WDP Angel
Released in 1997 the Angel is one of the earliest electro-pneumatic paintball markers and was manufactured by WDP Paintball Ltd., later renamed Angel Sports Products. It was advertised as capable of firing at 15bps. The Angel was designed by John Rice for HPA only in an era where Co2 was still dominant. The Angel has a linked bolt and hammer in a 3 tube triangular body that is operated by a 4 way solenoid valve. The Angel fires from an open bolt and is essentially a poppet valve design.
The firing sequence is electronically controlled, and starts from the open bolt. At the pull of the trigger, an electronic impulse trips the four-way valve, pushing compressed gas through the ram from behind, forcing the ram and bolt assembly to move towards the valve, impacting the poppet and releasing gas to the chamber. The paintball is fired with this gas, then the four-way solenoid reverses, and delivers gas to the front of the ram, returning the ram and bolt assembly to their starting position.
Unlike most modern electro-pneumatic markers early Angels used a built in rechargeable NiCad battery located in the lower left hand tube. This was designed to be recharged by the supplied charger. This lead to a number of problems as the battery aged or was left discharged for a long period of time. If you own one of these earlier Angels I suggest that you remove the battery ASAP because they swell and leak toxic chemicals.
On the field the quick strip bolt was much appreciated but off the field further stripping for cleaning and servicing required some patience and skill compared to today’s designs. This particular Eclipse customised LED Angel is from around 1999 and is in quite good condition and features a nice splash anodised finish.