Hello From London

Hi Roy, welcome to the forum.

Your old airsoft guns are definitely not 'illegal' - possession of those is perfectly fine (although you need to comply with the law if you want to sell them). But unfortunately, as a non-active airsofter, you are unable to buy any new guns as you no longer have a legal defence to be sold RIFs. Sorry!

hello and welcome
i take it from the weapon selection that you decided on the German side ,as CW said in order to buy more then you need a defense against the vcr bill , the easiest thing to do is go to you'r local airsoft site 3 times in more than 2 month's, it's just three games and you have the guns ,then you can get a UKARA recognized membership of the club and you'r in .In the mean time you can still attend WW2 airsoft events ,many of us are willing to loan out a gun for an event on a you bend it mend it basis ,the same for uniform ,it's expensive to get everything and virtually nobody comes to their first event owning all the right kit ,most borrow what they don't have either a weapon or helmet etc .
Dadio

Hi,

Thanks for the info. I guess I'll have to go and play 3 games to get registered to keep it 'real' then or run around with a bright pink MG42 with Hello Kitty stickers on it for the meanwhile !

You're right dadio, I fancy the German side, since having a 'Stormtrooper' Action Man as a kid but having purchased a pair of 'potatoe masher' M24 grenades with birthday money and putting them in my wellies and subsequently tripping up and knocking a tooth up (that was 35 years ago). I guess it's part of the parcel starting up with the uniform and kit etc and take on board the comments of loaning gear and kit, that's very kind in these circles so to speak.

In view of 'Private Battles' like the re enactors have, are any organised as such for the airsofters or is it only staying with the mainstream 'anything goes' games or games organised here? Does anyone organise anything 'private' like that if land was available?

Cheers,

Roy

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by private battles , none of our events are for public display like you might find in mainstream re enactment ,the event's are often planned to follow a sequence of actions with a planned outcome but it's controlled with restricted re generation or restricted ammunition to be sure that one faction win's but this can still allow a good feeling of personal achievement if you hold out against high odd's to the last bullet etc... however it's a long way from walk on day airsoft "all for the win " mentality , if you'r running D day event the Germans are going to lose unless it's a what if scenario but that would be an exception .we aim to develop the idea of being there and wanting to survive and work as an ordered army where you follow order's.

Hi,

Thanks for the details, its just that I have been approached in the past by a few re enactors asking if I would let them host a 'private battle' and camp on land I have use of in Suffolk. I understand that you follow a specific historical senario, limited rounds etc and run it as close as original. So purchasing an MG42, MP44 or MP40 will probably get no play at all seeing a lot of the 'senarios' are rifles only, fair enough.

The only thing I can do to appreciate what you actually do is try one of your days and see if it is for me or not.

Cheers,

Roy

Hi,

Thanks for the details, its just that I have been approached in the past by a few re enactors asking if I would let them host a 'private battle' and camp on land I have use of in Suffolk. I understand that you follow a specific historical senario, limited rounds etc and run it as close as original. So purchasing an MG42, MP44 or MP40 will probably get no play at all seeing a lot of the 'senarios' are rifles only, fair enough.

The only thing I can do to appreciate what you actually do is try one of your days and see if it is for me or not.

Cheers,

Roy

There's only one rifles only game running this year. They're very few and far between.

Like Dadio said, organisers will put on an event at an airsoft site, then the WW2 airsoft community will (hopefully) book on in sufficient numbers for it to run. It's not historical re-enactment as such and the general public don't pop down and have a look; unless they want to see plastic pellets whizzing around and us lot labouring under wool uniforms and kit that seemed like a great purchase at the time, not so much when you're lugging it around all day in stifling heat.

The MP40 is far and away the most common airsoft weapon on the German side. Rifles are becoming more and more common simply because they're getting more affordable and the quality has improved. The PPS Kar 98 is ace.

So to sum up; if it's a period WW2 gun, or even an M14 with scrim over it, you're fine. WW2 airsoft is a lot of fun; the overwhelming majority of people are nice, helpful and always willing to loan kit to get new people in to the hobby.

If you like the idea of being a member of a WW2 infantry squad/section, recreating a battle of WW2 and not necessarily 'playing to win', whilst having a love of history, then you'll most likely love it.

As above, an SMG is far and away the most useful all round weapon, or a semi auto rifle with full auto as an option. Ahem. Good for open days or more specialist stuff. MP40s and MP44s are commerically made and even if OP are available second hand, MG34/42s you'll probably have to build. Again, some home builds come up for sale.

"In view of 'Private Battles' like the re enactors have, are any organised as such for the airsofters"

I've done several private battles, but they aren't very common as you need access to appropriate land you still have a ballache with the police etc. The majority of events organised through the forum are essentially 'private battles' as they are specific events organised by groups of individuals although some are run by airsoft sites with rules and kit requirements of varying strictness.

If you want to get your UKARA registration, another option is to go to some of Joshs (Gunman) events as he is a registered site owner, three games and you are good to go. He has loan/hire kit available too.

Cheers
Martin