Tuned mG36 tested this sunday

I wrote some time ago that my mG36 was tuned up to 390 fps. Two days ago I finally had a chance to test it during an airsoft game.

At first I was worried it'll work at all. I plugged fresh battery (4,000 mAh NiMH battery I bought last month) but it allowed me to fire only a couple of BBs when I was checking the hop-up position. I plugged another battery that lied around in my camper for a while, an old 1,800 mAh Sanyo NiCd and it worked just fine.

The game was short and not very interesting, so I used only about half a hi-cap magazine. But the most important thing is that it does work and shoots well. :)

I tested the M24 yesterday

So I finally had a chance to test my new replica -- the M24 I bought last month.

The game took place in Adamowice, in a forest with some small embankments. Nothing very interesting, that would differentiate this place from any other in the area. I took three replicas -- the M24 and mG36 for testing (the mG36 was repaired not so long ago) and the MP5K PDW. I wanted to have one replica that I am sure will work in almost any condition, that's why I took the Kurz. I also wanted to carry it while I was going to use the M24 in case I needed a sidearm. I didn't know how the M24 will work and also needed to have a replica to be used when the enemy was close to me. I don't want to hurt anyone with the 510 fps muzzle velocity of the M24. I also need a replica that'll allow me to spray some BBs when the enemy is close and I won't be able to reload the sniper rifle.

You know what was the result of this M24 testing? In three rounds I got shot 3 times and scored 6 hits. But only two hits with M24!

Why?

I have some trouble with the M24's hop-up. I am afraid that it can't turn up heavy BBs (0.35 g). So the range is not very long. But what do I need a long range for if the game takes place in a woodland, where there's a lot of twigs, brushes and leaves? I couldn't hit for several times, because the BB bounced off a twig.

The first time I used the MP5K was when I received a hit in the M24. I shouted that my gun was shot and left it on the ground. I took the MP5K and killed two guys using it... The second time it was used was when two guys were lying on a top of the embankment, behind two trees and aiming someone that was far on my left hand side. They were hidden by the trees so they didn't see me, so I hung the M24 on my back, grabbed the MP5K and ran to them. When I was close enough I told the first guy I killed him and shot some BBs to kill the second. ;)

And now a photo taken yesterday.

From 08-12-14-makowka-ambona

Best airsoft places, #3

I started some time ago a series of blog posts about my favorite places for airsoft games. Today's game was supposed to take place in one of those places (I didn't go as it was raining) so it is a good time to write about the SD.

The SD is a short for Sztab Dowodzenia, which means Command Staff. I wrote about one game that took place there, but I believe it is not enough! But before we go any further, take a look at the satellite photo of the place.



The lighter green is a large area covered with tall grass and the darker areas are woodland parts. There are many large hills, some of them made of concrete (built as large bunkers for trucks or something even bigger).

I don't have a lot of good photos but I uploaded something for you to take a look. I made this panorama using a bunch of poor quality photos taken with a crappy camera three years ago so take this into account. ;)

From Airsoft from Poland photos

Why do I like this place?

First of all it is H U G E but lies within the Warsaw city limits. It has a couple of small buildings you can play with and a lot of large obstacles like the hills you can see on the photo. You'll also find some barbwired fences, many trees, trenches and embankments, and a small creek. This place can hold games of up to (I guess) 200 airsofters.

You can see some interesting places on the second advertisement video we recorded there.

New replica and other stuff

So I bought a new replica. Some time ago I wrote that I earned some extra money I wanted to spend on airsoft and decided to buy a sniper rifle. So I did, the replica arrived on monday.

From Airsoft from Poland photos

This is the package I bought for PLN 870, which is very close to $300. I got this Classic Army M24 with installed 300% spring tuning set (the original set was also included) and Systema hop-up bucking (the original was also included).

The replica came along with a very nice scope -- with variable zoom and illuminated (red and green) reticle.

The replica had no magazine, so I had to purchase it separately. I found those magazines in several shops, but with different prices -- from $12 to $17. Of course I bought in the cheapest shop. ;)

On last thursday I also got another package with three M24 magazines and BBs. I bought two packages (total 2,000 BBs) of 0,36g BBs and one of 0,25g BBs. I also bought two batteries for my dot sight.



I didn't test the M24 yet, because when I come home it's already after dusk and when I leave to work, it's also dark. I will see how it works on saturday. :)

Airsoft FPS

This is the ultimate guide to Airsoft FPS (muzzle velocity) issues.

What is the airsoft fps term?

The muzzle velocity, expressed in fps (feet per second) is the muzzle velocity of airsoft replicas. It is the speed that the BB has when it leaves the barrel of the airsoft gun.

Many people believe, the more fps an airsoft replica has, the better. To some extent it is true, but here are the bare facts.

The fps in airsoft means only that a certain BB will have a certain muzzle velocity. In most cases for most replicas it is measured for 0.2 g BB, but be sure to check it. If you find a suspiciously cheap replica with high fps, it probably means it was measured on 0.12 g BB and on 0.2 g BB would have less fps.

The fps also means that the BB fired from this replica will have a specific kinetic energy, calculated from the formula E=m*V²/2, where m is the mass of BB (0.2 g for example) and V is the fps. The more the energy of the BB, the longer range you can shoot. And the more pain you will cause when hitting someone.

fps vs range in airsoft

Yes, the bigger the fps for a replica, the longer it's range may be!

But the range is not determined only on the fps of an airsoft replica. The range is determined mostly by the hop-up system of the replica. This system rotates the BB so it will not fall on the ground after flying 20 meters.

A cheap replica may have large fps, but that does not necessarily means it has long range. It is not said it might be used as sniper rifle!

fps vs accuracy in airsoft

fps does not determine accuracy. Accuracy depends on the lenght of the barrel and the quality of the hop-up system. If you install tightbore (precise inner barrel) for your electric airsoft replica, it will slightly increase your fps (by 5-10 fps or so) but will surely increase the accuracy of your replica.

To be honest, the bigger the fps, the smaller the accuracy. Try using 0.12 g BBs in your AEG of 300 fps and you will see what I mean. To use this high muzzle velocity you need to use heavier BBs, for example the 0.2 g BBs are recommended only for replicas that have less than 300 fps! For 400 fps you should use 0.23-0.25 g BBs, for sniper rifles of 540-550 fps you should use 0.36-0.43 g BBs. Lighter BBs will be fired in random directions.

New airsoft stuff

I can't remember how many articles I wrote about stuff I bought. This is one of such articles. ;)

On november 10th when I shipped my mG36 for repairs, I received a package at my post office. The package was wrapped tight in a black foil, and consisted of two boxes.

From Airsoft from Poland photos

After everything was unpacked, it looked the following:



As you can see, I bought:

• a new carry handle with a picatinny rail for my mG36,
• a 9.6 volt 4,000 mAh NiMH large type battery, to fuel all my energy needs,
• a sophisticated battery charger, capable of charging and discharging airsoft batteries with a current of 500 or 1,000 mAh (good for large batteries, not so good for the smaller ones),
• the side rail for AK-47 sight mount.

mG36 operational again

Yesterday I received a package containing my mG36 replica. It was repaired, so it's probably fully operational. I will check it on weekend, 'cause when I arrive home after work it's already after dusk. :(

Full face airsoft protection for winter

Do you ever attend airsoft games in winter? Do you need your face to be fully protected, but don't want to buy ugly airsoft mask? If so, get a shemagh scarf, goggles and a helmet. And watch the following video.

$700 to spend on airsoft

I just earned PLN 2,000 -- $701 on one of my blogs. So I decided to buy some airsoft stuff for that money.

So... what to buy for less than $700? The more I save, the better, so I decided to spend no more than $500.

Of course my first thought was to buy a new airsoft replica. But which replica to buy? I went through the local airsoft shops and gathered ideas. I ruled out most of the replicas for the following reasons:

• I owned the Classic Army's M15A2 for some time, so I don't want to buy anything from the M15/M16/M4 family,
  
• I owned the ICS' MP5SD3 and have at the moment the MP5K PDW from Tokyo Marui, so I won't buy any MP5 either,
• I have AK47S from Cyma (CM028), so I don't want another Kalashnikov,
• I don't want any M249 minimi, 'cause I already have a support weapon - the mG36,
  
• I also don't want another AUG nor G36.

This left me with not many options to choose from!

After some time I had the following ideas:

• the UZI AEG from Tokyo Marui,
• the P90TR AEG from Tokyo Marui,
• the SIG 552,
• some sniper rifle,
• the G&G GR300L.

The UZI was one of the first AEG replicas I saw in my life. And now noone owns such a replica. This also means that it is difficult to buy any parts or accessories for it in Poland. We also have a gas powered Crossman mini-UZI, so I stopped to think about buying this replica.

The best thing in P90 is the way it looks. It looks like no other airsoft replica. It is a bullpup submachine gun, so it has a long barrel, yet it is very portable. It has three rails to install dot sight, a laser pointer and a flashlight. But I read an article about how the P90 does not work well in woodland games. I have a replica to use indoors, the MP5K, so I decided not to buy the P90.

The SIG 552 is a nice AEG. It has folded stock, and some rails for some equipment. It is also not popular. At the moment I couldn't buy this AEG in any of the local airsoft shops. :(

The GR300L is the only rifle of the M4 family I like. I had much fun time with the electronic version of this rifle in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadow of Chernobyl and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Clear Sky. I also like the way it looks, but the replica is way too expensive for the money I wanted to spend.

This left me with only one option -- buying a sniper rifle.

The idea was the best of the all I had. I always wanted to have a rifle that has a very high muzzle velocity. I always wanted to shoot other players on the distance of over 200 feet. My first thought was to buy the Tanaka M700 or the cheap copy of this replica -- the KJW M700. Both are gas powered. Since they both have only 6 months warranty in the only polish shop I could buy them, I thought it was a bad idea. I wouldn't use the gas gun in winter, so the warranty was not enough... And then I read about Classic Army M24 and a cheap way to increase its muzzle velocity from 300 to 540 fps. And I decided to buy this rifle.

Later this afternoon I found a set of CA M24 with the 540 fps cylinder set installed, a bag, a sight but no magazine on the Allegro.pl (the polish alternative to eBay). The guy wanted to get at least $300 for this set, I would have to buy 3 magazines and a bag of heavy BBs (0.36 g) for extra $70. This would fit my budget well, so I made him an offer. The auction will last for 6 more days, I will write here if I managed to buy the rifle. :)

I sent the G36 back for repairs

I wrote how my mG36E was broken by the guys who were supposed to tune it. I sent it on monday, but the story needs some explanation.

I sent the photos I shown here. And the next day I was called by one of the ASGShop staff about the hop-up chamber. The guy asked me if I think the replica was sent in this condition. He told me that the replica was tested before it was put to the package, but since it was missing the flash hider, it was probably damaged on it's way to me. He told me he already spoke with his boss who told him to take the replica for free repairs.

I didn't much have time to send it, so it took awhile before I went to a local post office. I was also waiting for my new purchases -- the G36 carry handle with picatinny rail. I wanted to see how this handle looks on the replica. I waited till last friday and as the handle didn't arrive, decided to go to the post office on monday. I packed the G36 using a lot of bubble wrap and cardboard:

From Airsoft from Poland photos

So I sent it, insured the package to the amount of $600 and paid for the shipping over $15. :(

By the way, at the post office, I received the package with the handle. :( I will write something more about the stuff I ordered tomorrow. Subscribe to RSS feed to know more. ;)

The work on Cyma AK47

I promised to write more about the work I did on my Cyma AK47S (CM.028) yesterday. So here it goes.

The goal was to:

• put new Systema tightbore,
• install metal body from Cyma,
• install side rail (from Cyma) for side lock mount rail.

I started with the metal body -- I wanted to drill three holes for the side rail. I attached the rail to the body with plastic straps (I have no idea what is the proper word to use), as shown below.

From Airsoft from Poland photos

I soon started drilling holes -- I just marked it using my drill.



And then I removed the rail to finish the drilling.





When the holes were made, I bolted the rail.



And then I attached the mount rail.



Then I removed the entire mechbox and all the other parts from the old plastic body. I had some help from this very good video of AK47 disassembly.



At this moment I wanted to remove the barrel and install the tightbore. I followed this video but it was incompatible...

I was very surprised to see that the original barrel in Cyma CM.028 did not have the notches and hole that are used to install the hop-up bucking, as you can see on the video. It was just put inside the hop-up chamber, along with the hop-up bucking! So I didn't install the tightbore. :(

I also had a lot of trouble with installing the mount for stock on the new body. One of the parts didn't fit inside the body. This is the troublesome part. I don't have any file at home so it required some work to make it fit. :(



I finally put everything together. I tested the replica today -- it does work, but I want to change this barrel anyway.

Late night work on my Cyma AK47

Short post this time, 'cause it's nearly midnight in Poland and after 3 hours of struggling I finally managed to put together my Cyma AK47 replica.

I wanted to:

• install metal body,
• install systema precise inner barrel (as I learnt yesterday, it's called tightbore),
• install side mount for side lock mount rail.

I managed to do the first and the third. More details tomorrow. Subscribe to the RSS feed if you want to know when those details are published.

Cool deathmatch yesterday

So yesterday there was a cool airsoft game. Cool and very short, and very small. That's because there was only four airsoft players, including me. ;)

We played only one round, in not-so-good-old deathmatch style. I love to play deathmatch in Quake ][ or Quake ]|[, 'cause one doesn't get tired when running in an computer FPP game. You do become tired when you run around during an airsoft game. This is the same reason for which I don't like playing airsoft capture the flags either.

The rules were simple -- each of us goes to the different corner of the site and we all have on respawn.

I started in the farthest location. I didn't hear the "go" shout, but I realised the game is commencing when I heard first AEG bursts. Soon after that I saw the first enemy. He was crouching on a nearby hill and didn't look in my direction. Soon he had to use his first respawn.

I camped in this place for a while. Some time later I heard that one of the other players is permanently dead. I sat in the same spot for couple more minutes and then I decided to move. I heard shots on the other side of small valley, but I didn't want to cross it. I decided to go around the valley. When I came from the farther end of the valley I saw one of the enemies (the one I shot at the beginning of the game). I came further, slowly, trying to be as quiet as possible, which was difficult when the groud was covered with stick, brushes and leaves. I wanted to approach the guy so close, I wouldn't miss. When I thought I was close enough, I shot him with a short burst. Too short burst. :( He wasn't shot (well... at least he didn't say he was) and escaped. Soon after that the other remaining player gave up as he used all his ammo.

My target moved. I spent some time looking around but didn't see him. I fired some BBs into some dark space with one light stripe -- I though the dark space was his uniform and the light stripe was the white half of polish flag he has on his sleeve. I was wrong and I revealed where I was. Soon he started to fire at me, but I was lucky enough to avoid being shot. So then I knew my target was again on the other side of the small valley. And once again I moved around it to get my guy.

I got him in a very simillar way as previously. I saw him, he didn't see me, I shot him, I didn't miss.

I never expected to be the winner of this game, but I was. :)

Short night game last sunday

On last sunday I took Ania to Warsaw for a short night airsoft game. It was supposed to start around 5 PM -- this time of year it is already after nightfall. We went to Fort Piłsudskiego -- one on many old military forts in Warsaw. We played for about two hours and I had lots of fun.

I never liked playing airsoft at night. It started when we played in Halinka some four or five years ago. I got shot by Mamut with his pump action shotgun -- the benelli m3 super 90. Two of three BBs hit me in the ear while the third hit me somewhere else in the head. I didn't like the night games because I felt very vulnerable -- I don't have any tactical flashlight on my replicas, so I can rely only on the natural light...

But last week I had fun. :) There was only eight of us but it was more than enough.

I took the AUG and AK47S with me for this game. At first I though I'd use AUG, but I felt like it was too powerful for playing at night. So I decided to use the AK47S instead and it was a good choice.

From Airsoft from Poland photos

The game was very slow. All night games are slow. You move slowly, because you aren't sure what are you walking onto. You try to move quietly, because the sound is what will tell where you are. So the best way to score some points at night game is to hide somewhere and wait for someone to come.

I camped this way a couple times. With success. :)

At first I hid behind a large tree on some small hill (around 1 meter / 3 ft high), in some bushes. When the opposite team killed three of my teammates I was left alone. They thought they killed everyone else and walked less than 10 metres from me to the point where all the killed gathered. When they were told I was still alive, they walked near me again and then I started to spray BBs. I killed one or two of them and received a hit by myself. It is not easy to aim at night... ;p

The second time was when I crouched in one place for some 5 minutes. I saw a guy walking in my direction but wasn't sure if he's in my team. When we saw each other I asked him if he's my mate or enemey -- and then he started to shoot his cheap AEP (Glock 17 by Double Eagle, I guess). At the same instant I shot him back and I decided we should both be considered shot, though I did't feel or hear his BBs on my parka.

The third time was the most interesting. This time the idea was similar -- to crouch in one place for some time and to wait what will happen. I saw one guy from the opposite team, he walked in my direction. I aimed at him to shoot whenever I feel threatened. He stopped for a moment and fired a short burst very close to me (I talked to him couple minutes later, he told me he fired at some point near me, because he heard some noise). I was scared, but didn't pull the trigger. He started walking again, walked by me and then I shot him in the back. ;)



We also had some fun with using an old refrigerator as a shield. On this photo you can see Indianin with his AK47, hidden in the refrigerator. :)

high muzzle velocities of cheap AEG

Did you ever wonder why cheap AEGs from China (Cyma, Both Elephant, Jin Gong, Galaxy) have higher muzzle velocities than AEGs from Japan or Taiwan (Tokyo Marui, Classic Army, G&G, G&P)?

For example, new Cyma's AK47 has muzzle velocity of 410-430 fps (the one I own has 290 fps) and costs at WGC Shop $138 while Tokyo Marui's AK47 has only around 270 fps and costs $287 (price for AEG with battery and charger, to be comparable with Cyma's replica). You can easily see that the TM is twice as expensive as the chinese Cyma.

Many people in Poland buy those replicas because they think they'll get good replica cheap. They think that the more fps the better replica. Well... they are wrong...

What does the high muzzle velocity mean? Nothing except that the BB leaves the barrel with high velocity. It doesn't imply the replica has high range. It doesn't mean it has good accurasy, either!

What determines the range and accuracy? Inner barrel and hop-up. If the inner barrel is precise and made well, all the BBs will be fired in exactly the same direction. What happens after they're shot depends on the quality of the hop-up, especially the hop-up bucking (rubber). If the hop-up rotates each BB the same way, they all have the same trajectory. The better hop-up action, the longer range and the steadier trajectory.

One of my favorite replicas is the MP5K PDW that has less than 260 fps but is really accurate, despite it's short barrel.

So why the chinese replicas are made to have so much fps? Because this is the only thing that is easily comparable between replicas. You can measure the muzzle velocity easily, but you can't measure and compare the range and accuracy of different replicas! And it's easier to put stronger power spring than to make entire mechanism more precise and airtight.

I am in some kind of airsoft article frenzy -- expect more articles to be posted this week. I strongly suggest subscribing to my RSS feed on the upper left corner of the blog.

Carry handles for G36

If you compared different versions of G36 airsoft replicas (the G36, G36K (Kurz -- short) and G36C (Compact), you probably noticed the different carry handles.

G36 and G36K have a carry handle with 3.5x scope, similar to the one that is fitted on real-steel G36E (Export) version.


From WGC Shop

G36C has lower handle with Picatinny rail (more a rail than a carry handle).


From WGC Shop

But there are also other carry handles on the market. First there's a handle that is closest to the real-steel version, with 3.5x scope and reflex red dot sight.


Also from WGC Shop

And there's a cheap alternative of the carry handle above and something I always wanted...


From taiwangun

I just bought the latter, no matter that my mG36 is broken and is going to be sent for repairs.

I am going to use this railed handle with red dot sight I bought some time ago for my MP5K.

Guys from ASGShop.pl broke my mG36's hopup chamber

Last saturday I wrote a post on how my mG36 got home from tuning and repairs in ASGShop.pl broken. Now it is a good time to add some more details to the story.

On 18th, right after I posted an article, I mailed the guys from ASGShop to tell them the replica doesn't work.

Yesterday (on 23rd) I mailed them once again, as I didn't get any answer. Couple hours later I got a reply that my e-mail was forwarded to the guy who worked on my replica.

The guy called me today around 11 AM on my cellphone but I had another phonecall at work, so I didn't answer. I tried to call him back in a couple of minutes, but the phone was not answered (the message on their answering machine says the phone support works from noon). He eventually called me three hours later.

I told him that the I found one piece of hop-up / barrel assembly (the spacer I mentioned on the earlier post) lying somewhere in the box that held the replica. We discussed for a moment and he said that it is not possible that this part disconnected itself somehow while the package was being moved. He told me that if I feel like I may try to take a look at the hop-up assembly and fix it by myself. As all I want is to have my replica firing as soon as possible, I agreed. I am familiar with this mechanism as I tried to replace the inner barrel by myself.

So I came home and started working on the mG36. The first step was to remove the magazine nest (sorry -- don't know if this is the right word, I mean the part you put magazine in) and what I saw told me something is very wrong with the hop-up chamber. I saw this:

From Airsoft from Poland photos

On the photo above you can clearly see that there's a broken hop-up chamber and that the hop-up bucking (rubber) is broken as well. You may also see that the spacer I mentioned earlied is gone (no big mistery here -- I found it in the cardboard box). So I disassemblied it a bit more to remove the barrel and hop-up chamber.



You can see that the rubber is also damaged. The moving nozzle made a small cut on the lower part of the rubber. You can also see what happened to the hop-up chamber.

But the latest discovery was worst. Not that I did't expect it, though...



This is the part of the hop-up assembly where the spacer is supposed to go. On the original G36 barrels there are two notches that hold the spacer in place. You can see it perfectly on the photos here (a guide to G36 hop-up disassembly). The fourth photo shows the spacer (pointed with the red arrow). On the 8th and 9th photos you can see the notches on the inner barrel.

Why am I shocked? I tried to replace the barrel in my mG36 some time ago. I bought some long barrel that didn't fit because of those notches. And being aware of that (and since the precise barrel for G36 was not available at ASGShop.pl at the time I sent them my replica for tuning) I told them to install any precise barrel that will fit. Well... seems the guys decided that the barrel without notches is as good as the original. But they were wrong. I thought of this last week -- this is why I wasn't surprised. :(

I don't care! I am going to send them the replica tomorrow and phone them on monday (will probably e-mail them some of the photos as well). I suspect they will repair it as a part of their warranty, 'cause they have simply no other choice.

But I am going to write this whole story down on the biggest polish airsoft community's bulletin board. I would let one mistake go, but two mistakes are too much!

I need some sophisticated equipment

I don't have any high-tech charger / discharger. At the moment my equipment used for charging and discharging my batteries consists of:

• charger for 8,4 V batteries, capable of supplying 250 mA current, the one that comes with Cyma replicas,
• some variable rate charger that gives 12 V and 15-240 mA current,
  
• very simple discharger, made of 55 W 12 V car bulb, shown on the following photo.

From Airsoft from Poland photos

Discharging batteries takes time. Since it's not automated, I have to look at the bulb from time to time when I am discharging a battery. I can't leave it unattended...

Charging batteries is not fully automated. The chargers are cheap, they only supply the specific amount of current. They don't check if the battery is fully charged, so may overcharge and destroy the battery. The only way to make sure the battery is not overcharged is to watch the time carefully (and know exactly how long the battery is supposed to be plugged to the charger) and check from time to time if the battery is warm... I can't leave the charger unattended for the last part of the charging, when the battery needs to be unplugged.

I need to buy a good automated charger and some cheap discharger to make sure my batteries are healthy and may live long...

Cyma AK47 review -- bullshit

I saw a review of Cyma's CM028 - AK47 replica. And I thought I must write here something, because the review is bullshit. But what to expect when the replica is reviewed by someone who sells them, not by someone who only uses replicas!

Around 2:12 the guy says the following:

Not only will bigger and more powerful battery increase the rate of fire (...), also increase the range and accuracy up to 5 to 10 per cent.

Come on! The only thing that changes when you supply 9.6 volt current instead of 8.4 volt is the engine speed. The engine revolves faster, the gears in gearbox revolve faster, the power spring gets compressed faster. But the energy delivered to the piston by the spring does not depend on how fast the spring was compressed! So no matter what battery you use, the amount of compressed air that will push the BB through the inner barrel remains the same.

Well... there may be one case when it isn't the same. If you connect 12V battery to stock replica, the engine may try to compress the spring when it didn't decompress itself fully. The engine may revolve so fast that the next gearbox work cycle will start before the piston reaches the cylinder head.

mG36 at home, but broken

Recently, when I used the phrase "my favorite ASG shop" I meant the asgshop.pl. It changes today! They aren't my favorite airsoft reseller anymore, 'cause they screwed up my replicas twice. The AUG was first (the guy who repaired the replica didn't replace the broken engine) and now the G36 is broken...

And what's the most hilarious in this whole story? I think I know what is the problem as I almost forseen it...

Two years ago I tried to replace the inner barrel for my G36. At that moment it was difficult to purchase a proper barrel since it wasn't available at any of local airsoft shops. So I bought some 509mm-long barrel for AUG and M15s. But I couldn't install it, as it had notches in wrong places. The notches are used to hold the barrel to the hop-up chamber.

When I unpacked the replica from the box, I found a small piece of hop-up assembly. This part - spacer - stopped me from installing the barrel when I tried it. On this photo you can see when this spacer goes on the barrel, it is the place where the notches are. I the notches are somewhere else, you can't install the spacer. And the spacer is very important as it: holds the barrel from sliping out of the hop-up chamber and holds the hop-up adjusting wheel from moving to the front.

Okay, so I took the mG36, plugged charged battery and then tried to fire the replica. It made some noise, as the gearbox worked. But the BB wasn't shot. The BB wasn't fed to the hop-up chamber and wasn't shot. I rotated the replica upside down to make sure there is no trouble with the high capacity magazine. Nothing changed. So I thought maybe the hop-up is set on high BBs turning and then I turned the adjusting wheel to the other side. Nothing changed, but the adjusting wheel moved a bit to the front of the replica.

As the mG36 doesn't work, it's going back to asgshop.pl for further repairs.

mG36 is ready

On thursday a guy from my favorite airsoft shop called me and we spoke for a while about my mG36 replica I sent for repairs and tuning.

He said that he installed the parts I asked for (precise inner barrel, 6.04 mm by Systema, and sealed air nozzle) and tested the replica on the chronograph. I wanted the replica to have around 350 fps -- enough for playing with guys that have 400 fps installed, but not very much). And I thought that after this barrel and nozzle installed it’ll have something close to that (330...340 fps maybe), since the G36 from Classic Army has 315 fps in stock!

Do you want to know what were the results from chronograph? A shitty 290 fps! I was stunned when I heard that.

It seemed that there was no other choice than to change the power spring. I asked the guy what caused such poor results. He said that the cylinder - cylinder head - piston head set is not very airtight and the spring looks weak. He suggested to change the spring go M100 and new cylinder with both heads made from aluminum. When I approved those parts to be installed, he asked me if I didn’t want to have the M110 instead as it’ll give me something close to 400 fps. Of course I agreed...

On friday he called me again. He installed the M110 and the other parts I mentioned above. He checked the replica on chronograph again and had result of 390 fps. That’s more than enough, I think...

Would you guess how much I’ll be charged for this tuning? PLN 460, amount equivalent to $170.

But hey, if the mG36 is supposed to be an light support weapon (as it’s real steel MG36 counterpart), it must have better range and accuracy than typical ASG replica...

the mG36 sent for tuning

Today I sent my mG36 replica. I must say it was a struggle to pack it in some cardboard box, 'cause I didn't have box that was big enough to fit the entire replica, even with folded stock. So I used two smaller boxes and taped them together, then taped them both around, wrapped in paper and taped again. ;) It weighed 5 kilograms as I was told at my post office.

I will keep you updated with mG36's tuning news.

the mG36 tuning to be made

Couple months ago I sent my Classic Army AUG replica to my favorite ASG Shop for repairs and small tuning.

Tomorrow I am sending them my mG36 for servicing and tuning.

I want them to see if there's anything wrong with the replica, because I think it has too low range. Maybe I broke something when I tried to replace the inner barrel. I thought about it in january and wrote two articles on how I tried to fix it.

Aside from the servicing, I will also ask the guys from my favorite shop to:

• install new sealed air nozzle (I have one already in my parents' place, so I won't be able to send it with the replica tomorrow),
  
• put any precise inner barrel,
  
• change the electrical wires to some high grade silicone wires and put them to the back of the gearbox and in the stock where the battery is located.

The changes should increase the muzzle velocity a little and increase the accuracy. They should also increase the rate of fire as the resistance of the wires should be decreased.

Maybe I'll ask the guys to install some stronger spring, but I'm not sure yet.

Spring airsoft rifle

When we started playing airsoft with cheap spring pistol replicas (for PLN 20-50 each, which is equivalent to $7.5-18.7), we dreamed of something much more powerful, with much better range. The pistols we had used 0.12 g BBs (the lightest there are) and had range of (I guess) 20 meters (60 feet).

When one of us bought his spring SMG replica (I guess it was Scorpion for PLN 150 -- $56), his team was always overbalanced. But we all dreamt of something much more powerful -- spring airsoft rifle!

From Airsoft from Poland photos

The photo above shows my airsoft team (Shamo Warsaw ASG Team), at some very early stage. At that moment we had only spring or gas guns. On the photo you can see a Super 9 spring sniper rifle and two M16s spring airsoft rifles. We had also two spring shotguns, one spring SMG (the Scorpion mentioned above) and 2 gas handguns.
In my team’s first advertisement you can also see a lot of spring airsoft rifles. But are they worth any money? Before we answer this question, another needs to be asked: why do you consider buying an airsoft spring rifle?

If you just want to buy anything with better range than your spring pistol, the airsoft spring rifle is a poor choice. You can buy a good spring airsoft rifle from Tokyo Marui for $85 (a M16 for example), but for the same amount of money you can get some cheap airsoft electric gun, like AK-47 from Cyma (CM028). It has similar range (if not better!), full-auto option, larger magazine capacity (hi-cap in box), battery and a charger. You may also buy a gas pistol, like (for example):

• KJW’s Beretta M9 full metal replica with adjustable hop-up,


• two very good KJW’s MK1 (ruger) pistols with great range and muzzle velocity of 380 fps!

Each of the examples above can serve you for couple of years, if you take good care of it. If you decide to buy something more sophisticated later, such replica may be used as sidearm or simply a backup gun.

If you want to buy spring airsoft rifle because you want a replica of bolt action rifle, a spring one (like Tokyo Marui’s VSR-10) is a good choice. It’s less expensive that such rifle but gas powered (like Tanaka’s M700 rifle). It works just like the original (you pull the lever, you fire, no full-auto needed). It can be tuned, if you decide later, that you need something more powerfull but don’t want to buy another replica.

Boring game yesterday

So I played a little airsoft yesterday. A little, because I had only 3h time after work and for the first hour I had to wait for other players to come. So we played only 4 rounds, I didn't kill nobody and discovered that you have to recharge every battery just before to the game if you want to be sure they're fully charged.

I had a chance to use Cyma CM30 (Glock 17 replica), a nice Airsoft Electric Pistol (AEP). It's said to have less than 200 fps but it's range is quite nice. I found yesterday on the internet CM30 of new generation, with muzzle velocity of 240 fps! :D

The stuff is on its way

The stuff I mentioned two weeks ago was already bought by a friend of mine. I am going to get it tomorrow. I hope I'll find some time this week for a short airsoft game. ;)

While scrolling through RedWolf Airsoft I found two interesting things.

The first is the G36 carry handle with scope and top rail. The rail is great if you want to install some dot sight. Since I do want to use my dot sight for this replica, I'll probably buy it in future.

The other thing is a very cool custom airsoft gun built on G36 base. You can check it out here. It's a G36 with G36C front grip (large, to fit large battery), bipod, box magazine and very long barrel. The barrel is as long as it's in the G36, but since the front grip is of G36C type, the barrel looks longer.

Airsoft hunger

Long time, no airsoft game. Nothing new, my engagement in airsoft games changes frequently. There are times when I play more than one game in a week and times when I can't find couple of hours to go and shoot somebody on saturday or sunday.

At this moment, my friends from Shamo Warsaw ASG Team play airsoft two times weekly. On thurday afternoons/evening and on weekends. Since I live 40 km away from Warsaw, I am not willing to go so far to play airsoft. But I work in Warsaw so thursdays would be a good time to play some airsoft. Unfortunatelly on this thursday I am going to meet my mechanic to work on my camper.

I also plan a small airsoft purchases:

• metal body for my AK-47S (only $46),
• large replica case/bag,
• AK scope mount.

I want to invest some money in the AK-47S since it's been forgotten until now. I only bought one extra magazine (mid-cap if I recall correctly). I will perform some junk tuning on this replica later on. I bought a precise barrel some time ago, it'd be a waste of money if it was only going to lie on some shelf.

The pleasant game on last sunday

On last sunday I played a pleasant airsoft game. The first for more than two months. I haven't played since my last purchases. So you might say that this was the first time to test my new stuff.

The game took place on the southern borders of Warsaw, on a site where greenhouses used to be some time ago. It consisted of some abandoned buildings and a lot of empty space, covered only with grass and bushes. There was one very important element of this site: a high hill that was the most important place during two scenarios that were played. Below are photos taken from that hill. It was located on the northern side of the site.

From Airsoft from ...

At the very beginning we were divided into two teams, based on our camouflages. Team of players in flecktarn (german) camouflaged jackets versus any other camouflage (woodland (american), DPM (british), polish camo). The guys in german camo (including me) were divided into two smaller teams, one of 4, the other of 11 people. The scenario said that the smaller group were parachutists dropped some time ago on the ground. They were ambushed by the enemy, the second group was supposed to rescue them. After the rescue both teams were supposed to take over the hill. The team that held the hill at the end of the scenario (scheduled to be after 2 hours) was supposed to win.

The scenario wasn't as stupid as it might look. But nobody suspected that half of guys dressed in woodlands, DPMs and polish camos are going to be late for the briefing. At the end of the scenario we counted 15 guys in flecktarns and 30 in the second team. No wonder we had simply no chance to win...

After teams were balanced, the rules were changed. The team that was supposed to take over the hill was now ordered to protect it from their opponents. The attackers started at the other end of the asphalt road you can see on the pictures. We started on the hill the photos were taken from. My friend and I quickly found ourselves a great place -- the right flank. We camped in the building you can see on the right hand side on the last photo. The one that had two trees near. The attackers soon started rushing towards us, we sprayed some BBs at them. Two other guys that lied under those trees went somewhere else and we were on our own. And then the fun started.
Under those threes were two holes in ground, which were a part of sewer system I suppose. The hatches were removed (and probably sold). We agreed that it'd be a good idea to stick near the two holes. If we sat on the ground near, we could shoot above the high grass. If we jumped inside (which was not difficult), we could hide from enemy fire.

The place was great for two reasons. First of all it wasn't stormed by attackers. They found themselves another point to attack. But single enemies tried to walk past us and attack our camp from behind. Since we got our eyes high above ground level, we were warned early enough to shoot those enemies. There were two guys we weren't warned about, but we easily heard their movement in the dry grass. One of them was shot by my friend, the other was "shout-killed" by me some time later. I hid in a dark place and when he was close enough I told him he was dead. As simple as that. ;)



The above photo shows a small group of enemies thinking about what to do. Note that they were in the hot sun while we sat in the cool shade. ;)



This guy had his goggles and binoculars, but didn't have any weapon. ;)



We had a lot of time to make photos. ;)

I must say that AUG was not fully operational. Three or four times it didn't fire when I pulled the trigger. I didn't find any rule when it did and when it didn't work. If it happens again, it'll have to be shipped back for repairs.

Junk tuning

Long time, no see, huh? I didn’t attend any airsoft game for two months, so there’s nothing to write about. But when I’m not playing airsoft, I am thinking about it. So this is what I found out lately.

I mentioned here, that I have my AUG tuned. It has Guarder M110 / SP110 spring, helical gear set, full set of cylinder / cylinder head / piston head (bore-up) and some other stuff. This left me stock Classic Army spring and stock cylinder with two heads.

I am curious if I can use the spring to tune my AK-47S. If this Cyma replica is an exact copy of Tokyo Marui’s one, then I guess there’ll be some trouble with the piston / piston head / spring. As far as I remember, the TM’s piston is permanently connected to it’s head, so to change the spring you have to do something with piston / piston head. I don’t know exacly what needs to be done, i.e. if I need to have spare piston or not.

I also have one 170% CA spring, which is similar to M110. I think I’ll put this spring to the mG36, ’cause it lacks good range for being a support weapon. I’ll put it inside along with sealed air nozzle I bought a year or two ago and didn’t have time to install. ;)

The hill

I can't say why this video was viewed almost 300,000 times on YouTube. It's boring, has very long parts of darkness when nothing is shown, the most interesting part is shown for a very short time.

The text at the end of the video says that the hill was taken during one scenario by a group of 28 people. Later a large group of 100 people was sent to take the hill back. The result was easy to predict...

My latest purchases

Do you remember that I wrote how I got my 9,6 V large battery burnt? Because of that I needed to buy some connector plugs to repair the one on the battery and one in the AUG (I tried to pull the wires with those metal connectors from the plastic casing, pulled one successfully, but the second connector remained in the casing while I managed to pull the wire itself, so I had to cut the casing to remove the connector and attach it to the wire again). I also needed to attach standard large connector plugs to two cables I made for using large batteries in mG36 and AUG some time ago. When I needed those cables I didn't have the connector plugs so I made connectors from old computer connector plug. It worked fine, but there was always a question: which one is red, which one is black. You don't need to know that when using standard plug. :) So I needed those connectors...

I thought that paying PLN 12 ($5) for shipping the package when I only ordered those plugs for PLN 32 ($13.3) (I ordered 8 plugs total, to have one spare plug of each type) is stupid. So I ordered:

• 0,25 g BBs (Blaster),
  
• G&P goggles,
  
• Guarder battery pack,
  
• 3 point sling (olive drab), all-purpose, suitable for most replicas.

Here's a photo of all this stuff.

From Airsoft from ...

How to lose an eye on airsoft game?

This is the complete idiot guide to losing an eye during airsoft game. If you think two eyes is more then enough, be sure to read it thoroughly.

1. Get to the nearest airsoft meeting.
2. During one of the breaks between skirmishes, remove your eye protection.
3. Find an idiot.
4. Give him an ASG (air soft gun) with loaded clip.
5. Ask him to remove the clip.
6. Ask him to point the muzzle somewhere.
7. Make sure your eye is in line with the outer end of the barrel.
8. Ask the guy to swith the safety to single or auto.
9. Ask the guy to pull the trigger without checking hopup chamber for BB's presence.
   

If you're lucky you'll have one eye less.

If you obtain the result as shown on the following photo, you weren't lucky.

From Airsoft from ...

And now seriously!

Do not try ANY OF ABOVE!

AUG is operational again

The replica was brought to my work, as I wanted, on thursday. The guy from UPS didn't phone me beforehand, and I had to borrow some money from someone, since I didn't have the time to visit ATM. I dismantled the AUG into the two parts and carried it home in my backpack.

I used it yesterday during our airsoft game in Adamowice. The game was not interesting enough to be worth mentioning here. I wrote about this place and showed some photos back in december. Ania didn't make any photo that would be worth posting here, I uploaded some photos to my picasa gallery. I can't promise they'll stay there forever, though...

Ania made a very short video of me and my AUG at work, so I am currently uploading it to Google video. When it's done it'll be posted here...

AUG was used with the 3,000 mAh 8.4V NiMH KAN battery, attached to the left part of the body with some electrical tape. Somehow I couldn't make it work with 1,200 mAh 8.4V battery... The ROF was satisfying, the range was more than pleasant.

I must also mention that I burnt my 1,800 mAh NiCD Sanyo battery... At home I removed the plastic connector and left it with bare metal connectors. I put it carelessly to the gun case, the two wires touched each other and burnt some foam inside the case. I don't have to mention that it totally discharged the battery... I hope it will still be usable. At the moment it is plugged to the charger at a relatively small 50 mA current...

Here's the movie...

AUG repairs - 2nd approach

I just got a call from my favorite ASG shop. Guy told me that he thinks that the motor is the cause of all the trouble. After long burst it becomes very hot and this means that it is somehow defected. Since they didn't notice it the last time I won't be charged for shipping the replica back and forth. Cool. :) I will have to pay for the motor, someting around $80...

I asked them to sell me another magazine for the AUG. The mid-cap. The guys I play with lately want to use low-capacity magazines, so I will have to buy one of those. The replica has small battery compartment, so it'll be better for me to save the ammo and battery. I will be forced to do so when using mid-cap magazines. I'll sell the hi-cap and get some money from it. :)

Two winter games

This is the post in which I'll write about the last two games I played. They took place at january 20th and 27th.

January 20th, 2007. Radziejowice.

The game was played in the same place as on previous weekend. But this time it was much crowded, each team consisted of 15 players. The scenarios weren't interesting enough to mention here. It was simple "you start there, we start here and have to reach that point". I uploaded satellite photo of the area to my cellphone and used it along with my GPS receiver to know where to head. I used G36 on first round and AK47S on the second round. We didn't limit the amount of ammo in magazines, so it was quite fun. :)

The team I played with used walkie-talkies (handheld radios) for the first time so it was more fun than actual gain from using those radios. There was a lot of mud and moisture, unfortunatelly the temperature was above freezing point.

From Strzelanka Ra...

My girlfriend Ania made those photos along with couple of videos. I put them together and here they are.

I wanted to add subtitles to this video, but I am not sure if anyone is interested in knowing exactly what is going on. If you want to read subtitles, let me know. :)



January 27th, 2007. Adamowice.

Remember the game in unused railway complex? If not, read the article I posted last year. The game took place in the same place. For the last couple of rounds we moved to another spot.

Nothing very interesting, worth mentioning. Just videos here. Some photos were made, but aren't worth putting here. If you'd like to see them, visit the gallery.



The following movie is quite interesting, you'll see a nice skirmish between three players, a very Close QB. :)



In the movie below take a good look at the part that starts around 3:40. You'll se a guy outside the building. He didn't know that the guy next to the window was in the opposite team and forgot to shoot him. :)











Comments are welcome! :)

mG36 corrections (2)

So I bought the 3 mm hex key. I read a great G36 disassembly guide with many photos. The guy wrote that to dismantle the replica one needs only one hex key, along with phillips screwdriver. So I thought that this hex key will be enough.

It wasn't. It isn't. I couldn't unscrew the selector lever so I couldn't take the mechbox out of the pistol grip. So I couldn't install the sealed nozzle. I only removed the barrel and hop-up and checked to see that it is probably not the cause of my troubles. This was the end of my work for last friday.

But yesterday, I found a small box with some airsoft stuff I bought some time ago. The mounts for red dot sight and mount base came along with two hex keys. One of them is small enough to unscrew the selector lever. Too bad I didn't know about their existence until yesterday.

mG36 corrections

As I witnessed during our last game (it was not mentioned here, yet!), my mG36 is not working as good as it could. I believe I broke something when I tried to install the precise barrel.

I need to disassembly the replica, remove the gearbox and correct what was broken. I will also install the G36 Guarder's sealed nozzle I bought some time ago... I might also put inside slightly stronger power spring than the stock one.

But to do so I need first to purchase a good set of hex keys, since the smallest hex key I own at the moment is too big to use. I need 3mm hex key to open the replica up.

I just got a call

I just received a call from my favorite asg shop. I was called by the guy who repaired my AUG. Yesterday I wrote them an email in which I described what happened. I said exactly how the replica stopped working, which batteries I used, etc.

The guy said that he tested the replica and it worked well. He fired it on full auto and didn't notice any problems.

So what caused the trouble?

He said that it was because of the temperature yesterday. I wrote him that the replica was powered by 1,800 mAh Sanyo NiCd battery and when it stopped shooting I plugged it to 3,000 mAh KAN NiMH battery. He said that 1,800 isn't very strong battery and the second one is very sensitive when it comes to temperature. So he says that my trouble was caused by the batteries and weather. He advised me to recharge the batteries again and try using the replica at home. Of course I will do so...

Another thing about last game. I found satellite photo of the place at Google Maps. Here it is:

View Larger Map

You can see a dense forest and next to it a large area covered with mud and dirt. You must zoom a little, ensuring that the dark green area of woodland will be in the middle of the frame. East, next to the forest is a large "canyon". It is a place aligned almost meridional, surrounded by four embankments. You can see one of those embankments in the background of the photo I posted yesterday.

I think that playing a game exclusively in this canyon will be a nice experience. :)

AUG: dissapointment

AUG dissapointed me today. Or maybe I should write: people who repaired it dissapointed me.

First brake down of the AUG looked like this: it worked for a while with no trouble at all. Then I fired it on full auto. And that was it. The engine coudln't move the piston at all. I think that the piston was pulled a bit during the previous shot. The anti-reversal latch ensured that it will stay in this position. Since the power spring is compressed, the energy required to move the piston from that place is greater than the energy required to start its movement from the beginning. I believe that the gears aren't positioned well to each other because the shims aren't placed properly.

When the mechbox is put together it does work. But in situation as described above it may stop.

I thought that the guys from my favorite airsoft shop will fix it. But they didn't. :(

I fired only 20 BBs or so, and then the AUG just stopped... :( It'll have to be shipped for service again... But I am not going to pay a dime...

Now two words about the game today.

There was 10 of us. We played a scenario twice.

The scenario was quite simple. There was a team of mercenaries (6 of them, me and Ania included), who was dropped on parachutes to a foreign country. Their goal was to get retrieve two "treasures" from one place, using explosives. Unfortunatelly their aircraft was shot down. So the explosives are now in the plane wreck. So this team had to get those explosives and proceed to the "treasure spot". After retrieving the treasure this team had to cross the border to reach safety. There was second team (4 players), who had to stop the mercenaries...

First time we played this scenario there was some misunderstanding. The second team took one explosive and one treasure from and went to cross the border. They probably thought that it is they who has to do this stuff. We played for 90 minutes but had only two chances to shoot those guys. First was when they were camped on the treasure spot. Ania killed 3 of them. :) I didn't fire a BB... Second chance we had when we were approaching the border. They camped there. At that moment I wanted to shoot some BBs but then the AUG broke down again... We won as two of our guys carried the treasure beyond the border.

From Airsoft from ...

The second time we played the scenario on opposite sides. I carried AK47 with attached large battery on top of it, because the battery I wanted to use with AK47 turned out to be discharged. We won again, because we camped on the treasure spot and defended it successfully. I killed one guy and probably another also. I say "probably", because I thought that at that moment I had no BBs in my hicap. It seems I was wrong. ;) Soon after I run dry I got shot.

I must mention that we had limited ammo during this game. We were told not to put more than 100 BBs in the magazine... I didn't like it at the beginning and at the end of the second round. When we were attacked the first time I forgot that I have limited ammo and I fired almost half of it in three bursts... ;)

We spent there 3 hours but most of the time we were walking, running and waiting for the enemy. There was more "hide & seek" than ever. I play airsoft for 4 years but this was the first time I had to crawl to approach the enemy and lie on the ground to be safe. But it felt very nice to wait for the enemy to appear on the opposite side of the sight.

AUG at home again

I wrote the last post at work. When I came home I got an email from my favorite ASG shop. They wrote that the replica was posted and will probably get to me the next day. Today that is.

The UPS delivery guy came today to my apartment and left the replica to Ania. I came home from work and opened the package.

My first thought was: where the heck is the AUG?

From Airsoft from Poland photos

After digging through the layer of cardboard shreds I finally saw a part of the AUG... It was something like digging a dinosaur skeleton from under a layer of dirt. ;)



I read a note from the guys. They charged me for power spring, hopup rubber and the service total amount of $50.20. I also had a precise barrel installed, but since I bought the other day in the same shop they installed it free of charge. Including the cost of sending it there and back I paid $82.

Oh, they also checked the replica on chronograph. Are you curious of the results? Check them here. :)

If I get the chance, I'll use the replica this weekend. :)

My AUG is now repaired

I just received a call from my favorite ASG shop. They told me that my AUG is now repaired and ready for shipping.

I asked them to install a precise barrel (I sent one I bought for mG36, but it didn't fit there) and stronger power spring. So they installed Guarder's M110 (SP110) spring. I hope the set of adjustments to the replica will give me something around 380 fps on 8,4V battery. :)

I will be charged with something around $50 + postal charges. The replica will be shipped by UPS.

It gives me a small chance to use the replica during this weekend's game. :)

Airsoft gifts

I had a discussion with my girlfriend yesterday. She said that when she's rich she'll buy me a new airsoft replica. That gave me the idea of starting a new article series here.

Airsoft gifts.

I'll post here some good and bad ideas for airsoft gifts in following month. I'll try to give some ideas for every amount of money you want to spend. If you have any ideas, please mail me at krzlis[you know what goes here]gmail[dot]com. :)

The cold and wet game

Today we played a cool game with people from Żyrardów in a very nice place. I tried to find a good satellite photo on Google Maps, but in my neighborhood photos on Google Maps are only in low-res. So I will show you photos on our polish site Zumi. At the center of the photo you'll see a bunch of trees planted regularly on a field. It is an old orchard. There was one building (not in very good shape, I must say) and remains of two other buildings.

From Airsoft from ...

This is the building. If one could get to the top of the tower there, he'd found himself THE BEST camping place ever! Fortunatelly, there was no floors in the tower so without much courage (or climbing gear) the tower was inaccessible. :)

I used mG36 with silencer. I think the replica looks much better with it. Since I don't believe in silencing ASG replicas with tubes filled with felt cloth, I removed the felt from the silencer. The only function of the silencer is to look nice, so I don't think I need extra weight there... ;)



The weather wasn't friendly. The temperature was slightly below 0°C (freezing point, 32°F), so the ground was frozen. You couldn't get stuck in a pool of mud. But during the first hour of our game it was raining. It was not a pleasant experience. Everything (replicas, ground, trees) was cold enough for the water to freeze. So my mG36 was soon covered with a thin layer of ice (each drop of water quickly froze on the replica). Water didn't freeze only on our jackets, so I was afraid that mine will become wet (since it's not water proof).

When it finally stopped raining, after a while, the snow started falling. Better snow than rain, right? :)



Now a word or two about the scenarios we played.

The first one was the simplest "you start here, we start there, we shoot each other". The game like this is a must have (a must play?), since it's the best way to prepare your muscles for the strain and to test if the replicas shoot well.
Then we played "storm the building" twice. Since there was 11 of us I had to be in the attackers team two times. We played the most dumb variation of the scenario. Teams were balanced well, and both had respawn points. This is stupid, since the guys who had to protect the building always have advantage. The first game ended with defenders' victory, but the second ended the opposite way. Somehow the attackers (at that moment 6 of us, only 4 of the defenders since my girlfriend's MP5K battery run out of power and the spare battery was in my pocket) managed to get to the building.

The third scenario was in my opinion the best. We set three "bomb spots". The attackers had to go there and blow it up (blowing up was played as firing a cracker). We had "moving respawns". If you got killed, you had to go 20 metres (yards) behind your own team and wait there a moment.
One time a guy from the opposite team almost killed all of us. In such case we'd probably loose the game since we had no "20 metres behind living team members" respawn and couldn't get respawned. :)

I uploaded all the good photos my girlfriend Ania made here, but I can't promise that I'll host them there for long time. I have 80% of my disk space on Picasa empty, but finally it'll run dry. Then I'll probably start emptying it by deleting some old photos. But I think it will not happen during the entire 2008.

My Steyr AUG Classic Army replica

This is a static article about my Classic Army Steyr AUG replica. I will post any updates about the replica here. Latest update: February 24th, 2008.

Replica info.
Spring: Guarded M110 / SP110.
Barrel: 6.04 mm Deep Fire precise barrel.
Gears: helical gear set.
Hopup rubber: black silicone Systema rubber.
Spring guide: metal, with bearing.
Piston: stock.
Bore-up set: cylinder, cylinder and piston heads (the latter with bearing), air seal nozzle.
Used battery: 8.4V 1,200 mAh NiMH, Intellect.

Muzzle velocity: 400 fps on 0.2g BBs.

I bought it on august 2006. In one of our interner airsoft retailers there was sale for new airsoft users. If you were a new customer, you got better price for the replica. So I asked a friend of mine to buy it for me. :)

I ordered it with set of parts I wanted to use for silencing it. I paid $600, but at that moment I paid more than PLN 3.00 for $1. At the moment $1 is worth in Poland less than PLN 2.50. :)

We installed the set of silencing parts soon after I finally got the replica. But the replica didn't become more quiet than before.

Some time after it was silenced it was broken during one of my games. It was later repaired, but soon after broke down again. So I decided that I will ship it to my favorite retailer for repairs and small tuning.

Update: January 10th, 2008.

The replica is now fully operational. It was delivered today after the repairs.

Update: February 11th, 2008.

As it became obvious soon after the AUG was delivered, it wasn't fixed properly. If stopped on full auto with power spring partially compressed, the engine couldn't move it until the anti-reversal latch (and eventually the spring) was released. The guy who repaired it tried to convince me that it was caused by battery. I sent the replica again. After checking the gearbox the guy said that the motor is getting to hot and is probably defected. They replaced the motor and sent me the replica. This time fully operational.

I am a bit disappointed though that fully charged 8.4V 1,400 mAh is not enough to fire the replica. :(

Update: February 24th, 2008.

Here's a photo of the AUG, with attached 3-point sling and battery pack I bought last week.

From Airsoft from ...

During the last game (on February 17th) I used the AUG covered with woodland net masking. It looked like this.