RSP

Just a hobby, and I still have a lot to learn. Doing this kind of thing is fun, but it also makes me really admire the skill of the CG artists working in the film and video game industries.

Blender, which is a free and open source program for 3d modeling, animating, rendering and image compositing. I used the internal rendering engine as opposed to a plugin such as Luxrender or Yafaray.

I honestly can't say in this case. I did it part by part over the course of three months, but I was only working on it in parts of my spare time. I think that right now, if I really sat down and wanted to do this, with good reference photos I could knock it out within a week. The biggest issue with something like this is that the novelty does wear off rather quickly and you need a lot of willpower if you want to do it in the shortest possible time period - I reccomend having an easier project going at the same time with different techniques/skillsets required so you can switch back and forth to finish both in good time.

Click the images for HD versions. Blender internal render and compositor, ~120,000 faces.

The answers to the first three of your questions are very brand dependent. Consider someone getting into firearms - they probably shouldn't equate the experience they had with a Bryco/Jennings with what they can expect from an SVI, or vice versa. 1. There are many different companies producing replicas of many common pistols and revolvers. The companies vary in quality, price range, etc. There are also quite a few companies which focus on aftermarket parts. 2. Good quality airsoft 'guns', especially pistols, are very close to their firearm counterparts in dimension, weight, and feel. Shooting an airsoft gun of any kind however does not involve genuine recoil. There is a momentary bounce in the sights as the slide rapidly cycles on a gas blowback pistol though. 3. Depends. Some produce pistols which are full metal - that is, all the external parts metal on the firearm are also metal on the airsoft gun - while some have plastic slides, frames, etc. Pistols that are metal right out of the box are virtually always pot metal. In both cases aftermarket kits can be bought to convert slides, frames, and outer barrels into metal parts, usually 6061 or 7075 aluminum. Cheaper kits are cast; more expensive ones are CNC milled. 4. Once again, depends. You should generally know what you're looking for first. As far as the Glock 34, you have a couple options. Here are three brand to consider: KSC - plastic slide and outer barrel. Pretty good, decently reliable, poor accuracy past about 75 feet due to inconsistent 'hop-up' mechanism. KWA - same pistol as KSC, usually KWA pistols have metal slides and outer barrels buth in the case of the G34 this does not hold. So there is no advantage to buying the KWA except that it's easier to find inside the USA. Other than that there's no difference between these two. Tokyo Marui - plastic slide and outer barrel. Equal or possibly slightly better reliability vs. the KSC/KWA model, much improved accuracy at ranges beyond around 75 feet [good hop-up]. Lower power - the KSC will shoot around 300-320 FPS with a .20g BB while the Marui will shoot 280ish. Biggest downside to the TM version is that they don't actually make a G34, they make a G17. You can convert it to a G34 length by purchasing a slide and barrel kit [CNC 7075] for about $100 - it's available from online stores based in Hong Kong such as http://www.dentrinityshop.com. Expensive route but it's what I did.

Also try: http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums [must register to read main forums, UK site with some special rules] http://www.airsoftretreat.com/forums [uS forum, decent review section] http://www.airsoft-barracks.com/forums [ASF members mostly moved over here] http://www.airsoftcanada.com/forums [for our friends to the north] Of course... if this site had a subforum...

I suggest a propane adapter, AI or Madbull [my preference is to the plastic AI one], a spare magazine, .20g BBs [KSC, TM, Airsoft Elite, or Excel are all good, and the .20g weight is most likely best for a basement setup], and silicone lube. That's pretty much what everyone else has said and rounds out the basics very nicely. You can use the WE or the Marui spare mags.

I noticed that as well; actually both capacity listings are incorrect. For the 5.1 type guns with the large magazine bumpers, the capacity is 31 rounds rather than 25 or 30. The last round, though, is difficult to get in and doesn't always feed reliably on the first shot so Airsplat can be forgiven for this.

Yes, they are both WE guns or TSD rebrands.

Based on what you said about the sights, I assume you got a WE or TSD pistol. Since this a clone of the TM, you can get some pretty nice basepads but they are expensive and have to be ordered from Hong Kong. Shipped, they'll cost almost as much as a new magazine. Example: http://www.uncompany.com/pageproductdetails.asp?prodid=7883 http://www.uncompany.com/pageproduct.asp?subcatid=265 ETA: Also just remembered I have a spare OEM Marui plastic basepad sitting around somewhere in my parts bin. Send me a PM and maybe we can work something out.

No problem, glad to help! I do have to go back to my statement about WA pistols being best and make an important clarification. They are much higher quality in external build than the TM/WE guns, and they used to be great internally too. But they changed their firing system and now I would have to go with a TM gun instead for use with propane/green gas. Previous Western Arms guns using 'SCW2' systems are still available from a few stores and they are very much worth getting, especially with a metal slide to handle propane use better. However, the more recent ones with 'SCW3' type systems have a number of issues with hammer, sear, and firing pin. These issues can cause breakage in rare cases, but nearly always result in 'light strikes', in which the magazine valve is not hit hard enough to release gas. In short, SCW2 is good all around but a metal slide will hold up better with propane use. SCW3 is still good for use with duster gas or HFC134A gas but not worth the headache when used with propane. Since WA is in Japan, where propane is not used, they most likely do not even recognize this issue.

Hop-up is a feature of virtually all currently produced airsoft guns, so I am talking not about an aftermarket kit, but rather about the system Western Arms has designed for their pistols. Essentially, when you chamber a BB into a gas blowback [GBB] airsoft pistol, it sits in a portion of the chamber just behind the back of the barrel. Directly in front of the BB, where the barrel starts, is a rubber sleeve around the barrel. This is called a 'bucking' (since that is the translation on some airsoft gun manuals, and the name has stuck). The bucking has a small nub inside it, which extends into the top of the barrel slightly. As the gun fires, the BB hits this small nub and encounters friction on its upper surface, causing backspin. The backspin does not stabilize the BB as a spin along the axis of flight would, but it serves to increase the effective range of the projectile by giving it some upwards force later in its flight. Since most hop-ups can be adjusted to put more, or less pressure on the bucking, you can set them for various weights of BBs that need different levels of hop-up. For example, a .28g BB should have more hop applied than a .2g BB should. The appropriate settting for hop-up is the highest setting that does not result in the BB having an upwards curve in its flight - in other words, the flattest possible trajectory. So, when comparing hop-up systems, one mainly looks at the means of adjustment. On TM gas guns and their copies, a small, notched wheel in the bottom of the chamber assembly is used to adjust hop-up. This system is nice since it's relatively easy to use, it's repeatable, and it's adequately precise. KSC and Western Arms [WA] hop-ups usually use a rotating metal sleeve around the bucking, which has a curved inclined plane on the inner surface to vary the amount of pressure put on a ball bearing, which is transferred to the bucking. I have not had much success with these systems in getting consistent results at ranges over 70-80'. There do exist aftermarket parts for hop-ups, but usually they are not replacements for the entire system. Rather, they tend to change just one variable - for example the ball bearing in the KSC-style hop-up. A large selection of buckings are available for most TM guns, since the buckings and inner barrels of their VSR-10, Glock 26/17, Hi-Capa 4.3/5.1 (S_I clone), Mk23, and P226 are interchangeable. For example, a company known variably as Nine Ball, Laylax, or First Factory makes a bucking which uses a special design for a perfect gas seal with the nozzle. As for the Prime and SD slides, as well as other makes of aftermarket parts of all kinds, I usually buy those from http://www.dentrinityshop.com. Failing that, http://www.uncompany.com and http://www.wgcshop.com are also good options, but DEN Trinity tends to have more pistol parts and is least likely to destroy licensed trademarks upon importing [unco is good about this too as long as you specify it in your order]. It's a matter of what's in stock, since many items like slides are made only in one production run and it's no use waiting for them to get back in stock. In the pictures I posted above, I have a Prime slide on the G34, a G&P slide on the G17, and a Shooters Design slide, comp, and barrel on the S_I.

Here is a link to the targets I use. http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=610338 It would seem that the ambient temperature has alot to do with the life and functionability of the unit. Keeping the mags warm is a must while filling them with propane as well. The handwarmer idea sounds like a winner. I usually can run 3-4 drills before needing to put them in my pocket to warm up. It seems I get more life out of them when shooting BBs as apposed to without as well. I haven't had any problems other than keeping the mags warm with my WE. The WE pistols are pretty good these days, and tend to have acceptable reliability. The earliest ones, though, used zinc slides that broke and had sluggish cycling, the hammers sometimes wore out to the point of not engaging with the sear [soft metal], grip safeties didn't ever work, and the pistons weren't great either. Now, the newest version have cast aluminum slides, better assembly [it seems], better hammers, and aluminum pistons. The Caspian models some of you are getting are rebranded WE's sold under the TSD name with licensed Caspian markings. There is no difference between these and the WE's other than the marking, but you do know for sure that you have a new version pistol if you have a Caspian. Most stores have run out of the old WE's by now so it really doesn't matter much. You do still get problems now and then, though. I prefer the TM guns since they have better fit and are more accurate, and also are very consistent from gun to gun with snappy cycling and well known reliability. This inherent parts fit and accuracy, as well as the non-railed frame and the slightly better quality of some of the parts that are likely to be kept stock in an upgrade build makes them better for projects in my opinion. Rarely do I leave a pistol in out-of-the-box condition, so that's great for me. If you're looking to keep a gun stock the WE might be better for its metal slide and outer barrel. As for the Western Arms guns, I am not as happy as I could be with their hop-up system but they are better quality than TM or WE and are available in 4.3/5/6" sizes. Certainly great guns, especially with the addition of a Prime or Shooters Design slide. Edit: @mcattack: Full auto firing in normal weather conditions means a look at the disconnector. Check for any strange wear in the sear, hammer, and disconnector, or anything that looks like it broke off. If not that, it's likely that the leaf spring is too weak and needs to be bent a little to put more pressure on the disconnector. Depending on the problem, fixing what's wrong in the trigger mechanism could well fix the hammer catching issue as well. Also check the slide's blowback unit. The slide is removed in much the same way as a real 1911 slide. You should be able to move the nozzle forward and have it spring back into place. When forward, there's an o-ring visible - is this frayed, chipped, or broken? Your 'ten shots to a fill' problem sounds like an effect of the gas venting problem, rather than an individual issue. Basically, check for leaks in the system, including the magazine.

Those of you who experience full auto emptying of the entire magazine, venting gas, and poor cycling should consider the temperature that you are shooting at. Since these run on propane and rely on it expanding from a liquid in the magazine to a gas, they are sensitive to temperature. Generally rapid fire will not work if it's 55* F or less in the shooting area - with each shot, the magazine cools down. You can shoot them indoors, but not too much if it's not ventilated because you'll get propane in the air. For outdoor use, try warming the magazines after filling them. Some people have success using handwarmers, though I don't have experience with that. Here are a couple I own/have owned. I am not a fan of the WE copies; I prefer to buy the TM made originals and upgrade the plastic slide to an aluminum one: Been in this for a while and happy to answer any questions.

This is an airsoft gun, but it's NP3 and the pics are good. Not mine: http://www.lawndartdesign.com/guns/IPSC.html