apamburn's Collection

[apamburn]

I've been thinking about posting up my collection for some time but never got around to it. I don't think it's much compared to most of the custom and truly cool stuff I've seen here, but hey, it's what I've got. So without further ado....



PICTURED (Top > Bottom, L > R):

1. NPS Diablo
2. Tippmann 98 Custom Platinum Pro ACT, lovingly called my Franken-98
3. Sheridian P68AT (sans AT)
4. Action Markers Sentinel
5. Tippmann 98 Custom with egrip, which I call my e98
6. Tippmann SL68i
7. Tippmann SL68ii
8. Planet Eclipse Ego 06 with cringy-gawdy grips
9. Sheridian PGP
10. Tippmann Prolite
11. Splatmaster Rapide

Not pictured are two 50 cal Valken STBBs.

All of the above function to some level, though not necessarily as well as I'd like. The following are most of my project guns.

1. 32 Degrees PT xtreme
   1. I bought this with the intent to turn it into a little "carbine." I might revisit one day. Part of that project included fitting it with a freak insert. I took the stock barrel and cut it into two pieces, and then wedged a freak insert between the two. (the front half of the cut barrel acting as a breech and the front half sandwiching the insert in. Didn't work that well. Right now it has an aftermarket barrel and shoots like crap. I still like the idea of throwing a 4 oz on it and running it like that if I could get it to work right.
2. Delta 68
   1. Nothing special on this, my plan is to eventually cut out the feed port and turn it into a one-round First Strike shooter. I really don't like / don't trust the 12 gram changer so that makes that a little iffy though if I'm being honest.
3. 32 Degrees Rebel
   1. The Rebel was my first marker (not this exact gun but one like it). Came with a 9 oz round bottom tank, vert ASA, and a grav fed hopper. I did eventually buy a bottom line for it. I'm trying to decide if I should run the 9 oz vertical or go with a bottom line. I think the bottom line is more practical. It has a spyder to cocker adapter in it because I use my J&J cocker threaded kit on everything.
4. Rex R2
   1. Got this at a garage sale for like $20. Battery wouldn't take a charge. I don't remember why I took it apart like this, but it's sat like this for a few years. I just got done plugging it all back together and found a battery for sale on ebay from I&I. I'd like to switch it to a 9v batter to be honest but I think changing the rechargeable is fine with me. Now I need a charger and I think I'll have a good little shooter for one of my kids.

[apamburn]

NPS Diablo


There isn't much to say about this one. I don't remember where I bought it, I believe everything is stock. Plan is to run this with the small hopper pictured and a small tank - 4 oz or 13/3k. On a nearly full HPA tank it pushes 280 fps.

The pump stroke sucks really bad on it, which is something I need to address.

Barrel's bore is huge but it shoots lasers. Uses electrical tape as detent. Previously I tried nail polish but no success. If the electrical tape comes out for some reason it's easy enough to replace. I might eventually drill to use fishing line detent.

Now that I think about it, when I bought this it was missing pump arm screws. I tried to find some at Fastenal but they couldn't find or order any with the right threads and the shoulder dimensions.

I ended up taking them from a sacrificial Tigershark, which was a donor for my SL68i (more on that later).

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Franken 98




Aah...where to start. This has been an iteratively improved and changed project over the last...I don't know, 3? 4 years?

I don't know what made me want to start tinkering with it, but tinker I did.

STAGE 1 - purchase

- Stock internals
- Flatline barrel
- Collapseable stock

This was the first marker I bought when I got back into the sport after a hiatus from ~2009 to ~2012. It started life as a 98 Custom Pro Platinum ACT. The notable differences on that model vs a regular custom are, as far as I'm aware,

(1) the ACT (and associated spring)
(2) RT tap on the right side of valve
(3) JIC (I think) input port on the valve
(4) body molded for square nut to thread the abnormally long JIC fitting into
(5) steel braided hose with JIC fittings on both end, and ASA to go with.
(6) power tube specific to that valve

STAGE 2 - still sensible

- J&J Barrel Kit
- Deadlywind RVA
- Mainspring Kit
- Polished Internals
- TechT trigger pin kit

The Flatline is the accessory I want to love, but can't. Same with Apex. You see it's on the gun now; that won't last long. I eventually came to my senses and got a J&J kit for it.

I held onto my collapseable stock for a while thanks to the Deadlywind RVA, which allows you to attach the stock to RVA.

The trigger pin kit....it helped remove some slack in the trigger I guess, but I could take it or leave it.

STAGE 3 - WTF was I thinking - the Back Bottle 98

- 98 custom valve and power tube
- vert ASA
- Pure Energy Regulator
- DIY BBA
- Hard line replaced steel braided line

I decided I wanted a regulator, and to install a reg I needed a VASA (well, the reg I had at the time anyways). There were a bunch of issues with that.

* The valve wasn't drilled + threaded for a 1/8 npt VASA adapter
* The VASA kit I had didn't fit right in the shell - evidently that was another change to this model
* The powertube wasn't meant to be attached by means of screws, and the shell wasn't drilled for them either

Believe it or not this took a fair amount of work to get right. I had to dremel the shells enough for the VASA to fit, remove the old power tube and valve, install a new 98c valve and power tube, and drill the shell so I could attach the valve.

I finally gave up on keeping my stock, so that was good.

Now, at this point you might be asking yourself, why didn't he just buy a regular 98???? Did he at least come to his senses and go with a traditional bottom line?

Nope. I decided to use my Deadlywind RVA as a mounting point for a plate I cut to attach an ASA to.

I know what you're thinking now. Maybe at least he used hose or macroline for that...

...also nope. I decided to buy, and bend, and flare, about 18 inches of hard line, to attach from my abortion of an ASA adapter to my reg.

STAGE 4 lower pressure - Back Bottle 98

- light valve spring
- Palmer's Stabilizer - in a scope mount
- steel braided line from stab to valve
- gutted Cocker LPR as volumizer

Not being able to leave well enough alone I decided to swap the valve spring out with a lighter valve spring and install a Palmer's Stabilizer that I think I got from Magmoormaster.

Did I install it at the VASA? Of course not.

"Perhaps at the bottom line ASA", you're thinking? Wrong again.

I stuck that sucker in a scope mount and clamped that shit down on the pic rail on top of my gun.

And since I decided I didn't like having all that hard line running on the side of the gun, I ripped the hard line off, ripped out the VASA I had so carefully dremeled into place, and instead cut a chunk of the left shell off and ran a loop of steel braided hose from rail mounted reg to valve port. All in all there were like....10 different 1/8 NPT fittings involved. It's amazing it didn't leak...

But not at all surprising that it didn't work. I couldn't get the damn thing to recock to save my life.

It was starving for volume, so I grabbed a LPR I had in my kit - I don't own any cockers and this is probably a crappy one anyways, ripped everything out the inside, slathered anything else that moved in JB weld, and 24 hours later I had a volumizer, which I installed at the valve with a T fitting.

STAGE 5 - bottom line

- Attached stab to ASA on bottom line
- Added gauge upstream of reg
- Tacamo AK47 wood grip kit
- Drilled hole in bottom of shells to hold spare prolite shroud
- Stopped dicking with it

I got tired of the back bottle thing. So moved back to bottom line, I like the look and feel of the prolite shroud so I added it, and I like the wood so I added it too.

All in all I was seeing about 280 FPS a few days ago off HPA with 400-450 psi input.

[apamburn]

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