Convert Left and Right views with NO feeder attachment (Above two)
Convert Left and Right views with Spring loaded feed tube attached
Convert Left and Right views with Right Hand Direct Feed attached.
A short review and pictures of the "Convert"
By Brent Hoefling AKA RamboPreacher PoG#6- "A Player, Not A Pro"
Pictures first: (warning - some pictures are rather large and may require a few minutes to download with a MoDem)
Convert Left and Right views with NO feeder attachment (Above two)
Convert Left and Right views with Spring loaded feed tube attached
Convert Left and Right views with Right Hand Direct Feed attached.
The Palmer Convert is basically a Typhoon without an external paintball feed device/passage built in. It comes with two slide on paint feeders however. The gun was designed to be converted from direct feed to spring fed tube feed in a matter of a minute or so. My Convert has a 10 ball spring fed tube adaptor and a Right Hand, direct feed adaptor. When I received the package from PPS, it had the spring fed tube attached. Of course it came with the standard array of PPS paraphernalia. The bottle of oil, and velocity adjust tool, a PPS sticker, a Palmer Patch and the generic "Typhoon, Stroker, Hurricane" Semi Auto Palmer manual. This Convert has a vertical bottle ASA. Though she has a stock trigger and is pretty much a typical Typhoon, she does also have a vented barrel. I won't talk much about the Typhoon and it's workings - that has been done many times (here is a link to a review and FAQ by Ravi). See Palmer's Pursuit Shop for more information.
What I will mention and talk about here is the convert functionality and its workings. As with the Short&Nasty, I was able to name this gun, since I bought the first one. After Talking to Craig about this gun he called it the convert, and I liked that name so it stayed. So if you decide that you like this gun, and want to order one of your own, you can order it by name - "Convert". They currently (as of Aug, 1999) cost $150+ the cost of a Typhoon. I have been told that the price is steep, but you are not just buying a strap on spring fed tube. You are getting a bolt on spring fed tube and a bolt on DF tube, both. These two slide on parts require tight tolerances, and a special built body. So a retrofit, this is NOT. I say "the cost of a Typhoon" because Custom Still Means Something and your particular Typhoon might not be a stock standard build like mine is.
Because the Spring fed tube is kind of long it was decided to have it actually have two places where it actually "fit" to the top of the barrel. With a 12" ported barrel, the spring fed tube sits nicely at about a 45 degree angel from top center. It is about 10" long so the barrel stick out a couple inches past the tube. Making it look dissimilar from a Squall. There are four set screws in the spring fed tube (two in the front and two in the back), which is a good thing because you don't want to tighten any of them down too much as to prevent the barrel from deforming. The direct feed is a right hand feed and not center feed as some have said. Thus accounting for the spring fed tube not sitting on the top of the gun either. The direct feed apparatus also has a sight rail on it for my ever popular ghost sight hoods. All my Palmer Guns are named and if possible have that name on them. "CONVERT" is not only the kind of paint gun she is, but also her name. And will be on her soon to be completed sight hood.
When "converting" the gun from Squall-like to Typhoon, the bolt must be removed, and as we all know, is a snap with Palmer guns. The difficult part is that you also have to remove the ball detent. At first doesn't seem to be a problem, but when dealing with the spring fed tube, takes a little dexterity to get it in there. It posed no problem for me as I have replaced many PPS ball detents in my day, but some may find it a little challenging.
I was impressed with the way the slide on feed tubes fit. Both the DF and the Spring fed slid on with no resistance but the tolerances were very tight, no slop. If/when PPS makes any more of these (this was the first), there will probably be more refinements (as there always are, with hand made custom built paintball guns), but I can't see the tolerances getting any tighter without a completely different design. depending on how you look at it a Squall with a bolt on DF or a Typhoon with a bolt on spring fed feed.
Again, it is a Typhoon, so I won't say much about it's performance other than it performs EXACTLY like a "normal" Typhoon; and that because it is a typhoon! I had a little problem when I got on it with the Spring fed tube, the spring cap would hang a bit on the edge of the slot in the side of the tube and the balls wouldn't be "pressurized". After a quick look-see, I noticed a little "bur" in the groove that it was catching on. not big enough to be a problem when shooting one ball at a time, but like I said, if I just hammered the 10 balls out, it would stick at about 6 balls. I didn't have a real file at the time but a fingernail file did the trick (I did say it was small). now there is no problem.
Though it has a vertical ASA, I can still use it with my real Squall, and play two handed style. They are not the same kinds of guns, but they shoot the same! Straight, accurate and very little movement, helping with a more effective range. For those who can afford it, this is actually two Paint guns in one! With a little special care when changing the styles, this Convert can be a primary and backup marker all in one. A little long for some holsters (with springfed tube), but a little searching and you can find a holster that will accommodate a long barrel (there are places like Doc Nickel's that can make a specially designed holster for your gun too.)
thanks - Brently