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Thread: Anyone ever see an Aurora Karta? V2

  1. #1
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    Cool Anyone ever see an Aurora Karta? V2

    AO: This Aurora Karta was plated back in 2007 when Oddpb.com paired with PBN user "CutStep" to plate a handful of markers. There was alot of buzz about it so Oddpb.com decided to open up the service to anyone willing to throw down the cash and time to get the plating done. AO user VeeWee decided to take the plunge and sent out a few parts to get it plated.

    Here is an explanation for how the Karta ended up the way it is....

    ODD originally offered a special 1 of 5 for $2k, I guess they didn't fill that order because they later offered fixed price packages for different part counts. I was in the 6-8 part category which was much less than the special $2k complete gun package. My part count was eight and to go over that was a big jump in price.

    My original plan with the feedneck was to get an aftermarket clamping feedneck and have the main part done in Aurora and leave the clamp black. Due to a very busy schedule last winter I dropped the ball and never got around to ordering one so I sent ODD the stock feedneck. I could've sent the barrel back instead but I like the break in the middle with the black.

    I asked about the Xvalve, Lorne at ODD wasn't sure if it could be but was willing to take a look at it, I decided that eight parts was my limit and I wasn't about to sacrifice a $200 valve so I didn't send it. I think the plain black "X" valve looks pretty cool and leave plenty of room to get something laser engraved on it if I choose to later.

    The one thing that I didn't like about the Aurora markers already out there was that the whole gun, everything, was Aurora finished. Too much of a good thing in my opinion so the black accents were definately intended.

    My only regret is my own fault, the feedneck, but when I swap it out and put a plan black clamping feedneck on I don't think it'll look out of place, we'll see.

    ...and thats the rest of the story.

    Thanks again!
    In November 2012 I decided to recreate Oddpb.com and gather up all the pictures and information about the aurora guns that I could find. I was fascinated by the aurora plating and decided to track down VeeWee to see if I could make a deal with him to put an Aurora automag in my collection. (I think I have been harassing him for multiple years before that ) Unfortunately, VeeWee didn't want to part with it so I decided to turn my attention to attempting to get a X-mag done in the aurora plating instead. Most of you guys know how that turned out, but long story short. Xmag was ruined, but I got a Shockwave E-mag done instead.

    In August 2014 I got a message from VeeWee and he said he was thinking about selling it. Without any hesitation I made a deal with him. He doesn't know this, but I really only wanted it to put a damn trigger on the gun. (All of his pictures showed the karta without a trigger in it ) Since everything some how happens for a reason, I had a leftover Aurora'd Luke's Argo Emag trigger and a matching barrel that could be added to the gun as well.

    I can't explain how hard it is to take good pictures of this finish so I needed to have some professional help. My friend Ben Johnson was able to snap a few pictures and really captured how awesome this gun is.

    Hopefully you guys enjoy!!

  2. #2
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    ...

  3. #3
    NICE!

    I prefer it with the Powerlyte barrel to break up the finish.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by robertreed711 View Post
    NICE!

    I prefer it with the Powerlyte barrel to break up the finish.
    Me too. Since I had both I thought "why not?" I wish he got a few pictures with the entire length of the gun showing. BigEvil would probably agree. The barrel that I got plated was a random autococker barrel I got on Baccipaintball.com It turned out fine from the SSR plating because there is zero porting on the barrel. The different from SSR plating and Oddpb.com plating is very significant.

    If you notice the E/M laser engraving is still visible on the gun. That should show you how little plating oddpb.com needed to do the work. SpeedStarRacing on the other hand could change the tolerances dramatically.

  5. #5
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    I hate you so much

  6. #6
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    probably one of the top 5 Automags in my favorites.
    Stay Classy, AO...
    BEO: RIP / Topgun Paintball: RIP / Old MCB: RIP

  7. #7
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    Wow! This looks really good with the black accents. Much better than an all aura'd gun.

  8. #8
    Omg...that is just ridiculous.

  9. #9
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    Bunny, have you found the dark aurora Xmag? That is another one of my favorites.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by zondo View Post
    Bunny, have you found the dark aurora Xmag? That is another one of my favorites.
    rschoi_75 has that one in his collection He has quite the aurora collection as well.

  11. #11
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    I saw the shockwave at LL7 and the finish is just awesome in the sunlight. these two side by side should be outstanding.

  12. #12
    so is oddpb.com gone?
    they don't do work anymore?

  13. #13
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    Vintage: It is interesting to put the two together. The Karta has a ton of blues/greens while the Shockwave has a ton of purple/yellows. When the finish is applied it has a pretty random pattern to it.

    knownothingmags: Yep, it has been a while now. From what I saw, it was very hard to get the anodizing to line up with the laser engraving. I personally think that now-a-days Caustic Customs is the next big custom finisher and I think his designs and techniques are better than oddpb.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Bunny View Post
    Vintage: It is interesting to put the two together. The Karta has a ton of blues/greens while the Shockwave has a ton of purple/yellows. When the finish is applied it has a pretty random pattern to it.

    knownothingmags: Yep, it has been a while now. From what I saw, it was very hard to get the anodizing to line up with the laser engraving. I personally think that now-a-days Caustic Customs is the next big custom finisher and I think his designs and techniques are better than oddpb.
    I was asking for the aurora finish not for anno

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by knownothingmags View Post
    I was asking for the aurora finish not for anno
    Ah I see, Cutstep was the main guy who really put everything together. Him and Lorne stopped doing Aurora plating in the middle of the Oddpb era. CutStep put a thread on pbnation that has a more in depth post about the company he paired with for the project. I don't think anyone ever got the name of the company out of him. I still do not suggest SSR incase you were interested...

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Bunny View Post
    Ah I see, Cutstep was the main guy who really put everything together. Him and Lorne stopped doing Aurora plating in the middle of the Oddpb era. CutStep put a thread on pbnation that has a more in depth post about the company he paired with for the project. I don't think anyone ever got the name of the company out of him. I still do not suggest SSR incase you were interested...
    yeah I tried contacting a company in Germany but no response,
    looks like im going to need to send the SFL off to China to get it's aurora finish put on
    Last edited by knownothingmags; 01-10-2015 at 06:02 PM.

  17. #17
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    I would not look for a cheap shop to get an aurora finish. Then again, with SFL, i wouldn't trust the plating regardless. Think about this. Would you really want to take the chance of destroying an SFL? Seriously, in a year when people will ask, since you already write it and you have nothing to show. How will you feel? So go reread Bunny's SSR post, not so much that to use SSR, but see what he went through, the time it took, and the end result. That was from a reputable shop too.

    Send the SFL to Caustic, tell Stephan to do something special and show the end results. I would vote for Eclipse Banzai Green. Would look killer, IMO.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nobody View Post
    I would not look for a cheap shop to get an aurora finish. Then again, with SFL, i wouldn't trust the plating regardless. Think about this. Would you really want to take the chance of destroying an SFL? Seriously, in a year when people will ask, since you already write it and you have nothing to show. How will you feel? So go reread Bunny's SSR post, not so much that to use SSR, but see what he went through, the time it took, and the end result. That was from a reputable shop too.

    Send the SFL to Caustic, tell Stephan to do something special and show the end results. I would vote for Eclipse Banzai Green. Would look killer, IMO.
    Totally agree. After going through everything, I underestimated the type of tolerances that are needed for the X/SFL platform. You really can't add any more material to the breach or it will not fit over the body. The shockwave and karta don't really need to worry about the parts like that. I have finished a ton of guns over the years and Stephen is my go to person. I thought PK Selective would have been a great pick, but even then they didn't really handle my SFL correctly and actually lost a piece from it. I thought "you get what you pay for" was a saying, but after dealing with so many custom finishing shops over the years that is not the case. You really have to find someone who is a master at their craft. I think Stephen is that guy. I would love to see what he could come up with.

  19. #19
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    If you also want to see what a catastrophe Aurora can be, take a look at Precision Powder's cover up job of an aurora plated GSL. The plating came back to the customer full of pitting and irregularities. Roger covered it up with a clearcoat and metal flake to fill in and hide the problems. I am not aware of who did the plating, but I can hazard a guess. Stephen is the only way to go for an SFL. I'm pretty sure Bunny has the last remaining Aurora MAgs to be ever be completed properly. There just isnt a reliable plating company available right now that can keep tolerance. Amazing Karta Bunny.

  20. #20
    I was joking about china. lol
    but I do need an idea for an ano for the SFL.
    and nice stand out anno,
    a wash with a splash maybe, with a black as the base.
    any ideas? maybe pm, as to not flood this thread

  21. #21
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    Just give caustic some cash and ask him to out do himself

  22. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by Syko89 View Post
    Just give caustic some cash and ask him to out do himself
    der ive done that

    he has done what now, 7 of my markers

  23. #23
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    I'm shocked you can still make out the engraved "E" and "M" because of the plating process...they must have done a real good job, looks sweet

  24. #24
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    That is a great looking marker to bad it is next to impossible to do that anymore.

  25. #25
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    There is a very LARGE amount of hate welling up within me right now...


  26. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by Dayspring View Post
    There is a very LARGE amount of hate welling up within me right now...

    yeah bunny, "WE" hate you.

  27. #27
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    I would want that one in MY collection!! Beautiful gun, excellent pics!!

    AGD

  28. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by AGD View Post
    I would want that one in MY collection!! Beautiful gun, excellent pics!!

    AGD
    Now THAT'S high praise!

  29. #29
    Excellent pics! The gun looks great, even with a trigger ! Now get that thing to a field and get some paint through it, it spend enough time sitting idle, hanging on a wall in my office for the last 6+ years!

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