Skirmish Airsoft Wentworth CQB Review!

On Sunday 11th of October I visited a site totally new to me that was ran by Skirmish Airsoft: Wentworth CQB and I enjoyed my day so much, I thought a little review was in order!

The site is located in Rotherham in West Yorkshire which is around a 60 mile drive from my home near Derby and it took me about an hour and twenty minutes to arrive to the site via the A38 and the M1, so not too far! Getting to the site was easy as the sat nav lead me straight to the gates, Wentworth CQB is a block of former student accommodation enclosed within the grounds of Wentworth Woodhouse and when I got to the gate I was directed by a Marshal to the parking area inside the stables, which has ample space for visitors (I did however get a tad lost and end up in the estate grounds surrounded by cows and pheasants haha but I digress) - once parked up I walked up the track with all my kit to the safe zone.

Booking on for the event was really easy and was completed via www.eventbrite.co.uk (I used the iPhone app which is even simpler). I paid a £10 deposit and the job was a good'un. The first thing I did was sign in and pay the remainder of the game fee which was £20, the walk on fee was in line with other sites around the country.Food wasn't included in the fee but there is a sandwich bar nearby that the site orders food in from, including hot and cold sandwiches for a very reasonable price. The safe zone was quirky - it was set up in the house closest to the office and it was a house, with a kitchen and a bathroom which was quite amusing! We took up residence in one of the upstairs bedrooms and we were well away. I'm told that the site usually has a portaloo on site during game days but on the day I went, the stable toilets were open which was even better. Chrono was completed outside by one of the Marshals - the site has an FPS limit of 368, which I personally think is a little high for the type of CQB site it is but the players on site seemed happy with this.

The site itself is a group of 6, 2 story buildings within the grounds of a listed building. As I've previously said they were student accommodation so their top floors are tight corridors with bedrooms with built in wardrobes to take cover behind and in, and wash rooms lining them. The lower floors are full of large communal spaces and toilets connected by a stairwell. From what I saw all the buildings were the same so it made getting to know the site very easy, and I personally loved how close the combat was inside the buildings - it was intense! We played a fair few different games which were well ran, the first being a pistol Team Death Match to get everyone in the mood and to get an idea of the site! My favourites were the attack/defend game and the objective capture games as these really intensified the firefights.

One of the key elements of a day that really stand out for me are the site staff, and I'm pleased to say that the staff at Skirmish were very friendly and welcoming on the day. They gave a comprehensive safety brief at the start of the day that explained everything the players needed to know, the site doesn't operate a bang rule which is great and allows the use of pyrotechnics. Their games were well marshaled but what really struck me was how honest the players themselves were, I saw a lot of incidences where players were marshaling their own teams which is great and exactly what our industry needs. The other players on the day were mostly fantastic - happy to speak to people they had never met and made us feel welcome, there was an issue with a couple of players but they were swiftly dealt with by the Marshal staff.

If you love CQB the site is definitely one you should give a go! From the site itself, to the staff and the overall experience of the day it is a great days airsofting! Photo credits to Graham Thompson from Airsoft Addict, check out their website - http://www.airsoft-addict.com/


Site details:
Skirmish CQB
S62 7TQ Rotherham
United Kingdom




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The Midlands Airsoft Show October 2015

On Saturday 10th of October, The Gaol (former HMP Ashwell) located in the Oakham Enterprise Park on Ashwell road in Oakham hosted the 4th Midlands Airsoft Fair. The event originally started as an event called the Airsoft Boot Fair and has quickly gained popularity with the Airsoft community. It's now run twice a year at the Gaol in the heart of Leicestershire.

The site itself is impressive, although I haven't managed to play a game there yet - it is definitely on my list! From where I live in the Midlands, the Gaol is roughly an hour and twenty minutes away so it is a fair drive but I was pleasantly surprised with what was on offer at the event. The fair was set in a wing of the former prison with stalls located in the rooms and corridors, the food stand, ASG and the 126 Field Company outside in the courtyard. The site was well equipped with clean portaloos and food/drink to purchase.

I felt the admission to the fair was extremely good value at £5 which included a sausage or bacon cob from the food stand. The event ran from 10am to 3.30pm which meant I managed to get down after I finished work! Tickets for the raffle were available to purchase for £2 a strip with some great prizes including free game days, a pistol and credit to spend at Ammo Drop - a store supporting the fair. The Pilgrim Bandits - a great charity set up by a group of Special Forces Veterans to help injured service Men and Women using their unique skills and training, were also at the event selling merch and raising money which helps them continue their work. I have had the pleasure to meet twice before - firstly at the Alpha One Yorks Vs Lancs Charity Game and at the RedWolf Airsoft Showcase. You can check them out here

As I was walking around, it was great to see a mix of retail stores and second hand sellers. My personal favourites on the day were Alpha Tech (a collaboration between Alpha One Airsoft and the Airsoft Machine Shop), the creators of the Alpha Tech 6 Shot Impact Grenade which deploys both .209s and 9mm munitions for Airsoft use and come in a range of colours including pink, red, black and their most popular colour orange! The grenades retail at £85 which is cheaper than any other impact grenade currently on the market. I'm really looking forward to doing a review on one of these beauty's soon! What I liked about it so much was the matte finish, the vibrancy of the colours and as silly as it sounds, the click of the mechanism when you change chamber. Alongside Alpha Tech was Patch Craft, makers of laser cut patches! It was great to look through their work and pick up one for myself. The quality is great and the designs are fab.

There were many other sellers at the fair including The West Midlands Airsoft Supplies. I got to have a nosey at loads stores products whilst walking around the fair which gave me a few ideas for my next purchases *cough* a pink Oshiboom and a new pistol *cough* I also noticed a tee shirt printers and a lady making paracord bracelets (obviously I got a pink one haha). As I'm saving for something big - which you'll see in a few blog posts time - I only picked up some essentials for my game the next day.

Whilst at the fair, you had the option to play a small pistol CQB game in a wing of the prison which was included in the price and from what I'm told and seeing the footage from the day it looks like it was a blast, I didn't get chance to play on the day as I was so busy chatting to sellers and players but that is something I will endeavor to do next time.

My favourite part of the day however was getting to meet Paul from ASG who I've had the pleasure to chat too and getting some time in with the CZ/ASG Scorpion Evo3. Now she is an absolute beauty - my favourite feature is the 3 round burst and the kick you get from pulling the trigger. Like a real firearm, she stops firing when the mid cap magazine is empty which is also a great feature as it really makes you think about taking those shots. I'm really impressed with this RIF and look forward to spending some more time with her soon.

Another aspect of the fair I really enjoyed was meeting and chatting to so many of my followers. As I'm still fairly new to the Airsoft Industry I am always really humbled by how many of you read my blog and follow me on Instagram. It is always a pleasure to chat with you and talk gear.

Over all The Midlands Airsoft Fair is a great day out and great value for money. Rumor has it that it will be even bigger next year which I am really looking forward too! Next time the event is run, I will definitely be playing a pistol game to get the full experience of the day!

- Kelly xo
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Extraction: The Billet!

Hey everyone! I've just uploaded a new video to my YouTube channel! Game play footage from Ambush Adventures: The Billet which I played 2 weeks ago with my fellow admins from the UKAC, check it out! :)


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WE Airsoft Europe L3 Lipo Battery Balance Charger and Nuprol 1450 mAh 7.4 LiPo Battery review!

So a few weeks ago when my old LiPo batteries decided to finally kick their bucket, the awesome team at WE Europe and Nuprol came to the rescue and sent me a care package of a WE L3 LiPo Charger and two Nuprol 1450 mAh 7.4 LiPo batteries in time for my next skirmish and now I've had chance to use them for a couple of games, here's a quick review on their performance!

So, let's start with the charger, the L3 LiPo Battery Balance Charger from WE is a compact charger for 7.4V and 11.1V LiPo batteries with an auto cut off and balance function to prolong the life of your batteries - it's really easy and simple to use, just plug your LiPo in and wait until all the lights are green. It's really that simple! The auto cut off function means you can rest easy knowing your LiPos are safe and the balance function means that the LiPos are stored correctly between each use. Aesthetically, the charger is quite plain as it's a simple black box with branding symbols and green/red lights on. It's light and does feel quite delicate which can be unnerving but it doesn't seem to present any problems to its durability. It's easy to use and compact enough to take with you to sites etc which is great, my only gripe with the charger is that it is a EU socket plug with a UK adapter, and sometimes the adapter does come loose when transporting the charger but this doesn't pose any major issues whilst using it. The charger retails at around £15.99 from various Airsoft shops and online retailers.

The batteries I received were the 1450 mAh 7.4 stock tube style Lipo and have the dimensions of 115x16x13mm which fits in all major brands of Airsoft RIFs. Since my first Airsoft game I've been using LiPo's rather than NiCd or NiMH batteries because they hold more charge than NiCd and NiMH batteries and they are lighter - which is perfect if like me, you have a front wired RIF. I've used these particular batteries for a couple of games and the first impression is great. Although there isn't much to say about them at this point, they charged quickly using the L3 charger and one LiPo lasted me the entire game day on semi auto (I have yet to see how they perform at a full auto site). What I'm really interested in with the Nuprol LiPo batteries is their longevity which only time will tell so this is a product that will have to be revisited later. With the proper care these should last me a good while! The batteries themselves retail between £13 and £15 depending on the individual retailers.

These will definitely be a product I revisit in the future to inform you all of their longevity but so far, so good!

- Kelly xo
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