There are currently at the time of this writing three drop in boards for the Kingman ESP frame. These boards are the IS-Board, T-Board, and the XSF Board. You can read a review that I have done to each of them here.

This article is about installing the eye hardware for these boards. I will go over drilling the eyes, and installing 3 types of eye covers. I have installed eyes in AMG and E-99 bodies with no problems. The directions that I provide here will work for your Spyder, regardless of the model.

Remove all air and paint prior to doing this modification. Read the instructions through. Make sure you have an understanding on what is involved in doing and what is needed for a trigger modification. If you attempt to do any of the home modifications listed on this site, I am not responsible for any damage done to, or from, modifying your marker. Also, by doing any of these modifications, you will void warranty of the marker. Kingman does not support the home modifications that I share.

Here are the different sections for installing the eye hardware...

• Drilling For The Eyes
• XSF Eye Cover
• Clay Eye Cover
• Intimidator Eye Cover
• The Ball Detent

I do highly suggest that for drilling into the body, one uses the local airsmith or machine shop resources. It may cost you some money. They should be able to use a drill press that is essential to drilling and having the eye hardware to be perfectly aligned and worth the money. Otherwise, go slowly. Don't rush the job.

I have provided a template to help you drill all of the holes that you need for those interested in doing this yourself. You can find the template using this PDF link or JPG link. Both are the same. Make sure that the template scale measures 1". You could be off 1/16" without any trouble. Also, for those with the T-Board using either the breakbeam or bouncebeam, you can use the same template.

Drilling for the Eyes

Before you take a drill to your body, take the marker completely apart. If you need assistance, refer to my Disassembly/Assembly article. This article works for all Spyders except for the Primal and EM1. Remove all the way down to the valve. This will keep damage to a minimal to the parts and ease in cleaning the burs.

After the marker is apart, clean any paint and oil from the marker. Both inside and out. Using soap and hot water will do fine. Use paper towels to dry the body.

Once dry, cut out the template that I have provided. Tape it to the body. I will cut out the "shaded" area where the feed port is. This allows centering on the body easier. Tape into place.

With the template in place, I do recommend an airsmith or a local metal shop. They should be able to drill holes in the body for you for a nominal fee. This fee would be worth it to make sure the holes are lined up. If you know somebody that has a drill press, you could do it yourself. As a very last resort, you could use a hand drill. If you are drilling yourself, wear safety glasses/shields. I have seen some drill bits shatter.

A side note to securing the body to your drill surface. Some bodies may have a thinner bottom tube as compared to the top. You need to compensate for this. If using a hand drill, be mindful of this. Using a drill press, with adjust the table surface (some presses allow a tilt angle to the surface) or use washers to compensate for the material.

If drilling yourself, take your time! Use a smaller drill bit then is needed to make a starter hole. Then move up from there. Make sure you are using sharp drill bits. Drilling on a rounded surface is not easy.

For those with a bouncebeam setup on the T-Board, you only need to drill one hole. And that hole can be on an angle. That is, no need to straighten the drill as will be described below for a break beam setup. Stay on an angle so that the drill bit is not slipping on the surface. The bounce beam will actually work better if the direction of the hole goes towards the center of the breach.

I have used a hand drill. It is not easy to use. I inserted a 1/16" drill bit in a hand drill to start with. The top tube is rounded. So I could not drill straight down. I started the hole that was perpendicular of the rounded surface. In other words, I drilled into the body in an angle so that the drill did not slip off. After about 1/16" deep hole was in place, I slowly raised the drill to the proper angle. I did the same thing to the otherside of the body. Make sure that the body is secured to the drilling surface. Once the hole is drilled, you could drill straight through for the second hole. That is, if you are installing a breakbeam setup.

If using a drill press, go slow with the initial hole. Let the drill bit cut into the body. Else, the drill bit could bend and scratch your body. As you get a deeper hole, add slightly more pressure. You could go straight through to the other side without flipping the body for a breakbeam setup. Again, go slow with the second hole. A plus to going slow and using a new bit, you will have less burrs to sand/file. Going fast will not make a clean cut.

Once your holes are drilled, switch to the correct size drill bit. I have found that with all of the eye hardware used in the board kits, 1/8" finished hole is a little big. If you have the luxary of a hardware store providing metric drill bits, go for it. Else, use a 3/32" drill bit to make the final hole. Then use a hand drill to ream the holes to size. Try the eye hardware to fit from time to time. A note from Terminalerr, co-creator of the IS Board, mentioned that it would be best to use a hole that makes a snug fit for the eyes.

I have found that starting with a smaller hole, then jumping up to the next size, it is easier. Go slow with the next size up as you are still kind of drilling into a rounded surface. But it is easier as the drill should follow the same path as the prior bit.

Maybe ream out a little of the eye hole, leaving a smaller diameter hole in the brech area. When the eye hardware is inserted, make sure that it is not protruding into the breach. Else, the bolt can damage them. By leaving a smaller diameter hole in the breach side, this should keep the eyes from accidently being pushed through. If they do go all the way through, use some type of clay (like a polymer) to build up the insertion of the eyes. This polymer is described in the Clay Eye Cover section.

When the holes are finished, there will most likely be burrs to some degree. You can use something soft like a wooden dowel or pencil to break off the larger pieces. Then lightly sand anything else that seems to be sticking up. Do sand this area. Not doing so can dig into the bolt.

The hard part is over! Next will be the eye cover installation. Refer to the beginning of this article for which eye cover you will use. After you have decided on the type of eye cover, then you can think about the wire routing.

I have heard that you could add a clear silicon to the eye holes with the eyes in place and let dry. This will allow you to run a squegee through to clean paint off the eyes. Otherwise, you will need to remove the eye hardware

Wire routing: Looking down on the frame, I can visualize two routes. Look at the pic below. The green line would essentially bring the wires out of the frame and run along the small valley between the frame and the bottom tube. This would require a longer cover like what is included with the XSF board. You can get this cover seperate from the board from Shop 4 Paintball. Or make one out of clay if you are talanted. The yellow line would require a cut in the frame and on the bottom of the body to allow the routing of the wires. Perfect for the Intimidator covers. Eye covers are important as they help the eye hardware work in bright environments. Otherwise, you would have the sun light confuse the board.

XSF Board Eye Cover

This is the simplest cover that you can add to your marker for eye covers. It is not AMG friendly. But will fit the other Spyders with no trouble.

The XSF board uses the screw that holds the vertical adaptor in the body. Actually, it may come with a new longer screw. If you purchase the board, all hardware comes with it.

Simply run the wires through the frame and out the top. Fit the frame against the body (careful not to pinch the wires) and see where the wires needed to run so that it is behind the cover. Make a notch on each side of the frame. Make sure there is enough clearance to run the wire through the frame to the outside without pinching the wires and cutting through the insulation.

Secure the frame to the body. Insert the eye hardware into the holes that you drilled. attach the eye cover and VA, securing with the bolt. Done!

Clay Eye Cover

For those that have an artistic ability, you can use polymer clay. This could be used and made into any shape you want. Most any hobby/craft store has these. I had visited my local AC Moore and found this clay for under $1.00. It is enough for 2 sets of covers. Possibly 3.

This is a simple clay to work with. It will soften the more you squeeze it in your hands. The directions say that you need to bake it for 15-minutes for every 1/4" thickness. I kept this in mind when I rolled out and shaped it to what I needed. Place some wax paper on the table so that you don't dirty the surface. Or the clay. After a few minutes of shaping to what I wanted, I placed the covers inside of an oven proof pan and baked it per instructions on the clay.

After it had cooled, the clay did become hard. I did some final sanding of the covers and made sure they fit well. White glue can be used. Or drill for Intimidator covers and secure with a screw. Make sure that the surface you are glueing is clean of dust and oil.

Intimidator Eye Cover

This is probably one of the most common eye covers that you will use and want to install. There is a wide selection of covers for the Intimidator. And, the design of the Intimidator and the Spyder are alike. So, either get a pair that you like (shape of a skull, fireball, etc...) or see if your fellow paintball player doesn't want his stock Intimidator covers and save on money.

For this installation, you will need to use the PDF template or JPG template as described above for drilling the holes. Along with that, you will also need a 3/32 drill bit and a 4-40 tap. Harware for the covers would be two washers and some kind of 4-40 threaded screws that are 1/2" long.

Using the template, drill a 3/32" diameter hole straight through. Clean out the burrs. Now tap the hole you just made. Do not tap threads all the way through. Go about halfway. if you threaded all the way through, you will not be able to screw in what ever screw on the other side. The threads would be going the wrong way. It is alright for the screws to be crossing eachother in the center. Just not at the mouth of the openings.

When using the 4-40 tap, go slow. They can easily snap and may be very hard to remove the broken portion. If you are not sure of yourself, thread about 1/4 to 1/2 turn. Back out the tap and blow into the bolt to clear out metal burrs. Reinsert the tap and screw in to about the point you stopped. Give it another 1/4 to 1/2 turn. Back it out and repeat.

When you have gone in half way and the cover is secure, tap the otherside. Doing the same as you did for the first side.

When the covers are in place, mark where the wires will need to come out of the frame and be behind the covers. You will then need to somehow cut slots in the frame, in the body, or a combination of both for the eye hardware wires. You could use a cutting wheel on a dremal tool.

Ball Detent

The ball detent is a small issue. For the XSF cover, the stock ball detents will work fine with no modification. If you made the clay covers, you could mold them around the existing ones. For the Intimidator eye covers, there are two options.

If you have the stock plastic Intimidator covers, you could cut them around the detent housing. Metal ones, you could also do that. However, it may look odd for this "thing" protruding from the skulls head.

If you do not want to cut the eye cover, then you will need to purchase Intimidator ball detents. These look like little rubber mushrooms. They will fit in a recessed hole of the covers. You will only be using one detent as you do not have a hole on the otherside. However, you could use a 1/16" drill bit and drill directly on the otherside for a hole to allow for a second detent to be utilized. If you are off alittle, you can use the drill bit to "mill" towards the area that you need to go.

To secure the detent, use some white glue. If and when you need to replace it, you can scrape it out with a nail. The otherside will not need glued since you should have only made a hole just big enough for the smaller portion of the detent to stick through.

That is it to installing eyes for the aftermarket boards.