Since 2013, I’ve been part of Stirling Airsoft’s end-of-year international event, helping England go from being perennial losers to an unstoppable winning machine. After the 2021 edition, I decided it was time to move on to other projects and events. Then, last week, a call came in…

Deep down, I love it. It’s competitive without setting foot into an inflatable paintball pitch. Two days of giving 100%, in the cold and wet, fighting for points to bring the trophy home. There’s no event quite like it and although it’s tough, it’s very rewarding (although that’s not apparent on the journey home afterwards). I felt I’d given it a good run, England were very much on top and it was time for the new kids to have a go.

“Do you fancy playing for Scotland?” wasn’t something I was expecting. Especially with only five weeks notice to get prepped and ready. And they needed an answer within a couple of hours. So, I said yes. This time, it’s Scotland vs England.

For starters, it’ll be interesting being on the opposing team. As England players, we guessed at the opponent’s plans and tactics and adjusted accordingly to exploit the weaknesses we saw. I’ve always wanted to see what the preparation and tactics are actually like on the other side of the fence. As a blogger and someone who has a great interest in the tactical side of Airsoft, it wasn’t an opportunity I could turn down. It also allows me to test myself and a few of my ideas out, so it’s game on. If it goes well, I might just keep it going.

The Airsoft landscape has changed quite a bit in the two years since I last played here. The old YouTubers are fading and giving way to a newer generation of Instagrammers who are hell bent on posing in expensive gear. My insta feed these days is filled with real steel gun stuff and Airsoft milsim, plus an endless torrent of posed photos of skirmish players by professional photographers. It almost mirrors the kids who blow all their money on fashionable clothing – it’s not needed, but all the other kids are doing it.

One of the most noticeable examples is night vision. NODs, NVGs, whatever you want to call them. Last time out (only two years remember), there were perhaps 1 in 4 players sporting night vision. I’m now reliably informed it’s 2 in 3 – you can flick through social media now and see skirmish girls posing with them while modelling screen printed t-shirts for sponsors. Night vision is everywhere, even on the skirmish field during daylight. There are players with expensive thermal devices too, and it’s almost an arms race to buy them. Even looking on some Chinese shopping sites, which are errr…great value, it’s a £3000+ investment. There are even companies attending this event to rent them to players for £200-300 for the 24hr duration. Big money indeed. I did consider it, but then I remember writing so many articles about how they don’t really improve you as a player, you’re just equally shit but with a more expensive headpiece (skills and tactics beat everything).

So, I’m going to go into this event running a very budget loadout to see how I fare against the new breed of players. In that respect, I’m pleased to be on the Green team this year. I’ve always believed that for Airsoft to continue and attract new players, it needs to be seen as affordable. I’ve also seen on so many occasions the gear whores with their £10,000 loadouts get shot to shit by players with no gear but better skills and tactics (Operation Titan anyone?). I love seeing rentals upset the more seasoned “experts” at skirmish, so that’s my stance on kit. And old surplus is just way more ally than a dressed up Temu plate carrier with some Armani jeans and a Crye shirt.

Early plan for my kit this year is;

• A pair of surplus pants I picked up for £4.50
• A surplus shirt, £7
• A £3 sling off EBay because I just don’t see the attraction in spending £100 on a strap for your gun.
• A £1 DPM chest rig, don’t think I can go much cheaper than that
• My trusty mosfet-less M727 that was bodged together from several spare parts boxes
• A £3.25 unbranded beanie
• A £5 torch

Now, there’s every chance here that I’m just too out of shape to pull this off, and I doubt I’ll catch the eye of the event photographers, but I’ll blog about how it went afterwards and let you all know. And of course, there’ll be no added hit markers. Can I compete against the new guys who are equipped with PVS-31’s, wearing £300 pants and Keela MTP puff jackets, sporting £4000 guns and dripping in fantastic plastic and appropriate fanny packs, who have spent more time in the gym this year than I have drinking beer and eating kebabs? It’ll be interesting to find out.

I’m teaming up with 5 of my old team on the Scotland side, the Norvern Monkeys. If you are attending on either team, please drop a comment and it’d be great to try and meet a few people the night before, and at EndEx.