Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Evolution of the Angel Paintball Gun
What came first, the paintball gun or the paintball? One may never know but what we do know is that Angel paintball guns have certainly evolved over the years. I have put together a chart featuring the major design revisions over the year, and a brief description about the gun and features that it offered. Enjoy!
Angel v6 - Pre-production prototype. Later to be known as the Angel (or Angel LED)
Angel - First generation gun, also commonly referred to at the “Angel LED” to differentiate the subsequent models which uses an LCD interface. For it’s time this gun was top notch, compact, fast & reliable. The main weakness for this gun was the weight.
Angel LCD - The next generation of Angel paintball guns replaced the LED panel with an LCD panel. Depending on the gun model the new panel allowed you to accurately display different features of the gun such as Game Timer, Total Shot Counter, Battery Charge Meter, ROF Recorder (Rate of Fire) and more. This new marker also allowed for many different programmable firing modes
Angel IR3 - With the first generation of “eyes” Angel designed the Crystal Operated Paint Sensor (other wise know as COPS). This new system was designed to detected when a paintball was in the breech therefore preventing misfires & chopped balls. The IR3 also introduced a new one way gate within the feed neck. This new one way gate made for much better paintball feed consistency, players were able to turn the Angel paintball gun in any direction (including upside down) and still fire a single shot.
Angel Speed - With the new speed line WDP introduced the low pressure, or "LP" platform. The first Angel since the LED to have a non LCD readout. Also a new Anti-Chopping technology introduced “Sensi”. Sensi was similar to COPS but used the additional of software to detect the paintball’s presence. In addition Sensi incorporated a LDS (Load Detection system) which allowed the detection of additional balled within the stack which could allow for faster performance when a full stack was detected
Angel 4 - The Angel 4 was boasted to be the lightest, shortest & lowest profile that all previous Angel guns. WPD also redesigned there bolt with a new “Soft-touch” bolt to help reduce ball impact and breakage. This gun also fired at a staggering 31 BPS.
Angel 4 Fly - The Fly was the first model to have WPD’s new break-beam anti-chop eyes named “EyeQ” or known to many as Angel Eyes. This gave Angle Paintball Guns a new edge in the industry. With this technology the Angle Fly had the shortest firing cycle time of markers in the market.
Angel Speed 2005 - With the release of the 05 Speed Angel Paintball Gun, WPD introduced their first marker that supported standard 9 volt batteries. Previous models required wall or car chargers to recharge the internal battery. The 05 Speed allowed the player to remove the grip plate and exchange the 9v batteries quickly and easily.
Angel G7 - The WPD worked long and hard when creating the G7. The result was a new paintball gun that few had seen. The familiar pull-knob used to open the breach mechanism was replaced with a sculpted leaver-lok on the back plate of the G7. This in turn cleaned up the over-all look of the marker. The G7 also had extra firing modes added in due to the increase of the diversification of tournament rules. This Angel paintball gun is sure to turn heads on and off the field.
Angel G7 Fly - Retained all the great qualities of the G7, but included some new features. It is over 2 ounces lighters than the original G7. Included new firing modes for all leagues and tournaments.
Angel Speed 2006 - The Angel 06 Speed was release with the internals of the G7. It was 3 ounces lighter than the previous 05 Speed model. This model was a great maker for anyone. With the G7 internals and a price tag approximately half of the G7, this for sure is a gun to own.
Angel One - The Angel One takes paintball markers to a whole new level. APS created a light gun at just over 2 pounds (including barrel). This marker was designed to incorporate 9v batteries for easy powering, along with a board that is compatible with your computer, which make downloading new software with a mini USB cable simple.
Angel One Fly - The latest and great in the line of Angel paintball guns. This new model contains many new advances making it more reliable, lighter and faster. It also features a completely re-designed valve system - the Magno Valve uses magnetic repulsion to assist in valve closure. A major advantage being lower pressure operation.
