17 replies to this topic

[Norther of Heaven]

This write up will be done in two parts: One about the BBB mods and then the AT2K integration.

Now, you read the title and must be thinking "what happened to Mk. I-III?"
Those were a series of upgrades and/or times when something broke and needed to be replaced/repaired.

Now, as many modders can imagine, after something breaks it can be very, very frustrating.

Thats why i decided to to a complete overhaul of the gun, along with a few additions that would make it an overall better gun.

Did basic mods (AR's out early on when i first got the gun).

For the spring replacement i took a small cut (not too thin, or it'll snap) of CPVC and used various tools (dremel, xacto knife, rounded file) to make it into a squarish shape for it to fit onto the plunger rod. Then just slide on the NF (or other) spring.


I tested this out, and it turns out I got the plunger tube so lubed up that the NF spring slipped over the CPVC and got entangled with the BBB spring. I then took the cap of a Powerade bottle and cut in into similar dimensions of the CPVC (not pictured) and put that inbetween the CPVC and the NF spring. Worked wonderfully from there on.


I've been through at least 3 different barrel/coupler mods. All of which have been failures or have been upgraded.
I completely cut off the orange barrel, and dremeled it out to fit a 3/4" PVC coupler which i cut just past the little notch in the center of it.

One of these: http://rayssupplycom...arson_v-103.jpg

I pushed it through the hole so that the center "notch" on the outside (as i'll call it) was against the wall of the orange piece.


Then goop'd it.


Then I put on a 3/4" PVC adapter that has the "female" part of the screw onto the other coupler, allowing just enough space inbetween them for the case to fit on. Then i wrapped 1-2 layers of E-tape around the space between them to stabilize the barrel.


Goop'd it in place too.

The plunger head was pressing against the PVC coupler that was first goop'd down, so i had to cut a small bit of it off to keep from bashing the thing off.


Part One is finished!

Now for the ATsK integration. Let it be known that ForsakenAngel24's BBB mod the "Angel Bow" was the main inspiration for this mod. I've never seen this done before, but if anyone has please let me know.

I took apart my AT2K from this mod ( http://nerfhaven.com...c=12926&hl=AT2K ) and set it next to my opened BBB.


I took the front two pieces of the BBB (where the front handle is) and started emptying out all the little notches in the top part where the purple rod slides when the gun is cocked. To make way for the AT2K pump.




Make sure it fits well when the shell is closed.


You need to measure how the pump handle will be when the gun is closed and in the cocked position. Cut the purple rod enough so that the pump is completely closed when the BB is closed, in other words.

I cut the end of the pump handle (without the handle) so that it'd fit in the hole where the purple rod used to be.


I drilled holes through what was left of the purple rod horizontally so i could fit a piece of coat hanger through the holes to keep the pump attached.


That old yellow vynal tubing has to go. Get yourself about 3 ft. of 1/8" OD 1/4" ID vynal tubing from a hardware store. Squeeze it onto the pump nozzle after you've cut off the old yellow tubing.


Take off the goo gauge of the AT2K internals and cut the new vynal tubing so that you can squeeze it into the air tank. Find a way that it fits snuggly so you'll know how when its time to really connect it.

Edited by Norther_of_Heaven, 03 September 2008 - 11:40 PM.

[Herpestidae]

I love it!!! True it is a little ugly but if something is functional then screw how it looks. Enjoy your new monster Norther!

[Norther of Heaven]

This next step is completely up to you how you want to do it. I took a NF shell with the trigger system still stock and put the air tank inside so that when the trigger is pulled a wire pulls on the rod of the air tank causing it to release the compressed air.

The shell needed to be "thinned out" on the inside a bit to accommodate the tank.




This is how i hooked up the trigger system, yes thats the bic pen mod on the air tank.

Its not pictured but I drilled a small hole towards the center of the trigger towards the top so the wire will fit in.

I wanted the original (but modded) rotating turret from the AT2K to fit, so i cut vertically on the NF so that the part where the turret and the air tank meet would be nice and snug. Then i took my round file tool (a dremel can be used too) and emptied out a place for the part of the turret with the spring.


Before you finally close the NF up, take that new tubing and position it on the gun that works for you. You'll see in the final shots how I did. Then measure where the NF shell will be (where the front handle currently is) and cut the new tubing according to where the air tank will be.

Then, take the still opened NF and the tubing and squeeze it into the air tank nice and tight. I hot glued it into place on the tank, and along the inside walls of the shell. The tubing led out the back of the shell where the NF plunger rod would've been.

Put the NF shell back together and it looked like this:


I painted the gun before it was finished, not sure why. But i cut off the front handle of the BBB while leaving the screw hole thats located right below the barrel to keep the shell from coming open.


Took 2-Ton epoxy and epoxied the NF to the space where the front handle was cut off. Then Hot glued all the way around it to help keep it in place while the epoxy cured.


Once its dried you are now capable of making it look far less ugly that it does.
Final product:


"Fully loaded":


To anyone who's wondering, the AT2K is pumped by holding down the BBB trigger and moving the BBB from the cocked position to the normal 3-4 times.

Video:


Ranges:
BBB: 90-100 ft
AT2K: 40-50 ft

I decided to name it "Vicarious" because of a particular line of lyrics in the song "Vicarious" by Tool:
"Cause I need to watch things die... from a distance."
"Vicariously I live while the whole world dies."

Q's? C's? F's?

[CaliforniaPants]

Did you make sure to glue the NF to the bottom in halves? I sure hope you did. And speaking of the NF, how well did it fit after you cut off the handle? Was there adequate surface area for the epoxy to grab onto? Either way, this is a sweet integration and I'm looking to do this with a normal NF soon.

[Norther of Heaven]

No, this is an all or nothing mod. Its glued on as a whole. But that doesn't mean yours can't be in halves.

There was enough flat surface for the top of the NF to fit, and where that screw hole is below the barrel of the BBB, it fits the gap between the little barrel "ring" and the rest of the gun on the NF almost perfectly. just some sandpaper will do the trick.

[CaliforniaPants]

You are one crazy motherfucker for doing something like that. Is the whole grip cut off except for the screw hole, or just the grip part excluding the screw hole little ridge on the bottom of the gun? (I see how this is an odd thing to try to explain now) The picture was a bit dark, so I was just wondering.

[Norther of Heaven]

You are one crazy motherfucker for doing something like that. Is the whole grip cut off except for the screw hole, or just the grip part excluding the screw hole little ridge on the bottom of the gun? (I see how this is an odd thing to try to explain now) The picture was a bit dark, so I was just wondering.

Everything excluding the screw hole. i know what you meant.
And about the halves thing, i can always just cut away the hot glue and the front and back of where i glued down the NF shell, thats the only thing from keeping me from opening it. That and the screws, obviously.

[CaliforniaPants]

Everything excluding the screw hole. i know what you meant.
And about the halves thing, i can always just cut away the hot glue and the front and back of where i glued down the NF shell, thats the only thing from keeping me from opening it. That and the screws, obviously.

Oh ok, thanks for clearing that up. I think I'm going to do this with epoxy putty, normal epoxy doesn't like me very much, stuff gets glued to the wrong things. Thanks for re-motivating me to get on this project, and i hope yours stays together without problems.

[Norther of Heaven]

Everything excluding the screw hole. i know what you meant.
And about the halves thing, i can always just cut away the hot glue and the front and back of where i glued down the NF shell, thats the only thing from keeping me from opening it. That and the screws, obviously.

Oh ok, thanks for clearing that up. I think I'm going to do this with epoxy putty, normal epoxy doesn't like me very much, stuff gets glued to the wrong things. Thanks for re-motivating me to get on this project, and i hope yours stays together without problems.

I thought of doing this with Bondo, but that would've been too messy for my liking. Also thought of some crazy way to get halves of large PVC to hold the NF in place while the epoxy cured.

I had alot of ideas for this mod, including one where i took an empty tin can and make a shell for the AT2K tank with the Longshot's front gun's handle & trigger. Glad i didn't, it would've been very flimsy. But it was all part of the brainstorming process.

[Magic]

Very, Very nice.

[Thomas]

Ugh. Fuck you. But fuck you as in I'm just mad that I didn't think of this. Good job, I like it. I'm a fan of replacing the front handle of the BBB.

[Norther of Heaven]

Good job, creative way to attach the air tank. But the pump thing has been done before. This mod sticks out in my mind---> http://www.nerfhq.co...hp?topic=5597.0

Damn..thought i was the first. Thanks for letting me know, though.

[Falcon]

That's just plain awesome. I do have a thought/suggestion, though.

2k's, even quadded ones with barrels as short as yours are, should be getting more than 40-50 foot ranges. Since you've shortened the 2k's pump length by a fair margin, AND you have a larger tank to fill than before due to the sizable length of tubing, it's perfectly legitimate and safe (provided your tubing connections are glued securely and not leaking) to give it a few extra pumps. 3-4 pumps is ideal and expected for non-integrated 2ks with stock internals save pump plugging and barrel replacement, but you have more space to fill with a smaller pump now. I'd be willing to guess that with 6-7 pumps, you could get a more reasonable 70-80 feet out of your 2k, and the overall pressure would be about that of having 3-4 pumps on a standard set of internals. Your dart velocity will improve, and the effective range will be...well, far more effective.

GREAT work. I love it. One of these days, I'm gonna go buy another 3B. One of these days...

[Norther of Heaven]

That's just plain awesome. I do have a thought/suggestion, though.

2k's, even quadded ones with barrels as short as yours are, should be getting more than 40-50 foot ranges. Since you've shortened the 2k's pump length by a fair margin, AND you have a larger tank to fill than before due to the sizable length of tubing, it's perfectly legitimate and safe (provided your tubing connections are glued securely and not leaking) to give it a few extra pumps. 3-4 pumps is ideal and expected for non-integrated 2ks with stock internals save pump plugging and barrel replacement, but you have more space to fill with a smaller pump now. I'd be willing to guess that with 6-7 pumps, you could get a more reasonable 70-80 feet out of your 2k, and the overall pressure would be about that of having 3-4 pumps on a standard set of internals. Your dart velocity will improve, and the effective range will be...well, far more effective.

GREAT work. I love it. One of these days, I'm gonna go buy another 3B. One of these days...

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll definitely try it.
I was kinda unsatisfied with the AT2K ranges, anyways. And unless I hold down the trigger for about 1-2 seconds (nothing less) the ranges blow even more. Maybe i'll take some needle nose pliers and tilt the wire on the trigger pin a little more backwards to achieve more air being released. Anyways, thanks alot. Really, I'm honored you love it.

EDIT: Yes, Falcon was right. I can get 5-6 pumps in before the over pressure starts kicking in. Ranges are about 60-70. I think the turret on the AT2K may have an air leak where the tank meets the turret, so i'm going to investigate that when I get the chance. Probably just a bad seal is all.

[Natbeanz]

That is pretty cool

[Retiate]

That's really cool. I might have to do this with my BBB someday.
Definitely bend the pin down or do something so the air releases faster. You shouldn't have to hold the trigger down for any extra time at all.
And Vicarious is an amazing song.

[Norther of Heaven]

And Vicarious is an amazing song.

Win. Win win win win win win win. You sir, win. And thank you.