Editors note: This other Brian guy keeps building and writing things. I should probably make him account at some pointAlso, it comes at a time when Im busy, and having a second Caliburn opinion never hurt. Especiallyfor a different setup!
Hey everyone! Its Brians ghost writer here (also Brian). I had the pleasure of assembling a Rival U-Channel Caliburn when the hardware kits went on sale for cyber Monday. I wanted a rival Caliburn because I have Caliburns that shoot harder than 200 fps, and a multitude of blasters for hvz/low fps games, but nothing that sat in the middle. Rival magazines are a great excuse to use my Jupiter. I figured a Rival U-channel Caliburn would also be useful as my difficulties could help air out issues that lead to revisions so future U-channel Caliburns are more functional.
Construct
I purchased a hardware kit with k25 spring and metal ramrod from Captain Slug, and had a friend print me the 3d printed parts. All parts were printed at 20% infill and they seem to be holding together. Assembly was very intuitive just by looking at pictures and occasionally following along with the instructions. I only had the Elite U-channel Caliburn instructions to work off of, but it was more than enough. Sometimes I needed to put my weight onto a part to seat it into the right spot along theU-channel but ultimately everything went together with ease. The U-channels make it less wobbly in the middle unlike a traditional Caliburn that uses six threaded rods and is divided down the middle. These channels are rigid and have not been damaged by the screws. The pump grip has only the barrel, bars and U-channels. It rotates around the barrel about 15 degrees, but it doesn’t affect performance. It is a little odd and could be improved with an upper rail.
Performance
Well, with a k25 spring and metal ramrod, it goes THOOMP right in my ear and I never grow tired of the sound. It is advertised to hit 160 fps with metal bolt and k25. I dont have a chronograph to test that, but I do know that with the hop up, denser rounds can travel up to 27.4 m, and less dense shots and shots without hop-up travel about 18.
3.m, and then immediately dive into the ground. Accuracy does escape this blaster past 15.2 m however. Perhaps I need to improve my hopup and use consistent ammo. Perhaps a cool trick shot would be to fire parallel to the ground, then see if you can hit the target from ten feet up and two feet either way.
Final Thoughts
Its a bit hefty with the U-Channels, but the rigidity is well worth it. Assembly will be as easy as your prints are precise. I cant wait to see what comes of the U-channel caliburn designs in the future. If you’re unsure whether you want to do a U-channel caliburn or a traditional caliburn regardless of your ammo type, I recommend it. Maybe wait a bit for the designs to be more refined, but if youre itching for one RIGHT NOW, you wont be disappointed.
For I was able to get the parts and the kit from the various sources, which I think is well worth it.
