armoury
ICS M1 GARAND
OLD GARANDS
NEVER DIE... THEY
JUST GET BETTER!
TO MANY, LOOKING IN FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD, AIRSOFT WOULD SOMETIMES APPEAR TO BE ALL ABOUT THE
VERY LATEST TRICKED-OUT AR, OR THE NEWEST “TACTICOOL” AK BUT THERE ARE ALSO REPLICA MODELS THAT BOTH
THE RE-ENACTOR AND COLLECTOR OF CLASSIC FIREARM MODELS CAN ENJOY. BILL LOOKS AT ONE OF HIS FAVOURITE
HISTORICAL RIFLES, IN THE FORM OF THE ICS M1 GARAND AEG.
I
f you are looking on as an
outsider to the wonderfully
diverse world of airsoft, it
must appear that the sport is
dominated by the “AR” platform
and, to some degree, I’d have to
(somewhat sadly) admit that there are probably
more variants of the modern American rifle out there than
anything else!
Over recent years though, I’ve watched an upswing in
the use of other platforms, particularly that of “Comrade
Kalashnikov”, in the game and if you take time to look
closely at what is actually available in 6mm replica form,
there are some absolute gems. For the collector of firearms,
albeit in 6mm form like me, there are actually very few
military models that do not, or have not ever, existed in
airsoft guise.
Like many “flavours of airsoft”, historical periods seem
to come and go and come again in a never-ending cycle,
quite often driven these days by a movie, TV series, or video
game launch. I’ve seen replicas in airsoft form ranging from
pirate, through Napoleonic and cowboy, to WWI, WWII and
the Vietnam War - and you can bet your bottom dollar that
if a firearm has existed there’s an airsoft tech somewhere
that has had a
crack at building it!
As I still have a toe in the
Vietnam Living History world I’m quite
regularly asked by re-enactor friends about airsoft replicas
from that era and I’m pleased to say there are some
extremely fine examples, like the MX177, M16A1 and
even the rather splendid Stoner and RPD LMGs. If asked by
someone from the “WWII world” I’d have to say that this is
also true for that period too.
Although there are many manufacturers that make Colt
M1911A1s Thompson SMGs for the “WWII US” airsofter
or re-enactor, the M1 carbine is still all but impossible to
find in electric form. I own a couple of very nice gas M1
carbines but one is in 8mm form, whilst the other is 6mm
but too powerful for most airsoft games in the UK. I hope
that one day someone will address this and create an
electric version. Until a couple of years back I had never
owned an M1 Garand for the same reason but thankfully,
“I’VE SEEN REPLICAS IN AIRSOFT FORM RANGING FROM PIRATE, THROUGH
NAPOLEONIC AND COWBOY, TO WWI, WWII AND THE VIETNAM WAR - AND YOU CAN
BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR THAT IF A FIREARM HAS EXISTED THERE’S AN AIRSOFT
TECH SOMEWHERE THAT HAS HAD A CRACK AT BUILDING IT!”
32
JUNE 2020