Modifying a Viewloader VL-90 hopper to withstand pump play

Technical information

Modifying a Viewloader VL-90 hopper to withstand pump play

dan@paintballhistory

August 26, 2014

Modifying a Viewloader VL-90 hopper to withstand pump play

My favorite smaller sized loaders are the Viewloader VL-90s. They feed decently, yes you do have to shake them a little if your auto triggering a string longer than 10 shots but I typically shoot two or thee at the most before I’ve moved my direct feed pump (a Pyre or a Houndstooth) enough to reshuffle the load.

Watch the first video in the playlist above to see the necessary Viewloader VL-90 modifications and then see different video profiles on various old school pump and mech semi paintguns.

Find VL-90s forsale on baccipaintball here:
http://www.baccipaintball.com/gear/hoppers/140-rds-and-smaller-loaders/vl-91.html

I’ve slowly been trying different cap modifications on VL-90s to find the most reliable and lately I’ve been using both ends from a classic 100rd tube.

And classic 100rd tubes to modify and use on a vl-90s:
http://www.baccipaintball.com/gear/pods/100-rd-tubes.html

Palmer's Pyre with vl-90 right — Palmer’s Pyre with a modified Viewloader VL-90.

Palmer's Pyre with vl-90 left — Left side of the Pyre with a vl-90.

Stock without modifications the VL-90 might have held up in 1989 or 1990 but today both ends that aren’t part of the body, shatter apart at the slightest touch. The bodies on the VL-90 models v2-v4 are very resilient though with the most durable models being the V3 and V4 versions.

v1 vl-90 on a Termite — Termite with V1 Viewloader VL-90. The cap style is the second model for the V-1. The first uses a ridge on the front with a backward (instead of upward) facing 10rd tube feed gate.

The V1 model uses a hard brittle plastic on the body, the feed port and the extended cap.
In the photo above the V1 model can be seen on an Early Termite Gun. I don’t recommend using a V1 VL-90. They will break.

V2 vl-90 with stepped feed. — V2 with Stepped feed. Missing front feed cap.

The V2 Vl-90 model features a decent body that can take a beating but over time will sometimes break at the step up in the feed neck. The ends always degrade into dust.

broken feedneck on a vl-90 v2 — Broken feedneck on a vl-90 V2.

Stepped feedneck of the vl-90 v2. — View of the stepped feedneck on the VL-90. The break sometimes occurs at the step.

The V2 feednecks typically take a lot to break but it does happen as is shown in the photo above on the left.

V3 viewloader vl-90 — V3 Viewloader Vl-90 with slopped feedneck instead of stepped.

The V3 model features a slopped (not stepped) feedneck and the body is extremely durable. The ends still degrade into dust but the body can withstand all kinds of torture. In the video above I’m making modifications on two V3 Vl-90 models.

The V4 Viewloader VL-90 features an extended cap that is molded into the body. Because of this you don’t need to worry about the extended cap breaking. This end is a little higher than a taped on 100rd tube end but the durability is nice.

Splash Automag with the vl-90 — Splash Minimag with the modified VL-90

left side of splash automag — Left side of the splash Mag.

On all these models of VL-90s the two sides are uneven (not symetrical) and there are two distinct sides, a feed side that sits lower and a higher end that takes an extended cap on it. The majority of VL-90s used a flip up clear feed cap that if you attempt to use today will splinter apart so fast that you would imagine the oils in your hand triggered a chemical reaction. And the extended cap on the other side will usually start to bust after a few days.