ASCUK

Once again the Government are idiotic in their policy by assuming that anyone who's played airsoft three times isn't going to be doing it for the sake of getting their mitts on a replica for use in a crime.

Still, it'd be much easier to take a drive to Lozells/Handsworth and pick up a real gun for half the effort.

What a waste of time and money.

Well, of course, the whole thing is pointless and affect only the law-abiding. So what's new?

BTW, buying parts, components, accessories, consumables etc etc not covered by the legislation - just stuff that looks like a real gun.

Nothing's new, that's why I lost interest in it in the first place! The Government is still ineffectual and Fluffy's still a cnut.

Anyway. I think I'll buy a TM 1911, the WA one is too delicate.

S

The Government is still ineffectual and Fluffy's still a cnut.

We could declare that in our political allegiances re the convo we had a while ago

The Government is still ineffectual and Fluffy's still a cnut.

.........sums it all up for me .

Thing is, with the number of people banned from USUCK already, there is NO WAY that a USUCK run Govt-approved system would be considered "Fair and open to use by all accredited (or whatever term you want to use) Airsofters". It's a non-starter.

OK, fun info time - as usual, all on the QT.

1: UKARA have been trying to get rid of the ABA for ages. They do NOT like personal imports, hell, if i was running an Airsoft retailer I know I wouldnt. One of the biggest parts of the ABA's stance was a continuance of personal imports.

spilt post, due to block upload limit on work 'net system

2: Airsoft Warehouse, John Reddington and Graham Mcleland from Ironfoot Industries went straight to the Home Office with a plan where they would be the only "approved" suppliers of Airsoft to the UK market. Luckily, they got told where to go. JR quit as the head of UKARA, indeed, pretty much went AWOL when he was confronted with the evidence.

3: Myself, along with Gary (Warlock on here) Andy (Dude - now THATS a cretin) and Tim W started the ABA, i quit because I was blackmailed by AW (you quit, or we pull 3K of advertising from AI...), Gary quit because he has another kid on the way, and no time to do it (hell, surprised he did anyway - with 6 kids already), Dude left because he didnt get his way (which surprise, surprise involved using ASCUK as the "secure sales forum"), and now Tim has either gone AWOL, or quit. Mind you I dont blame him. He's lost over

All interesting stuff.

Hard to see how personal imports wouldn't be banned - how can the sellers establish a bonio fido airsofter?

Realistically, while Fluffy seems to be focussed on the ABA it's only the site owners that have the 'power' (if three sites visits turns out to be the criteria) - retailers and players will have to rely on site records. Boomer said as much to me - they will have the burdon of data input and retailers will have to pay a fee to access it.

They're imports matey. Being outsider of the country, a retailer couldnt give two hoots, as long as its paid for before its shipped. After all, what can the British courts do to a company based in HK

The idea behind one central database was that HMR&C would be able to cross reference the name and delivery address of an import with the central database - which would give them a simple "Yes/No" answer on whether the importer was an "official" Airsofter or not...

Aye, Boomer is spot on. I've also heard rumblings from several site-only operations (i.e. not affiliated with a shop), that they'd be happy to act as import agents for personal imports (for a small fee of course). The irony of this is that even though you wouldnt get a warranty, you'd still get the kit for a damn sight cheaper than a UK shop would - so UKARA members would start to suffere a drop in sales.

Re personal imports , whats it take ot break that market ?
Let me think , oh... Oldsweats shop of horrors , buy them at cost sell them at cost , plus whatever fees required to cover this daft membership scheme, which frankly I suspect will denegrate into "give me your membership number "....or even sell them all as second hand . No prfit = no tax liabilty too .

I dont need the money , and like pissing nobber's off so seems a win win for me personally .

This naked attempt at blackmail by ASSCOK inot gaining access over the records is pure wank IMHO .

~Whilst we're at it can someone give me a breif run down of who all thse self appointed bodies are ?

ABA?
UKARA - retailers led by Frenchie ?
UKASA - sites led by boomer ?

is membership voluntary or mandatory ?

I see Kermit re imports.
It will be illegal to sell not to buy, therefore anyone regardless of airsofter status will be OK to buy from anywhere - difference is the HK retailer won't be prosecuted for selling, whereas a UK retailer will! Ooops!

Can't see HM C&E going along with that somehow...

Acronym 101 then

ABA - Association of British Airsoft - Umbrella organisation for Airsoft. UKARA are (were?) 1/3rd of it, UKASGB 1/3rd and player bodies 1/3rd. Started by the lot i've named above, we only EVER put ourselves up as a steering commitee who would quit as soon as the players got their own representation sorted. Surprise, surprise, they didnt. They would carp on all day about it being "undemocratic" and the like, but they wouldnt get their arses into gear and get player associations sorted out amongst themselves and replace us (which is what we wanted!)

UKARA - United Kingdom Airsoft Retailers Association - Thinking "cartel", then you'd be right. At the moment they have "suspended any new applications to join". Personally, as a Trade Association, I thought that was illegal. If you met the requirments, they HAVE to let you join...

UKASGB - United Kingdom Site Governing Body. founded by Ken Elstom from Fireball. Get's a lot of flak, but his heart is in the right place. Even if his interpretation of the Law is wrong quite a lot of the time.

Now, here's the interesting bit. UKASGB and the ABA were considered to be "stakeholders" by HMG, UKARA were told they couldnt be. I personally think that any UKARA based plan is going to get kicked out by the Government.

C-W - the full text is "Sale, importation and manufacture of realistic imitation firearms"

Covers pretty much everything...

It's almost as bollox as a/s itself really

It's a wank hobby run by morons and played by spackers , let's take up fishing instead.

If it's Aussie style fishing, with high explosives, im game for it

C-W - the full text is "Sale, importation and manufacture of realistic imitation firearms"
Covers pretty much everything...

Ah right, that's that then. Except for us, maybe.

Silly me, I thought the ABA was the players bit, but all is clear now. So, if Tim has gone AWOL and the retailers are being shunned then it comes down to the site owners - since they are the only people who can say who is and isn't an airsofter - then that is fair enough, realistically?

Got it in one.

It all rests on the site operators defining who is, and who isnt, an Airsofter.

UKASGB was joint founded by Ken Elston and various other site owners , he was then voted in to be Chair as he has vast experience in committee led organisations (through Scouting) and used to work in the insurance industry.

Unfortunately he's far too old and confused to be able to react quickly and wittily enough to people like Fuckface, Dork and Kretin and all those other pallid, live-with-their-mothers, keyboard heroes who throw their obviously considerable, yet minisculely-endowed, weight around online.

BTW Kermit, the ABA, was Demoncase (AKA John Lopez/J-Lo) part of the steering committee? If so, what was your opinion? Got one myself, but it's very, VERY poor.

Got it in one.

It all rests on the site operators defining who is, and who isnt, an Airsofter.

Which is why the UKASGB (United Kingdom Airsoft Sites Governing Body - not AirSoft Governing Body, which is the usual misconception) were always the ones who held court with the HO.

Demoncase was something to do with the "APA" - Airsoft Players Association, if i remember correctly. Headed up by Frenchie from Airsoft World (previously, Airsoft Scotland), the concept was good, but it died, surprisingly enough, because of a group of cretins on USUCK.

Anyone see a pattern forming