Category: new nerf guns

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Interesting tidbit from another toy blog:

I was perusing blogs and websites leading up to Toy Fair, and ran across this interesting press release. There’s a lot of news on it about EVERYTHING Hasbro (including info about Thor – there will be a Mjolnir light up hammer apparently!)

But, we’re not here to talk about godly weapons. We’re here for foam blasters, and NERF.

Hopefully they don’t mind, I took this from the main release I linked to:

NERF

In 2011, the NERF brand will continue its high-energy evolution with exciting advancements in its SUPER SOAKER and DART TAG lines, as well as a reveal of the new, top secret NERF VORTEX blaster collection. This year the NERF SUPER SOAKER line takes the water blaster world to a new level of power and performance with battery-powered blasters, including the new NERF SUPER SOAKER THUNDERSTORM water blaster, and easy to use CLIP SYSTEM refills giving fans the faster reloads and edge they need to become ultimate water warriors. In 2011, the popular DART TAG World Championship will celebrate its third consecutive year with revamped recruitment and game play. To celebrate the evolution of NERF DART TAG, four new DART TAG blasters will be released this spring including the NERF DART TAG SWARMFIRE blaster as well as NERF DART TAG official competition jerseys and new NERF DART TAG VISION GEAR. And, to round out a full year of new introductions, the NERF brand is inviting fans to “Gear Up for 9.10.11” when it will introduce the NERF VORTEX collection, a completely new and innovative blaster experience. NERF fans, known as NERF NATION, will also be able to step up their game in 2011 as the property continues to break out at mass retail and become a global mega lifestyle licensing brand with cutting edge products ranging from footwear to graphic tees, electronics and digital gaming. For more updates and information on each of the NERF brand’s five existing N-STRIKE, NERF SUPER SOAKER, DART TAG, SPORTS, and N-FORCE lines, visit http://www.YouTube.com/Nerf, http://www.Twitter.com/NerfNation, or http://www.Facebook.com/NerfNation and become a part of NERF NATION.

So, expansion of the Nerf line into other mediums, and the super secret release this year won’t be a singular blaster, but a whole collection? Anyone else smell something like Cyberstrike gear? Who knows!

ONCE AGAIN, I found the press release here:

http://blog.zoolert.com/2011/02/11/hasbro-gives-a-sneak-peek-of-its-2011-ny-toy-fair-lineup/

http://blog.zoolert.com/2011/02/11/hasbro-gives-a-sneak-peek-of-its-2011-ny-toy-fair-lineup/

http://blog.zoolert.com/2011/02/11/hasbro-gives-a-sneak-peek-of-its-2011-ny-toy-fair-lineup/

Tomorrow…. I go to TOY FAIR!

Don’t Forget: New York Toy Fair 2011 in 4 weeks! Nerf galore!

I put up THIS announcement a while back, but just a reminder to leave a comment there if you have any questions regarding Nerf toys and blasters! I’ll try to take questions and have something answered, but no promises. Remember, the toy industry is pretty secretive and there’s no telling how forthcoming anyone’ll be, but put your questions in the comments of THIS POST and cross your fingers!

http://foamfromabove.blogspot.com/2011/01/alright-big-announcement-in-regards-to.html

http://foamfromabove.blogspot.com/2011/01/alright-big-announcement-in-regards-to.html

Alright, big announcement in regards to FoamFromAbove…

Alright, I’ve been writing this blog for about 5 years, most of the entries happening in the last year. When I started this project, it was to get me writing again, and I chose something I enjoyed and knew a bit about. I liked shooting nerf blasters with my friends, and had my fair share of stock wars with my buddies. Besides that, there were also the reviews of blasters I owned.

Then came the Nerf Dart Tag League, and fortunately it landed in Chicago. This led to me contacting Nerf, which to me has exploded into a trip to NYC, products to test and look at, and Nerf fun to spread around to the current group I play with.

So what’s the point? What’s the big news?

I’m going to Toy Fair, in New York City this February. With a media pass.

Which to me, is the big time. It’s a toy industry-only conference where a lot of toys for 2011 from all over the industry will show up before they hit stores. Buyers make their orders for the following year, and this is a lot of stuff involved with the holiday shopping for 2011. The news about the Stampede initially broke at one of these events, as well while it was still under its code name, “Big Blast”. Nerf showed early photos on their facebook page, and that’s where the clear blasters were first put on display. The N-Strike tac vest first popped up there as well last year.

And I’m going to be there, this year. After five years of blogging on/off, it’s come to this. A lot of Nerf news has already come out before this event, but it’ll pretty much be the first official news on US shores. The big press releases come out from this event.

Now, this trip isn’t compensated by Nerf or Hasbro, like the other media event in NYC. This is going to be all out of my own pocket, and for those that don’t know FFA is a one-man show. But I enjoy doing it because I never totally grew up and enjoy running around with silly blasters with my friends and other like-minded individuals.

But yeah, here’s the thing for you dear reader. I would never have gotten this pass if not for you visiting my site. For that, I thank you. In the meantime, if there is anything you want me to ask people from Nerf when I go there, please leave a question in the comments below. I obviously will not be able to take ALL QUESTIONS. I am going to select a few, and try to get answers. Any question involving a crossbow rerelease will not be taken, hehe. But anyway, I’ll leave it at that for now. With this event being next month there’s plenty of time for you all to figure out stuff to ask. So, fire away and see what sticks. I wouldn’t have this opportunity without readers, and so this is a way of me being able to represent you as well, sort of.

Thanks again, and I look forward to your questions. And be realistic, they obviously won’t disclose everything, much less have at-length discussions regarding the use of inverse plungers etc. They also won’t respond to questions in-depth about modding, opting to just say they don’t support it. But yeah, take a shot and I’ll see what I can use. Thank you, so so much.

-@VasTheStampede

What an adventure… for the Nerf Stampede ECS

Well, if you’ve coasted the net and this blog chances are you’ve seen Hasbro/Nerf threw a shindig at Stout’s in New York City to celebrate not only the past 40+ years of Nerf products but to herald the coming of the much-speculated 09/09/10 blaster – the “Big Blast” which is now officially called the “Stampede ECS-50”.

I could tell you about the trip; from the hotel, to the transportation, or whatever but you want to know about the blaster.

Let’s answer some quick questions:

Why?

Ever since the NDTL last year, I’ve been in touch with people who handle PR for Nerf. This resulted in an invitation to this media-only event. Media-only meant the attendees were adults, so the location of the bar (Stout’s) was fine. Were this the NDTL, a bar would be… odd.

What?
The Stampede! Older Nerf products from the last 40 years (including Super Soaker that is now a brand of Nerf) like the Blast-A-Matic, Nerfuls, and even the Brainball (it was a brain-shaped football).

Shoot, pictures tell the tale:

Cammo Ammo:

MORE PHOTOS:
http://picasaweb.google.com/110890746836784809541/FFA_NerfReleaseJuly2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCM2fiILXuK_OWw#

Anyway. Ok, I posted some initial impressions of the Stampede before but let me expand a bit.

NERF N-STRIKE STAMPEDE
$49.99

– The first fully automatic NERF Clip System blaster to date (the vulcan was EBF, Magstrike was AS, and RF-20 doesn’t use clips).
– Pop-out bipod, which doubles as a handle
– Removable shield
– The NERF N-STRIKE STAMPEDE ECS blaster also comes complete with one six dart Clip and three extended Clips which hold 18 darts each

Available at most major retailers nationwide and HasbroToyShop.com beginning 9.9.10.

(Thanks to Nerf for the run-down!)

There are multiple tactical rails along the top and around the muzzle for your other n-strike accessories. Personally, for laughs I like to use the tactical red dot sight.

You can expect 25-30 feet range-wise for any Nerf blaster right out of the box, and the accuracy’s going to hurt a little bit based on the usage of streamlines (you can see a video of how the Stampede fires here:. Then again, are you really looking for something to shoot laser straight with the inherent nature of using a Nerf blaster? And hopefully out of 18 shots SOMETHING’ll work. It felt a bit faster than the vulcan too, but when I can test one more thoroughly I’ll make sure to check that.

The blaster holds comfortably size-wise but as you’d expect with something that uses six “D” batteries has a noticeable heft after holding it up at shoulder-height for a few minutes, bipod or no bipod. Also, don’t expect to use the bipod laying prone using the 18 round magazine; it juts out further than the bipod extends.

The N-strike blasters are notorious for stuff slipping loose (sights on the rails, the flip clips) while running, but I don’t think this is the case with the bipod and shield. Dare I say it I tested them thoroughly during the event, and everything held together pretty solidly.

Reloading was easy as pie this time around; previous blasters like the longshot, longstrike, deploy, raider, and vulcan all had a manual action in their reload cycle. The Stampede lets you drop a magazine and throw in a fresh one, no manual mechanism involved. This significantly decreased the reload time between magazines and the user error that would happen sliding a bolt or priming arm back and forth.

I’ll revisit some of these points when I have a unit at-home; but these are my initial impressions. I understand that $50 is a lot, but hopefully the points I’ve provided make a good case. I personally look forward to swinging around with two of them at the same time each with a 35 round drum magazine. Also, remember what it sounds like each Stampede is coming with:

-shield
-bipod
-ammo
-3 18 round magazines & 1 6 round magazine (probably looking at 54 darts)
-The Stampede

So it’s still a pretty sizable bunch of items you’re getting.

Anyway, if you have any questions feel free to comment. Whew!

-VasTheStampede

P.S. – THANK YOU HASBRO AND NERF FOR HAVING ME THERE AND TO THE STAFF ON ALL FRONTS FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS!

Two-fer! Milestone+product news!

Breaking development:

Kevinericon posted the following on Nerfhaven:

Pics of the Longstrike:

Along with a previously unheard-of blaster, the Deploy CS-6! No details, just pics. ❤ controlled information dissemination!

Now, I don’t know much at all about either blaster, these are things Kevinericon posted about and found himself. Any details are pretty much either from him or pure speculation on my part. Enjoy, and hope to see these stateside later this Spring!

-VasTheStampede

WHEN DOES THE (NERF) RAID BEGIN? 09-09-09

A quick teaser of an ad from Hasbro for the upcoming Raider. I don’t have one yet, but as soon as I can get my hands on it I’ll be sure to put my own spin on it. Yes, I know that some people have already got their resourceful hands on them so there is already plenty of info out there. Should you feel so inclined, go crazy to search it out!

-VasTheStampede