Ok, so i've come up with a plan and spent the money on the pvc and flex tube. The plan you ask, well let me start wit the problem.....again. On my tank i have 2 spider pilot acs markers mounted aproximately 7 inches apart. On the markers i run Viewloader force feed hoppers. In combination, guns and markers, the viewing area infront of the turret man becomes largely blocked. The problem is now to figure out where and how to remote locate the hoppers and thier larger view blocking bulk hoppers. Well, i decided that i had space in the turret cockpit to mount the force hoppers and then drill holes in the roof to accomodate the 2" pvc pipes that feed the bulk to the force hoppers. Ok, so your now asking how does one get the balls the 2.5 feet from the force hoppers to the guns? That is simply done by useing 3/4 inch flex tubing that you can find at the local lumber supply store. ( 6 feet is about seven bucks.) So, a few feet of flex tube, some plummers tape(not to be confused with duct tape, like my girlfriend did) to hold the force hoppers up to the roof, a hole saw that is very sharp ( i cut myself repeatedly), a powerful drill, a few pieces of pvc, and some 3/4 inch angle iron for bracing and the bulk hoppers are mounted above the roof. With the force hoppers in, i still need to route the flex tubes the best way possible to the guns. The tubes are a pain to work with, ya just cant let them flop where ever they wanna go, a person has got to take turing into the equasion also. Oh, forgot to mention that i had to figure out how to connect the tubes to the gun. Funny how a 1/2 inch 45 degree pvc union works well, tho ya might wanna use a heat gun to soften the plastic in order to get it to fit the feed neck of the marker. The 3/4 inch flex tube actually fits snugly into the union really well so no glue or added securement is needed. All that is left is to actually route the tubing.
When making a tank i can only suggest to use paintball netting if at all possible. I've tried plexi glass and found it works good at stopping paintballs, but also it has a tendency to collect alot of sploge from the shots witch block up your viewing area. The netting works well, it provies exellent ventilation, and also acts as a catch for the paintballs. The down side is weather to mount it taught, or loose or semi-loose. The best way to mount your netting is semi-loose. If you mount it really tight, it"ll bounce the balls right away, but also will tear easier. If you mount it loose loose, it bunches together and becomes harder to see through. I made the mistake of listening to a producer friend of mine and pulling my netting taught, this is works good if its cast at an angle, but sucks if its used at a perpendicular line to that of fire. it tears too easily and leaves you with spots that you can get shot through. One of the other things i've realized is that the best thing to do is keep your guns in a protected area and let just the barrels stick out. This is one of the other details i needed to change as that my markers stick out a good 12 inches infront of my netting. On its trial game, the guns were so shot up that one marker lost a ball detent and the other lost a cocking pin. To fix this problem, i just made a plexi glass cage to box in the markers. i'll have pictures up shortly of the hopper and marker setup. if ya have questions dont be afraid to ask any thing.
