It was an early start for us at the IWA Outdoor Classics 2017. Masterchief and I got up early to go Nuremberg Messe for the first day of the trade expo just to beat the morning crowds. We were really early as we got our press passes and found a closed press room that was to open 30 minutes later rather than 0800H. So off to the nearby cafeteria and waited until the press room got opened.

I wanted to be early at the press room  so we can do our online stuff since the internet connection at our hotel was atrocious, always slow when many guests are using the internet connection at the same time. At least at the venue, I can always use their local network which has better bandwidth.

It was Masterchief’s first time at IWA, having found time from his day job so he can help me out cover the event, especially that Dom was not able to come and is more of an IWA guru than me. After having updated the Popular Airsoft, it was time for us to go to Halls 7 and 7a to see the airsoft companies who have set up their booths for one of the biggest events in the airsoft industry.

Our plan for the morning was to drop by and say hello to the companies and set appointments so we can take videos of their displays and what they have to offer to airsoft players. In a matter of two hours we were able to make appointments with most of them.

The first of the lot is Classic Army to finish the morning as on the sport they had someone available to talk about the products on display. Most probably, every airsoft player should be familiar with their miniguns, the M134, but the more interesting bit is their line-up of AEGs with their “Nemesis”  series which is comprised of 6 AEGs for now. These are M-Lok compatible, use 9mm bearings, have 6.03 inner barrels, and very much programmable with their own ECS or the Electronic Control System that you can just program the Nemesis AEG without the need of another device just to do it.

We had a quick lunch after the Classic Army presentation as the afternoon of Day 1 was more packed with appointments. We got to the RedWolf Airsoft booth and it was full of people checking the different products and learning more about the brands on display. Max Lai was there waiting for us so he could start with his presentation and he talked about RWA products like the Cerakoted custom guns they have as well as the new HPA airsoft products they carry, which mainly are from Wolverine Airsoft.

We dropped by booth of SKWAirsoft, where Kristel and Gonzalo were more than helpful enough to set our appointment and gave us a quick tour of their booth, showing the Zoxna mortars and a glimpse of their Duel Code line. We’ll post more information about their products as soon as we are finished with our appointment with them.

Next stop was Action Sport Games, where Thomas Mikkelsen was already to accommodate us with our request and to talk about more the EVO line, especially with their release of an EVO HPA that is done in cooperation with Wolverine Airsoft. I also had some interesting discussions with our friends from the Airsoft & Milsim News Blog who for this year are taking a more relaxed approach in covering the IWA Outdoor Classics 2017.

For those who missed the ASG twins for about three years, I am happy to inform you that they are back for this year.

From Hall 7 we went to 7a as there are several airsoft companies as well. We dropped by BOLT Airsoft where Henry talked about their B.R.S.S. products (Bolt Recoil Shock System), with their AR line-up as well as the SWAT which is basically a BRSS that takes inspiration from the MP5 design. Their prototype of the AKS74U BRSS, first seen at the last month’s Hooha Show in Taiwan, was not display.

Modify have expanded their XTC Series with two more additions to join the original XTC-G1 --- the XTC CQB and the XTC-PDW which for now has a 3D-Printed Stock Prototype. Both still retain the nice features of the XTC-G1 which is a very capable AEG with really good economics. Also, they have a new wireless electronic targeting system that can easily detect and record BB hits.

More on the Modify products once we post the video at the Popular Airsoft YouTube Channel.

By 4pm, we were done mainly for day save for our last booth visit, which was Nuprol. Their booth keeps on getting bigger each year and for this year, they are all dressed up smartly, donning suits instead of being more “tacticool” to reflect on their seriousness on the business aspect of airsoft. Rossco Tucker talked about their jump into actual airsoft gun manufacturing, as Nuprol is more known for airsoft accessories, gear, and consumables.  Perhaps less known is their tie-up with Ares Airsoft with their Amoeba brand to come up with the Delta series that most will probably quickly identify as the “Honey Badger” type. But as for their own AEG line, they have AEGs with interesting names such as “Freedom Fighter”, “Recon Alpha”, and “Pioneer Defender”.

Wrapping up our first Day of the IWA Outdoor Classics was a quick meeting with Mr. Frog Lee and Derek of APS. We talked about how business is going with APS, and they are happy that they have negligble returns on their products ordered by airsoft players after making a serious effort at improving the quality of their internals and externals. They wanted us to take a closer look at their APM40 sniper rifle and so Masterchief had arranged for a review unit to be shipped to him after the IWA.

It was already 1730 we finished our first day of the trade event. Mike of Border War met us at the Press Room so we can all go back together to the city centre. We had an “Airsoft Media” dinner with NLAirsoft.com and Javier of 0’20 Magazine and we were joined by Laylax headed by Managing Director Koji Nomura and Masaki who is already a very much familiar face in both North American and European airsoft media.  They were also joined by their colleagues for their sister company Gas Blowbacks, which handles the export business for Laylax.

By 2100H, the Laylax team decided to go back to hotel as they still need to sleep off the effects of jet lag, whilst for the rest of us we moved to Finnegan’s to join friends in the British airsoft business as well as RedWolf Airsoft, with Marck and Maxim; and G&G Armament with Amanda and Charlie. Whilst we thought our day was over by 2400H, it still went on til the early morning as we all wanted to savour the most enjoyable night we ever had Nuremberg.

Photos of the first day of the IWA Outdoor Classics 2017 at the Popular Airsoft Facebook Page.