Here is a little know fact about the Halo B/ Reloader B / B2 and Magna paintball hoppers.  The shell kits can be used on all the internals from what Empire tells us.  So if you have a b2 and need shells, the Magna Shell kit will work.  If you have Magna Hopper and only have Halo Shells, you can stuff some of the magna parts into the Halo B shells to get it to work.  This info is like a swiss army knife, it could come in handy

SO when we were down in in Orlando at the PSP World Cup event.  All the major paintball manufacturers were down thre showing all their goods.  Eclipse had a cool display on their EOS gun.  It was basically a side section slice of the gun.  You can clearly see the spool valve and their soloinoid positioning.

So most of you should know that DYE purchased the Spool Valve Patent from Smart Parts, so Planet Eclipse must be paying DYE some sort of dollar amount to make this gun.  If not there is no doubt Dye will Go After Planet Eclipse like a hungry dog on a bunny, so I’m sure they already struck a deal.

What I don’t understand is why release 2 guns at the same time at the same price?  I’m referring to the EOS and the 2009 Ego.  Are they going to see which gun sells better, then drop the less selling design?

Here at SAK World Paintball we have seen a sharp decrease in the number of in line regulators sold.   The fact is new gun regulators are very reliable, and rebuildable so there is really no reason to “upgrade” your regulator.  If you do upgrade its more of a $80 side step than anything else.
Back in the old days, people would by regulators to replace a gun’s non adjustable regulator or to convert a gun running on 800 PSI to 300PSI or lower.  This would inevitably also customize a gun. Some people would just buy one just for the sake of buying one.

These days all guns are equipped with regulators that perform very well and which come stock from your guns manufacturer.  Gun designs have also changed so much so that the gun’s regulator is also the main velocity adjustment of the gun. Parts are usually readily available for your guns stock regulator so people with modern/current paintball guns, usually do not need to replace their regulator.  The exception would be if you somehow damage your reg beyond repair (which is usually caused by abuse) or your looking for a very specific bottom line set up or feel.

The main difference between the 98 Custom and the new Tippmann 98 Custom Platinum gun edition is the body.  The Body Split Receiver Design allows you to get to the internal parts without taking apart the the whole gun.  It also allows you to easily add upgrades like response triggers or frames easier.

Another difference is the Platinum now comes stock with Picatinny Rails.  A Picatinny Rail is a mounting system which allows you to add accessories like a carrying handle, scopes, flashlines or red dot site, by sliding the accessory on the rail.  Quick and easy.  The Rails also make the gun look a little meaner.

The short answer to this for 99.9999999% of the paintball players out there is no.  A n2 or compressed paintball air tank is at the min.  3,000 PSI.  Your average home or “shop” air compressor is like 170 PSI.  So there is a big difference there. 170PSI wouldn’t even let your gun cycle once then again shoot.  SAKworldpaintball.com does supply compressor packages they range form $6k-$15k and are custom built per your needs.

If you already have the 3 things you need to fill a CO2 Tank then lets get started.  Filling your own tank is quick and easy. I do recommend wearing a pair of thin gloves because the CO2 tank can get a little cold.
1) Hook up your fill station to your bulk CO2 Siphon tank.

2) Hook up your Paintball CO2 tank (20oz or whatever) to your fill station and place the tank on your digital scale.

3) If your CO2 has some Liquid CO2 left in it drain it completely, this will chill the tank and aid in getting a full CO2 Fill.  Hit the TARE feature on your scale to set the scale to ZERO.  Now skip to step 5.

4) Set your Scale to ZERO by using its TARE feature.  If your CO2 tank was empty pump a few ounces into the tank (watch the scale), then bleed it.  This will cause your paintball co2 tank to chill.  You can not fill a warm CO2 tank fully, this is why you need to chill it by bleeding some CO2 out.  A trick to save CO2 is to stick an empty tank in the freezer for a few hours.  This will chill the tank so you don’t have to waist CO2 to Chill the tank.

5) Once your tank is chilled you can fill the tank completely.  If you have a 20 ounce CO2 tank you can put 20 ounces of CO2 in. If you have a 9 ounce tank then you put 9 ounces of CO2 in.  Ect.  NO NOT OVER FILL YOUR TANK.  IF you over fill your tank, the pressure will build to high in the tank and you will rupture the Burst Disk (safety device which stops you from over filling).  Once the burst disk ruptures all the CO2 in the tank will bleed out.  You will have to replace the burst disk at your local store.

6) Shut off the Bulk CO2 source, disengage the pin valve on the CO2 tank, and bleed the fill line, and your done.

Its pretty easy.  Once you fill a few tanks you should be able to fill a CO2 tank in about 1 minute.

Trouble Shooting:

1) You can not fill the tank completely(only a few ounces go in)!  Answers:  a) You didn’t chill your tank enough.  b) Your bulk CO2 tank is empty/Low c) Your bulk  CO2 tank is not a siphon tank (no dip tube).

If you live out in a remote location and want to fill your own CO2 tanks for paintball, you can, its its pretty easy too! You basically need 3 things.

1) The First item you need is a bulk 50lb CO2 tank. The tank must be a siphon Co2 tank. Siphon meaning it has a long “dip tube” that goes from the valve head all the way down to almost the bottom of the tank. This dip tube sucks up all the liquid CO2 so it can be transfered to your smaller paintball CO2 tank. You can crack open the telephone book and look for a welding supply or gas supply business, they will have these tanks. You usually have to sign up for a 1 year lease (to “rent” the bulk tank) then pay for each fill. Call around because different places will have different lease and fill prices.

2) The second item you need is a CO2 Fill station. SAKworldpaintball.com has a few to choose from. They all will do the trick. If you will be filling a lot of tanks we recommend the Professional or the Deluxe fill station. The Single Lever fill station is very nice too.

3) You need some sort of scale that has a tare feature and that measures ounces. Postal Scales to a good job and are usually available at any office supply store. Make sure you get one that has a nice large platform. They usually run around $40.

Thats it! Once you have those 3 items you are ready to fill your own CO2 Tanks.

The safe answer is no. However its not black and white. Only Tippmann Paintball guns come with a hopper. All other paintball guns you have to purchase a paintball hopper separately. The exception to this rule is if you purchase a pre-packaged paintball gun deal which includes a hopper. The hopper would be specifically listed if it was included.