A very good ball! I got my Vicious Attack, as most of my equipment up to date, through ebay. Although it had been drilled 2 times before and plugged by an amateur at home, surface and track area were in pretty good condition. The old plugs were... ugly, at best: a tar-like, grainy stuff, protruding from the ball surface. Well, I paid EUR 40,- (currently ~ $50 ) for it, plus some major surgery in the pro shop's emergency room, new drilling for length and late hook, plus inserts and surface prep (see below). But it was a worthwhile investment, I must say.

I'd like to thank RevLefty for sharing experience with his polished Vicious Attack in the Hammer forum of this site, and Brian Graham at Hammer/Ebonite for his quick support concerning drilling suggestions for this ball! Great service at Hammer/Ebonite. Thumbs up!

About me:
Style = Stroker/mild Tweener, right-handed
Speed = 13,5-14,5 mph
PAP = 5" & 7/8"^
Axis tilt = 18,7°
Revs = 250-300 RPM at release
For more details, check out my profile, please.


The ball setup:

The ball is a 3 3/8“ pin-out and was set up for medium conditions, as a solution for late games on an oily shot: Pin ended up at ~4 1/2" from PAP, positioned 1" at 12:00 above the ring finger hole, and the CG 2 1/2" under it, stacked. MB marker located at 90° from PAP, positioned at 2:00 of thumb hole. Thumb & silicone finger inserts, no x-hole necessary.

=====*===
===o=o===
=========
=====#===
=========
====Om===

* = Pin
# = CG
m = LMB marker/mass bias


Picture of this ugly thing here. In search of length (based on the 800 grit box condition for heavier oil) and a smooth reaction, I had the ball finished with a ~1.500 grit, wet hand-sanded surface. Sheen. No polish, but enough glaze to get it through light oil/spotty heads and offering enough grip for a controllable reaction on dry ground and carrydown. This was absolutely right!


Testing program:

First tests were made on the played-down 40' sports pattern with slick Brunswick synthetic surface to see what the ball was capable of. I found the Vicious Attack to be an amazingly strong and sharp ball! After some games with my Fuze Eliminator (and additional games of my pals with other soaker balls) I switched to my new weapon – and it worked fine! I stood at 28th board with my right shoe tip and played over 16/17th board (the area 3' behind 3rd arrow, to be exact).

From the start, the Vicious Attack impressed me with consistency and very good pin carry, and it kept up this performance until now (edited May 06). On the spotty lane the ball still showed a clear skid/roll/hook pattern. It did not react snappy, but with a hard, noticeable break at about 42' down the lane, revving up nicely and delivering powerful hits. I was able to maintain this good performance until all the head oil was gone. Then, seeking some oil and moving deeper inside, the ball kept working fine and came back to the pocket with energy. I was able to hold almost the same line as with my Eliminator before, but the Vicious Attack went longer, more angular, and wrecked the pins. Both balls make a great combo for me.

Another lane I played was a fresh medium 35' THS pattern. It is walled, 7 outside boards are bone dry. Grippy Brunswick synth lanes. Here, the Vicious Attack shed its bright light, too. Again aiming at 17th board as before, but now standing at 32nd board with my right shoe tip, I was able to send the ball down the lane with a wide range for error: when the ball went to the outside it recovered easily on the dry THS boards and got back to the pocket. When I played it more inside it just skidded longer in the oil, still breaking nicely and rolling forward into the pins. When the lane dried up, the ball started to react earlier and I got more Brooklyn hits. But the good carry of this ball compensated well!

On the same occasion I played my Raging Red Fuze as a benchmark. The Red Fuze has the same drilling (See my review there for details), and it performed overall stronger than the solid Vicious Attack, but with a different reaction. I was standing at 33rd board, and the Red Fuze produced a rather arcing hook and an earlier roll, probably due to its lower RG core and higher differential. But the Red Fuze was less controllable, delivering many more Brooklyn hits and needing more speed. The Vicious Attack, even sheen, was cleaner and had a sharper breakpoint.


Some conclusions:

My experiences with the Vicious Attack surprised me positively, and it amazes me ever more. I was looking for a special purpose ball, but the Vicious Attack is one of my certain balls in the bag when I go to league and tournament. It is strong and versatile, at least with my specific setup. I give it an overall 9 out of 10, and I am very pleased with it.

Lane utility for tested ball (pattern length vs. oil volume):

|S M L
|h e o
|o d n
|r . g
|t
_______
|0 + X| Light volume
|0 X +| Medium volume
|+ X +| Heavy volume

Legend:
X = Best suited with effective control & carry
+ = Fairly suited (works, somehow, but lacks control)
0 = Unsuited (ineffective, either slips or burns up)


The chart concept is borrowed from Storm's 2003 catalogue - IMHO a very good overview tool. Surface prep and drillings may change the results, it is just personal experience with my style

With my sheen 1.500 grit surface the ball's coverstock already has a LOT of traction to offer. The coverstock is pretty strong - stronger than I expected!It works with this surface preparation well on fresh medium shots to played-down heavier oil patterns: It moves cleanly and breaks surprisingly sharp for a solid reactive. Additionally, the Vicious Attack seems to work very well together with the low mass bias core on a wide range of lane conditions. It offers easy control where my reactive pearls would go spasmic, with a convincing lane performance and steady pin carry. Kablash!

With some simple coverstock adjustments it is probably suitable for anything except toasted lanes. Opening up the ball's surface to box condition (800 grit sanded) will certainly allow you to play deep(er) oil. But beware: its aggressive solid coverstock will certainly burn out on a dry backend and in the lack of oil! Also, watch out for dry heads. On the other side, I can imagine that a polish on a fresh pattern and some clean back end will make this ball a real flip monster (RevLefty IS right!).

Besides, the Vicious Attack looks striking with its yellow and black swirls... reminds me somehow of Swiss cheese! Maybe the holes...?

Nevertheless, a great and versatile ball for a lot of occasions! More than I expected.

Addendum Nov. 2006:
The ball is still in my bag as a fall-back option, especially for carrydown situation on later, oily shots. As an alternative to my standard 1.500 grit surface I also tried 2.000 Abralon. Left the ball with a much "glossier" surface, and to my surprise it lost much of its good grip and good nature. This was surprise to me , since I expected a little more length and a slightly sharper break point. But the only thing that resulted was its usability on lighter conditions... Well, took it back to 1.500, and it performs as nicely as before.

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DizzyFugu --- Reporting from Germany
Team "X" league website: http://homepage.mac.com/timlinked/
"All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream..." - Edgar Allen Poe