Strange Micromag?

Hello all, so I have been an Autococker guy since the early 90's when I started playing. Only mags I have owned were stuff I bought and sold in package deals. A while ago I jumped in and bought a custom mag that caught my eye and really liked it but my true love has always been more vintage stuff and love old splash cockers. When I saw this I had to have it, love the splash and love how original it appears to be. Plus when i was a kid my local shop had an FX cocker body kit in the display case i would stop and admire but could never afford so I have a soft spot for PTP stuff.

Anyway anyone know the history to this particular Micro? Guy I bought it from believed it to be a Team Strange marker but had no real info on why. Would there be markings hidden on it anywhere if it was? I absolutely love it either way but always like to know the history of stuff.

So last questions (sorry this is so long) I would like to leave it original as possible and want to use the Micro valve. What's the biggest difference between it and an X valve? I don't care about weight and I actually don't care for the RT effect. Just want reliable. And I have read some of the older Micro bodies would not take a level 10 bolt kit. What exactly prevented it? And how would I know? Is it obvious like it won't fit in the breech or will it be an issue where I will never get it tuned? Like I said I am very new at these and want to dial this in so I will be asking lots if questions. Any advice is appreciated.

http://i68.tinypic.com/sw9yy9.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/mhbkv4.jpg

nice score, too bad the for grip does not match. the X valve is just an RT made our of more aluminum than any of the others. the Level 10 bolt will not go thru the stainless washer pressed into the body on most micro's with out either sanding down the lip of the bolt(recommended) or opening up the hole in the washer. the washer is to prevent excess wear to the aluminum body by the stainless bolt. the classic valve you have is perfectly reliable just make sure you use 800 psi minimum on all mag valves. I suggest you replace the power feed plug with one of the new ones from AGD.

welcome to the addiction that is Automags.

Bunny is our resident historian and is probably the only one who might be able to confirm if its a team Strange marker or not. the records have large holes in them.

Thank you very much for the info. And am I missing something on the grip? Does not match because of the brand or anno? Anno does match but probably looks off on the pics because of the angle, the black was just not showing. Here is another pic. Or did you mean not matching because it's no a PTP product?

http://i63.tinypic.com/35b9fzp.jpg

And another noob question. Is this a level 10 bolt kit? Buddy of mine just gave me all his old gear to sell and he gave me a minimag he believed had a lvl 10 installed. I checked the bolt and it fit the Micros breech so I swapped valve setups and it shot great on the Micro.

http://i65.tinypic.com/29z98bb.jpg

Hex powertube tip and stem sticking out the back of the bolt - it is indeed a Level 10!

You already have a grasp on the classic ss valve vs. an aluminum X or steel/aluminum ReTro - it's heavier and no Reactive Trigger.

The gen1 fixed-barrel Micromag had no foregrip or even provision for one. The later gens all mounted via the female threads on the angled section below the barrel threads. Your arrangement, besides being a Smart Parts foregrip design, is highly atypical. It looks to be making contact with the frame's trigger guard and the top front edge does not sut flush or align with the body. See below how the PTP foregrip mounts on my gen5.
https://i.imgur.com/bAzvjsa.jpg"]htt...om/bAzvjsa.jpg

Got it, yes the grip is actually shaved on one edge that lines up with the trigger guard when tightened down. I have just been playing with it so it's not all aligned. And great to hear about the level 10, I will be stealing the level 10 parts off of his and swapping them over. I need to break the entire thing down to learn it and rebuild anyway. I love how it feels in my hands, think I am going to really enjoy using this. And I love the look of yours, amazing setup

Regardless of the foregrip, it's a beautiful Micro! Thanks, just rebuilt my Ultra Nickel and now need to tune it. The trigger was the perfect finishing touch. Or maybe that'll be when I have the matching Armson barrel Freak-/Equation-bored.

I seem to remember a thread about your pattern or PTP team anos in general with a response from Forest/Tracy on here or MCB. Alas, my Google and forum search skills failed me. Tracy still posts on MCB and Forest on Facebook in the AGD/Mag or Old School Paintball threads. Hell, shoot'em an email with pics at ProTeamDirect or ArmsonUSA and I bet you'd get an answer with some insight. Just be sure to post the info up here too!

The splash pattern does not appear to be PTP, but it does remind me of the old Smart Parts pattern/color scheme.

Nice Gen 2 Micro....


Walker

Although these weren't typical PTP anodizing patterns, I still believe this pattern was done by PK Selective for Team Strange. I have seen a couple over the years. The foregrip seems to be an afterthought. Neat little Gen 2. Its an early Gen 2 with the single screw in the powerfeed. I have had Gen 2s with both single and double screws. The 1st Gen Fixed Barrels had one screw so I would say this was shortly after the Gen 1 and probably before they started their standard patterns.

All micro mags are strange :D

Looks like a Gen2 Micromag;):) with John gross splash exept the foregrip.

Great info from all thank you. I am doing some research as well and will report back anything I find. Really appreciate all the help with my new addiction

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Originally Posted by junglepeanut

Great info from all thank you. I am doing some research as well and will report back anything I find. Really appreciate all the help with my new addiction

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I haven't been over here on AO in awhile.

From the info I gathered this is a Team Strange anno. I have been collecting this anno for a few years now but have sold most of it off.

I reached out to Tracy/Forest at PTP. They had this anno done by PK Selective for Team Strange. Their colors on the splash were red, black, SILVER.
Eclipse had a very similar anno in red, black, gold. The Smart Parts anno is Crazy Black Splash which had a black base with red and silver/white.

https://i.imgur.com/wuTIxjh.jpg

The cocker on the top is an ANS pre-GEN X series that was annoed by PK.
At the bottom there is a Gen 3/4 micro mag with double trigger, right feed (Not PF, single screw), Detent is housed in the body
The next up is a Gen 2 with a plastic detent, single trigger, PF single screw


More (crappy) Pics:

https://i.imgur.com/Kr91Ojq.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/t64lIoZ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/I0813tf.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/zxmXRET.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/FJ158SC.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/trQkx0Y.jpg
I wish I didnt sell this one.

https://i.imgur.com/AGIbjjs.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/DkNaY8U.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/PHhq8MO.jpg

that splash sydarm is HOT

I didn't catch the standard feed on the double trigger at first - frickin all around awesomeness. Especially dem Micros.

Junglepeanut: Awesome Micromag!! Things are about to get a bit nerdy, but I think you would appreciate it anyways...

What type of Micromag do you have?

Below is the pricing breakdown of a Micromag. This info was pulled off of the PTP many years ago. I like to start to ID the gun with what you currently have. After reviewing the website, I believe you have a Competition Model Micromag. I'm not sure if the SP grip and tourny lock were original. You could pick both parts up individually from either Smart Parts (S.P) or Planet Eclipse (P.E). Both companies would have similar splash parts back in the 90's.

Attachment 99744

https://www.automags.org/forums/attac...0&d=1526865706

Where did you buy it?

If you say Europe or overseas somewhere, I would believe this gun may be a Planet Eclipse Micromag. I have only seen (1) other Micromag that PE made. Check out my AO Archive thread for pictures from PE advertising.

If you say USA, I would believe this gun may be from Florida Paintball Center (FPC). Team Strange worked with FPC and it would make sense with the ties between the anodizing scheme.


Anodizing:

To ID, we should define your gun first. To me, it looks like a Red Base, Black Sponge, with a Silver Splash.

PE: Here is a quick chart of what PE offered for anodizing schemes.
Smart Parts: Here is a quick chart of what SP offered for anodizing schemes. If your parts have a gold splash they might be from the mid 90's era.
PTP: Here is a thread that has a ton of information about PTP finishes. Most of the schemes have been well documented.

Team Strange Anodizing:

Baccipaintball put together a few articles that really highlight the relationship with FPC and Team Strange. They have a few well documented team guns that give us a baseline for what we can compare your gun to. Check out the quote below about the anodizing scheme...

Baccipaintball: https://www.baccipaintball.com/oldne...er-mini-sniper
Baccipaintball: https://www.baccipaintball.com/oldne...amateur-photos

Quote:

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"At one time we required any player that played for [Team Strange] to get their gun anodized that color. It was never really a problem getting players to do that cause everybody wanted to play for us. We were the hot local team."

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The guys over at Custom Cockers also had a great discussion with pictures and videos of the finish.

Custom Cockers Thread: http://customcockers.com/forum/showt...o-Thread/page5

If you look closely, the team strange pattern has a Black Base, Silver Sponge bottom with Red Sponge on top with a Silver Splash. It does look to be a bit different than your micromag. We do know that PK Selective changed anodizers at some point in the mid to late 90's. It could still be that pattern, but the original team guns do look a bit darker.

Nashville Masters 94: I just finished posting the Micromag gallery on AO and bumped into a Magazine scan that I had. Interestingly enough, it looked like a Micromag with the same anodizing scheme was on display in the Nashville Masters in 1994.

Attachment 99745


*Rough Translation in Google..

Quote:

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At the forefront of Nashville novelties is the annual showcase of the latest products: the arrival of "Splash" colors on all launches (above, Cocker, above, Micromag body for Auto and Minimag). It is also an opportunity to open new companies like BOA.

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I remembered that a person uploaded a youtube video with a walk through of the vendor area, but unfortunately, the video does not contain the PTP booth. It does have a nice selection of SP Splash Automags/Minimags though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvAVW3ETBIk

My opinion: Without proper provenance (yes, I used an art term :D) It is hard to 100% say that it was a team gun. The color scheme looks different then the other guns so it is hard to say for sure. Every company in the 90's sent their stuff to PK Selective to get done. Since Red/Black/White goes together, I'd figure it would be a top seller. I think this scheme could have been offered by PTP back in 94. We could always ask PTP on Facebook to verify, but the magazine article did show that other splash Micromags did exist. The chase continues, but I hope this posts help you with your journey.

:cheers:

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Wow, that is great info. Thank you so much for that write up. Regardless of its history I love it but I really like learning what I can about old markers. I am learning everything I can about mags and installed a lvl 10 bolt kit that seems to be functioning well. Only issue at all right now is it has a very slow intermittent leak that immedialty stops when I put slight pressure on the trigger. I still plan on replacing all seals and such anyway because of how long it's sat so hopefully that fixes the problem.

Thank you again, I truly appreciate it