Painting of Imitation Firearms.

Recently we was contacted to obtain clarity on painting Imitation Firearms.

The following is correspondance from the Home Office, which offers some clarity on the subject.

“The risk with players buying imitation firearms and then modifying them to make them realistic in order to skirmish lies in the fact that there is a chance such behaviour may undermine the defence. Ministers agreed to the defence on the basis of representations made by airsofters in which it was claimed that realistic imitations were necessary to suspend disbelief – something vital to maintain the realism required for airsoft skirmishing. Indeed, it was also suggested that the more realistic airsoft guns were superior to their coloured counterparts (and thus the defence was necessary to some degree to maintain the quality level of hardware). Accordingly, if airsoft were played by vast numbers who had bought coloured imitations which were then modified to become realistic imitations (rather than airsoft guns which were manufactured as realistic imitation firearms) it would bring into question whether the defence remained necessary. So, while in theory it would be possible to claim a defence where an imitation firearm was modified so that it became a realistic imitation for the purposes of skirmishing, in terms of best practice and in order to protect the defence skirmishers should buy and use realistic imitation firearms once they have met the criteria outlined in the circular (i.e. played 3 times in 2 months, etc)

It was also suggested that serious skirmishers steered clear of coloured airsoft guns as these were not deemed serious for committed skirmishers and indeed not ‘proper’ airsoft guns and thus not ones which would meet fulfill the airsoft defence.”