13 replies to this topic

[slowguitarman]

Well, I first have to say that if it weren’t for the contest ending tonight, I would never post this. It’s not up to my standards for my own work, but it is still functional and will hopefully get people a start for obtaining a Splitfire without shelling out $70+ nowadays.

The original idea came for this when I made the Boltok pistol. I figured that if one tank in an NF shell was good, two would be better. Also, because of new pump placement, I figured I could use two full-sized pumps instead of one shortened one.

Here’s a little pro and con list for this gun vs. the SF:

Pros:
Way cheaper
Longer range
Less pumps

Cons:
You have to build it
Takes up two AT2k tanks

Materials:

1 Nitefinder
2 AT2k tanks and pumps
1’ 9/16” brass
~6” 19/32” brass
Epoxy putty
Some sort of super glue
Hot glue



The best place to start is probably with the NF shell. You need to make room for all the tubing and the tanks. It’s a fairly tight fit to get everything in, but it can be done without too much hassle. I’ll try to let the pics speak for themselves as to what has to go in order to everything to fit.

Here’s the stock shell:



Now, cut out the little posts sticking up inside the “laser”:



After that, cut out this area for the top tank:



You also need to remove some stuff in these areas in order to get the tubing where it needs to go:




You can also remove the Nstrike rail completely. I forgot to take a picture of this, but you just have to cut straight across the top. You’ll be able to tell in the pics where the pumps are attached.

Once you get all the stuff done on the shell, you can start on the triggers.

The trigger on the bottom tank is going to be a keyring on the pin of the tank. To do this, just bend it down about ½” from the back of the pin:



Now, just split the ring a bit and put it over the pin. Make sure that the ring is about 1/8” away from the NF trigger when it’s epoxied into place.



Now move onto the other trigger. This tank will fire from the original NF trigger. To do this, you need a part from the LS front gun:



It could be replaced with a different piece, but this is the easiest thing to use. Once you have the piece, cut it like so:



Take the top left piece from that pic and cut a slit in it about halfway up and wide enough for the NF trigger to slip into You‘ll also have to cut out a slit in the top of that piece that‘ll go around the tank pin:

[slowguitarman]

You also need to smooth down the ridges on the NF trigger:



Now just glue the badboy into place. I prefer Fishin’ Glue, but you can use whatever:



You also need to cut a bit off of the back of the trigger in order for it to move far enough. You can see that in the previous pic. Also, you need to cut out some areas around the trigger in order for your new trigger to move:



Here's what the tanks should look like in the shell:



Now that you’ve done all that crap, glue your tubing onto the tanks and get it routed up through the shell and out of the hole for the NF plunger rod. The bottom tanks tubing will go underneath the trigger hole in the shell, and the top tank’s will go straight back. Once those are glued down, You’re ready to attach your pumps.

Just hold the two pumps side by side and the stick ‘em on with hot glue. Simple as that:




One more thing about the pumps. The little nubs that the tubing attaches to break off easily, so I replaced them with tiny brass tubing.

The trickiest part of this mod is rigging up the pumps and breeches in a way that they all work together and can be pumped like a typical airgun. To do this, I made these pieces out of 1” dowel rod:




The two holes are 1 ½” from center to center on my gun. You need to make sure that the holes line up with the tank openings. If they don’t, the pump won’t move right. I would recommend drilling the holes with a drill press if you have one.

Once those holes are good, you need to sand/cut out the spots for the ends of the pumps to attach to. The best thing I can say for this is to be patient and make it look like the picture. Then drill a hole through the holes on the pump handles and put a bolt through.

After you get those drilled and cut, it’s time for the barrels and breeches.

I used 9/16” brass barrels and 19/32” over that. To get the 19/32” in place, cut them into lengths of about 3” and slide them over 6” lengths of 9/16”. Push those pieces through the holes in the wood until they go over the little nubs sticking out of the AT2k tanks. Epoxy those 19/32” pieces onto the wooden parts.

Now cut half pipes into the barrels and glue them onto the nubs. I used 1 ¾” breech holes, but it depends on how long your darts are.



Here’s a pic of it functionally finished:



It gets normal AT2k ranges, but the normal 4 or so pumps gets you two shots instead of one.

Two things that I would recommend doing are:

Reinforce the pump handles. They’re a bit flimsy because of the torque caused by the place of pumping being below the pumps.

I would also put some sort of handle on the wood to make it more comfy to pump.

I will do those things and more sometime. I just wanted to get it done enough to enter into the contest.

Questions? Comments?

[Icespartan 1114]

Great work. I really like the concept. Nice work.

[PointBlank]

Great work, I love the cleanliness of the internals, but the front pumping/loading mech could be allot cleaner. (less electrical tape etc.) Good luck in the contest!

[Soothsayer]

I was in /love/ with this thing until the last 3 pictures. It's just way too ugly for my tastes. I think connecting the stock AT2K pumps together with a polycarbonate strip (crafted into a handle shape) and just couplers would've been a much better turn out for this.

But I do need to give credit where it's do, I can't hate this thing just because it's not /my/ style.

Great job, SGM.

[white moonlight]

Holy crap that is amazing.

The concept is great.

So what if it's not the cleanest gun inthe world. It works.

[durka durka]

Nicely done.The gun is very innovative, a more important aspect of the gun than its cleanliness. Connecting the pumps and breeches makes for shorter reload times, almost as if you were reloading only one at2k

[Bedhed117]

Thats a nice gun. I agree that it needs a handle but other than that its good. I like guns that are functional and don't care at all about how they look. This is a nice replicate of an old expensive gun. Shoots farther, faster reload,, cheaper, more accurate, what more can you want?

[slowguitarman]

As a general reply to everyone: Thanks. Also, I stated right in the first post that this isn't as good as I want it. I spent a few evenings about a month ago doing the shell up to fit the airtanks in. I did the barrels, breeches and all of the pump stuff in one evening. Anyone who's looked at my other stuff knows that I am all about doing clean, pretty mods, but I had to finish this up quickly to get it in on time.

Soothsayer, I had planned to use polyC on this for the handle, but, as I said, this was much quicker. I doubt that will be very soon though. I need to finish my LS before APOC. It's one of my primaries, so it is much more important to me personally.

Again, thanks everyone.

EDIT: I also forgot to say that I used wood for the ease of replication. Part of the point of this contest was to build something that's widely useful. Using the wood dowel makes it easier for someone else to replicate.

Edited by slowguitarman, 25 July 2009 - 12:45 AM.

[roboman]

Very nice job! It really needs a two-stage trigger, like on the actual Splitfire...maybe something from a Double Shot?

I would also put some sort of handle on the wood to make it more comfy to pump.

You're just asking for it...

added that hilarious quote to my signature, while playing with my butthole.

Edited by roboman, 25 July 2009 - 03:45 PM.

[slowguitarman]

Very nice job! It really needs a two-stage trigger, like on the actual Splitfire...maybe something from a Double Shot?

I would also put some sort of handle on the wood to make it more comfy to pump.

You're just asking for it...

added that hilarious quote to my signature, while playing with my butthole.

Thanks, but are you serious about the trigger? It works exactly like a two stage trigger. You pull the ring far enough for the bottom tank to fire and then pull it until the NF trigger gets pulled. Or you can pull all the way to fire both at once.

[roboman]

Thanks, but are you serious about the trigger? It works exactly like a two stage trigger. You pull the ring far enough for the bottom tank to fire and then pull it until the NF trigger gets pulled. Or you can pull all the way to fire both at once.

Ohhhhh... that makes sense...

Sorry, I'm posting from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and I'm a bit out of it after 22 hrs in a biplane...

[wingd man]

Great start... maybe integrate this into another nitefinder with a longer plunger tube (Daedelus). If I were to do that, just my personal preference, but I'd not link the breech and attach a handle to the pumps...

Edited by wing'd man, 27 July 2009 - 11:37 PM.

[slowguitarman]

Great start... maybe integrate this into another nitefinder with a longer plunger tube (Daedelus). If I were to do that, just my personal preference, but I'd not link the breech and attach a handle to the pumps...

I don't think I understand what you're trying to say. Why would I put a gun that takes up an entire NF shell into another NF shell? Why does plunger tube size matter? Why wouldn't you put a handle on the pumps?