Help me update my Viking

[jenarelJAM]

I know... not an automag post, but I'm hurting for input from AO.

I've been out of paintball for the last 8 months or so and 'm getting back into it. I just started college and I'm practicing with the college team. Getting back into paintball has really given me the urge to update my viking. As of now, it's a black unmilled 04 viking, tadao, jmj blade trigger, etc. I've always thought that milling and annodizing was a "waste" of money, but putting it into the viking is almost like an investment. The resale on vikings at least used to be really good. Right now I'm thinking of a FSP mill from Destructive Customs and a white anno for the body, tray, grip, barrel back, sidewinder, rail, and feedneck, leaving all the accents a matching black that they are already. Here's a picture :
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e383/jenarelJAM/P1020246.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

What do you guys think about the idea of getting it milled and anno'd.

Also,does anyone know about DC's robtown valve? I heard something about it right before I left the paintball scene, how it reduces kick and/or noise or something. Is it a good investment? I'm thinking of spending up to around $500, but I'm still debating the whole thing. The marker works just fine right now too...

[manwe33]

Send it into dc and get that thing milled up. I love my FSP milled vikings. If you want another way to go send it to Marc @ Tarantula Paintball Mods & Mfg.
www.tarantulamfg.com Marc does a great job from what i have seen. Just seems to be a bit slower. Jareds customer service as yet to be surpassed.

I have 2 of my vikings at tarantula right now getting all cut up. But some times its just as fun to play with a big ugly block. :shooting:
Then 2 more at DC getting reworked. One more waiting to get the hiden milling done by Jared. So either one of these guys will treat you well. just matters the style you want.


Now the Robtown valve is a nice valve. It is a little more smooth and less kick. But not really enough for the 100 + bucks it costs. That is my 2 cents. But i dont mind the kick of the vikings at all.

[punkncat]

Have you considered all the nice current markers you can purchase for the price of the milling alone?
Look around at what some of the full mill vikes are selling for now before you do it. You will not get your money back out, if that's what you are thinking. If you really like your Vike then it won't matter what you spend if you keep it.

[RogueFactor]

Leave her as she is. She is a beauty.

[CoolHand]

Leave her as she is. She is a beauty.

I agree.

One of these days, unmilled '04 Vikings will be just as hard to find (and likely just as sought after) as unchopped '49 Mercurys. (Although in the Mercury's case, the only reason you'd want an unchopped one is so you can do the chop yourself. ;) )

Unless you absolutely MUST be rid of that 1/4 lb of extra aluminum, I'd leave it stock and shoot some faces with it.

[olinar]

if you must spend money paintball i say buy a new loader or a nice gear bag or somethin. those are just about the only things i havent bought yet.

either way, its a nice marker and i would leave it alone as well.

[lew]

I prefer the look of an unmilled Viking/Excalibur more than any of the milled varieties. There's beauty in simplicity, but to each, his own.

[jenarelJAM]

Well, I'm thinking of milling it for a few reasons:
First, because yes, I'm feeling the pressure to own a "prettier" marker. I know this isn't a terribly great reason, but I'm seriously considering joining my college team (they have good attitudes towards paintball, which is really what convinced me), and while that doesn't mean I have to have a "pretty" marker, I would really like to not be the single guy with a big blocky marker.

Also, I've realized from shooting a pump and carrying around a super-light marker that weight does matter. I realize the difference of one oz is negligible, but 5-6 oz would probably be noticible. Also, not an amazing reason, but it's there.

A larger reason is because I shoot a pulse (of which the feedneck just snapped, but I'm getting it repaired/replaced at DXS), and have the rf chip in the marker. Unfortunately, because the viking body is so large and blocky, on rare occasion the hopper won't hear the signal from the transmitter and won't spin. Then no balls in the ballstack = no shots because of no eyes = no more rf signals to get it to spin. So I get to wait 5 seconds for the backup spin. This happens super-rarely, but nonetheless, happens, and shaving the outside of the marker would probably make it happen even less (although I admit there is still a good chance it won't be gone completely).

Finally, while I realize I won't recoup my cost in an increase in net worth of the marker, I do expect the resale value to increase. My "Current Market Prices" are about 8 months out of date, but at least when I left, I thought I could sell my viking somewhere around $500. FSP milled ones, even in a single color, were going for about $800+. Now, things might have changed since, but that's about a $300+ increase in net worth. If I spend $300 in milling and $100 on a new anno, it's like I'm "spending" $100 to get it milled for the aboveformentioned reasons. My money is pretty much completely disposable at this point in my life, I just have to decide where it goes, and I have enough money to do this and continue with all the other things I want to spend money on as well. If my estimates on net value are correct, it will really only "cost" me $100, as I could always sell this marker and get another cheaper one down the line if I absolutely had to get my cash out, correct?

I will admit though, that I've always been somewhat envious of those who had the cash to spend on a "custom" remill and anno, and a large part of the intrigue would be getting it done for myself. Finally, I have the means and motive to do it for myself, and with a marker that I believe I can recoup at least part of my losses on should I need to (in comparison to say... an ion...). I love my viking and I can't think of a more fitting marker to get remilled and anno'd for myself, so I'm sorely tempted to do this. Hearing from experienced members though that they would personally not do it kinda keeps me from going gung-ho into it though. I believe I am going to be relying on the testimonials from you all on AO for this. Thank you guys.

[AirAssault]

It really comes down to one thing, what do YOU want to do. As far as your marker, black is sexy, no need to muck it up. Spend your money on another marker, or as others have said, gear bag, hopper so forth. Good luck.

[Warwitch]

I HIGHLY recommend the RT valve. Other than that, the rest would be cosmetic. I love my Vike to death! Still the best electro Ive owned/shot :shooting:

[Chaos_Theory!]

Honestly, for the cost of milling your viking your way better off selling your gun and just buying a viking thats already FSP milled. You can find em for around 700-800. Youll easily save some money and have the same end result. As for the RT valve, id def suggest getting one. It will reduce kick a noticable amount. Lastly, milling the gun wont help with the RF chip. Synced pulse seem to be a hit or miss with vikings. For the best result move the RF chip into the trigger frame above the battery.

[Toll]

Robtown valve. Hands down.

You will fall in love all over again.

[punkncat]

http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?t=222371

$600. This is becoming more and more common. Do not let the thought that you will get your money back out be the deciding factor. There are only a couple of markers still holding anything close to their value anymore. Most of them are AGD.

[Toll]

Agd/aka/macdev are all the ones I can think of that still have a decent resale.

[rkjunior303]

There is nothing more satisfying than actually CREATING a milled viking yourself.. Send it out to DC, pick the milling options, then pick your OWN anodizing... Sure, it may cost a little more but then you know it's yours.. I could never sell mine.

http://rkjunior.fallingaway.com/gallery/pictures/rob_vike2_medium.jpg

[jenarelJAM]

I'm really not interested in buying any other markers. I have an electro and a pump, and that means I can play any style I want. I value my pump for its variability (open, comp or stock class) and my viking for its supremely low maintenance and ease of use. It's also as good as anything else on the market (minus say... looks and weight...?).

Oh, and I really don't want to sell mine and buy a milled one because a) Mine's never given me a single problem, and I don't want to chance that another one might, and b) I spliced the rf chip into my marker and I can't get another one. I really don't want to rip it back out, repair the wiring, and sell it. I also really like the tadao board. Essentially, I plan on either just keeping mine, or milling mine so it's the same but lighter, prettier, and my own.

I'm really very mixed on this, and hearing from people about doing it because it would make it my own or not to do it because it's just not worth it is very helpful to me. Thanks.

From an aesthetic standpoint, does anyone know how white anno turns out? I know powdercoating works, but if there's a whitish (or possibly even silverish), polished look, I'd really like to look into it. I've heard that annoing white is difficult...

[Andrewliu6294]

I dont think white is possible.

most whites you see are dust clearcoats.

I say leave it as it is, thats a beautiful marker. simple, and nice. ;)

[jenarelJAM]

Just for reference, I'm thinking something very close to along these lines: http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?t=2419822

[rkjunior303]

Dust clear is the closest you're going to get to white. White itself does not exist.

[Hexis]

Just for reference, I'm thinking something very close to along these lines: http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?t=2419822

That's a dust finish that is clear annoed.

I would leave it as is, and get something smaller/lighter in addition. Look for a Mini or used PM for the cost of milling. Then you have a backup.

[jenarelJAM]

I really have no need for any other paintball gear. I don't want nor need a backup marker. Once my viking goes down for the first time, I'll consider it, but so far, so good. I've already got almost the exact two setups I want. I sold my emag because I couldn't stand having two markers that served the same purpose, and I don't really have anything to upgrade. (Hopper, tank, etc.)

Can you guys actually help me make a pro/con list for doing this?

Pros:
Prettier marker
Lighter Marker
Less Kick (robtown)
<del>Possible (but not likely) help for rf signal</del>
More marker value, say $300-350

Cons:
$500+ out of my pocket right now
Marker out of my hands until finished with anno and milling
Can't mill it later, or sell to someone who wants to mill it later

[rkjunior303]

RF chips are notoriously bad in vikings.. milling wont help.

[jenarelJAM]

RF chips are notoriously bad in vikings.. milling wont help.
Alright, I'll take that one off. Mine works mostly fine with occasional problems. Oh, and I have it glued to the top of my battery, yeah. It didn't work at all from inside the tray.

[Bartman]

I probaly built that gun.....

Take the 500$ and buy some paint and have fun with it.

BTW, what college team?

My wife use to play on the purdue team back in the day.

Bartman

[jenarelJAM]

UC Davis. Apparently the team kinda died when a bunch of guys graduated last year and it's just starting back up again. Perfect for me to join because I'm getting in at the beginning and can work my way in.

We're leaving tomorrow for the NCPA tournament in San Diego on Saturday and Sunday we're going to be stopping by the XPPL tournament to watch.

[deathstalker]

One of the cons to getting it milled is the lack of milling options for Vikings. Anyone who wants to mill their Vike is almost certain to send it to DC, which limits the variety. If you want to mill it I would recommend getting the hidden milling options so it still looks stock. You'll spend less, still have a lighter marker, and can still laugh as the other team walks off the field with your paint on them, wondering what they guy with the brick poophouse is shooting.

I also am a fan of the anno they came with from the factory. Tough stuff... However, anno is much cheaper if you keep it simple and can go a long way towards making your sexy marker sexier.

[Chaos_Theory!]

One of the cons to getting it milled is the lack of milling options for Vikings. Anyone who wants to mill their Vike is almost certain to send it to DC, which limits the variety. If you want to mill it I would recommend getting the hidden milling options so it still looks stock. You'll spend less, still have a lighter marker, and can still laugh as the other team walks off the field with your paint on them, wondering what they guy with the brick poophouse is shooting.

I also am a fan of the anno they came with from the factory. Tough stuff... However, anno is much cheaper if you keep it simple and can go a long way towards making your sexy marker sexier.

Thats not exactly true. Your milling optionas arent really limited at all. The reason poeple always et the same milling from DC is because they have 2 basic milling patterns and thats what people go with. They have programing done for those millings and the cost is pretty well set. Not only that but what they offer removes most of the weight you can. If someone wanted something else it could prob be done. Problem is itll cost more and take more time.

[Bartman]

UC Davis. Apparently the team kinda died when a bunch of guys graduated last year and it's just starting back up again. Perfect for me to join because I'm getting in at the beginning and can work my way in.

We're leaving tomorrow for the NCPA tournament in San Diego on Saturday and Sunday we're going to be stopping by the XPPL tournament to watch.


Varry cool man, like I said, take the money and buy paint, even as a college student at college tournements there still costly. Your gun is fine and good luck shoot streight and play hard.

Bartman

[jenarelJAM]

I'm still deciding on the milling/anno thing, and I think I know what you guys all say. Most people recommend spending the money on other stuff or just keeping it. I really respect AO for having a different mindset than the rest of the paintball scene, that looks don't matter and it's all the player anyway. I'm going to have to think long and hard on this...

Does anyone else have any firsthand experience with the robtown valve? That's pretty much just a drop-in upgrade to reduce kick. I'll probably be buying the last few remenants of gear I need (new lens, new harness) tomorrow at XPSL.... Then all I can do is make my marker just very very nice.

Oh, and I have a serious newfound respect for markers that don't break. We had like 12 markers at the field today for a 5-man, and I think 6 of them broke at the field. :rofl: I may post videos if I can find a place to host 300MB files.

[Toll]

The robtown valve almost has a "spool" quality to it. The only other time I have seen a viking at my field it was rt/dc'ed and it made me really think about getting it milled out but there was no question that I wanted an RT. It put some people's dm9088790's to shame.

[Enemy]

i just got a feather lite and ordered rob town for it my friends darkmatter viking has rob town and we just both love it.. also i have a featherlite and ill be sending mine in to be pocket milled and have some of the excess metal taken out and it is already a decently light marker.. oh and yes if you are going to do tournaments back ups are a good idea sometimes luck is just not on your side i went through 4 guns in one tourny had to borrow and plead and yes one of them was an xmag!!

[Enemy]

oh and also about the rf problem turn force shot on on your tadao board and the next time that does that just hold your trigger down for a second and you get a shot but im sure you already knew that

[jenarelJAM]

Just got back from the tournament. Wow...
I didn't realize how intense and fun the whole tourney circuit is.
A video of our first game... We were seeded against a team with.. I think.. three rookie players and a pro XSV player on it. Needless to say... the beginning didn't help matters... I was videoing.
http://ucdavis.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=8384430198&oid=7429644174