Hasbro had its usual showroom at Toy Fair this year, and while they’re once again teasing some big product launch this fall (9-9-12 this time), they have two great-looking Nerf guns coming out this spring (at least, hopefully in New York; these guns have been picked up elsewhere in stores already). The Nerf Rayven is horribly spelled but has a great action to it. The Nerf Lumitron gives the Votex line even more glowy green gimmickry. Both are very flashy guns, in that they actually light up in their mags to charge their included glow-in-the-dark darts and discs.
The Rayven is a bullpup semiautomatic submachine-looking gun that uses the same mechanism as the Barricade. Yes, first Hasbro gave us the Nerf M-16, now they’re giving us the Nerf AR-15. The Lumitron is literally just a Praxis with no shoulder stock and a battery-powered magazine to light up its glow-in-the-dark discs. The Nerf Jolt is also new, replacing the Secret Strike as a palmable blaster. It’s one-shot, spring-loaded, and is basically a Nerf derringer. Since it’s spring-loaded, you don’t have to pump it up like the Secret Strike.
Those are just to whet the appetite for the fall, though. The new Nerf line is “Elite,” and while Hasbro didn’t show anything specific beyond a teaser with outlines of guns, it looks extreme. Several rifles, including what looks like a modified version of the Raider, and they’re all just part of the eventual launch of the Nerf Hailfire, which looks big. Like the Stampede and the Motorized Ballzooka (remember that one?) had a baby big.
Even before the Elite guns come out, the Rayven adds another could-be-needed component to the Nerf arsenal for cube warriors. Let’s look at how the must-haves stack up:
