General

[ApoC_101]

daaaamn that gun is uglyyy

[Poe]

Originally Posted by GunRaptor

...
Sure, not the prettiest, but look at the subtle ergonomics they weaved into it. The pistol grip is moved forward for balance, offsetting the monster of a bolt it has.
...

True, now its ergonomics are better like a Spyder.

[Fubarius]

I have a simple list of things I look for in any gun these days before recommending them to a new player. These have to be already present, or have an adapter easily available for adding these features when needed.

Common barrel thread.
Replaceable feed neck with a readily available thread or mounting system.
Vertical ASA for adding expansion chamber, regulator, gas through, or vertical tank.
Standard 10-32 in-line bottom line holes on the bottom of the grip frame, dovetail rail not totally required but considered a nice bonus.
Replaceable grip frame panels, in a readily available screw pattern, personal preference is proper 45 panels.
Gas lines are all 1/8 npt, no weird metric threads or proprietary jobs.

So for this gun...
Pass
Unknown
Fail
Fail
Fail
Unknown or not applicable.

Not looking good to me. Compare to a standard 98 Custom

Pass
close enough to a pass
Pass (with adapter)
Pass
Pass
Pass (until the latest alteration, when is became a conditional pass with adapter).

[Shane-O]

Originally Posted by russc

Nobody is going on like this gun will destroy paintball. I think most of us just expect a better effort from Tippmann.

I over stated myself a bit...lol.


What I mean to say is, come on people its a $69 dollar gun! If they can keep it relatively reliable it will be much better than the beginner guns out there. Then they can upgrade to another gun if they like the sport. People are going on about the looks, and it isnt like any other Tippmann looks all that great, unless you want mil-sim guns, and even then its only a vague resemblance to real guns. Plastic bodys are molded so that does restrict the design somewhat, and the fact that they are staying with their valve train makes it harder to package a gun that is more compact and easier to handle than previous Tippmanns.

Its a $69 gun people! NOT the latest Ego.....lol.

[ApoC_101]

that sure is cheap. pretty impressive.

[Richter power]

I would like to put a Dye Matrix Ultralite frame or dm4 frame on that Tippmann

[tesguy]

tippmann has perfected the space dildo

[The Inflicted]

Wow, that was fast. ANS is already selling them. Gryphon Paintball Gun http://www.ansgear.com/Tippmann_Gryp...starterkit.htm
Also, hat's off to Billy Sanchez Jr. from my hometown who has somehow already written a thoughtful review of this product.


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[Horizon]

Originally Posted by Titus

The only thing I see going for this is the price point...for the buyer. The profit margin on these is stupid and an insult to dealers everywhere.

This is something Tippmann will need to deal with more and more in the future. Tippmann has for the longest time been #1 for the new player. More new players started with a Tippmann marker than any other marker in the world, no doubt. That meant that virtually every paintball shop in the world had a few Tippmanns in stock for the new players walking in the door, even though the markup was quite low. It was in the store's best interest to meet the needs of the new customer to hopefully keep him coming back for a while.

But with more and more companies expanding into the "woodsball" market, I'm sure Tippmann is losing some of that marketshare. I'm sure there are not nearly as many Tippmanns on the shelves in stores anymore (although they are still quite high in numbers). With low markups for stores, Tippmann will have to rethink their marketing and distribution channels. Stores and associated fields need to make money to pay the bills and stay open. Tippmann, just like every other paintball product manufacturing company needs the stores and fields to stay open. They are the frontline marketers for the industry. If they don't give stores the markups they need to make a profit, they (the stores) will sooner or later go with products where they can make a profit.

[PoisonMarket]

Originally Posted by TippmannEmployee1

We understand that there are markers already being made at this price point, but the issue is the quality of those markers.

A persons first experience playing is critical. If you go out and play and your equipment does not work or it breaks, that person may never play again.

We feel this marker appeals to the new player and will be durable. This marker will give the beginning player a good experience and hopefully that person will continue to grow in the sport of paintball

No offense, but that whole "Tippmann quality" thing has lost a lot of its weight over the past few years.