It was that time of the year when the airsoft community in the UK would converge at Balsall Common in Coventry, just a few minutes south of Birminghan. It was the day for the 3rd Airsoft Arms Fair, which started last year and it's the only airsoft trade event that happens twice a year in the world.

We have been covering the event ever since the first one, and what we can say that the organisers, led by Jim Septhon of The Grange, have been slowly but surely building up this event to be a unique airsoft event. It is not held at any cavernous convention centre as we would normally expect from such kinds of trade exhibits, but it's held at an airsoft venue, being true to its roots. However, this third holding of the Airsoft Arms Fair may forbode something: that it will soon outgrow its roots and may be held at a larger venue that can readily accommodate such a trade exhibit.

Which is a not a bad thing at all. When we arrived at The Grange, there were many changes: the parking lot got bigger, as the area where private sellers used to peddle their wares during the Fair was now used as the parking space, and it was almost filled. Another change is that the main hall got another extension, the huge tent was setup to accommodate more exhibitors, as the main hall was never enough.

The queue of attendees was longer again --- another good sign that the Airsoft Arms Fair is getting more attention from airsoft players in the UK. We arrived just a few minutes before they opened, and we were able to get our entry bands from Jim himself. After setting up our cameras with some rigs we just received to see if we can do some good videos with our equipment, off we went to do our job to cover the event. Master Chief got to take the photos, and I clumsily tried my hands on taking some videos.

For some of the retailers, it was also a meet-up with us. Some of the new exhibitors have been corresponding with us, but we have not met in person yet. The Fair served as a meeting point for us, and another get together with the people and companies that without them, airsoft would have never grown in the UK. Master Chief was able to finally eyeball Ian Balfour of Baseline Supplies, who has been most accomodating in sending him the review items that you have have read at our website.

Most of the well-known airsoft vendors are there: Landwarrior Airsoft from Scotland, Badger Tac from Buckinghamshire, Dave Manning's Airsoft Skirmish, Dingodog's Airsoft, East Midlands Airsoft, and The Shop At The Grange show were housed in the Main Hall was fully filled up, and it was tight, with all the display stands filled up with airsoft goodies, and attendees jostling to be the first to check the fresh stock of airsoft products. The premier ticket holders got the first dibs, before other ticket holders can rummage throught the items during the rest of the day.

Help for Heroes were there too, as all of the retailers and organisations, as well as the attendees were supportive of the Charity organisation's efforts at raising funds to help the wounded veterans of the British Armed Forces.

We immediately checked out Stirling Airsoft and Edgar Brothers' CQB training at the skirmish field (Gunman Airsoft Midlands), where there is a facility errected to do some CQB games. Ben and Matt of Stirling Airsoft were happy to let us watch the training. Attendees of the event didn't need to bring their equipment as there were gear and guns made available to them for use, and you're allowed to wear what you're wearing for this training, even with that latest floral camo pattern as seen in the photos below.

For those who are looking for even more bargains and hard to find spare parts, the private sellers' area is the place to go. If you're still maintaining an old airsoft gun where there are no parts available at the shops chances are, you might be able to find what you need there. If you are on an even tighter budget, there are tactical gear that you can get starting around 5 quid. The Airsoft Arms Fair's May date would be perfect for those who have done their spring cleaning and find out that they just have too many gear accumulated over the past year.

Some of our friends from ACE Brigade were having a great time rummaging through the private sellers' area. I just saw them arrive an hour ago and here they were with some assault packs they bought that were also filled up with even more gear they found.  If I only had done some spring clearning myself, I might have sold some stuff to save up for a new airsoft gun. It was too late for me to even check what fine stuff is available as my mates already have picked the finest 2nd hand and bargain choices available.

We went to the tent area where Gareth of Airbana and Matt of the United Kingdom Airsoft Players' Union (UKAPU) were located. It was refreshing to see these guys who are doing a lot of difference in the online technology part and ensuring a strong organisation for airsoft players. We hope to see them again at the next big event in August. As Gareth is a gadget freak like me, it was enjoyable discussing him about all those gadgets he has and his plans at improving the Airbana network services. He will soon be coming out with more applications for mobile services as he sees this as an area where airsoft players would greatly benefit from: getting information during skirmishes, and enhancing their airsoft "mission" experiences.

Something of interest to airsoft players who want to sell their unused gear online, a new airsoft auction website, called War Pigs Arms Dump, was just recently launched. It functions like the other auction sites such as eBay.com, and while it does have a ".co.uk" country domain, it's open to airsoft players from around the workd.

One of the major attractions of the 3rd Airsoft Arms Fair is Pete Winner, SAS veteran of 18 years, and the author of "Soldier I". He has fought in some of the most notable battles of the SAS, including the Iranian Embassy Siege in 1980 and the Falklands War. With a full-packed area, he talked about this book with a mock-up included to show how the assault was done. After the talk, there was a book signing for those who were able to get hold of his book.

After doing a full tour of the venue and speaking to some team mates, Master Chief and I decided to start doing some video interviews. Below are the thumbnails of the videos we've taken with some of the vendors and organisations who were there. By clicking on a thumbnail, you will then be taken to the Youtube Video of the interview. Our apologies to Paul Monaf of Airsoft International Magazine as the audio of the video got overwhelmed by the din inside the exhibitors' tent.

One chap who was fun to be with is Philip, a.k.a. Yosser, of Yosser's Airsoft Odyssey. He's such a nice chap and great to have a converation with. He also took videos of the Fair so you can also check out his blog to find the videos of the event.

With Philip, we went to the Airsoft Skirmish booth to check out a prototype of an AT4 launcher being made by Dave Manning. What's unique about this AT4, apart from the Chinese-made AT4 that was just recently released was this mimicks an AT4 firing with a back blast (not the same as the airsoft blowback). Dave explained that the trick is an electronically triggered pyro; that once triggered, will simulate a back blast smoke and flame in all, just like a real AT4 being fired. He showed us the video of the prototype in action, and it does do what it's supposed to simulate, without actually firing a missile. This AT4 would be good as a prop for those making some action videos; or for airsoft players, something to use in photoops.

The 3rd Airsoft Arms fair, is a resounding success. From a fairly modest beginning of 200 attendees during the its maiden show last May 2010, it has grown to more than 600 attendees and more sponsors this time. It was a day well spent, and we hope that we have been able to report this properly with all the information that we can gather in a single day. We may have missed some names of the exhibitors, and to them we send our apologies.

For those who weren't able to attend the 3rd Airsoft Arms Fair, there will be another in October. We congratulate the organisers of the Airsoft Arms Fair, especially to Jim, who have given us all the courtesy for us to cover the event. Of course, the event would not be successful without the full participation of the sponsors and exhibitors as well as the airsoft enthusiasts who attend the event religiously.

We're looking forward to the 4th Airsoft Arms Fair in October, and we hope to see more of you guys. We still have some video footages to work on to show you about the event overall. If you want to see more photos of the event, you can check them out at our Facebook Page.

Forgive us for the video interviews, we still suck at it. We'll need more time to practice. :)