We had a spare Nite Finder shell sitting around, but unfortunately it was missing its trigger since my room mate made a Nitemav; to create a trigger system, I decided to cut off the handle and replace it with the LSFG handle and trigger mechanism I had been using before. But, to get that to fit properly, I had to cut out a bunch more of the case, and then, to get the AT3K pump and BS/2K setup in, I was left with about ten percent of the original NF's plastic. It was really flimsy, covered in goop and epoxy putty, and very difficult to pump. It got scrapped, and I worked on the other idea I had.
Here we go: Frankenfucker version one point oh.
Longshot front gun handle, original SM750 pump (plugged, of course), Hornet blast trigger, chunk of SMDTG system, AT2K turret, Big Salvo tank, and Hornet tank. Fun times.
Setting everything up in the gun was surprisingly easy; the SM750 pump does not take up much more space than the one from the SMDTG, but it puts out much more air while being much easier to pump. I only had to dremel out a little more of the case to get a snug fit. I glued a bit of the 1/8" ID tubing from McMaster in place and threaded it through the hole I drilled for tubing previously. The pump tube went to a vinyl tee, which split towards the Hornet blast trigger and the two airtanks. The Hornet blast chamber is couplered in a really strange way: a 1/2" PVC coupler into 1/2" PVC, which has been shaved out just enough to allow for six inches of CPVC to be jammed all the way to the blast chamber. It's a really snug, almost completely snug fit. The BS-to-2K system is pretty simple to see; a little shaving allowed for PETG to be jammed in front of the BS tank and links it to a dremeled-out, CPVC'd (five inches) AT2K turret.
I find it a really good looking gun; there's something really beautiful about the arching tubing and the general setup I used. It looks a little unfastened but the goop has been curing for a while and it's pretty solid; version two point oh (Recon shelled) should fix the perceived unstableness.
Here's a quick look at the trigger setup; it's identical to the previous version except I've added another blast chamber. I unfortunately couldn't jury-rig a conceivable multi-shot system while maintaining the compact, easy to use nature of this gun, so the Hornet blast and BS shot fire at the same time. However, as I'll be using this gun as an admittedly bulky sidearm, I'm not too concerned with firing those shots separately, as it's easy to pump and the turret is wonderful.
Before posting this writeup, I managed to only get off a few range testing shots due to a sudden decompression of the BS chamber and subsequent leaking, but as I was writing this up, I realized a small plastic shard probably kept the stopper from closing all the way, and by hacking off the PETG I was able to clear it out. The problem (and nature of the subsequent fix) prevented me from getting off as large a sample as I had hoped, but here are the ranges on the fifteen or so shots I managed to get off, with CS-style darts and fifteen pumps:
Hornet tank: Average of 84 feet.
Big Salvo tank: Average of 97 feet.
I fucking love this thing. It's really fun to use and really easy to reload, prime, and aim. As it stands right now, I have about nine more weeks until I get access to my Recon shell and begin part two, but this gun is wholly adequate for the time being. However, my absolute favorite thing about this gun is the fucking kick. I've never used an airgun that's kicked before.
Edited by Ice Nine, 14 March 2009 - 07:51 PM.