A TRIBUTE TO MARK, AIRSOFT DENMARK

Just over a week ago, I got the call that one of my friends, Mark Rasmussen had passed away. This post didn't seem appropriate at the time, but now the news has been shared with the Airsoft community, I wanted to write a short post about Mark and the impact he had on the Airsoft community.

Mark was just 22 years old, and was the CEO and founder of Airsoft Denmark, the leading Airsoft blog hailing from Denmark. A blog that I had only been introduced to a short 2 months ago but was rapidly becoming one of my favourites for Airsoft news around the globe. He had recently moved from Denmark to the UK and was on a tour of Airsoft sites and MilSims around the UK with ASG, to promote Airsoft Denmark and bring together the UK and Danish Airsoft communities.

In the short amount of time I have known Mark online, we only met in person the once and that was at HTIS Operation Blue Fox 2 at the Fire Service College. Mark arrived with ASG as part of his UK tour. During the friday evening, event attendees were socialising in the bar and retail areas of the event. We met up for a beer and got chatting about our work, hobbies, our friends and families, what we had planned for the future and made plans to collaborate on a number of projects that I was thoroughly looking forward to. As Mark wasn't attached to a team for the event, he joined me and my friends in P.A.S.T for our taskings and was a pleasure to run with.

During this event, Mark presented me with an Airsoft Denmark players patch for my contribution to Airsoft, an unexpected gesture but one that was greatly appreciated. A patch which I wear with pride.

Mark himself made an extraordinary contribution to the worldwide Airsoft community through his passion for Airsoft and writing that was shown through Airsoft Denmark. He was professional, and had an enthusiasm and joy for life that is rare to see. Airsoft has lost one of its brightest sparks and he will be missed.

Femme Fatale Airsoft extends our sincere condolences to Mark's family, friends and of course colleagues at Airsoft Denmark during this sad time.

Hvil i fred bror.

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VALKEN THUNDER B SHOCKER GRENADE REVIEW!

Anyone who has played Airsoft with me knows I love using Pyrotechnics in game, whether it is a Solid state BFG such as the TRMR or the SWAT VTG, TAG round or a disposable bang, sometimes they are the difference between gaining entry to a tricky to access room or a stalemate, the difference between winning and losing. These devices have become integral to Airsoft game days with an increasing amount of players using them and the choice available is quite comprehensive. So when Nige handed me a bag full of Valken Thunder B Shocker Grenades my eye lit up at the prospect of testing them!

The Valken Thunder B Shocker is a CO2 powered sound distraction device which utilises a CO2 cartridge and a pin/spoon system to create a 130 db bang, once a cartridge is inserted and the pin is removed/spoon released the cartridge is pierced and the plastic shell begins to fill with CO2 – which is recognised by a distinct hissing sound. The shell has been designed to have a weak seam to enable the user to ‘predict’ when the device will detonate. The grenade is split into two parts, the reusable section which contains the munition (CO2) and the disposable plastic shells. It is worth noting that you can also fill the shell with BBs to turn it into a BB grenade, and a handy little tip I received was to also place a small amount of talcum powder in it to make a cloud as well.

Now one thing I will say about these grenades is they are SO loud and I would seriously suggest wearing ear protection whilst using them, I did not expect the bang that came from this relatively small piece of kit. They are definitely a top notch distraction device in fact, if one of these went off next to you I’d be surprised if you didn’t need new knickers. When using these in game, after the device had deployed its munitions there was almost always a shout of ‘what the f*ck was that?!’. In regards to what the grenades primary objective is - distraction, I’d give it a 10. After deployment people are more concerned with making sense of what was just detonated than their surroundings meaning you can go to work. I can think of a fair few game situations where I could have done with something this loud to scare the opponents.


I really like the aesthetics of the Shocker grenade, it mimics a real world grenade design in a classic green colour. The shell has been designed with ergonomic indents on the body of the shell to make them more tactile and easier to handle and I love the raised skull design that is on the side. The white weak seam is easy to identify and it is easy to determine how the device works from how it looks.

I did unfortunately have some problems during testing mainly down to flaws in the products design, for instance whilst holding the loaded grenade at an odd angle the pin slipped out which would have been no issue if I was also holding the spoon however as I only had my hand around the shell it could have been an issue if I hadn’t heard the sound of seeping gas and thrown it to a safe distance before it had chance to detonate. I feel this could be easily rectified with a simple change in design of the pin, if the pin was hooked this would eliminate this problem. I would have also liked the detonation time on tests to be a little more consistent for me to gauge when the device would go bang – the time between pulling the pin and the device detonating was between 4-10 seconds which is too big a variant with such a product in my opinion. A few of the bangs did take me by surprise.

The very last test of the day unfortunately rendered the device unusable – now I hold my hands up, this could have been user error but I feel this could be an issue other players experience so it must go in the review. We primed the grenade, pulled the pin and threw it, bang it went and everything looked good until we inspected the device closely after attempting to fit a new shell. The previous shells thread had become lodged in the device thread, we tried removing the shell but with the force of the detonation, it was well and truly lodged in there rendering the reusable part of the grenade a dud – I feel that this could maybe be rectified by using a pair of pliers to dislodge it.

Overall, I was pretty disappointed with the Shocker Grenade. One of the main thoughts whilst writing this review was ‘great idea but not ready yet’, although the product looks pretty badass, is innovative and has great potential to be a huge hit with the Airsoft community but there are a few improvements that would need to be made in my opinion before it is ready to hit the wider market – such as a redesigned ‘hooked’ pin to ensure it doesn’t fall out before the user is ready to deploy the munition, especially for players that like to have nades hanging from their rigs, I also feel that it would need to be more predictable in regards to detonation times as they were a little inconsistent for my liking, with products of this nature the detonation time needs to be predictable every time to ensure user safety (no one needs one of these going off in their hand!). I would love to see these improvements made and give these another try, but for now I’ll be sticking to my tried and tested favourites.


Hardwick, K. (2016). Valken Thunder B Grenade. Airsoft Action. 67 (Nov), 60-61.







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OPERATION CRUCIBLE: THE TRIFECTA

The scene: the African city of Ati has fallen. After the remains of the Chadian Army withdrew from the immediate area, Azearian State Fighters entered the city, raising their flags over Government buildings and declaring the area an Azearian stronghold. SOTF Chad withdrew from the city last year which in turn prompted new attacks against the Chadian forces. Confirmation of the late former President, who was brutally murdered in the streets of Chad, had allied himself with AS has only undermined any International Relations with Chad.


Currently the Kanem Brotherhood is holding the position of interim government in N’Djamena, and they have also declared their allegiance with AS. The stability of Chad and central Africa has reached breaking point. AS and allied KOA forces have begun distribution of arms across the country and, more and more local militia and tribal groups have either allied with or officially joined AS meaning tensions are high and the area is highly volatile.

A small advisory training team comprised of International Special Forces from the US, UK Europe remains in N’Djamena and are continuing to work with the small number of Chadian Uniformed Police at the order of the UK government to help quell some of the unrest in the area but with the Azearian State, Knights of Azear and Kanem Brotherhood now focusing all their attention on N’Djamena, SOTF Chad has been diverted to reinforce the International Special Forces stationed in the city.

On the weekend of 13th-14th August 2016 I was invited by Stirling Airsoft to attend their latest operation, Operation Crucible at Caerwent FIBUA village in Monmouthshire, Wales to experience all three of the main factions within their themed games – ISAF, Civilian Population and my own team Chad Police. Let’s first talk a little bit about Stirling and what they do: Stirling Airsoft are one of the UK’s leading Airsoft events companies who bring together their varied backgrounds (including ex SF instructors) to bring Airsofters highly immersive large scale, scenario based 24 hour Airsoft events that challenge the participant both mentally and physically.

The site they picked for Op Crucible is a site that is rapidly becoming one of my favourite sites for MilSim Ops! MOD Caerwent is a large military site which was formerly used as a Royal Navy Propellant factory that was dedicated to the manufacturing of explosives and storage of ammunition from 1939 to 1993. Since its closure in 1993 it is used for a variety of activities from Airsoft to Field exercises and even car rallies. The site has an overall gated area of 7 miles that encompasses over 400 buildings and bunker structures but also the training areas own railway system. The terrain is varied and ranges from open grassy areas to berms, hills, wooded areas, a fully-fledged road system and of course the hundreds of buildings on site – because of its diverse landscape it opens the options for different playing styles from close quarters combat to long range engagements and sniping opportunities. The site is around a 2 and a half hour drive from my home in the Midlands and unlike other MOD sites such as Sennybridge FIBUA it is super easy to find – being just off the A48!

After we arrived we signed in at the gates – booking at Stirling is extremely easy and is done via the booking page on their website and with prices at £85 per person for the event it is one of the more affordable MilSim style ops, especially with the option to pay a £45 deposit and the rest on arrival.

As soon as we signed in we set up our FOB in one of the munitions storage buildings set deep within 3 hills, had some food and some well needed rest before the start of the weekend. Stirling Ops last for 24 hours none stop, no safe zones and no breaks so any rest you can get before the event is a plus!

In the morning we awoke bright and early, I donned my civvie clothes and left the Police fob with my first port of call being the civilian population. This element was completely new to me as playing a civilian within the story requires more role play than I have previously experienced. For my role I took on the part of a journalist for the local newspaper (The Chad Gazette) and was escorted around the city by MJ, the local civilian leader in the city to meet the local residents. The immersion is fantastic and it really feels like you are in this world. As I was walking around the city documenting the day to day life of Chadian locals, one thing became very clear – tensions were high between the two sides and unarmed civilians being shot on sight by ISAF forces only added to the tensions. Around every corner was unrest, ISAF and local residents going toe to toe as the soldiers prevented the residents from going about their daily lives and jobs. From this experience it was clear to see that the inhabitants were deeply unhappy with the ISAF occupation of their city. I spoke to a lot of the locals and the unrest mostly stemmed from the brutal murder of their beloved president. I left the side under the understanding that something big was happening, exited for what was to come in the next few hours.

For most of the Op I played with my own team – The Chad Police, the Police forces team has one objective during these Ops and that is to keep peace within the city and to quell any unrest/unlawfulness. Our duties started with patrolling the city and setting up road blocks to monitor what traffic was going in and out of the city and to check there was no contraband being smuggled in. As it became apparent to us that laws of the city were broken we started bringing in locals for questioning to get to the bottom of what was happening within the city.

One of the highlights of the weekend was the protest the civilians put on in memory of their late president, as we got word a large group were moving towards the ISAF camp we jumped into our vans and quads to provide support. We formed a protective barrier between the protesters and the ISAF soldiers,

From the berm that overlooked our FOB we watched as the ISAF camp got attacked on the hour, every hour of the night. From mortars, tag rounds, pyro and tracer rounds. The sky was alive with light and colour and the ground was aflutter with movement as the civilian militia moved in on the ISAF camp and gave them hell. ISAF as always put up a strong fight and the orders being screamed at the force could be heard through the site.

When light broke on the Sunday morning I donned my MultiCam gear and jumped on the quad to the ISAF fob at the heart of Caerwent. Their fob was a large munitions building surrounded by sanghars and hesco blocks, a fortress – easily defendable but vulnerable because of the sheer size and ostentatiousness of the building. As I entered the camp it was clear from the expressions on the teams faces that the night attacks had taken their toll on the force, however as soon as the order was given to mount the vehicles feet hit the ground running and the troops were on their assigned vehicles and moving out. I took a seat in the lead vehicle and watching the Saracen and Wimmick’s roll out with dust flying out from under every wheel was quite a sight, they were taking the fight to the heart of the civvie camp. When the order was given the troops dismounted the vehicles and started engaging the enemy forces, I disembarked and ran with a squad into the thick of it. One thing that really threw me off whilst running alongside the Stirling callsign was just how regimented the side is – there’s no running rogue and engaging whoever and causing chaos as I’m used to. You stick to your taskings. This means that the troops are a lot more organised and a force to be reckoned with. ISAF fought hard from all sides during the last few hours of the Op.

Overall, I had an amazing weekend at Operation Crucible, the immersion and roleplay at Stirling Ops is second to none. You really feel as if you’ve been dropped into another time/place.

 Hardwick, K. (2016). Operation Crucible: The Trifecta. Airsoft Action. 67 (Nov), 32-35.






















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SLAYDIES SERIES SPOTLIGHT! JEN EVOLA/GOLDILOX!

Hi everyone! For the next instalment of the Femme Fatale Airsoft's player spotlights is a Slaydie from the US!
Hi Jen! Thank you for taking part in the FFA player spotlights! Can you give my readers a little information about yourself? What long have you been playing? What got you into Airsoft and what do you love about it?
My name is Jen Evola. I go by GoldiLox on the field. I'm 20, and I've been playing airsoft with my husband for the last two years. My first big game was AMS Operation ESR 19-3, but it was also my third airsoft game ever. Right now I'm focusing on school. I'm going to Fisk University for Pharmacy Technician, then on to my EMT in January. 
As far as what got me into airsoft, that would be my husband. I got sick of him "wasting" his time at the field every week on my one day off, so I decided to go out with him. Sat in the parking lot painting the first few times. And then I got onto the field and actually played. My husband and his buddy made plans to go to ESR 19-3 together, but the buddy bailed. I took his ticket and went in his place. I've been hooked ever since.
The thing I love most about airsoft is that it gets me outside, in a comfortable environment with people I know. I have anxiety and minor depression. Airsoft helps to get me on the field and in public and let's me focus on something I'm passionate about.
Where is you homefield? 
Our home field is in Junction City, Kansas. Foxhole Paintball and Airsoft. My husband and I actually just started a sponsored team out of there, and are planning our first Op together to be Copperhead in the next week or so.
How would you describe your playing style?
My playing style is interesting. I am a diverse player, capable of taking on several positions for my team. At OP's I'm usually our teams medic. At home field games, I run as a rifleman or DMR. Lately I've been training with a sniper to move quieter and work as sniper/sharpshooter team. I'm more of a backup player, and usually play more of a support role. My husband is Rambo, I kind of hang back with a big gun and provide cover for him and the rest of the team. I feel I'm a better asset to the team that way. Just me alone though, I'm an aggressivplayer with a list of names to cross off, or an objective to complete.
What is your favourite loadout and go to weapon?
My weapon right now is a G&P Rapid Fire 2 with barrel extension. Chronos at about 390 with the extension and 340 without. It's a standard M4 setup. As for the rest of my load out, I'm not particularly brand-loyal. My JPC is an Emerson, cheap and pretty tough so far. I always take the plates out, because boobs. Other than that, multicam. Mechanix gloves. A ball cap. And Oboz Bridger boots. I'm still working on tweaking and making my load out what I want it to be, getting the gear I really want. Solomon boots would be amazing. :)
What does being a woman in Airsoft mean to you?
Being a woman in Airsoft is for me an experience. It gives me the chance to shoot down stereotypes, because I've always done the "boyish things" like mechanics and fishing. To prove women can push just as hard as the men can, and sometimes we outperform the men. Smaller bodies sometimes means quieter movement or fitting in really weird places. For me it's alot like having a bunch of brothers. Someone at another field says something about me being a female, they're pretty quick to shut it down. Overall it's been a pretty positive experience, very few people have made me feel inferior for being a female.  I blew my knee at Broken Home 4, full tear of the Meniscus and MCL the first day. I was on the field the second day to everyone's shock. Finished out the op. The people I play with really started taking me serious after that, realized I'll push until I can't. I want to be the girl that helps other women find a place they're comfortable. If it means pushing as hard as I can to prove to the sexist men that women can bust their asses also, I'll do it. It paves a road of positivity for women to come, and that makes me happy.
Do you have anything that you'd like to say to other players out there?
To other players, just don't quit. If you love it, and you have a passion for it, don't quit because of someone being rude. So your team sucks... Find a different one. Build your own. So your field isn't so great about the way the treat women. Be the change at the field. So you think you suck, find someone better and learn from them. Don't ever quit your passion because of a lack of self confidence. You'll find out pretty quick that when you accept yourself, so will everyone else.
Where can my readers find you on social media?
Mine and my husband's Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/GoldiloxandDH
My team's new fb page: www.facebook.com/FoxAirsoft2016
And my personal Instagram is: www.instagram.com/Mrs.evola

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YOUTUBE UPLOAD! BESPOKE AIRSOFT STRIKER PACKAGE!

Hi everyone! This week we have another YouTube upload! A quick look through of the Ares Amoeba Striker Bespoke Airsoft Package. Check it out below:

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FEMME FATALE AIRSOFT WE M&P BIG BIRD PISTOL SHORT REVIEW

Hey everyone! So you know those YouTube videos I told you about? :D I've uploaded a short, sweet review on the WE Airsoft Europe M&P Big Bird pistol, I have ran this pistol for around a year now and it's about time it got a review! I'll be uploading once or twice a week and they'll be short, blogs and vlogs on products, events and maybe some game play here and there. I hope you enjoy it! I am still learning to edit so please bear with me haha

You can subscribe here: www.youtube.com/femmefataleairsoft



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