I think ya boi's got a problem?

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.

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!

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.

Behold: My mostly Kingman wall!

Ya Boi's Got A Problem...