Mission report: Centurian Airsoft

Sunday's mission marked my return to airsoft after a two year absence and as such there was a lot of trepidation as I prepared for it. Despite rummaging through my kit I realized that I have lost, loaned or broken several key items in my inventory and as such I was forced to run out a very trimmed down loadout, but as it turned out that was a good thing.

Basically I was 'come as you are' with some Flecktarn trousers, good solid boots, a khaki hoodie, lightweight Flecktarn cargo belt and my Army of Two Skull mask. I had no choice about my AEG, I have only one left - my JG G3A3. But before I give you the low down on how my kit faired I must, of course, tell you a little about Centurian Airsoft.

Link to location on Google maps

Nestled in the Yorkshire National Park just outside Scarborough, Centurion's site is tucked into a little valley which is a mix of farmland and park woodland. The 56 acre site runs down the side of a hill and has ground which would be fair to say is 'rough going' - so wear stout boots my friend!

Luckily, the entrance to the site (a farm access road) is on a short lane with only the one obvious gate, so you can't miss it and in any case you can see the assembly area from the road. On a game day the Centurian crew set up a nice mess tent and there is adequate parking space for a few cars. This is one of the smaller sites I have visited in terms of organisation, but good things come in small packages.

The first thing that strikes you about the Centurian team is that they really make you feel welcome and this extends to the hospitality that they extend you by way of food. For your £15 walk-on fee you get a bacon button for breakfast and then a lovely cooked meal - ours was a pasta dish - for lunch!

There was quite a small turn out, but it's quality not quantity and we had a nice mix of young guns, snipers, gung-ho veterans and - er - me! The Zimmer Brigade! But even so the Centurian guys didn't stint on the preparations and gave a good a safety briefing, made sure everyone understood the rules and - a nice touch - emphasized the importance of hydrating and explained that there would be plenty of water available throughout the day. And why is hydrating inportant? Take a look at the hill...

Importantly, a chrono station was set up and - thank the lord - they managed to do the calculation needed for different weights of BBs (something which seems to be rocket science at some sites, and meant I didn't have to reload my G3 mags with .20s)!

As this was my return to airsoft, I did promise that I would take it easy and only do a half day, but from what I saw there are a lot of ideas and enthusiasm behind the site team and they really do try to give the punters a diverse experience. We started the day - perhaps unfortunately - with a bit of a hill climb game. I have played 'take the hill' before, but this one took the biscuit, especially due to the rain sodden ground - it was a real hike and knackered me out for the day just in that one game! (I was amused to find out that the name of this location was 'Merry Wood' - er, I beg to differ!)

But there is a diversity of ground on the site and our next game was on a slightly less taxing woodland strip before lunch. The undergrowth can be thick, with a mix of bush and thicket mixed in with trees, so there is plenty of latitude for stalking.

Well I'm sorry this isn't a really comprehensive mission report, but I can say that the sheer enthusiasm and friendliness of the site crew will elicit my support - quite aside that as a site right on my doorstep I have a vested interest to keep the numbers up!

Centurian Airsoft Harwood Dale - Site rating:

Facilities: 
Organization: 
Game scenarios: 
Marshaling: 
Safety: 
Site builds (bunkers, etc): 
Friendliness: 

Finally, I must mention two fine upstanding chaps who popped over to partake in some Yorkshire up-hill bog-snorkeling - Messrs Spider and (how ironic!) Swampy! I was glad there was three of us...In case one of us needed extracating from the mud! Nice to see these fellas - cheers guys.

Read Spider's take on the day over at the Raptor's Blog

My gear for the day

As I mentioned I didn't really have a theme for the day. I just tried to keep it light-weight and practical. But even so there were a number of 'new' items I was using on the day that bear mentioning...

Chinese copy of the Matrix Cactus Hobby Army of Two Skull mask
First of all there was my Rios Skull mask. I got this for a bit of fun, but it is a very well made piece that has very strong steel mesh and moderate face protection. Despite the quality of cool looks of this mask (I had been dying to try it out) I found a few problems with it.

First of all there was the size - it was obviously designed with a medium sized head in mind, and it didn’t quite cover my face, my chin poked out at the bottom. There is also no ear protection and ventilation is also a issue, as the small mouth holes don't help all that much, but worse the shape of the mask squashes your nose flat so you struggle to breath property! 

This was a major pain as I labored with the hill climbing at Centurian and so I found I had to pull the mask forward every so often – NOT recommended in the play area – just to get a good breath.

Verdict: A good idea, with badly implemented ergonomics.

The JG Jing Gong T3-K3 - H&K G3A3 replica
It seemed fitting that I took this AEG out for a run on my return to airsoft as this was one of the last items I had upgraded just before I had to give up the game two years ago. Land Warrior undertook a downgrade – as it was running hot at about 370fps – and installed a Laylax Prometheus 6.03MM tight barrel.

The G3A3 is – what I supposed might be – the ideal woodland AEG, and I am told that only the TM M14 or the long barreled AR10 equal or surpass it for range (among infantry rifles). Depite it’s length though it is a light and and easily to swing about and cary because it is made of strong plastic. I know a lot of people have a ‘thing’ about plastic AEGs – and as it turned out with reason (more later) – but this is my second plastic AEG and as the first stood up to a very bad fall with my weight landing full on it I have a bit more respect for the quality and strength of modern polymers!

As it turned out the talk about it’s range were fully justified, and even though my fps was on the lower side of 300fps (310 I think) and I was using .25 BBs the trajectory of my BBs was pleasingly straight and quite far. In fact this AEG has the best range of any of my other AEGs, with a consistent and reasonable ‘grouping’ on single shot. So much for FPS being everything!

I mentioned the fragility concern over plastic, and this issue was dramatically brought into focus when Swampy slipped in the mud and sheared the stock clean off his G3 carbine! It sent a chill down my spine I’ll tell you. But when you think about it, even with metal AEGs, the plastic stock is always going to be a point of weakness, I just think you have to show due care but at the end of the day accidents will happen.

Verdict: It’s said that the JG clone is every bit as good as the TM original (which is something of a collectors piece now I am told). Depite it’s length it’s surprisingly easy to bring to bear and is, in my opinion, one of the kings of the woodland game. [Just marked down because of durability concerns] 

Madbull Precision Biodegradable .25 BBs
This was another purchase that was made on the eve of my break from airsofting. I had tried out some of the early ‘biodegradables’ when I first started airsoft with disastrous consequences when fractured BioBBs caused a catastrophic blockage in my CA SA-58 which in turn caused my gears to shread in very dramatic fashion. I had to endure a string of ‘I told you so’ themed comments from fellow players that day which really predudiced my impression of these early bios.

But the technology improved and I eventually decided to give Madbull’s precision Bios a chance – having read several positive reviews. The main buying point was that these were truly biodegradable, important as many of the early so-called degradable BBs simply weren’t or at least had a half-life of plutonium!

Additionally, Madbull’s Bios contain a material called 'P-Life', which it claims is repugnant to wildlife, so it is hoped that they are not liable to be eaten by small wild critters. They are designed to fulfill strict Japanese ecological guidelines and are, as such ‘reassuringly expensive’ when compared to normal plastic BBs. Still you only have to play on a beautify woodland area like Centurian to realize that the countryside isn’t the place you should be depositing your rubbish or spent BBs and I am willing to take the ‘moral hit’ with the price for my peace of mind.On a more practical note, the Madbulls fed beautifully through my hi-cap mag and JG AEG. Not one jam and they certainly seemed to aid my guns already impressive accuracy and range.

Verdict: Practical and ethical, their only downside is the price – but what price our environment (and it helps me sleep better).

Flecktarn camo loadout items
Finally we come to the bits of Flecktarn kit which I gave a go in my ad-hoc loadout for Centurian. I used two pieces of kit based on the German mottled camo pattern (which seemed to be the right stuff to wear when totting an H&K G3 based AEG), my trousers and a belt based webbing system.

The trousers were my original – near vintage! – Undercover brand custom made paintballing trousers. These were purchased in the 80s when I was into paintballing and represented THE cool items to be wearing at the time as Flecktarn had just come into the UK market at the time. (Undercover stopped making custom camo suits some time ago, sadly.)

It’s not only gratifying to find that I can now fit into some trousers that I bought way over 20 years ago but the sheer quality of Undercover's work remains legendary for very good reason. Despite some of the worst conditions with sopping wet mud and thorny thickets the trousers remained undamaged, with no bust seams, at the end of the day. They were comfortable and with the Velcro ankle fasteners are easy to pull off over boots.Verdict:  

The second item based on the German camo pattern was my authentic German Army belt webbing – bought from the UK retailer Flecktarn. This consisted of a nice thick and sturdy belt with three different sized pouches, two small and one large butt bag. I have to say the butt bag seemed like a good idea but was a bit tricky to use because of the fiddly fasteners, so I may just buy a couple of more smaller side pouches instead.

(Where's the photos? - Sorry guys, it was literally raining so much that I didn't dare take the camera out of the bag, and to be honest the rest of the gang were feeling a bit too miserable to pose!)

Despite the atrocious weather conditions - heavy rain which was forecast to persist all day - I was quite looking forward to my first visit to this airsoft site near Matlock. I had trawled through their photo gallery and liked very much what I had seen, and their web site seemed to tick all the boxes by way of giving the impression of a well organized and experienced field management.

As usual, actually finding the site proved a little tricky, and we drove past the entrance to it and had to backtrack and gamble that an anonymous looking farm track was actually the site access! It's a growing impression of mine that anyone associated with running an airsoft site is bereft of the skill of good signage! (Laughingly, the one directional sign marking the entrance was a small arrow pinned to a post, but this was being blown around and around in the wind like a Catherine wheel - where it was supposed to be pointing was anyone's guess!)

First impressions
The track from the main road to the site area itself was a rocky and bumpy 'cow track', and our overloaded car scrapped and scratched itself all the way down a windy and narrow path. Finally reaching the base area was a relief in two ways, ending as it did our rattling drive, but also we were very pleased to see that quite a few other dogged airsofters had braved the weather and there were a good number of cars already parked up.

The safe zone/base was a small circular opening in the otherwise densely wooded surrounds. The first thing we noticed was the apparent absence of any site facilities whatsoever, the 'HQ' comprising of two small canvas tents! Players were huddled - quite pathetically - under these shelters as the wind and rain buffeted them from all sides. One small garden gazebo tent acted as the 'mess hall', with a single wooden bench for all to share, while the larger canvas shelter was the 'office', come shop, come field kitchen!

Briefing and organization
To me, the initial briefing sets the tone for the rest of the day, and my 'spidey senses' started tingling right away when a very softly spoken chap skipped through what must have been one of the shortest safety briefs that I have ever witnessed, while players at the edge of the huddle continued their chatting! I realized then that I had been somewhat 'spoilt' with the two site managers that I had experience of so far. Both Shaun of South Yorkshire Airsoft and Razor of NSC are 'mouthy' characters (no offence guys, it's meant with love!) and they do not stand for anyone who does not pay strict attention to the mandatory pre-game lecture.

Please remember that we are talking about a 'safety briefing' - I am not being petty when I emphasise this failing at 'First & Only'. I realize that there were probably a lot of regulars and that 'informal' is probably the site 'style', but with so many very young players there on the day I personally don't think there is any room for compromise when it comes to this aspect of the game.

The 'mission' briefing was likewise 'short and sweet', though the backstory was interesting enough. Today we were to play out an imaginary clash between the forces of North and South Korea - very topical.

If you go down to the woods today, You're sure of a big surprise.
So, off we tramped into the woods, two straggly lines of soggy airsofters making our ways to our respective regen points. Already the ground was getting soft and muddy, and even through the closely packed trees we could feel the rain hammering down in ever increasing torrents.

We were split into an attacking and defending forces and pointed in the direction of the opposition and summarily told to 'go get 'em'.

And thus the mayhem began...

Woods are terrific things. Good woodland can give the impression you are almost anywhere - from the jungles of Vietnam to the forests of Eastern Europe, and in this 'First & Only' Matlock did not disappoint. Their woodland is as lush as I have ever seen and it was big - very big, in fact here is where the problems started.

There were two issues that plagued my friends and I, our lack of knowledge of the site and it's layout, and the rather disorientating effect of flat terrain and tightly packed trees. There was little natural variation to the actual land at Matlock - no hillocks or depressions - and all the trees as far as the eyes could see in one direction looked pretty much exactly like all the trees in another direction!

Were you to loose contact with the battle, as you do if you try a wide flanking manoeuvre, or you have to return to regen, then you had a real problem relocating the battle again. Particularly if they fire fight has moved on from where it was when you were last involved.

Soon the woods seemed empty, and you found yourself stumbling around in thick undergrowth looking for your team mates. Stopping and listening for the distinct noise of AEG fire was very much hampered in this case by the racket of torrential rain as it clattered down on the canopy above you, and when you did come across another member of your team your query about 'which way to the front' was inevitably met with a confused shrug!

The whole situation started to become farcical - at least in my case - when I accidentally found myself in the opposing team's regen area by mistake, having wandered in completely the wrong direction looking for my own regen. I was shot from all sides, repeatedly, as I tried to make my way back out again!

A silver lining?
Not everything was bad news. When I did manage to make contact with the enemy I was very pleased with the performance of my Kalash AK74. On the occasions I could get a clear shot through the maze of trees my AEG shot far and with accuracy (and I haven't even installed the new Prometheus barrel yet). Though the price of this was the additional weight I had to lugg about, and I did at times envy my team mates who mostly went for shorter, lighter AKs.

On one particular occasion I had a wonderful experience where the trees just seemed to open up before me and there, in the distance, was an enemy player framed perfectly through windows of branches. I took aim and let loose a stream of BBs and covered his side and back. At first he did that 'you didn't really see me' freeze that some players try on - but I knew I had plastered him. However, luck was on my side for once and standing right behind him was a Marshal whom I assume (I couldn't hear what was said) politely and gently asked my target if he was going to 'take the hit'!

I do find that it's the younger players who try on this ruse. You hit them and they become frightened rabbits in headlights - one can only assume that what is going through their mind is 'if I don't acknowledge he hit me he might think he missed'. Unfortunately, this ploy is exactly what leads to over-kill and magging - where, through frustration, you hose your target with superfluous BBs in order to emphasise the hit.

Of all things, your AEG performing correctly is a key aspect to any skirmish outing. At least this element didn't disappoint - despite being soaked through, dropped and muddied. I actually had to scrape out mulched leaves and mud from the muzzle after one comical fall, but the beast still went on serving BBs quite happily.

In summary
There was a few good things that came out of the day, principally the team spirit of Team AKA. I was very proud of my mates who came through the day's experience with a very mature and very philosophical attitude to the event. Summed up it went 'if you don't try these these things you don't know'. Other satisfying aspects of the day were my Russian wet weather suit - which was greatly appreciated - and my HotCan self-heating meal pack. Both served to make the unseasonably cold and wet day more bearable.

However, 'First and Only' Matlock was not for us. We had all picked up on the subtle little quirks of the site and it's foibles just didn't sit right with the communal team ethos about airsoft and what makes a good skirmish. But, to be fair, we were not the only ones who were critical of the failings on that day, and the attitude of a few can be summed up by the frustration of one player who commented: 'I've come to shoot people, and NOT for a stroll in the woods!'.

Whether due to the horrible weather, or the disjointed game play, or both, some players decided to vote with their feet and left during the lunch break. Reluctantly, Team AKA decided to do the same (the reduced numbers making it even less likely that you could find a 'needle in a hay stack').

I don't like giving any site a panning. I hugely respect any person or group of people who decide to put all the effort into making a site and running it. But at the end of the day running an airsoft site is a business and if it doesn't provide the service you expect then you just go elsewhere. As my team mate Dewey said, this would be the 'First and Only' time for us at this site.

'First & Only' Matlock woodland site - assessment:-

The negative

> Non-existent facilities
> No map of the play area and it's landmarks
> Skant and under-stated safety briefing
> NO CHRONOGRAPHING
> Too far ranging play area under the circumstance
> Games were too long
> 'Suprise' floating regen areas
> Devoid of navigation way points

The positive

> Lovely natural woodland (thickest I have seen)
> I particularly liked the clumps of thick ferns (sniper heaven)
> Site did offer a 'meal deal' with a burger and canned drink
> Very friendly staff

Personal positives

> Team spirit really has come together
> My Kalash AK74 performed faultlessly and accurately
> My Russian wet weather over suit was a blessing
> I think I have finally cracked the fine art of packing (didn't forget anything)
> My HotCan self heating meal was fantastic

Personal negatives

> Still don't have a 'fogless' googles for heavy rain days
> Had to revert to borrowed mesh goggles
> Still not happy with my boots - still uncomfortable
> The Team needs to sort out a comms system as a priority


'First & Only' Matlock - Site rating:

Facilities:
Organization:
Game scenarios:
Marshaling: *
Safety: *
Site builds (bunkers, etc):
Friendliness:

* Marshalling and safety were both marked down as there was no chronographing

Related links:

> 'First & Only' web site - Matlock woodland section
> 'First & Only' Matlock photo gallery

Recce: First & Only Airsoft woodland site, Matlock, Derbyshire, UK

Having broken the ice with my return to skirmishing with my visit to NSC this month, I fully intended to go again as soon as I could. I don't have to wait long though, as it turns out that the next Team AKA outing is to First and Only Matlock Woodland on Sunday 6th June.

View Larger Map

This is the first time we have visited this particular site so it's time for a bit of a virtual recce. Fist stop is the site web pages of course, and as usual I am particularly disappointed that First & Only is one of those sites that chose not to put up a good diagram or map of the game area. People like to know the configuration of a site, see it's facilities and check out the lay of the land. But there you go.

The saving grace here is that First & Only do have a nice photo gallery and there are some very impressive shots of their woodland and bunkers. I was excited to see that their woodland was mainly coniferous, which makes it w very different proposition from the deciduous woodland at NSC. Farmed fir woodland tends to be more densely populated, with less undergrowth between the columns of firs and is also more shaded.

Above: First & Only has certainly gone to lengths to provide an emmersive experience, this bunker looks excellent! Source: First & Only Airsoft

So while the trees provide shade, cover and do provide good opportunity for camouflage usage they can be more conducive to faster movement than mixed bush and deciduous tree woodland. Plus, I like fir trees!

The look of the site itself gives me great hope for the forthcoming mission. From the set-piece construction - like the bunker - it is obvoius that a lot of care and thought and work has gone into making an interesting game area and that bodes well.

Chosen team loadout: Russian Flectar-D

> Link: First & Only Airsoft - www.firstandonlyairsoft.com
> Link: First & Only Airsoft Forum

Finally, back in the saddle! After a miserable start to the year where illness has prevented me from taking part in *any* airsoftng at all, I made my return to skirmishing at NSC Airsoft.

The day started well as we journeyed up to the North East – NSC is near Durham - as the weather promised to be ideal, it was dry, slightly overcast so not too bright and no wind. The BBC had forecast sunny intervals; so all seemed to bode well.

A snipers day
When we reached to site my companion and I took one look at the wonderful foliage and trees of this little woodland site and turned to each other as we noted the lack of any movement of the foliage and said ‘it’s a snipers day’!

There was zero wind, and Mark’s smile said it all - being as he had brought his sniper rifle - as he looked at me like I was a sheep being led to the butchers shop. It was absolutely no surprise then when players started setting up that there was a excited huddle of snipers around the chrono - your could almost hear the metaphorical sharpening of knives.

AEG grunts like myself could only look on nervously.

Meanwhile back at the ranch
One initial disappointment was the depressing amount of vandalism that had taken place at the site since my last visit. The local urchins (why aren’t these kids in Afghanistan?) had taken much glee in wrecking and setting fire to the ‘village’ in the quarry.

My heart goes out to all the NSC members who put so much time and effort into their build days and try to make their site an interesting and fun site only to have their work trashed by a bunch of cretins.

Razor et al were sick at the mindless vandalism, but were philosophical, as they had also just created some excellent new trench systems that provided nice deep fire pits.

Incy wincy Spider…
Moving on, the morning’s games were informal ‘ice breakers’ with minimal rules other than ‘go out and shoot people and enjoy yourself’. These less structured game formats, with their simple objectives, were great for getting everyone warmed up, but especially useful to get the brace of first time players that we had up and going.

There can be nothing worse for a newbie, already nervous about ‘da rulz’, to have to remember complicated tactical and strategic orders and procedures on top of everything else. And as it turned out all the new guys lapped up this fast and furious baptism and were eager and enthusiastic players.

In truth, the more experienced players seemed happy to let these newbie’s do a lot of the heroic running around while they hunkered down and found their angles or – in the case of the snipers – scampered about in the undergrowth like the little creepy crawlies that they are!

I love the smell of Fogtech in the morning
One element of the first half of the morning was the lovely weather, and this soon took its toll as the furious fun caused those with plastic goggles to suffer from fogging. One guy who was next to me looked like he had a Turkish sauna going on inside his Bolle 500s.

I was using my new Tokyo Marui Pro Goggles for the first time and so I seemed to fair better than most. Don’t believe the hype, they will fog eventually. But with the addition of some FogTech and by using the build in exhaust fan I faired better than I ever have and at no point had my vision completely obscured with condensation (as has happened in the past with even my Bolle X800s).

We all felt sorry for a couple of the new guys who had decided to wrap up (presumably for some protection) – one actually wearing a leather jacket! I don’t think they will do that again, and I for one advised one of the initiates to bring a canteen of water with him the next time…The poor guy was mafted!

Then it all went pair shaped...For me!
I had an absolute ball in the morning. Having just returned to aisrofting after a long spell of illness I promised myself I would take things easy, but this was hard to do when the games were just so exciting. Everyone was throwing themselves into the games, and as it turned out the challenge of pitting ourselves – the grunts – against the excellent snipers got the brain working as well as the legs!

This didn’t stop ‘Spider’ (resident sniping aficionado) from taking me out with – what I thought – was the most amazing headshot. I knew he was lurking, and knew roughly where he was, but his Ghillie suit hid his precise position and all I could do in the end was keep popping out from behind my cover to lay down a stream of auto in the hope I would keep his head down…But…

-- THWACK! --

One single shot, right in my forehead – he even managed to hit just above my TM mask so it caught me right on the top of my unprotected head!

Kudo man, kudos!

And as far as I heard, all the other snipers were having just as much ‘happy hunting’ on that morning!

Above: My JG BAR 10 springer - never used, but NSC's sniper action made me think that maybe should dust this aquisition off and give it at least a one try (otherwise sell it and make some space). Mind you, I have to ask myself - do I *really* want to try and take on some of those sniper guys at NSC at their own game. Maybe not! LOL

It’s a bit hard to explain why you can have fun by having someone else playing a great game – but the way I look at it the best games are those fought against great opposition, and the marshals had made sure both teams were very well balanced, with newbies and veterans alike spread between them.

But just as things were going so well, I started feeling a bit knackered and suddenly began to feel my absence from the game catching up with me. And if to add insult to injury that’s exactly when the pitter patter of the rain started…

Pissing on our bonfire!
Yes, the BBC had got it wrong (again), and as if from nowhere a torrent descended down on us and literally poured water on our fun and games!

The combination of tiredness and wetness brought the pussy out in me and I had to beg off (a big thank you to Mark for his understanding as he drove me home early).

Well, I only got a half day, but what a half-day it was. In particular the first of the day’s games – defending the quarry – ranks as one of the most fun games I have ever played, so I wasn’t too disappointed as we trundled off home. The day broke the ice and has got me back into playing again for the first time this year.

All in all it was an excellent return, made all the more enjoyable because of the friendly and enthusiastic people at NSC Airsoft. The only real disappointment was that I didn’t get to try out all my different bits of new kit or take as many pictures as I had intended to. But hey – you can’t have everything!

I’ll end this little report by thanking literally everyone who took part in the proceedings at NSC on my visit. From the marshals, to my team mates, to the opposition and even all the new guys – absolutely everyone played their part to the full to make it a cracking (half) day for me.

Cheers NSC!

Above: 'Spider' - sniper extraordinaire - helps 'Pinkie' with his comms set up - NSC is that sort of place, everyone just lends a hand and is happy to do so.

--------------------

Da Linx:

> NSC Airsoft - Elemore Lane half way between Pittington and South Hetton (A182), near Durham.
> NSC community forum - join in the fun! (Registration required.)
> My 'NSC photo Album' on Flickr

Featured items:

> FogTech anti-fogging juice - At Airsoft World (UK)
> Tokyo Marui Pro Goggles - At ZeroOne (UK)

(Not my video - but this gives a good idea what to expect at NSC!)

Well it's been a while since my last airsoft outing. But - happily - I am now beginning to feel that I have got over my health problems, and with the weather improving as well it looks like I will be back in action next month.

My team mates have been visiting Phoenix Airsoft - in the Sherwood Forest - and have been telling me some very good things about their woodland site (Phoenix also have an urban and CQB site too). It's apparently a very friendly site, with imaginative and challenging game formats.

Having decided to get back in the saddle, so to speak, it only remains for me to put together a suitable loadout - Russian themed of course!

What's quite exciting about this mission is that I have the chance to finally complete a full loadout to my satisfaction. So far I have collected together several only partially completed loadouts, and so I want this return to airsoft with a satisfyingly comprehensive loadout.

I had an idea, right from the outset, that I wanted to collect four different Russian style military loadouts, matching four different types of AEGs representing the AK family of rifles. Here are the loadouts I envisaged:

• CQB - black 'Bekas' style uniform with short 'Beta' AK
• Spetsnaz - Russian 'Tiger' camo with mid-length AK (AK104)
• Assault - Flecktar-D camo with full length AK (AK74M) & grenade launcher

However, over and above these loadouts - loosely based on modern Russian Army uniforms - I also wanted to have a loadout that represented the transition from the Soviet era to the new Russian Army. The main items in this loadout would be the Russian 'birch' camouflage Bekas BDUs and wooden furnitured AKs - my AKS74U and my CYMA AKM.

So, for the Phoenix mission I have several things to do; I need to have my CYMA AKM repaired and downgraded (as it's a bit hot), I need to acquire Birch Bekas in XXL, I need a full set of my team badges, a pair of new boots and a new gun bag. My old cheap one from Wolf Armoury having come apart at the seams - literally!

A batch of nice metal AK47 mags would't go amiss - UNCompany of Hong Kong have a box set of 5 King Arms hi-caps that would do very nicely. But they also have a very cool sound activated electric driven 1000 round dual AK mag that would keep me well supplied with BBs all day!

I have my new Tokyo Marui Pro fan googles in black, to which I'll be adding neoprene balaclava for protection. This will give the black balaclava look of Russian special forces - but I am definitely going for protection over authenticity with this loadout.

> Link to Phoenix Airsoft