Target Practice: Testing blasters on The Grossery Gang!
Thanks to the folks at Moose Toys for the samples! They sent along some members of The Grossery Gang, a new collectible mini set of toys. For those who don’t know, if you’ve seen the Trash Pack or the The Ugglys, you’ve seen Moose. They specialize in collectible sets like this, most recently the phenomena known as Shopkins.
And they let me take the the Grossery Gang (some of the set of 150) down the sight of my barrel. I tried a variety of blasters, from the Precision RBS Hyperion, the Nerf Recon MK II, the Reflex Tk-6 Revolver from Zuru, the Dart Zone Covert Ops Enforcer…. and a special friend from the past. Naturally, given the Grossery Gang toys measure 1″ x 1″ (besides the containers), aiming at them was a challenge. Even moreso trying to hit them from 20′, perhaps the saying “bull’s eye a womprat come to mind here?
These eyes, mocking you when you miss. Don’t miss. Don’t bink.
Toy blasters tend to be inaccurate enough as it is, because of ammo quality and a litany of other reasons why torsos are easier to tag than small precision targets, but consider the Challenge Accepted!
I feel like the Precision RBS blasters might have had the edge and lived up to their name by taking out 3 targets, while foam darts tried to go every which way but toward where my sights were. But maybe YOU, dear reader, will have better success? Take a look at the video, and don’t forget to Like and Subscribe!
Dart Zone LegendFire: Triggerless blaster, but I like it!
Basic Stats: MSRP: $14.99 Includes– Legendfire x 1 Dart Chambers x 2 (9 shots each)
I want to update this post with some actual gameplay testimonial, that will have to wait! In the meantime, here are some quick first impressions.
I really wasn’t sure if I was going to like this blaster. Triggerless offerings in the past were often disappointing, uncomfortable, or made firing more complicated than it had to be, simply because there was no trigger. Other times, because the blaster required you to constantly shift it through motion your aim sights were constantly moving and you were always shifting… that’s one reason I always want a slamfire enabled blaster to have a stock, for just that slight bit of stability while you have to keep priming the blaster.
The LegendFire is basically in a constant state of slamfire. You pump the blaster and that primes it/fires it. Dart Zone admitted this was because the blaster would have been made out of the price point they set and in order to keep costs down they had to sacrifice a traditional trigger. While unfortunate, the blaster is a pump-action, which already gives it a different feel from other triggerless blasters. Like I said, the blaster is in a constant state of slamfire so you could easily throw your aim off a bit shifting the pump handle, but with a little practice you could steady it a bit more. The length of the blaster also helps in that regard. You might find yourself spraying ammo more than surgical pot shots, as it starts to almost feel like more of a shotgun, regardless of the barrel length. I was getting pretty decent range out of the blaster too, the 80′ claim (angled) isn’t too far from the truth. From the looks of the video, it hit even farther than that. Now, accuracy wise? That’s a whole different tune. The video shows the spread was pretty wide on the shots I took, and given the foam medium that’s nothing terribly new to see. But how much of that might have been solved with a stock to brace against or a trigger, maybe some day we’ll get a different version. It’s my continued belief that a stock is a necessity if your blaster has slam fire, unless it’s a pistol like the Strongarm.
Second cylinder included! Extra ammo reload for a unique magazine type! Thanks Dart Zone!
The thing that really got me about the LegendFire is that it reminds me of any number of Borderlands sniper rifles that use revolver style chambers – (I can’t seem to remember any at the moment…) and breaking the blaster in half to get to the revolver cylinder to swap it out is a neat feature. Even better because Dart Zone includes a SECOND CYLINDER to store on the integrated ammo holder and swap out, in incredibly satisfying (for me) fashion.
And…. it’s $14.99. For that price, given all the high-end blasters coming out this year, this can give you a much needed break on the wallet. For parents, here is a very interesting low-cost option for your kid’s upcoming holiday gifts. It’s an engaging design with the reload mechanism and just the look of it, has a slim profile (for easy storage!) is compatible with Nerf darts, and pretty good range for under $20. If you haven’t looked at Dart Zone blasters before, this is definitely something you should consider!
Product provided for review: opinions still remain my own.
Vote for the Detroit Dart Club – a Top 10 Semifinalist
Hatch Detroit is hosting a contest for a savvy entrepreneur to win $50,000, and Detroit Dart Club is in the running! Go to the link here (or the Hatch Detroit link at the beginning) to cast your vote for the Detroit Dart Club. I visited the place last summer, and the owner, Connor, has a really good grasp on the place and about accessible gametypes for newcomers and vets alike. Currently, they can fit about 40 people in the club at a time, and there are lockers (one of which is adorned with a sticker from yours truly), a party area for food, and foam…. so much foam. This is just the semifinals so the contest is far from over, but let’s help get them to the next round and vote, keep the Nerf Arenas growing in the U.S.!
Here’s a shot from last year, but it hardly does them any justice. See more action shots at their instagram feed
Thanks a lot in advance, community! Please let’s help them out and get them growing! (Hatching? Incubating?)
Chris The Human Fends off Zombie Horde so others may live at Nation Vs Zombies 2016
Chris, a player from Ohio, opted to hold off the encroaching zombie horde during Nation vs Zombies, in what I like to call pulling a “Boromir” (I’m sure other people do it too, but that’s not important). This, is his story.
I was fortunate enough to record this, and moments like THIS are why I sometimes have to step back and carry the camera, not the blaster. Tough job, someone’s gotta do it. I still have the main video to work on, so more highlights to come!
Nation Vs Zombies: where 400-500 blaster/undead enthusiasts got together and had a good time of it. Next year: Athens, Ohio.
I saw the Battlescout popped up in Singapore, but it looks like Amazon is not to be outdone! Just saw it listed today, not sure if anyone else saw this yet. Even better for you if you have Amazon Prime, get on it!
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!
Building a KForce K-10V blaster (How long did it Take?) Vas The Stampede
Spoiler:
24 minutes
In a new installment, you see how long it took me to build one of the new K’Nex KForce Kitsfrom K’Nex (that means, product provided, but my opinions are my own).
The “Build and Blast” KForce line has a lot of really good ideas in it, from the actual building and construction of the blasters (which any modder out there can appreciate) to the near-limitless possibilities what someone can build with a kit and a whole lot more K’nex pieces (something I would like to test for myself in the future).
I might be tempted to do a slower video in the future, mainly because while time-lapse is cool you don’t get a feel for some of the mishaps I had during building (I think the manuals could be a bit clearer on instructions, but that’s a discussion for another post, such as when I do a firing video). I wonder if someone who is familiar with K’Nex can do these builds faster, or if even someone who more regularly builds construction kits might have a leg up on me and shave time off what I did.
In any event, the line is still being supported and innovated on, and that’s all one can really ask in a super competitive arena like blasters. Companies are going for range, capacity, aesthetics, and K’Nex continues to fuel imaginative building while trying to produce a blaster that fires on par with most others, even if rate of fire may suffer slightly.
So let’s try this; if you have the same kit, or any kit that I post here, video yourself building it too and tag me in it! Whatever time I have, see if you can beat it or challenge me to build a KForce blaster faster than you (and get away with it)!
I still have a few more upcoming projects to do, so make sure to come back and keep checking for updates! Blaster reviews, photos, and the NvZ video are all on the way. Thanks again!
600 Registered. Approximately 400-500 players. That was this past weekend at Nation Vs Zombies… the first (I think?) attempted event of this scale where players from all over North America (and beyond) were invited to come to Missouri State University and play a game of “Human Vs Zombies”, mixing roleplay gaming elements, tag, and Nerf/toy blaster games in a two-day test of survival, planning, and cardio. More on the game later, but for now enjoy the gallery posted above!
Heading to Nation Vs Zombies this weekend! Not as player, but in a press/media capacity, I leave tomorrow for what looks to be an HvZ of a different scale. They aim to have players from every corner of the United States (and what looks to be the continent, given players from Canada seem to be arriving as well) joining in the fight against the zombie infection. If you’re going, drop a comment! I’ll be doing interviews, taking pics, talking to players, and seeing how the action goes down.
Also running for Open Play, The Thunderdome -I’ve checked out the arenas in Colorado and Detroit, this will be a little different, but all roads lead to flinging foam.
Foam From Above 