So here we all are heading to the end of the first month of 2026, and what a month it’s been!
ISSUE 183 is fast approaching content-completion at AAHQ in readiness for the 15th of February, and of course as well as our usual mix of reviews and articles we’re looking forward to sharing the big report from SHOT Show 2026… and what a lot there is to share!
With Boycie, Jase, and TC now safely back from Las Vegas (although they’re all suffering from the dreaded “SHOT FLU”…) the AA Crew are reassembled in full to get on with “airsoft biz as usual”, and with IWA in Germany very much on the horizon now it’s shaping up to be a continued busy time, with even more industry-inside-information to bring to your attention!
Boycie told us in our weekly team-chat “we may be under the weather but we’ll still get the SHOT report done. My next two features will be written over the coming next week or two as well!”
And that’s an illustration of the determination and commitment to providing first-rate content that we’ve come to know and love from all the AA Crew, and as things move forward again this year that will be even more apparent.
But what of the rest of the gang, what are they up to this weekend?
Stewbacca told us that “things are a little undetermined as yet, as my ankle is improving but still slowing me down a bit and I want to avoid messing it up again. Depending on intended attendance Team TaiJi might find its way to either our Longtan jungle site, or Linkou CQB if the weather is crap, apparently under my leadership as the team captain and local vice-captain are likely indisposed, after our end of year party the other week I’ve been volun-told to be foreign vice-captain for my sins!”
Bill is on the range as usual, come rain, shine, or snow and said “I’ve been testing the new SECUTOR CENTURION GBBR recently so I need to get some more rangework done with that before I drop my review… it’s gonna be colder again this weekend so I’m looking forward to seeing how this affects performance; juggling gases I think I can keep the power level consistent and respectable as I’ve been able to with other MWS-compatible platforms… but we’ll see!”
For many of the rest of the AA Crew things are still slowly gearing up after the “January Lull”; Miguel told us “we are still looking for a game; the initial plan was to host one of our small games, but the field is being used this weekend, so it’s off. With luck though we can hook up for our game elsewhere…”
Dan said “the next game here isn’t until 7th of February, so I’ll just be twiddling my thumbs till then… that said, there’s a few side projects I need to get finished up, one of which is swapping out the motor in my PKM for one with a unidirectional bearing so I can ditch the anti-reversal latch issues altogether that the Retro Arms gearbox is causing; should be a smooth job!” Also in the USA Matt added “I’ll be making preparations for this year’s Milsim season by gearing up, buying tickets and booking bnbs…”
Ben said “unfortunately I’m not getting out to play, just some tinkering though this weekend, sharpening the tools! I’ll also be working on my AI generated images and videos this weekend as this has become an area of interest and enjoyment for me…”
We’ve actually used one of the images in our post this week of Ben and Bill, one which started as an excellent regular image taken by the Krios Photography team… although we’d never use AI-generated content in the magazine itself we do absolutely love what can be achieved, and we really like what Ben has created and thought we’d share it with you!
There also appears to be a lot of “new year cleaning” going on, as Li’l Stu commented “I’m still sifting through my kit and parsing out the stuff to sell, trade, or keep. 25 years-worth of kit! I need a large drink I feel…”and Stewbacca replied “yeah I really need to do that on my end already too! A lot of stuff I can just get shot of it seems. I’ve acquired a bunch of repeat units from people leaving them with me as they return to their home countries or move on elsewhere that I just haven’t had time to shift before now, and it’s piling up as airsoft kit always seems to do…”
And right now is the absolutely perfect time to be looking at your own kit requirements for the year of airsoft ahead, time to clear out the broken and redundant, and plan your replacement purchases… before you need your cash to play for game-days!
We know that even in the depths of winter some of you die-hards though will be out playing whatever “Old Ma Nature” may throw at you, and if you are, as always, we’ll sign off by saying Play Hard, Play Safe, and above all Play with Honour!
