Published on 00:38 September 10, 2007 .
After a quick bit of playing around Arnies is now readily accessible from most PDAs. I’ve just tested it on Windows Mobile 5/6 here and systems like the PSP that have a web browser in them and all look pretty good.
Quick access key shortcuts are enabled and images in news posts are resized to work with the browser window keeping size down and mobile screens tidy.
To try this out on your own gear simply point the browser on your PDA or phone to http://arniesairsoft.co.uk and the rest just happens.
If anyone gets an problems with the browser showing you the PDA page instead of the usual one let me know via email (arnie [at] arniesairsoft [dot] co [dot] uk)
Published on 15:28 September 4, 2007 .
I thought I’d just add up a small note from me as I’ve been away from email and not had time to get through my work here lately. I’m going to have a bit of a purge and get back to everyone that I can who has dropped me an email ASAP. It may well take 24-48hrs though so please bear with me.
Published on 20:11 February 4, 2007 .
As you may have noticed we’ve been experiencing downtime and page load troubles which have got worse and worse and reached crisis point in the past 48hours.
The site was disabled in the past 24hours whilst maintenance took place on our machine, sorry for any confusion this may have caused, but the site had to be taken offline to conduct some work.
We know that the hosting that we have and the machine that we are currently on has some major issues. As to what we are unable to diagnose them and our hosting company isn’t a huge amount of help. Everything is still running and data is secure (we’ve also got several backups on a second drive) however service is pretty poor due to this undiagnosed issue.
In light of this we’re currently shopping around and in negotiation to move our data to a new dedicated box with a much larger specification. We’ve got a new hosting company that we are happy with, we’ve got funds now to cover for another 12-24months, and now I have to sit down and write out a list of requirements for things like data that we need moved etc. This will take time, but hopefully it’ll all be sorted in the coming week or so. There’s a lot to move and we want to get it right first time, so things might not be as quyick as we’d all like.
I can’t do much other than ask people to hang in there, we’re not going anywhere, but demand is simply outstripping the facilities available at the moment, the new machine will (fingers crossed) cure all these problems.
Well it’s 2007 at last! To chime in with FarEast’s earlier message - Happy New Year to all! Of course it was easy to spot that it was New Year as the original Superman film is on the tv (they stick it on like clockwork here).
We have a fair few aims and resolutions that we plan to make and keep to this year. I’m not going to type up a roundup of the year, as for one I’ve not had the time and for another well… if you’ve been reading the news that’s out and are a regular you already know what’s happened this year!
Just as a small aside there’s a few questions that we keep getting asked and as they are fairly frequent I thought I’d answer some of them here:
- Why can’t I register? It tries to block me! - Yahoo email addresses won’t work as mentioned on the registration page
- I want to send news in! - Send it to news@arniesairsoft.co.uk and one of the editing staff will post it for you.
- How/where/what can I do to fix/buy/upgrade my aeg/gbb/springer? I have no idea I’m honestly not an Airsoft encyclopedia, however if you ask in the forums there are several other people that may well be able to answer your question.
- What’s happening with the VCR bill? Read up on anything relevant in the forums here.
- I want to comment on some equipment, a playing field or a retailer’s service. - Easy there’s a review database section where all registered users can post up details on different products and services and then rate, review and comment on them. It’s pretty easy to use. You can find the review database is here (or you can click on this: http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/reviewpost/).
Now I’m going to sit and drink the fresh brew pot of caffiene that I’ve just stuck on and finish my ironing and see if Lex has a different plot or wig this year.
Published on 23:19 December 27, 2006 .
Just some random stuff I found that I thought I’d post up. It’s not directly airsoft related but will suit the outdoor types and those looking for useful bits of kit for duty gear or hiking:
Just a couple that I thought I’d post were a handy item for attaching a dispoable bottle of water to webbing or a belt, and a milspec folding mountain bike (dead handy for sticking in the car boot). Both products are from a company by the name of Civilian Labs. Their products can be found here in the UK through Heinnie.com. Civilian Labs handily accept PayPal payments for their online cart system.
There’s more useful gear there, and anyone looking for more directly relating airsoft related gear will like the range of lamps and tools available at Heinnie impressive - the Dark Ops Hellfire X11 is pretty hard to find in the UK for one.
Published on 06:51 December 25, 2006 .
Well this is just a quick note from me really (I am working over Christmas here).
All the staff here at ArniesAirsoft would like to wish you all a safe, happy and enjoyable Christmas Holiday. I’m off to get some sleep here then see if I can get my wrapping done and the turkey cooked in five hours time 
Well I’m getting there, only 1,273 emails to go.. anyway, in the world of random things this one was rather bizzare. Someone has actually taken time to fax an order to the website for some random stuff.
Now, just for the record for anyone who isn’t a regular reader:
We are not a retailer. We don’t sell anything. We have nothing to sell. We don’t sell stuff. Stuff here is not for sale. Retailer we are not. etc.
There’s hundreds of mails in my box asking to buy this that and the other. Honest I don’t sell anything and this site isn’t a retailer.
Case #32b: A Mr P.N.G. Kurup of Hayut International (in Oman apparently) wants thirty SUSATs and a box of mounts to go with them so decided to fax this website to buy some.
Dear Mr Kurup, please do see the note above that details in er.. great detail. This is an Airsoft website, even if we did sell stuff (which we don’t) an Airsoft replica SUSAT is most likely rather unsuitable for your purposes. Despite the fact that Airsoft plastic or pot-metal copies of the SUSAT might may like the real deal (and granted they are cheaper), they are most likely not suitable for the task you require them for. It is likely that you would realise that they are about as useful strapping a used toilet roll to the top of a rifle the second they see active service and either fall off or spectactuarly implode.
As you may have seen if you’re a regular reader I have been around less and less. I thought I’d add a quick post to say that I’m now formally taking a back seat with regards to the direct running and administration of the website. I could list the reasons for these changes but I don’t post my own personal info online… well you get the gist. One simple reason is I don’t have the time and it is thus time for a few changes to keep the site going in the manner that it should. 
With regards the forums and review sections, there’s a team of moderators and staff that are very adept at keeping things running smoothly, who have been doing so without my assistance for some time now. A huge thank you should go to them for their efforts to date and in the future.
I believe that given the present circumstances and the needs of the site that the best course of action is to open editorial news control to that of a trusted few; R22Master is the first of these new editors. R22Master isn’t me, so the news will obviously read differently as someone else will be creating the text.
Email and site contact systems are being rerouted so that they can be managed by staff members who are willing to help in that area.
I’ll provide technical and general advice to staff members when it’s occasionally needed but because of my own commitments elsewhere (as I’ve said) it’s not practical for me to have any form of active administration role.
Well I’ve not been around much of late as you might have spotted or guessed, but sadly that’s unavoidable at the moment. There have been a couple of mild incidents in the forums but those have been dealt with by the moderating team in my abscence. To help cater more for the forums themselves I’m raising R22Master’s level to that of administrator in the forums.
In other news, as I don’t have the time right now to add images I’ll just rattle through as much stuff as I can. You’ll have to forgive me as I’m going to quickly trawl through my inbox to get as much stuff as I can online before I have to head back to work:
AEX is proud to be the Official US Distributor of Airsoft Guide DVD’s. This DVD is packed with helpful information for all levels of experience. If you ever wanted to know how to fix or upgrade your own AEG’s or wonder how to solve simple problems, this DVD covers almost all areas. Also, you can check out the Airsoft Abuse section with some unbelievable things they do to airsoft guns! Mickey, (AirsoftExtreme)
- UNCompany are now promoting various pistol products. Customers who buy a pistol will apparently get a new free BB loader.
They have also updated with quite a few new products. Included in this are the: Star L85 AFV, Classic Army M15 Special Forces Crane Stock, GP T6 Flash light, King Arms Troy M4 Flash hider and the AN/PEQII battery case.
- News in from RedWolf Airsoft is that they have precision barrels for the MP7 in stock already:
Following the official release of Marui MP7A1 AEG last month, a number of manufacturers have started vast R&D investments on the related accessories. PDI is the very first to launch the following MP7A1 essential performance upgrade parts: A brand new 6.01mm and 6.05mm precision barrel dedicated to the new weapon. Wanna increase the performance of your MP7A1? Here is your chance. (RedWolf Airsoft)
- Steve sent in an email to say that he’s set up a new Airsoft site by the name of Front Line Airsoft (www.frontlineairsoft.co.uk) just outside the Newcastle area in the North East. A few days back the FindIt! map here conked out with an error, but I’ve fixed that while I could last night, and you’ll now see that you can see all relevant sites on the map again. Front Line Airsoft are now listed on there too.
- The next issue of Airsoft International is shortly going out. The next issue of AI is includes
reviews of the Stars L85 and the UTG’s War Hawk, an "essential guide to boots", review of the
AWS CQB Vest, a "CWS report", and a
first look at Ghost Recon II (you can see the new cover here).
- In more magazine news the next issue of NAM magazine should be on the news stands on the 15th of this month assuming all goes well.
There’s more to add but I’ll see what I can about adding more in depth news later this week.
Published on 07:26 January 29, 2006 .
I can’t guarantee how fast the news updates will be posted for the moment (commitments elsewhere mean I have limited free time again). If you’re waiting an email reply and I’ve not got back to you yet, sorry I’ll try to reply as soon as I can. It’s nice to see the site being so heavily used at the moment, and to see all the great feedback from everyone. Should my news updates become sparse from there’s still plenty of fresh content to be found on the site:
Submissions to the links area and reviews system are checked before publication by the moderating/staff team to prevent abuse of the system so there may be a delay in their appearance.
Published on 19:58 January 28, 2006 .
I’ve just been reminded that the 29th of January is Chinese New Year. This post is a little pre-emptive, but given that China is a good few hours ahead of us it is New Year there already! 
I believe the correct words at this time are Kung Hei Fat Choi!
For those that don’t know how Chinese New Year is named:
January 29, 2006 is the first day of the Chinese new year.
There are three ways to name a Chinese year:
1. By an animal (like a mscot).
This year is known as the Year of the Dog.
There are 12 animal names; so by this system, year names are re-cycled every 12 years.
2. By its Formal Name (Stem-Branch).
The new year is the year of bingxu.
In the ‘Stem-Branch’ system, the years are named in 60-year cycles, and the Name of the Year is repeated every 60 years.
2006 is the 7th year in the current 60-year cycle.
3. It is Year 4703 by the Chinese calendar.
[A few Chinese astrological/zodiac websites believe this year should be considered as Year 4704 for zodiac calculations.] (chinapage.com)
Published on 11:45 January 28, 2006 .
I thought a quick post was in order, concerning Airsoft Dynamics (AD) and their apparent lack of communication since the start of this year. In short it’s pretty clear that despite any official word AD are history; the staff and shop have disappeared.
From a couple of conversations I’ve had it’s clear that the guys behind AD are still alive and kicking, reading material and customer complaints that have been posted online in the forums here and elsewhere. I understand that the premises that they used to occupy are empty and vacant, and that this was a planned closure. The staff have effectively gone into hiding, not posting on any of the forums.
As far as I know AD’s website is still taking/processing orders at the moment, and given that the staff for the company have vanished the only real recommendation that can be made at this time is not to place orders until the current state of affairs changes and to pass the word on to your friends.
My understanding is that AD were registered as a sole trader with Paul Jones as the listed owner whilst they were operational. I would urge all that are owned money or goods to exchange details and get organised to recover what they can right now. Whilst it may well not be possible to get a full refund for goods not delivered, you can at least be hopeful that any of your equipment that you sent in to AD for repair/upgrade still exists and hopefully hasn’t been thrown in the nearest skip. Given that the shop has been closed should you wish to speak to them your only course of action would be to politely attempt to contact the shop’s owner(s) at their home address. It’s also probably worthwhile making contact with the nearest Police department to AD to ask for help. In short.. get off your behinds now and do something together before it’s too late.
Anyone from AD (Paul, James, or Yuki) are welcome to place a post on the forums to correct any of the above text. It is sad to see this chosen course from staff that are/were much liked players in the UK Airsoft scene.
Published on 06:29 December 26, 2005 .
I just wanted to add a quick update while I was near a terminal to say Merry Christmas to all. I’m afraid that updates haven’t been in huge abundance around here as I’m not anywhere near home right now (I’m actually out in the US), and more specifically last week I caught the bug that was going around. I’ll get back to cleaning out my inbox and getting updates up as soon as I can. Have a good holiday!
Published on 20:49 December 15, 2005 .
I’ve had a bit of time lately to play with some new Airsoft toys that have hit the shelves recently and (for example) to compare the new CA AK to the GG AK. They are both pretty nice bits of kit. The Guay Guay model clocks in at 350-360fps out the box pretty consistently and the only two criticisms so far are that the back sight is fairly loose and the stock plastic texture feels a bit wierd to the touch. The CA model is obviously not a copy of the exact same model as the GG model so is larger, and also comes with good looking Arsenal logos and decals.
The ATOZ SVD is a pretty nice bit of kit and the optional scope is of decent quality, the wood grip sets certainly give it a good feel and look. I’ve also had a look at the Hurricane Strike conversion kit too, and that is pretty much what you’d expect from Hurricane, it’s heavy, realistic and well built. I’ve not had a chance to take photos but I’ll get some done later on and add them when I get a chance. Oh before I forget the Homeland Defender from Elite Airsoft is a nice bit of kit (thanks go to Walter for letting me play with one). It takes a CO2 bulb in the grip and includes adjustable hop-up, decent power and a full metal construction - I’ll post some range tests sometime over the weekend.
Published on 16:58 December 5, 2005 .
Well it’s been busy as usual here. I’m busy packing for a trip and doing my best to ensure that I get everything tidied up and sorted before I jump on plane plus making sure all I need is on my laptop for the trip.
I have way too much email to answer as ever so if you’ve sent something in to me via PM on the forums, or via email and I’ve not replied then sorry about that, you’ve not been ignored I’ve just not go to yoru email as of yet. There’s a bit of a queue of stuff to add and sort out, but I guess it’s always nice to be busy.
