Airsoft Action - September 2023

WE STAND WITH THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE 

ISSUE 153 - SEPTEMBER 2023 

ISSN 2634-9515

CONTENTS 

8 ARMOURY: VORSK VMP-1 GBB 

Airsoft Action have been following the VORSK VMP-1 project since 

it was just a concept, and we’ve reported on this exciting new gas 

SMG/MP platform all the way, from that “idea stage” right through 

to the now-finished item that’s now selling out of stores across 

the UK and Europe, and thrilling players who have got in right 

at the very start! So, how does the production VMP-1 live up to 

expectations? As usual Bill kicks things off… 

WE STAND WITH THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE 

ISSUE 153 - SEPTEMBER 2023 

ISSN 2634-9515 

Editorial Director: Bill Thomas 

Deputy Editor (Asia): Stu Mortimer 

Graphic Design: Calibre Publishing 

Ad Design: Deadshot Design 

Publisher: Calibre Publishing 

22 ARMOURY: G&G FAR 556 

They do say that “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” 

but if everyone thought that way then a LOT of innovation could 

easily be lost, never to see the light of day! But G&G ARMAMENT 

continue to dare with their new concepts and many of them, the 

FAR 556 included, genuinely bring something new and unique to 

the world of airsoft! 

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… 

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: HUNTSMAN M4 CQBR POLYMER AEG 

The “entry level” area of airsoft is as hard-fought a battlefield as 

any game we’ll ever play and virtually every manufacturer wants 

a piece of the pie in order to create new customers that will grow 

and continue to buy into their wider AEG range! Bill looks now at 

a real budget model that actually has a lot more going for it than 

you see at first glance… the M4 CQBR POLYMER from HUNTSMAN 

TACTICAL!

Contents 

SEPTEMBER 2023 

38 KIT & GEAR: VIPER TACTICAL VX 

PLATE CARRIER GEN 2 

We all know what we like and 

everyone at Airsoft Action has gear, 

clothing and footwear which has 

been tried and tested extensively; 

increasingly though there’s one 

brand we all turn to, and that’s VIPER 

TACTICAL. Now that the “latest gen” 

models have been with us a while, 

Miguel looks in detail at how his VX 

Gen 2 Plate Carrier has performed… 

and is still performing! 

70 TECH: HIKMICRO TE19 

THERMAL VISION SIGHT 

Every so often we get to play with 

some very special kit, and this is where 

technology becoming more effective 

but also more affordable impacts 

airsoft in a very specific way! Bill has 

been spending “quality time” with 

some thermal vision scopes from 

HIKMICRO, and now tells all about it! 

44 THE CAGE: MULTICAM 

We’re going to kick off this new 

sequence of THE CAGE as the 

members of The AA LEGION look at 

the camouflage (and block colour) 

patterns that we all use, with a bit of 

history of their development, what 

went into creating them, and then 

concentrate on a single piece of gear 

that they own in that specific pattern 

that they love! To get things rolling 

we’ll start off with the obvious and 

current “keeper of the camo crown”, 

and that of course is MultiCam! 

76 INSIDE AIRSOFT: SOLOMAN 

TAIWAN 

In a further collaborative article with 

“Military” Anny Wu, Stewbacca sat 

down with her after her recent visit to 

the other end of the island to find out 

the story behind ‘Soloman Taiwan’, 

a local tactical gear production and 

distribution business in Taiwan’s 

southernmost major city of 

Kaohsiung. They’re also distributors 

of other large names in the police/ 

military equipment provider-world 

such as 5.11 Tactical, as well as more 

recently branching out into domestic 

manufacture of ballistic protection 

plates, helmets and more. 

48 RED CELL: SBR UPDATE 

Way back in Issue 124 Red Cell 

gathered to look at one of the most 

important AEG groups out there, that 

of AR SBRs (Short Barrelled Rifles), and 

nearly two and a half years later they 

put their heads together again to see 

how some of the test models have 

done so far, and what new ones have 

caught their eye and been added to 

the Test Pool! 

80 AA LEGION: UK 

What do you get when you take a 

bunch of excellent airsofters, place 

them in a brand-new, purpose-built, 

cutting-edge CQB training facility, 

and add some top tier trainers to 

the mix? Bill found out when he 

was invited to attend the inaugural 

Level 1 Airsoft Training Course run by 

FAST TACTICAL last month and now 

reports back… 

62 INSIDE AIRSOFT: RED ALERT 

TECH 

Stewbacca and ‘Military Anny’ 

recently travelled out to the east coast 

of Taiwan back in late May to visit 

one of the more remote, but perhaps 

equally internationally well-known 

manufacturers, Red Alert Tech (or 

RATech as we best know them) and 

their sales and distribution division 

Airsoft Taiwan (AST), and the two of 

them got the back story on where 

the owner Johnny Hsu got his start 

in the industry, how far the company 

has come since, and where they are 

planning on going in the future! 

90 AA LEGION: TAIWAN 

Once again our dynamic duo in the 

“wild west, out east” ‘Military’ Anny 

Wu & Stewbacca have teamed up to 

bring another tale of intrigue from 

‘Airsoft Central’, this time braving the 

searing heat of mid-summer on the 

east coast near the popular beach 

resort of Fulong! POLK 3 Milsim was 

held in the same region as last year’s 

POLK 2 (covered back in Issue No. 

144) but this time was held earlier in 

the year and in a much better playing 

environment, with much better results 

all round… for the most part

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

ARMOURY 

VORSK VMP-1 GBB 

VORSK GIVE 

IT THE GAS! 

8 

SEPTEMBER 2023

ARMOURY 


AIRSOFT ACTION HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THE VORSK VMP-1 PROJECT SINCE IT WAS JUST A 

CONCEPT, AND WE’VE REPORTED ON THIS EXCITING NEW GAS SMG/MP PLATFORM ALL THE WAY, 

FROM THAT “IDEA STAGE” RIGHT THROUGH TO THE NOW-FINISHED ITEM THAT’S NOW SELLING 

OUT OF STORES ACROSS THE UK AND EUROPE, AND THRILLING PLAYERS WHO HAVE GOT IN RIGHT 

AT THE VERY START! SO, HOW DOES THE PRODUCTION VMP-1 LIVE UP TO EXPECTATIONS? AS USUAL 

BILL KICKS THINGS OFF… 

www.airsoftaction.net 9

ARMOURY 


I 

am a GBBR user. There it is, plain and simple! Although 

I own and adore many (MANY!) AEGs, to me it is 

without shadow of a doubt that a good, well set-up and 

scrupulously-maintained gas platform is the purest form of 

airsoft as it replicates the “real deal” so very closely in terms 

of operation, if not performance. 

But, “performance” is a key word here as that, along with 

to some degree the historical cost, is what deters most 

players I know from embracing “The Gas Life”. An 

AEG although complex internally is actually quite a 

simple and forgiving beast, one that in essence 

you can treat pretty badly, but still chuck BBs 

and a battery into and drag it out of your 

gun case each week with the expectation 

of reasonably consistent performance. 

And yes, I’ll be the first to admit 

this… this is NOT true of a 

gasser! 

“AN AEG ALTHOUGH COMPLEX INTERNALLY IS ACTUALLY QUITE A SIMPLE AND 

FORGIVING BEAST, ONE THAT IN ESSENCE YOU CAN TREAT PRETTY BADLY, BUT STILL 

CHUCK BBS AND A BATTERY INTO AND DRAG IT OUT OF YOUR GUN CASE EACH WEEK 

WITH THE EXPECTATION OF REASONABLY CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE. AND YES, I’LL 

BE THE FIRST TO ADMIT THIS… THIS IS NOT TRUE OF A GASSER!” 

10 


ARMOURY 

VORSK ASG STEYR VMP-1 L9-A2 GBB 

Gas platforms can be fickle things at the best of 

times, and it does take both time and devotion to get 

the best from one. It’s without doubt though that the 

platforms themselves have improved tremendously in 

recent years, and prices for a basic gasser have come 

down. It’s also true that the gasses themselves have 

become better, more stable, and more manageable; 

this is a dark art all of its own, but gases now are 

more consistent than ever before, and the “mix” has 

improved too, all the better to keep your gas platform 

and accompanying magazines in good shape. Vorsk 

have actually done a tremendous amount of work in 

this respect, and I’ve been using their V6, V8, and V12 

Fuel in a lot of my testing recently with excellent, and 

highly consistent, results. 

I can now “pick my gas” to get a preferred end 

result each and every time, and understanding which 

gas does what, and when, allows me to overcome any 

power and performance issues easily. Creating such 

gasses as a commercial enterprise takes investment 

of money and time, and that’s a separate article all in 

itself, but the Vorsk team have done both. I now run 

Vorsk Fuel in all my gas platforms and I know what to 

expect when I do. 

Why make a thing of this though, surely he’s 

going to talk about the VMP-1 I hear you say… 

I honestly believe that starting with the building 

blocks of gas performance, and to me that’s a basic 

acknowledgement that GBBs, and especially GBBRs 

require both good maintenance and a fundamental 

understanding of gases to get what you want, and 

the best performance, from them… not all gases are 

equal! 

SMALL BUT PREFECTLY FORMED! 

With all this said, let me give you my “take” on the 

VMP-1 (at last!)… 

I’ve often said in the past that I struggle with really 

short, compact airsoft platforms due to me being a 

big lad, with gibbon-like arms, but I do love a proper 

SMG! One of my absolute favourites is the Uzi, closely 

followed by the “Big MAC”… I do like both the MP7 

and the MP9 and I’ve owned all these models over the 

years, and still do own a (thankfully!) still-functioning 

TM Uzi… which only comes out on VERY special 

occasions these days. To me, the Vorsk VMP-1 gives a 

solid nod to all the best bits of all the aforementioned 

models and then melds them all into a single, 

business-like and thoroughly modern gas SMG! It’s a 

model that players have bought into fully, and from 

the comments I see in the healthy, and super-busy 

social media Owners Group, a model that they’re 

loving more each and every time they use it! 

The “basic” model VMP-1 that’s arrived with 

players is without suppressor, but is the building block 

of the whole deal, and that is a super-compact, magin-the-pistol-grip 

SMG that immediately gives the 

“hand meets hand” reload benefit, something that 

every airsofter (and shooter!) knows pretty instinctively 

from GBB pistol use. The upper and lower receivers 

are polymer and very sturdy, again something we see 

on many modern firearms; initially this seems a little 

unremarkable, but the finish is super, and the little 

design details, stippling to the pistol grip, and built-in 

six-slot lower rail section all sing to me of user-driven 

design. 

The full-length top rail is just large enough for an 

optic and LAM (all you need really), and I love the 

fact that you have the option to mount the supplied 

3 and 9 o’clock rail sections hi/low to your liking for a 

taclite. The controls are simple with the push-through 

fire selector, bolt and mag-release all easily within a 

thumb/forefinger workspace; I have already reported 

back that personally I would like to have seen the 

mag-release button a little larger, but I can see an easy 

fix to that… 

At the sharp end the superbly aggressive and 

“oversized” muzzle device looks bomber, and sets you 

up immediately for the VMP QD suppressor… more 

on this later! One feature that’s seems to be a little 

“marmite” is the folding stock with the butt-plate 

swivel, but unlike that horrid spread, I love this stock! 

It’s as solid as a solid thing from Solidsville either open 

or closed, and indeed when new you need to actually 

give it a good tap to release it, but this comes under 

my heading of “good things” as nobody likes a floppy 

stock, now do they? 

The fact that you can swap out the folder pretty 

easily means that you’re not stuck with just one 

option though, and I know that many players are 

already experimenting with buffer-tube and alternate 

folders with great success. As to the swivelling butt- 

“TO ME, THE VORSK VMP-1 GIVES A SOLID NOD TO ALL THE BEST BITS OF ALL THE 

AFOREMENTIONED MODELS AND THEN MELDS THEM ALL INTO A SINGLE, BUSINESS- 

LIKE AND THOROUGHLY MODERN GAS SMG!” 


ARMOURY 


plate this is something I again see as a “good thing” 

as it makes canting the whole platform easier when 

achieving “room angles”, perfect for its intended use. 

So, onto the magazine, and each one is a hefty 

516g of gas-filled, 48-BB joy! I got four additional 

magazines with my VMP-1 for a total of five, and each 

one arrived gas-tight and ready to roll, but the four 

spares are without the neat slide-on covers that come 

with the one in the box; thankfully though these can 

be added as accessories in different colours as an addon 

if you so desire. 

ACTION STATIONS! 

So, onto matters practical! How have I set up my 

own VMP-1 and how does it run? I decided to keep 

things relatively simple; the fire-optic back-up sights 

are great, but a little too low for me personally, so 

my first addition was a T1-style red dot on a riser, 

the riser due to the fact that I also wanted a LAM 

in place. I experimented with a short Scout Light at 

3 0’clock both hi and low, but eventually decided 

on the lower position for ease-of-grip/manipulation 

reasons, with a rats tail pressure switch running to the 

same spot on the opposite side, again within support 

hand workspace. Strangely for me I decided against a 

foregrip, but this was a conscious decision as I wanted 

to run the QD suppressor full-time and support it with 

a level hand; the suppressor itself is a superb bit of kit 

and really gives the VMP-1 that “chunky MAC” oldskool 

flavour where old meets 100% new, and it really 

is “QD”; this takes a little getting used to, but once 

you have on/off is lightning quick… it’s also a fact that 

the suppressor will accommodate a tracer unit, a fact 

established very quickly in the Owners Group… 

One omission that has been commented on quite 

regularly is the lack of sling points on the VMP-1, 

and there are indeed… none. The guys at Vorsk 

though have this nailed down as there will soon be 

a dedicated single-point sling plate available; in the 

interim though I’ve run a single-point using a simple 

paracord loop though the stock-closure “gap”, as well 

as a two-pointer by running the rear through the cuts 

in the stock with the front attached to an MP-style, 

rail mounted sling-ring. 

Mag carriage is also straightforward, as the 

magazines will fit nicely into most SMG pouches out 

there, although in fairness this is slicker without the 

mag sleeves fitted. For those that run a buckle-up 

style plate carrier this is a no-brainer, and I’ve found 

that the new VIPER VX SMG Panel works perfectly… 

so, if you already own a VX or VX Gen 2 plate 

carrier then all you need to buy is the panel, and at 

UK£11.95 this ain’t gonna break the bank! 

All set up and I have to tell you that thus far I’ve 

been absolutely hammering my own VMP-1… after 

all, that’s what I, and we, DO! My VMP-1 now has 

4500+ BBs through from new, with each of the five 

mags being expended twenty times, with an average 

of two mags-worth of BBs to a single fill… as yet I 

have NOT opened it up or given it any love at all as 

I’m pushing it to see if any problems develop… in 

my mind I have set the goal of a round-out 5000 BB 

count as new from the box before it gets a total stripdown 

and some much needed maintenance, and then 

even I, tehno-luddite supreme, can do this thanks to 

the excellent take-down video created by the Vorsk 

Crew for exactly this purpose (you can find this on 

YT or on the AA website!); top marks for this Vorsk, 

lesson to be learnt here all you manufacturers! 

Power… oh my, POWER! Yes, as reports agree the 

VMP-1 does have some “oomph”, and this is where I 

go back to my initial comments about understanding 

which gas you use and why! I’ve tested pretty much 

entirely on VORSK V6 gas, and even with a stable 

gas like this I’ve seen some fluctuation dependant on 

climatic conditions, but not as much as some might 

suggest. On V6 with an ambient temperature of 

18-19C the VMP-1 has chrono’d consistently at 1.07 

Joule/341 fps using VORSK .20g BBs… and yes, when 

the temperature rose to 21C I did see this rise to 1.12 

Joule/348fps if I left the mags in the sun (don’t do this 

at home kids!). 

When this happened I simply expended the 

V6 in the magazine completely and then refilled 

with NUPROL 1 gas; this sent the chrono-reading 

WAY down to sub-300s and the performance was 

“adequate”, but I think you’ll see my point! I use 

almost exclusively VORSK and NUPROL gases in my 

testing to provide a level field, but what I’m saying is 

experiment with the gases you use, and if the mercury 

soars then take appropriate action… it ain’t rocket 

science people… oh, expansion rates of gases… wait 

one, perhaps it is! 

“POWER… OH MY, POWER! YES, AS REPORTS AGREE THE VMP-1 DOES HAVE SOME 

“OOMPH”, AND THIS IS WHERE I GO BACK TO MY INITIAL COMMENTS ABOUT 

UNDERSTANDING WHICH GAS YOU USE AND WHY! I’VE TESTED PRETTY MUCH 

ENTIRELY ON VORSK V6 GAS” 

12 


ARMOURY 



ARMOURY 


16 


ARMOURY 


In terms of use I’ve settled on a .28g BB as having 

the best all-round performance given the gas that I 

use, although the VMP-1 will most certainly hop 

a .30g if you so desire. With the .28g weight 

though once you’ve got the hop 

set right (easy by finger or with 

the neat little tool provided), it’s 

bang on... I’ve been clanging 

300mm x 300mm steels at 30m, 

and I believe the VMP-1 has legs 

way beyond that once it beds in as 

the trajectory of .28g is 

dead flat at that range. 

So, has the VMP- 

1 lived up to my 

expectations? It sure 

has, in every way 

possible, especially 

given the price! This 

is a gas platform that 

delivers on all fronts, and one that 

puts having a gas SMG easily within the 

pocket-reach of most airsofters out there. 

It’s a fabulous little CQB tool that with 

a little love could easily become a solid 

woodland skirmisher… but of course that’s 

down to you! It certainly has the accuracy to 

hold its own, and it WILL lob a BB out past 50m, 

so then it’s just down to tactics and fieldcraft… and 

sadly this is something that is down to the user, and 

not the VMP-1! 

TEAM TALK 

So, enough of me blathering on, as obviously I’m very 

happy indeed with my own VMP-1! But what did Ben 

and Jimmy think about theirs? 

Jimmy: Being among the first group of people 

outside of the Vorsk team themselves to see and get 

hands on with the VMP1 was an experience in itself. 

No one in the airsoft world knew about Vorsk’s latest 

offering and who’d have thought this little SMG 

would be so popular! 

From the point of us seeing it, it wasn’t long before 

teasers would begin to flood the internet. Social 

media blew up and it wasn’t long after that the VMP1 

was a hot topic and it was being talked about so 

much. We had the immense pleasure of finally seeing 

the finished product at IWA back in March and it was 

even better looking than the prototype we’d seen on 

our photoshoot! We were kindly given one each to 

test out and at first I was a little unenthused to be 

honest as I am not much of a fan of GBBRs; I love 

a GBB pistol but that’s as far as my love for gassers 

goes. I have experienced other gas SMGs in the past 

and they were a bit meh and didn’t really operate all 

that well. I went into this with an unbiased mind and 

decided to give it a go for the purpose of science. 

The first thing I always do is straight to the bench 

and find out how to take things apart and what’s 

inside. It was very easy to remove the top cover, as 

the guide rod and one screw hold it in place and once 

removed you have access to the bolt and the outer 

barrel. In order to get to the trigger group you have 

to remove the bolt, and this requires you to remove all 

the outer barrel which is very easy to do. 

There is one screw on the underside, one on the 

top of the block and a clip. Once these are out you 

can then lift the barrel and slide it out with the bolt. 

One thing that was apparent was the abundance 

of grease; I understand why it’s there as new, but I 

am not a fan of grease when it comes to GBBs so I 

cleaned off as much as I could and replaced it with 

a good quality silicone oil. I find grease can attract 

debris easier and tends to retain the debris…. not 

great with precision moving parts! 

I noted the hop unit looked very similar to one I 

had seen in the past on a KWA MAC 11, a system 7 

which are a proprietary arrangement, and the MAC 

unit didn’t really provide much in the way of hop. The 

hop on the Vorsk offered around the same amount of 

adjustment but this one actually gave enough pressure 

to be able to lift a .30g BB and give a respectable 

amount of range. The inner barrel did require a clean, 

but that’s something you have to do on most new 

guns, so not a problem. Another thing I noticed was 

the inner barrel had a threaded end which accepted 

the extended section of barrel from the Vorsk pistols, 

but when fitted the power shot up and the velocity 

was way too much, especially as I was testing on 

Nuprol 3.0 gas! 

Looking at the nozzle it is a pretty standard looking 

GBB nozzle similar to what you would find in many 

“SOCIAL MEDIA BLEW UP AND IT WASN’T LONG AFTER THAT THE VMP1 WAS A 

HOT TOPIC AND IT WAS BEING TALKED ABOUT SO MUCH. WE HAD THE IMMENSE 

PLEASURE OF FINALLY SEEING THE FINISHED PRODUCT AT IWA BACK IN MARCH 

AND IT WAS EVEN BETTER LOOKING THAN THE PROTOTYPE WE’D SEEN ON OUR 

PHOTOSHOOT! ” 


ARMOURY 


pistols, although it does use two return springs which 

physically attach to the outside of the nozzle. Vorsk 

supply a spare nozzle which is very convenient and 

to date I have had to replace two of them for two 

separate customers due to overfilling of the BBs and 

slamming the mag home with the bolt closed; this 

is why I always tell people fill your BBs to the top 

and pop one out before insertion, as this way you 

don’t have to worry about the position of the bolt… 

although it is good practice to always load with the 

bolt open to ensure you don’t break a nozzle” Thank 

you Vorsk for the inclusion of spares, some people 

never learn! 

Looking at the exterior it is constructed of a nylonfibre 

polymer although it does feel “plastic” (and I 

am not alone on that opinion), but that said it can 

take a bit of a beating as I found out recently at a 

MilSim event as mine fell off my QD clip hit the floor 

hard, and then I stood on it as I was running! Later 

on I would fall on it… and it still operated perfectly 

although my ribs sure did feel the impact LOL! 

The collapsible stock is a very tight fit and it is 

tough to unlock but that is not an issue as this ensures 

no movement and during use you can be sure it will 

not unlock itself. I am not really a fan of the rotational 

movement of the butt pad, but Vorsk foresaw that 

and knowing that you can’t please everybody they 

designed the body so you can swap it out for a 

stock of your choice or even do away with the stock 

completely an install the QD sling insert, “5K” style. 

I’m not sure if the QD sling insert is available as yet, I 

may be wrong, so don’t take that as gospel. 

Vorsk sell the VMP-1 in two flavours, the standard 

one with no suppressor and one magazine or the X 

version which comes with the oversized suppressor 

and two magazines. I received the standard version 

but it still comes with the suppressor attachment 

already installed as the suppressor is a quick detach. 

Should you not want the Vorsk suppressor but 

want to use your own that’s not a problem as 

the attachment unscrews to reveal a 14mm CCW 

thread allowing you to fit whatever you so choose. 

I opted for a CNC’d sound amplifier which made it 

sound quite menacing, especially in a close-quarters 

environment! 

I managed to get the VMP out for an event 

a couple of weeks back and I have to say that it 

performed flawlessly. I had a couple of problems with 

the mag release; due to wearing gloves, rather than 

pushing the fire select switch I kept pushing the mag 

release and on one occasion a mag went down a 

flight of stairs. Fortunately it didn’t break and kept 

performing well all day. I was able to get 2.5 mags 

fired on one gas fill which is pretty impressive and as 

I had two mags all I needed to carry was a couple of 

prefilled speed loaders to keep me in the fight. 

I was very pleased with the accuracy; we weren’t 

fighting over long distances but from a distance of 

around 25m I was able to put BBs though tiny gaps 

smaller than my fist. I know some people get pretty 

salty about shooting through small gaps but this 

was a private MilSim game so the rules were slightly 

different. I feel GBB is a perfect platform for things 

like MilSim, especially when most of the guys I know 

run GBB, so it’s a pretty level playing field but for 

skirmish or CQB where full-auto is allowed I feel I 

might get outgunned as a lot of players who play 

these type of fields run heavily upgraded platforms 

and can dump far more BBs in quick succession, so 

the GBB is at a disadvantage, but that said it would 

make a great sniper secondary. So far I have enjoyed 

using it, it is something different, but I’m converted 

on gas just yet. Would I recommend it to people? Yes 

for sure! 

Ben: Vorsk’s VMP-1… I’m sure you know me 

enough by now to know this is very much my thing, a 

GBB SMG! Straight out of the box this thing is a little 

beast; single shot or full-auto it does not disappoint, 

and it has quite a nice snap-response to the single 

shot and the full-auto gives a satisfying recoil to which 

you can’t help but smile, and to my eye the cross-look 

between a MAC 10 and MP9 is definitely eye-catching 

and is a good conversation starter to them who wish 

to question you about it...”what you got there!?” 

My personal favourite features on the VMP are 

the twisting butt stock, it’s overall look and that 

rate of fire! The things I’d like to see changed? The 

pistol grip is a little chunky for me personally and 

a slightly flared magwell would suit too… the mag 

release button is rather small even for my hands, and 

the charging handle feels a little weak and not up 

to the superior quality of the rest of the gun. The 

“STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BOX THIS THING IS A LITTLE BEAST; SINGLE SHOT OR FULL- 

AUTO IT DOES NOT DISAPPOINT, AND IT HAS QUITE A NICE SNAP-RESPONSE TO THE 

SINGLE SHOT AND THE FULL-AUTO GIVES A SATISFYING RECOIL TO WHICH YOU CAN’T 

HELP BUT SMILE” 

18 


ARMOURY 


suppressor fixing mount could be made a bit simpler, 

but there really is no issue there… the actual overall 

feel of the body’s plastic gives a “basic” feel yet is 

solid and well made, but now I’m being super-picky! 

Honestly, hats off to Vorsk for this, their first time 

making a unique gas SMG platform! 

It is very well made and I have no doubts that 

our words will be heard and noted for the little 

improvements over time to give us that overall 

satisfaction, and this platform has further established 

Vorsk as the “new kid on the SMG block” with a 

bloody good, and big, stick to beat others down with; 

I look forward to what Vorsk have planned for the 

future builds as the VMP is an excellent start! 

IT’S A WRAP… FOR NOW! 

So, Vorsk have done something pretty special here 

without a doubt, and that’s to create a unique, builtfrom-the-ground-up 

gas platform that ultimately 

pleases disparate airsoft-users! That’s quite an 

accomplishment in itself, but the story doesn’t end 

here! 

Once again, being in the loop I KNOW that there is 

more to come from Vorsk… but you’ll have to wait as 

I am sworn to secrecy right now! I 100% know what 

I would LIKE to see, but if wishes were fishes… I’m 

certain that this will be a hot topic of debate in the 

Owners Group, and along with the guys from AIRTAC 

(who have already created an HPA solution for the 

VMP-1!) I’ll be co-hosting an “owners get together” 

at the National Airsoft Festival later this month so I 

can garner more feedback face-to-face, and I hope to 

meet some of you there! 

For now though I’ll leave the final word to Vorsk 

themselves, who told me... 

“We have been overwhelmed to the reaction 

that’s been received since launch of the VMP-1. The 

community that has built up around this RIF has been 

amazing to see and people are loving it. 

We are really proud of the work that has gone into 

this project. This feels to be a real turning point for 

Vorsk and we can’t wait to keep bringing you all top 

quality products in the future. 

We have smaller projects like the VMP-1C releasing 

imminently as well as a much larger (some would say 

massive) projects which has us very busy currently and 

will do for the next 12 to 18 months. Which we are 

sure you will love!” AA 


ARMOURY 

CYBERGUN/BOLT G&G FAR 556 BRSS SCAR-SC 

BACKGROUND IMAGE by Jeff Kingma on Unsplash 

FAR AND 

AWAY… 

22 


ARMOURY 

CYBERGUN/BOLT BRSS G&G SCAR-SC FAR 556 

THEY DO SAY THAT “JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN, DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHOULD” BUT IF EVERYONE 

THOUGHT THAT WAY THEN A LOT OF INNOVATION COULD EASILY BE LOST, NEVER TO SEE THE LIGHT 

OF DAY! BUT G&G ARMAMENT CONTINUE TO DARE WITH THEIR NEW CONCEPTS AND MANY OF 

THEM, THE FAR 556 INCLUDED, GENUINELY BRING SOMETHING NEW AND UNIQUE TO THE WORLD 

OF AIRSOFT! 

I’ve been testing, evaluating, and writing about 

airsoft replicas for a LOOOONG time, and I have 

to share with you that I do sometimes worry 

for my immortal soul when I hear from one of the 

manufacturers that they have a new model they 

would like me to take a look at, especially if that 

request is followed by something like “Well, it’s an 

AR/M4, but…”. 

If you search for “new airsoft rifles” online, or 

indeed pop into your local and most favourite 

airsoft store, you’re undoubtedly going to be 

inundated with “AR/M4” carbine replicas. In 

one way you can view this as a positive as it 

means that there will never be a shortage 

of spare and accessory upgrade parts, 

both internal and external, as the AR 

is without shadow of a doubt the 

most prolific base platform for 

airsoft replicas, both AEG and GBB! 

For many players starting their 

journey into an “airsoft life” a 

reasonably–priced AR will pretty 

much be THE THING; let’s face it, if 

you watch any TV show or movies, 

or play any game, then the AR is 

going to be the platform that you lust 

after so that you can take your on-screen 

adventures out into the wild, and a 

popular choice for many will be an AEG 

from the ever-expanding G&G COMBAT 

MACHINE (CM) range. 

After a somewhat shaky start the 

polymer-bodied CMs have really come into their 

own, and provide a great starter platform at a 

reasonable price, and one thing that makes them 

popular is the way that G&G constantly upgrade 

“the look” as well as what goes on inside. This 

means that you can have a great-looking AEG for 

very little money in relative terms, and the fact that 

most of the newer CMs come as standard with a 

MOSFET, M-LOK/KeyMod handguard, a full-length 

top rail, and some cool-looking muzzle devices really 

make them a standout in a very over-subscribed 

market; many also have ambidextrous controls now 

too, so great for lefties and righties from the get go. 

Again, after some literal wobbles when they 

first came out, the CMs have matured, and the 

“OS” is now very much tried, tested, and refined. 

They’re also solid as a rock although still relatively 

lightweight, have reliable internals and controls that 

will suit everyone, and performance that lives up to 

the good looks! 

As well as making use of great-quality 

components and looking modern and kinda cool 

straight out of the box the CMs also shoot like a 

l’il laser once you have them set up right! With an 

11.1 LiPo battery the CMs are snappy as hell with 

superb trigger response and a great ROF. Accuracywise, 

even with a workmanlike inner barrel, they 

prove time and again to be no slouches either, easily 

reaching out 50m+ and on target each and every 

time, which has impressed everyone that’s used 

them, and transformed their thinking that “this is 

not just a plastic toy”! 

“FOR MANY PLAYERS STARTING THEIR JOURNEY INTO AN “AIRSOFT LIFE” A 

REASONABLY–PRICED AR WILL PRETTY MUCH BE THE THING; LET’S FACE IT, IF YOU 

WATCH ANY TV SHOW OR MOVIES, OR PLAY ANY GAME, THEN THE AR IS GOING TO BE 

THE PLATFORM THAT YOU LUST AFTER” 


ARMOURY 

G&G FAR 556 

TIME TO MOVE ON! 

Many manufacturers would look to their “entry level” 

airsoft range, that with a few tweaks over time would 

continue to make them money and just say “cool, it’s 

ALL good” and leave it there… but not so G&G, they 

are constantly moving forward and moving on! 

One thing that I truly LOVE about G&G is their 

boundless enthusiasm for new things! That’s not to 

say for a moment that they don’t spend time refining 

their existing models to be the very best that they 

can, but they also 

reach for the 

stars time 

and again 

to create 

something 

that is 

with the CM FAR 556 AR I though initially “oh, here 

we go again” but was prepared to listen to what he 

had to tell me as I trust his judgement and integrity 

100%, not just as a “G&G man” through and 

through, but as a now long-term friend…. and then 

he proceeded to blow my mind! 

Taking the FAR 556 from its place alongside its FAR 

9 (yes, as in “9mm”, like the G&G ARP, and using all 

the same magazines although there is a new 68 BB 

magazine this year too!) sibling he popped the mag, 

folded the new CHFS Stock to the side.. AND THEN 

DID THE SAME WITH THE RAILED FRONT END!!! 

Yes, I got it 

then, FAR… 

truly unique 

and exciting! In the past 

they’ve come up with 

some crazy/brilliant 

ideas and projects, 

some of which 

have actually 

turned 

out to be 

extremely 

sound 

concepts 

that 

with time and 

development 

effort 

have ended up 

being 

superb… who 

would have 

thought that 

a “whirl valve” 

could increase 

performance in a GBB, or that a muzzle hop-adjuster 

could not only be created but was simple and 

effective in operation… G&G did, and they made 

their “crazy ideas” a reality to benefit airsofters all 

over the world. 

So, when at IWA Rick from G&G presented me 

Folding 

AR! All 

became 

clear and I was 

wow’d! But 

then common 

sense kicked in 

and I thought 

“WTF?” How 

was THAT ever 

going to work 

given the problems 

we have with 

stabilising inner 

barrels and settling hops to give both range and 

accuracy in any platform that has a solidly affixed 

inner barrel/hop setup, let alone one that moves? At 

the time he did, as is his way, admit truthfully to me 

that “we still have some work to do on the hop”, but 

promised that a FAR 556 would be sent to me direct 

from Taiwan as soon as everything was settled and 

working properly. 

It wasn’t until last month that I got an email from 

the superbly efficient and ever-friendly Apple at G&G 

HQ that simply told me that “your FAR 556 sample 

has shipped” (along with the formidable G&G SGR 

which is in testing right now and will be in next 

“SO, WHEN AT IWA RICK FROM G&G PRESENTED ME WITH THE CM FAR 556 AR I 

THOUGH INITIALLY “OH, HERE WE GO AGAIN” BUT WAS PREPARED TO LISTEN TO WHAT 

HE HAD TO TELL ME AS I TRUST HIS JUDGEMENT AND INTEGRITY 100%, NOT JUST AS 

A “G&G MAN” THROUGH AND THROUGH, BUT AS A NOW LONG-TERM FRIEND…. AND 

THEN HE PROCEEDED TO BLOW MY MIND!” 

24 


ARMOURY 

G&G FAR 556 

months issue!) and 72 hours 

later the carbine was in 

my hands, and since 

then… well, oh boy, 

have I been having 

FUN or what? 

When the shipment 

from G&G arrived 

safely with me you’d 

better believe that I 

was straight inside that 

box like a very excited 

toddler scouring pressies 

from under the tree at 

Christmas! It’s weird, 

but knowing that both 

the FAR and the 

SGR were inside the 

packaging sent a little 

thrill of excitement 

through me; here 

were two very 

different, but equally 

interesting-in-theirown 

way AEGs, both 

featuring brand-new 

technology and both 

setting a new “tech 

path” for G&G… 

c’mon, 

who 

wouldn’t 

be 

excited? 

As 

much as I 

wanted to get 

to grips with 

the SGR, it was 

the FAR that 

I REALLY 

wanted to check out; Rick and Ryan from G&G had 

made the folding technique look super-slick and fast 

while demonstrating it on the stand at 

IWA, but I wanted to try it myself, 

and initially it wasn’t as easy as 

it looked when they did it! I 

remembered what Rick had done 

when he showed me at IWA, so 

first I made sure the mag 

was out; this is important 

as there is a tilting feed 

plate to the hop unit that 

needs to be able to move 

freely when you’re folding 

the front end, and if the 

mag is in it can’t tilt, and 

locks everything solidly 

(immovably!) in place. 

However, I mention this as 

at first it threw me… note 

to self… always R.T.F.M! 

RAISING 

THE BAR 

So… with 

the mag 

removed you’ll 

find a three-part 

lever-bar on the lefthand 

side of the rail 

with a cord-loop 

attached. Pulling 

this cord-loop will 

lift the lever-bar 

slightly (but very 

obviously) and this will 

first push the entire 

hop-up chamber 

into the barrel and 

rail. With this done 

then you then keep 

your thumb on the 

front part of the lever 

and raise the bar a little 

further, releasing the 

retaining hook from its 

locking point on the 

upper receiver. Then you 

can swing the entire 

front-end assembly 

including the hop unit to 

the right, locking a male snap on 

the upper into the M-LOK slot on the rail 


ARMOURY 

G&G FAR 556 

to keep things fully retained. 

Once this is complete you can then fold the solid 

CHFS Stock to the left, and BOOM! Job done! Of 

course to put the AEG back into full operational 

order you simply reverse the process… reinserting the 

magazine brings the entire hop-unit properly “back in 

battery”, and this with practice takes literally seconds! 

I will mention here that the battery is stored in the 

stock, and as we’ve seen with the latest ARP 9 it is 

quite a small battery compartment that’s accessed by 

sliding the buttplate down and off; thankfully these 

days we have the joy that is the small-stick LiPo, and 

one of these fits perfectly, even a little 11.1, and 

the MOSFET Integrated Gearbox (MIG) really makes 

the most of all the power. There’s also “new tech” 

here in evidence as the passive CHFS stock actually 

conducts power through the hinge which results in 

zero exposed wires, and it works in either the open or 

closed position… I like this a lot, and it works well. 

But what of performance? Well, I’m pleased to 

say that the time taken in the months following IWA 

to refine the hop was obviously time well spent. I 

chrono’d initially with .20g using a small-stick 11.1V 

LiPo and as a “straight out of the factory” AEG I 

got a reading of 0.99 Joule/328fps; like many of the 

CM series the FAR 556 has a quick-change spring 

function, but at this power level I saw no reason to 

change anything. 

Looking to range and accuracy, especial given the 

folding aspect of the FAR and potential hop-deviation, 

I was very pleasantly surprised on the 30m range 

just how good it was as new, hitting the 300mm 

x 300mm steels each and every time just using the 

“irons” on .28g RZRs; collapsing the front end and 

then setting back up to shoot again apparently had no 

effect on the hop setting from before as after several 

take-downs and redeployments the FAR continued to 

hit target each and every time with no need to touch 

the rotary unit. The flat, lo-profile bladed trigger is 

also so crisp and tactile you can get follow-up shots 

away super-fast with a big old “crack” thanks to 

the amplifier muzzle-device fitted as standard, and 

everything appears to work together perfectly. 

At the end of the day then you have a super-cool 

and modern looking polymer AR with tried and tested 

internals married up with a system that allows you 

“I’M PLEASED TO SAY THAT THE TIME TAKEN IN THE MONTHS FOLLOWING IWA TO 

REFINE THE HOP WAS OBVIOUSLY TIME WELL SPENT. I CHRONO’D INITIALLY WITH 

.20G USING A SMALL-STICK 11.1V LIPO AND AS A “STRAIGHT OUT OF THE FACTORY” 

AEG I GOT A READING OF 0.99 JOULE/328FPS” 

26 


ARMOURY 

G&G FAR 556 

to compress it to daypack size! It’s light 

at just 2020g, and sized to be properly 

usable as a carbine when fully deployed. 

It has some unique features that will not 

only protect the hop-unit when folded 

and in carriage but ensure its longevity 

as a trusted AEG, along with enough 

operating choices to keep any player 

happy. Of course time will tell as to the 

overall durability of the system but that’s 

what we do in our RELOADED column 

after time, so watch out for more at a 

later date. 

So, ultimately, should G&G 

have spent time (and money!) 

developing the FAR system 

because they thought they 

could do it? Darn right they 

should… in every way! 

The FAR is going to be the 

absolutely ideal AEG for the 

city-based player that takes 

public transport to their 

local CQB site, as once in a 

daypack with some 

shorty hi-caps 

nobody will have 

“Clue #1” that 

you’re 

transporting an 

AEG that can be “good to 

go” within seconds! It’s also going to 

be ideal for OPFOR players that want 

a “sneaky beaky” platform to creep past 

BluFor, and I can see snipers absolutely 

loving it as a backup, so a win in so 

many respects when it comes to playing. 

But the overwhelming thing I take 

from the creation of the FAR is that once 

again G&G have looked somewhere 

different, been inspired by a concept, 

and then turned that into a reality. 

Has this changed overall 

performance of the AEG as 

a platform? No, of course it 

hasn’t… BUT it HAS shown 

that a properly-engineered 

hop unit can be made to work effectively beyond 

perhaps the parameters that we thought possible, and 

this in itself in ground-breaking. 

As I said earlier, the FAR is FUN, but it’s also a very 

good AEG, and for many players around the globe it 

will be THE THING that they’ve waited for; for this, 

and so many reasons, I say again “Well played G&G, 

very well played indeed!” 

My sincere thanks as always go to Rick and Apple 

at G&G Armament (www.guay2.com) for facilitating 

the early delivery of the model tested. AA 

“AT THE END OF THE DAY THEN YOU HAVE A SUPER-COOL AND MODERN LOOKING 

POLYMER AR WITH TRIED AND TESTED INTERNALS MARRIED UP WITH A SYSTEM 

THAT ALLOWS YOU TO COMPRESS IT TO DAYPACK SIZE! IT’S LIGHT AT JUST 2020G, 

AND SIZED TO BE PROPERLY USABLE AS A CARBINE WHEN FULLY DEPLOYED” 


ARMOURY 

G&G FAR 556 

28 


ARMOURY 

G&G FAR 556 

AS I SAID EARLIER, THE FAR IS FUN, BUT IT’S ALSO A VERY 

GOOD AEG, AND FOR MANY PLAYERS AROUND THE GLOBE 

IT WILL BE THE THING THAT THEY’VE WAITED FOR; FOR THIS, 

AND SO MANY REASONS, I SAY AGAIN “WELL PLAYED G&G, 

VERY WELL PLAYED INDEED!” 


CLICK/TAP FOR MORE INFORMATION

ARMOURY 

HUNTSMAN M4 CQBR POLYMER AEG 

SHORT... 

LIGHT... 

AND VERY 

SWEET! 

THE “ENTRY LEVEL” AREA OF AIRSOFT IS AS HARD-FOUGHT A BATTLEFIELD AS ANY GAME WE’LL 

EVER PLAY AND VIRTUALLY EVERY MANUFACTURER WANTS A PIECE OF THE PIE IN ORDER TO CREATE 

NEW CUSTOMERS THAT WILL GROW AND CONTINUE TO BUY INTO THEIR WIDER AEG RANGE! BILL 

LOOKS NOW AT A REAL BUDGET MODEL THAT ACTUALLY HAS A LOT MORE GOING FOR IT THAN YOU 

SEE AT FIRST GLANCE… THE M4 CQBR POLYMER FROM HUNTSMAN TACTICAL! 

Not so very long ago, and in a galaxy not too 

far away at all, all AEGs were plastic (well, 

pretty much, allowing for some literary/artistic 

license!) and we players rejoiced in them! They 

creaked, and they wobbled, and they sometimes 

cracked, but we loved them, and many kilometres of 

gaffer and black tape were harmed in keeping them 

together whilst we cavorted about the woods in 

our army-surplus DPM flinging “plastic deff” at one 

another! 

Batteries were HUGE and quite often strapped 

and taped to the stock or handguard of the AEG, 

but we did love our “plastic fantastics” and whilst 

we fettled and tinkered to keep them working week 

on week, mysterious new wonders started to appear 

from the depths of the Orient which let us make them 

more accurate too! Life was good, and airsoft was 

in its infancy, but we loved every single minute that 

those wibbly-wobbly plastic-bodied creations gave 

us… when they were working… and we cussed like 

matelots when they let us down… 

The… THEN… came “full metal”, another 

wonderful industrial creation that when applied 

to the body and barrel of an AEG made it sturdy, 

workmanlike, and even more REAL! But of course 

the dictionary description for “alloy” is “a metallic 

“LIFE WAS GOOD, AND AIRSOFT WAS IN ITS INFANCY, BUT WE LOVED EVERY SINGLE 

MINUTE THAT THOSE WIBBLY-WOBBLY PLASTIC-BODIED CREATIONS GAVE US… 

WHEN THEY WERE WORKING… AND WE CUSSED LIKE MATELOTS WHEN THEY LET US 

DOWN…” 

32 


ARMOURY 


substance composed of two or more elements” and 

to say that the melding of those “two elements” was 

often disappointing is an understatement; I cannot 

truly remember when I first heard the phrase “monkey 

metal”, but I certainly owned AEGs that were made 

from this not-so-wondrous compound! 

But times, and airsoft manufacturers, moved ever 

on relentlessly! Alloys in airsoft became in general of 

better quality, and steel parts appeared that truly gave 

an AEG the strength and durability of the “real”, at 

least externally. Our beloved “plastic guns” were by 

and large placed on the altar of redundancy and we 

never looked back… 

Of course that’s not true, as these days there are 

some mighty fine polymer-bodied AEGS, and indeed 

GBBRs, and we have two of them preceding this 

article in the very issue! Polymer technology has 

moved on and on, and the nylon-fibre reinforced 

materials that we see today are a very different thing 

from the thin, often bendy plastic we saw all those 

years ago. In general terms polymer-bodied AEGs 

today can be as sturdy and rugged as their metal 

counterparts, often at a fraction of the cost. 

Polymer AEGS are still seen though by many “old 

airsoft hands” purely as “entry level” offerings for 

new players, and indeed many sites still make use 

of polymers for their new-player rental pool as they 

stand up well to abuse… some things, it seems, never 

change. And of course the polymer AEGs that we 

see in the market right now also act in many cases as 

new-technology test-beds, where the lower cost of 

the outer components allows manufacturers to add 

features and value internally. 

But what, I hear you ask, does this all have to do 

with the new, budget-priced, all-polymer “M4” from 

HUNTSMAN TACTICAL? In simple terms I’ll say that 

this neat little AEG at what I consider to be a “stupid 

price” is indeed a galaxy away from those plastic guns 

of yore as you can get, and is, in its own way an AEG 

that is sure to delight players both old and new for all 

the right reasons! 

NO FRILLS, ALL BUSINESS! 

The HUNSTMAN M4 CQBR is an apparently “no 

frills” polymer AEG, a “sportline” (who coined this 

annoying phrase?) model that’s hit the 

market with very little fanfare, which 

I believe is a bit of a shame. I say this 

as it’s a carbine model that closely 

resembles, in my opinion, one of 

the all-time classic AR variants out 

there, the venerable Mod 0 CQBR! 

This is a canny choice as the 

CQBR is going to cover a lot 

of bases; sure enough, if you 

want a simple, short AR for either 

woodland or CQB adventures 

then popping on a red dot and 

scout light will see you all set. 

However… if you have a hankering 

for something properly “historical” 

then it’s also good to go, and for 

this the HUNTSMAN is a great little 

project base! 

As well as having a really great 

finish to the receivers and 

other 

polymer 

parts 

the 

CQBR 

is equipped 

with a classic drop in rail 

system, with removable 

rail covers, that offers 

150mm of rail space 

at 3, 6, 9 and 

12 0’clock, 

so you can 

mount all 

your 

favourite 

tactical 

accessories. So, you already 

have the right quad-rail/Apost 

front sight profile at the 

sharp end, an A1 high-speedmotor 

grip, a multi-position 

CRANE stock, and you even 

get an M4QD-style flashhider 

and perhaps most 

importantly a nice take 

on the unique “Mod 

“POLYMER TECHNOLOGY HAS MOVED ON AND ON, AND THE NYLON-FIBRE REINFORCED 

MATERIALS THAT WE SEE TODAY ARE A VERY DIFFERENT THING… IN GENERAL TERMS 

POLYMER-BODIED AEGS TODAY CAN BE AS STURDY AND RUGGED AS THEIR METAL 

COUNTERPARTS, OFTEN AT A FRACTION OF THE COST” 


ARMOURY 


0” rear sight! This will work with the front “A” sight 

post and will allow red dot optics to be co-witnessed, 

and FYI the sight was first used circa 2001 on the 

Mk18 Mod0, which started as a shipboard weapon 

with VBSS and associated units. Chuck on a holosight, 

and PEQ-2, and a VLI and you’ll be good to go 

“noughties style”. 

And that’s not all, as wrapped up in the durable 

polymer body is a full metal gearbox that benefits 

from more modern and advanced components such 

as a QD spring system for easy spring changes, a 

polymer piston with full metal teeth for smooth 

operation, a stainless steel cylinder, and a doubleseal 

aluminium anodized piston head for improved 

air compression. There’s also a brass inner barrel and 

a rotary hop unit for great range and accuracy as 

standard. You do get a NiMH smart charger and a 

NiMH 9.6v 1600mAh cranestock battery as part of the 

deal, and if this is your first AEG then you’ll be all set, 

but if you already have batteries then the HUNTSMAN 

is rear-wired to Tamiya in the easily accessed buffer 

tube. 

At just 1907g (mag out) this is an AEG that you 

could run with all day long, and it’s shorter overall 

length (710/800mm) means that it’s no slouch in 

urban terrain; a bit of a no-brainer this, as that’s what 

the CQBR was designed for in the first place. It’s 

lightweight and compact, and for the smaller player it 

will be absolutely ideal! 

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL 

So all the internal parts of the HUNTSMAN are of 

the high standard I would expect now from them 

even whne producing a “budget” model, and they 

are assembled with great care and attention to detail 

into a robust, durable, and well-finished collection of 

polymer outer parts. The battery space means you can 

fit a decent stick LiPo into the buffer tube if you’re 

careful which means you can choose a slimmer stock 

if you wish; I fitted an 11.1V LiPo and once in and the 

stock refitted, the battery disappears from sight, so 

“AT JUST 1907G (MAG OUT) THIS IS AN AEG THAT YOU COULD RUN WITH ALL DAY 

LONG, AND IT’S SHORTER OVERALL LENGTH (710/800MM) MEANS THAT IT’S NO 

SLOUCH IN URBAN TERRAIN; A BIT OF A NO-BRAINER THIS, AS THAT’S WHAT THE 

CQBR WAS DESIGNED FOR IN THE FIRST PLACE” 

34 


ARMOURY 


“od skool” gaffer tape needed here! 

The CQBR comes with a 300 BB STANAG-style 

base-winder which is perfectly serviceable, but it also 

works very well on other AR mags too, and you don’t 

have to be picky in this respect! The original mag 

though offers smooth and uninterrupted feeding 

of BBs even with a high ROF. Once the rotary hop 

was set, an easy control to adjust, I had the CQBR 

hitting targets out to the end of the 30m range at 

a completely site friendly 0.99 Joule/328fps average 

on a .20g BB, and on the 10m Short Range it was 

awesome! The trigger, as with the other HUNTSMAN 

models I’ve tried, is light yet positive with very little 

lag so it’s easy to get consistently accurate shots away 

time after time on semi, just perfect for when it gets 

up-close and personal. 

Now I’ve had a chance to spend some time with 

the CQBR I can tell you it’s a proper little tack-driver 

once you get it set up right on .25g, and I’m certainly 

adding one of these to the RED CELL pool for longertesting, 

although my local airsoft store tells me that 

these sell out just as quick as they get them in, and 

that thus far they’ve had zero problems and some very 

happy young players! 

Bottom line is, if you are looking for a great first 

“AR” on a budget, or indeed you’re after a platform 

to use as a base for a “project” then the HUNTSMAN 

M4 CQBR is certainly worth a very close look before 

you part with your money! It’s a great looking little 

replica with some real history behind the design, 

it performs superbly out of the box, feels spot-on, 

and at around the UK£110-120 mark at the time of 

writing, it’s an absolute steal! 

As always my sincere thanks go to the guys at 

ww.iwholsales.biz who provided the test AEG and do 

make sure to keep an eye on their website for further 

additions to the HUNTSMAN range! AA 

“ONCE THE ROTARY HOP WAS SET, AN EASY CONTROL TO ADJUST, I HAD THE CQBR 

HITTING TARGETS OUT TO THE END OF THE 30M RANGE AT A COMPLETELY SITE 

FRIENDLY 0.99 JOULE/328FPS AVERAGE ON A .20G BB” 


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38 


KIT & GEAR 


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HAVE BEEN WITH US A WHILE, MIGUEL LOOKS IN DETAIL AT HOW HIS VX GEN 2 PLATE CARRIER HAS 

PERFORMED… AND IS STILL PERFORMING! 

We’re sure that like us at some point in your 

airsoft “life” you’ve owned a least one piece 

of gear from VIPER TACTICAL, even if it is 

just a simple sling or pouch, but these days it’s very 

likely that it will be more than just one piece, as the 

guys at VIPER have really come through in recent 

years, and some of their kit is now very much our first 

choice, and is indeed worn by many of the members 

of Red Cell and the AA Legion in the form of Elite 

Trousers Gen2, Mesh-Tech T-Shirts, Mesh-Tech Armour 

Tops, Fleece Hoodies, and Frontier Jackets! 

In the many years that VIPER been with us they 

have become renowned for an unsurpassed level of 

personalised service to the trade. They have friendly, 

knowledgeable staff always on hand to help get any 

order out quickly and efficiently. Although they have 

streamlined the sheer number of “units” they have 

in their line (and the line is the better for that!), they 

hold huge stocks to keep availability to a maximum; 

generally orders placed before 12 noon are dispatched 

the same day to their trade customers! 

They are constantly developing and researching 

new products to expand their ranges and enhance 

their brand, and their “Ambassador” program around 

the world shows that their designs are appreciated 

internationally. The VIPER brand has have been 

involved in the military and airsoft market for over 

a LONG time now, so they have the experience, the 

knowledge, and the resources to offer all of us players 

fantastic equipment manufactured to the highest 

standards using quality materials at affordable prices. 

But the team at VIPER have upped their game 

considerably again, offering an ever-expanding range 

of seriously upgraded products in their line up, and I 

have to say that the products look very good indeed 

in the new versions which are absolutely ideal for 

those who need good gear and don’t want to pay the 

earth. It would have been an easy and cheap “out” 

for them to produce this new range based on existing 

products and designs, but instead they have gone for 

something completely new and taken their time about 

it too, concentrating not only on what works, but 

what continues to work over time! 

We all know that doing “out-of-the-box” reviews 

can’t really cover what the item is about though, its 

quality, features, downsides, and what, if anything, 

could be improved; in fact we mostly see “out-of-thebox” 

reviews because they are easy to do… but that’s 

NOT how WE roll! To do an extended-use review, you 

need to use that piece of gear for many months or 

even years, so that you can really get a feel for it. How 

does it perform in the heat, in the cold, in the rain and 

during long games and events? These are some of the 

topics that I’m going to go over in this article. 

“IN THE MANY YEARS THAT VIPER BEEN WITH US THEY HAVE BECOME RENOWNED FOR AN 

UNSURPASSED LEVEL OF PERSONALISED SERVICE TO THE TRADE. THEY HAVE FRIENDLY, 

KNOWLEDGEABLE STAFF ALWAYS ON HAND TO HELP GET ANY ORDER OUT QUICKLY AND 

EFFICIENTLY” 


KIT & GEAR 


SECOND GENERATION 

The VX Gen 2 Plate Carrier is a second-generation 

carrier offered by VIPER TACTIAL. It is an upgraded 

version of their original VX Plate Carrier, designed 

to provide enhanced functionality, comfort, and 

versatility for the wearer. Of course, it comes 

with MOLLE (MOdular Lightweight Load-carrying 

Equipment) webbing on the front, back, and sides. 

This allows users to attach and customize pouches 

and accessories as needed for their specific mission 

or loadout. It includes adjustable shoulder straps and 

side straps to ensure a proper and comfortable fit for 

different body types; I’m a big guy, and it fits me well. 

You’ve got your typical plate pockets to accommodate 

standard ballistic plates (e.g., SAPI plates) for ballistic 

protection (if you like to go full hardcore), or just 

dummy plates like I use. And from my experience, 

VIPER usually uses high-quality materials to ensure 

durability, breathability, and water resistance while 

keeping the overall weight of the carrier manageable, 

and the padded areas on the interior to increase 

comfort during extended wear, which for me is really 

important in a plate carrier. 

Now that we are over the main features. How does 

it perform in longer games? 

Well, I’ve used the VX Gen 2 in some of the main 

events in Portugal, and some do rank up the levels 

in difficulty, so the main aspect that a plate carrier 

must have in these scenarios is comfort. A longer 

game (24h+) will wear you out, physically and 

psychologically, so you can’t have part of your gear 

making it worse. This VIPER carrier gets high scores 

in this area, as the padded areas, especially in the 

shoulders, really help carry all that gear around for 

extended periods during missions. The only issue that I 

could find is that if you are using one of VIPER’s chest 

rigs attached to the vest using the VX system (e.g., 

the Utility Rig or the Ready Rig), the original side clips 

from the vest cannot be removed, so they will say 

under the clips of the vest rig that you are using. So, 

if you have the plate carrier too tight to the waist, you 

might feel the plastic clips pressing in, especially if you 

are using a combat shirt. My advice, don’t adjust the 

waist too tight. 

How about those games where the heat is 

unforgiving? 

“A LONGER GAME (24H+) WILL WEAR YOU OUT, PHYSICALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY, SO 

YOU CAN’T HAVE PART OF YOUR GEAR MAKING IT WORSE. THIS VIPER CARRIER GETS HIGH 

SCORES IN THIS AREA AS THE PADDED AREAS, ESPECIALLY IN THE SHOULDERS, REALLY HELP 

CARRY ALL THAT GEAR AROUND FOR EXTENDED PERIODS DURING MISSIONS” 

40 


KIT & GEAR 


We all know that a plate carrier will never let you 

breathe as much as a chest rig, and I do try to use my 

Viper Utility Rig setup whenever I can during summer 

games, but there are some games where using a plate 

carrier must also be an option. Games that have CQB 

or urban combat scenarios spring straight to mind 

here as you want more protection, or even longer 

games where you need to carry more. As I mentioned 

above, VIPER uses breathable material and an interior 

netting that helps vent the heat coming off our torso; 

of course you still have the plate area in the front and 

back, so I do recommend the use of a combat shirt to 

help breathing and to vent the heat. The side MOLLE 

panels have well-designed webbing, which also helps 

dissipate the heat. Overall, if you are a plate carrier 

hardcore user, this Gen 2 is a great option to use in 

hot days. 

And to finish, let’s talk about the cold and rainy 

days. 

This is the easiest one; a plate carrier is always a 

great option for rainy and cold days. It will offer better 

protection against the rain, helping some areas to 

keep dry or drier than other exposed parts, but it’s 

also important to mention that VIPER uses waterproof 

materials that will protect any sensitive piece of gear 

that you are storing, like a radio, paper maps, mission 

items, etc., against water or humidity. 

The cold will also be less of an issue while wearing 

a plate carrier; of course there is a lot of action, and 

we tend to keep warm, but I’ve been through game 

missions that had us defending positions or placing 

ambushes, in which there was a possibility of being 

a lot less active and the cold will start to get you, so 

one of my techniques is to place my hands between 

the carrier and my chest, using the heat that my body 

vents. The VIPER TACTICAL Gen 2 will help keep a bit 

warmer, but it’s not a miracle worker; if you are going 

to a game and the weather points to cold, do use 

appropriate clothing. 

So let’s wrap it up! It’s no wonder that the VX Gen 

2 plate carrier is VIPER’s flagship in the VX range. It’s a 

well-built platform that I’ve been using close to FOUR 

years now, and it has been with me through a lot 

of games, from small practices to 24h + nationwide 

events. Cold, heat, dust, rain, it has seen it all and it 

keeps going strong; of course the original colour has 

faded away a bit, but with so much use, that’s normal. 

And in my opinion, gear is meant to be used! AA 

“VIPER USES BREATHABLE MATERIAL AND AN INTERIOR NETTING THAT HELPS VENT THE 

HEAT COMING OFF OUR TORSO; OF COURSE YOU STILL HAVE THE PLATE AREA IN THE FRONT 

AND BACK, SO I DO RECOMMEND THE USE OF A COMBAT SHIRT TO HELP BREATHING AND TO 

VENT THE HEAT” 


THE CAGE 

MULTICAM 

THE CAGE: 

CAMO FOR ALL! 

44 


THE CAGE 

MULTICAM 

WE’RE GOING TO KICK OFF THIS NEW SEQUENCE OF THE CAGE AS THE MEMBERS OF THE AA 

LEGION LOOK AT THE CAMOUFLAGE (AND BLOCK COLOUR) PATTERNS THAT WE ALL USE, WITH 

A BIT OF HISTORY OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT, WHAT WENT INTO CREATING THEM, AND THEN 

CONCENTRATE ON A SINGLE PIECE OF GEAR THAT THEY OWN IN THAT SPECIFIC PATTERN THAT 

THEY LOVE! TO GET THINGS ROLLING WE’LL START OFF WITH THE OBVIOUS AND CURRENT “KEEPER 

OF THE CAMO CROWN”, AND THAT OF COURSE IS MULTICAM! 

I 

know that we all love different patterns/colours for 

our gear so not everyone will be able to chip in to 

every solution that we discuss among the team, 

but I think MultiCam (MC) is a pretty obvious starting 

point! Of course not everything that we see today is 

“pure MC” as the multi-terrain camouflage patterns 

that we see at MilSims and at our local skirmish sites 

can be variations on the “MC theme” when we factor 

in MTP, Suez, M2017, Camogrom and V-CAM just to 

mention a few! 

And also of course what I’m talking about here is 

“classic MC” and not the derivitives like MC-ARID, 

TROPIC, BLACK and ALPINE! “Classic MC” is the 

one that was first developed by Crye Precision in 

conjunction with United States Army Soldier Systems 

Center to effectively limit the visual and near-IR 

signature of the user across a very wide range of 

physical environments and seasons. Like many modern 

camouflage patterns MC “takes advantage of the way 

the human eye and brain perceive shape, volume, and 

colour. Since only a very small portion of the human 

eye perceives colour, the brain does a lot of “fillingin” 

for the eye. The unique high resolution design 

of MultiCam takes advantage of this principle and 

helps the observer to “see” the pattern as part of the 

background.” 

Essentially MC relies more on a blending effect 

than a traditional contrast effect. This effect allows 

it to perform well in a wide range of environmental 

conditions, and it also helps maintain the patterns’ 

effectiveness even at close ranges where low 

resolution patterns often “stand out against the 

natural (non-pixelated) environment”. 

So, that’s the “science bit”, and there will be more 

to come in this respect as we look deeper into more 

patterns over the coming months! However, “classic” 

has been with us for some considerable time now. 

MultiCam was designed for use by the US Army in 

varied environments, seasons, elevations, and light 

conditions and it essentially is just a seven-colour 

pattern. It really first came to my attention is an airsoft 

setting round about 2007, although of course it had 

already been around a few years before with “Tier 1” 

military units. I remember distinctly seeing a full team 

turn up at a big weekend game in Florida with this 

cool new kit, although the original Crye pants had 

that full-zip “nappy” look that I personally found a 

little ridiculous! The guys looked AWESOME though, 

and props to Tony and the team… 

Roll on a few years to 2010 and thankfully we saw 

the end of the US Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) 

and from that point onwards it was MC all the way 

baby! Wherever you look these days at militaries all 

over the world you’ll invariably find something that is, 

or looks very similar to, MultiCam. It’s still in use with 

the most elite military units all over the globe, and of 

course for that reason alone it’s become beloved of 

airsofters everywhere! 

Add to that the fact that “MC” in one shape or 

another is widely available both as new “real”, as 

repros featuring the real fabrics, or indeed as simple 

military surplus in many countries, and it’s really a bit 

of a no-brainer when it comes to creating a loadout 

that works for you, and looks righteous too! 

TEAM TALK 

So, lets’ start with MULTICAM/V-CAM/Camogrom et 

al, and I asked the guys to tell me about one piece of 

gear that they loved, and why? 

Stewbacca: MC works for me; my TRU SPEC Asia 

MC trousers have already been serving me well since 

I acquired them. Their different material blend feels 

“MULTICAM WAS DESIGNED FOR USE BY THE US ARMY IN VARIED ENVIRONMENTS, 

SEASONS, ELEVATIONS, AND LIGHT CONDITIONS AND IT ESSENTIALLY IS JUST A SEV- 

EN-COLOUR PATTERN. IT REALLY FIRST CAME TO MY ATTENTION IS AN AIRSOFT SET- 

TING ROUND ABOUT 2007, ALTHOUGH OF COURSE IT HAD ALREADY BEEN AROUND A 

FEW YEARS BEFORE WITH “TIER 1” MILITARY UNITS” 


THE CAGE 

MULTICAM 

a lot lighter, more breathable and comfortable than 

most other BDUs I’ve worn as they’re specifically 

tailored to the conditions in the tropics; by 

comparison the AOR2 trousers I recently acquired are 

noticeably sweatier and although roomy don’t feel as 

unnoticeable during wearing. To my mind that is what 

defines the best equipment in general, that which 

you forgot you’re wearing or using, as it doesn’t get 

in the way or make you uncomfortable. My MC BDUs 

definitely fit that bill nicely and are a favourite go-to 

solution for field work even when not gaming. It also 

helps that they’re now Team TaiJi’s official second line 

Camo after AOR2, so it also helps build team and unit 

identity as well as looking baller! 

Smooth Jase: When I first started down the 

“MC route”, money was tight! I had a small family 

dependant on me and UK surplus was all I could 

afford. I longed for gucci 

Crye kit but I was happy 

with my RAF issue MTP 

trousers and UBACS, 

as at that point in the 

early/mid 2000’s MTP 

was pretty hard to get 

hold of. So, one day 

Bossman Bill phones me 

to say he has a rather 

large box of goodies 

he wishes to share 

with me as party of a 

collab on the new Viper 

V-CAM series, so when 

he did turn up, it was 

like Christmas. I know 

Viper isn’t (or wasn’t at 

the time) viewed as a 

cutting-edge brand but 

it really brought home 

bang for buck; Boots, 

Pants, Jacket, Belt kit, PC 

and Helmet (which I only 

binned this year, after 

11 years use!). All of it 

did me proud for so, so 

many years, which I was 

so thankful of. I can’t 

pick one item right now as my collection has grown, 

but the Viper MK2 ELITE trousers and my Platatac 

MCPC would be high on my list…the original pants 

only got replaced last year with a pair of newer MK2 

V-Cam series, that’s how highly I rated them! 

Jimmy: My favourite item has to be my trusty 

Bulldog Tactical pack! I have had this about four 

years and it is still going strong; it gets used, and has 

been used, every day for that time. It is a 40L pack 

consisting of five compartments one of which is 

capable of taking a hydration bladder. The addition 

of laser cut MOLLE makes it easy to add and increase 

your carrying capacity. The padding in the rear and on 

the main straps make it very comfortable to wear and 

in the event you need to remove it fast the shoulder 

straps are attached by large quick release buckles. 

It is waterproof to a degree but I think it does need 

“I CAN’T PICK ONE ITEM RIGHT NOW AS MY COLLECTION HAS GROWN, BUT THE VI- 

PER MK2 ELITE TROUSERS AND MY PLATATAC MCPC WOULD BE HIGH ON MY LIST… 

THE ORIGINAL PANTS ONLY GOT REPLACED LAST YEAR WITH A PAIR OF NEWER MK2 

V-CAM SERIES, THAT’S HOW HIGHLY I RATED THEM!” 

46 


THE CAGE 

MULTICAM 

some maintenance as the waterproof properties have 

diminished with time. Up until I purchased this pack 

I never even gave Bulldog Tactical a look as I wrongly 

assumed it was cheap and cheerful. I shall eat my 

words as I highly recommend their equipment now 

knowing just how well it is made! 

Dan: I’m a big fan of MultiCam Arid. Since both 

of our fields locally trend towards the drier end of 

the foliage spectrum in the hot summer/fall months, 

I’ve found this blends in well here and maybe doesn’t 

absorb as much heat as the darker patterns do. 

Here I use a Crye G4 top paired with G3 bottoms. 

Comparatively speaking, I prefer the G4 cut up top, 

but like the G3 cut for pants. 

Ben: My favourite part of MultiCam gear is a 

plate carrier.... because no matter what set up or 

loadout you run, the MultiCam plate carrier will 

suit...I love the multi-mix “PMC” look as it has a 

modern day operator look and it allows you to be 

flexible with what you want to wear. It’s just a quick 

good-to-go set up which also allows you to just strip 

off the obvious and just blend into the normal civi 

look depending on the type of game you’re playing, 

which is far more effective than having to change 

your whole loadout look. As for the plate carrier 

itself there’s so much available now that if you think 

the same as myself then something with the quick 

buckle-up system like the VIPER VX is perfect for quick 

change-out mag pouches or even to swap over to a 

chest rig for that lighter, even quicker, set up. 

Bill: And for me? Like Jase I can’t for the life of 

me put my hand up for one single item as I adore 

my Wild Things Tactical Gore-Tex which has seen 

some serious action… and a lot of abuse! Likewise 

the Snugpak MML6 smock and the VIPER ELITE MK2 

V-CAM trousers which I kind of live in, but I believe 

my favourite MultiCam 

thing is my WAS DA 

MK1 Shooters Belt. I 

truly believe that WAS 

were thinking WAY 

ahead with this twopiece 

belt setup as the 

system came complete 

with a variety of their 

excellent accessories, 

including a Single Pistol 

Magazine Pouch, two 

Rifle Magazine pouches, 

a Slimline Foldable 

Dump Pouch, IFAK First 

Aid Pouch, one Small 

Horizontal Pouch. All 

I’ve added to this is 

a genuine MultiCam 

personal security 

lanyard for working 

with vehicles/helos and 

a MultiCam-wrapped 

holster for my G17/ 

Surefire combo from 

Kydex Customs… it’s a 

brilliant setup, and I love 

it! AA 

“MY FAVOURITE PART OF MULTICAM GEAR IS A PLATE CARRIER.... BECAUSE NO MAT- 

TER WHAT SET UP OR LOADOUT YOU RUN, THE MULTICAM PLATE CARRIER WILL 

SUIT...I LOVE THE MULTI-MIX “PMC” LOOK AS IT HAS A MODERN DAY OPERATOR LOOK 

AND IT ALLOWS YOU TO BE FLEXIBLE WITH WHAT YOU WANT TO WEAR” 


RED CELL 

SBR UPDATE 

RED CELL 

SBR LOVE! 

WAY BACK IN ISSUE 124 RED CELL GATHERED TO LOOK AT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AEG 

GROUPS OUT THERE, THAT OF AR SBRS (SHORT BARRELLED RIFLES), AND NEARLY TWO AND A HALF 

YEARS LATER THEY PUT THEIR HEADS TOGETHER AGAIN TO SEE HOW SOME OF THE TEST MODELS 

HAVE DONE SO FAR, AND WHAT NEW ONES HAVE CAUGHT THEIR EYE AND BEEN ADDED TO THE 

TEST POOL! 

48 


RED CELL 

SBR UPDATE 

So, we’re pretty much dead-on half way through 

the RED CELL program right now, and what a 

ride it’s been so far for everyone, as over the 

course of the last two and a bit years we’ve been 

hammering both AEGs and GBBs to find out just how 

durable they are! It’s true that manufacturers continue 

to drop shiny new models on us at a sometimes 

alarming rate, but it appears to me that players 

everywhere are becoming more knowledgeable and 

more discerning about what they buy, and why. 

As I’ve said before on many occasions, times are 

tight for many of us, and as someone who has lived 

through several recessions the fact that “we, the 

players” have become more picky about our “airsoft 

spend” doesn’t surprise me at all, as when money is 

tight we all tend to keep 

spare cash for actually 

getting out to play, and 

the purchase of 

a new 

platform 

gets 

pushed 

back in 

favour of keeping what 

we already have going. It 

strikes me that this makes 

what we do in the Red cell 

program incredibly valid, as many 

of the models we have “in test” are 

models that you own, and where we are beginning to 

encounter problems (or not!) then we can comment 

on the potential fixes for these very issues you may 

yourself be facing. 

Bottom line is that EVERYTHING electrical and 

mechanical will eventually fail! We do all tend to give 

our replicas a proper hammering when we play, and 

even with the very best maintenance regime in the 

world, parts WILL wear and eventually lead to the 

failure of a very complex piece of machine art. What 

we always intended to look at in Red Cell is when 

things fail in some very popular brand AEGs and GBBs 

and then come up with fixes for these; is it a simple, 

inexpensive fix, or something far more involved? 

The fact is that none of us have a bottomless wallet 

(oh, how we wish!) and that we need to get the very 

best performance from our platforms, not just as new, 

but also in the long-term. This is especially true when 

money is tighter than usual, so the fact that some of 

our test AEGs featured here are now older models, we 

hope will give you a heads-up on where best to spend 

your money! 

But, and this is quite an extensive “but”, 

technology moves onwards so the test program must 

reflect this! Whilst we still have all of the original 

models ongoing, we keep on adding to the pool as 

new models come available; thankfully virtually every 

manufacturer we work with sees and appreciates the 

benefit of what we’re trying to achieve with Red Cell, 

so we’re thankful that they continue to feed new 

blood into the program, and our thanks go to them all 

for placing their trust in us. 

What does this mean for the Red Cell crew? Well, 

some of the platforms in the test pool are now well 

into 15,000 BB+ territory, and when a new model 

comes in, that needs to be “caught up”, so on my 

regular weekly range session on the 30m “woods 

range” for instance, one or two of the models will 

come with me to get some more mags through them, 

and the rest of the crew are also getting them on 

to the range and in-game whenever they can! This 

allows us to monitor the performance of the newer 

models, whilst at the same time giving an opportunity 

to reflect back on the older ones. 

TIME TELLS! 

With this is mind the Red Cell crew once again got 

their heads together to review suitable “SBRs”, 

models that we have now used in game and can 

comment on with “time in”, or those that have 

impressed us in testing and have now entered the 

test program. We have started to notice some little 

niggles, and whilst we’ve yet to have a test model 

in this category become a “catastrophic failure”, 

we have now started to see some small problems 

developing. Going back to our brief, Jimmy and Dan 

are going to kick off this month as they put out their 

observations on one of the platforms that we all loved 

initially, and that’s the CYMA 0.97… 

Jimmy: Having owned and used the CYMA 0.97 

“BOTTOM LINE IS THAT EVERYTHING ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL WILL EVENTUALLY 

FAIL! WE DO ALL TEND TO GIVE OUR REPLICAS A PROPER HAMMERING WHEN WE 

PLAY, AND EVEN WITH THE VERY BEST MAINTENANCE REGIME IN THE WORLD, PARTS 

WILL WEAR AND EVENTUALLY LEAD TO THE FAILURE OF A VERY COMPLEX PIECE OF 

MACHINE ART.” 


RED CELL 

SBR UPDATE 

50 


RED CELL 

SBR UPDATE 

I can safely say that it is a super platform that now 

holds a small question mark against it after extended 

use; while it is a lovely carbine it is not without its 

flaws. In my opinion there are two design flaws on the 

0.97, the lower receiver and the stock electronics. Not 

only have I owned one but I have also had a few on 

the bench all suffering from failed electronics. 

CYMA have used an electronic trigger system 

which is identical to something that Jefftron made a 

few years back, they are very similar if not identical. 

Mine very early on stopped functioning and others 

I have seen either just stopped functioning or were 

fried due to over-heating. I swapped mine out for 

a Jefftron Leviathan V2 and never saw any issues 

after that. Internally the platinum range gearboxes 

are pretty solid and many people see CYMA parts as 

good replacement parts over stock. Their pistons are 

renowned for being very robust and I for one have 

used them in many different gearboxes as upgrades. 

The second flaw on the 0.97 is the lower receiver 

and the way they have designed the spring guide. The 

spring guide screws directly into the rear, meaning 

the receiver is under stress from the spring and can 

be detrimental to the receivers integrity. I have seen 

several crack at the exact same spot just around 

where the rear gearbox pin goes through. You may 

think they were using a spring which is too strong but 

two I know of were fitted with a M110 spring. I could 

understand it breaking had something like an M140 

or M150 but to crack on a lightweight spring shows 

weakness in the design. I couldn’t wait to get 

one when they first came out but now I 

have questions… which is annoying as I 

really do like the platform! 

Dan: The CYMA Platinum 

0.97 is one of the newer 

releases from CYMA, now 

having been on the market for 

a few years. It has established 

itself with a mid-range price point 

that sports a little nicer feature 

set out of the box compared to 

competitor models. This AEG 

replica is based off the hugely 

popular AR style platform, with 

a 14.5” length barrel wrapped in 

an M-LOK rail, billet-style receiver, and multi-position 

collapsible stock. A true quick-change spring guide 

is found under the buffer tube assembly, the latter 

of which can be removed without tools. I personally 

have not seen any 0.97 model experience a cracked 

receiver, such as Jimmy has reported. 

Here in the USA, most of these will come shooting 

at approximately 380 – 400 FPS out of the box. With 

a little tuning and some upgrades, most will sit closer 

to the 400 FPS mark for general field velocity, with its 

big brother, the SR-25 or CM 0.98, often being set up 

as high as 550 FPS for fields that allow it. If anything, 

what I have seen is if people are excessively changing 

springs out, they can potentially strip the threads on 

the receiver. A steel spring guide is always going to 

win over softer cast material. I would recommend 

cleaning the threads on the spring guide and receiver 

well the first few times you use it, as there will often 

be fresh material getting cut from the threads. A bit 

of grease will also help smooth it up too. 

My only other contention with the externals on 

this gun is the M-LOK rail is literally held in place with 

two small grub screws, which is enough to elicit the 

infamous meme of the man sitting amidst a raging 

inferno saying “This if fine!” This can be remedied by 

drilling and cutting threads in the barrel nut for some 

black button-head style screws, which will greatly 

secure the rail from ever walking loose on you. 

Moving over to the interior, we’ll find CYMA’s 

current 22 TPA Neodymium motor paired to a set of 

13.65:1 gears and 8mm bearings. Many have stated 

that the gears themselves are actually made 

by SHS, and based on appearance 

and design I would concur 

with this; if not, 

then 

“MOVING OVER TO THE COMPRESSION PARTS, WE HAVE THEIR HIGHLY DURABLE FULL- 

METAL RACK PISTON AND A CNC ALUMINIUM PISTON HEAD AND DOUBLE O-RING 

ALUMINIUM CYLINDER HEAD. CYMA’S FMR PISTONS ARE LEGENDARY IN THE TECHING 

COMMUNITY. I HAVE BEEN USING THEM FOR YEARS AND HAVE FOUND THEM TO BE 

EXCEPTIONALLY DURABLE, PUNCHING FAR ABOVE THEIR PRICE POINT” 


RED CELL 

SBR UPDATE 

ARES X-CLASS AR-091E 

Price: iro UK£390.00 

Age: New 

Weight: 2600g 

Length: 690/770mm 

Magazine Capacity: 140, will accept all STANAG/AR 

Cold Chrono: 1.12 Joule/348fps 

Hot Chrono: 1.12 Joule/347fps 

Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK 

Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW 

Supplied By: www.iwholesales.co.uk 

BOLT DD DAGGER LITE 


Age: 11 Months 

Weight: 2760g 

Length: 645-725mm 

Magazine Capacity: 140, will accept most STANAG/AR 



Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail 


Supplied By: www.nuprol.com 

CYMA CM.097B 


Age: 4 Years 

Weight: 2770g 

Length: 730/815 mm 


Cold Chrono: 109 Joule/344fps 




Supplied By: www.taiwangun.com 

EVOLUTION RECON 

Price: iro UK 

Age: 2 Years 7 Months 

Weight: 2200g 







Supplied By: store.evolutioninternational.it 

SPECNA ARMS FLEX 


Age: 2 Years 

Weight: 2130g 





Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail Sections 


Supplied By: www.gunfire.com 

52 


RED CELL 

SBR UPDATE 

maybe a very convincing clone! Moving over to the 

compression parts, we have their highly durable fullmetal 

rack piston and a CNC aluminium piston head 

and double O-ring aluminium cylinder head. CYMA’s 

FMR pistons are legendary in the teching community. I 

have been using them for years and have found them 

to be exceptionally durable, punching far above their 

price point. I have seen some of the 0.97’s come in 

with a conventional ported aluminium piston head, 

and some come with the “silent” mushroom style. 

Based on what I’ve worked on, the mushroom style 

seems to be a bit more prolific. 

If anything were a bit dismal in this gearbox, it 

would actually be the Zeus ETU. This is a dodgy bit 

of soldered mish-mash that I swear gets less and less 

refined every time I see one. They have not been 

known for exceptional reliability, often the inverse, 

with many reporting issues. I would therefore only 

consider this as a placeholder until one can swap 

in a proper ETU, such as a TITAN or Perun Hybrid. 

CYMA made an odd little design choice with the way 

the manual safety lever is fitted to the shell, so the 

material support for that will need to be milled away 

to fit an ETU. It’s far easier to modify than something 

like the Krytac shell, at least. 

Over on the barrel side, I have seen both the ‘oldschool’ 

style metal M4 hop up chambers used and a 

blue plastic rotary style. The rotary chamber seems 

to be the current setup used as most 0.97’s I have 

received in are fitted with those. While the tolerances 

are a bit loose, it does an acceptable job once set up 

with a quality bucking. As is CYMA’s forte, one can 

often expect copious amounts of lube to be present 

on the bucking and barrel, so I recommend giving 

both a good cleaning before first use and this will 

improve accuracy a lot. 

Overall, I would say the 0.97 has some quirks and 

foibles, but is built to a higher standard than the oldschool 

CYMA most are familiar with. It’s a relatively 

good base for a new player to pick up as their first 

gun, and also a good base to build upon; especially 

as it only requires minimal upgrades to be well 

optimized, owing to many of the components being 

good out of the box. 

MOVING ON! 

Bill: So, with the 0.97 covered in some detail now, 

let’s move on to a couple of the newer additions to 

the test pool, and never let it be said that we only 

look at the “Gucci stuff”, as I’d like to concentrate 

on two models this month that have joined the party 

and thus far acquitted themselves well although they 

are by no means expensive AEGS, and the first is the 

HUNTSMAN M4 TACTICAL. 

As I said in my RELOADED take on this neat little 

AEG, further rangetime has proved that my initial 

assessment was 100% correct, and now some 

7000 BBs have now been put through it, it’s really 

starting to come into its stride. I’ve reached the 

conclusion that .28g is the perfect weight for this 

AEG set to UK spec, as using this weight gives a 

fabulous combination of range and accuracy; just an 

incremental BB weight change has worked to deliver 

optimum performance. 

The electronic trigger is working extremely well 

thus far, and this is most definitely something that 

the crew have commented on, that the trigger is light 

yet crisp; everyone that has shot the HUNTSMAN so 

far has commented both of the feel of the trigger, 

and indeed on the quietness of the AEG overall when 

in operation. The motor sounds as if it is perfectly 

set and balanced, with no whine or “drag”, and 

the gearbox is pretty darn quiet which indicates to 

me that everything is mated properly and working 

together efficiently; so far so good! I’ve just finished 

testing with HUNTSMAN’s “budget polymer AR”, and 

you’ll find my evaluation of that earlier in this issue… 

The next model that I’ll concentrate on is the SA- 

F01 FLEX from Specna Arms! This superbly-priced little 

AEG has actually found a bit of a soft-spot in my heart 

as it reminds me of the ARs that I first started playing 

airsoft with so many moons ago… but in a very good 

way as it actually works, all the time! 

Although the FLEX models are super-cheap in terms 

of price (and that should make any airsofter cheerful!) 

that’s not to say that they are in any way deficient 

when it comes to doing their job… okay, they ARE 

pretty much 100% polymer as the receiver set, freefloat 

rail system, buffer tube, CRANE style- stock, 

“iron sights”, and the pistol grip are made of polymer 

“ALTHOUGH THE FLEX MODELS ARE SUPER-CHEAP IN TERMS OF PRICE (AND THAT 

SHOULD MAKE ANY AIRSOFTER CHEERFUL!) THAT’S NOT TO SAY THAT THEY ARE IN 

ANY WAY DEFICIENT WHEN IT COMES TO DOING THEIR JOB” 


RED CELL 

SBR UPDATE 

HUNSTMAN M4 POLYMER 


Age: NEW! 

Weight: 1907g 







Supplied By: www.iwholesales.biz 

HUNSTMAN M4 TACTICAL 


Age: 9 Months 

Weight: 2122g 








ARCTURUS KARAMBIT AT-NY04 


Age: 19 Months 

Weight: 2500g 

Length: 575mm (PDW Stock) 






Supplied By: www.taiwangun.com 

ICS DAGGER SSS III 


Age: 1 Year 

Weight: 2305g 







Supplied By: www.icsbb.com 

VALKEN KILO 


Age: 2 Year 6 months 

Weight: 2494g 

Length: 620mm/700mm 





Suppressor Compatibilty: 14mm CCW (11mm CW to 14mm CCW 

thread adapter included) 

Supplied By: www.308-sniper.co.uk 

54 


RED CELL 

SBR UPDATE 


RED CELL 

SBR UPDATE 

KRYTAC TRIDENT MKII PDW 



Weight: 2400g 

Length: 535mm (PDW Stock) 






Supplied By: www.landwarriorairsoft.com 

G&G SR30 



Weight: 2760g 


Magazine Capacity: 90 (G2), will accept most STANAG/AR 

Cold Chrono: 0.98/325fps 




Supplied By: www.nuprol.com 

SECUTOR ASTRA III 


Age: 1 Year 

Weight: 2730g 








SPECNA ARMS SA-E04 


Age: 3 Years 

Weight: 2600g 


Magazine Capacity: 2x125 S-MAG, will accept most STANAG/AR 






SPECNA ARMS SA-E12 


Age: 2 Years 1 Month 

Weight: 2400g 


Magazine Capacity: 



Taclite Compatibility: 2x125 S-MAG, will accept most STANAG/AR 



56 


RED CELL 

SBR UPDATE 

reinforced with nylon fibre, but this reinforcement 

makes the structure more durable than older polymer 

structures, and WAY different to our “plastic AEGs” of 

years gone by… 

Everything internally is very workmanlike too, 

obviously designed to meet a pricepoint, but again 

not deficient in any way because of this, and it just 

shows how far even “entry level” AEGs have come! 

The FLEX models come with a rear-wired V2 gearbox, 

a decent standard motor, 8mm bearings, steel gears, 

a polycarbonate piston with steel reinforcement, and 

the guys at Specna Arms tell me that everything is 

rated still to handle up to an M140 spring… as I have 

said before too, if you’d put that spring in one of my 

old “plastic ARs” back in the day it would have just 

climbed back into the gun case in defeat before I’d 

even squeezed the trigger! 

So far the F01 has proved to be a great little AEG to 

work with, with great ergonomics and a good weight; 

just heavy enough to feel right, but light enough 

that you could run with it all day long. The trigger is 

light yet crisp, with very little lag so it’s easy to get 

consistently accurate shots away time after time. So, 

if you are looking for a lightweight and reliable AEG 

to get you rolling then after thorough initial testing of 

the SA-F01, I have to say that this is a really super little 

AEG that will get you going, or keep you going in a 

pinch, and at the price they’re certainly not going to 

break the bank… up to 6000+ BBs now with this one, 

so let’s see what the next 5000 bring! 

Miguel: Sticking with Specna Arms I remember 

when the “PDW” models first appeared, still within 

the EDGE 1.0 range. Gunfire and Specna Arms were 

kind enough to send one for review at the time, since 

the ambassador program wasn’t a thing yet, and my 

first thought was “what a little beast this is”! I liked 

it so much that when the first models with the Aster 

were available, even before the official “birth” of the 

EDGE 2.0 range, I got one, and passed the 1.0 to a 

teammate who still uses to this day! 

Being a highly compatible replica, it’s my main 

choice for pure CQB games, since it’s a model 

that lets you be more nimble in those corners and 

tight locations. And of course having the Aster is a 

great addition; it’s an already well known electronic 

trigger that offers the players a good amount of 

customizations, like a faster trigger response and burst 

fire. The only downside of this model is the battery 

compartment, which is small, and if you have the 1.0 

model, the X-ASR protection Mosfet will leave even 

less space. Specna Arms did release some extended 

battery tubes, but they are hard to come by. 

The only upgrade I’ve done to my E12 PDW was 

changing the hop up rubber, something I’ve done to 

most of my replicas. Other than that, it’s been one of 

my go-to replicas for the past few years when I know 

that we are playing in urban environments. It has 

never failed me. 

Jimmy: Now for something different! I’ve had the 

ICS Lightway Dagger S3 in my possession for quite 

some time now and it has been heavily used in both 

CQB and woodland environments with great effect. 

It’s never missed a beat and performed impeccably 

time after time. I have a great fondness for ICS and 

over the last few years they have excelled themselves 

producing more and more airsoft goodness. 

The Dagger makes for a formidable CQB rifle being 

short and lightweight due to its polymer construction 

(a different thing these days as Bill pointed out 

earlier!) which allows you to manouver quickly giving 

you the element of surprise. The addition of the smart 

Mosfet coupled with a short stroke trigger and the set 

precock function makes it lightning quick, meaning 

you can get off a few shots before your opponent has 

even realized what happened! 

The precock function is factory set and nonadjustable; 

after the first shot the piston lies in a state 

of readiness and returns to the same position every 

time. Included is ICS’ famous spring tension release 

button so you don’t have to worry about the spring 

being kept under tension at the end of the day, and 

this is easily operated by simply pushing the forward 

assist, a great little idea I feel and ICS have been 

using this for years and if I’m not mistaken the only 

manufacturer to implement this. 

When I first got hands on with the Dagger it came 

out of the box with a very healthy yet UK legal velocity 

but over time and with a good cleaning of the barrel 

and hop rubber the power started to increase slightly 

to a point it was no longer safe to use for my local 

sites; strange right, as this is not usually the case 

and most rifles decrease in power over time. The last 

“I LIKED IT SO MUCH THAT WHEN THE FIRST MODELS WITH THE ASTER WERE 

AVAILABLE, EVEN BEFORE THE OFFICIAL “BIRTH” OF THE EDGE 2.0 RANGE, I GOT ONE, 

AND PASSED THE 1.0 TO A TEAMMATE WHO STILL USES TO THIS DAY!” 


RED CELL 

SBR UPDATE 

chrono check I carried out was showing a 0.30g bb 

300fps @ 1.38j which is crazy (and entering legally 

questionable territory here in the UK!), but rest 

assured the power was adjusted back down and sits 

perfectly @ 1.1j which is spot on for CQB venues. 

With the famous split gearbox design and QD 

spring guide the power adjustment is very easy to do 

and is completely tool free, making my life as a tech 

so much easier and better for all users; less time on 

the bench, less money from their pockets… winner 

winner! 

For a short rifle of 620mm fully collapsed and 

with an inner Barrel of only 180mm it is surprising 

just how far it can sling a BB! This is mainly due to 

the precision barrel and the Master Mods Hop 

tensioner which is a concaved design cnc’d 

out of brass making it capable of easily 

lifting a 0.32g BB. To date I have put over 

10,000 BBs through and it sounds as 

good as the day I received it, and to look 

at the internal components it shows no 

signs of wear, which is largely due to the 

quality of the components and the fact 

it has been perfectly shimmed from the 

factory which is another thing ICS pride 

themselves with, the way they put 

their AEGs together. 

The new Evo motors 

they use can really take 

a hammering and unlike 

other brands this thing 

does not heat up even 

after prolonged semi-auto 

spamming, although I have 

found that S3 systems 

seems to be a bit more 

power hungry than the 

S system but that isn’t a 

major problem just carry 

more batteries! Overall 

ICS have done a sterling 

job with the Dagger 

and jam-packed it 

with components and 

features that no other 

manufacturer are offering 

to date, and it is a true out 

of the box contender which 

I said from Day 1 and that is an 

opinion that stands firm. 

Jase: One of the test models I’ve had longterm 

access to is G&G’s take on the Knights 

Armament SR30. My first thoughts on the 

SR30 were “impressive”. The immediate quality of 

this RIF was good. It felt solid, really solid! Apart from 

the stock giving off a wee rattle, the whole platform 

did not make a noise, and this has remained the 

case; I wasn’t expecting this. In the years I have been 

a player, I have fettled my fair share of AEG’s from 

expensive to cheap so I know what a good RIF feels 

like. 

I have been treated to plenty of well trademarked 

RIF’s of late so was pleased to see how well G&G had 

engraved this SR30. Talk about a good job, from what 

I can tell this is the spitting image of the real thing. 

The trades are super crisp, and I’d go as far as to say 

laser engraved as they look so nice. When I compared 

this with photos of the real Knights SR30, 

apart from the missing CTR stock and 

slightly different pistol grip, this was 

a damn fine Knights Armament 

replica. 

The G&G Knights Armament 

SR30 has been really nice 

to use too, I’ve had zero 

issues or gripes over 

time. The SR30 

comes 

fitted 

with a 

58 


RED CELL 

SBR UPDATE 

programmable Mosfet as standard and it’s great to 

see G&G moving this along; their “take” on this 

gearbox/Mosfet combo offers really handy features! 

Here in the UK this SR30 is competitively priced for a 

solid, well-made, beautifully “traded” AEG. Would I 

recommend this G&G SR30? So far it’s still a “Yes”. 

Bill: Finishing up now, and a couple more models 

from me! A while back I had the ARCTURUS 

KARAMBIT LITE to test, and although it was a super 

short PDW I loved it. Off the back of that I invested 

in the longer model, the KARAMBITAT-NY04 and 

even though this still has the sliding PDW-style stock 

(something I may still change out at a later date when 

“project time” allows!) the increased rail-length 

makes it more comfortable for me to use. 

There are also some elements of the Karambit’s 

construction that I have to comment on as I REALLY 

like them, especially considering the price of this 

AEG; the magazine catch, bolt catch and fire selector 

are ALL ambidextrous. The handguard is a very, very 

nicely achieved alloy M-LOK, but it still has a top-rail 

that marries up perfectly with the railed upper, and 

the sliding “PDW-style” stock is solid as a rock (and 

has QD sling-stud-points both left and right) although 

it does suffer from the tiny battery compartment 

that means you have to pick your battery carefully, 

especially as it’s T-Plug wired; I found that small 11.1V 

800mAh 15C works very well indeed. 

It’s a great SBR to work with, with great ergonomics 

and a very positive cheek weld even with the 

minimalist stock. Adding a finger rest makes it very 

easy to drive the muzzle from target to target, and the 

overall length of the rifle makes it easy to work with. 

Once the rotary hop is set, an easy control to adjust, 

the Karambit puts BBs straight out to the end of the 

30m range, dead-flat-out all the way. The microswitch 

trigger is light yet crisp, with very little lag so it’s easy 

to get consistently accurate shots away time after 

time. Switching it up to full auto sends a nice stream 

of BBs downrange in quick time at a rate nobody 

would moan about, apart from perhaps the airsofter 

on the receiving end! 

And so to ARES; the X CLASS line has some great 

features and the externals as I now expect from ARES, 

and they’re first rate in terms of fit and finish. First off, 

this premium AEG has thoroughly modern styling with 

a Radian Arms-inspired lower receiver; the real Radian 

Model 1 Upper Receiver is a thing of beauty, precision 

CNC machined and structurally reinforced in critical 

areas for improved strength and rigidity, such as the 

contouring around the magwell and beefy “fences”. 

The upper receiver on the real Radian setup is 

billet-style 7075-T6 aluminium and is assembled with 

dust cover, hand guard anti-rotation pin, light weight 

forward assist, and Raptor-SD Ambidextrous Charging 

Handle. There’s also a Geissele-style rail system, one 

which seems to be very popular in airsoft circles at the 

moment! The high-grade alloy CNC 6063 handguard 

fitted as standard to the X CLASS looks very much like 

an M-LOK Super Modular Rail MK4, but without the 

additional picatinny sections at 3 and 6 o’clock, and it 

looks great! 

Internally the 091E comes with the ARES RVTSTM, 

or Rapid Velocity Tuning System Quick Change 

Spring System, along with their tried and tested 

programmable EFCS gearbox and everything is 

compatible with other V2 gears and parts, not that 

you’ll need to be thinking major upgrades any time 

soon. With the development of this easy-to-use 

system, ARES now seem to be making the EFCS 

Gearbox “standard” in line with what is on offer from 

other manufacturers, but unlike some, the EFCS has 

now been around for a little while. 

And this shows with in performance so far as the 

091E has definitely lived up to the promise that Jimmy 

and I first talked about when we saw it, and it has 

most definitely been worth the wait. It looks great, 

feels great, and shoots superbly! In fact everything is 

in situ to make shooting the 091E a pleasure from the 

first time you lift it out of the box; it’s an exceptionally 

tight package both inside and out, and care has 

obviously been taken to provide something in AEG 

form that’s fully worthy to take ARES forward into 

their next iteration, and I’m looking forward to even 

more rangetime with this AEG! 

We’re running out of space again this month as I 

really wanted to include all the comments Jimmy and 

Dan had to make on the CYMA 0.97, which frankly, 

and perhaps luckily, I’ve experienced no issues with 

thus far as mine is still running like a dream! Suffice to 

say that the KRYTAC, Secutor, BOLT, Valken Kilo and 

the Evolution Recon are all running as they should, 

and the new models in the mix are all good to go thus 

far! AA 

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MAINTAINING 

WHAT OTHER’S 

DON’T! 

STEWBACCA AND ‘MILITARY ANNY’ RECENTLY TRAVELLED OUT TO THE EAST COAST OF TAIWAN BACK IN 

LATE MAY TO VISIT ONE OF THE MORE REMOTE, BUT PERHAPS EQUALLY INTERNATIONALLY WELL-KNOWN 

MANUFACTURERS, RED ALERT TECH (OR RATECH AS WE BEST KNOW THEM) AND THEIR SALES AND 

DISTRIBUTION DIVISION AIRSOFT TAIWAN (AST), AND THE TWO OF THEM GOT THE BACK STORY ON WHERE 

THE OWNER JOHNNY HSU GOT HIS START IN THE INDUSTRY, HOW FAR THE COMPANY HAS COME SINCE, 

AND WHERE THEY ARE PLANNING ON GOING IN THE FUTURE! 

Even when I was back in the UK, I was already 

aware of the ‘RA Tech’ name as many of my 

teammates at various stages in my ‘career’ 

(if you can call it that!) made use of their upgrade 

components to make their GBBRs more useful in the 

less tropical climes of our homeland! One of Team 

Honey Badgers at Ground Zero one year had a decked 

out WE M14 GBBR with all their trimmings making it 

more of a hammer in the hot bank holiday weekend… 

and apparently that remains one of their best-selling 

kits! 

Fast forward a few years and I had already been 

making use of the likes of their WE AR GBBR bolt 

carrier groups with magnetic locking NPAS and 

replacement fire control units to help make my 

troubled T91 and HK416 models more reliable and 

adjustable in terms of their power output here in 

Taiwan. I’d seen them at shows and talked to some of 

their operatives beforehand, even making inroads to 

visit them but unfortunately a literal disaster occurred 

on the day I planned to head east and see them. 

Nonetheless, the interest to find out more was still 

ticking over in the back of my mind and eventually it 

turned out that Anny was working with them more 

closely, representing them at their front entrance 

booth at MOA2022, demonstrating their latest 

products to the local and international visitors alike, 

and of course I made myself as useful as possible in 

spreading the good word taking plenty of product 

photos! I took copious notes and made a video 

segment with Duane of I AM Airsoft at MOA covering 

their fairly involved and realistic manufacturing 

processes that mimic the real steel counterparts of the 

high end licensed products they are producing such as 

the EMG Noveske N4 GBBR they later sent to me for 

review as covered in Issue 152. 

Suffice to say their build quality and attention to 

detail already shone through pretty clearly just from 

handling their products at the show, let alone my 

own prior experiences of components I’d bought 

personally before ever meeting them in person. Many 

of my experienced teammates who got hands on 

with the Noveske N4 systems as well as M14, M14 

EBR, Thompson M1A1 and other products they had 

“I HAD ALREADY BEEN MAKING USE OF THE LIKES OF THEIR WE AR GBBR BOLT 

CARRIER GROUPS WITH MAGNETIC LOCKING NPAS AND REPLACEMENT FIRE CONTROL 

UNITS TO HELP MAKE MY TROUBLED T91 AND HK416 MODELS MORE RELIABLE AND 

ADJUSTABLE IN TERMS OF THEIR POWER OUTPUT HERE IN TAIWAN” 

62 




at the show were duly impressed by what they have 

been turning out, and as covered in my N4 review, 

many of them were lining up to get hands-on in the 

field… and a few of them have made the outlay for 

themselves to attain the quality and performance the 

licensed turnkey platforms offer. 

TOUR-MODE ENGAGED! 

Anny helpfully kept in contact with them directly after 

MOA and eventually helped organise our collaborative 

effort when we found time for us both to head out 

and do a site visit with them and spend the day 

getting to know the people behind the products in 

greater detail. Taking the train from Taipei main all the 

way to Hualien (directly opposite Taichung on the west 

coast) meant a very early morning start for us; taking 

a leisurely saunter through the beautiful countryside 

of northeast Taiwan all the way down the coast and to 

Ji’an station not far from RATech’s headquarters, with 

Johnny himself picking us up from the station and 

chauffeuring us to their facility a few blocks away.. 

Taiwanese hospitality is a constant as warm as the 

weather out here, I have found. 

We got settled in and had a tour of their facilities as 

well as meeting their staff in various divisions, getting 

the low-down on recent and upcoming products, 

taking photos of their production and distribution 

facilities, and then sat down in Johnny’s upper-floor 

office to get the low-down on his own origin story 

in the airsoft industry, and how RATech, and Airsoft 

Taiwan, came to be where they are today. 

Anny has the advantage of better understanding 

the native language and culture, and thus she can 

ask the more nuanced questions and strike a more 

personal tone to get a better understanding on the 

people and history side which really compliments 

my own more ‘brass tacks’ business and technical 

approach… and of course some things don’t translate 

readily on the fly so it helps to have both of us 

covering off different aspects of the on-site visits! 

One of the main aspects she gleaned from Johnny 

was the core philosophy that one of his Hong Kong 




compatriots instilled upon him from early days; “the 

Law of Survival - As long as you have something that 

others don’t, you can survive”. Back in the formative 

years of RATech, one of the main aspects Johnny 

leveraged was his existing love of RC cars and planes 

which he had a lot of experience in, and being one 

of the early introducers of LiPo battery technology 

crossing over from the RC to the airsoft world. 

However, upgrade gas components and feed nozzles 

for GBBRs have remained the ‘bread and butter’ 

of their business model and product strategy, and 

having, or indeed developing, what others do not, 

has kept the company steadfast on its own mission to 

produce better components to serve the market and 

improve on the durability of the likes of Marui MWS 

or earlier products in the harsher use cases of Taiwan 

and elsewhere beyond Japan’s power regulations. 

GETTING IN EARLY! 

From the outset, Johnny developed an early love for 

replica guns when his father returned from travels to 

Japan with an early model toy revolver for him, which 

he eventually modified and improved… as well as, 

like many here, including myself, being an ardent fan 

of Taiwan’s night market shooting galleries where 

drilling balloons lets you walk away with a cuddly 

toy or other prize, evidently the shooting bug took 

root with him. As a student Johnny would spend his 

summer vacations helping out at the local toy shop; as 

in the UK, long before specialist airsoft stockists began 

springing up, most youngsters would get their “soft 

air guns” from the usual toy specialists who also stock 

paints and RC cars or planes… my own original Marui 

M92F springer was acquired from just such a place in 

my hometown more years ago than I care to admit! 

Johnny made a deal to work not for a salary, but to 

obtain his favourite airsoft gun at the time from the 

shop. 

Years passed and he went off to do his national 

service with the army, and following his discharge 

the era of early electric guns was dawning in the 

developing world of airsoft. With Marui’s early models 

making landfall in Taiwan, he purchased a SIG 550 

AEG and immediately went about dismantling and 

improving its internals as he had long before to make 

it more durable and usable in Taiwan’s survival games 

environment, rushing out the next day to test his new 

purchase! Noticing this passion for upgrading and 

overhauling the guns on the burgeoning market, the 

toy shop owner would occasionally ask him to repair 

or upgrade other player’s guns that were brought 

to him; working as a lone operator at the time he 

acquired parts locally and sold them to other players 

as well as cultivating local teams of friends and players 

to grow the user-base and industry on the east coast. 

Around this time he was also helping his father in 

the construction of a new home, but in the evenings 

would stay in his own studio and after a couple of 

years made the decision to start his own business 

proper, With no capital to speak of at the time, he 

relied on the trust of the bank his wife worked at to 

give him a loan with which to kickstart the business. 

As well as receiving help from other more established 

industry names such as Guarder, eventually with the 

much appreciated support of others he began to carve 

out a name for himself and grow the business and 

its capabilities and establishing ‘Red Alert Tech’, the 

name being derived from him and his compatriots 

shared love of video games, and this morphed into 

simply ‘RATech’. 

After establishing the original business model 

porting LiPo technology over from RC applications, 

RATech focused more so on kit components for 

upgrading the durability of AEG and GBBR platforms 

with CNC machined aluminium and steel components 

such as gearbox innards, valves and strikers, hammers, 

other trigger components or HOP units having found 

Marui’s original stock components somewhat wanting 

when importing and making use of them locally. 

In more recent years this has seen a shift towards 

injection moulded components as well which has 

allowed their already proven NPAS and feed nozzle 

designs to be produced more economically and made 

more accessible to all end users as a result;- much 

of the success of their existing products was built 

off the back of mentions on technical forums and 

positive end user recommendations and feedback, 

without much need for hard advertising or pushing 

the products, with the positive community experience 

and word of mouth doing a great deal of the work in 

extolling RATech’s product’s virtues. 

“I TOOK COPIOUS NOTES AND MADE A VIDEO SEGMENT WITH DUANE OF I AM 

AIRSOFT AT MOA COVERING THEIR FAIRLY INVOLVED AND REALISTIC MANUFACTURING 

PROCESSES THAT MIMIC THE REAL STEEL COUNTERPARTS OF THE HIGH END 

LICENSED PRODUCTS” 

64 







66 




RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW! 

Over the years the company has had to relocate 

multiple times before settling into their current 

location; from earlier days in the studio which also 

served as a meeting place for local teams and players, 

with the garage and basement serving as storage, 

workshops and shooting range, it did limit the ease 

of growing business in terms of being somewhat 

innocuous or difficult to happen upon by passers 

by… you had to be already in the know to find them! 

Eventually around 2011 the business moved into its 

current multi-level location which has more space for 

prototyping, assembly, storage and staff amenities; 

many of the staff have been long serving employees, 

many for as much or more than a decade, with 

specialist training being provided in Taipei for those 

who work in the production aspect of the business, 

programming and operating the on-site 3-axis CNC 

and 3D printing capabilities. 

Over the years the focus has shifted to some extent; 

while the gas nozzles or bolt carrier components have 

always remained a core specialisation of the company, 

many of the products have varied in proliferation or 

popularity, with many of the older kits continuing to 

sell many years after their initial release largely due 

to a lack of competition in certain specific models or 

component types. However, the business has shifted 

in more recent years to focusing on a slower output 

of new products which are extensively developed and 

tested to the point where end-user issues or returns 

are basically a non-issue, while in other aspects many 

of the other manufacturers have upped their own 

production quality so much that it’s reduced the need 

for RATech’s customised components, thus Airsoft 

Taiwan was developed and has become more of a 

focus in recent years. 

AST is the sales and distribution wing of the 

business which since its inception has sat above the 

“UPGRADE GAS COMPONENTS AND FEED NOZZLES FOR GBBRS HAVE REMAINED THE 

‘BREAD AND BUTTER’ OF THEIR BUSINESS MODEL AND PRODUCT STRATEGY, AND 

HAVING, OR INDEED DEVELOPING, WHAT OTHERS DO NOT, HAS KEPT THE COMPANY 

STEADFAST ON ITS OWN MISSION TO PRODUCE BETTER COMPONENTS” 




production aspects of RATech itself, as well as being 

an umbrella under which many other local Taiwanese 

manufacturer’s products have been stocked and sent 

overseas (with Maple Leaf among others being close 

collaborators who have benefitted mutually from 

AST’s overseas reach and existing sales infrastructure) 

all of which is set to expand further with the recent 

advent of their own in house developed mobile phone 

shopping APP to ease the end-user experience and 

give users anywhere in the world a more direct line 

to purchasing and support or information relating to 

RATech’s own product and those of others they stock. 

As a result of this experience and growth the focus 

is slowly shifting more towards AST’s leveraging 

of local manufacturers and suppliers; with Taiwan 

being relatively small and easy to ship parts around 

overnight, it has made stocking and distributing 

parts much easier with a more recent increase in the 

domestic market. Of course many external or overseas 

customers have relied upon them for sourcing 

upgrades or spares, but since COVID has altered the 

landscape somewhat it’s also pushed many local endusers 

online to source components they already know 

and trust, allowing AST to capitalise on domestic 

markets as well. In past years 90% of their sales were 

overseas, particularly neighbouring south east Asian 

countries where shipping costs are not so prohibitive, 

but now around 60% of their business is within 

Taiwan and thus the focus has shifted somewhat 

towards serving local markets and ensuring players 

can readily get their hands on items in a rapid manner. 

Looking forward, RATech will focus largely on upper 

receiver components such as their well-established 

bolt carrier and nozzle components, particularly 

when it comes to Marui’s MW system; Johnny is well 

aware of the growing fire control group and other 

68 




lower receiver components aftermarket support from 

competitors which makes that a saturated market and 

difficult to compete in, so again they are sticking to 

what they know well in terms of NPAS components 

and uprated HOP units, as well as now leveraging 

their manufacturing experience and supplier networks 

to focus on turning out high-end licensed turnkey 

products such as their Noveske N4 GBBRs in 5.56 and 

300 BLK formats. 

At this point Johnny has managed to develop 

the company and the staff into a very stable and 

comfortable situation where they aren’t trying 

to expand too rapidly, and are moderating their 

own research and development to a very sharp 

focus on doing what they do well and leveraging 

the wider business and local logistics to minimise 

their own stock and maximise ease of access to 

an ever widening range of locally produced items 

for their customers. With many of his staff happily 

sticking around for the long term (the east coast is 

a particularly pleasant part of Taiwan and offers a 

relaxed and economical lifestyle in contrast to the 

industrial and business heartlands of the west coast, 

after all!) it seems RATech and Airsoft Taiwan are 

going to be doing what they do so well for the long 

term. 

We look forward to seeing what they have to offer 

in future, and judging by my own experiences of 

their N4 GBBR I’m excited to see what products they 

develop in the long term! I’d like to thank Johnny 

and his staff for their hospitality and accommodating 

myself and Anny’s questions and on-site exploits 

during our visit; please do check out https://ast-gun. 

airsofttaiwan.com or follow the banner link on the AA 

website for more! AA 


TECHNICAL 

HIKMICRO TE19 THERMAL VISION SIGHT 

SO HOT 

RIGHT NOW! 

EVERY SO OFTEN WE GET TO PLAY WITH SOME VERY SPECIAL KIT, AND THIS IS WHERE TECHNOLOGY 

BECOMING MORE EFFECTIVE BUT ALSO MORE AFFORDABLE IMPACTS AIRSOFT IN A VERY SPECIFIC WAY! 

BILL HAS BEEN SPENDING “QUALITY TIME” WITH SOME THERMAL VISION SCOPES FROM HIKMICRO, AND 

NOW TELLS ALL ABOUT IT! 

It’s true to say that during my years playing airsoft, 

as much as I have all the kit necessary to play 

BLUFOR I’ve always had a bit of a failing for the 

OPFOR role, and this is something that I’ve written 

about many, many times both in relation to suitable 

AEG and GBB platforms, but also when it comes to 

“useful kit”. 

Quite often when you’re facing off against the 

BLUFOR bulldozer you feel like you’re just in the game 

to give them a good time, by acting as an opposing 

force so that they can crash about and achieve their 

objectives; indeed on some occasions I’ve been 

told “make it hard for them, but not TOO 

hard”! I’m comfortable with this 

as often OPFOR get to attend 

some awesome events at a 

reduced ticket price as they 

are there purely to let 

the event develop as 

the scenario creator 

has written it, but 

I will always go on 

the proviso that there 

is at least some space 

to make things properly 

difficult for those pesky 

multicammers! 

And this is where technology can truly be my, and 

our, friend as having certain items of kit can really 

make a difference, and these “force multipliers” 

can take many forms, but having the latest 

available “tech” is certainly a part of the equation! 

Undoubtedly BLUFOR will be dripping in “Gucci 

kit”, with all manner of gizmos including NVGs as 

standard, and to counter this I’ve always looked to 

“civvy tech”, equipment that’s freely available 

for anyone to buy, non- 

that conceivably any well 

prepared OPFOR-ist 

could have at hand. 

More and more 

over the years 

I’ve seen “thermal 

scopes” come into play in 

airsoft, and in fairness not just 

for OPFOR either, as believe it or not, 

“NV” does have its limitations, and is not 

always the “god mode” people imagine 

it to be! Fundamentally thermal imaging 

doesn’t need any light to work, whilst 

night vision (at least at the level available to 

on the market 

military kit 

us mere mortals without a black credit card!) works 

by amplifying visible light. Thermal imaging uses IR 

sensing technology to detect temperature differences 

between objects in its line of sight, whereas night 

vision enlarges the light available and converts it to 

those classic green-tinted images…. it’s why once 

upon a time the name “starlight sight” was coined. 

“MORE AND MORE OVER THE YEARS I’VE SEEN “THERMAL SCOPES” COME INTO PLAY 

IN AIRSOFT, AND IN FAIRNESS NOT JUST FOR OPFOR EITHER, AS BELIEVE IT OR NOT, 

“NV” DOES HAVE ITS LIMITATIONS, AND IS NOT ALWAYS THE “GOD MODE” PEOPLE 

IMAGINE IT TO BE!” 

70 


TECHNICAL 


So, in a nutshell, thermal = no light, whilst NV 

= “some” light, and further online investigation 

tells me that “while both night vision and infrared 

technologies are used to improve visibility in lowlight 

environments, their underlying concepts and 

applications differ. Infrared technology detects 

thermal radiation to create a visible image, whereas 

night vision amplifies available light to make a visible 

image”. 

So, which is better? I believe that this is not actually 

the correct question as I see the two “techs” as 

complementary and not mutually exclusive. However, 

although the price of NV-tech is certainly coming 

down, to get something halfway decent means that 

you could well be into four figures, whereas the 

HIKMICRO THUNDER sight that I’ve had in testing for 

the past couple of months whilst not cheap, is solidly 

in the high-three-figure-bracket and works superbly 

well as a rifle/carbine mounted option! 

WHO, WHAT, HOW? 

HIKMICRO have been around since 2008, and they’ve 

been developing thermal vision equipment since 

2010, but the company as we know it today started 

proper in 2016, releasing a full portfolio of thermal 

security products the year after. Since then they’ve 

grown and grown with representation in over 100 

countries, and although they specialise in thermal 

technology innovation, the company offers thermal 

cores, modules, cameras, total solutions and also 

night vision products, which can be used in outdoor, 

industrial and security industries globally. 

Yup, it just goes to show that this is BIG business, 

but thankfully that also means that “economies of 

scale” come into play, and resultant products can 

be made in larger production runs at decreased 

cost per unit… jeez, I never thought my old A-Level 

Economics would get used in an airsoft setting, but 

there you go… and what this means is that the cost 

of good thermal sights continues to come down, 

and realistically puts it within the reach of committed 

players! 

And the Thunder IS a good sight for our intended 

use as it’s recoil rated to 6750J and out to 900m 

(yeah we wish!), and it sits perfectly on top of a railed 

platform. The Thunder 19mm 35mK 256x192 12µm 

Smart Thermal Weapon Scope weighs in at 591g, 

which is actually slightly lighter than the 604g ELCAN/ 

DOCTER combo that I usually run on my VFC Knight’s 

SR16 GBB, and without the extended “hood” the 

footprint on the top rail is almost identical! 

With five reticle choices pre-loaded, and a colour 

palette of Black Hot, White Hot, Red Hot, and Fusion, 

the Thunder is as easy to get on with as it is to mount 

on your rifle. It has an operating range of -20C to 

55C, is protected against temporary submersion in 

water, and offers a multitude of features including: 

• Video recording 

• Picture snapshot 

• Built-in memory of 16 Gb 

• Hot Tracking 

• WiFI hot spot 

• T-Vision App 

At the heart of the TE19 is HIKMICRO’s 256x192px, 

sub 35 NETD thermal sensor, which is capable of 

delivering a detailed thermal image without you 

having to take out a second mortgage! The 19mm 

focal length provides a base magnification of 2.5x 

with up to 8x digital magnification and Picture- 

In-Picture is available to explore the detail in your 

surroundings. The high-quality F1.0 lens system 

transmits all the available thermal signal back to the 

sensor, boosting the detection ability and detail in the 

image. HIKMICRO’s advanced algorithm processes this 

raw signal and delivers a detailed image to the 10mm 

OLED display, and it also connects to the T-Vision app 

to seamlessly control, stream and record your shooting 

and in-game adventures! 

Obviously with the recoil-rating the Thunder isn’t 

going to have any issue dealing with the action 

generated by even the most aggressive GBBR, and 

“AT THE HEART OF THE TE19 IS HIKMICRO’S 256X192PX, SUB 35 NETD THERMAL 

SENSOR, WHICH IS CAPABLE OF DELIVERING A DETAILED THERMAL IMAGE WITHOUT 

YOU HAVING TO TAKE OUT A SECOND MORTGAGE!” 


TECHNICAL 


when it comes to getting BBs on target it uses 

HIKMICRO’s latest software which includes an 

updated zeroing system with a one-shot zero, making 

it quick and easy to get the scope set up with your 

platform of choice. 

I SEE, I REALLY DO! 

So, technically speaking it all sounds mighty fine 

to me, but I’m sure that there are those out there 

amongst you reading this that understand “The Tech” 

far better than I! What I’m interested in is how this 

scope can make me more effective, and will it enable 

me to get BBs on target even in the pitch black? 

And the answer to both these questions in my mind 

after extensive testing and use is… OH YES, it most 

CERTAINLY will! 

I’ve had the Thunder mounted full-time to my SR16 

and tried it both in daytime and on moonless nights… 

it’s summer in the UK right now so of course we’ve 

had LOTS of moonless nights! You may ask why I 

tested the Thunder in the daytime as well as at night, 

and the answer here is that unlike NVGs or an NV 

scope there actually IS a daylight benefit! 

I live in the country, and mere metres away from my 

house are woodland and extensive open fields, and 

all kinds of creepy-crawly-gribblies are out and about 

at all times of the day and night. The Thunder allows 

me to find “hot spots” (ie livin’ creature-things!) 

that give of a greater thermal signature than their 

surroundings… put this into airsoft perspective and 

that ghillie-clad sniper ain’t so hidden any more unless 

they’ve taken some serious IR-signature preventions! 

As a recon tool, even in broad daylight, the Thunder 

can penetrate quite dense foliage to distinguish the 

heat-signature of a person, and deep shadow in a 

woodland setting ceases to have quite the benefit it 

usually does; the Thunder cuts through the “shadow 

chatter” and concentrates on that nice warm target, 

and once you’ve got it and your rifle/carbine properly 

zero-mated, you can hit said target time and again. 

But of course it’s “o-dark o’clock” where the 

Thunder really comes into its own, and even inside a 

closed structure at night (regular readers will know 

we have some cool tunnel systems we “frequent” 

for photoshoots!) there ain’t any place to hide that 

thermal vision won’t find you! The sight-picture is 

super-clear, and because the Thunder rail mount (an 

optional accessory, but oh, so worth it!) sits nice and 

low and reasonably close to bore, any shots you take 

are going to be bang on! 

As another illustration I went up to the 30m woods 

range late one night and placed a shrouded candle 

behind the steels; okay, it did give off just a little 

light in the near-total dark under the trees, but when 

you hit it with the Thunder it was like someone had 

popped on BIG lumen-count taclite directly behind the 

target, and I was able to clang them steels times and 

again… in the dark… believe me, if you have a safe 

place to shoot then this is just HEAPS of FUN! 

So, in conclusion, the HIKMICRO Thunder 19mm 

35mK 256x192 12µm Smart Thermal Weapon 

Scope… yay or nay? For me it’s a BIG YAY! It’s easy 

to mount, easy to operate, and it even runs on the 

very same CR123 batteries that we use in so much 

kit these days, with a solid four-or-so hours of run 

time (although you can also extend this with the 

use of an external USB power bank!).This is a highquality 

thermal scope that is sensibly-priced for the 

technology it offers, and from my experience of such 

things it provides an in-the-dark advantage that can’t 

be beaten. 

My thanks again go to the team at www. 

eliteoptical.co.uk who provided the HIKMICRO 

THUNDER for testing; they also provided me with a 

hand-held LYNX thermal device that I’ll come onto 

another day, and tell me that they now have the new 

THUNDER 2.0 sight in stock too, so do be sure to 

check them out! AA 

72 



SOLOMAN TAIWAN 

ALL THE 

IDEAS… AND 

ALL THE GEAR! 

IN A FURTHER COLLABORATIVE ARTICLE WITH “MILITARY” ANNY WU, STEWBACCA SAT DOWN WITH 

HER AFTER HER RECENT VISIT TO THE OTHER END OF THE ISLAND TO FIND OUT THE STORY BEHIND 

‘SOLOMAN TAIWAN’, A LOCAL TACTICAL GEAR PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION BUSINESS IN TAIWAN’S 

SOUTHERNMOST MAJOR CITY OF KAOHSIUNG. THEY’RE ALSO DISTRIBUTORS OF OTHER LARGE NAMES IN 

THE POLICE/MILITARY EQUIPMENT PROVIDER-WORLD SUCH AS 5.11 TACTICAL, AS WELL AS MORE RECENTLY 

BRANCHING OUT INTO DOMESTIC MANUFACTURE OF BALLISTIC PROTECTION PLATES AND HELMETS, AND 

DRILL AMMUNITION, AND THE OWNER HAS QUITE A HISTORY WHEN IT COMES TO OUR BELOVED AIRSOFT 

TOO! 

Well known to many in Taiwan, within both 

the real steel and action air community, 

‘Philip’ Chen Hsin-Hung’s name adorns 

many certificates on people’s walls, including my 

own, as he was the figurehead within local law 

enforcement and military training who travelled 

to Hong Kong a good few years back in 2000 to 

help broker the agreement to bring Action Air / 

IPSC to Taiwan as a sporting discipline under the 

“Taiwan Practical Shooting Association” that he has 

spearheaded for many years now. 

Philip served as the senior instructor and 

administrator with regards to on-island standards, 

training and certification for new shooters, and I 

myself finally had the pleasure of meeting him back at 

Xmas 2022 for the Kaohsiung level 3 TPSA Pistol and 

TSMOC Rifle competitions (featured in my coverage 

back in Issue 147), and as well as getting involved 

in the shooting himself he was spending his time 

meeting competitors, helping to take photos and 

videos of other people’s stage runs and the general 

scenes, and even manning the barbecue at times! 

Now at 53 years old, he also continues to maintain 

his own storefront, the import and manufacturing 

company ‘Soloman’ was founded back in 1995 and 

has, like the man himself, at this point a long and 

storied history of serving the local law enforcement, 

military and shooting enthusiast communities. Now 

in their 28th year of operation Philip is busy preparing 

the next generation of successors to eventually 

take over the reins of the business and build on 

his existing product lines and successes as well as 

take the company forward following more recent 

developments and diversification of their product 

lines; Anny went to visit and get the lay of the 

land and find out more about the business and its 

direction, and now she can share her story! 

Located in Kaoshiung’s Lingya district, not far from 

“PHILIP SERVED AS THE SENIOR INSTRUCTOR AND ADMINISTRATOR WITH REGARDS 

TO ON-ISLAND STANDARDS, TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION FOR NEW SHOOTERS, AND 

I MYSELF FINALLY HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING HIM BACK AT XMAS 2022 FOR 

THE KAOHSIUNG LEVEL 3 TPSA PISTOL AND TSMOC RIFLE COMPETITIONS” 

76 




National Highway 1 and within a 10-15 minute walk 

of both the Zhengyi and Wuweiying MRT stations, 

the Soloman store is immediately distinguished 

from its more sedate neighbours by the huge fullheight 

climbing wall affixed to its upper storefront 

(although this is not open for public use as of yet) and 

the similarly huge 5.11 Tactical advertising banner 

emblazoned with a tactically-clad rifle-bearing man 

and their ‘Always Be Ready’ tagline, which also adorns 

the door lintel below the Chinese characters for 

‘Soloman’ and an electronic scrolling LED marquee 

typical of Taiwan’s shops. 

The name ‘Soloman’ is somewhat of a play on 

words; like Stewbacca and many others in the 

shooting and general community, he is an ardent Star 

Wars fan, and naturally a Han Solo admirer, as well as 

being a man of Christian faith, so the store name is 

a nod to both the lovable rogue trader, and his own 

dummy showcasing the more down to earth products 

available within… the next thing you’re likely to notice 

is the shop’s resident adorable Corgi Kiva coming to 

greet you as warmly and enthusiastically as the rest of 

the staff will! 

The ever growing range of products available 

in store covers myriad offerings from well-known 

international names such as 5.11 Tactical, Ghost 

Holster, Condor Outdoor, SIGHTMARK, RADAR1957, 

NITEIZE, Nextorch, VEXOR, Piexon, BLUE LINE, 

one man journey through his business, life and faith. 

To that end the first thing you’re likely to notice upon 

entering the premises is the imposing Darth Vader 

mannequin display stood guarding the doorway, 

beside a more conventional riot police gear clad 

IPSC shooting equipment as well as their own 

“V-WARRIOR” and “SOLOMAN” produced brands, 

which are derived from Philip’s own long career’sworth 

of experiences in military and police service and 

training environments; having been officially in the 

employ of Taiwan’s law enforcement and military units 

as a firearms instructor, as well as travelling further 

afield in Asia as a guest lecturer or contributor to 

international policing and shooting conferences, he’s 

well aware of the needs of his widespread colleagues 




and their active service requirements in terms of 

equipment and how they work with it and make best, 

comfortable use of it daily. 

ALWAYS FOCUSED 

The main focus of their own brand is police and 

military customers, with many of the more specialist 

products only being available to serving officers 

who provide identification, as well as being offered 

with services discounts. Philip is personally a strong 

supporter of law enforcement and military personnel 

and offers discounts to ensure they can acquire 

the most appropriate equipment for themselves in 

preference to or supplement to their standard issue 

gear and thus help keep them as best protected and 

effective in their work as possible. 

With the in house brands being 100% designed, 

developed and manufactured in Taiwan Philip is 

able to both draw on his own experiences as well 

as feedback or suggestions of the community his 

products are aimed at, as well as ensure quality 

control and their suitability for purpose, with a wide 

and ever growing array of MOLLE/PALS pouches, soft 

holsters, battle belts, plate carriers and soft ballistic 

vests, range bags, and all manner of other specialist 

accoutrements duty personnel will find useful, 

available in flat black, navy, dark earth colours or even 

Taiwanese RoC military DCCU digital camouflage 

patterns. 

Initially Soloman also stocked a fairly wide array 

of airsoft replicas to appeal to that market; however 

these are slowly being sold off and not so actively 

replenished in order to make space for the more 

specialist self-produced items that are increasingly 

the ‘bread and butter’ of the business; collaborative 

efforts with the locally based ‘Hardware Coffee’ also 

give shoppers more of an excuse to take their time in 

store while enjoying a hot drink too. 

A more recent shift in the company’s direction came 

last year when foreign operatives began tendering for 

ballistic protection plates, so Philip invested in research 

and development of such products to domestically 

produce them and meet what is apparently a growing 

need for rifle level protection and at present, again 

with the right credentials, Soloman have plates 

available that are certified with American NTS 

laboratory testing and standards, with four models 

available thus far that are rated for varying levels of 

protection from pistols and rifles, as well as ballistic 

helmets also tested by NTS labs and rated to stop 

9mm rounds… with the sample bearing the scars of 

multiple shots taken at it from the top, front, right, 

left and overhead. 

Another recent product development is also the 

production of lightweight polymer inert drill or 

practise rounds, with Soloman producing 5.56mm 

NATO and 9mm parabellum variants to facilitate 

handling and training with minimal risk. The 

dummy cartridges are mostly of translucent polymer 

“‘SOLOMAN’ WAS FOUNDED BACK IN 1995 AND HAS, LIKE THE MAN HIMSELF, AT THIS 

POINT A LONG AND STORIED HISTORY OF SERVING THE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT, 

MILITARY AND SHOOTING ENTHUSIAST COMMUNITIES” 

78 




construction but feature brass case heads to ensure 

they can be reliably and repeatedly extracted and 

ejected from real firearms during training. 

The main showroom on the ground floor provides 

ample room to display the imported and domestically 

produced wares, however the upper floors provide 

further storage space as well as the seamstressing and 

pattern room facilities for the regular weekday staff to 

use in turning out the in house own brand products, 

and personal space for Philip’s growing collections 

of both Star Wars memorabilia and shooting 

certifications or letters of appointments and awards 

issued from the numerous associations he cooperates 

with. 

and competitions, or law enforcement or military 

personnel on the much sharper end, it seems Philip’s 

on a somewhat personal mission to deliver what the 

people need! 

Many thanks to Philip for his cooperation and Anny 

for making the trip South and providing the story 

for us; we have lots more to come in the following 

months as our collaborative efforts continue to 

expand now we can cover more ground together or 

separately! AA 

A DISTNGUISHED AIRSOFT HISTORY 

Evidently Philip, like many of us, caught the shooting 

bug at a young age, beginning in airsoft at the age of 

16, and he also quickly became part of the furniture 

at the Tainan air pistol and air rifle shooting range. He 

would travel there right after school on a regular basis 

to the point where the senior members decided to act 

as guarantors for him, seeing his obvious enthusiasm, 

and make him a fully-fledged member of the club 

despite his young age. 

Back then in the mid 1980’s airsoft itself had a 

somewhat restricted and barren landscape compared 

to the world-leading industry and community it has 

flourished into now, and much of this can be traced 

back to Philip and his friends in Taipei back when he 

was just 19. Making fast friends with those who are 

now the leading figures behind major names in the 

local airsoft industry, many of whom were collegeera 

friends at the time, and many of whom were 

around at the very burgeoning of airsoft as a hobby 

and industry. Back then airsoft relocas had external 

tanks (before HPA!) and SQB made them resurgent 

in popularity, and Taiwan even required red muzzle 

devices, thankfully a long since eradicated legal hurdle 

which was overcome in no small part thanks to the 

efforts of the ‘old guard’ Philip grew up with. 

Philip was also involved with the Republic of 

China Gaming Gun Association back in the 1990s 

and officially established the ‘Kaohsiung Toy Airsoft 

Sports Safety Development Association’ as a more 

locally-based concern in 1998 to help promote survival 

games as a legitimate activity and further overcome 

legal hurdles present at the time. Such efforts from 

the seniors in the industry lead to a much more 

positive environment with a hopefully ever improving 

interaction with local and further-flung media as a 

result of everyone’s efforts! Whether it’s enthusiasts 

looking to make use of airsoft guns in survival games 


AA LEGION 

UK 

FAST 

TIMES! 

WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU TAKE A BUNCH OF EXCELLENT AIRSOFTERS, PLACE THEM IN A BRAND- 

NEW, PURPOSE-BUILT, CUTTING-EDGE CQB TRAINING FACILITY, AND ADD SOME TOP TIER TRAINERS 

TO THE MIX? BILL FOUND OUT WHEN HE WAS INVITED TO ATTEND THE INAUGURAL LEVEL 1 AIRSOFT 

TRAINING COURSE RUN BY FAST TACTICAL LAST MONTH AND NOW REPORTS BACK… 

80 


AA LEGION 

UK 

Over many years of working within the tactical, firearms, and airsoft communities it has been my 

distinct privilege to every-so-often get an invite to go and report on some righteous training courses. 

Many will question the necessity of “training for airsoft” but it’s almost inevitable that if you stick 

with our beloved game for more than a few years you will simply want “more”. 

Whilst there are courses for shooting skills and accuracy, and for “greenside” skills appropriate to rural 

ops, the most common airsoft training course that I see is for CQB. We all love a bit of “urban action”, 

and indeed there are many games each and every year all over the world that offer a “unique AO” either 


AA LEGION 

UK 

on military sites or within carefully chosen urban 

settings… they are often “big ticket events” with 

a hefty price-tag attached, but when they’re run 

correctly, with some solid, imaginative scenarios and 

good marshalling they can create airsoft memories 

that will last you a lifetime! 

So, when you get the chance to hit a big game, you 

want to be on your A-Game, and this to me is where 

investing in some quality training comes in. Yes, of 

course you can just turn up and blow BBs downrange 

at all and sundry and love every minute, but the real 

joy of any CQB scenario is when you see entire teams 

moving efficiently room to room and owning the real 

estate! 

So, training for airsoft? Sign me up every time! 

My invitation to attend the course offered by FAST 

TACTICAL as always came via a personal contact, 

and right now if you try and find them they’re a 

bit like the “A-TEAM”, as a place on their training 

courses is by invite only! You won’t find a website, 

and you most certainly will not find them flapping 

their gums on social media; this is not some sort of 

elitism though, it’s just down to the fact that the FAST 

TACTICAL Directing Staff (DS) are professionals who 

are/have been involved in real-world operations at the 

very highest level, and like many of this breed they 

don’t shout about things, they just crack on and “get 

work done”. 

As I said, I’ve been lucky enough in my “career” 

to have worked with some absolutely righteous 

trainers, and of all of them the FAST TACTICAL DS are 

somewhat unique, and all the better for that. Whilst 

they have used and refined what they teach in the 

real-world what they offer is training that is focused 

squarely towards the airsofter! I’ll say straight off that 

their approach is not one of “this is what we do, you 

do it the same” (anyone that’s been about a bit knows 

that this doesn’t always work in an airsoft setting!), 

but instead is “this is what we do, now let’s see how 

you can apply this to airsoft effectively”. 

As well as having the right kit in the right place 

(more of this next issue), when you hit a FAST 

TACTICAL training course the first thing that you 

will need is your brain! They will help to provide the 

tools to place in your “tactical toolbox”, but they 

encourage you both as an individual and as part of a 

team to think through what you are doing and why 

you’re doing it. There’s no “wrong” per se (other than 

safety of course!) but rather every mis-step is seen as 

an opportunity to analyse, rectify and improve in a 

positive way. 

SETTING THE SCENE 

CQB, even in airsoft, is one of the most dangerous 

and rapidly changing environments, one that is 

unforgiving and that can decimate both plans and 

“THEIR APPROACH IS NOT ONE OF “THIS IS WHAT WE DO, YOU DO IT THE SAME” (ANYONE 

THAT’S BEEN ABOUT A BIT KNOWS THAT THIS DOESN’T ALWAYS WORK IN AN AIRSOFT 

SETTING!), BUT INSTEAD IS “THIS IS WHAT WE DO, NOW LET’S SEE HOW YOU CAN APPLY 

THIS TO AIRSOFT EFFECTIVELY”” 

82 


AA LEGION 

UK 

teams when things go south. CQB environments 

are problematic and complicated; there are no fixed 

solutions or procedures and too many problems. It is 

short range (under 10m), violent and has immediate 

effects which promote or hinder the player and 

their team from being proactive. As a rule CQB is all 

about finding an immediate solution to an immediate 

problem, and the FAST TACTICAL system is based 

on the tried and tested doctrine and the experience 

of the DS in specialised units really shines through 

at every stage. The focus of the system is to deal 

with and “solve” a room from a tactical point of 

advantage, and then own it. 

The crux of their “Tactical Movement 1” training 

course and introduction to their system is actually 

right there in the name “FAST”, as this stands for 

Fearlessness/Awareness/Speed/Teamwork. The 

“Fearlessness” aspect here is really the “airsoft bit” 

in that they appreciate that at least one player in 

the team will probably get hit; we don’t have fancy 

body-armour or other protection and they totally get 

that a BB-strike is “done and out”, so they ask you 

to engage brain and accept that it’s highly likely that 

someone may need to “take one for the team”, so be 

fearless, get work done, and ensure that the ultimate 

goal is attained! 

And FAST TACTICAL DS do not believe in just 

running into rooms, or working in dogmatic patterns 

which frankly speaking any decent OPFOR will 

understand; they teach you to evaluate a problem and 

then take swift and immediate action. This is done 

with careful assessments of the target area and then 

manipulations of angles and a healthy risk assessment 

“muscle” that they develop with their students. All 

in all this system is a cool approach and will ensure 

that you will learn more than just that ‘’running’ into 

rooms” looking for your corner. 

In the system FAST TACTICAL focus on engaging 

the threat from an advantage perspective; they want 

us to work as safely as possible while maintaining 

efficiency. FAST TACTICAL believe in the idea that 

most of the problems in the room can be examined 

and fixed, if necessary, through reconnaissance 

from the outside of the room or with a deliberate 

manipulation of “angles” while sticking to basic 

principles. These principles will allow you as a player 

to work and deal with threats with less risk; not totally 

“THE FAST TACTICAL DS ARE SOMEWHAT UNIQUE, AND ALL THE BETTER FOR THAT. WHILST 

THEY HAVE USED AND REFINED WHAT THEY TEACH IN THE REAL-WORLD, WHAT THEY OFFER 

IS TRAINING THAT IS FOCUSED SQUARELY TOWARDS THE AIRSOFTER!” 


AA LEGION 

UK 

without risk as this is airsoft-focused after all, but by 

minimising exposure of the entire team. 

GETTING OUR CQB ON! 

The course was run at the outstanding new Tactical 

Training Centre that’s been purpose-built as an 

extension to the existing Silverstone Shooting Centre, 

one of the UKs best live-fire facilities, and it’s been 

created with the professional user in mind. Radiating 

from a central car park with a briefing/dining facility 

and toilets are “spokes”, tunnels through the high 

berms, that lead to both live-fire-rated ranges and 

two-storey Skills House elements… and EVERYTHING 

is video monitored so you can see what’s going on in 

every room! 

I’d not been to this particular facility before so 

when I rocked up I was taken immediately by the 

layout; this is a professional-standard training facility 

and from the car park you can see nothing of what 

awaits you behind the berms, so the central area is 

more than a “safe zone” in every way. Of course the 

Training Centre is attached to a live-fire facility, and 

indeed is one itself, so RIFs need to be transported 

from training element to element in gun cases, 

unloaded and made safe at all times. The majority of 

the guys attending were using gas platforms, and I 

for one made use of a breech flag to visibly indicate 

cleared status of my G17 and Mk18. 

I was greeted onsite by the FAST TACTICAL DS and 

by John who owns the whole centre and runs the 

logistics; I would stress here that it is NOT Silverstone 

Shooting Centre that runs the course itself, just the 

absolutely first-rate facility, so please don’t go calling 

John to see if you can get onto a FAST TACTICAL 

course as he genuinely won’t be able to help you… 

remember, INVITE ONLY! 

I was given a walk round of the elements we 

would be using; these are all self-contained areas set 

up specifically for CQB training with multiple “room 

spaces” that can be changed easily and quickly simply 

by opening and closing doors, and by moving wheeled 

“wall” sections. The rooms also came complete with 

an array of targets (including one “shoot/no shoot” 

fondly known by all as “Little Vern”; “Big Vern” sadly 

didn’t make it past the trial day at the site allegedly…) 

of different styles set at 

different heights that 

could be positioned 

anywhere as required. 

Shortly after I arrived 

the guys began to filter 

in, and by 09:00, the 

“kick off” hour for the 

course to start, the full 

group had assembled. 

Some had trained 

together before, and 

some had attended the 

“trial day” on site prior 

to the first course proper. 

All were well kitted out 

and well prepared as per 

the Joining Instructions 

issued, and one thing 

was immediately obvious 

to me… all the guys 

attending were switched 

on and had taken it upon themselves to come along 

and better their ever-growing skillsets. 

After introductions the DS immediately got 

cracking with the briefing. They first briefed us about 

“SO, WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE TO HIT A BIG GAME, YOU WANT TO BE ON YOUR A-GAME, 

AND THIS TO ME IS WHERE INVESTING IN SOME QUALITY TRAINING COMES IN… THE REAL 

JOY OF ANY CQB SCENARIO IS WHEN YOU SEE ENTIRE TEAMS MOVING EFFICIENTLY ROOM TO 

ROOM AND OWNING THE REAL ESTATE!” 

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AA LEGION 

UK 

the site itself, our safe 

deportment around 

it, and specific safety 

requirements. They 

explained that the course 

would be all about 

identifying problems, 

and about solving 

them safely, efficiently 

and effectively. They 

immediately encouraged 

us to share our thoughts 

about our expectations, 

and from this point it 

was obvious that they 

intended to push the 

guys not just physically, 

but mentally as well. 

After a short range 

session to ensure 

everyone was zero’d we 

moved on to the superb 

50m range, discussing 

kit choices and gear 

placement, room anatomy, hard corners, soft corners, 

entry angles, and the DS introduced the principle 

of analysing a situation using this information, how 

we could work out the room in some cases before 

even entering by examining the external features. 

Quietly spoken and humorous, yet authoritative at all 

times the DS encouraged input at every stage; their 

approach was that if we were asking questions we 

were paying attention! 

DRIVING ON! 

After a some practice moving through the rooms on 

the 50m range, as well as some work in lo-lite/no-lite 

situations (the guys with NVGs LOVED this!) the run 

up to lunch featured a debrief on tactical movement 

through skills learned so far, with a further “round 

robin” session on situational awareness/entry points, 

attractions/distractions, threat recognition, action/ 

reaction, tactical peak, and finally stoppage drills, both 

1 and 2 person. . The DS drove the guys forward with 

their passion and obvious skill, and they seemed intent 

to deliver a thoroughly full course with each and every 

minute accounted for. 

After and excellent (but swift!) lunch the DS 

opened the afternoon session with a thorough 

briefing of what could be expected as we entered the 

“Skills House Phase”. This would take things from 

a single storey range environment to a two-storey 

with multiple entry/egress points, and again being 

“switched on” was a pre-requisite! Then there was a 

walk-round, and some familiarisation with the Skills 

House itself, and I would stress here that any pictures 

you see where eyepro is off means that all rifles, 

carbines, and pistols were safe, with mags out. 

After this it was 100% on for individual skills 

development and practice; this moved swiftly onto 

working as a two man team, then four or larger. 

Eventually during the course of the day, individuals 

began to meld into teams “Alpha” “Bravo” and 

“Charlie”, with those breaking down into “Heavy”, 

“Sneak” and “STEAL TEAM 6” (joke of the day!) 

sticks for specific scenarios. As the afternoon wore on 

though the sheer overload of information combined 

with the sheer physicality of the course saw attention 

beginning to wander as the “black dogs” of fatigue 

“MY INVITATION TO ATTEND THE COURSE OFFERED BY FAST TACTICAL AS ALWAYS CAME VIA 

A PERSONAL CONTACT, AND RIGHT NOW IF YOU TRY AND FIND THEM THEY’RE A BIT LIKE THE 

“A-TEAM”, AS A PLACE ON THEIR TRAINING COURSES IS BY INVITE ONLY!” 


AA LEGION 

UK 

and stress kicked in. Things started going south, 

techniques got sloppy, mistakes were made, and 

frustration came to the fore, but the guys just dug in, 

learned from everything… and got the job done! 

After a short break where everyone was told to 

eat and hydrate, the teams that I saw re-enter the 

Skills House had changed. With just a short time to 

contemplate what they had learnt, there was a new 

drive and urgency about them. Back in the Skills 

House scenario flowed to scenario and the guys 

rocked. Pressure was piled upon pressure and they 

excelled each and every time with the DS’ critical yet 

supportive eyes upon them. 

Drill followed drill and the pace continued 

unabated. By the time the course concluded with a 

“force on force” scenario the teams were working 

efficiently and cohesively, the skills and practices they 

had learnt flowing smoothly and naturally. Everyone 

had worked their backside off; they’d had highs, lows, 

and yet more exultant highs individually and together. 

They’d felt pain and the sheer tired numbness that a 

full-on day will bring and overcome these to achieve 

the fundamental basics that with time and diligence 

might become CQB excellence… and all of this was 

down to a superb training facility in the shape of the 

Tactical Training Village at Silverstone, and ultimately 

to the FAST TACTICAL DS. 

The guys were pushed HARD; as gifted instructors 

the DS took them ever forward, made them question 

techniques they had previously thought gospel, 

showed them new ways to work a scenario, gave 

them the skills to do so, and finally rebuilt them 

into a functional and efficient airsoft unit, building 

confidence with each and every “pie cut”. 

I’ll conclude this report with a blunt statement; if 

you are a physically fit individual, with a true desire 

to learn and a passion for enhancing your personal 

airsoft skillset, then you REALLY need to get yourself 

on a FAST TACTICAL training course. You WILL be 

pushed hard, but the physical skills and the mind-set 

you learn will make you welcome in any group of 

like-minded players anywhere in our big, wide world 

of airsoft! 

I asked some of the guys after the course what they 

felt they had gained and they told me: 

Richard, Red Widows: “My thoughts on the day? 

It’s different from your average skirmish day as you’re 

not firing loads of shots. You are however learning 

new tactics and ways of doing things. All in all I had a 

great day!” 

ReaperCrew Airsoft (@reapercrewairsoft), 

G-Man, Ben, and Urban Reaper: “We were the only 

ones available on the day for the training course. We 

found it very educational and it taught us tactics that 

we will use for future games, events and situations 

we would find ourselves in. The rest of the crew will 

be attending the course to catch up with us so we 

can move forward as a team and complete the other 

segments together. Great instructor, location and 

course, 10/10!” 

Cameron, Titan Corp Airsoft (@titan_corp. 

Pallas): “What I’d say about the day? Incredible! 

It offers an an amazing chance to try something 

different and develop new skills while building 

confidence and teamwork with some amazing staff 

“DRILL FOLLOWED DRILL AND THE PACE CONTINUED UNABATED. BY THE TIME THE COURSE 

CONCLUDED WITH A “FORCE ON FORCE” SCENARIO THE TEAMS WERE WORKING EFFICIENTLY 

AND COHESIVELY, THE SKILLS AND PRACTICES THEY HAD LEARNT FLOWING SMOOTHLY AND 

NATURALLY” 

86 


AA LEGION 

UK 

and community. It’s a totally different day compared 

to a standard skirmish; immersive, practical and 

engaging.” 

SOG – Jester: “I attended the training event 

with some of my team and we appreciated the 

exclusiveness of the opportunity that was given to 

us. We appreciated that the training course was 

catered to both real steel and airsoft, which made 

it interesting, and the open topic of conversation 

amongst everyone was really productive. We are 

definitely in line to have a full squad training event on 

the next one. Can’t thank FAST TACTICAL enough!” 

Nigel, Airsofterbritain: “What can I say about 

the course? Well, if you want to turn your CQC to 

the next level, then this is the course for you. It’s the 

top tier level of immersion into the elite phenomenon 

that is close quarter combat. If you’re serious about 

airsoft and you want your team to dominate on 

the playing field, then why aren’t you here!? Learn 

how to communicate with simply gun movement, 

learn how to react by your position number, improve 

reaction time and understand how your whole team 

will function. It’s just brilliant, with a venue designed 

for real world use and instructors to match. We are 

hopeful to progress to team leader level and beyond 

to instructors. Simply brilliant, See you on the game 

field!” 

Stu, LinkSTU: “What a blast and learning curve! 

Doing this training has given my airsoft a whole 

new lease of life! I learned how things are tactically 

planned so that you can enter effectively and conquer 

your mission objective/s… a great day with a bunch of 

like-minded airsofters and great instructors… what a 

privilege to be invited!” 

My thanks go to everyone that was involved with all 

the WhatsApp banter and that attended the course, 

to Richard for all the chats during the day, and to Stu 

for just being Stu! A big hi-five to the REAPER CREW 

guys that kindly let me run one of the scenarios with 

them, and of course to the excellent FAST TACTICAL 

DS for inviting me along! 

Listen out for details of FAST TACTICAL courses in 

the future, and to paraphrase the “A-TEAM”… “If 

you need great airsoft CQB training, if no one else can 

help and if you can find them, maybe you can train 

with FAST TACTICAL!” AA 

“LISTEN OUT FOR DETAILS OF FAST TACTICAL COURSES IN THE FUTURE, AND TO 

PARAPHRASE THE “A-TEAM”… “IF YOU NEED GREAT AIRSOFT CQB TRAINING, IF NO ONE ELSE 

CAN HELP AND IF YOU CAN FIND THEM, MAYBE YOU CAN TRAIN WITH FAST TACTICAL!”” 


ARP9 2.0 

EGC-ARP-9V2-BNB-NCM 

7” M-LOK Handguard. 

Combat Machine Airsoft Gun. 

New GOS-V9 Retractable Stock. 

170 

5 POSITIONS 

RETRACTABLE 

Stainless steel material 

RAPID DEPLOYMENT 

EXTENSION UNIT AVAILABLE 

[G-05-062] 

ARP9 2.0 ST 

EGC-ARP-9V2-SST-NCM

AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

POLK3 – 

HEATWAVE 

MILSIM! 

90 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

ONCE AGAIN OUR DYNAMIC DUO IN THE “WILD WEST, OUT EAST” ‘MILITARY’ ANNY WU & STEWBACCA 

HAVE TEAMED UP TO BRING ANOTHER TALE OF INTRIGUE FROM ‘AIRSOFT CENTRAL’, THIS TIME BRAVING 

THE SEARING HEAT OF MID-SUMMER ON THE EAST COAST NEAR THE POPULAR BEACH RESORT OF 

FULONG! POLK 3 MILSIM WAS HELD IN THE SAME REGION AS LAST YEAR’S POLK 2 (COVERED BACK 

IN ISSUE NO. 144) BUT THIS TIME WAS HELD EARLIER IN THE YEAR AND IN A MUCH BETTER PLAYING 

ENVIRONMENT, WITH MUCH BETTER RESULTS ALL ROUND… FOR THE MOST PART! 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

Once again the brutality of the tropical summer 

climate has descended upon our beloved 

home of Taiwan, but nonetheless we continue 

playing in the heat and humidity, usually hosing 

ourselves and our tactical gear off, after sweating out 

all our electrolytes; I guess it keeps your joints warm 

and mobile at least… Last year’s POLK 2 MilSim was 

an excellently run event but as I relayed in my article 

about it, the sheer density of the jungle vines and 

terrain at the Northern end of the campsite made 

the playing experience punishing and somewhat 

insurmountable for many, even beating the lights out 

of this veteran of many weekender games in the UK 

and Spain, despite my enthusiasm in the face of the 

adversity. 

Thankfully the organisers, Chen Ming, “Ben” Wan 

LiWei and Fan JunWei, and their extended team of 

organisational staff are all good friends of the airsoft 

community and directly involved with participating in 

a lot of the teams who were in attendance of these 

events, so they took a lot of the feedback from last 

year’s event to heart and persevered. They pulled this 

year’s MilSim weekender forward ahead of the main 

tourist rush that books out the great facilities of the 

Fulong Longmen campsite every summer (including 

the excellent camping areas 

with electrical outlets, toilet and 

shower blocks), making it much 

easier to attract female players 

as well as have guys bring their 

families out to enjoy the base 

camp and barbecue as well. As 

a result 2023’s 3rd event was 

even better than last year, with 

a much improved playing area 

that allowed for greater team 

coordination, communications 

and fire and manoeuvre to be 

enacted; leaning on the tactics 

and extensive training and 

practise Team Taiji had been 

drilling in as I relayed in my article 

in August’s issue No.152 much of 

this effort paid off well for us in 

the end with better gameplay. 

‘POLK’ is an event name 

derived from the Taiwanese 

phonetic interpretation of the English ‘Pork’ - the 

event being so named because the centrepiece is a 

barbecue that quite literally ‘goes the whole hog’, 

with a specialist catering team coming on site each 

event to spit roast a pig so that everyone involved 

can ‘eat well, sleep well and play well’. This is much 

like the epic Ground Zero events in the UK, the focus 

is not purely airsoft and the skirmishing or MilSim 

aspect, but a good excuse to get co-operating teams 

and players from all over the island to come out in 

force for equal measures of gunfire and merriment… 

although the merriment tends to spill into the night 

and affects the numbers rallying for the second day’s 

gameplay! 

Anny elucidated to me there is a Chinese saying: 

“ 有句話三軍未發 , 糧草先行 ”(Yǒu jù huà sānjūn 

wèi fā, liángcǎo xiānxíng) which translates to “the 

three armies have not yet set out; food and grass go 

first”, which I guess would equate most directly to 

Napoleon’s understanding that “An army marches 

on its stomach”; the provisions are dealt with first, 

or the forces aren’t going anywhere! Suffice to say 

throughout the event everyone remained well fed 

and watered, especially important given the very real 

danger of heat exhaustion in the conditions. 

“‘POLK’ IS AN EVENT NAME DERIVED FROM THE TAIWANESE PHONETIC INTERPRETATION 

OF THE ENGLISH ‘PORK’ - THE EVENT BEING SO NAMED BECAUSE THE CENTREPIECE IS A 

BARBECUE THAT QUITE LITERALLY ‘GOES THE WHOLE HOG’, WITH A SPECIALIST CATERING 

TEAM COMING ON SITE EACH EVENT TO SPIT ROAST A PIG SO THAT EVERYONE INVOLVED 

CAN ‘EAT WELL, SLEEP WELL AND PLAY WELL’” 

92 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

TEAMS TOGETHER 

This year nearly 200 participants amassed, of which 

our own team Taiji fielded 45 members, 

around half of our official on-the-books 

roster, although many of those are semiretired 

or have other commitments that lessen 

their ability to get involved with activities. 

Nonetheless we were out in great force and 

had a command structure in place that saw 

8 squads working together under our unit 

leaders to great effect; all the preparation 

we had put in since the previous POLK 2 

had definitely shown and our command, 

communication and movements were on point 

and noticed by many of the staff and our 

opposition, it seems. It may have been slow 

going at times, or we faced entrenched and 

stubborn OpFor, but apparently it felt to some 

like we were everywhere and moving with a 

purpose, so that’s pleasing to hear! 

We set off early on the morning of Saturday the 

7th of July, Anny and myself thankfully getting a ride 

all the way to the site with our Irish teammate Colin, 

which meant I didn’t have to worry about cramming 

all my guns and gear into my 5.11 SOMS 2.0 and 

navigating Taiwan’s crowded rail network like last 

year with the guys. The organisation of our team 

also meant that small units amassed all over Taipei 

and further afield to share vehicles or ride to the east 

coast in convoy on scooters! We- arrived on site first 

and set up camp while Anny mucked in and 

made herself useful as she always does taking 

pictures of the area and helping the organisers 

to churn through the typical wealth of admin 

tasks as our own team and other participants 

arrived throughout the morning. We received 

our individual event patches at the sign in 

gazebo at the camping are entrance; a large 

square with “POLK3” across the top, a red 

wild boar logo and the team colour (blue or 

yellow) as the lower right triangle half ad this 

functioned as both team identifier in lieu of 

bands and memento of the event. 

By the time Colin and I finished setting up 

our part of the base camp with our tents, 

extension leads, washing lines and overhead 

awnings, I’d already expended all of the 7 litres 

of fluids I’d originally brought with me, and wrung 

out my lightweight shirt! Thankfully a run to the local 

7-11 was made to restock us all with fresh cold water 

and sports drinks (yeah, ‘hot’ doesn’t really cover it); 

Taipei and the north were basically hitting 40 degrees 

centigrade, plus we had the seaside humidity on top. 

Once everyone got settled in we began changing into 

BDUs and preparing all our gear to rally for the initial 

briefing and action. 

Following the usual sign in and gun chrono 

procedures we began amassing just at the top of the 

campsite at the main open air but canopied mess hall 

“A RUN TO THE LOCAL 7-11 WAS MADE TO RESTOCK US ALL WITH FRESH COLD WATER AND 

SPORTS DRINKS (YEAH, ‘HOT’ DOESN’T REALLY COVER IT); TAIPEI AND THE NORTH WERE 

BASICALLY HITTING 40 DEGREES CENTIGRADE, PLUS WE HAD THE SEASIDE HUMIDITY ON 

TOP” 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

area around midday, with the typical Taiwanese lunch 

boxes of rice, meat and veg being distributed along 

with sports drinks to make sure everyone had a decent 

lunch in them to operate on. Command elements 

began the more extensive top level leadership 

briefings, while the subordinate units went back to 

their tents just down a short ramp and made final 

checks and preparations of their personal equipment, 

as well as the usual posing and picture taking in 

full battle-rattle looking freshly turned out and 

sharp, before the day’s impending actions inevitably 

drenched us in sweat and made us look forlorn and 

dishevelled! 

Some of the others and I took to scouting the game 

area and take in the awesome views of the beachfront 

nearby which we couldn’t really see from the opposite 

northern end of the site at the previous year’s event; 

suffice to say we were much more excited at the 

prospect of open spaces with foliage and buildings 

dotted around which would undoubtedly be a 

welcome break from the murderous dense jungle at 

the other end of the site! 

As the sun climbed into the sky and we climbed 

into our plate carriers and started warming up our 

comms and dialling 

in command and 

squad specific 

channels for 

listening in on 

orders from higher 

up as well as 

talking among 

ourselves on lower 

levels respectively. 

At 13:00 we all 

amassed in separate 

BluFor and OpFor 

(yellow team) 

briefings from 

our command 

elements, taking in 

the features of the 

aerial photograph 

map and the spawn 

points, bounds 

of the game area 

and various routes through from one team’s start 

point to the other, and then the medic rules making 

use of team coloured tie-wraps distributed to the 

designated medics within squads, to be wrapped 

around casualty’s wrists in game and then removed 

by marshals at respawn to give everyone two lives 

each round and make counting losses easier by 

the organisational team who were co-ordinating 

throughout. 

GAME ON! 

While the terrain was still hilly in places and had some 

smattering of very dense or impassable jungle, it was 

much more forgiving than last year’s and allowed us 

to move as complete elements with ease, covering 

each other off and advancing under covering fire 

BluFor started at the top end of the site just near the 

mess hall area so didn’t have to trek quite as far, at 

around 14:00 after a bit of a false start however we 

“CLAMBERING INTO THE BUSHES AT THE SIDES OF ONE OF THE PATHWAYS OUR ALPHA ONE 

SQUAD LISTENED IN ON COMMS AND THE DISTANT GUNFIRE AS CHARLIE AND DELTA SQUADS 

VEERED OFF RIGHT DOWN THE JUNGLE PATHWAY TOWARD THE YELLOW TEAM’S SPAWN IN AN 

ATTEMPT TO SHOOT OUT THEIR EMPLACED SCORING BALLOONS” 

94 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

had expended some of our energy reserves in vain 

making like the wind to take up positions over the 

pathways up to our spawn point, and on the second 

go signal people were less rapid in their deployment. 

Clambering into the bushes at the sides of one of 

the pathways our Alpha One squad listened in on 

comms and the distant gunfire as Charlie and Delta 

squads veered off right down the jungle pathway 

toward the Yellow team’s spawn in an attempt to 

shoot out their emplaced scoring balloons at the rear 

of their start point; nothing much happened for us for 

a few minutes as the Bravo squads had secured the 

main road curving through the site ahead at the base 

of the hill and prevented any movement of OpFor to 

our position, so we then displaced right down the 

same road Charlie and Delta had done to assist them 

and replenish the members already eliminated by 

Yellow team’s entrenched defence teams. 

Eventually we became somewhat bogged down 

in our advance at a bit of a ridgeline halfway down 

the hill overlooking Yellow team’s spawn point, and 

took enough incoming fire sporadically to make 

movement and engagement more difficult. Running 

my VFC FAL with a 4x ACOG I had somewhat of a 

range advantage so ended up sideways rolling and 

leopard crawling my way to the front of the line into 

a bit of a depression with my teammate Roger ‘Kiwi’. 

Incoming fire peppered around us but it seemed that 

luckily a particular branch right in our line of sight was 

thankfully deflecting the direct fire from us, and we 

managed to stay in until the end of the round, slowly 

edging forward and taking deliberate and aimed shots 

at the enemy positions that were pouring fire into our 

team with varying levels of success. 

Having gotten stuck in, very well muddied on my 

arms, BDU’s and tac gear as well as dumping four 

magazines through my FAL and emptying my PPQ 

sidearm in a pinch during trying to reload, the whistle 

went signifying the end of the round just before 

1500. We picked ourselves and our scattered gear and 

spent magazines up, dusted ourselves off and made 

our way back to the mess hall area for all important 

rehydration and re-arming. I arrived to see one of the 

unfortunate Taiwanese players sprawled out, hanging 

half-out of one of the shower cubicles and surrounded 

by his squadmates trying to hose him down and cool 

him off; shortly after an ambulance arrived to get him 

to better treatment, and thankfully I’m told he made 

a full recovery, but we all took heed of the situation 

and ensured we took on sufficient fluids alongside 

reloading. 

Having made a bit of a mess of my gear and already 

being drenched in sweat, I decided to go a step 

further and ditched off my plate carrier, sidearm and 

mags and had one of the guys hold the mess hall hose 

over me and let rip! I certainly managed to get all the 

mud off my BDUs as well as a lot of the sweat out of 

them, and drenched head to toe in cool water I felt 

much refreshed in the otherwise oppressive heat! 

Having taken around half an hour to ensure 

everyone was physically surviving the climate and 

had rehydrated and rearmed sufficiently, we moved 

out again for the next action. In retrospect, we could 

have left our sustainment packs at the mess hall area 

and been les encumbered by weight and gear seeing 

as the distance to camp was less than a hundred 

“INCOMING FIRE PEPPERED AROUND US BUT IT SEEMED THAT LUCKILY A PARTICULAR 

BRANCH RIGHT IN OUR LINE OF SIGHT WAS THANKFULLY DEFLECTING THE DIRECT FIRE 

FROM US, AND WE MANAGED TO STAY IN UNTIL THE END OF THE ROUND, SLOWLY EDGING 

FORWARD AND TAKING DELIBERATE AND AIMED SHOTS AT THE ENEMY POSITIONS THAT 

WERE POURING FIRE INTO OUR TEAM WITH VARYING LEVELS OF SUCCESS” 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

metres, and the actions didn’t give us much time out 

of contact to expend our hydration or make use of 

snacks we’d packed; all feedback and lessons given 

and learned after the fact, you always end up carrying 

more than you need to, but I’d already thinned my 

own gear out considerably given past experiences of 

MilSims, nonetheless I could carry less, I felt. 

SWITCHEROO! 

Switching ends with us taking up position downhill 

in what had been the yellow team’s spawn point, 

with a commanding view down to the horseshoe 

in the main road below, as well as looking left and 

uphill back up the way we had assaulted from in the 

first round, a few guys hung around at the spawn to 

cover it, but the majority of squads got actively stuck 

in taking both main paths and some off-road routes 

in between, putting pressure on the OpFor from the 

outset. Me and the rest of Alpha One hung back 

a little and then followed others in down the main 

road to take control of the curve and move along it; 

we began taking casualties from the unmistakable 

cadence and high volume of fire of support weapons 

(VFC Mk48 LMG AEGs!) as yellow team had gotten 

stubbornly wedged into a shrub line at the crest of the 

hill we were following the road up. 

Anny, it turns out, was up there taking pictures of 

the OpFor action while we were below trying to move 

and co-ordinate through their fusillade; we managed 

some progress individually and leapfrogging in pairs 

on both sides of the road, but eventually attrition 

and a loss of momentum set in; I got eliminated and 

returned to respawn, listening in on the chatter of my 

teammates over the radio while I took cover in one 

side of the shrubbery and I just finished reloading all 

my magazines as the OpFor broke through and wiped 

out the rest of my squad without me realising! I could 

have taken a good few of them out if I’d realised they 

were enemies moving up the road, but the way they 

were displacing and looking back I assumed they were 

our own forces, something that irked me a great deal 

after I realised too late and they took me out as the 

last man standing in our lines. Sad times. 

With that round thoroughly in the hands of yellow 

team we all retired to the mess hall again where the 

eponymous pig barbecue was nearly ready and after 

quickly ditching our gear and a very much welcome 

shower we began queuing around 1800 to take our 

share of the various meats, veg, noodles and rice. 

Everyone was in immediately better spirits having 

cleaned ourselves and our plates and the cooler 

baths full of beer soon followed, a large stockpile 

having been gifted by Bolt Airsoft who were on site all 

weekend showcasing their latest products including 

allowing people to test out their new upcoming foray 

into GBBRs! 

The sun went down just before 19:00 and the 

evening’s festivities were in full swing with the beers 

and conversation flowing freely, although many 

were clearly beaten and retired to their tents early; 

unfortunately we soon had to see Anny off as well; 

she could only join us for the first day due to yet more 

“LISTENING IN ON THE CHATTER OF MY TEAMMATES OVER THE RADIO WHILE I TOOK COVER 

IN ONE SIDE OF THE SHRUBBERY AND I JUST FINISHED RELOADING ALL MY MAGAZINES 

AS THE OPFOR BROKE THROUGH AND WIPED OUT THE REST OF MY SQUAD WITHOUT ME 

REALISING!” 

96 


AA LEGION 

TAIWAN 

international adventures and she had to be up early 

and at the airport for on Sunday morning, but she’d 

nonetheless already managed to take an substantial 

amount of photos, getting right into the thick of the 

action on both sides. By 20:00 Team Taiji had already 

returned to our camp and taken a few beers with us 

to assess the day’s events, and run through what we 

did well and could improve on the next day. 

After putting paid to a lot of the events as well 

as a substantial number of cans, many of us finally 

sidled back to our own tents to attempt some sleep 

and prepare for the next morning, however the 

ambient noise of generators, loud insects and other 

such things, coupled with the heat and humidity 

made it somewhat of a rough night’s sleep for most 

- compounded on top of the dehydration from the 

day’s exertion and that of the inevitable beer related 

frivolities nobody seemed to be particularly ready and 

raring to go the next day. I immediately started sinking 

substantial amounts of water and sports drinks to 

try and alleviate my own woes, while we all began 

preparing our equipment for the second day. 

RINSE AND REPEAT 

With the lessons of the previous day freshly in 

mind, coupled with my hydration plate and bladder 

apparently leaking somewhat, I removed a lot of 

the snacks and water from my kit and focused on 

bottled drinks and a smaller amount of supplementary 

ammunition having not had much chance to reload in 

the field the previous day. Everyone gathered at 0800 

as one of the organiser’s 4x4s reversed up to the mess 

hall area and unleashed the single largest McDonalds 

order any of us had ever seen, With breakfast 

muffins, hash browns and iced tea for the best part 

of 200 bodies pouring out of the vehicle and into the 

thankful gullets of the waiting masses! 

By 0930 all remaining forces had coalesced in 

full battle rattle again; as is often the case with 

these events, many had left early either the previous 

night, or in the morning, with many having other 

commitments given that Sunday is widely seen as a 

day for family in Taiwan. Many will join the shooting 

and festivities of the first day and then return home 

early, and of course some were just defeated by the 

sheer heat this year, like they were by the jungle itself 

last year. Yellow team were left severely depleted to 

barely double digits it seemed, and BluFor was halved, 

with Team Taiji losing half of our numbers as well. 

To keep the action going the decision was made to 

rebalance the teams, and in the end Taiji were given 

the ‘us versus the world’ mandate and formed the 

whole of one team with everyone else remaining 

joining forces to take us on… always nice to be able 

to work with your friends! 

The last action was to be a simpler capture the flag 

action with a switching of sides afterwards; however 

the first round was won by us almost immediately as 

our own resident Russian Ivan ‘Rabbit’ ran like hell 

and took the flag before the OpFor could even get 

near the middle ground… a bit of an empty victory 

all told, but good effort on his part! We switched 

things around and at least managed a more balanced 

firefight for the closing action of the second day, 

with me and a few others in our squad breaking off 

from the main firefight and moving through very 

heavy jungle directly towards the flank of the enemy 

lines. We could hear their chatter and gunfire mere 

metres away, but getting BBs through the foliage was 

somewhat of a challenge for both sides; eventually 

they found their mark before I could and I trudged 

back to the mess hall for the final roundup and to 

prep my gear for packing away after a few final 

promotional photos of me and some of our team to 

help out with Bolt’s new product drives. 

Finally we could break camp, stow all our gear and 

change out of our sodden BDUs, boots and head 

home, seeing off the remnants of our team with many 

of them leaving on scooters in convoy, myself and 

Colin at least had the luxury of his air conditioned 4x4 

and each other’s good company all the way back to 

the west end of Taipei. 

Many thanks as always to the indispensable and 

often unsung efforts of the organisational team, 

coordinating staff, Bolt Airsoft for their support of 

the event, my compatriots in Team Taiji, and of course 

the fine folks of other teams who fought alongside 

and against us with such enthusiasm despite the 

challenges. Special thanks 

of course go to Anny 

Wu for her help with the 

photography and story, as 

well as additional photos 

from our teammate Jerry 

Wu who took time out of 

game to take shots with 

his camera in lieu of his 

GBBRs, and of course to 

Colin for the transport 

and good conversation 

to and from site. A 

good weekend had by 

all, despite the mercury 

rising, fellow shooters... 

November will be our next 

MilSim. AA 


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Airsoft Action - September 2023

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