ICD Freestyle - the future AGD gun now?

[thecavemankevin]

Maybe the kids are spoiled around here in SoCal

um, YEAH THEY ARE!!

[Blazestorm]

National sponsors them, not ICD.

[WARPED1]

ICD too now. Haven't you seen the ND Freestyle yet Blaze?

[Muzikman]

I bet, and I do not know this for sure, but I bet that ICD does not actually pay out any money to ND. They probably got free guns, if that. ICD is NOT a big company. Hell they are as small at AGD.

EDIT: If you look at the ND page, ICD is 5th on their sponsor list. By the looks of things, NPS give them most of their money.

[Muzikman]

My point is that I am sre there are plenty of gun mfg's willing to give a team like the ND's free guns just for the exposure. So that being said, the ND's I am sure had many options. I think they picked the Freestyle, not because they got them for free, but because they thought they were good guns. I am sure that AGD would have given the ND's 5 Xmags if the ND's would have actually used them.

[Blazestorm]

95% sure that they don't get free guns, they get discounts.

They're not directly sponsored by ICD, it's through national, just like RL

BTW I own a ND Freestyle...

[sithos]

fairly certain its just National that sponsors them, and ICD is either owned or exclusivly distributed by National.

[DiRTyBuNNy]

fairly certain its just National that sponsors them, and ICD is either owned or exclusivly distributed by National.

well..as far as ICD will reveal they are exclusively distributed by National..whether or not it's more than that they have always vehemently denied..

[WARPED1]

95% sure that they don't get free guns, they get discounts.

They're not directly sponsored by ICD, it's through national, just like RL

BTW I own a ND Freestyle...

Oh, I see. I was not aware of the ICD/NPS thing................
How you like that Freestyle?

[RobAGD]

a fewthings about ICD.

If you look at the new guns the finish is about on par to the old NPS Rebels Take a look if you have one around, they are so close its scary. Both were made in Twian/China

NPS is running ICD or have a controling intrest in it. Too many things just point to that.

ND's have a HUGE deal with NPS/Empire the gun is part of that deal. ( read they Had Timmys and NPS wantedto push the Freestyle as a Impulse beater )

RL - HUGE Empire/NPS deal with guns again. Well after 1 year NPS wants to push the freestyle and hey guess what theyare shoot the freestyle.

Lets see how many BIG NPS teams get Freestyles this year.

BTW - with Simon on the East Coast now I would be willing to bet he will be doing the design work on the team freestyle guns coming out

-R

[CoolHand]

. . . .BTW - with Simon on the East Coast now I would be willing to bet he will be doing the design work on the team freestyle guns coming out

-R

Simon did the RL FreeStyle IIRC. Or if he didn't, he took credit for it over at the Gild.

I'd say its a pretty safe bet that he did it.

[WARPED1]

a fewthings about ICD.

If you look at the new guns the finish is about on par to the old NPS Rebels Take a look if you have one around, they are so close its scary. Both were made in Twian/China

NPS is running ICD or have a controling intrest in it. Too many things just point to that.

ND's have a HUGE deal with NPS/Empire the gun is part of that deal. ( read they Had Timmys and NPS wantedto push the Freestyle as a Impulse beater )

RL - HUGE Empire/NPS deal with guns again. Well after 1 year NPS wants to push the freestyle and hey guess what theyare shoot the freestyle.

Lets see how many BIG NPS teams get Freestyles this year.

BTW - with Simon on the East Coast now I would be willing to bet he will be doing the design work on the team freestyle guns coming out

-R

Man NPS owns/controlls everything! 800pb, 888pb, Bob Long, ICD............

[WenULiVeUdiE]

Man NPS owns/controlls everything! 800pb, 888pb, Bob Long, ICD............

And people say SP is a monopoly [/end sarcasm]

[PBX Ronin 23]

And people say SP is a monopoly

Business success is predicated on sound strategic thinking. Say what you want about NPS but give them credit for a lot of smart business decisions.

More so, give them credit for being one of the biggest contributors to the overall decrease in cost for players in general.

BACK TO THE MAIN TOPIC OF THE THREAD.

From a business standpoint I agree with a lot of things said on this thread regarding the relative success of a gun when put in the hands of highly visible teams. It does have an impact on sales and marketing.

From a technical standpoint, although there are similarities in operation between spool valved guns (Freestyle, 03 Shocker, DM4-5 and Matrixes) and the Mag, the functionality is drastically different. Mags are better designed for longevity and simplicity while the spool valved guns represent lower manufacturing cost (most of their parts are turned on a lathe + cheaper) with a premium on higher rates of fire.

With the market being the way it is now, players seem to change their guns more often depending on what's hot. With this current situation, the advantages of longevity is no longer as desireable. That being said, should there be a shift in Airgun Design's paradigm? Should future designs be based more on the "bling-bling" effect instead of what they've (and most hard-core AOers) traditionally insisted upon........quality?

My hope is that Dave Z can continue and build on the success that Tom has enjoyed but with a twist. Seeing the way the market is now, perhaps more emphasis should be given to Form instead of Substance. It certainly has worked for others.

[CoolHand]

This man speaks the truth.

I love it when the people who know come and lay it on the line for everyone else.

Its like AO's version of a reality check.