@@sillysalmoninc. that doesnt mean you cant be accurate with one, especially considering It was fired full automatic and with a low variable scope; It should have at least hit something by sheer volume
My thing with this pretty simple: conceptually, the idea of having a core around which you could theoretically build just about any blaster-shaped object is spectacular, but we already have the Fly Core, FTW, and similar projects, which are all less expensive, more customizable, more approachable, and not banned in well over half of the foam clubs I've ever played at. The Minibox seems to be another example of an answer to a question no one really asked.
This is definitely interesting, but it really does seem like it’s still at the beta stages. Once milsig works out the kinks, I would be curious to see what can be done.
As a former paintballer that has recent gotten into nerf myself I was more comfortable with hpa and looked for a core to use to get started but just haven't been able to get my hands on one, in between work and life I haven't had the chance to design one myself so something like this that would actually work would save me a lot of time and effort lol.
Foam balls and ball type rounds would definitely need a form of 'hop-up' to be at all effective. Love the idea of a Gundam blaster! We need more retro sci fi in the market.
I dont want hoppers..lets keep clips please Just because you can put a huge ugly bowl on top to increase capacity without reloading doesnt mean you should
I love the idea, and as someone who likes to design around a core (mostly flycore) having different ways to hide the working bits is always nice. The flywheel bulge is always a dead giveaway with most “functional prop” type blasters. Having more options allows for more creativity.
And there, for me, is the deal-breaker; you have to treat them with respect or they'll bite you in the arse. I don't use lipos for the same reason. Perfectly happy with nimh packs, and I can't see myself being comfortable with a tank that may go boom on me!
Hpa tanks are dangerous only if you treat them badly. A tank wouldn’t “go boom” unless it has been through years of solid abuse and throwing around. Not to mention that lipos are just as dangerous unless you treat them with respect.
I love the idea. Especially in a core kit that you could use to print your own body, or use an older more common nerf shell and retrofit it. HPA was rad in the Paintball days as it was more stable in temp changes than CO2. But honestly this kit needs some attention. I think they should bring someone in from the hobby, weather its you, any other person in the know to kinda coach what is needed out of the system. The hobby is ever changing and locally it seems everyone here is either into Gel or Airsoft. So maybe something like this will catch the attention of more people. The downside is the thing that will really progress the hobby to new eyes is also something that the hobby shy's away from. Realism. Which means more venues need to allow "Nerf Nights"
So I'm a bit confused by this video as I regularly travel to attend Mil Sig's events here in Asia. The Minibox has been out for more than a year now so this is definitely not a new product or platform that is coming out. Many people, and companies, in the hobby have already been doing their own design for this platform here. Moreover, the current Minibox is much different than the one you showcased in your video as they've been working with other prominent companies in the hobby to essentially achieve what you're preaching for in this video. I think they've learned alot from M79's release and are currently on the right path with their product design philosophy. Also, I just want to clarify that its the entire blaster that costs $250 and not just the Minibox core. I know that price is still pretty steep but from what I've heard recently, cheaper options are coming soon. Lastly, and this is the part where I'm very confused about and perhaps you can shed some light on this. What they send you was a prototype and not a pre-production or a production model. Because I recall asking them at one of the trade show in Taiwan that they attended almost a year and half ago, where they were showcasing a minibox prototype for the first time, that if there will be a NA distributor for this platform. They mentioned that they are in talks with OOD and will be sending a Minibox prototype, not for a review, but for a very different purpose. Few months later after that, I learned the deal fell through at another one of their event and was kinda bummed out about it as I primarily live in the states. So if a deal fell through between you guys then why do an outdated product review video about their product a year later? I can't imagine what their reasons would be to ask you to do a review video with an oudated tech, or why after a year you still look surprised by the full auto jamming issue of the prototype version.
maybe he thought the shell came from starwars and gave that every single staff at milsig a huge collective kidney cramp through time and space across different realities or something. Or maybe milsig sent him a prototype quite a while ago and he just left them hanging.
Luke is 100% right on turbulence!!! I also go by Corsairs Custom Products. I have done extensive research on this coming from all kinds of airguns myself inclusing paintball, air hunting, PCP's and now Nerf. I have done several builds using PB engines to cheap pellet gun valves (2240). Regulating the air down to about 60 psi out of the port and the keeping a tad longer "Dwell" on that air is the key point...This is why the Super Core works well...... I still dabble in this and still have a few designs.....but at some point it will have to be a all in one unit like this "Box", to keep it controlled air....
Very interesting... I went down a rabbit hole before checking the cost of HPA...lol I think you should go back and retest with a proper air tank - it might affect the performance!! That could have something to do with the full auto issues.
We love HPA! HPA does take some tlc to get to work well. Totally worth it to learn! The minicore is essentially the same thing as the M79 core. You HAVE to learn how the system works and maintain it properly for them to run well. Same as a Caliburn. We’ve put holes in our dart catcher too with just our high FPS builds, haha. We’ve found the rubber Milsig balls to be more accurate than foam balls, but yea. They’re not soft though. Foam .50cal balls are great for shotguns! Looks like the bolt is just not returning fully. A stronger return spring or maintaining the orings around the bolt would help that. That would also highly contribute to the inconsistency.
I think it's a cool idea. I have seen several in play at private fields I echo the accuracy/reliability issues. Honestly yes HPA blasters are good but a quality flywheeler is able to compete with HPA as in, I have scored tags against HPA users with flywheelers (Mayflys, @135fps) its still fun for all involved. Personally HPA is expensive, recharging air is difficult and finicky so though hpa is available there is limited appetite. Maybe this product is a new supercore (love Nihroda bulpups soo much fun). However I think on balance at the price with AEB/G platforms; for less money, better reliability, no gas required & similar performance (also less legal issues here) this product may have missed the boat.
I'm not personally keen on HPA because of the safety risks, but I really like the idea of modular cores that can be built upon. When 3D printing first took off, this is what I imagined in terms of customization and variety. If there was something using pressurized air that came in at a lower price point and was inherently safer, I'd gladly accept a performance drop for that. As it is, this departs too far toward what separates our hobby from others, at least for my tastes.
One question I have anyone can feel free to answer this is I want to put a air pressure system into my dart zone jurassic pro. 1 is this feasible? 2 any tips would be great! Yes I know the jurassic pro is technically air powered via the spring but it is not the same as having a practically weightless bolt!
The concept is nice. But given that most public places don't allow HPA, and even LPA (low pressure air for those unaware), and the fact that one of the firing modes doesnt really work, I don't see this taking off in America. It might see more use in Australia since they seem to love using paintball tanks to power nerf blasters, but i think most of them have a reliable setup by now
Mine doesn’t jam on the regular. In fact, it’s one of the more reliable HPA systems in my collection. It takes familiarization and customization for sure though. Out of the box, the barrel and scar need to be replaced for example. Milsig should’ve never sent their first runs to RU-vidrs 😂, none of them showed it off properly. Spectre’s rundown was by far the most accurate in terms of info. And his hybrid barrel adapter is an absolute game changer in terms of accuracy and consistency.
I think hpa and foam ball’s could bridge the gaps between paintball, air soft and nerf. Perhaps we’ll see more of this at airsoft fields. Could be pretty cool.
Now we need an airsoft company to make an AEG that takes talon compatable magazines and has a gearbox that won’t self destruct like a modded stampede eventually will. Because I would buy that just for the satisfying KA-THUNK KA-THUNK
I'm still holding out for a great aeg that's 180+ fps. I love my stampede, but 90fps isn't competitive. Not without a complete brass breech or eze breech. And even then the plastic can only handle so much spring. Come on airsoft companies make me something good!
If it flings foam, i like it, but again like the m79, its not reliable and at times functional. We have a long way to go before hpa becomes a common thing. We'll probably develop common aegs before we get to common hpa.
You should have mentioned that some of us in the hobby have been putting 'Supercores' and 'Spekbz's' into Hasbro shells for the past two years - simply to address the 'Real Steel' look. Regarding this 'Minibox' - Milsig seem to have a high fail rate with their offering ( M79 -case in point) so I'll give it a pass. I've moved away from HPA/LPA and am now looking forward to the new AEB blasters that are coming out.
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To this day, I still have not seen an accurate Milsig. Plus the jamming issues is always a bummer. I will say tho, I do appreciate a core for designers to build random stuff. #HpaDeploy
My group has a lot of guys using hpa and many use it at 130fps games. You can pretty much hpa any blaster if you can get a core from spectre or other to fit. One guy has hpa'd a slingfire which is hilarious...... Also I'd argue you can play any blaster type against any blaster type. You just have to ajust your play to over come them. I've played against many people using hpa from spexbz to supeecores and milsigs in high and low fps games. I tend to use springers and have as much success tagging player with the hpa as i do any other. In fact, 9ne game i ended in a situation where it was me with a 180 fps blaster against two with supercore blaster hitting 230+. I managed to take them both out and defend our base before anyone got back to help me. IMO it's more the player than the blaster. Sure the blaster helps, but knowing how to play against them is the key
Oh I'm definitely putting down $300 dollars for a blaster that barely works, has select fire that doesn't work with darts, prioritizes a super dangerous ammo type, and is powered by something that's pretty much just a bomb waiting to explode. What a mess. We don't need to be blurring the lines between Nerf and airsoft even more.
The bomb would only be ready to explode if you throw it around and treat it poorly. Don’t get me wrong it does happen, but it usually happens to hardcore Airsoft/paintball players, the ones that run around and throw themselves to the ground. Nerf games are usually less competitive and witnessing an hpa tank explode would be extremely rare
MilSig sent us a new lower, which replaced the entire bolt assembly. We haven't tested it rigorously to find out if it would get stuck again, but it does fire now.
I wasn't apart of the PaNNC decision to ban Hyper and .50 cal balls. However, I understand that it was due to their size and color making them difficult to sweep. Perhaps if they were colored differently, it would be a different story.
Its basically what this does, at least in actuating the breech. But besides, that would be a bad way to go if you want high pressure air to power your blaster. Using high pressured air to generate high pressured air (via plunger tube) is too complicated
Yeah, I think having a modular HPA core is a great idea. It would be really good to be able to not have to design a system from scratch. It would be really cool if a company like Worker came out with a blaster that could use HPA, or springs. But, the execution of this particular product leaves much to be desired. This is just not useable. Yeah, I understand tuning and all that, but you shouldn't have to mess with it to achieve basic useability. The full auto not working and the supreme lack of accuracy would be bad enough, let alone at this price point. The price point is high, but I think there would be buyers if it was a good product. And, this just isn't.
Sorry Luke but I have to disagree with you on your comment about going and playing PB or AS if you want to use the M79. Those communities are nowhere near as welcoming and positive as the Foam dart communities. It’s a shame you haven’t taken the time to familiarize yourself with the M79. It is so much fun, incredibly accurate and reliable once you configure it properly. HPA needs to have a place in our hobby. It will take REAL information and education from people like you with credibility in the hobby if we hope to curb the fear around these systems. I agree that the M79 in stock form is not appropriate for public park use. But, I have made several changes to the shroud and its overall silhouette with 3D printed parts. It is now much more toy looking and can certainly be compared to other blaster’s aesthetics that have been agreed upon to be safe for public use. I hope that your future videos concerning HPA systems can have a more methodical approach. Addressing safety concerns of components and air tanks. It’s clear that your opinion of HPA is biased towards the negative, which is not necessarily helpful when trying to present information to people without any experience with these systems. HPA is certainly on the advanced end of modding and hobby knowledge, and your audience would benefit more if you could approach HPA in the way you helped people understand LiPo safety. Now most people in the hobby aren’t scared of LiPos anymore. Because you helped teach them. Your words and knowledge are important, and if you approached HPA in this way, you would help eliminate widespread fear. Thanks as always Luke.
I'm not a big fan of HPA, specifically for the reasons you mentioned at the end of the video: HPA is expensive to buy and prohibitively complicated to homebrew, but once *one* player in your field gets it right, it basically makes anything else not viable. Personally, the springer/flywheeler dichotomy was one of the big thing that drew me to foam flinging, and while I'm not against other methods of propulsion as a principle (stringers and rubber bands come to mind) I don't know why you would come into _this_ hobby and try to use HPA instead of just playing paintball or airsoft, where it's basically the accepted default. It seems like trying to fit a square peg into a dart-shaped hole to me.
HPA is usually not allowed at most games anyway. Most people get HPA setups for extremely high fps games like speeddart or make them just because they want to make something as powerful as possible.
If this review combined with reviews of previous HPA blasters have led me to any conclusion, it's this: HPA in foam dart blasters DOES. *NOT.* WORK. Not even accounting for aesthetics and whatnot, it seems like HPA is simply incapable of flinging foam the way it should. Springers and flywheelers are both so much more tried and true.
Funny, I seem to remember people saying similar things about flywheelers, and the stampede. They were wrong too. I have several Hpa blasters, and I can assure you that they do in fact work, shoot far and accurately. Milsigs are just kinda crappy.
You should check the supercore and spexbz out. They surpass most flywheelers and springers by miles (having the rof of flywheels and the range/fps of springers) if built correctly. As pintotheevil said: hpa is great, milsig right now isn’t
Unfortunately that’s not accurate. Yes the A1 version of the m79 had issues but the A2 version is amazing. Mine like Bradley Phillips is super accurate and quite honestly my favorite blaster I’ve had. All the reviewers unfortunately got the A1 versions of the blaster. Seeing how this is in the beta stages it will get worked out by release. Also you have to have a understanding of your output pressure and sometimes adjusting your fps for the full auto function to work properly.
