Paintball minigun in development, paintball BFG still on drawing board

To be honest, we're not that big on paintball except for when robots or tanks are involved, but special effects man Rick Galinson (of Snakes on a Plane fame, no less) has managed to pique our interest with the sheer badassness of his latest project. He's currently in the process of creating a room-clearing paintball minigun and, as the video on his site shows, he's made some impressive progress. While it can't actually shoot paintballs yet, its 1200 psi of pressure is more than enough to provide an effective and, frankly, scary demonstration with nothing but air. Unfortunately, Rick hasn't given any indication when he expects to finish the thing, but we're guessing that he's gonna keep it for himself when he does; lets just hope that whoever has to stare down the barrel(s) of this thing knows what they're in for.

[Via Hack A Day]

[peter @ Nov 20th 2006 4:00PM]

"Pique" your interest.

[cuby @ Nov 20th 2006 4:06PM]

there are a myriad of things which peak my interest, but theirs too many to list.

hope my comment compliments the story!

[Andrew Stone @ Nov 20th 2006 4:14PM]

Kinda makes my Spyder look lame... and i LIKE my spyder.

[stxluman @ Nov 20th 2006 4:15PM]

bunch of grammar monkeys.

[chenry @ Nov 20th 2006 4:27PM]

Holy smokes, my autococker is suddenly fulfilling. I need one of those :P

[chenry @ Nov 20th 2006 5:21PM]

i meant unfulfilling. Stupid spellchecker.

[matt @ Nov 20th 2006 4:49PM]

i hate to be the one to tell everyone this but this was done about 5-8 years ago by tippman, they made a 6 barrel minigun paintball gun that was mounted on their "Hellhound" golf cart tank mod thingie.

[Vinn @ Nov 20th 2006 4:37PM]

Whoa, I could pwn so many houses with that.... I mean, uh, I could kick everyone's ass at paintball.

[Jeff @ Nov 20th 2006 5:09PM]

It's been done, with paintball, airsoft, and BBs.

[JON BLAST @ Nov 20th 2006 5:39PM]

Is paintballing still the domain of long haired, magic the gathering playing wannabe weekend warriors?

[silky_z @ Nov 20th 2006 5:59PM]

i want one, no one would be able to touch me in woodsball

[Derek @ Nov 20th 2006 6:00PM]

Too bad 1200psi is 4 times the maximum recommended pressure for shooting paintballs.

[ZAch Silk @ Nov 20th 2006 6:02PM]

from the vid, it looks like it works ok, i just wonder how he'll get the paintballs to fire that fast

[Axi0n @ Nov 20th 2006 7:01PM]

Hmmm... 1200 PSI... That will be about as effective as a Wagner paint sprayer...

Even some of the best current markers have feed issues... Paintballs aren't perfect... This is gonna chop and spew crazy paint... But will likely land just about 0 intact balls on any intended target...

Give me an oldschool cocker anyday...

[Luke @ Nov 20th 2006 7:50PM]

Axi0n I'll one-up you. Not too much matches the attention my Sterling STP gets, ESPECIALLY when I face off with a cocker and win. Top-o-teh line Pumps are where it's at.

(lol, actually I get owned a lot, but I wouldn't trade my sterling for the world.)

[Matt Hadder @ Nov 20th 2006 8:02PM]

If you froze the paint balls first and then rigged it up to use the natural cooling of the pressure tank to keep them chilly you wouldn't have to worry about chopping or spraying paint.

Then the only concern is not gettting hit solid balls of frozen paint launched with 1200psi... might be handy in gitmo though! 8|

[ChrisWray @ Nov 21st 2006 2:25AM]

For some reason, I haven't put paintballs into it yet (mentally).
I'm just thinking I'd hate to get shot in the eye with all that air.

[DT @ Nov 21st 2006 3:37PM]

"Jon Blast": No, it isn't. Well, to some it is but paintball has grown far beyond that.

"Matt Hadder": Paintballs cannot be frozen, it's a myth. The only thing putting them in a freezer would do is to make them cold and very brittle, which would exactly be helpful. And the PSI it runs at isn't reflective of the speed the balls are launched, most of it is probably used to spin the damn thing and recock it.


The idea is neat simply for aesthetics and authenticity in scenario games. However it's pretty silly since if you really, really wanted that speed, you could spend... about $1500 on a high end tournamet gun with a nice hopper and tank. Then you just switch on to the ramping of your choice and acheived that speed with more accuracy and tons less weight.

[mastershake @ Nov 21st 2006 4:40PM]

dumb, modern paint guns can be very fast. My eblade HAS shot 32+ palls per second, the loaders can't keep up. The point behind a mini gun, or Gatling gun is; 1)heat disperse over several barrels, and 2)misfires are cycled through and dumped without stopping. There is no issue with heat in paintball, the air comes out cold, and a misfire can be shot through though messy...but since his doesn't look like it "ejects" unused rounds it doesn't matter. Not to mention he is WAY over pressure. firing pressure should be about 30-85 psi. This guy is a tool.

[bobtheflame @ Apr 10th 2008 7:59PM]

For anyone who cares, on the ACTUAL site for the gun, the guy explains that 1200 psi is not hitting the paintball, that's just to help with the rotation. According to HIM, the pressure actually HITTING the ball would (in theory, since he's not actually FIRED the thing that I know of,) be equal to that of a standard marker.

As for me, I'd LOVE a paintball minigun. Not because I use that much paint or cant hit the broad side of a barn or anything, but simply because of the fear factor. Again, not that I need it, I do just fine with my Alpha, and a good 'ole fashioned run-screaming-at-the-top-of-your-lungs gunning. It'd just be a cool thing to tote to D-day or some such.

yeah, the hellhound did it first, but you know what? The public cant GET a hellhound, now can they? If they can, I'd like to know where. Me and meh boys could sure use one for our woodsballing.

[Maj.D.Saster @ Aug 24th 2008 2:47PM]

Interesting project, from an engineering point of view. But pretty impractical as a combat weapon in the sport of paintball. Even if you buy in large bulk, figure about $0.03 per ball, that machine would eat up your paycheck, and no commercial field I have ever played would allow it.
I have always felt too many new players are over concerned with how many "Balls per second" they can shoot. I have been useing a stock TippMann 98 since 1998 and I have eliminated people useing about every gun you can name with all kinds of gee whiz mods. Most of my 'kills' ar acheived on a three shot burst.
"It's not the gun, it's the player"
Maj.D.Saster
www.marauderspaintball.com