Nran- It’s a big honor to be here and share my stuff in your blog, thank you very much. This is the brotherhood part I like a lot about our sport.
TRH- You’re welcome! Thanks for being blogged.
I’ve been following your IG and it’s inspirational…
First question, the one people will be asking right now: what’s a Blackwalker?
So, Blackwalker. There are Whitewalkers in Game Of Thrones, so I’m Blackwalker. Blackwalker is the name of my Rock Star black loadout. It’s a playable loadout, put together by following “rule of cool”. Forget reference images and just be creative. Go wild.
I got the idea from IG user leblanc51ta from Japan. Those Japanese geardos are out of this world, but a lot of them are just taking pictures and posing with their awesome loadouts. Besides coolness, I want to concentrate on usability and efficiency in the field as well.
Tell me more about the rule of cool.
We all have a gut feeling about cool; what looks good and what does not. This is a physical representation of that. There are a lot of cool bits and pieces available and items do not need to be super expensive to look good. I do try to avoid cost compromises, but in this loadout looks and usability are more important.
How much has the loadout evolved?
Quite a lot actually. Like all loadouts, evolution happens through trial and error. I had plenty of things in my mind that were either impossible to put together, or awkward to use on field.
As an example, black bolt cutters just did not fit in; not even when I made a custom holster myself. SOG tomahawk I wanted to utilise, but just could not carry it sensibly without a back panel looking stupid. Gas mask did not fit in.
Plate carrier took a while to settle down. Third one did the trick. Started with plain airsoft “TF3 PC” which looks awesome but is more like plastic cosplay costume. Flyye Fast Attack PC was too compact. Finally black Crye JPC nailed it. I’m happy with it.
As a loadout colour scheme, I started with plain black and ended up Multicam Black on plain black.
Is there anything that’s core to the loadout – something which hasn’t changed throughout its development?
Gloves, shoes and eye protection. I’m an Oakley guy and I love those Factory Pilot gloves; sexiest gloves available. Also got high end black S.W.A.T. Gore-Tex shoes some time ago. Great shoes. And ESS (Crossbow/Suppressor in this case) is my overall pick for eye protection.
What still needs work in order to optimise the loadout for playability?
Basically details. Need to add drop leg mag pouch to left leg. It’s fast to use and handy while taking a knee. Current MBITR radio pouch is crap, wobbles at my back, need to get a better one. Not happy with my M9 secondary. Need to get a new pistol and holster. And I need few grenade pouches.
What are your thoughts on Multicam Black as opposed to plain black?
More tacticool and something new – that’s basically it. There’s no real reason to use MC Black over plain black, but it just looks better. Dirt does not show so easily 🙂
In your pics you’re carrying a number of different primaries. What suits the Blackwalker best?
Tough one, depends the approach for the game. For CQB, something compact, fast and obviously cool. For the looks it’s definitely the shotty. My shortened Marui M870 HPA tri-shot. For playability it’s my custom stubby Blackwater M4. For other game fields it’s my long PTS Masada. That gun is just super sweet.
If Blackwalker is at one extreme on your loadout spectrum, which loadout is at the other end?
That’s a nice question. Would say my Osprey-based heavy assault loadout. It’s a loadout build using tons of reference images, almost completely issued real steel gear, based on the British Osprey. It’s fine-tuned so that I can use it fast, with my eyes closed. Almost all bits and pieces are seen in real life situations. This is how I envisage a fighter who’s been dropped in to the nastiest of places, does what is necessary and leaves burning ashes behind.
It took lot of study and a few years to hunt all the details, build and tune the setup. But I have full kevlars, plates, a ballistic helmet and except for a few minor airsoft parts, everything is field used. Heavy as hell, but I’m pretty efficient with it.
What loadouts do you have in development which you can’t talk about? 🙂
Umm, so you’re asking me to reveal the secrets? OK, this is just between you and me (and some folks reading this). With my Warlords team mate gummigana, we have started to gather secret loadouts following “rule of cool”; something regarding WW2, eastern front and apocalypse. This is something totally different, ETA is this autumn or winter.
Tell me about Warlords.
Warlords is our compact team of guys. It’s more about attitude and friendship. A group of similar but different individuals enjoying our sport. Taking it seriously, but not too seriously. A couple of us are active gear whores, a few are really talented tech guys, one hyperactive and efficient fighter and one nice fellow who plays rarely, but shares the mindset. Basically if one of us is thinking about buying new gun or gear, there’s instant support for the GO decision 😀
A lot of people are in denial about HPA, but you’re a big fan. What’s great about the platform?
Yes, I am a big fan. I’m a lazy guy, not so interested about weapon tech or gun maintenance. I just want an accurate and reliable gun to play with, without hassle. I got a Wolverine Airsoft SMP a year ago and that has been the best thing that’s happened to my guns. Gone are broken gearboxes! Gone are dead batteries! Gone is field gun maintenance!
I can adjust from CQB to forest muzzle energy limits in matter of seconds. If I want to switch from assault rifle to DMR, again just a matter of seconds. I don’t shoot full auto, so single shot or the possibility for superfast two shot burst that feels like single shot is awesome. A Wolverine Airsoft Bolt and compact sniper rifle is my next step. It will fit to recon set perfectly.
OK, there’s always “dat hose”, but I don’t see any issues with it. I got a sling attached to gun anyhow.
There’s the discussion about HPA users cheating and putting some more juice on after the chrono. That’s not HPA’s fault, that’s just idiots with serious attitude issues. There are also players who are using insane ROF with HPA systems, but I see that as compensating for poor shooting skills. That’s is bit sad, but they will learn.
Lastly – fixies are a passion of yours. Tell me how you got into the fixed wheel vibe.
Haaa, well spotted 😀
Fixed bikes are the Punk Rockers and Rock Stars of the bicycle world. I have built a couple of fixie/single speed bikes from scratch. Fixies are all about rule of cool.
Why settle for being boring, if you can ride with style? 🙂
Massive thanks to sergeant_nran 🙂
The Reptile House 