| Original Message |
hp_lovecraft
Posted Feb 18, 2012 2:34 PM
It was the "Rubberband Semi" that did Rebline in. (Aka Confederate Arms). The rebline was a fantastic pump, but they decided to produce a semi-auto conversion for nelson guns. Similar to the Auto-traccer, and Chameleon, but predates both.
I remember lots of guys at my local field bought them. And this was a small field. I heard they sold thousands. This was back when an entry-level semi was $400, so the idea of a semi-conversion for guns you already owned sounded good.
And unfortunetly, they didn't work. They had serious design flaws, and Confederate Arms was flooded with repairs, updates, and returns. They were about to release a Trojan V2, but the money ran out, and they disappeared. A few years later, the same people tried to release the "Safe-T Machofire". The one that shot football shaped paintballs, and that never lasted (another one for the list).
USI (Ultimate Sport Inc) went under because the owner "Fast Eddie" owed too many people, and pissed off too many people to get any favors or credit. So he filed bankcrupcy. He then pulled a slight of hand and formed a new company "Apache", and sold USI to himself. (like Smartparts and OGG). That didnt last either, except for the field in Mass.
Its an interesting topic Doc. Paintball is a niche novelty hobby. Few people ever make money, and you really need to love the game to stick around. Year 2000 saw the start of the big mega-companies come into paintball, merge, and destroy. They also sucked all the life out of paintball, trying to mass produce, and dictate how we should play. |
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