Everything out of the Crossbolt box.

The Crossbolt is one of the more unusual and more interesting blasters released in 2015. It’s a bullpup clip (mag) blaster, which hasen’t happened since the 2012 Rayven (and its repaints), but more importantly is a stringer clip (mag) blaster, which is a first. How does it compare to its more conventional springer and flywheeler cousins?

The Box:

Front of the box.

Back of the box.

Cardboard tray out of the box.

The Crossbolt Blaster:

Bow arm with arm slot.

Bow arm mostly in, not yet locked in place.

Bow arm locked in place.

Firstly out of box, the bow arms have to be attached to the Crossbolt body. It’s a simple matter of aligning the arms with the slots up the front of the Crossbolt and shoving them in until they lock in.

Right side.

Left side.

Front view.

Top view.

Bottom view.

The Crossbolt is an interesting looking piece. It combines bow arms with a modern/sci-fi body. Without the bow arms it’s quite a good looking blaster, and I could easily see it being repainted for a sci-fi prop. With the bow arms I feel that it looks a bit mixed up, though certainly not the worst looking mashup blaster (*cough* Thunderblast *cough*).

The Crossbolt has just the sole tac rail on the fore end, which is perhaps the only appropriate tac rail spot. The bow arms do give it substantial width, which may be awkard to handle compared to most blasters.

Front end of the blaster.

Front sling point.

Bottom sling point.

Stock sling point.

There are 3 sling points – one on top above the muzzle, one on bottom just behind the handle, and one on the back of the stock. There’s also a lone tactical rail on the bottom of the fore-end.

The Crossbolt's priming slide.

Close up of the offending edges.

Hand on slide.

The Crossbolt uses a top slide for priming and chambering of darts. Though this allows it to be quite compact and short, it also presents the first of a number of ergonomic issues. The edges of the slide are quite sharp, especially the plateaus for the embossed Elite logos. This makes the slide rather uncomfortable to repeatedly and continuously cycle.

My insinctive arm position.

Bow cord rubbing against my arm.

Forced arm position.

The other major ergonomic issue with having a top slide is the bow arms and the cord – my natural arm position when cycling a top slide results in the cord brushing along the bottom of my arm. The arm position I’ve had to adopt to not scrape it against the cord involves holding my elbow very high up, which is naturally rather awkward.

Close up of the handle.

Hand on handle.

Close up of the tight squeeze of the thumbhole stock.

Rear view of the thumbhole stock hole.

Looking at the offensive area of the thumbhole stock.

Bottom view of the handle/thumbhole stock.

The handle and thumbhole stock present another significant ergonomic issue. The handle is decently designed, but the thumbhole stock design is very poor. The support beam on the bottom is annoyingly wide and cuts into your hand when naturally holding the handle. Even after a short time of holding it, the far edge of my hand was already starting to really feel it.

A look at the magwell/stock.

12 clip (mag) loaded.

Mag release button.

Mag release depressed.

The Crossbolt is a bullpup blaster, so its magwell is in its stock. Though the first bullpup clip (mag) blaster, the Rayven, had a fairly well designed stock magwell, the Crossbolt’s stock is very, very small. While it works fairly well as a magwell, it doesn’t do very well at anything else. The mag release button is not the best design, and I find that I have to push off against the button with my thumb to get the clip (mag) out effectively. Further below are some pictures demonstrating just how small the stock is.

Unlike with springer clip (mag) system blasters, you can switch clips in the Crossbolt at any time, though switching it while the slide is back is not ideal and may not feed properly on the first dart.

Top view of the jam doors.

Both jam doors open.

Close-up of the rear jam door with a clip (mag) loaded.

The Crossbolt has two jam doors to expose the two main internal areas. The rear one above the magwell is as standard for a clip (mag) system blaster, and can be opened at any time. The one in front exposes the chamber itself, and can only be opened when the slide is forward. Annoyingly, this forward jam door is actually very difficult to use and it is much easier to clear jams by using the cord itself to push out the jammed dart(s).

Rest position of the Crossbolt.

Priming the Crossbolt.

A look at the chambering system.

Crossbolt primed and loaded.

The Crossbolt cycles the same way as most clip (mag) system blasters. Pull the slide back to get ready to chamber the next dart and prime the blaster (in this case stretch and catch the cord). Pushing the slide forward chambers the dart, then of course pull the trigger to fire and repeat. The draw on the Crossbolt is quite long, longer than most springers.

Crossbolt next to E.Rayven, Retal.

Next to a Retal.

Here’s some pics to show how ridiculously short the Crossbolt stock is – it’s comparable to the Retaliator stock, which is the shortest detachable stock (and about the same as a retracted Raider stock). It’s almost impossible to shoulder, and quite uncomfortable. Overall the Crossbolt is a complete ergonomic disaster – everything that you hold or shoulder feels awful.

Performance:

FPS shot of the Crossbolt.

The Crossbolt achieves impressive range for a grey trigger blaster. I was achieving 13-14 metre ranges with good quality Elites. It’s also quite consistent, depending on how good quality the darts are.

Accuracy is very impressive for an Elite blaster using Elite darts. I was getting very tight groupings of around 0.5m at full range. At 8-9m, a hit on a human sized target is pretty much guaranteed, and even at 10-11m is not difficult.

Rate of fire is the Crossbolt’s downfall. In particular, the uncomfortable slide and its long draw, coupled with the various locks really get in the way. The best I could achieve was ~1.5 darts per second before the Crossbolt started locking up.

There is one important thing to note however. These performances are all done with practically new darts, as usual for reviews. As is well known, used and worn out darts tend to reduce ranges and detract from accuracy. In the Crossbolt in particular, worn out darts present a major problem as accuracy and consistency are lost, ranges drop but more importantly the chance of misfires and jams increases drastically. With new/good condition darts I was seeing very few jams or misfires, but when I switched to used darts, I saw many jams and misfires. In particular, the misfires involve the cord firing past the dart, which is particularly problematic to unjam and requires removing the clip (mag) and manually pulling the cord back to de-chamber the dart.

I have also experienced the Crossbolt decimating darts, though much more rarely than misfires and jams. Unlike most jams where darts get bent or chomped, I was seeing darts get shredded to pieces, with some chunks even getting stuck inside the blaster.

Role:

The Crossbolt performs very similarly to the Retaliator, with good range and excellent accuracy at the expense of a slow ROF. It is also notable for being very quiet, making it all round ideal for popping up, taking a pot shot or two then ducking back into cover. Its low ROF makes it non-ideal for rapid fire and close range, and the width from the bow arms can present an issue maneuvering in close quarters. Given its slow ROF, cover is crucial to not be mowed down by fast firing blasters such as flywheelers or pump actions.

Value and Summary:

The Crossbolt retails at around 40AUD, which is not cheap. Retals can be had for 10AUD less, and offer far more value with their attachments. Heck a Rotofury can be had for the same price as well. Considering its major ergonomic issues and overall pain of use, I can’t recommend the Crossbolt at full price. A discount to 30AUD is reasonable, but again, compared to a Retal there’s no argument which one I would recommend as an overall blaster. The Crossbolt is a fun blaster and does fire quite well, but not quite good enough to justify the price, awkwardness and pain.

Modification Capability:

Modding the Crossbolt is quite different to more conventional blasters. More power can be obtained by simply tying off the cord more, which can be done just with a screwdriver and a few minutes. Making the bow arms removable should be done before attaching the bow arms, but can also be done with a few seconds with a rotary tool. One popular Crossbolt mod is the “armless” mod, where the cord is tied off through the bow arm slots, and the bow arms removed entirely. This makes it far slimmer and more compact, though I personally found issues with shot consistency and accuracy in this armless form.

Though all this sounds extremely easy, there is one major problem. Tightening the cord too much can cause havoc with dart firing, with misfires, jams and dart shredding becoming far more frequent, and darts becoming far more erratic. This limitation on power is somwhere around 90-100fps muzzle velocity, depending on darts, which is still more than usable in “superstock”. The upside perhaps of the use of a cord is that it’s easy to tune the Crossbolt to your power desires (within reason). Want a bit more power? Just tie a bit of cord off. Want a little less? Loosen the cord a little. It’s very simple and requires nothing but a screwdriver, but nevertheless could be useful.

My attempt at a Crossbolt with extended stock.

One thing that I’d recommend if you’re serious on using the Crossbolt is to extend the stock. I used a Praxis stock for the above one, and it’s substantially more comfortable and usable.

Besides tying off the cord/removing the bow arms and removing locks, there’s not that much to be done functionally. Sure you could try your hand at a pump-action mod or extend the stock, but being a stringer really limits what can be done.

A link to the review I posted on my own blog: link

The post Review: Nerf Elite Crossbolt (21m Aus grey trigger) appeared first on Blaster Hub.

The N-Strike Modulus Recon MK 2 is a welcoming addition to the Modulus line. From its name, it’s the second version of the fan favourite N-Strike Recon. While having practically the same internals as a Retaliator, is this a true upgrade to the Recon/Retaliator?

Included with the blaster are 6 modulus darts, a stock, a barrel extension and a six-dart clip. Strangely enough the clip is solid orange on both sides (all N-Strike Elite six dart clips have an opaque side).

Both extensions of the blaster unit are extremely small. The stock is even shorter than the Retaliator’s! Since the stock is so short it’s too uncomfortable to use. If I’m correct, the Modulus Recon MK 2 contains the smallest attachments for any Nerf blaster.

Visually comparing this blaster to the Retaliator it is quite similar, especially in its shape. The major differences are the colours (duh), the tactical rail on the side and the addition of the hand guard, which I quite like. It’s also slightly wider than the retaliator. I really like the colour scheme and its added features, giving a fresh new look to the classic Recon.

It has just one sling mount on the bottom of the handle, and two tactical rails. One rail on top of the priming slide and the other on the side of the blaster. When the slide is pulled back, users will have access to the jam door.

To function this spring blaster, simply load a six-dart clip into the main blaster unit. Pull the slide back and forth to prime the Recon and it is ready to fire. Repeat this action to fire the rest of the darts in the clip. Unfortunately this blaster can only accept 6 and 12 dart magazines/clips. The 18 and 10 dart banana clip will fit, but once the slide is pulled back, the clip will fall out. *

However, the Recon MK II does work with my 35-dart drum, but it doesn’t function with the Rampage’s 25- dart drum.

Performance on this blaster is quite dismal. As soon as I dry fired this blaster, I knew it would have poor performance. It sounds very weak. Note: I am reviewing a grey trigger version.

Verdict:

Not worth its price.

The Modulus Recon MK 2, isn’t a terrible blaster, it’s just that when comparing it to the Retaliator, there is no reason to buy it.

Reasons why the Retaliator is a better purchase over the Recon MK 2:

 Reason 1: A major letdown for this blaster is its inability to use 18 dart clips and drums. Not a problem for the Retaliator.

Reason 2: The Retaliator has better fire power.

Reason 3: The Retaliator has much better attachments. Many will agree that the Modulus attachments are lame. The stock is too short and the barrel extension is useless. The size of the blaster is small enough to be used as a pistol, no attachments are required for it.

Reason 4: Currently the Modulus Recon Mark 2 costs more than the Retaliator, which is ridiculous as it comes with less and smaller attachments. One would assume the Modulus Recon would be a cheaper blaster to produce due to the less plastic involved.

Again, this blaster isn’t terrible, but competing against other blasters there is very little reason to purchase it. The only exception for purchasing the Recon MK 2 is for its aesthetics (it is a nice looking blaster), other than that, wait till the price is lowered and it may be worth a purchase.

* In the near future, Hasbro will release an updated version of this Modulus blaster, being able to use 18 dart clips and drums.

The post Review: Nerf N-Strike Modulus Recon MK 2 appeared first on Blaster Hub.

The Nerf N-Strike Mega Rotofury released last year is the first Mega blaster to include slam fire action and currently has the highest capacity for a Mega blaster. With all these positive features, one would assume the Rotofury is the best choice for a Mega blaster. Let’s find out!

Included with the Mega Rotofury are 10 Mega darts and an instruction sheet.

I personally like the overall design to this blaster. It looks great and feels great. With its big size, it can appear quite intimidating. The Rotofury continues with the Mega colour scheme of red, white and grey. These colour choices work well with the other Mega blasters and the Rotofury is no exception. Holding the blaster is surprisingly light for its size. Both handles are comfortable to hold, especially the pump grip. Unfortunately the blaster doesn’t properly fit into your shoulders. Some people hate the lack of a proper stock but I feel like the Rotofory is designed to be a hip-firing blaster.

The Rotofury includes three sling adapters and one very long tactical rail at the top of the blaster.

To function the Rotofory, load 10 mega darts into the barrel. Pull the pump handle back and forth and the blaster is ready to fire. To slam fire, hold down the trigger while continually pulling the pump grip back and forth. Being pump action and having a very comfortable handle, priming this blaster is an ease. I will admit, loading the darts into the drum, is a bit clunky. Every time you rotate the barrel to insert a dart, it kind of feels like you are breaking the blaster. Although, it’s not as bad as the Buzzbee Tommy 20.

The firepower on this big beast is pretty impressive. Most shots were around 14 to 17 metres. When angling the blaster, it isn’t hard to reach over 20 metres. The darts fly relatively straight, but some darts flying past 9m will suddenly head off into another direction, which can be a bit frustrating.

When I first tried out the blaster, I noticed only 6 mega darts were firing properly. I originally thought there was something wrong with the blaster but it ended up being a dart problem. Once I placed in other Mega darts from a refill pack, all darts fired perfectly. So if you do buy the Rotofury and have no other Mega refills, I’d recommend buying a refill pack when you buy the blaster.

Verdict:

Great buy!

The Mega Rotofury is by far the best Mega blaster, excelling in its capacity and in its rate of fire. Holding the blaster feels just right and having an open drum, makes it easy to reload on the run. The few issues with this blaster are minor and can be ignored. Even if this blaster is not being used in a battlefield, it’s still a lot of fun to shoot around. At $40, I think this blaster is a great buy and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in a Mega blaster or any toy blaster.

Gallery:

The post Review: Nerf N-Strike Elite Mega Rotofury appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Although the Freezefire may not be the most powerful water blaster, it is certainly one of the cruellest Super Soakers on the market. Having the ability to hold ice cubes, makes firing water at your friends a bitter pleasure.

Like many of the recent super soakers, the Freezefire has a very basic blocky design with blue, white and light blue colours but a majority of the blaster is covered in light blue. Personally, I’m not that keen on the aesthetics of the newer super soaker blasters as they seem to have very little detailing. Although, I do appreciate that Nerf uses a variety of colours in their new Super Soaker line, unlike the older ones that were just white and navy blue. Generally, the blaster is quite comfortable to hold but I’ll never understand the inclusion of the fake ‘trigger’ (Picture below). Whenever I hold the Freezefire I feel like I need to pull a trigger.

Opening the lid of the blaster can be quite difficult and slightly painful on your fingertips. Also when closing the lid you have to make sure it’s fully tight. I got fooled many times spilling water on the ground as I thought I had the lid closed

Along with holding ice, the Freezefire is able to hold 680ml (23 FL.OZ.) of water. To have a better understanding of this capacity, 680ml will give you about 38 shots, it’s not bad. The claimed range for this soaker is 11.5 metres but after giving this blaster a proper test, it usually reaches up to around 8 metres. The best distance you’ll get on this thing will be about 9 metres. Although the Freeze Fire does not achieve its advertised ranges, I still believe it’s got decent fire power, especially for its size.

Verdict

Considering the Freezefire’s size it holds a fairly good capacity and has decent performance, making this Super Soaker a solid choice for the battlefield. At $10 USD, this is certainly a good buy. Meanwhile in Australia, the Freezefire is $15 at Big W. For $15 AUD, I’d still recommend it, but if the price was any higher I’d consider paying a few more extra bucks for something a little better, such as the Barrage.

The post Nerf Super Soaker Freezefire Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Everything in the Recon MkII package.

With the first Modulus blaster being a flywheeler, the next logical Modulus blaster to release is a springer, most likely based on the Retaliator for maximum tacticool. That’s exactly what Nerf has done with the Recon MkII, interestingly taking the name of the blaster that the Retaliator originally improved upon. Does the Recon MkII improve upon the Retaliator then?

The Box:

Front of the box.

Back of the box.

Pretty standard Modulus box fare – front is open and back is an advert for the line as a whole.

The Base Recon MkII Blaster:

Right side.

Left side.

Front of the blaster.

Sling loop on the handle.

Tac rail on the slide.

Tac rail on the side.

Recon light on side tac rail.

The Recon MkII is a well designed blaster, it has clear roots in the Recon/Retaliator platform, but has its own unique aesthetic with influence from the Modulus line. I quite like it, although I really dislike the lack of detail on the left side. This blatant cost cutting really hurts the aesthetics, with much of the left side looking rather bland. The front of the blaster is also pretty bland as it’s completely flat, in contrast with the Recon and Retaliator.

As is standard for a lot of N-Strike clip (mag) system blasters, the Recon MkII has a single sling loop at the bottom of the handle. It has 2 tac rails, the standard one on top of the slide and one lower down on the side. This new side rail is ideal for lights, though Nerf hasn’t released one for a while.

Handle shot.

Hand on handle.

Slide shot.

Hand on slide.

Close up of hand over raised tac rail.

The handle is well designed, it’s smooth and nicely curved. I find it quite comfortable to grip, and the slot through the middle isn’t noticeable. The priming slide is very similar to that of the Recon/Retaliator, though has one key difference. The tac rail on the Recon MkII is raised slightly, which is very noticeable in priming. By virtue of being raised, the tac rail cuts slightly into your priming hand, much more so than the Recon/Retal. This is an unfortunate problem as it was rather unnecessary to raise the rail.

Missing part in revised model.

Changes in the revised model.

12 clip (mag) loaded.

18 clip (mag) loaded, no problem.

25 drum loaded, no issues.

35 drum loaded, all good.

It’s important to note that my Recon MkII is a revised model. There are a couple of changes to the original mold. The first is that the revised model does not have a small nub on the front as the original does. This part is purely aesthetic. However there have been two changes in the magwell area. The revised model has a slot cut into the back of the magwell (circled in red), and the handguard has been thinned slightly (the yellow lines ended closer to the magwell in the original).

With the original mold, the only clips (mags) compatible out of box were the 6 and 12 dart clips (mags). Larger ones like the 18 clip (mag) did not fit fully and could not be used. This oversight is quite baffling considering how important the cross compatible clip (mag) system is to Nerf’s success.

The revised mold’s main changes allow the use of all clips (mags) without issue. The magwell cut and handguard change are the functional changes, while the removal of the front nub is purely aesthetic, and is the easiest way to spot a revised vs original when still in box.

Starting position.

Slide pulled back, blaster primed, bolt opened.

Clips (mags) switched.

Slide closed forward, bolt closed, dart loaded.

Being a standard manual springer clip (mag) system blaster, the Recon MkII operates the same as so many other blasters available now. Pulling the slide back opens the bolt, allowing removal/insertion of a clip/mag. Pushing the slide forward again closes the bolt and chambers a dart, at which point the blaster can be fired. Rinse and repeat as necessary.

Recon MkII and Retal, right side.

Left side.

Handle/trigger/clip (mag) release comparison.

Slide comparison.

Magwell comparison.

Slides back comparison.

Jam door aperture comparison.

Front comparison.

Here’s the Recon MkII next to a white Retal. In terms of functionality and general shape, the two are extremely similar. There are a number of obvious physical aesthetic differences, but the functional parts are mostly the same. One notable difference is the fronts – the Recon MkII’s is completely flat and lacks the same barrel extension locking divot below the muzzle that the Retal has. This is a big concern for barrel extension compatability, as without that divot a lot of barrels are much looser.

The Barrel Extension:

Right side of the barrel extension.

Left side.

Shot of the front.

Shot of the back.

The Recon MkII’s barrel extension is an interesting piece. It is very aggressively cut and has an unusual muzzle, making for an unusual looking piece that I quite like. Looking from the front, it’s actually rather hollow, akin to the front of a Rapidstrike.

Rear comparison of the Recon MkII’s barrel vs a Retal barrel.

One key difference between this barrel and most barrels of this style are the locking mechanism. Most of these sorts of barrels use a spring loaded dome below the barrel, like the Retal barrel on the left. In contrast, the Recon MkII barrel uses the same mechanism as the Modulus Proximity barrel, which is a little looser but is self contained withing the orange ring. The Recon MkII of course lacks the divot necessary for the spring loaded dome to seat in, which is both a compatability issue and a worrying sign for the future – I much prefer the spring loaded dome as a locking mechanism.

Shot of the fake rail on the bottom.

Foregrip semi-attached to the fake rail.

The barrel extension has a short faux rail on the bottom. Though I would have liked a functional rail, that wouldn’t be possible with Nerf’s current tac rail locking mechanism considering its length. Some attachments will sort of clip on, but they’re not secure there and will fall off easily.

Comparison of various barrel extensions.

Here’s a variety of barrel extensions lined up, the Recon MkII’s barrel is extremely short even compared to a half Recon/Retal barrel. The only barrel extension that could be of comparable length I can think of is the Proximity Barrel, but unfortunately I don’t have one on hand.

The Recon MkII’s barrel doesn’t serve any real purpose, so is something you’d want purely for aesthetics.

The Stock:

Right side of the stock.

Left side.

Comparison of various stocks.

In contrast, the Recon MkII’s stock is pretty boring, being flat grey and having no special features. It’s also painfully short, comparable to the Stormtrooper Deluxe Blaster’s stock. Its length makes it practically unusable and the lack of special features just makes it worse. At very least, it’s a solid stock. This stock overall is probably one of the worst that Nerf have produced.

Fully Assembled:

Right side of the full blaster.

Left side.

Compared to a Retaliator.

The full Recon MkII kit looks fairly good, though none of its parts are actually that useful. The full Retal kit is a good bit bigger, though in contrast, its barrel is ideal for pump grips, and the foregrip is useful for a cheap DIY pump grip.

Performance:

FPS shot.

Finally for performance. Does the Recon MkII live up to its tried and testing sibling, the Retaliator?

Sadly, no. Range is fairly poor for an Elite-era blaster, at around 9-10 metres with Elite style darts. A fair number of darts like to dive into the ground at shorter ranges.

Accuracy is also unremarkable. I was getting a fair amount of spread at ~9 metres. Not as bad as other blasters I’ve seen, but far from the best.

Rate of fire is pretty much identical to the Retaliator, 2-3 darts per second with good technique and locks removed. Certainly enough to be usable unless you’re taking on a lot of enemies.

Role:

The Recon MkII plays a similar role to the Retaliator, except it’s nowhere near as good. Unlike the Retaliator, it has neither notably good range nor surprisingly good accuracy with the barrel extension. It’s stock is too short to be used by most teens and adults, and the barrel extension has no practical role.

The Recon MkII’s best role is as a close quarters large pistol, as like the Retaliator, the base blaster is very small. However it faces big opposition from the Retaliator itself, which can be stripped down to be slightly smaller, and is a far better performer. There is no legitimate performance reason to use a Recon MkII over a Retaliator.

Value and Summary:

The Recon MkII retails for around 40AUD, with sales taking them down to ~30AUD usually. I picked one up for 20AUD as Myer made a mistake in their catalogue and switched around the Ion Fire and Recon MkII prices. Even for that price, it wasn’t a particularly good buy, and at ~30AUD, I wouldn’t even consider it. One of the main problems is the existence of the Retaliator, which is cheaper (29AUD from Kmart), a better performer, internally superior, has better barrel extension compatability and comes with better accessories (primarily the 12 clip [mag] and barrel for pump grips).

The Recon MkII is not a particularly good buy or a good performer. Unless you’re in love with its aesthetics and barrel extension and can get it for a good price, I’d give it a pass. In a way, it’s faithful to it’s namesake the Recon – the Retaliator is far superior.

Modification Capability:

Recon MkII internals, pretty similar to the Retaliator.

For mods, the Recon MkII is much the same as the Retaliator with a few caveats. First is that the bolt has 2 air release holes instead of the usual 1, and the boltsled pin is plastic rather than metal. Besides that, the internals are pretty much the same, so you should be able to get the Recon MkII up to respectable performance. 100fps muzzle velocity is certainly possible with a good spring, internal setup and good darts.

A link to the review I posted on my own blog: link

The post Review: Nerf Modulus Recon MkII appeared first on Blaster Hub.

With so many great blasters releasing in 2015, it’s no surprise that a few fell through the cracks. The Nerf Rival line debuted to thunderous applause, Buzz Bee relaunched it’s line with a slew of high-performance magazine-fed dart blasting options, and BOOMco had finally gotten itself back on track after the Gripstrike and Slamblast with such treasures as the Breakflip or Colossal Blitz.

The BOOMco Burst Wave was just something that felt like the cherry on the top of the sundae. It was a completely unnecessary love-letter to blasters of the past that injected some much needed hope into the blasting community: a pneumatic air-powered blaster with a pump and a trigger. This might not seem like much, but after how Buzz Bee had been limiting their pressure tanks to such minuscule sizes and NERF was all about the new High Air Pressure Manual Pump (or HAMP) in the Demolisher 2-in-1 or Thunderblast presumably out of legal reasons; seeing a new option pop up out of seemingly nowhere as a pleasant surprise.

Oh, and it happened to be a four-dart spewing shotgun with three rotating chambers.

In the game of projectile tag, one dart is generally all it takes, so fielding lots of projectiles in the minimal amount of time is preferred. Sure, you can fire one dart after another incredibly fast; but what about firing lots of darts with one pull of the plastic trigger? Shotguns are a lot of fun, and BOOMco managed to create the most war-practical option of any company. Not only is the Burst Wave highly effective as a close-quarters blasting option in it’s stock form due to it’s multi-dart spread, it can be modified relatively easily to become a truly formidable staple in toy combat. Being a BOOMco blaster, the Burst Wave shoots your standard BOOMco projectile; those straw-like darts with the soft rubber heads that magically stick to their own Smart Stick targets (or if you’re feeling fancy, regular printer photopaper). While BOOMco is newer to the game and it’s ammo type isn’t as widely available in many games like the foam flingers, the darts do have superior durability and accuracy giving them a very attractive allure to many veterans. When you turn this into a shotgun spread, you get a very stable ranged foot-print to hit your targets with. The ranges out of the box are fair for a shotgun: claiming up to 50 feet and hitting around that mark reliably well with the appropriate angle. This makes sure the Burst Wave sits in it’s correct blasting tier as a shotgun, something appropriate of tagging out opponents in close quarters or around corners and giving them less room to avoid darts and giving you more room for errors in accuracy. Besides, it’s slower firing speed will ensure you won’t burn through your available ammo too quickly.

The design of the blaster is compact and what little extra space was left over is used for some additional dart storage on both sides of the shell. The pump is comfy and serviceable but a bit thin and may be prone to bending if mishandled. The trigger pull is excellent, with the slide-back trigger pushing a small roller connected to a plastic arm the depresses the blast button and releases the air pressure creating a very smooth function not often found in air blasters. The three open-faced turrets (two on the blaster, with the third being separate and needing to be snapped into place) hold four darts each and rotate manually in either clockwise or counter-clockwise directions with a satisfying click. Yes, I said manually: you have to rotate these turrets by hand, but it’s a trade-off that had to be made for the perfect turret to tank seal this blaster achieves. Finally, there’s a loop at the top to secure your armament to a sling or belt clip and a BOOMco accessory rail if you want to include any compatible attachments. The overall blaster is thin in every area except for the turrets which protrude outwards, yet the grip is comfortable and the blaster feels almost lively in the hand.

Operation is straightforward: load the turrets with darts, snap a turret into the firing position, pump the blaster up 3 to 4 full strokes (which at this point the over-pressure release valve kicks in making subsequent pumps pointless), and pull the trigger to fire. You get yourself three shotgun blasts before having to reload, and the dart storage will give you two additional reloads before needing to procure darts elsewhere. Because it doesn’t take many pumps and the turrets firmly snap into place when rotated, firing off all your shots doesn’t take much time and with practice can be pulled off with relative ease. Not only are the ranges on-par and even superior to blasters such as the Nerf Zombie Strike Sledgefire, but it fires quicker and with an additional dart making this a very effective blaster in capable hands.

But only 3-4 pumps? Come on, we can do better than that, right? Bust out the screw driver and hot glue gun and you can easily get this thing firing much harder and the mod itself is difficult to mess up. Your first obstacle after removing the screws is the plastic ring securing the pump: on some versions this is just friction-fit on and will pop loose without any effort, but on other versions is adhered with glue and will require some effort to remove. Once open you can ignore virtually everything apart from the tank itself and the arm that depresses the blast button on the bottom of the tank. First, you need to plug the over-pressure valve on the tank itself: the easiest way I found of doing this was to unscrew the plate that holds the release piston and o-ring, pop those out and remove the spring, place the rest of the pieces back in and fill it full of hot glue, then secure the plate back on. Next up, with the increased pressure the tank can now build up, the thin plastic arm the presses in the blast button will fold in on itself because it doesn’t have the structural strength needed to force that button down; so fill that full of hot glue (or if that doesn’t work, epoxy putty) and that will let you build up some intense pressures in the tank. Now your blaster will be hitting double the distance at greater speeds, though it will require around 15 pumps as opposed to the original 3-4.

In my opinion, this was the best blaster of 2015. It came out of nowhere and it was amazing, yet few people even remember it exists when brought up in conversation. If you don’t already own one of these, you owe it to yourself to pick this blaster up before it disappears off shelves forever to make way for newer products. It was an amazing blaster in it’s stock form and it’s modification costs pennies on the dollar and gives you unparalleled multi-dart performance. It’s one of the few BOOMco blasters that can be modified relatively effortlessly, and thus it’s one of their few products that show the true capabilities of the line.

Not many people remember you, Burst Wave; but I know I’ll never forget you.

If you want my absolute first impressions of the blaster, you can watch my unboxing video here.

Too hard to mod? I made some videos on the process here.

The post The BOOMco Burst Wave – The Uncrowned King of 2015 appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Hasbro has managed to create one hectic blaster that combines both zombies and chainsaws. The all-new Zombiestrike Brainsaw not only fire darts at zombies but it slashes their brains out. The Brainsaw certainly has the ‘intimidating’ element of a Nerf blaster. But is it practical enough to use in a battlefield? Let’s find out.

Included with the Brainsaw is a handle piece that needs to be attached to the top of the blaster, it also comes with 8 Zombiestrike darts and an instruction sheet.

As mentioned above, the Brainsaw certainly has an intimidating look, after all, chainsaws are menacing. I love the detailing Hasbro has put into this blaster as it perfectly fits the theme of a zombie apocalyptic weapon.

Unfortunately, the other side of the blaster doesn’t have as much detailing giving it a bland look.

The Brainsaw features three sling mounts and an oddly placed tactical rail. Not sure what attachment would belong on this tactical rail.

Holding the blaster is fairly comfortable and it feels just like a chainsaw thanks to the inclusion of the grey handle.

To function the Brainsaw, load up 8 darts into the 4 barrels on both sides of the blaster. To prime it, pull and push the green handle that’s located at the bottom of the blaster. Continually prime and pull the trigger of the blaster to fire the rest of the darts. The Brainsaw also features slam firing and does a good job at it. Sadly, this blaster only fires one dart at a time (many people including me, hoped the blaster would function like the Roughcut, being a multi-shot blaster). As you can see in the image below, it’s a very small prime for this blaster.

The performance on the Brainsaw is quite pathetic (keep in mind, I am reviewing the Grey trigger version of this blaster). The only time this blaster is going to achieve decent ranges is when the darts are fired out of the top two barrels. Most flat shots seem to get around 10-11 meters. The furthest shot I’ve managed is 17 metres. I will not understand why Nerf didn’t use the same internals of the Roughcut for this blaster as the main blaster unit of the Brainsaw is approximately the same size as the Roughcut, so Hasbro could have easily used the same internals. Why you do this Hasbro?!

The main novelty feature for this menacing weapon is its spinning chainsaw blade. Obviously the spinning part of the blade is made out of foam while the other part of the chainsaw is plastic. It would’ve have been nice if the entire chainsaw was foam as it could be used as a melee weapon. To spin the blade, just yank out the handle on the side of the blaster and watch the blade spin. This little novelty feature is fun and enhances the feel of holding a chainsaw.

Verdict

The Brainsaw is a fun and gimmicky blaster to use but sadly that’s as far as it goes. While Nerf has done a fantastic job designing this beastly weapon it’s an underperforming Nerf blaster. The Brainsaw has a decent dart capacity, a fast fire rate and an intimidating look but its power is what really let’s it down.

I purchased this blaster for a whopping $50 Aussie smackers at Mr Toys Toyworld. Remember, Mr Toys Toyworld tends to have their prices higher than usual (think of it as a localised version of ‘ToysRus’). When the blaster comes into other stores it should be much cheaper. Even if the blaster were something around $35 to $40 I still wouldn’t recommend it, but if you really appreciate it’s aesthetics, go ahead and buy it. I’m sure it would be a great prop to use for cosplay. Anyway, I hope I’ve helped you decide whether the blaster is worth purchasing.

The post NERF Review: Zombiestrike Brainsaw appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Ever since the Nerf MEGA line was released, things have gotten more interesting in the foam-flinging ecosystem. Big darts with bigger springs and bigger plungers for the biggest performance. The initial launch was rocky with the dart-chewing MEGA Centurion, but now things have finally settled with the line delivering a few promising blasters. With the first fully-automatic flywheel powered behemoth blaster in the line clocking in at $80, could the MEGA Mastodon be worth it? Well, the entire blaster could be summarized in one way: an unforgettable experience.

When I initially found the MEGA Mastodon in stock, I called the nearest store and asked them if they would hold one for me. When I saw the five-foot nothing girl struggling to carry this box up to the counter, I instantly started to giggle: the box is massive. Even carrying this thing out to the car and preparing for the trek home was an event. Fitting of such a blaster (it’s supposed to be one of the biggest blasters ever released), “MEGA” is not painted on it’s side as much as it’s completely molded into the plastic. Featuring a 24-dart, rotating barrel with full-auto flywheel power, the Mastodon is nothing to be scoffed at.

This blaster packs some decent value: 24 MEGA darts in the box, a rather nice carrying strap, and some extra plastic bits such as shields and plastic railings to protect the dart drum and bulk-up the blaster, and a thin yet serviceable carrying handle. The plastic pieces all snap on with little effort, with only the grey drum shields seemingly permanent while the others can be removed. The massive rotating turret itself comes in three pieces that slide together and, in my experience, seem to only fit together in one-way to limit any potential screw-ups. While the plastic shielding looks to be non-removable after snapping in, the bottom rail piece is completely removable, if it’s not to your liking. To power this beast, you need to feed it six D-cell batteries. Six. That’s going to cost you another $8-14, depending on where you’re shopping for batteries, and adds a ton of weight to the already massive blaster. It’s a good thing it comes with the carrying strap (which is very similar to Nerf’s own bandoleer, minus the dart or magazine holders), because fully loaded, this blaster is not only bigger than a child, it weighs about as much as one. It’s nearly impossible to hold this by the grip one-handed without that strap, so it was a great addition in the box.

The performance of the MEGA Mastodon is impressive considering the batteries it taps into. The firing speed is great, surpassing that of the Nerf N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike of lore. The actual power and distance are in-line with the rest of the MEGA series, but it is using flywheels, which is something different compared to every other MEGA blaster. The time it takes for the flywheels to rev-up is pretty lengthy, but these are issues that could be fixed by rewiring with a more competent battery source. The blaster also features active-breaking, so the motors do wind down quickly. Operation is about as straightforward as it gets: just load up the open-faced drum, pull the flywheel rev trigger until the motors reach maximum spin, and pull the trigger to fire off darts in automatic fire. While the rate of fire is impressive, it isn’t entirely hard to rattle off single shots either.

Something unexpectedly awesome is how the blaster actually bucks and kicks with each shot, giving it recoil and adding to the overall experience. The reasoning for this becomes more clear once you open the blaster up, which may be easier said than done because of some solvent-welding located in the grip of the blaster (requiring some cutting and marring up the beautiful blaster shell). Once inside, you’ll see a few things. For one, there’s a big empty space for some unknown reason. Two, there are lots of wires. Three, there are gears. The gearbox that drives the full-auto feature is powered by a single motor but incorporates some massive (but beautifully designed) gearing to index the rotational turret and prime back a firing pin, of sorts. Once the gear slips, the firing pin hits the back of a dart, which flings it into the flywheels, giving it power and sending it off at your target. Just the flywheels themselves are 2-inches across and concave to give the darts the traction they need to fly forward, with the gap being fairly generous between each flywheel (something you might not want if you’re looking for more power).

Because of it’s massive size, there’s plenty of room for integrations of other blasters somewhere down the line. Flywheels can be overvolted to produce faster spin and deliver more power to the dart, and motors can even be replaced completely to add some more torque to the dart. While you may be tempted, perhaps increasing the firing speed isn’t the best option here as the drum takes some time to load and only holds 24 darts. But that’s not to say the gap the drum encompasses can’t be used to adapt a magazine well from something like the BuzzBee Boss or Tyrant to convert it into a quick-changing magazine reloading option. The Mastodon is a large blank canvas just waiting to be art’d upon, so who knows what the future holds?

If all that mod potential just passes over your head, don’t fret: the Mastodon is a very competent stock blaster. Fast firing speed, good ranges, and the ability to top-up the blaster on-the-fly because of it’s open-face drum means you can deliver intimidation to whatever stands in front of the barrel. The question still remains though: is it a good value? After all, the blaster is very expensive. After the apparent failures and questionable value of the Nerf Rhinofire, Cam ECS, and Centurion, it’s good to see an expensive blaster that offers so much. In my mind, the experience of having such a thing is well worth it, and the blaster is good enough to keep around and use when the foam needs to fly. If you can’t purchase one yourself, at least go out of your way to try one and feel the sheer glee that comes just from seeing it in person. Just hope you’re not the one staring down the barrel.

Too many words for you? Not enough time-traveling Nerf backstory? Watch my silly unboxing and teardown here. Want to see more of those beautiful internals? I’ve got all those pictures here.

The post The Nerf MEGA Mastodon Review – Bigger IS Better appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Nerf. Buzz Bee. BOOMco. These and others are established brands that put out new blasters each year, many of them with great performance. Some blasters, however, are completely overshadowed by the big brands. They may be relegated to odd sections of the toy department, or may simply appear and disappear with little fanfare. The Glow Show Sticker Launcher by Moose Toys is one such product. Hiding among either the craft-type or science toys, it has spent over a year on shelves and is now being placed on clearance for as little as $8. Grab one while you can, because these fun blasters pack a punch!

The blaster itself is simple to understand: you load the sticker-bearing d art, prime the blaster, then fire at a vertical or horizontal surface. Three AAA batteries power the charging lights on the blaster if you want to make the stickers glow before launch. Alternatively, you can switch on a mini projector and display rockets and other designs on the wall, traveling through your newly created evening sky.

The sticker dart, as it turns out, is identical in size to Nerf MEGA darts and Buzz Bee XL Distance darts. When these darts are used, basic “Elite” ranges of 75′ are easily obtainable. Opening up the blaster reveals even more surprises.

Inside the shell sits a rather large plunger tube. To be precise, it is 1 1/8″ inner diameter, and has 3 11/16″ of plunger draw, resulting in 3 2/3 cubic inches of volume used to fire your dart. Roughly speaking, that’s three quarters the volume used in a Nerf Longshot.

The spring is decently strong, and the plunger seal is 100% perfect in every Sticker Launcher I’ve fired. The handle is adequate (larger hands may need to leave the pinkie finger hanging), and the shell has plenty of room for replacing the plunger tube if the owner elects to modify the blaster to its full potential.

The barrel mounted to the front of the plunger tube has a safety valve contained within; as with most blasters, you need a loaded dart pressing back against the valve if you want it to fire.

The LEDs on this blaster are decently powerful, and are meant for making stickers glow before launch. In practice, the wide tip of the sticker dart blocks most of the light from hitting the sticker design. For those of you not using this blaster for the stickers, you have a blaster with an integrated flashlight for nighttime play or any setting where it is going to be dark or low on light.

The projector does its job, and includes a small plastic lens for focusing images on the wall from several feet away. It’s not meant to make large projections by any measure, so don’t expect anything spectacular. It is a kid’s toy, after all.

There are many easy things that can be done to improve this blaster. Removing the air valve and replacing the spring can yield 100′ ranges with Mega darts (at an angle, of course). Replacing the stock barrel with one meant for Elite darts or stefans can make those 100′ shots possible without any incline whatsoever. With a larger plunger tube, this blaster could easily support a hopper. And the existing LEDs could be replaced with stronger ones. At the original price of $20, the Glow Show Sticker Launcher was a reasonably priced pistol, packing lots of power. On clearance, there’s no reason not to buy at least one.

The post Glow Show Sticker Launcher: Diamond in the Rough appeared first on Blaster Hub.

The Nerf Elite Hyperfire is one of the more exciting releases this year, being a full auto blaster that is seemingly a replacement for the now hard-to-find Rapidstrike (in Australia at least). There are a lot of differences between the Rapidstrike and Hyperfire, and a lot left to like about the Rapidstrike. Can the Hyperfire live up to expectation?

The Box

Front of the box.

Back of the box.

Inside the box.

The box is pretty standard stuff, standard performance claims and feature callouts. The Hyperfire packaging has no paper ties–just folded cardboard cutouts holding everything in place.

The Hyperfire Design

Right side of the Hyperfire.

Left side.

Down the top.

Tac rail at the front.

Two sling points up front.

Two sling points on the stock.

Close up of the stock piece.

Battery tray exposed.

The Hyperfire is an oddly styled blaster. On the one hand, it has a lot of the sharp edges and lines we’ve come to expect from the Elite line. On the other hand, it has just one tactical rail up top, and an unusually large front end. It seems to be a clash of the “tacticool” modern look of Elite with a more futuristic sci-fi styling. I kind of miss all of the (mostly useless) tacticool stuff Nerf could have added–for me, that was part of what made the Elite series. In fairness, it could be argued that tacticool is more the point of the Modulus line.

The Hyperfire uses 4 D batteries, which are placed in the stock. While this does add significant weight to the back, it helps balance the weight from the bulkly front end.

Front end of the Hyperfire.

Left hand on the fore end.

Stock and handle of the Hyperfire.

Cheek rest on the stock.

One of my first gripes with the Hyperfire was the front end. When the first pictures of it were revealed, I was immediately put off by the huge, unnecessarily large size. To me, it looked ugly and not ergonomic. Now that I actually have one on hand, it’s not as ugly as I first though, but it does still present an ergonomic issue. The only grip point on it is the round piece at the bottom. Although it is comfortable, it is also much lower than a natural fore-end grip position. It’s not as bad as the Demolisher, for instance, but it’s still a lot lower than a Rapidstrike. I would have much preferred if that round piece were much higher, just under the muzzle.

The stock is a thumbhole design, and it’s not the worst stock I’ve seen. The thumbhole design is neat, and the cheek rest is a nice (albeit totally unnecessary) feature. Lengthwise, the stock is decent–a little short for my liking, but certainly not Retaliator stock short.

Close up of the handle.

Left hand on handle.

Reaching for the mag release.

Pressing the mag release.

Offending area of the thumbhole stock.

The handle is decently designed–it’s smooth and fairly comfortable. The handguard could get a little squishy if you have particularly large fingers, but for me is fine. The clip release is well set up and is easily actuated. Its placement inside the handguard means you won’t be able to actuate it easily with your off hand, though that’s only a problem if you’re doing something like a bull-pup Hyperfire.

Unfortunately, the otherwise good handle and stock are ruined by the thumbhole stock design. In the process of making this thumbhole stock, the battery tray has been put very close to the handle. I find that holding the handle normally will cause the edge of the battery tray to dig into the inside of your hand. While not the worst I’ve held, it’s certainly annoying and somewhat uncomfortable.

Jam door on the top.

Jam door lock switch.

Looking into the magwell.

Jam door aperture.

The offending lock piece.

The jam door carries a lot more importance in the Hyperfire than most other blasters. The Hyperfire uses a unique conveyor belt feeding mechanism, unlike the Rapidstrike’s motorised pusher. This conveyor belt is housed inside the jam door. A switch disables the blaster if the jam door lock is open. The Hyperfire also has all of the standard locks and safety switches you’d expect in a flywheel blaster.

Unfortunately, the jam door on the Hyperfire has two main issues. The first is that the jam door does not open very far due to the conveyor belt design. The aperture exposed by the jam door is quite narrow, and the jam door does not open out very far. This makes jam clearing through the top quite difficult. Thankfully, most flywheel blaster jams I’ve observed can be cleared simply by pulling out the mag.

The second issue is, by far, the more severe. If the aforementioned jam door lock is even slightly out of position, the blaster will be disabled. This wouldn’t be a problem if the lock was stiff, but it can be dislodged extremely easy. Switching mags with any sort of force will dislodge the lock. Shaking the blaster with any significant force will also dislodge the lock. Heck, even sustained fire will dislodge the lock! I couldn’t fire it for longer than 2 seconds without the lock popping out of position.

I don’t believe this is a problem just with my unit, as I have seen it happen to a completely separate unit at MHvZ, and heard another report of the same problem elsewhere.

Hyperfire with an 18 mag.

With the included 25 drum.

With a 15 dart Worker Dmag.

Being part of Nerf’s clip (mag) system, the Hyperfire is compatible with all manner of mags and drums. Above are three of my favourite, aesthetically.

Next to a Stryfe and Rapidstrike.

The Hyperfire is not actually that big a blaster–certainly much smaller than I expected. When I first saw it in person, I was quite surprised how small it was. The stock is not especially long, being significantly shorter than a Rapidstrike’s. The front end is also shorter than a Rapidstrike’s, and almost comparable to a Stryfe in length. I think that, size wise, the Hyperfire is actually decent–it’s not excessively big nor uncomfortably small. I still think the front end is unnecessarily large, but as a whole, the Hyperfire is well scaled.

Hyperfire Performance

FPS shot.

The Hyperfire has a lot of performance claims, can it live up to them?

Operating the Hyperfire is the same as any other flywheeler: press the rev trigger to spin up the flywheels, then press the trigger to fire. Because of the lack of cycle control, the time between pulling the trigger and the first dart firing will vary.

Range is nothing special. With the flywheels at full speed, a single shot from a grey trigger Hyperfire will reach around 8-10 metres. Rapid fire naturally decreases range substantially, down to maybe 5-6 metres at its worst. Something of note is that the rev trigger has active braking–that is, when the rev trigger is released, the flywheel motors brake to a stop rather than just coasting. This is the first time I’ve seen active braking on a stock blaster’s rev trigger. I’m personally not a fan of flywheel active braking, especially on stock flywheelers which have significant spinup time.

Accuracy isn’t anything special, either. Using my testing doorway at ~8 metre range, most of the darts will fly through the doorway (if they reach it). Beyond the doorway though, the darts still like to spread out quite a fair bit. Accuracy is perhaps a little bit better than average for an Elite blaster.

Rate of fire is the Hyperfire’s key selling point, and thankfully, it does not disappoint. With good, new batteries, you’ll probably see a ROF of around 5-6 darts per second. Like the Rapidstrike, the Hyperfire actually achieves its ROF performance claims!

Unfortunately, the ROF figure is only relevant if you use perfect darts in a perfect mag or drum. Because of the conveyor belt design, the dart must be particularly round and plump, and must be at the absolute top of the mag, just below the mag lips. If either of those conditions is not met to the Hyperfire’s extremely strict standards, the dart will not feed properly. It is possible for a dart to get pushed by the conveyor belt if it is pointing downwards. However, the Hyperfire lacks the ramps that lead into the flywheel cage that every other flywheeler has. As such, a downward pointing dart can cause the conveyor belt to jam, which not only causes damage to the conveyor belt, but also a complete jam of the system.

I have had feed issues with darts and mags that have fed perfectly in my ~15dps Bullpup RS, so for me these issues are inexcusable.

Role in Gameplay

Let’s suppose that the Hyperfire didn’t have the massive flaws that made it practically unusable. Because of its relatively short range (for the grey trigger model at least) and higher than average ROF, it presents itself as a decent suppression and area saturation blaster. Its use of Nerf’s clip (mag) system gives it fast reloads and high capacity, something demonstrated well by its included 25 dart drum. It is very easy to fire off bursts of darts, and also very easy to dump an entire mag/drum towards an area. Its relatively poor range and the inherent inaccuracy of Nerf darts means that you’ll likely be firing a lot of angled shots. Its ROF is ideal as an entry point into full auto blasters. It’s fast enough that you get to properly appreciate the benefits of full auto, while still slow enough to control with minimal practice.

That being said, the Hyperfire should be avoided if the game is likely to involve scavenging or use of non-perfect or non-new darts. Because of the belt feeding mechanism, any dart that is not particularly plump will struggle to feed, or not feed at all. This problem also applies to any dart that is missing a chunk from the back.

Value and Summary

The Hyperfire retails for 80-90AUD. I got mine for 58AUD during a BigW sale, which is a substantial discount, yet I still feel that I didn’t get a very good deal. Sure, a 25 dart drum is nice, but a pair of 18 dart clips would have been better, and generally more useful. What really breaks the deal for me though is how unusable the Hyperfire is out of box. Yes, as a modder I can fix these problems, but I shouldn’t have to in the first place.

I’m perfectly fine with stock blasters being weak in the interests of safety. What I’m not fine with is poorly engineered mechanisms that severely hamper the blasters use if not in perfect conditions. In the Hyperfire’s case, I should not have to manually hold the jam door lock closed just to use it. I should also not have feed issues with mags and darts that work perfectly in literally every other blaster I own. While the Hyperfire does have some merit if you’re willing to undertake some basic mods, I cannot recommend it in stock form. Even if you intend to mod it, I would recommend a Rapidstrike much more highly for the far superior reliability.

Modification Potential

Overall internals shot.

Close up of the canted flywheels.

Close up of the conveyor belt.

A rewired, reswitched Hyperfire.

The Hyperfire is nearly as moddable as most other flywheelers. A standard rewire, reswitch, and battery pack plug do wonders for performance. My current Hyperfire has been rewired and reswitched. Using just a 2S LiPo (nominal voltage 7.4V), I was getting significantly improved ranges and a nearly 10 dart per second ROF. At this ROF, dart skipping becomes significantly more prevalent as very few of my clips (mags) can keep up with the Hyperfire’s overly strict requirements.

Since the conveyor belt has no cycle control, only two switches are needed (unlike the Rapidstrike’s three), which simplifies wiring significantly. When rewiring, don’t forget to put motor braking on the belt/main trigger for better fire control. Furthermore, with the removal of some internal screws, the Hyperfire’s shell splits into 3 distinct pieces. Only the grey piece is needed to hold the internals in place, which helps with aesthetic modding, maintenance, and testing greatly.

Unfortunately, the Hyperfire has one big problem when it comes to mods. Unlike traditional flywheelers whose flywheels are parallel, the Hyperfire’s flywheels are canted slightly. This seemingly applies spin to darts, which causes a massive problem–full length darts react very poorly to significant spin. A fast enough spinning full length dart will “helicopter” after a few metres of travel. This “helicopter” phenomenon can typically be seen with rifled faux barrels and Koosh darts, though is relatively uncommon when fired out of ordinary blasters. With the Hyperfire, “helicoptering” of darts is far more common. This problem simply gets worse the further you amp up the motors, as the darts get spin faster and faster. One of the solutions to this is to fabricate a brass dart guide, which will help stop the darts spinning out of control.

Additionally, while overvolting the conveyor belt does significantly reduce the lack of cycle control, the problem still remains about how finicky the belt is. Without straight up replacing the belt, with a custom made one, I see no practical way of making it friendlier to imperfect darts and more reliable with feeding.

You can also find a link to the same review on my own blog: Outback Nerf

The post Review: Nerf Elite Hyperfire (21m Aus grey trigger) appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Last year’s announcement of the Nerf Rival line had many fans excited in the Nerf blaster community due to the claimed performance of the new blasters. Currently, there are two Rival blasters in stores: the Rival Apollo and the Rival Zeus. Very soon we’ll be seeing the fully automatic Khaos and the multi-shot Altas. But today, in this Nerf Rival Apollo XV-700 review, we’ll see if it lives up to Hasbro’s claims!

Included with the Apollo are seven High Impact Rounds (HIRs–which are foam balls), a seven round magazine, and an instruction sheet. Note: there is also a blue version of the Apollo available.

The new ammunition type is relatively firm, yet it won’t hurt your opponent. Just like golf balls, these impact rounds have little dimples to reduce drag.

If you haven’t noticed already, the Apollo looks completely different from your usual Nerf blaster. The blaster’s aesthetic has a more serious tone and does not appear to be very kid-friendly. In fact, the Apollo isn’t meant to be kid-friendly, as the box claims the blaster is meant for ages 14 and up. As if to drive home the point, there is also a safety switch located above the trigger. Holding the Apollo is fairly comfortable, but for someone who has small hands, that person may find the handle too big.

It also features a tactical rail but not the type you’d see on a N-Strike blaster. It very much resembles rails featured on real guns. It is still possible to fit N-Strike attachments onto the rail, but it’s not ideal.

To operate the Apollo, load up your magazine with seven High Impact Rounds (those foam balls), then push the magazine up into the bottom of the handle (one of my favourite features of this blaster). Pull the black priming handle all the way back, then push it forward. Then the Apollo is ready to fire. Repeat priming the blaster to fire the rest of the ammunition. Priming the Apollo is quite a challenge, as it is a long and clunky prime, but the main problem is in keeping the Apollo stabilised when priming. Whenever you pull the priming handle, the back of the blaster automatically tilts downwards. The image below shows this issue.

Obviously if one is endowed with better-than-average muscle strength, they’ll be able to prime the blaster in a steady manner. But if you lack arm strength, I suggest resting the back of the blaster on your arm, that way the Apollo won’t be prone to tilting. Unfortunately, resting the blaster on your shoulder feels awkward, due to it’s small and short stock. There is also a jam switch on newer models (the original version lacked this), but it’s rarely utilised. The only type of jamming issue you’ll typically experience is when two balls are fired at the same time due to double priming. Doubling priming happens when the priming handle isn’t pulled all the way back. If it has not been primed properly, you will need to push the priming handle back to its original position, then prime it again. This creates two balls lodged in the priming mechanism.

The performance of this blaster did not disappoint. The Apollo can easily reach ranges of over 25 metres, and is capable of firing at a velocity of 100 feet per second. Since it has such a high velocity, you are able to quickly hit your opponent in a close combat situation. Out of all the Nerf blasters I have tested, I can confirm, the Apollo’s range surpasses all of them! As far as Nerf blasters go, the accuracy is quite impressive. In my tests, most shots flew in a relatively straight line.

My verdict? The Apollo is a powerhouse when it comes to performance. Shooting up to 100 FPS and achieving ranges above 30 metres, this is an exceptional blaster to use, especially in close combat situations. It may be an awkward blaster to prime, but if you can overcome this problem, I definitely recommend buying the Apollo. This blaster might not have the best capacity nor the fastest rate of fire, but I believe it is worth purchasing just for its incredible power.

The post Nerf Rival Apollo XV-700 Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Nerf Modulus ECS-10. AKA the real thing.

Knockoff products aren’t a new phenomenon; for as long as there have been valuable IPs, there have been attempts to profit off them. Some items were successful. Some, not so much. In the realm of toy blasters, knockoffs often felt cheap to the touch, with inferior plastics and parts used in construction. Now, we’re seeing outright copies of newer blasters less than a year after their release.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery?

Case in point: Kai Li Toys is just one of the many plastic toy manufacturers in China. Among their many blaster products are a few copies of the Nerf Modulus ECS-10 and its various accessories. Just compare the deluxe edition of their blaster with a Modulus, and you can see that, aside from coloring, they are virtually identical. With a few minor differences, this could easily be a case of Hasbro’s plastic molds being copied and altered.There are some more noticeable differences in the various accessories (differently designed barrel attachments, a slide-primed hidden blaster in the extra stock instead of a Jolt). However, the basic workings are still the same, and all the accessories are compatible.

‘MERICUH!

Even more entertaining (as well as frustrating for Hasbro) are other versions of the blaster with themed color schemes like Iron Man or Captain America. Not only is the blaster design being copied, but the IP rights for Marvel-themed items are being violated! (As a personal aside, I think the Captain America paint scheme looks great) Naturally, items like these would never be allowed to sit on store shelves in the United States. But they’re available in other countries, or online through e-markets like Taobao. Naturally, I had to get my hands on these blasters in the name of science. Are these knockoffs cheap imitations, or are they every bit as good as the original versions?

After researching the blasters, finding the lowest prices available, and waiting on overseas shipping for a few weeks, the “Fraudulus” (I should trademark that) blasters were finally dropped at my front door. After testing, modding, and warring with these blasters, I can confidently say that they’re almost as good as the real thing.

Copying Aesthetics and Performance

It’s a large package.

The blasters looked good, and had the same feel as Nerf-brand blasters when I held them. The same applied to the various accessories. In a few cases, the ripoffs were better; the stock with clip storage is stiffer and more secure than the Nerf version, for example.

Nothing too different sits inside.

On the inside, the blasters were again very similar. The copies lack the various safety switches that Hasbro includes on their flywheel blasters. The thin wire on the inside limits the power that can be delivered to the motors (as always). Smooth, flat flywheels are used to propel the darts. The only real difference on the inside was in my “deluxe” Fraudulus, which is wired to draw power from a rechargeable 4.8v Ni-Cad battery pack (the Captain America version still runs on 4 AA alkaline batteries).

There was no listed range for the deluxe Fraudulus, but the Captain America version advertised 65′ on the box. In reality, the blasters shot much farther than that. The Captain America Fraudulus hit 80′ average, while the other blaster on its rechargeable battery pack averaged 70′.

After rewiring with 18awg wire and upgrading to two LiFePO4 batteries, I took the Captain America to a war in Canada! You can watch it for yourself.

I’m now hitting over 100′ consistently at an angle, and up to 70′ firing flat.

My only gripe with the construction of these blasters? The flywheels are just a wee bit loose on the motor shafts. On some occasions, you’ll hear a different sound out of the blaster. That is due to a flywheel shifting enough to cause excessive vibration. At some point, when I replace the motors, that will be fixed. Until then, percussive maintenance seems to work well enough!

Conclusion

Nerf knockoffs truly are getting better. While there will always be cheaply constructed blasters, companies like Kai Li Toys seem to be going the extra mile to claim market share. While I question the exact legality of such efforts, and doubt to ever see these Modulus copies in the United States, I’m sure anyone who wants one as a unique item in their arsenal would be well rewarded.

The post Kai Li Toys: China Does the Modulus appeared first on Blaster Hub.

At Toy Fair 2016, there were more new blasters introduced than just about any year prior. Hasbro, in particular, had a field day with new Nerf blasters of all shapes and sizes that they were eager to show-off. But for all of the excitement and spectacle, it was the Buzz Bee booth that contained perhaps the biggest surprise of the show. Not only was it a shock that Buzz Bee was there at all this year (thank you, parent company Alex Brands), they demonstrated prototypes of several models I never saw coming. One of these new models was the Air Warriors Ultra-Tek Destiny, and it was good. Really good. In fact, even in prototype form, it was one of my favorite blasters of the entire show. Now they’ve sent me one of the first Destiny models off the production line to actually test out, so let’s get to it!

I’ve never hidden the fact that the BOOMco Rapid Madness is one of my favorite dart launchers of all time. It’s a blaster that combines incredibly fast rates-of-fire (approximately 10 darts per second) with the satisfaction of a manual, pump-to-prime operation that has become increasingly rare in the toy blaster field. This air-powered model sounds great, and the “harmonica”-style clips make it reasonably easy to reload. But for everything I love about the Rapid Madness, it has always had one significant limitation: it could only fire BOOMco darts. The Ultra-Tek Destiny changes all that.

For better or worse (mostly better), the Ultra-Tek Destiny is essentially a Nerf-compatible version of the BOOMco Rapid Madness, but built to a price-point that leaves a few rough edges–both figurative and literal. For many, this is enough. The dream of a Nerf version of the Rapid Madness is really all that matters, and at a base level, the Destiny succeeds. In fact, although I don’t produce too many blaster reviews myself anymore (focusing instead on industry relations and news), trying out the Destiny at Toy Fair was enough to convince me that I had to review it. And I don’t regret that decision.

Design and Ergonomics

The Buzz Bee Air Warriors Ultra-Tek Destiny is a long name for what is an equally large product. This is a big blaster in both size and heft, a fact necessitated by the 20 dart clip and internal air bladder. But unlike some Nerf blasters that handle their size gracefully, the Destiny looks and feels every bit as large as it is. Unfortunately, the Destiny’s visual heft is punctuated by surface detailing that incorporates shapes and elements that one might see on a children’s party toy. I’ve given it the nickname “fiesta,” for lack of a better term, but it’s really not something that makes me want to smile. In fact, quite the opposite. And it appears I’m not alone.

I reached out to my contacts at Buzz Bee concerning this new party pattern after realizing ALL of the Buzz Bee fall blaster samples I’d been sent show the same texture (and after blaster fans on Reddit expressed identical concerns regarding this new, more juvenile look). I was fortunate enough to have been given access to the Buzz Bee Vice President of Product Development, and he expressed the same concerns regarding the texture. Whether due to our immediate, negative feedback, or due to an internal misunderstanding, I’m now told this pattern will very shortly be replaced by a new, “carbon fiber” look that should bump-up the aesthetic appeal a bit. Look for it in stores soon.

While we’re on the topic of design, it’s no secret that I’ve been critical of Buzz Bee’s aesthetic refinement (or lack thereof) for some time now, and it’s fair to say the Destiny shows no great improvement in that regard–the forms are still unrefined, the textures are poor (or lacking completely), there are stickers instead of paint, and the plastics feel down-market–including a fair amount of flexing and creaking while in use. Fortunately, Buzz Bee’s Vice President of Product Development has been hearing us in these regards, too, and said, “we take your comments very seriously.” To that end, I’ve been informed the company is working on improving their blaster colors and designs thanks to new resources that have been made available through Alex Brands relationship. I think I can speak collectively for the blaster community in saying: “we can’t wait!”

Use and Performance

The Ultra-Tek Destiny is an air-powered blaster that requires roughly 18-20 pumps for maximum pressurization. Much more than that, and an internal pressure release valve goes to work–you’ll hear it kick-in at about 21-22 pumps. There’s no manual pressure release apart from the trigger, which becomes readily apparent when an entire 20-dart clip is fired, the blaster is set off to the side, and it decides to fire another shot or two completely autonomously. This happened repeatedly on my sample, and although mildly disconcerting, it didn’t really cause any operational problems. I was told by Buzz Bee that it was possible the factory “left a little too much pressure capacity,” since they were focused on ensuring that all the darts get fired from a full clip, and that it likewise shoots at a high rate-of-fire.

And shoot at a high rate-of-fire, it does! In fact, the Destiny fires through a full, 20-dart clip so quickly, it’s hard to accurately time just how quickly shots are fired. But after several failed attempts (my inability to stop the stopwatch quickly enough), I was able to pin down the Destiny at launching all 20 darts in no more than 1.5 seconds–that’s just over 13 darts per second! And yes, I’m well aware that modded, full-auto blasters are capable of far more speed than this, but we’re talking completely stock, off-the-shelf performance in a world where most blasters only get 1-2 darts per second. Frankly, this is an astonishing figure that is in excess of what the Rapid Madness is capable of achieving, and is probably somewhat conservative given my slow-draw timing abilities. I would not, in fact, be surprised if 15 darts per second or more was possible.

Speaking of my lack of timing precision, the Destiny likewise lacks precision in how many darts it will fire with a single trigger press. On average, I was only capable of shooting in 2-4 dart bursts. I don’t believe I was ever able to shoot a single dart at a time, though I’m told by other reviewers it may be possible. On the plus side, the Destiny is fully capable of firing darts from other brands–I tested both Nerf Elites and X-Shot Excel darts, and did not have any issues with either. What’s odd, however, is that I DID occasionally have jamming problems with the stock, Buzz Bee darts. Buzz Bee is no longer using the denser, darker charcoal-colored darts for some reason, which is a shame. Their newer darts are lighter, with more flexible bodies. They tend to fly farther than the older Buzz Bee darts, but are just as wayward as Nerf darts now, and seem to be more easily jammed. For what it’s worth, I didn’t experience any jamming issues with competitor’s darts.

Speaking of dart variety, it turns out they have a direct effect on how the Destiny is able to perform. In particular, I’m talking about the velocity with which the Destiny is able to propel darts (which we typically measure in feet-per-second). I found this the most difficult aspect of the Destiny to test, but I feel it’s the most important and most useful. Why not range tests? Because “range” measurements tend to be affected by any number of variables. While I used to measure indoor ranges myself, I’ve seen so many other reviewers conducting range tests in a variety of conditions that I’ve come to conclude these figures are largely useless–wind changes, terrain inclination or declination, atmospheric pressure, humidity, angle of fire, etc. can all lead to unreliable conclusions. And even indoors, variability of manufacturing tolerances from one blaster to another alone–or even one batch of darts to another–can have more of an impact than just about anything else. And frankly, I don’t have the time, money, or patience to collect enough samples of each model and conduct a high enough number of tests to produce anything that could be considered statistically valid. So, I’ve stopped doing outright range tests for something I can measure more accurately and consistently–feet-per-second data gathered from a precision chronograph. So that’s what I did with the Destiny, and the results were… interesting:

• Stock (Buzz Bee) darts: High of 65 FPS, Low of 33 FPS
• Nerf Elite darts: High of 72 FPS, Low of 46 FPS
• X-Shot Excel darts: High of 76 FPS, Low of 67 FPS

From this data (collected over repeated tests), I would conclude the following: 1) the Destiny is wildly inconsistent in dart propulsion–likely due to the changing pressure of the air tank in use, 2) the Destiny is capable of respectable FPS numbers (higher than the Rapid Madness), 3) the lowest performing darts are the ones that come in the box, 4) if you want the best, most consistent velocity, X-Shot Excel darts would appear to be your best bet. Now, I’ll note that I did not test every single dart currently on the market. I’m in the process of moving, so I only used the darts I had on-hand. Still, it’s interesting to note how sensitive the Destiny appears to be in what ammo is used–perhaps there’s a sealing issue at work, but whatever the case, it’s clear that you may see changes in performance based on what darts you chose. Fortunately, the Destiny appears to work with most of them.

Lastly, when it comes to actually using the Destiny, it’s a little more fiddly than the BOOMco Rapid Madness. In particular, that “harmonica”-style clip doesn’t work with the blaster in a very precise manner, resulting in loading that often allows the blaster to miss the first shot or two (in too far), or not fire anything at all (not in far enough). There aren’t any observable detents or other markers to indicate when the clip has been properly seated. Even a small mark on the clip itself to indicate when it’s in far enough (or too far) would be helpful.

Value and Fun

Sometimes I wish our numerical review system allowed for independent weighting of certain categories. This is one of those times. The Buzz Bee Ultra-Tek Destiny is not a perfect, Nerf-compatible version of the BOOMco Rapid Madness. It’s rather ungainly, it’s built with plastics that are creaky and hard, it uses darts that aren’t terribly accurate and that sometimes jam, the harmonica clip is fiddly to seat properly, it can only fire in 2-4 dart bursts, and it can be prone to autonomous firing if air pressure is left unreleased. Wow, that’s a lot of annoyances. But… BUT! It’s so much fun to use it’s ridiculous. In fact, the Destiny is just so damn fun it deserves its own paragraph…

So let’s talk about how much fun the Buzz Bee Ultra-Tek Destiny is to use. For starters, hand-pumping is so old-school these days you can’t help but love it. Sure, it’s not super practical in the middle of a fire-fight, but whatever. Take your LiPo’d, re-motored Stryfe with duct-taped 18s if you want to be competitive, and grab a Destiny if you just want to have fun. The visceral thrill of hearing 20 (twenty!) darts being propelled at roughly 70 FPS in only a second-and-a-half simply does not get old. Nor does the feel of air-powered recoil. Nor does the ability to use just about any dart in just about any condition. Nor does seeing the look on the faces of everyone around you when the beast is unleashed. While it may not be terribly easy on the eyes, the Destiny is simply a riot to use!

No, the Destiny is not the flawless, Nerf clone of the Rapid Madness we had hoped. It struggles with a lot of design and refinement things that I wish it hadn’t. Yet, those things can still be overlooked pretty easily due to the fact that the Destiny will simply out-perform just about any other stock blaster on the market when it comes to rate-of-fire, including the fabled Rapid Madness. AND it will do it with any type of Nerf-compatible dart you can find at a price nearly anyone can afford, all while putting a smile on the face of anyone who uses it. That, by itself, is a dream come true.

Pros:

• It’s a cheaper Rapid Madness that can shoot Nerf darts!
• A stock ROF that’s even faster than the Rapid Madness
• Fully cross-compatible with other dart brands
• Air-powered and awesome-sounding!
• Capable of solid FPS numbers

Cons:

• Issue with pressurization may lead to autonomous firing
• Initial run has goofy “fiesta” detailing
• Can only fire in 2-4 shot bursts
• Hard, creaky plastics abound
• Some dart jamming

The post Buzz Bee Ultra-Tek Destiny Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.

The Buzz Bee Destiny is one of Buzz Bee’s more exciting releases this year. The old Nerf Magstrike is a favourite of many for its out-of-box ROF and awesome sound. BoomCo’s Rapid Madness is in many ways a more refined version of the Magstrike, but the lack of Nerf compatibility is something that’s really hurt BoomCo. The Destiny offers a return to good old air powered rapid fire. How does it stack up with today’s blasters, and how does it compare to the Magstrike and Rapid Madness?

Everything in the Destiny package.

Disclosure: This blaster was sent to me by Buzz Bee Toys for review. I would like to thank them for their contribution, however note that it will not bias the review in any way.

The Box

Front of the box.

Back of the box.

The box is pretty standard Buzz Bee fare. Cable ties secure the large parts, while the darts are contained in a plastic tray.

The Destiny Design

Left side.

Right side.

Down the top.

Front of the blaster.

The Destiny is quite a bulky, blocky blaster. The main body of it is very wide, far more than most other blasters. Despite its size, it does not feature any more detailing than a typical Buzz Bee blaster, besides the texturing. A lot of the plastic surface is still very shiny, and that combined with its simplistic design contribute greatly to the “cheap” look and feel. The plastic used on the Destiny is decent, certainly nowhere near as bad as some older Buzz Bee plastics, but still not Nerf level quality. As is typical for newer Buzz Bee blasters, the yellow accents are all separate pieces from the main body.

Having the handle at the back makes the Destiny very unbalanced, and a little awkward to use. Though it is not particularly heavy, it is still more awkward to handle than most Nerf blasters.

Next to a Hyperfire.

The Destiny is a very large blaster, certainly larger than what I expected. It’s almost comparable in length to a Hyperfire, and is substantially wider. A setup like the Rapid Madness with the trigger on the front handle so that most of the weight is above or behind the trigger would have made it a lot easier to handle, and more compact to hold.

Close up of the “fiesta” detailing.

Something Buzz Bee has only just started to do is add texturing to the sides of their blasters. Pictured above is a texture pattern dubbed “fiesta” styling, and it does nothing but further distance Buzz Bee’s aesthetic design from Nerf. However Buzz Bee has confirmed plans to change the detailing to a “carbon fibre” texture. The first batch of blasters will still have the “fiesta” texture, but subsequent batches will feature the new “carbon fibre” texture.

Close up of the pump.

Pump extended.

Left hand on pump.

The Destiny is an air powered blaster, and has a hand pump running along the bottom of the blaster. The pump is single action, though has a very long stroke of around 20cm. A double action pump like that of the Rapid Madness would have greatly reduced the number of pumps required, though as seen with the Rapid Madness, makes pumping much more difficult.

The pump handle is fairly small, and rotates around freely. Though it is reasonably comfortable for me to grip, I certainly would not want the pump to be any smaller. If you have larger hands, you may find the pump a little bit small.

Close up of the handle.

Hand on handle.

The handle is also decently sized, though again, while I find it reasonably comfortable, if you have larger hands it might be a bit squishy. My one complaint about the handle is the extrusion on the back, which I find is uncomfortable and rather unnecessary.

Looking inside the clipwell.

Other side of the clipwell.

Here is a close look at the Destiny’s clipwell. The small orange piece at the back stops clips from being inserted too far. This aligns the clip nicely with the firing mech. This piece retracts when the trigger is pulled, and is held back by the clip once the first dart has been fired. The bumps along the bottom help keep the clip in place. They keep the clip aligned during firing, and also help prevent the clip from falling out if not fully fired.

Close up of the “jam release” button.

The Destiny features a “jam release” button on the right side, akin to the button found on the side of a Rapid Madness. It releases any remaining air in the firing chamber. This serves two purposes. The first is its intended purpose, a “jam release”. By venting the air in the firing chamber, the firing mechanism is reset and allows the clip to be moved freely, as it is possible to lock the clip in position.

Though not explicitly stated on the box, the second appears to be the prevention of autonomous firing. After firing all darts, it is possible for the firing chamber to collect a residual amount of air — not enough to fully fire and cycle the clip, but still enough to store pressure. If left alone, it is possible for the blaster to suddenly and randomly fire the remaining air. The jam release handily eliminates this problem by completely venting the firing chamber.

The Destiny 20 Dart Clip

Top of the clip.

Bottom of the clip.

Back of the clip.

Front of the clip.

Next to a Nerf 18 dart mag.

The 20 dart clip is a new, unique piece that has been specifically designed for the Destiny. It is reminiscent of both the Magstrike’s clip and BoomCo clips. The top of the clip has arrows showing which direction to feed the clip in, and ridges for the advancing mech to line up the clips. The bottom has a number of divots to lock in with all the bumps on the bottom wall of the clipwell. Note the small cutout on the bottom of the clip. This catches against the small orange piece in the clipwell, which prevents the clip from falling out after being emptied if the trigger is released. It is simple, effective and also easily bypassed if desired, as holding down the trigger will allow the clip to drop out anyway.

The “doublestack” design of the barrels allows shortening of the clip, however naturally increases width substantially. Furthermore, the necessity for full barrels for every dart increases bulk significantly.

The Destiny Fully Assembled

With the clip inserted.

Front-ish shot to show the size of the clip.

The Destiny is already quite a bulky blaster and is fairly unbalanced, even more so with the clip inserted. The clip adds substantial width to the blaster and more weight to the front, throwing off balance and handling even more. Like the Rapid Madness, the Destiny uses a sideways clip and clipwell. While this does introduce the issue of width, it also solves several problems that the vertical clip Magstrike had. One of the main problems with the Magstrike stems from its vertical clip design. Clips that had been partially fired had a tendency to slip downwards, especially if jostled, which made burst firing a total pain. Additionally, some Magstrikes struggled to advance past the first dart if not held sideways. The sideways clipwell coupled with several other additions inside the clipwell allow the Destiny to avoid all of these aforementioned issues.

During firing, the clip will advance rapidly through the blaster, towards the right. The blaster alternates top and bottom barrels, hence the need for a large muzzle.

Destiny Usage and Performance

To fire off all 20 darts, the Destiny requires around 15 full pumps. More is, of course, preferred for insurance against any air loss. A good rule of thumb for pumping on-the-fly is 1 pump per dart (besides the first shot, which requires 2 pumps). The built in pressure release will kick in after around 20 full pumps. The blaster is full auto, so once the blaster is pumped up and loaded, simply pull and hold the trigger to let loose your darts.

The Destiny’s range is decent, by typical Nerf “grey trigger” standards, at least. It averages 10-12 metres, but can be very inconsistent. One shot might drop down at 8 metres, and the next might soar to 13. The variance in range is much greater than with most other blasters.

Muzzle velocity averages somewhere around 50-55fps with light blue FVJs (that’s “full vinyl jacket” Nerf-type darts, which are very similar to the included darts). This puts it very close to, perhaps a little higher than, grey trigger Elite blasters.

Accuracy is fairly poor, as the range variance would suggest. Using my standard testing doorway at ~8m range, typically a quarter to a third of darts wouldn’t make it through the doorway. The majority of modern blasters are capable of getting at least 80% of darts through the doorway.

Rate of fire is the Destiny’s selling point, and boy does it impress! The Magstrike and Rapid Madness, to which it is very similar, achieve around a 10 dart per second ROF. But the Destiny, at full pressure, outclasses even them, pumping out 15-20 darts per second — well within its box claim of “20 darts in 2 seconds”. The exact ROF is dependent on a number of variables, especially the number of pumps. A 15-20dps rate of fire is unheard of in a stock blaster, and the fact that it can sustain such a high ROF with relative ease is impressive.

A ROF as high as the Destiny’s does have quite a big downside (or two): ammo conservation and fire control. Even with high speed Rapidstrike builds, a good internal setup and a lot of practice allow for fairly reliable single and double shots. With the Destiny, however, the smallest reliable burst I can fire is 3 darts. Firing just 2 darts is achievable, but not reliable. Single shots are almost impossible. In an entire clip of 20 darts, the most single shots I’ve been able to fire is about 3, with the rest being fired in 2 and 3 dart bursts.

Role in Gameplay

Given the large number of pumps required, and the current lack of spare clips (which is, of course, subject to change), it often isn’t practical to reload the Destiny in the middle of a game. As such, it serves best as a one-use blaster for emergencies and other critical situations. It excels at putting out a huge amount of foam as quickly as possible, so it works well as a room/area clearing or area denial blaster. The Destiny’s highly variable range, fairly poor accuracy and poor fire control make it rather ineffective and wasteful in standard cover-to-cover, potshot combat.

When compared to modified blasters, the Destiny loses a fair bit of its appeal as high speed Rapidstrike builds can easily reach (and beat) 15 darts per second. Furthermore, good Rapidstrike builds will also boast a muzzle velocity of around 110fps or more, depending on their exact internal setup and the darts used. Rapidstrikes are also far easier to reload, and their magazine system is easier to deal with and more modular.

Value and Summary

The Destiny will retail for 25USD, and should be available in the US quite soon. 25USD is a great price, as it’s well within the lower-end of blaster pricing. It’s close to the Magstrike’s price of ~20USD when it was still available, and is much lower than the original Rapid Madness price of 50USD. Nothing in the 25USD price range comes close to matching the Destiny for raw foam output. Yes, there are blasters in that range that get better ranges and are more accurate, but few can match the Destiny for fun factor. Its insanely high ROF and visceral firing sound can give anyone a huge smile, and that in itself makes it a great blaster.

Modification Potential

Overall internals shot.

Close up of the plunger system.

Shot of the OPRV on the tank.

The Destiny has very similar internals to the Nerf Magstrike. It uses a hybrid of spring and air power to attain a high ROF out of a pressurised bladder. Mod potential is somewhat different versus more conventional blasters. Increasing power would be much more difficult to achieve than for more conventional blasters. Probably the most significant practical mod would be to hook it up to some kind of HPA/LPA system to completely eliminate the need for pumping. That, combined with a bunch of spare clips, would eliminate the Destiny’s biggest weaknesses and would provide an extremely fun, high ROF blaster without the use of flywheels.

You can also find a link to the same review on my own blog: Outback Nerf

The post Review: Buzz Bee Destiny (18m/60ft EU) appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Hasbro really wants me to write about the Amazon Dash button that’s now available for Nerf. They’ve sent me press releases, images, a blaster missing most of its darts, a hand-written note encouraging my use, an actual Dash button, and even an Amazon gift card to help me try it out. In other words, they’re doing all they can to get me excited about it, but much like the rest of the Nerf fan community with whom I interact, my initial to reaction to the Amazon Dash button for Nerf was a resounding “meh.” Nonetheless, I decided to give it a try.

The concept of the Amazon Dash button feels like something out of a product planner’s dream… eliminate all the barriers to purchase by creating a product-specific “easy button.” At the same time, by making that button exclusive to your particular brand, the dangers of cross-shopping can be virtually eliminated. Oh, and since you don’t have to leave the comfort of your own home to make said purchase, there’s no reason not to buy that item immediately–and repeatedly. It’s like eBay’s “Buy it Now” button for the instant-gratification generation. It’s modern consumption at its best (and possibly, worst).

So, what is the Amazon Dash button, exactly? The Dash is a physical device that is sold by Amazon for $4.99 (with a $4.99 credit toward your first purchase) that allows consumers to instantly order products through their connected Amazon Prime accounts via WiFi. When a Dash button is pressed, it sends a signal via WiFi to the users connected device (a smartphone running the Amazon app), which places an order without any further interaction from the user. The device is small, and has only a single button. It can be placed virtually anywhere around the house, and was originally intended for high-consumption items like paper towels, detergent, etc. A single press places an order, though the user has half an hour to cancel the order via a notification sent to their mobile device. Repeat orders won’t be sent until the initial order has shipped, preventing unintended multiple orders.

So that’s how Amazon Dash buttons work, in general, but what about for Nerf, specifically? Well, the idea is that Nerf darts are consumables that need to be replaced often. And, truth be told, Nerf darts are a big money-maker for companies like Hasbro. Darts are actually assembled by hand (not inexpensively, I’m told), but the margins are still extremely good. And kids (adults too) lose darts all the time. So Hasbro would love for us to purchase more darts, more often. The Amazon Dash button for Nerf, therefore, makes a lot of sense from a corporate perspective. And here’s how they’re positioning it for consumers:

Amazon Dash Buttons for NERF and PLAY-DOH Now Available

A First for the Toy Industry, New Dash Buttons Keep Families and Fans Supplied with Creative Play and Action Packed Fun

PAWTUCKET, R.I.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Families can now stay stocked up on their favorite playtime essentials with the introduction of Amazon Dash Buttons for the Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) PLAY-DOH and NERF brands. Launching today, PLAY-DOH and NERF are the first toy brands available in Amazon’s popular program which allows Amazon Prime customers to reorder preferred products with the press of a button.

“NERF and PLAY-DOH are two of our most popular brands with families consuming darts and PLAY-DOH compound as part of their daily playtime,” said Jeff Jackson, VP of Sales at Hasbro. “We don’t want the fun to stop when supplies run low and teaming up with Amazon allows our consumers to keep playtime going while incorporating our brands more seamlessly into their everyday activities.”

The Amazon Dash Button is a small, Wi-Fi connected electronic device that makes ordering products quick and efficient. Starting today, the Amazon Dash Buttons for the PLAY-DOH and NERF brands are available for Amazon Prime customers to order onwww.amazon.com/dashbutton.

Once purchased, Amazon Prime members sync the buttons to their Amazon Prime accounts for fast, convenient ordering with Prime FREE Shipping. By pressing the Amazon Dash Button for the PLAY-DOH brand, customers can order a PLAY-DOH Mega Pack, PLAY-DOH 24-Pack of Colors, or a PLAY-DOH Fun Tub. With the Amazon Dash Button for the NERF brand, customers can order dart refills for the NERF N-STRIKE ELITE, NERF REBELLE, and NERF RIVAL blasters and bows.

So, Amazon Dash buttons are for our benefit, get it? They’re just trying to make our lives easier by eliminating the hassle (?) of purchasing darts via traditional means. Fair enough. But is that actually true? Does the Amazon Dash button for Nerf make it easier, more enjoyable, or somehow more cost-effective than buying darts in other ways? Well, I had to test it to find out.

The first thing I noted in attempting to set-up my Nerf Dash button is that it requires a smartphone running the Amazon app. So if you’re looking to set-up a Dash button at home with just a computer, you’re SOL. But the Dash is really more for early-adopters at this stage, so let’s assume having a reasonably modern smartphone with the Amazon app isn’t an issue. The next small hurdle you’ll encounter is the need to re-enter your Amazon app password to initiate the set-up, even if you’re already logged-in to the app. The Touch ID feature rarely works on my phone, so I had to open my password management app to find out what password I have set-up for Amazon, and then copy it over accordingly.

Assuming you’ve met the smartphone criteria for Dash set-up, you’re about halfway there. During Dash set-up, even though you’re using your phone, you also have to connect the Dash via WiFi–and doing so requires the password of whatever WiFi network it’s using. So if you’re anywhere other than on your own network when you first try to set-up the Dash, you may hit a dead-end (that’s what happened to me, initially). Since I wasn’t in range of my home’s WiFi when I first tried to set-up the Dash, and didn’t know the password of the network where I was located, I wasn’t unable to get things rolling right away. So much for convenience.

Once I was back at home in range of my personal WiFi network and with smartphone running the Amazon app in-hand with my other hand holding the Dash itself (got all that?), setting-up the service was pretty seamless. Instructions are included with the Dash… and it only took a minute or two for things to be up-and-running. But that’s not where the questions and a bit of head-scratching ended:

1. The first pause came when Amazon wanted to know if it could access the password on my personal network for other, poorly defined purposes (um.. how about no?).
2. Next, the Dash can be used to auto-magically order any of several pre-determined Nerf items, but they (Hasbro?) pick which ones. So, if you like the ones they’ve picked, then great. If you don’t, sorry. And on the Amazon Dash for Nerf page, they don’t directly tell you which items can be re-ordered using the Dash. You have to instead click on a button that goes to another page, to see what’s available.
3. Best I can tell, the items are all sold by and shipped from Amazon. However, if you’re viewing your buying options from your mobile device, it’s not totally clear since not every item has a “Prime” logo next to it (some do, some don’t). So I just stuck with a product that was clearly labeled “Prime,” to be safe. But they should really make this more easily understood.
4. It’s possible to re-associate your Dash button to a different product within the sphere of pre-chosen items (if, for instance, you stock-up on MEGAs and want to get some Elites). But doing so is a 5-step process via settings on your phone.
5. Lastly, Amazon asked me to “Turn on Notifications” to be made aware of when Dash orders are placed. That makes sense, except that it didn’t indicate in the set-up if the notifications were limited to Dash, or if it was for all Amazon purchases. I order a lot of other stuff from Amazon, and I don’t want notifications every time I place a random order, or part of an order ships, or my package is delivered, etc. I just want notifications for Dash orders to know they’ve been placed, and that’s it. Fortunately, it does appear this is possible, but figuring that out required turning on notifications and a trip to the same Dash sub-menu on my mobile device.

Once set-up, the Amazon Dash button for Nerf was actually quite easy to use. When the Dash button is pressed, there are some blinky lights to tell you it’s doing stuff, and that’s it. Then, a couple days later, your product arrives per the Amazon Prime standard. In my case, it was a pack of “Nerf N-Strike Elite Universal Suction Darts, 30-Pack” that was selling for $7.86 with free shipping from Prime–I could have gotten regular Elites, RIVAL HIRs, Rebelle darts, MEGA darts and a few other, related items, but I have lots of all of those, so I went with the suction-tipped ones since I don’t have many of those on-hand. And sure enough, they arrived at my house just like every other Prime product, and all was well.

But simply pressing a Dash button to place an order feels TOO easy. It’s almost Pavlovian, really… like the American consumer has been reduced to a hamster pressing a button for a treat in the eyes of corporations. Economists have long said that people who use credit cards spend more than those who use cash, since spending cash requires them to physically SEE the money leaving their hands. And this feels even worse. Pressing a Dash button is so far removed from the feeling of spending money, it really doesn’t seem like you’re spending money at all. That’s probably exactly what a company like Hasbro has in mind, but for consumers who aren’t particularly well-disciplined (which is, oh, most of America, particularly kids), that could be problematic.

Yet, the Dash button for Nerf has a bigger problem: it’s rather pointless. It’s true that Nerf enthusiasts do lose darts. But many fans don’t use Nerf darts at all–Elites are known for poor accuracy and other issues, so many fans use third-party darts with superior qualities of flight, durability, economy, or all of the above. In other words, those who go through darts the fastest are also the ones who are the least likely to want to purchase darts made by Hasbro in the first place. So who is the button for? Perhaps moms and dads with kids who frequently engage in Nerf battles, and who don’t particularly care how many darts are consumed will find the Dash button for Nerf to be of value. But I have my doubts. At least trying it out won’t cost you anything beyond the price of the item (Amazon pays for the Dash with your first purchase).

So if you like Nerf darts, you go through them frequently, you don’t mind waiting a minimum of two days to receive them, you’re ok with the limited purchase choices, you want to order the same thing every time (or don’t mind taking the time to re-associate your Dash with a new product), you’ve got an Amazon Prime account, you have a smartphone running the Amazon app, you have a WiFi network, you only place orders within that network, and you’re not a compulsive buyer with a spending problem, the Dash button just might make sense. For everyone else–which is likely almost everyone who actually uses Nerf blasters to play–the Amazon Dash for Nerf is an overly-limiting solution to a problem that no one has asked to be solved.

Sure, Nerf darts are a “consumable,” but until Amazon can drop them to you in the heat of battle via drone flying overhead, the Dash button doesn’t do anything for the average Nerf player that would be of particular value. If anything, the Dash button for Nerf is overly limiting with no real up-side for the user other than… saving maybe 2 or 3 taps in the regular app? The intent seems good, but a Dash button for detergent when your laundry can wait a day or two and you always get the same kind makes a lot more sense than a Dash button for Nerf when you need darts right now, and potentially for a variety of different blaster types. There are a lot of products for which the Amazon Dash button makes reasonable sense. But Nerf is not one of them.

The post Review: Amazon Dash Button for Nerf appeared first on Blaster Hub.

One of 2016’s flagship blasters, the Khaos MXVI-4000, is finally starting to find its way to stores across the nation. I managed to get my hands on one of these $70 Rival blasters to do a video review. In addition, I’ve added some thoughts I’ve had since completing the video for this gigantic blaster.

The Video Review

My Additional Thoughts

The big question myself and many others are left with after getting our hands on this blaster is: “Will the Rival Khaos magazines be available for purchase separately?” To which we don’t yet have an answer. There are several DPCI codes (the numbers used by Target stores to identify products) that are reserved for Nerf products that have yet to be identified in the price range of what could be a standalone Khaos magazine. This gives us hope that we’ll see them on shelves, but I’m not banking on this. Personally, I think the best-case scenario will be for Hasbro to make them available from their online web store the same way they made Sledgefire shells available. This way they can sell them without extra High Impact Rounds or packaging, allowing for a more reasonable price point.

In terms of functional design for the blaster, there was an issue I wasn’t made aware of until after the video, which is that there are no built-in sling mounts on this blaster. So, for those of you that like to sling blasters behind you while running around at games, you will have to look for aftermarket options. I don’t think that’s a terrible thing, since the locations Hasbro chooses to put sling points on their blasters aren’t always great. There are plenty of aftermarket options for sling adapters made for Nerf blasters, which will give you the freedom to put a sling point wherever you’d like.

The conveyor belt system is something I was really not a fan of after using the Hyperfire. The delay between trigger pull and actual firing left it feeling a bit sluggish to me. I feared the same for the Rival Khaos. However, it did feel a bit better use, which was a pleasant surprise. If you were in the same boat as me, don’t knock the Khaos until you’ve tried it. Like I said in the video, this blaster is by no means a performance powerhouse. For those of you playing stock style games, it will hold up well enough. Beyond that, the blaster is just fun to hold and use, it has a heft that makes it feel substantial. The aesthetics look like it’s been pulled from a video game and dropped into your hands.

The fun factor to me compensates for the challenges this blaster brings. The biggest frustration though, is the awkward loading of rounds into the magazine, followed by loading the magazine into the blaster. These are real issues you should be aware of, along with the slower than advertised FPS readings. If you don’t find these to be deal breakers, then I think you’ll enjoy this blaster.

The post Nerf Rival Khaos Review: Frustrating and Fun? appeared first on Blaster Hub.

At the end of June, Blaster Hub was able to release info on the new Prime Time Toys blasters for 2016. In a clear bid to eat away at Hasbro’s shelf space, all the new blasters were available at competitive price points and claimed ranges of up to 80 feet. Now that August is here, stores are beginning to set these toys on shelves, especially at Target and Walmart. Are they worth adding to your arsenal? The answer would seem to be yes!

This review will cover the five NEW spring-powered blasters available on shelves. The Powerbolt is a holdover from last year (albeit with added Nerf dart compatibility), and the Quad 4-Pack Power Pack still has yet to be seen on shelves. The Enforcer, the new automatic flywheel blaster, is special enough to merit its own entry at a later date.

Dart Zone Magnum Superdrum

The most anticipated (and possibly ludicrous) blaster in this group has to be the Magnum Superdrum. $20 buys you a pistol with a 40 dart drum and an arm rest to balance the weight. The initial loading of darts takes a few minutes, but the blasting that follows is pure, unadulterated fun.

It’s very easy to handle your Magnum (huehuehue). You pull back on the slide to prime, return it forward, and pull the trigger to fire. Alternatively, you can slam-fire by keeping the trigger depressed and pumping the slide. Three darts per second seems to be the limit on rate of fire.

My only quibble is with the arm rest. While it can be adjusted in both length and rotation, it doesn’t feature any way to lock it in place. Even so, if you grip your Magnum and let the weight in front hang a little bit, the plastic will stay in place against your arm.

The ranges with the included darts are extremely impressive. Firing parallel to the ground, 50′ shots were easy to achieve. At an angle, meanwhile, 80′ seemed to be the average, with some shots landing as far as 92′. Be aware that slam-fire drops ranges by about ten feet. I am unsure of the exact cause of this phenomenon, but I will experiment with the internals to find out why.

On the topic of internals, the inside of the blaster is interesting. No air restriction valve is present.The plunger has a respectable 27mm diameter. A small sled moving beneath the plunger tube engages the turret rotation and plunger priming. Also, there appear to be two catches at the rear of the shell. This would be the first area of interest for those experiments I just mentioned.

Overall, this larger than normal pistol has plenty of range and endurance, and is great for the run-and-gun type of player. Grab a Magnum!

Dart Zone Blitzfire Quick-Shot

This blaster comes in a two-pack for $15, and it is your standard six shot revolver. Pull back on the slide, return it, pull the trigger, and fire. Note that the turret turns on the trigger pull, using a revolver-type rotation mechanism. The average ranges were slightly less than that of the Magnum, but consistent 75′ shots are nothing to sneeze at. Some shots did make it past 80′, so we have to rate the range claims as “true.”

The Blitzfire Quick-Shot also has a 27mm plunger. There are no air restriction valves here, either. Other than a spring replacement and fiddling with the barrels, there are few things for a basic modder to change. Perhaps that’s a good thing, though. It’s always nice when you DON’T need to change anything.

Dart Zone Tri-Fire

Prime Time Toys decided to do the Nerf N-Strike Elite Triad better. PTT managed to include auto-rotating barrels instead of using the smart AR system (which is patented by Hasbro, by the way). Pulling on the bottom of the plunger primes the blaster, but it also moves a parallel piece of plastic. This, in turn, moves a small three-prong gear and rotates the barrels. The trigger doesn’t pull back so much as it does rotate down, which does feel slightly odd.

Since there is a direct path from plunger to barrel, there’s nothing preventing you from fooling around with the barrels. You can unscrew the barrel assembly very easily. It turns out that the Tri-Fire is the only one of the new blasters to actually have air restriction valves. You can remove them with ease once you separate the orange base.

The blaster still manages to hit 80’+ on a few angled shots, but it tends to average 72′. Removing the air restrictor valves will boost that by a few feet.

Unlike the other blasters in this group, there is room for longer barrels to be added. Some PETG would go nicely with this setup in order to harness all the plunger power you possibly can.

The most important note: these blasters come in a three-pack, for $10. When Triads usually go for $6, the Tri-fire suddenly becomes one heck of a good deal.

Dart Zone/Adventure Force Legendfire

The Legendfire (green at Walmart, blue elsewhere) is a slam-fire only blaster, which may be a turnoff to some blaster fans. It does, however, have a smooth and controllable prime in a comfortable platform. Even without a functional trigger, it’s not hard to aim at a target and hit it. In addition, the Legendfire has a spare turret that can be carried on the back and reloaded while you fire from its partner. You simply pull back the orange iron sight on top to break open the barrel, and change turrets as needed.

The Legendfire performed as well as the Magnum in terms of range. I was averaging 80′ average with my angled shots, and at least two shots reached the 90′ mark. I could also spam darts slightly faster, at four darts per second. The long barrel did not appear to negatively affect the ranges, so the darts are traveling straight for at least the first foot of flight.

On the inside, the Legendfire looks almost identical to the Powerbolt Belt Blaster. The priming rod operates the rotation mechanism, and the catch rides along a plastic rail inside the shell. Once it reaches the end of the priming motion, the rail forces the catch down, releasing the plunger. It’s not a complicated system, but there really isn’t a way to add a functional trigger with the current setup.

The Legendfire is available for $16.

Adventure Force Havoc

Finally, we have a $10 surprise available exclusively at Walmart. The Havoc is a clip-loading pistol with a sliding side prime. You flip up the priming handle and pull it back. Then, you push it forward (no need to flip the handle back down), and you can fire. The clip advances upward a la the Buzz Bee Cougar. Amazingly, this blaster packed the biggest punch of the lot, with 85′ average angled shots and more than a few darts going 100′ away! More importantly, more clips are readily available from the Dart Zone website; $18 buys four 8-dart clips and 40 darts.

Internally, I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. I’ll have to remove the spring and see if it’s stronger than those in the other blasters. There are no air restriction valves in this blaster (notice a trend?). The plunger tube is the same size as its brothers and sisters. One small piece did get my attention. The front of the clip well has a small door that covers it, and flips up just in case you advance the clip more than once before firing. That way, an unused dart won’t cause the entire blaster to jam. It’s a nice touch for an already great blaster.

2nd Generation Superdarts

It would be a mistake to review all these blasters without mentioning what they fire. The newest version of the Superdart now matches Nerf Elite darts in length,  and have higher quality dart heads. The dart head style is still the same; it just appears that the process has been improved significantly. There is less excess glue present, and the heads are much smoother. The darts weight about one gram each, compared to 0.9g for the old version. In addition, the new darts seem to fly much more accurately. For the moment, it seems these could be a solid alternative to Elites.

Conclusion

So far, Prime Time Toys is knocking it out of the park. All of their new spring-powered blasters work as well as advertised, and are less expensive than their Nerf counterparts. The Magnum and Havoc blasters especially warrant attention. If PTT can get the sales to match their blaster quality, then Hasbro is going to have some tough competition this Christmas.

Raw Footage from Prime Time Toys

Following is “B Roll” footage sent to use by PTT after this article was first posted, which will soon be found on their own YouTube channel. It gives a better idea of the Magnum in use.

The post Review: Prime Time Toys 2016 Spring-Powered Blasters appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Toy melee weapons: they’re seen more often in LARP (Live Action Role Play) settings than in Nerf wars, and aren’t usually an effective tool. Nevertheless, they make for a fun addition to wars, and they are sometimes useful. So, while not strictly blaster-related, it’s worth taking a look at one of the latest entries in the melee category to see how it compares to the toy weapons we’re used to seeing.

Hasbro has had this portion of the market largely to themselves. Star Wars brought us lightsabers (some new versions are now composed of foam). Nerf brought swords and shields with N-Force. More recently, Hasbro has partnered with Perpetual Play Group for various Nerf melee and throwing toys. Buzz Bee Toys, however, has been improving their offerings in the Ruff Stuff product line. 2013 brought us the Gladiator and Buccaneer swords. Last year brought us items like the Fun Sword. And this year, Buzz Bee has upgraded the Fun Swords with light-up blades, with a low price point of only $5.

The swords come in several varieties (short sword, falchion, katana), but all the new swords share a few things. First, they have a hard plastic tube at their core, encased in fairly stiff foam. Second, they have a red button on their handles. Finally, they have brightly colored blades that diffuse the blue or red light inside for the glowing effect.

If you’re familiar with the N-Force swords, then we can make an easy comparison. The length is close to that of the individual Vendettas, and a few inches less than the other short swords. In width, however, the larger Buzz Bee swords are close to the Marauder.

As I have not yet used these at any kind of war, I instead abused the blades by hitting them against walls and other objects repeatedly. In addition, I had a few people hit me with them. So far , the swords have very little visible damage, and the foam has enough give to prevent any kind of injury.

The glowing effect works very well, although that assumes the kids at Walmart haven’t played with the sword in the aisle so much that the batteries have run dry. Even in daytime, you can see the light reasonably well. In the dark, however, the swords are REALLY bright. I can’t wait to see how these look the next time I’m at an indoor, evening war.

One sword did get sacrificed for science, although it can be put back together easily. I simply took a razor blade to the length of the handle, removed the foam grip and guard, and then worked the rest of the plastic tube out of the blade. After that, I cut the tube apart just above the electrical components.

Three, LR41 button cells in series power the LED. If you remove the tube plug at the bottom of the grip (where you see the Buzz Bee logo), you can actually see two screws that hold the batteries and LED in place. If you’re willing to put up with the frustration of working in tight spaces, you can certainly manage to replace the batteries.

For only $5, this is a surprisingly robust melee toy. Even if you don’t care about the light, this Buzz Bee offering is a far better than any Nerf/Perpetual Play items currently on shelves. It’s stiff and soft in all the right places, and it has a handle large enough to accommodate your hand. This has my stamp of approval.

The post Buzz Bee Ruff Stuff Light Up Sword Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Spinning barrels are always an enticing feature of blasters. Regardless of how impractical they are, they’re just plain cool. The Buzz Bee Ultra-Tek Cyclonic promised spinning barrels along with full-auto flywheeling which, as seen with the Ultra-Tek Brute, we know the company can do reasonably well. I was rather excited, therefore, to receive a Cyclonic with the hope that it, like the Brute, could be used as a budget, full-auto flywheeler.

Everything in the Cyclonic package.

Disclaimer: This blaster was sent to me by Buzz Bee Toys for review. I would like to thank them for their support. Note that it will not bias the review in any way.

The Cyclonic Box

Front of the box.

Back of the box.

Same old same old box design. Cable ties holding in anything big, with the darts held in a plastic tray.

The Cyclonic Design

Left side of the blaster.

Right side.

Down the top.

Along the bottom.

The Buzz Bee Cyclonic is quite a big and bulky blaster. It’s very chunky to support the spinning barrel, yet has no stock or rear weight to balance it. It feels a little clumsy to handle compared to most other blasters.

Close up of the "fiesta" texturing.

Looking at the other texture pattern.

The Cyclonic features Buzz Bee’s “fiesta” pattern shell detail on most of the side faces. It also features a diagonal hatching on some side areas. This hatching may be indicative of what we’ll be seeing soon with the “carbon fibre” texture we’ve been told will be used on newer waves.

Close up of the battery tray cover.

Battery tray exposed. Seen here with 2 IMRs and 2 dummies.

The Cyclonic is powered by 4 AAs, which are stored in a tray at the back of the blaster. AAs are quite insufficient for this sort of blaster and its power demands, which I’ll go into more detail in Performance.

Close up of the spinning barrel.

Looking in the front of the barrel.

Spinning barrel in action.

The spinning barrel is one of the Cyclonic’s main aesthetic features. But functionally, it’s just a faux barrel with mini faux barrels molded on the side, same as most other spinning barrels on blasters. It also lights up courtesy of two LEDs mounted on the sides of the barrel.

Close up of the handle.

Hand on handle.

Trigger partially pulled.

Trigger completely pulled.

In contrast with the rest of the blaster, the Cyclonic’s handle is relatively small and slim. It’s fairly well designed, with good curvature and shape, though it could benefit from more bulk.

The Cyclonic has quite a long trigger pull, even compared to a typical semi-auto Nerf flywheeler. This accomodates its dual-stage trigger system, in contrast with Nerf’s flywheelers just having a separate rev trigger. The first half of the trigger pull spins up the flywheels, and powers the spinning barrel and its lights. A full trigger pull powers up the pusher. The trigger pull is one of the stiffest I’ve encountered–it’s far stronger than any of Nerf’s semi-auto flywheelers, or any other blaster I’ve used really. The return spring is very strong, perhaps unnecessarily strong.

Close up of the magwell.

Looking into the magwell.

Trying to reach for the mag release.

Loaded with a Nerf 18 mag.

With a Nerf 25 drum.

The Cyclonic is another of Buzz Bee’s mag fed blasters. It is completely cross-compatible with Nerf’s clip (mag) system. The magwell fits all mags very loosely, and many mags have a little bit of wiggle room. There is a single electrical safety that disables the flywheels and pusher if a mag is not inserted. The spinning barrel will still light up and spin however–it is a “try me” feature on the box. In fact, the Cyclonic actually includes 4 AAs in box.

The mag release is the same as other Ultra-Tek blasters: a small cylindrical button that releases when pushed up. I found it just a bit too far to reach comfortably with my middle finger. A more conventional one like with the Stryfe/Rapidstrike/etc or a lever would have been preferable.

Next to a Stryfe.

The Cyclonic is not an especially large blaster, particularly compared to beasts like the Mastodon. But for a stockless blaster, it is quite big.

The Buzz Bee 20 Dart Mag

Buzz Bee 20 mag next to a Nerf 18 mag.

Loaded in a Stryfe, Nerf 18 mag for comparison.

In a Hyperfire.

Included with the Cyclonic is a Buzz Bee 20 dart mag. It was seen previously with Buzz Bee’s Ultra Tek Brute, but was also released in its own retail package earlier. In many ways, it is directly comparable to Nerf’s 18 dart clip since they have a similar capacity and size, and are both available separately. Like Buzz Bee’s 8 dart mag, the 20 dart mag is mostly compatible with Nerf’s clip (mag) system. There are certain blasters in which it is very tight (such as the Rapidstrike and Rayven), but for most Nerf blasters (such as the Stryfe and Hyperfire pictured), the Buzz Bee 20 mag fits just fine. It’s a perfectly reasonable substitute for the Nerf 18 round mag, and has the bonus of holding 2 extra darts.

The Cyclonic Fully Assembled

All loaded up.

Here’s the Cyclonic loaded up with the Buzz Bee 20 dart mag. It’s an oddly proportioned blaster–on the one hand, the huge spinning barrel and general bulk suggest a heavy weapon. On the other hand, it has no stock and does not have any particularly good fore end to grip. It’s a little awkward to handle, with significant front-end weight and bulk, and no stock or rear weight to balance it.

Cyclonic Performance

FPS shot.

Does the (EU) Cyclonic live up to its excellent performing Ultra Tek brethren? Unfortunately, it doesn’t. Range is rather disappointing, at around 8-10 metres with Ultra-Tek darts. It doesn’t lose much, if any, range in rapid fire however, which is at least an advantage over most Nerf flywheelers.

Accuracy is quite good, though really only because the Cyclonic is too weak to destabilise darts. At higher flywheel speeds, you’d probably be looking at similar, perhaps worse, accuracy compared to other flywheelers like the Nerf Stryfe.

Rate of fire is also quite disappointing. I was seeing probably around 1.5-2 darts per second on AAs (depending on the exact voltage of the batteries). Performance from the Buzz Bee Cyclonic is highly dependent on having a set of good AAs. Initially, I tried it with a set of rechargeables at ~1.1V each, and it struggled to cycle through any darts unless the mag was half empty. I switched to a set of relatively new non-rechargeables (~1.3V) and it performed much better, but still showed signs of struggling.

The Cyclonic is an excellent example of why typical AA cells (and typical C/D/etc cells, for that matter) should not be used in any high level flywheeler. Even in a basic semi-auto flywheeler powering just 2 motors, these typical cells struggle to provide the motors with enough power, resulting in very long spool up and very poor torque. The Cyclonic has a total of 4 motors and 2 (relatively low power) LEDs. Compared to a typical semi-auto, it pulls far more current, and it is very apparent when using it just how much the cells are struggling. Once the flywheels and barrel are spinning at max speed, as soon as the pusher is started, both of them decelerate substantially. They accelerate back up to speed very slowly. Furthermore, the pusher is substantially slower actually feeding darts than when the mag is empty.

Something else to note is that I actually had to do a bit of fixing on my Cyclonic. When I first got it out of box, it was constantly misfiring. I noticed that one of the flywheels seemed to spin slower than the other one. I determined that one of the motors was slower than the other, and upon opening that motor, I found the cause. For whatever reason, that motor’s brushes were covered in a grey paste that added friction to the commutator, thus slowing it down. Upon cleaning out the paste, the motor then quickly matched speed with the other motor, and the blaster stopped misfiring.

Role in Gameplay

Unfortunately, given that its performance is all round underwhelming, the (EU) Cyclonic does not have a role it excels in. It does have one notable advantage, in that its flywheels spin up much faster than typical stock (grey trigger) Nerf flywheels. The flywheels reach full speed in less than a second, where most (grey trigger) Nerf flywheels still have a ways to go to reach top speed. This lets you get good shots off much faster with the Cyclonic than most other flywheelers. Besides that though, there’s nothing really distinguishing it from the pack. Many blasters can easily match and exceed its range and ROF. Unless you absolutely must have a full-auto mag fed flywheeler on a low budget, there’s nothing really that the (EU) Cyclonic does particularly well.

Value and Summary

The Buzz Bee Cyclonic has an RRP of 20USD, which is on par with the Stryfe’s RRP. The least you’d be looking at for one of Nerf’s full auto flywheelers is 30USD (RRP). If it were a better blaster, the Cyclonic would be a great deal (and if the US spec one is on par with the other Ultra-Tek blasters, it would be). However the (EU) Cyclonic is just not that great a blaster and therefore doesn’t represent exceptional value. There’s no doubt it’s still fun, as everyone loves spinning barrels, but it could easily have been substantially better without them (see the Buzz Bee Brute, for instance).

Modification Potential

Overall internals shot.

Close up of the rotating, light up barrel internals.

Looking at the flywheels.

Close up of the pusher mech.

The majority of the Buzz Bee Cyclonic’s internals are relatively ordinary. The spinning barrel mech is pretty much what you’d expect. A 130 motor drives a gear train which, in turn, drives the spinning barrels. The LEDs are wired in parallel with the motor. The flywheel motors are mounted on a plate which is screwed into position. The flywheels are toothed in typical Buzz Bee fashion. The trigger pushes against two tab switches, which power the flywheels and barrel, and pusher respectively.

It’s worth noting that the Cyclonic’s flywheel cage has a much larger flywheel gap than usual. This means it applies much less friction to darts that are fed through. Since maximum flywheel velocity is determined by friction, the Cyclonic is limited to a much lower flywheel velocity ceiling than typical Nerf flywheelers. It is entirely possible to alter the cage to fix this issue, but it is something worth noting.

The pusher mech is rather different. Although it cycles as normal while the trigger is held, when the trigger is released, the pusher is automatically mechanically retracted. This is in contrast to the Nerf Rapidstrike, where the trigger only interacts with the pusher electrically. The Cyclonic mech’s main advantages are the impossibility of pusher runaway, and the guarantee of the pusher returning. Its main disadvantages are the inability to complete a partial cycle if the trigger is released early, as well as the painfully long trigger pull.

You can also find a link to the same review on my own blog: Outback Nerf

The post Review: Buzz Bee Ultra-Tek Cyclonic (22m/72ft EU) appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Thanks to friends on Facebook and Reddit, I found out about the newest blaster lineup from Lanard Toys. As of this posting, the Lanard Huntsman Alpha series consists of a new bolt-action blaster, a new air pressure pistol, and a recolored Sonic Bazooka (which is nice to see on shelves again). Today we will examine the Lanard Huntsman Ambush.

The Ambush is a single shot, bolt-action blaster with a scope attachment and dart storage in the stock. In that sense, the Ambush is Lanard’s version of the Buzz Bee Ultra-Tek Predator. The internals are a surprise, and the stock performance is better than advertised. But the asking price of $22 is an issue, especially when a blaster like the Predator can be found for $10–and with better stock performance, to boot.

The Trivial Stuff

The stock has storage space for five darts, hidden behind a flip-up door. If anything, the slots are a little too large for the included darts–don’t open it up while the butt is facing the ground! The scope, meanwhile, simply snaps on top of the blaster. There are no accessory rails to speak of, so if you happen to like the scope, you’ll need some other way to mount it to your other blasters.

Blaster Operation

The Lanard Huntsman Ambush has roughly 2 5/8″ of draw, which means the breech is shorter than the darts you’ll be loading. That’s not really an issue since we use foam darts, mainly just an annoyance. As you can see, the barrel is the orange piece of plastic plastic welded to the front of the grey bolt assembly. The  air restrictor sits between the two pieces, floating freely without a spring behind it, which makes for an annoying rattle when handling the blaster.

The barrel is poorly designed, with only the back inch or so actually holding the dart. If there wasn’t much power to the blaster, this wouldn’t be an issue. But when we open the blaster up, we can fortunately see a rather impressive power plant! 

The plunger tube is roughly an inch in diameter where the plunger head rides, and the entire plunger sits in front of a beefy spring. This means we have a blaster body that wasn’t built to harness the power inside it. It’s easy enough to remedy with a new barrel, but as a stock blaster, it’s disappointing. You simply have a lot of air going to waste.

The plunger head and rod are fastened with a metal rod. Both the plunger and the tube have grooves that only line up in a certain way, and there are white, spring-loaded levers that prevent firing until the plunger tube is all the way forward, and also keep the tube there until after you fire. If you reassemble the blaster without everything lined-up properly, you won’t be able to prime the blaster, let alone fire it.

Performance

The packaging claims ranges of up to 50′. Even with the barrel issues, I was hitting angled ranges averaging 55′ with the included darts. Keep in mind that Lanard’s micro darts are rather poor quality in comparison to other brands. Elite streamlines hit a respectable 65′ average. However, more than a few darts came out of the blaster in a death spiral, traveling maybe 15′ forward. There’s a reason we need longer barrels–unused air behind the dart can knock it off course and ruin your shots.

These stock ranges still don’t match those of Nerf N-Strike Elite or Buzz Bee Ultra-Tek blasters, though.

Conclusion

The Ambush offers decent ranges and plenty of modding potential. However, the price is currently the sticking point. As of now, I’ve only seen these blasters in Go! Toys and Games stores in malls and the like, and they are somewhat infamous for their price inflation. So this $22 blaster can be left alone on the shelf while you grab an Ultra-Tek Predator at Walmart for $10 and get better performance out of the box. Hopefully these will appear at other stores like Dollar General for much lower prices. Until then, unless you really want it, skip the Lanard Huntsman Ambush for now.

The post Lanard Huntsman Alpha Ambush Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.