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.

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 guns are finally here, and while they might not be dart-killers, they're certainly impressive for cube warfare.

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.

The new guns are the Proton, Vigilon, Praxis, and Nitron, Vortex equivalents of the Nite Finder, Maverick, Raider, and Stampede. They're notably alien in design, with green color schemes and more curvy, organic lines than N-Strike guns. They also look Liefeldian in their barel design; instead of round barrels, the Vortex guns have rectangular barrels for firing the discs. If you ever wondered how Cable's guns worked, well, he must have been fighting Apocalypse with foam discs.

The Proton is a small, one-shot pistol that loads a dart into the back, cocking it in the process and firing it with a quick pull of the trigger. Despite its small size, it still shows respectable range. However, one shot isn't much for a Nerf war, which is why I recommend immediately trading up to the Vigilon. While the Maverick is a revolver, the Vigilon is a pistol with a built-in magazine. Pressing the thumb lever opens a door on the side of the gun where you can drop in five Vortex discs, stacked evenly against a spring-loaded cylinder. After you close the door, you can cock and fire just like a Maverick. Because you can stack the discs, it's much faster to reload than a Maverick, but you still have to handle the discs on their own because the magazine is built in.

The Praxis is the first of the Vortex guns to use the new Vortex magazine. While the N-Strike guns' magazines are rectangular and their barrels are round, the Vortex guns' barrels are rectangular and their magazines are round. The Vortex magazines are orange pipes that hold stacks of the discs and slide into round holes in the bottom of the Praxis and Nitron. Besides their shape, they effectively act just like dart magazines. Similarly, the Praxis and Nitron act just like the Recon/Deploy/Raider and Stampede. Slide the magazine in and cock and fire (with the Praxis) or hold the secondary trigger button down to spin up the motor and pull the trigger to fire (with the Nitron).

And how do the Vortex discs work? Pretty well. In fact, if you're concerned about range, the Vortex blasters absolutely destroy every stock N-Strike gun. Thanks to the wonders of aerodynamics, the discs fly much farther than darts while keeping decent accuracy. However, since the discs are round and flat, a stiff breeze can throw them off far more than darts. Imagine little frisbees getting blown to the side from a gust and you'll know just how vulnerable Vortex guns are to the wind. Also, the discs are green, so you're going to lose a lot of them in the grass. These are indoor Nerf guns.

If you want to have a Nerf war outside, you should probably stick to N-Strike darts. If you want the longest reach without modding your gun for a cube war, the Vortex guns could be your new greatest weapon.

Next to the Stampede used with the Raider 35-shot drum magazine, of course. There is no greater weapon.

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.

The packaging alone is gorgeous, like a video game power-up. I usually don't gush about packaging, but such a small, niche product usually doesn't get such an elaborate box. Besides the replacement parts, the box also comes with an opaque Orange Works sticker and a transparent Orange Works applique. They're nice touches.

The kit itself consists of a 6-kilogram spring, a metal trigger catch, a trigger catch spring, and a metal backplate. The spring itself makes the Alpha Trooper more powerful, but the metal trigger catch and backplate keep the gun's plastic components from breaking with the extra force.

Taking apart the Alpha Trooper is easy. Remove the screws holding the handle and the end cap from the gun and put them to the side. Remove the other screws and carefully take the two halves of the gun apart, keeping the right side of the gun on a flat surface so all the internal mechanisms will stay in place.

Installing the mod kit is similarly easy. Pull the spring out. Lift out the trigger catch (the big orange plastic piece that slides over the plunger). Fit the new spring over the plunger and carefully slide the trigger catch over the spring and plunger until it first in its track. Put the trigger catch spring over the nub on the top of the trigger catch and press it down until it fits in the body. Push the main spring down and put the gun back together, except the end cap. Slide the backplate into the end cap and screw it into the back of the gun. Now your Alpha Trooper is modified.

This isn't all you can do with the Nerf Gun, and Orange Works recommends removing the air restrictor from the gun as well. Unfortunately, this is a more involved process that involves removing the bolt and either drilling or melting out the center post and the small parts inside the bolt without cutting through it or making the hole too big for darts to stay there. Orange Works offers a free guide to other mods you can do besides its own kit, including air restrictor removal and barrel replacement.

And how well does it work? Um... little hitch on that. As easy as the Alpha Trooper is to take apart, it's surprisingly tricky to put back together. Unfortunately, while putting it back together, a small piece of plastic has gotten lost. As soon as I find it and figure out how to replace it, I'll be able to provide a report on how much the spring improves performance. This problem has nothing to do with the Orange Works kit, which is extremely well-made and, in the hands of a more talented modder, should improve performance significantly. And if I ever figure out how to fix the gun, I'll come back to it!

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.

Hasbro is going all-out with this new projectile system, with four guns spanning the current range of Nerf N-Strike dart guns in build and scope. The Proton is a single-shot pistol. The Vigilon is a five-shot pistol similar to the Maverick (but with a magazine instead of a cylinder). The Praxis is a pump-action rifle like the Recon, Longstrike, or Raider. Finally, the Nitron is the Vortex equivalent to the Stampede: a battery-powered, 20-shot disc-launching rifle with an electronic scope (presumably a red dot in a plastic tube, but still a nice touch), sadly without any bipod, tripod, blast shield, or drum magazine (though N-Strike Accessory Rails built on the guns will still let Nerf fighters use their old sights, lights, and if the front foregrip on the Nitron is detatchable, bipos and tripods). It's a motorized assault rifle, and that's what matters. That's pretty much the full gamut of Nerf guns.

The Vortex guns will be priced like regular Nerf guns: the Proton will retail for $10, the Vigilon for $16, the Praxis for $25, and the Nitron for $40. Considering the Nitron is a battery powered rifle with a 20-round magazine and costs $10 less than the Stampede, the lack of a bipod or blast shield seems like a good trade-off. Of course, these days you can pick up a Vulcan for $40 too, and let's face it: the ammo belt makes it so much more badass (and heavier and more unwieldy for anything but a mounted position).

This is the first video of the Nerf Vortex guns. Underneath the obnoxious Cloverfield-y shaky-game and static cuts, it seems to be Hasbro employees playing with a Nerf Vortex Praxis and launching a disc really, really far. It does look kind of rad, if you can ignore the horrible and blatant viral marketing editing that screams "Hey kids, we're mysterious! Like us on Facebook!"

Don't worry, dart fans. According to a Hasbro representative, the Vortex line will not be replacing the N-Strike series, and will stand as just an addition to the Nerf line. If you're worried about not being able to find any Raiders, Barricades, or, god forbid, Mavericks (still the finest foam sidearm ever made), don't worry. Not only are they still available everywhere, but Hasbro will be releasing yet another series of recolored guns August 1. These new "Gear Up" versions of the three guns are bright orange and black, and come with black-striped orange darts.

Interestingly enough, this isn't the first Vortex product line either offered by Nerf or in the form of toy projectile weapons. Hasbro still sells Nerf Vortex footballs, and Koosh used to sell Vortex guns that fired rubber rings instead of darts or discs. The rings would fly really, really far, but the slightest wind could blow them to the ends of the earth. The new guns look cool, but maybe Vortex wasn't the best name. Incidentally, a Koosh Vortex ring at point blank range stings like a bitch. I swear I still have a welt from '98.

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.

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, the new ultimate Nerf weapon.

While the Vulcan was a belt-fed heavy machine gun, the Stampede is a magazine-fed assault rifle. No tripod, no giant handle for hefting it up, just a rifle stock, a long barrel, and an on switch. Like the Vulcan, it takes 6 D batteries, and that gives it a pretty ridiculous amount of heft. It's still lighter than the Vulcan, but only just. Fortunately, the rifle form factor makes it easier to carry around.

For $42, you get much more than just the rifle itself. The Stampede comes loaded with accessories: a standard 6-shot clip, three 18-shot extended clips, a detachable foregrip that can become a mini-bipod with the press of a button, and a blast shield you can mount over the barrel to protect yourself from shots. Okay, even with all of that the price tag looks a bit steep. If you want the be-all, end-all Nerf weapon, though, it's well justified.

Since the Stampede is clip-fed and not belt-fed, it's much, much faster to reload than the Vulcan. You can pop out a magazine and pop in a fresh one in just a few seconds, compared to the inevitable fumbling with reloading the ammo box with a fresh belt and then aligning it just right into the Vulcan's feeding mechanism. Considering the rifle comes with three freaking 18-shot mags out of the box, you're already prepared to spray over twice as many darts as the Vulcan, in half the time. That's not the best part, though. Since the Stampede is compatible with Nerf's clip system, it can work with the Raider's drum magazine. And that means...

Behold, the Nerf Thompson Gun! 35 shots, no waiting, no reloading. That's 10 shots more than the Vulcan and a full ammo belt, ready to load in seconds. You're now the most dangerous son of a bitch on the Nerf battlefield.

The Stampede performs great. It can fire about 3 rounds per second, either full-auto (hold the trigger down to spray) or semi-automatic (pull the trigger once for each dart). The rifle's effective range is about 30 feet, impressive for any current-generation Nerf gun. You can deploy the bipod and defend a position or just rush forward and shower your enemies with foam darts. I hate to say it, but Vera (my Vulcan) is no longer my very favorite gun.

That's not the only new Nerf weapon to get excited about, though. Hasbro also quietly put out a new pistol, the battery-powered Nerf Barricade. It's a 10-shot semiautomatic revolver that uses just three AA batteries. It's a fascinating evolution from the Maverick, but can it truly replace the finest Nerf sidearm ever created? Well... no. But it tries hard!

The biggest problem with the Barricade is the very thing that makes it work: the motorized flywheel. Instead of a bolt that slides back and forth, pushing each dart into the barrel and sending it flying with a blast of air like the Stampede, the Barricade uses a pair of spinning discs to launch its darts. A small lever nudges each dart out of its chamber and between the discs, which then pick it up and fling it forward. This dramatically cuts down the accuracy and reliability of the gun. Worse yet, since the flywheels are constantly spinning (so they can launch a dart whenever you pull the trigger, without taking the time to spin up to a fast enough speed), the pistol is loud. It's like holding a foam-firing power drill.

The Barricade isn't all-bad, though. It holds two more shots than the Maverick, and can better hold both rail and stock accessories. If you want, you can clip on the Recon or Longstrike stock, or put any scope or light on the barrel. Since it's semiautomatic, you can successfully double up on your guns and go John Woo on your enemies. No cocking means your other hand is free to hold another Barricade! Sure, it's loud and inaccurate, but it's still fun.

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!

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Well-Reasoned Argument, the first and last answer in steampunk Nerf munitions. It's a double-barreled, steam-powered, breech-loading shotgun with a copper barrel, brass fittings, and brushed gold-plated stock. Or rather, it's a spring-powered, breech-loading shotgun with a plastic barrel, plastic fittings, and plastic stock. So what? It's shiny!

There are plenty of steampunk Maverick mods out there, but this is the first steampunk Barrel Break mod. I added a modified scope from the Nerf Longshot, but otherwise it's just a stock gun.

I sanded down the various Nerf markings on the gun and painted everything a flat black with Rustoleum Universal spraypaint to prime the project, then I set to work with metallic paints and finishes. The stock was painted with antique gold Rub 'n Buff, while the barrels and fittings were painted with copper and brass Liquid Leaf paint. To spruce up the sides of the gun, I cannibalized some model airplane kits, painted some parts copper, and glued them on with Krazy Glue.

As a bonus, here's a video of the gun in action, plus an explanation of how to make your own steampunk nerf gun! Just prime the gun with a flat black spraypaint and use Rub & Buff (Liquid Leaf is shinier, but harder to work with). The entire project took about 6 hours, not counting waiting for paint to dry. I did the whole thing in a weekend with time to spare.

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.

Back in June, we looked at the Buzz Bee Double Shot, a similar breech-loading, double-barreled shotgun that used plastic shells for a cool shell-ejection gimmick after firing. The Barrel Break doesn't use plastic shells, but it adds a lot more detailing and generally superior Hasbro manufacturing. The Double Shot is a smooth, bland gun that doesn't offer much besides its gimmicky mechanism. Worse yet, the gun uses a nylon cord to pull back the spring when cocking. The Barrel Break is sturdier, and uses a much wider plastic arm to pull back its spring.

Instead of a little tab that keeps the two halves of the gun together, the Barrel Break actually requires the barrels to slide into the stock before it can fire. The mechanism is slightly more complicated and much more satisfying than the Double Shot's. To release the barrels, a thumb lever on either side of the stock pops it free so you can cock and reload. Then just flick your wrist up to put the barrel back in place, push it into the stock again, and you're ready to start shooting. A two-step trigger lets you choose between a double-barreled blast or firing one dart, then the other.

Since it's a breech-loader, it takes longer to reload than nearly any other Nerf gun. Still, without the plastic shells, it's much easier to just grab two darts, pop them into the breech, and start shooting. Like nearly every other Nerf gun, the Barrel Breach includes an N-Strike accessory rail and a clip-on accessory. In this case, it comes with a little set of clips that can hold 8 darts on the top of the gun for quick reloading. It's not like popping in a fresh magazine, but it's still handy.

At $20, the Barrel Break is a fun gun. It's Toys R Us exclusive, so you'll have to either hit up a TRU or order the gun online if you want one. It isn't as efficient as the Alpha Trooper or Spectre, but it's so much more badass and fun.

This isn't the last you'll see of the Barrel Break. Professor William is working on a special project that'll be ready very soon!

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.

The Nerf Stampede is a fully automatic, battery-powered dart assault rifle. If the Nerf Vulcan is Hasbro's answer to the M2 Browning, the Stampede is the company's answer to the M16. The rifle uses 6 D batteries, just like the Vulcan, but it's compatible with the Nerf Clip System. In fact, the rifle will come with three new, 18-shot extended magazines, offering much more firepower than the standard 6-shot magazines. Unfortunately, I couldn't confirm whether the Stampede would work with the heavier 35-shot drum magazine that comes with the Nerf Raider.

Besides the full-auto fire and three extra-long magazines, the Stampede will feature a detachable shield and a foregrip that can deploy a bipod for mounted emplacements. Both accessories use Nerf's N-Strike accessory rail, so they should be compatible with any Nerf gun with a similar rail.

The price is going to be the big hitch. The whole package of rifle, magazines, shield, and grip/bipod will retail for a pricey $50, making it the most expensive Nerf gun currently available. That said, based on the time I had with the Stampede, it might just be worth it. It offers the full-auto action of the Vulcan in a much more mobile and versatile package.

While the Stampede is the only new Nerf gun (not counting clear plastic versions of old models), Hasbro also showed off some new melee weapons. Starting in the fall, for $20 each you'll be able to grab the Mace or Stonewall Shield set. The Mace is a huge, three-flanged mace with the same covered-in-foam-but-hard-enough-to-sting shaft as the Warlock axe. The Stonewall Shield is a pretty neat plastic-and-foam shield with a seemingly useless dagger accessory.

Hasbro will also be selling a new Nerf tactical vest, which can hold four magazines, plenty of darts, and even a sword. On one hand, it's probably a very useful piece of equipment in Nerf warfare. On the other hand, if you're over twelve years old and you wear it, you might as well change your life's motto to, "Don't worry, ma'am. I'm from the Internet."

The party itself was pretty sweet, with a pair of huge Nerf ice sculptures and plenty of liquor. I can personally attest to the fact that alcohol and toy guns is every bit as great a combination as chocolate and peanut butter.

On another note, the Cube Warfare updates will become a bit more sporadic until the fall. We've covered the currently available products, and there isn't really enough out right now to justify a weekly department. However, when we get any new information or play with any new toys, you can be sure we'll put it up.

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.

The Executive Marshmallow Blasteris a one-shot jumbo marshmallow launcher that puts a surprising amount of oomph behind its shots with a manual air pump. Pump the handle on the gun a few times like it's a Super Soaker and the marshmallow will fly a few dozen feet. Unfortunately, while it's quite powerful, it feels flimsy. Don't let the chrome finish fool you; the blaster is entirely plastic, and the front handle (which pivots up so you can load marshmallows) waggles when you're aiming.

The two bows are much more impressive, because they're actual bows/crossbows. They don't use the same spring or air pump mechanisms as other guns, and just tie a string to a pair of fake prods to make them "bows." They actually use the tension of the string and the prods to fire the marshmallows, giving them a ton of kick.

The Bow and Mallow fires mini-marshmallows, and uses a clear plastic tube hopper so you can load about ten marshmallows and fire them rapidly. Just pull the plunger back, take aim, and let go. Mini marshmallows fly out at a pretty good pace. The hole through which the marshmallows fly are perfectly sized for Nerf darts, so you can use the Bow and Mallow as a genuine Nerf dart bow and arrow without any modifications.

The Marshmallow Crossbow isn't as flexible as the Bow and Mallow, but it's a bit more intimidating. It uses the same string-and-prod concept as the bow, but adds a lock to the plunger so you can cock the entire gun and then fire it off with the pistol trigger. The string tension is much greater, and it can take a fair amount of arm strength to pull the plunger back enough to cock the gun. When you finally fire, it's loud, and the large marshmallows fly pretty far.

Amusingly, the instructions to the blasters warn you not to eat any marshmallows you fire with them. Presumably this is because the marshmallows will fall on the floor and get all covered with dust and dirt. That's reasonable. Also, sadly, between muzzle velocity and the time it takes for marshmallows to ignite, there's no feasible way to make a marshmallows-as-flaming-arrows modification to the bow or crossbow. A really shame, as I was hoping to invent ballistic s'mores.