Swindon Airsoft Visit

Paul explained that they set up Swindon Airsoft as there was a distinct lack of local outlets or shops to support the growing Airsoft community in the area, so with some forethought he and his brother, Steve, decided to take the plunge and start their own store back in early 2009 and its been growing ever since.

It’s more of a community centre at Swindon Airsoft, with a relaxed attitude and welcoming approach to all that pop in-store, with the kettle on most of the day; most customers just come to geek out with other Airsofters and browse the goodies on offer!

The key members of staff at the Cheney Manor store are Paul Clayton (Owner/ Director) and his brother, Steve; Paul is the ‘back room’ mastermind behind the scenes, chasing those hard to find parts or special orders, using his extensive and detailed knowledge of the industry. Paul Bibby (BIBS) is Store Manager and looks after front of house; he’s an Airsoft Specialist offering his know-how freely to anybody that is in need, making use of his years in a very active airsoft career, running sites and working in the airsoft community. He’s also very active for the store online and on the social media platforms like Facebook.

Simon Amblin is the Lead Technician. Drawing on years of Airsoft Tech work, Simon joined the team as the Lead Tech and is an AEG and GBB specialist from a mechanical and electrical engineering background, so he’s is able to solve those troublesome issues and more importantly upgrade and improve your existing guns.

Top Guns

Swindon Airsoft are a major G&G supplier, along with ASG, WE Europe, ICS, VFC, PolarStar, Madbull and Tokyo Marui. Without a doubt though, their best seller is the G&G CM16 Raider. In their own words: “It is an awesome M4 variant with reliability and performance of a much higher-end AEG, and at an attractive price of £130 it’s a ‘buy it now’ option; we also offer ‘Two Toning’ for free to allow those without a valid defence the ability to buy at the same cost.”

Their second best seller is the G&G CM18 MOD1, a very ‘tactical looking’ M4 with flip up sights and nice contrasting rail covers as standard.

Upgrades and Accessories

Swindon Airsoft also offer after-market support in relation to customisation and upgrading onsite. Lead Tech Simon is an ‘Airsoft Jedi’ who can turn the worst plinker into an outstanding war machine, and his custom work is epic. Their repair service is often the same day or ‘as soon as’, as they use a strict Job Card method on each job so they have full tracking of your equipment whilst with them and a service history of your kit during its lifetime. They also offer PolarStar (HPA) servicing, upgrading and modifications.

They provide lots of optional extras and bolt-on accessories, consumables BBs, WE and Nuprol gases, and lots of MOLLE gear, and have sights and scopes aplenty, along with the ever-important eye protection. They currently stock IMI holsters and rifle accessories, Magpul slings, and can source most items very quickly.

Gaming

It’s not just the shop that draws players from near and far, as they are lucky enough to have their own 40 acre woodland skirmish site called The Trail that is open every alternate Sunday. The walk on is very reasonable at only £15 and, as with all things Swindon Airsoft, the kettle is on all day! They also have links to Dragon Valley, Warminster Airsoft, Experience Airsoft, C3 Tactical, Cotswold Airsoft and Iron Sight Airsoft and many others as the local Airsoft community is a really friendly group.

It’s always interesting to see where the store owners think things are heading in the future and Paul told me: “We see Airsoft growing into a huge hobby/sport with two groups forming. MILSIM players and Skirmishers are both looking for different things, with the MILSIM community wanting the ‘Real Steel’ option every time with longer two-day plus events, and the Skirmishers wanting a fun and much less serious day of shooting goodness with a focus on community sites and groups. Our hopes are for a united UK airsoft community all pulling our beloved airsoft forward to many more years of fun and games!”