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[Krom]

Hi all.

I have an old tippman paintball gun that's been sitting in my garage in a box for the better part of a decade. Needless to say, I'm not going to use it for paintball. What are the thoughts about attempting a conversion into  a custom blaster rifle?

I'm new and not really sure of the rules about weapon conversions, etc and want to have guidance before I bother with doing any work or planning.

[Shurik Bhar'vani]

Hi all.

I have an old tippman paintball gun that's been sitting in my garage in a box for the better part of a decade. Needless to say, I'm not going to use it for paintball. What are the thoughts about attempting a conversion into  a custom blaster rifle?

I'm new and not really sure of the rules about weapon conversions, etc and want to have guidance before I bother with doing any work or planning.

In a nutshell, you're absolutely allowed to use a paintball gun as a base. The main things to keep in mind are:

1- It must be modified to the point where it's not instantly recognizable as a paintball gun
2- It MUST be rendered completely inoperable. This means it cannot have any ability to still fire, whether that's by removing the firing mechanism, plugging the barrel, or any other method.

For more in-depth details, you can find the URLs here: http://mandalorianmercs.org/get-involved/costume-requirements/

[Krom]

Thanks for the reply and info.

[Ori Dart]

If I may ask, what model? If you're not planning on using it ever again, I'd first gut it so you can reduce the weight and get rid of stuff you won't need (like air lines and other related components).

I've seen other markers turned into prop guns. Many years ago, a guy did a run of blasters made from Brass Eagle Stingray II's. Wish I still had mine.

[Krom]

It's a Tippman 98 custom. I'm going to gut it for sure, both to lighten it up and because lots of the inners will be good greeblies. I'm not going to do anything until I come up with a solid plan for rebuilding it, though.

[Shurik Bhar'vani]

Hmmmm….it's very difficult to think of a rebuild, as the 98 custom is probably one of the most recognizable paintball guns on the market.

Look at it off hand.....hmm. If you're going to go with a blaster rifle build as opposed to something like a flamethrower (my first instinct on seeing the hose), I would recommend maybe...

1- Stock
2- Longer Barrel
3- Ditch the hose and tank connection at the bottom of the grip
4- Obviously, sand off everything piece of lettering you can find on the gun and chop off the hopper connection point
5- Scope, maybe two side-by-side or one in front of the other like on Bossk's rifle
6- Side-mounted magazine either above the front grip or between the front and rear grips
7- Sand off or remove any Picatinny rail you don't need for the scopes
8- MAYBE remove the rubberized section of the rear pistol grip and replace it with a leather or cloth wrap.

That's my personal opinion so take it with a grain of salt, and obviously there's a nigh infinite number of means to go about doing all of that, but I think that might be what  you need to get it to a point where the App team will clear it.

[Krom]

Thanks for the input. I have the stock and longer barrel (they came with the marker when I bought it). For sure was thinking some sort of sniper rifle profile for it, but like you said, changing the looks of it will be challenging because it's maybe the most well known model.

[Shurik Bhar'vani]

Thanks for the input. I have the stock and longer barrel (they came with the marker when I bought it). For sure was thinking some sort of sniper rifle profile for it, but like you said, changing the looks of it will be challenging because it's maybe the most well known model.

Depending on how craftsmanly you're feeling, a little wood will go a long way to breaking up the lines. Longer barrel (or even longer with some metal pipe to extend the length) with a wooden stock and handguard will help a lot but require some woodworking to get looking right.

[Ori Dart]

Definitely get rid of the front grip. Make that into a foregrip or even attach something to cover that whole area up.

[Krom]

Definitely get rid of the front grip. Make that into a foregrip or even attach something to cover that whole area up.

Was thinking of putting a clip or something there.