To be incognito is kind of the idea behind what is currently the smallest paintball marker available today. To be able to move about the field without giving away that you are armed, perhaps allowing yourself to get within close proximity of your objective. Be that to eliminate a General or capture a base, this marker is going to interest you with the “cool” factor.
The Goblin Micro_launcher is intended to be used as a short range weapon, or as a back up to your primary paintball marker. The optimal velocity of this marker is within a 15 to 20 foot radius of the muzzle, within this range produces a typical feet per second velocity of 200 – 250.
So how does it work?
With the included cartridges, that look a lot like a shotgun shell, there are a set of orings that hold the charge within the relatively small chamber of the shell. You take one of these cartridges and change it with either CO2 (recommended) or compressed air via a fill nipple that is included with the players kit. Once charged you insert the charged cylinder into the barrel with a single paintball, the idea is to make as tight a fit with your paint to barrel match just like with your standard paintball markers. Next you insert the cartridge/barrel combination into the launcher and prepare to shoot some poor, unsuspecting player. On the Micro-Launcher is a safety mechanism that must be depressed in order to be able to fire the paintball, a nice little safety if I must say so myself. This prevents accidental discharge since there really is not much of a way to add a barrel blocking device to this item. Oh yeah, you can also use this item with the included adapter for airsoft.
Now on to my thoughts…
My initial impression was “wow, this is a really cool looking little marker.” The packaging was well thought out and gives this that eye attracting presence that so many are looking for. In the package you get the Goblin Micro-Launcher, barrel and air assembly, fill adapter, a very nice holster as well as a parts kit and manual. The marker itself is made of a sturdy poly blended product that should last a very long time.
On to the testing phase. I took the air adapter and screwed it onto my Crossfire HP tank as I no longer own a CO2 tank, at least not one that is in hydro or contains any gas. I took the cartridge and aired it up, this was a little tricky at first but within a few fills I was and old pro. So I then took some paint I had leftover from a recent trip to an indoor speedball facility and added a ball to the barrel. I put the barrel and cartridge together, slide both into the marker and opened up the front door. With a press of the safety and a pull of the trigger I blasted my porch railing. Needless to say that railing will not be talking any more smack about my aiming abilities. Geoff was nice enough to include a second cartridge so I was able to fill both and test out the shooting function with a little more shooting and less filling of the cartridges.
I found that the accuracy was great within a twenty foot radius for as small as this marker is, a person with a average size hand would be able to conceal this while on the field with no issues. After shooting the Goblin for a little while I moved onto the airsoft barrel to see if the performance would match. Not being an airsoft player myself I got a little help from my son who owns a few airsoft markers. With a few pellets added to the airsoft barrel the test firing began. With one airsoft pellet per section (there are 4 holes to fill within the barrel) the Goblin shot great! So I bumped it up to four pellets per section of the barrel. While the Goblin still shot great I would find that one or two pellets would get lodged within the same port within the barrel. I would believe this was due to sizing and not an issue with the barrel itself.
I found this to be a fun little marker, keep in mind that this is intended for a specific group or style of player. With the low price and the bang for the buck the Goblin offers I can see this being a big success for Geoff and the people behind this innovative product.
If I had to personally vote on the most innovative product released in 2009 I would have to cast my vote for the Goblin Micro-Launcher. This product is simple in the overall engineering but is something not seen in the popular paintball market.
http://www.goblinpaintball.com/
Paul Forcier
