46 replies to this topic

[orca]

PIPERS PRECISION PRODUCTS ENTERS AGREEMENT WITH CLASSIC ARMY TO PRODUCE PIPER’S FAMED M134 BB MINIGUN

Wapak, Ohio, Sep. 29 – Piper’s Precision Products announced today that they have entered into an exclusive agreement with Classic Army to produce Piper’s innovative Airsoft M134 Minigun. Piper’s has granted Classic Army the exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute worldwide the Airsoft M134 Minigun using Piper’s design. The Piper’s Airsoft M134 Minigun will be offered in two complete packages, the backpack “Predator” version and the vehicle mounted “Blackhawk” version.



Piper’s Precision Products is the globally acknowledged innovator and leader in rotary, multi-barreled BB guns. Piper’s products are highly sought after by collectors, their functional reliability, and sheer enjoyment value. The Airsoft M134 Minigun is the culmination of years of research and is the finest BB minigun ever made. Using a combination of rechargeable battery power and bottled CO2, the Airsoft M134 Minigun is capable of rates of fire exceeding 70 rounds per second at velocities of up to 450 feet per second using 6 mm 0.2 gram plastic BBs. Almost every component of the Airsoft M134 Minigun is precision machined and designed to perform flawlessly under the toughest conditions.

Paul Piper, the owner of Piper’s Precision Products, owns the utility patent for any rotary, multi-barreled BB gun. Paul has designed and produced numerous types of multi-barreled BB guns, and acknowledges that the Airsoft M134 Minigun is his finest work to date. Piper’s is also the designer and manufacturer of the Strafer Mk IV, a law enforcement non-lethal application BB gun.

Classic Army is global brand leader in premium Airsoft guns. Paul Piper selected Classic Army to produce his minigun design due to Classic Army’s acknowledged reputation as a quality manufacturer and global distributor of high end Airsoft products.

As Paul stated, “Between my tested Minigun design and specifications, and Classic Army’s manufacturing and distribution capabilities, I feel we can offer the discriminating Airsoft hobbyist and collector the finest Minigun replica ever made at a very attractive price.”

The first production Airsoft M134 Miniguns are expected to be released in the first half of 2009.

Spartan Imports will be the exclusive distributor of the Piper’s Airsoft M134 Minigun in the United States.
Source: Spartan Imports, Inc.

[Crimson]

WOW Sweet !

Lets hope its under £1000

[Foxhound_Tur]

If he had chosen VFC or G&P i would be even more happy...

[Beast06]

CA?

Yuck

[Angry]

CA is in a way the best of both worlds. Established enough to be considered a reputable company, but not high-end enough to price the product out of the grasp of the masses. He picked well I reckon.

[Titleist]

This WON'T be cheap, but it'll be better then PP having to produce each one in house. Hmm, do want.

[-FIDO-]

classic WTF army
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

[TwinTurboCH]

Lets hope its under £1000

Not a hope in hell. The PPP original, which is what they've licensed out, costs in excess of £4000 as the 'predator' pack.

[billytehbob]

Suddenly, M134s, thousands of them!

[masakarijoe]

soon all the newbletts will be running around with miniguns, like they do now with the chinese SAWs. that will be the day that i stop playing airsoft
-Joe

[666Newbie]

Classic Army

[uscmCorps]

I see this as a good development. Regardless of which of the big airsoft manufacturers landed this deal (be it VFC, G&P, CA), I think the end product would have been essentially the same as the product is based off designs that have already been made and fully tested.

CA will probably be having these machined in China and either assembled there or in HK. Even then, I doubt they will be within the affordability of most airsofters. If they're able to cut the price tag in half I'd be surprised. Still, CA has the benefit of having (1) a pre-existing pipeline for mass production of airsoft products, (2) cheaper labor, (3) cheaper materials, (4) all the R&D is already done.

I'd be shocked if the price were to be anything under US$2,500 which puts it out of the financial reach of 95% of airsofters out there. Even if it costs $1500 (which I see as being impossible), it's still too expensive for the vast majority. Take the Trigger Happy M240 for example, it costs $1,400 to $1,630... you don't see those very often and certainly not in high numbers. I doubt there are enough airsofters with the financial means to see these M134s everywhere on the field.

One product I do think would be a great product for P3 to outsource is their Strafer Mk IV that I've seen redressed to look like a vehicle mounted M134. The barrels don't spin but to be honest, I've never felt that that detracted from the shock and awe which the weapon created. At a few of the big OPS I've attended, they've had dual Strafer MkIVs that looked like M134s mounted to a turret on the top of the technical. When that thing rolled around you prayed it was on your side.

[dannyboy]

soon all the newbletts will be running around with miniguns, like they do now with the chinese SAWs. that will be the day that i stop playing airsoft
-Joe

Wasn't expecting that from you. At all. Nope Maybe you should stop

™

[Shard]

I'd call ######s to that comment anyway.

It won't ever happen...

[dannyboy]

True, very true, just the attitude amuses/offends me, and it's not the first statement like that he's made. Be interested to see what price it actually sells for.

™

[Shard]

I'd not worry about throw away comments too much, this is the internets after all
Price wise it'll indeed be interesting, I wonder if CA can find a balance between material costs and quality that lets them sell it at a reasonable price. I like the idea of the fixed version - it would make a great set piece in some sort of capture the base scenario.

Edited by Shard, 29 September 2008 - 09:54 PM.

[dannyboy]

Serious business, etc

Fixed version would be awesome, especially at games with vehicles :3 Running cost will be pretty extreme I'd imagine.

Also, lol, sportline anyone?

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[Fighting Maus]

Wow. I wasnt expecting this. To a P3 M134A2 owner like myself this is disheartening news. Once the CA versions are released, the value of my unit and 85 or so others spread out around the world will drop.

Still, I dont think the CA ones will be less than 3K. It has to compete with the Echo 1 version.

I suppose another issue is aftermarket support. Will Paul Piper still stand by his original production units once CA takes over manufacturing?

Will we M134 owners still be able to get add ons and whatnot from their original distributors Xcalibertactical?

I will be making some phone calls tonight to find out.

[Stuey]

Also, lol, sportline anyone?

Haha I was thinking exactly the same! What would they do, make the whole thing from horrible plastic and have the barrel stationary with the real barrel in the middle?

Stu.

[shmook]

Take the Trigger Happy M240 for example, it costs $1,400 to $1,630... you don't see those very often and certainly not in high numbers. I doubt there are enough airsofters with the financial means to see these M134s everywhere on the field.

i dare say you're spot on about the financial assessment, but imo, a minigun will have far more appeal to far more people than an M240, or most other expensive, probably much better, support weapons, and as such, you will see more of these about.

for example, im not a fan of support gunning, and wouldnt dream of spending that amount on a high-end machine gun, but when its in minigun form, i'd be far more inclined to get one. (im not going to, but this is my thought on the subject).

im not trying to dis other support guns, but alot of people will get the "omg! minigunzorz" attitude i think. and with mass production, they are far more accessible.

my tuppen'th anyway