I have been playing airsoft games since I was 12-13 back in 1997. Back then the hire fleet consisted of spring-powered rifles, which were replaced sometime around 1998 with electric M16 VNs and MP5s. I bought one of the ex hire fleet MP5s when I was 14 and this was my first electric gun. I learnt quickly how to disassemble and modify the weapon and once I even tried running it off 18V! (The recommended voltage is 8.4V)

As a player I consider myself a CQB (close quarters battle) man and enjoy sneaking around the bunker and attempting to take rooms through high-speed technical entries and much retina burning with entry lights. I have done a bit of sniping in my time, mainly with a friends M24 gas rifle, but have never considered myself brilliant at it. (edit 09/11/04 - I am now in fact the king at sniping after a heroic 70 odd meter kill at Guernsey's Dam site!)

My armoury at the moment consists of an SPR Mk12 mod 0, a (knackered) TM Benelli M3 shotgun, a (semi-knackered) TM Mp5 A5, a TM VSR-10 G-spec spring sniper rifle, a Maruzen Mac11 machine pistol, a TM Tac Master pistol (M92 variant) and a modified TM MC-51.

My MC-51 has been my main weapon for the last 2 years and has undergone various changes during its life. I actually bought it second hand from a friend of mine who bought it new. It has a 500 round hi capacity magazine, which is excellent for CQB. I have fitted a full Classic Army (CA) stock to it and that accommodates the 9.6V 3300Mah NiMH battery well. It also has a RAS set up on the front end which adds lateral stability to the gun and also allows me to fit accessories such as tactical grips, entry lights, lasers, panels, grenade launchers, etc. On the top of the gun I have fitted a CA RIS scope rail and this accommodates (after much angle grinding) a Simmons Red dot scope. To finish it off it has a 3-point sling fitted. The gearbox is also tuned with a 120% Hurricane tune up kit, combined with a tighter barrel this takes the MC's power up to 415 FPS (avg) although it once peaked at 460FPS, but don't tell Steve that!

My SPR Mk12 mod 0 is the latest edition to the armoury. It's built on an Sr-16 chassis and at the moment still retains a lot of the original guns parts. I will soon be writing a full review of how I built the weapon and what problems I had to overcome. Briefly its an SR-16 receiver, stock, pistol grip and mags combined with the SPR front. The SPR front end adds a lot of lateral stability to the gun and completely eliminates barrel wobble, a common problem with M4 chassis. Inside we have a 140% pro box which takes the power up to about 460 FPS (avg). There is a Harris type bipod fitted onto the lower RIS rail of the front end. It also has a scope mounted on high lift mounts but I plan on changing this and a few other things to give the rifle a more consistent shot.

I will normally go into a game carrying a Tactical Master in a Blackhawk holster and my MC with an entry light and tactical grip, slung. I consider this to be my ultimate CQB set-up. The transition between primary and secondary is just over a second. My one problem with this set up is that if I'm on pistol and I try and run my legs sometimes catch my MC's barrel when it is on my back. Apart from that it's great, the MC has a fantastic ability to be bought from the low-ready position to the high port very quickly and very accurately and it has not let me down in those "reflex kill" moments.

The VSR-10 is a relatively new sniper rifle from Tokyo Marui. It is TM's first try at a sniper rifle and they have released 3 versions of it. Locally the VSR-10 G-spec has proved highly popular as its high mobility and relatively light weight make it excellent for those long days of play. Un-modified it has been considered as a CQB sniper rifle due to its relatively low FPS, compared to the gas rifles, and due to its excellent noise suppression. This is probably the VSR's strongest point, its stealth factor. If you're more than 20 meters away from the rifle the likelihood is you wont hear it fire. A few people over here have modified their rifles with 150% springs but this has been found to make the rifle a lot more audible and has also had negative effects on the stability of the flight of the bb. Mine is tuned with a 120SP and barrel spacers. It took me about 20 minutes to fit all this and that included drilling out the cylinder. The result of these modifications was a very slight increase in consistency and the FPS being rased from 296 FPS to 367 FPS. It maintains it's near inaudible shot report along with the increased range to cope with most AEGs. It's a slick set up! Gas Tanakas may have the extra range but they are also louder and have a mag cap of 10 (24 for certain models) compared to my 30 shots per mag. I also carry 2 mags as they are cheap so I'm a sniper with 60 rounds of ammo before reloading.

My next project is to run an MP5 off 14.4V reliably. The kind of rate of fire that this will produce probably has no valid application but it'll be fun to use anyway. I can see the main problems being the spur gear destroying itself and throwing little teeth all over the gearbox and I may get problems with the motor running that much current through it. Another problem will be trying to find a magazine that will feed reliably at that kind of speed. To get 14.4 V I'm probably going to get a full stock and cram it full of batteries and then have a few smaller capacity batteries running in the fore grip of the gun. I'll post pictures and possibly some videos when its finished so you can see the devastation!

My normal kit for playing is soldier 95 DPM Combats, a BB mesh mask, Timberland walking boots, a DPM bush/boonie hat, a rigid Nylon belt thing and a Blackhawk leg holster. I have been wearing this same kit for a few years with small changes like going from German Para boots to the walking boots, which was purely a sizing issue. The Blackhawk holster is actually made for a Mk 23 Soccom but I use it to carry my Tac Master in and it holds it fine. They are an excellent holster for quick draws and have enough room for a laser or entry light mounted on your pistol and for a spare mag. This holster will also hold a Mac-11 although you will not be able to use the quick draw feature with it. The only drawback of this holster is that when you holster a Beretta the holster has a habit of pressing the mag release for you resulting in comedy quick draws only to find you have no mag.