It's hard to believe that Planet Eclipse already released their 5th generation paintball gun, the Ego 9. In 2004, the first Eclipse Ego debuted and captured the attention of most professional players and high-end gun users. Planet Eclipse built a gun around weight, air efficiency, size, ergonomics, and accuracy. Over the last 4 years, Planet Eclipse has been making some very aggressive moves in the high-end paintball gun market. The Ego came in and swept away "old technology" in paintball.

Right now the leading manufacturers in the high-end gun market are Dye/Proto (DM9/PM8), Smart Parts (Shocker), and Planet Eclipse (Ego). Say goodbye to WDP (Angels) and WGP (Autocockers), they will soon become antiques. The Eclipse Ego can be partially blamed for this but good riddance. Planet Eclipse has been building their guns around the same solid foundations of reliability, performance, light-weight'ness and simplicity. You can expect the same features, and more, with the new Ego 9.

MSRP: $1499.99 ($1,250.00)

You can almost see the brilliance coming from the DLX Luxe, Smart Parts newly manufactured high end paintball gun. The DLX Luxe (pronounced "Lukes") has already debuted at the NPPL Huntington Beach event in March, catching the attention of most of the paintball industry. Other than its shilling beauty, the Luxe is loaded with all of today's fancy technology, putting it ABOVE the "high-end" gun class and into its own luxury brand. Sure there might be a lot of "hype" built around this gun right now, but you must admit that it's p.i.m.p. The Luxe was designed to perform for tournament play, keeping in mind every player's need for general maintenance, cleaning, and configuration while under little to no time.

How much?
$1500.

Under the leadership of the DLX Technology group (owned by Smart Parts), the combined efforts of designers, pneumatic, mechanical, manufacturing and software engineers, multimedia developers, linguistic specialists, professional paintball players and leading paintball field and store operators have culminated in the development of the ultimate luxury paintball marker – a synchronization of style, raw performance and unparalleled customer support.

DLX Luxe features:
- Audible voice is used to denote marker status, adjustment mode, etc
- Tool-less field strip for the firing assembly and eye/detent covers.
- Optional grip-routed air supply through the frame (LE only) using the special Luxe foregrip regulator, no macroline.
- Compatible with a standard vertical regulator and screw-in ASA combo if needed (uses macroline).
- Beam-break anti-chop eyes.
- Integrated piston detents.
- Cam-lock feedneck.
- Five available languages (English, French, German, Russian, and Spanish).
- Multiple adjustment settings, and a variety of base firing modes (semi, PSP, NXL, fullyauto, etcetc).
- Rechargeable Lithium-polymer power source, yields approximately 25,000 shots per full charge.
- Battery charger and one spare battery included.
- Smart Parts barrel thread (fits Ion/XE/SP1/SP8/Vibe, Nerve, Shocker NXT, Impulse).
- Freak barrel included.
- Fully adjustable trigger (post travel, pre travel, firing point, retention weight)
- Indirect-acting solenoid (Parker model, low power use, easy serviceability).
- Weight is 27.3 ounces, or 774 grams.
- Carrying case and spares kit included.

DLX Luxe Website: LuxePaintball.com

On May 15, 2008 Kingman will be introducing their new 2008 Spyder Electra paintball gun into the market. MSRP'd at $249.99 and retailing for only $199.99, the 2008 Electra is already grabbing the attention from Ion and SLG users. The Spyder Electra is part of Kingman's Classic Series gun line. The Spyder Electra use to be such a primitive electronic paintball gun way back in 2004. Things have changed since then and now Kingman is in a constant running race, along with Smart Parts and Dye, to create an affordable and reliable electronic paintball gun. Right now the battle is between the Smart Parts Ion, Proto SLG, and the 2008 Spyder Electra. Of course there are others, but these are the main players in the market today.

If you had $250 to spend on just a gun (stock, no upgrades), which one would you most likely buy?

Here's Kingman's sales pitch:

The all new generation Spyder Electra with Eye is back with a vengeance. The new design concept features a reduced overall profile (25% weight & 15% length). The Electra with Eye comes standard equipped with the LEAP™ circuit board developed by Tadao® Technologies providing unsurpassed speed and reliability. Outfitted with Spyder's "Synergy Engineered Technology" the Electra with Eye operates on dual air sources (CO2 & Compressed Air) at 300PSI low operational pressure. This all aluminum constructed powerhouse will out perform every other marker in its class.

Performance Features
+ LEAP™ Circuit Board with Rear Facing Color Access Mode Display (CAMD) Developed by Tadao® Technologies
+ "Synergy Engineering" Low Pressure Dual Air Source System
+ Break Beam Eye (Anti-Chop System)
+ Aluminum Eye Covers
+ 3 Modes of Operation (Semi-Auto, Ramp PSP, & Ramp Millennium)
+ Fast Charge Inline Regulator
+ Vented Pressure Relief On/Off CA Adapter
+ Reduced Overall Profile (25% Lighter and 15% Shorter)
+ Up to 25 BPS Rate of Fire
+ Steel Braided Hose Line
+ Quick Release Delrin Bolt
+ 12" Two Piece Micro Ported Barrel
+ Twist Lock Clamping Feedneck
+ 3-Way Adjustable Magnetic Response "Saber" Trigger
+ All Aluminum Constructed Body
+ Recessed Dual Texture Grip Panels
+ All Aluminum Trigger Frame with Integrated Dove Tail
+ Standard CA Thread Vertical Adapter
+ Compatible with a Spyder 9.6v Rechargeable Battery or a Premium 9v Alkaline Battery
+ External Velocity Adjuster
+ 300 PSI Operational Pressure
+ Operates on CO2 or Compressed Air

Believe it or not, WDP is slowly declining in popularity in the paintball world. Dye and Smart Parts are starting to dominate the paintball gun market with their very affordable and very reliable high and low end paintball markers. The battle between these major gun manufacturers revolves around bringing the end consumer (you and me) what we want. Right now Dye, Smart Parts, WDP, Planet Eclipse, and all other major manufacturers are struggling to bring the end consumer the fastest, most reliable, most affordable, and most efficient paintball marker in the world. The 2008 Angel A1 is WDP's stab at it. So far the gun is getting great reviews. But is it any match for the Dye's DM8 or the new PE Ego's?

WDP announced their new 2008 gun line at Huntington Beach in late March. Retailing at around $1,300, the Angel A1 caught the eye of many tournament ballers at the event for a few reasons. Of course just like every other WDP gun, the Angel A1 has one of the sickest designs on the market today. Also, WDP really stresses on its ergonomics (the applied science of equipment design intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue, safety and discomfort). So for example, ergonomics would involve designing a paintball gun's grip frame to fit the human hand as comfortably as possible. This is key for tourny ballers because weight distribution and comfort for the player can really obstruct the team's performance.

The A1 Fly has been getting mad reviews. WDP is expected to keep up with all the other major gun brands out there - the only real way to find out which one is right for you is to shoot them all! Personally, I have always enjoyed the "feeling" of WDP's gun line. Their guns operate at such low pressure (about 55 psi) you can barely feel any kick.

WDP also put out special Miami Rage and Joy Division Angel A1's since they sponsor them. Designer guns like these will cost you another $100 or $200 - and all you really get is different anodizing that the team agreed upon.

New features for the Angel A1 Fly:

• New Mini-reg with what appears to come with standard regulator threads; therefore, after-market regs such as AKA or CP can be put on without the purchase of an additional adapter.
• New Valve/Valve Stem/Ram dubbed the Magno Valve System
• New Milling which has reduced the weight of the already light-weight A1 (the most noticeable amount has been removed from the solenoid cover)
• 3 piece Eye Covers (these did not previously come stock with A1s)
• New Board Graphics, not necessarily a new board
• New Trigger
• New Milled/Slimmed down ASA
• New Grips with: "Fly Paper"
• New "Fly Paper" grip on the grip frame, grip, and regulator.
• New Milled/Slimmed down feedneck
• New Carbon Fiber Barrel Tip
• 6 Piece Barrel Kit is speculated to also come with the A1 Fly.

Once of Smart Parts' sales representatives posted on PBN the durability of their electropneumatic paintball markers, specifically their SP-1 and Vibe. Both of these paintball guns retail for about $150 each. These two markers are considered entry/beginner level guns, competing with most Kingman Spyders and the notorious Tippmann 98 Custom. Smart Parts is really trying to win the beginner-level market. Why? Because the average paintballer only plays for about two years... no joke. Because of this, the volume of beginner players is much higher than experienced.

A few months ago I threw together a table comparing the new Smart Parts gun line. I suggest you take a look at it if you're curious to see how the Vibe and SP-1 will match up against the others.

By reducing and refining the electropneumatic systems that we have perfected in professional level paintball markers, our design team has radically raised the bar for performance, reliability and efficiency that is affordable to the first time player. While both new markers share the same internal structure and operating characteristics, each has its own unique flavor: the Vibe for the player moving fast on the speedball field, and the SP-1 for the scenario player in the woods. -Scott