY DESIGNED 

FOR, SO IT’S THE IDEAL PLATFORM FOR THAT ENVIRONMENT, BUT WITH AIRSOFT 

RANGES AND ENGAGEMENT DISTANCES AS THEY ARE IT’S ALSO A PLATFORM THAT 

MANY CHOOSE OVERALL, BE THAT FOR INDOOR, URBAN, OR WOODLAND AIRSOFT 

ADVENTURES!” 


RED CELL 

SMG UPDATE 

me has to be the best looking SMG ever made which 

is why I got excited when I learned of the PCC45 and 

the UTR45, a more modern twist on the UMP. It is my 

belief that all SMG’s should be a “.45 caliber”! 

My first SMG was the Umarex Elite Force UMP and 

I get questioned about it a lot. It is my understanding 

that these are no longer available and certain 

proprietary parts are non-existent, so I tend to use 

this mainly for special occasions. It brings attention 

due to its very loud electric blowback which is a very 

satisfying sound indeed. Battery space is limited and 

you do need to be mindful of what batteries you 

use as the mock bolt when moving passes over the 

battery so could potentially damage the battery. The 

Elite Force UMP was, as far as I am aware, the only 

model to incorporate a 2 BB burst which is a nice little 

touch. The mags do play up sometimes as they are 

hi-cap mags; sometimes they jam internally, but if you 

give the bottom a firm tap they unjam themselves… it 

wouldn’t be the first time I have had hi-cap mags jam! 

The addition of the quick-change spring makes it easy 

to adjust power depending on your sites limits and it 

is a very quick change Indeed. Adorned with the right 

attachments the UMP45 really does stand out in a 

crowd. 

Moving on to the DE UTR45, a reasonably recent 

platform brought to us by Double Eagle; it’s a very 

impressive piece of kit indeed. This is an exact replica 

of the LWRC45 and really does look the part. Sporting 

the Falcon Fire Control System it operates flawlessly 

and offers a certain amount of programmability. 

Battery space situated at the very rear is a tad tight 

and limits you to small, low mah batteries forcing you 

to carry a few for a day of ‘softing, but if your only 

doing short games it’s fine. Able to lift a 0.30g BB out 

of the box is something to brag about slinging BBs out 

to 60m with effect will please many! 

Boycie: I still really like the MPX even over the 

MCX. It’s perfect size to drop in a rucksack, with 

mags, ammo etc and then just take off to a site. With 

the addition of a plate carrier and belt kit, the whole 

set up is compact and so much easier to take out than 

the “everything and the kitchen sink” kit with a big 

loadout. Covered in the Feb 2022 issue, the first MPX 

in the UK is still in my “armoury”. Performance-wise, 

since I made the modification of motor and other 

tweaks it’s certainly consistent and really good fun to 

use. Range is also great for such a short rifle. 

I’m really liking the “grab and go kit” as all the 

MPX mags along with secondary and mags are on 

my belt and at one place; I even wore it all with a 

jacket over the top and running the MPX on the RTS 

sling I’m sure a few players didn’t even realise I had it 

under the jacket ….. that caused a few surprises when 

moving thru a “hot area” without being engaged and 

then getting to a suitable point to uncover and then 

open up on unsuspecting opposition players. I can 

see the MPX staying in my reduced armoury for some 

time yet! 

Dan: Much like John, I am a massive fan of the 

MPX platform, but admittedly sway towards favouring 

the MCX over it for general outdoor field use. That 

being said, outside of select Rattler conversions, the 

MPX is the far more compact ensemble and easily fits 

inside a small backpack, duffel or concealed under a 

heavy jacket. As discussed in previous issues, the stock 

motor is a little anaemic for the task at hand, but 

with a nice aftermarket motor installed the gun really 

comes alive. One shouldn’t let the short barrel length 

dissuade them from considering the MPX for outdoor 

use. This gun is not really hampered in the volume or 

gearbox department like the smaller VFC MP7A1 AEG 

when it comes to setting this up to compete on the 

fields and it will have no issues holding its own. 

On some of the really high mileage MPX’s I’ve 

built that are pushing 100K+ rounds and had come 

back in for some servicing, I’ve been noting a few 

cracked gearboxes. Despite radiusing and sorbo being 

added, the Avalon series shells do not seem to be 

quite as durable as the older grey VFC shells were. 

I’ve also seen a small number blow out the back 

of the gearbox where the spring guide is situated. 

Some of these I have learned were also ran in a 

stockless configuration, so more stress was directly 

transferred through the spring guide to the gearbox 

shell as opposed to having the stock to brace up 

against. Realistically, this is an incredible volume of 

fire and often well beyond what the average player 

will execute in their airsoft lifetimes before moving on 

to other guns or other things, so it’s not altogether 

unexpected. 

Overall, I have not seen any real issues with the 

“I’M REALLY LIKING THE “GRAB AND GO KIT” AS ALL THE MPX MAGS ALONG 

WITH SECONDARY AND MAGS ARE ON MY BELT AND AT ONE PLACE; I EVEN 

WORE IT ALL WITH A JACKET OVER THE TOP AND RUNNING THE MPX ON THE 

RTS SLING I’M SURE A FEW PLAYERS DIDN’T EVEN REALISE I HAD IT UNDER THE 

JACKET” 

50 


RED CELL 

SMG UPDATE 


RED CELL 

SMG UPDATE 

JG WORKS JG069 MP5 AEG 

Model: JG WORKS JG069 MP5 AEG 

Price: iro UK£70.00 

Age: Four Years 

Weight: 1725g 

Length: 735mm (Stock Collapsed) 

Magazine Capacity: 240 BBs (Mid and Realcaps available) 

Cold Chrono: 1.07 Joule/340fps 

Hot Chrono: 1.07 Joule/340fps 

Taclite Compatibility: Dedicated 

Suppressor Compatibilty: Dedicated, or buy the SD6! 

Available From: www.taiwangun.com 

ELITE FORCE (UMAREX) H&K UMP AEG 


Age: Four Years 

Weight: 2075g 

Length: 450mm/680mm 

Magazine Capacity: 400 BBs (Midcaps available) 



Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail 

Suppressor Compatibilty: Dedicated 

Supplied By: www.gunfire.com 

G&G SMC9 GBB 

Price: iro £UK£285.00 

Age: Three Years 

Weight: 2125g 


Magazine Capacity: Gas, 50 BBs (Will accept 27 BB GTP9 pistol 

mags) 



Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK 

Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW 

Supplied By: www.guay2.com 

G&G PCC45 AEG 



Weight: 2500g 


Magazine Capacity: 110 BB (Mid and Hicaps available) 

Cold Chrono: 1.04 Joule/335fps (after spring change) 

Hot Chrono: 1.04 Joule/335fps (after spring change) 

Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK Rail 



TOKYO MARUI MP7A1 GBB 


Age: Two Years 

Weight: 2200g 


Magazine Capacity: 40BBs 





Available From: www.alphadeltaairsoft.com 

52 


RED CELL 

SMG UPDATE 

body or other externals failing as long as the gun is 

properly cared after. I was admittedly a bit sceptical on 

the overall durability of the magazine material at first, 

but this has proven to be the opposite case and the 

magazines have held up to abuse very well. Having 

spent a lot of time on this platform now, the VFC MPX 

remains firmly amongst my top picks for SMG AEG’s. 

If you are a fan of SIG’s modern lineup, this will feel 

right at home in your armoury! 

Boycie: I’ve had a G&G SMC-9 for a while and 

have been impressed with the way it handles and feels 

in the hand. For me, carrying pistol-sized mags and 

running on the semi-only mode is the way to go but 

with the option to go full auto when needed is good. 

I prefer the semi-only as I can get two fills of BBs with 

one fill of gas so all I need to do is carry a speedloader 

or two just in case I begin to run low. The range, for 

me and my style of play, is great and it handles my 

favourite .28’s with ease. 

Ben: G&G, SMC9....first of all let me start off by 

saying how good looking it is, the gull-wing ejection 

dust covers, the forward ambidextrous charging 

handles, that overall look of the rail… now this similar 

but not the same as the VMP as in it’s a company’s 

take on making something new that no one has seen 

before nor does it exist in the real steel or gaming 

world, so in that respect it’s unique. 

The SMC9 as a CQB SMG is quite a beast in its own 

right, with a good standard range 50+ meters and 

very accurate up to 40ish which if you use this gun 

for what it’s designed for that’s perfect. This platform 

seems to be rather popular with the speedsoft crowd, 

but it’s still a formidable primary weapon in the right 

hands; playing the front-line pusher either in CQB or 

open field games or as a sidearm for snipers it gets 

the job done! 

It’s known not to be gas efficient so I choose to 

follow what has been said is the best way to get 

the better performance out of it (HPA)....I ordered 

myself the Airtac TM 400 BB drum mag kit, had the 

wonderful Wizard Jimmy piece it together for me 

and it works perfectly well. I prefer to run a GBB 

as it should be with a load of mags and have that 

more realistic feel to my play with stoppages and 

mag changes, but as we know GBB platforms don’t 

perform too well in colder weather so I had to think 

about adapting for this, hence the HPA-tapped drum 

mag. Now with the SMC9 not being so gas-friendly 

regardless of the weather I agree that running this 

beauty on an HPA-tapped mag is the way forward! It 

is truly a wonderful SMG and looks good in anyone’s 

collection, but would I recommend it!? Of course, but 

go down the HPA-tapped drum mag route if you plan 

on running it as your primary platform. 

Boycie: I’ve owned an EVO a few years ago, and at 

the time it was one of the most fun SMGs I ran. Again 

pistol-ish sized mags so I could carry 6-9 “lo-caps” 

depending on the site and games. I never got one of 

the hi-caps as I enjoyed the reloading and didn’t want 

to be carrying a tactical maraca when it started to run 

a bit low. If I needed more ammo I would use pistol 

mag size speedloaders as those could be emptied in to 

two standard mags and then would not be the source 

of a rattle after use. Accuracy and ROF was plenty for 

me in out of the box. After my recent visit to ASG UK 

I can tell you now that the EVO just got even better, 

and I’ll be reporting back on the latest developments 

in due course! 

Bill: I was privileged to have one of the very first 

ASG Scorpion EVOs in the UK, and I’ve seen this little 

beauty rise and continue rising! Since ASG released 

their original CZ EVO in 2015 it has proved to be a 

massive success with airsofters all over the world, even 

generating its own online fan page! But just as with 

CZ in the world of real firearms things moved on and 

ASG updated their range; the EVO 3 B.E.T. was the 

first AEG built specially to use LiPo or LiFE batteries. 

With the use of an ULTIMATE basic motor, high quality 

wiring and an electronic control unit (ECU), the EVO 3 

A1 is also the first AEG born to use 7.4V LiPo batteries 

right out of the box. 

In use the EVO is a tremendous replica too; it’s 

very light, and even with the stock fully extended it’s 

only 870mm long! A 6.03mm precision inner barrel 

fitted as standard ensures great accuracy. The battery 

compartment is accessed by allowing the whole front 

end to slide forward and the battery to be inserted. 

Unlike the tight compartment of the original SMG the 

EVO carbines will allow you to fit many more shapes 

and sizes of battery, although you still need to be 

“THE SMC9 AS A CQB SMG IS QUITE A BEAST IN ITS OWN RIGHT, WITH A GOOD 

STANDARD RANGE 50+ METERS AND VERY ACCURATE UP TO 40ISH WHICH IF YOU 

USE THIS GUN FOR WHAT IT’S DESIGNED FOR THAT’S PERFECT. THIS PLATFORM 

SEEMS TO BE RATHER POPULAR WITH THE SPEEDSOFT CROWD, BUT IT’S STILL A 

FORMIDABLE PRIMARY WEAPON IN THE RIGHT HANDS” 


RED CELL 

SMG UPDATE 

ASG SCORPION EVO A1 AEG 

Price: iro UK3330.00 

Age: Five Years 

Weight: 2300g 


Magazine Capacity: 75BBs (Hicaps available) 





Supplied By: www.actionsportgames.com 

KRYTAC KRISS VECTOR AEG 



Weight: 2600g 

Length: 665mm 






Available From: www.landwarriorairsoft.com 

SIG AIR MPX AEG 



Weight: 2540g 

Length: 635mm (stock collapsed) 




Taclite Compatibility: 


Available From: www.redwolfairsoft.com 

S&T AIRSOFT AVENGER BIZON AEG 


Age: Five Years 

Weight: 2900g 

Length: 485mm (Stock Folded) 

Magazine Capacity: 300 BBs (Silverback Midcaps available) 



Taclite Compatibility: None, but you can easily fit a rail section 


Supplied By: www.nuprol.com 

LCT PP-19 AEG 


Age: Six Years 

Weight: 3220g 


Magazine Capacity: 50 BBs (Double Included, Hicap available) 



Taclite Compatibility: None (Aftermarket rails are now available) 


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

54 


RED CELL 

SMG UPDATE 

careful whilst doing this as the cocking handle is not 

retained and has a slightly annoying habit of flying 

out. This is a VERY minor niggle as the overall design 

is superb, with excellent performance to match! 

Jimmy: The ASG Scorpion EVO, probably one of 

the best things ASG have produced to date in my 

eyes and it is a very popular platform indeed although 

not without flaws. I have the A1 version, so the very 

short model. This has seen a fair bit of use so I am 

pretty familiar with it and I have only found three little 

problems here. Again battery space is quite limited; 

ASG have made a battery for the EVO although it is 

quite a tight fit. The hop adjuster isn’t great, it doesn’t 

offer much adjustment and it’s difficult to get your 

fingers in to get to the tiny wheel; several options 

are available to make life easier but from other 

manufacturers who realised this flaw. 

ASG have designed an aftermarket hop unit but 

hearing from others experiences with these it is very 

hit and miss as to whether or not it works properly. 

The ambi selector can be a pain especially when 

you’re mid use and you accidentally hit the selector 

while firing. When holding the grip the selector 

actually sits right on top of your trigger finger. An easy 

solution is just to remove it and fit the cover which is 

optional. 

Problems aside it operates flawlessly. Having an 

electronic trigger system you have four fire modes, 

safe, semi, 3rd burst and full auto, sadly though no 

programmability. There’s a very light trigger pull and 

fairly short travel makes for a very responsive action 

and given it is powered by an ASG Basic 18k motor on 

11.1v it spins pretty quick with a TOF around 18rps. 

Standard mags are only 90 BBs and they empty pretty 

rapidly to where the EVO will stop alerting you to 

reload! After inserting a mag you need to hit the cutoff 

switch in order to fire again, and I have forgotten 

about this a few times… ‘DOH’. Overall the body is 

pretty rigid for a full polymer platform with only minor 

wobble on the stock at full extent. 

I have had in my possession for some time now 

courtesy of G&G, the MXC9 and as I wrote in my 

initial review, I mentioned it is a perfect SMG, one 

which I could not find fault with and everything about 

it pleased me. Originally G&G released the PCC45 a 

fine looking SMG and I couldn’t wait to get my hands 

on one; it performed flawlessly and I really did enjoy 

using it but it had one massive flaw in the design 

and that was the battery placement which is in the 

handguard and is way too small. Seeing how some 

airsofters cram batteries in left me wondering how 

many people have damaged batteries trying to fit the 

handguard. As a result of the battery space my PCC45 

has been relegated to the rack where it will stay. 

Good news though as G&G reworked the PCC, 

ironed out the issue and brought us the MXC9. It is 

still a PCC45 and it clearly says it still on the receiver 

but what they done was to convert it to rear wired 

and fit a stock which can house a very ample sized 

battery with less risk of damage. By doing this it 

allowed for the front to be made shorter and it 

has become a fantastic little CQB platform with 

performance to be feared. A complete redesign of the 

magazines changed it from straight to a curved, more 

9mm-esque mag with a unique feed system. They 

are a mid-cap mag but it has four chambers capable 

of holding nearly 200 BBs and they feed absolutely 

perfectly! 

Bill: When it comes to fine engineering you could 

well say that the Swiss know what they’re on about! 

Renowned for their fine, elegant and highly intricate 

timepieces, the Swiss also know a lot about what 

goes into making cutting edge firearms A great Swiss 

arms manufacturer, who in fairness are better known 

for their suppressors and accessories, is Brugger & 

Thomet (B&T). 

The licenced ASG B&T MP9A1 is a right little 

handful, and beautifully balanced as all the weight 

sits around the pistol grip (something I love about 

the VMP-1!); the alloy bolt and the 48 BB metal 

magazine account for most of this weight as the 

body, just like the real thing, is of a reinforced, 

lightweight fibre polymer. Overall I have to say that 

the MP9 has certainly found a place in my heart, and 

if you’re looking for a cracking, compact CQB tool, 

or an absolutely excellent back-up for a sniper rifle 

then I have to recommend this to you. Priced around 

UK£200 it’s a good price for a gasser, although as 

with all GBBs buying extra magazines will send this 

price up. It’s a really solid performer and it appears 

that ASG made the most of their licence, although as 

we all know this has now lapsed… I struggled to find 

“I HAVE HAD IN MY POSSESSION FOR SOME TIME NOW COURTESY OF G&G, THE 

MXC9 AND AS I WROTE IN MY INITIAL REVIEW, I MENTIONED IT IS A PERFECT SMG, 

ONE WHICH I COULD NOT FIND FAULT WITH AND EVERYTHING ABOUT IT PLEASED ME” 


RED CELL 

SMG UPDATE 

DOUBLE EAGLE M917G UTR45 AEG 



Weight: 2250g 

Length: 440/700mm 

Magazine Capacity: 120BBs (HiCaps available) 



Taclite Compatibility: Bespoke Fitting, but most rail sections will fit 


Available From: www.patrolbase.co.uk 

TOKYO MARUI MOD M AEG/P 



Weight: 1365g 

Length: 337-565mm 

Magazine Capacity: 260 BBs 





Available From: www.landwarriorairsoft.com 

ASG MP9 GBB 



Weight: 1750g 

Length: 305-527mm 




Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail (RHS, High) 


Available From: Sadly, these will now be second-hand only… 

G&G MXC 9 AEG 

Price: iro UK£ 

Age: One Year Eight Months 

Weight: 2190g 





Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK 



VORSK VMP-1 GBB 


Age: NEW! 

Weight: 1829g 






Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW (comes with a dedicated 

suppressor muzzle device, or with suppressor on the X variant) 

Available From: www.vorskairsoft.com 

56 


RED CELL 

SMG UPDATE 

an ASG MP9 with UK retailers when I was putting this 

article together which is a huge shame… if you see 

one, then grab it! 

Of course it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t mention a 

couple of OPFOR models, now would it? The S&T 

Bizon is still rockin’ and rollin’ (surprisingly as I didn’t 

hold out huge hope for its durability!), and the 

excellent LCT PP-19-01 “Vityaz” is still going like a 

train! 

Dan: Sticking with Swiss design, and one which is 

undoubtedly mired in aesthetic controversy, the Vector 

is emblematic of the unconventional look and deftly 

divides its adherents and detractors into two opposing 

camps. Previously, one was only entreated to GBB 

versions of this compact SMG, but Krytac stepped 

into the void with their AEG example that houses a 

rather unique gearbox layout that can either leave 

you scratching your head or amazed at the innovative 

approach. 

Owing to the design constraints put forth by the 

Vector’s body design, the gearbox upends traditional 

layouts with a vertically oriented approach; an angled 

cylinder head and an interesting air nozzle and tappet 

linkage paired with a short type motor and a quickchange 

spring guide. The gearbox shell itself is a 

rather massive and robust beast, which lends itself 

well to handling the higher stresses imparted from 

powerful springs needed to compensate for the 

short 155mm factory barrel length. There is some 

commonality with a few V2 components, but most of 

what is contained within is proprietary. There is also a 

rather curious ‘decompression’ feature that releases 

main spring tension when the selector switch is 

rotated into safe, similar to that found on an ICS. 

The Vector also has an on-board MOSFET that 

interfaces with a microswitch for the trigger. The 

selector setup mimics the real steel version exactly, 

including the option of running 2-round burst, 

which is a lot of fun. Perun makes a fantastic dropin 

MOSFET that improves on the functionality of the 

original while also bringing pre-cocking to the table, 

which greatly improves the trigger response. 

On the performance metrics, the trigger response 

of the as-equipped Vector is nothing to write home 

about, though the range and accuracy is sufficiently 

adequate for closer distances, Krytac’s weak motor 

and the gears generally being shimmed too tight, 

coupled with a heavy trigger spring all contribute to 

the slow feeling drive train. This is a gun that benefits 

immensely from a good tune up, omitting the selfshimming 

spring on the spur gear, a re-shim and a 

brushless motor install… the latter especially so as the 

battery space is quite tight and only accepts small LiPo 

packs, even with the optional extension fitted. With 

some effort, you can improve trigger response greatly, 

remove the AEP-like ‘whine’ and also significantly 

reduce amperage draw and increase ROF too. 

With its compact barrel length and unusual 

compression parts layout, this is a gun that generally 

excels better on the CQB arena than the field. Most 

of the “400 FPS” models actually turn in around 360 

FPS in my experience. But with select upgrades and 

some fine tuning, the range and FPS can be improved 

greatly. Carbine kits also exist to help gain some FPS 

without having to install massive springs to boost 

velocity too. And speaking of the aftermarket, this 

platform does enjoy a fair bit of support in this arena. 

Everything from stocks, barrel assemblies and shrouds, 

suppressors, drum magazines, and more exist to 

transform the Vector into the SMG of your dreams. 

Overall, I’d have to say the Vector is a bit of a 

curious beast to me because it feels a bit like a game 

that’s had certain features gated off behind a paywall. 

I appreciate the innovation and innate versatility of the 

chassis, and even the aesthetics grow on you after a 

time, but the best features can only be unlocked by 

spending some coin on the DLC. AA 

Red Cell is supported by: 

“WITH ITS COMPACT BARREL LENGTH AND UNUSUAL COMPRESSION PARTS LAYOUT, 

THIS (THE KRYTAC VECTOR) IS A GUN THAT GENERALLY EXCELS BETTER ON THE 

CQB ARENA THAN THE FIELD. MOST OF THE “400 FPS” MODELS ACTUALLY TURN IN 

AROUND 360 FPS IN MY EXPERIENCE. BUT WITH SELECT UPGRADES AND SOME FINE 

TUNING, THE RANGE AND FPS CAN BE IMPROVED GREATLY” 


INSIDE AIRSOFT 

LCT AIRSOFT 

AA RETURN 

TO LCT! 

WITH COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS BETWEEN ‘MILITARY’ ANNY AND STEWBACCA INTENSIFYING, FOLLOWING 

ON FROM THEIR INITIAL COOPERATIVE VISIT TO RATECH BACK IN MAY (FEATURED IN AUGUST’S ISSUE NO. 

152), OUR DYNAMIC DUO TURNED THEIR ATTENTION TO RE-VISITING OUR FRIENDS IN CHANGHUA AND 

SPENT THE DAY WITH LCT AIRSOFT CATCHING UP ON THEIR LATEST RELEASES AND UPCOMING PRODUCTS 

(THOSE THEY ARE COMFORTABLE TALKING MORE OPENLY ABOUT!), WITH THE SAME DUAL-LANGUAGE 

INTERVIEW TECHNIQUE TO COVER OFF VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THEIR OPERATIONS. 

60 



LCT AIRSOFT 

Having already cooperated effectively with 

LCT over the last few years to introduce their 

growing range of Heckler & Koch themed AEG 

and EBB replica platforms I was keen to catch up with 

a few other projects that had been announced at 

MOA shows recently or that I’d seen evidence of in 

their promotional videos or being prototyped during 

my previous initial factory visit (covered in issue No. 

138 of June 2022), as well as being keen for Anny 

to see their operations and capabilities and hopefully 

help us both get a better understanding of their 

philosophy and current plans and directions from the 

native language angle again. 

In mid-July Anny and I made our way to meet up at 

Taipei’s main station early in the morning of Tuesday 

the 18th to take the high speed rail down to Taichung 

where our ride awaited; Benita had returned from 

her studies in Spain and was in town while we were 

visiting so picked us up personally, taking us out to the 

West of the central industrial city and into the green 

rice- field plains of the coastal Changhua county, 

where Li Cheng Technology reside… better known to 

most of you as LCT Airsoft. 

Arriving on site we met the management and 

administrative team downstairs and settled into 

the office and meeting room to cover initial talking 

points, before being shown out to the factory floor 

and touring through the various work stations of 

punching, stamping, riveting, grinding, bending, 

spot welding, robotic welding, manual TIG welding, 

polishing and sub assembly! We got to follow the 

process of some of the internal gears, AK receivers, 

as well as the new SVDS’ folding tubular stocks and 

top covers, furniture retainers, and barrel assemblies 

through their journeys from raw plate or forged or 

cast blanks to their finished shapes ready for further 

assembly into sub-components of the overall guns. 

Moving upstairs we were immediately presented 

with mobile racks laden with completed new SVDS 

and LC3K AEGs, as well as an array of other AK 

platforms ready to be boxed up and sent out to 

distributors and end users. The final assembly and 

quality control room buzzes with activity as the 

many operatives (mostly women, as it happens!) 

put together electrically powered box magazines, 

gearboxes, and whole gun assemblies, which are then 

tested for function and power output before being 

put on the mobile racks for packing. 

“I FIRST MET THE FOUNDER OF LCT AT A MILITARY EXHIBITION IN TAIWAN, HE 

ALWAYS APPEARS WELL DRESSED IN BUSINESS SUITS, AS DO HIS STAFF AT SUCH 

EXHIBITIONS, SETTING THEMSELVES APART FROM MANY OF THEIR PEERS; AS WELL 

AS PRESENTING HIMSELF AS CALM, COLLECTED AND RESERVED” 



LCT AIRSOFT 

INTEL FROM THE SOURCE 

During her conversations with the top man himself, 

Anny managed to glean some more in depth 

background of the origins of the company, so it’s over 

now to Anny! 

The founder of LCT, who is also known as the 

“Godfather of the AK”, inherited his father’s business 

of a moulding factory but in the process of continuing 

its operation, he unwittingly helped out a well-known 

toy gun brand OEM at that time. 

Later, by chance, he decided to found the LCT 

Airsoft sub-brand in 1982 having already gleaned a lot 

of experience in producing stamped replica weapons 

components for the OEM, it seemed a natural 

progression to build their own systems; but why did 

he choose the AK series? What about the positioning 

of the gun brand? 

Actually because it is an unpopular choice for 

others, not being easy to design and manufacture, 

and when he was a student, he had studied mouldrelated 

disciplines, and been influenced by it since 

he was a child. Thus, LCT found their expertise being 

applied to a sector of the industry few others dared 

to enter; in fact, having graduated from EMBA in 

June 2021 he even wore his bachelor’s robes to 

the company exhibition room, posing with AKs in 

both hands to take his graduation commemorative 

photos! Not long after in 2023 he returned to “The 

Affiliated Industrial Vocational High School of National 

Changhua University of Education” and received their 

“outstanding alumni” award on stage for his efforts. 

I first met the founder of LCT at a military exhibition 

in Taiwan, he always appears well dressed in business 

suits, as do his staff at such exhibitions, setting 

themselves apart from many of their peers; as well as 

presenting himself as calm, collected and reserved for 

the most part, not talking too much, rather letting the 

products do the work. However on Facebook he often 

shares many of his deeper thoughts and business 

related axioms, such as; 

“Birds of a feather flock together, and people 

belong to groups. In your life, you can either 

influence others or be influenced by others. 

When you are still at the bottom of society, it is 

very important and necessary to be influenced 

by others. The key is who is influencing you, 

and whether you are often influenced by others. 

Some people at the same level as you are always 

“THE FOUNDER OF LCT, WHO IS ALSO KNOWN AS THE “GODFATHER OF THE AK”, 

INHERITED HIS FATHER’S BUSINESS OF A MOULDING FACTORY BUT IN THE PROCESS 

OF CONTINUING ITS OPERATION, HE UNWITTINGLY HELPED OUT A WELL-KNOWN TOY 

GUN BRAND OEM AT THAT TIME.” 

62 



LCT AIRSOFT 



LCT AIRSOFT 

hypnotised negatively, just like everyone else? 

Remember, who you make friends with will 

determine who you may be like in your life! 

Unable to move forward and retreat, only blame 

others every day, never self-examination. Such a 

person can only stay in place forever~ 

Through self-expansion, self aggrandisement, 

often invisibly, you will become a joke of others, 

without knowing it~ 

People are not divided into classes, they have 

experienced the same growth process, the same 

effort, different platforms, and different tools, 

but if you persist until the end, the result may be 

different, so your “choices” are very important.” 

During our visit of the facilities it also became 

clear to me that there are many aspects of LCT’s 

production capabilities which just cannot be found 

readily anywhere else or be readily outsourced to 

sub-contractors; many of the moulds and stamping 

techniques are proprietary and developed by LCT 

themselves and very specific to airsoft guns and the 

industry itself. 

COMING SOON! 

That’s what I’m talking about, and this is why Anny 

is such a vital part of how things will continue to 

develop for AA in “Airsoft Central”! Upcoming 

products include the SVDS AEG, the paratrooper 

variant of the legendary Dragunov ‘sniper rifle’, 

although most likely consider it more in the role of 

a Designated Marksman’s Rifle in reality, and the 

SVDS is somewhat shorter in overall length as well 

as incorporating a neat side folding skeletal tubular 

steel stock that makes it much more convenient for 

storage or transport to site in a more typical gun bag. 

The traditional fixed-stock wood-furniture full- size 

SVD being 1.23m long (like the PSG-1)making it a 

bit of a pain to carry around especially as it doesn’t 

break down like its H&K counterpart! The SVDS by 

comparison has a common receiver and front furniture 

and assembly, but a shortened overall barrel length 

of 565mm, with the overall length being reduced 

to 1135mm or 875mm with the stock extended or 

folded respectively. 

The construction is otherwise largely the same as 

the full-sized version with the genuine forged billet 

receiver that is then CNC machined and finished 

to perfection in basically the same manner as the 

real steel gun. With a similarly weighty and solid 

construction and handling, coupled with a very 

responsive MOSFET trigger system enabled extended 

4-geared mech box, LCT were good enough to send 

me one of the earliest prototypes from the multitude 

we saw upstairs that they had in their storage racks of 

completed guns awaiting packaging and shipping. 

A day or so after returning from our visit it arrived 

ready for testing (full report to follow in an upcoming 

issue) and thus far it’s basically indestructible, 

garnering lots of envious looks of my teammates. LCT 

won’t be producing their own PSO-1 replica scopes or 

picatinny adaptor mounting side-rails for other optics, 

but rest assured commonly available examples on 

the market are compatible as I’ve already tried a few 

different sighting solutions on “my” rifle; there will 

be an initial run of a thousand units already released 

as of the end of July 2023, albeit there will of course 

undoubtedly be some time required to get them all to 

the various corners of the world ready for your own 

enjoyment. 

Expected before the end of 2023, LCT’s ‘Z series’ 

AK compatible furniture will also be made available 

in a wide range of styles compatible with each of 

their platforms in the LKM, LK74, LK74SU LK104, 

and PP19 & PP20, allowing users to mix and match 

upper and lower front furniture sections with various 

herringbone or skeletonisation patterns to choose 

from that also serve to give an equivalent to the 

latest western M-LOK solutions allowing end users 

to customise not only the look of their modernised 

furniture solutions, but also the accessories mounted 

to them and their location. With an array of 

personalisation and set-up options available, produced 

from extruded aluminium blanks which are then CNC 

milled and anodised for a durable and aesthetically 

and tactilely pleasing solution; a further AK related 

product we saw was a CRS-style telescopic PDW stock 

solution which is already nearing market readiness 

and presents yet another in LCT’s ever growing 

option parts for end users to customise the form and 

function of their LK AEG systems. 

While we were on the subject of Russian weapons 

systems I inquired about the likes of their PK/PKM/RPD 

“LCT’S ‘Z SERIES’ AK COMPATIBLE FURNITURE WILL ALSO BE MADE AVAILABLE IN A 

WIDE RANGE OF STYLES COMPATIBLE WITH EACH OF THEIR PLATFORMS IN THE LKM, 

LK74, LK74SU LK104, AND PP19 & PP20, ALLOWING USERS TO MIX AND MATCH 

UPPER AND LOWER FRONT FURNITURE SECTIONS” 

64 



LCT AIRSOFT 



LCT AIRSOFT 

systems, all of which are currently out of production 

(and of course the RPD was a limited edition product 

only); at present there are sadly no plans to resurrect 

or restart production as the PKM has already reached 

a level of market saturation and there seems to be 

little to no demand or sufficient orders, interest or 

feedback from suppliers to justify such a venture. 

However, one thing that was mooted is their 

US counterpart in the form of LCT’s much-loved 

heavyweight behemoth M60 AEG platform; a surprise 

return of a legend, their team told us that the whole 

family will return to production to at least some 

volume, with a lot of shared components between the 

variants they plan on re-releasing, including the more 

modern M60E3 and E4 versions used more recently by 

special forces outfits, along with the full sized vietnam 

war era original that is beloved by many re-enactors 

or collectors alike… something to look forward to for 

those who missed the boat on the earlier production 

runs! 

AND THE FUTURE? 

Keeping with the cold war theme, I did, as I do every 

time, ask Bella and the rest of the team the everpresent 

‘FAL/L1A1 WHEN?’ question that a lot of my 

followers and especially old shooting friends from 

the UK badger me to ask at every opportunity; this is 

still something they would like to consider, but they 

still have a lot on their plate and also need to work 

out whether they would be better off replicating the 

commonwealth L1A1 SLR given its much more limited 

family of variants (just different furniture on the same 

“...AN MP5 AEG WHICH WILL UNDOUBTEDLY BE BUILT LIKE A TANK IN AN IDENTICAL 

FASHION TO ITS REAL STEEL COUNTERPART AND NO DOUBT BLOW AWAY OTHER AEG 

OFFERINGS OF EVERYONE’S FAVOURITE ROLLER DELAYED BLOWBACK SAS DOOR- 

KICKING BALCONY APPRECIATORS MASCHINE PISTOLE 5” 

66 



LCT AIRSOFT 

format, really) or if recreating the FAL and its more 

modern offshoot family members such as the SA58 

would be a better path… I guess you should all make 

your voices heard, of course I implored that the L1A1 

is what the people really want, but give LCT your 

constructive feedback and ideas! 

Returning to my preferred Heckler & Koch-themed 

platforms, many of you will have noticed allusion to 

an MP5 AEG which will undoubtedly be built like a 

tank in an identical fashion to its real steel counterpart 

and no doubt blow away other AEG offerings of 

everyone’s favourite roller delayed blowback SAS 

door-kicking balcony appreciators Maschine Pistole 5! 

However, at present they are awaiting a stabilisation 

of the supply chain and market forces before focusing 

on its eventual release; they want to get it right, 

and at a price point that will make it competitive in 

a saturated market, so we’ll all just have to wait, I 

guess. 

Similarly the keen-eyed among you may have 

noticed in one of their own videos a while back the 

unmistakable club foot style butt stock of an HK21 

light/ general purpose machine gun; based heavily 

off the G3 platform they have already perfected the 

other variants of, they were good enough to show us 

the aforementioned 3D CAD assembly in its advanced 

stages of design finalisation, immediately appealing 

to the nerd in me, given my own past life and present 

dabblings in such design efforts and software. 

Again, it’s really a case of awaiting a better market 

that will allow them to produce what is quite a 

heavy and complicated product line which also 

requires quite a few proprietary moulded or stamped 

components that differentiate it from their existing 

H&K components; it’s not really a matter of technical 

challenges besides perhaps some new and potentially 

tricky plastic moulds, but again largely based more 

on bringing the product to market in a sensible and 

appealing price range that will make it accessible to 

the fanbase that will appreciate it… patience, fellow 

shooters! 

NOW FOR THE WOW! 

With lots of ground covered with both Anny and 

myself we moved upstairs to the gun show room to 

enjoy the vast array of different AK and HK variants 

along with the machine guns and launchers arrayed 

on the floor, and got hands on with the traditional 

SVD and newest SVDS AEGs as well as looking at the 

new Z series accessories and comparing their extruded 

billets and end products to get an idea about their 

manufacture. 

Yup, we took plenty of pictures and videos of 

the multitude of guns and components available; 

I did finally manage to break something of LCT’s 

manufacture… unfortunately it was their “Game of 

Thrones-esque” armchair composed of various gun 

parts welded together… I guess I have a wide bone 

structure or something as I managed to pop off the 

spot weld of the arm on one side… I believe I need to 

run around in the hills some more with some of LCT’s 

heavyweight AEGs! 

Before I could wreck the joint anymore we collected 

our thoughts and equipment and said our goodbyes 

before Benita was good enough to drop us back at 

the HSR station for our return journey to Taipei. I look 

forward to seeing more of the upcoming products 

from LCT and I’m sure you’ll all be equally excited to 

see me share my thoughts of them; keep your eyes 

peeled for the SVDS AEG review coming soon, fellow 

shooters! 

Many thanks as always to our good friends at 

LCT for their hospitality and openness to answering 

our questions and showing us around their facilities, 

as well as 

of course 

to Anny for 

accompanying 

me and 

handling 

the native 

language 

aspect of the 

interview and 

a lot of the 

photography 

while I filmed 

manufacturing 

processes for 

other content 

to follow later! 

AA 

“YUP, WE TOOK PLENTY OF PICTURES AND VIDEOS OF THE MULTITUDE OF GUNS 

AND COMPONENTS AVAILABLE; I DID FINALLY MANAGE TO BREAK SOMETHING OF 

LCT’S MANUFACTURE… UNFORTUNATELY IT WAS THEIR “GAME OF THRONES-ESQUE” 

ARMCHAIR COMPOSED OF VARIOUS GUN PARTS WELDED TOGETHER…” 


AA LEGION 

PORTUGAL 

NIGHT OPS 

V: GHOSTS IN 

THE DARK 

68 


AA LEGION 

PORTUGAL 

MIGUEL IS BACK IN THE FIELD AND BACK WITH THE AA LEGION THIS MONTH AS HE REPORTS ON AN 

ANNUAL EVENT THAT TAKES PLACE IN PORTUGAL, WHICH SEES TEAMS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY 

GATHERING TO TEST OUT THEIR “NIGHT GAME” SKILLS AS THEY BATTLE THROUGH ANOTHER ROUND OF 

“NIGHT OPS”! 

How many of you have played Airsoft at night? 

The game changes almost completely, right? 

The distances seem a lot bigger, hiding is a lot 

easier, but one never knows if on the other side is 

someone with NVGs or thermals looking right at you. 

The gameplay is a lot slower, almost no one runs, and 

the risk of friendly fire increases a lot, so you need to 

play smarter. 

So this year awaited us another Night Ops 

organized by the ANA association, and it has become 

one of their best-known yearly games. Last year the 

game was in Braga, in the northern part of Portugal, 

but this year it was quite close to us, so there was no 

excuse to miss it! 

Before the game, the organization held their now 

typical online briefing via streaming. I think it’s a great 

way to explain how the game will go, the rules, the 

field and any other important points of the game, 

instead of written posts in the event, or just focusing 

on the on-site briefing, where we know many aren’t 

paying attention. Here, the players can also write 

comments and see their questions can be answered in 

real time by the staff. 

Now fast-forward to the game day, the players 

started arriving at the end of the afternoon; we all 

passed in a check point before parking, where we 

had to show our event ticket to the organization, a 

QR code was read and with that we were on the list 

for the end-game giveaways, simple and easy. After 

parking, it was time to greet players, gear up, adjust 

hop up, test the comms and the whole process that 

we have all done hundreds, if not thousands of times. 

And since it was a nationwide event, it was great to 

see some faces from other parts of the country. In this 

game I used my Specna Arms mk18 EDGE 2.0, a full 

OD uniform, part Primal Gear part Viper Tactical, and 

my Viper Tactical VX Gen 2 plate carrier. 

After everything was ready, it was time to go 

through the check in, and it was set up having several 

stations where we had to pass; first it was the chrono, 

then the table with the game gifts (red light, lanyard, 

game patch, food tickets and a discount code for the 

upcoming Salamandra II), the third stop was to pick 

up the shirt and/or hoodie of the game if you ordered 

one (I got both!) and the last stop had two tablets 

with one Ares Alpha QR code for each faction, for 

you to read and join your side. After that, we got to 

mingle a bit in the safe zone while waiting for the 

briefing. 

At the scheduled time, the briefing started, and 

the staff went through the important points of the 

game, like it was mentioned in the online briefing. 

Both factions were competing for points that were 

controlled by Ares Alpha, and there were several 

ways of getting points for your faction, first you 

had two sectors, each with an Ares Alpha ATS, and 

by controlling those ATS (you had to shoot them 

to switch them to your faction colour) you would 

get points for each minute the area was under your 

control, then you had timed missions assigned to each 

section, both factions were divided in four sections, 

and each one had missions assigned at specific hours. 

This way, everyone experienced the whole field and 

different missions with attack and defend scenarios. 

GOLF GHOSTS 

My team was part of the Golf section, along with 

the guys from F.O.E, UPJ and Warriors Airsoft and 

since our first assigned mission was still almost 1 hour 

away we started our game in one of the ATS sectors 

along with other section who were also waiting for 

their time to be present at the HQ tent. We located 

the ATS station, threw some BBs at it until it was red 

(our faction colour) and set up a defensive perimeter, 

since there were sections from the enemy faction who 

started in the annexed ATS sector. But nothing really 

happened until it was our time to report to the HD 

tent; one of our sections did venture into the enemy 

controlled sector, but ours was calm during that time. 

“BEFORE THE GAME, THE ORGANIZATION HELD THEIR NOW TYPICAL ONLINE BRIEFING VIA 

STREAMING. I THINK IT’S A GREAT WAY TO EXPLAIN HOW THE GAME WILL GO, THE RULES, 

THE FIELD AND ANY OTHER IMPORTANT POINTS OF THE GAME… QUESTIONS CAN BE 

ANSWERED IN REAL TIME BY THE STAFF” 


AA LEGION 

PORTUGAL 

So at the established time we left our positions and 

headed to the HQ tent where we got briefed about 

our next mission. 

Before we got our first mission, we had a chance of 

hitting the BifANAs trailer, where we could get some 

bifanas (pork slices in bread) to eat and something to 

drink as well. And since it was located close to the HQ 

tent, it was perfect. Nothing like going on a mission 

with some grub in! 

Our first mission was to raid two settlements (a bit 

further apart) looking for a radioactive canister, and 

for this scenario anyone who had thermal sights had 

an advantage, because the canister that we wanted 

was warm, while the inactive ones were cold, so with 

a thermal you could see which one we had to focus 

the given time, since these locations were constantly 

getting new sections doing their own missions. 

There was not much time between the first and 

second mission, so we rearmed and refilled what was 

needed in the safe zone before hitting the HQ tent 

again for another briefing. This time, the mission was 

about an ambushed jeep that was INOP but had to be 

destroyed, so our objective was to place an explosive 

device inside the trunk of said vehicle. We made our 

approach plan and moved in from the West and took 

advantage that the enemy section was still taking 

defensive positions. But even with a good start, due 

to a couple of friendly-fire accidents close to the jeep, 

the enemy was able to remove the explosive device 

that we were had successfully planted. We headed 

our forces on that location. Luckily, we had a member 

of the Golf section with a thermal sight on his replica, 

so we were able to locate the objective quite quickly, 

in an old warehouse on the western part of the AO, 

but of course we had an enemy section defending 

the location, so we had to fight our way through to 

the objective. And we all know how night combat 

goes in airsoft, flashlights here and there, the guys 

with the NVG or thermals calling out contacts, tracers 

flying around, the whole show. Unfortunately, we 

were unable to reach and capture the objective within 

back to the respawn and safe zone to plan our next 

move, since there was still some time until our next 

two mission (there were 4 missions total for each 

section). 

REAL TIME INTEL! 

In the respawn tents, we had access to a table that 

would show in real time the map on the Ares Alpha 

app along with the score of the game. At the time, 

our faction was a bit behind in points and the enemy 

“BOTH FACTIONS WERE COMPETING FOR POINTS THAT WERE CONTROLLED BY ARES ALPHA, 

AND THERE WERE SEVERAL WAYS OF GETTING POINTS FOR YOUR FACTION, FIRST YOU HAD 

TWO SECTORS, EACH WITH AN ARES ALPHA ATS, AND BY CONTROLLING THOSE ATS YOU 

WOULD GET POINTS FOR EACH MINUTE THE AREA WAS UNDER YOUR CONTROL” 

70 


AA LEGION 

PORTUGAL 

held both ATS sectors, and that meant that even with 

successes on the missions we would not catch up, so 

we decided to take the Golf section and attack the 

ATS sectors. Firstly, we moved into the northern ATS 

sector, the one where we started the game, and were 

more familiar with. Luckily, we found no resistance, 

and we were able to control the area quickly. 

Then we moved south to attack the next sector, 

there we found some resistance, but we were able to 

control it with few “casualties”. With this, our faction 

had both sectors under our control, and the points 

were dropping in, allowing us to get really close to the 

blue faction. We held a defensive position until it was 

time for us to get the 3rd mission of the night. So we 

returned to the HQ tent, but not before engaging an 

enemy section who also had the same idea as we did. 

Sector defended, but we really had to return! 

It was time to visit the HQ tent for the third time 

and see what was in store for us. Our mission was to 

locate and open two safes with the given codes in 

the northern AO, and for this mission anyone with 

an NVG would have an advantage, since the location 

of one of the safes had an IR strobe. Once again, we 

had the necessary tools for the job, since we had two 

NVGs in the section, but luck was not on our side in 

this aspect, since the IR strobe stopped working at 

some point during the night. 

So after we reached the AO, we had to do it the 

old way, search each corner until we found the safes. 

Our guys were able to find the safes and open then, 

inside were codes (one had to be read with an NVG 

or a UV light) that we had to pass on to the marshal 

located in the area. Objective done, and now we had 

to defend the area until the clock ran out; time to 

set up defensive positions and await the enemy. Not 

long after, there they were, and of course a huge 

confrontation started. The attack was well organized, 

with enemies moving in from different flanks, and 

soon both sides started losing forces. Although I was 

eliminated during the confrontation and the enemy 

getting close to their objective, I was later told that 

the enemy couldn’t reach it in time. At this point, the 

game was neck and neck, with both factions really 

close to each other in points. 

Our fourth and last mission was next, and what 

little time we had we used it to rest a bit and eat 

something (the bifanas were still going hot!). Soon 

we got into the HQ tent for the last time and got our 

briefing. Remember the jeep mission? This time it was 

our turn to defend it! So we moved out, and set up 

our defensive positions, awaiting the enemy. We had 

a good guess of their approach direction and gave 

them hell, of course the enemy was not joking as well 

and were able to push from some flanks. 

Once again, I was eliminated before the end of 

the mission and had to head back to the safe zone. 

And since we can’t get back into AOs after being 

eliminated, it was game over for me. I was later told 

by a teammate that the enemy was successful in 

placing the “explosive device” in the jeep, but they 

closed the trunk door, which needed a couple of 

tricks to open it, so when my guys tried to remove the 

“explosive” they were unable to open it. In the end, 

we took the situation to the marshals, but they gave 

the points to the attacking section. And with that it 

was game over! 

“OF COURSE WE HAD AN ENEMY SECTION DEFENDING THE LOCATION, SO WE HAD TO FIGHT 

OUR WAY THROUGH TO THE OBJECTIVE. AND WE ALL KNOW HOW NIGHT COMBAT GOES IN 

AIRSOFT, FLASHLIGHTS HERE AND THERE, THE GUYS WITH THE NVG OR THERMALS CALLING 

OUT CONTACTS, TRACERS FLYING AROUND, THE WHOLE SHOW” 


AA LEGION 

PORTUGAL 

ENDEX AND DEBRIEF 

To end the event, the ANA staff held a small 

debriefing, the victory went to the blue team, 11k 

- 10k points, a close match indeed, and even gave 

out a NVG (courtesy of the RYOT Airsoft shop) and a 

“Low-Light” combat course that will be given by the 

Portuguese Commandos! My congratulations to the 

staff, it’s hard to organize an event where everyone 

has a chance of experience the game the same way, 

everyone attacked and defended but at the same time 

had freedom to move between assigned missions. 

And to finish the article, here as usual are some 

words from the ANA staff. 

“We continue to state that each of our events 

have a specific identity. The goal is to continue to 

provide several games during the year with different 

approaches that can fit any player preference. Night 

Ops is a series that is not only a night game, but 

where we also try to build dynamics to empower the 

ability to play at night! 

First off, Night Ops is the best event you can 

attend if you want to try play at night for the first 

time. Is also, a really fun game to the players who are 

experienced and have gadgets to play at night. We 

create missions where you can benefit from those. 

While giving you the chance to conclude the missions 

even if you don’t have any gadget. 

Night Ops had a general dynamic, completely 

autonomous, of control Zones. Powered by ARES 

ALPHA Technology and props, 2 LED Impact Boxes 

were placed strategically on the field. The goal was 

for the teams to capture those boxes, by shooting bbs 

at it, and turn the box into the team’s colors. If you 

did that, points were awarded to your faction every 

minute the zone was controlled. You could follow the 

status of each control zones on your smartphone or at 

the respawn where you had Tablets showing the map 

and the position of your friendly teams. 

Also, at specific hours, each team would be called 

into the command center to receive specific missions. 

We aimed to elevate the experience of playing at 

night. We used UV paint that could be seen by NVG 

devices (or a UV light close by if you didn’t had the 

NVG gogles); We used IR strobes to quickly identify a 

target house in the “Favela” Zone; We heated liquid, 

in order for the “Chemical Bomb” to be identified by 

Thermal devices; etc. 

With all these dynamics running, we saw players 

heavily engaged on the match, which reflected in a 

very close series. The winner was just found on the 

last 30’ of game! It was a banger! 

As all our events, the game is just one part of the 

fun. We do create event or festival environments. 

We had a bar to feed players with soup, sandwichs, 

coffee and non-alcohol drinks during match. We had 

Merchandising, music, Live Interviews on social media 

and giveaways. All of that to create a space where we 

can all share our passion. A special mention to our 

event Partner, RYOT Airsoft Store, who gifted 1 NVG 

Device to be awarded to a lucky participant! 

Night Ops V was a banger, and the Portuguese 

community really enjoyed it. We had amazing reviews. 

There is natural talent in this team and it also helps 

that we do national events every 2 months, giving 

us the experience of what works and what doesn’t. 

We continue to push the boundaries of what you 

can do on Airsoft, with experiences you don’t get 

anywhere else! Next up, in September: our biggest 

event of the calendar year, with airplanes, amphibious 

missions and players parachuting into the battlefield. 

SALAMANDRA: The biggest Airsoft Festival of 

Portugal! 

Check us out on our social media, and we hope to 

see you soon!” AA 

“TO END THE EVENT, THE ANA STAFF HELD A SMALL DEBRIEFING, THE VICTORY WENT TO 

THE BLUE TEAM, 11K - 10K POINTS, A CLOSE MATCH INDEED, AND EVEN GAVE OUT A NVG 

(COURTESY OF THE RYOT AIRSOFT SHOP) AND A “LOW-LIGHT” COMBAT COURSE THAT WILL 

BE GIVEN BY THE PORTUGUESE COMMANDOS!” 

72 


AA LEGION 

UK - NAF 2023 

NAF 2023: 

Image: Krios Photography 

FULL SPEED 

AHEAD! 

76 


AA LEGION 


WITH PLAYER NUMBERS BACK IN THE THOUSANDS, THE NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL (NAF) IS STILL 

THE UK’S LARGEST AIRSOFT EVENT AND AFTER A CRACKING 2022 EVENT THERE WERE EVEN HIGHER 

EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS YEAR’S GATHERING OF AIRSOFTERS - NOT ONLY FROM THE UK, BUT FROM ACROSS 

THE WATER TOO! BILL BRINGS IN HIS REPORT ON THE ANNUAL EVENT THAT WE LOOK FORWARD TO FOR SO 

MANY REASONS! 


AA LEGION 


I 

always love the National Airsoft festival, not for the 

truly MASSIVE gameplay as that isn’t “my thing”, 

but for the opportunity it creates, bringing together 

players from literally everywhere and allowing the 

manufacturers and vendors present to tease us all 

with their latest wares! 

As I said after last year’s post-pandemic event report 

(oh boy, that already seems so long ago!) Airsoft 

Action has been present at all but one NAF and I 

have seen (what was then-called) The National Airsoft 

Event become a joyous meeting place for airsofters 

Europe-wide, with players and industry representatives 

travelling from around the UK and from across the 

continent (and indeed this year from the USA!) 

to enjoy not only the wide-ranging gameplay, but 

also the incredible social atmosphere created when 

thousands of airsofters get together! 

This year’s event was fully maxed out, and fully 

back up to previous years, and for those 3,500-PLUS 

PLAYERS who did make it this year, we were treated 

to a madly-fabulous weekend of all-things-airsoft both 

on and off the field of play! 

And as I say every year, yes, the gameplay is great 

fun and, given the sheer size and scale of the Ground 

Zero Airsoft site, as challenging as you choose to 

make it, but there is just something “special” about 

the Festival that takes the event as a whole up so 

may notches! From the moment players start arriving 

on Friday morning to check in and get their player 

number and wristband, the atmosphere starts to build 

as groups of players form and merge and, following 

loads of “high-fives” and “man-hugs”, the inevitable 

“airsoft banter” begins! 

Right alongside the event, the truly campsite rapidly 

fills to capacity becoming a madcap “home away 

from home for everyone on-site, with multiple team 

“swimming pools” and “bars”, although there is also 

a “quiet area” for those who actually prefer to sleep! 

Last year, the Airsoft Action crew approached the 

event in a slightly different way and camped together 

with all our many friends… and we had a blast… 

although Jimmy ended up sleeping in the van… as he 

forgot his tent! For this year we decided again to play 

and roam rather than having a stand in the vendor 

area and once again it proved to be a sound decision 

as we got to interact directly with mates old and new, 

and much banter was had! 

This also gives us more of an opportunity to hear 

directly from players what they’re loving about airsoft 

right now, what they’re looking forward to in terms 

of new guns n’ gear, and possibly most importantly 

for me, what we as a magazine are doing right, and 

I’d like to thank everyone that talked to us for their 

positive comments and input! 

Ben and I travelled down together (with an enroute 

stop and Dave’s Custom Airsoft to pick up a 

“THIS YEAR’S EVENT WAS FULLY MAXED OUT, AND FULLY BACK UP TO PREVIOUS YEARS, 

AND FOR THOSE 3500-PLUS PLAYERS WHO DID MAKE IT THIS YEAR, WE WERE TREATED 

TO A MADLY-FABULOUS WEEKEND OF ALL-THINGS-AIRSOFT BOTH ON AND OFF THE FIELD OF 

PLAY!” 

78 


AA LEGION 


few choice little airsoft morsels!) and the 3.5 hour 

journey gave us a good chance to chat about our 

expectations for NAF 2023. It’s always interesting that 

we all approach and game or event differently, and 

as a more active player than I right now, Ben’s input 

is invaluable to letting me create the annual report as 

whilst I’m schmoozing with our industry friends and 

getting the low-down on things he’s out playing… 

there’ll be more from him directly in a bit… Jimmy of 

course has a different agenda as he’s now on site to 

speak with the manufacturers present on a technical 

level, but suffice to say that we all look forward to 

another hugely entertaining event every year in our 

own ways …and that is exactly what we got at NAF 

‘23! 

NAF CONTINUES TO GROW! 

For our international readers, the UK National Airsoft 

Festival (NAF) takes place every August Bank Holiday 

down at the Ground Zero site in the depths of the 

beautiful New Forest. The NAF/NAE has been running 

since 2007, when Ground Zero/Zero One made history 

by hosting what was at that time the largest airsoft 

event ever held in in the UK (and probably still is!), 

bringing in players from all over the UK and Europe. 

Again as I’ve said before, the NAF is just one HUGE 

celebration of airsoft, not just for UK players, but 

usually for players from around the world that make 

the pilgrimage to Ground Zero, and this year the 

player numbers continued to grow! The thought of a 

massive airsoft game involving quite literally thousands 

of players is my personal worst scenario though; we 

all know that sadly you get the odd “cheater” at even 

the very best game, and the chance of that happening 

with so many players in one place at one time means 

that this is magnified… 

Many players, even good ones that are always 

willing to give the benefit of the doubt decide not to 

attend the NAF for this reason, and having now been 

a number of times before, as I said last year when we 

were able to meet after the frustrations of lockdown, 

I think they are genuinely, truly missing out on a 

great “airsoft experience” even if they don’t play for 

a minute as the event maintains the warm, friendly 

“Festival Feel”, and I for one love a bit of that action! 

Many will say “don’t bother” when it comes to the 

NAF, but pay the “naysayers” no heed! This year the 

numbers were solid again, and 3,500-plus airsofters in 

one place is a truly a sight to behold, especially given 

some of the “fancy dress” options… Clone Troopers, 

Nuns with Guns, Templars in plate armour, and even 

Cap’n Jack Sparrow (Pirates? Where?)… you name it, 

you get it although our personal fave was one young 

player who mixed “Nam VC” with “Samurai”… he 

certainly put a big smile on our faces for his obvious 

enthusiasm! 

IT’S ALL ABOUT LOGISTICS! 

I am eternally impressed with the sheer size of the 

field and the diversity of terrain at Ground Zero, and 

that is just as you drive in! 

Ground Zero is situated about a mile from the 

nearest road on the private grounds of Somerley 

Estate in Ringwood, Hampshire, and boasts some 175 

acres of playable terrain, with a massive 50 acres of 

Safe/Camping Zone! Now you may find that latter 

number “overkill”, but I’m going to tell you that with 

thousands of bodies and all the varied entertainment/ 

logistics/industry staff on site 50 acres soon becomes 

very, very small and intimate. 

The main Safe Zone is split away from the camping 

area and is almost a self-contained “festival village” 

in its own right. There are always a multitude of 

gear-sellers around the village, with Jo and family 

from Flecktarn UK, the Enola Gaye team, Flash Bang 

Smoke, Kydex Customs, and AIRTAC among the 

number and as always Ian and Dave (Ratty and Rocky 

to their friends!) with the VIPER TACTICAL stand who 

made a one player each day VERY happy with their 

“player number locked crate” gear giveaway! 

“FOR OUR INTERNATIONAL READERS THE UK NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL (NAF) TAKES 

PLACE EVERY AUGUST BANK HOLIDAY DOWN AT THE GROUND ZERO SITE IN THE DEPTHS OF 

THE BEAUTIFUL NEW FOREST. THE NAF/NAE HAS BEEN RUNNING SINCE 2007” 


AA LEGION 


It was fabulous to see the ASG crew back at the 

event with all their new shiny things (Boycie will be 

reporting on this in full at a later date!), and new 

additions were the guys from Optics Warehouse 

(who were using my review of the HIKMICRO thermal 

sights on their stand… proud writer moment right 

there!), the BLOC Tactical Eyewear team, and it was 

truly fabulous to meet the guys from WOLVERINE 

Then there’s a whole plethora of stands that make 

up the “food court”. If you wanted an ice cream or 

a bacon roll, then it was there for the having, and if 

you didn’t want to cook over the weekend then you 

had a choice of very well-priced (for a festival) food 

including burger and chips, good old fish n’ chips, 

who’d come all the way over from the USA! We’ll 

be working with all these great people in the year 

to come, and meeting them all in person was just 

superb. 

And you could even have your photographic 

portrait done by Josh from Krios Photography! It was 

a pleasure to finally meet James from and his whole 

crew from AIRTAC (we picked up the new VMP-1 HPA 

wood-fired pizza, some stunning Bratwurst, Mexican, 

and even fresh coffee and donuts! The licensed bar 

marquee this year was rocking as usual, but being 

fully open on one side made the most of the breeze, 

and the usual outdoor table area was packed out! 

Again as usual, the Ground Zero team did an excellent 

job of making sure that they did the very best possible 

for player’s enjoyment. 

adaptor that Jimmy and Ben will be playing with and 

reporting on), and to get a chance to chat properly 

with Finchy from Finch Embroidery (and patches!) 

about the future of our own team patches at last! 

Sincere apologies to others exhibiting and selling that 

we just didn’t get time to speak to… we hope you all 

had a GREAT time though! 

One thing that for me was incredibly positive this 

year was how many of my media friends had made 

the journey to the festival! As always it was a true 

pleasure to spend time with my old mate Femme 

Fatale, as Kelly and I have shard many (many!) airsoft 

adventures over the years! I also had a great time 

with the guys from Reaper Crew who I’ve only met 

more recently in person but that have turned out to 

be both excellent airsofters (yes, I have played against 

them!) and really professional media guys too, and it 

was truly enlightening to finally be able to have some 

“quality time” with both Airsoft Girl SkinnyBitch and 

“IF YOU WANTED AN ICE CREAM OR A BACON ROLL, THEN IT WAS THERE FOR THE HAVING, 

AND IF YOU DIDN’T WANT TO COOK OVER THE WEEKEND THEN YOU HAD A CHOICE OF VERY 

WELL-PRICED (FOR A FESTIVAL) FOOD INCLUDING BURGER AND CHIPS, GOOD OLD FISH N’ 

CHIPS, WOOD-FIRED PIZZA, SOME STUNNING BRATWURST, MEXICAN, AND EVEN FRESH 

COFFEE AND DONUTS!” 

80 


AA LEGION 


Verage Airsoft who had both come to the UK for the 

event… I’ll be speaking more with Verage about the 

www.airsofter.world project soon… 

GAME ON! 

As per past years I was able to watch all the 

proceedings as players arrived and booked in, and this 

was again done very efficiently with an absolute lack 

of fuss, although the line at times was LONG… with 

so many players booking in and needing to chrono a 

long line was inevitable, but things at least appeared 

to move on swiftly enough; the “range” stayed open 

late into the evening, and was in use the whole time, 

and you could also try out the Attack Sense target 

system that 

we’ve been using for our 

Red Cell Test Days on the 

ASG stand. 

After a relatively swift 

and to the point safety 

brief (Team Briefs had 

happened well before 

this) it was time for 

“Game On” and 

players headed out to 

their respective start 

points. Although the 

site 

it’s 

is HUGE 

also 

broken down into smaller 

“game zones” that are eminently 

playable in their own right, and 

that on a regular “skirmish day” 

would delight anyone. There’s 

a small village, a “prison”, 

outposts, guard towers, trench 

systems and numerous other 

structures to play through. 

Of course for the weekend 

EVERYTHING is in play at the 

same time, and wherever you went 

there was the sound of a firefight taking place. All 

three teams had objectives to achieve and points to 

be earned from them and from what I saw 

every objective was hard- 

earned 

by the eventual victors. 

As Day One wound 

down, the evening 

“action” started with 

the raffle, and the now 

usual “banter” from 

Marshal Rich; this 

is now something 

of a legend, but if 

you’re of a gentle 

disposition it’s 

best to stay away 

as just like the 

game, the action 

gets somewhat 

“down and dirty”, but in a 

very funny way! This was when the real 

“festival spirit” took over, and in “The Village” the 

bar rocked thanks to some live music that featured a 

real old mixture of classic tunes, but it seemed that 

the heat of the day had sapped everyone. A number 

of “adult beverages” went down in a sociable and 

thoroughly chilled out atmosphere (apart from the 

occasional conga-line we were well-informed…), 

with groups from all the teams exchanging their “war 

stories” from the day and having a genuinely 

good laugh. As the evening progressed 

though many players moved on outside, 

and shenanigans continued… what 

happens at NAF stays at NAF though! 

The teams obviously felt there was still 

more to play for though, and the points 

tally showed this to be true! So on Sunday 

morning they headed back to the game, and 

they just kept on playing, gaining objectives 

and points whilst having a thoroughly good 

time. Reports are that there were actually 

very few negative on-field incidents this year, 

although by early afternoon a few players were 

heading back in; again I believe that this was in 

the minority though, as most players were still 

having a great time of it as we headed on out to 

be back in the office on Monday… 

I’ll hand over now to Ben for his thoughts on the 

game itself… 

“WITH SO MANY PLAYERS BOOKING IN AND NEEDING TO CHRONO A LONG LINE WAS 

INEVITABLE, BUT THINGS AT LEAST APPEARED TO MOVE ON SWIFTLY ENOUGH; THE “RANGE” 

STAYED OPEN LATE INTO THE EVENING, AND WAS IN USE THE WHOLE TIME, AND YOU COULD 

ALSO TRY OUT THE ATTACK SENSE TARGET SYSTEM ON THE ASG STAND” 


AA LEGION 


THE PLAYERS TAKE 

Another year another festival oh yeah! And this one 

did not disappoint either, 

apart from the 

general shenanigans that 

happened in camping site 

and Jimmy forgetting his 

tent lol (what a plonker 

Rodney!) there was fun 

and giggles all over the 

weekend! 

Bill once again 

honoured us with 

his cooking and 

legendary chilli which 

went down a treat 

all round, after 

breakky’s in the 

morning we got 

down to business, 

taking photos with 

the Krios 

Photography 

team and showing our 

faces, meeting old and 

new friends visiting 

the stalls like Viper 

Tactical, AIRTAC, 

ASG, Vortex, Kydex 

Customs, Flecktarn, 

Bloc, Wolverine, 

Lonestar Tactical 

and a smattering 

more. Seeing all 

the amazing player 

loadouts and 

costumes getting 

ready for the 

battles to come is always 

a joy as there’s always the weird, 

the why, and the wonderful! 

This year I was playing on Bravo team, and with my 

wingman (Jimmy) down this year I had to step up 

my game and bring some 

firepower, and 

the Classic Army 

M132 micro mini 

gun (HPA) with 

the high-speed 

motor flinging 50 

rounds a second 

did not disappoint! 

I also was running 

the TM MP7 GBB 

as this allowed me 

to change on the fly 

from suppressive 

firepower to CQB 

disciplined shooting 

on semi. 

From this year 

I’ve again come 

away with awesome 

memories (and kills!) 

meeting up with two 

other team members 

with their M133 micro/ 

mini guns and all three of 

us simultaneously laying 

down suppressive fire 

which will be a moment 

to remember… not only by 

our fellow team members around us at that 

moment in time but also the suppressed and scared 

enemy lol! Inevitably Bravo team prevailed and won 

the game 

which I’m not 

surprised with 

that kind of 

suppressive 

support. 

I had a 

blast and 

will never 

forget these 

awesome 

memories, 

and 

thankfully I can share them with you 

our supportive readers as I 

run cameras 

to which you can find my 

videos on my own (He Who 

Dares Airsoft) YouTube 

channel, but I’ll be sharing 

this for the AA website 

too. 

As for how 

things were 

run on site 

there were 

some good 

improvements 

this year to 

do with 

how the 

toilet facilities 

were maintained and kept 

clean regularly… hats off to the team 

on that; it may sound weird but the portaloos 

82 


AA LEGION 


are one of the things we all 

dread at an event of this size, 

but all the facilities were 

kept as clean as possible 

which makes the camping 

experience a little nicer! 

My thoughts on the 

event overall? It’s not your 

typical festival but a friendly 

gathering of fellow like-minded 

airsofters who make it their own fun and if you have 

never been it is worth going at least once in your 

lifetime to experience this individual style of festivities 

and make new friends and connections with so many 

fellow airsofters! There is far more goodness to take 

away from this than negative so save up, boot up, 

book on and we’ll see you there next year! ...just 

don’t forget your TENT… 

Thanks to Ben for his input from the game side, 

and there’s one last mention that I have to make; 

2023 was the first ever meeting of 

the new VMP-1 owners group, 

and although the guys from 

VORSK were unable to make it 

themselves due to scheduling, 

they did provide free VORSK 

FUEL and BBs for all those that 

turned up! It was my true 

pleasure to co-host the event 

with James from AIRTAC at 

his stand, and it was great to 

be able to chat with fellow 

owners, and now-friends 

(yeah Stu, talking about 

you, ya lovely!), about their 

experiences with the VMP- 

1 so far. I sincerely hope 

that next year this will be an even 

bigger thing… and I’m sure that Taig will gatecrash 

again with even more Kydex Customs VMP-1 

holsters to delight everyone with (he will, and we’ll 

be reporting on this soon…). Thanks from everyone 

that attended, to VORSK for the freebies… and for a 

fabulous SMG! 

And my final thoughts on the National Airsoft 

Festival 2023? As I’ve said many times before, the site 

is superb and the organisation impeccable, even with 

numbers of people on-site! The facilities were firstrate 

again this year and the scheduling spot-on. 

Once again I’ll echo my thoughts of past years as 

the play that I saw was hard, fast, and in the main fair, 

with hits taken and compliments given where they 

were due, and Ben would appear to agree with that. 

The “after game” was as 

much fun and as lively as ever, 

and the bottom line is that 

everyone seemed to have a 

thoroughly bang-on time whether 

they played for the duration, for a 

few hours, or not at all! 

Well done to the players of 

BRAVO who took the win this 

year, and I’m certain that DELTA 

and THE OTHERS will be back to 

contest things next year! Again as I now say after 

every NAF, whatever your style of play may be the 

National Airsoft Festival has something to offer you. 

The Festival is first and foremost just that, a joyful 

festival event that celebrates airsoft in all its diverse 

and wonderful forms, and a festival that just happens 

to be set on an awesome site that has an enormous 

game going on at the same time… BRING ON NAF 

2024! 

Our thanks as always go to AA LEGION associate 

Josh and his crew at www.kriosphotography.com 

for their help with additonal photography. If you 

want to see all their NAF 23 photos, head over to 

www.kriosphotography.com/Airsoft/National-Airsoft- 

Festival-2023. For further information for the 2024 

National Airsoft Festival please keep an eye on www. 

groundzeroairsoft.com/nae, and the AA Crew look 

forward to seeing you there! AA 


ARP9 2.0 

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7” M-LOK Handguard. 

Combat Machine Airsoft Gun. 

New GOS-V9 Retractable Stock. 

170 

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EXTENSION UNIT AVAILABLE 

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AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

STEEL 

CHALLENGE: 

THE DING 

DING CUP 

2023 

86 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

“MILITARY” ANNY WU AND OUR TAIWAN RESIDENT GUNSLINGER STEWBACCA ONCE AGAIN TEAMED UP 

TO PROVIDE COVERAGE OF AN EXCITING COMPETITIVE SHOOTING EVENT HELD WITH SUPPORT FROM THE 

LOCAL AIRSOFT INDUSTRY AND COMPETITIVE SHOOTING TEAMS WITH THE INVOLVEMENT OF OUR GOOD 

FRIEND CLARENCE LAI THE ‘AIRSOFT SURGEON’ IN AN APPARENTLY VERY SUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO OPEN 

UP THE COMPETITIVE CIRCUIT TO NEW AND PARTICULARLY YOUNGER PRACTITIONERS, ESCHEWING THE 

TYPICAL EXPENSIVE BARRIERS TO ENTRY LIKE REGULATED SHOOTING BELTS AND EQUIPMENT AS WELL AS 

THE NEED FOR LENGTHY TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION TO COMPETE! 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

Life seems somewhat cyclical at times, or 

otherwise you find yourself returning to 

something that sparked it all! 

Way back in early 2019 I started my competitive 

shooting journey in Taiwan when I was invited by 

my Filipino skirmish teammate Belinda as a guest 

participant with her team ‘Spring Rain’ at the time, 

to dabble in Action Air IPSC with the Ding Ding Cup, 

a fun focused competitive shooting event that brings 

together the various shooting teams in the Taipei area 

for a more light hearted steel-shooting extravaganza. 

After four years of training with Team SPPT, and all 

of the pandemic related cancellations and mishaps, 

the Ding Ding Cup finally made a triumphant return in 

2023, so it was a nice return to my roots here. 

The Ding Ding Cup has been operating since 2016 

when ‘Jackie’ Xie ZiYuan, the chairman of the ‘New 

Taipei City Airsoft Gun Sports Safety Association’ 

held the inaugural competition of the steel challenge 

format event, and (COVID issues aside) it’s been 

held in some capacity every year since, with 2023 

seeing the opening up of the event to try and 

encourage new practitioners and make it accessible 

to younger shooting enthusiasts who are not likely 

to be locally licensed competitive shooters, nor active 

skirmish/’survival games’ players. 

In order to expedite the administration and ensure 

safe operations when considering the sheer number 

of participants and of course the new blood unfamiliar 

with typical competition circuit rules and etiquette, the 

competition itself focused purely on marksmanship 

and speed, with the shooters not moving around 

larger stages between target presentation as in other 

more gated community events I’ve reported on in the 

past. Thus three stage-net-walled bays were erected 

at the West end of Taipei’s underground mall just next 

to the main train station in the city centre, with 5 steel 

targets of various sizes or formats being arranged 

within each stage, including one in particular which 

would register the final hit of each string with the 

‘Shooters Global’ shot timers being used to record 

times. 

Every competitor would shoot the five target strings 

on every stage five times rapidly, one presentation 

after another, with pauses to reload between strings if 

required, but no need to move or reload during firing. 

The four fastest times were then added up to arrive 

at each competitor’s overall score time for each stage, 

with mobile phone apps being used to prompt and 

collate every participant’s times into a central database 

to streamline the whole process in lieu of the more 

typical manual scorecard system. Seeing as only steel 

targets were being used any hit is a score regardless 

of position and there’s no need for recording position 

or grouping of the single hits as with the usual paper 

target scoring. 

This approach kept complexity and the possibility 

for any guns being pointed up-range or used in an 

uncontrolled fashion to a minimum, allowing many 

new players from a variety of school ages to take part 

and enjoy a taste of practical shooting. This was the 

brainchild of Clarence Lai with the oversight of the 

New Taipei City Association to formulate and adapt 

the rule set and content of the event with range 

control and adjudication being provided by Taipei 

Shooter’s Union and its regular practitioners, headed 

by ‘Paul’ Li XiaoZong and ‘Bear’ Zhen DengXiong, 

all very familiar faces and names from my past 

competition exploits. 

FAMILIAR FACES, AND NEW TOO! 

With around five of the typical teams of practitioners 

participating, my own compatriots from SPPT joining 

“THIS APPROACH KEPT COMPLEXITY AND THE POSSIBILITY FOR ANY GUNS BEING POINTED 

UP-RANGE OR USED IN AN UNCONTROLLED FASHION TO A MINIMUM, ALLOWING MANY 

NEW PLAYERS FROM A VARIETY OF SCHOOL AGES TO TAKE PART AND ENJOY A TASTE OF 

PRACTICAL SHOOTING. THIS WAS THE BRAINCHILD OF CLARENCE LAI WITH THE OVERSIGHT 

OF THE NEW TAIPEI CITY ASSOCIATION TO FORMULATE AND ADAPT THE RULE SET” 

88 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

myself in taking part, as well as Spring Rain/165 

Fighters, Taiwan Shooters Union making up the 

majority of the adults, and a variety of players from 

elementary (under 12s), middle and senior high school 

(13-15 and 

16-18 year olds 

respectively). 

The younger 

participants 

required 

a parental 

consent form 

and many of 

them were 

mentored by 

a member of 

their school 

staff who also 

happened 

to be an 

experienced 

shooter 

themselves; 

with a total of 71 shooters participating all told, in 

itself a much larger crowd to deal with than our more 

typical local competition circuit events of around 20- 

30 in three divisions. 

Every one of the age range divisions had cash 

prizes of NTD2000 (around UK£50) for first place 

as well as other cash prizes for second and third 

place, along with 

commemorative 

coffee mugs (Ding 

Ding Cup is not just 

a clever name… you 

actually get a usable 

cup!) and tangible 

goods in the form 

of giveaway bags 

of CLPD BBs, tote 

bags, guns and 

accessories provided 

by the likes of VFC 

and local retailers 

with a final raffle 

draw also being 

held for all competitors to have the chance to take 

away an array of goods. 

The three bays were set up in separate morning and 

afternoon configurations giving a total of six stages to 

be shot by all participants, but, as with the Kaohsiung 

level 3 competition of last Xmas myself and my 

team captain ‘Mars’ Liu decided to punish ourselves 

by taking part in both pistol and optic enabled rifle 

divisions… so we got a double helping, along with a 

few friends from the community who were similarly 

masochistic! Many others only competed in pistol 

division, all told there were sixteen rifle participants, 

only three of whom used iron sights; I decided to 

field the excellent RATech EMG Noveske N4 GBBR I 

reviewed back in Issue No. 152 with a T1 style red 

dot which served me very well (more on that later!), 

as well as my more typical CLPD Shadow 2 on the 

Double Alpha Lynx belt for the pistol stages. 

Having signed in and undertaken the morning 

briefing we got to work loading up our magazines 

and preparing our various belt kit and gun bags 

to deal with running both pistols and rifles where 

applicable, and the range officers began marshalling 

us all through the various stage presentations. Mars 

and myself were squadded up with some of the other 

pistol and rifle dual competitors to try and navigate 

the stages more efficiently, and thankfully due to the 

more relaxed equipment stipulations and lack of need 

to move on the stages I just added rifle magazine 

pouches to the front of my Lynx belt to avoid the need 

“EVERY ONE OF THE AGE RANGE DIVISIONS HAD CASH PRIZES OF NTD2000 (AROUND UK£50) 

FOR FIRST PLACE AS WELL AS OTHER CASH PRIZES FOR SECOND AND THIRD PLACE, ALONG 

WITH COMMEMORATIVE COFFEE MUGS (DING DING CUP IS NOT JUST A CLEVER NAME… YOU 

ACTUALLY GET A USABLE CUP!)” 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

to switch out belt gear between stages and divisions. 

For the most part the organisers and range officers 

worked fairly efficiently given the 

sheer number of 

stage was curtailed somewhat to try and speed things 

up. In the end the afternoon ran more smoothly 

and made up for lost time, however we were 

slightly delayed rounding things off past the 

intended 1830 closing of ceremonies. 

RUNNING AND GUNNING 

With the focus being purely on shooting 

and without much need for stage planning, 

moving or reloading I actually managed to 

hold my own quite well; all those evenings 

wearing the sears smooth on my WE G36C 

at my old KUI Zhubei haunt came flooding 

back and the short and light triggers of my 

Shadow 2 and N4 helped me throw BBs 

down rapidly and 

participants and the 

special considerations for younger and 

less experienced shooters, and managed to 

have most people complete all their shooting 

without any issues, although some inevitably 

succumbed to equipment failures and a very 

few number of disqualifications. People were 

cycled through the stages fairly quickly given 

the simplified setup and lack of need to patch 

paper targets or score hit zones 

as with 

our more typical 

events, but despite this by lunchtime 

things were reshuffled somewhat and the ‘briefing’ 

time allowed for each participant to dry run each 

accurately, with a fastest 

stage of 1.96 seconds on the rifle and 2.15 

seconds with the pistol; the latter surprised 

even myself and garnered a round of 

applause from the guys in the rear… always 

nice to be appreciated, but I think the guns 

do a lot of the work for me! 

The youngest practitioners also garnered 

particular attention and praise, with 

Jackie’s son Xie HaoYu (only 8 years old!) 

performing very well alongside his older 

sister Xie QiaoYu (12!) comporting themselves very 

well and clearly being ‘chips off the old block’ as 

we would say and following well in their father’s 

footsteps. In general the wealth of new shooters, 

especially youngsters from a variety of schools and 

“THE YOUNGEST PRACTITIONERS ALSO GARNERED PARTICULAR ATTENTION AND PRAISE, 

WITH JACKIE’S SON XIE HAOYU (ONLY 8 YEARS OLD!) PERFORMING VERY WELL ALONGSIDE 

HIS OLDER SISTER XIE QIAOYU (12!) COMPORTING THEMSELVES VERY WELL AND CLEARLY 

BEING ‘CHIPS OFF THE OLD BLOCK’ AS WE WOULD SAY AND FOLLOWING WELL IN THEIR 

FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS” 

90 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

age ranges is very heartening to see, and no doubt 

instils a growing interest in responsible shooting 

pursuits. With members of the public 

in the mall also 

being 

able to observe the 

proceedings and take and interest, with VFC 

being on site in force and showcasing some 

of their latest products as well as allowing 

‘civilians’ to go to their own stage booth 

at the far left of the three live competitive 

ones to try their hands at steel challenge 

using their SR16E3 CQB GBBR, Avalon 

AEGs or an array of Glock GBB Pistols. 

This allowed anyone to get a 

taste of 

the action, and there 

were queues forming all day long! It’s 

always encouraging to see widening participation and 

acceptance. 

Throughout the day there were also retailers on 

site with stalls set up between the competitive 

stages and the public walkway to provide 

additional points of interest for passers-by as 

well as providing a convenient separation of 

them from the business end of things. VFC’s 

booth notwithstanding, No. 9 Workshop (the 

embroidery outfit responsible for my personalised 

‘Stewbacca Island Insider’ patches among 

numerous other offerings), Hawk Survival 

Games store (a local supplier of guns and gear 

who also house Spring Rain’s training ground), 

HTA Studio who make custom universal 

holster setups and also had some of their staff 

participating to showcase their products in a 

live demonstration manner, as 

well 

as gear and 

custom equipment providers He JingZhi 

Cabinet 2.0 and Hammer Coach outdoor military 

products studio along with Taichung based 

gaming site Terraced Battlefield; all allowed 

participants and the public to browse their 

wares or make purchases during the day, as 

well as generously donating numerous prizes 

to the champions and the final raffle. 

Anny and I were also presented with some 

very nice framed certificates of appreciation 

for ourselves individually and for Airsoft Action 

for helping to cover it in the magazine and raise 

awareness, with other similar presentations being 

made to direct supporters of the event such as 

manufacturers like Bolt Airsoft, Vega Force Company 

“ANNY AND I WERE ALSO PRESENTED WITH SOME VERY NICE FRAMED CERTIFICATES OF 

APPRECIATION FOR OURSELVES INDIVIDUALLY AND FOR AIRSOFT ACTION FOR HELPING TO 

COVER IT IN THE MAGAZINE AND RAISE AWARENESS, WITH OTHER SIMILAR PRESENTATIONS 

BEING MADE TO DIRECT SUPPORTERS OF THE EVENT” 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

and HTA Studio, player organisations such as my 

skirmish team Taiji Alliance, as well as Yilan county 

and Keelung airsoft associations and Taiwan Shooter’s 

Union, retailers such as Hawk, No.9 and Minutemen 

as well as Tianqing Training & Consulting, Dan Leather 

Studio and Shihang Industrial company. 

WRAPPING UP 

As the gameplay drew to a close I was actually the 

last rifleman to throw down and close off one of the 

stages, and our scores were readily tabulated thanks 

to the integrated mobile phone application collating 

everyone’s final scores. It was quite a good haul for 

team SPPT; team captain ‘Mars’ Liu HanLin took first 

place in red dot enabled rifle, with me managing to 

swag third place… just like my other rifle competition 

a few years ago! Our other teammate Dan DingXuan 

took third in non-optic pistol, and I actually placed 

sixth in that division, which I was fairly happy with 

given that there were twenty-four participants in it in 

the end. 

Zheng JiaHua of team Spring Rain took first place 

in pistol without optics, with Tsai YuQi on his heels 

in second; red dot pistol saw our friend ‘Tom’ Lau 

JiaYu take first place, Lin WeiJian in second, and Shi 

JiaHao in third. The Elementary school division saw 

Huang ZhiXuan in first, Xie HaoYu in second, and Xie 

QiaoYu in third; middle-schooler Chen YuCheng took 

first, with Xu WenZhe in second and Shen HongYan 

in third, and in the high school 

division Zhao ZiXiang took first, Jiang 

ChengHao in second and Lin YanWu 

in third place. 

A special mention should go to our 

good friend ‘Doobie’ Zhuang YiXuan 

(a friend of our team, and many in 

the community and one of the guys 

at KIC Airsoft who regularly help 

me out sourcing guns, optics and 

components) who took second place 

in optics-enabled rifle between myself 

and Mars, with a time nearly two 

seconds faster than my own; we were 

really chasing speed on stages and 

shooting one after another in most 

cases so we got to film each other, 

what makes it all the more inspiring is that ‘Doobie’ is 

his nickname as it’s derived from the Chinese for ‘lone 

arm’; Zhuang’s missing his right forearm from just 

below the elbow which obviously presents a challenge 

for weapons manipulation, but despite this he trains 

at SPPT’s home facility when he isn’t running the shop 

or getting enthusiastically getting stuck in to MilSims, 

skirmishing or even recent SUT training events; you 

rarely see him anything other than cheerful and 

positive and he never lets his physical impediment 

diminish his participation in our hobby, and continues 

to excel at it regardless. Outstanding effort, my friend! 

Many thanks as always to all who organised and 

participated in another great competitive event, 

and I hope to see such things continue to grow in 

popularity and further push legitimate shooting 

pastimes into a more mainstream and accepted 

space. Thanks as well to the ROs who worked a long 

day setting up, running and dismantling everything, 

and to the retailers and manufacturers who directly 

supported the event as well as being present to add 

retail and demonstration aspects for the participants 

and raise public awareness. But of course thanks 

most of all to Anny, who spent the entire day 

ducking around between stages trying to capture as 

many of the moments she could; it’s great to have 

someone else help with the coverage especially if I am 

competing and can’t be everywhere at once! 

More of our cooperative exploits to come…until 

next time, fellow shooters. AA 

“MANY THANKS AS ALWAYS TO ALL WHO ORGANISED AND PARTICIPATED IN ANOTHER GREAT 

COMPETITIVE EVENT, AND I HOPE TO SEE SUCH THINGS CONTINUE TO GROW IN POPULARITY 

AND FURTHER PUSH LEGITIMATE SHOOTING PASTIMES INTO A MORE MAINSTREAM AND 

ACCEPTED SPACE” 

92 


Innovation Competition Pistol 

Semi 

Full 

Switchable Semi Auto / 

Full Auto Mode 

Fixed Outer & Inner 

Barrel Design 

TDC Hop Up Chamber 

TM G17/18/19 

Magazine Compatible 

Facebook (Global): 

ICSBBAirsoft 

Twitter (Global): 

icsbbairsoft 

Youtube: 

ICS AIRSOFT 

Instagram: 

icsbbairsoft

RELOADED 

VFC ROSSI BCM NEPTUNE MCMR 10.5” GBBR/AEG SAS 

Image: Krios Photography 

MISSION 

SUCCESS 

94 


RELOADED 

ROSSI NEPTUNE 10.5” SAS 

AFTER SIX MONTHS IN TESTING BILL NOW GIVES HIS VERDICT ON THE ROSSI NEPTUNE 10.5” SAS, 

HOW IT HAS FARED SO FAR, AND HIS JOURNEY TO TAKE IT FROM A BASIC AEG TO SOMETHING THAT 

HE’D BE HAPPY SHOWING OFF AT ANY LEVEL OR AIRSOFT GAME FROM SUNDAY SKIRMISH TO FULL- 

ON MILSIM! 

It’s true that every airsoft platform I work with, and 

most certainly those that end up full-time in my 

personal armoury undergo a “journey” from the 

point they are lifted free from the box to the point 

where I have them just as I like them, both in terms of 

look and performance. I can’t actually believe 

that the ROSSI 

very regular basis, with every step of my testing 

and development of their then-new AEG being 

documented and shared. It’s also been a period of 

getting to know Dave at Dave’s Custom Airsoft a little 

better as he kindly acted as intermediary in facilitating 

my getting hold of the “SAS” in the first place, and 

since then has acted as something of a co-conspirator 

during the process of turning the AEG into something 

that I’m now very proud of! 

Every step of a project-journey means that 

there is the potential to meet new friends and 

kindred spirits, and I have to say that 

my airsoft 

NEPTUNE 

10.5” SAS 

(aka my “poor 

man’s L119A2”) has been with 

me for six months already, as it seems 

like only yesterday that I sat down with the 

guys from ROSSI at IWA. 

But yes, that time has gone by, and I’ve been 

corresponding with Rafa at ROSSI EUROPE on a 

“career” has been kind to me 

in that I’ve met many wonderful people involved in 

the industry, and the road I’ve travelled so far with the 

“SAS” has been no exception. I’ve spoken to friends 

old and new to garner the information I needed to 

take a stab at really getting this AEG into “Obi Wan” 

territory, and whilst not a direct replication I’m pretty 

darn happy with the overall build. 

Whilst the AEG itself is a sound proposition, and 

I’ve not heard whisper of complaint from anyone 

that has bought one since they first arrived in the UK 

(and indeed further afield as I now follow the ROSSI 

EUROPE page on FB), like any new platform that’s 

really only the starting point, isn’t it? 

“EVERY STEP OF A PROJECT-JOURNEY MEANS THAT THERE IS THE POTENTIAL TO 

MEET NEW FRIENDS AND KINDRED SPIRITS, AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT MY AIRSOFT 

“CAREER” HAS BEEN KIND TO ME IN THAT I’VE MET MANY WONDERFUL PEOPLE 

INVOLVED IN THE INDUSTRY, AND THE ROAD I’VE TRAVELLED SO FAR WITH THE “SAS” 

HAS BEEN NO EXCEPTION. ” 


RELOADED 


MOVING ON… 

Although I fully intend to leave the AEG “stock” 

internally to see how it stands up and performs 

over an even longer period, since it arrived with me 

I’ve been adding optics and accessories, as well as 

may not be the last one I lay my 

hands on... 

The mount for the optic is 

not correct which niggles me a 

little, 

giving it an 

“in-theatre” 

rattlecan paintjob 

(covered in Issue 152), to 

get it where I want it. 

To date I have added a 

HOLY WARRIOR ROMEO 4-T 

Style RDS courtesy of Dave as the “real” 

featured a SIG optic, a bit of a novelty at the 

time, but not now given the news that on 

August 15, 2023 SIG SAUER announced the award 

of a contract within the Support Weapons Sighting 

System (SWESS) program of the British Armed Forces 

to include the ROMEO8T, JULIET3, and JULIET4 from 

SIG SAUER Electro-Optics! They say that SF does the 

legwork for stuff that becomes issue later, and this 

seems to be the case here… 

The Holy Warrior take on the Romeo-4T is actually 

incredibly nice, and provides a great alternative to 

the T1-style that I’ve always used before for this 

tasking; clear and with a very precise 0.5MOA 

illuminated reticle, the little sight is solid as a solid 

thing and target acquisition is fast and accurate. It 

easily mounts to a 20mm rail and is fully windage 

and elevation adjustable, and it also has multiple 

brightness settings and can be adjusted via the + / - 

buttons on the side (which I lazily painted over, but 

have now “worn” to look quite cool!). I’ll admit that 

I’d not tried a Holy Warrior optic before, but if this 

is an indication of their quality I will say right now it 

but I can live 

with it, and 

now it’s painted 

to match the 

ROSSI it does blend 

into the “whole”. 

Right now I have a 

standard NP NX600L WEAPON 

LIGHT fitted, although I have 

been eyeing up more suitable 

mounts for this too. Alongside 

this is a NPQ15 LIGHT/LASER 

BOX, and I’ve also added a WADSN dual pressure 

switch to tidy everything up, although again I’ll tinker 

with the cable management until I get this perfect. 

At the shooty end I’ve added an ANGRY GUN SF 

SUPPRESSOR which looks great… I’ve left this black, 

just like the one shown in the pictures… 

As this has been an “inspired by” build rather 

than a complete replication the only other thing 

I’ve added right now is something that wasn’t the 

cheapest option, and again was thankfully secured 

with the help of Dave, and this is an FDE ERGO 

MOTOR GRIP from ELEMENT. This style of pistol 

grip is very obvious on the “real” if you look closely, 

and even the airsoft version is incredibly strong, 

and features a very comfortable textured finish. It’s 

“AS THIS HAS BEEN AN “INSPIRED BY” BUILD RATHER THAN A COMPLETE 

REPLICATION THE ONLY OTHER THING I’VE ADDED RIGHT NOW IS SOMETHING THAT 

WASN’T THE CHEAPEST OPTION, AND AGAIN WAS THANKFULLY SECURED WITH THE 

HELP OF DAVE, AND THIS IS AN FDE ERGO MOTOR GRIP FROM ELEMENT” 

96 


RELOADED 


made under licence from ERGO by Element, and the 

quality is first rate; fitting was a breeze to as it came 

complete with base plate and base plate screws. 

now it goes far beyond that, and with real-cap mags 

I’d be happy to run this alongside my full multicam 

regalia in a MilSim setting. 

Hats off to ROSSI for creating something that 

offers a real opportunity to replicate the L119A2 on 

a sensible budget, and given my experience with 

the NEPTUNE 10.5” SAS I’m keen to see what their 

other AEG and GBBR models 

CONTACT. 

WAIT. OUT. 

With the external 

finish now as 

complete as I 

wish it to be, 

I’m pleased to 

report that the 

performance of 

the “SAS” has 

continued to be 

excellent, and it 

feels smoother now that everything has bedded in; it’s 

genuinely ready for any “contact”. 

The carbine chrono’d as new at a perfectly 

acceptable mean of 1.0 Joule/330fps on a .20g 

BB and has stayed there, with virtually no major 

deviation. I’m now a little over 11K BBs downrange so 

far, and this has been mostly on semi-auto, and that’s 

sure to test any AEG. I’ve pushed up now to .30g BBs 

with the ROSSI as frankly the hop has handled these 

well, giving good results for accuracy at 30-40m, and 

in terms of out and out range I’m now hitting targets 

solidly at 50m+… I believe that the “SAS” still has 

some legs though. 

I’ve still haven’t changed anything at all in relation 

to the programming to be honest as “classic” mode 

continues to deliver all that I need; the trigger is crisp 

and responsive, every AR mag I own feeds through 

it, power and ROF are consistent on an 11.1, and 

operation in general is impeccable… why the hell 

would I want to mess with that? 

Ultimately what I’ve ended up with is an AEG that 

in total has cost me about UK£400 to put together as 

I wanted and one that will pass muster in any given 

situation. Without doubt it’s a great skirmish tool, but 

bring to the party. 

This has indeed been a most pleasant and 

rewarding airsoft journey, a real “mission success” 

in every way, and I’ll conclude with the exact words 

that I used to bring my initial review to a close as my 

opinion has not changed: 

“What you get with a ROSSI NEPTUNE SAS 10.5 

is a great quality “119 inspired” AEG that could well 

become a trusted companion for the majority of 

your “airsoft life” if you look after it, and want the 

proper carbine to work with your “UKSF” loadout! 

I’ve used this AEG extensively now, and with care 

and maintenance I believe it will probably outlast 

me, although right now I’m still happy to roll out 

with a “119” and continue to “fly the flag” given the 

chance!” 

Once again my sincere thanks go to Rafa and the 

team at ROSSI EUROPE for supplying the NEPTUNE 

SAS 10.5 test sample, and to Dave at Dave’s Custom 

Airsoft for his help in creating the finished project 

AEG; I hope that this will be the start of a long and 

fruitful friendship between ROSSI, Dave’s Custom 

Airsoft and Airsoft Action! 

The “SAS” will now enter the Red Cell Test 

Pool for longer term evaluation, but if you like the 

look of what you see then please do check out 

www.rossieurope.com for the very latest news 

on their products, and keep an eye on www. 

davescustomairsoft.co.uk for information on when 

the “SAS” and all the accessories needed to create 

your own “L119A2” are available in store. AA 

“THE TRIGGER IS CRISP AND RESPONSIVE, EVERY AR MAG I OWN FEEDS THROUGH 

IT, POWER AND ROF ARE CONSISTENT ON AN 11.1, AND OPERATION IN GENERAL IS 

IMPECCABLE… WHY THE HELL WOULD I WANT TO MESS WITH THAT?” 


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Airsoft Action - October 2023

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