I woke a bit early than usual last Saturday. There is always one reason why I need to wake up early on Saturday as compared to the rest of the world --- there is an airsoft event taking place. I know that most of your attention is about the UK referendum to stay or leave the EU (with the campaign of both sides suspended with the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox by someone who is said to have far right connections), or the EUFA Euro 2016 which is probably the third most watched spectator sport in the world after the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics. But since it is the Airsoft Showcase 2016, there is nothing that can keep me from attending unless it is the end of the world.

For this year, I had to travel two hours by car since the Airsoft Showcase moved to Gloucester with StrikeForce CQB being the venue. Last year, it was held at The Mall in Reading which is about half an hour away from me. Good thing Master Chief was driving this time, since I only had a few hours of sleep.

It was my second time to be at StrikeForce CQB, the first time was last year during the Airsoft Surgeon Practical Shooting European Championship 2015. Just like The Mall, it is a very accessible venue as it is near the City Centre, which for those who don’t drive, is a good thing as they can just walk or take a bus to the venue.

Arriving at StrikeForce CQB, we were first greeted by Clare Barker, our constant co-player at the Ground Zero Weekender over the years, who immediately took care of our bands and ushered us in. Getting inside the exhibit area where Chris Kong, RedWolf Airsoft UK's main man who insisted on us having breakfast so off to the burger corner for some minutes before we really started going around the exhibit floor of the Airsoft Showcase 2016.  Nigel of Airsoft Action Magazine was there to join us and slowly, we saw some of the more prominent airsoft bloggers arriving such as Kelly Louise Hardwick of Femme Fatale Airsoft and Aryan Alipour, now an editor of the Airsoft & MilSim News Blog.

The morning started slowly as visitors slowly trickled in, which also gave us more time to be able to talk to the exhibitors. Whilst Master Chief was going around with his wife to take some videos, I dropped by the booth of Gunfire with Patryk and Mateusz who are participating for the first time at the Airsoft Showcase. As expected, they have in display some of the brands that Gunfire is known to be carrying such as Specna Arms, E&L Airsoft, Claw Gear, Black Mountain Gear, and PPS. They were there not to sell, but more of displaying their products that potential resellers and business partners can be interested in.

Up next was to check the Incentive Designs as they always have something innovative on display. They have been busy working on the Tippmann HPA airsoft technology, developing upgrades to improve performance and shooting experience. On display were two fabricated .50 Cal machine guns which they the installed the Tippmann engine into these. Oh boy! The custom M4 SBR they made with the Tippmann produces an awesome kick with their heavy bolt which they call the High Speed Superbolt.

iWholesales were at the far-end corner of the floor, and for those looking for Ares, A&K, Bolt Airsoft, and APS products, this was the booth to go to. Herman  and Rishy were there to answer queries by airsoft players and businesses interested in having these brands’ products on their shelves. Just right behind them was a 3-Gun airsoft course put up by Tim Wyborn of X-Site Airsoft and interested players had a go to try 3-Gun after quick instructions.

The United Kingdom Airsoft Players Union (UKAPU) was there as well, ready to take new members with free sign-ups for those who appreciate their aims of having a organization that will put the interests of airsoft players first. The UKAPU are heavily involved to ensure the exemptions for airsoft players stay with the proposed Policing and Crime Bill by the Home Office.

Valken Tactical Europe have their products such as tactical gear accessories and airsoft consumables on display as well as their line of airsoft guns, whether AEGs or those equipped with the Valken V12 HPA engine. This is also their first time to show up at the Airsoft Showcase as they seek new business partners in the UK. Master Chief was given some of their products, as taken care of by Janek, and these will be reviewed for Popular Airsoft.

By noontime, we see even more airsoft players checking out the various products on display. The list of exhibitors is long this year --- apart from those that have already been mentioned, the other exhibitors were Surplus Store, West Midlands Airsoft, Ammo Drop, Stitch Me Up, South Coast CQB, Pro Airsoft Supplies, Airsoft Great Britain, 6mm Ammo, Swindon Airsoft, Spartan Airsoft,  Badger Tac, Dave's Custom Airsoft, Ghost Tec, Army Surplus & Toys, Pilgrim Bandits, HTIS, Calibre Shooting, Airsoft Machine Shop, Fubar Bundy, Cloud 9 Combat, ASG, and Bomb-Up Airsoft.

Besides the X-Site 3-Gun course, Double Tap also have a small airsoft practical pistol shooting course for those who want to dip their toes in this discipline. At just 1 quid, anybody can have a go and try to get their best time at shooting the poppers and paper targets, or just have fun shooting in this corner of the venue.

At the Action Sport Games (ASG) booth, Paul Wignell was busy explaining the various airsoft guns they had display, with the flag ship product, the EVO 3 A1 AEG (which will be joined by an HPA version in a partnership with Wolverine Airsoft) was there fully kitted up with suppressors and optics.  Beside it was the much anticipated CZ 805 Bren AEG which, according to Paul, will be finally released this summer. For those who are interested in the 805, it is time to save up.

By around 1430H, it was time for us to leave, since we did have other personal commitments on the same day. But it leaving was hard, taking us around 30 minutes just to say goodbyes with the awesome folks from the hosts and those at booths. We took time talking with Cloud 9 Airsoft as we needed samples as the samples we needed for a review were lost in an unfortunate mishap. But they have a new airsoft grenade, a big frag grenade that is already filled with some soft clay pellets as the frags. For those like throwing a pineapple-style airsoft grenade, then this is one they should look into. Also, Master Chief got a good deal with his new plate carrier from Ratty of BadgerTac Airsoft.

We have been through several airsoft trade fairs over the years in the UK, starting with the Airsoft Arms Fair which was open air, the British Airsoft Show where fewer and fewer airsoft vendors have been showing up, and now with the Airsoft Showcase. StrikeForce CQB is a good venue to hold such since it is an indoor site it is more suitable to hold a trade fair. The Mall in Reading was an indoor site as well though it is just too dark for a trade fair as compared to StrikeForce CQB which has ample natural light.

Our thanks to the excellent hosts, RedWolf Airsoft UK led by Chris Kong and StrikeForce CQB. Airsoft players can contact StrikeForce CQB for their game dates and as for us, we will back to this venue in the South West in August for the Airsoft Surgeon Practical Shooting European Championships 2016.

Photos of the event posted at the Popular Airsoft Facebook Page.