Vikings

[Toll]

I've never really owned one, and I haven't seen one at the feild in years so I just have to ask : what are they like?

From what I understand they are a bit like a Gen e Matrix :

Little bulky
Little heavy
Reliable
Relatively fast
Heavily mill-able
Out of production.


The looks really appealed to me, but now that I have cash enough that I don't have to choose between my mag and a viking I can pick one up.


1) What is dis-assembly/lubrication like?
2) What are absolute "musts" on them (though I assume anyone I get will be heavily upped)
3) What can I expect in the way of kick/efficiency
4) What can they be compared to, as a general idea?
5) Do they require anything in particular (lp tank?)


Thanks for the help.

[dahoeb]

1) What is dis-assembly/lubrication like? theres not many occasions where you'll actually have to do a full field strip of the marker. i just put some lube in the ASA and whipe down the bolt.
in the event that you actually do have to do a full disassembly, you may have to buy a special tool to remove the hammer and valve. theres like 3 holes about an inch apart that the tool would insert into, then you just unscrew it. i'm sure you could jerry rig something instead of going out and getting the tool though. you might only need to access the hammer and valve but once a season for a good thorough cleaning.

2) What are absolute "musts" on them (though I assume anyone I get will be heavily upped): the only ABSOLUTE must i had on my viking were my grips! the stock ones were pretty bad.....and ofcourse a barrel to match your paint with.

3) What can I expect in the way of kick/efficiency: efficiency is some of the best you'll find out there. its almost the standard by which other markers are held. at least as good as an ego, if not better, depending on your settings. for recoil... i noticed almost no kick at all on mine. i balanced the marker on like one or two of my fingers and used my other hand to touch the trigger, and everytime the marker fired, there was no movement caused by recoil. it could be due to the markers weight.

4) What can they be compared to, as a general idea? a very refined angel maybe?

5) Do they require anything in particular (lp tank?) i ran HP off of mine and it was fine....you really don't need anything in particular.

bottomline: this is a very straightforward, no frills performance marker. all you really gotta do is gas it up and turn it on. very reliable and high quality. but it leaves plenty of room if you decide that wanna upgrade it, ie. milling, anno, etc. etc..
i guess you could say its the "automag of electros".

[rkjunior303]

Drop or two of synthetic tool oil (not gold cup, etc) - extreme lube, etc.
expect a case if not more off of a 68/4500 fill.

[Rudz]

vik

I had an 04 vik with tadoa and a vert frame, hump niods, and it was hellah fast, the only reason I traded it, was to get an xmag, try and make sure you get humphrey niods instead of the older, and slightly slower, mac noids. As for boards, I had a tadoa, but I heard any of the various boards will do, its all preference., they are cocker threaded, and if you can find a vert frame, its nice, but the 45 is great, standard 45 grips will fit. And various companies sell triggers and feednecks, I think fbm has a new 45 frame that looks real nice, and destructive customs does beautiful milling........paging steelratt and jdev....aka knowitalls........

[68magOwner]

1) What is dis-assembly/lubrication like?
2) What are absolute "musts" on them (though I assume anyone I get will be heavily upped)
3) What can I expect in the way of kick/efficiency
4) What can they be compared to, as a general idea?
5) Do they require anything in particular (lp tank?)

1- no need to disassemble, just put a few drops of oil on the asa, dryfire, and go.
2-Nothing really. Good barrel, clamping feedneck, bout it. All should come with the best regs on the market already, there are really only 3 types of boards avaliable (tadao, pandora, and WAS) all of which are excelent, and the rest of the marker, dosent need upgrading.
3-kick, i have owned, hmmm, i think 7 vikings, 2 of which, had absolutley no kick at all, even less than my spool valve markers, the rest, had very, VERY little kick, but it could be felt similar to my shockers perhaps. Efficiency, is usually close to a case per fill on a 68/45 tank, its great
4- a 06 borg with an extra tube? maybe?
5- no, a fast loader if you really want to get it up to its full potential, but, that is all

[jenarelJAM]

1)What is dis-assembly/lubrication like?
Every time I get a new marker(very few times), I take it apart, clean it, lubricate it, make sure I know how it functions, and put it back together. The Viking is the first marker that kinda left alone. Its a little hard to get inside the two lower tubes, but assuming the marker is working when you get it, you should never have to open them anyways(except for adjusting the lpr, if you mess it up like me )
All you need is a couple drops of silicone oil every once in awhile in the asa.

2) What are absolute "musts" on them (though I assume anyone I get will be heavily upped)
Lets see... you're right most will come upgraded. Make sure you get a clamping feedneck, probably new grips(i never had the stock grips, but they don't look comfortable), possibly a new trigger. My #1 recommended upgrade after those "musts" is a tadao board. I love mine. It's incredibly simple to operate, fast boot, fast speeds, many many options, and it even has that cool led that shines thru the side of your tray

3) What can I expect in the way of kick/efficiency
On my Viking I notice a slight kick. I'd say the kick is about what my emag has, but I've never really cared enough to do a side by side comparison. It isn't enough kick to make enough of a difference.
Efficiency on a Viking is phenomenal. I get about 475 shots off my emag off a 45/45 to 3k fill, and get a hopper and four pods off the same fill on the viking. So thats.... 180+4x140=740 shots. It's known to get over a case on a 68/45.

4) What can they be compared to, as a general idea?
Angels.
They have the same three tube design(although i think the lower tubes are reversed or something). The only diferences I can tell:
The angel has the removable breach thing, while the viking has the bolt sticking out the top(pull the pin, it slides out, 3 seconds max)
I believe the angel runs at a lower pressure.
I believe the Viking is more consistant
The Viking is more maintenance free.

5) Do they require anything in particular (lp tank?)

Nothing for air. The Sidewinder comes stock, which is one of the best(if not THE best) regs on the market. It will regulate your hp tank just fine.

I recently switched to silicone oil. I previously was using gold cup, because its what i had, but I was reading that you were supposed to use silicone oil ONLY, so I switched. I haven't noticed any differences in performance. The only difference is that the bolt slides alot more smoothly. I would recommend silicone oil, but up to you.

Requirements:
Decent Air source.
Hopper(halo, reloader b, or qloader preferably)
A Large quantity of paintballs