Prototype E-mag: EM00033 Restored

[Bunny]

The Beginning: Splashed E-mag (EM00033) was featured on AirgunDesignsusa.com in 2000/2001. The pictures really showed off what the E-mag could become. It came with a warp left body with a revy, custom warp feed, and a flatline tank. It also featured a crazy fade/splash anodizing as well. I can’t confirm it, but I have a feeling PK Selective had their hands on this e-mag.

This prototype also featured a few rare parts such as the Lightening Bolt E-mag valve and custom aluminum selector switch.

The Chop / Controversy: To my understanding AGD Tech Carl Bonta was given the e-mag as a gift and just like the other prototype EM00035, Carl decided to chop up the splash e-mag to make it lighter and more efficient. After it was modified, it sold in the open market to AO member DarkRipper.

As soon as DarkRipper received the marker he ran into a lot problems. The marker was controversial since it was heavily modified E-mag made by an AGD tech. It was never meant to be sold to the general public because of the modifications that were involved. Tom Kaye had to step up and do damage control to make sure people understood that the modified prototypes were not under warranty.



Since DarkRipper had so many problems he decided to make a deal with his friend and he traded away the infamous prototype. His friend brought it to a paintball tournament in 2001 and had KayleAGD tried to fix it.

That is the gun from HELL!!!!

I worked on that gun for hours while I was in pittsburg. It was butchered to no end. Only later did I learn of the guns history and receive an *$$ chewing from TK for fixing It. If anyone wonders why AGD won't fix it ... It was a proto gift and they lost money on the gun building it . And if they repair it then they will be investing more money in something that never sold.. (bad business)

Most of what was wrong was in the electronics. It looked like an abortion from the middle ages..The warp links and the power wiring were redone by me . This work was not something I am very proud of, but I was on the road and didn't have much to work with. The gun worked fine and the guy was happy when he left, other than the lecture he got from TK. He was an innocent victim here so I fixed it the best way I could. If the electronics are still working then the gun will work. There may be issues with standard parts , like the on/off pin length, that may have to be custom fit. It has been too long and too many guns ago to remember exactly what it took to fix, but it did work..

Gone for good: DarkRipper’s friend Sandman123 actually had an outstanding offer from Tom Kaye to trade the prototype for a newer E-mag. Instead he decided to sell it for $600 to AO member rsuave991. Less than a month later in 2002 rsuave991 tried to sell it on pbnation, but did not get any bites.
I cannot find any information online, but between February and June 2002 the paintball gun was sold to a paintball player in Florida. This is where AO member Cyberious made an offer to purchase it and he reunited two of the earliest prototype e-mags in existence.

DATE	OWNER	INFO
1/1/00*	AGD
1/1/01*	Carl Bonta
8/31/01	(AO) DarkRipper	https://www.automags.org/forums/showt...6523#post56523
1/12/02	(PBN) Sandman123	http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.p...794&highlight=
2/07/02	(AO) rsuave991	http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.p...794&highlight=
6/30/02	AO) Cyberious	https://www.automags.org/forums/showt...345-Thanks-Tom

Over the next few years Cyberious used it as his primary marker.

“EMag #33 I bought here in Orlando from someone. It was my primary marker for a couple of years. It played in a World Cup and multiple other Tourneys. It was always the fastest shooting marker on the field. It also was at Shatnerball 2 and was used by my brother-in-law there. You can actually see it in a few scenes of the DVD.

Even as trashed as they were when I got them, once I fixed the electronics they both worked great for me for some time. As I used to help AGDJon work the booth at WorldCups and other events I always had to hide them in case Tom came by as I knew the sight of what Bonta had done used to make him mad. Heck it made me mad.”

Throughout the next few years from 2002-2008, Cyberious parted the battery packs on AO and decided to make a Clare themed E-mag around the valve. Around 2008 he decided to post both prototype valves for sale on AO.

My Story: I was fortunate enough to be on AO at the right time and found that both E-mag valves were posted for $100 each. I decided to take a leap of faith and offer $200 for both. I have never seen anything like them before so I decided I had to have them. After researching the serial numbers I quickly realized that these were actually the legendary prototypes that AGD did not want the public to have.

Part gathering: From 2008 to 2013 I had the valves sitting in my parts box with the thought of one day trying to build them back to their original specs. Piece by piece I was able to track down exactly the parts I needed to reanodize to restore this gun. In early 2013 I decided to use FXanodizing for the splash effect and sent Mario over an idea of what I wanted.



I sent all the parts over to and had him get to work on trying to match the anodizing. The only picture I had of the build was from AGD and it didn’t really show exactly all the techniques used to achieve the look. It took a few weeks, but Mario came back with some bad news. The dye he had would not take correctly to the parts. He mentioned that the rail may be a different type of aluminum.





At the time I was pretty bummed because the way the fade came out. It looked really bad and he agreed. He didn’t want something like that leaving his shop. I decided to call him up and we worked out a deal to do a “Cosmos” effect on the gun instead. It involves over 5+ colors to achieve the look and is one of Mario's signature designs. I figured I would rather have a good looking gun instead of one I absolutely despise.