Bob Long Intimidator

The Intimidator (or Timmy for short) is an electropneumatic paintball marker manufactured by former professional paintball player Bob Long and his company, Bob Long Technologies. First introduced in 2000, it was, along with the Smart Parts Impulse, one of the first fully electropneumatic markers to be adopted by professional tournament teams on a widespread basis. There are currently over 25 versions of the Intimidator, spread over four "generations."

History

The Intimidator was developed and tested by Bob Long personally, and manufactured in the United States. The marker was tested using computer controlled shooting machines and ballistic chronographs, invented to test machine guns.

In 2004, Bob Long introduced the Alias Intimidator. The marker was redesigned from the ground up. Features like The Regulator and valve were made smaller to increase flow and lower the pressure of the marker. The LCD was moved from the top of the trigger frame to the grip frame, and the internals were modified so that it cycled faster. As a result of these modifications, the Alias was more compact than the original Intimidator, and AbOUT 20% more gas efficient. This version of the Intimidator served at the basis for all subsequent markers under the Intimidator name.

At the peak of its popularity in the mid-2000’s, the Intimidator saw widespread use in national and international tournament play. Its popularity began to decline however in later years as smaller, lighter markers with similar rates of fire (such as the Smart Parts Shocker and Planet Eclipse Ego) became available in the same or lower price range. Nonetheless, the Intimidator can still be seen in use today at many paintball fields.

Operation

Like the Ego and other open bolt, poppet-valve-based markers, the Intimidator uses a solenoid to drive a pneumatic ram into a poppet valve, which causes it to open, firing the paintball.. On earlier Intimidators, one of the most recognizable external features was a dual low-pressure chamber.