Category: toy fair

New York Toy Fair 2015 – In A Nutshell

New York Toy Fair 2015 in a Nutshell (The Good, the Not so Good, the…. What?)
Vas The Stampede

‘Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.’ – Norman Vincent Peale

And there was a lot of shooting (darts, rounds, water pellets, zartz) at this year’s North American International Toy Fair. This makes 5 years now I’ve gone to the show and as always, I come back saying, “wow.” So here’s a quick rundown on what I saw, and some initial impressions.

Quick note: As always, this trip is not sponsored by any of the companies. No one pays to fly me out. This is all out of pocket for me on this trip to ensure I am covering what I want and saying what I need to say.

BRANDS:
There were a LOT of blaster type/associated brands that caught my eye this year. The Story So Far (in no particular order), followed by a taste/preview of things I liked (+) and/or didn’t like (-). As I intend to give each brand their own post, these tidbits are shots from the hip, what I readily recall.

  • Nerf (Hasbro)

    • DOOMINATOR +++++++++ (the amount of +s are completely arbitrary, but may relay my sense of enthusiasm) 
    •  Modulus blaster by itself – (it’s a Stryfe, even if you can make additions)
    • Strike & Defend blaster (Literally, a “Stock Blaster”) +
    • Rival line ++++++++++++++++
    • Zombie Strike silly s Zombie Repellant + 
    • Rebelle Codebreaker + 
    • Tek Strike +
    • Rotofury doesn’t have a stock –

 

BOOMco Needler – Halo

  • BOOMco (Mattel)
    • Halo blasters ++++
    • Spinsanity +
    • One of the new blasters is another triggerless/slam-fire affair – 
  • Zing 
    • New airborne toys/planes +
    • Firetek Styled Zano Bows +
    • Some additional roleplay items to the “Legends” line +
    • Firetek Style Sky Ripperz+
  • XC Shot/Bug Attack (Zuru)
    • Bug Attack will have included targets for additional hilarity +
    • New blasters for XC Shot (the ones with clips) were prototypes and not firing –
    • Increased ranges for XC shot blasters + 
  • Primetime Toys
    • Not much new there, as a lot is still in the works. I did get video of the Talon, but Primetime promises some new product in the next few months. They did address some reports about the dart adhesive being problematic, and insist they have since fixed the problem. Comment below if you still find Primetime Toys streamline darts to fall apart, I’m sure they’d be interested to know. The Scorpion was one of their first forays going out of the Airzone line, and they plan to do more.
  • K’Nex +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A springer styled shotgun of their own.

    • I mean, seriously. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 
      • With a little working knowledge, I’d be interested to see how the standing K’Nex community excels with these blasters. They’re built with “regular” blaster play patterns in mind, with the intent of being able to withstand a drop/fall/hit like any other blaster currently on the market. DROP TEST HERE.
      • What makes me a believer? That one of the folks that works for K’Nex made a multi-barreled blaster (that fired on a single trigger pull after priming each individual plunger tube) out of the available kits. It took some work he said, but it worked out. To me, that spoke volumes of the potential of builds in this line. With enough plungers, connectors, rods, who knows what is possible. Also, look forward to their promotion coming this spring, to really find the best K’Nex fans out there! 
  • Marshmallow Shooters

    • Marshmallow Shooters Orballistics ammo
    • ORBALLISTICS. Reportedly going to get 50′ flat, and straight no less.+++
    • Foam ammo finally. Apparently the feedback was a lot of people didn’t like wasting food, so this is now a thing for their line. 
  • Discovery Kids
    • TBD: they had a number of blasters in boxes, nothing to demo. The designs looked like stuff we’ve seen, but if the price point is right (also, they might have some interesting licenses) I won’t discount them out right.
  • Moose Toys (From what they told me, they have a blaster in the works. Not your typical fare, but I’ll get more info on this later.)  
    • TBD
  •  NXT (Maya Group, from the way I see it, this is a reboot of the Xploderz line)
    • This iteration of water pellet shooters from Maya Group FINALLY HAZ A TRIGGER. After all this time, and the first run with BlasterPro, these blasters get a trigger. I will admit, I had misgivings about previous Maya Group blasters, but these seemed on point. Although, paintballers might see something very similar here (at least, the gravity fed hopper shape on top. +

  • NXT Generation (Bows, crossbows, etc)
    • Some of the most solidly-built blasters/shooters I’ve seen, but the ammo to me leaves something to be desired. They require a closer look from me for a determination on this next set. The shotgun I reviewed was a little expensive for what you got, but it’s a new year, with a new line of products. TBD

  • Ogo Sports (had a few interesting launchers, they might be good for objective-based gameplay) (N/A, as these are more for goals and objectives, and I see them as less for PvP.)
  • Hog Wild Toys (Power Poppers)
    • What is becoming a yearly standard, while these blasters are simplistic but freakin’ hilarious. +
      Honorable mention, right here! Made me think of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”.

    By my count, that’s about 13 different brands that made something blaster/launcher-related.
    There’s a LOT of press release info to go through, photos, and videos but I’ll release them all here! Stay tuned, as I will be releasing more galleries and videos this week (piece by piece, so as to not overwhelm you:)  and if you have any questions please leave in the (moderated) comments below!

    Let’s connect:
    Instagram: Blasterbot1984
    Twitter: @VasTheStampede
    YouTube
    Google+
     


    Nerf Rival Firing/Demo Video! Fresh from New York Toy Fair!

    Nerf Rival Firing and Demo video from New York Toy Fair
     Vas The Stampede

    Here’s what you’re here for:

    Nerf Rival Zeus and Apollo

     Blasters for the line:

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    (Ages 14 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $49.99/Available: Fall 2015)
    Bring NERF battles to the next level with the mighty NERF RIVAL ZEUS MXV-1200 blaster. Simply push the power-up button, then take aim and unleash motorized blasting power on the opposing team. The powerful, precise RIVAL ZEUS MXV-1200 blaster gives fans and their allies an edge in battle and features an ambidextrous  clip loading and release button, safety switch, and fold-up sight. The included NERF RIVAL 12-round magazine is also compatible for use with the NERF RIVAL APOLLO XV-700 blaster, sold separately. Blaster is available in both red and blue and includes 12 NERF RIVAL Foam rounds. Six C batteries required, not included.
    Available at most major toy retailers nationwide and at HasbroToyShop.com.
    Nerf Rival Zeus in Red
    Nerf RIVAL APOLLO XV-700 Blaster
    (Ages 14 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $24.99/Available: Fall 2015) 
    Perfect for the heat of the competition, the NERF RIVAL APOLLO XV-700 blaster sends NERF RIVAL foam rounds soaring in the air with extraordinary velocity. To defend themselves and teammates against the opposition, pull the lever to move the RIVAL foam round into place, then take aim and launch! Blaster is available in both red and blue includes seven NERF RIVAL foam rounds. 
    Available at most major toy retailers nationwide and at HasbroToyShop.com.
    Additional photos in the gallery:
     
    Word has it these blasters will hit 100 fps, and up the accuracy in ways not seen before with Nerf blasters. While we won’t know for sure ’til these are released, I’m very intrigued with the intention and design of these blasters. Additional ammo, ammo tubes, and colored masks will be available when the line is launched.
    I’ll continue to update with more Toy Fair reviews and thoughts as I get them done. You can imagine, there are a lot of pictures and videos to go through! Thanks!
    Questions? Concerns? Leave them in the comments below!

    Toy Fair 2015 – There, and Back Again. (Nerf and More Round up!)

    Toy Fair 2015 Preview – Expectations and a look back at Blasters in 2014
    Vas The Stampede

    Sorry it’s been awhile, you all! Just a heads up, while I maintain here, I am also posting content at the following:

    Instagram: Blasterbot1984
    Facebook: Foam From Above

    Just like the title says, I am here in New York City, and ready to go for another round at the New York Toy Fair. The blaster scene is a little different from last year, but there’s a lot of buzz surrounding this year’s show. Dare I say it, possibly even more than last year.

    NERF:

    Nerf had a hit on their hand it seems with the Rebelle line, expanding on the roleplay/bow and arrow aspect of the blasters to appeal to young girls. While I have my own opinions about gender specific toys, the line is still around, and going strong. So strong in fact, there will be a whole slew of new blasters to check out at this year’s show, including the Revolution Bow:

    Image taken from Toyqueen, writing for about.com

     
    Nerf’s largest release (literally) was something not on display last year, the Nerf Rhinofire. After the initial releases of the Slingfire, the Mega Thunderbow, and the Nerf Cam ECS-12, Nerf crashed through with one of the biggest, full auto blasters to date. While pricey and even a pain to reload, the blaster was a lot of fun to use.

    There is already a large amount of buzz for Nerf in 2015 as well, starting with info about the Rotofury, The Doominator, the Nerf Modulus, and most recently today, NERF RIVALS.

    The Rotofury
    Nerf Rival blaster (this is the Zeus MVX-1200)
    Nerf Zombie Strike DOOMINATOR

    Needless to say, that’s a lot of blaster to look at over the weekend. I’ll be back Sunday with the report on Nerf, after my visit to their showroom that morning.

    Other Brands:
     
    Tomorrow is the actual Day 1 of Toy Fair, but the Hasbro Showroom isn’t open to tours yet, just a special event. That being the case, I’m going to spend time checking out the other brands such as Zing Toys, Primetime Toys (makers of the Scorpion Gatling Gun), Hogwild Toys (the Power Poppers makers), Marshmallow Shooters, Maya Group (whose offering this year might be something different, the branding doesn’t seem Xploderz related but you never know), Zuru (if you bought the Vigilante), and of course, K’Nex and their K-Force. BOOMco will also be on hand at Mattel’s showroom, but I won’t get a look at their new stuff until Monday, during one of their media events.

    That being said, you never can be too sure what else might be on that show floor. I’ve seen push rockets, something called a “Titan Torpedo” (which looked a lot like the throwable Uberdart), and maybe there will be some new vehicle blasters like the VMD cars and Attacknid. But that’s part of the fun of the show for me, that extra sense of discovery!

    The big release from Zing last year, the Firetek Bow
    Ghostbusters Marshmallow Shooters first seen last year, just in time for the new film!

    It’s going to be a busy few days, make sure to check the social links above for live-updates, but come back here for the full writeups. Thanks for your time!

    Nerf Cycloneshock & Zombie Strike FlipFury from Nerf

    Nerf 2015 Blasters – Zombie Strike FlipFury & Mega CycloneShock.

    By: Vas The Stampede

    2015 is coming! Nerf provided the following images on the Zombie Strike FlipFury and Mega CycloneShock, and more importantly, the “ok” to publish!


    The full details are out on Amazon, and following soon on the Nerf social spots – keep your eyes open!
    Much as I would love to comment on the pictures, I am going to relent. I prefer to save my observations for a blaster I actually own and judge by my own experience with it. But, enjoy the pics and see you again soon!

    BREAKING UPDATE: Nerf Rhino-Fire Press Release! Full info!

    Nerf Blaster Tops 100…. Dollars! Say Hello the Elite Rhino-Fire
    By Vas Stampede
    Nerf N-Strike Elite Rhino Fire. 90′ range. MSRP: $100.00 Available Fall 2014.

    UPDATE: Here’s the full press release straight from Nerf:

    NERF N-STRIKE ELITE RHINO-FIRE Blaster
    (Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $99.99/Available: Fall 14)
    Dominate the competition with the biggest, baddest NERF blaster yet! The N-STRIKE ELITE RHINO-FIRE blaster is the first fully automatic NERF blaster featuring rapid-fire, double barrel blasting, an amazing 50 dart capacity and two N-STRIKE ELITE dart drums, turning ordinary battles into extraordinary ones. The epic RHINO-FIRE blaster sends darts soaring impressive ELITE distances of up to 90 feet, and features both a front handle for mobility and tripod to ensure awesome accuracy. Includes 50 N-STRIKE ELITE darts.  Six “D” batteries required, not included. Available exclusively at Walmart.

    Nerf Rhino images came off Amazon Spain, but nothing really solid to go on yet except the name and box art (which might change as well.)
    Have fun!
     
      Whew! Ok, so if I may chime in… holy carp.
    Back at the Nerf All Access event (videos are posted at click click bamf and AFON so far) we were informed there was one more big blaster coming. I’m guessing this is it. If anyone experienced a letdown with the Cam CS-12 being revealed, hopefully this is more your speed?

    The story so far:

    Available Fall 2014 (most likely around the holidays)

    Wal-Mart Exclusive
    MSRP: $99.99
    Range: 90′
    Includes 50 Darts, a tripod (I’m assuming 2 x 25 round drums)
    Requires 6 D batteries (!)
    While I’d prefer to wait for the actual product, here’s some of the chatter:
    Flywheels
    Pistoning barrels (like the Pulsator)
    Tac-Rails (of course)
    I’m sure it’s only one trigger, but the early speculation also says maybe selective firing capabilities.
    I already thought $80 was a bit high for the Cam, but this one tops out at $99.99, definitely for the holiday shopping frenzy. With dual barrels and who knows what else by release, this is a huge gambit to see just how much people are willing to pay, especially around holiday splurging. For the cost and the range, and the ultimately big bad feeling to come with a blaster like this, I wonder how fast it will be snatched up. If the Centurion sales (lots of people DID buy them, regardless of the performance) this just might be a big beast during the holiday season. Personally, I’m very interested to see the final product, as impressed as I am with this hype and promise at the moment. Only one way to be sure!
    Anyway, thoughts?

    Mattel’s Blaster Line – BoomCo – Summer 2014

    As has been heavily covered already (seriously, I’m basically the last one to post about this), Mattel’s jumping into the blaster market (again!) with a product called BOOMco. I heard rumblings about this at New York Toy Fair, amidst other companies and apparently the group at dartblaster.de heard about it during the International Toy Fair Nürnberg. Not having anything solid to go by, I haven’t been able to say much at all about it. Mattel was also booked solid by the time I found out, so I wasn’t able to bug them.

    Proper news broke on Reddit – MarcusH26051

    ANYWAY, here we go.


    “Twisted Spinner Blaster – BOOMco. Blasters – Mattel 2014”


    “Rapid Madness, Twisted Spinner, Farshot & Clipfire – BOOMco. Blasters – Mattel 2014”

    Much EXTREME, such stunt. Wow.

    The incoming available product line can be found here on Amazon.

    Clipstrike – Cause it has a carabiner! A belt clip! Geddit? It also looks like it folds up, no?

    The Farshot (shield deployed)

    No cross-branding here! Dart refills (w/Smart-Stic Tech) look longer than Nerf darts, most likely not compatible.

    Dual Defender pack

    Rapid Madness!
    Additional targets & other accessories (see below) will be for sale

    Twisted Spinner blaster – NOT to be confused with a dilophosaur.


    First things first. No relation –

     All joking aside, I’m a bit surprised and really interested at Mattel even getting near blasters again. I want to expect a knock-down, drag-out slugfest of innovation in blasters now that 2 of the top toy makers out there are on a collision course. They rule the roost with Barbie and Monster High, have some great games with Uno and Apples to Apples, but blasters and playing with blasters has been synonymous with Nerf. The other brands (not necessarily blasters) on the market are carving a great niche (Zing, Marshmallow Shooters, Power Poppers, Tek Recon come to mind) but admittedly, a blaster brand/company with the resources and deep pockets like Mattel has been long missing. Nerf, long synonymous with blasters for many years might have that challenger.

    One thing I can tell, not all the blasters are triggered. The Twisted Spinner blaster isn’t, and has a… different kind of rotation mech.  The Rapid Madness does have a trigger though, but it also uses a clip reminiscent of a Powerclip/Magstrike (additional clips are sold separately).

    Some quick specs:

    – Blasters should hit around 70′ (not sure if this is for all of them, but it’s claims are close to N-Strike Elite)
    – Darts use “Smart Stick” Tech to show hits, supposed to be used with the shields/targets that also stick to surfaces. As shown in the videos, the targets can be worn on clothes to optimize stickability.
    – Eye protection, 2 in 1 bandolier, extra darts, targets, and clips will be sold separately.
    – The shields are used to protect and collect, catch your opponent’s darts so you can fire them back. I guess that helps cut down on dart sweeps…. maybe? The shields are fixed to the blasters via tactical rail.
    – Interesting bit, if you watch the videos from the pros in their interviews, one of them mentions how you don’t really know where the darts are going, adding to the satisfaction when you DO get a hit. Testament to the accuracy? Who knows. Honestly, that won’t be a confirmed thing until these come out Summer 2014.
    – Mattel looks to be going big – Nerfnation meet the BOOMco League (and win a “Boom Box” while you’re there.)

    Mattel has a reputation for putting out strong, quality products. Can’t attest that the reputation upholds though until these are out. The videos however make a good number of promises, and I will admit with Mattel’s name involved, I am just a touch less skeptical than I would normally be. Given the past incarnations of sticky ammo from other brands though, I wonder how those new darts will work on cloth and skin. But wondering is about all I can do, along with the rest of you, until these come out and hopefully I can get my hands on them. BUT, with the possible competitiveness between these two powerhouse toy companies… I truly hope it’s us the consumers who win out. With each trying to outdo the other we might see some of the best blasters to date in performance, quality, and features.

    Lock and load, things just might get interesting.

    Toy Fair 2014 Two-Fer: Marshmallow Shooters & Geospace Rockets

    https://photos.gstatic.com/media/slideshow.swf

    So, there are some constants to New York Toy Fair, and Marshmallow Shooters is another one of those brands who keeps chugging along. Every year there’s something new, and this year they revealed a few things. Now, in my opinion they most famously have many repaints of existing models, but given the circumstances, I don’t mind in this case. They landed the Ghostbusters license, so the next round of Marshmallow Shooters are going to look fresh out of 1984 (Happy 30th Anniversary to “The Ghostbusters” and it’s a sad thing that Harold Ramis had to pass away this year. As a fan of his work, I couldn’t believe it when I first heard it. But that is a whole different blog post. If you missed out on the original Ghostbusters pop guns back in the day, maybe these will take the edge off. But at the very least, it’ll be for a new generation.

    Ghostbusters paintjobs for Marshmallow Shooters

    A concept image of an upcoming Marshmallow shooter. Think… scattergun. Scattermallows. Something like that.

    A Beaver Blaster. Not only will it shoot Marshmallows, but it is supposed to also have a foam ball.

    I’ll update this post with prices and info.

    ALSO FOUND:

    Geospace Rockets:

    https://photos.gstatic.com/media/slideshow.swf

    A commonly seen push-pull style of rocket, but they also have a few other tricks up their sleeve:

    These rockets glow in the dark.

    Some of the smaller handheld launchers.

    Nerf Cam ECS (CS?) 12 POV Camera Footage – F2A First look

    Nerf Cam ECS (CS?) 12 Footage is live!  This looks a bit better than the engadget post from a month or so ago, in that the video isn’t as pixelated (seemingly) as one might expect, and the camera seems to be insulated from the flywheels whirring much better than before.

    And ICYMI:

    NERF N-STRIKE ELITE NERF CAM ECS-12 Blaster
    (Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $79.99/Available: Fall 14)
    Epic NERF shots live on way past the initial blast with the N-STRIKE ELITE NERF CAM ECS-12 blaster! Giving NERF fans the innovation and connectivity they crave, the NERF CAM ECS-12 blaster allows them to capture and share footage of epic battles and missions. The first NERF blaster to feature a built in camera, the NERF CAM ECS-12 blaster sends N-STRIKE ELITE darts flying up to an impressive 90 feet, records awesome NERF missions and lets NERF fans display them instantly on the playback screen or download them to share with friends for major bragging rights. Blaster includes a 4GB memory card which can hold up to 2,000 photos or 3 hours of video, 1.77” color screen, 12 dart clip and 12 N-STRIKE ELITE darts. Eight AA batteries required, not included. Available at most major retailers nationwide and HasbroToyShop.com.

    New York Toy Fair 2014 Overview – Tek Recon Predator

    https://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/picasaweb.googleusercontent.com/slideshow.swf

    Tek Recon was a bit of a find for me last year at Toy Fair. A year after the Kickstarter and subsequent release, what have they been up to? The Tek Recon Predator.



    STATS:

    • MSRP: $49.99
    • Ammo Capacity: 100 (50 rounds on each side of the magazine)
    • Range: 100′

    Features:

    • Removable stock, sight(s), LED light on the front (all picatinny compatible)
    • New style magazine (Interesting note, the Havok magazine will work in the Predator, but the Predator magazine is not backwards compatible)
    • New style cradle, a lot more robust than the original. This one features a HUGE metal screw to fix the mobile device holder in place.
    Old style cradle
    New style cradle

     The prototype fired using the pump grip (edit: there will be trigger this time, the Predator will only fire using the pump grip. The trigger shown in the picture is for the light) and it had some heft. The rubber end of the stock was great as before, so no complaints there.

    As has been the case from the beginning, the folks at Tek Recon I spoke with (Harold, Steve, and Graeme) were all receptive to my critiques to the Hammer Head and Havok, and reminded me that information like that is important to their design process. As their first foray into blasters, they realize there’s work to be done, and they welcome it. For the record, did you answer their request for suggestions on Facebook?

    As previously reported, there aren’t just new blasters but ammo types as well in the works. These will either affect rate of fire or range, so we’ll just have to see. As it looks, Tech4Kids is still strongly behind Tek Recon to bring the best experience for the players. Judging from Toy Fair, their energy into the brand is on the right track, and I’m looking forward to seeing this in the Fall in its Final Form.

    BREAKING NEWS: NERF TEK STRIKE STORMSHIELD (New York Toy Fair)

    Nerf Tek Strike! Stormshield & App from Eyespy Toys Uses Bluetooth Tech to score hits, track power ups, and more. First shown at New York Toy Fair!

    Say Hello to… Nerf Tek Strike. A shield/LCD readout attachment for your tactical rail on Nerf blasters to track hits/scoring, and apparently upgrade weapons/darts. I saw this during Day 1 of New York Toy Fair, and I was really intrigued. There was a prototype available, but these folks are on a good track to figuring out a new way to play. More details after the break.


    What sorcery is this? RFID signals, bluetooth connectivity (the demo I saw was running off an iPod’s bluetooth) smart darts (darts specific for this game style, a pack of 10 for $9.99 for instance). (edit) However, a smart device is NOT NECESSARY to play. You can also see hits/lives on the LCD readout of the device that faces you.

    Have an EXCLUSIVE gallery –

    https://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/picasaweb.googleusercontent.com/slideshow.swf

    It’s still in the early stages of functioning, but from what I could see they have some great plans. It incorporates the natural habit of a player to pick up their opponent’s ammo (using the smart darts) and then firing them back. If the darts hit the shield, you score a point. If the opponent tries to be cute and hold their blaster downward, they time out and lose a life (at least that was one measure that is in the works.) To calibrate the darts to your signal, swipe them over your screen to affix them so they hit and score on your opponents.

    Does not need a device in the cradle to operate. A device is necessary to act as a “base” or home for the game, but it would not have to be placed in the cradle. The model I saw had its base unit kept in a cabinet nearby.

    This system is still very new, but it’s a very intriguing idea. While it would require purchasing new specific darts, I think there’s a definite place for this type of game, especially if it leads to being able to track hits without using velcro. In an FPS, you run forward and around with your barrel pointed forward, right? Maybe the same principle could be conceptualized here. I myself have a lot of nerf darts already, but being able to track hits and have power ups (like increased damage, and… some other settings I can’t mention but they’re thinking of) may just be worth the cost of a few extra darts, and maybe even if my friends and I split a few
    packs.


     I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on the developments of this system, but it is a licensed Nerf (meaning, with their blessing) product, they’re working with Nerf on how it works, and there is some serious thought going into the mechanics. I do have a video of successfully tracking hits using the screen, but I have get home first to edit it (my main computer is at home.)

    My blog post and the pictures don’t really do this system justice and it’s really very early to say anything definite, but I’m excited for the promise of what it might mean for playing Nerf Tag and the cool people I met talking about it trying to bring this to fruition. Yes, you need to get new darts. But, it could be for a very good reason 🙂

    What do you think?  Is the idea of a Nerf-developed app/tag tracking device interesting for you, whether you play stock, modded, or HvZ?