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!

Operation Black Angel

OK, this event isn't happening until June, but if you're interested you will need to book and you will need to do it soon! The venue is Fireball, the event is Operation Black Angel, and here's one of the older hands to tell you more

Hello happy troopers,

Do you fancy a bit of a tear up on the NPF scud site, embassy, swamp zones including their border and bridge zones in addition to the Fireball site on 11/12 June? of course you do - it will be a blast.

Fireball Squadron's 2011 OPERATION BLACK ANGEL will be held over the weekend of June 10th, 11th and 12th. The site is open for registration and camp set up from 1400hrs on the 10th. Camping is on site with a pub and McDonalds less than 100 meters away if that is your thing. Mmmmm nice.

For this event there will be two sides identified by uniforms as follows:

American and British forces

Unit 1: British -  DPM

Unit 2: American - Multicam, desert marpat, ACU

Unit 3: PMCs - Tan or any other tan based camo

Kadjikstan Forces

Unit 1: Elite guard - Black camo

Unit 2: Kadjikistan Army - Green/OD based camo - marpat, DPM, M84

Unit 3: Mercenaries - Olive drab based camo

All players ready for action at 10am on Saturday full on until 5pm. Then chill and relax. Sunday ready for action at 10am then full on until lunchtime. 

Cost is £65 for the full weekend with a £25 deposit per player, this includes lunch on Saturday - either veggy or meaty! For an additional cost of £1.50 per day we can provide a hot breakfast roll - only available by pre booking. Mmmmm nice.

The event is being staged in association with UKAPU (United Kingdom Airsoft Players Union). Any UKAPU members will have a £5 discount on production of a valid membership card. There is also a UKAPU social area so you can meet the committee and sign up if you haven't already. You know it makes sense. Check out www.ukapu.org.uk

Once you submit your booking (see the link below) we will confirm the place/s and the details of how to pay your deposit.

http://www.fireballsquadron.com/?page_id=1076

Check out the youtube teaser of Operation Black Angel below (turn sound up to the max, sit back and relax)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rfwakv5eQGg

Check out the background to the event at http://www.fireballsquadron.com/?page_id=1098

Do you fancy a tear up? Well do ya punk?

I thank you

Paul Norton

on behalf of

Fireball Squadron

If You Go Down To The Woods Today.....

.....you're sure of a big surprise! Well, maybe not that big, but a surprise nonetheless, or perhaps calling it a 'bit of a twist' might be more appropriate. I'm referring to the April woodland game at Fireball

I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that everyone in attendance, and there were about 90 of us there in all, was treated to an excellent day's airsofting with close to perfect weather conditions, games written with clear, achievable objectives and marshaling which kept the games moving and everyone on their toes

Preparations being made in the safe zone

In the morning, both sides were given a fairly straightforward objective, to locate a power source, in the form of a large ammo crate, and bring it back to our respective bases. We had to hold it there for 10 minutes while it was 'connected up' and then our base would have power. Once that was achieved we were given a number of locations, each of which we had to take control of and hold for 10 minutes before progressing to the next. First team to achieve all this would be declared the winners of the morning game

Yellow team members defending Batt House

Straightforward enough, and fairly standard, but the game author successfully spiced things up a little by throwing in some minefields and giving each side an 'engineer', readily identifiable because he had to wear a red or yellow plastic hard hat. There were six minefields in all, three on either side of the border crossing point which divides the site approximately in half. The location of the minefields made it somewhat harder to attack each of the objectives. You could go around them, of course, but the only way through them was to have your engineer lead you through them a bit like the Pied Piper. If he was shot, then you were stuck there until you could medic him, and if the enemy managed to throw a grenade into it then that, as they say, was that! Everybody dead and back to regen

Two views of the Border Crossing point showing the very recently added bunker building, that's the green wooden thing with the two slitty windows! A nice addition to the site, that. A big thumbs up to the builders

Fireball members, as usual, made up the bulk of the red team and I'm delighted to say we won the morning game

For the first game in the afternoon the minefields became the objectives. The three on the red team's side of the site had to be neutralised by the yellows and vice-versa. To neutralise a minefield your engineer had to stand in the middle of it for 10 minutes while the rest of you held your breath and prayed he didn't take a hit. If he did, then a) he had to be healed and b) the clock was restarted! Establishing a perimeter around the MF was pretty important, but you could also surround the engineer inside the MF with a bodyguard. The engineer was able to find a safe passage through it, remember!

 
This game could have gone on for some time, but in the end it finished quite quickly because the red team managed to neutralise all three of their objectives first time round whilst the yellows didn't even manage one!

End ex was called and the final game of the day was announced. Red team were to start at Block House and the yellow team at Border Crossing. Our objective was to push the yellow team out of BC and back to the next rearward base, and from there to the final structure at the one end of the site, before end ex was called at the end of the day. Yellow team players could be re-spawned once by a medic at each base but if they were hit again they had to retreat to the next base. Red team players had no medics. When hit, we had to go back to our base and regen. Each time we pushed the yellow team back, then that base became our new regen point

Yellow team members at the Border Crossing

I think Andy, the game author, wanted to let the yellow team win one. Unfortunately for them, the red team hadn't 'read the script' in quite the same way. We rolled them back to the end of the site and took the final base with a massive 20 seconds to spare!

All in all, a great day. Thanks to Andy for writing the game, and I can't wait for the next one!

WW2 Filmsim Game at Fireball

Some of you may have caught my earlier post regarding the March woodland game at my regular airsoft site, which took place last Saturday. It was a great game, thoroughly enjoyed by all those involved, not least me. I simply couldn't wait to play and was determined to have a good time. Sometimes, simple determination in such matters pays off!

I am similarly keen to have just as good a time on Saturday, April 16th when Fireball will be hosting a WW2 Filmsim game based loosely around the last ditch attempts by the Nazis to hold on to the crumbling remnants of their inglorious Reich in the face of nigh on relentless pressure from Allied forces

If this is the first you have heard of the game and you have an interest in taking part as a keen and already committed WW2 airsofter, or you are new to this aspect of the hobby and would like to come along and find out what all the fuss is about, you can find out more about the finer details by going to the appropriate thread on the CIA forum, or visiting the organiser's own forum, links to which you will find below

Forum of the game organiser, and no, I have absolutely no idea why it's called that!!

Game Scenario, Game Rules, When, Where and How Much?

Hopefully, the above links will help you answer most, if not all, of your questions, and more importantly, perhaps, with any luck I will see some of you at the game. I will certainly be there, taking on the role of the bitter and twisted, and ever so slightly insanely committed, German C in C. I can hardly wait!

March Woodland at Fireball

Welcome everyone to my first post for March. The subject of this missive? My first airsoft outing since the arrival of Matthew, our very own little soldier, and a game I have very much been looking forward to, I can tell you

I took myself down to my regular club, Fireball Squadron, on Staurday for the monthly woodland game and had an absolute ball. The game scenarios were written by Nick, aka Blackblood, one of the management team and were mighty challenging if, like me, you happened to be on the Red Team since we were outnumbered by approximately 2 to 1

The game was very well attended, as hopefully you will be able to see from some of the photos included here, and we used the whole site from Area 51 at the one end right the way up to the Drugs Den at the other. The mission objectives involved quite a lot of carrying and escorting of various 'cargo' and 'packages' and we certainly covered some ground. My legs, and to be honest quite a few other pats of my body too, have certainly been feeling the consequences today

The first set of photos are courtesy of yours truly, taken on my i-phone 3 and probably not terribly good quality

Four shots from in and around the safe zone prior to the game and during morning briefing

Members of the Red Team, 'playing' the British Army/SF, trying to look mean , moody and menacing

'Dude' and his ATAC Masada. I'm struggling to decide which is the sexier!

No such problem here. I'm sure Chris won't mind me saying so!

One of the new rules we introduced at the last AGM, implemented for the first time at this game, is Knife Kills, which up until now we haven't allowed. To be accepted as a KK the attacking player has to sneak up on the unsuspecting enemy, tap him or her on the shoulder and physically show the player the knife he is holding, which must, of course, be made of rubber or some other suitably flexible and 'bendy' material. Rubber chickens, however, are not allowed, and you can't simply saunter up to someone and whisper in their ear, unless of course you have something else entirely on your mind!

During the afternoon game I decide to try on one of my latest purchases. Overall, I have to say I was quite pleased with the look, however, I think I had it on a little too tight and before long the top of the mask was really digging in to my forehead. I also think it would probably look better with a helmet or a bandana. The ball cap didn't really sit too comfortably as I couldn't pull the peak down far enough

Having never worn gauze goggles or face masks before I found this a little strange and, if anything, something of a strain on my eyes, but I was pleased with it. It certainly offers good face protection and looks pretty scary into the bargain

The following pictures were taken by Nick, on a fancy looking camera with a big round lense on the front, and as usual there are more to see on our website

'Snippy' the Red Team medic taking a well earned breather

Desperately trying to defend Border Crossing.....

.....we came, we SAWed, but sadly didn't conquer

Shots of members of the Red Team in various states of preparedness

And finally, yours truly in alternative face protection

The following two video clips show the Yellow Team defending Dunlop, one of the sites bases, and the Red Team in the process of escorting a number of VIPs from one end of the site to the other. Not an easy mission





So, that's about it for the March game. There will be another one on the first Saturday in April, not to mention the WW2 Filmsim game later that month, more details of which will appear in a later post

Black is Back

Please forgive the rather mysterious, nay corny, title but I thought I'd let you know about a couple of things currently happening, or being planned for, at Fireball Squadron

Firstly, the Black Op's games which take place every third Sunday of the month. More details, and booking information, can be found on the website by following the link. The games are played on part of the NPF Paintball site and are designed around their Embassy/Kill House building and a small area of woodland complete with stacks of barrels, bunkers, wooden barricades and a handful of big trucks!

The focus is most definitely CQB, with lots of 'up close and personal' encounters and games that are short, sharp and often turn around style affairs or played against the clock. Take a look at the video below



The other thing I wanted to mention was The Black Angel Weekender being put on and hosted by Fireball in conjunction with UKAPU. Please go and look at the site, and then book yourself a place or two on the game, you know you want to. Alternatively, read on and you will get an idea of the scenario and the booking arrangements, restrictions etc.

Part of the scenario, taken from the FS website

Black Angel Weekender Booking & Info

Fireball's 2011 Weekender Black Angel will be held on June 10th, 11th and 12th

This event is open for over 18’s only

Camping will be available on site and is included in the cost

The game will be run on the 11th and 12th with the site being open for players to register and setup camp from 14:00 on the 10th. Cost is £65 for the full weekend with a £25 deposit per player and this includes lunch on Saturday. Please indicate if you are a vegetarian. For an additional cost of £1.50 per day we can provide a hot breakfast roll. These are only available by pre booking. Once you submit the booking form we will confirm your place/s and supply details of how to pay your deposit

There will be two sides, clearly identified by clothing

American and British Forces
Unit 1: British -  British DPM camo
Unit 2: American - multi cam / desert marpat / ACU camo
Unit 3: PMC’s - Tan, or any other tan based, camo

Kadjikistan Forces
Unit 1: Elite Guard - Black camo
Unit 2: Kadjikistan Army - Green/OD based camo
Unit 3: Merc Unit - Olive drab based camo

Well, that's about it for this little plug. Hope to see some of you out on the skirmish field!

February Fireball

This weekend saw the February woodland game at Fireball Squadron, my regular airsoft site. Sadly, I was unable to attend due to family commitments, namely the birth of baby Matthew Charles, so by way of satisfying my need for a regular fix of the hobby I have grown to love, to a degree that almost borders on obsession, I thought I'd take a look at some of the photos put up on the site and share a few with you

Thanks to Nick, aka Blackblood, one of the management team, for snapping these wonderful images

"The rumours are true. Eat enough of the food at this place and this is what happens to you!"

A fellow Fireball member and one of the D-Boys team, Dave 'Pop' Anderson

"Good shot fella"

In the foreground of this shot is another member of the D-Boys team, Steve 'DB-1' Anderson

"I'm sure if I fiddle with this button for a bit longer something will come shooting out the end of this thing"

Hmmm. Is that an Atac Masada I can see there? Nice!

'We've got 'em on the run, lads. Let's go for it"

"Anyone else for a free lunch?"

Sadly, perhaps, free bottles of plonk are certainly not on the menu and there are no club rule changes afoot to make them so. However, one or two club rules were amended this weekend, subsequent to the AGM which was held after the Saturday game. As stated on the website:

Fireball Squadron are pleased to announce that the age limit to play at Fireball woodland games has been reduced to 16 and over. Please bring proof of age, or have a parent drop in, to avoid confusion. Once you have played this will not be needed [in future] as you will be registered with us
(For the time being, Black Ops games and weekend events will remain restricted to 18s and over)

It was also decided that starting in March, 'knife kills' will be allowed as part of the in game rules. I for one welcome this, even though I don't carry anything long and rubber on my person in the game zone, and would argue that anyone stealthy enough to be able to execute such an action ought to be acknowledged and duly rewarded

Looking forward to the next outing, lads. Until then, hang tough