Can Augmented Reality Improve Your Airsoft Gaming Experience?

Given the recent success of Pokémon GO, can augmented reality improve or at least make a more interesting airsoft gaming experience? 

By: Ringo Bones  

With the recent success of Pokémon GO, augmented reality gaming seems to be the in thing at the moment if you own an advanced enough smart-phone. And given the relative ubiquity of advanced smart-phones, can augmented reality elements be introduced to airsoft gaming to make it more interesting? But first, an introduction to what is this augmented reality business….

Augmented reality (AR) is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than being augmented), by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality. By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one. Augmentation is conventionally in real-time and in semantic context with environmental elements, such as sports scores on TV during a match. With the help of advanced AR technology (e.g. adding computer vision and object recognition) the information about the surrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and can be digitally manipulated. Artificial information about the environment and its objects can be overlaid on the real world.  

With the proper creative application of augmented reality, airsoft gamers would soon be closer to playing in a gaming environment closely resembling to that of James Cameron’s Avatar or those exotic extraterrestrial locales of the Halo computer gaming series and even a passable World War II, Vietnam War, and the recent Gulf conflict of the Call of Duty gaming series. It seems that augmented reality applications for airsoft will only be limited by the gamers’ imagination.

Does the M1915 Villar-Perosa Submachine Gun Make A Good Airsoft Gun?

Given that the “vintage Airsoft model / replica guns” has its own sizable cult following, would an Airsoft version of the M1915 Villar-Perosa submachine gun make a good Airsoft gun? 

By: Ringo Bones 

Photos of this seminal submachine gun may give the impression that it may be too awkward and too unwieldy to use one in battlefield conditions, but a recent documentary about old guns has shown that a gun enthusiast was quite delighted after firing a still working 1915 Villar-Perosa submachine gun – like the one displayed in the Austrian Army Museum in Vienna and the Russian Museum of Artillery in St. Petersburg – even assessing that the gun will be manageable in battlefield use despite being slightly heavier in comparison of contemporary 9-mm submachine guns. Does this make the 1915 Villar-Perosa a good Airsoft gun for the “vintage gun” enthusiast? 

Even though I have yet to see one displayed in our local Airsoft shop, the Villar-Perosa submachine gun originally has two variants that was more-or-less fielded near the end of World War I. The twin-barreled M1915 model (actually two submachine guns in a “Siamese-Twin” configuration) was originally designed in 1914 and was originally intended by the famous Italian small arms designer Bethel Abiel Revelli for use in World War I era biplanes. Though it’s 3,000 rounds per minute rate of fire can make a short shrift of any biplane that comes in front of it, the 9-mm Glisenti ammunition – similar in size to the modern 9-mm X 19-mm Parabellum cartridge – proved to be low powered and too limited in range for practical use as an aircraft machine gun. The 9-mm Glisenti ammunition is even “weaker” than its contemporary – the 9mm X 19-mm Luger pistol round. 

The manufacturing company Officine Villar Perosa (OVP for short) eventually made a “stripped-down variant of the M1915 Villar-Perosa submachine gun, the OVP M1918 “automatic carbine” with half the rate of fire of its predecessor. Its rather rapid rate of fire was primarily caused by lightweight bolt being paired with a powerful spring. Both guns operate in the open-bolt configuration with a delayed blowback action. Fed from a 25-round box magazine, the submachine guns very high rate of fire and rather short range only makes it suitable for close quarter battle / CQB situations. Though it could look very kick ass to the unfamiliar, even in its Airsoft version firing 6-mm plastic 0.2-gram mineral-filled polypropylene pellets travelling at 400 feet per second. 

Can Airsoft Improve The General Public’s Gun Safety Consciousness?

With the tragic shooting accident that resulted in a shooting instructor being shot in the head by a 9-year-old girl, could Airsoft guns serve as a “much safer” way to promote gun safety consciousness to the general public? 

By: Ringo Bones 

The accidental shooting death of gun instructor Charles Vacca involving a 9-year-old girl with an Uzi back in August 27, 2014 raised yet again the subject of gun safety concerns in America. Gun instructor Vacca got accidentally shot in the head in a routine instructional demo at a gun range in Arizona that caters to Las Vegas tourists. The 9-year-old girl who was allowed to shoot with an Uzi lost control of the gun when it was set to fire in full-auto mode in an uncontrolled muzzle rise that resulted in gun instructor Vacca getting shot at least once in the head. Even though the “gun experts” from the NRA says the 9-year-old girl should have been started on a single-shot .22 caliber weapons system, will it be much safer if younger shooters should have been introduced to an Airsoft replica gun first for basic gun safety instruction? 

Even though gun instructor Charles Vacca had his right hand on the 9-yer-old girl’s back and his left hand under her right arm when he was shot, it proves to be still quite an “awkward” position to control the Uzi’s muzzle climb of an inexperienced first time shooter due to the fact that the Uzi’s telescoping bolt design and an “awkward” center-of-gravity proved it to be an unwieldy weapon to handle and relegates it only to close-quarters combat or CQB engagement. Given the “unwieldy nature” of the Uzi, I sometimes wonder how much training time the Israel Defense Force devotes to their conscripts before being allowed to handle the Uzi submachine gun in either of its 9-mm and .45 caliber variants.

Even though quite a number of “gun accidents” that result to a shooting death incident have happened before the recent 9-year-old girl Uzi shooting tragedy on U.S. soil, a number of gross gun safety violations have been “caught on video” around the world for a number of years now. Back in 2011, a young Syrian “conscript” fighting for the free Syria Army who looks like he’s still a college freshman had been caught on tape inserting a fully loaded magazine on his Kalashnikov / AK-47 with the assault rifle set in full auto mode while  he muzzle rested on his chin. Thankfully, an older fellow comrade caught him just in time before the incident resulted in a tragic accident. If the young recruit had previous familiarity with an Airsoft replica of the Kalashnikov given that both almost works about the same while only the real steel gun is potentially lethal, would such gun handling snafu be avoided?        

A Ballistic Computer for Airsoft Use?

Given that present-day specialist snipers already use special-purpose palm-held ballistic computers to further improve their already exceptional performance, can such computers be designed specifically for Airsoft use?


By: Ringo Bones


It seems like only yesterday – actually back in those few years preceding World War II – that ballistic computers of sufficient accuracy were mechanical devices the size of a spacious room. Like Dr. Vannevar Bush’s Differential Analyzer of the 1930s which was later used to calculate artillery trajectories during World War II. Surprisingly, a much smaller – though the accuracy is scaled-down as well – ballistic computer portable enough to be held in one’s hand was invented by a French artillery officer named Amédée Mannheim called the slide rule back in 1850.

These days, specialist snipers are more than likely to use those palm-held Blackberry-sized / Blackberry-looking special purpose battery-powered electronic ballistic computers, like the KAC Bullet Flight 2.0.0 by Knight’s Armament Company, described as a ballistic computer designed to provide quick firing solutions in the field; Palm-held push-button firing solution, anyone?

Similar and / or related devices appear as if they are now fast becoming an indispensable part of the specialist sniper, almost as indispensable as the sniper’s weapons system. Though I haven’t seen a present-day sniper resorting to use a 1950s era slide rule to compute his or her firing solution just to make a statement on how battery-operated devices had dumbed-down the world. And there’s even probably a ballistic computer i-Phone-style app being offered somewhere already. But can such devices be of used in the world of Airsoft gaming?

The problem with Airsoft weapons systems justifying the necessity of ballistic computers is that the 6-mm plastic pellets themselves – Airsoft ammunition – have a non-existent ballistic coefficient. I mean they are spherical and light, unlike a high-performance rifle bullet that’s conical, of sufficient mass and spin-stabilized in flight. In short, spherical 6-mm BB pellets for Airsoft use are a far cry from a 123-grain Lapua Scenar round with a ballistic coefficient of 0.547 and a muzzle velocity of 2,600 feet-per-second famed for its ability to hit tennis-ball-sized targets at 600 yards or 1,800 feet away.

No matter how much you tweak your Airsoft weapons system to give you an initial muzzle velocity approaching 600 feet-per-second, the spherical BB pellet’s very lousy ballistic coefficient will always preclude your Airsoft gun from hitting a tennis-ball-sized target from even as close as 94 feet away – the full length of a basketball court. Real life should have been much easier for the Airsoft gamer, but it isn’t.

Computing the ballistic coefficient – if it ever has one - of a spherical 6-mm BB pellets made of mineral-reinforced polypropylene weighing 0.2-grams or slightly heavier will probably require the computing power of a 1995-era Cray supercomputer or better. Airsoft manufacturing firms probably don’t have the R & D time and money for such an endeavour. Even using a 1950s era slide rule to compute a firing solution during a typical Airsoft game is probably as effective as being able to see the planet Uranus using a 3X sniper scope.

Mpingo Goes Airsoft

Better known in the hi-fi world as a widget for controlling unwanted vibrations, does Mpingo have something good to offer to the world of Airsoft?


By: Ringo Bones


Unlike most Airsoft clubs that I’ve been involved before, my current one seems to have a fascination with Airsoft replica guns that have wood in them. Having never acquired the taste for black impact-resistant polystyrene that every other Airsoft enthusiast seems to fetishize, I find my current teammates’ obsession with real wood veneer on their Airsoft weapons systems somewhat refreshing. Real wood veneer does look good on a PPSh brass fountain sub-machinegun, an M-1 Carbine or those Kalashnikov-like Soviet era infantry weapons. One of my teammates even made the butt-stock of her Kalashnikov look like that of the futuristic ray gun toted by Jane Fonda’s character in Barbarella. Remember that ray gun with a curvy Art Nouveau inspired rifle stock from the iconic 1968 film classic? Given the amount of wood in these types of Airsoft model replica guns, would the use of Mpingo in strategic places improve their handling?

It has been a well-known fact for sometime now that up-market Airsoft guns tend to be more comfortable to hold on to when fired in long continuous bursts than their counterparts at the lower end of the market. Could it be that they have better vibration isolation systems? Recently, a group of hi-fi enthusiasts who are also into Airsoft have wondered whether Mpingo’s ability to absorb unwanted resonance would be an asset in designing a better Airsoft weapons system. Mpingo is a dense African swamp-ebony hardwood used by hi-fi widget manufacturer Shun Mook as a way to absorb unnecessary resonance and vibrations that can degrade a hi-fi system’s sound quality. Given that Airsoft guns’ propensity to vibrate somewhat violently when fired at long continuous bursts, will strategically placed pieces of Mpingo improve handling qualities?

The concept of using strategically placed Mpingo pieces in an Airsoft weapons system to damp out unwanted vibrations is a very intriguing concept indeed. Given that Airsoft guns are already expensive, the use of Mpingo – which unfortunately has a fecundity rate like that of a great white shark – will probably add a very steep price premium. Probably a good way for those with money to burn to experiment that is if you can handle the guffaws for not being so environmentally friendly. Please tell us if the improvement in handling is worth the additional expense.

Militia Groups: Still A Valid National Security Paradigm?

Given the relative military success of armed militia and partisan groups during the Balkan civil war and the 2003 invasion of Iraq are militia groups still a valid national security paradigm?


By: Ringo Bones


For a number of years now, several lawmakers across the world have deemed Airsoft clubs as nothing more than a training ground for “unregulated militias”, and yet militia groups have lately been praised as the last line of defense against imperialism. With the relatively successful resistance posed by militia groups acting in a partisan capacity form a military standpoint during the turbulent Balkan region civil war of the 1990s and the ill-advised invasion of Iraq by the Bush Administration back in 2003. It could be said that as long as an invading imperialist armed with the latest state-of-the-art weaponry like stealth bombers and the H-bomb still adheres to the Geneva Convention and related rules of war. The invading imperialists seem to be powerless when facing against modestly equipped ragtag militia groups acting in a partisan capacity. But is there any truth to this?

There has been a “silent revolution” moving across the world – especially citizens of relatively stable democracies – for their respective lawmakers to grand them gun owning privileges modeled after the American Second Amendment as a deterrent against their country accidentally electing a tyrannical leader or an invading army. Since the end of the Cold War, it seems that fiscal austerity became the norm when it comes to national defense spending of most relatively stable democracies during much of the 1990s. But the 9/11 attacks changed all that and the very same countries now face the problem of bolstering their national defense as fast as possible while spending as little as reasonably possible.

This is where the citizen-militia comes in. Private gun owners – especially those who own infantry style assault weapons that are more often than not of higher quality and better maintained than those issued in their respective national armies – can act in a sort of partisan capacity. Harassing the invading enemy until the invaders eventually get sick and tired of it and give up to go home. Given the recent events documenting the relative success of such scenarios, one can easily conclude that private assault rifle owners – in particular – could be truly a typical country’s last line of defense. This is where Airsoft clubs could serve its usefulness as a training ground for basic firearms safety and first-hand exposure to military-style operations to the civilian gun enthusiast.

Are Airsoft Clubs Virtual Militias?

The hardware may just be well-crafted simulacra of real infantry small arms, but does your typical Airsoft club qualify as a true-blue militia group?


By: Ringo Bones


Traditionally, militias have always been accepted as a part of the organized armed forces of a typical country liable to call only in emergency. Some would say the whole body of able-bodied male citizens declared by law as being subject to call to military service. But ever since the fall of the Berlin Wall that eventually lead to the end of the Cold War, militias anywhere in the world are more often than not established by disaffected young men and women coming together for collective security. Primarily due to the fact that these young men and women’s respective government have found it very politically expedient to infringe upon their collective allegiances and / or lawfully acquired material possessions and titles just for the reasons of belonging to an ethnic minority.

Worse still, the Bush Administration’s badly-run War on Terror in which the Obama Administration unfortunately inherited had supposedly implied to every not-so-democratic regimes around the world loyal to the United States to enact their own “carte blanche” when it comes to tackling “terror groups”. Thus making these not-so-democratic regimes team up with their very influential clergy to freely preach sanctimonious religious rhetoric on wealth redistribution aimed at a wealthy ethnic minority as a way for these regimes to shield themselves from anti-corruption whistle-blowers – when there’s a scapegoat, there’s a getaway perhaps?

Given that the United States is the only developed nation that allows its citizens the right to keep and bear arms via the Second Amendment of the US Constitution about not infringing on the establishment of a well-regulated militia. It seems quite odd that there are some states in the US where establishing of Airsoft clubs is deemed illegal. Some countries too that are loyal to the US and her interests have deemed it illegal to have Airsoft clubs. While some of them have legalized paintball clubs, these paintball clubs are not allowed to give advanced tactical training – like CQB, hostage rescue of astronauts landing in hostile zones and room clearing - to their civilian players.

Even though they are just over-glorified versions of pellet guns, there is one thing that you can do with an Airsoft weapons system that you can’t do with a modern infantry-style assault rifle. That is to shoot your opponent without killing him or her or involving lengthy hospital stay during one of your simulated war games. As firm believers of the Second Amendment is just an extension of the First Amendment, all of my Airsoft teammates have real guns – an average of three in fact (infantry style assault rifle, main sidearm and a concealable small backup handgun, while some own man-portable anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons systems, etc.) – all unregistered and deemed necessary due to their very healthy mistrust of the government that considers ethnic minorities prettier looking than them as vermin. Sometimes I even wonder if these elected officials have ever heard the concept of the Posse Comitaus Act or the US Constitution’s Second Amendment.

Blood, Sweat, and Airsoft

It always makes perfect sense to seek out bargains, but is your typical low-cost Airsoft gear ethically produced?


By: Ringo Bones


Maybe it was that BBC produced documentary titled Blood, Sweat & T-shirts exploring whether typical high street fashion items are ethically produced that had me to start wondering if your typical low-cost Airsoft gear passes muster as being ethically produced? But first, let us examine the idea about what makes a typical product and / or commodity ethically produced.

Ethically produced products and / or commodities are usually defined by the way the workers responsible for producing and making these items “marketable” are compensated fairly and / or ethically for their laborious efforts. Some companies are starting to advertise that their goods and services are ethically produced, although they are still part of a very tiny minority that announce to the world that they practice ethical business governance.

In the world of hi-fi, Wilson Audio Specialties can be considered a paragon when it comes to championing ethically produced products. Dave Wilson and his wife, Sheryl Lee, always made sure that everyone interested in acquiring their renowned loudspeakers knew – either through advertising and plant tours – that their factory workers are provided with full healthcare coverage and matching 401K plans. Wilson always made sure that when a customer buys one of their 45,000 US dollar per pair loudspeaker that’s made in America and built in-house, the customer is also paying for their workers’ way-higher-than-Wall-Mart-wages and benefits that his company are his obligation to his loyal team.

But in the Airsoft gaming world, every time you look at their glossy catalogues of Airsoft weapons systems, BDUs, and other replica of infantry-level paraphernalia. The testimonials and assurances – that are verifiable via plant tours and Michael Moore-style fact-finding missions - to whether their products are ethically produced are nowhere to be found. If you are following on the Beeb on the incidences of forced labor camps of the People’s Republic of China, it can be somewhat disconcerting to think about it every time you buy those ultra-cheap Airsoft weapons systems and their associated peripherals. Especially if they are made in the People’s Republic of China.

Given that most of us are starting Airsoft clubs as a way to save money in firing real ammunition and / or able to use low-cost non-lethal weapons systems on each other. No, make that because the primary goal of our rag-tag militia is to stop tyranny when our own government’s military can’t or won’t be bothered to do so. The ideals we are fighting for should extent to the ones making our goals possible. Airsoft gear providers should start making sure that their products are ethically produced because their regular customers can always boycott their products. If you bought that Free Tibet concert DVD, maybe you should start concerning whether your Airsoft gear passes muster as one of those ethically produced products.

A Great Site For Jungle Warfare Simulation?

Given that Alexander Arms corporate headquarters is located in the tropical idyll of Honolulu, Hawaii, shoudn't us "mere" Airsoft enthusiasts deserve the good life?

Should Political Extremists Be Banned From Airsoft Clubs?

Given that most law-enforcement and local government entities regard Airsoft clubs as de facto gun clubs, should anyone harboring extremist political views be barred from joining?


By: Vanessa Uy


Many consider me as a political extremist in more ways than one. Though I can manage to play on both sides of the proverbial political net, but like what Robert Frost said about the Japanese, I too have a disdain of playing “political tennis” without a net demarcating between the left and right of the political spectrum. If one loses sight of this “net” they could become one of those “hated people” who never understands responsible gun ownership. Thus turning themselves into the proverbial whipping boys often featured in pro-gun ownership magazines like Guns and Ammo or Soldier of Fortune.

While the Second Amendment of the US Constitution is more often than not mistaken as a “universal value”, although in reality tyranny is deemed more universal in our contemporary globalized world in comparison to an individual’s right to defend him or herself. The issue had never emerged during discussions by member nations of the UN Security Council as they conveniently overlook the very unflattering aspects of the victor-victimized relationship. But why should we in the Airsoft gaming community care about global macro-politics? Aren’t we too preoccupied with our own “micro-politics – i.e. that who should be allowed or denied entry?

Even though every aspect of our lives is very much politicized since as far back as the 20th Century. From art to spirituality (organized religion – to me – is nothing more than politicized spirituality) all it seems had been deemed political. Our post-9 / 11 world just makes the political contrasts starkly stand out. Simulated war games like Airsoft have always been a 250-paged doctoral thesis on cognitive dissonance that T.S. Eliot could only dream of. I mean do Airsoft players around the world find it just a bit strange that after spending the whole Sunday trying to pretend kill the opposing team, they could at the end of the day come together and enjoy a barbecue and a round of drinks. Given the overall pathos, one’s preoccupation with an over-glorified version of a pellet gun is only half of the story. I for one could only wish how the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche could have viewed such spectacle.

Like all violins and their respective f-holes, everyone has their own political viewpoints. If we start mandating that only such-and-such persons with such-and-such viewpoints can join Airsoft clubs is tantamount to discrimination. After all, facing an opposing team harboring political views wholly different from yours can be very exciting, right? Just remember not to confuse one’s ego with their political viewpoints.

Cornershot Weapons System: Viable for Airsoft Use?

Given that it is now widely adopted by the world’s leading defense and law enforcement groups, can the cornershot weapons system prove useful in the Airsoft gaming world?


By: Vanessa Uy


Ever since Amos Golan invented the cornershot for use in the Israeli Defense Force’s urban warfare operations, many in the Airsoft gaming community are wondering whether it will be viable for Airsoft use given that Airsoft weapons systems are almost identical to the “real” guns that are used in cornershot. But before we proceed, here is a short primer on what is cornershot.

Given that the Israeli Defense Force operations are usually done in urban environments. Designing a “contraption” that allows soldiers to use their standard infantry weapons to be fired behind corners while allowing them “cover” against gunfire from the enemy would serve as a very useful lifesaver to soldiers prosecuting their operations in such hostile environments.

Amos Golan’s cornershot used a system composed of a camera, a view screen / video monitor, and a firing mechanism that allows a soldier to fire not only their standard infantry weapons like assault rifles, but also handguns and even 40mm grenade launchers in relative safety behind sufficient cover without the need for the assault rifle, handgun, and grenade launcher to be modified in any way. Even though his system now enjoys widespread adoption and use, a similar - although different in concept - device was built during World War II by the Germans that also allows their soldiers to fire their guns behind corners.

Known as the MP44 bent barrel weapon, the gun was primarily designed for German commandos for use when they gained entry to bunkers and other enclosed spaces. The gun’s barrel was “gently” bent 30° to allow the gun to hit targets behind corners wile giving the soldier sufficient cover against enemy fire. The German built device uses prisms for optical sighting that allowed its operator to see targets around corners. Even though the gun was manufactured in significant numbers, it’s “thirty-degree-bent-barrel” became it’s “Achilles Heel” because bullets – the projectile – could more often than not get stuck in them. Plus, the MP44 Bent Barrel Weapon was only accurate in CQB conditions, at distances greater that 12 meters, its accuracy is found wanting. Unlike the modern version invented by Golan were standard infantry weapons can be easily fitted into for “cornershot” use without modification. With sufficient training – especially given the original cornershot’s excellent camera and sighting optics – a soldier can still get guaranteed head shots even at distances slightly greater than 300 meters via a standard issue M-4 carbine.

Even though in military and law-enforcement use had became widespread, in the Airsoft gaming world, use of such weapons systems had been outlawed by most Airsoft clubs. Citing that cornershot weapons systems based on the one designed by Amos Golan is a violation against established blind-fire rules. Given that if an Airsoft enthusiast – with MacGyver-like sense of engineering improvisation - is fortunate enough to examine one closely, he or she could easily clone it using of-the-shelf Internet-ready personal computer peripherals. Like Net-cams and small plasma screens to be used as a video monitor. One can be cobbled up using these items and other parts for probably under 500 US dollars. Given the lack of “truly binding laws and agreements” in the Airsoft gaming world preventing the use of such weapons systems. It will be only a matter of time when a cornershot weapons system similar to that invented by Amos Golan will be widely used in Airsoft as a squad-level weapons system.

Airsoft Weapons Systems: WMDs?

After seeing the movie No Country for Old Men, I wonder if an unseemly improvised weapon like the pneumatic air gun used in that movie could be the next WMD threat?


By: Vanessa Uy


Touted by movie buffs as one of the scariest “improvised” or “MacGyver-ized” weapons of mass destruction or WMD of 2007, the “mother-of-all-airsoft-weapons-systems” used in the movie No Country for Old Men. Will that particular weapon be destined to become the most popular improvised unseemly weapons system of choice for budding terrorists?

Folks who lived in the “cattle-belt” region of the United States say that the pneumatic air gun used in that particular movie say that it was “allegedly” built as a “humane” way to kill cattle for the meatpacking industry. If this is true, either industrial efficiency has already divorced itself from widely accepted societal moral norms when it comes to animal cruelty. Or the US meatpacking industry is already starting to acquire a really sick sense of humor as the humane law regulatory body fell asleep at the wheel again. Given that Christmas – together with the American celebration of Thanksgiving – is the major meat consumption season of the Christian West shouldn’t cattle or other meat-producing livestock deserve to be raised ethically and slaughtered humanely?

Even though at “first glance” the movie No Country for Old Men looks like it’s primarily inspired by the long lost art of “MacGyver-ism” due to the pneumatic gun’s prominence in the movie as a murder weapon. In my opinion, the movie – true to the book it is based on – is really about the true meaning of what was the “Old West” – warts and all. Some who are currently doing their doctoral thesis might say that the move – as is the book it is based on – is a critique of the over-glamorized rose tinted – sometimes disrespectfully caricatured - 1950’s Hollywood portrayal of the “Old West”. Given that a Nietzschean leaning perception of the true meaning of “morality” has been largely made anathema by the eight years of the Bush Administration, this aspect of the movie – and the book – is often “overlooked” by a large majority of moviegoers and the book’s readers.

To the airsoft gaming community, the movie is often perceived as an anachronistic perversion of the dueling codes of conduct of the “Old West”. Though I often question the wisdom of viewing the past through the prism of the here-and-now, it is certainly is an inescapable intellectual absurdity. That is why I’m a staunch proponent of historical accuracy and / or historical authenticity when it comes to conducting an airsoft military – or other conflict scenario – simulation games.

Metal Storm Airsoft Weapons System

An airsoft weapons system based on J. Mike O’Dwyer’s million rounds per minute capable Metal Storm would not only be a technical tour de force, but would forever change the face of airsoft. Ready for a revolution?


By: Vanessa Uy


When a loan tinkerer named J. Mike O’Dwyer from Queensland, Australia – after 15 years of trial and error - managed to construct a working prototype of his multibarrel electronic gun that’s capable of firing over a million bullets per minute back in 1999. It set-off a revolution that every government’s military organizations around the world find hard to ignore. Rightly so because the other fastest gun at that time, the Gatling-type machine guns with an electrical motor-driven firing mechanism, can “only” fire at 6,000 rounds per minute.

O’Dwyer’s Metal Storm concept is so revolutionary that according to military top brass who witness the first few field tests say that Metal Storm might be the only weapons system that could save more people than it kills. It’s high rate of fire is very useful in neutralizing incoming mortar fire and other heavy artillery, especially in humanitarian aid camps in various war zones around the world. Plus, Metal Storm’s adjustable spread of fire is also very useful in clearing minefields of UXO s without endangering minesweeping personnel. Another bonus of this unique weapons system is the fact that it is an electronically operated system, it is easier to add electronic safeguards like proprietary passwords that would render the weapons system inoperable if it ever falls into enemy hands.

Currently being manufactured by Metal Storm Limited, a company with both an Australian Stock Exchange and NASDAQ public stock listings (ASX: MST, NASDAQ: MTSX) reminiscent of piano builder's Steinway’s LVB (for Ludwig van Beethoven) public stock listings. Metal Storm Limited is primarily a research and development company that specializes in electronically initiated stacked projectile weapons systems. Metal Storm is both the name of the company and the weapons system technology that the company specializes in. The company is based in Brisbane, Australia with a subsidiary in Washington, D.C., USA. Metal Storm owns the proprietary rights to the electronic ballistics technology originally invented by J. Mike O’Dwyer.

Since electronics today is now very cheap compared to 9 or so years ago, an airsoft weapons system / AEG replica gun similar to Metal Storm might obviate the need of a motor. The motor could be replaced by a number of solenoids controlling the array of barrel’s firing mechanism. Even though an airsoft Metal Storm gun will never be single-man portable, it’s high rate of fire – depending on the number of barrels in the array – would make it’s target find out that being hit by one can be a surreal experience. This might revolutionize airsoft gaming scene if the Metal Storm airsoft weapons system becomes widely available.

Science Fiction Based Airsoft Simulation Games

Ever since a segment of the airsoft gaming world embraced Stargate: SG1’s P90 weapons system and the science fiction TV series noted epic battle scenes. Will the wider world of the airsoft gaming community embrace the world of sci-fi battle scenes?


By: Vanessa Uy


Maybe it was the release of the soot-em-up video game called Star Trek Elite Force and it’s subsequent variants and incarnations. Or the inclusion of Navy Seal / Delta Force-type personnel in the recent Enterprise series that allowed Trekkies – majority of which that I know of are also airsoft enthusiast – to create simulations reenacting their favorite battle scenes in various Star Trek episodes. From the original series to the last Enterprise TV series, there’s no shortage of scenarios to choose from.

When it comes to the world of science fiction combat scenario – especially ones involving fully automatic infantry weapons. Simulating epic battle scenes using airsoft weapons systems usually depends on the scenario you intend to reenact.

In the science fiction side of the airsoft gaming world, the only widely available science fiction oriented airsoft weapon system - bar Stargate: SG-1’s P90 - is the M41 Pulse Rifle used by the US Marine expeditionary fighting force accompanying Lt. Ellen Ripley in the movie Aliens. Noting that “widely” is a relative term here since an overwhelming majority of airsoft gamers tend to gravitate toward historically real events like the Vietnam War or Operation: Desert Storm, etc.

On the Star Trek end of things, given that Masterpiece Models – the official Starfleet Armory and manufacturer of Star Trek-oriented weaponry – sells these products to avid Trekkies. Since they’ve already made very good Type III Phaser Rifles and compression rifles used in Star Trek: Voyager series, should licence their designs to airsoft manufacturers so that the airsoft gaming world will finally have a somewhat true Star Trek experience.

The problem with celluloid / movie or TV battle scenes – especially ones involving shooting a target over 200 meters away – is that long distances don’t lend themselves particularly well in the make believe world of the proverbial silver screen. Even the latest high definition contrivances don’t even come close of the real experience of shooting a helmet placed 300 meters away with a Kalashnikov using it’s iron sights. Especially when you did this first hand and you’re lucky enough to posses a pair of eyes with a slightly better than 20/20 visual acuity.

Luckily – or is it due to the brilliant directors clever cinematography – that science fiction-based combat scenes usually takes place in close quarters. Like the shipboard phaser-type weapons combat in Star Trek, or in Aliens where the marine’s arch-nemesis tend to pounce on them at very close distances. As an avid Star Trek fan, I never saw their phasers or compression rifles being used at targets more than 300 meters away.

Cinematic foibles such as these tend to benefit airsoft gamers since airsoft weapon systems’ projectiles – i.e. the plastic BB pellets – have a very poor ballistic coefficient. Even ones with muzzle velocities that measure 450 or so feet per second slow down very rapidly the farther the target you intend to shoot. Shooting someone half a basketball court away using an airsoft weapons system – even with a 450 feet per second muzzle velocity – your game mate will just do a “Matrix”-style swerve to evade your pellet fire. So close quarter scenarios are a prerequisite in airsoft battle simulations, especially good ones.

Female Friendly Military Uniforms: A Boon for the Airsoft Gaming World?

Will Spain’s defense minister’s promise of a female friendly redesign of their army uniforms issued to women enlistees be a boon to airsoft female players when airsoft supply shops start to stock them?


By: Vanessa Uy


Starting Thursday, September 4, 2008 military uniforms in Spain will get a female friendly redesign for women enlistees, the Spanish defense minister Carme Chacon said on Wednesday. Chacon was the first woman to fill the position has promised to change the uniforms to better suit “female body shapes”. “Men and women have the same rights, but they have a totally different physical make-up,” Chacon said during a meeting with dozens of women soldiers. “The uniforms should be changed to meet women’s needs,” the minister said.

The new uniforms will be designed to fit “women’s chest, hips and waistlines” better, the Spanish daily El Mundo said Thursday. The defense ministry says that the uniform redesign will be based on a recent study from the country’s ministry of health, which measured the body types of thousands of Spanish women. By the way, the Spanish armed forces did not start to admit women until 1988. The number of women in Spain’s military currently reaches 15,400 out of a total strength of 79,000.

It’s quite surprising that Spain spearheaded the program to design military uniforms specifically aimed for long-term comfort for women serving in the Spanish armed forces. Despite the burden of being the universally accepted stereotype of Spain being known as the spiritual and ancestral home of chauvinism (not to mention The Inquisition), it is quite refreshing that Spain is the first ever country to tackle this “relatively esoteric” issue. Esoteric to me because Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin never talked about the issue of female-friendly military uniforms publicly, not even on Saturday Night Live. Whether it is an effect of the spirit of EU egalitarianism manifesting itself or otherwise, the move is quite refreshing. But the female-friendly uniform design will undoubtedly revolutionize not only the world’s military, but also will trickle-down to law enforcement agencies.

Also, will airsoft clubs be not so far behind since women players over 14 are finding out that battle dress uniforms – even expensive ones that are currently standard issue to the US military – are not exactly designed with women’s long-term comfort in mind. This might kick-start the formation of an all women airsoft team, which just over a year ago seems almost inconceivable. Will female-friendly ballistic armor vests / body armor / bulletproof vests be offered soon?

The International Red Cross Emblem: Off Limits in Airsoft?

Ever since the high-profile rescue operation of Ingrid Betancourt from her FARC captors, a legal row erupted over the misuse of the Red Cross symbol. Does this now include Airsoft military-simulation game scenarios?


By: Vanessa Uy


Ever since that dramatic hostage-rescue operation of former Columbian Green party presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt together with 14 other hostages from their FARC captors became headline news back in July 2, 2008, a somewhat relatively esoteric aspect of international law also gained headline news exposure. Namely the law about prohibiting the misuse of the International Red Cross’ Red Cross emblem.

The Columbian Military’s use of the Red Cross emblem in Operation Jaque as a rouse to rescue Columbian-French politician Ingrid Betancourt constitutes as a “war crime” under the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law. That specific stunt could endanger humanitarian workers in the future according to international legal expert Mark Ellis, executive director of the International Bar Association. According to Ellis: “It is clear that the conventions are very strict regarding use of the symbol because of what it represents: impartiality and neutrality”.

The International Committee of the Red Cross - or Comité International de la Croix-Rouge as the ICRC is known in the Francophone world - was founded by Jean Henri Dunant in Geneva, Switzerland back in 1864. Jean Henri Dunant also founded the Geneva Convention and is also a Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1901. As a neutral spectator at the Battle of Solferino in Italy on June 24, 1859, Dunant witnessed first hand the horrors of war. When at the day’s end, the battleground was littered with some 40,000 dead and wounded victims of the conflict. Horrified by the suffering of the unattended men, Dunant organized groups of volunteers to serve them. Brought supplies for the soldiers’ use, and worked personally as attendant and nurse. His experience of the war has made him decide to form a humanitarian organization, which will later become the International Committee of the Red Cross.

A few years later, Dunant finally managed to organize a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland in August 8 – 22, 1864 attended by official delegations of European nations. At this meeting the Geneva Convention of 1864 for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick of Armies in the Field was adopted and signed by 12 of the nations represented. Thus, the Red Cross was born. In honor of Dunant’s nationality, a “red cross on a white background” – the Swiss flag with the colors reversed – was chosen as the symbol.

A group of prominent Swiss citizens who were instrumental in arranging the Geneva meeting became organized as the International Committee of the Red Cross. It’s functions include the recognition of new national Red Cross societies; working for the development and observance of international humanitarian agreements – especially the Geneva conventions. Acting as a neutral intermediary in time of war or internal strife to ensure the victims of such conflicts of protection and assistance; and in particular serving the welfare of prisoners of war, making appropriate recommendations for ameliorating their condition.

In 1867 the first International Red Cross Conference was held in Paris. Regular meetings of this highest deliberative body of the Red Cross are held normally once every four years. Its membership is composed of representatives of the national societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the League of Red Cross Societies, and the governments that are signatory to the Geneva Conventions. The humanitarian effort of the International Committee of the Red Cross has earned them scores of accolades. The ICRC has won a number of times the Nobel Peace Prize, in 1917, in 1944, and in 1963.

As a prestigious humanitarian organization, the ICRC is very serious with regards to the issue of misuse of the Red Cross emblem. Over the years, there are incidences of violation of this relatively esoteric legal issue. Like the ICRC ‘s pending legal dispute over a multinational drug company who insists of using the Red Cross emblem as a “mere” branding logo of it's products. Also, Back in the mid-1980’s, the Philippine National Red Cross threatened to sue Tommy Tanchanco – founder of the long-defunct Philippine punk rock record label called Twisted Red Cross (TRC) – in court for using the International Red Cross emblem on his TRC products and tapes. Tommy, being a son of an influential ex-government minister, just brushed the threat aside. After all every Twisted Red Cross or TRC punk rocker knows that the TRC record label logo is actually a red colored “X” set over a white circle as background.

In the Airsoft world, there seems to be a “tacit compliance” with regards to the proper use of the Red Cross emblem that managed to permeate globally in airsoft military simulation games. Every team I’ve witnessed first hand so far, even those from far away who posted their Airsoft gaming activities on the web – either via still photos or YOUTUBE – had never misused the International Red Cross symbol. In my place, players with medical degrees or has a medical profession often volunteer as ad hoc medics / "Corpsmen" during Airsoft military-simulation games don’t wear ICRC armbands. Is this just because ICRC armbands are well-regulated commodities? Not even lapel pins designating what kind of Medical Corps they belong to. For all intents and purposes some of them probably belong to the Veterinary Corps.

Humor aside, it seems that the global Airsoft gaming community – so far – has been tacitly policing themselves with regards to the proper use of the Red Cross emblem in military simulation games. I just hope that it stays this way for years to come. But to be sure, I’m doing my part of spreading awareness on the proper use of the Red Cross emblem. If you’re reading this, please kindly spread the message to your local Airsoft gaming community.