Airsoft Tour of Duty: Smashing Pumpkins

It's been a good while since I last set foot on a skirmish field, longer than I care to mention, so I was really looking forward to the game I played last Saturday

I took myself off to what I think is still my nearest site - new ones seem to be springing up all over the place at the moment so it might not be any longer - The Grange over at Balsall Common. I signed myself in, paid my green fee and then journeyed a short distance to The Proving Ground at Honiley where the game was actually being played

They were playing at the same site on Sunday too and had between 30 and 40 players booked in for the day. The turnout for the Saturday game was, on the surface, disappointingly low. In total, there were 10 of us playing, so five a side. I actually quipped whether anyone had a football!

Needless to say nobody did, but one of the games did involve pumpkins, and they're vaguely spherical and not dissimilar to a football

To be honest, it took me a while to get myself fired up and 'into it', partly because the small number of players meant there wasn't the usual buzz and accompanying noise you would normally expect, but once I'd got going I thoroughly enjoyed the day and the experience served as a timely reminder of what I love about this slightly off the wall hobby of ours

We played through a number of scenarios lasting 30, 45 or 60 minutes. The games were well thought out, with crystal clear objectives that were challenging but achievable, and often reversed to give you the chance of bettering the opposition

One such game involved the use of two pumpkins. The pumpkins in question - one named Peter and one named Patrick - represented two heads of state and we players their close protection squads. Over the course of 30 minutes we were tasked with moving our respective Presidents to three different locations and holding them there for 10 minutes before moving them on. The enemy, of course, didn't know where the holding sites were. Their job was to find where the President was being held and 'assassinate' him

The winner of the game would be the team whose President had taken the least amount of damage from enemy gun fire. Pyros were not allowed to be used on the Presidents! They say pictures speak volumes so I'll let the following images do the rest of the talking. Suffice to say I was in the team with the biggest grins on our faces at the end!

Our President ended up with a few minor battle scars. You should have seen the other guy!

And here he is, with considerably more holes in him than he started out with! The air was positively blue from the banter flying around during the course of this one!

Pyro'ed Pumpkin. Smashing!

Just to reiterate, I had a very enjoyable day, made even better by the fact that the team of lads I was playing with won every single one of the games played. The fact that there were only ten of us playing didn't lessen the enjoyment one iota. If anything, the smaller numbers made for a far more tactical days play and there wasn't a single issue with players failing to take their hits. A big thank you to the organisers and everyone else involved

See you on the skirmish field

Airsoft: New Sites

Howdie folks. Very nearly the end of July so this will be my last post for this month and it's just a quickie

For those airsoft enthusiasts in the Midlands region of the UK who haven't yet seen the latest issue of Airsoft International, The Birmingham Armoury and Tenbury Guns Limited have taken out a very striking full page ad promoting two new sites they have just been putting the finishing touches to

The first is a woodland site located in Tenbury Wells and the second an indoor CQB site located near Leominster. Included as part of the ad are two website addresses, one for each of the two sites, but having tested them just a few moments ago neither of them appears to be up and running yet

Best thing to do, therefore, if you want further information would be to contact Tenbury Guns or The Birmingham Armoury directly either by popping into the stores or looking up their respective websites

Airsoft Tour of Duty: The Academy

"At the weekend, I went to school and shot a few people."

Ordinarily, that sort of a statement might raise a few eyebrows but, rest assured, everything was perfectly above board. When I tell you that 'the school' in question was The Academy, First and Only Airsoft's recently opened CQB site in Leamington, no doubt there will be a huge sigh of relief!

For those who don't know, I'm the skinny one in the middle

I met up there with two guys I regularly play with as part of a 'squad' or 'team' [the two on the right] and a further two guys who used to be part of the same team but who, for reasons connected to their respective jobs, both had to move 'darn sarf' fairly recently. One of them reminded us all during one of our conversations on Saturday that the last time we had all been together for a game was two years ago!

If you look carefully, you might just be able to discern some rather interesting art work, presumably left behind by ex-pupils from the school, just visible in the background!

I'm not going to go into a blow by blow summary of the game play but suffice to say we all had an absolute ball. For someone whose regular game outings revolve around a choice of two woodland sites, both fairly close to where I live, I was really looking forward to playing at a new CQB site and, in all probability, having the chance to play against a few new players. I wasn't disappointed

For those who haven't been, or even looked at the venue on the F&O website, the school is in the middle of a fairly well-healed part of Leamington overlooking a number of very comfortable houses. That in itself was really unusual and felt a bit weird to be honest, in a nice way, looking out of some of the windows to see 'normal' people going about their daily routines just a grenade's throw away from where we mad mothers were shooting the shit out of one another! On the subject of grenades, players were restricted to using Thermo's, Canister grenades and BFGs because, according to Felix, they'd tested Ball grenades and Flash Bangs and there had been complaints from the locals!

The footprint of the building is actually quite small and for a combination of safety and game play related reasons numbers on site are restricted to 30, so booking is essential if you want to be guaranteed a game. Having said that, all four floors of the building are in use and trying to fight your way up, or down, the two flights of stairs, one at either end of the structure, is exhilarating, exhausting, and exasperating in roughly equal measure. In certain areas, and for certain games, there are times when you will be shooting at people from distances resembling those you might be used to in a woodland environment but for the most part this site is about full on, up close and personal, room clearance style gaming. Be prepared to be hit, lots of times, and for quite a few of them to hurt!

Most of the players, myself included, were bearing quite visible signs of a good days fun and games by the time the last firefight had ended. One of my buddies, the one with the gun in the picture below, was shot in the ear by someone leaning over a banister. It drew blood, and the wound continued to bleed a little throughout the remainder of the day. It wasn't until packing up time that he realised he could feel something hard in the vicinity of the wound. Sure enough, the BB had actually penetrated the skin and buried itself in his ear lobe. One or two people could be seen 'squirmishing' as he proceeded to pop it out of the gash!

For quite sensible, and perfectly understandable reasons, all guns are restricted to firing on single shot. I went with two guns, a Masada and a JG MP5, the first with 10 HC mags and the other with 13 HC mags. The games were for the most part timed affairs lasting between 20 and 30 minutes each. The most mags I got through in a single game was 4 and I have to say I really enjoyed the 'discipline' of having to shoot more carefully and sparingly. When you're constantly targeting people at distances of just a few yards, or even feet, single shot is more than good enough, a fact you really appreciate when you're on the receiving end!

For £35, for non-members, you get a day's great gaming in a somewhat unusual environment, with lunch [fizzy drink, chocolate bar and a very nice burger] and unlimited free tea and coffee all included. We all thoroughly enjoyed it and I for one will definitely be heading back there again at some point in the not too distant future

Airsoft: Events

DATE : Saturday 26th May 2012

LOCATION : Orcop, Herefordshire

RV : Orcop Village Hall, Orcop, HR2 8ET

HOURS : Start 1000 hrs. End 1700 hrs approx. Check-in from 0900 hrs. Safety checks 0930hrs.

PRICE : £80 (£5 discount to Troopers who have completed any previous Training Wing course)

BOOKINGS/PAYMENT : Please make payment in one of the following ways and email contact@soldieri.com, or send us a message via facebook, to reserve your place.

Direct transfer to: -

A/c name: Rock 'n' Roll Embassy

Sort code: 30-92-06

Number: 02196350

Cheque payable: Rock 'n' Roll Embassy

Mailed to:

Rock 'n' Roll Embassy

PO Box 129

Boston

PE20 2ZD

Or payment via Paypal sent to email address faith@rocknrollembassy.com

NOTE: if paying via Paypal please add £3 surcharge to the prices stated above (ie £83 / £78) to cover Paypal fees.

ABOUT: Be prepared for an intensive day of training. Following a brief introduction it'll be straight into a full day of practical work, including: dry training - stance - accuracy training - turns - shooting on the move - confidence training - fast draw.

A great course in its own right but also the first step in CRW/Black Ops.

KIT REQUIREMENTS: Participants will need to have own airsoft pistol, hip or shoulder holster (or both), BBs and safety glasses/mask. [we can provide hire weapons if needed - price on request - please contact us ASP to book hire kit].

OTHER: Hot brews provided all day. Bring own lunch/provisions.

Camping overnight we suggest : www.burhopefarmcampsite.co.uk

 
Terms:

In the event of a cancellation on your part: 
 
The course fee is non-refundable (and not transferable to another course). Your booking is transferable to another person if you wish to make arrangements for someone else to take your place (full fee payable), as long as we are informed in advance.
(Note: We would help as much as we can to fill any cancelled places and look to issue refunds where possible).

In the event of a cancellation on our part: 
 
Due to the nature of our Instructors' line of work there may be unavoidable circumstances which mean we have to postpone a course at short notice. We reserve the right to cancel a course for any reason. If this happens you will have the option of either a full refund or you can carry booking forward to next available course date.

A safety briefing and FPS check will take place prior to the course commencing, usually at 0930hrs. You must attend said briefing and adhere to site rules at all times.

For all you WALTs and WANNABEES out there, have fun!

Airsoft Tour of Duty: Anarchy Under the Eagle!

It's September, and I'm back at work. Huzzah! So, back to the daily grind, the stress and everything else that goes to make up the life of a teacher. Not that I'm complaining. I'm not, 'honest guv', however, I've had very little time for blogging over the past few days, hence my failure to update the site

I'm starting the month with a review, of sorts, of the last WW2 airsoft game I attended. Rather than give you a blow by blow account of the game, Ive elected instead to reproduce my reaction to the game which I posted on the WW2 Airsoft forum shortly after the event, together with some visuals provided by myself and a number of other players

The game, called 'Anarchy Under the Eagle', was loosely based on the famous WW2 war film from the 1970s, 'Kelly's Heroes' and was played out at First and Only Airsoft's site over at Kinver, The Outpost, aka The Tunnels! Organised by a small collective of players, all regulars of CIA games and active participants on the WW2 Airsoft forum, known as Oddballs, it promised to be a memorable event

'Tiny', and The Tank.....

.....'Porta', his brother.....

.....and 'Oddball', the event organisers

This was my first 'full on' WW2 game for a loooooong time, and boy did it remind me just how much I love it, and should really get off my ares [spelling mistake, intentional!] and do more of it 

It was a hoot. Thanks Oddie, and Tiny and Porta [you completely mad son of a biatch] for organising the whole thing, coping with all the shit, thinking on your feet and making the day what it was. Thanks, too, to everyone who attended and provided so much entertainment 

It was good to say hi and speak to a few people I have only communicated with via this [WW2 Airsoft] forum lately, good as well to meet one or two folks I have never seen in the flesh before, like Oddball, and I finally got to meet and greet the famous Sherman tank. What a hoot that thing is and, as Chommers says, in the dark, and in the confines of the tunnels, it looked and sounded enormous. A bit like the 'fire breathing dragon' from Live and Let Die, or is it Dr. No?

OK, so it's not a real Sherman, but in the dark it doesn't half put the willies up you!

'Chommers', the 'driving force' behind the WW2 Airsoft forum

   

Like many others I thought the three sides played out very well, what with all the intrigue and double crosses going on. There was a bit of a lull in the morning, granted, but it was dealt with effectively and the riotous opening sequence with the Allies [Russinas and Americans] charging, suicidally, towards our defensive stronghold was a real blast. For the Germans, the end of the day was similarly exhilarating as we staunchly defended our scenario-winning stash of gold and fought off all attempts to raid our gold store

As we entered the site and approached our defensive barricade the Germans were greeted with this timely reminder of what would happen to anyone attempting to run away in neglect of their responsibilities to the Fatherland! This makeshift defensive structure was the one assaulted by the Allies in the opening sequence of the game

The site is awesome, and challenging, to play in in roughly equal measure. I've played there a few times now and I find it quite tiring on the old eyes trying your damnedest to peer through darkness and gloom, and I agree with Tosca that the amount of pyro let off didn't make life in that respect any easier. Felix [F+O site organiser] is also right, though. He did give us all fair warning about not getting carried away! Nothing like a well placed thermobaric for putting a spring in your step, though eh?

Russians.....

.....and Americans in the tunnels. In places, it's so dark in there you can't even see your hand in front of your face, let alone target the enemy. One of the reasons there was so many deaths due to friendly fire on the American side. True to form then, I guess!

Another reason for the quantity of deaths on the American side was the over enthusiasm of the gunner operating the fully functional 30 cal MG fixed to this very impressive looking jeep!

 

So many highlights, so little time.....the tank, the opening carpet of brown, the last ditch defense of the gold store, that ruddy Ruskie gun and the big ear-splitting bangs.....

'Porta', just about to let one off

In addition to the working AT gun, the Russians had this in tow!

 
.....Porta's crazy cossack-dancing commissar impersonation, Porta dying in a hail of 6mm plastic for the one hundredth time, dodging pyros lobbed with gusto by over zealous Yankees, riddling Snippy as he ran away from one of the two pyros I threw all day.....

'Snippy' before the game. Watching you run out of a pitch black tunnel opening in the hope of avoiding the grenade,  only to be greeted by the rattle from my PPSH, was a memorable moment. Soz, mate!

Roll on the next game. I'm certainly going to make more of an effort to turn up to a few more, and I will definitely come to the next one organised by Oddballs. Thanks for a great day, guys! 

Anyone who has ever played at The Outpost will know just how atmospheric it can be and for those of you who haven't, I strongly recommend you give it a go. Hopefully I've been able to convey some sense of just how good the game was but, in case mere words are not enough, here are a few more visuals to enjoy. I'm sure you'll agree that the overall standard of kit was extremely high, and a pleasure to behold!

A group of regulars from Fireball enjoying the WW2 experience

Never let it be said that Germans don't know the meaning of compassion!

'Yours truly' minus smock, helmet and PPSH!

Finally, but by no means least, I thought I'd make mention of the fact that the Germans won the game, just in case I hadn't already! Just in case you don't believe me, here's a picture to prove it!

A group of Germans posing with the winning stash of captured gold, oh and a dead Yankee, just for good measure!

See you on the skirmish field!

Airsoft: Tour of Duty - The Grange

On Saturday I took a trip over to Balsall Common, somewhere in between Solihull and Warwick, to take part in an open skirmish at The Grange, Gunman Airsoft's site in the Midlands and home of the AAF

 

If you've attended any of the AAFs then you will be familiar with the site, but in case you haven't I thought I'd post a little review of the day's gaming here

I've been there once before for gaming purposes and that was a good while ago when they were just getting the site off the ground and it was still quite open, with very little in the way of dense woodland cover. For someone used to playing regularly at Fireball, which is most definitely and unmistakably a woodland site, this felt a bit unusual and disconcerting at first

By comparison with the likes of the Fireball site, the field of play remains quite open but, as you can see from the picture below, the huge number of trees Jim and the others have planted are starting to come on now, and at this time of year there's masses of quite dense grassland dotted with barricades made from wooden crates, woven twigs and the like, which creates opportunities for some interesting game play

Some way to go yet before it becomes a wood, but you've got to start somewhere!

In addition to the fairly large expanses of relatively open ground there are a number of interesting and challenging areas on the site including; two towers and four buildings constructed within a compound of concrete walls, a fuel depot area with a couple of vehicles inside it, one or two slightly elevated bunker positions, a tree-lined trench with bunker positions on either side of it, an area of more mature trees with another trench and one or two wooden bridges nicknamed 'the nam' and a large built up area at the bottom of the site known as Chuffington village

So, did I miss my beloved Rhododendron woodland? Not a bit of it. I had a fantastic time, made all the better, as a matter of fact, because I didn't have to spend half an hour shaking a million tons of detritus out of every conceivable nook, cranny and crevice of my kit! Pictures of some of the above mentioned features can be seen on the company's website

The walk on fee was £25, no more expensive than many other sites, and cheaper than some. There was tea and coffee available throughout the day, as well as soft drinks from a fully functioning fridge, and water from fully functioning cold water taps! I'm not trying to be facetious here. Many airsoft sites provide players with little but the bare minimum of facilities and in this respect The Grange offers something a bit different

The tea, coffee and cold soft drinks had to be paid for, of course, [cold water was free and plentiful], as did lunch, but the prices were very reasonable and the selection was much better than at many sites I could mention. I had about three large mugs of coffee at 60p a time and a delicious bacon bap for lunch which cost me £1.70, cooked in a proper kitchen which is part of the site's original farmhouse, now serving as the office and centre of operations, and which I enjoyed in the relaxed atmosphere of the seating area pictured below

 

In addition, the safe zone area is a purpose built facility with tables and chairs, two showers, two flushing toilets like you would find at home, and three wash basins with soap dispensers, all of which, without wishing to sound too much like a girl, I thoroughly approve of! There is also a shop on site selling all sorts of stuff from BBs to AEGs [The Shop at The Grange] and a repair shop [Gunmunki]

So, your every need is more than adequately catered for, and I like that. Did I like the gaming? Hell yes! If I sound a little too enthusiastic, allow me to explain

The game was attended by just under 40 players ranging in age from about 12 to 50 plus. As it was Father's day, there were a handful of players taking advantage of the site's special offer for the day which was that if father and child both came along then dad got to play for free! Sadly, neither of my two children is old enough to enjoy spending the day at an airsoft site

The site organisers chrono all guns before each and every game, and then tag them with a small piece of electrical tape

You're then free to test them on the firing range!

We were all duly briefed in the purpose built safe zone, divided up into two teams, one wearing arm bands and the other not, and then thrown into a series of games, many of which were turn around affairs and all of which had very clear objectives and time limits, which in turn meant that at the end of every single game there was a clear winner and loser

We started gaming at just after 10.00, there was a break for lunch at about 1.15 which lasted for 45 minutes, and the gaming resumed at just after 2.00, finally finishing at gone 6.00, although I left at 5.30 so I could see the aforementioned kiddy winks before bed time! During that time we played five different types of game and, I'm delighted to say, the team I played with won all but one encounter

Players assembled just outside the safe zone before the start of play

The little guy in the full face skull mask was a real bundle of energy and played the game with great gusto and enthusiasm. What's more, he played for the whole day with a Hexagon PPSH 41. Mine is still in the Gunmunki workshop having its spring cut down! I was a bit jealous

The first game involved one team trying to place two satchel charges under each of the two wooden towers whilst the other team tried to stop them. The game lasted for 20 minutes and was then turned around. We successfully defended the towers, both of them, and when it was our turn to place the satchels and destroy the towers we managed to do that as well, with time to spare

Another of the games involved finding four objects placed at four different locations around the site and returning them to base. This game lasted 40 minutes and was again turned around at the end. The tagged team found two objects in 40 minutes whilst the team I was on found all four and returned them successfully to base in 13 minutes! By the way, the precise locations of the objects were changed during the change over!

Of course, winning isn't everything, and I can honestly say I reckon I would have enjoyed myself just as much had I been on the 'losing' side. What really made the day for me was firstly, the enthusiasm and fair play exhibited by all of the players taking part and secondly, the way the games were designed which meant that everyone knew exactly what they had to achieve and how long they had to achieve it

Thanks guys for a great day out. I'll be returning in a few days to collect my downgraded PPSH 41, and I'll certainly be back again soon for some more gaming

Airsoft: Tour of Duty - WW2

A little while ago I posted an item about a WW2 themed game due to be held at my regular skirmish site, Fireball Squadron. Thanks to other commitments I was unable to attend but am delighted to report that the event, which took place last Saturday, April 16th, has been heralded a success by the organisers with a similar game being planned for later in the year, July 16th to be precise. Put it in your diary, you know you want to!

One of the Allied side, looking a little bit too relaxed for my liking!

Although I was unable to attend, a friend of mine who attended and played on the German side kindly agreed to pass on his thoughts about the game and has given me permission to include them as part of this post. This is what he had to say:

Hi Dave,

The game was quite good. I did enjoy it, but the allies had the upper hand [boo, hiss, bah! Ed],  being made up of people who were regulars at Fireball and knew the ground. A lot of the Germans were first-timers to Fireball [one of the organisers informs me that there were 10 players on each side and that 6 or 7 of the Germans were newbies to the site]

One of the aforementioned FB regulars about to see some action

I was really surprised as to how big the area was. It was really good to play somewhere other than Gunman Midlands or Honiley. The people were very friendly and welcoming and I wouldn't hesitate going back for the second WW2 game or even Black Op's? We didn't have much leadership on the Axis side - [well, of course, I wasn’t there.....uh hmmmm!] people just seemed to wonder around doing their own thing whereas the Allies worked in groups with their medics close to hand at all times. Ours were nowhere to be seen, so that was a little let down for me, but it seems as though this will all be sorted by the next game according to Chris on the forum. 

Another of the FB regulars, resplendent with his medic armband clearly visible! He often plays the same role at the monthly woodland games

All in all a good day. Bloody knackered after though... but good to do a shoot.

Regards

Mark

I leave you with a couple of shots of the Allied side [don't know why there weren't any shots of the Germans taken. Seems like favouritism to me!] looking for all the world like a load of self-assured, cocky, good-for-nothing layabouts! Can't wait for the next game, lads. Get ready for an ass kicking!

 

In all seriousness, folks, a big thanks to Chris, pictured above, and all the regulars at FB, including the management team, for organising the event and opening the site and the club hut. I really am looking forward to the next one and will certainly do all in my power to be there. Bring on July 16th!