I came home from work on Friday, surprised to find a package of goodies from Nerf! Naturally, I had to take some of the blasters to a war ASAP for testing. Over the next few posts, I’ll try to work through many of the upcoming blasters, with thoughts on their strengths and flaws. Noting, of course, which ones were sent to me. Disclaimers are a good thing when it comes to reviews, after all.

Today’s blaster of note is the Twinshock, the latest in the Mega Series. And it’s great!

Calling Shotgun

The Twinshock is simple in principle. It operates like a Rough Cut, but with five Mega darts on each side. AND IT’S HUGE. OBSCENELY HUGE. We’re talking 28 inches in length. It’s relatively light, however, and easy to operate.

The Twinshock claims ranges of up to 85′, which it does with relative ease. Chronograph testing has Megas averaging roughly 67fps across all barrels, with the top barrels naturally getting the best ranges. Even with the bottom barrels, firing at an angle, I don’t think I had a shot go below 70′, even with the notoriously erratic flight of Mega streamlines.

Inside the Beast

After removing plenty of screws, we find that the Twinshock has a surprisingly empty shell. A large gear is used to pull back the twin plungers, which doubles the priming pull distance to compensate for the strength of two springs. There are two catches, with a dual-stage trigger, which allows the darts to be fired independently. Notably, it’s a lot easier to fire single shots with this blaster than it is with the Rough Cut. In addition, the entire operation (from priming to firing) is smooth as silk.

It should be noted that the Twinshock is also capable of slamfire. The long orange piece between the trigger and catch holds two white spacers. During the operation of the priming handle, it moves the spacers out of the way. This prevents the catch from being released until the priming handle is back in the forward position. It’s not a new mechanism, by any means – the CS-35 Raider had a similar assembly within its shell.

If you do disassemble the blaster, keep track of the round plastic spacers/roller bearings on the handle and inner priming sled. Those are important for everything moving smoothly. In addition, note that the entire plunger and barrel assembly is solvent welded together.

The plunger tube is roughly 30mm ID, with 80mm of plunger draw.

Testing on the Field

Final Thoughts

At $40 MSRP, the Twinshock isn’t too shabby. It’s only a bit more than the Rotofury cost at release, and can fire darts twice as fast. Given how erratic Megas can fly, firing two at a time actually gives you a decent chance to hit what you’re aiming at!

While I don’t plan on modding this blaster anytime soon, the ample plunger volume and large shell would seem to lend it to various integrations and Elite dart conversions.

I used this blaster for many more rounds than expected last war, and it was very effective at both close ranges and distance. If you have Buzz Bee XL darts, distance shots become even more accurate. This is the Mega blaster you should pick up when you get the chance.

The post Nerf Mega Twinshock Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Last year, Blastersparts.de revealed the Elite Disruptor. It certainly confused the fans as it was almost identical to the well-received Strongarm blaster. With less paint detailing and less plastic, it would appear that the Disruptor is Nerf’s cheaper version of the Strongarm. It’s possible the Disruptor may end up replacing the Strongarm. Anyway, let’s take a look at the Disruptor and see how it compares with the Strongarm.

Included with the blaster are the usuals. Six elite darts and an instruction sheet.

With some slight colour differences and minus the frame below the rotating drum, the Disruptor looks almost the same as the Strongarm, as well as the same length. Since there is no frame beneath the rotating drum, it makes it easier to load darts into the drum. Although I do miss flipping out the drum in the Strongarm, as well as spinning the heck out of it (good for a game of Russian roulette)!

The Disruptor contains one tactical rail at the top of the blaster and two convenient sling mounts. Aestheticallly, it’s not a bad blaster, however there is a lot more detailing on the Strongarm.

To function the blaster…. Do I really need to explain? The drum rotates every time the trigger is pulled, exactly like the blaster’s predecessor. It slam-fires too. How well does this thing shoot? Not too bad. It pretty much has the same power as a Strongarm. Its accuracy… well again, it’s what you’d expect from a Strongarm.

If it shoots like a Stongarm, has the same size as a Strongarm – how can you go wrong with the Disruptor? With a decent firepower, fast reload speed and a good dart capacity (for its size), the Disruptor is an ideal secondary blaster. It wouldn’t be a bad primary either, if you like playing stealth. However the blaster is currently sold for $20 AUD! While you can buy a Strongarm for $10 at K-Mart. Why pay $10 more for a blaster that does exactly the same thing as a Strongarm? With all that said, the Disruptor is most likely going to replace the Strongarm, therefore we should also expect to see this blaster being sold for around $10 in the near future.

The post Review: Nerf Elite Disruptor appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Here we are, a month away from the official release of Nerf’s fall lineup. Many new blasters have appeared, but none with quite so much hype as the Nemesis. Perhaps the ultimate evolution of the Rival line, it meshes the foam blaster and paintball worlds together in a full-auto, hopper fed package. The Nemesis also demands a hefty price tag of $99 here in the United States. Luckily, it’s worth every cent.

Heavy Lifting

The Nemesis is not a blaster meant for little kids. Ignore the fact that the Rival line has been marketed toward older children and teens as a paintball alternative. Just picking up the blaster will tell you all you need to know; it’s over six pounds with batteries, and over 28″ long. Indeed, the Nemesis is not a blaster your tiny cousin will be using all day. Unless your cousin is an insanely strong beast, or some kind of young bodybuilder. Or secretly the son of the Incredible Hulk.

Size issues aside, the large footprint also means lots of ammo storage. The hopper holds 100 Rival rounds, more than doubling the capacity of the Khaos (although the latter does use magazines). The balls are fed into the flywheels by a combination agitator/belt system. The agitator keeps the balls from getting stuck in the hopper, and the belt carries the balls at the bottom forward for firing. While the system is sound, you can still on occasion get balls stuck (nothing a quick shake is unable to dislodge). That’s simply the nature of using gravity to feed the ammo instead of a spring-loaded magazine.

A door at the top of the hopper is used for putting loose balls into the hopper for reloading. The opening is narrow, and hardcore players may prefer to replace it with a paintball-style loading door, but for most people it works just fine. Quite frankly, it’s hard to trash something that already works, simply because you want to be able to load and fire ammo at obscene rates.

War Practicality

I’ve had a Nemesis in my possession now for close to four weeks. While I later received one in the mail from Hasbro for review, I felt at the time that it would do more justice to drive across the border to Canada to buy one. In short, why shouldn’t I put my own skin in the game for such an important release? Since then, that first Nemesis has been to several wars as well as the HvZ event known as Endwar.

Stock performance was everything the box advertised, with 90-100 fps shots on fresh batteries, and controllable full auto. As a player who wants to conserve ammo and make shots count, being able to tap the trigger without dumping a quarter of the hopper was a major plus. Even playing against people with well-modified blasters, the Nemesis held its own. It’s not the perfect blaster for all situations, as Rival balls have inherent range limitations and flight characteristics. As an electric flywheel blaster, it also has zero stealth. But given sufficient ammo, one could conceivably use a Nemesis for the entire war, if they don’t mind all the weight. Also, the shots are extremely accurate.

After a rewire and other upgrades, I ran the Nemesis off a 3S lipo for the next two wars. Here, the Nemesis became even stronger in terms of range, ammo velocity, and rate of fire. However, with all the extra power, it became impossible to simply let off single shots, which irked me to no end. That would soon be rectified.

ENDWAR!!!!!

By the time of Endwar, a happy accident forced my hand; I broke off one of the tabs to the agitator/belt pusher motor (oops). As a result, I chose to replace it with an MTB Wolverine Mk2, a 180-sized motor meant to be powered by a 2S lipo. As such, I also had to add a buck converter in order to lower the voltage feeding it to around 6.5V. This solved all my rate of fire issues, as I could now once again reliably single-shot targets while using full auto in a pinch. You can watch the video to see how well my Nemesis performed.

As with all HvZ games, how long humans survive depends more on their awareness and lack of mistakes than the blasters being used. Even so, having a high-capacity blaster that, with care, didn’t need constant reloading was a great advantage. Just imagine all the players with expanded hoppers that held much more ammo! It’s not game-breaking, but it is a new development. It will require some extra thought when it comes to game design.

In all reality, the use of pulse-width modulation (PWM) to control the rate of fire would make a group of Nemesis users a real force to be reckoned with. At least until all those shield-bearing zombies show up.

Mission Two

I don’t have complete footage, but in Mission Two, the Nemesis made the difference. Four occupants had to carry the Trojan Rabbit tank across a 500+ ft. green space on campus. Zombies could take flags off the tank, disabling it until occupants got out, retrieved the flags, and came back to attach them. We never had to stop until we reached the “drawbridge”, at which point I could reload. Then, when running back, the Nemesis (while heavy), still shot fast enough to fight its way through hordes of zombies. If I hadn’t made a mistake in not seeing a player on the left at about the 470 ft. mark, I would’ve survived what was meant to be a suicide mission. Running with the upgraded rate of fire would have made that situation much harder, if not impossible. FUTURE NEMESIS MODDERS MUST KEEP THIS IN MIND.

Final Thoughts

The Nemesis is everything I expected and more. I realize that $99.99 is expensive. Plenty of less expensive, dart-firing blasters exist that can make you happy when it comes to rate of fire, range, and many other qualities. But if you’re willing to invest in a Rival platform, THIS IS THE BLASTER YOU NEED. I honestly can’t think of a way in which it can truly disappoint you, even in stock form.

The post Nerf Rival Nemesis Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Not all blasters can be winners. Take, for instance, the Talon. It has several things going for it. A unique color scheme, official Boy Scouts of America branding, and a rather cartoonish take on “real steel” for its shell. What it lacks is the MEGA POWER it claims on the box. Needless to say, if you don’t care about the Boy Scout branding, there’s not much reason to buy this blaster.

I should note that I saw this blaster at Toy Fair 2017, where it was featured in the Kid Galaxy booth. It didn’t improve between then and now.

Think Small

Weighing barely two ounces, the Talon is clearly designed with tiny hands in mine. I have smaller hands, and even I had a hard time wrapping just two fingers around the grip. In addition, the trigger guard is TINY, leaving just enough space for the tip of your finger to pull the trigger.

That being said, the priming handle is fairly tough to pull. The spring is strong, and there are two tiny tabs on either side of the handle you have to use.

There is storage for an extra dart underneath the barrel.

Performance was wildly inconsistent. While all darts fired, the distances achieved were far from spectacular, with some barely reaching the fifteen feet from my couch to my door. On the chronograph, not a single shot made it above 40fps. I want to list 30fps as the average, but with the caveat that you can see results vary wildly.

It’s Got Guts. Just Not A Lot.

After removing just six screws, you can see why this blaster performs so poorly. The plunger tube is barely the diameter of a dart! In addition, the cup seal on the plunger will sometimes fully engage, and other times not work at all.

While the barrel is fairly loose fitting on darts, replacing it does little good. There’s simply not enough air to handle any sort of extra friction. This really is a blaster that has no business existing, especially when things like the Jolt work so much better.

Don’t Buy This. No, Really.

This blaster is a novelty item, plain and simple. Even if you’re a collector of Boy Scout items, you should stay away from this. Period.

The post Wilderness Explorers Talon Mini-Blaster appeared first on Blaster Hub.

The Dreadbolt is an odd entry for Nerf’s 2017 Fall lineup. Until now, nearly all of the “arrow” blasters have been in the Rebelle line, fired almost exclusively from bows. The flight characteristics weren’t perfect, but they worked well enough. They also took advantage of the bow craze that happened alongside movies such as The Hunger Games. Now, however, most Rebelle blasters have been phased out, with arrow launchers largely gone.

So, what is this strange new blaster, going against the receding wave, and is it worth it?

(Disclaimer: this blaster was one of several sent to me by Hasbro for review)

A Giant Hunk of Plastic

The Dreadbolt is large. Incredibly large. Just look at it beside the Rebelle Courage Crossbow. It’s little wonder why it costs so much more than its predecessor ($50 compared to $20). So large, in fact, that I wonder why you wouldn’t want to stuff a flywheel blaster inside the shell. Without the bow arms, the blaster has eerily similar dimensions to a Rapidstrike. Without the priming handle, the front would serve as a curvy and comfortable foregrip. Alas, I don’t sit in on Hasbro design team meetings.

In any case, the large shell and stock make for a comfortable platform. There is storage for five arrows directly over top of the firing mechanism. The Dreadbolt comes with a detachable scope (a purely aesthetic feature). The wrench-shaped lever is the priming handle, which operates smoothly and evenly pulls back the elastic band. The bow arms themselves are a separate piece in the packaging, and require snapping into place prior to use. As usual, there are several safety locks preventing the blaster from firing without an arrow loaded, etc.

Inside the Dreadbolt

The elastic band powering the Dreadbolt is surprisingly strong. As such, a proper priming assembly is needed. The lever-action helps to prime the blaster with relatively little effort – it pulls two plastic hooks on either side of the assembly. Contained within the priming handle is a sort of ratcheting mechanism, preventing you from only priming the blaster part of the way. It’s all or nothing once you start.

Further inside, we can see the various locks within the system to prevent anything but Nerf arrows being fired. One safety is directly at the mouth of the ammo slot, while another sits directly between the two catch ramps. If both safeties are activated by a properly loaded arrow, pulling the trigger will release the catch ramp assembly to swing forward. This launches the arrow. Easy enough to understand.

The orange piece at the top is an indicator. If you’ve properly loaded your arrow, it will show through a hole in the shell, similar to a priming indicator on a Longshot or Centurion. If your blaster isn’t firing, look there first to see if your arrow is loaded all the way in.

Performace

The Dreadbolt fires decently well. In static testing, the blaster can hit up to 40′ with level shots, and about 85′ with angled shots. Assuming no wind, the shots are also largely accurate. That’s a characteristic of the ammo, however, not the blaster. It should be noted that performance will vary with ammo condition – used and bent arrows will not fire nearly as well.

Even so, the performance was disappointing for a $50 blaster. The Courage Crossbow has a roughly 10′ deficiency in comparison, but is far less expensive. This led me to look into ways to improve the ranges, whether by tightening the elastic or some other method. That other method turned out to be 3d printing.

Due to the way the holes in both the blaster and bow arms line up, there was an opportunity to set the bow arms farther forward, as well as slightly lower. This increases the tension in the elastic, and it keeps the bow arms out of the way of the accelerating arrows. The increased force at launch tends to make arrows flex more before stable flight ensues; lowering the arms prevents the head from impacting and then simply bouncing ten feet in a random direction. The spacer I made allows angled shots of up to 120′, with the accuracy maintained. It is also removable so that you aren’t storing the blaster with tension on the string. I will be uploading the .stl file to Thingiverse in short order, where I’m sure others can improve upon it. It’s not a perfect fit, but it’s really darn close.

War Setting

With the spacer, the Dreadbolt became much more viable. I tried it out at Endwar during Mission Zero (the “warmup” prior to main activities). It was surprisingly effective at hitting targets at a distance, such as boomers. The large ammo travels slower than darts, and that has to be accounted for. The reload time is also an issue. Even with the easy lever priming, you need at least five seconds before you can get another shot off. Regardless, there is nothing but sheer joy when it comes to launching a large projectile, hearing it whistle, and watching it hit a target in the distance. I believe the arrows were clocked in the 80s in feet per second during Foamcon.

I’ve also used it at both indoor and outdoor wars. It’s at an obvious disadvantage against full auto flywheel systems and dart blasters in general. Even so, large flying ammo makes everyone duck out of the way and buys time for the user, so you’re not completely outclassed. Just mostly

Final Thoughts

The Dreadbolt is a fun blaster to use, even if the price is too high. You’re paying for a giant, albeit wonderfully comfortable shell. The rate of fire is abysmal compared to the vast majority of Nerf blasters The range is decent, and can be improved in creative ways. Ultimately, it comes down to how much you like using odd ammo types, or if you do any games where such ammo would be useful. Even then, blasters like the Rebelle Courage Crossbow offer decent performance for a far lower price.

In the end, a blaster can only be fun if you actually use it. If you can’t see yourself using the Dreadbolt regularly, then it’s not worth buying.

The post Nerf Zombiestrike Dreadbolt Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.

The Nerf fall lineup is just starting to appear on shelves, as well as online at retailers like Walmart and Amazon. Among those entries is the newest member of the Modulus family, the Regulator. Its main selling point is select fire; a switch changes between single shots, three round burst, and fully automatic firing modes. In addition, many new attachments are included. The end result is a product with lots of promise but occasionally mixed results.

Opening Up

I first got a hold of the Regulator on a trip to Canada, and brought it with me to a war with the Naptown Nerf group. In addition to the main blaster, the Regulator came with clips, a stock with storage, two barrel attachments, and a modular carry handle/extension. The barrel attachments can also serve as faux scopes, if the user feels so inclined.

As usual, the plastic quality is excellent. In addition, the stock is a vast improvement over the original Modulus stock. It is relatively short (keep in mind I am adult reviewing a toy), but it’s also very sturdy. The magazine well sits farther forward compared to other blasters (Stryfe, Rapidstrike, etc), requiring a minute to adjust in terms of hand placement. The magazine release sits directly in front of the firing trigger. For large fingers, that will be extremely awkward. The fire select switch sits farther in front of that, and can be toggled by your trigger finger or your off hand.

Dart, Dart, Dart Dart Dart, DAAARRRTTTTTSSSS

Results out of the box were less than stellar at first. Strangely, I was having trouble feeding the included darts from the included magazines! Using other magazines solved that problem. I may have simply had a bit of bad luck; I hope that isn’t a common occurrence. It should be noted that if the darts don’t advance in the magazine within a few seconds, the unbroken IR beam within the shell will be interpreted as meaning “empty magazine”, and the light on the back with flash red. In addition, the belt will have been running for several seconds. So if you’re in a quiet or low light environment, all attempts at stealth are futile.

The trigger responds to the engaged setting. On single dart and burst fire, simply tapping the main trigger is enough. Even if you release the trigger, the blaster will continue cycling until the right number of darts have been fired. There is a noticeable lag in firing, due to the on-board chip having to process the commands before engaging the belt.

When working correctly, the Regulator does its job adequately. Singled shots can hit up to 100′ at an angle, as can the first parts of three round bursts. Firing several rounds consecutively will, however, bog down the flywheel motors. Like the Hyperfire before it, the Regulator has a high rate-of-fire feeding mechanism (belt) but a low rate-of-fire firing mechanism. Previous full-auto blasters like the Rapidstrike may have fired more slowly, but they could handle it. With these belt-fed dart blasters, you can really hear the stock motors struggling.

Thus we hit the real problem Hasbro faces with belt-fed dart blasters: higher torque motors are a necessity, but common alkaline batteries simply can’t supply enough current. It’s possible that Hasbro could offer a smaller version of the Rival NiMH rechargeable battery pack, but that would require adding bulk to the shell, with future blasters featuring a removable alkaline battery tray. I really don’t see that happening any time soon.

Final Thoughts

Exposing the circuitry. It doesn’t make modding impossible, just more difficult, for those wanting to preserve its functions.

The Regulator is a fine blaster platform, and its features work as advertised. So on the basis of meeting claims, I can’t help but give it a recommendation. The attachments are solidly built and (in the case of the stock) better than previous versions. The various fire settings all work. The warning light for empty magazines and the slow trigger response are annoying, but they’re not dealbreakers.

Casual Nerf fans and little kids will love this. But the modder in me sees the ways in which the blaster could have been fully improved, and realizes that no matter how annoying those things might be, I have to accept some blasters as they are.

I won’t be using it in a war or HvZ event anytime soon, not without extensive work. But your mileage may vary.

The post Nerf Regulator Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Several companies have tried to do Nerf experiments better than the original, with varied results. Nerf’s Rebelle line hit with instant success; Lanard Total Crush and Buzz Bee Wingz did not. Nerf’s Mega series is still going strong; Buzz Bee’s Air Max line, despite being better in many ways, fell to the wayside.

Now there’s a blaster from Prime Time Toys meant to compete with Rival. All things considered, it’s a wonderful entry for testing the waters. It’s flawed, but it’s fixable. And in the end, it works great.

On the Outside

The Powerball is a simple platform. For $18, you get a pump-action Rival-type blaster with an eight-ball hopper. A safety sits in front of the trigger. In cases of jams, an orange tab in the rear of the shell allows the user to retract the breech. In addition to using the included ammo and hopper, the Powerball can use Rival magazines and ammo.

The shell is sturdy and serious in styling. The spring inside is very strong, and rounds average in the high 90s in feet per second. Seeing that most Rival blasters aim for 100fps, the Powerball stands out as an inexpensive but competent competitor. Except for one thing…

Double Vision

Gravity feeding presents zero issues. As long as your blaster is upright, it will load. As long as you aren’t trying to jam more than eight balls into the hopper at a time, it will load. Out of the box, it performs great. It’s the cross-compatibility with Rival magazines that presents issues.

It turns out the loading mechanism within the breech is too short. The force of the magazine spring, even with only a few balls loaded, is enough to push a ball past the loading tab into the barrel area. Since the next ball will sit on the tab as expected, you load two balls instead of one. Since the breech wasn’t made for double loading in mind, pushing the handle forward to seal off the breech will become difficult. Not impossible, but very difficult. Obviously, ranges will be greatly reduced. Although I’m still editing video from the Youngstown State University HvZ Invitational, I can tell you that there’s plenty of footage showing double feeding. The solution is easy, however, so this review will take a short detour into modding to show what the Powerball Blaster SHOULD be capable of doing.

Disassembly

After the removal of all the screws in the shell, you can see the layout of the internals. The priming bar pushes the entire plunger tube assembly backwards to prime the system, with the breech opening at the end of the priming motion. The plunger itself is very sturdy and roughly 1 5/16″ in diameter at the head. Interestingly, there is a large amount of space behind the plunger head that serves purely as a spacer for the spring. In addition, the catch divot on the plunger rod is omni-directional.

Above the catch assembly, you can see the safety lever that prevents re-priming until the blaster has been fired. There is also a ratcheting mechanism that sits above the plunger tube. As previously stated, this can be overridden by moving an orange tab from the outside. In reality, the tab is a part of the orange safety lever, and just moves it out of the way. Note also the white lever below the plunger tube. This prevents the trigger from being pulled until you finish priming the blaster.

Finally, we get to the breech, where our issues lie. The two grey halves of the assembly are held together by two screws, and the loading tab sits in the bottom. It’s a small white piece with a torsion spring contained within to pop it out. The orange, rear half of the breech pushes it down on the forward motion, dropping a ball just behind the barrel for loading. For the included hopper, it works perfectly. For Rival mags, it’s too short by a few millimeters.

The Part You Need

If you’ve made it this far and have access to a 3D printer, download this file. I designed a loading tab a few millimeters longer that will still fit correctly within the space, but makes operation much smoother. After a few hundred rounds, I have yet to see any hiccups in loading from magazines, and the hopper still works as expected. The center hole may need expanded slightly depending on your printer settings and how well the part turns out.  A “perfect fit” doesn’t really allow for free movement, after all.

And because it’s important to show that it works…here’s a video.

Verdict

The Dart Zone BallistixOps Powerball is a great blaster. It performs as well as any spring-based Rival blaster, and boasts cross-compatibility with the leading brand. An unfortunate design oversight makes for some initial difficulties, but once it is fixed, performance is absolutely flawless. Even without the fix, though, this blaster can give any Rival user a run for their money, and at a fraction of the cost.

The post Dart Zone BallistixOps Powerball Blaster Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.

“Zenith” is defined as “the time at which something is most powerful or successful”. The name seems appropriate, because Buzz Bee Toys is pushing to rival Nerf as the king of foam blasters. With blasters like the Zenith, it may very well be possible.

The Push for Precision

As seen way back in February, Buzz Bee made a new effort into fulfilling consumer expectations from their blasters. One prong of that effort consisted of making accurate darts; it turned out successful. The Precisepro darts consistently fly towards their target, absent bad aiming and forces like the wind. And they feed through all stock dart-firing systems I’ve tested so far. You can read the linked blog post for more dart info.

The blaster, meanwhile, is a pump action revolver, with an elongated body to accommodate the priming handle. The rear handle is contoured on the thin side, such that adult hands can’t firmly grip it at the top. It’s annoying, but ultimately affects little. Given the small size and weight of the blaster, the user has no need to “death grip” the toy.

The included ladder sight is surprisingly helpful for making distant shots, although that only occurs with the included darts. Trying to use long-distance or Nerf Elite darts leaves something to be desired in the accuracy department.

Inside the Beast

The Zenith uses an interesting system that seasoned Nerf modders should be familiar with. Homemade bullpup blasters have featured pump action priming, with the air channel from the plunger tube diverting upwards (for example, the BullPAC). Think of it as the most efficient way to set up an RSCB, without an extra elbow at the front. In this case, however, the air feeds into a six-shot cylinder.

The resulting air channel is longer than I’d like, but clearly is what Buzz Bee needed to meet their target specs. With a beefy spring, a 1.05″ ID plunger tube, and roughly 2 3/4″ draw, the Zenith is probably using the tube to drop performance to acceptable (read: legal) limits for a toy.

The rotation mechanism is very compact compared to other blasters. The priming rod has a slope built into it, which raises a sliding piece. That piece sits directly behind the cylinder and engages a ratchet mechanism, resulting in 1/6 of a turn on each priming motion.

Modding Potential

In stock form, you can hear the plunger impact noticeably after the dart has left the blaster and re-engaged the air restriction valve. That means there’s more power that can be harnessed, without needing to fiddle with new springs.

The cylinder is completely solvent welded together. In stock setup, the darts sit with the front portion of the darts exposed. However, careful use of various drill bits can be used to remove the pegs (from the back), then the restrictor plates and springs (from the front), allowing use of the entire barrel length and higher velocities. Credit goes to my friend Zombona Machine for figuring out the proper method.

Performance

In testing, the Zenith showed remarkable power even in stock form. Both the included Precisepro darts and Nerf Elites averaged 78 fps, although only the former had any accuracy whatsoever. Next, Buzz Bee’s Long Distance Darts hit a robust 82 fps. Finally, Accustrike darts were straight and true at a lower 72 fps.

Verdict

The Zenith comes in three versions. Mine, from Kmart, includes a ladder sight. The Target version includes the new Thermal Scope (which will have its own review). Walmart sells a reshelled version called the “Exact Attack” under their Adventure Force brand. Nevertheless, you can buy any version as an excellent addition to your arsenal. The Zenith has annoying styling quirks with the grip. But if that’s the only complaint, then the blaster is well worth the money.

The post Buzz Bee Air Warriors Zenith Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.

One of the odder things I spotted at Toy Fair was a launcher for rubbery “Slimeballs”. When I spotted it, I went into the booth and talked with the sales rep, and tried out the prototype. IT WAS AMAZING. Ever since then, I’ve been waiting for it to appear on store shelves, with only passing mentions in online literature. Now, it’s sitting on Target shelves for $20, and the final product is every bit as pleasing as the original.

NOTE: This review is heavily skewed toward the modding community. With most large air blasters now off shelves, this presents an exciting option for future projects. Please be aware of this bias as your read the review.

Making a Monster

The Gobzooka fires Slimeballs. That much is obvious. These balls are rubbery, non-stick spheres that easily squish in your hand, but will stick to targets (sold separately). They measure roughly 2.5″ in diameter, and weigh in at approximately 26 grams. Clearly, they need more power to launch than a simple foam dart.

That’s where the Gobzooka comes in. This blaster is an air blaster operated with a piston valve, not unlike an Extreme Blastzooka or a manual drain blaster. It’s actually scary how large the air chamber is, measuring roughly 7″ in length and 3.3″ in diameter. The middle of the tank contains a ~1″ diameter piston, with a dump area nearly as wide. In case you get too happy with the pump, a pressure relief valve is located on the back of the tank.

Operation consists of pumping up the blaster, then pulling the trigger. Incredibly, the tank’s check valve serves double duty as the dump valve for the pilot volume. The trigger, mounted on the pump handle, pushes a rod forward, opening a valve within the pump head. When the pump is all the way forward, it also opens the dump valve on the tank. This vents all the air behind the piston, causing it to fly back and open the pathway to the barrel.

Safety First!

Remember that conversation I mentioned with the sales rep? I definitely told him that people like me would be using this for firing other projectiles like Nerf darts. As such the final product would need some kind of safety feature to ensure it only fired slimeballs out of the box, Feel free to blame me for the safety mechanism in place.

Once we’re done with that, here’s how to get around it!

Uniquely, the piston has an open channel through the middle that vents air and prevents operation. That is, UNLESS a slimeball is loaded. That pushes the barrel’s safety piece back. The metal rod contained within fits into the aforementioned channel to cut off the leak. Not entirely, but enough for the user to pump up the blaster a few times and then fire.

That sliding piece sits within solid plastic. If you wish to use the blaster for other things, two pairs of needle-nose pliers and some solid twisting can deform the piece enough to pull out (in pieces). You will then need a long object like a q-tip or toothpick to put plastic epoxy into the channel to seal it off. Let cure, and you’ll find that the blaster can now fully express its power. Mine takes about 12 pumps before the pressure relief valve engages, but that may vary.

With Great Power…

The opening at the front of the tank is 1″ in diameter. As such, the easiest option for conversion was to buy a PVC adapter (1″ female slip to 3/4″ male threaded). 3/4″ PVC itself is 1.05″ OD, but the threads are slightly under that. Furthermore, I solvent welded a 1 1/4″ PVC coupler over top of the 1″ female end. The whole assembly was put into the barrel and bonded with plastic epoxy. As such, I can now use shotgun assemblies to fire multiple darts at once, or large barrels for oversized darts.

YOU MUST FIRE MASS QUANTITIES. The power in this blaster rivals that of a drain blaster, with Elite darts hitting 400fps out of only a foot of CPVC barrel. If you intend to modify this blaster, NEVER fire single darts. I’ll be using this blaster at APOC this weekend, so there will be people seeing just how much power this has. You know how singled Titans are banned? This blaster falls into that category.

On the bright side, if you’re firing slimeballs, they do in fact fire 25 feet as per the box art!

Final Thoughts

The Slimeball Gobzooka is a monster of an air blaster. It does its job well, but Slimeballs simply don’t harness the blaster’s potential. With a little work, it’s quite easy to make a shotgun or oversized ammo launcher that will still cover large distances.

The post Diggin Slimeball Gobzooka Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.

The Stryker Force is the smallest and simplest in Buzz Bee’s latest line of releases, with their new dart designs being one of the main features. The Stryker Force is somewhat reminiscent of Buzz Bee’s older Air Max 6, though of course while that blaster used an air tank, this is a conventional springer. I will be reviewing Buzz Bee’s new darts in a separate post.

Note that the Stryker Force is in fact not a direct recolour of the Zenith, but is still physically similar. Interestingly, the Stryker Force uses the same shell as the Adventure Force Exact Attack found at Walmart. I believe the Stryker Force is simply the Zenith’s replacement in certain regions.

Disclaimer: This blaster was sent to me by Buzz Bee Toys for review. I will do my best to ensure that the review remains as objective and unbiased as possible.

Everything in the Stryker Force box.

Note that the Stryker Force includes 6 PrecisePro (PP) darts, and 2 Long Distance (LD) darts.

The Box

Front of the Stryker Force box.

Back of the box.

The Stryker Force Blaster

Left side of the blaster.

Right side.

Looking down the top.

A better look at the tactical rail on the top.

Heatseeking scope attached to the tac rail.

Sling point on the handle.

Close up of the painted (not stickered!) name.

Close up of one of the shell segments.

The Stryker Force is a relatively large and bulky 6 dart revolver. It has a single Buzz Bee tactical rail across the top, which appears to be a new standard design. It for instance fits the Thermal Hunter/Zenith’s Heatseeking Scope without issue. The balster has a single sling point, on the bottom of the handle.

Of note with the newest Buzz Bee releases is their improved overall quality. The plastics used are a significant improved compared to older Buzz Bee blasters, and the detailing is a step above as well. The Stryker Force has its name printed/painted on rather than just being a sticker. Many of the shell components feature intricate detailing not found on older designs.

Close up of the handle.

Left hand on handle.

Trigger in rest position.

Trigger pulled all the way.

I personally find the Stryker Force’s handle to be awkwardly uncomfortable. It is very small, especially in relation to the rest of the blaster. In particular, I find the the slight forward hook of the bottom of the handle to be especially uncomfortable.

I personally am not a fan of the trigger pull either. I have found that a slower trigger pull with my right hand often has issue firing the blaster, only firing at the very end of the pull. This issue occurs less with my left hand, or with a faster trigger pull. Additionally, I personally feel that the trigger pull moves a little too close to my hand, and a full trigger pull can at times feel a little uncomfortable.

Close up of the pump grip.

From below.

Hand on pump grip.

Fully primed.

On the other hand, I rather like the pump grip. It is a reasonable size for the blaster, and in particular I like the front end as it offers a good surface to pull on. The pump is spring loaded and will return to rest position on its own once primed.

Close up of the cylinder.

Direct frontal view of the barrels.

Cylinder fully loaded.

From in front.

Showing how far the darts protrude from the muzzle.

With one dart fired and the next rotated into firing position.

The Stryker Force’s cylinder is a little unusual. It is secured from in front by the rim of the muzzle, This leaves it completely exposed from in front, allowing for especially easy reloading with no obstructions from in front. When loaded up, the darts protrude quite far out of the cylinder, a little past the edge of the muzzle.

I find the barrels of the cylinder to be a little tight for stock power, at least for the Aus-spec model I received. It can have trouble firing particularly thick darts, sometimes completely failing to fire them.

The blaster fires from the top barrel. The cylinder rotates clockwise from the user’s perspective upon priming. It can be repeatedly rotated by priming the blaster repeatedly without firing.

Next to a Sweet Revenge.

The Stryker Force is actually quite a large blaster for a basic 6 dart revolver. It is noticeably longer than comparable revolvers, such as the Strongarm/Disruptor and Sweet Revenge (as pictured). Furthermore, since the bulk of its weight is towards the front, it ends up being a rather front-heavy and unwieldy. As a pump action blaster, this is significantly mitigated while in use, however I still consider the Stryker Force’s unusual size to be a slight detriment to its usability.

The Flip Up Sight

The included flip up sight.

Sight flipped up.

Looking through the sight.

Sight attached to the tac rail.

Sight flipped up.

The Stryker Force includes a small flip up sight that attaches to Buzz Bee’s tactical rails. It features a number of notches like a “leaf” sight, to try and help the user angle the blaster appropriately for the desired range. The sight flips up and down easily, and attaches smoothly on tactical rails. Like with most sights for stock blasters though, it isn’t likely to be much use in combat.

Stryker Force Performance

First person view of the Stryker Force.

Chrono data of the 15m Stryker Force can be found in this Google Sheets document. This model achieves around 50fps muzzle velocity with both PrecisePro and Long Distance darts. This puts it roughly on par with previous Buzz Bee blasters of the same spec, as well as a typical grey trigger Nerf blaster. This translates to roughly 8-9 metre ranges with PP darts, and 7-10 metres with LD darts.

Accuracy depends primarily on the darts used. As their name suggests, PrecisePro darts are particularly accurate and consistent, and fly very true out of the blaster. LD darts are far less consistent, veering all over the place, much like Elites.

Rate of fire is not exceptional, but is far from poor. Without slam fire, the Stryker Force is limited to a maximum rate of fire of around 3 darts per second. While by no means bad, it is easily outclassed by slam-fire capable competitors such as the Strongarm and Disruptor.

Role in Gameplay

The Stryker Force serves a similar role to comparable small revolvers, such as Nerf’s Elite Strongarm or Disruptor. It is a relatively compact blaster that is easily reloaded on-the-move thanks to its exposed barrels. Compared to the aforementioned blasters however, it is a lot larger and bulkier, making it less ideal for holstering or carrying around. While the US-spec Zenith is notably powerful, the toned-down Stryker Force unfortunately has no such advantage, and in my opinion, besides the ease of reloading, has no practical advantage over most other comparable blasters.

Value and Summary

The Buzz Bee Zenith retails for around 13-16USD, and I’d assume that the Stryker Force would sell for the same price, or at least price bracket. This price range puts it directly in competition with the Elite Disruptor. Unfortunately for the Stryker Force, its toned down performance is a significant hindrance. It not longer has any real advantages over other competing blasters such as the Disruptor. While it is by no means a bad blaster, it unfortunately simply does not have any notable feature as a stock blaster. As such, I cannot give it a recommendation as a stock blaster.

It is worth noting that the US-spec Zenith, or the Walmart exclusive Adventure Force Exact Attack (which appears to be a repack of a US-spec Stryker Force) are notably quite powerful, much like many of Buzz Bee’s other recent releases.

Modification Potential

Internals of the blaster.

The Stryker Force’s saving grace is its huge plunger tube. While in stock form it does not have a lot of power, the Zenith and Exact Attack prove that this platform has significant potential. The sheer size of the plunger tube means that even a basic spring upgrade would give it a significant boost in power. With the right spring(s), I am sure it could easily match or exceed its competitors for raw power.

The firing mechanism is a little different to the usual system used for springer revolvers. The plunger tube is open at both ends, with an outlet on top leading to the top barrel. The priming rod attached to the pump grip pushes back directly on the floating plunger head. The priming rod itself also utilises an o-ring to seal against the plunger tube to prevent air loss. This design allows for minimum mass attached to the plunger head, as well as eliminating many of the weak points present in the plunger systems of other Buzz Bee blasters.

You can find the same post on my own blog: Outback Nerf

The post Review: Buzz Bee Stryker Force (15m) appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Rumors of K-Force’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, it seems. As seen at Toy Fair, sales for the line were good enough to warrant not only a new lineup, but some experimentation as well. Therefore, the two new revolvers each have a unique priming and firing mechanism. The Barracuda features pump-action priming. Meanwhile, the Sabertooth features lever-action priming that fires on the return. They may not be your cup of tea, but they’ve made interesting additions to my arsenal.

Expanding the Options

As an accomplished construction artist, the blasters each took me less than fifteen minutes to assemble. The end results are the same as the last round of revolvers, with five shots available for targets down range. And my thoughts are largely the same: at $40, they’re pricey just as blasters, but they are excellent from the plastic construction toy point of view. In addition, the amount of customization is as endless as your imagination.

The newest improvements to the line are sliding pieces that are placed over the plunger rod prior to the attachment of the end cap. This allows pump, slide, and lever action methods of priming, making for much faster rate of fire than the previous pullback pistols.

In the Barracuda, the pump grip sits farther back than I’d like. The slide grip functions best as a slide, in my opinion. Alternate instructions have such a model. It allows some semblance of compactness that you’d expect in a pistol.

The Sabertooth, on the other hand, has no trigger whatsoever. The sliding plate has a forward-facing tab that releases the catch when you return the priming lever forward. It’s awkward at first, but is surprisingly fun to use.

Verdict

Why am I making a verdict section, anyway? My opinion is basically the same as last time. I just felt that since there were updated products, that there should at least be a review of them. Your mileage will vary depending on how much you enjoy putting these together.

The post Knex K-force 2017 Rotoshot Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.

With today’s solar eclipse hitting the headlines, Prime Time Toys has taken the opportunity to promote the Light Command. As such, I figured I would review the blaster and give my thoughts. While I did receive one in the mail for review, I also went out and bought a second one for my collection. That alone should tell you that it’s a great blaster. But don’t just take my word for it – look at the pretty pictures and info!

The Looks

This thing looks good. Seriously good. The combination of white body, orange and blue accents, and lights is what the Nerf Doomlands Impact Zone line should’ve done. Plus the LEDs are relatively bright, even in daytime. You’ll be glad to know that the lights operate on two AAA batteries, separate from the 6 AAs that run the motors. So if lights aren’t your thing, or they’d just give you away, you can always leave the batteries out.

The shell plastic is solid and feels great, with plenty of texture. In addition, both grips (front and back) are spacious and comfortable. The chains complete the look, although they may be an instant turnoff to some. Yes, magazines are the standard in foam dart blasting. But in terms of fun, chains always have a place.

The Blaster Within

Technical lesson time!

Taking the shell apart is easy, after the removal of the screws. Interestingly, the LEDs in the left half of the shell have a simple disconnect, allowing complete shell separation.

The engineers at Prime Time Toys retained the same internal design as the Scorpion and other chain-fed flywheel blasters. Two flywheel motors, one pusher motor that also turns the geared rotation mech.

The wiring on the printed circuit board, where the blaster “ON” switch resides.

In order to accommodate two voltage sources, the blaster uses a DP3T switch that connects three of five contacts at any one time. This allows the blaster to have a lights-only mode before fully turning on the blaster. In addition, the engineers managed to eliminate a limit switch with the use of a floating lever between the trigger and pusher motor switch. When the pusher mech is in its cycle, the lever remains in the tripped position, regardless of the user holding the trigger.

The floating lever, depressed at the beginning of the pusher’s cycle.

If you watch Youtube Nerfers at all, you may have seen some reviews where people had a dart fire as soon as they turned the blaster on. That’s due to the pusher mech being just far enough along to keep the electrical switch depressed. The lever is actually shaped to prevent this from happening, as it has a notch to lock the pieces in place.

So why does it do this? Turns out the flywheel motors are to blame. Or, rather, how they’re wired. Motors act as generators when you cut the power; their residual rotational energy gets converted back into electrical energy. If you happen to pull the trigger while the motor shafts are still in motion, you actually complete the circuit by connecting them to the pusher motor, and they have enough residual power to make it turn slightly. Pulling the trigger when the blaster isn’t on isn’t something you’d normally do…unless there’s a light-up mode encouraging that exact thing.

Just something interesting I found!

The Performance

The Light Command ended up being one of the most consistent blasters I’ve come across, in terms of dart velocity. Virtually all darts I tested (the included Super Darts, Nerf Elites, Accustrike, etc) tested in the low 90s in feet per second. So consistent, in fact, that I’ll be using it for part of my upcoming dart comparison. Because it’s easier to observe dart flight characteristics if everything starts at roughly the same speed. Who knew?

In addition, the blaster is firing three darts per second. That’s plenty fast enough for sending darts toward your target.

Verdict

The Adventure Force Light Command is an amazing deal at $25. It maintains all the functionality of the Dart Zone Scorpion, but in a larger and easier to wield package. It looks great, feels great, fires great, and works beyond all expectations. Be sure to stop by your Walmart (home of the Adventure Force line) and grab one.

Just think of the extra lights as icing on the cake!

The post Adventure Force Light Command Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.

The Buzz Bee Eradicator is a recolour of the new and predominantly blue Tactical Storm. It is a modular mag fed blaster, not dissimilar in design to the older Champion/Ultra Tek 8. Given the excellence of that particular blaster, I was rather excited to give this new iteration a test.

Disclaimer: This blaster was sent to me by Buzz Bee Toys for review. I will do my best to ensure that the review remains as objective and unbiased as possible.

Everything in the box.

The Box

Front of the box.

Back of the box.

Pretty standard Buzz Bee style open box.

The Eradicator Blaster

Left side of the blaster.

Right side.

Looking at the top.

A look at the muzzle.

The base Eradicator is rather compact. Like with the rest of Buzz Bee’s new releases, it features a number of extra shell details not present on older Buzz Bee blasters. For instance, the patterning just above the trigger, or on the sides of the mag well. Additionally, the “Eradicator” name is printed on rather than stickered, and the plastic feels like a step up compared to older Buzz Bee blasters. All this combines to give the Eradicator a much more solid feel.

Close up of the handle.

Hand on handle.

Closer look at the priming slide.

Looking at the top of the slide.

Hand on slide.

Slide primed back.

I personally find the Eradicator’s handle to be very comfortable. It is reasonably large, and has no odd angles or protrusions that get in the way. It is easily the best handle of the new wave of blasters.

The Eradicator is operated by a top priming slide. It is functionally identical to Buzz Bee’s Champion or Reaper, or of course the Nerf Retaliator. While it is fairly reasonably sized, I personally have a minor issue with it. I find the priming slide to be situated a little too far backwards, making it slightly more awkward than say a Retaliator, whose slide is further forward.

Close up of the magwell.

Mag loaded in the blaster.

Reaching for the mag release.

Nerf mag loaded.

The Eradicator is of course a mag fed blaster, and a pretty standard one at that. It uses the same cylindrical vertical mag release that most of Buzz Bee’s other mag fed blasters use. This mag release button can be reached at a stretch with your second or third finger, though this action can be a little awkward. A more conventional mag release would definitely have been preferred.

The Eradicator accepts both Buzz Bee and Nerf mags with no issue. I have tried various Nerf mags with it, and have had no issues with any of them.

The Stock

A look at the stock piece.

Another angle of the stock.

Showing the stock attachment point.

Stock attached.

Removing the stock.

The Eradicator includes a detachable stock, which is unfortunately not compatible with any other Buzz Bee blaster so far. Unlike many of Nerf’s detachable stocks, it does not perform any additional functions. The stock slides on smoothly to the rear end of the blaster, and clicks into place. It is easily removed by pinching the two buttons on the stock, one on either side, and pulling the stock piece backwards.

It is worth noting that the stock length is incredibly short. There is a photo of the Eradicator next to a Retaliator just below, and the Eradicator’s stock is a little shorter than the Retaliator’s. I already find the Retaliator stock almost unusably short, and I find the Eradicator’s to be even more uncomfortable.

The Barrel

A look at the barrel.

Close look at the threads on the end.

Barrel attached to muzzle.

The Eradicator’s barrel is very similar to the detachable barrels from some of Buzz Bee’s other offerings, namely the Range Master and Snipe/Ultra Master Tek. It is a simple, stylised tube with threading on the end to attach to the blaster’s muzzle. I believe this barrel may be compatible with the aforementioned blasters, and their barrels compatible with the Eradicator, but I cannot confirm myself.

Fully Assembled

Fully assembled blaster.

Next to a Retaliator.

By virtue of its rather long faux barrel, the Eradicator turns out to be a rather sizable blaster. It measures approximately 70 centimetres long, a little longer even than a full Retaliator. I personally find the Retaliator more comfortable to handle however. The Eradicator’s stock length is uncomfortably short, and its slide is quite far back.

Eradicator Performance

First person view.

My chrono data can be found in my chrono document. With the included Long Distance darts, the Eradicator averages around 85fps in muzzle velocity. This translates to around 15-20 metres of range, parallel to ground. This is very impressive for a stock blaster, putting it above just about any stock modern Nerf blaster.

Accuracy is highly dependent on darts. The included Long Distance darts are quite poor in this respect, and tend to veer off much like Elites darts.

It is worth noting that I did not observe the barrel to affect the Eradicator’s performance significantly. Although very long, it is also very wide and has many vents throughout its length.

Rate of fire wise, I can achieve roughly 2-2.5 darts per second. The priming slide is a little further back than ideal, which makes it a little more awkward to prime rapidly than say a Retaliator. As such, I find the Retaliator to be capable of a slightly faster rate of fire.

Role in Gameplay

Without its attachments, the Eradicator is a very solid compact, manual action mag-fed blaster. It is perfectly cross-compatible with Nerf mags, which allows it to function in essentially the same role as a bare Retaliator. Its raw power in stock form is noteworthy, as it gives the Eradicator an edge over many other stock blasters. Its attachments however, are not as useful as the Retaliator’s are, and the Retaliator also has far more aftermarket part support. ROF wise, the Eradicator is decent, but is still easily outclassed by many blasters, such as most flywheelers and slam-fire blasters.

Value and Summary

The Eradicator’s US-spec release, the Tactical Storm, retails for around 16-22USD depending on the store. This puts it below the price of the Retaliator. For its price, it includes a lot of parts – a barrel and stock as well as two mags. It is also a very solid blaster, and compares quite favourably with most other blasters in its price range. If you’re looking for a solid manual action mag-fed blaster, I’d certainly give the Eradicator a recommendation.

You can find the same post on my own blog: Outback Nerf

The post Review: Buzz Bee Eradicator (15m) appeared first on Blaster Hub.

This is a review that’s been long overdue. I first got to see Nerf Nitro at Toy Fair. I’ve had the Motofury in my possession for many months, taken it to events like Foamcon, and even opened it up for science. Somehow, though, the car blaster got buried as work and life marched on. Only today did I come across it again, and realize just how much fun I’d been missing.

The Motofury Rapid Rally is the largest launcher in the Nitro lineup; it is also motorized for semi-auto, well, auto blasting. And for some strange reason, it’s ridiculous fun for people of any age.

The FoamCon Experience

I brought the Motofury with me to FoamCon in June, along with a few other blasters Hasbro was kind enough to send me. Sitting with my friend Alice – Coatduck, I had the blasters out to give people a hands-on sneak peek. You’ll notice that the Motofury is nowhere to been seen in the picture. That’s because that particular item seemed to make laps around the entire event. People grabbed it, chased their friends with it (more on that later), and cars went everywhere. Plenty more people actually used the blaster for its intended purpose – jumping ramps and crashing into things.

Eventually, I was able to recover all of the cars and the associated obstacles. But it was clear at that point that both kids and adults were enjoying this thing. Many of us naturally wondered how we could make it launch the cars farther. In reality, it’s not an item that needs to be improved. You can just grab it, load up the magazine with vehicular projectiles, and fire away your boredom or frustration.

We’ll still look at the inside, don’t worry.

Crashing Cars

The launcher itself has a Nerf blaster feel to it, complete with a flip-up sight. In addition, it functions the same as Nerf semi-auto flywheel blasters. In this case, the rev trigger is a plate on the bottom of the grip. It’s supposed to activate when pressed down on a surface, although nothing is stopping the user from depressing it manually. The main trigger releases a car from the magazine, which holds nine cars total. Finally, the magazine is removable, allowing for easy reloading. It’s that simple.

The cars themselves are composed of a plastic base with large wheels attached. The entire body, however, is made of a thick piece of dense foam. It’s a good solution for an object that will inevitably crash into things.

In addition to the nine cars, the blaster also comes with two ramps (shallow and steep) and various plastic obstacles like miniature boxes, barrels, and tires. So whether you’re attempting stunts, jumping into the bathtub, or just sending pieces flying, there’s plenty of things to try.

Looking Under the Hood

For those interested in how the Motofury works, the operation is fairly simple. The rev trigger/safety completes the circuit to the single motor and flywheel. Pulling the trigger releases the next car in the magazine down the ramp. The flywheel then propels the car forward to its destination.

As far as I know, I’m the only person to have actually modified my Motofury. I replaced the motor with a Meishel 2.0, added a Blasterparts flywheel after accidentally damaging the original, and replaced the battery tray with a Deans connector for Lipo usage. The Motofury is somewhat louder, but also more powerful, to the point where ramps have to be taped down. It’s entirely unnecessary, but I do such things because I can.

Crossing the Finish Line

The Motofury Rapid Rally is the largest Nitro product, clocking in at $50 at most retailers. For that price, you get a mag-fed car launcher and all the materials needed for hours of jumping, skidding, crashing, and flipping. Hasbro has a serious competitor with Hot Wheels here, and you only have to launch one car to see why.

The post Nerf Nitro Motofury Rapid Rally Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.

The Double Drum, better known as the Barbarian, formerly Blizzard, is another new Buzz Bee blaster based on an older design. It is a pump-to-fire blaster fed from two large cylinders, very similar to the older Buzz Bee Sidewinder. Given I was pleasantly surprised by the latter blaster, I held some hope that this blaster would be decent, despite its pump-to-fire nature.

Disclaimer: This blaster was sent to me by Buzz Bee Toys for review. I will do my best to ensure that the review remains as objective and unbiased as possible.

Everything in the box.

The Box

Front of the box.

Back of the box.

Standard open style box.

The Double Drum Blaster

Left side of the blaster.

Right side.

Down the top.

The Double Drum is an odd, chunky blaster. It is tall and wide, yet is not particularly long. With no cylinders loaded, it has an unsightly and awkward gap in the middle, though of course when in use this gap is not an issue. It sports a single sling point at the back of the blaster.

Close up of the handle.

Hand on handle.

Close up of the faux trigger.

The Double Drum’s handle is not particularly well designed. It is not very long, and the angled protrusion at the bottom reduces its effectively length significantly. When I hold the handle, I find my fingers to be squished tightly together between the trigger guard and the bottom protrusion, which is particularly uncomfortable.

The Double Drum also has a faux trigger. It doesn’t move and serves no purpose besides aesthetics. I find it to be a little too thin, which can make it a little uncomfortable to press against.

Close up of the pump grip and track.

Another angle of the pump grip.

Hand on pump grip.

Pump grip all the way back.

The Double Drum is operated purely by its underbarrel pump grip. It is quite well designed, being of a good width and reasonable length. I find it quite comfortable to hold. Unfortunately, the grip design is not ideal for a pump-to-fire blaster. While I am not a big fan of vertical grips, I find them more comfortable for pump-to-fire blasters than a flat pump grip. nevertheless, the Double Drum’s pump grip is far from the worst grip I’ve held.

Looking down the faux barrel.

Close up of the cylinder advancing mech.

Close up of the plunger outlets.

Overall look at the cylinder gap.

The Double Drum uses two air outlets to fire from both of its cylinders without a more complex cylinder switching mechanism. By design, when one outlet is active and lined up with a barrel, the other is completely blocked off by the other cylinder. The overall air seal in the system is quite good, so there is a minimum of air leakage.

The cylinders are advanced by a small arm that extends on the forward stroke of every pump. This small arm sits just next to the rear entrance of the faux barrel.

The Cylinders

Front of the cylinder assembly.

Back of the assembly.

Close up of the barrels.

The Double Drum’s cylinder assembly consists of two 20 dart cylinders, for a total capacity of 40 darts. These cylinders mesh together like gears, such that turning one will also turn the other. This makes turning them for reloading a lot more convenient, and allows the cylinder advancing mech to be a lot simpler.

Like the older Sidewinder, the Double Drum’s barrels use a cone-like protrusion to keep darts in the barrels. They are very tight on the back of darts. While this keeps darts in place very reliably, it also makes reloading a lot more difficult, especially if the darts are worn and squishy.

Close up of the bottom of the assembly.

Holding down one of the cylinder releases.

Looking at the locking nub.

The cylinders are assembled into a single unit with two grey holder halves, which click together. Each grey half contains a small button that retracts the orange locking mechanism on either side. These locking mechanisms help to secure the cylinders into the blaster, and the buttons allow the cylinders to be removed relatively easily.

The cylinders are held securely in place and rotate to set positions, as controlled by a small spring loaded locking nub. This ensures that the cylinders are always lined up correctly with the air outlets on the blaster. Besides this, the cylinders are free to rotate, and can be easily rotated by hand.

Cylinders loaded up.

Top down view of the loaded cylinders.

Next to a 25 dart drum.

The cylinder assembly, while intended for quick removal and replacement, is a very large and bulky piece. It is far beyond the size of more conventional quick-reload items like clips and magazines, which hurts its viability quite a bit.

Fully Assembled

Fully assembled Double Drum.

Top view.

Close up of the cylinder assembly locking with the blaster.

Fully assembled, the Double Drum is quite bulky, in particular being far wider than most other blasters due to its cylinders. Compared to the older Sidewinder, it is much better balanced due to being shorter, and having its weight evenly distributed. That said, it is still quite front heavy and could have benefitted from a stock, both for weight and for stability.

The cylinder block locks into place by lining up with the inside edges of the blaster’s central gap. It locks securely in place with the two orange locking mechanisms simply keeping the cylinders from dropping out.

Next to a Stryfe.

The Double Drum is not a particularly long blaster, but it is quite tall and very wide.  Compared to a Stryfe, it is actually not much bigger aside from width.

Double Drum Performance

First person view.

As a pump-to-fire blaster, it is difficult to measure the Double Drum’s muzzle velocity with the chronograph I currently own. Furthermore, range measurements are somewhat inaccurate given the jerky nature of the blaster. My best attempt at level, flat shots with the included Long Distance darts resulted in ranges of around 12 – 17 metres.

Accuracy is essentially non-existent. On top of being a very jerky blaster to use, Long Distance darts are also very inconsistent and inaccurate. The overall result is a blaster that may not be able to hit its target once even with its full capacity.

Rate of fire is the Double Drum’s redeeming feature, With significant effort, a ROF of 5-6 darts per second is possible, though this gets tiring very quickly. A slower ROF of 2-3 darts per second is much easier and less taxing, but still quite effective.

Role in Gameplay

The Double Drum functions best in stock games as a high capacity, magless scavenger blaster. The majority of its barrels are exposed, and its cylinders can be turned by hand at will. It sports one of the highest capacities of any single blaster, offering it a significant advantage in protracted skirmishes. It can also be used to deliver a significant wall of foam, though this can get physically taxing very quickly.

The Double Drum’s main disadvantage in this role is its cone like protrusions in each barrel. These protrusions keep darts in the barrels, but as a result also make loading darts much more difficult, particularly if the darts are worn out and more flexible. The blaster is also extremely inaccurate so will likely expend much more ammunition than most other blasters.

Although the Double Drum features easily switchable cylinder assemblies, there is currently no source of them outside of buying more blasters. Furthermore, while they are much easier to switch than those of the older Sidewinder, they are still far bulkier and less convenient than more conventional clips or magazines.

Value and Summary

The Buzz Bee Barbarian, and the Walmart-exclusive Adventure Force Decimator (which is another reshell/recolour) are available for around 20-27USD. While this compares quite favourably to most Nerf blasters in this price range, there are multiple other competitors to consider. In particular, both the Dart Zone Magnum Superdrum and X-Shot Turbo Advance retail in the same price range, both sport the same 40 dart capacity, and most importantly, both have triggers. The Magnum Superdrum in particular was hailed by many as the best blaster of 2016, and the Turbo Advance is shaping up to be quite a good blaster as well. Compared to those two, the Double Drum has few, if any, advantages. As a result, I cannot give the Double Drum my recommendation.

You can find the same post on my own blog: Outback Nerf

The post Review: Buzz Bee Double Drum (15m) appeared first on Blaster Hub.

The Hotshock is a small, simple Mega blaster that was released back in 2016. I paid very little attention to it at the time as I had little interest in Mega or single shot blasters. However, MHvZ recently introduced the Mega zombie, a zombie only stunnable by a Mega dart. As they are severely limited in number, I chose to pick up just a basic Mega blaster to combat them.

Everything in the Hotshock box.

The Box

Front of the box.

Back of the box.

Nothing of notable interest in the box.

The Hotshock Blaster

Right side of the blaster.

Left side.

Top of the blaster.

Another angle of the blaster loaded up.

The Hotshock is a very simple blaster, very few bells or whistles. It’s pretty much all that’s necessary to have a plunger tube, a barrel and a handle. Fairly standard Mega styling as well.

Close up of the handle.

Another angle of the handle.

Hand on handle.

I have a couple of issues with the handle. Firstly, while the rear of it is quite nicely curved, the front edges are quite angular and sharp. I find it a little uncomfortable to grip tightly, as those edges dig into my fingers slightly. The bottom protrusion is also particularly uncomfortable. It is not only sharp edged, but also wider than the rest of the handle. With my grip, I find that my pinkie rests right on this protrusion, which I find to be especially uncomfortable.

There is also the issue of length. The Hotshock’s handle is rather stubby and short, and my fingers barely all fit on it. I think that it would have benefitted from a little more length, as it would also have moved the aforementioned protrusion out of the way as well.

Close up of the plunger rod.

Plunger rod extended.

The Hotshock is a standard pull-back to prime blaster. It has a draw of roughly 5cm. Though I feel that the plunger handle could have been a little wider, it is still quite easy to grab and prime as is.

Close up of the dart holder.

Dart in holder.

The Hotshock’s one special feature is its ability to hold a spare dart above the barrel. This dart is held in purely by friction. It can be removed with ease, and a new dart can be inserted just as easily.

Hotshock Performance

First person view.

Range wise, the Hotshock typically achieves around 10-14 metres with the included Mega darts. Nerf Mega darts are extremely inconsistent, and there is no guarantee which range extreme the next dart will fly to.

Accuracy, thanks to the extremely inconsistent Mega darts, is incredibly poor. Beyond around 6 metres, the darts quite often swerve and veer into random directions.

Rate of fire is pretty standard for a single shot blaster. A dart every two or three seconds is possible and sustainable with good technique and practice.

Role in Gameplay

The Hotshock is a relatively compact single shot Mega blaster. It is easily holstered or otherwise stored and carried, and is reasonably powerful. It faces competition primarily from the Bigshock, which is smaller and more compact, however the Hotshock has a larger plunger tube and a more ergonomic shell.

As a single shot blaster however, the Hotshock is not going to be much good as a primary blaster. Its best use is as a secondary/sidearm purely for use against targets vulnerable only to Mega darts (e.g. Mega zombies). In this role it functions quite well, provided its targets are few in number.

Value and Summary

The Hotshock is currently available in Australia for 15AUD from BigW. For comparison, the Strongarm typically retails for around 10-20AUD, depending on store. The Bigshock is a TRU exclusive that retails for 20AUD. Since the Bigshock suffers from TRU overpricing, the Hotshock is the cheapest Mega blaster in Australia. For its price, it is a reasonable, though not exceptional, deal. It functions fairly well in stock form, and it also packs a good amount of modding potential with its sizeable plunger tube. If you’re after a basic Mega blaster, or a cheap single shot that you can mod into a powerful blaster, the Hotshock is certainly worth a look.

Modification Potential

Internals of the Hotshock.

Internally, the Hotshock is extremely simple. It is no different to the plethora of other single shot blasters out there, featuring a decent sized plunger tube leading directly into the barrel. Its simplicity and plunger tube size offer substantial modding potential, and it is entirely possible to attain 150fps from Elite type darts, or even more.

You can find the same post on my own blog: Outback Nerf

The post Review: Nerf Mega Hotshock appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Once again, Nerf has released another bow blaster onto the market, making the whole bow blaster concept a drained out idea. Although the N-Strike Elite Statabow may not be unique, it might however be the best bow blaster to use on the battlefield due to its large dart capacity. Let’s find out!

Included with the Stratabow are 15 elite darts and an instruction sheet. The usual.

As you can see from the pictures, the Stratabow is quite a cool looking blaster – with a bit of a futuristic edge. It almost looks like it belongs in a sci-fi video game!

To function the bow-blaster, load 15 darts into the clip, push the clip downwards, and pull and release the string to fire. You’ll have to ensure that the string is pulled all the way back, for the dart to launch properly. The user will be able to continuously fire the rest of the 15 darts, as the clip ascends. Unlike the Mega Thunderbow, this bow blaster does not operate by a smart AR system, instead, the clip will align each dart with the plunger, as the clip ascends after each pull of the string.

So how far can this thing shoot? From shoulder height tests, most shots landed between 44ft to 48ft (around 13.5m to 14.5m), while some other shots landed above 60ft (over 18 metres)! Despite these pleasing results, the Stratabow can also fire off some dud shots. The kind of shots where the dart just flops out 10 feet away.  This may happen because the Stratabow is picky with darts or there’s something internally wrong with it. This leads to my next problem with the Stratabow, and that is, sometimes darts don’t even fire out. After the magazine has fully ascended from shooting, most times I’ll see several darts still remaining in the magazine. However, this could be an issue with just my blaster, since I haven’t heard other reviewers complain about this problem. If you have the same issue with your Stratabow, let me know in the comments below. To sum it up, the Stratabow has some great firing power – when it actually shoots.

And if you do encounter this problem of unfired darts – it’s a frustrating process to launch the remaining darts as you need to align the darts with the plunger. So whenever I have unfired darts, I just take them out and pop them all at the top of the magazine.

Another gripe I have with the Stratabow is that your wrist/arm get’s constantly whipped when releasing the bowstring. I usually see a red mark on my wrist after using the bow briefly. I’d hate to see what happens when using it all day in a Nerf War. This issue can be avoided however, as long as you pull the string on an angle.

VERDICT

I would never recommend a bow blaster for a Nerf war since a trigger based blaster is far more reliable and accurate. My opinion still remains the same. At $40 AUD, I could not recommend the Stratabow, even if it has the best capacity (compared to other bow blasters). But if you like bows and gimmicks and are willing to spend your bucks, you should like the Stratabow. However, when talking fun-factor, I’d say the Thunderbow is a better choice since Mega darts are so much more fun to fire. But of course, if you want a Legolas-style action bow, the Stratabow is not a bad choice. I hope I’ve helped you in deciding whether you should buy the Stratabow or not. If you’re keen, I would definitely recommend finding this item at a cheaper price.

The post Nerf Elite Stratabow Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Back in July, Mattel made a splash with a prototype, pump-action Boomco blaster. Modeled after the “Blaze of Glory” unlockable weapon in Halo 5, it gave hope to Boomco fans for the line’s survival. Now, after arriving at ToysRUs, it’s in our hands.

Pristine Condition

The Blaze of Glory is surprisingly light, with colors and detailed molding on both sides of the blaster. Automatically, that beats Hasbro as of recent, with their lack of detail on the non-display side of the shell. The blaster is as long as the Rapid Madness, but with the handle farther back and the clip in front. It comes with an eight dart clip and sixteen darts, and claims 60′ ranges on the box. A bit disappointing, considering the ToysRUs website listed 70′ as of this posting.

The handle is surprisingly large for a dart blaster, a nod to the fact that not all Halo fans are young kids. In addition, the pump grip is nicely textured and easy to slide back and forth. This area also features an interesting choice in design v. engineering. That entire area of the shell has detailed molding, so the grip rides on four plastic rollers. This allows for smooth action without wearing into the shell. They’re also very small, and are easy to knock loose if you choose to open up the blaster. Be very careful.

The Warrior Within

The Blaze of Glory, as a pump action blaster, led to the design of a sled mechanism for priming the blaster. There’s only ~1.5″ of draw on the blaster, and ~.96″ of diameter on the plunger head. As such, a decently strong spring is a must for ranges.

The priming sled also has a mount for the blaster’s slam-fire mechanism. An extra lever is placed between the trigger and the catch, and it moves out of place when the blaster is being primed. Upon completing the motion, the lever is tilted by a depressed trigger, releasing the plunger. The clip advancing mechanism resets the ratchet on the pull back, and moves the clip on the forward motion.

The picture of the internals is only part of the picture, however. Due to the desire to make an accurate scale model of the in-game weapon, the clip and plunger sit all the way forward. This leaves a massive amount of empty space in the shell. Feel free to integrate whatever gizmos you so desire.

Like the MA5 Assault Rifle, a flap on the right side opens up as the clip advances through its slot.

Make It Better?

Internally, the plunger assembly is held together with metal pins. This makes upgrading the spring a trial in patience, if you’re even able to get the rear pin loose. Seeing as a spring replacement would not be quickly possible, I opted for a spring spacer. After cutting a slot  into a 5/8″ length of 3/4 PEX, I pried the plastic open enough to slide over the plunger rod, then pressed the ends together. It sits perfectly inside the plunger tube’s back plate. 3/4 CPVC could also be used.

Even with the spacer, the blaster does not reach full compression. Any more work, however, will wait for an extended use in HvZ and a reopening to spot any stress points in the plastic.

Performance

Boomco darts perform somewhat differently from foam darts. They have a smaller diameter, but also weigh 40% more than standard Nerf Elite darts. That, plus their weight distribution, equals a dart that maintains velocity while being very accurate.

The Blaze of Glory, when completely stock, averaged 50 feet per second (fps). It sounds low, but the improved flight means that angled ranges were (in this case) 62′ on average. With sniper clips (clips with the vent holes filled in to provide a more complete barrel), velocities increased to 60fps.

With the spring spacer in place, normal clips averaged 62fps, while sniper clips averaged 71fps. This is nearly on par with the stock Flipbow I regularly use for Humans v Zombies games.

Note that while it appears awkward, using 40-dart clips is a breeze. Due to the large handle and hand placement, you exert more than enough torque to counter any overhanging weight in the front.

Final Thoughts

At $40, the Blaze of Glory is a solid entry into the Boomco line, and a long-needed pump action blaster. Stock ranges are slightly disappointing compared to most current foam blasters, but the ammo accuracy somewhat makes up for the range. The rate of fire is vastly improved thanks to the slam-fire, and the possibility of spring replacement makes for a formidable Humans v Zombies primary, as well as some wars. It’s also a well-made replica.

Should you get one? Depends if you use Boomco, or are a serious Halo fan. I bought two, if that tells you anything!

The post Boomco Halo Blaze of Glory Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.

Buzz Bee’s newer mag-fed blasters have been a very popular addition to their lineup, typically featuring flawless cross-compatability with Nerf’s mag system as well as easily modifiable internals. The Thermal Hunter feels like a culmination of all their springer work, offering a pump-action, mag-fed blaster which, if their other blasters are any indication, will also boast significant modding potential. Furthermore, the Thermal Hunter also boasts a unique gimmick, in the form of a “heatseeking” scope. Naturally I was very much looking forward to get my hands on one.

Disclaimer: This blaster was sent to me by Buzz Bee Toys for review. I will do my best to ensure that the review remains as objective and unbiased as possible.

Everything in the box.

The Box

Front of the box.

Back of the box.

Mostly standard open box. The panel highlighting the Heatseeking Scope is a little different to usual.

The Thermal Hunter Blaster

Left side of the blaster.

Right side.

Rear view.

Closer look at the shell detail.

Close up of the tactical rail.

The Thermal Hunter is a decently sized, pump-action mag-fed rifle. Like with the other recent Buzz Bee releases, it features a lot more physical detailing and texturing than past releases. The plastic also feels much improved, being seemingly thicker and more solid. The Thermal Hunter has a single Buzz Bee tactical rail on top.

Close up of the handle.

Hand on handle.

The Thermal Hunter’s handle is quite poorly designed. It is very short, and it is also not very thick. This combines for a rather uncomfortable experience holding the handle.

Close up of the pump grip and track.

Bottom view of the pump.

Hand on pump.

Pump fully primed.

The pump, on the other hand, is quite reasonably sized. It is of a good length, and a reasonable width. I personally actually find it a little wider than ideal, but regardless it is quite easily grippable. The pump travel of the Thermal Hunter is about standard for a mag-fed blaster, possibly slightly shorter.

Close up of the magwell.

Buzz Bee mag loaded.

Nerf mag almost loaded, but not properly secured.

The Thermal Hunter’s magwell is much the same as any other Buzz Bee mag-fed, with the same push-to-release mag release. I personally strongly dislike this type of mag release, and would have much preferred a lever release.

The Thermal Hunter takes Buzz Bee mags without issue, however does not quite work with Nerf mags. The front protrusion of the magwell is just slightly too large, and so blocks the front ridge of Nerf mags. The mags do not quite lock in place, and will not chamber darts reliably. This can be solved by a little shaving on the inside of the magwell.

The Stock

Close up of the stock.

The Thermal Hunter’s stock is a unique piece. It is compatible only with the Thermal Hunter, and offers no additional functionality. It is a very short stock.

Showing the stock locking mechanism.

The stock attaches to the blaster on a stub on the rear of the blaster itself. It locks into place with a single lock piece, and is released by holding down the orange button on the bottom. It slides on and off very easily.

The Heatseeking Scope

Side of the Heatseeking Scope.

Rear view.

Front view.

A look at the rail clip.

The Heatseeking Scope is a unique inclusion with the Thermal Hunter, giving it the “Thermal” part of its name. It is a very large sight piece, particularly with the top bulge containing components for the thermal detection functionality. The bottom has an extended tactical rail clip for mounting on Buzz Bee tactical rails.

Close up of the buttons and on/off switch.

A closer look through the viewport.

The scope is controlled by an on/off switch and two buttons. “Set” is used for the thermal detection mode, while “Mode” toggles the scope between its two modes.

Closer look at the green reticle.

A look at the reticle turned red.

A look at the blue reticle.

The primary mode of the scope is of course its thermal detection mode. Its default reticle is green, and it turns red if it detects a target. Upon turning on the scope, switching to thermal detection mode or pressing set, the reticle flashes between green and red for about a second. During this time, it reads the temperature of whatever it is looking at. This is used as the reference temperature. Once set, the scope then compares the temperature of whatever it looks at to its reference temperature. If it is significantly warmer, the reticle turns red, and if not, it remains green.

In the second mode, accessed by pressing the mode button once, turns the reticle blue. This is a standard sight mode, and does not react to the environment. Pressing the mode button again switches back to thermal detection mode.

Heatseeking Scope mounted on the tactical rail.

Next to Nerf's Pinpoint Sight.

The Heatseeking scope slides on smoothly to the Buzz Bee tactical rail, and does click in place. It is however fairly loose and could fall off easily with enough jerking. Compared to Nerf’s Pinpoint Sight, the scope is particularly large and bulky.

The Rail Adapter

Overall shot of the adapter piece.

Close up of the Buzz Bee rail.

Nerf rail.

Nerf rail clip.

Buzz Bee rail clip.

The Rail Adapter is another attempt by Buzz Bee to bring together Nerf and Buzz Bee blasters. It features both companies’ tactical rails and tactical rail clips, allowing attachments from either side to be used on the other one’s blasters.

Pinpoint Sight mounted on the rail adapter.

Sight from the Stryker Force/Zenith on the Buzz Bee rail.

Pinpoint Sight on the Thermal Hunter.

Thermal Scope on a Rapidstrike top rail.

While it is technically compatible with almost all attachments and tactical rails, it fits Nerf attachments very loosely, and fits both types of tactical rails quite loosely as well.

Heatseeking Scope mounted on the rail adapter.

It also does not fit the Heatseeking Scope very well, ironically. The Heatseeking Scope is too large, and the side of it collides with the tactical rail clip for Buzz Bee rails. While it is possible to get the scope on, it is very tight to both attach and remove.

Fully Assembled

Thermal Hunter fully assembled.

The full Thermal hunter package forms a solid and fairly complete rifle form. Ergonomically, it is not great. The handle is very small and the stock is quite short. Comparatively, the magwell and pump are both quite far away from the handle. Overall, this makes the blaster a little awkward to handle.

Next to a Retaliator.

Ergonomically, a Retaliator with a pump grip is significantly superior to the Thermal Hunter. The Retaliator’s magwell is much closer to the handle, allowing a custom or aftermarket pump to be mounted much closer to the handle as well. Additionally, the handle is significantly superior to the Thermal Hunter’s, and the short stock can be easily replaced with a longer one.

Thermal Hunter Performance

First person view.

With both the PrecisePro and Long Distance darts, I recorded my Aus-spec Thermal Hunter averaging around 55fps muzzle velocity. This corresponds to around 8-10 metre ranges with the PrecisePro darts, and 6-12 metres with the inconsistent Long Distance darts.

Accuracy with the PrecisePro darts is extremely good, as their name would suggest. They fly extremely straight and fire extremely consistently. Long Distance darts, in contrast, are horribly inconsistent and fly all over the place.

Due to being the primary dart type included, the final performance ratins are based off of PrecisePro dart performance.

The Thermal Hunter’s rate of fire is decent. Though it lacks slam-fire that most of Nerf’s pump action blasters have, it is still capable of around 3 darts per second quite reliably.

Role in Gameplay

The Thermal Hunter serves as a solid all-round pump action magfed blaster. It is not the most powerful blaster, nor the fastest firing, but it provides a good balance of both. The Thermal Hunter can be used in essentially the same role as an Elite Alpha Trooper or pump-gripped Retaliator. It is worth noting that while the Aus-spec Thermal Hunter is quite weak, the US-spec one is quite competitive for power.

The Heatseeking Scope is worth a mention here for a possible niche use. As it operates using IR, it can “see” players and other warm objects in low- or no-light conditions, if the background is relatively cool enough. As such, it could allow its user to more easily spot players in no- or low-light conditions than attempting to spot them simply by eye. The scope however is quite bulky, and there are a number of alternative methods for spotting players in low light. It also struggles in warmer conditions, and outdoors during daytime.

Value and Summary

The Thermal Hunter pack retails for around 25USD, while the (US) Kmart exclusive “Interceptor” pack retails for 23USD. In Australia, it is available from Mr Toys Toyworld for 60AUD. The Interceptor is a blue Thermal Hunter, that includes an extra mag and a more basic scope in exchange for not including the Heatseeking Scope. Both packs are very solid value, as they offer a rather complete and solid blaster with various extras, for a very reasonable price. The Elite Alpha Trooper, which has no extras beyond the blaster and a single mag, retailed for 20USD, while the non-pump-action Retaliator retails for around 25USD. If you’re in the market for a solid pump action blaster with decent mod potential, or even just a decent blaster with a fun gimmick, the Thermal Hunter (or Interceptor) is certainly worth a look.

Modification Potential

Internals of the Thermal Hunter.

The Thermal Hunter uses the same plunger system as most of Buzz Bee’s springer magfed blasters. It is a decent size plunger tube with a reasonably solid setup, allowing it to produce quite a decent amount of power. The main concern with the Thermal Hunter is its plastic priming arm, which links the pump and plunger tube. This arm may flex or break under higher spring loads. It is easily reinforced with epoxy putty or another similar rigid gap filler however.

You can find the same post on my own blog: Outback Nerf

The post Review: Buzz Bee Thermal Hunter (15m) appeared first on Blaster Hub.

EDIT: PLEASE READ THE ANNOTATIONS AT THE END OF THE REVIEW. THERE WERE ERRORS IN THE ORIGINAL REVIEW, AND I DISCUSS THEM THERE.

I buy lots of impractical, useless blaster products. I keep all of them because I’m learning something from them, plan on using them in wars (because getting a hit with a blaster with 5′ ranges is hilarious), or because there are other fun uses. This, however, is the first time I’ve ever returned a blaster product to the store for a refund. Having bought, modded, and used the original, I wanted to know if the new model was any better. It turns out the model is the exact same, aside from the drum and the new look, but for more money.

It Looks Good, Which is Nice…

The Terrascout Recon comes in black, with all the orange and grey accents you’d want in a Nerf toy. It’s the exact same size as the previous version, and is powered off the same 9.6V NiMH rechargeable battery. However, this version also comes with a 35-round drum. The drum isn’t noticeably different from previous iterations.

Basic operation remains the same – you use the remote control to steer and aim, and press the trigger to fire. Lightly to fire one dart, continuously depressed for a volley. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work.

Issues, Man!

Operations were less than stellar, however it’s quite possible I had a dud. Video streaming to the remote is expected to lag, but seemed to be worse here than in the previous model. Trying to fire single darts is a chore; you have to hold down the trigger a few seconds to even fire a single dart, not “press and release” like the manual says. Rate of fire and dart velocity are comparable to the previous model. It’s still a Rapidstrike on treads, after all.

The camera, meanwhile, is the same 480p camera that was on the original (the original press release advertised 720p, but was in error). It’s serviceable, but ultimately works for guiding the vehicle as opposed to recording your hijinks. While it’s quite possible to get usable footage, given a brightly lit area, in that regard you’re better off strapping an external camera to the blaster.

Test Footage from the Terrascout Recon:

In-game Footage from the Original Terrascout:

Part of my initial confusion and upset attitude came from remembering the 720p tidbit. The below footage from a war was originally rendered in 480p – I even bought an old Terrascout as of 11/15/17 to confirm the operational specs of the camera. But when I went back to the original videos that were spliced together for this montage, they said 720p. I believe I somehow looked at the footage in a video editor program, and somehow saved it over using higher settings. Doesn’t make for better resolution, it merely blows up the original.

Final(ish) Verdict

I found the Terrascout Recon on the way home from a Humans v Zombies game. One day later, I returned it to ToysRUs. There is no reason for the new version of this to exist, for $229. I should note that the store’s system said this was a promotional price, so the actual price after introduction could be higher, assuming that’s true, At the moment, the old version is still available at discounts down to $129, complete with the better camera. In addition, as of this posting, ToysRUs has all Nerf items at buy one, get one 50% off, meaning you could get two of the original for less than the price of the new version. You can even modify the old blasters, to boot.

Author’s Note:

After getting comments from a Hasbro engineer that worked on this, I have to apologize about several factual errors on my part. Between mistakes in assuming the camera resolution in the old v. new models, I trashed a feature that wasn’t there in the first place. Aside from cosmetics, the old and new tanks are exactly the same. In addition, my Terrascout had lots of extra noise even when the tank wasn’t moving, but this is in all likelihood a defect in mine, not in the line as a whole. I still take major issue, however, with the pricing. If the new version really does appeal to you, then by all means buy it. However, I’d much rather buy multiples of the original for the same price as one of the new versions.

The post Nerf Terrascout Recon Review appeared first on Blaster Hub.