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G&G @ IWA 2013
SPECIAL REPORT
by Mad Badger Airsoft



IWA 2013 had many surprises which will help move our hobby and sport on into the future. One of the main surprises was how prepared, professional, friendly and progressive the G&G Airsoft team were. We spent four days on and off with James at G&G and his team, and these four days were one of the main highlights & pleasures of this year’s IWA.

Arriving at the show we took advantage of an earlier invite and immediately moved at quick speed to the G&G Airsoft stand. The first thing to note was how far off you could actually see the stand. Making a huge impact the G&G stand could be seen from a long way off, bathed in lights, with a first floor, suspended walkway/gun range. As we approached the stand we immediately noticed how professional the entire team looked, and we noted that James, the Director of G&G, had brought his entire team to Germany, even drafting in his U.S. staff. This just showed how important the international airsoft community rate the IWA Show in Europe as a show case.

On the G&G stand as we cleared through the crowds surrounding it we could clearly see several rows of AEG’s including their existing range plus the new additions for 2013. If this was not enough, there was the M1 in all its glory! As soon as we set foot upon the stand we were immediately approached by the Head of PR, Sylvia, who was to be our guide over the next four days. Sylvia is a very polite and efficient Head of PR, and offers a unique perspective to the growing worldwide demand for both Airsoft and the legalisation of Airsoft. James, a very well dressed late middle age man, approached us and with all the charm of a Far Eastern Millionaire and self-made man introduced himself personally, and then introduced his team.

G&G is a company reflective of the attitudes and experience of James, who believes in quality and service throughout his business. Over the next four days, one of the main aspects we noticed was that James was on the stand first thing in the morning and late into the day, leading by example, meeting people, making sure his customers were well looked after and ensuring that the objectives he has set for G&G are met in minute detail. We noticed that, with a broad smile, James was one of the first to approach customers with G&G merchandise, introduce himself, and then move people onto an appropriate member of staff for their particular needs to be met. This work ethic of James’ was reflected across the G&G and its staff, who impressed us over the four days with their knowledge and belief in their product and their obvious love of the hobby and sport of Airsoft.

Over our four days with G&G we were able to get a very good idea of the history, current business direction and future direction of the company. The company is very strongly led, with very tightly structured and measured corporate goals, which evolve around meeting customer needs, absolute quality and service. The G&G staff, including Sam from the US Office and Sylvia, explained that the company has a very good idea of the experience customers have had with their products in the past, and that experience has shaped the focus of their product development into the future. We saw ample support for the hobby and sport worldwide from G&G through such initiatives as their competitions, such as best Airsoft video, that came with a $10000 winning cheque. G&G also run a worldwide online club for people interested in their products, where each year they award at random, several trips to Taiwan. In addition to this, we were very envious when several people present at the IWA walked away with gleaming new M1903 rifles from a competition held by G&G for all those attending the IWA Show. All this, added to by the gun range being operated for customers, and the immense amount of merchandise from T-Shirts to patches, along with the size of the stand, number of staff present from around the world and number of new guns and initiatives or developments, was a good indication that James had invested probably more than any other Airsoft manufacturer at this year’s show.

During our time with G&G we were stunned by some of the new products that are on the way in this coming year. Firstly, and one we have extensively reported on during the Shot Show, is the M1. Then, our eyes were immediately taken by the Springfield M1903 in not just black metallic but also stainless/silver ceremonial finish! Once we had recovered from this we were taken to examine the new line of AEG’s produced for women Airsofters.

G&G M1903 normal version

Both James and Sylvia explained to us, with complete conviction, that they were determined to be a leader in the field of trying to get more women into Airsoft over the coming year. There will be more on this later, after G&G send us some of the AEG’s for testing and evaluation by our female staff. If this was not enough, we were then taken back across the stand to examine the new line of pistols and revolvers being released this year by G&G. At this point, one of our writing staff was stunned by how accurate one of the Co2 revolvers were. As a police officer who was armed for her entire service, she quickly pointed out to the G&G staff, that although the gun was about 300grams lighter than the real steel, it was a perfect imitation of the .38 Detective Special revolver she had carried as a back-up weapon or in plain clothes. Her face lit up as she described how the real steel version was more reliable than the pistols and large frame revolvers, and thought, that for revolver fans, it was a complete winner.

Whilst we will be discussing the new models in the coming months, it is very much worth discussing the new initiative of G&G that is being developed in order to turn a hobby, mainly dominated by men, into a sport shared by all. G&G is the first company that we know if who are specifically designing AEG’s for women. Their first attempt was an all pink M4, known as the Pink Storm range that you can see flying around once in a while on sites. We were unsure of this attempt, as a brightly coloured pink M4 could actually put women at a disadvantage when playing. Even so, as one player pointed out to us, it is a great laugh to run around with and extremely reliable.

This time round, G&G have gone much further in designing an M4 in dark rose and black. The M4 has, for example, a dark rose outer barrel, and moving down the gun from the business end, a dark rose delta ring, 50% dark rose rear site, selector, magazine release, stock tube and dark rose M4 magazine. After noticing the colour of the AEG, you are immediately drawn towards the custom polymer handguard and stock. The handguard stores the batteries and is designed for comfort and ease of access. The stock has custom, extra padding where it comes into contact with the face and shoulder of the user. Both components are finished in a custom, slightly soft polymer in black. All in all, aesthetically the gun is a good-looker, and we await our chance to test with female Airsofters and report further.

G&G M4 for girls!

We were amazed by much at G&G, but something that stunned one of our reporting staff was the new G&G M1903 infantry rifle. It is hard to describe this rifle without using the word “awesome.” As stated, there are two models, one with metallic black finish and one with ceremonial stainless/silver. Both models have a very realistic, real wood finish and are extremely accurate. Picking the rifles up we found that they are accurate to scale, slightly lighter than the real steel and has a gas bolt that cycled fast. The gun, like the real steel, is based on the very successful K98. There will be much more to come on this one!

G&G M1903 Dress version

Alongside the M1903 sat the 1942 M1. New to what we have reported on this gun from previous shows in the US and here in Europe, the magazine was finally revealed! It is a 120 round high cap magazine. Even more surprising is that the actual magazine is an integral part of the gun and the only part that releases from the gun is the winding mechanism, which releases so you can pour BB’s into an internal storage compartment/magazine. After a long chat over a few days with Sam Sze we found that it had been designed based on his very own 1942 real steel M1. We wait with baited breath for more!

G&G M1 Winding mech

Whilst there will be a lot more to tell in the coming months as the new guns are released, and we test some, one of the surprises of the show all round was, of course, the new gearbox concept that left everyone visiting the stand open mouthed. This was both a surprise and a pleasure to behold; a split gearbox design that shows the same quality and attention to detail that G&G are becoming more and more famous for. Not only have they taken into account the problems that other manufacturers have encountered, but as is becoming the norm they have gone above & beyond by creating what can only be described as the industry’s first fully modular design. Here is the rundown of the features:-

The spring housing includes G&Gs great pneumatic blowback system, this is something in itself but just to make things even better there is a quick change spring system as well so you don’t even need to dismantle this part to get the perfect FPS, I mean how cool is that?

G&G Modular Gear Box

The lower half is compatible with all normal spares and upgrades except when it comes to the trigger because when you look for the usual trigger contacts there is a small black unit there, this contains not one but two control chips the first is for trigger response and programming, yes you guessed it a fully functioning programmable mosfet style trigger system that allows 3 round burst and more and gives a full PTW feel to the trigger response. The second controls one of the, in my opinion, best features empty mag detection. Talking to the G&G guys after the presentation I confirmed the features of this function it begins with detecting if there is a mag in the gun, if not then it will not fire, run out of ammo and again the gun will cease to work (no more dry firing in the heat of battle) so if either of these scenarios is true what next, replace the mag with a fully loaded one and, no don’t press the bolt release catch, rack the charging handle. Oh yes even more realism and before you ask the system will work with any mag that’s right no special expensive magazines needed.

G&G Motor and Electronic Trigger Switch

Finally the motor, no longer the annoying fiddly, and sometimes destructive, screws to undo and wires to cram in, press down the sprung pin at the front of the trigger guard and then swivel it down and that releases the hand grip and allows it to just slide off motor and all.
Still a few months of testing and finalising away this is a step forward in airsoft that every player should be excited about and an ethic of innovation and quality that every manufacturer should be aspiring to and emulating. We cannot wait to see what’s next from G&Gs team and would just like to give our thanks to them all and James, Director and visionary of the company.

Watch out with more to come from MadBadger Airsoft!
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