Hurtgen reenactment airsoft game

Yesterday I took part in the airsoft game played according to a scenario that was loosely built on the history of the Battle of Hurtgen Forest -- the longest battle American army ever fought. I won't write about that battle itself, the article on Wikipedia in my opinion explains it all.

The idea of the scenario was cool, so I thought I'd take part in the game. So I need to explain here the basics of the scenario:

Read the rest of the "Hurtgen reenactment airsoft game" article.

MP5K holster tested

On sunday I tested my new purchases, including the one that I value as the most important -- the MP5K shoulder harness. It is not a holster, but works as good as a standard holster.

The harness is connected to the stock end cap (I had to buy a new cap as the one I had in my PDW didn't have a buckle) and the replica hangs freely below my right arm. It is secured there, so I am not worried it will fall from the holster or anything.

Read the rest of the "MP5K holster tested" article.

My MP5K PDW Tokyo Marui replica

I try to write here reviews of all my replicas. And I found out that I didn't write anything about the MP5K PDW replica I bought four years ago!

I got the Tokyo Marui MP5K PDW replica in december 2005. It was the third replica I owned, at that time I used on airsoft games the Classic Army M15A2 Rifle. The rifle was long, tuned up to 380 fps and heavy, and because of that I wanted to buy a sidearm. At first I looked to buy some airsoft pistol, powered by green gas. Then I thought about getting an AEP -- Airsoft Electric Pistol. But at that moment AEPs just entered the market and I wasn't sure if they are reliable enough. And they were only slightly cheaper than the MP5K PDW.

Read the rest of the "My MP5K PDW Tokyo Marui replica" article.

First game in 2009

That's right -- on saturday I played airsoft for the first time this year!

I prepared for this game the entire friday. I charged two stick batteries, and two large ones (the 9.6V 1,800 mAh Sanyo and the 9.6V 4,000 mAh Firefox). I wanted to take all my replicas, because I wasn't sure if any of those replicas is working. They weren't used for such a long time.

Read the rest of the "First game in 2009" article.

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. :)

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.

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.

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!

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! :)

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.

Cyma AK47S "at work"

Today two photograps taken last sunday. Author: Fredzia/www.cannon-fodder.pl.

From Airsoft from...

From Airsoft from...

MP5K can be very portable

From Airsoft from ...

You can use it with only one hand, even with the left one.

The day of returning BBs

From Airsoft from ...

I should say that this week's airsoft game was the day when the BBs were turning back. We were playing at Miami, the same place as last week. The wind was so strong that hitting anything with the BB fired from airsoft replica was almost impossible. The BBs' trajectories were unpredictable, at any point the BB could turn vertical or horizontal. Even very long bursts didn't give a chance to hit the enemy one was firing at.

I shot more than 1 000 BBs, but hit only few times. These hits were achieved by rather short bursts on short distances. There was no need for the large battery nor the second magazine, though they were very useful. It's very easy to refill the one hicap magazine when you're ready to fire BBs from the second mag. And I must say that after that 1 000 BBs I didn't notice any drop of rate of fire. :)

Our team consists of 15 members (including two girls), but it's very uncommon to see more than 3-4 Shamo airsofters. ;) The today's representation of Shamo ASG Team is present on the photo on top of the post. You can see Mamut with his CA870, Ziutek with his M15A2 carbine and Squarek and his MP5A2.

Quick photo of mG36 at phase II

From Airsoft from ...

This is the look of my mG36 replica at second phase of it's construction. It now has the 3000mAh 8,4V battery attached to the left part of the body, connected by a gray wire that goes to the front grip. You can also see the second high capacity magazine. Both give me the very large amount of ammo to be fired in very long bursts. ;)

If you'd like to see how the replica looked like when I got my hands on it, check the post titled G36 @ home

The airsoft game at SD, Warsaw

SD is the name of the place where we had our todays airsoft game. I don't know how it got its name, but I guess that's not very important at the moment. The army had there SAMs and AA guns, it was a part of Warsaw's anti-aircraft defense.

Now the place is owned by a guy who runs commercial paintball games. He allows the airsofters to play for free, he just wants them to take some trash from the place and put them in plastic bags and leave (later he takes them from there).

Today there was about 30 of us. I took a friend of mine, I borrowed him my G36 and used only the MP5K PDW. It was warm 15°C (59°F), with no wind so the BBs flown in the direction they were shot.

Unfortunatelly, a bunch of people with "cheap" replicas (around 15 of them) were amongst us. They didn't want to play with the people who owned the standard or slightly upgraded Classic Army or Tokyo Marui guns. I don't understand them, since I had a pump action shotgun and was not afraid of playing with guys who could fire on full auto. But I guess they are too young to understand that the pleasure of airsoft is playing, not winning...

After a short discussion with those people we split into two teams, in my team there were around 10 people. And we had 20 enemies in the opposite team, a case I like very much since you have many targets to shoot and little competition. ;)

In two rounds I fragged more than 5 guys, I am glad of it since I don't think of myself as of a skilled shooter.

The funniest thing that happened? There was an embankment, seen from the top would look like a very large U. On the right side of the U (inside) were three guys, firing at us, we were outside. I went to the bottom side of the U, climbed up, shot the nearest guy with two or three BBs and fired four more at the second guy. He was sitting under a very small tree, that had only few thin branches and was not higher than one meter (3 ft.). The guy obviously didn't feel I shot him so I turned the selector to fullauto and fired something like 30 or 40 BBs at him. He had to feel that...
And then the guy turns his head to my side and asks (I don't know whether he asked me or his teammate who was sitting between us) if the rebounds do count as hits(*). I yelled at him something "f--k, what rebounds!?" and at that moment the guy realised that I was firing at him, not someone from outside of the embankment.

(*) The question asked some other time wouldn't be so stupid since in Poland we believe that rebounds do not count as hits.

I hope I will get some photos soon, I will post them here.

Added on Feb. 24th, 2008 - this is the only interesting photo I got. Courtesy of Squarek.

From Airsoft from ...

G36 @ home

Yesterday a courier brought me mine G36, which I bought on Allegro -- the polish response to EBay. It costed me less than $400 and I am very glad that I bought it -- it came with bipod (front grip with bipod), one high capacity magazine, two 8,4V 600mAh batteries and a charger.

I was a bit worried since the package was sent as priority and priorities are said to be delivered the next day after sending. And I had to wait 6 long days. In current circumstances I'd prefer it to be lost on the way here and to get the money back instead of the replica -- I want T3 more than G36. :)

The gun works well (I tested it today) and I am sure that I'll be glad that I have it. But T3 is now $400 more distant.

[added much later]

From Airsoft from ...

This photo was taken few months later than the date of this post, but I put it here to show how the replica looked when I got my hands on it.

You don't need to stand...

...to fire a replica. You can sit as well. :)

From Airsoft from ...

Photo taken today at Łomianki.

If it was saturday, we surely played airsoft

As usual, saturday is the day of our weekly airsoft games. This time we also visited Fort Chrzanów. The weather was very nice, warm 18°C (64°F), sun, light breeze (enough to cool you when it's necessary but not enough to change the BBs' trajectories).

I tested my new outfit, the parka in flectarn camouflage I bought about two weeks ago. This camouflage was developed by German army. Because Germany lies next to Poland and we have similar climates and vegetation, this camo does it's job nice in polish forests. I also have helmet covered with a cloth with the same camo and a piece of camouflaged in woodland net masking, which I use to cover my rifle.

On the right you can see how those three elements blend into surroundings. I am very satisfied with the results. We'll see how it works during summer or spring, when grass and leaves are green, not brown, yellow and red like now.

If you'd like to take a look at the photos one of us made today, I suggest going to my airsoft photo web server.

A bit about marking "dead" players in airsoft

In Warsaw there is an agreement that a player that was hit by somebody is considered dead. For his own good he should mark himself properly, otherwise he can be mistaken with somebody alive and get shot again. It is also important for the gameplay, so the shooter will know that he shot him and he can find himself another target.

How the guy can identify himself as corpse? By rising his hand high enough and shouting "I'm dead" or by waving with a piece of red cloth. I wear the cloth on my helmet, makes no difference. On the right you can see how I look when I was hit.

Why I write about it? Because today one of my enemies shot me few times when I looked exactly like this. I have no idea what got into him, what thoughts shown in his empty mind. Of course I got so angry that I shot him with a series of BBs myself. He started to shout that I can't fire at him because I am dead. Of course he was right, but it was not him who killed me. After this I explained him with few short furious words what happened.

The guy is mentally handicapped. He shoots his teammates, cheats (doesn't feel hits or feels them but says that he wasn't hit) and now this.