Friday 5: Five Must-See Toy Blaster Hot Spots Outside the U.S. Vas The Stampede
Early on in my blogging life, I quickly learned that Nerf games are not just for U.S. backgrounds, but organized games are an international phenomena. Nerf/Hasbro being a worldwide brand and a top toy maker, that should not have surprised me. Thanks to the advent of the internet and social media though, I see posts from communities abroad and it is a pretty amazing thing to think about. Taken from my analytics and personal observations, let’s look at 5 places outside the U.S. where Nerf blasters have very active player communities and play their games regularly.
Keep in mind, this list is in no particular order! The 5 selected are taken mainly from my own experiences and the amount of activity I see on my website analytics.
SINGAPORE
Some basics about Singapore (info taken from Google’s search engine entry:
“Singapore, an island city-state off southern Malaysia, is a global financial centre with a tropical climate and multicultural population. In circa-1820 Chinatown stands the red-and-gold Buddha’s Tooth Relic Temple, Little India offers colorful souvenirs and Arab Street is lined with fabric shops. Singapore is also known for eclectic street fare, served in hawker centres such as Tiong Bahru and Maxwell Road.
Official languages: English, Tamil, Malay, Mandarin Chinese, Standard Mandarin”
The Singapore community is one of the first international Nerf communities I encountered. Once upon a time, there was a blog, SGNerf, and he was one of the first other bloggers I ever communicated with. Other bloggers/YouTubers from there, including Psyk from PWND, Blaster Shogun, the modder Ahtanie, and so many others. I used to frequent their forums, and had many a good conversation with this group. From what I’ve seen, this group has regularly scheduled games and even larger events. I think the group’s been running for at least 6-7 years (2015 was their 6th anniversary, I believe) and is definitely one of the more active communities out there anywhere. Without getting bogged down in details, they do have some very strict gun laws which extends to paintball/airsoft as well, so Nerf blaster games seem to serve as an alternative. I’ve seen a LOT of different events come out of Singapore, from tournaments held in malls, to games in a variety of environments – woods, suburban areas, numerous historical military spots, and parks like this:
Obviously, one of these days I have to go visit. Somehow. But between the locations and the consistency of the players, Singapore definitely seems a must-see place if you’re interested in Nerf/toy blasters on an international scale.
GERMANY
Country in Europe
Germany is a Western European country with a terrain of vast forests, rivers and mountain ranges, and 2 millennia of history. Berlin, its capital, is home to thriving art and nightlife scenes, iconic Brandenburg Gate and many sites relating to WWII. Munich is known for its Oktoberfest and cavernous beer halls, including 16th-century Hofbräuhaus. Frankfurt, with its skyscrapers, houses the European Central Bank.
Admittedly, there’s very little I know about Germany’s Nerf/toy enthusiast community, but I see enough posts on the net to make me notice! Between the number of hits I get from there and the posts I see crop up, along with news from the Nuremberg International Toy Fair, AND home to both dartblaster.deand the OWL Community. (whew!) I see a number of LARP related posts on modifications/blaster paintjobs from German hobbyists as well, of astounding work. All that leads me to qualify Germany on this list.
ENGLAND (UK)
Country in Europe
The U.K., made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, is an island nation in northwestern Europe. England – birthplace of Shakespeare and The Beatles – is home to the capital, London, a globally influential centre of finance and culture. England is also site of neolithic Stonehenge, Bath’s Roman spa and centuries-old universities at Oxford and Cambridge.
The UK also showed a strong level of activity on my site hits, and with good reason. The BritNerf forums are pretty active still from the looks of things, along with various other social media outlets out there. Let’s also not forget that one of the first Nerf-sponsored/branded arenas anywhere popped up here:
AUSTRALIA
“Australia is a country, and continent, surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans. Its major cities – Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide – are coastal, but its capital, Canberra, is inland and nicknamed the “Bush Capital.” The country is known for its Sydney Opera House, Great Barrier Reef, the vast Outback (interior desert wilderness) and unique animal species including kangaroos and duck-billed platypuses.
The land down under, home of the kangaroo, Australian Outback, Aborigines, Dream Time, and another of the biggest (and I believe oldest) consistent Nerf communities I’ve seen. The other places I’ve mentioned you can say are countries… Australia however is a Nerf-heavy CONTINENT that stands alone. I’ve heard of groups in Canberra, Wagga Wagga, Riverina, and so many more on their forums. New Zealand is off the southeast coast and has a steady group in Canterbury. In the past, I’ve heard that toy blaster interest really takes off in Australia (especially when the Nerf Dart Tag blasters released in their black and yellow colors. Needless to say, the place is not lacking for active players, albeit they may be spread out.
CANADA
“Country in North America
Canada, stretching from the U.S. in the south to the Arctic Circle in the north, is filled with vibrant cities including massive, multicultural Toronto; predominantly French-speaking Montréal and Québec City; Vancouver and Halifax on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, respectively; and Ottawa, the capital. It’s also crossed by the Rocky Mountains and home to vast swaths of protected wilderness.
Canada! Oh, I heard about Canada. There is a pretty strong group (groups?) up there from what I remember, and used to hold some pretty massive events (I think they still do) like Massacre. The groups I do remember were heavy into modifying blasters, but they got together to fling darts as much as anyone. I believe most of the connecting is done over Facebook, but chances are if you wanted to get in with the Canadian toy blaster scene, by the time you’ve read this you’re already in it.
And that’s all, folks! As I stated before, I looked at my site data for my spotlights. If you want me to revisit or think I overlooked your country/continent, let me know! And abundant apologies to the countries I did name if I got anything wrong about your fair landmass – again just let me know so I may make the appropriate corrections. Hope this info was useful to you, and see you next time!
I’ll have another post up this weekend, “Super” related (and not a blaster product, but a fun toy all the same.)
After a bit of press for the last year or so, Paper Shooters is finally ready for the U.S. shores! I’ve been following the brand ever since they approached me some time ago, and it was good to finally see and shoot a finished product. I went for the GoPro POV while aiming and shooting. Note the priming between shots and the shell ejection.
The basic kits will run $29.99 and may include the following (pulled this from their website, I assume it will be the same in the U.S. during release:)
“Your 138 piece kit contains : – All plastic components, screws and springs to create your PaperShooters™ base model – 8 highly detailed A4 die cut cardboard pieces that contain all the individual pieces to create your awesome Zombie Slayer camo skin
Also included :
– 50 ‘Soft- splat’ paper pellets. Just dip them in water for 20-30 seconds, load them into shells and blast away! – A mould to create endless amounts of ammo from ordinary paper. Got paper,? Got ammo! – 6 shells that eject with every shot!”
I will have a more in-depth look at this when the samples come in and will give more of my thoughts then. Already, I know that it’s supposed to be a pretty involved build and I am looking forward to taking a crack at it. It’s not going to be the usual blaster out of the box experience, but I am definitely taken with the look and feel of the product.
Friday Five: 5 Nerf Features that I wish would Make a Comeback VasTheStampede
The Blast Button
Semiauto spring blasters
Integrated clips (the black and yellow Dart Tag line)
Integrated “Secret” Barrels
Non-slamming Air Pump Blasters
With the new Nerf Rebelle Cornersight coming out later this year, I was reminded of the old school Nerf Sneakshot. What other old school features would I want to see come back? The list above, and the explanations… are below.
BLAST BUTTON – Many years ago, Nerf made a blaster called the “Blast Fire” or “Blast Fire DX” (depending on which version you got) which had a neat little feature: you would prime the blaster, pump the air (5-6 times, maybe more), and you had either 5 shots in quick succession or could hit the “blast” button on top of the blaster to shoot all/remaining darts at once. It was a cool shotgun effect, and one I wish they would explore again, even though in the current line I’m not sure it will. Nerf did multishot a couple of years ago, but it wasn’t quite the same as this, or the Hornet that followed, and the Lightning Blitz which didn’t even bother with a single shot function.
Picture from SG Nerf, the Blast Fire in all its glory. Blast Button is on top.
The successor, the Hornet. Blast Button is on the side. Picture from NerfWikia.com
SEMIAUTO SPRING BLASTERS – During the Nerf Dart Tag line (black and yellow incarnation) there was a really cool pistol called the Sharpfire (yep, same name as the modular pistol out now) with a semiauto/power selection option. Yep, true semiauto trigger pull fun! No priming, no pumping, no accelerator trigger, just squeeze the trigger. The blaster could go from a higher power/slower trigger pull to a weaker setting/faster Rate of Fire setting, but it made dual wielding easy, and quiet (no motors, ma!) Nothing else has come out since then with a true semiauto function again though, and that’s kind of a shame as I thought it was a really fun blaster. Unfortunately, one of the ones I bought didn’t have the same power as the other no matter what setting, so there were some manufacturing issues it looks like on this blaster and given the mechanics involved I’m not terribly surprised. Still though, I would love to see something along these lines again.
INTEGRATED CLIPS – Yes, yes, I know the Han Solo blaster is out now, the Rey blaster, the Mega Magnus, etc. but the integrated clips from the black and yellow Dart Tag line (on the Speedload 6, Quick 16) were really interesting and I found them to be a lot of fun. For starters, the Speedload and the Quick didn’t have to prime before loading. A lot less clumsy of a mechanic than the other current blasters. You could load the blaster, prime it, and even get an extra shot out of it (much like you can with the Fusefire, if you have one). I got to the point where I could feel the breech and just load the blaster without even looking at the clip while running; with half the blaster pulled out for the Magnus and co., that’s a bit more fumbling around if you ask me. The dart tag blasters of this line were much considerably bigger and thicker because of the clip and the positioning, and the clip had jam issues (the best darts were blue tipped dart tag darts, even the older dart tag darts had issues loading with these new blasters), so hopefully if Nerf went back to this design it would come back stronger than ever.
INTEGRATED “SECRET” BARRELS – Nerf made a couple of “Secret Shot” blasters waaayyyyyyyy back, which had the main shooting barrel, but also a hidden second barrel either in the handle or on top. The first Secret Shot was a spring pistol, the main barrel in front and the version with the handle in the bottom. If you didn’t know what it was, it looked easily like an ammo holder. But then if you were in a game and went with the “I surrender” well, much hilarity was to be had if you made the shot. 🙂 The Secret Shot II was an air blaster that had a flip-down barrel on top that you could use after firing the first shot, but had to pump the blaster again between shots as opposed quickly pulling a priming arm. There’s the Rebelle Secret Shot now, but there’s no hidden barrel, just the flip-out function of the blaster itself. And I don’t consider blasters like the Modulus stock blaster as part of this classification because it functions as a separate blaster, and has to be removed before shooting. Especially the Secret Shot I, this function was fun, but also pretty sneaky, and I like that.
(old school video review from Ahtanie, a Singapore Nerfer)
The Secret Shot I. The ammo holder on top also worked as a selector for whichever barrel you were using, and you had to flip it in place.
PUMP BLASTERS (non-slamming air blasters) – There used to be plenty of these, blasters you would pump, and then pull the trigger to fire, and I already mentioned a couple (see the beginning for the Lightning Blitz). Air pump blasters were slower because of the pumping action needed between salvos or shots, but they were super satisfying in some cases, too. Hearing the “pop” from an airtech blaster as you shot was nice (the 2000 was a popular one) and you almost felt like you got some real range stock. The Super Maxx 3000 was another good entry with this functionality, and for awhile was a primary of mine until wear and tear got the better of it. Nerf gave the fans what it wants in speed though, and possibly reliability (air bladders and seals were problems for these blasters as they got used) with the current spring/flywheel lines, and so the only real air blasters they use are those that “slam” function, like the Demolisher missile launcher, the Thunderblast, and one of the attachments on the upcoming Tri-Strike. Gone are the days of shooting 20 darts from a Wildfire, then scrambling to reload WHILE pumping the air back into the blaster. At least, from Nerf blasters.
Buzz Bee still has their “Air Warriors” line full of new air pump blasters, including the “Destiny” as featured below. Previously, they also made blasters like the Range Master and even the popular Panther which utilize air pumps in their play pattern. Hope for air blasters like this are not gone, just elsewhere.
Questions? Comments? Do you want to see animal-shaped blasters again like the Manta? Comment below!
note: there was so much great stuff at Toy Fair! The Five involved with this list are by no means representative of the whole experience.
Edit: previous version of the article incorrectly listed the company for RBS as Super Impact, that has been corrected as of 2/29.
1. Nerf – I’m cheating a bit here. (See the full gallery of images here) The Nerf booth had a ton of things that I felt will be huge in 2016. Heck, the Nerf brand in general is going HUGE in 2016 and beyond, from what I could tell. Even the Platinum Bow from Rebelle is a huge offering and regardless of it being Rebelle I intend to own one. Other blasters, like the BattleScout and the HyperFire, offer new twists on previous features, like the stripper clip (seen on the Magstrike and Powerclip, mainly) and a new camera, while the HyperFire has an increased Rate of Fire. The Nerf Rival Khaos is a ridiculous beast, and while the magazine compatibility is lacking, that is a seriously hilariously large blaster and magazine.
The Nerf blasters this year are incredibly eye catching, but with that comes a level of functionality in some blasters that may change the blaster landscape over the next year. Not just because the Tri-Strike makes most available ammo types usable in a single game play, or that the Hyperfire may arguably be the fastest Rate of Fire for a stock blaster to date, but because Nerf is showing confidence in its brand to try some crazy, oversized ideas. The Brainsaw is evidence the Zombie Strike line continues to produce some fun toys (yes, TOYS) while the Double-Dealer is another massive eye catching piece with its double mag setup. (The Double-Dealer was a non-functioning prototype when I was at the booth, so sadly no firing video. But the stock is in fact a magazine holder, if you haven’t see it yet.) My main concern though is the main blasters are going anywhere between $30 to $80, and to a family that can add up, even to an enthusiast collector. But the fans have wanted bigger and better, and this year, Nerf served that up in spades.
2. Buzz Bee gets “The Walking Dead” license
In addition to continuing to offer a low cost alternative to Nerf, Buzz Bee has the license for “The Walking Dead”, which I can see a lot of people getting excited about. Especially the rifle at the bottom, which does not seem to use an ammo belt like the last rifle of this style I saw (not from Buzz Bee, I believe). It looks like the license is more for the comics than the TV show, but at this point it’s still “Hey! The Walking Dead!” There were some other prototypes at the booth (a blaster reminiscent of the Magstrike/Powerclip, air powered and still very cool) but this is what really caught my eye and has gotta be one of the most telling things for me that Buzz Bee has some serious plans for the future and bears watching even more than before.
3. The Precision RBS system (from Super Impulse) –
This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been taken with a new type of blaster and ammo, but there was something so elegant about the Precision RBS system it deserves a callout here. These are rubber band shooters. And not some specialty rubber band ammo, but every day standard rubber bands (three different sizes) which makes getting the ammo easy in a pinch. The larger models have integrated ammo holders, an integrated second blaster, multiple round firing (and the RoF is semiauto, in case you’re curious). The guys who invented this really did their homework about rubber band shooters, and what players look for (even a separate firing mode) in general from a user standpoint, they really thought of a lot of things for this line. I look forward to seeing more from this blaster, that’s for sure.
4. Paper Shooters
Finally! After years of communication, I finally met the owners behind Paper Shooters, and they look ready to hit the American market. Now, these aren’t your typical blasters- it’s a model kit first (so there is some build time to invest) and a functional blaster second. These are some pretty pieces of kit when you’re done, judging by what I saw at their booth, and when you finally get the blaster built it’s very satisfying shooting them. The shell ejection, the pullback lever, it all feels very cool (for lack of a better term) when shooting them. Even moreso cause this is a blaster you build from the ground up with the kit, so it’s a very different offering from when you have a blaster and modify it, now it is your own you built from basically scratch. 5. K’Nex
K’Nex continues the K-Force line – now we have magazines, motors, and turrets to add into the mix. The beast pictured above is a custom build, but it’s three linked triggers to fire three darts at once. I used the initial kits and found the build times a little long, but I attribute that to my unfamiliarity with using K’Nex pieces. All the same, I am glad this line is still kicking because of the customizability it offers, and really want to sink my teeth into some custom builds this year.
Questions? Comments? Did you want to add anything? More galleries and more in-depth writeups to come, thanks for tuning in!
K’Nex K-Force continues into 2016! The construction set blasters introduce turrets and motorized blasting with the new crop of blasters coming out later this year.
K-10V Building Set Build your own K-FORCE Build and Blast K-10V blaster that fires up to 75 feet! Set features 83 pieces including, K’NEX rods and connectors, 1 blaster chamber, 1 quick fit grip, 1 preload ring and 5 foam darts. Customize and create your own K-FORCE blaster or combine with the K-FORCE Build and Blast Mini Cross Building Set (set sold separately) for an awesome downloadable combo build! All K’NEX rods and connectors are made in the USA. Suggested retail price is $14.99. Ages 8+. Available Spring 2016.
K-25X RotoShot Blaster Building Set
Get ready for rotating blaster action with the new K-FORCE K-25X RotoShot Blaster
Building Set from K’NEX! The K-25X RotoShot blaster allows you to construct an incredible blaster, and then fire off 5 shots without reloading! Set includes 1 NEW RotoChamber, 5 foam darts, 1 quick fit grip, 1 preload ring and downloadable instructions for 4 additional custom blasters and targets. Models can be built one at a time. Compatible with the entire K-FORCE Build and Blast line. All K’NEX rods and connectors are made in the USA. Suggested retail price is $39.99. Ages 8+. Available Fall 2016.
Super Strike RotoShot Blaster Building Set
Rotating blasting fun is what you will get with the new K-FORCE Super Strike RotoShot Blaster Building Set from K’NEX! The Super Strike RotoShot blaster allows you to build an amazing blaster, and then fire off 5 shots without reloading! Set includes 1 NEW RotoChamber, 5 foam darts, 1 quick fit grip, 1 preload ring and downloadable instructions for 4 additional custom blasters and targets. Compatible with the entire K-FORCE Build and Blast line. Models can be built one at a time. All K’NEX rods and connectors are made in the USA. Suggested retail price is $39.99. Ages 8+. Available Fall 2016.
Flash Fire Motorized Blaster Building Set
Blast darts as fast as you can with the K-FORCE Flash Fire Motorized Blaster Building Set! Build your blaster and then load the clip with up to 10 darts, and the new motorized rapid fire chamber will fire darts as fast as you can pull the trigger! Set includes 1 motorized rapid fire chamber, a 10 dart clip, 10 foam darts, 1 quick fit grip and downloadable instructions for 6 additional custom blasters and targets. Compatible with the entire K-FORCE Build and Blast line. Batteries required, but not included. Most models can be built one at a time. All K’NEX rods and connectors are made in the USA. Suggested retail price is $49.99. Ages 8+. Available Fall 2016.
Quick update: got info from the #Nerf team that a “new” version of the Modulus Recon Mk II is coming out, that will not have the same clip compatibility issues as the earlier release. I don’t have one (yet) so this wasn’t a big deal for me, but if you did buy one already, contact Hasbro Customer service as they should be ready to help you out in resolving any questions.
#ForceFriday Brings Licensed Blasters to the Front Lines
Vas The Stampede
ICYMI: Force Friday came and went, bringing with it a slew of new Star Wars toys to herald the revitalizing of the franchise when “The Force Awakens”in theaters. I snagged a few pics on my instagram but here’s the official info and word from Nerf’s press releases (provided by the Nerf folks themselves, except for the lightsabers that I had to grab from ScienceFiction.com. I put a few darts through the blasters too, so there are some thoughts below as well. (All product was paid for on a shopping run, Nerf did not provide samples of these, just the information and images.)
“STAR WARS NERF FIRST ORDER STORMTROOPER BLASTER
(Ages 6 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $12.99/Available: Fall 2015)
The fight to restore order to the galaxy comes home with the first-ever STAR WARS NERF blasters! Battle against the Resistance with this blaster that comes with a removable sight and three NERF darts that fire up to 65 feet!”
Simple enough; the blaster’s a single shot pistol, has a tactical rail on the top, and is easily pocketable. If you have a Firestrike already there’s not much new here, except it’s colored like the First Order Stormtroopers. The range claim is a bit high too, holding the blaster parallel to the ground achieved maybe 30-40′. Angled (VERY angled, as was the case with all these blasters) I was able to get maybe 50′. Good for close quarters but at $12.99 you might find other offerings for similar prices that have higher ranges.
“STAR WARS NERF CHEWBACCA BOWCASTER
(Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $24.99/Available: Fall 2015)
The fight to restore order to the galaxy comes home with the first-ever STAR WARS NERF blasters! Battle against the First Order in the style of your favorite Wookiee with this blaster that features a removable scope, real crossbow action and five NERF darts that fire up to 65 feet!”
This blaster… left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t own the other Chewbacca bowcaster from the 90s(?) so I was excited for it, even moreso because it seemed based on the Diamondista, which is one of my favorite blasters from the Rebelle line. However, this blaster was no Diamondista. It has a tactical rail (for a binocular style sight, included) and an ammo holder for the side. The ammo holder only installs on the one side though which is fine for me as a righty, but I wonder about left-handed users. The biggest complaint about this blaster is the size though, when you think Chewbacca you think a sizable two-handed blaster. The size on this blaster fit more for a pistol than the Bowcaster, at least in my mind.
The worst part of the blaster though, was how it shot. Licensed products in general worry me, and past licensed products of all types (video games, blasters, etc.) were terrible. And when the blaster fired, it fired fine. Angled it would hit 60+, around 30-40′ aimed parallel to the ground. BUT, the darts would sometimes spiral when they launched. And this misfire happened a lot more than I remember it happening with a Diamondista. Maybe it’s the dart quality, the weather, the phase of the moon but the reliability of this blaster firing was noticeably low. While the Diamondista is only $10 ($4.98 elsewhere) that’s an acceptable risk, but for a $25 blaster that carries the roleplay idea of one of the main heroes of a major franchise…. I expected better. This one I’d say wait for the sale.
STAR WARS NERF FIRST ORDER STORMTROOPER DELUXE BLASTER
(Ages 6 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $39.99/Available: Fall 2015)
The fight to restore order to the galaxy comes home with the first-ever STAR WARS NERF blasters! Battle against the Resistance with this blaster that comes with a 12-dart clip, slam-fire action, removable sight, detachable stock and twelve NERF darts that fire up to 65 feet!
This blaster was up to my expectations. It comes with a 12 round magazine, tactical rail sight, and a detachable stock. Colored as the First Order Stormtroopers, the main weapon to fight the Resistance. Whether stormtroopers will shoot better this time around remains to be seen, but if they’re using streamlines I have a good feeling for the Resistance fighters. The blaster reminds me of the Alpha Trooper in the way it feels and shoots… which isn’t necessarily a good thing. The Elite Alpha Trooper’s pump felt a little flimsy for me, and would sometimes release the magazine I had in the blaster. It just didn’t feel like a very robust build and definitely not like the Rampage or Raider even. Some aesthetic touches such as the “armed” vents on the side are nice though. I am not sure how left-handed people are going to like using this blaster though, with the magwell and mag release buttons positioned only on the left side of the blaster. Also, the jam door is connected to the pump, so you can’t open it whenever. I don’t like that, but maybe it’s a small complaint. HOWEVER, the first one I bought broke using slam-fire and I had to return it for an exchange. So far the other one hasn’t had any issues, and fires pretty well.
Range-wise, the blaster hit maybe 40′ at least while aiming parallel to the ground, but definitely needed an angle to hit 60’+. Not surprised at that. Is it worth $40? Depends on how much you like Star Wars, need a slam-fire blaster, or…. like Star Wars? I took advantage of the promo price Toys R Us had, so I was fine with the price I paid for it. If you already have an Alpha Trooper or Rampage, you may want to pass. Personally I am still happy with it, as I always wanted a Stormtrooper blaster and am happy that dart shooters from Star Wars are finally out and hitting over 20-30′. If these do well, I look forward to more as the franchise expands.
STAR WARS NERF DART REFILL
(Ages 6 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $9.99/Available: Fall 2015)
The fight to restore order to the galaxy comes home with the first-ever STAR WARS NERF blasters! Choose your side – Resistance blue or First Order red – and blast into battle! Each refill pack comes with 18 foam NERF darts compatible with all STAR WARS NERF blasters, sold separately.
The dart heads are transparent! Not much to say, just additional dart types which are pretty nice. 18 darts for $9.99…. that’s…. uhm…. definitely not the price you get for other packs though. How much do you really want to shoot blue or red darts?
STAR WARS® BLADEBUILDERS FOAM LIGHTSABER ASST (The bottom 3 lightsabers in the picture above) (Ages 4 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $14.99/Available: Fall 2015) Introducing a new way to wield a Lightsaber! New Foam Lightsabers provide movie-accurate looks with a soft foam material for amazing fun. Each Lightsaber is compatible and combinable with other BLADEBUILDERS Lightsaber components (sold separately). Choose from YODA, DARTH VADER, and LUKE SKYWALKER. Each sold separately.
FINALLY! Lightsabers I can use for combat and not worry about bending/scuffing the plastic. The foam is more consistent with pool noodle foam though, and less the smooth foam used for the old N-Force line. The handles are hollowed out to use with connectors for the Blade Builder set, so you have options and configurations to choose from! For $14.99 you can definitely find cheaper foam swords, but they’re not lightsabers. I gladly paid the price for the aesthetics. And yes, you lose the light-up function and the hum of the sabers, but now you can duel with the best of them! (Which is NOT recommended for play.)
#ForceFriday Kicks off the New Hope for Star Wars (toys)
Thanks to Graham B on Facebook, we have these initial pics for the new Nerf Star Wars First Order blasters! I haven’t gotten these myself yet, these pics came from Graham.
Enjoy the pics, commentary to follow.
Not sure which UPC this is for (based on the order the pics were sent to me this is for the deluxe blaster.)
The range claims are approximately 65′, which is INFINITELY better than most licensed products in the past. The Deluxe blaster seems to have slam-fire and use n-strike mags, definitely something I will test though. The smaller pistol has the same range claim, but no mag usage. Interesting stuff!
UPDATE: the $79.99 price tag looks to be from an Australian source. Less price in the U.S.
HOWEVER, $20.99 for a pistol (probably single shot) & $79.99 for what is basically a Rampage? Dangit, Nerf. (See update!) For $10 more that’s a Rhino-Fire. Son of Nerf Herder, I hope that’s an error of some sort but I won’t know for myself until I hit the stores in the morning. That’s pretty exorbitant in my opinion, even if it is a licensed product. But Nerf can get away with it, because fans like myself are going nuts right now in anticipation. Heck of a trick. In the meantime, happy hunting! And may the Force be with you, always.
Nerf Rival Zeus Claims to Hit 100 FPS Vas The Stampede
Back in February at Toy Fair, I checked out the Nerf Rival Zeus blaster in prototype form! Thanks to Nerf for sending along the full production model. Check the video below, and I’ll update with my thoughts later today.
(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 Apollo:
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.
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Foam From Above 