So that’s about it: sorry if you’ve fallen
asleep but at the time it was scary stuff.
The Russians were the ‘evil empire’ about
to invade the world, school kids watched
programmes about surviving a nuclear blast
and spies were doing real life James Bond
stuff on a daily basis and getting in the
newspapers – all in all a perfect setting for
an airsoft adventure!
The best part about Cold War airsoft is
that, with its ‘what if’ premise, there is no
real limit, other than your imagination, for
scenarios. I’m a great fan of WWII airsoft,
and to a lesser extent ‘Nam airsoft, but
both of these themed settings require
players (to varying degrees) to get things
right and have a limited amount of real
battles you can recreate. Take the 101st
Airborne in WWII for example: they
only took part in around four operations
historically, but the 101st airborne of an
alternative 1985 can be involved in as many
battles as you like. As a regular player in
Gunman Airsoft’s Cold War campaign I’ve
seen players expand on this to an even
greater degree, creating fictional units of
their own such as the Royal Union Rifles
British infantry regiment (complete with
custom-made cap badges!) and their own
East German paratrooper battalion.
I was recently at a Gunman game called
‘The Launcher’. The scenario was thus:
in the opening stages of the Third World
War NATO reconnaissance had revealed
Soviet forces deploying a new type of
chemical weapons launcher, deep in the
Polish forests. Fearing a weapon capable
of accurate strikes against the free world a
combined US and UK recce force was sent
to find out more. Both sides (an impressive
30+ players on each team) spent a
weekend scouting positions, putting in
raiding attacks, patrolling and defending.
At one point a leak from the chemical
storage units forced players into chemical
warfare NBC suits – a horrifying, sweaty
and claustrophobic reminder of how a real
WWIII would probably have ended up! At
the end of the weekender NATO forces had
been hounded out of Poland with their tails
between their legs, but with enough intel
gathered to return for revenge.
If the ‘what if’ scenario doesn’t float your
boat you can play Cold War games in a
bewildering amount of real world conflicts.
Indeed, any world conflict from the end of
WWII to the first Gulf War counts – if the
Soviet Union existed then it’s Cold War.
So whether it’s a Russian VDV paratrooper
in 1980s Afghanistan, an SAS trooper in
Malaya, an NVA infantryman in the Iron
Triangle or an embittered merc in the
Belgian Congo, the Cold War setting has
huge scope for scenarios, load-outs and
adventure.
Over the coming months Airsoft Action
will be bringing a new feature called Cold
War Warriors, and each month we’ll look
at a real Cold War loadout worn by a real
airsofter. It won’t be about a ‘stitch counter’
re-enactment impression (though I daresay
a few may be that good) and it won’t be a
shopping list of expensive Gucci kit that
most folk can’t afford to buy. What it will be
is real Cold War kit worn by guys who love
their gaming!
Kicking off next issue we’ll be looking
at a classic old-school British Army of the
Rhine skirmish load-out, with planned future
episodes looking at US, Soviet and Warsaw
Pact units – and we’d like you to feature
in these articles too! So if you’ve got a
cracking Cold War load-out get in touch with
Airsoft Action and send in your pics! ■
Got a picture for us? Send them into:
[email protected]!
Gunman Airsoft runs Cold War themed
events. Contact them on: 07854 277264.
040
December 2011