![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIvOU2YP5Km8BJHv1iLUkTUwmNNB7P4O6bw_youLxbMwF-ZDqzEMF8-0G53mj3aGNAF-F9cL_4mfuEs5uoKsPRaKsiNi8bk22FnPBF9awVWDjA5NViJlsiZaPDll6XRc0vEh_S_Z8l45s/s200/Targa.jpg) |
It was kinda like this...
(Not my original Targa) |
When I started down the long path of playing Paintball, I never thought I'd still be doing this almost 25 years later! I started off with an alternate Spyder Compact known as the Targa Compact. As a base model, it had a non-LPR ASA frontblock with a bottomline off the bottom of the M16 style grip frame. Other than running the bottle straight into the frontblock, it was amazingly barebones.
Fast forward a bit and after I caught the bug, I also got into tinkering and modding. I ditched that stock barrel and got a 14" Dye Ultralight. Then a rear-cocking bolt. Finally got rid of that uncomfortable M16 grip and got a 45 style single trigger. All the bits. All the baubles. Definitely all the doodads.
It. Just. Kept. Coming.
With my connections, I had a more than capable tournament marker that would have retailed into the 1k range! (For the record, I would have never spent that on MSRP.) As a mechanical marker, it rivaled what was emerging into what the electropneumatic scene was growing into.
I still needed more.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI0jRg2ohM_5h5VLr3jqeIN-GorXq48ZCtCWhEeLUff8hKMPco8teNLV2ih3IQJkbBxE5f-iFVRz3kfw_IDaVrPHp4-tx83kOTDxyBHt_kQ3fM4_JKRGlTKocIr1GBvBgtjRAqb_dDMsk/s200/IMG_20191010_223639_1.jpg) |
ALL THE UPS!!!! |
As time went on, I continued to build my trusty traditional Spyder further and further while eventually landing on this beauty to the right:
My Closed Bolt Spyder. With just the Closed Bolt Spyder, it's a testament for how resilient the design is and how far a tinkerer can go.
As the years went on, I collected more and more classic Stacked tube Blowbacks (STBBs), mainly Kingman Spyders.
- Kingman is very important as the company was sold a few times, mainly to Kee Action Sports and then to GI Sportz. As time went on, quality got worse after 2007.
I pushed on through the years proving that Closed Bolt wasn't more accurate than Open Bolt and that STBBs are not just entry level and definitely NOT junk!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYVw7XNJjJB-BCUMDJA4ZAXPLL1dBwEtUOfaWNQsSmelKy-c9ilh3qQZKfGVRbdXmCKCF0DMWal_rs3qpFeEzJMCIutWBrYgjnz4PlygpMOaCanaCNhDw2Kkdgyl-1SbQ4UUXUr71Pqak/s200/IMG_20191010_221017_1.jpg) |
Oh my... |
I've cranked through all kinds of Spyders and clones but I always come back to good old Kingman. There was something about the Golden Age Spyders that have a different kind of charm that the newer ones don't have. Even with all the fancy milling, the old 2 tube style is filled with nostalgia. Every now and then I would veer out of my comfort zone and try out a different marker but I would always come back. I kept coming back to the point where I have a pile of STBBs, a couple of Hammers (Nelson style pumps), a custom Sidearm (Spydarm), a fully modified EM1, a complete AKA Black Widow (PowerPuff Girls Chemical X), a
custom Spump, Closed Bolt Spyder (Unit-01), a JT Stryker, a Bruizer Outlaw, and a fully stock black AMG LCD.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVudqidVWnCnyuZLDGw2IY55zEYI6XAIIciRF8xX9t-t3QI5MgLtAnVPS27dXTeBP4sniz2RgVTxknoU8IGdktGJquPuazOfFhrLzukmXIfLaLjLREocdd5AKQqUEvXQDWaLgbIlf76Xw/s320/IMG_20191029_084920.jpg) |
Behold: My mostly Kingman wall! |
Ya Boi's Got A Problem...
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