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Archive for March, 2012

BK-3B Bottleneck

Saturday, March 31st, 2012

The BK-3B Bottleneck is a collaborative effort between Mantis Knives and Hawk Designs of Idaho City, ID. This unique butterfly-style knife features a 2″ modified tanto edge blade machined from 400 series stainless steel. The handle, also machined from 400 series stainless steel, has a latch lock with integrated handle springs. The Bottleneck also includes a functioning bottle opener when folded and a pocket clip for easy carry.

Mantis Knives – BK-3B Bottleneck

Gratuitous hot girl with gun

Friday, March 30th, 2012

Two of ’em, actually.

Koei Infantry Mask

Friday, March 30th, 2012

There’s a new style of Airsoft mask available to protect that pretty face. It looks pretty cool, if you’re going for the Man In The Iron Mask or Samurai look (or just have a dungeon fetish). I can definitely see this being something guys paint up in cammie patterns or something intimidating.

Now if they’d just make one that would provide true ballistic protection we’d be good to go. The Koei Tactical Infantry Face Shield comes in black or tan. It will fit most helmets and goggle styles and is rated to withstand up to 650fps bb impact at “standard distance” (whatever that is).

You can find the mask here.

More fun to look at, but possibly less effective.

TAD Gear Jacket Review

Friday, March 30th, 2012

Long-time loyal Tactical Fanboy reader and snarky peanut-gallery commentator Red Two Alpha has posted a review of his TAD Gear jacket over on Kit Up! I figured I would send you thataway, if you’re like me and you’re a gear whore. Read the article.

Red 2 Alpha on the range in a TAD Gear Spectre.

Life’s not fair, even if you beat up hippies

Friday, March 30th, 2012

Gratuitous hot girl with gun (and tattoos)

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

Tactical Fanboy: Hot chicks with guns...nom nom nom.

Plague Town: Getting the zombies right

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

Dana Fredsti has written a zombiepocalypse novel. She wanted to get it right.

Tactical Fanboy: Check out "Plague Town" on Under the Radar

“..So I enlisted (pun intended) expert help.  Rather than try and explain the type of things I asked, here’s a good example of an actual question sent to Staff Sergeant Phillip McSorley (who also read several scenes for me to check for accuracy and realism): Oh Military Expert Person! I am writing a scene where a group of soldiers are going to a mountain rest stop to clean it (zombies, doncha know). It’s from the perspective of one guy, a lieutenant, and I have no idea of what tactics they’d use… who goes in first, do they really say things like “Charlie Tango Donut, over!” … Do they send in pairs? I’m thinking this is a small group (would there be a specific number?) and again, while it’s military, they don’t have to be specifically army or marine or air force as their specific job is taking care of zombie outbreaks. And yes, I realize this sounds totally lame… but I swear the book isn’t!”

If you like zombies and you like Army of Darkness chances are you’re going to like Plague Town.

Read the entire article on Under the Radar.

Zombie-fightin’ with NODs.

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

When you’re talking true nightvision vs. thermal, which is more effective vs. zombies? Will walking corpses maintain heat signature substantially different than their surroundings, and if so will it be sufficient to identify them in a fight? These are the questions that keep me up late at night…that and wondering where Carl is.  This video is US Night Vision Gen III Night Vision & Thermal Imaging Video Shot In HD On iPhone 4S. PVS-14 / PVS-7 Camera Systems. Follow ’em on Facebook.

Oh, and yes, I am using an old term. When I was a boot, any sort of night vision/thermal device was referred to as a NOD (Night Optical Device).

Two Slave Coasts

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

Check this out, it’s an interesting look at things largely forgotten today.

“On two side of the Atlantic ocean, there stand two reminders – one well-known, the other not – of one of the darkest periods of human history: the slave trade. Elmina Fort in Ghana is where millions slaves were held in captivity before being shipped off to the Americas; on the other side of the ocean, some 5443 kilometres away,there is a rocky trail built by slaves that leads away from a quiet cove on Brazil’s Ilha Grande, where slave ships landed. Mark Eveleigh takes a look into their dark past, and how they stand today…”

Read the full story here.

Skyrim Hoarders, on A&E

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

Yggdrassil must perform an intervention on this poor thief, with the help of the thief’s housecarl. Poor bastard. He’s got a problem, but the first step is admitting it.

Tactical Fanboy new hire

Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

Tactical Fanboy, on behalf of SolSys Group and freedom and hot-chick loving Coalition Gunfighters everywhere, is proud to announce it has added another writer to the staff of the TFB eee-light team of doorkickin’ bloggers. We are happy to introduce Willie Airborne. Willie comes highly recommend by both RE Factor Tactical, who was kind enough to refer him to us, by Brian Montgomery of WT Tactical and Magnum Tuggs (who apparently served with him in some of the most dangerous swamps within a half an hour of Galliano, LA; sources indicate they went through some “real serious shit” together). Willie is a highly decorated combat veteran, a graduate of several advanced Ho-Tac courses and . He will be writing beginning sometime in April, if his male modeling gig with Brian is wrapped up in time. Please extend Willie Airborne a warm Tactical Fanboy welcome.

“God loves the infantry and God loves Airborne Willie.”

 

Awesome photography work looking into other worlds

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

Jason Florio was one of the last photographers to photograph Ahmed Shad Massoud, the anti-Taliban “Lion of Panjshir” (شیر پنجشیر) in August 2001 before Massoud was assassinated b Al Qaeda on September 9TH 2001. He was at the foot of the World Trade Center on September 11TH as it came down. He’s taken incredible photos around the world. One of his more recent stories was a a 930 klick expedition at the foot of The Gambia, West Africa, to produce a series of portraits of a African chiefs. He was given a fellowship of the Royal Geographical Society in London for that work. Visit his website to check out Jason Florio’s on-line gallery.

This is a video collection of some of that work.

 

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Co-op Walkthrough

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

Check out this video walkthrough of a Co-op mission in the upcoming Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Come for the invisible camouflage, stay for the awesome gameplay.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier drops May 22, 2012.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Official Page

Warrior Labs T&E Project Started

Monday, March 26th, 2012

Just an FYI, Warrior Labs is about to do a mixed-product T&E project. They’ve ordered from High Speed Gear, Inc., Off The Grid Concepts LLC and SHELLBACK TACTICAL to organize a “grab and go battle belt and plate carrier.” Review and photos will be forthcoming. You can follow Warrior Laboratories on Facebook or on line.

Gratuitous hot gamer chick

Monday, March 26th, 2012

Hat tip to 1MOA Solutions! Looks like she even has her finger forward of the trigger guard, not that I was looking at her fingers.

 

Medal of Honor Warfighter: The Gear

Monday, March 26th, 2012

Off Duty Gamers has a sweet new interactive picture up on their website. It takes the cover of Medal of Honor Warfighter and names off the kit he’s using. It’s a slider bar, from right to left, uncovering everything from his optics to the gloves he’s wearing. Pretty bitchin’, and as you might expect the cost of his loadout is way more than I can afford. Check it out.

If You Want To Be Cool Like Tactical Fanboy…

Monday, March 26th, 2012

Then don’t forget to pick up a limited edition SSD ‘Keep Calm and Return Fire’ t-shirt from Tactical Distributors today! Available in Black or Tan in sizes S-XXL.

tacticaldistributors.com

Gratuitous hawt tattooed chick

Monday, March 26th, 2012

The (Totally) Phantom Menace

Sunday, March 25th, 2012

This video by YouTuber FirstManOnTheSpoon demonstrates flaws in the lightsaber fight choreography in The Phantom Menace in the form of a humorous Jedi training video.

Camouflage lessons in the Corps

Sunday, March 25th, 2012

Hat tip to Predator Intelligence Blog.

Gratuitous hot girl with gun

Saturday, March 24th, 2012

Tactical Fanboy: Gratuitous hot girl with guns. Lots of guns.

BC 1.5 black oxide back in stock

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

The BattleComp 1.5 in black oxide is back in stock (seems like they’re constantly selling out). The BC1.5 has the same performance as the BC1.0 and 2.0 SVC and so will probably evoke the same sort of “BattleComp Tourettes” the first time you shoot it. The 1.5 has been extended and pre-drilled for permanent attachment on 14.5” barrels needing a 16.1” overall lengthy. Professional installation is required. This BC is made from 17-4 heat-treated stainless steel bar stock with a black oxide finish and will fit all barrels using 1/2x28RH standard threads.

The BattleComp is bad ass, you should check it out. Buy one here.

Here’s an older video showing a 1.5s performance:

BattleComp mounted on something a little more robust than the average M4.

Gratuitous hot girl with gun

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

Ammo again, but that’s not a Bad Thing.

New Platatac Kit

Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

Platatac just posted a picture of a new rig on their Facebook wall. It’s a niche piece of kit but they’re wondering if anyone else would be interested in it.  Go check it out, let ’em know what you think. Many people are unaware that the Australian company frequently builds small batches of specialized kit that never goes out on their commercial site. If they make just a few dozen it might cost as much as $400. If they manufacture over a hundred the price could be cut in half. Go check it out. (Platatac’s website at http://www.platatac.com/)

New Platatac chest rig. Get on their Facebook page and let 'em know what you think.

 

 

Picture of some Platatac gear on the flightline.

Trail running glove evaluation from Predator Intelligence

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

Here’s an interesting glove review from Predator Intelligence. I thought it was worth sharing, though I’m not entirely sure I trust anyone who willingly runs recreationally. If a bear or a Lambent-infected sociopath is chasing you with a chainsaw. (A bear with a chainsaw is terrifying: true story.)

Mechanix M-Pact Trail Fail Test

Have picked up trail running, a few add hazards came into play from down hill sprinting. After taking a fall and shredding my hand in some small gravel, I thought a little hand protection may suit me well, especially since my natural reaction was to do a slide hands first after going air born. Sure the elbows and knees get in the way along the way of a good splash in the dirt, but those scrapes were rather minor and less a hindrance for daily activities.
Mechanix M-PACT Fingerless After Shot
After gathering some recommendations and a quick look around online I settled on Mechanix M-PACT gloves. I gave them a call just to get a little background and suggestion. I liked the fingerless version since it gets quite hot on the mountains of Phoenix and figured a bit of venting would help in keeping my hands too sweaty. The sales rep told me otherwise and suggested the entire glove for full protection. Being a pain in the ass, you can see here that I went with my initial inclination.
The padding on the palm and rubber top give a lot of protection, especially if you have big hands and tend to scrape your knuckles when reaching into top spaces. In my case I was prone to smacking my swinging knuckles into the mountains rock face or pushing off it when coming around a tight curve in the trail. The all around protection worked great without a problem. I had been meaning to do a review on the gloves since they turned out to fit great and form to the hand well. I figured I would wait till I had a good fall to see how things turned out and it only took about 4 months before I tripped on a down hill sprint yesterday and had a good slide into some good sized rocks.

 

Hands Sans Glove After Fall
Needless to say the sales rep was right in the assumption to have full finger protection. Some decent sized rocks stopped my downward momentum which I caught with my left shoulder and right hand. For some reason I always have a good laugh a these events, while being pissed that I lost focus enough to not pick up my feet. Then you have to do a quick damage assessment to see if there is any blood involved. Not too shabby with a few scrapes on side of my left leg and elbow, along with a bruised shoulder. I decided to finish the run to get cleaned up fast before the adrenaline wore off and avoid any infection from possible dog or horse excrement possible ground into the dirt, which is a common site on my runs of these trails. Half way down I felt the blood dripping down my thumb realizing the tip hand been ripped back and impacted with some dirt or who knows what.
M-PACT Gloves Ready to Go
The gloves were certainly none the worse for wear. They definitely saved my palm which you can see in the second photo. Its a bit tender now, but no bruising to speak of. I cleaned out the thumb and bandaged it up, but I am pretty sure this would not have been an issue or would have been saved from scraping out dirt with a subsequent alcohol bath had I listened to the experts. Obviously this is no tragic event and probably will happen a few more times in the future, but the gloves performed their function and I can now dole out some more cash on gloves to make up for being pig headed.