72 replies to this topic

[AssassinNF]

No other comments? I thought a 100' Semi-automatic blaster would go over pretty well.

I guarantee you that when this death machine is finished you will get comments.

The semi-auto airgun addition is very cool. Too bad the LBB won't work. I'm curious to see how this works when you get it operational.

Good luck!

[Norther of Heaven]

This is all really nice, I'd say your the "Angel" of the Vulcan so far.
How's that for a compliment?

[g-force]

I plan on doing this entire mod so far except the multi speed part to my vulcan. Great job!

[Split]

Big update for everyone here. I got all of my supplies and have been working on this and a few other guns non-stop. My internet was temporarily shut off though, so the write-ups will be abundant today (3+an update and part 4.2 on this!).

So here it goes. I tried to war test this big guy here, which fundamentally went okay. My drum magazine did break, but as I've already mentioned (I think) it doesn't fit my new darts and jams. So I have to make a new one anyway.

The basic problem I was having with it is that in the breechless version, the seal in the plunger was so fucking perfect, and the volume of the new plunger tube was so large that it was vacuum loading darts and jamming them into my plunger tube entrance, causing a jam in the magazine.

So after this, I worked on a breeched version, but just like the ABBB, it eats darts like there's no tomorrow. I even tried a new type of breech (for another day and project now), but it just ate them in a different way. This whole thought is just abandoned. Anyone is welcome to try it, but the entire drum magazine has to be fundamentally different in order for this to work. Angel had a few ideas, but I couldn't make them feasible enough at 3 or 6 revolutions per second. This was going to be Part 6, so as of right now there will only be 5 parts to the overhaul.

Another big problem I had with the Overhaul was it stopped firing. Which was hilarious. I found out that the seal was again so amazing, that the lube couldn't even fit between the plunger head and the plunger tube. What ended up happening was the gear train would pull the plunger back, and the spring wouldn't be able to overcome the friction and perfect seal. It would not move forward enough, and when the train cycled again it would get pulled back into the regular catch, jamming it.

The solution for this was tricky to find. I started by adding an entire Longshot spring to the plunger to overcome the friction, and this works. However, I couldn't keep it this way because of the damage from recoil to the internals, and the high rate at which the Vulcan now drained my batteries.

What I did end up doing and was the better solution is to use the thinnest possible lube, and often. You need to use Liquid Wrench silicone spray. O-ring lube and another one I tried are too thick. I also removed the manual catch, since my manual cocking mechanism is gone.

That's all for the update. I'm currently throwing together the official 4.2 Writeup, and will put it in when I have it done.

[Split]

Part 4.2
Working Semi automatic integration

This is just like in part 4.1, but this time it’s finished and working, and shooting well over 100’.
You will need a few things:
Unplugged mega missile internals with stock pump
A small and strong compression spring
A Firefly trigger spring
Sheet metal
JB weld
Fluted nails
So on and so forth 

Take your rotation mechanism arm, and cut off the little spring loaded tip, if it isn’t broken where mine is. Now take a rubber mallet and hammer out the pin.

Take a fluted nail, and drill out the hole where that pin was until the nail fits in. Drill a hole for a second nail about ¼” or so away from the first one. Then drill though the stock pump handle as in the picture below, put the nails in and cut down with the Dremel, slowly, and leaving a small amount of excess on the other side (<1/16”)
Cut some sheet metal into the shape of the grooves in the arm between the nails and the spot that juts out. Use the slow setting JB weld and attach them in, one on each side. When that’s all finished it will look like this:


Cut down this notch here on the left all the way. You can leave the other one, and probably should, because it helps position the plunger tube. I got a bit overzealous, which is unlike me.


Hot glue the strong compression spring here at point 1. Add a dab of hot glue at point 2 as a track for the spring, and a nice portion of glue on the arm itself at point 3:

Trim the shell to accommodate the Mega Missile here as shown in the next picture. The cleaner and tighter you make the cuts, the more secure and appealing the integration is. I did not have to use any fasteners at all because my cuts were precise enough.
Now when you close up the internals, add the firefly trigger spring to the rotation mechanism arm and use a screw/washer combo to secure it.


For this sexy breech system right here^^, I wrote up some instructions, but you can do whatever you want for a barrel.
First, cut the Mega Missile barrel right below the holes. Cut 2.5” of 17/32” brass and put one and a half rings of e-tape on it. Force it down into the MM barrel. Put a foot long piece of OMC Petg onto the half inch or so of brass still sticking out. Cut your breech starting where the brass ends into the Petg.
Wrap one layer of e-tape around the ends of the breech and the bottom of the breech on the outside of the Petg. 3.5” x 5/8” brass pipe will act as the breech closer. Put it on, and then slide it up to where you want it to stop. Put a blockade of e-tape there.

You now have a telescoping petg/brass breeched barrel perfect for Forsaken’s foam darts and an air-gun, on a great air gun. Not to mention a semi-automatic 100+’ shooter as a backup, that shouldn’t explode because the pump isn’t plugged. Your Vulcan will probably be very loud now though. Enjoy.

Edit: Don't forget your keyring trigger! Keyring the pin on the MM and run picture wire to another one, or a piece of SCH40 Pvc (I prefer the latter).

Edited by Splitlip, 04 September 2008 - 08:28 PM.

[angelof DEATH182]

Holy shit.
This is fucking amazing!
But now I want to buy a Vulcan and can't.

[jwasko]

Great Job.

A quick, slightly (?) off topic question: would a single 9.6 volt rechargeable R/C car battery work? I found a couple on clearance at KMart, and I thought I might be able to use one in a Vulcan; the other would be a spare and I could use one of the charger's connectors similar to what you did with the 7.2 Volt batteries.

[wespelarno]

I wouldn't recommend the 9.6V rechargeables

They aren't "hobby quality", they are "toy quality".

The 9.6V batteries are usually NiCd which means it has low capacity (From memory <1500 MaH) and won't maintain the 9.6V for long. They tend to spike for about 2 minutes then drop to close to 8V. They also have a cell memory so the charge capacity drops each charge and you need to discharge them completely each time.

The 7.2V batteries currently being used are propper hobby quality packs. I don't know what size packs he is using, but I would recommend a set of NiMH packs. You can pick up two 3000Mah packs for $30 from Tower hobbies. You could also look at LiPO packs or a higher capacity set of NiMH's. If you wanted 9.6 Volts you can open the packs up, pull out individual cells and solder it into whatever configuration you want. If you want more details, just ask. I can explain all.

I would also consider converting to "deans ultra plugs". The tamiya ones in the photos have a horrible connection and I've actually melted a set from the current a motor in my RC car was drawing. The deans plugs are a lossless connector that has less resistance than the equivalent length of 12gauge copper wire. you will notice a big pick up in performance.

Just whatever you do, please stay away from the 9.6V rechargeable packs. They suck.

[AssassinNF]

I can't tell in the picture, but isn't the mega missle in the way of where your drum will be?

[Split]

Alright everyone, I’ve saved the best for last.

Part 5
Modular Semi-automatic Titan

That’s right. Modular. Anyone who tries to open the Vulcan hates the sheer amount of screws in deep, narrow wells.

Here you can see my two Vulcans. One will be useless by the end of this part.

So here’s how it went down. I put a hobby hinge, “middle hinge” type, into the bottom where the tripod goes. It is actually straight, I don’t know why it doesn’t look that way.

You can see the first cabinet latch back by the handle.

And here’s the second:


These two hold this thing together incredibly well. I’m thinking about putting another on the front, but so far I haven’t needed it and I’ve done quite a bit of firing with it like this.
This can be applied to basically any Vulcan as long as you’re precise with the placements. These two I have here are highly recommended spots. They fit nicely and work very well.

To make the Titan modular insert, you’re going to need the plunger and the rotation arm mechanism from the other Vulcan. You could easily use something other than the rotation arm mech, but it is a very viable option.
Take your plunger and take off the plunger head and spring. Keep the stock spring. Take this nub on the inside:

And carefully cut it down to look like this:


You need to cut the spring loaded catch off of the rotation arm and the big piece that juts out of the side of it. I had a picture of this, but my camera seems to have eaten it. You can see it in subsequent pictures.

Now put the spring back on, and attach the back of the rotation arm mechanism to the shaved down plunger like so:

You can see that I used the pin from the rotation arm mechanism through the plunger, then the plunger head screw through a predrilled hole and then an old nerf screw (like on the manta or triple strike) goes perpendicular to those two. You will need some thing to stop the spring. I used a cut down, fluted nail.

This is important. For the titan, here is what I did:

On the pump (bottom left), remove the tubing from the release valve, and then cut off the release valve and plug it with goop. Cut the pump tube down to 3” away from the end of the big circle, making the overall length about 3.5”.
On the pressure gauge, remove the tubing and then remove the spring from the tubing. Goop in a bic pen shell to act as a solid support, then secure it with some hot glue.
Finally, for the tank, put in the long tubing from the release valve (taking out the original short tubing of course), and put the spring into it from the pressure gauge.

Now to attach the rotation arm to the pump shaft, predrill two holes in it with a bit no bigger than 1/8” and no further down than 7/8”. Take the bolts you’ll be using and slowly feed them though the holes and take them back out again. Line up the end of the arm at a point 3.75” away from the pump head and predrill the pump shaft though the arm with the 1/8” bit. Now you can widen the holes on the pump shaft to whatever size you need. I needed 3/16”, and you shouldn’t need any more than that.
Now feed the first bolt through and add washers between the arm and the shaft enough so that the arm is above the plunger tube level. Close it off with a washer and a nut. Then feed the second through and close it off the same way. You should have this:


Now cut down the bolts and the plunger shaft like so:


Now, carefully and precisely, dremel out the insides of you Vulcan to accommodate the pump here:

The cut needs to be just right so that when closed, the Vulcan shell holds the pump tightly but closes securely. This took me two days, and I’m really really good with a dremel.

DON'T POST JUST YET: PICTURE LIMIT

And make some basic cuts to put the Titan tank here:

If you look carefully at this picture you can see the notch that has to be made to route the tubing from the tank to the pump. Also, you can see the notch for the pressure gauge by the left battery connector (the one without the X).

Now you can add your keyring:


And closed up it looks like this:


Because of the cuts you made to fit the Titan tank, the Mega Missile will now move around. To keep it still, I shaped a small ¼” piece of plexi into this:

And attached it here:


And here is the mega missile keyring:


Now you need to relocate those batteries, because the titan tank takes their old spot:



I also added a screwdriver holder, so I can always field strip it and set it up to any of the modes I like best:


And the overall monster:



With a 2’ Petg Barrel and perfectly fitting darts I’m getting about 150’, but I think that I’m slightly leaky. To prime you pull the Vulcan trigger and watch the power gauge go up until it’s where you want it. Then fire off with the keyring. I’ll probably breech and maybe deodorant clip the barrel later.

In order to strip it, you just pop it open and take out the screw driver. Take off the top internals cover and the gear train cover and slap in or out whatever you want. You can go from Auto fire only to Auto fire + 100' semi-auto backup, to 150'+ main gun very quickly. The ultimate in modular.

This is one mean sucker, and since I minimized the front more (see the last pic) it’s even meaner to have looking down at you. I have a great paintjob planned for this, but it has been rainy most of the week here.

Enjoy!

[Norther of Heaven]

Marvelous. Just incredible.

But i have a question.. forgive me if i missed something. If the Titan is equipped, how exactly does the main gun fire? It looked like the caulk plunger tube wasn't even there.

But anyways, GREAT JOB. Can't wait to see the paintjob.

[hereticorp]

Alright everyone, I’ve saved the best for last.

Part 5
Modular Semi-automatic Titan

That is the sweetest mod I have ever seen in my life. I need to get a Vulcan one of these days, because wow... Insane. Really and truly insane.

I love it.

[Renegademilitia15]

Wow, incredible. You really bring new meaning to the word overhaul. Taking an automatic 20 ft. shooter to a automatic 100ft shooter is pure genius. Good job.

[Split]

Marvelous. Just incredible.

But i have a question.. forgive me if i missed something. If the Titan is equipped, how exactly does the main gun fire? It looked like the caulk plunger tube wasn't even there.

But anyways, GREAT JOB. Can't wait to see the paintjob.

Thanks. Yeah, if you read the second to last paragraph, you take can choose the modes by swapping stuff in and out. Auto, Auto with semi-backup, or high range semi-auto.

Hmmm ... green gauge ...
That was the relatively new "Hulk Abomination" Titan, wasn't it?


Did that come with a ... green Hornet?

I bought it off of doubleshot, feel free to shoot him a PM, but I'm pretty sure it does. AND they're in stock here .

AssassinNF - no the drum mag still worked with that one. I say "worked" because of course it broke and I'm working on another breechless one right now. (post #54 in this thread).

Thanks everyone. I'm going to try and get a video of everything up and running, then swapping stuff in and out. It honestly takes like a minute tops to go from from Auto with the backup to the titan main gun.

[Daecu]

So awesome... my friend and I are thinking about doing some work on his vulcan but we were waiting to see how your stuff turns out... I think we may be making some cuts this weekend haha

[rork]

I absolutely HATE the design/layout/idea of the vulcan, and yet--that is damned impressive. ~Rork

[doubleshot]

Hmmm ... green gauge ...
That was the relatively new "Hulk Abomination" Titan, wasn't it?


Did that come with a ... green Hornet?

I bought it off of doubleshot, feel free to shoot him a PM, but I'm pretty sure it does.

Yea it did, I thought it was nifty, so I bought it. Sold the titan, Hornet just sucked. Completely awesome Split, I had no idea what the hell you were doing when you bought all this.

Edited by doubleshot, 09 September 2008 - 03:59 PM.

[keef]

You're a visionary. This is the greatest series of modification done to a gun in all of Nerf's time.

Split, this is an amazing piece of equipment, I hope it all works out well for you at the next war (that means shoot me).

You took the quality mod, and flipped it around, showing its fuck ugly sister but is beautiful in another way.

Congratulations, you just unlocked Super Saiyan.

Edited by keef, 09 September 2008 - 10:12 PM.

[BendyStraw]

That thing looks terrifying.

Give that monster a paintjob. It is extremely worthy of it.

So you HAVE gotten the full auto part of the Vulcan working, right? I read your writeups, but wasn't sure if all the stuff you did actually works the way you wanted it to.

[Draconis]

Approximately how long does it take to charge the titan? The mega missile?

[Split]

That thing looks terrifying.

Give that monster a paintjob. It is extremely worthy of it.

So you HAVE gotten the full auto part of the Vulcan working, right? I read your writeups, but wasn't sure if all the stuff you did actually works the way you wanted it to.

Approximately how long does it take to charge the titan? The mega missile?

Yeah it all works. The titan insert needs some tweaking still. The arm is a bit big.

The titan to get it full (keep in mind it is unplugged) with the two batteries going at it, only a few seconds. I'd say around 5-6. Faster than I can reload it at the moment. As for the mega missile, about 10 pumps it seems. The time is relative to how much you're firing really. It's about 6-7 seconds on one battery, which is how I normally fire the Vulcan. I rarely seem to need the two battery speed burst, but this isn't exactly war tested.

The ranges are insane on both guns though. Without a drum mag I haven't really tested the Vulcan main gun, but the unplugged mega missile easily out-ranges my unplugged Lbb (pvc coupler though is probably the reason - no proper barrel).

[Sir Pwnalot]

If you haven't painted it yet, may I suggest an awesome paint job for this monster? Paint it a dingy silver except for the front end. Paint that black. Then, paint all your titan missiles green, and put little stickers and stuff that look like gauges all over the top of the gun.

If you haven't figured out what I'm getting at, look at this:


I think this is worthy of that comparison, don't you?

EDIT: Wow, sorry about the necro. I didn't look at the dates. I just thought it would be a nice comparison and just decided to speak my mind. Please forgive me.

Edited by Sir Pwnalot, 19 January 2010 - 02:24 AM.

[VACC]

Please forgive me.

No. I hate you. I hate you forever.