Updated July 20, 2008

I have a few markers (usually between 3 and 9, also known as "too many").  I tried to collect some rare or unique ones that I find artsy.  In early 2005 I sold about half of them... originally justified because I only have 2 arms and don't feel comfortable letting my newbie friends shoot rare/expensive markers.  But sadly, I have not been able to hold off, and have returned to my gun buying ways.  This collection is now less comprehensive, but probably more rare and more to my liking.  And yes, I like splash anodizing (though apparently that died out while I was an undergrad) and wood grips (only visually though - the 45 versions don't feel that good in your hand compared to Dye stickies).

What guns do I lack that I want?  I was thinking of an SFL e-mag, but I've gotten an almost equally rare non C&C X-mag so that might satisfy that need.  I like double barrel stuff... but no more Palmers (only because I already have one).  Westwoods with unique anno are always good - and I'd love to pick up a Revenge V2 LE in Jurassic Goo Anno.  Otherwise the list is getting pretty short.  But the bottom line is they have to be interesting; they have to have some character.  DM5's, Shockers, etc, are not....  Also, in my opinion some stuff was meant to be rare, because they suck (I see this with a lot of goofy cocker milling patterns).

Anyway... the middle picture is my old collection: camo Westwood, Twister, Reflex Evolution, Nasty Typhoon, Works E-blade, Race Westwood, Aurora, Worr-blade Evolution X.  I don't own all of these any more but at one time... what a setup.

Here are some more pictures of the guns I still own or added and descriptions:

I'm not listing them now by favorites, but instead by manufacturer.  Hmmm... new and old Belsales, new and old Eclipse, three Westwoods, new and old mags.  Didn't notice that pattern before.

2005 Racegun Halfblock.  Ok, for a while I started the list with the zebra Westwood, but I think perhaps I have found a gun to drop it down a notch.  A 1 of 3 camo anno'd Racegun halfblock.  Maybe not a rare as the Westwood, but an uber sweet marker that shoots better than anything else I own.  I was surprised when I got this just how much milling is on the body.  This thing is seriously light!  And it is one of the few half blocks that doesn't have the sled touching the body.  The other thing I like about this is the SM1 barrel kit.  I think it is really slick how they did a dust/polish spiral on the barrel. 

Definitely the near the tops of my collection so far with respect to playability and sheer speed.  As for specs, it has dual nylon détentes, a delrin bolt, clamping feed neck, CCM ram, Palmers micro rock, and Gladiator reg.  Racegun really did a good job with attention to detail on these things, everything goes together like a champ.  The only things I've added were a black CP on/off, and a black QEV/TRV combo on the ram.  I'm still tuning the settings as well, but it is running the latest ramping software. 

I did, btw, put an MQ valve in here for a little while, but I heard of people breaking their half block pump arms and such and so I took it out (though I suspect those issues were only loosely related to the MQ).  It works great in "mech" mode so why complicate it and risk breaking parts?

2002 Evolution X Autococker with Worr Blade frame.  Evolutions are not especially rare (or common), coming out of Belsales Performance in the UK and originally only being distributed by Smart Parts in the US.  In 1996 or so when they first came out they were one of the first limited run line of autocockers to sport reverse "P" blocks and 45 frames (as well as enlarged valve chambers).  All these things are now pretty standard.  They are known for their classy milling, ultra smooth trigger, nifty velocity adjuster (Rex kit) and Pro Team wire detente, and of course top of the line anodizing.  Interestingly, this is also the first aftermarket autococker to retain a WGP warranty.  For almost 10 years, when people mention top autocockers, Evolutions are almost always mentioned in the top 2-3.

I had (the now defunct) Max Anodizing do a reverse splash/fade on it because.... I think it looks cool!  They did great work.  The pattern was based off an old Westwood I had seen.  Very nice gun to shoot, probably the best all around gun I own.  This was my attempt at making the "perfect" gun.  Like the above two guns, it uses top of the line Belsales internals and pneumatics.  I also use stainless freak inserts with it, which shoot great (my aluminum freak set was stolen, but none of the barrels were).  It most recently sports a FBM delrin trigger and super light Orange bolt, which are pretty nifty.  I bought an Eclipse Zero-B board for it but it is still sitting in the box since the current setup works like a champ.  It runs at ~400 psi.

Started its life with me as dust black with chrome, which looked good. (1)  Took it apart to send to Max Anodizing though.  I'd make sure you label all your tiny parts! (2)  Got the parts back after a few weeks.  18 pieces total.  Nice! (3)

And a few more pics after a little work and it was all put back together.  The marker won Gun of the Month "Nicest Anodizing" in August 04.

The 97 Reflex Evolution is just about finished.  It is splash anodized bonsai green (green base with black sponge and silver splash) and sports a rare Boston Paintball reflex kit (see below), Shocktech front block screw, Palmers minirock LPR, Rat 3:16 valve, and Shocktech Phat hammer (dumb name).

Below is a close up of the Boston Paintball reflex kit.  I've never actually seen one at the field, and only knew of one other collector that owns one (Firepro - check out his Reflex pictures here).  Apparently being banned by the NPPL (it can be sweet spotted for full auto) and retailing at almost $500 didn't help!  Picture 3 shows some of the key features labeled as it sits mounted on my evolution.

My take: First of all, this thing is crazy. I've owned a bunch of autocockers (see above!) and NONE shoot like this. I read a review saying it is like pushing down hard on your ABS breaks, and I think that is a very accurate analogy. This gun seems to default to full auto, it really should be called an adjustable FA kit.  Boston Paintball ended up selling the patent (whose number is engraved on the thick grip frame) to Tippman, who subsequently used it for their successful RT triggers.  Interestingly, of all the years I've played I've never owned a Tippman.

I have to find a beaver tail long enough to cover the cocking rod, which is about a half inch longer than standard (to deal with the longer throw ram).

I've played a few days with this now.  The first day the high kick of the marker slipped it out of timing, so I blue lock tight'ed everything.  Then I started chopping.  So I put a JAM bolt on it.  Now I'm dealing with double feeds.  So I think the next step will be to put a normal length cocking rod on and see how that does.  Complicated kit but interesting... I'd love to keep it running 100% a whole game :-)

And of course if you're into that kind of stuff, here is a short video of my evolution + reflex kit showing slow and fast full auto, as well as switching it into non reflex mode and back again (youtube).

1996 Evolution Autococker.  This is pretty original - I just upgraded the pneumatics.  I saw it for sale about 3 years ago and loved the color - but I didn't get it.  It came back up for sale and I got it the 2nd time around.  It has all the matching components including a set of matching AA barrels, and solid Unireg on the vertical.  Glad it runs remote with the matching stock, because that Unireg is heavy!  This one's trigger feels very similar to the 95 Eclipse below.  Actually, the whole marker feels very similar...

One of the newest of the collection is a dust graphite to clear fade Eclipse Nexus DC2.  As with most of my eclipse gear, I picked this one up from the UK (and it took almost 8 weeks to get here!).  This really is what I would consider top of the non half/mid block autococker food chain.  In truth, these were really the last of the high end Eclipse autocockers and sported the Eclipse Dart LPR, a match anno'd Nexus Ram and QEV's (DC1's didn't have match anno'd QEV's I don't think), and a E2 trigger frame with built in beaver tail.  The more interesting things about this marker are some of the small things, like the fact that the vertical adapter and part of the front block are milled in once piece and retained on the body through the vertical adapter screw.  Also, the ram is held on by a stainless ram bracket (apparently on DC1's they used aluminum and some bent/broke).  Other small things include the fact that the solenoid wire is routed through the vertical adapter and the integrated beaver tail/snatch grip are cool.

The E2 frame itself is nice.  They did some good stuff with a wider trigger guard (though not compared to the Worr frame on my Evo), LCD screen (much easier to see in the Texas sun), and the solenoid is now fully enclosed (I hated cleaning that when it got shot).  The trigger is a lot thinner than original E1 frames but not as nice as a delrin trigger (in my opinion).  I haven't played with the ramping settings yet...

It also came with a delrin Dart bolt, WGP clamping feed neck, and Shaft Solo barrel (which looks great but annoys me because the front tip screws in opposite than a Dye or Freak tip..).  Oh yea - and the CNC milling is wicked.  BTW: the very last of the DC2's had ego feed necks and Star regulators - oh well.. (and the very first DC2's still had E1's with zero-b boards).

This is 1 of 10 Eclipse Aurora plated autocockers.  It is not anodizing, it is a method of plating called spectrum physical vapor disposition that requires between 20k and 40k volts to pass through the piece.  It ends up looking like an oil slick and Eclipse had to stop making them because the high voltage led to high failure rates which made the cost to producing them prohibitive.  This is the SECOND one of these I've owned!  I sold the first one, wanted another one, and found it on e-bay.  The guy didn't describe it too well so I ended up getting a good deal on it with only 2 other buyers (one of which was a buddy to whom I had sold the original aurora).

This gun is almost entirely stock.  I had originally been under the impression that there were 5 hinge framed ones, and 5 slider framed ones.  I have since found out there were potentially 3 that came from the factory with e-blades.  At any rate, sold the e-blade and have hid the body away in a padded case (like I am with the gold minimag) beside the zebra Westwood.  The e-blade is not the special part of the gun, and its value is dropping so I might as well get the money out of it while I can.  The marker was definitely played with btw, and the plating held up great (one small chip where the feed neck is pressed in, and a small bubble near the ball detente - but that's it).  I just think this is not a loaner marker if I'm shooting my half block most of the time.

Update - so of all random things, I was checking out e-bay (that in and of itself is not random), but I saw an "Eclipse aura frame" for sale.  Of course I bought it!  As the bottom picture shows, my aurora is now complete in mech form, never again to have an electro frame strapped to it.

Next up is a 1995 (?) Eclipse Autococker (its serial number is in the 9000's).  These were high end back at the same time the evolution above was, and they were probably anodized at the same shop in Europe.  I really like the anno on this gun and it reminds me a bit of the evolution that got stolen (in fact one of the barrels and the grip frame in the first picture are from that stolen 97 evo).  It also features some nice milling.  I recently added a delrin jam bolt, AKA Sidewinder reg, and drop and it shoots like a champ.

PBX 'autorocker' prototype.  This is definitely one of the more unique pieces in my collection.  The story goes like this:  In 2003-2004ish PBX developed the MQ valve for the autococker, basically replacing all the lower tube mechanical internals with an electronically driven solenoid/poppet setup (no - I am not an electrical/mechanical engineer, so that description is probably wrong and I don't feel like looking it up - but you get the idea).  Anyway, there were many delays in getting it to market, and major supply issues.  After the first batch of valves went out, they began advertising that they were going to be building a limited run midblock autococker and aftermarket grip frame based around the MQ valve (which eliminates sear geometry issues and allows some cool stuff - like my raced nasty typhoon hopefully).  They made a few prototypes (using legit WGP bodies as a base) and posted some videos on the internet of them shooting ~30 balls per second - very impressive and getting a lot of attention from the autococker community.  Unfortunately, things fell apart at PBX in 2005 and the company effectively dissolved.  A second wave of MQ valves had come out but the supply has since evaporated, and the 'autorocker' never hit the market.  In mid 2006 I started talking to 2 of the original designers of the MQ valve who had left PBX and who had one of the prototypes of the autorockers for sale to fund other projects.  Apparently there are less than 10 other working models out there, and maybe another 30-50 bodies and frames that will probably never be put together or see the light of day.  The code for the frame board for example was largely lost in a hard drive crash...

As mentioned, this bad boy was based on a true WGP body with an eblade style MQ valve as the "guts."  The entire cocking mass was ~25 grams, with an ultra light delrin bolt and pull pin (even the bolt retainer is delrin - cool!) and tiny delrin sled.  For maximum speed, they used an small bore ANS/Clippard miniram with QEV's.  It runs at a slightly higher pressure than a Nexus ram, but it is faster.  The milling is conservative but looks nice, but at the end of the day the trigger frame is where the magic is.  It is a timmy (!) style trigger pushing on a 25g microswitch.  Since there is no solenoid issues with the MQ valve, they could fit a much smaller board run off a 9volt and even implement wrap around 45 grips (awesome).  It also supports beam break or reflective eyes.  On this one, they used beam break eyes that are very similar to Racegun's in the way that the eye covers hold down dual delrin detents and springs.  As far as interface goes, it uses a very eblade like green LED screen and three button interface.  Here is a link to the frame manual put out be the original inventor: http://www.kajohnson.com/files/frameman.pdf.

Shooting the marker is very impressive - true to marketing claims, there is almost ZERO kick.  The marker just doesn't move at all.  And the trigger feel is fantastic.  Since this is a prototype, it also has full auto available (but no ramping), but I haven't played with that yet.  Other thing that is interesting - apparently there was a manufacturing error on the first batch, that resulted in the geometry between the ram an sled being off.  Because of this on my autorocker they had to use a stainless (heavier) pump arm and lock it into the sled with pins.

Lately I've picked up a clamping feedneck, a Deadlywind carbon fiber barrel, and a Palmers Stabilizer for it.  I'm also going to put an MQ2 in soon.  Its really a shame this never got widely distributed - its a great marker with lots of potential.

Here are some pics comparing so of the parts to my Racegun halfblock - and peaks into a few of the other parts:

Update:  I bought a second of the kits and now have TWO.  Will finish one and probably sell it... (update- which is exactly what I did).

E-mag eXtreme: aka- European non C&C X-mag.

I manage to pick up markers from all over the place.. especially the rare ones.  Now a days, all the popular sites like PBNation will ensure that you either miss the marker (because some vulture jumps on it before you), or you will pay a lot of $$.  I don't like either of those options, so I had to find more creative ways to grab interesting markers. 

The aurora, for example, I got off e-bay when a friend let me know it was miss-listed.  The camo half block I worked out a trade with the Racegun rep directly.  The Westwood's I also contacted the owners directly and said "when you're selling, let me know." The zebra one ended up coming from the UK.  In fact, once I bought that one I started buying more from there... if you can get a decent shipping rate you can almost always get great prices since there is much less demand than here in the US.  So I got the Eclipse mag from there, the Eclipse cocker from there, and now.. this X-mag.

I have always been intrigued with X-mags, and they came in basically 3 flavors: the C&C version, the non C&C version, and Shocktech's SFL version.  The SFL is the rarest, and I would guess the non C&C is the second, since it was never released in the US (AGDE had a non compete clause as part of their licensing terms).  Mine is a very early example of a non C&C X-mag, which I had actually been searching a while for.  More honestly, I bought an x-mag from a guy in the UK last year but it turned out that he didn't send it, withdrew the money from paypal, etc.  I managed to recover my funds 6 months after the fact through an online prosecution tool that Her Majesty nicely provides, but it was a hassle.  Soooo, 8 months later I decided to look for another one.

This was owned by a former member of Storm, Air Gun Design Europe's factory team.  The thing I love about x-mags is the interchangeable breach.  You can swap from vertical to warp feed in like a minute... its just cool as hell.  The module is then retained by the barrel.  Other cool features of the x-mag are the fact that it has an Anti Chop Eye, and this particular one also has a level 10 kit install, which is basically an anti chop bolt system that is functionally the same as the wonderful JAM bolt on all my cockers.  You can also tell it is an early model because it has an on/off switch on the bottom of the battery pack (besides the fact that it has an emag valve with a serial # in the one thousands).  Later they went on and used a pin.

What don't I like about this gun?  Well, the fact that it doesn't take standard wrap around grips is lame.  The battery is too big (they had to use a large solenoid).  Cool things?  Besides the modules, ACE, and Level 10 bolt, I like the electronic and physical safeties.  I always thought it was retarded how on e-blades you turned the gun off by PULLING THE TRIGGER!??!  That is just stupid design.  Turn off = pull trigger.  Good way to shoot people in the staging zone.  Racegun got it better (green vs red lights for safety, you don't have to turn the gun off), and AGD got it best.  I'll have to play with it more and report back though.

Oh yea, I also got a warp feed as part of the deal - and something from AGD Europe call the 'X-Power' module.  This and a warp interface cable allow me to trigger the warp every time the trigger is pulled, and power it off the Xmag batter.  Speaking of, I had to replace the stock 650 mAH NiCAD one that crapped out on me with a 1000 mAH NiCAD one.  More power!  Also lately it is sporting XMOD 1.8 ramping software.  Very slick.

C&C X-mag was yet another AGD Europe marker that I picked up from the UK.  Whats the deal with that?  Anyway, I just got it but it works like a champ.  Like my X-mag above, it has level 10, a working anti chop board, and 3.2 software.  I think I'm going to mod this one a bit - maybe a theme?  For now it has XMOD 1.8 ramping software and a fireblade trigger.  Gotta get a clamping feed neck soon!  It is pictured with a Deadlywind whisper barrel - which is quite sweet (it takes freak inserts) and quite hard to find a good deal on! :-)

24k gold plated Minimag.  I'm not sure what the scoop on these are, but they are rare.  I have heard there are less than 10 of these and they were never released directly to the public, only internally at AGD and as prizes at raffles.  Fewer still are "complete" - i.e. they have the valve and body.

The valve is completely plated and etched minimag, as is the body.  The serial number on this one  is GG0010 (I use to own GG0009 also); with GG standing for "Golden Gun".  I picked #10 up on E-bay; it came missing all the valve internals, bolt, sear, etc (it was just a show piece).  Right now I have it as a solid 24k gold setup; after tracking down a 24k Custom Products barrel, a gold plated Eclipse kit (with crappy tolerances), and a gold plated stock frame.  I don't play with this...

Banzai Eclipse Minimag   I picked up an ~1999 Level 7 Bonzai Green splashed Eclipse automag from the UK that came with an old WDP Govnair nitrogen system and matching 1.9 Liter bottle, as well as a matching Jacko Infinity barrel.  Unfortunately I can't use the Govnair because the bottle is not DOT approved (which means I can't even hydro test it).  Oh yea, another nifty thing you can see in the picture is a matching squeegee holder mounted on the rail (a 'side car').

Lately I added a Pro Line autoresponse frame on it, which shoots on pull and release.  Like the Boston Paintball Reflex kit, the autoresponse was outlawed at tournaments.  Not sure how many are out there, but I think this came out around 1992-1993.  When shooting it, you notice a long heavy trigger pull due to the spring in the grip frame.  But once you get in a rhythm with it, you can really shoot a lot of paint fast (especially in 1992, when most folks were still sporting pumps).  Also very quick for 2 ball snap shots.  The design btw is interesting... because of the spring, you don't drop the sear down into the frame, but you push it up through the rail to put the pin in.  Also, my frame was modified by Pro Line with a set screw behind the trigger to allow it to shoot in non response mode.

This clip shows the sear moving without air, and then a quick demo of it shooting with air (youtube).

1998 Westwood Autococker with race frame and custom eye covers by Raceguns Dk.  Westwoods were probably one of the most expensive autocockers ever made (along with the Aurora), clocking in at around $1700 and took 6-8 months to get after ordering from Danny Love and Bad Boyz Toyz at some points.  When they came out they were pretty universally held as the best autocockers ever made, with all top of the line parts and one of the most rare and distinctive milling patterns available...

I like this particular one A) because it is a rare Westwood with slick organic milling B) because of the sick anodizing done by G3 Paintball and C) race frames are awesome.  Interestingly, there are a few additional custom features including a custom STO type back block and Eclipse Dart bolt turned to take o-rings.  I had to have this shipped over from Europe, and am still searching for a few of the match anodized parts.  I had a 05 chrome race frame on it with top of the line pneumatics and internals from Eclipse/Belsales.  Never seen anything like this before or since I picked it up.  This marker won Gun of the Month "Best in Show" for January 05 on www.automags.org.  I sold the 05 race frame because I got the half block and because Raceguns was rumored to be coming out with an 88 degree frame with a USB interface early in 06.  That didn't happen so it has a chrome E2 frame on it right now that I setup with beam break eyes on.  It runs off an 04 macdev conquest tank - which is great.

Here is a good view of the cool milling.  To my knowledge Westwoods came in 2 flavors - 2 dish and 4 dish bodies.  This is a 4 dish body.  Racegun (in Denmark) said it took 5 tries to make custom eye covers for this thing.

1999 Lava Westwood Autococker annoed orange/red acid wash with silver splash.  It was owned by Danny Tiljack of Dynasty before me (though I'm really not into quasi "celebrity" markers).  This is a 4 scoop model like my zebra Westwood.  It has a sidewinder regulator, Belsales pneumatics, and Shocktech internals.  Also sports a delrin JAM bolt, the best autococker mod since sliced bread.  It is pictured with a freak kit and Doc Nickel "flash point" freak tip (I also have a longer Whitewolf boomstick style freak tip for it).  Oh yea, and as a 1999 cocker, it has a threaded IVG.  Yea!

1999 Fade Westwood Autococker annoed black to grey fade with reverse splash.  Quit a beautiful marker, this has a match anno'd Air America reg, and full set of match annoed DYE boomsticks.  Also has original Shocktech Superfly bolt, chrome 3 way, chrome Palmers reg, and chrome Clippard ram.

Demonic Racegun Autococker annoed dust silver to green fade.  This line of markers was commissioned for the Demonic Factory Kids Team and made by Free Flow.  Unfortunately, that team never really materialized, the batch was stopped, and only 13 were made (this one is #006).  Not too impressive looking from a distance, but up close the milling is awesome!  This one had a Professional Paintball 9volt Race Frame (which sucks - its milled too thin and looks like it could break), Free Flow internals, and a Gladiator reg.  I also threw on a White Wolf boom stick style freak back and have recently added a rechargeable battery to (which plugs right in).

Splatt Attack Revenge V2LE annoed blue to light blue fade with yellow splash.  I love this marker - and I had been looking for one of these for a while.  I actually had bid on this marker about 3 years prior, but I think insulted the seller with my bid and lost out.  Just recently it came back up for sale, and I jumped on it at a bit higher price than my original offer (live and learn).  It's great because it has a hinge trigger frame (sliders are nice, but I prefer hinge), and all sorts of match annoed components including both a freak tip and a boomstick tip.  A couple things that make the revenge LE line rock:  the 3 way is inline with the trigger, so there is a smoother pull and no kinking, ultra light milling, and all AKA internals including a merlin sized AKA tornado valve - so this puppy runs at very low pressure.  Really happy to pick this one up.  I've also added a trinity T-lock feedneck to it - a cool item that is out of production but I have managed to pickup and put on most of my vert feed markers that didn't have clamping feednecks stock.