Mark dropped his MP5 on Sunday for me to look at, it’s been having a feeding problem since pretty much the day I sold it to him (although it never happened to me). He’s not too bothered by it but it sure does bug the hell out of me.

Anyway after a bit of tinkering I think I’ve isolated the issue to the gun’s hopup mechanism. I noticed that the plastic lever that holds the hopup in place no longer works and the hopup and barrel get separated by a few millimeters. A quick mod with electrical tape solved that issue and now the gun fires just fine on full auto, it doesn’t jam even one shot.

It might be crude but it works quite well. 😉 I borrowed the idea from Mark who uses some electrical tape to secure another area. Unfortunately the gun still jams up on semi and solving that issue will be much harder.

The issue is the BB gets stuck on something inside the hopup unit and requires a lot of force to push it through. It’s as if the diameter of the BB is too large all of a sudden… I don’t have a picture of that right now but will take one later. I’m dropping by ASC Armoury tonight perhaps Miles or Carl will have some suggestions, they always have a wealth of information.

If you have any suggestions, I’m all ears.

Dec 20th edit: Oh for any gunsmiths out there, I just realized that the screws for the hopup were installed the wrong way. In any case they’re stripped if I couldn’t tell it was backwards. Talked to Carl and Bartek yesterday at ASC and they gave me some ideas but unfortunately none of them panned out. I guess I’ll have to figure this one out myself, when I do I’ll post the fix.

ICS MP5A4 incoming!

Heh before my parents get mad at me THIS GUN ONLY COST ME $85! Heh there is a catch the part on the metal receiver that holes the cocking tube back is broken but replacing that is easy and cheap. 😉

Aside from the broken receiver the gun looks to be in excellent shape. Maggie is not pleased that I picked up another AEG but says the price is right. 😀 I’ll be getting it in later in the week, will take pictures of the thing then.

Well I certainly hope you had a good wknd because I did. 😉 Friday night I hit TTAC3 with Mike and we played a very interesting “Bank scenario”. It was fun but I though the ETF was suppose to keep the hostages alive, not shoot them down first. LOL it seemed like the good guys always killed the hostages to get to the robbers.

It was a special occasion, it was Paul’s son’s bday party and we all certainly gave him a lesson on the ins and outs of airsoft. 😉 Just kidding the dude played pretty well for his first airsoft game, he was a bit timid but that’s normal for newbies.

Personally I didn’t play very well on Friday but was rather impressed with how well Mike performed. No real stories because well… I can’t seem to remember them right now.

On Saturday I wanted to go for dimsum with the wife but Maggie had to study for CGA exams so we just stayed home. Mark came by later in the day to pick up his share of BBs and a safety lever for his Hi Capa 5.1. Heh when Mark saw the MG36, he was definitely impressed, went as far as extending the bipod and then laid on the ground in the prone position lol! Heh I told Maggie that all men are big kids. 😀

After Mark sent over some pics of his Hi Capa 5.1 and it’s quite pretty…

It’s so shiny that it’s almost a girl’s gun haha. Anyway I have to say the safety lever matches the slide, he’s thinking about adding a silver trigger as well. The rest of the day was spent tweaking my AEGs, loading up mags and prepping my gear for Sunday’s field game.

Wasaga Airsoft game on Sunday

Sunday morning I met up with Douglas and we headed out to Wasaga Paintball. Yes it’s a paintball field but with 10cm of snow on the ground paintballers play speedball inside so the airsofters had the entire field to ourselves. 😀 It’s a good thing I remembered how to get there from the last time because Google Maps got the directions all wrong.

We arrived shortly after 10AM and while waiting for more people to show up, a bunch of us played a quick game of attack and defend. The first game I played very poorly and was take out rather early (didn’t cover my angles properly). The second game was different, I not only shot two people when I found out that there was only one attacker left, I charged the field and was able to mercy Sean (a guy I play with regularly at TTAC3). 😀 Haha he’ll hear about that one for quite some time, after I mentioned I should have shot him, bah who needs mercy right? 😉

The actual game broke the players down into three teams, CADPAT, Flecktarn/Woodland and the mercenaries (ACU, white, black and multicam). As mercenaries we can be hired by either team for a short period of time, helping either side to reach their objectives. The missions between the two official sides during the day included capturing/rescuing the downed CADPAT pilot, securing the two loose nuclear missiles and taking recon pictures of various sites and base facilities with the field camera. As mercenaries, our job was to simply make as much money as we can (the two official teams had monopoly money to pay us with).

When the game started we were the first to reach the downed pilot, after finding him we were making our way back to our base when we bumped into the CADPAT team. Instead of engaging we sold the pilot back to his team and had CADPAT cover our retreat from the area in case Flecktarn attacked.

On the way back to our base we ran into the Flecktarn captain and another member carrying a missile. We were supposed to escort them to their base but along the Flecktarn captain was taken out by CADPAT fire so we ran for the hills. Realizing that the Flecktarn guys didn’t pay us yet, we took out the lone Flecktarn guy carrying the missile and took it back to our base.

We hid the missile in the snow leaving a couple of fins sticking out. It wasn’t in our objectives to capture one so we figure if CADPAT or Flecktarn happen to come across it, they could take it.

A couple of our guys needed to go back to the staging area to peel off a few layers and put some defogger onto their goggles, on the way back we walked by the CADPAT team base. Those who were ready to play strolled into the CADPAT base and we started a conversation. CADPAT wanted our help to assault the Flecktarn base, we said ok but needed to wait for two of our members to return (we’re not going to start a fight handicapped). In the mean time, one of our guys suggested to the CADPAT team to go ahead and scout Flecktarn’s position. Once they found them to radio back and we’d come in as support.

To our surprise the CADPAT team agreed and split their team up in half, one the scouting party, the other for base defense. There was only one problem with this plan, CADPAT had left without paying us first. 😉 With only three defenders to the six mercs, we decided to take their team out and steal the second nuclear missile. 😀 Of course going through things casually we talked and bs’ed for close to half an hour so the remaining CADPAT personnel would let their guard down. One was stationed at the front of the base, another (the medic) was near the rear and there was a gunner in the tower. Walking around we could not see the missile anywhere so we figured it’d be in the tower however that’s a difficult position to assault.

One of us was talking to the front guard, another was able to strike up a conversation with the tower guard while I took position to draw fire however the medic (Sean) wouldn’t let any of us to get close. With that in mind, it was important for the rest of the mercs to concentrate their fire towards him because he was able to freely move around. On the sound of go we executed the plan perfectly and was able to take them all out. Haha Sean was cursing that he knew that was going to happen… 😀 Anyway since they were dead they had to wait for their other guys to return before they could respawn.

On our way back to our base we came upon two CADPAT team members and was able to capture their captain. Walking back to our base we decided to deal with the CADPAT captain since he had money. After the deal we let him go and allowed him to take back the missile. The deal was we would protect him up to the top of the hill unfortunately for Mario, Flecktarn was on their way to our base to set up a deal. We told those guys that they couldn’t attack Mario till he got past the top of the hill so they obviously waited then captured him. Haha we felt pretty bad for the dude but so goes the way of the game. 😉

That was the highlight of the team play for me, after lunch we joined up with Flecktarn again to attack CADPAT, we outnumbered them 2:1 but CADPAT had a very easy to defend area and was able to repel our best attempt. After screwing around for a little bit longer, everyone was pretty tired and we played one game straight team elimination, digital vs analog. Running along side with Jason, we were able to flank the digital side while the other analog guys provided a frontal attack. I was able to take out Alan (ACU) along with three of my former merc teammates also wearing ACU. Hehe the looks on their face was priceless, they all told me I friendly fired on them but I would just yell back that I was on the analog side. 😉 Multicam uses analog features so it’s considered an analog design.

I didn’t get to play much with Douglas, he was on the Flecktarn/Woodland side but from what I heard he played well. I was very happy with how the MG36 performed, it would dry fire probably once every 4-6 shots but that wasn’t a large handicap and no guns broke, woo!

Anyway the day ended at around 4:30PM and when I got home I simply crashed because I was exhausted. I absolutely loved the game and would like to thank tattooedfreak_1 such an awesome time. I’m sure my body will be sore for the next few days but I’ll be ready to hit TTAC3 on Friday. 😉

Dec 11 8:27PM Edit: Damn just remembered that the company party is on Friday… I guess that means no TTAC3 this week.

Those who I play airsoft with know how I love to rave about BB Bastard brand BB’s and this time around Mark and I decided to make a large order. 20 bags (10 ea) should be enough to last us the next little while, the outdoor season is slowing down and we’re not much into winter games.

Anyway I get home today to be greeted by 50,000 BBs but when I open the box, I noticed that they’re 0.2g BB’s instead of 0.25g. BB weight plays a big role in stability at longer distances and 0.2g BB’s are really only good indoors. 🙁 I’m sure it was a simple mix up, I have purchased several bags of BB’s from Jay in the past without any issues but thought I’d be dry for this Sunday’s Wasaga game.

At about 6:30PM, I shoot off an email to Jay letting him know of the situation to see what can be done. Stepping away from my computer for about 10 minutes, I come back and see that he’s emailed me three times, says he’s going to Newmarket (from Tottenham) and will come down to my place to make the switch. He shows up at 9:30PM to swap the BB’s, I’m totally happy and offer to pay him for his time and effort (least I could do I felt) but he wouldn’t take it. Says it’s his fault for the mix up and was just setting things right.

Now I have the 0.25g BB’s I ordered and will be ready to rock and roll on Sunday. Thanks for everything again Jay and I’ll continue spreading the good word about BB Bastard! 😀

Just got my STAR C mag in and damn this thing is pretty awesome! It automatically winds the mag when the gun is fired and overall it does a pretty good job. It dry fires every ~7 shots (when an 8.4V battery is used) but the MG36 is a support weapon and as long as it can keep hailing down BBs, that’s all that matters. 😉

Will be playing at Wasaga next Sunday and I can’t wait to try this gun out! 😀 Now if I could only get my TM G36C working properly…

Last night I went to TTAC3 and had an interesting time tackling their “Level 14” scenario. Full of tight twists and turns, it’s definitely something that’s hard to attack and defend. I didn’t play particularly well but had a good time and it was fun to play with Mike. 🙂

Heh I got to see Alan and Jason’s new guns and grenade launchers and damn man I want to get one too! Not only do they look cool, they’re also great for clearing large areas. 😉 I got to know what it feels like to take a full blast, rounding a corner Jason got me square in the chest with an 80 BB shower, thanks dude it was refreshing. 😀 The “Crazy Like a Monkey” respawn game was fun but my team had a bad starting position in the last game and was pinned down at a bottleneck. 🙁 Oh well that’s how the games are dealt sometimes.

Here are a few pics from the game, no action shots was too busy playing. 😉

Damn those revolvers and grenade launchers are pretty awesome. 😀

Usually it takes me a couple of field games to get comfortable with a new gun but I got use to the CA G36 very quickly. Perhaps it’s because I was playing with my TM G36C earlier in the season and the guns are virtually identical (aside from barrel length) but the CA G36 is a very user friendly weapon.

Probably the thing I like most is that the rifle is only 3kg in weight, much lighter than the M14 and I can run and gun at the same time. It’s not just the gun that’s lighter, the plastic G36 mags also weigh less than the steel M14 magazines so I’m carrying less weight overall. I did notice that I was moving quicker between cover and at the end of each match I was not as tired.

Overall the range and accuracy is decent, I’ll have to game with the gun a bit more to know its limits but on Saturday I could hit people 30 meters away. It’s not as good as the M14 but then again few guns can match that AEG. It should be noted though that the my M14 is equipped with a 6.03mm diameter Prometheus 500mm inner barrel and the CA G36 was using the stock 6.08mm diameter CA 495mm inner barrel. I may install a tightbore but I think I’ll play a couple of more field games before going ahead.

About the only thing I have to complain about is the selector switch and the trigger mechanism. The selector doesn’t click in place like the TM G36C so when switching firing modes, you can’t feel the gun change modes. There is an audible click but I find that it doesn’t always indicate the mode has been changed. Next when the battery is low there is a delay between trigger pull and firing. More than the usual delay when firing an AEG, it adds almost half a second to firing. 🙁 I’m not sure what the issue is but I will open up the gun later to see if I can fix this issue.

The CA G36 is a bit “rougher around the edges” compared to a TM but overall offer a better “value”. I’m pretty happy with the gun, there are a few issues with it but they’re pretty easily remedied. I can’t wait for the drum mag to get here then it’ll be a MG36 LMG support weapon. 🙂 I’ll take some pictures when everything is finally complete.

Mark, Charlene and I played our first airsoft game at Wasaga Paintball today and I have to say the field is pretty awesome. The dense forest was a pleasant change to skirmish in and I liked how large the maps were. Instead of instant action like at FlagRaiders, you have to search for the enemy and it’s very suspenseful. 😀

We were a bit late to the field because of a mix up in the morning but nothing could ruin this day. Beautiful weather so late into the season is truly a blessing. 😉

Our first game we played on these three huge hills with steep slopes… After running up the first hill, going down and climbing the second, I was exhausted. Heh I walked (at a very leisurely pace) around the bottom of the third hill the rest of the way and was able to flank a bunch of defenders at the top of the hill. The first game ended up well and I took out three enemies but was punished by having to climb another hill. 🙁 At the top I thought I was going to have a heart attack and was dreading the rest of the day. Things wouldn’t as bad as I thought but of course carrying the 7kg M14 around doesn’t help out. 😉 A couple of game later I decided to move over to the CA G36 and that gun was lot of fun to play with. 🙂 More on that later though.

Mark and I were on the same side, we tried playing as a team and overall I think things went well. We were trading cover fire and advancement and I think we both learnt a lot. Heh later in the day, Mark and I had a wager on who’d kill Charlene most. She was on the other team and I thought it would be fun. Kudos to Charlene for being a good sport. 😉 It ended up being a tie (1 kill per person) but Charlene was able to take Mark out too, she didn’t get me though. I was able to hit her during the bunker attack and defend scenario. Near the front of the line I was actually in a poor position to engage enemies so instead of trying to find and take them out, I decided to wait for them to come to me. 😉 I was lucky enough to have Charlene attack my side and best of all she didn’t know I was in close proximity! 😀

Anyway I heard her asking her teammates to lay down cover fire so she could advance, I took aim but missed her and she took refuge at a log pile about 8 meters from me. Luckily for me, she didn’t notice I was shooting at her. Anyway she was asking for cover fire again so she could attack the bunker, I figure she’d go on wide because turning inwards would be a much more difficult path. I laid in the prone position, extended the bipod on the G36 and waited. When she ran out the next time *pop pop pop*! Heh it’s a good thing I hit her because after those three shots I was empty. 😉 As I was reloading another enemy ran and advanced to the opposite side of the barrier I was behind. He didn’t know I was there either and I mercied the guy from above, he was really surprised. 🙂 I was eventually taken out (shot in the back) as the opposing team stormed our position but I was happy.

Mark and Charlene called it a day early but I went out for one last game but that didn’t turn out well. About 10 seconds into the game, I took a huge stumble and twisted my ankle. 🙁 I felt bad for leaving my teammate Norrie by himself but I couldn’t continue, sorry about that bud! I limped back to the staging area and then we called it a day.

Overall we all had a good time and I haven’t had this much fun in quite a while. The sunshine was a nice change from the rain and wet weather that we’ve had to play in the last 4-5 games. Wasaga was an awesome field and I can’t wait to play it again in the future. It’s a shame that we only discovered it at the end of the 2006 outdoor season (well people do play in the winter but I don’t do outdoors because I’m a wuss). Can’t wait for next spring though! 😀 Maggie wasn’t able to make it this time around because she’s looking forward to it after hearing our stories.

I didn’t take any pictures, I was busy playing but a few other guys snapped some up, one set can be found here. When more are posted, I’ll edit this post. Was going to write a CA G36 review too but it’s 1AM and I’m dead tired. Will post my thoughts on the gun in the morning.

Nov 27 9:57AM Edit: Well the guys have been slow at uploading pics but here’s one Charlene took of me at the staging area. Here are a few pictures of Mark and I in “action”, didn’t spot one of Charlene yet.

The rest of the pictures can be found here. The guys in Multicam in the background are on Team R.A.I.D., what a bunch of copycats. 😉 Long live Team GHOSTS! 😀

Instead of risk having the CA stock piston/piston head fail on me during a game, I decided to swap it out for the Guarder polycarbonate piston and aluminum piston head. Anyway while I was inside the mechbox the stock tappet plate seemed weak so I tried replacing that with a Guarder Ver 3 tappet. Unfortunately the stock Version 3 Guarder tappet plate is not compatible with the CA G36 nozzle.

As you can see here the section that holds the nozzle in place on the Guarder tappet is about 2mm taller than with the stock part. When the stock nozzle is installed, it crooked and will not make proper contact with the hopup. Just wanted to warn you in case you have to replace the stock tappet plate (like if it breaks), you’ll also need to get a new nozzle.

A side note with the new piston/piston head installed, the CA G36 now shoots around 390 fps. I certainly didn’t expect such a large fps increase but I am pleased to report that the gun is shooting more consistently now (muzzle velocity only varies by about 3 fps). 🙂

Picked up a full size Classic Army airsoft G36 assault rifle and I have to say it’s pretty nice. The external build and quality is a bit plasticy but then again the real thing is a plastic/fiberglass polymer and at just over 3kg, it is real weight too. Heh after lugging the 6.8kg M14 around the last 4 field games, this thing feels like a feather. 😉

The gun is a bit odd looking but I wanted something different from the usual M4/M16, M249 or AK47/74 that’s on the field. There is an integrated 1.5x magnification scope in the carry handle although the eye relief is poor. 🙁 There are also iron sights on the very top which I’ll probably use more because it’s easier to acquire targets. The gun does not come with a bipod by default, I picked up a G&P G36 bipod for the gun. I plan on turning the gun into an MG36 so a C-Mag is also on the way. 🙂

Classic Army is suppose to use upgraded/reinforced mechbox parts and for the most part that is true. The gears looked more solid than what TM uses and the cylinder head/nozzle make a nice seal. The CA yellow piston/piston head looks cheap and from what I’ve read may not be that great but I won’t replace it till something breaks. The CA motor has the wires soldered so replacing that thing (if I need to in the future) will be a pain.

I was a bit surprised to see that CA equips the moderately upgraded gun (comes out of the box shooting 330fps) with a plastic spring guide. It’s absolute junk and I’m sure would be one of the first things to break. In fact during my inspection of the mechbox, I accidentally broke one of the tabs that secures the spring guide in place! I’m not sure how it happened, I didn’t force anything at all… Luckily I had a spare Systema V3 spring guide handy from another project that I could use as a replacement.

The CA G36 (MG36 when I’m done) is a long gun at 1m (M14 and G36C shown for reference, all gun bases lined up), I definitely won’t be using this thing at TTAC3. 😉 That’s ok once I get the C-Mag, it’ll be purely a field support weapon (LMG). I replaced the stock spring with a Guarder SP100 and it’s shooting a nice 375 fps now. 😀 I’m debating with myself if I should get a tight bore inner barrel, hopefully I’ll get a chance to field it before it gets really cold…

That’s my last gun this year, I promise! 😉 Heh if I get another one, Maggie says she’ll kill me…