Work hard, party hard. Do that for four days and you will have a hard time getting up in the morning.  On the final day of the IWA Outdoor Classics 2017, that was the case for me. Eventually, I got up and took a show at around 0800H. It was a good thing that we started packing our things yesterday and the small bits were chucked into the bags and off we went back to Nuremberg Messe.

The fourth day of the event had the least traffic, vehicle and people-wise, since a good portion of visitors has already gone home yesterday. Whilst, I prepared the third day report, I sent Masterchief out to make a quick round of the other halls of the trade show, especially the gear and firearms section.

After uploading the photos of Day 3, I grabbed my camera to make my final round, checking out if I missed other airsoft exhibitors. In Hall 7A, Lonex Airsoft had a big booth but it looked like the two persons they had manning their booth were busy doing some paperwork at the table, oblivious of my presence. So I just snapped some pictures and headed off to find a booth where they have people that were more attentive to approaching visitors.

On a side note, the same thing happened to us with LCT Airsoft for two years in a row that we finally decided not to attempt to get an appointment with them for the next IWA years.

In this case, it was Silverback Airsoft, and there was a grinning Nicolas Regin, founder and director of the company. A really nice French chap, Regin immediately greeted me to talk about the products they have, calling his engineer Jackal Lee and Project Manager, Denis Rabaud to explain what they have on display and what airsoft players can expect from them this year.

The Silverback DesertTech SRS Sniper Rifle was pretty much well-received by airsoft players who are more appreciative that the company is very responsive to their needs such as releasing a pull bolt. Now, left handed players can soon order one SRS that is made for them. The pricing will be bit a higher, but it added cost should bring more convenience for them. A really well made rifle, the SRS can be configured to different lengths and is balanced well.

Photo of a custom Silverback Airsoft SRS in PenCott Greenzone that is owned by Ennmydtat (Julien)

Another that airsoft players should be excited about it is the announcement of the Silverback DesertTech Micro Dynamic Rifle (MDR), a bullpup AEG, that is based on the real steel version and Silverback Airsoft has a licensing agreement with them. On display was prototype but shows the fully ambidextrous operations, and easy change of the barrel from the standard length to a more compact one. It will have it is own geabox as AEG gearboxes from other bullpup airsoft guns such as those from the P90 or the Tavor, cannot fit in this body.

Another airsoft sniper rifle is in the works and it also has ambidextrous operations that Silverback Airsoft are also planning to release the chassis kit and complete gun versions --- the Silverback DesertTech R7S. It is am impressive-looking bolt action sniper rifle, and this is a prototype (the real steel version is also in prototype too). The stock can be folded to the left and right, and is based on the Tokyo Marui VSR-10 internally. For those who use the VSR-10, they can just purchase the Chassis version and use the VSR-10 internals. For those want a complete gun, Silverback may just release one with upgrade parts already included in the package. No release date and pricing information has been revealed to me.

Thanking the amazing guys of Silverback Airsoft, I made my way to iWholesales, a distributor of a lot of airsoft products in the United Kingdom. Talking to Jacky Singh, he said that the the EMG-SAI airsoft rifles will be available in the UK. For those curious where the A&K K5 Mod1, or what many would say the A&K KRISS Vector AEG, was not on display but was there as well and I had the opportunity to take photos of it.

We started saying our goodbyes to all the airsoft and gear retailers who have been so accommodating to us by 1445H. We had long conversations at the Gunfire as well as RedWolf Airsoft which are two of the most supportive companies to Popular Airsoft, over the years.  Realising that it was already 1530H, we made quick goodbye to G&G, Bolt Airsoft, and Modify as we needed to retrieve the bags from the press room.

Leaving Nuremberg Messe by 1600H, it was the first time for me to leave the IWA Outdoor Classics under the rain as the last day was always the brightest and sunniest of all the days in my experience of going to this event. On the way to airport, I reflected that there will be some consolidation in the industry, as pointed it out to me by Lukasz Boncol of Gunfire. There will be upcoming companies that will take place of some of the established ones and many are looking forward to the demise of one company that is experiencing a period of difficulty that it looks like it might not be able to recover unless its management will be able to reorganize and stave off the bleeding.

The Airsoft industry’s presence at the IWA Outdoor Classics is growing  bigger each year that I won’t be surprised that in a few year’s time, it might be occupying half of Hall 7, crowding out other non-airsoft gun manufacturers. But that means this event is offering the industry better business opportunities than other events that they attend to and it is really a good sign. As for the airsoft media, it is also a good event that we get to mingle, exchange information, and catching ourselves in unguarded situations (that is off the record). It is good to see these people, with friendships developed over the years apart from our love of the hobby. I hope to see more of them in the next months and years.

Now, if only my luggage gets reunited with me this week, some of the tools of trade are in there and it’s sitting somewhere in the caverns of Amsterdam Schipol Airport.

Photos of the 4th Day at the Popular Airsoft Facebook Page.