Almost two years ago, we got teased with a video of the Airsoft AA-12 AEG Shotgun on YouTube. In a way, the airsoft community got excited about this project, and looked forward to seeing it hit the market. Since then, we never heard much about the project; and we wondered if it was just another "vaporware", not being able to see the light of the day and disappointed airsoft players anticipating its release.

Earlier this week, we get an email from Airsoft Absolution, the French group behind this project. This email revealed two important things:

1. The Airsoft AA-12 Shotgun is now a CO2-powered Blowback Airsoft Shotgun; and
2. They are now raising €200,000 on Indiegogo so they can proceed with production.

The description on the project reveals to us that this AA-12 Airsoft Shotgun has been initially conceived by Sylvain Bertrand in 2008, though actual execution of the project was in 2011 when he met Stephane Jacquemin and shared the objective of building the AA-12.  Together they put up Airsoft Absolution and used their savings for the project.

As mentioned earlier, the AA-12 was initially conceived as an AEG and below is the video of the prototype that caught the interest of the airsoft community in June 2013:

However, they encountered difficulties in acquiring the Gearbox (a bit vague here) in quantities and they decided to build a gas-powered AA-12 instead and that they will control the manufacture of all elements for this product. With the funding that you will provide they intend to have the shotgun body on a stainless steel base with reinforced polycarbonate hull. They also mentioned of a "future store" where you can customise the shotgun to your liking.

Each shot will be able to fire off 3 BBs as shown in the demo in the fundraising video just like their original AEG design. Initial muzzle velocity is around 300-350fps and pricing is seen around €400 to €500.

Now, speaking of pricing. I noticed that pledging amounts on the Indiegogo page range from €1 to €1,000.00. The first thing I checked is the €500 which for the pledge, doesn't indicate you get to have one of the first AA-12 GBB Shotguns as based on their proposed retail price. Once you pledge between €750 and €1,000 then you can read clearly that you get to have a Limited Edition AA-12 GBB Shotgun. I just hope the project owners can clarify at what pledging amount can supporters acquire the product. Also, there's no mention of ETA for the product if the minimum amount required to start production is met.

Oh well, the birthing pains of trying to put out a product that no one has done before. The AA-12 is a dream shotgun for a good number of airsoft players who are limited to pump actions for now. If you want one, be prepared to help raise some smacking two hundred thousand euros for Airsoft Absolution to start production.