Category: nerf

Nerf Preview Images Incoming: Vortex Diatron and Roughtcut 2×4

Images from Nerf this morning; high-res shots of the Nerf Vortex Diatron and Nerf N-Strike Elite Roughcut 2×4.  There are already tons of videos out there from folks who got Roughcuts early due to stores putting them out ahead of release dates, so there’s plenty of info out there on that.  The Nerf Diatron however, has maintained some semblance of secrecy.  Who knows if it’ll pop ahead of Spring 2013, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

(BTW, for those who don’t know, my relationship with Nerf dictates that when it comes to early releases/info/mods/etc., I can’t post about it.  In return, there are in fact some perks such as release event access and product samples.)

The Roughtcut for those who don’t know, is an eight-shot, slam-fire capable, pump-action blaster with Elite ranges.  It also fires two darts at a time, making it the closest approximation to a shotgun-spread blaster that anyone has made in a long time (the Triple Shot DOES NOT COUNT.  It was good modded, but the stock shotgun spread on that thing was terrible).  Either way, it looks interesting and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.  None of the stores in my area have it on shelves, so I would need to order via Amazon.

The Nerf Vortex Diatron, that’s a whole ‘nother story.  It looks remarkably like a Plasma Cutter from Dead Space (bonus) and fires two discs at once (double-bonus!).  It looks like a doubled up Nerf Vortex Vigilon, so I’m guessing the capacity is ten discs per reload. (11 or 12, depending on how you load it, amirite guys?)  I do wonder if the discs will collide with each other at some point in mid-air during flight, so it’ll be interesting to see how this fires.  Of all the recent blasters, this one is the only one not seen on shelves yet.  Yet.

In any event, these two blasters have the “multishot madness” tagline on their boxes so Nerf is definitely leaning towards a different type of functionality, seeing as how they’ve increased ranges using Vortex and Elite styles.  Make sure to check the Nerf Facebook page (linked at the beginning of this post) for further info such as pricing and alleged availability.  And naturally, once I get my samples in I’ll have my reviews up as usual.  Although at the rate things are going, who knows what’ll even be left by then!

Nerf Girls, Foamme Fatales – Delta Phi Lambda’s Secret (Santa) Battle!

In what was a first for me, I went to an all-girl Nerf battle a couple of weeks ago.  A friend asked for some help putting it together, so I brought the materiel 🙂  Thanks to Nerf for supplying the goods!  This was at Illinois State University, courtesy of their Delta Phi Lambda Chapter.

Sorority.  Nerf Blasters.  I never thought in my years of blogging would I ever put those words together.  Yet, here we are.

Some fantastic highlights:

The Lead Lady who helped set this up on the right, and one of her other sisters on the left.

This.  Nerf.  This.  Thanks for the weapons, Nerf!

Nerf Nitron vs. Nerf Jolt

When you need a base, reuse, reuse, reuse…

We were a bit restricted on space, but we made do.  Setting up a midline and some fortifications using boxes and tables, the ladies shot it out over an hour or two, getting familiar with all kinds of blasters.  Nerf sent along some Nerf Dart Tag (Speedswarm, Swarmfires, Sharp Shots), some N-Strike (Rayven, Barricade), and Nerf Vortex (Nitron, Praxis, Lumitron) for the ladies to try, and it was good.  We didn’t really have a structured game type, just your basic elimination and tag.  I threw out some objectives, but ultimately they did what they were supposed to; shoot it out and have fun

The ladies loved the Nerf stuff to begin with (and some of them already owned blasters so it made my job easier.  I had very little explaining to do on how to use the blasters, and the DPhiL ladies got a real kick out of the glowing magazines, discs, and so forth.  Some of them did have some requests:

–  Hello Kitty Blasters
–  Pink ammo
–  A grenade (you can see these ladies are on track with a good portion of the community out there)

In any event, they had a good time and I was glad they let me be a part of this event.  Hopefully I can make my way out there for another war sometime, as I hear they have both a Nerf club AND an HvZ game that runs.

Thanks Nerf, and thank you to DPhiL!

https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

Went Toys R Us, look at what I saw

Nerf Koosh, some new stuff from Airzone, have not seen a Surge 6 on shelves for awhile, some new target shooting things, a new Quickstrike blaster, but quite possibly the most interesting thing was the new Launch N Attack stuff.

Looks like a line of flywheel blasters and I do believe that is a copied Nerf barricade as well as a reshell of the Powerstrike 48.  The darts are streamlined, and they have a huge rotor target that launches up and you shoot it down.  This requires some looking into.

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REVIEW INBOUND! NERF N-STRIKE ELITE HAILFIRE (IN PHOTOS)

I first saw the Nerf N-Strike Elite Hailfire earlier this summer, at the big ol’ Nerf launch party and I finally got my sample! (Thanks Nerf!)

Pics! (after the jump) –

https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

And, we’re back!  As you can see, I’ve put up some photos of the Nerf N-Strike Elite Hailfire.  At max capacity it can load up to 144 darts at once, using 8 18 round straight mags.  I’ve also included some shots of different combos of mags and accessories, just for fun.  So, how did I like it?

My play style on the field is pretty haphazard, so something like this so ridiculous plays into it very well.  Whether you’re using 4 35 round drums or the 18 round mags, you’re looking at a new futuristic side table :).  Basically, this thing is a “heavy weapon” and it should be used as such.  You stalk with it, you walk with it, if we learned anything from the Nerf N-Strike Vulcan you aren’t supposed to run with it, especially at full capacity.  When using smaller mags, sure it handles better but you’re not supposed to be very mobile using something this big.  A strap helps, but run and gun this thing is not at 144 darts.  You’re not going prone with it, as the thing demands you stand there tall and proud, to lay down the foam.

Now, my thinking about taking this out to a Nerf war with stock blasters – I’m not going to really be using much else.  I barely use 144 darts when using a Stampede during a round of CTF or Freeze Tag; I’m going to check my fire to cut down on reloading between rounds, and I might even just use one mag per round.  To me, that’s at least 8 games I’m going play without having to swap all my mags.  Victory favors preparation; if I’m going to use the Hailfire, I’m going to have a mess of preloaded mags in my gear, and on top of that I’m going to make sure I use one or two per game.  It’ll cut down on reloading between rounds, much less relying on reloading on the fly.  I’ve done this with a Stampede, Alpha Trooper, and a Rayven.  It’s a system I can make work for the Hailfire too.  And yes, once I’m out, I’m out.  Unless it’s during a lunch break, you won’t catch me reloading all 8 mags all over again.

As for the blaster, it’s fun!  Who doesn’t want to unload all that foam?  When using the handle, it’s a tactile experience of being a big bad walking turret.  I liken it to using a smart gun from “Aliens,” minus the swivel arm.  The trigger pull is solid, the flywheels rev loud and proud (seriously, with something like this are honestly telling me you want to play it silent?) and the transparent door is a nice touch (Hey Rogue!)

Using the Hailfire is easy enough- the handle on the top rotates the ammo rack, which accomodates N-Strike mags/drums, however you combo them is up to you.  You pull the accelerator trigger on the handle, and the main trigger moves the pusher arm that feeds darts into the flywheels.  The ranges I was getting were somewhere in the 50s-70s, whether flat or angled, video to follow.  I didn’t run into trouble with streamlines like I did with the Nerf Barricade, so bonus points for that.

Otherwise, it’s about $40 for this bad boy, and with that you get 4 6-round mags, the Hailfire, and 24 darts.  Why so few?  At this point, my guess is that the assumption is you already own a few 18 round mags after owning the Stampede, and wanted to keep the initial cost of the Hailfire down, while 18 round mags and a Hailfire upgrade kit separately.  Personally, I bought a large number of longshots once upon a time, and it ended with me having a surplus of small 6 round mags.

Either way, it might seem like a big cost but I sometimes just want to unleash a cloud of foam at people.  On days I don’t want to use my Nerf Vortex Pyragon, the Nerf N-Strike Elite Hailfire gives me a dart shooting option.  It’s reliable, it’s intimidating looking (as far as Nerf blasters can look intimidating) and I had a good amount of fun trying it out.  And that’s the important thing, isn’t it? The fun?  You can dress up your reasons for having something “War-worthy” or “Useful” but hang it all, this thing is decadent, it’s overkill, and some days you feel like a nut.  Have one of those days.

OH SO YOU WANT VIDEOS, HUH?  NERF N-STRIKE ELITE HAILFIRE VIDEOS???

annnnd maybe you remember this one?

Nerf Firevision – have a "look" (YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH)

Back at New York Toy Fair, I Nerf Firevision gear, and it was pretty awesome.  While not intended for play in ABSOLUTE darkness (yeah…. sure…. no one’ll try that…) being able to see the the various equipment (football, basketball, etc.) brightly illuminated up to 100′ is pretty neat.

Now while sports are the forte of this line, I had to wonder what kind of applications these lights and reflective surfaces had for other purposes.  And if there’s something we love to do here at the House of Foam, it’s repurpose items for all kinds of stuff.  (Not mod though, can’t do that.  Hi Nerf!)


Quick rundown – (prices are approximate)

Hyperball set with either red or green frames – $9.99
Nerfoop set with either red or green frames – $14.99
Nerf football set with red or green frames – $19.99
Red or green frames sold separately – $5.99

And now, the video!  We would use an objective-based game where zombies (we only had 3 red pairs of frames available, so the starting zombies got those) had to find the hyper ball after it was hidden by the humans.  Game ended once the zombies got the “brain”.  Humans just had to survive with the brain as long as they could.

Let’s go to the tape!

Personally, I’m a big fan about how vibrant the light is (the green illuminates a bit more visibly than the red) and it just shows up on camera so well.  Definitely see what all the hoopla is about with Firevision, maybe you’ll find a game that works for it too 🙂