Chaps,

There's a chap selling an HCG in the US at the mo. I'd like to buy it but I'm worried that, aside from the the fact it's effectively a wall mounted prop intended for display, it would be treated as a RIF and stopped / destroyed / bring upon me a world of bureaucratic misinformed grief.

Any current opinions from UK based members on the HCG and bringing one in from overseas from a private individual not a company? It's not an air soft, obviously... But I have no intention of breaking any RIF laws...

The HCG is part of a batch with some BDUs so I want the whole kit and caboodle if I can... It's not just a case of getting the HCG...

Kind regard!

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A02/TQ2.0.52141E1

"Errr... Roger that's a 2-1-6..."

It doesn't matter if it can fire a projectile or not - RIF status is dependant on how an item LOOKS, not what it can do.
If a member of the public could mistake it for a real weapon, without resorting to close inspection, then it's legally a RIF.

It might get stopped in customs, it might not - And if it does, it would be the officer in question's call as to whether it looks enough like a real gun to call a RIF.
No other opinions matter, and if it got destroyed, you would have no legal recourse.

Know any Airsofters?

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MSgt, UKCM 42nd Reg., 1st Batt. : Hadrian's Wall. UKCM

Wasteland Workshop
Props, cosplay pieces, upcycled ornamentation, and miscellanea;
For the discerning survivor of the apocalypse.
Steve Fletcher : Maker, Scavenger, and Junksmith.
linktr.ee/wastelandworkshop

I haven't heard anyone buying one from abroad and having any trouble, BUT that's not to say it's totally fine.

As Scapey says, it's up to the guy in customs.

I know a guy who bought the green Snow Wolf from evike without being exempt from the VCA and it got through fine.

Allot of it can boil down to what's written on the customs declaration; Replica Pulse Rifle may alert the customs guys, whereas Replica Movie Prop may just get it put through the x-ray he sees no internal mechanism and let it through.

I personally would get one in the UK, they cone up on eBay at least one a week. Make sure you 'watch' the item then if eBay decide to pull it, you can still contact the seller and arrange a sale outside eBay.

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AKA: Simon

Thanks guys... The chap in the states wanted $850 for a set of 2nd pattern MAA, printed insignia and a Brown Bess HCG... I thought 'bargain' but unfortunately, the potential problems with the HCG worry me...

I'm just not prepared to pay a fortune for the HCG here in the UK... It was only going up be a stop gap for something more 'hero'...

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A02/TQ2.0.52141E1

"Errr... Roger that's a 2-1-6..."