GRGN-C: Water Warriors Gorgon "Commando" Minimization Mod
Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 8:45 am
This is my first water gun mod! Originally, I only planned to remove the reservoir tank from the Gorgon, and then attach a backpack hose directly to the pump inlet. Once I opened the gun up, I realized that its body has a lot of empty space. Also, the body shape is too fancy, making it awkward to hold. Last, the pump feels flimsy and if it's rotated the wrong way, it hits the gun's body while it's being pushed in.
The Gorgon does have some good qualities - it pumps up pretty quickly, and the range is decent. The multiple nozzles give you a lot of control, and it's possible to squirt continuously as long as you keep pumping. I want to take the Gorgon's good qualities, and repackage them in a new, compact body. It will be made of PVC pipe to make it very rugged. It will also have a shoulder stock to make the gun more stable while pumping and shooting.
By the way, if you're wondering why I gutted a brand-new gun instead of making from scratch - this is my first mod, so it's a lot easier for me to have most of the functional parts ready-made. Also, I got this gun on sale for $19 - I'd never find all these valves, pumps, nozzles, etc at the hardware store for that little.
Tools used:
DREMEL <-- for almost everything
Power Drill
Jigsaw
Hand Saws
Palm Sander (good for planing pieces flat)
Sandpaper
Misc. General tools
So, let's start!
By the way, I might seem to jump around a lot.. sometimes I need to complete one piece before another so that I can be sure they'll fit right... other times, I just get bored of working on the same part for too long! Well, I'll try to be as clear as possible. Also, I don't measure anything, so sorry for not providing any measurements! If you really need a measurement for something, I'll try to help.
Here is the full image gallery. I left some pics out of this thread. http://risbia.imgur.com/grgnc
Here is the gun apart. You can see there is a lot of empty space.
This is the mechanism which the nozzles rotate on. The two nubs at the top have springs behind them to lock the nozzle in place.
First thing I'm going to do is make the PCs the same height. I need to cut down the rear PC's inlet, and then glue it back together (gluing will come much later).
Top part of the PC inlet, cut off and temporarily attached to the PC.
Sanding the elbow of the inlet tube so that it will be flush with the part shown in the previous image.
Firing valve / nozzle selector assembly. I'm going to detach the valve so that I can rotate it upside down (making it take up less space).
Something like this.
Cutting apart a T intersection to make the rear grip top, and the nozzle selector mount.
Rear grip top (left) and nozzle selector mount (right).
Oh yeah, here's a rough layout of the parts.
Test fitting rear grip and stock mount
This is the piece which was cut off the T above (nozzle selector mount). Sand flat and smooth.
How the nozzle selector will fit. Note black marks - selector is a little too big; the mount needs to be Dremeled out.
Bits used:
Rough:
Finish:
First notch.
Oh, cut these tabs off.
Tabs removed.
How it fits inside. The nozzle selector (tan Y-shaped part) needs to be able to slide below-flush into the mount (white ring). This way, the nozzles (orange part) can rest flush against the mount.
...More coming in a little while.
The Gorgon does have some good qualities - it pumps up pretty quickly, and the range is decent. The multiple nozzles give you a lot of control, and it's possible to squirt continuously as long as you keep pumping. I want to take the Gorgon's good qualities, and repackage them in a new, compact body. It will be made of PVC pipe to make it very rugged. It will also have a shoulder stock to make the gun more stable while pumping and shooting.
By the way, if you're wondering why I gutted a brand-new gun instead of making from scratch - this is my first mod, so it's a lot easier for me to have most of the functional parts ready-made. Also, I got this gun on sale for $19 - I'd never find all these valves, pumps, nozzles, etc at the hardware store for that little.
Tools used:
DREMEL <-- for almost everything
Power Drill
Jigsaw
Hand Saws
Palm Sander (good for planing pieces flat)
Sandpaper
Misc. General tools
So, let's start!
By the way, I might seem to jump around a lot.. sometimes I need to complete one piece before another so that I can be sure they'll fit right... other times, I just get bored of working on the same part for too long! Well, I'll try to be as clear as possible. Also, I don't measure anything, so sorry for not providing any measurements! If you really need a measurement for something, I'll try to help.
Here is the full image gallery. I left some pics out of this thread. http://risbia.imgur.com/grgnc
Here is the gun apart. You can see there is a lot of empty space.
This is the mechanism which the nozzles rotate on. The two nubs at the top have springs behind them to lock the nozzle in place.
First thing I'm going to do is make the PCs the same height. I need to cut down the rear PC's inlet, and then glue it back together (gluing will come much later).
Top part of the PC inlet, cut off and temporarily attached to the PC.
Sanding the elbow of the inlet tube so that it will be flush with the part shown in the previous image.
Firing valve / nozzle selector assembly. I'm going to detach the valve so that I can rotate it upside down (making it take up less space).
Something like this.
Cutting apart a T intersection to make the rear grip top, and the nozzle selector mount.
Rear grip top (left) and nozzle selector mount (right).
Oh yeah, here's a rough layout of the parts.
Test fitting rear grip and stock mount
This is the piece which was cut off the T above (nozzle selector mount). Sand flat and smooth.
How the nozzle selector will fit. Note black marks - selector is a little too big; the mount needs to be Dremeled out.
Bits used:
Rough:
Finish:
First notch.
Oh, cut these tabs off.
Tabs removed.
How it fits inside. The nozzle selector (tan Y-shaped part) needs to be able to slide below-flush into the mount (white ring). This way, the nozzles (orange part) can rest flush against the mount.
...More coming in a little while.