Tag: xploderz

Review: Xploderz Xgrenades

Little video review of the Xploderz Xgrenades.

Besides actually hitting your target with the sphere itself, I think qualifying a tag with this thing is going to be tough.  Grass, concrete (that’s why I put the posterboard down, to show the spread a little better) is tough with this style of ammo.  A grenade the way I see it is dynamic, and… well… explosive.  This isn’t.  People throw ballistic balls and socks during Humans Vs. Zombies games, but for $7.99 even that’s a little pricey to act as a replacement for much cheaper alternatives (hell, one game I used large marshmallows.)

In any event, buyer beware on this one…. maybe use them as tossable large ammo, but if you’re looking for a grenade type device this isn’t it.

Store purchased: Meijer (a big box store like Target)
Cost: $7.99
Included: 3 “grenades” and 750 rounds of dry ammo (no container, have a bowl handy.  Obviously, if you use the xploderz ammo depots you won’t be able to get the ammo back out).

 

Toys R Us Visit – New stuff? (Nerf, Xploderz, new brand)

https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

Just some shots of new things I found at Toys R Us and Target recently.  Highlights?

Nerf Double Dart/Disc Packs

Some new line called “NXT Tactical”

A pull-release blaster game system called “SlugTerra” (apparently a cartoon)

SpyNet wrist shooter

Don’t remember seeing this when I first spotted Launch N Attack, could be wrong tho.

A faux hammer pistol from Air Zone!

Oh right!  Found THIS, too:

After last year’s Toy Fair, FINALLY SNAPFIRE 8 in the U.S.! (Well, at least near me)

New York Toy Fair – Nerf, Zing, Katniss, oh my! Possible trending for 2013

New York Toy Fair ended and that leaves a hole in my schedule and a LOT of material to run through.  But as always, I’ll do my best.

Nerf-wise, the biggest news to come out of the showroom this year wasn’t some super secret video with a mysterious silhouette.  This year Nerf was upfront about where they’re going by revealing their new line with girls in mind, the Nerf Rebelle.

For years, I’ve been running the “Foamme Fatale” gallery on my blog to show that in fact, girls are interested in and play with Nerf toys too.  This isn’t, nor should it be a new or surprising development.  From Amazons to Samus Aran, females are into the action toys as well.  It’s good to see that for a couple of years, Nerf did the research and is now getting this initiative in gear.  1200 girls surveyed to see what it is they wanted out of Nerf blasters, and the Nerf Rebelle line is evidence of that.

Now, I don’t remember, but did anyone see girls in the running for the last user-submitted NDTL?  Just putting that out there.

First off, I’m a big fan of the line.  I love the functionality, the streamlined feel of the blasters, and the call back to older weaponry (Nerf Crossbow, Bow N Arrow) with some of them.  The “Rebelle” (and I think even that’s a bit smart, I believe playing off “reveille”) line will get the same performance as the Elite blasters, and the only difference then is the outside aesthetics, kinda like how boys and girls are different on the outside, but on the inside we’re all able to reach 75′. (Or something like that).

Nerf Rebelle Heartbreaker Bow
Nerf N-Strike Blazin’ Bow

The performance is there for the Rebelles, for sure.  And handling the blasters I can tell you the function matches the form.  They are sleek, streamlined, feel pretty mobile, and are very eye-catching.  All good ingredients for success.  Now, at first I was wondering about the pink trim, and “why does the girls stuff have to be pink?” but… it’s what my niece has been looking for.  And this is why I say it will sort of challenge gender stereotypes.  Sure, pink is a stereotypically feminine color, but remember the original Bow And Arrow(s?)  And as cool as some of these blasters are (I refer to the Nerf Alpha Girl) the boys are going to HAVE to get used to a pink blaster.

So, failed argument bemoaning the coloring.  Nerf researched high and low for 2 years figuring out what girls wanted, and they wanted pink blasters, accessories, social interaction, the works.

One more note on the pink… the packaging and everything is going to stand out on the shelves.  Think about it.  You walk down the toy blaster aisle, as a young girl you see aisles and aisles of shooting toys in a sea of blues, greens, yellows, oranges, and all with serious-faced boys firing blasters…. and there it is:

Something different.  A pink box, a couple of girls looking like they’re ready to have some fun with blasters.  And not just blasters where it’s “oh, these are for boys, but hey girls can play too” it’s FOR you, a female, speaking TO you in the advertising.  Images mean everything, and this might be what it will take to get most (remember, research of over 1200 girls for 2 years) girls to give the blaster aisle a 2nd look for something directed at them.

Marketing theories aside, the Nerf Rebelle line is only one hint of a trend to bridge a gap between boys and girls in the active toy department.  Not just Nerf, but Zing Toys made a pink bow called the Huntress:

As well as included some female characters into their marketing collateral.

What does this mean?  Attempts to appeal to the association to characters such as “Katniss Everdeen” from The Hunger Games and “Merida” from Disney’s Brave.  No joke, a number of the pitches I heard during Toy Fair drew correlations to creating strong female empowerment imagery to associate to one’s toys.  Or it was applying technology for existing “Boys'” toys to “Girls'” toys.

What does this mean for our blasters?  Nothing alarming, don’t get me wrong.  What this means is that girls have been recognized as a missed opportunity in the action toy department, and Nerf’s Rebelle and Zing’s Huntress are the start.  We might see more of this female-oriented development from other companies in the future should these particular initiatives succeed.

The OTHER point, is with the social climate being what it is right now in regards to firearms, bows and arrows and weaponry of that category are the 2nd trend I’m wondering about.  That’s why you see a Blazin’ Bow after a series of triggered blasters from Nerf, the Rebelle line is bows and crossbows (for the most part), and why Zing is what I believe is the dark horse of the category with their bow-centric toys.  Sure Rebelle has the revolver, but unlike the Nerf Elite series, between the aesthetics and the color scheme, Rebelle seems like it is trying really hard to shake the image of a modern firearm, with all the smooth aesthetics and bow-type functions in spite of the triggered system (that’s why the Heartbreaker is the big item from the Nerf Rebelle line; it’s a non-triggered toy I think and thus less of a firearm.  And Katniss.)

POINT #2:

My Last Dart has already spread the news that Nerf is going to make discs that serve different functions, one of which is to get the discs to fly faster and farther.  Knowing that they are already pushing the envelope with the blasters themselves, this makes sense that they decided a back door way to try and get higher performance with the ammo.  The Elite darts were only the start (essentially modified stock streamlines). Now you have what could be a precedent for different dart types as well.

Other companies do this now.  Zing has two versions of arrows; the long-range version and a suction cup version.  Each gives a player a choice on how they want to play, so I would not be surprised to see more of this, with different types of ammo that might fall within safety regs but are different from foam darts.  See: the TekRecon, Vapor blasters, and Xploderz ammo.  Heck, Marshmallowville is out there with Marshmallow shooters too.  Rubber bands, water pellets, marshmallows… smaller ammo than darts, flying farther, and higher ammo capacity than Nerf. (TekRecon’s Havok is going to boast 90 shots per reload, and similar with Vapor and Xploderz.)

 

Head spinning yet?  Girls are a new market, look for new innovations in ammo types more than the blasters, Max Force and the first round of water pellet blasters was the start.  Possibly blasters are going to start looking crazier and crazier, so they look less like real firearms.  Ultimately though, Nerf still has one more (or 3) trick up its sleeve…. the as-yet unrevealed blasters that are under NDA right now, but being hinted at.  Nerf’s still THE brand to contend with, and we’ll just have to see what happens next.  Lock and load.

Now:
Nerf
Zing
Vapor 
Marshmallow Shooters
Xploderz
TekRecon
PrimteTime Toys (more foam dart shooters, but they’re revealing more later this year)
Splatmaster (though that’s paintball)
Whew!

Year in Review Highlights: Nerf (and other Toy Blasters) – 2012!

Oh man… what a year!  2012 was a pretty big time for toy blasters.  There was just so much that came out and so many things have happened, here we are again.

Some of my fave things:

– New York Toy Fair 2012

– The Nerf Hailfire Release Party (Thanks Nerf!)

 
– BATTLE OF THE AMAZONS

The Release of the Nerf N-Strike Elite:
– Retaliator
– Rampage
– Hailfire
– Triad
– Stryfe
– Strongarm
– Elit Reflex/Eliminator (Though I don’t believe it actually has a range increase)
– Elite Rayven
– Firestrike
– RoughCut 2×4
– Stockade (outside the U.S.)

RoughCut 2×4
Nerf Hailfire
Nerf Retaliator

Nerf Rampage
Nerf Strongarm and Firestrike
Nerf Elite Rayven and Stryfe
Nerf Triad
Nerf Eliminator
Nerf Stockade and 30 pack of darts

Nerf Dart Tag:
– Snapfire 8 (outside the U.S.)

Nerf Vortex:
– PYRAGON


– Diatron

Whew!  It’s been a busy year 🙂

Nevermind that Nerf revamped the Lazer Tag line:


Buzz Bee and Air Zone/Prime Time Toys had some respectable years with new releases of their own, but the most notable was probably the Range Master, an air blaster w/pump that got good ranges and gave some folks out there a non-springer option:

But it wasn’t just the year of the foam dart blasters, not at all.  Disposable ammo is part of the game now, past the Max Force spit wads and the first run of Xploderz water pellet blasters, there’s now also BlasterPro, “X2” series Xploderz, and Vapor.

BlasterPro

Xploderz

Vapor

This branch of the toy blaster tree will definitely bear some watching come 2013.  I got a feeling we’re in for a whole new level of innovation, between Nerf upping the ante with their increased ranges from the Elite/Vortex lines, now these new companies are going to have to show what they can do next.

Definitely not least, Zing Toys is out there with some great products as well.  Definitely keep an eye out for their Air Storm line:

Zcurve bow

ZX Crossbow

Zing Shot and Pop Rocketz

Zip Bak Bow
Z-Tek Crossbow

WHAT  A YEAR, HOLY CRAP.  SO MANY TOYS.

On that note… let’s not forget the fallen.  Gone, give or take some leftover stock on the shelves.  Safe to say these brands aren’t supported in their current forms anymore:

Max Force
Light Strike

BUT… while two brands dropped out (apparently)… one more has risen.  Yup, Launch N Attack

And a more local offering, Bumpa’s Blowguns!

And that, as they say, is that!  Sorry if I missed anything, but there’s only so much one can recall!  Have a great New Year, and see you in 2013!

BlasterPro (S2500) and Xploderz X2 (Mauler 1000) Product Review – 2 for 1 Friday!

Here we go!  So the Maya Group thought fit to send over a couple of samples of their latest offerings, the new-revamped X2 Xploderz Mauler 1000 and the BlasterPro S2500. 

First things first, let’s talk about the Mauler.  Then we’ll go into BlasterPro, more after the jump  —->

OK!

X2 Xploderz Mauler 1000.  What can I say about it?  I wasn’t a fan of Xploderz before, and I will admit that this goes a long way to address some of the problems that I had with the original run.

What’s new:

– No jiggly side handle to load ammo before each shot.  Yay!
– The thing actually shoots.  The XGround Pounder was terrible with misfires and barely had a round clear the barrel.  I was firing consistently with the Mauler.

What’s still there:
– Still no trigger.  Word has it something to do with using stored energy (such as a trigger) makes it a toy safety regulation issue. Not totally sure on the phrasing , but that’s what they say.
– Gel-ammo.  It’s fun!  No colors, no splotches, no getting soaked.  It breaks apart and dries up.  Pickup not necessary.
– Hopper sits on top of the blaster…. so… sights… there are none.
– High ranges.  It does get pretty close to 100′, but hitting that range with accuracy is the real issue.
– Still grow your ammo in the included ammo depot, then link that up with you hopper when you want to reload.

Comes with:
1 Mauler
1000 rounds of ammo
Ammo Depot
Hopper
Instructions

Ok, now to get to it.  If the Mauler is any indicator about the X2 line, the Maya Group got some things right with this.  They have range and output.  However, the triggerless system feels a bit awkward for me to use, and the design of the blaster, while futuristic, is uncomfortable to wield.

The Mauler works like this:  You pull the handle back which causes ammo to load into the barrel (before you had to jiggle a handle to open the loading door that dropped ammo in), hold the handle, and release it when ready to fire.  A little simpler, a lot easier to shoot.  And more relable!  Definitely better than the Ground Pounder. 

A bit more focused picture of the trigger guard

The trigger-guard’s square shape was a bit uncomfortable to hold for extended usage not to mention trying to hold the blaster steady while shooting was difficult because of the pull and release.  Trying to stiffen my arm holding the blaster, like a bow and aroow, was less than effective because the pull arm is sized for the target market, kids.  It’s like trying to shoot something that’s a hybrid bow and arrow and gun.  The smooth knob of the handle on the “power arm” doesn’t lend itself well to consistent pull; my hand did slip off now and again from test-firing it.  Unfortunately, my aim was kind of all over the place because of this.

The Bow N Mallow shooter has a good example of a form that works.  I would have liked a rounder grip to fit my hands, and once again… the ability to aim down the sights. The power arm makes me want to the position the blaster along my arm already, (again, the bow and arrow comparison) so aiming right down the top of the blaster happens naturally for me.  Trying to fire from the waist is just a little more awkward with the power arm and where my arm gets positioned to use it.

NEXT UP:  BlasterPro S2500 (manual pump-action shooter)

Ah, the new stuff!  The smaller-ammoed, harder hitting, less-time growing entry to more advanced tactical blastersports from Maya Group.  It sells a paintball and/or airsoft experience with none of the mess and splatter.  At approx. $30 for the S2500 and approx. $50 for the electric (Es5000) version, it is certainly cost-effective compared to a day on a paintball field.

It comes with a zombie color-change target, 170 rounds ready-grown, the S2500, 5 bags of 500 pieces of dry ammo (grows in 90 mins with water) and the box.

It works by pumping the handle, pushing down a safety button (and keeping it pushed when you want to fire), and pulling the trigger.  The video below demonstrates.

First off, the thing definitely gets near the 100′ mark angled, and hits around 70′ flat.  Maya Group isn’t kidding though about the ages on this thing, it hits pretty hard.  Here’s a shot I took from a little more than 10′ away –

A little too close at range?  Maybe.  But this is what the thing can do.  Having played paintball before, the welt is nothing but wanted to share for anyone who was curious.  14+ is definitely the market this sits in.

It does have range, output, a triggered experience, and the aesthetics of a shotgun.  While it may be a bit too dark-colored for some folks, make sure you are responsible with it. 

A couple of notes about the design:  the pump-handle is a bit herky-jerky when popping off shots, I think to ensure the ammo drops in and to prime the gun.  There was this consistent point in the motion that I really had to pull on the handle to move it, and you can hear it in the video I think.  Additionally, the pump-handle struck me as a little undersized, I really felt like my hands wrapped around it and even pinched my hand a couple of times when it went flush with the rest of the gun.  It could stand to be a bit bigger, but at that point I’m being nitpicky.

Unlike Xploderz, the hopper can be reloaded via a door at the top of the ammo container:

And a closer look at that zombie target:

MORE GALLERY:
https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

You’ll most likely find this in the paintball/airsoft section of your local stores, and if you feel like you want to paintball but don’t have the time/money to hit a field, give these a try.  Definitely less cleanup and cheaper than a paintball field, but remember these aren’t toys and should be respected as such.  Watch your eyes, your aim, and most importantly the other side 🙂

Thanks to the Maya Group for the samples!

OP/ED: Hey, marketing/PR/design toy people, just a thought –

After another Toy Fair, it got me thinking.  I’ve listened/read to many a pitch about this or that product, and it always boils down to a few target markets in the toy business, parents and kids.  Either the advertising/initiatives/campaigns are geared to the fantasy roleplay of a child’s imagination that gets them to bug their parents for a toy, or the parent thinks their child might be interested in said toy.

Well, what about us?  For years I’ve heard that the NIC and other communities just do not make up enough of a population to necessitate any marketing.

 I wonder just how true that is.  Worldwide, I’d like to say that interest in blaster-based games has increased exponentially.  Sure, there are mainstays like airsoft and paintball (where applicable) but the fact that Nerf/related product blogs has grown exponentially in years says a lot.  There’s interest, there’s people paying attention, and I think it’s time some of the quoted talking heads I’ve seen doing news pieces or whatever on toy blasters need to be on notice.

Like some cartoons, not all toys are “Just For Kids.” 

I saw this piece a months ago (thanks to the Aussie Canberra crew for linking this on their FB) – http://www.timetoplaymag.com/toys/2814/the-maya-group/xploderz-xranger-2000/ – and while I respect the Time to Play team (seen them, never had a chance to actually speak with them) for their work, this little quote regarding Xploderz made my eyebrow raise a little,

Xground Pounder

“Who It’s For
The Xploderz XRanger 2000 is for ages 8 and up. We think that this will have a special appeal to older boys, even college-age kids.”

I’m sorry, what?  College age?  I tried the Xranger (and the Xploderz stuff in general), and… well, if I got this in school chances are it would have been donated to some needy family or theater kid for costuming.  In fact, the blasters look like space ships more than anything designed with ergonomics in mind so it could probably fill in for a student sci-fi film.  Between the 4 hour wait-time (Sea Monkeys, anyone) for extra ammo and the overall unreliability of the blaster (it shoots when it wants to, even moreso with the Xground Pounder) and the lack of accuracy (due to the pull-release mechanism) to simple issues like BLOCKING YOUR SIGHTS WITH A HIGH-CAPACITY MAGAZINE (again, Xground Pounder)… I wasn’t a fan.  My mother taught me, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” but in a case like this, it’s buyer misinformation. 

And I don’t think this was in bad form.  For almost $40 the Xranger and Xground Pounder are not worth the experience, and on a college kid’s non-budget there’s a lot better stuff out there.  The Time to Play team (or many other bloggers out there) play with blasters like I do, such as with the Tacticool Tag and Gaming Society of Chicagoland (http://ttagschicago.blogspot.com).

I exchanged some emails with a company about samples they sent, and told them that the blaster they sent me was not functioning well, and the company wanted to go over what was happening.  One thing they mentioned was feedback like mine was good because they get an idea of how users actually deal with their blasters outside of shooting targets in their room

So… what do they imagine kids are even doing once they take these out?  Sure, shooting targets is fun but we all know the first thing we did when we got the new toy home was aim it at a sibling or our buddy (NOT RECOMMENDED winkwinknudgenudge).

Which brings me to the point.  Between all these communities like Mall Wars, HvZ, and the already existent aftermarket community, it’s not worth a company’s time to market to us a little bit?  Nerf’s done a pretty decent job of outreach to bloggers, Zing Toys, and Vapor, but they’re the only ones.  At places like Toy Fair, people ask about my readership.  When I mention all the places that show up on my analytics (and that one hit from Uzbekistan) their eyes grow huge.  We’re out there.  We want to spend money.  LET US BUY YOUR BLASTERS.  TELL US ABOUT THEM.  MAKE THEM AWESOME.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned these past few months is that the Internet becomes a fantastic bargaining chip.  Think of all the recent internet events where with one keystroke, items go viral, facebook and twitter blow up, and then a company either admits fault or disappears.  Oh, hey Ocean Marketing and Papa John’s.  Rush Limbaugh, how’s that apology for the Fluke going?  Miss your sponsors, right?

Our words have power.  Our web presence has power.  We want to have toys for all ages, that play awesomely, and keep us coming back for more.  We’re not just a niche market anymore.  We are a viable share of the market.

And I’m currently working on a way to prove it quantitatively.  Stay tuned.

Nerf/foam blaster/etc retrospective – so. much. 2011

Hmmm.. holy crap.  2011 was not just a huge year for Nerf, but for toy blasters in general.  Why all the popularity?  I really couldn’t tell you.  Maybe Hasbro’s N-Strike line proved that kids still like to play soldier, and the creation of pseudo-military looking toy blasters like the Maverick and Longshot showed there was some money to be made.  The Maverick is one of the best selling Nerf blasters ever, and with the revolver look and feel Hasbro did good, and they looked to do good again (proven in the amount of cosplay photos I’ve seen).  Success breeds competition though, and boy oh boy, were there a lot of newcomers this year.  This blog entry is by no means all-inclusive, and I know I’m going to miss a lot, but dangit I’m going to try!

One could say a large bit of news came from the New York Toy Fair , where both old guard and new competitors rose to visibility.  Prime Time Toys stepped out from the Air Zone shadow, showing off past creations like the Powerstrike 48.  Toy Fair showed their new version of the Gatling Punisher and a new take on the revolver, a Quickfire 12.  This was just the start!  Since then they’ve released a Quickfire rifle and a new belt-fed rifle.  Their ammo is a different take on streamline ammo as well, unlike Buzz Bee darts that still fit most Nerf blasters.  I would expect more from this company in 2012, as it looks like they’re not done yet by a long shot.  Keep your eyes peeled here for more info coming soon.:)

Buzz Bee released a lot of new items as well, notably the Rad 12.  Honestly, they released so much I’m not sure I can list everything.  The Double Shot got a new look, and a four-shot turreted blaster called the Rogue came out as well.  It looked like the Ultimate System they put out didn’t do so well, as I don’t really see many more Sniper Blasts and Ultimate Missile Blasts on shelves.

The Air Zone line out of Toys R Us, combined with the Humans Vs. Zombies game to produce blasters emblazoned with their logo, an eight-shot pistol and a new version of the triple shot.  The triple shot also saw a red repaint, sans HvZ flair.  Far as I can tell, this is a coup that a gametype involving foam blasters actually gained notice from a mass retailer.  So, congrats to the HvZ team for their success, and here’s to more zombie-fighting gear in 2012.  I’ve always said “throw your wars how you want to throw them, and let the attendees sort ’em out.”  People spoke loud and clear in this case:)

I didn’t see too much of the “XC” blasters, which I first saw at Toy Fair; but then not much in retailers:

The dark horse of the whole foam weapon business?  Zing Toys, with their Zcurve bow and arrow and other rubber band-powered weapons!  The Zcurve bow was by far my fave toy of their line, and I hope to see more out of them in 2012:

Some other companies attempted to pull people away from foam shooters.  Jakks Pacific came out with a line of spitwad shooters called “Max Force” urging people to “graduate from foam” with their paperwad shooters.  The blasters didn’t have a trigger, but they did have a bit of power in them, getting upwards of 80′.  Sadly, the accuracy left something to be desired and reloading clips was a pain in the rear end.  Aesthetically, they looked really cool, but the functionality was a real task to get used to.

Speaking of functionality if I had to give a goose egg this year to blaster design I would give it to Xploderz, one of the new lines that fires evaporating “gel pellets.”  Nevermind that their commercials are misleading in how the blasters function, they’re just poor blasters.  Unreliable loading mechansim, poor accuracy, bad placement of hand grips and components, limited allowance of motion, and delayed gratification with a toy right out of the box.  And these things are pricey, upwards of $50 for the longer range models.  Seriously, buyer beware.

Razor, of all companies, jumped into the blaster game this year just as 2011 comes to a close.  Their Vapor line fires gel pellets as well, but I think they do it better.  For instance, their first blaster, the Atlas 250 (first seen at this here blog) has a 50 round capacity per reload for a PISTOL, but also goes with a more traditional (and comfy!) trigger design.  Definitely worth watching, make sure to check Amazon.com and Zappos for products!  Of the newcomers in new projectiles, I think Razor might have the better of the products.

Wowwee, of Paper Jamz fame, released a new version of laser tag, called “Light Strike”.  A little pricey to start, but once you get going it’s a lot of fun.  With different modular accessories and other battle field items like the Intelligent Targeting System and target vests, there are a lot of ways to play, you just have to figure out how for yourself 🙂  Full link (including pricing) to the proper review: http://foamfromabove.blogspot.com/2011/10/light-strike-heres-go.html

Ultimately, though I like to think we all started with and still use Nerf.  They had a big year, from the continued success of the Dart Tag line, http://foamfromabove.blogspot.com/2011/11/holiday-buying-guide-dart-tag-pt-1-to.html, to the release of the Vortex series and numerous repainted blaster schemes (Whiteout, Gear Up, new additions to the Sonic series)
.
http://foamfromabove.blogspot.com/2011/11/holiday-buying-guide-dart-tag-pt-1-to.html
http://foamfromabove.blogspot.com/2011/12/nerf-holiday-buying-guide-part-2-nerf.html

to expanding the Super Soaker and N-Force lines:

N-FORCE VENDETTA DOUBLE SWORD
NERF N-FORCE VANTAGE Short Sword
NERF N-FORCE KLAW HATCHET

HYDRO CANNON .
NERF SUPER SOAKER TORNADO STRIKE
NERF SUPER SOAKER SCATTER BLAST .
NERF SUPER SOAKER POINT BREAK
NERF SUPER SOAKER CLIP SYSTEM Refills


Even having something for collectors, two different versions of the Barricade Rev-10, one with an Optimus Prime paintjob, and another with Bumblebee.  So, lots going on with the worker elves at Hasbro this year!  Nothing new on the lazer tag front yet, but 2012 is well on its way now.  Not to mention licensed material, like this Transformers:  Dark of the Moon blaster, as well as some of the toys from this year’s big Marvel movie blockbusters like Thor and Captain America.

WHEW!  So. Much.  What does this mean for 2012?  The market for toy blasters and other foam weaponry just might get a bit more competitive!  What I hope to see?  Blasters that have a VARIETY of functions, not just the same ol’ one dart, one pull kinda deal.  Much as I loved the Nerf line, they all fire a dart 25-30 feet, or a disc up to 60.  But functionally they tend to feel the same.  Pump-action, priming slide, it’s all too familiar territory.  Semi-auto, single-action, or full-auto.  The pistols fire within the same range as the “higher powered” blasters.  I understand that there are regulations, but give us something to work with.  I will say there’s at least one contender out to try this out, but I can’t say much more than that.  I hope to see a revisit to blasters more Blastfire and Lightning Blitz, and less like the Hornet.  Nerf’s still top of the game, but I hope there will be less repaints and reshells for 2012.  Wow me again, Hasbro.  Before one of the other companies beats you to the punch!

I’ll be back for 2012, and even more importantly, I’ll be back at Toy Fair this year in February.  I’ve got some more news to put out, but that will wait after the Mayan Spaceship invasion 🙂  Take care everyone, be safe, and weather allowing, get out and play!

Vapor Day – the gallery!

This was a heck of an event – Razor, makers of the new Vapor line of blasters, provided a bunch of blasters and ammo my way to hold an event with the CLDTS, a local group of folks of all ages who like to get together and play dart tag with other toy blasters.  The gel ammo and blasters were a really different way to play from the usual diet of foam darts, so they decided to give it a try.  Disposable ammo and ammo capacity rivaling anything we’ve seen before?  Worth a try!

Thus the take-away event happened!  We were able to keep the blasters and ammo, and had some targets to try out before going after each other.  We tried the game types like capture the flag, elimination, and just some plain old shoot ’til we’re tired.  We took a swing at HvZ, but without boundaries it usually ended up with a team running out of the park. 

https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

Click the slideshow to go to the full gallery, and count on videos and more to follow!  Keep an eye out for the commercial soon, and for more info on when to buy these blasters keep an eye out on the Vapor facebook page!