Orange Mod Works Announces Massacre Mod Total Nerf Overhaul Packages
We last looked at Orange Mod Works' Nerf mod kits in August, where I had some tiny-spring-losing problems but otherwise thought it was brilliant. Orange Mod Works makes modification kits for Nerf guns, offering stronger springs and reinforced parts to make Nerf guns even stronger. Now they're putting out an all-in-one kit for completely overhauling your Nerf gun. The Massacre mods don't just give you springs and backplates (like the kit I reviewed). They give you stronger springs, metal backplates and trigger catches, and most importantly polycarbonate bolt sleds and plungers.
To get the best distance from your Nerf gun, you need to remove the air restrictor from the breech. This requires you to either cut the mechanism in half and reseal it (which is really difficult), or to drill/melt through the barrel until the restrictor falls out. It's a pain. Since this kit gives you a completely new, reinforced breech, plunger, and bolt sled, you don't have to do any of that. The downside is that the Massacre kits are $37, which is more than the guns themselves.
If you want to go hardcore with your Nerf guns, you can do it in November, when the Massacre kits start to ship. It will be available for the Recon, Alpha Trooper, Longstrike, and Raider, and the Alpha Trooper, Longstrike, and Raider versions will come with metal triggers if you preorder them (yes, a preorder bonus that's not useless!). Pretty cool if you're into Nerf insanity. Which we all know you are.
Nerf Vortex: The Future of Foam Warfare
A few months ago, Hasbro announced a new line of Nerf guns, competing with the Nerf N-Strike series by offering a new, non-dart-based form of foam projectile. The company started showing off Nerf Vortex discs, and unveiled four new Nerf Vortex blasters to use them. Well, the Nerf Vortex
Instead of using compressed air to blast out foam darts, Nerf Vortex guns fling discs like little frisbees, sending them farther with less effort. Hasbro sent me the four new Nerf Vortex guns, and after spending some time with them I can safely say that they're the go-to weapons if you want the most range without modding your weapons. They're far from perfect, though.
High-End Nerf Modding: Orange Works’ Laser-Cut Metal Nerf Gun Kits
Nerf gun mods are nothing new. People have been stretching springs, replacing barrels, and removing air restrictors for almost as long as Nerf guns have been around. However, they've always involved off-the-shelf parts and a lot of creative gluing, bending, and cutting to get things to work. Now Orange Mod Works has taken the guesswork out of replacing and improving parts of your Nerf gun.
Orange Mod Works is a small company that sells mod kits for Nerf guns. Instead of just offering the tools (though there is a very large tool kit you can buy from them to be prepared for complex and extreme mods), they offers measured springs and all-metal replacement parts you can just drop into your Nerf guns to both make them more powerful and reinforce them. They sent me their Alpha Trooper Stage 1 modification kit, and I was surprised by just how well-made the entire kit is.
Hasbro Announces Nerf Vortex: Non-Drugstore Disc-Launching Guns
For the last few years, Hasbro has announced a big Nerf product in the summer and released it in the fall. Last year it was the Stampede, the greatest Nerf assault rifle ever made. The year before that it was the Raider, a pump-action rifle with a freaking 35-dart drum magazine. The year before that was the Vulcan, a tripod-mounted belt-fed Nerf machine gun. This year, Nerf is going even further. Instead of announcing a big new gun, Hasbro is launching an entire new line of Nerf guns, using a different type of ammo and distinctly sci-fi naming scheme.
This is the Nerf Vortex series, four different Nerf guns launching September 10 that could change Nerf even further past the current magazine-fed, motorized, accessory-laden madness it is. Instead of darts or balls, the Nerf Vortex guns use "XLR-discs," a circular ammunition that could mean a much-needed boost in range for the weapons. These aren't flimsy foam discs like the kind you can get with disc launchers at dollar stores; they seem to be inch- or half-inch-thick torii with at least as much mass as a Nerf dart.
What is Nerf’s Vortex? We Don’t Know, But Check Out This Quick-Loader!
Toy Fair 2011 Day 1 is over, and with it my tour of Hasbro's showroom. Once again, Hasbro is hinting at a major new Nerf launch this fall, this time on 9-10-11. It's called the Vortex, and we have no idea what it is yet. Hopefully the company will be revealing what exactly it is this summer. Until then, all we know is that Hasbro will be offering yet another series of Nerf gun repaints, this time in a "Vortex-themed" orange with black stripes.
Fortunately, we don't need to wait months to see some new Nerf guns. The company previewed a handful of new Dart Tag models that look pretty sweet. The Nerf Dart Tag Speed Load 6 and Quick 16 blasters have new loading systems that let you just pop darts straight into the weapon to reload, via a slot that feeds them into an integrated magazine. Also, as you can see, the Quick 16 looks like it has a freaking AK-47 banana magazine. It, along with a new double-sided Nerf N-Force sword, should help tide us over until the Vortex is revealed.
Cube Warfare: The New, Electric Face of Nerf
It's been some time since the last Cube Warfare post. In the last few months, a lot has changed in the world of Nerf. Where the Vulcan was once the mightiest weapon on the block, it has since been replaced by a newer, more fearsome gun. It's sleeker. It's lighter. It's electric. We showed a preview of it when it was first announced, but we finally got our hands on one, and we're very, very impressed. Meet the Stampede
Steampunk Warfare: Building a Well-Reasoned Argument (with video!)
Professor William von Greenwald here from the airship S.S. Aggrogate, because everybody is a professor with a "van" or a "von" in their name aboard an airship when it comes to steampunk stuff. The aesthetic may be overused, but I think there's still some life left in the Victorian high technology pastiche yet! I told you a few days ago that I was working on something special with the Nerf Barrel Break IX-2, and here it is!
Cube Warfare: Nerf Barrel Break IX-2
The Nerf Stampede doesn't come out for a few more weeks, but that doesn't mean there aren't a few new foam-firing contraptions from Hasbro. August has seen the release of three store-exclusive Nerf guns: the Alpha Trooper at Target, the Spectre at Wal-Mart, and the Barrel Break at Toys R Us.
The Alpha Trooper is a $20 pistol version of the Nerf Raider; it comes with an 18-shot drum magazine and you can "slamfire" by holding the trigger down and pumping the handle. If you don't want to drop $40 on a Raider, it's a nice answer to your rapid fire needs. The Spectre is a 5-shot revolver, similar to the Maverick but with one less chamber and more opportunities for customization. It comes with a barrel extension and a folding stock, meaning you can set it up just like the Recon.
And then there's the Barrel Break. It's a sawed-off, double-barreled, breech-loading Nerf shotgun. Basically, it's the least combat-useful of the three guns, but the most completely awesome.
Cube Warfare Special: Nerf’s New York shindig and the new Stampede rifle
Hasbro has been hyping a mysterious new Nerf gun for months, cryptically talking about "9-9-10" as the release date but saying little else. Last night, at a bar in midtown Manhattan, the company finally showed off this new weapon, and it looks like the wait was worth it.
Cube Warfare: Marshmallow Blasters
Foam darts aren't the only ammunition available in cube warfare. If you're willing to look for more unique things to fling at your coworkers, the folks at the Marshmallow Fun Company might have the weapons for you. They make marshmallow blasters of various shapes and sizes, from mini marshmallow-launching bows and arrows to jumbo marshmallow shotguns.
These guns are significantly more expensive than their foam-launching counterparts, but they pack surprising power into their pricey frames. I put the Bow and Mallow, Marshmallow Crossbow, and Marshmallow Blaster through their paces. Most guns are available in different colors and finishes, including the brand's standard red and blue color scheme, a camouflage finish, and a chromed "executive" finish.
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