Welcome to Airsoft International Volume 8 Issue 1!

The good, the bad and the Aussies…

Ever ended up with one of those guns that just won’t work properly, no matter what you do? I’ve got one right now. It’s a G&P SR-25 and for some reason I just cannot get it to feed reliably no matter what parts I change, BBs I use or magazines I jam in it… I’m pretty sure it’s cursed!

Anyway, with that little rant off of my chest, we’ve got some big news this month. If you follow our Facebook page (facebook.com/airsoftint) you might already know, but Ai500: OP COBRA STRIKE is open and available for booking in now! Skip over to page 6-7 for the exiting storyline and the details on how to book in for this intense game at one of the best CQB sites in the UK, the MOD’s Rype Village.

In addition to that good news, we’ve also got a little less exciting news to pass on. Due to pending Royal Mail price increases, we have been forced to incrementally increase the cost of a subscription to Ai. To give you more choice though, we’ve added a new option to the process, if you’d rather subscribe and save some cash, you can now opt for second-class postage as opposed to first. We are all sorry to have to increase anything at all, but unfortunately this increase was unavoidable. Your individual, off-the-shelf copies will stay fixed at £4, just as they always have been.

That’s the good, the bad, now what about those Aussies? Well, as you might have noticed, our cover features a stonking SASR load out from reader Alex Griffin. He and his buddy Jamie Fox have spent the last few months piecing together the Australian SF load outs and we just had to showcase them. You can read the whole story on pages 24-29. If you think you’ve got a load out worthy of the same treatment, we’d love to hear about it, drop me a line on bwebb@ai-mag.com with some details and perhaps a few snapshots and we’ll take it from there.

Right, now back to that SR-25… Let’s see if we can’t get you in shape…

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Welcome to Airsoft International Volume 7 Issue 12!

Walking on eggshells…

Hello and welcome to Volume 7, Issue 12! As we conclude our 7^th year of Ai and look to Volume 8 it’s hard not to reflect on how far we have come, not only as a publication but also as airsofters; a great deal has happened in the last 8 years, possibly the most impactful being the VCRA act. Without substantial lobbying from within our community it’s likely airsoft as we know it would have been banished from the shores of the UK by way of legislation, leaving us either running round with 2-Tone guns as a mandatory regulation, or even worse, playing paintball. Although we were successful in rescuing our hobby and passion from the crushing jaws of defeat that time round, it’s painfully obvious to anyone with their ear to the ground that airsoft has always managed a “tolerated” status at best.

The fact of the matter is that to outsiders, the act of running around playing soldiers with realistic looking toys guns is going to be a sensitive subject and total acceptance is unlikely in the society we live in. It’s also particularly pertinent in today’s world of instant and far reaching media publishing, with the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Co, that we don’t know whose eyes might fall upon the pictures we publish and the activities we take part in, and what context they might view them in. A joke or light-hearted posed picture of airsoft action, taken out of the realms of those it was intended for, could well be interpreted in an entirely different manner, especially to those that might seek to sensationalise or do harm for their own gain.

As airsofters, it’s our responsibility to regulate the public image of our hobby, after all, the Home Office did put it firmly in our hands to regulate ourselves, and make no mistake, their mercy could well be revoked at any time if those irresponsible or short-sighted enough give them reason to. We might have achieved a delicate balance in the eyes of the law, but with careful management and participation by us, the people that love airsoft, there’s no reason that in years to come you shouldn’t be reading and introduction to Volume 20 of Ai in over a decade’s time!

Enjoy the issue, and see you in the safe zone!

Ben Webb

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