Well
it had to be done really - I managed to get a few days of holiday
off work (09/04/03) and thought I'd pop up and visit the guys
at Airsoft
Armoury and boy was it worth the visit.
What Airsoft Armoury Ltd looked like when it first
opened
Where
is it? The shop is easy enough to locate and a very short
walk from the train station (Chalfont and Latimer Station),
and only a small distance West on the A404 off J18 off the M25
if you're coming by car (see map24
link for more details).
3
Chalfont House, Chalfont Station Road, Little Chalfont, Amersham,
Bucks. HP7 9PS Phone: 01494 766373
Shop
opening times are from 9.00am-6.00pm Monday to Friday (early
closing 1.00pm Wed), and from 9.00am-5.00pm on Saturdays.
Getting
in: The first thing that'll confuse you is that the shop
front door doesn't open. Don't rattle it like I did and look
like a complete moron that can't decipher between 'push' and
'pull' signs. Yes the penny drops when you realise that you
have to be buzzed in - darn good idea too. Now that I've saved
you from the indignity of being unable to work out a front door
lets move on. ^_^
First
impressions: The last I'd seen of the inside of the shop
was the first photos to come out of the new store when it opened;
needless to say things have changed a whole heap in the past
months.
To
show you what the store looks like now, I've cut and pasted
together a wrap around photo set of the shop (seen below). I'm
afraid the edges don't mesh perfectly what with perspective
differences and all, but it gives you a better idea of what
you'll find in store.
click
the image above for a complete wrap around, or one of the sections
below for a large view of a specific area
More
cabinets have been brought in, the AEG wall is now stocked to
the brim and there's heaps to take in - literally. The limited
wall space that's left has been adorned with posters from TM,
and you'll find promotional flyers for other sites and events
on some surfaces. After you've picked up your tongue off the
floor it's really time to wander around.
What's
in store: Okay there's rather a lot to take in so I've photographed
all the areas of the store and indexed them so that you can
see your way around. The top of the diagram is the South end.
1
AEG wall - First up it's the AEG wall, and probably the most visually
impressive area of the shop.
2
Blackhawk/'HellStorm' rack - You won't see this in many UK stores!
3 Glass cabinet
- pistols galore
4
Gun hardcases and Chiruca tactical boots.
5
Counter - On the counter is a range of SpyderCo knives, and behind
the counter you'll find military smoke grenades, gas BBs and a
selection of ClassicArmy parts.
9
Glass half cabinet - Holsters, CA external parts, mags and assorted
parts
10
Gas and battery cabinet
11
Wall cabinet more gas and ammo
12
The "kevlar kid" - SWAT mannequin (don't know his real
name)
13
GBB pistols SMGs and lots of gas
14
Blackhawk vests - again not a lot of UK stores stock these
15
DPM gear - what else?
16
Glass half height cabinet - Decorated with a CA M16 sitting on
top this cabinet has
17
The M249 coffee table - a must for every living room
18
Mag and gas/bb wall cabinet
1
AEG Wall: As I've mentioned you won't find all TM's AEG
range on the wall at the moment, this is simply because some
of the more obscure items don't sell that well.
On the wall
at the moment you'll find the complete MP5 and ArmaLite range,
and also G3 and AK variants. Oh let's not forget the newer TM
releases such as the G36 and the P90 series.
You will
find both ClassicArmy and TokyoMarui variants hanging up.
To
the end of the wall (top of the shop diagram) is a cabinet stocked
with scopes metal bodies M203 kits and metal barrel parts.
2
BlackHawk-Hellstorm rack: You
won't find may shops stocking real BlackHawk gear, and
even fewer with the range that you find here. On the Hellstorm
side of the rack you'll find SOLAG gloves and knee/elbow
pads and on the BlackHawk side you'll find holsters logos
and yet more BH gear.
3
Glass cabinet - pistols galore I'm going to
be here for hours explaining the contents of this
cabinet... in this cabinet you'll find a collection
of pistols and gas SMGs, and some pistols that have
been fitted with real SureFire lamp units.
There's
a lot of accessories hanging around in the shop
with quite a lot of them casually fitted to various
bits of kit. Don't let this being an Airsoft shop
fool you, a lot of the lamps and lasers are actually
real-steel and manufactured by the likes of renowned
companies such as SureFire.
North
side of cabinet: "Is that a Surefire in
your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?"
It should
be stressed that although there's a lot of SureFire
gear in the shop there are also cheaper alternatives
in terms of grips, lamps and lasers, so please don't
let the price put you off. True a Surefire lamp
can cost more than the rifle/pistol it's fitted
to, but quality wise you really can't find anything
better.
On
the top shelf you'll find a selection of TM M9 pistol
variants. There's a custom two tone M9 set there on the
second shelf down, but don't worry they are not really
that 'custom'. The slide and barrels have been swapped
between a standard chrome M9 and a black M9 - nice idea
though, and certainly eye catching!
Going
down further you'll find a selection of Surefire lamps,
and pistols with the new millennium Surefire lamp units
fitted to them. Jolly nice they look too.
Look a little
lower and you'll spot a new G36 Surefire grip, again not
something you'll see everyday out in Airsoft markets around
the world.
North side
of cabinet: going around the the back of the cabinet you'll
find the KSC and the TM MK23, and the KSC Glock range.
Going down
a bit lower there's the Maruzen MP5 GBB and the KSC TMP.
Further down there's the rather loveable TM RC tank and
then a TM M203 shotgun unit.
4 Gun
hardcases and Chiruca tactical boots: It's
a well known fact that you need to protect your feet and
gear, so decent hard cases are a must to protect and conceal
your precious pieces in transit.
There's also
a nice range of Chiruca boots in stock:
5
Counter On the counter is a
range of SpyderCo knives, a well known range of one handed
opening folding knives. Behind the counter you'll find
military smoke grenades, gas BBs and a selection of ClassicArmy
parts.
6
Glass cabinet - scopes and internal parts If you look
on the second shelf you'll see real AimPoint scopes. Each
AImPoint reddot is uniquely serial numbered.
7
Cabinet (double sided) - on the north side you'll
find a selection of custom items, featuring such accessories
as the M900 Surefire vertical grip, of the west side there
the KSC Glock range and slings, and on the south side
there's a selection of parts and accessories including
chargers and V-Nitro top rails.
Here's
some shots of a couple of the custom items, one being
an upgraded P90, and the other being a ClassicArmy MP5,
featuring a real-steel grip, V-Nitro rail and Aimpoint
copy reddot. RHS photo taken with and without flash to
show varying detail.
9
Glass half cabinet - Holsters, CA external parts, mags
and assorted parts I'm fairly sure those a real holsters
there too.
10 Gas
and battery cabinet - Everyone
needs gas BBs and batteries, and there's a large selection
of stock here
11
Wall cabinet more gas and ammo - I'm afraid I missed
getting a clear shot of this cabinet - sorry about that.
12
The "kevlar kid" - SWAT mannequin (don't know
his real name). Sporting the latest CQB gear what
shop would be complete without a mannequin? Note he's
wearing the latest issue BLOK helmet.
13
GBB pistols SMGs and lots of gas
- Across the wall you'll find a cabinet stocked to the
gunnels with GBB pistols SMG, more BBs and gas.
14 Blackhawk
vests - again not a lot of UK
stores stock these, do note the prices too.
15
DPM gear - what else? You don't get more British than
DPM. It's functional wearable in most climates and hard
wearing - it looks the part too.
16
Glass half height cabinet - Decorated with a CA M16
sitting on top this cabinet has yet more Opti scopes and
accessories inside it.
17
The M249 coffee table - a must for every living room.
^_^ The M249 is possibly one of the most impressive production
AEGs available at the moment, and it's the first thing
that you see as you enter the shop.
18
Mag and gas/bb wall cabinet - This cabinet is stocked
full of spare mags and other accessories (as seen behind
the M16 cabinet #16)
Conclusion:Airsoft
Armoury may be relatively new on the block, but they have grown
incredibly since launch and now stock a wide variety of gear. The
fact that they now not only sell but stock large quantities
of big name brands such as BlackHawk, Aimpoint, Surefire and other
real steel manufacturers says a lot for them.
You know when
you see the odd scene in action films and think "gosh..
I wish that we had some stores like that in the UK"? You
know.. remember the 'shopping' scene in Commando, or the "Guns,
lots of guns" scene in The Matrix? Well this shop is somewhat
reminiscent of those US stores, it's stocked from floor to ceiling
with all kinds of Airsoft related gear.
So is it worth
a visit? Well you'll find gear there at very good prices, and other
items that are very difficult to source elsewhere. Little known
fact, but Airsoft
Armoury are actually the largest dealer (retail) for AImPoint
scopes and BlackHawk vests in the UK.
With good level of varied stock, good prices and friendly faces
behind the counter you really can't ask for much more from an Airsoft
store. Add to that the fact that they always have the kettle on
and bacon butties available and well..
in short if you've not been you're sorely missing out.
What's
in store: Okay there's rather a lot to take in so I've photographed
all the areas of the store and indexed them so that you can
see your way around. The top of the diagram is the South end.
