OMW: Bolt-Action Worries

See the full reviews of OMW's products at NM&R

Though I can't deny my own personal frustration after placing pre-orders for the OMW Longstrike Massacre kit back in October and the OMW Immortal Longshot kit in November, I have no doubts after seeing what NM&R has posted in their reviews of these highly anticipated products.  I am a bit surprised that they chose do release the Raider and Longstrike Polycarbonate parts in different colors though, as I was expecting that Translucent Orange seen on the Recon's kit.  I think the Green Polycarbonate in the Longstrike would be best suited in the Sonic Series Longstrike and the Blue Polycarbonate parts for the Raider will look fine in the traditional blue scheme for that blaster, but I was hoping for the Orange colors all-around for these kits.  Oh well!  As internals, color is sort of irrelevant unless you've got a Clear or Sonic Series blaster that you're dropping these internals into.

Longstrike "Blur" Project

I am still a bit worried about the Longstrike kit though, as I had hoped that it would solve the priming issue that the Stage 1 OMW kits were plagued with.  Because of the strength of the spring, two hands were needed to prime the Longstrike blaster with a Stage 1 kit in it because the stock boltsled was too weak and would warp under the pressure, causing the priming bar for it to tilt and not complete the prime.  This was evident in a test I did last summer with my Longstrikes.  As a result of these tests, I started work on a project called the "Longstrike Blur", which was aimed at building a shotgun-style pump for a Longstrike to evenly distribute pressure on the priming bar, making it easier to prime.

My thoughts were that with the stronger Polycarbonate parts in the Massacre kit that warping would not occur and, thus, you would be able to prime this blaster with one hand, without the need for a shotgun-style pump modification and so I put the Blur's project on hold until I could get the Massacre kit.  However, after delays with the Massacre kits and seeing Jerm's review of the Longstrike Kit, I am still worried that a shotgun style pump will be needed to make this a useful blaster in a game.  The need to prime a blaster with two hands makes a blaster tough to use in a game since it requires more time in-between shots and is increasingly difficult to do when you're on the move.

OMW Longshot Immortal Parts

Since the Polycarbonate parts in the OMW Longstrike Massacre kit don't seem to solve this problem, I also worry about the OMW Immortal Longshot kit, which is also has a bolt-action prime.  While having a powerful spring in these blasters lies at the heart of these Orange Mod Works kits, if the new parts don't enable the kits to be primed easily, their usefulness to those who want to use them as a main weapon in games is going to slip.  Two-handed priming of a blaster is simply too much of a hassle for being used in a game, regardless of the performance boost that they provide.  I hope that things pan out differently and dispel my worries for these kits that seem to sacrifice the one-handed prime to the powerful springs that they use.