Latest Soaker / Water Blaster

[isoaker]

Well, thanks for the reply. Did you actually measure 130 feet or is that just a good guesstimate/box claim?
I doubt the rocket would still be with it if it was easier to detach lol.
The thing I like the most is the metal pump shaft. That sucker won't break easily.

I didn't do any measuring since I don't have those devices that let you track the height rockets fly. 130' for the smaller rockets seems like a stretch, but I wouldn't be as surprised if the larger Vector rockets went that high.

[soakinader]

It's been a month, and besides my new Hydra Pak, there really hasn't been a whole heckuva lot to find, despite my increasing coverage of the thrift stores in my province.
I believe I may have just been lucky last year. I guess I will just have to keep looking, see what happens in the fall.
But I have to say, that besides timing, experience, strategy, and persistance, the single most important factor to finding good things while thrifting is luck. Sheer chance.
Get to know your thrift stores. Out of all of the VV's I have ever been to, the best one seems to consistantly be the one closest to me. It's bigger, it's better, and it has a great location.
Know when to look. Earlier is better, frequently is best. Just don't give up!
--I will say, while I haven't been finding many soakers, I have been finding a good bunch of other good things this year. Just not "multiple new things every day of the week for a month".

[DX]

And you said this time of year was the best :p I haven't found nearly as much as in the fall. In the fall, it was uncommon to get blanked (walk out empty handed), but now it's uncommon to find anything. Although, I will say that it truly is random chance.

[marauder]

Today I found a Splashzooka and an XP 310 in a Good Will. I was walking in with my fiancee simply because we were killing time before our movie and I said to her, "I really doubt I'll find anything here -" which is right when I came across the Splashzooka. No QFD, but I'll say those 2 guns for $4 is an amazing deal.

Now... I am again left with the continuing problem of "what to sell and what to keep," especially since I want to reduce my armory down to about 3-8 blasters.

[DX]

especially since I want to reduce my armory down to about 3-8 blasters.

You mean 38...

[soakinader]

o.O a Splashzooka...
And the XP 310 is nice too.
The only things I have found recently is a second Arctic Blaster with the trigger valve broken (I came up with an interesting fix for that) and a CPS 1000 with part of the casing cracked and the pump snapped clean off, like it was never there. It has taken some serious abuse, but it probably works. Somebody was pumping too hard and yanked the pump right out of it. Now if I can just find a pump that's the same diameter... anyone know of a compatible pump, that I might be able to scavenge for cheap? I have already checked, and the XP 110 and 270 are no good. Maybe a Water Warrior?
Also, found an XP95 but couldn't get the reservoir off no matter how I tried. It would only rotate less than 90 degrees in either direction, despite what it says on the bottle about rotating it 180 degrees clockwise. I can get an XP150 reservoir off easily, but this- nope.

[marauder]

I have a cps 1200 pump if you want it, but Im not sure if its compatable. I used a MD 6000 pump on a 2100 before. As for the 95 you can drill a he in the top and make your own reservoir cap using a plastic bottle. Please document any repairs you perform.

[soakinader]

Hmm I'll have to check my 1200; I would guess that the pump would be the same size as the 1000.
Well, I'll have to do that later, anyways. Also, I got the reservoir off of the XP95, but something is majorly broken inside where the reservoir goes, and it has a slow pressure leak. Most likely a crack somewhere. Pics.... eventually!!
*Update* So it appears that the pump from a SC400 is the right width for a CPS 1000... and I have acquired a SC 400 with a pump that doesn't pump... because the width is a little narrower than the ID of the pump shaft, so yeah. Unfortunately, this means that the SC400 pump ALSO is a little too narrow to work with the CPS 1000... not to mention that it is also too long, and kind of ugly. The XP 110 also has a pump that is too long, but whereas the XP 110 pump has the same OD as the other pumps, the XP 110 pump shaft is the right ID... so it works as a whole. Thing is, the XP 110 pump actually looks half decent with it's size and yellowness, whereas the little brown SC400 pump is kind of ugly...
So, I'll beef up the width of the SC 400 pump so that it works with the SC400 and my CPS 1000... but I will still need something... different for the CPS 1000.

[DX]

I was given an XP 85 and a broken SS 50 at a Nerf war yesterday. I dunno what to do with either of them, it's my 4th broken SS 50 lol.

[soakinader]

Well, it's been a while, so time for a Thrifting Report!

So I have been visiting the only Talize in BC a couple of times a week recently. I never realized how close it was before. The thing about Talize is, they get in a LOT of volume. I have seen all kinds of things on the shelf that are replaced by entirely new things every few days. Problem is, they also tend to overprice things. This is the place I scored the broken CPS 1000 (above) for a whopping 6$, and also my third 50 oz aquapack for 4$. Yesterday, I head there and from the front of the store, what do I spot? An XXP 175. That is a good sign. So I rushed over there. The XXP was in working but poor condition for 5$, and considering that I have a nice one, plus it's not a very good water gun, I passed it up. Sadly, this sign did not point to anything at all. If I had found anything else the same age, it would have been some CPS class gear or maybe even an XXP 275. But no luck yet. Maybe I'll find something there tomorrow...
Then there was my ghetto VV. What did I find there? A whole swath of Buzz Bee water warriors guns. Mostly broken stuff like Black Widows and Hornets, etc, but the one thing that I should have looked twice at was an Argon that was pale white body with touches of green/white. It was a little beat up, but it seemed to work. I was just in a hurry and unimpressed. I have seen these before. Now I look at Isoaker.com, and it appears to have been a different color scheme altogether! It's not the green body/white pump and reservoir with yellow bits, and it's certainly not the purple. Maybe a glow-in-the dark variant? All I know is, barring having no way to carry it because I find a Splashzooka and a CPS 2000 XD , I will be picking it up (or at least photographing it if I find that CPS ;D ) tomorrow, hopefully.

[isoaker]

Then there was my ghetto VV. What did I find there? A whole swath of Buzz Bee water warriors guns. Mostly broken stuff like Black Widows and Hornets, etc, but the one thing that I should have looked twice at was an Argon that was pale white body with touches of green/white. It was a little beat up, but it seemed to work. I was just in a hurry and unimpressed. I have seen these before. Now I look at Isoaker.com, and it appears to have been a different color scheme altogether! It's not the green body/white pump and reservoir with yellow bits, and it's certainly not the purple. Maybe a glow-in-the dark variant? All I know is, barring having no way to carry it because I find a Splashzooka and a CPS 2000 XD , I will be picking it up (or at least photographing it if I find that CPS ;D ) tomorrow, hopefully.

The white variant of the Argon is not the same as the one pictures on iSoaker.com, but the color scheme is known and listed on the page (in the non-obvious "Known Version Colours" section). The Argon is a decent blaster, but as you know, it is a smaller blaster and doesn't offer a huge amount of output.

[SEAL]

Latest blasters... Let's see:

SS 300 (I still need to fix it when I get the chance)
XP 95
XXP 275 (Firebird's)
CPS 1500 (camo painted)
Storm 760
Storm 2200E (pressure leak)
Liquidator (needs new pump)

All of these were from marauder except the 300, which I got from Neptune in a trade. I haven't brought a blaster from the store in quite a long time. Almost every blaster since I first brought my 2700 have been from community members, haha. The 2700 is the only CPS blaster (although I guess my 2500 doesn't really count, because it's a prize) I didn't get from a member.

[DukeSoakem]

I've not been doing a lot of activity and taking things slow lately, however today I did receive something, if not the final main thing I've wanted back since I started the site. Although I still had to work hard and get up off my backside today to get it into full swing.



I won this off eBay UK last weekend for £41 total (which is about $60 USD), I'm still surprised I got it for that given the crazy prices they usually go for now, which I just cannot bring myself to pay despite wanting an Mk1 for a while now. I think lady luck was on my side. Give it another month or so and I doubt I would have got it, being April over here it is still off season and nobody is really interested in going mental yet.

I still had to do a bit of work though to get it working and like you see in the pictures. First time I tested it, the pump was rough (although that's an easy problem to solve that takes like a minute), however the main issue was that it lost pressure and was also not drawing water the best, mixing it with air while pumping, as if something wasn't sealed right. Thankfully, the pressure problem was easily solved, as after opening up unscrewing the trigger valve and then just screwing it back on again a bit tighter, the problem just went and it holds pressure fine now. Weird, although this is the same thing that happened to my 1500 I got new, that lost pressure and also leaked after a few pumps, just openeing and then closing the trigger valve casing stopped it. Could just be something slightly out of alignment.

Lubricating the pump was easy enough, last it was onto the pumping issue itself. Spare parts saved over the years came in handy here. After opening the blaster, I first thought the pump shaft itself was showing wear, so I put a brand new one from the faulty CPS 2500 I salvaged last year on it which I was going to do anyway since they were the same pump shaft. Slight improvement but still bad to the point where every full shot had some turbulance with the air. I then made the reservoir suction hole a bit larger, again, slightly better but still issues still showing. Then finally I noticed the reservoir slid into the internal piping quite easily, and there was my final issue solved, turns out the o ring was the problem, so the old one went out and a new tighter fitting one went on. Looking at the old o ring it was obvious that was the issue, it was worn.

With things all back together she is working 100%, and fully pumps smoother than the even the hottest girls skin. I'm overall happy.

[HBWW]

Great find! Odd issues though; I don't think I've ever had leaky pull valve assembly halves (although the seals inside do fail and I'm dealing with some of those with that problem right now), and I never noticed any issues with worn reservoir O-rings; it seems that they should still seal, for the most part.

[soakinader]

Then there was my ghetto VV. What did I find there? A whole swath of Buzz Bee water warriors guns. Mostly broken stuff like Black Widows and Hornets, etc, but the one thing that I should have looked twice at was an Argon that was pale white body with touches of green/white. It was a little beat up, but it seemed to work. I was just in a hurry and unimpressed. I have seen these before. Now I look at Isoaker.com, and it appears to have been a different color scheme altogether! It's not the green body/white pump and reservoir with yellow bits, and it's certainly not the purple. Maybe a glow-in-the dark variant? All I know is, barring having no way to carry it because I find a Splashzooka and a CPS 2000 XD , I will be picking it up (or at least photographing it if I find that CPS ;D ) tomorrow, hopefully.

The white variant of the Argon is not the same as the one pictures on iSoaker.com, but the color scheme is known and listed on the page (in the non-obvious "Known Version Colours" section). The Argon is a decent blaster, but as you know, it is a smaller blaster and doesn't offer a huge amount of output.

So, today I returned from a pillaging quest, quite succesfully!
First thing I did was return to the Value Village above. Most of the buzz bee stuff was still there, except for that white Argon. Isoaker, in your "known version colors" section, it only lists two versions, and the one that I saw was neither of them.

Unfortunately, it wasn't there, but what I did find was a pressurized Renegade for 1$. And 11 (well, ten) cents. The thing was a little dirty but working fine, I guess no one loved it. But hey, for 1$, it's pretty sweet! This marks the second time I have bought a WW blaster that wasn't my favorite color scheme. However, interestingly enough, this Renegade is another rare variant, because it looks just like the normal one except that the green reservoir/yellow pump has been switched! Pics later.

Returning to Talize was a bust; except for a Vaporizer there was nothing notable to find. The XXP 175 was gone. I wonder who bought it?

And heading back to my favorite Value Village, I scored big. First was a Super Soaker Sneak Attack, for 3$. A FLAMING HOT ONE. No seriously, it's red +yellow, with flames. It still had some water in it, which I proceeded to spray at least twenty feet across the toy isle. Luckily I didn't hit anyone! I am sure that I have seen one like this somewhere before, but I certainly can't find any pictures on the internet that match.
And the best find of the day, was a Speedloader 2000. This is the third SL2000 that I have bought, and the fifth speedloader I have bought at a thrift store. It's way too cold out right now to test it (believe it or not!) and I am overhwelmed with things to be done right now, but in two weeks I should be doing some testing! Yay!

Props on the CPS 2000 ! Glad somebody scored one. I can't believe you got an original for so cheap.

[DukeSoakem]

Great find! Odd issues though; I don't think I've ever had leaky pull valve assembly halves (although the seals inside do fail and I'm dealing with some of those with that problem right now), and I never noticed any issues with worn reservoir O-rings; it seems that they should still seal, for the most part.

Thanks. While I'm glad the valve problem is fixed it is a strange problem, the most annoying part is not really being able to explain a definite cause. The reservoir o ring still did seal somewhat originally, although unlike my other 3 2000 Mk2's (I know I've got too many, I planning to sell two as one is enough!) which pump up fine, on them them you have to wiggle back and forth to get the reservoir out, on this Mk1 when I opened it the thing just pulled out easily with no resistance. The o ring was also chewed in certain places which probably contributed to the issue.

Props on the CPS 2000 ! Glad somebody scored one. I can't believe you got an original for so cheap.

Thanks, the price was definitely the biggest surprise, I actually paid a tad bit less overall for this one compared to the first one I got (and then stupidly sold) 8 years ago now.

[soakinader]

Hey hey hey, I'm back with pictures!
Downloaded the Minus app, so I can now download photos to my acount whenever I want... It's not bad at all. Check it out at http://nad3r.minus.com/
Though I still have to get to a computer to post here... Without further ado, the rare species of WW Renegade, in an unfamiliar environment:

Pretty shnazzy for only 1$. You can see pictures of it in it's new habitat if you go and look. It's the same color, but cleaner on the other side.

This is where I would love to post a comparison pic, a la Isoaker.com, but I'm not sure how or if I can do that.
http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis ... egade.html
But hey you can always go look. Yay Isoaker!

Next we have the rest:

Pretty self-explanatory. That is one hot sneak attack.

I also found some interesting SS Quick Blasts:

You can spot a really gaudy (or really faded) bronze/red (orange?) Max-D 5000 next to it. With a very broken trigger. And only 3.99! Pass.

And the last thing I should mention is a strange backpack gun called the Water Warriors Hydro Pulse.
It was a cool little gun, I should have bought it (or at least taken a picture!) but I had no room left in my bag at the time. But hey, it freakin EXISTS. I'll go back for it tomorrow.

Annnnd that's all folks!

[soakinader]

Starting from the top of this page:

I just fired off my Warpstream rocket. I figured I would just pump it a little bit, not very hard, just until there was a little resistance. I didn't even know if I was doing it right. Anyways, I finished pumping, pointed it upwards, and pulled the trigger in my backyard, and POOMP!! It flies a good 80 feet into the air, and lands on the roof of my house. 0.o
Whoops! XD I will have to crawl out my window and onto the roof to get it... tomorrow.

I went back for the Power Pulse and instead found a Power Soaker Water Cannon. It looked alright, but I didn't have much interest. I searched high and low until I found the Power Pulse, hidden in a completely different place than I had left (hid) it the day before. It's actually kind of fun to shoot. Course, if you are older than 10, you would have to strap the reservoir to your arm instead of your back!


Next up, we have some fun things!

Finally finished my Super Charger numbered collection! And it's pretty awesome!

It's strange how I actually ended up with one of each. I bought the SC500 (not working) off CGL for 5$ last year, the SC400 out of... boredom? for 2$ at VV a few months back, and then I take about a month to pick up the SC600 off of CGL for 10$. All in all, I'm pretty happy with the result. They match! XD

Speaking of matching, I went on a Value Pillaging quest to an uncharted Value Village about two hours from where I live. I scoured the massive place until I find the stairs to the basement, where I find a secret trove of toys and such. And to my dismay, I find nothing water-gun related. Oh well.

But it doesn't end there. Onwards to another seldom visited VV, which yields something neat. See if you can spot the differences!

A blue Tiger Shark! I love these guns, it's like having 2/3 of a CPS 1000 with 3X the nozzles. This particular one has no strap (does it actually come with a strap?) and a sluggish trigger. So it has a good one second "runaway shot" after you release the trigger before it stops firing. Oh well, I will be working on this anyways. As you can see, there are some improvements to be made to even a fine stock Tiger Shark.

The next thing I found was like Deja Vu- all over again. Can you spot the differences?

Old, new. Grey-blue, blue-yellow. Strap, no strap. Seem familiar? Well, this old Orca is missing the reservoir cap, and it also has a slightly slow/sticky trigger. But hey, the cap is on top, so (less) whale noises, and more power! The nozzles on the Orca are disorderly, but larger than the ones on my drilled Gorgon.

Well, that was fun. I spent a good 2 hours re-organizing my water guns. Soon, I will be finishing up some mods/repairs on the Tiger Shark (and orca?) and that pump-less CPS 1000 from a few weeks back.

Question: I have 3 Flash Floods, none of which work properly (think it's mostly the small trigger valve). Should I fix them all or just use them for parts?

Muahahahahahahaha!

[DX]

Why do your VV's have so many water guns!? I'm lucky to get any in a sweep of CT's 7 Savers stores, and they're the same company. Hell, VV and Savers share the exact same price stickers. I'm sure there would be better odds sweeping the entire region, but that would consume an entire day and twice the gas.

Don't pass up the Quick Blasts, while they are useless as water guns, the fast air release makes them great for conversion to Nerf guns. Also, broken FF's seem to be common as I also found 3. Only bother fixing those if you have the time.

[marauder]

That is an amazing haul Soakinader. All useful guns. I am a huge fan of the Gorgon. The Tigershark isn't bad either. If you ever find a Euro/mk3 version of the SC 500 or 600 let me know. I'm willing to pay $$$.