Chicago Toy & Game Fair – today!

Good morning, Chicago!  Headed to the Chicago Toy & Game Fair this weekend, see you there?  Follow the action on twitter: @vasthestampede and #chitagfair.

Throwback Thursday – Nerf Tournament in Des Plaines, IL!

Wow, I really let this one get away from me!  A few months ago I helped out the Des Plaines Park District (thanks for the referral, Basic Nerf) by providing them prizes (directly from NERF, thanks for the support!) and an extra pair of hands at their tournament back in July.  It was just myself and TrekkieB47 but it was a great time and a lot of fun was had by all.  Given the community, it gets tough to remember that these are still kids’ toys, but something like this is a nice reminder about where we all may have started when we first picked up a blaster.  Thanks to the park district for putting on the event!

See some of the fun here, but I can provide some pics too –

Nerf Black Friday Deals – (for Toys R Us)

SOURCE: – http://www.debtfreespending.com/toys-r-us-black-friday-ad-2013/
&
CINCY SHOPPER

 The above sites provide a proper listing of all the Black Friday deals to expect at Toys R Us!  I consolidated the Nerf deals here, but the articles have a bunch of other great offers on Transformers, Skylanders, Kids electronics, and so much more.  I am assuming these deals apply in-store only and in the U.S. but if I find any Cyber Monday deals I’ll be sure to post those as well.  Take note, and happy hunting!

Toys R Us Black Friday Nerf Deals – wanna see? (All deals are limit 2 per guest)


THURSDAY 5PM – SATURDAY CLOSE (WHILE SUPPLIES LAST)

Nerf Rebelle Guardian Crossbow – $11.99 (40% off)

Nerf Rapidstrike CS-18 – $27.99 (20% off)

Nerf, Hello Kitty, or My Little Pony Walkie Talkies – $9.99 (50% off)

Nerf Rebelle Sweet Revenge – $9.99 (50% off)

Nerf Vortex Pyragon or Praxis Blaster – $14.99-$19.99 (Save $20)

Nerf Dart Tag – $24.99 (doesn’t specify much more than that…?)

FREE Dart Tag Jersey when you buy any exclusive Nerf Dart Tag Item (save $20)

My Little Pony, Hello Kitty, or NERF Walkie Talkies: $9.99 (50% off)

– See more at: http://www.debtfreespending.com/toys-r-us-black-friday-ad-2013/#sthash.HfcV7RdY.dpuf

My Little Pony, Hello Kitty, or NERF Walkie Talkies: $9.99 (50% off)

– See more at: http://www.debtfreespending.com/toys-r-us-black-friday-ad-2013/#sthash.HfcV7RdY.dpuf


Batman, Hello Kitty, My Little Pony, or NERF clock radio: $19.99


NERF Rebelle Guardian Crossbow: $11.99 (40% off)

Vas The Stampede

NERF Rebelle Guardian Crossbow: $11.99 (40% off)

NERF Rebelle Guardian Crossbow: $11.99 (40% off)

Review: Skylanders Giants – Tree Rex Smash Hands (of Foam!)

How was your Halloween?  As you hopefully spent it in costume, let’s look at a toy out there for the costuming/role play/imagination bunch, Skylanders Giants Tree Rex Smash Hands from Mega Bloks!

Based on this guy:

Come these hands (sample provided by Mega Bloks) intended to protect the world.

Approx. $24.99 (based on the availability)
Range:  Uhm… what?
Comfy: Totally.  Though obviously built for a kid, these will fit on adult hands too.

Thanks for the sample, Mega Bloks!

Image originally from Megabloks.com

You use them as such:

and first things first, they protect your hands! Dress like Tree Rex, minus a lot more external bark on you.

The foam of the hands is thickest and at least a couple of inches thick at the knuckles, so while I don’t recommend using these as boxing gloves or striking people, animals, household plants, or sparring in a mixed martial arts class, they are pretty soft.  There is a small strap on the inside to hold onto while wearing the fists.  The box is open, so when you see these on shelves you can check for yourself just how soft these hands are.

Skylanders Giants and Mega Bloks offer up a way for youngsters to role play as Trigger Happy and now Tree Rex, taking the action from the video game/construction sets to getting up and imagining themselves as their fave characters.  Maybe a play group out there utilizes a melee weapon ruleset, and need something past the Hulk hands of the past.  Either way, I do like the look of these toys and hopefully we’ll see more of Skylanders Giants and their role play toys as the franchise continues.

Like it?  This is also out – Ignitor’s Flame Sword

Paper Shooters – 2nd Attempt!

They’re back!  In case you haven’t heard already, Paper Shooters returned, and is taking another shot at getting funded via indiegogo.



Back in April, I wrote about their first campaign, outlining it was a plastic blaster/shooter/model kit that used paper wads similar to Max Force ammo.  As you’ll recall, I mentioned continuously in my initial analysis that Paper Shooters was not to be perceived as most other blasters, for a couple of reasons:

1)  You had to build it out of the box; this is a construction/model kit first and foremost (according to the literature I’ve run across) and the play experience/target shooting aspect is secondary.  The functionality just adds to the experience of building the shooter.  You are responsible for the success of your own tools depending on how much care you spent building it.  Modders can understand that, I think.  And on top of that, Paper Shooters is ok with modifications performed to their kits, reinforcing the “model/construction aspect.”

2) While it was a plastic blaster, there was a specially treated water resistant cardboard skin/arrangement of sorts that was part of the external assembly around the plastic skeleton.  Essentially, you can mix and match the skins (if you had the multiple versions available.  But, that could get costly.)

3) Shells.  The magazines hold 8 shells (last I heard, and from the looks of the indiegogo acct.) and while these are supposed to hit 75′, shells might be problematic for someone looking to these for the typical blaster play experience.  Buzz Bee shells were problematic in that once you ran out of shells, you had to reload them AND locate each one to get your ammo capacity back.  Nerf magazines are limited as well, but much easier to keep track of (although bulky).  So I wouldn’t expect to use this in a typical Nerf war, maybe more for target practice or office hijinks against other folks who had Paper Shooters.

These are a few of the skins available (taken directly from the Indiegogo site), and like I said, getting started owning these shooters can get quite costly.  While the perks from the campaign include ammo, and a mould to make more paper ammo, the initial investment might be a little much.  But if you are a fan of building models, this might be right up your alley with the construction challenge and THEN you have a functioning shooter as well.  (I believe the box is STILL supposed to assemble into a zombie head, but I could be wrong or that has changed.

Either way, it’s still an interesting concept as far as getting one involved in the construction side of blaster building (if they aren’t already modding), but unless the campaign succeeds it doesn’t look like we’ll know anything solid about the products.  While the video shows what I’m guessing is a prototype that looks like it functions pretty solidly, that’s all we have to work off of, and the faith that is inherent with crowdfunding.  Should you decide to back them, it would definitely seem like you’re in for a very different experience than most other shooter kits on the market currently.  Until they’re out and funded, there’s really nothing to demo here.  But, at the very least you’re aware of this creation!

Also, if you have your doubts about how good cardboard can look, I leave you with these links:

DEMO: Nerf ZombieStrike Hammershot & Rebelle Sweet Revenge

Apologies, everyone.  Sorry about the delay on well… everything!  Let’s get right to it.  I purchased (not samples like usual) the Nerf Hammershot from the Zombie Strike line, and the Nerf Rebelle Sweet Revenge Mission Kit.  Both revolver-styled blasters, but the big question I received was, do they get similar range?

Per usual, here’s the video – I set up the cone at 30′ out, and the main target at 50′. 


 
For this review, I tested out both blasters, as they were functionally identical.  Review continues after the break>>>


Stats:

Nerf Zombiestrike Hammershot
Price:  Approx: $15.99
Available: NOW
Includes:5 ZombieStrike bright green darts
Special Feature:  Fan fire
Target exclusive (U.S.: might be a different store in other countries.)

Nerf Rebelle Sweet Revenge Kit
Price: Approx. $19.99
Available: NOW
Includes: blaster x 1, 5 Rebelle darts (green), safety glasses, and clip-on holster
Special Feature:  Fan fire  
No exclusivity

AESTHETICS (how it looks):

Honestly, I think I preferred the Sweet Revenge.  They both felt like great grips, but if I had to choose, the sleek and smoother feel of the Sweet Revenge made drawing and handling the blaster a bit nicer.  The Zombiestrike faux bandage feels a bit more grabby, if that makes any sense.  To be fair, it’s designed with a young girl’s hands in mind and not an adult male.  Though the Hammershot might have designs for a larger boy.

The orange on the Zombiestrike worked for me, but that lower orange part under the barrel took away from the streamlined look you could see in the blaster itself, almost unnecessary.  The Sweet Revenge went totally along with being sleek, smooth, streamlined, and it made drawing/holstering a breeze for me, after some practice.

Heck, the holster it comes with was surprisingly sturdy and held onto my waist and pockets very nicely.  If you have a more “gymnast” play style though, you should be careful, as the holster isn’t tight enough to hold the blaster when inverted.  Sadly, the Hammershot doesn’t fit the Sweet Revenge holster either.  A Firestrike did, but  I do not recommend that as it stretches the holster out considerably.

PERFORMANCE:

I’ve been a fan of the Sweet Revenge and the use of a proper “hammer” mechanism since I first saw the blaster at New York Toy Fair.  In addition to the new mechanism, the fan fire is an interesting (though totally inaccurate) feature, and with the already inaccurate nature of Nerf darts, shooting darts in quick succession like that is more bluster than substance.  Or great cover fire.  One noticeable thing for me is the hammer is definitely easier to manipulate on the Sweet Revenge than the Hammershot, and you can hear it in the video.  But, the Sweet Revenge and Hammershot got comparable ranges and if I didn’t dual I would most likely just use the Sweet Revenge based on how much I prefer its handling.

My darts landed anywhere in the 40′-50′ ranges, and 75′ is likely if I angled my shots.  I did battle test these at MAW 2 with Adult Fans of Nerf and they were a lot of fun to play with, win or lose.  I’m curious to see though how well these fire other types of darts, and will have to revisit that at a future date.  While this isn’t a totally semiautomatic blaster like the Snapfire, I think it can certainly come close to one.  And the trigger is much easier to pull than the Snapfire’s, no matter which blaster you get.  Was the performance and feel worth the money?  Yes.  Many times yes.

THE TRIMMINGS:

Besides the blaster and holster, Sweet Revenge also comes with eye protection.  The glasses are pretty typical of what you can expect, simple frames that don’t fold, but they do the job of protecting one’s eyes.  The pink shading of the lenses might be a little disorienting (I certainly felt that way, when I tried them on in the name of science), so maybe use clear or the orange glasses, which I had no problem with. 

Overall, I’m very happy that I not only bought one, but both blasters.  They’re a lot of fun stock, and the new mechanism is hilariously fun to use.  While the accuracy lacks, it just means you would need to get closer 🙂

Questions?  Did I miss something?  Let me know!  I’m a little tired, so I’m sure I missed something.

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