Tactical Tailor

Archive for the ‘TFB’ Category

Solution To The .50 William Tell

Monday, December 6th, 2010

Lately we’ve been getting a few e-mails asking about the authenticity of the infamous .50 cal William Tell video. Well, after seeing it was done by Youtube special effects guru freddiew, whose Time Crisis video I posted a while back, I knew it was nothing more than the clever use of special effects. It doesn’t even take that much digging to prove as much, as he posted the behind the scenes vid on his alternate channel.

Just goes to show how far you can go with a little special effects.

-Tactical FanBoy

The Paleo Solution

Monday, December 6th, 2010

“The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet” by Robb Wolf describes a method called Paleolithic dieting, which involves eating foods that closely mimic what our hunter-gatherer ancestors consumed. In layman’s terms, this means no grains, dairy, or legumes of any kind but rather eating seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seafoods, and land animals, preferably organic and grass fed. Unlike many books on dieting, the technique is easily accessible and includes well-researched information on the benefits of paleo dieting, testimonials, a simple to follow 30 day meal and exercise plan, and even a bit of humor spread throughout.

I bring this to your attention because of the not so recent news about military personnel struggling with their weight and turning to methods such as liposuction and crash dieting to achieve their goals. I’m not claiming this as a definitive method for weight loss and long-term health, but like anything else it’s worth a shot. So pick up the book and follow it’s contents for a while. You might end up liking paleo dieting, or at least the results it brings.

-Tactical FanBoy

There Is An Underbarrel Flamethrower!

Monday, December 6th, 2010

On my Black Ops Weapons article, I claimed that an underbarrel flamethrower never existed. However, one of our readers alerted me to a model that existed as early as WWII. Created by the Finns, it was an underbarrel mount for the M44 flamethrower which was used on the Suomi KP/-31 submachine gun. While not entirely like the underbarrel Flamethrower found in Black Ops, this proves the concept still has some basis in reality. Thanks!

-Tactical FanBoy

Most Lethal

Sunday, December 5th, 2010

Are you an active duty or recently retired member of a special ops combat unit? Then you might have what it takes to join the ranks of the new Spike TV show “Most Lethal”. Looking to recruit 12 elite members of Special Forces both from the US and abroad, the show will test a multitude of real-world and unorthodox combat scenarios in a bid to see who is the best of the best. Set to air in Summer 2011, “Most Lethal” could be one skilled Soldier’s path to $100,000 and a Title. If you fit the criteria and are interested in joining, shoot an e-mail to sofsearch@grbtv.com and include some military background information and a recent photo. Also, be aware that you’ll require 45 or so days of leave (and your chain of command’s permission) if still on active duty.

-Tactical FanBoy

Black Ops Weapons

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010

Being a ‘Tactical’ Fanboy, there’s something that’s been bothering me a bit: What’s up with the weapons in CoD: Black Ops? It’s like the devs over at Treyarch were salivating over some 1970s issues of Soldier of Fortune, said to hell with the game’s 1960s setting, and decided that Vietnam was fought with AKS-74Us and Galils. To Treyarch’s credit, there’s plenty of period appropriate weaponry, but for every M16 and M72 LAW there’s a FAMAS and Beretta 686 White Onyx double barreled shotgun just waiting to be picked up. Seriously, a hunting shotgun?!? Treyarch, what the hell?

And don’t get me started on the lame-ass “I can haz prototype?” excuse. Just because real life black operatives may have fielded advanced equipment and weaponry doesn’t excuse the use of MP5ks with modern-esque red dot sights, roughly a decade before the MP5 was even produced and reflex sights were patented. I also had to laugh at the following:

-NVA soldiers wielding SPAS-12 shotguns
-Every magnified gun scope is called an ACOG, even with the SUSAT and Swarovski scope
-Masterkey shotguns and flamethrower underbarrel attachments. Too early for the former, and the later never existed
-Any number of weapons even being in the game, including, but not limited to, the AUG and G11 rifles, CZ75 pistol, Strela-3 launcher, Spectre M4, ete.
-Other anachronisms and errors on their part

It’s fine that the devs wanted to put a little variety into the weapon selection, but a flimsy excuse is still a flimsy excuse.

In conclusion, there’s a big difference between being somewhat realistic with weapon variety, and making weapons available decades before they would be otherwise. Despite my ranting, I don’t mind using an HK-21 or Uzi in the game, but I’d rather Treyarch just own up and admit they did it because they could, not because of some lame ‘prototype’ excuse.

-Tactical FanBoy

Nerf Transforming Assault Blaster

Thursday, November 25th, 2010

With obvious roots in the Magpul FMG9 Glock-in-a-box, Nerf has unveiled the Transforming Assault Blaster. Available from my favorite gadget store, Think Geek, this mild mannered rectangle transforms into a fully functional gun at the push of a button. Nerf included a built in flashlight for those covert missions in the dark, as well as rails to support all Nerf N-Strike accessories you may already have. Whether you choose to take advantage of the shotgun style reloading or the 6-dart clip, the Nerf Transforming Assault Blaster is a great gun to attack the enemy, or in my case, little brothers.

-Tactical FanBoy

GeoEye in H.A.W.X 2

Saturday, November 13th, 2010

GeoEye, Inc. is a company that provides highly detailed location intelligence to its customers via their large body of Earth-imaging satellites. Their services have seen use in the Defense and Intelligence sectors and oil and gas markets among others, but it’s the use of their images in the entertainment industry, specifically the new Ubisoft game Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2, that has really caught my attention.

As seen in these stills from the game, the amount of detail in the environments is staggering and look to be the most accurate representations of the featured locations ever seen in a video game. Granted, you’ll be kind of busy with constant dog-fighting to really take in what’s on the ground, but eye-candy of such a high caliber is always appreciated.

-Tactical FanBoy

Black Ops Midnight Launch

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

Once again, I attended a launch party at my local Gamestop, this time for Black Ops. I arrived early at around 9:30, and still ended up as number 45 in line, since the staff was taking pre-orders as early as 7 PM. Despite this, the evening was enjoyable enough. A makeshift tournament of Modern Warfare 2 was among the available entertainment with a five dollar gift card as the top and only prize. I did sign up, but was quickly distracted when the staff put up a demonstration copy of Black Ops on the PS3, so I forfeited the tournament to try the new CoD instead. I played a few rounds of mulitplayer with some of the other attendees and was very impressed with the game, especially when compared to Modern Warfare 2. There were also refreshments in the form of pizza and a local band named Arete played at the event. The eventual wait in line passed quickly, and I rushed home with my new prestige edition, eager to bust out my new RC-XD car.

-Tactical FanBoy