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| Deja vu? Nope, just more crappy parts |
To the left is the replacement Orange Mod Works Longstrike Massacre breech. Earlier, in my
Massacred post, I had this same breakage on this kit with a 6kg spring. Admittedly, I was trying to single-hand prime the bolt-action Longstrike and this likely put stress on the part where it broke. When I received the replacement breech, I installed it with a 5kg spring instead and used the Xplorer rapid-fire grip designed for the Longstrike. I used it and tested it out a little bit, but nothing too serious. A few days ago, I let a trustworthy friend borrow my Xplorer/OMW Whiteout Longstrike and during
the game it ended up busting at the same point. He's not known to be rough or inconsiderate to my blasters (I wouldn't have let him borrow the blaster if that were the case) but it jammed mid-way through the game and after I took a look at it, I couldn't believe to see the same break I had experienced before.
Today I decided to open it up and fix this. I removed the bolt sled and breech, peeled off the OMW logo that had once donned the top-grip before, and re-installed the stock parts. I probably won't even bother asking for a replacement part at this point, as I have no desire to continue to run unreliable parts in my
Whiteout Longstrike. I'll be keeping the 5kg spring, the OMW plunger tube (since I haven't seen any of those break) and the metal catch and discarding the leftover breech parts. I thought about using the bolt sled, but it seemed like more work than it was worth at the time.
There was still a dart trapped inside the breech, so I decided to get it out.
Once I put the blaster back together, I tested it out with some Elite darts and set it aside for it's next game. I'm pretty confident it'll be more reliable in it's current state to whomever I end up loaning it out to. I have also decided to cancel my Immortal Longshot kit I've ordered from them. Experience with OMW tells me that regardless of how much time they spend on testing out these parts (which was the main delay on the Massacre kits) that it'll still be an unreliable and breakage-prone design. I'll let someone else be the guinea pig for that release.
I understand your pain; I've never gotten an OMW kit, and the Longshot kit was my first... Still waiting... In-fact, I've been waiting so long that I've nearly forgotten about it. I'm patient, and I can wait for a kit, as long as they are actually building something worth my while. SO lets hope it's worth my while...
ReplyDeleteFor your sake, Jon-Marc, I hope that kit is a winner. After my experiences, I'd rather not take what seems to be an inevitable risk. I don't wish for anyone's kits to fail, as I know that spending money on hobbies can get expensive if it's not spent well.
DeleteWhat about the Xplorer Longstrike bolt sled?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.freewebstore.org/Xplorer-Foam-Blaster-Developments/Bolt_Sled_for_Longstrike/p1477121_6925493.aspx
i wonder if they need to switch back to metal, because i ordered an old metal recon kit(1 and 2) and they work flawlessly. ive put it through countless games and dryfires and nothings broken on me yet.of course it could just be the way the longstrike distributes the force on the boltsled assembly. i dont know. at least OMW still sells good springs
ReplyDeleteInteresting to say the least. Seems like OMW might not be as reliable as one might think.
ReplyDeleteI have two of the OMW recon kits myself, the full Unleashed set (mounted in a clear recon) and a Massacre set (mounted in a sonic recon). I've had no problems with either, both seem to work great. Personally though, I do prefer the Unleashed kit. The Massacre kit seems to prime rougher for some unknown reason, I like the weight of the metal internals and the performance seems to be ever so slightly better with the Unleashed.
ReplyDeleteI've wanted to get Massacre kits for both my Longstrike and Raider, but have been waiting for these kinks to get worked out. At this rate, with the Rampage on the scene and most likely an Elite Longstrike release within the next year it might be better to just wait.
I had thought about getting a Recon or Raider-based kit from them, but after getting the Elite blasters, there's really no point to invest in one for me.
DeleteI actually was doing some range testing the other night, and both the Unleashed and Massacre kits outperformed the mostly stock (only AR's removed) Retaliator. It is close enough to make me wonder how the Retaliator will do with a better spring, so I may order some OMW springs and see.
DeleteAlso while on the subject of range testing, when I was checking it seemed like the elite darts were getting consistently better ranges with the barrel extensions than without. I need to do another round of testing to confirm this though. However, I was curious if you have seen the same thing.
I had this issue occur to my Longstrike with an OMW 5kg spring (with stock breech and boltsled, plunger reinforced). Luckily I found it before it broke (only had stress marks) and I epoxied the areas showing such stress, so it shouldn't break anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteI actually think part of it is a Longstrike design flaw, and it's not entirely OMW's fault. Still, it is a shame to see such parts break.
Which damaged part u referring too?
DeleteBoltsled? Plunger tube?
Thanks