Identifying an early Line SI Skirmish Breech Drop Paintgun

August 23, 2013

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Last month Ryan Brandon asked me about photos of a Line SI Skirmish and I wanted to document some of the identifying features. This pump was likely made around 1987 by Line SI and the Skirmish Store and the early Line SI paintguns are generally unmarked.

Right side of early green anodized Line SI Skirmish.

This Skirmish uses a Breech Drop bolt, (stock nelson bolt). With a breech drop, the ball falls into the breech and is pushed into the bore by the bolt.

Left side view of sight rail on Line SI Skirmish.

On a bore drop style bolt that a Line SI Bushmaster uses, a ball falls directly into the bore of the body, which is closely matched to the bore of the barrel, and the bolt pushes it from the same ID body bore, into the bolt bore.

Left side view of feedneck , pump handle and breech on Line SI Skirmish.

These were sold as unibody (non removable barrel) kits or as complete pumps paintguns which is likely the case here.

Right side Receiver view. Grip is a Nelspot grip frame. Still has the sticker on it.

I chose to keep this Skirmish for my collection because of the nicely matched Line SI stock that goes with it and the bright green color. Most are black or a dark blueish color. This one is complete with the stock, tank and the neat pvc plastic style pump handle.

Later versions of the Line SI Skirmish exist which use a Line SI trigger frame, still use the breech drop body and are unibody. These later versions normally use a stainless bolt with a delrin front, similar to Bushmaster bolts but with a short (breech drop) nose.

Right side breech view of Line SI Skirmish.

This example is also in great shape and hardly used. The Nelspot 007 sticker is even still on the receiver.

Classic Line SI Sight rail. — Original Line SI Sight rail design matches the sights on some Lapco Ghosts since they were likely constructed at the same machine shop (sigma).

Here is a top view of the sight rail. This sight closely resembles the sight on an early Lapco Ghost. This is likely because they were machined at the same shop, Sigma Engineering.

Match anodized Line SI Skirmish stock. — Full view of Skirmish stock which is multiple pieces of aluminum and match anodized to the Line SI Skirmish.

Here is a full photo of the stock. It’s matched anodized and has a 10oz thermo tank slung underneath it. I’ll have to check the date on the tank eventually.
The back bottle valve is an 1/8th inch npt which connects to the thermo valve (pre standard pin valve).

Here is a close up of the stock. The stock is multiple pieces and screwed together at the front tank holder bracket. Not the best design but the long 10 oz tank helps hold it together.