Editing Steve Constable (section)

== Paintball equipment development ==

=== Early Sheridan conversions ===

Constable's early engineering work involved modifying existing paintball markers.

During the mid-1980s, he converted Sheridan K-series and K1 rifles to use refillable carbon dioxide reservoirs.[1]

These rifles had been supplied to paintball operators in New Zealand and Australia.

The conversions replaced dependence on individual disposable gas cartridges with larger stored-gas systems.

This development allowed players to fire more paintballs before replenishing their gas supply.

The conversions formed part of a broader international movement toward constant-air paintball equipment.

Constable subsequently moved from modifying existing markers to producing complete designs.

=== Wooden PSI M-16 ===

One of Constable's earliest original paintball marker designs was a wooden-bodied rifle resembling the M-16.

The marker was developed during approximately 1985–1987.

It incorporated a pump-action firing mechanism and an internal carbon dioxide reservoir.

Constable based its operating mechanism on the Nelson Nelspot system, adapting the design to suit his own construction.[1]

The original model used .62-calibre paintballs.

According to Constable's recollections, approximately '''20 wooden examples''' were manufactured.

The marker demonstrated his early experimentation with integrating the gas reservoir and operating mechanism within a complete rifle-style enclosure.

Constable also described experimenting with .50-calibre equipment during this period.

His later recollections acknowledge that some early experimental designs operated at velocities that would not meet modern paintball safety expectations.[1]

=== FN-49 rifle ===

The '''FN-49''' was a pump-action paintball rifle developed by Constable around 1986–1987.

It was one of his more extensively produced early designs.

The rifle used .62-calibre paintballs and featured an internal carbon dioxide reservoir.

A brass tubular magazine, mounted alongside the barrel, held approximately 25 paintballs.

The reservoir was machined from a solid brass component.

Constable recalled that a full gas charge could provide approximately 100 to 140 shots, depending on operating conditions.[1]

The FN-49 was developed after his initial wooden M-16 design.

==== Production ====

Constable estimated that approximately '''200 FN-49 rifles''' were produced.

He recalled that most were exported to Australia.[1]

Historical research by Daniel Bacci subsequently connected the FN-49 with '''Gatenby Automatic Engineering''' in New Zealand.

A surviving rifle examined by Bacci carried the serial number 8703266.

Bacci suggested that the number might indicate production in March 1987, although the interpretation remains uncertain.[3]

The precise division of manufacturing work between Constable and external engineering businesses has not been fully established.

==== Surviving American example ====

Constable brought an FN-49 rifle to the United States during 1987.

He gave the marker to '''David Freeman''', an American paintball industry figure associated with Pursuit Marketing Incorporated and Tippmann Pneumatics.

The rifle subsequently remained in Freeman's collection.

In December 2014, Daniel Bacci recorded a demonstration of the surviving FN-49.

The demonstration was published in May 2015 as ''The Constable / Gatenby FN-49 .62 cal Rifle c.1987''.[3]

The research included photographs of its internal gas chamber and markings.

Bacci initially described the rifle as a PSI 1200 in the video, but subsequently corrected the identification to FN-49.

=== Lever-action rifle ===

Constable also developed a lever-action paintball rifle during approximately 1987.

The design used .62-calibre paintballs and incorporated a manually operated lever mechanism.

Its appearance was inspired by Western-style rifles.

Constable recalled producing approximately '''50 examples''' for a Canadian customer who intended to establish a Western-themed paintball field.[1]

He later reported losing contact with the customer.

The design illustrates his experimentation with marker configurations beyond conventional pump-action paintball pistols and rifles.

The limited availability of .62-calibre paintballs subsequently made such early equipment more difficult to maintain in working condition.

=== PSI 1200 and Hornet ===

Constable's later equipment range included markers associated with the '''PSI 1200''' and '''Hornet''' names.

Contemporary photographs show PSI 1200 markers in use in New Zealand and Australia during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

An April 1990 issue of ''Paintball Sports Magazine'' included a photograph of an Australian player with a PSI 1200.

A December 1990 magazine photograph showed New Zealand paintball operator [[Dave Pellet]] working on a PSI marker identified in historical research as a PSI 1200 or Yellow Jacket.[1]

An August 1991 issue of ''Action Pursuit Games'' also showed a PSI 1200 in use in New Zealand.

Historical equipment photographs have applied several names to apparently related PSI models. The precise distinctions between the 1200, Hornet and Yellow Jacket require care when identifying individual surviving markers.

=== M-16 Stinger ===

The '''M-16 Stinger''' was another pump-action paintball marker developed by Constable and manufactured under the Pursuit Supplies International name.

The marker was also known to some New Zealand players as the '''Commando'''.

It featured a military-style external body and was marketed internationally during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Grant Fraser, a New Zealand player and former employee of Dave Pellet's Tactics paintball field, owned an example of the Stinger.

In 2007, Fraser supplied photographs of his marker to Daniel Bacci, helping initiate further research into the history of PSI.[1]

The M-16 Stinger also appeared in North American photographs and magazine material.

A March 1990 ''Action Pursuit Games'' advertisement documented a Stinger accessory marketed as a silencer or raincover.[5]