Now that's something of a different point altogether. Is in fact the price of an Angel worth it when there are (now there are, I should say) electros of similar if not a tad (argueably) better performance for a lower, sometimes half, price tag? When I first encountered Angels and their at the time extraordinary cost, I thought aloud "What kind of pushover could get conned into paying that kind of money? How good can a paintgun get anyway?" I was content with a Mag (for all of maybe 3 months then spent the next 6 trying to sell it) then a Shocker, and when each were in my hand I could see where $500 to 700 could go with a paintgun towards making them worthwhile and maybe good looking. Anything above that I figured to be milling and anodizing and maybe a couple extra barrels. Then once I started handling a couple of really high end Cockers here and there, I could see where one could actually tell that someone had been over every milimeter of the gun and actually built it ounce by ounce to feel like a $1000 piece of equipment. Eventually I shot a few Angels, and though by then I'd shot Bushies and the like (which at the time just blew my mind that you could get that much gun for that comparatively little money), I was able to eventually appreciate that at their point of entry they were something that in 96/97 you couldn't get elsewhere: a light[er], attractive, balanced, smooth[er] firing paintgun with an adjustable electronic trigger that felt sexy and still to this day is instantly addictive and empowering. They weren't the first electro, but from most material respects the Angel was the first to be really good at it. I as of a couple of months ago finally own an LED, which I kinda was tempted not only by the price but to get for the purpose of illustrating the point that although it's the oldest and simplest variation it's still the ass kicking gun that has features that keep lots of people buying and keeping them and more people (often than will admit it) wanting them. I was slow to warm up to them, but when I use mine I can see where the hype came from and what people were forking out what was then abnormal in order to have above those who weren't willing to put down the cash on a leap of faith.
Beginning with those interesting first moments of getting acquainted with them, the sort of side-culture that has evolved around them has been something interesting to behold and interact with. It reminds me a lot of Harley, Mustang, and vintage Corvette nuts. WDP has achieved an icon status in much the same way. You just feel cool having YOUR very own Angel. The conversation can be about YOU and YOUR Angel. What YOU put on YOUR Angel. YOUR Angel has a serial number saying that YOU, lucky person, are #______ to join the Angel society, in the form of your choosing...LED, C&C, SE, Eclipse, Alien, Y2K, Adrenalin, Cobra, IR3, whatever...you're IN. No other company has that sort of aura to them, in my opinion. You just can't help but feel good about it. Also, what's important to me, if to no one else although I'm sure a lot of you people probably feel exactly the same way, WDP stand out as a cool company that has the stones to actually jump right in and party along with all of us. They know who we are, what we like, what we do, and what we want. So often you hear of companies in just about every industry these days that have to hire advertising and marketing specialists, do surveys, bring in focus groups, call over the phone, even hire outside firms to do polling for them to get some kind of idea (And even then they're often wrong!) of what their public wants. This to me brings up the obvious question: "What the bloody hell are you doing in the business in the first place if you don't know and even have to ask what they want?!!!!!" I don't think I need to mention the name of a marker in particular that didn't have the simple addition of an on/off switch for 3+ years and stock barrels which are known to characteristically chrono barely inside the operating pressure threshold for the gun to not blow a relief valve and/or the solenoids operating it. It horrifies me that there are paintguns made by hands and at times designed by people who themselves will not see a day of competitive play using them, and seems idiocy that people would buy them in light of the fact. In short, to me I think every consumer should hold up whatever it is they are going to buy and ask of the manufacturer and seller "Would you and do you use this? Do you believe it to be made to be the best? If another of its kind was better, would I see you using it instead of this and tell me?" If any of those questions is answered "No", ambiguously, or not answered at all, the product should be put back on the shelf. WDP pays attention to the fact that you could be paying the same money or more elsewhere for your paintgun and if an Angel is in your hands then you should feel like you made the right decision on that piece of equipment whether you're being shot at by one of the kids from your church down or 10 of the guys from Dynasty. If, say for instance you know a car dealer that sells Nissans to families on the premise of being the safest family car, then you see him/her driving their own family in a Toyota, what should you think of them?
Going further, and where I honestly wish we could see more companies of all kinds having the spine to go, is WDP's attitude of having a fun time. Yes, fun as in not prissy, watered down, castrated, sensitized, politically correct, allergy free, genericized to fit all demographics, toned down so no one will complain.
boring (not including killer onions reply)