2006 MacDev Cyborg
2006 MacDev Cyborg Review
Based in Australia, MacDev (short for Mac Developments) has been silently powering teams and players all over the world to victory since the turn of the century. Starting off making regulators, rails, and other hard parts, MacDev expanded into the gun manufacturing business in 2004 with the release of their first marker, the Cyborg. Praised for its speed, accuracy, and reliability but shunned due to its size and weight, MacDev went back to the drawing board in 2005 and released the Sonic Cyborg, an upgraded model of the same marker. The Sonic fixed some of the size/weight issues, but not all of them. So again, for 2006, the Aussies went back into brainstorming mode and ended up with one of the best markers in paintball.
If the 2004 Cyborg was a ground-rule double and the Sonic was a home-run, the boys from down under hit a grand slam with the 2006 Cyborg. Weighing in at less than an ‘06 EGO and packing as much firepower as any DM6, Shocker, or Intimidator on the market, the 2006 Cyborg is one of the most finely tuned killing machines out there.
First Impressions- When I received my ‘06 ‘Borg, I was dumbfounded before I even got to look at it. MacDev sends every Cyborg in a high quality, heavily padded and very durable gun case. The real prize, however, is obviously inside. When I first opened the case, I was amazed by the quality of the anno. No flaws here, folks- everything is perfect. Also, the gun comes with a 2-piece MacDev Matchstick barrel (gloss black, .689 back and a front that is match-anno’d to the color of the gun), a manual and a nice sized sheet of stickers.
Initial Tests & Design Impressions- Throwing on my NDZ uni-mount, Throttle 45/4500 air tank and Empire Reloader B, I was amazed at how light the complete package was. Even with paint, this thing is extremely easy to toss around and run & gun with.
At first, I couldn’t find the on/off switch on the gun, seeing as it’s (quite ingeniously) recessed up into the trigger frame, situated right above the trigger. This prevents paint clogging the button holes or accidentally turning the gun off during play. After switching the marker on and setting it to uncapped semi, I turned off the eyes (simply hold the trigger until the light starts flashing) and began to dry fire. The trigger is so smooth is hard to believe, and shooting at 15+ cps was incredibly simple. Without any adjustments out of the box, it chrono’d at: 282, 280, 279, 283, 282, 282, 282, 280; and it read 17bps after I ripped a rope over it (with completely stock settings, mind you). Switching the gun to 20bps full auto was simple, as programming is similar to that of a Virtue or Predator board, as watching the paint disappear from my hopper was even easier. The gun shot perfect ropes with no breaks, chops, drop-off, or any other problems.
First Xball Practice- After setting the Cyborg to PSP legal mode, I went out with my team for the first game of the day. Again, the gun worked absolutely flawlessly. I ran and shot out to a corner without the ‘Borg skipping a beat, and a quick move down the tape saw me take out 3 players before promptly getting blasted me. After my team closed out the game, I had tons of people around me asking to shoot it.
The gun worked flawlessly for the rest of the day without a single hiccup. It was really nice not having to worry about my gun going down in the middle of a game, and just being able to blast faces.
I ended up getting about 1150 shots off of the 45/4500 I was using, and I thought that was excellent seeing as it was the first time I had used the gun.
We ended up winning our scrimmage 9-3, and my Cyborg along with my teammates EGO were the only guns that were up all day on our team.
Post Scrimmage Rec-Play- I decided to throw it back into uncapped semi, and was amazed to find out how easy it was to shoot quickly in a game situation with that particular trigger setup.
Again, the gun shot ropes, whether it was running to the X or playing the snake- it ended up feeling like a natural extension of my body.
Conclusion- MacDev really outdid themselves with this one. It’s easily the most reliable gun I’ve ever owned and probably the fastest as well. I’m amazed more people don’t own them, they’re absolutely spectacular guns. Light, fast, durable, and efficient, you can’t find a better buy for $975.