The Face Mask Poll

It has to be safety first. I've seen people who have lost teeth

At a WWII event?
Wearing a mask isn't putting safety first. Considering all the injuries you can get doing this hobby, putting safety first would mean not doing it at all. Wearing a mask, like wearing shooting specs, means choosing to protect a part of your face at the expense of realism. At present there is no alternative to shooting specs but there is an alternative to a mask in the form of a cheap gumshield.

Personally I would love to play in games where there were no face masks AND no goggles

Me too, but I doubt we'd persuade enough people to join us . That's really the thing about the variety of events being run at the moment - if a particular aspect of a particular event doesn't appeal, for whatever reason, then you simply don't go to it and save your money for one that does.

I think what a lot of the newer lads are still missing from the pages & pages of this debate (and i mean this in a totally non-patronizing way, so please don't take offence! ), is that most of the events organised on this forum are a polar opposite of what you can expect in a 'normal' Sunday skirmish site.

At those events, your weapon is the reason why you are there, shooting the 'enemy' and 'winning' is the only point of the game. With these WW2 events, your weapon is simply a tool, that you may not even fire more than 10 shots in a day. The event may require you to use props such as laying communication cables/disarming mines/firing mortars - you will very rarely end up doing modern CQB style airsoft, where someone can turn a corner and get hit in the mouth from 3ft with a fully automatic gun!

Just my take on this debate, as i say its not my intention to patronize any new players or put them off these events.

In the interests of the Equality Legislation of this day and age please don't forget that one person's cock is another's person's tw*t.

Vader masks: I hate seeing them. I would prefer not to.

Flesh masks: give me nightmares and I get a PTSD type flashback to Westworld or a very scary episode of Dr Who. As long as the wearer takes the evil lower part off when they look at me in the safe zone I will put up with them, but if they stand close to me and make eye contact I might have a psychotic episode and smash their heads in with a rifle butt*

Craig's gumbo (not stew) is awesome.

*just in case anybody failed to follow that, it was a joke.

I voted for Option 2. I'm not a fan of full face mask things. I played 3 or 4 open days in Masks and it was annoying, so i invested in some glasses. Anyway! i think that we shouldn't 'ban' them, just politely discourage the use? and 'push' players into using the Half mask face looking thing and some glasses. However we must respect the choice they make....

Craig's gumbo (not stew) is awesome.

Back from hols and I agree... but his stew is awesome as well...

I'd be happy to have the same quality food in a swanky restaurant... in fact the last swanky restaurant I went to served food that wasn't a patch on Craig's... I wasn't at all happy!

I'd be happy to have the same quality food in a swanky restaurant... in fact the last swanky restaurant I went to served food that wasn't a patch on Craig's... I wasn't at all happy!

I'm going to hazard a guess that you weren't as drunk at the restaurant as you were when you eat Craig's stew/gumbo/

NB: This is all a massive jest. I'm sure Craig's stew is lovely. I prefer his fried fish though.

Anyway... I went for option 1. Blood boiling is too strong a thing to say, but it does destroy the immersion for me.

I have had a tooth shot out... but this was when doing modern CQB. What's more it was shot out by a "newb" who I had already shot in the back. I don't expect this sort of thing to happen in WWII airsoft and in fact can't remember a single tooth being shot out at a WWII airsoft event.

Yes, it cost a lot of money to get fixed and I'm on my second crown since the first was ripped out by an apple.

Since then I have always carried a double gum shield. I only put it in when I think things are going to get nasty. In most WWII games this means it generally stays in my pocket. As far as hygiene is concerned it does get covered in muck, mostly pine needles... I've never been ill as a result of using it. I do wash it in dettol every-so-often.

Although I always start the day with shooting glasses I do often find these steam up and end up switching over to some low profile mesh goggles. When I see photos of me wearing these I always grimace a bit... I will endeavour in future to not use these and instead sort the steaming up. I've used the ESS cloth in the past and it has worked well. My current cloth though is rather fecked.

As for the specific event that the suggested "ban" has been set for... it's a ground-breaking rifle only game. Which we're hoping to get only sub 350fps guns at... With so few bbs flying the chance of losing a tooth is very low...

even mesh goggles can be toned down.

several marshal have told me to put my eye protection back on while wearing these and although not perfect they are a huge improvement.

I may have to give that a go... though will probably not do the scary eyes.

However, I still will try to ensure I use the shooting glasses much more.

What paint did you use?

just tamia acrylic's ,mostly a mix of dessert tan and rust with a little white, but it depends on you'r skin tone and sun tan or not, I've toned down the eyes since then and closed them slightly more so they are less of a wide open stare.after the paint had dried i ran a drill bit through the holes to unclog them as the pant fills them in a bit.i have little choice as i sweat way more than most so have difficulty with clear shooting glasses and as you said i start the day in clear and end up in mesh.

I see... I've had problems with acrylics staying on stuff like rubber and mesh in the past...

I see... I've had problems with acrylics staying on stuff like rubber and mesh in the past...

With the mesh you should be ok. On the rubber parts, try giving all surfaces a good rub down using warm water with a drop of Flash or jif or the like, even soap n water will do. This should help and the paint will stay on much longer. Eventually because of the clatter of normal usage some will come off but not in big flakes or patches. Alternatively you could try enamels. I'm not sure haw they will react though.
Hope this helps.

.....Ordinary airsoft is a rather self-indulgent sport verging on the selfish; you do what the hell you like because it doesn't matter and no one cares. WW2 airsoft isn't like that at all; where the interests of others are much more important, and it is this oneness and common purpose that differentiates it from other shades of airsoft.

Surely it is equally selfish to expect someone to eschew face protection which they view as vital to taking part? What happened to the importance of their interests?

....Wearing a mask isn't putting safety first. Considering all the injuries you can get doing this hobby, putting safety first would mean not doing it at all....

This is a ludicrous argument and you know it. Yes of course there are risks involved but some of them you just have to accept because there's nothing much you can do about them. However, if certain risks can be minimised/reduced by wearing a face mask then it strikes me as eminently sensible to do so.

The whole "spoils my immersion" thing puzzles me a bit to be honest. In six years of taking part in this hobby I have never had any problem in using my imagination to put myself into the moment.

For example, I'm laying in a ditch exhausted and filling my pants as 5 or 6 kettle helmetted silhouettes start darting towards me while bbs are kicking up dust all around. I'm shouting "Contact front I'm under fire help I need covering fire". At this point I'm usually genuinely scared frankly and the last thing on my mind is, "oh hold on a cotton pickin' minute, one of them's got a funny mask on don't worry chaps it's all just a game no need to panic".

The point I'm trying to make is, perhaps we should consider working on our own imagination a bit more. This game is all about what YOU bring to it.

EDIT - sorry for double post - I never worked out how to mult-quote in one go. At least I managed to make it less noticable by spanning two pages, that's the mark of a pro.

This game is all about what YOU bring to it.

An excellant attitude

....Wearing a mask isn't putting safety first. Considering all the injuries you can get doing this hobby, putting safety first would mean not doing it at all....

This is a ludicrous argument and you know it. Yes of course there are risks involved but some of them you just have to accept because there's nothing much you can do about them. However, if certain risks can be minimised/reduced by wearing a face mask then it strikes me as eminently sensible to do so.
The whole "spoils my immersion" thing puzzles me a bit to be honest. In six years of taking part in this hobby I have never had any problem in using my imagination to put myself into the moment.
The point I'm trying to make is, perhaps we should consider working on our own imagination a bit more. This game is all about what YOU bring to it.

I have read this post and became very disinterested rather quickly after reading alot of comments on this subject. I had decided this post just didn't warrent a comment, however, Barrie and Anne have hit the nail on the head .

Do we have to, once again, describe the meaning of discussion and debate? No-one's trying to win the argument or shut down those to have a different opinion. Craig's interested in running an event where face masks aren't accepted. For some, that will be a factor that makes them decide whether they want to go, or whether they don't.

The argument isn't ludicrous, it's an opinion that someone holds that should be respected.

Headshot said.

Do we have to, once again, describe the meaning of discussion and debate? No-one's trying to win the argument or shut down those to have a different opinion. Craig's interested in running an event where face masks aren't accepted. For some, that will be a factor that makes them decide whether they want to go, or whether they don't.

Well!!! in answer to that question I would point out that :-

Chomley Warner said. (At the top of page 1 on the debate)

The proposition: Full face masks should be banned for WW2 airsoft games

I could trawl through the thread and pull out many more comments all of which give the impression that someone would like to ban face masks - However I simply could not be bothered.

I fully understand what Headshot is trying to say and what he and the others are trying to achieve at their rifles only game with their re enactor pals. However whilst people continue to read this thread and the debate thread, they will see these various comments and statements and I'm sure many of them will draw the wrong conclusion.

So Headshot, I'm afraid you may "have to , once again" Many more times. Sorry but there it is.

For my own part, I initially misunderstood the agenda. ( I was very very drunk at the time ) Now I feel it's all a bit of a non issue. If in the future I feel the need to attend a" no face mask game" then I will. In the mean time I will probably continue to wear my flesh impression half mask. I would also encourage all face mask wearers to make or obtain a flesh effect mask as I think that the black plastic mesh masks (referred to in the threads as Darth Vadar masks) do spoil the image. If you have gone to the trouble of putting together a realistic and authentic looking WW2 load out, surely you don't want to spoil it with a modern plastic airsoft mask?

Finally a question. The gas masks - nice idea but surely they must be restrictive and terribly hot? Answers on a postcard please.

Turned out nice again.

Mr Chappy, I don't think you understand the principles of a debate! I put a proposition and made a case to support the proposition. Others then debate the issue by offering a counter argument or indeed support the proposition by offering addition points (or just don't bother taking part - it isn't compulsory!).

As I've said, I could just have easily started the debate with a proposition "Darth Vader full face masks should be encouraged in WW2 airsoft games" and given a supporting argument. I can and could as I consider all sides of any issue before leaping to conclusions or taking unsupportable or illogical 'opinions'.

The object of a debate? To make people think, no more no less. I enjoy debates (avoid me at game socials if you don't ) and enjoy listening to people that have something to say - that's why I am quite happy listening to the arguments of politicians of all parties (or at least those that are candid and free-thinkers rather than trite script-readers) irrespective of who I may vote for.

To be clear - you don't have to have the same opinion as the proposition you are putting forward, it is an exercise to think around an issue and seek out new and different ideas or gauge the level of support for various sides of an argument.

I fully understand what Headshot is trying to say and what he and the others are trying to achieve at their rifles only game with their re enactor pals.

I don't even own a rifle, and let's not go down the route of defining WW2 airsoft apart from reenacting, otherwise I'll have to tell you a story about Nigel "I'll never do re-enacting" Cheetham.

Oh, who's that on the left?