I have a 2000 F4 illustrator that I've had for about three months now, and so far no problem. Its light weight, the price is great for under $300.00, it looks good, semi-light trigger pull, and has a decent ROF.
My F4 has on it as of now:
12" Dye Aluminum Barrel
HVC
Venturi Bolt
Sub-Zero expansion chamber
Black Dye Sticky Grips
Shoots EXTREMLY well with accuracy, and I bought it all over ebay for $155.00
Weaknesses:
Not too much to say here. Just made some minor adjustments like getting a venturi bolt, and a Dye Aluminum Barrel (Not that I needed it over the sub-zero, there is little difference between the two)
Conclusion:
I would recommend this gun for all the following reasons:
Its reliable
Under $300.00
Light weight
Feels comfortable
Fairly easy to field strip
Easy to maintain
Easy to modify
Shoots with accuracy
Balanced well (Alot due to expansion chamber)
Looks good
Parts are easy to get (Parts are fairly inexpensive)
It's just a great gun to have, and by the way, ive owned a Model 98, Spyder, and a few other guns and this is by far the best gun I've owned.
well i finally got to use this gun in a game. i played w/ a few friends which consisted of 3 98's an autococker and my dx. i killed a 98 and an autococker. i did not have any breaks, the barrel shot great( had to aim up but i killed someone from about 100 yds) it was dead accurate, my arm never got tired cause of the guns light weight.it was very efficient w/ air too. it was also very consistent.
Weaknesses:
absolutely nothing yet and i dont think there will be anything....only thing i dont like is the plastic wrap around grip thing. other than that its sweeet.
Conclusion:
well i came to the conclusion that this gun matches up to a cocker if used properly. when i shot an autococker this weekend for the first time, i was too impressed.....i think they are over rated, but anyways.....the dx is really a sweet gun looks awesome and has great features. i would reccommebd this gun to anyone wanting to play paintball. it is cheaply priced for all the great things u get. the only other thing u may want to get is a HVC. it is a great gun.
It shoots great, fairly quiet, and accurate. Looks tough and its easy to clean and lube. Great value for the money. Not many people own this gun and it is great to be a little different.
Weaknesses:
The bolt needs to be labeled somehow to tell you that the two holes face down. Same thing for the Ball spring cover plate. Grip is plastic, feels kinda cheap.
Conclusion:
Overall a great gun. Definitly worth the price. Comes with upgraded barrel and expansion chamber. I am considering venturi bolt, but i just like to tinker with things, it works great with the stock one. I would definitly recommend it to my friends, if they aren't looking to spend a lot of money.
Is one of the best 3 guns you can get for under $300. There are no external moving parts so there's little chance dirt or sand can get in your gun and mess it up. The valve is awesome so this gun is great in winetr play.
Weaknesses:
The trigger pull isn't the best. There are new models with lighter triggers. There are no double-trigger setups avaible for the gun unless you get a custom job. There aren't many upgrades. It's kinda loud but thats not a major factor. The stock barrel is a piece of crap, but everyone always ends up buying an aftermarket barrel so that shouldn't be that bad. You should also by a venturi bolt as an aftermarket accessory.
Conclusion:
-The gun is very reliable and if anything goes wroung ACI will fix it free of charge even if you don't have the 1-year warranty on your gun.
-Best low-end gun there is.
-Awesome valve.
-Bad stock barrel but many people replace their stocks anyways.
This is a great gun it almost pullswith my 2000 cocker but the down fall to it for me is the feal of the trigger it seems too heave compared to my cocker but i might be spoiled with the cocker all and all this gun id great i can easily do 8 to 10 bps
Weaknesses:
just the feal of the trigger to me and when you shoot it it doesnt feal as smooth as a cocker it kind of feals like a spyder if you get this gun look into a remote set up for it it will cut down the noise
Conclusion:
this is a great gun for the money it shoots grat it is far more accurate than any spyder i have ever owned
The barrel is decent quality, especially for use right out of the box, nice trigger pull, no external moving parts to get jammed with dirt in forest games,
Weaknesses:
It's a little bulky for a pistol-ish design, but the front expansion chamber gets rid of the pistol shape. This gun does need to be broken in, so don't fire a mad burst seconds after you take it out of the box and say it sucks, give it some time.
Conclusion:
After I got it, I shot off 10 shots in the backyard, just learning how to aim it. Once in the field though, it chopped the first two balls and hasn't chopped one since. Many owners say that they need to be broken in with a couple thousand shots before they are as good as they are going to get. Good upgrades are a little harder to find than kingmans and tippmanns, but this gun is well worth the price. I would give it a 10 if I had used more stock guns in the same price range, but I don't have too much in the means of grounds to compare on, so 9 it is.
Again everything on the gun. Since this is the deluxe
model you get a few extra things. The feel is incredible.
The trigger action is good and you can get about 8 bps but
don't push it.
Weaknesses:
Actually nothing, as the model gets higher it gets better.
If your a fast trigger person all you'll need is the HVC.
Conclusion:
I strongly recommend this gun. If you add anything to this
gun all you need is a venturi bolt and HVC and your set.
But I'd personally put a regulator on the gun.
tipman 98 ,spyder genesis , aci griffin, f4 illustrator ,sting ray 1 and 2 and aci maverick
Marker Setup:
i have two f4 illustators one is just basic and the other is a dx with the aci zero gravity barrel and a expansion chamber ,
Recommended Upgrades:
expansion chamber an aci zero gravity barrel,
Strengths:
this gun is light shoots good and hard and is very easy to fix if it breaks down
no tools needed if you need to do something it is easy and fast no outside moving parts so you dont have to worry about that darn cocker thing smacking your thumb and this baby is easy on c02 its hard for this gun to get dirty do to the body being closed off ,
this is a great gun one of the best for the price i have two and i love them both
there are only a few things i would change about this gun and upgrades are comming out soon to make this happen !
Weaknesses:
ok nothin really but heres a list of things i would cry about if i cared :
the boot falls of easy aci glues on the boot and it falls off easy this gun also does not have a double trigger for it but... those two things aren't bad ...
you see i dont like the trigger boot so i like it more with out it and the double trigger aci are just now working as i write this to make a double trigger so after it comes out i will have nothing bad to say about this gun ....
Conclusion:
this is hands down the best of all the other guns i have shot only one other even touches this gun and that s well two the griffen also made by aci and the spyder genesis and its only good because of the killer trigger the f4 shoots better and is better with co2 and also has a way better stock barrel than any other gun out there !!! and throw the aci zero gravity barrel in there and you will not find a better gun for the price ! f4 rules why would i have two of them otherwise?
