Goldfinger – The Man with the Golden Gun
Paintball enthusiasts now have a way to put a new spin on an old favourite. Gold plated paintball guns, also known as markers, have shown up sporadically in various venues over the past years. Not yet infiltrating the mainstream, gold plating your paintball gun is a great way to show off your marker in style. In a sea of factory produced guns, gold plating an old standby is the perfect way to stand out without all the expense of purchasing a new marker. Gold plating has no affect on the guns functionality beyond its visual aesthetics so it is a great option for opulence without sacrificing usability.
Gold plated paintball guns are just that: gold plated. Solid gold paintball guns, although interesting in theory, do not make sense for several reasons. One of those reasons is cost. The cost to make a solid gold gun would make them virtually impossible to produce and thus would not be able to be purchased by the average consumer. The second reason is weight. As any paintballer knows, the guns need to be light. For ease of movement and speed, as well as the endurance of the paintballer, a solid gold gun simply would not make practical sense.
One major UK paintball equipment supplier that has taken the plunge in gold plating a paintball gun is Fat Bob’s Paintball. The store and website is run by Andy Sables, whom also owns the adrenaline filled Yorkshire Paintball Centre. The paintball gun that was chosen to be plated was an aluminium bodied DM9. This was done through a process called electroplating. Electroplating aluminium, unlike other metals, is a more specialized and timely process to enable the original aluminium surface to be coated with gold. The results are well worth it and speak for themselves, as you can see in the photograph below.
Personalizing seems to be a way of life these days. Whether it is a phone, an iPod, or a car, it is a way to show off our individuality. Being the ultimate symbol of luxury, gold gives off a sense of extravagance and exclusivity. Having made a comeback in terms of popularity, it is truly the “gold standard” of metals. For the paintball enthusiast, gold plating their paintball gun allows them to show their dedication to the sport while imparting an heir of elegance, and all without compromising performance. Adding that little something extra will make sure that fellow competitors take notice. After all, every paintballer wants to be the man with the Midas touch!
Whether you want to buy a new marker or simply customize your current marker, for the best in gold plated paintball guns, including the new DM10, please visit FatBobsPaintball or email Andy Sables, the man with the Midas touch!
