Founded in 2013, the same year that airsoft became a legal hobby in The Netherlands, Darmsquad is a Dutch airsoft team with the motto “Up Yours!” 🙂
D07 – Rozh – is one of the founder members of Darmsquad and was a big supporter of this blog back in the day.
I reacquainted myself with D07 after my airsoft hiatus…
TRH: Tell me about Darmsquad.
Well where do I start…
When airsoft became legal in The Netherlands in 2013, I was one of those who played the very first games. I told a friend from school and a former classmate that used to be in the military and that’s basically how we started. More friends joined in. We were more like a group of friends instead of an actual team.
After a while we had a few more members, so we started calling ourselves a team and that’s how Darmsquad was born. We have some active service members, a few police officers, a painter, IT guys, some car mechanics, etc. and a pharmacy student (that would be me). So it’s a diverse group and over the years our team play has increased a lot.
But our main goal is just having fun and that we do have a lot. In the future we plan on visiting some international skirms and that includes visiting the UK. But you guys are welcome to play at our fields as well of course! Give us a like on FB to check where we will be playing and see our pictures and videos.
Great load out. Easy to see you’re a massive queen of a gearwhore 🙂
What are your influences?
Well thanks I guess? Haha! My influence is finding the most tacticool stuff I can. I basically just bought what I thought looked cool. I started out with cheap China gear but replaced almost everything with RS items. I tried a lot of stuff but I found out that RS gear just works best for me. Cheap stuff kept on tearing and breaking.
Looking back, I guess my gear is a bit of an SOF mix. Starting out with airsoft I did not know a lot about gear. But now I think I know may way around what works and what doesn’t.
Which parts of your kit do you most prize – what works best?
HSGI is great. It never lets you down. Expensive, but buy once cry once is what I say. Drawing mags and replacing them is done with speed and ease. Plus HSGI stuff has a lifetime warranty.
I Really love my low profile HSGI Slimgrip belt. It holds mags, a dump pouch a Pogey pouch and my low ride kydex holster. It’s the best belt I’ve ever seen and/or have used.
My Crye JPC and Combat Pants are great too, but I do think Crye is way too expensive.
Are there any tweaks to your gear in the works? Anything that’s not working so well?
I think I have tried about 8 different types of slings. I currently use a Ferro Concepts sling. I think I like it but I’m not sure yet #airsoftdilemmas 🙂
I’ve changed everything in my gear many times. I believe I’ve optimised over time. I can carry 9+1 mags, a radio+PTT, hydro bladder, sidearm with 2+1 mags, extra BBs in a pouch and I have room to spare
I can’t think of anything else I would need that wouldn’t slow me down.
I’m seeing a number of players move from full on SOF impressions, to a kind of blended approach. You’re going a bit further and using a highly aftermarket-enriched blaster. Do you feel like you’re setting the milsim rule book on fire?
I had this look in mind before even buying it.
I know it doesn’t look like it matches my gear, but the camo works really well in the shadows.
Absolutely love the blaster BTW. You’ve always supported my blog – always. A few years back we spoke about featuring an earlier incarnation of your blaster, but agreed it wasn’t quite there yet. What are the significant changes since we last spoke?
It didn’t have the war scars it has now and of course the Kryptek paint job!
I removed the Magpul AFG. I like holding just the Noveske NSR rail much better, because of the ergonomically narrow profile.
My Dytac 11″ barrel broke off at the threads when my PTW fell over, while it was leaning against a wall. So I replaced that with an FCC multi-part barrel. I couldn’t find any other barrel which was the correct size. It has already taken a right beating and its still in perfect condition.
I replaced the repro Surefire for an RS M600c with an HSP mount. I placed a G&P DBAL-A2 IR/red laser on the rail as well, and modded a dual switch to run the laser and the light at the same time.
Over the years I’ve tried almost every sight, but I like the Holosun I have on it now the best.
And last but not least……I got a motor rewind!
I’ve been in denial about the PTW motor issue for a couple of years. I’ve been through 4 brand new Kumi motors. I kept cleaning the brush dust off and polishing the commutator to make the motor work again for 1 game (maximum).
After rewinding, all my motor issues went away. I also have higher ROF and faster trigger response now.
In hindsight I should have done this on day one, but hey! Stubborn and airsoft go together perfectly, it seems 🙂
I know a lot of serious guys using Holosun and Vortex optics. Do you think it’s worth going for a reasonably priced RS optic over an Airsoft one?
I tried almost every airsoft optic there is. Eotechs from a lot of different brands, SRSs, Specters, ACOGs, T1s et cetera, et cetera. They all just suck.
They break easily, they have a dark shadow in them and they don’t hold zero that well.
The Holosun is a very affordable RS optic and after watching stress test videos on YouTube I decided to get one. I’ve been using it for a while now and I think it’s perfect. I don’t really need zoom, the sight is crystal clear, the battery will work for 5 years straight; what else would you want? I bought a lens protector for it, so it wont break and I hope it will last me a long time.
Like I said, it’s the perfect optic for me: the battery, the auto-on and just being able to aim quickly. Those are the best features, in my opinion.
Any other RS optic I simply can’t justify price-wise, except for the Visioning. But I don’t need zoom as I said earlier.
You’ve chosen a Classic Army AAC can over a PTS one. Tell me about the CA can.
I saw the CA AAC suppressor and the quality just amazed me. It’s heavy, it looks like it’s real and it even has big warning stickers on the box stating that its fake. And I can see why!
I don’t even like Classic Army products. I used to have an AEG from Classic Army, so that’s why.
There’s a decent amount of RS Magpul on your blaster and Magpul is one of the most commonly seen aftermarket brands in the wild. What does Magpul mean to you?
I like tacticool. Magpul is for me the equivalent of tacticool. I have Pmags, MBUS2 BUIS, Speed Plates, Ranger Plates, a CTR stock, a MOE grip, ASAP slingmount and even a Magpul iphone case. Can you tell I’m a fan?
I think their products are comfortable and work better than others, which is the serious note on why I like them.
I had an NSR rail myself a few years ago. Back then, Keymod was in its infancy and I had real difficulty getting the add on’s I needed. How are you getting on with KeyMod over RIS?
I think the NSR is still one of the slickest rails out there right now. I like the rail so much I don’t even use a grip, I just hold the rail, as I mentioned earlier. Because of the low profile, it’s very comfortable. As for KeyMod accessories…
Well, I have a few. I put them on once and have never taken them off. I’d recommend getting RS ones as the repros may not hold so well on the raill. For me the flashlight mount was easiest to source, but I haven’t had any issues with buying KeyMod parts, fortunately.
Now…the big question. Tell me about the paint job. How did you do it, which brand of paint and which colors did you use?
First I painted the whole PTW in Krylon matt black. After that I put some dark grey areas on it. I had a friend who cut some Kryptek stickers using a plotter. I placed these on the blaster and then I used a white paint and a light grey paint. I put some more stickers on the PTW then I painted some more black and dark grey on it. Then I took everything off and touched up with some light or dark paint where I thought it needed it.
As a finishing touch, I used a lot of Krylon matt lacquer to preserve the paintjob a bit, but it doesn’t add much protection!
For the grey and white paint I used Fosco, but I don’t recommend it because it chips off to easily.
Lastly, you mentioned some HAO products when we spoke earlier. Tell me about the potential upgrades you’d plan, if you suddenly found €1000.
I’ve been keeping up to date with HAO on Facebook and I really like their Battle Arms Development (BAD) 556 receiver set and also their outer barrel. I’d put both on my PTW and maybe even Cerakote the whole thing in Dark Earth or MAS grey. That would be awesome.
On another note, I currently run an Orga barrel and an Orga flattop. I may try a PDI barrel but I’m kinda doubting it. I don’t know if its worth the change.
Let’s hope I find €1000 soon! 🙂
A really huge thanks to Rozh (D07) for answering all of my many questions in detail and for going out and taking some fine pics of that awesome blaster. Parts list below.
-Systema PTW SCK 2013 M110 Ambi
-Noveske NSR rail
-Rainier Arms charging handle
-Magpul CTR stock with enhanced buttplate
-Magpul MOE grip
-Magpul MBUS2 sights
-Magpul ASAP sling mount
-Magpul Pmags with Ranger Plates
-G&P DBAL-A2 IR/Red laser
-Surefire M600c with HSP mount
-Modded dual switch for laser and light
-Classic Army AAC QD flashhider and can
-Knight’s Armament KeyMod QD sling swivel mount
-Holosun HS403a red dot with Guns Modify protector
-Ferro Concepts sling
The Reptile House 