Airsoft Paintball
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 Skull Airsoft Paintball Hunting Full Face Protect Mask $7.39 Time Remaining: 20d 21m Buy It Now for only: $7.39 |
 Airsoft Man Full Face Guard Mask Defense For Outdoor Sports Shotting BB BK DH057 $5.99 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 44m |
 ET ALIEN FULL SAFETY IMPACT RESISTANCE AIRSOFT PAINTBALL PROTECTIVE FACE MASK $19.90 Time Remaining: 2h 51m Buy It Now for only: $21.99 |
 Airsoft Tactical Eyes Protection Mesh Glasses Goggle Len Protect Kit O1 $12.99 Time Remaining: 26d 7h 5m Buy It Now for only: $12.99 |
 TACTICAL FULL FACE MASK AIRSOFT PAINTBALL GUN GOGGLE $0.01 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 8h 53m |
 TACTICAL FULL FACE MASK AIRSOFT PAINTBALL GUN GOGGLE $0.01 Time Remaining: 8h 54m |
 2012 Death Skull Bone Airsoft Full Face Protect Mask DH051 $9.85 Time Remaining: 22d 22h 45m Buy It Now for only: $9.85 |
 METAL MESH PROTECTION FLY GOGGLE ANTI IMPACT AIRSOFT $15.99 Time Remaining: 11h Buy It Now for only: $17.59 |
 Woodland Camo Ghillie Suit Ultra Light 4 Piece Paintball or Airsoft Large 7V $59.99 Time Remaining: 11h 26m |
 Airsoft Googles Saftey Goggles Black Blue Mirrored $13.49 Time Remaining: 3d 18h 27m Buy It Now for only: $13.49 |
 Airsoft Full Face Goggle Clear Mask Paintball Tactical $0.01 Time Remaining: 11h 50m |
 Metal Mesh Protection Goggle Anti Impact Airsoft DH062 $6.58 Time Remaining: 16d 4h 4m Buy It Now for only: $6.58 |
 TACTICAL FULL FACE MASK AIRSOFT PAINTBALL GUN GOGGLE $0.01 Time Remaining: 11h 50m |
 Airsoft Full Face Goggle Mesh Mask Safety Tactical $0.01 Time Remaining: 11h 50m |
 Airsoft Full Face Goggle Mesh Mask Safety Tactical $9.90 Time Remaining: 1d 14h 50m Buy It Now for only: $9.90 |
 NEW Premium Padded Airsoft Paintball Goggle Mask gun $9.99 Time Remaining: 14h 51m |
 TACTICAL FULL FACE MASK AIRSOFT PAINTBALL GUN GOGGLE $0.01 Time Remaining: 14h 51m |
 Green Half Face Metal Mesh Protective Mask Airsoft Paintball Resistant H $12.00 Time Remaining: 18d 21h 52m Buy It Now for only: $12.00 |
 Airsoft Full Face Goggle Clear Mask Paintball Tactical $0.01 Time Remaining: 14h 51m |
 NEW Save Phace Dope Series Diablo Red Skull Airsoft Paintball Tactical Face Mask $67.95 Time Remaining: 23d 3h 31m Buy It Now for only: $67.95 |
 Airsoft Full Face Goggle Mesh Mask Safety Tactical nets Military color $1.25 (7 Bids) Time Remaining: 18h 9m |
 Tactical TMC Metal Wire Half Face Airsoft Mask Blk $7.90 Time Remaining: 18h 10m Buy It Now for only: $8.80 |
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 Half Face Metal Net Mesh Protect Mask Airsoft Hunting $0.01 Time Remaining: 20h 5m |
 Half Face Metal Net Mesh Protect Mask Airsoft Hunting $0.01 Time Remaining: 20h 5m |
 Airsoft BB Gun Paintball Mesh Face Goggle Protect Mask $1.00 Time Remaining: 21d 2h 53m Buy It Now for only: $1.00 |
 Full face Assassins airsoft steel metal mesh mask Green $14.85 Time Remaining: 20h 34m Buy It Now for only: $16.50 |
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 Stalker TMC Metal Wire Half Face Airsoft Mask Blk $7.90 Time Remaining: 20h 34m Buy It Now for only: $8.80 |
 Airsoft Full Face Goggle Mesh Mask Safety Tactical $9.69 Time Remaining: 20h 50m |
 Skull Skeleton Airsoft Paintball BB Gun Full Face Protect Mask $8.49 Time Remaining: 20d 12m Buy It Now for only: $8.49 |
 TACTICAL FULL FACE MASK AIRSOFT PAINTBALL GUN GOGGLE $0.01 Time Remaining: 20h 51m |
 TACTICAL FULL FACE MASK AIRSOFT PAINTBALL GUN GOGGLE $0.01 Time Remaining: 20h 51m |
 Save Phace Warlord Arctic Ice Lazarus Dop please see bottom for more pics $39.99 Time Remaining: 13d 16h 59m Buy It Now for only: $39.99 |
 TACTICAL FULL FACE MASK AIRSOFT PAINTBALL GUN GOGGLE $0.01 Time Remaining: 20h 51m |
 JT Paintball Spectra Flex 7 IZE goggle Replacement Black FRAME ONLY NEW airsoft $4.99 Time Remaining: 18d 9h 45m Buy It Now for only: $4.99 |
 Airsoft Full Face Goggle Clear Mask Paintball Tactical $0.01 Time Remaining: 20h 51m |
 SWAT CQB Airsoft SHOOTING game Full face protector Mask $5.88 Time Remaining: 21h 39m Buy It Now for only: $6.88 |
 Airsoft Metal Mesh Mask Half Face WOODLAND CAMO $18.88 Time Remaining: 1d 22h 39m Buy It Now for only: $18.88 |
 NEW Premium Padded Airsoft Paintball Goggle Mask gun $9.99 Time Remaining: 23h 51m |
 Airsoft Full Face Goggle Mesh Mask Safety Tactical $0.01 Time Remaining: 23h 51m |
 5 Airsoft Paintball Goggles Mask Black Drawstring Storage Carrying Case Bags LOT $7.50 Time Remaining: 25d 14h 12m Buy It Now for only: $7.50 |
 TACTICAL FULL FACE MASK AIRSOFT PAINTBALL GUN GOGGLE $0.01 Time Remaining: 23h 51m |
 NEW AIRSOFT PAINTBALL EZ FIT TACTICAL MILITARY GOGGLES Ski Googles Eye wear $8.95 Time Remaining: 6d 13h 16m Buy It Now for only: $8.95 |
 TACTICAL FULL FACE MASK AIRSOFT PAINTBALL GUN GOGGLE $0.01 Time Remaining: 23h 51m |
 METAL MESH PROTECTION FLY ANTI IMPACT GOGGLE AIRSOFT $9.90 Time Remaining: 1d 12h 3m Buy It Now for only: $10.89 |
 Death Skull Bone Airsoft Full Face Protect Safe Mask M02 $19.99 Time Remaining: 15d 1h 26m Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 Full face Assassins airsoft steel metal mesh mask Black $14.85 Time Remaining: 1d 14h 34m Buy It Now for only: $16.50 |
 HALF FACE METAL MESH PROTECTIVE MASK AIRSOFT PAINTBALL $14.99 Time Remaining: 1d 16h 46m Buy It Now for only: $16.49 |
 Airsoft Army of Two Full Face Plastic Mask Black $46.80 Time Remaining: 20d 2h 12m Buy It Now for only: $46.80 |
 Scott Paintball Airsoft Goggle Full Face Mask With Visor Clear Lens $1.04 (2 Bids) Time Remaining: 1d 16h 49m |
 Zombie Skull Haft Face Wire Mesh mask airsoft NEW $18.88 Time Remaining: 1d 17h 39m Buy It Now for only: $18.88 |
 ET ALIEN FULL SAFETY IMPACT RESISTANCE AIRSOFT PAINTBALL PROTECTIVE FACE MASK $19.90 Time Remaining: 1d 17h 1m Buy It Now for only: $21.99 |
 Airsoft Full Face Goggle Mesh Mask Safety Tactical nets Military color $0.25 (4 Bids) Time Remaining: 1d 18h 8m |
 Brown Half Face Metal Mesh Protective Mask Airsoft Paintball Resistant H $12.00 Time Remaining: 18d 21h 52m Buy It Now for only: $12.00 |
 GLOW IN THE DARK GREEN CAMO SKULL FACE MASK SKELETON BANDANA PAINTBALL AIRSOFT $0.70 (4 Bids) Time Remaining: 1d 18h 56m |
 GA Airsoft Paintball Pro Goggles MASK System w Fan Ventilation Coyote Sand $20.00 Time Remaining: 1d 19h 28m Buy It Now for only: $25.00 |
 TMC Metal Wire Mesh Paintball Airsoft protect Mask ACU $22.42 Time Remaining: 6d 16h 50m Buy It Now for only: $22.42 |
 Tactical Strike Metal Wire Full Face Airsoft Mask Green $14.85 Time Remaining: 1d 19h 49m Buy It Now for only: $16.50 |
 New Steel Mesh Goggle For Protecting Eyes Eyeglasses shooting airsoft $5.59 Time Remaining: 2d 1h 20m Buy It Now for only: $5.59 |
 Half Face Metal Net Mesh Protect Mask Airsoft Hunting $0.01 Time Remaining: 1d 20h |
 Half Face Metal Net Mesh Protect Mask Airsoft Hunting $0.01 Time Remaining: 1d 20h 8m |
 Black Half Face Metal Mesh Protective Mask Airsoft Paintball Resistant H $12.00 Time Remaining: 18d 21h 52m Buy It Now for only: $12.00 |
 Tactical Strike Metal Wire Full Face Airsoft Mask Grey $14.85 Time Remaining: 1d 20h 59m Buy It Now for only: $16.50 |
 Paintball Mask Gen X Global X VSN Goggle Airsoft NEW $9.99 Time Remaining: 1d 22h 4m |
 Skull Airsoft Paintball Hunting Full Face Protect Mask Mesh Goggle $69.46 Time Remaining: 1d 16h 14m Buy It Now for only: $69.46 |
 ARMY of TWO PAINTBALL AIRSOFT BB GUN PROP HELMET $75.00 Time Remaining: 1d 22h 5m Buy It Now for only: $99.00 |
 UV400 Paintball Airsoft Kite Surfing Skiing Goggles Glasses rubber pad ski lens $5.99 Time Remaining: 9d 4h 42m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 NEWblack Kabuki warrior Airsoft BB Mask Half Cover $29.00 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 1d 22h 5m |
 Tactical Mesh Metal Wire Full Face Airsoft Mask Black $14.85 Time Remaining: 1d 22h 49m Buy It Now for only: $16.50 |
 Airsoft Tactical Eyes Glasses Protection Metal Mesh Pinhole Goggle Len Protect $8.88 Time Remaining: 7d 11h 5m Buy It Now for only: $8.88 |
 CaMoUfLaGe SKULL FACE MASK Neck Scarf PAINTBALL GREEN ARMY CAMO Hunter Airsoft $3.25 (9 Bids) Time Remaining: 1d 23h 1m |
 AIRSOFT Paintball BB MASK JASON HOCKEY MASK $69.00 Time Remaining: 2d 37m |
 ARMY OF TWO PAINTBALL AIRSOFT MASK DRAK METAL $89.00 Time Remaining: 53m Buy It Now for only: $89.00 |
 3 COLOUR LENS TACTICAL AIRSOFT WARGAME PAINTBALL SNIPER PROTECTIVE GOGGLES $19.99 Time Remaining: 2d 2h 51m Buy It Now for only: $21.99 |
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The Airsoft Skirmish Game
The Airsoft Skirmish Game has it's roots in the higher-power skirmish game of paintball. There is some contention in the Airsoft community, as to when the first true 'Airsoft' model was marketed, but what is known, is that an American air gun manufacturer, Daisy, marketed what they called a Softair gun in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which fired a miniature 6mm hollow plastic shuttlecock-like projectile, and incredibly low speeds, from a toy gun. The intention, it would appear, was to develop a new market for its products. They succeeded, and a new generation of rifle shooters was born.
This series of softair guns are generally thought, on balance, to be the ancestors of what we now know as Airsoft models.
Shortly after Daisy marketed their softair guns, Tokyo Marui, then marketing self-assembly plastic replica gun kits, modified some of their designs to fire the same form of projectile. Within five or so years, they had all but halted production of the 1:1 replica kits, and gone into full-time production of virtually 1:1 self-assembly low powered 'ASGK' Airsoft kits, firing a new 6mm spherical plastic projectile. Within another five or so years, in the early 1990s, spring powered Airsoft models became 'old news', as the first generation of Automatic Electric Airsoft Guns, or AEGs, were marketed, not as self-assembly kits, but ready to use out-of-the-box models, of remarkable realism and accuracy to the real-world counterparts that they represented.
The rest is history, as well over ten main-stream manufacturers in Japan, Taiwan, and other p art s of the far east, have sprung up to supply a brand new hobby sport, that uses these models in mock-combat games, called Airsoft Skirmish Games.
So, now we know the history of the models, how about the game?
The original hobby sport combat game is, of course, paintball, and this has been so well documented over the years, that it would be redundant to go into its origins here. However, paintball is illegal in Japan , which has probably the strictest firearms laws on the planet. This means that no-one may own any form of firearm privately, without a great deal of red tape to comply with, making it, for all intents and purposes, a non-starter. The same applies to paintball markers, which, as I understand it, are classified as firearms in Japan .
However, the Japanese, due to their culture of group-led activities, do enjoy combat games. How they accomplished this prior to Airsoft models being manufactured is beyond me (do you know? PLEASE tell me!), but the introduction of these models gave them the edge they needed to develop the hobby sport, which they get involved in, in truly massive numbers; it's not unusual for there to be well over 100 players at any given playing venue, on any given playing day, and well over 500 players at a competition/convention event!
The rules to the game originated in Japan . Similar to the Paintball Skirmish game, there are one or two major differences. Firstly, the Airsoft models have a much lesser range than paintball 'markers'; second, there are no paint gel projectiles used in the Airsoft Skirmish game, thus an honor system predominates. The fact that paint is not used to mark your opponent could have been a major problem. However, since personal honor is a way of life and culture in Japan , an d disgrace follows a cheat in that country, they found that to get the rules to work, all they needed to do was rely on their innate codes of personal honor. Thus, if you were hit by an Airsoft projectile in a game, you were required to declare this, and remove yourself from the game. It worked, too, as cheating tends to spoil the fun of the game for every one else involved. The basic rules were, therefore:
You cannot use physical force, as the object of the game is to shoot the opposition, and have fun - it is, after all, only a game.
If you're hit, you're out of the game.
These are the rules that form the basis of the Airsoft Skirmish Game, and, for all practical purposes, have not changed one bit.
The game then grew, moving to Hong Kong , Korea , Taiwan , and the Philippines . It was then only a matter of time before other countries saw, and adopted the game. It appeared in America and Canada at about the same time, and Europe during the mid 1990s, but it is only in the last three to five years, that the hobby sport has started to thrive in the UK.
Now, in mid 2000 AD, there are well over twenty playing sites in the mainland UK alone, and more planned. However, the feature that appeals to the hobbyists most of all, is also the most controversial feature: the realistic nature of the models used in the game. It was therefore paramount to professional site operators that some checks and balances were imposed, in the form of self-regulation. This has resulted in an unwritten code of conduct, that, broadly speaking, mirrors air weapon rules. These unwritten rules appear to be codified into the following:
No one under the age of seventeen (18 in the USA - this text added by Strike Back Now 6-18-04) should be permitted to purchase an Airsoft model.
Airsoft models should NOT be shown in public places, and the Safety rules that apply to real air weapons and firearms should, in the most p art , apply to Airsoft models.
So far, then, this seems to be a good start , and would appear to work in the majority of cases. It remains to be seen if the APAC campaign will result in a more formal code of conduct for the UK Airsoft scene, but one lives in hope.
This, in mid 2000 AD, is where the hobby is at. A minor, but legal (if somewhat controversial to some), hobby sport, enjoyed by hundreds of people around the country. In any event, both the technology, and the hobby, appear to be here to stay - and long may that continue!
How to play:
To get started playing Airsoft all you really need is an Airsoft Gun (if it’s a spring gun) and some BBs. The most affordable guns start at under $20, so Airsoft is a hobby that virtually anyone can afford. Once you have a gun and some BBs, you can practice shooting at home against a target, you can shoot cans in your backyard, or anything like that. Airsoft guns are actually made to be able to shoot at other people safely, when proper safety precautions are taken (i.e. eye protection, body covering).
About the Author
AIRSOFT VS PAINTBALL (the truth)