Cuda’s Late to the Party Reviews!

[Cdn_Cuda]

I keep buying random markers and some of them even work! For those lucky few markers there is no real reason to take them all apart, so might has well provide some very outdated reviews on them!

Now keep your expectations tempered. I’m pretty ignorant on markers outside of cockers and Tippmanns, and spend the majority of my trigger time shooting at a mask hanging on some PVC outside my tenants kitchen window.

What I can promise is that the markers are second-hand finds that are likely a decade or old more and for some reason sparked my interest enough to buy, so expect it to be eclectic!

Feel free to ask questions, make comments, correct my errors.

Index:
Evil Pimp - Post 2
PMI-II - Post 6
Automag - coming less sooner

[Cdn_Cuda]

First up is an Evil Pimp. This popped up in Ontario for a nice price, and thought my Evil Minion could use a friend. Given the name, who wouldn’t want to own an Evil Pimp?! It even came with Killa magnetic detents, which I always wanted but never could afford.

First impressions are that this beast is large! It could eat an Invert Mini whole and the have room. It’s a very tall bodied marker. The body itself is pleasantly milled and I do like the body lines. It’s in between the age of large chunky markers and the more swoopy offerings. This marker has a presence and given its bulk, people are going to stare. Given the branding on the marker is pretty subtle (small Pimp written by the serial number, little e logo on the back of the body) people are going to have no idea what it is and likely be delighted by its name.

Initial Thoughts:
Took me a moment of fiddling with the battery to realize the frame was a clamshell. I blame this on my Omen, which barely fits a battery and is not a clam shell. Once I figured that out battery fit in the frame nicely. The bolt has a fun twist function that retracts the pin, which is neat. Made the mistake of not properly reinserting to bolt so my first attempt at firing was a complete failure. I did figure it out though!

The electronics are pretty simple, an on/off switch and when the clamshell opens there’s two buttons to adjust dwell. It’s best not to push a pimp’s buttons. No fancy LED screens to die, just a flashy LED.

I went to throw a barrel on the Pimp only to realize it’s impulse threaded…. And then realize the name comes from P(rivate) Imp(ulse). So glad it came with a barrel as only Jimmydee and his collection of 500 barrels might have an impulse threaded barrel. So much for using my Evil Pipe Kit!

Shooting:
So now for the fun part! I threw my 48/4500 air tank and a Dye Rotor on the marker and headed to the side of the house. After a bit of fiddling, and a barrel break, I got the old pimp alive! Due to the lack of trigger skills on an electro, what should have been a smooth pimp-walk of the trigger was more a limping stumble. That was more the trigger man than the marker though. Surprisingly, the marker was not that noisy and stayed pretty level during shooting. No doubt the considerable size and weight keep the marker from bouncing around and keeps it from kicking. Sadly, my 3/4 of a pod did not last long, but my mask down range receives a thick yellow coating of paint. I did not find it hard to hold my target. I’ll have to get some more paint and let it really fly.

Keeper or Catch and Release?
Will this marker find a place in my permanent collection? Unlikely, but I am happy I got to play around with it and experience an Evil Pimp for myself. I missed out on most electros from this era (okay, all electros from every era) so it scratches that nostalgic itch. It’s everything a new, modern electro is not, which makes it pretty awesome.

[Olsson]

It’s best not to push a pimp’s buttons.

I got the old pimp alive!

experience an Evil Pimp for myself... ... receives a thick yellow coating

who wouldn’t want to own an Evil Pimp

...must... ...resist... ...childish... ...jokes... I feel like Eric Cartman when he was promised money if he didn't make fun of Kyle's cousin.

Also, my therapist instructed me that I should really try to lay off the innuendos - but it's really, REALLY hard. Aww, dammit!!!

[Cdn_Cuda]

I did avoid making any backhanded comments about pimp slapping at least!

[Chappy]

Are these heavy? I hear you need to keep your pimp hand strong.

[Cdn_Cuda]

Yes, quite heavy. Before using I suggest you do some arm warm-ups. I find placing your open palm on your opposite shoulder, swinging your hand across your body while straightening your elbow. Make sure to fully extend your arm mid-swing. Add in a sassy one-line at full extension for best results.

[Cyberpyr8]

Evil Pimps are heavy, bulky and dated for sure. They are also insanely fast and great markers. Add a WAS board and start ramping with that sucker! You'll go through a hopper of paint in less than 12 seconds (trust me I've timed it). Back when I was young and spry, I would run and slide into the snake while slamming that gun to the ground, bounce back up and start unloading on people. It would take a beating like, well a pimp would give!

Other than the LPR and detonator regs being suspect, it was a solid performer. I now (or recently) had ones where I put Hyper3 regs on them and had enough LPR's that one would eventually work. When they work, there's nothing like it today. No one knows what they are and are usually amazed when they shoot it or see it in action. If I had more time to mess with stuff I would get another. They all just need too much attention for me now. But I'm glad to see yours works and is ripping! Go enjoy it before you sell it.

[Cdn_Cuda]

If I get the chance I definitely will! Hoping to play another day soon before the weather gets bad. Been a long times since I've used an electro on the field!

[Cdn_Cuda]

Late To the Party Review #2 - Palmerized PMI-II.


This old school shooter came out of Alberta, buried in a pile of extra gear. With the help of Jimmydee, got it picked up and sent to me. This is the first time I’ve had an PMI-II and never seen one in person.

Initial Impressions:
It’s old, it’s fairly large but damn is it comfortable in your hands. The old grips fit nicely regardless of which hand you use to pull the trigger and the pump motion is pretty smooth. I have also never played stock class, so I am currently lacking 10-round tubes and holders. Have a bunch of 12g C02 from various pistols at least.

Initial Shooting:
The paint I had on hand was more chunky than round, which meant I had to help it drop properly as it jammed. As a plus, this meant that I didn’t have rollouts! Even with the horrible paint this shot quite nice and I could hit my mask target down range nicely. One of the Palmer modifications was to move the feed tube, so instead of tipping the barrel up to feed you need to tip the barrel down. This movement felt nice and didn’t interfere with my targeting. Kept my eye on place, rocked the marker down and raise the marker back up to fire — assuming the ball dropped.

A buddy gave me some fresh paint (from this decade!) so I’ll give it another go shoot through a 12g and will keep track of shots.

More Thoughts!
Compared the PMI to one of my pump cockers and realized why I found it so comfortable. The trigger frame to pump spacing is pretty similar between the different markers, making it feel very similar to what I was used to.

I did manage to shoot a 12g. No Chronograph, but had 10 rounds in the feed to start and 3 10-round tubes in my pocket. The first 20-30 shot nicely, then in the 30s seemed to start dropping noticeably. But did manage to shoot all rounds before fully running out of air. Did have a break or two, but might have sliced a ball while pumping. Still getting us to the flow of pumping. It shot through the breaks decently well.

Keeper or Catch and Release?
Solid keeper. Really like the feel of this marker, from the comfortable grip to the nice pump feel. This suits my style of play much better than my Palmer Hurricane and likely has better reliability. This is the marker I am the most gear to use on the field, even if I don’t have a decent stock class setup yet.

[Cdn_Cuda]

Late to the Party Review #3- Chrome AGD Automag with Warpfeed


Just arrived today and I am quite excited about this beast. Another rescue out of Ontario. Came with a cocker barrel adapter, warp feed and a Jacko Automag barrel. Haven’t figured out how to mount the warpfeed but has a bag full of bits and pieces. Aired it up and it cycled nicely, no leaks. Will this finally be the mag to change my mind?!

Update: Warp Speed!

I think I figured out how to attach the warpfeed and hopper. Being that I’m left handed I may need to change things, but I can reach the trigger at least!





(more coming once the rain stops….)

[Toestr]

Finally a hopper that will facilitate gangster style shooting.

[glaman5266]

Regarding the Pimp, pretty much every stacked-tube poppet marker back then was heavy, aside from maybe the first Egos. Running a Timmy with an Egg on top was a workout. But there was almost no muzzle bounce.

I think these "late to the party" reviews are a neat idea. I acquired an ICD Alley Cat on a whim this past weekend at a big game. If you don't mind, I might post a similar review & teardown of that. Might contribute to the whole "rebuilding the site" effort & teach the kids about the old stuff.

Probably 4 or 5 years back now I posted what I dubbed a "Retro (Not Retro) Review". I called it that because I reviewed a NOS 2007 (original) PMR I acquired. It was still in the plastic wrap. It was older, but still had a lot of modern features & was an early speedball gun that used GRN. Everything the PMR did is now commonplace today. So kinda retro in terms of age & relativity, but not really in practice.

[Cdn_Cuda]

Yes, by all means join in on the fun! I’ve eyeballed the various Cats a few times and they look fun. My plan is to just keep cycling through various markers that catch my interest. On ones I rebuild I usually do a full breakdown thread, but working markers I don’t as I don’t want to tempt fate.

I find these threads handy as well as I can learn about other interesting markers I might want to grab. Alway nice have a guide to taking them apart too. So much of the old stuff no longer have pictures.

[Cdn_Cuda]

Finally got a moment to set the warp feed properly setup. I kept it to the left, but used an Evo 3 hopper which gave me playing of room for my hand. First impression is this setup is a friggin’ whale! It is massive. I’ve have some marker markers before, like the Spec Ops Longbow, that that was just long. This setup is thicccccccccc.


So now that I have established that one one with a midterm marker can ever complain about the weight of their setup, I have to go about getting things running. So first need to turn on the Eggy and then I press the button on the Warpfeed to prime the balls up to the feedneck. A couple pokes of the button and I balls!

Pull the trigger and paint flies but then hit feed issues. Thankfully an easy fix, I didn’t have the top feed plug pushed all the way down, so balls were not on the right spot. And as well all know, if your balls are in the wrong sport, you’re in for a bad time.

So problem solved, after making some colour paint spray out of my barrel, I got everything underway again. Paint feeds nicely in an odd symphony of electronic wizzing, but I kept the bps lower. I had already chopped enough paint. The marker is an absolute beast to weld, but has a nice hard, satisfying shot. I look forward to getting this crazy contraption to the field. And hey, I can even use this on other markers still!

[Cdn_Cuda]

Added videos!

[Cdn_Cuda]

Time to just off this thread with completely out of date and behind the times review. This time it’s a older CCM T2!

Now this marker is just spending some time with me temporarily, but it’s the newest CCM I’ve gotten my hands on, with my previous experiences being with SS-25s, Series 5 and Series 6 CCM. I also have several CCM trigger frames on my various snipers.

First impressions, I’ve honestly never been a fan of the T2. After the beautiful lines of the S6, the T2 feels more industrial, and less artistic, if you will. But I’ve never had one in my hands or had the chance to shoot one, although have been shot by a few at my local field.

So, now that I have one in my hands, taking down to pieces and put it back together I’d thought I’d share some opinions, feeling, and maybe the odd hope and dreams…..

But first I want to why this marker feels so damn heavy in my hands! First thing I noticed when I picked it up. Geez, this is a lot heavier than I expected. Now for reference my weapon of choice for over a decade has been a pumped Karnivor which tips the scale at 2 lbs 14.8 ounces. The T2? 2lbs 11 ounces! Interestly enough my 2k Black Magic is .2 ounces heavier than the T2 and my CCM’s half block comes in at only 2lbs 8 ounces and feels noticeably lighter in my hands.

The most fitting comparison may actually be to an Empire Sniper though. Without a barrel the T2 clocks on at 2 lbs 6.9 ounces. The Empire Sniper? 2 lbs 5.2 ounces and I even put the autotrigger I removed on the scale! I guess due to the minimalist design I expect the T2 to feel lighter.

Now, other than the weight, the marker lived up to my expectations. Well made and well milled. Pump stroke is nice, pump handle, despite being tiny, felt comfortable although the hitman plate interferes very minorly. I never use hitman plates and have strong feelings about autotriggers that are best left alone.

It was the first time I had to use a torx bit to remove the rear sled. I did not separate the body pieces, but noted a torx and Allen bolt were needed to do so. CCM also chose to put in a jam nut grub screw, which is new to me. Never had a jam nut move and seems unnecessary, but I’m sure it was done for a reason.

I haven’t had a chance to air it up and shoot it, but fully intend to so once I get some air. But at this point, just going hands on with it I really don’t see why people are dropping in the neighborhood of 1k on these markers. My custom pumps have similar ergonomics, and cost significantly less than a T2 to purchase (well, the Karni may be getting close). But, with that said, I do still need to shoot the T2. Maybe it will all come together and be a magical experience and I’ll suddenly understand, but maybe not!

[Cdn_Cuda]

Put some balls through the T2 today. It’s definitely comfortable in your hands, and with a small hopper and tank didn’t notice, or I’ve just become use to, the weigh of it. It’s a very nice, smooth action. I remember one of the reasons I dislike autotrigger though…. The cam hits my trigger finger and rubs, which is uncomfortable.

Overall, the T2 is a great pump and very well made. I am not sure what these originally retailed for, but at the current prices I find it hard to justify the price. You can start with an Empire Sniper, dump several hundreds of dollars into upgrades and get pretty close to the feel of the T2 while only spending half. It seems the T2, and more specifically CCM’s cult-like status has pushed the price of these beyond reasonable, much like JT market. There are much better value propositions out there, but they don’t have the same brand impact.

Final take: Great feeling pump marker with high quality finish but bland styling. Hype has pushed the value of these out the window though and as nice as a T2 is, their price is very hard to justify. If you’re rocking a custom built OG JT mask, this marker is likely for you! But you ‘re just an average player looking for a real nice pump look elsewhere. There’s a lot of very nice pump builds
out there, or you can even build your own and likely have money to spare at the end!

[Kanto]

Great review. My opinions on the CCMs I've shot and owned are very similar. They are well made cocker pumps but aren't necessarily worth the market price on preformance alone. Back when a t2 was 600 it was a different situation but in today's market they are like a luxury good. Well made, but you're paying a hefty premium for the brand. It seems like the market is correcting downwards a bit but unless something significantly changes, I'll stick to my custom builds.

[jetenginekyle]

Thank you for taking the time to put this together!

"There’s a lot of very nice pump builds out there, or you can even build your own and likely have money to spare at the end!"

If you are patient and wait for deals you can probably build two custom snipers and have money left over.