AAF: Next Event

Okay, I know it's only a couple of days since the last time I posted about this event but it's on my doorstep and I reckon it's well worth supporting, so there!

Be there, or be square!

AAF: Next Event

Hello one and all

We are rapidly approaching the end of April and here in the UK the weather is still reminding us all of winter. It will soon be May and I'm sure I won't be the only one hoping and praying for a bit more sunshine and a long awaited boost in temperature now that the season of outdoor fairs, fetes and festivals is just around the corner

Talking of which, the next Airsoft Arms Fair is just over a couple of weeks away. Read on to find out what, when and where and how much it will cost you. If past events have been anything to go by then it will be well worth a visit

Hope to see you there!

Airsoft Tour of Duty: AAF!

Howdie one and all. It's been a few days since my last post and we are rapidly approaching the end of the month. I'm bringing September to a close with a couple of quickies, the first of which is a reminder, on the off chance that you might have forgotten, that next Saturday Gunman Midlands, aka The Grange, will play host to the next Airsoft Arms Fair

Unfortunately I won't be able to go along to this event as I'll be shooting at my regular club site [Fireball Squadron] which has its monthly open skirmish on the very same day! Ho hum! If it's anything like the last two AAF's I've been to then it will be an event well worth making the journey for so if you haven't already been to one, book yourself in and take a look

Further details are available if you click the following link: http://www.airsoftarmsfair.com/

Airsoft Tour of Duty: AAF

 
That's right folks, it will soon be time for the next AAF, or Airsoft Arms Fair for those of you still unitiated, but there can't be many of you who fall into that category by now, so here is advance warning

 

Tickets are on sale from www.airsoftarmsfair.co.uk and the show is on from 10am until 5pm on Saturday 19th May. See you there!

Announcements

Hi there. It's October, and the blog is nearly one year old, or new, or 'of age', and I'd just like to say thank you to anyone and everyone who has taken the trouble to read it

Last month was a quiet one for me as far as blogging goes. I was snowed under with a few other things and couldn't devote the usual amount of time to this. With any luck, this month should be a bit different

I've decided to kick off this month with a couple of 'dates for your diary' type announcements. Firstly, the next installment of the AAF is very nearly upon us. Since its inception this event has been growing in popularity and next week's show promises to be a good one, with more retailers and site owners attending and spread over two days rather than one, giving more people the opportunity to see what it has to offer

As you can see from the flyer, the show looks like it's going to be well attended so get in quick and book your tickets before they all go!

The second thing I wanted to draw your attention to is the 21st Birmingham Model and Toy Soldier Show which is taking place on Sunday 23rd October at The Clarendon Suite, 2 Stirling Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B16 9SB

You don't need to book or pre-order tickets, doors open to the public at 10.30am and it will cost you just £4 to enter. There will be approximately 90 traders there selling everything from hollow-cast, lead, tinplate, pewter, composition and plastic figures as well as all manner of kits, diorama pieces, books etc. etc.

More information about the show can be obtained from the organiser, David McKenna, who can be reached via email at patanddave76@yahoo.co.uk or by phone on 0121 628 1397

Happy hunting!

Airsoft: Tour of Duty - Airsoft Arms Fair

It's August 1st, so on with another month of blogging mayhem! Well, not really mayhem, but here goes anyway

First up, advance warning of an event I'm sure all airsoft aficionados will want to attend, namely the next AAF, sponsored by Airsoft International

The previous events have been so popular that the organisers have decided to hold the forthcoming show over two days rather than one. The dates are as follows and tickets [or passes] will be on sale later today. You will be able to purchase 10am, 11am, 1.30pm or full weekend passes and if previous shows are anything to go by then the early tickets will sell out very quickly

I will certainly be there, more than likely in some sort of WW2 German outfit, and word has it that my regular airsoft club, Fireball Squadron, will also be having a stand there this time. So, I might just be there in an 'official' capacity on this occasion. See you there

Airsoft: Tour of Duty - AAF

Yesterday was the day of the AAF, Airsoft Arms Fair, the first of two to be held this year at The Grange, the home of Gunman Midlands. This was the third time the event has been held and it's quite simply going from strength to strength

Over 600 visitors passed through the gates yesterday, a big increase on last year according to one of the organisers, and I'd be very surprised if any of them returned home unhappy or disappointed. I know I didn't

Stall holders included Airsoft Direct, Airsoft Skirmish, All About Airsoft, Baseline Supplies, Badger Tac, DingoDogs Airsoft, East Midlands Airsoft, Edgar Brothers Airsoft, Land Warrior Airsoft, Skirmish Clothing and Soldier of Fortune. In addition to the above, several skirmish sites and game organisers were represented and Pete 'Snapper' Winner was in attendance, promoting his new book and doing a couple of talks

Please forgive the quality of the following photos. I went to the show armed only with my i-phone 3 and a recently purchased Hitachi pocket camcorder, which I'm quite pleased with, but it's not a patch on the Lumix G1!

Two of the folks on the DingoDogs stall. Thanks guys for making the journey down all the way from Liverpool. I picked up a couple of FastMags and an IMI belt mounted extension platform for my Sig holster from these guys. Very nice

Land Warrior also made it down to the show, all the way from north of the border. Thanks guys for the gun I picked up from you. Good to put some faces to the voices over the phone! Hope to see you again at the next show

Sam from Skirmish Clothing, who sell tee shirts with airsoft slogans and designs of various kinds printed on them. They will also do custom work for airsoft teams or sites, and not just tee shirts but ball caps and polo shirts as well

SOF also travelled quite some distance to get down here. Their first time at the show, it was really good to see them there and hopefully they will come again

Afghan Heroes were also at the show, represented by a rather tasty looking motor cycle and a couple of attractive young ladies selling raffle tickets. Every time I passed through that particular tent they seemed to be very busy. It must have been the 'all in a good cause' line pulling the punters in, I guess!

In addition to the trade stalls, game site stands and the AH raffle, Airsoft International were there as one of the main sponsors, and UKAPU also had a stand. A number of private sellers also pitched up to off load some of their excess, or no longer wanted, items at bargain prices and the event was also chosen as the ideal launch pad for an online auction site, designed to run along similar lines to e-bay but with lower fees and aimed solely at airsofters

Banner for the Airsoft Auction Site, with a very intriguing name

Looking this mean and moody takes a lot of hard work and perseverance, or so I'm told! A regular at Fireball, Jay was at the show with some mates promoting their Vietnam reenactment group

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But if it is bust, who better to put it right than the lads at Gun Munki. They were on hand all day, fixing and mending and giving out advice to those of us, like me, who aren't too good with gizmos, gadgets and grease. Thanks for fixing my Luger mag, Jamie. Much appreciated

Edgar Brothers Airsoft, another of the event's main sponsors, had a rather nice selection of Masadas and M4s on display, and just after I'd taken this photo and started talking to one of their representatives about the multi-cam patterned rifle on the stand I was given a Magpul i-phone case, completely free. There were plenty of them on sale at the show for £10 a piece, so thanks guys

Finally, but by no means least, mention must be made of the hard working cafe staff who were extremely busy all day keeping us fed and watered. They're there every game day, too, making the Grange one of the best sites to eat at in the country, in my humble opinion. A big thumbs up for my bacon bap, simple and delicious, just the way it should be

A shot of the covered seating area just outside the kitchen

So, if you haven't already made it down to the AAF, you ought to give it some serious thought. There will be another one later in the year, around October time I think, possibly held over two days rather than one, such was the interest shown this time round. Great show guys. Can hardly wait for the next!

Airsoft: Tour of Duty - Airsoft Arms Fair

 

Well, here we are at the end of April and May is nearly upon us. With that in mind I thought I'd take the opportunity to plug this event again

AAF is an independent event for the Airsoft Community. Hosted this year just south of Birmingham at The Grange. All attendees will have their legal defence to purchase RIF's verified by us and be issued with a colour coded ticket that lets a retailer or private seller know if they are under 18 / over 18 / over 18 with a legal defence, thereby making the buying / selling experience as straight forward for everyone as possible. If you are intending to come to the event and have access to a legal defence other than UKARA membership please book early with full details of your defence to allow us time to verify it. We will only be able to verify UKARA membership on the day, not any other legal defence

This year the AAF is being held on Saturday, 21st May and it promises to be even bigger and better than last year's with more dealers in attendance and a special appearance from Pete Winner, a veteran of the SAS and a member of the team involved in the Iranian Embassy siege, who will be giving a talk and promoting his new book, signed copies of which are included in the price of the Premium Ticket Option

We are operating an e-ticket system this year please do not select a postage option

If you are wearing an AI patch on arrival at site you will receive a £1 refund back on your ticket price

There are 3 ticket times available for attendees;


10 am entry - SOLD OUT
10 am entry premium ticket - SOLD OUT

11.30 am entry click here to book - £5
11.30 am entry premium ticket click here to book - £13.99 (includes entry to the AAF, entry to the Iranian Embassy Siege Presentation and a signed copy of Soldier 'I')

1 pm entry click here to book - £3
1 pm entry premium ticket click here to book - £11.99 (includes entry to the AAF, entry to the Iranian Embassy Siege Presentation and a signed copy of Soldier 'I')

All ages are welcome, and there is no requirement to be UKARA registered to attend. However, without a legal defence you will not be able to purchase RIF's at the event. If you have a legal defence other than UKARA please ensure you contact us by phone or email with the details of your defence so that we can verify it. For example, if you are a member of an insured airsoft site that is not part of the UKARA scheme then provide us with the site's contact details so that we can contact them to verify that you are an airsofter

As already said, there will be even more dealers in attendance this year, including one or two big names. I've already purchased my ticket, but was a little slow off the mark so missed out on the 10.00am slot and had to settle for 11.30am. Last year's event was very well attended and it was good to see so many people supporting it. It would be great to see lots of people there this year, too

AAF is an event for Airsofters and people interested in the sport, giving them an opportunity to view a wide range of products all in one place, after all nothing beats being able to see an item for yourself. At the same time we offer the opportunity for sites and event organisers to tell you about what they have to offer, allowing you to book for a MilSim or FilmSim game and acquire everything you're missing from your loadout all at the same venue. We also offer the opportunity for private sellers to retail their second user equipment, excess guns and rare and unusual kit. Make sure to check these guys out as there's bound to be some incredible bargains

Some of the dealers and other organisations who will be attending this year's show in May

Hope to see you there and in the meantime, happy hunting!

Fair Warning!

This could well prove to be my busiest month to date on this here blog. Having begun it wondering what to fill it with, I am now virtually inundated with ideas and bits and pieces of information to pass on and share, so here goes

Those of you with an interest in airsoft may already know about this, especially if you read AI or have been keeping abreast of things via any of my links to the AI blog, but just in case you don't, the next AAF [Airsoft Arms Fair] is due to be held in May, so 'pencil it in' in your diaries, or whatever else you use to make a note of important upcoming events

Here are a few more details, including the all important date

It would be great to see loads of people there supporting this event and helping to make it a permanent fixture on the airsoft calendar. See you there guys