Years ago I bought a literal crate of 68 specials. The Canadian dollar was at par, and I was buying stuff off eBay like crazy. In hindsight i should have bought all the $100 Autocockers instead, and now I have to do something with these Tippmanns. I figure with a 3D printer, it shouldn't be too hard to whip up a mag fed front end.
I'll be working on the feed system first, later on I'll get into the HPA conversion side of things. The inherent modularity of a removable front end is a huge plus of working with this platform. The massive outdated reciprocating mass is a feature, not a bug...the only thing really holding 68 specials back is the liquid CO2 diet.
The first question is what magazines...I have some random RAP4 mags kicking around, but if I'm spending the time to get this working, dealing with crappy old mags is probably not a great idea. It would be poetic to use TMC mags, but I don't have them on hand, so for now it's DAM mags.
Next question is what orientation. I probably would go with left feed, SMG style, if it didn't require flipping the cocking rod to the passenger side. Since I'm not a southpaw I'm going to try the standard bottom feed.
Quality of life improvements while I'm in there... I'm thinking a modernized detent, reducing the bore diameter in the breech, and potentially a larger diameter power tube which will couple with other HPA modifications. The standard 68 special slip fit barrel should work great with a printed design, but I do have an AC tap I could try. It remains to be seen whether a printed bolt will work, but I may be able to just turn the front end of the existing bolt down.
I'll be working on the feed system first, later on I'll get into the HPA conversion side of things. The inherent modularity of a removable front end is a huge plus of working with this platform. The massive outdated reciprocating mass is a feature, not a bug...the only thing really holding 68 specials back is the liquid CO2 diet.
The first question is what magazines...I have some random RAP4 mags kicking around, but if I'm spending the time to get this working, dealing with crappy old mags is probably not a great idea. It would be poetic to use TMC mags, but I don't have them on hand, so for now it's DAM mags.
Next question is what orientation. I probably would go with left feed, SMG style, if it didn't require flipping the cocking rod to the passenger side. Since I'm not a southpaw I'm going to try the standard bottom feed.
Quality of life improvements while I'm in there... I'm thinking a modernized detent, reducing the bore diameter in the breech, and potentially a larger diameter power tube which will couple with other HPA modifications. The standard 68 special slip fit barrel should work great with a printed design, but I do have an AC tap I could try. It remains to be seen whether a printed bolt will work, but I may be able to just turn the front end of the existing bolt down.
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