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.
I want to get some game time with this blaster before coming up with a proper review, but right off the bat the Adventure Zone Enforcer belt-fed blaster from Dart Zone got AT LEAST 140′ right out of the box. That’s pretty impressive for a freshly opened blaster. That being said, reloading this beast would be a moderate pain since I don’t think there are plans to sell the ammo belts separately. And to head off another question, yes, this blaster is branded “Adventure Zone” but that’s to identify the Wal-Mart specific brand of action toys associated with this and other blasters undoubtedly coming out as Wal-Mart exclusives. It’s a Dart Zone blaster, same as the LegendFire and Magnum. It unloads its ammo payload pretty quickly, and should give any rushing team a reason to pause but the groupings are pretty wide the farther out you shoot. For $29.99 though you are getting good power, good ammo capacity, and a really satisfying shooting experience feeling the chains move and hearing the blaster chug through darts. Kids are gonna love the gatling feel of this blaster, and older users are going to like the power. And for $29.99, the price is just right compared to other blasters out there that shoot either less ammo or slightly shorter max ranges. I don’t say this often, but if you have to spend on any blaster, definitely give this a look. I’ll update this review with some gameplay thoughts once I actually field test it, but until then, color me impressed for now.
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!
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!
Took the Nerf Mega Mastodon out for some gameplay this past weekend, and had some thoughts:
Nerf went big with the Mega Mastodon, without a doubt. Pretty sure this is the highest capacity Mega blaster to date, full auto, and definitely the one of the biggest builds probably for any other Nerf blaster I’ve seen. It has a big handle to hold it on top, two tactical rails along the top as well, and one more under the muzzle. The 6 D batteries sit in the rear part of the blaster, with the trigger, the accelerator trigger, and the handle. There are a couple of obvious attach points for the strap, and the “cage” on the underside also doubles as a stand of sorts to help rest the Mastodon upright. The top handle moves back and forth, pivoting on the insertion point for the post it is attached to. It’s wide, mainly due to the drum. But the blaster itself doesn’t seem too unwieldy, all things considered. I had no problem transitioning from running/moving/to firing position, or even letting the blaster sit at my hip off the sling. It was surprisingly easy to conform to a comfortable position on my body.
Mechanics: The Mastodon is big, really big. So big in fact, I wonder how little kids may find using the blaster. From the bottom the cage on the underside of the blaster to the highest extension of the handle on top, the Mastodon measures at about 14″. For me at 5’7″ as an adult, I have no problem with that. The average US child maybe measures approximately 4′ (source), so I don’t know how easy a time they would have with this blaster, even with the strap (and factoring in the 6 D batteries). Having to hold the Mastodon at the hip also makes aiming challenging, if you are used to aiming down your sights or being able to angle a blaster down over cover trying to bunker someone, this takes some adjusting. Also, it goes without saying revving your motors before firing is a good practice to have, but the rev time seems a bit faster with the Mastodon. Also, with the nature of this blaster I didn’t work too much on trying to find a range with the Mastodon parallel to the ground (flat), most of the time I had the blaster angled in game so my ranges reflect as such.
It’s also probably one of the more accurate Mega firing blasters I’ve used to date. The Mega Mastodon will hit close to 100′, but the accuracy at that range isn’t guaranteed (I say that with anything, and in the firing video above you can see the spread of the darts to the sides, in addition to the range.) Within 30-40, even 50′, I was able to get hits reliably though! It required a bit of leading my target and I did have to use a couple of shots to dial in, but a little practice can go a long way with this blaster both in firing mechanics and reloading.
Naturally, as a right-handed person, I hold the Mastodon in my right hand and the rotation mech goes to my right. As such, I needed to stop periodically to reload the Mastodon either by trying to cross my body with my left hand and reload that way into the empty chambers, orient the blaster vertically, or reload the empty chambers in from left to right, starting with the chambers feeding into the Mastodon first from the left side of the blaster and trying to get into the chambers on the right. One trick I want to work on with this blaster is reloading empty chambers as they cycle around (using the strap to act as the stabilizing hand while firing, and my free hand to reload.) Still a work in progress, to say the least. Also, make sure you have a large ammo pouch! Mega darts already are big, and with the 24 dart capacity you’ll eat through a lot of ammo using the Mastodon, for sure. Be prepared to carry enough to keep the Mastodon spitting.
With the strap, the Mastodon handles similarly to the RhinoFire and the Vulcan. The difference is the grip needed because of the accelerator trigger setup on the Mastodon versus the push button on the RhinoFire and the traditional trigger on the Vulcan. As a result, I found myself with my wrist on a weird angle sometimes while firing. I held the Mastodon typically at the waist, but with the handle and trigger a little past my back, which led to a touch of soreness after extended games. This was addressed by just keeping my handle hand in line with my torso. In a way, it reminded me of a Colonial Marine’s posture holding a smartgun, with some obvious differences. This might make a lot more sense after you hold one.
Stay frosty, Nerfers.
Needless to say, the Mastodon needs 6 D batteries to run so the strap and using the top handle might be a necessity. While trying to one hand it might be hilarious, it can also do a number on your wrist. Between rounds, everyone made attempts to hold the Mastodon like a pistol, to hilarious effect. Personally, I’m going to use two bandoliers if ever I want to dual wield. The Mastodon didn’t seem to eat batteries either, but my testing happened at a 4 hour Nerf war. The batteries I used were from the Dollar Store, and they held up fine during the day and even for my testing days before.
Running and gunning isn’t incredibly easy with the this blaster, if that’s surprising (which it shouldn’t be) not like with more rifle and pistol oriented blasters like the Rapidstrike or Firestrike, for obvious reasons. I found myself doing more of the “stalk and shoot” approach, dodging darts as I could or crouching. Trying to aim the Mastodon well while in full sprint was not the particularly efficient I thought or effective. The volley of darts was usually enough to make folks hide and move, but I always had to keep in mind to keep cover in mind and run for a teammate if I needed to reload, assuming I even had a team. Otherwise, I’d run and hope no one noticed while I fed darts back into this monster. If I needed to move faster, I stopped aiming and just picked up the blaster and ran, it was just more efficient that way.
Left-handed? I went with the righty oriented handle placement with the pivot on the left side of the blaster, and I’m not sure if the peg to the top handle fits in the other way. It looks like it might be able to accommodate lefties in the other direction, but I don’t guarantee that. If I get another Mastodon, I’ll see if that works, or hopefully I can get an answer out of the design team. My left-handed friend didn’t find it supremely comfortable trying to use the Mastodon the right-hand oriented way, though. I thought maybe since the rotation mech goes to the right while shooting then reloading might be easier, but she didn’t find it that way. And yes, reloadi
Don’t misunderstand me though! This is a SOLID build of a blaster. The raised “Mega” lettering, the top handle, the trigger, everything about it feels pretty strong. The rotation mech for the drum spins pretty easily too, but there are some caveats.
The most common issue I had with the Mastodon was trying to shoot in controlled bursts. If you go for a full 24 dart shower, the Mastodon functions wonderfully. But if you try to do groups of 3-4 shots, you might run into some jamming. What happens is the firing action, the rotation, and the feed gets out of sync if you try to group your shots and don’t time a stop right, you will stop the cycle mid-feed of a dart, or in between the chambers of the blaster, so you’ll suffer a misfire. I ended up having double feeds a few times trying to shoot a few darts at a time, and had to dig through the jam door to rip out a dart or push it back into the chamber. Other times, the rotation mech would be in mid-reset and would get stuck, I could not manually rotate it to load until after I resumed firing the blaster and heard it “click”. With a little practice I could see this becoming less of a problem, the more someone learns about the firing cycle of the Mastodon. These instances of locking and dart jamming were on the minimal end of the scale too, not to the point where using the blaster was frustrating. But like I said, this blaster is full auto and truly excels when you rock and roll with that 24 dart payload.
All that being said, is it worth the $80? A lot will be said of its “war practicality” and “usefulness” in a stock Nerf war, but I liked it just fine. It turned me into a big(ger) moving target, cut my mobility a bit, and made aiming a bit of a challenge, but the range, the capacity, the full auto, and the aggro (people made sure to keep an eye on where I was, or if they heard my motors whirring to make sure I wasn’t near them) was worth the tradeoff for me, and gosh darnit I just had a lot of fun with it! Of all the high-end items I saw at Toy Fair, this was definitely a “buzz-worthy” blaster in my book, and the one I came away wanting the most of the whole lineup from that trip. At this price it might make you cringe, but in this case I’d endorse the cost as being worth it for this foam launching monstrosity.
Questions? Comments? Did I miss something you’d want feedback on? Leave me a comment!
And don’t forget to check out my social media: Instagram: blasterbot1984 Twitter: @VasTheStampede Facebook: “Foam From Above” YouTube: “FoamFromAbove”
Hey all! JUST bought the Nerf Mega Mastodon, and while I need video, here are pics from opening the box! Assembly is not as bad as it looks, but make sure you have a screwdriver that goes far enough into the screw port on the battery cover. $79.99 at Target, and bonus cause there is a $10 off purchases $50+ @ Target right now. Happy hunting!
Nerf Mega Mastodon Firing Video from New York Toy Fair VasTheStampede
Took me wayyy too long to get this edit done! But, here it is, hope you still garner some enjoyment from it. The upcoming Nerf Mega Mastodon, and my firing it during New York Toy Fair 2016. I’ll have more to say when I get the final production samples later this year, but for the moment I’m going to reserve my judgment. It’s a HUGE blaster, though! I’ll have a few more older Nerf videos to post, so there’s more on the way!
Foam From Above 