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Introduction: The ICD 'Cat Family| Getting Started: Tips for a New Owner |
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The ICD 'Cats are built using a design that is very reliable and require minimal care. Still, paintball is a rough game, and it's important to know how your marker works, and how to clean and repair it so you can have fun with your equipment. The ICD manual is good, and includes information on field-stripping and troubleshooting the marker, but not much beyond that. When you get your 'Cat, tear it down first thing before gassing it up or firing and lube all the O-rings. Many guns arrive dry and though there aren't many critical seals on a 'Cat, a little time now will help the gun to break in properly (also see the exploded view link below). |
| Disclaimer:
The ICD 'Cats are not difficult markers to work on, but there is some chance that things could go wrong. If you are uncomfortable about working on the hammer or trigger of your marker, Don't Do It! These tips assume some mechanical aptitude and use of the correct tools. If you mess something up, you'll have to replace it. Indian Creek Designs has an excellent warranty, and they stand behind their guns. If you have a problem and ship it to them, they promise 24 hour turnaround on repairs. There are many testimonials on the web to back this up. They will also do upgrades based on production improvements. ICD wants me to make it clear that this is not an official ICD site. Any changes you make to a marker under warranty may void that coverage. Don't blame them, don't blame me. There, that should cover it.  the ICD Official Corporate Website
Finally, Don't use an unsafe marker, and Be Careful with CO2 and Paintballs. Paintball markers are not toys, so be an adult and take responsibility for your own actions... |
So here we go. Field strip the integrated Bolt/Hammer assembly from the Upper Receiver by removing the knurled small knurled cocking knob, and the larger knurled knob at the back of the marker, then slapping the back of the marker against your palm while pulling the trigger. Using hex wrenches, remove the Vertical Tank Adapter and the 4 socket head cap screws in the bottom of the Trigger Frame. Lift off the upper receiver to expose the trigger mechanism. Remove the rear ASA cover if your 'Cat has one (some models have no rear ASA connection). Clean the bolt/hammer, the mainspring and adjustment knob, the vertical tank adapter, the inside of the upper receiver, and the trigger frame with alcohol and swabs to get out any dust or remaining machine grit. Lube the O-rings with silicone grease (a small plastic snap-cap full is cheap and will last forever. get it from Skanline or a scuba store). Spray the trigger assembly and bolt inside and out with a good silicone lubricant; this won't screw up the O-ring seals like WD40. Then reassemble the parts and squirt a drop or two of silicone lube into the ASA conncetion you'll be using. Follow the gas and spring adjustment guidelines in the ICD owners manual to get initial settings. Cock the bolt and gas up the 'Cat without a barrel, then squeeze off a few rounds. Be ready with a rag, it'll weep lube all over your hand. Really loud too, without a barrel. Now swab the lube out the front chamber and powerfeed, put on a clean barrel and go shoot some paint!  Bobcat Exploded View and Schematic
 Puma Exploded View and Schematic
 Thundercat/Alleycat Exploded View and Schematic
 Basic Airsmithing Page
The 'Cats have 3 adjustments which are balanced to make an efficient firing cycle at a safe velocity: Mainspring Tension, the Velocity air jet, and the Recock air jet. The marker works best with minimum mainspring tension and reduced Velocity and Recock, this reduces the stress on the marker and extends it's life, and it's still possible to acheive consistent field velocities. Always clean your marker and relube after a day playing, and store the 'Cat with the rear knob unscrewed to preserve the mainspring tension. |
| Tweaks: Things you can do for your 'Cat |
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Though the 'Cats are an incredible value, they can be improved. These tweaks will require more tools, time, and care, but can result in an exceptional marker. Tweaks: Trigger Work
Tweaks: Bolt Polishing
Tweaks: Adding a Rear Trigger Stop
These are lumped together on one page since they interact to affect the trigger 'feel' of the 'Cats... Sight Rail ICD mills in a nice sight rail on the top of the upper receiver, unfortunately the power feed is in the way and no red dot sight will clear it, you you need an extender. The problem is the ICD Rail is too tall, and when you put a sight on top it bumps into the bottom of a motorized hopper. So I'm in the process of cutting off an ICD rail and bolting a .22 dovetail to the shortened legs. I'll add a page to detail the mod if it turns out well. You could also use an 'Occluded Eye' Sight like the Armsom behind the powerfeed, since you don't really see through it. One nice thing about that mount is there's no way to hit it with a paintball! The ICD rail does work fine as a visual sight with no red dot, and this gun shoots so smoothly you'll find it's easy to 'walk it in'. There's almost no recoil, so your barrel stays on target and the rate of fire is as good as an Automag. |
| Accessories: Aftermarket Parts for the 'Cats |
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The urge to customize has to be one of the primal desires of humans. Here are some of the aftermarket parts available for the Desert Fox. Motorized Hopper The 'Cats aren't really high rate of fire markers. Though they will get up to 4 or 5 balls a second, the trigger effort is higher than a Desert Fox, and there's enough reciprocating mass that the gun jumps a little with each shot. In other words, it's hard to outshoot a gravity loader. A motorized hopper like the VL Revolution could help some, but you don't need the 18 volt version. Double Trigger Shoes Some people like them, some don't. I like 'em, but they do make it harder to grip and shoot the marker with one hand. The 98 model Desert Fox I bought came equiped with the ICD double trigger. It's sorta odd looking, with the way the lower finger scallop juts forward, and it's really wide. I had a Proline double trigger on my Bobcat, so I've swapped them back and forth a few times, and here's my opinion. The ICD trigger works great on the 'Cats because they have a shorter pull distance between the forward trigger position and the back of the grip. In fact, it's really short on the 'Cat guns. The wide ICD shoe with the longer lower finger groove is a great fit for someone with large hands, and a big improvement. The Desert fox has a longer 'pull' and though I have big hands, the Proline trigger just feels better. It's narrower and the two finger grooves are vertically aligned. Just my opinion, YMMV. (Oh, and the Proline is cheaper at US$10 v. US$20 for the ICD) Tip: File the sharp bottom forward edge of the trigger where it contacts the double trigger show to reduce the stress on the shoe (a sharp contact point is called a 'stress riser' in mechnical design), one of the ICD Discussion posters had a Proline shoe break at that point. Just break the edge gently, that's all it takes to remove the problem. Grips The 95 Bobcat I bought came with a 45 frame with plastic side panels, and a Lonestar M-16 grip. I've also tried Uncle Mike's, Hogue, and the old hard plastic ICD side panels, and IMHO Hogue wins. Even though the 'Cats have a short trigger 'pull', if you have smaller hands you may find that the ICD gripframe is too large. It's a standard M-16 style mount so the Ramline or Lapco plastic grips will fit fine. 45 grips vary a lot in front to rear distance, so look around. I have a Benchmark 45 grip on my Phantom, and found it was too small for me when I tried it on the 'Fox (Which has a longer pull than the 'Cat; the Phantom has an even longer pull than the Desert Fox). Definitely consider the Proline (or 32 degree, they are the same) double trigger if you have smaller hands. Remotes and Expansion Chambers The 'Cats are OK with liquid, but it can make the velocity unreliable; if you fire a long string and fill the valve with liquid, and it then warms and vaporizes in a longer pause between shots you will have a very hot shot that can really hurt someone. Doc Nickel, the Alaskan airsmith, has an online article describing how to retune a marker to deliberately run on liquid. This CAN be reliable and works pretty well in cold weather, but it's hard on the O-rings in the valve, so be prepared to replace them when the weather warms. Doc Nickel's Tech Page
Still, if you want to use CO2 an expansion chamber is a good thing. Some ICD models come with the large ANS chamber standard and a bottom line hookup mounted under the grip. But the ANS unit is a little large, which may affect the ability to hide and shoot behind a shallow bunker. A shorter alternative would the ACI Sub Zero 4 expansion chamber, which works as well as the taller Sub Zero 6 and is more compact. Personally, I prefer to get the tank off the gun and run a remote from a 20 oz tank. I've got an expansion chamber mounted with the tank valve, though the hose also acts as an expansion chamber. ACI also makes a really cool slide/disconnect unit, which combines a slide valve to turn off the gas with a disconnect for the marker. This setup lets you keep the gas in the expansion chamber when you disconnect the marker, otherwise you'll have to vent that extra volume of gas every time you want to put down the gun. It also comes in handy when you need to de-gas and field strip the 'Fox. The stainless hoses seem to be much tougher than the coiled models, pretty much bulletproof. Regardless of whether you run Air or CO2, ya should get a filter for the supply. Any small junk that blows into the valve can cause problems. Pro-Team makes a nice little in-line filter that uses a sintered metal disk (about US$12), it'll catch any crud that the field tanks add to your supply. I measured it out and decided there was clearance in the bottom of the ACI slide/disconnect, so I dropped in the spare filter disk that came with the unit and added a small O-ring to hold it in place, then screwed the remote line into the bottom after it. Works fine and takes no room or extra seals! |
