Well, here it is. After years of searching, I finally have one, and it's finally ready for the field!
First, a huge thanks to docfire for his absolutely amazing MacDev gladiator reg set fix. You are doing the lords work sir. It works phenomenally and I could not possibly be happier. If you have an old gladiator, do not hesitate to pick one of these up: https://docfirepaintball.com/collect...tor-inline-reg
Another huge huge thanks to OpusX for the Morlock board and install, I'm not great with electronics and there is no way I would have been able to figure all that out on my own. The clever placement behind the battery door is oh so so so sexy.
Now, on to the Venom. I believe these were released in late 2003, and retailed for $990 based on the APG scans kindly provided by Blackmagic71
September 2003 APG
December 2003 APG
Information is sparse on these, if you know more or have any corrections to the information posted here please do not hesitate to let me know and I'll get it updated. From what I could gather, Zenitram was owned by Robert Martinez (Zenitram is Martinez spelled backwards). The rumor is that he also owned a surgical supply manufacturing company, and honestly I believe it. Every little detail on this gun is absolutely perfect, and I'm still shocked at how good the condition is despite its age. Very very few of these were ever made. There were 28 official ones completed by Zenitram, and only 26 of those were ever sold to the public. A handful of them were finished in years after the fact by various end users, including quite a few that were updated with quad detents by ICDO member "Veedoubleugee". Who would send them to Acid Customs for the mod. There are a number of things that make the Venoms extra special and not just another private label B2k. Obviously, they were made with all the standard Zenitram upgrade parts. Zenitram 45 frame, Zenitram 15 degree Vert ASA with the improved 1/4" airflow banjo bolt (vs the stock 3/16" airflow banjo), Zenitram PPS Micro Rock Adapter, and Zenitram Conical Valve, Zenitram Bolt, and Zenitram Bolt Pin. What really makes the Venoms so unique though is the valve chamber itself. The valve chamber itself is bored out significantly larger then the stock B2k Valve chamber. You can see in the below photo just how much the valve chamber steps in around the valve.
All that extra volume does wonders in achieving a lower operating pressure for the B2k. I initially heard a rumor that Venoms could only use venom specific valves, but on closer inspection I do not believe that to be the case. The valve in this still uses standard #016 "o" rings to seal against the body because of how the valve chamber steps down. Something to watch out for with the valves in these, the Gen 1 Zenitram Valves used an "o" ring on the valve stem that was prone to binding, and was not necessary to function. More damningly, they also had a hard plastic/delrin cup seal that once scratched would need to be replaced. Zenitram did fix the issue with there second generation of valves, which instead used a 90 durometer #011 "o" ring as the cup seal. Personally I've found the 90 durometer "o" ring to be a tad too soft for a cup seal. I prefer to use 55D Teflon "o" rings as the cup seal for optimal performance in the Zenitram valves. Unfortunately this Venom came with the generation 1 valve pin, but I had a generation 2 valve pin laying around already (because of course I did) so I just cleaned it up and swapped it over.
The problematic Generation 1 Valve stem and cup seal left, the improved and fixed Generation 2 Valve stem right:
While it doesn't look like the Venoms absolutely require a specific valve to function, they absolutely DO require a Venom Specific PPS Micro Rock Adapter to accommodate the larger valve chamber. You can see the size difference on the valve side seal between the Venom Micro rock adapter and the stock LPR seal here:
I have also heard rumors that not all Venoms had the enlarged valve chambers. Unfortunately I can't confirm this, but its something to keep an eye out for since it makes them less desirable.
As far as I know, most of the venoms also came with unique Zenitram bolts, but I know that several of the ones that were finished after the fact came with Vapor Bolts. Do to my prior work with them, I STRONGLY prefer sanded vapor bolts with a modded top ramp because of the "o" rings which eliminate blowback and the top ramp which eliminates stack clipping. Luckily I was able to track down and modify a Vapor bolt to my taste for this gun, so that's what I'll be using when actually on the field.
Curiously enough for guns with so many custom details, Venoms use stock B2k rams....Nice to see I'm not the only person who thought a polished stock ram was already perfect for B2ks.
All the Venom's I've seen came with MacDev Gladiator HPRs, either Generation one or Generation 2.
I have heard from multiple sources that the venoms also used modified manifolds for mounting the solenoid. Maybe I missed something, but even on close inspection I was unable to find a substantial difference between the manifold in this gun and other B2k parker/skinner manifolds.
Courtesy of Blackmagic71 We have an in-depth review from the November 2004 issue of APG!
THANK YOU!
Here is an additional review from Paintball Games International - May 2003 (also courtesy of Blackmagic71 )
Overall, I'm absolutely blown away with this gun. The level of detail, custom work, and performance enhancements that went into each one of these is absolutely mind boggling. The "Holy Grail" status of the Venoms is absolutely well deserved in my opinion, especially now that I finally was able to deep dive into this one and confirm that the legends were true after all these years.
The other Venoms ARE out there. Here is a nice collection of photos scoured from the web so you know what to look for.
First, a huge thanks to docfire for his absolutely amazing MacDev gladiator reg set fix. You are doing the lords work sir. It works phenomenally and I could not possibly be happier. If you have an old gladiator, do not hesitate to pick one of these up: https://docfirepaintball.com/collect...tor-inline-reg
Another huge huge thanks to OpusX for the Morlock board and install, I'm not great with electronics and there is no way I would have been able to figure all that out on my own. The clever placement behind the battery door is oh so so so sexy.
Now, on to the Venom. I believe these were released in late 2003, and retailed for $990 based on the APG scans kindly provided by Blackmagic71
September 2003 APG
December 2003 APG
Information is sparse on these, if you know more or have any corrections to the information posted here please do not hesitate to let me know and I'll get it updated. From what I could gather, Zenitram was owned by Robert Martinez (Zenitram is Martinez spelled backwards). The rumor is that he also owned a surgical supply manufacturing company, and honestly I believe it. Every little detail on this gun is absolutely perfect, and I'm still shocked at how good the condition is despite its age. Very very few of these were ever made. There were 28 official ones completed by Zenitram, and only 26 of those were ever sold to the public. A handful of them were finished in years after the fact by various end users, including quite a few that were updated with quad detents by ICDO member "Veedoubleugee". Who would send them to Acid Customs for the mod. There are a number of things that make the Venoms extra special and not just another private label B2k. Obviously, they were made with all the standard Zenitram upgrade parts. Zenitram 45 frame, Zenitram 15 degree Vert ASA with the improved 1/4" airflow banjo bolt (vs the stock 3/16" airflow banjo), Zenitram PPS Micro Rock Adapter, and Zenitram Conical Valve, Zenitram Bolt, and Zenitram Bolt Pin. What really makes the Venoms so unique though is the valve chamber itself. The valve chamber itself is bored out significantly larger then the stock B2k Valve chamber. You can see in the below photo just how much the valve chamber steps in around the valve.
All that extra volume does wonders in achieving a lower operating pressure for the B2k. I initially heard a rumor that Venoms could only use venom specific valves, but on closer inspection I do not believe that to be the case. The valve in this still uses standard #016 "o" rings to seal against the body because of how the valve chamber steps down. Something to watch out for with the valves in these, the Gen 1 Zenitram Valves used an "o" ring on the valve stem that was prone to binding, and was not necessary to function. More damningly, they also had a hard plastic/delrin cup seal that once scratched would need to be replaced. Zenitram did fix the issue with there second generation of valves, which instead used a 90 durometer #011 "o" ring as the cup seal. Personally I've found the 90 durometer "o" ring to be a tad too soft for a cup seal. I prefer to use 55D Teflon "o" rings as the cup seal for optimal performance in the Zenitram valves. Unfortunately this Venom came with the generation 1 valve pin, but I had a generation 2 valve pin laying around already (because of course I did) so I just cleaned it up and swapped it over.
The problematic Generation 1 Valve stem and cup seal left, the improved and fixed Generation 2 Valve stem right:
While it doesn't look like the Venoms absolutely require a specific valve to function, they absolutely DO require a Venom Specific PPS Micro Rock Adapter to accommodate the larger valve chamber. You can see the size difference on the valve side seal between the Venom Micro rock adapter and the stock LPR seal here:
I have also heard rumors that not all Venoms had the enlarged valve chambers. Unfortunately I can't confirm this, but its something to keep an eye out for since it makes them less desirable.
As far as I know, most of the venoms also came with unique Zenitram bolts, but I know that several of the ones that were finished after the fact came with Vapor Bolts. Do to my prior work with them, I STRONGLY prefer sanded vapor bolts with a modded top ramp because of the "o" rings which eliminate blowback and the top ramp which eliminates stack clipping. Luckily I was able to track down and modify a Vapor bolt to my taste for this gun, so that's what I'll be using when actually on the field.
Curiously enough for guns with so many custom details, Venoms use stock B2k rams....Nice to see I'm not the only person who thought a polished stock ram was already perfect for B2ks.
All the Venom's I've seen came with MacDev Gladiator HPRs, either Generation one or Generation 2.
I have heard from multiple sources that the venoms also used modified manifolds for mounting the solenoid. Maybe I missed something, but even on close inspection I was unable to find a substantial difference between the manifold in this gun and other B2k parker/skinner manifolds.
Courtesy of Blackmagic71 We have an in-depth review from the November 2004 issue of APG!
THANK YOU!
Here is an additional review from Paintball Games International - May 2003 (also courtesy of Blackmagic71 )
Overall, I'm absolutely blown away with this gun. The level of detail, custom work, and performance enhancements that went into each one of these is absolutely mind boggling. The "Holy Grail" status of the Venoms is absolutely well deserved in my opinion, especially now that I finally was able to deep dive into this one and confirm that the legends were true after all these years.
The other Venoms ARE out there. Here is a nice collection of photos scoured from the web so you know what to look for.
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