Paintball

[chopper duke]

I recently picked up the new Tippmann TPX in a trade (maybe the first TPX acquired used?). Anyway, I went to examining it right away. Rather than do an entire review and then list the pros and cons, I’m going to go step by step and list them.

Initial Impression
When I first I picked it up and placed it in each hand, I noticed the weight of it, the feel and the heft. The body is a polycarbonate material. It’s Plastic. A nice, sturdy Plastic, but it’s Plastic. Don’t get me wrong this isn’t a bad thing. An all-metal gun would be crazy heavy. It is top heavy. It reminded me of a Glock, also a “Plastic” Gun, in that respect. The gun did not feel bad in my hands, but I noticed, that like the Tac8/9 it looks smaller in pictures.

While holding it, I took my shooting grip (I’ve shot a LOT of handguns) and noticed that while holding the TPX the same way I would a “real” semi-auto handgun, I could not depress the magazine button like I normally would (I’ll get into this more later). The grips are a little too big and the button isn’t quite accessible without me moving my hands, and I have long fingers. However, the lines on the back and front strap provide a good grip. I have not tried it with gloves on, but I have a feeling the gun will allow for a decent purchase with minimal slipping, even with wet/ slick hands.
Pics:




Cons:
1. “Plastic” feel.
2. A little on the “robust” side
3. Not as ergonomic as I would like

Pros:
1. Good weight and feel
2. Doesn’t feel “toy-ish”
3. Frame has a positive non-slip feel to it


From the Top
Starting at the top of the marker and working down we first see the loaded chamber indicator window. This is a little piece of plastic at the top of the gun that allows you to see if there’s a round in the “chamber”. This is nice if the paint is a light enough color to see. I was using a grey/ purple JT Hydro round that’s pretty dark.

From there we move on to the sights. These are pathetic and shouldn’t be called sights. Trying to use them is an exercise in futility and makes me glad sights are all but a non-issue in paintball. At least for me anyway. I have a feeling that a little white model paint would really help and I may try that.

From there we move down to the Aluminum Barrel Shroud. This is the black metal piece that says TPX on it. This is actually a pretty nice piece and when left off, the gun looks, well, silly. I tried it. I also believe that someone with a little imagination could do something nifty (yes, I said nifty) with this.


Inside that, we have the barrel. The stock barrel really isn’t bad and goes well with the rest of the gun. I really liked that my Loudener fit it very well. My paint to bore match was spot on using the summer fill of the Hydro. I am glad this is A5 threaded and look forward to future barrels coming out. I would love to see a freak barrel made to fit this.

Under the barrel is the 12gram port. This. Is. A. Joke. Well, not the port really, but the knob. I’m sure others have said it because I’ve read it, but this thing is a joke. It’s small, ill fitting and is pretty much a joke. I’m hoping this is one of those things that Tippmann was working on when they realized how late they were in releasing the TPX and have a better idea in the works. I would prefer a fast changer to this. This HAS to be (IMHO) the worst part of the entire gun.

Moving down we come to the “tac” rail or accessories rail. This is your standard military picatinny rail which allows for the mounting of a white light source or a laser if the use so wishes. Mounting is easy and secure. I rummaged around until I found my old Surefire 6P with a weaver (brand) mount and put it on. It fit on well, attached quickly and felt secure. I also have a Loudener from Altec that I put on there and it works well. Definitely a difference in the sound with it on and it adds to the “coolness” factor as well. However, neither can be used or installed if using a holster. I have an infinity tactical holster that I tried this well, and while the gun fits very well, the magazine and the accessories did not. I would suggest sticking to the TPX holster.





Moving backwards we come to the safety. I have mixed feelings about his. It’s a dual o-ring safety. One is red to signify hot and one is black to signify safe. This safety is stiff, but once you push it, you know it’s either hot or not and you’re not worried about it slipping safe in the middle of a game, or slipping hot afterwards.



Under the safety is the trigger. The trigger is a “skeleton” style and I believe it’s cast Aluminum. I’ve heard it was Aluminum and also heard speculation it was pot metal. I believe it’s cast AL. I have been wrong before. Like so many other paintball markers, I would imagine a replacement will be made, but this one seems to work fine. Time will tell though.


The frame/ grips are decent. There is a decent pattern on the “grips” themselves to aid in holding and prevent slipping. They’re not too rough, but kinda hokey. There are also six windows, three on each side, of the frame. This is to allow you to see how many paintballs are left. Well, I guess to see if you at least have that many in your magazine. Again, I was using dark paint, so this wasn’t a huge help, but is a nice idea nonetheless.

Behind the trigger is the magazine release button. It is NOT a clip. It is a magazine. Anyway, I’m going to cover the release button, the magazine well and the magazine all-together. When holding the TPX as I would any other handgun, the release button is a fraction of an inch from my thumb. That means that I have to adjust my grip, taking the marker of target to release the magazine. I don’t like doing that. I like to keep the gun on the target without having to adjust this and that. I also like to keep my eyes on the target while I reload. Now I understand that the grip is a little wide, but I want to be able to depress that button without moving. If a longer button is made available, I will buy it. I want to be able to run my thumb down the side of the grip and feel it. Now sure, I can use my off hand to hit the button, but I have NEVER practiced or trained that way AND, you play like you practice. From there, we go to the magazine well. The Mag well is wide enough to allow the magazine to drop freely and the force with which it is ejected is enough to allow the mag to fall freely from the gun. I HATE a mag that gets stuck (Tac 8 what?) What I would LOVE to see is a beveled edge on the mag well. Or something I can add a bevel with. I’m sure with enough practice, I can get fast with a reload of a mag, but a beveled magwell always helps. The magazine itself is a neat piece. It’s not heavy, and the body feels different from the base plate. I believe the base plate could take a good fall onto concrete/ black top and survive. Reloading the magazine in a hurry could prove to be problematic, but there’s a video on You Tube showing how to do it with a ten round tube. I practiced it and it works, but my ten round tubes are so old, the lips have a hard time holding that retention arm back. If you look at the top of the magazine, at the back, you’ll see a little divot. When the magazine is loaded into the TPX, there’s a small piece of plastic (sorry, Polycarbonate) that pushes the retention arm back.

Cons:
1. Sights are worthless
2. Safety is an o-ring style and a bit stiff
3. Trigger feels cheap
4. Magazine release button to small/ not far enough out
5. Magwell not beveled
6. Magazine not easy to reload quickly
7. 12 gram knob
8. 12 gram knob (yes, I listed it twice it is that bad)

Pros:
1. Loaded chamber indicator
2. AL Barrel Shroud instead of more plastic
3. Decent stock barrel with A5 threads
4. Accessories rail that feels secure
5. Secure feeling safety (won’t slip in a game)
6. Metal trigger (even if it feels cheap, at least it’s metal)
7. Grip “windows”
8. Decently prices and somewhat sturdy magazines


It’s what’s on the inside that counts
The next thing I did, after looking it over well, ejecting the magazine a few times and putting some do-dads on it, was to open it up. I ejected the magazine, took of the CO2 knob and removed the barrel.

I then went to work on the seven allen screws. They use a 1/8 allen key. There are three different lengths of screws. There are two short screws that both go in the accessories rail, one long screw that goes right in the middle at the top, just in front of the loaded chamber indicator, and four medium size screws that are located at the other points on the body. One by the lanyard hole, one at the top of the back strap, one by the rear sights and one by the front sights.

To disassemble, unscrew the top middle screw (the longest one) and then push the barrel shroud back towards the back of the marker. This will allow this screw to slid out easily. Then take out the remaining screws. Once done, look at the bottom of the gun, into the magwell. You’ll see a little hook holding the clamshell together. Unhook this by gently, yet firmly sliding the two pieces apart. Then, holding the safety, remove the top half of the clamshell. Agent Smith (Rob) has a good You Tube video showing this.





Once I got it apart, I thought two things.
1. This looks like a mag (which we knew)
2. This looks like a cheap mag.
I say that because of the way it appeared and this was my first impression. I looked at the 12gram knob sleeve. I took it out and noticed it was held in place by 4 holes on each side of the sleeve aligned with four plugs on each half of the clamshell. The plugs go into the holes and keep it from moving around. I also noticed the sleeve was thicker than I expected. That’s a good thing.



Moving back from there we come to the pierce pin assembly. This is a neat concept. The trigger pivots forward, pushing in the puncture pin cap. This in turns pushes the puncture pin into the 12gr. I believe this piece (the cap) is made out of delrin. I’m anxious to see if this wears down. Attached to the puncture pin assemble is the air fitting and gas tube. The gas tube fits right into the air fitting at both ends and fits nicely. It’s actually an ingenious little piece that will make cleaning easy. The other end fits into the air fitting on the regulator. Now, I believe that the air fitting will be switched out for the remote adapter to be installed, but I’ll know more about that later when it comes in.







The regulator is attached to the valve via a second short gas line that’s just like the longer one. I would like to see what people could do by playing with some springs as far as efficiency goes. The Velocity adjuster is on the back of course.



The valve is VERY similar to that of a mag in outer appearance anyway. I was most curious as to whether or not a mag bolt would work or if the valve could be modified to fit a level 10 bolt. I don’t think it’s going to be possible without some serious modding. I took some comparison pictures next to a Level 7 bolt. They’re about the same length but the base on the level 7 is thicker, not that that really matters. Also, the TPX bolt is wider on the inside and the tip is a plastic of delrin. I tried to put the Mag bolt on the TPX and the power tube would not fit inside the bolt. The power tube assembly appears to be made of delrin or something similar and I would have liked to see this made out of AL.








In front of that is the breech. This is basically a machine piece of AL that has six holes and two o-rings. Hole one is for the loaded chamber window on top. Hole two for the détente, hole three for the barrel, hole four for the ball to load from the bottom and hole five for the bolt. I picked those numbers so they don’t really have any meaning. There is also a slot in the top if for that long mounting screw on the top. Keeps the breech in place as well. What I noticed about this is that the machining is really rough. You can see machine marks inside it as well. I guess some lapping is in store for me. I would like a clean ball delivery as well as bolt movement. Along with the breech is the détente. This is just set in there and is a pain when reassembling, so I put a couple drops of super glue behind it to keep it in place. The second thing I noticed is that the second of the two o-rings, the larger one at the back, does NOT like to stay where it’s supposed to stay. After a couple times of fighting with it on reassembly, I let it fall and once everything was in place, THEN I put it back where it was supposed to be. You can actually see on the reassembly pics that it wasn’t staying. Another thing I like to do is once I get the breech and valve in place, I like to screw the barrel in place and then slide the shroud over it. I have found for me anyway, that this makes it easier to get it all to fit and not want to pop out.






Putting it back together is actually pretty simple once you get the breech, valve and barrel shroud in. Mind the safety and the mag release button (This really does need to be longer) and the side fit back together well. Pop the mag well hook back together and then I start at the corners with the screws. Front sight, lanyard loop, rear sight, front accessory rail, then the middle ones leaving the longest one for last. Again, push the shroud towards the back to slide that long screw in.





Cons:
1. Cheap looks
2. Cheapish pierce pin cap
3. Bolt not compatible with Mag and seems to have a “plastic” tip
4. Delrin (or similar) power tube not Aluminum
5. Non-“finished” breech
6. O-ring on breech is a PITA
7. Détente not held in place by anything other than breech

Pros:
1. It’s secured well with the 7 screws
2. Thick 12gr sleeve
3. Gas tube allows for easy cleaning
4. Ability to swap air fitting on regulator and add a remote line
5. Ease with which the marker breaks down for cleaning
6. Mag like design
7. External rear velocity adjustment


Field Trials
Well, I wanted to get an idea of how she shot. I also wanted to check consistency, accuracy and efficiency. On top of the normal things, I wanted to try some oddball stuff as well.

First thing I did was to load two magazines with JT Hydro Summer fill. Purple and grey shell, blue fill. I loaded each with 8 rounds and then placed a 12gr in the TPX (I made sure the safety was on as well). I like the way the 12gr pierces with that first shot. I know some people thing this will be an issue when on the field, and it may be if you change 12gr during a game, but when going on the field, it’s like a BBD. Something that you need to remember to take care of before the game actually starts. There is a noticeable sound when the 12gr is pierced.

The first thing I did was test how many “useable” shots I could get off of one 12gr when shooting with about a one second pause between shots. I deliberately did not count shots so that I would use the sound of the CO2 only shots to let me know when to reload, just like I would in a game. Doing it this way, I believe I wasted two shots between the first and second mag and two between the second and third magazine. I was able to get three full magazines out of one 12gr this way. I put in a fourth and started getting drop off by the second shot and by the end of the magazine, they were rolling out of the barrel. Time for the first 12gr change.

I dropped the magazine and attempted to change the 12gr. Nothing-doing. SO, I continued to shoot “air” until I thought the gun had discharged it all and there was still some pressure in there. However, the first 12gr wasn’t terribly difficult to change out.

On this second 12gr, I wanted to see how many shots I could rip off before the 12gr went out. I loaded up the first mag and shot them as fast as I could, went about three shots over the 8 and then loaded up the second mag. Again, went about three shots over my 8 and then loaded a third mag up and inserted it. I didn’t get but about half way through when they started falling off. I didn’t notice shoot down while I was firing off the magazines, but I wasn’t paying attention.

At this point, I figured I would try a “tactical reload”. Again, nothing-doing. I dropped the mag and while two stayed in the mag, the other two fell to the ground. Basically, it’s about impossible to perform a “tactical reload” with this, but I’m not really surprised. This was one of those things I wanted to test though.

Next up was the accuracy check. I wanted to see how I could do when I took my time and really aimed my shots. The first magazine I went through I really used to get an idea of where the gun was shooting. It shoots a little higher than those lovely sights were telling me on a 5-gallon bucket 20 yards away. I was shooting two handed from a level surface. Anyway, I was able to place 7 of the 8 paintballs on the 5-gallon bucket at 20 yards. The one that missed went wide right. Could have been the paintball, could have been me. I wasn’t shooting fast, but wasn’t shooting slow either. Maybe 2 to 2.5 second between shots. I don’t have a home chronograph, so I can’t tell you speeds, but like I said before, each round wanted to go a little high. This could be because I was shooting at a relatively close target. I would however, like to see some other barrels come out.

Next I tried a couple of odd things to see how the TPX would handle them. The first was a breech drop paintball. Basically, no magazine is loaded and you drop a paintball into the breech and fire. This is difficult since the paintballs are loaded from the bottom. However, holding the TPX somewhat upside down and firing it can do it, but I wouldn’t recommend this. No real reason.

The second thing was to see if I could load 9 small paintballs into the magazine and shoot them. I have some VERY VERY small paint my wife bought me for Christmas. It’s Stryker paint and will roll out of my reball insert for my Freak barrel. It’s CRAZY small. Anyhow, I was able to get 9 paintballs in the magazine. Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either. Anyway, the first mag went through fine, but the second one, not so much. It chopped the first round off the top, which doesn’t surprise me since they were over loaded. Cleared the shell out of the breech and loaded the other magazine with 9 rounds and it did the same, only this time, it pinched the shell between the bolt and breech. Playtime was over. Time to clean. L

Took it inside to see how easy this would be to clean. I laid it all out on a towel, the two magazines and the TPX. You can see all of the paint on the top of the magazines and inside the “window” on the grip frame. You can even see the shell stuck in the breech from inside the magazine well.






Now, to unload those nasty magazines and give them a good cleaning. At the top and back of each magazine you will see a small divit. I spoke of this earlier. If you push down on this, two things happen.
1. The ball retainer at the top of the magazine pulls backwards
2. The follower releases from the bottom and comes up
When doing this, make sure the paintballs will be expelled somewhere you want them to be. Like the towel and not your shirt. I was lucky. Once they’re out, you can commence to cleaning.





Now we take the TPX apart. You can see all of the paint on the inside of the clam shell. You can also see the bolt is firmly stuck in the breech. See the shell pinched in there? You know what that looks like? A Level 7 bolt I pulled the pieces I mentioned earlier in the review out and wiped them all down and cleaned them up real good. The bolt was only a little stuck. I used the end of my battle swap and it popped right out easy, cheesy, lemon squeezie. I must say that this marker cleaned up very, very well. Put a little more lube on the valve and it’s good to go again! I also took a pic of the small pin holes on the 12grs








So, in conclusion, to me, the TPX is a great little marker. Yeah, it’s got some downfalls right now, but I would like to believe Tippmann will be addressing those in later generations. I believe this will easily give the TAC8/9 a run for it’s money in the semi-auto pistol market. If you look at the Pros/ Cons, they're about even, but a lot of that is my personal opinion.

[postal_bob]

Great, in depth review. I think I'll wait for a gen 2 or 3 TPX before I purchase one!

[Flonominal]

i was on the fence, debating whether this marker is worth it...

Doing research online, too many drones hyping this marker without breaking it down point by point like you did and a few handful of others...

Great review, and i decided to just wait out the TPX. The price is great, so some of the nuances in terms of quality is understandable however, in the end it shows that Tippmann rushed this pistol marker...

Fortunate enough, Tippmann later fixes such issues later down the road..

[GoatBoy]

Great review, although your conclusion stands in contrast to... a couple of things. Speculation on 2nd generation improvements shouldn't be considered as part of the conclusion.

I just called and canceled my TPX order. As it stands, it's not worth the wait, and certainly not worth the money.

Maybe 5 years from now Tippmann will release a "TPX Custom Pro" which costs even more to fix some of these issues.

Personally, I have little faith in the company.

[Mayvik]

Damn sir, that's one helluva a review! And you got paint all up in my old TPX!

[p shooter]

very good review

[SN toter]

Excellent review, I'm diggin the mag-esque design.

[chopper duke]

Thanks guys. This one has sold and I too will wait until either

1. They come up with some "upgrades"
2. Or the next Gen or two fix some of the issues.

If neither of these happen, looks like I'll go pistol less.

[Rockfrog]

Is it just me ... the more I see of this, the more I'm convinced they just resurrected the Sheridan Equalizer in pistol form.

[VM-onster]

I guess I must have been lucky because my shoots dead center with marbilizers and a fresh daisy co2.