Over the weekend, I dropped in at the Des Plaines Park District for their 4th (pretty sure it was their 4th) annual Nerf tournament! Nerf was nice enough to send along prizes for the players, thanks so much to them for that. Players braved the heat and humidity for a few hours of foam slinging fun, and got a blaster for their efforts. I sincerely hope everyone had a great time! This park district is consistent at their love of the hobby, and is one of the few Park Districts I know of that implements blaster games in their events. Their rules are a little different from the usual NIC rules obviously, using stock blasters and ranges, but given the size of the playing field and the layout, it still makes for some fast-paced gameplay. Keep it going, Des Plaines, and looking forward to the next one!
Wow, I really let this one get away from me! A few months ago I helped out the Des Plaines Park District (thanks for the referral, Basic Nerf) by providing them prizes (directly from NERF, thanks for the support!) and an extra pair of hands at their tournament back in July. It was just myself and TrekkieB47 but it was a great time and a lot of fun was had by all. Given the community, it gets tough to remember that these are still kids’ toys, but something like this is a nice reminder about where we all may have started when we first picked up a blaster. Thanks to the park district for putting on the event!
See some of the fun here, but I can provide some pics too –
Splatmaster Playgroup – late 20-early 30 year olds, varying levels of experience with gas-powered paintball
Ah, paintball. Flinging spheres of paint at 200-300 fps out of CO2 charged markers in games of combat, whether objective or elimination based, it’s a hobby that has had quite the following. In Illinois, we have a truly unique field, CPX Sports that has a HUGE selection of fields. And not just inflatables, but some include a full-on town (Bedlam), a burnt out city (Armageddon) and an ancient temple (Jungle of Doom). What does all this have to do with JT Splatmaster, from JT Paintball?
JT Splatmaster wanted a review, and CPX was willing to let me bring a group over to play and give some feedback on both the JT Splatmaster markers and the field itself. And on that note, let’s take a look at the markers. Also available are a bevy of accessories, and you can read more about those HERE
First, the JT SPLATMASTER Z100 PISTOL($29.99):
With barrel plug inserted; and pullback assistance handle attached.
A look at the magazine (7 shots)
Included:
Z100 marker x 1
Pullback assist handle x 1
Barrel plug x 1
Instruction manual x 1
Magazine for the marker x 1 (additional magazines sold separately)
WHAT ABOUT IT? Right off the bat, I knew this thing wasn’t a toy. Sure, you had “paintball” things like the old lever-action Supasplats and others like those, but they did not feel NEARLY as solid as the Splatmaster markers. The outside is a really durable and tough, thick plastic. At least, I think it’s plastic. Either way, this thing will take a beating. There’s a button for a magazine release and a safety switch (a proper one-touch switch; not the continuous hold like on the BlasterPro line), which adds to the feel, aesthetics, and usage of the marker.
The magazine holds 7shots, and primes by pulling back the side on the top, if you can use a Maverick, you can use this. It’s definitely longer than a maverick and heavier, but it’s also much easier to holster. Magazines are going to be sold separately. I found the pullback assist handle not that easy to attach and it came off when I pulled it, so I just left it off. Still a lot of fun to shoot though, I just wish I had more mags on-hand.
Next, the JT SPLATMASTER Z200 SHOTGUN ($39.99):
Included:
Z200 marker x 1
Barrel plug x 1
Cleaning rod x 1
Instruction manual x 1
This was the marker we used for the duration of the day. 15 shots, pump-action, and breech loaded (even had a floppy trap door over the breach, nice touch! It also has a safety switch but no other buttons. You can see it has tactical rails, as I attached a camera to it. It’ll accept picatinny mounts, so if you have’em, use’em! Word has it that additional accessories are in the works, so keep your eye out for them. Additional accessories such as ammo packs, targets, and safety equipment are all located here. One recommendation from Hustle paintball is to use the 50 count grenade container to hold spare ammo, and there is a nozzle on that and the 200 paintball container to assist in loading through the breech of the Z200 swiftly. This too is built incredibly solid, and I just wish it had a stock. Maybe in a later marker.
GENERAL THOUGHTS: These have been chrono’d at 120-130 fps, drastically less than their gas-powered siblings. Even at that rate though, it is wise to treat these as you would any other paintball marker, including using a full mask and goggles when playing in a player vs player game. For target practice, you can get away with just using the goggles. Safety first, and it’s usually a good policy to have eye protection on when playing with any toys that shoot. That being said, these things were a lot of fun! The group had limited experience playing paintball, some a handful of times and others not at all. The general consensus was everyone enjoyed the decrease in pain (I told everyone to layer up as they would playing normal paintball) and the much more limited ammo available. Instead of a full hopper, you had only the 15 rounds to make it in a round (none of us had extra ammo holders available, although some risked keeping spare ammo in their pockets. I know, I know >_<) People could run and charge at each other without getting tagged 5 or 10 times from a hail of paint. Would we do it again? Sure! Will this kill paintball? No! It'll get more people interested at least, and this is a bang-up way to introduce them to the sport. Whether 9 or 29, this is a good thing for people looking to play something a little different without feeling beaten up. These things definitely stung enough to let you know you got hit, but no worse than getting a bad insect bite. I've been punched harder than these things put out.
It was definitely nice to try some new strategies rather than just lay out paint, and JT is definitely onto something here. Hopefully, we’ll see even more new markers next year. Between the solid build, the fps, and the accuracy (these things definitely hit 50′ in a better cluster than I thought, but 100′ is still a max range, and it’s hard to hit anything then.
Interestingly, no ammo with the markers. Considering how fussy paint balls can be, I shouldn’t be surprised. It is much easier to regulate temperature and shipping conditions when you separate the products. Also, the goggles and masks are sold as separate units, to reinforce that younger players should work their way up to playing Player vs. Player games. Parents, this would be one way to incentivize proper blaster/marker safety. They can’t PvP without earning their way up to the mask. Also, some paintball fields might have these for rent: rentals are different colored from the markers at retailers to prevent theft. Rentals pistols are red, while the shotguns are blue. Vice versa for consumer markers. This does not mean consumer markers are different, just a different shell but they all perform the same.
On that note, here’s a video of various footage I snagged during that day:
Considering the ranges and power these things do have, it’s definitely better to keep the play to the backyard. You don’t have to worry about accidentally hitting someone unexpectedly which again, safety first. Definitely nice not having to pick up ammo after myself for once, but it definitely pays to play in a proper field, with ammo that washes away/disintegrates. Worth giving a try!
Ah well. Questions? Comments? Feel free to post below or write: foamfromabove_AT_G_MaIL-DOT-COM
Helped the Tacticool Tag and Gaming Society of Chicagoland (TTAGS) run some capture the flag minigames at the Justplay! Sports and Rec Festival in Carol Stream, IL! We had giveaways, awards, and a great number of people, hopefully getting them interested in the hobby and showing a new way to play. Also, that you don’t have to be 8 years or under to enjoy toy blasters. Nerf and other foam shooters were represented of course, but we also put our Vapor Atlas 250s and the Vapor Delta 500 to good use.
Thanks to all who showed up! And with any luck, we’ll be in Carol Stream doing meetups on a more regular basis 🙂
Big thank you to the Carol Stream Park District for setting us up, and letting us use your fair grounds! Hope to be back next year, bigger and better!
Once more unto the breach, dear friends! In the Midwest, a good number of folks that Nerf in IL shelved their blasters since Nov/Dec 2009, due to school, weather, weather, and no indoor venue to play. Well, it’s warmer now and a new round of Nerf/foam blaster battles have begun! Minnesota and Wisconsin had their events last weekend, and some of the folks in Chicago just theirs underway as well.
This event didn’t carry the same kind of weight that the usual wars carry. This was conceived in all of two-three weeks, when a fight usually has a date set months in advance to give attendees enough notice. Some of us were getting a little restless but were not able to make the trip up to the MN event that weekend. Snake, one of the Chicago Area Nerfers here took it upon himself to host a small local “warmup” to get off his butt and hopefully indoctrinate some new faces to our little slice of hobby heaven.
He took a different path from some of the past events. He actively banned a lot of specific types of mods and blasters (some homemades, for instance) and even ammo. The basic rules:
“If you don’t like it, don’t show.” “Run your war how you want to run it.” “The host has a responsibility to make sure his attendees have a good time.”
The focus was to get back to running around in super close quarters with epic dodging and some sword/shield/axe blocking. Not being paced off at huge distances behind sparse cover with tons of No-Man’s Land. There’s been talk of a power creep in the midwest but that’s a topic for another day. Snake wanted to explore what going back to our roots with short ranges and stock ammo would be like after the previous few fights where this wasn’t the case.
Either way, there was a decent show of people. About 12 people from the surrounding Chicagoland area showed up, some with a few fights already under their belt and a few who haven’t been in a good fight yet. It was a good mix!
I personally had a good time. We were all laughing at numerous points during the day just out of the craziness of the action. The close ranges led to a lot of running and even though Oak Lawn has its own issues with cover the fact we could run and dodge pretty much compensated for that. The blasters of the day varied; the N-Strike line (Raider, Longshot, Longstrike, Recon, Nitefinder, Magstrike, etc.) all saw use in addition to one or two homemades, furyfires, and other off-brand blasters. The N-Force melee weapons also saw some action, coupled with shields. We didn’t use “larger ammo takes out shield” rules, mainly because we forgot, hah.
We were in and out of rounds really quick, too. Last Team Standing, Last One Standing, Capture the Flag (lots of capture the flag), Protect the VIP, and Center Flag Push were all orders on the day along with switching teams every few rounds. It was quick, fast-paced, and only really slowed at lunch or when we needed water. But we were all running, so much for each game. Heck, at one point we even got to use the park/jungle gym, which adds a nice dimension to CtF. If anything, we needed more gametypes to throw in.
It was a good first war for a lot of people, and they say they’ll be back for the next one. As far as being a good introduction for people into this hobby, I’ll say, “Achievement Unlocked.”
Clearly, it had been long enough. A few weeks later, we were back in Oak Lawn. Third in the series of Snake hosted events and it was game time. Once more we reported out to Centennial Park for a day of foam, fun, and most importantly, the Fight.
It was a turnout of maybe 9-10 rotating people we had ourselves set for the day. Games included Team Deathmatch, wingman, CTF, Defend the Core, and Team Powerball. Come to think of it, spanning that out from 10-4 or 5 really explains why I pass out for 11 hours afterward. But more on that later.
What this day saw was the birth of a +bow vs. all round, the strength of the marauder, and awesome of dart blocks. Minimal injuries, give or take a nutshot or two, but no one bled and no one had to be carted off to an ER… this time. Some random people even joined in from watching us, and they knew what was up. Stefans, Captain Slug, they knew the talk. Walking was a whole ‘nother matter, but we all start somewhere.
Learning my lesson from the freak accident at the last game, I had to pack a paintball mask. It protected the temple and considering I got hit in the face at one point during the day, it was worth it. It really is a bit extreme, but for my own peace of mind I’m ok with that. As for the rest of my equipment I was packing a magstrike, my bbb, a crossfire buckler, and the “Wicked MC” (see previous blog) to rotate in and out over the course of the day. The bbb was inconsequential though, because truth be told I had more fun running around with a high ROF blaster and melee weapon all day. Reports say I took out an entire team. Dare I say it, the first round where I ran straight at the other team and jumped in the middle of them swinging, tagging at least two of them before getting hit totally made the day for me….
…UNTIL I started getting dart blocks here and there. The wider surface area of the marauder definitely helps if you can guess near where the dart’s going to fly, and on at least a couple of occasions I managed to block a wayward shot, to follow up with a charge. If not the Wicked MC, my buckler picked up the slack. It was almost as if there was nothing the marauder couldn’t do. During Team Powerball someone tried to drop a point into the bucket and I swatted it out. If they tried to outrun me, the marauder had enough length to compensate and I still got a hit. It was a good day for the N-Force.
While defend the core with my “Decoy” play style was a lot of fun, Team Powerball was pretty much how we closed out the day. An epic struggle of sorts between two +bow’d and sprightly teams. Running and dodging, getting out of the way of melee weapons, being thankful the other team didn’t know the “Flying V”, and getting a “300” style sword hit was a nice capper.
For future reference, 15 mins. may be a bit too long for DTC rounds. Depending on the # of people maybe, but for our size events 5 minutes may be just as good.
Just some quick etiquette notes to anyone who sees us on location:
1) DO NOT start grabbing at stuff if you don’t know whose it is. That’s just being a douche. And you may be unlucky and not know where it’s been. I’m talking to you, random passersby!
2) DO NOT shoot at other people between rounds. Be nice.
3) Might wanna recheck your strategy if you’re yelling “FALL BACK!” all day long.
4) Why, oh why do you charge at me with swords when I have a pistol? Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one that ever watched “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
Foam From Above 