MiniMag body is broken...help!

[Cal]

First off, I dont know that much about the MiniMag itself so please be patient.
Here's what happened:

I purchased a second hand MiniMag from a friend of mine and after a few days of playing with it, something very odd happened. Inside the main body (towards the back) is a piece of circular metal welded to the inside wall. I supect it holds the main part of the marker in place. Well...this piece came loose and slide forward. I was playing in cold weather with C02 so perhaps it was caused by a major pressure build up or liquid. I asked the more seasoned players at the field and they said they had never seen this happening before. They offered to replace the MiniMag body with an AutoMag body for the time being.

What can I do? I live in South Africa (far from US) so paying the international postage fee to get a replacement from AGD is not an option (our exchange rate sucks the big one). Any extra info would help me considerably!!!
Thanks!

[Potatoboy]

I would say that biting the bullet and paying for the postage would be your best bet. You may be able to send it via UPS or another carrier. You also may be able to have a gunsmith, if you have one in your area, reattach it, but the person doing it must have a great attention to detail. If neither of those are possible, you may just have to hope you can purchase a replacement locally. Also, since you are closer to Europe than America, you may want to see AGD Europe.

P.S. If you do end up sending it in to AGD. You should definitely try to call them first. I know it's an international call, but you should make sure that they'll be able to send it to you there.

P.P.S. It also occurred to me that you may be able to find a US paintball player if you have a Military Base around you. I'm sure that if they're a fairly decent stand-up honorable player, they'll have no problem helping you send it to AGD since US Military Bases are considered US soil, the shipping should be cheaper.

EDIT: Though he said South America, changed post to reflect South Africa

[Cal]

Damn...never thought off the military base thingy...thanks! I think there may be one although I'm not sure, but its definetly worth a try. Yeah, I might send it too AGD Europe but the exchange rate is worse that way round...damn...I cant really win here. The main problem is that South Africa has HUGE potential for tons of paintball to be played (we only have 2-4 National events a year and regular tournies all over the place every month) but we have to import everything from overseas (USA + EU...Half the world away or something). Never forget how lucky you guys really are!!!!!

re: so are you saying that substituting an AutoMag body for the time being is not a good decision? I take it that this is possible to do so and in the process making the overall weight lighter and the marker itself more compact (?) but are there any other choices? What do you think it will look like once done (cant really imagine it working but it doesn't seem too bad)...

[Potatoboy]

Using the Automag mainbody will be just fine. It will probably increase the weight and size just a little bit, but not enough for a major difference. If anyone on the AO boards is stationed in South Africa, please reply or send Cal a PM. Cal, mag users usually stick together, we kind of have to seeing as according to everyone else, we're using the inferior gun.

[Cal]

Wow! Thanks...that'd be awesome! The comradery here is really, really nice and i'm loving this webpage at the moment - will probably check in on it every couple days.

Im really happy with my MiniMag (dont get me wrong) but this just got me all pi$$ed...actually...its the best marker I've ever owned...splashed anodised blue/silver/black with matching Smart Parts X-chamber and barrel...had black body but that's the one that bust. Oh well...will have to settle for the alternative.

Perhaps you could help with something else:

I'm really, really new to paintball (but I already have my sights on the EMAG...hehe) and I'm considering whether to buy a Compressed Air setup (so much more expensive than C02)OR spend the cash on a 20oz Syphon CO2 with a 12v rev hopper, JT knee pads, gloves and more paint. Thats my choices - either the Air setup or all the other stuff. What would you go for?
(Price of Air setup equals price of the CO2 setup plus all the other goodies)

[Potatoboy]

Well, I'm guessing that cold weather isn't too much of a problem for you. Compressed air will give you more shot to shot consistancy, but the major reason to stay away from CO2 is freezing. Don't take my word as fact on this one, but I'm thinking in your case it might be better to buy the 20 oz and all the goodies that come with it.

[Temo Vryce]

Well if you're going to move up to the Emag you are going to have to upgrade to the compressed air. The Emag won't run on co2.

[Potatoboy]

Thanks Temo, I forgot to mention that. If you move up to an RT, RTPro, Emag, or ReTro Valve, you're going to need compressed air. Otherwise CO2 should work fine for you.

[Cal]

Great! This has cleared up a ton of stuff for me. Yes, i do still need all that other stuff and seeing as though I need all of it anyway plus something to run my marker on with the limited cash I have, this is the way to go...still bummed about the stoopid thing breaking though.

Thanks again guys...I will pop in again soon.

[Temo Vryce]

NP PB,

Hey Cal one thing I forgot to tell you was.

Welcome to the AGD/AO Family. :D

[Drizit]

co2 and freezing on a mag is an issue, it can be helped with an anti-syphon tank, an expansion chamber and or secondary reg, palmer makes a nice co2 reg.

however once you get done setting up your mag to run co2 nicely you have paid about as much as an inexpensive air tank.
the other thing to consider is the availability of fills for air at your field.

however it's a really bad idea to feed co2 to a retro or RT valve. I know someone running co2 on a retro but he plays remote with 3 six stage expansion chambers. (I think he need to seek professional help.) :D