January 24, 2013

Blaster Updates

A shout-out to Bob O'Bob for biting the bullet and buying one of the Spynet Secret blasters, if only to return it the same day. Turns out that while the spring is directly pushing the dart, the cap at the rear of the dart is what the catch, well, catches. Overall, it's a horrible design. While I still think there would be use for it in specialized situations, I don't plan on grabbing one.

In other news, I've spotted a goodie at Tuesday Morning - among their clearance items is the Buzz Bee Ultimate Blaster Gift Set. It includes the Missile Blast, Snipe Blast, and Rapid Blast, all for $15. If this appeals to you, be sure to grab a set or ten.

January 22, 2013

New Spynet Blaster Spotted!

Before class, I stopped at Target to see what was in stock (Rough Cuts, Diatrons, etc. were all there). What I didn't expect to find was a new Spynet blaster, made by Jakks Pacific.

Granted, to many of us 20ft. seems a pathetic range for a $15 blaster. Keep in mind, though, the Nerf Wrist Blitzer was $9.99 when released in 1995, and if we take into account the Consumer Price Index as calculated by the US. Bureau of Labor Statistics...that's equivalent to about $15.05 in 2012 dollars. So for a new blaster from a smaller company, it's not unreasonable.
I can't tell yet if you launch both darts at once, or if the dual button system really does allow individual firing. In any case, it appears to be a spring and base directly pushing the darts, based on both size and the fact that the darts are pictured with rubberized tails. However, the box is somewhat big for a wrist blaster, so we might yet be surprised. Don't keep your hopes up, though. Their last "Secret Shooter" had the direct-pushing mechanism, so I'd expect that trend to continue.
Even with a mechanism you can't really mod, I'd still buy one for kicks. I can see this being very effective as a last resort blaster, or in any game requiring stealth. It would make Assassins a lot more interesting, and would make for a nice emergency blaster for HvZ (you're not toting around large, obvious blasters), if you need to just run between classes with minimal confrontation.

January 16, 2013

New Water Warriors Spotted!

While this blog is dedicated mainly to Nerf and related subjects, I like to give a nod towards the world of water blasters. First, many make wonderful conversions into great Nerf blasters (Arctic Shock, Water Warriors Pulse Strike, etc). Secondly...they're just fun.

This was spotted at a Walmart in Columbus, OH, in a row full of odds and ends from shelf rearrangement. Looks to be one of the new releases from Buzz Bee this year.

It appears to be similar in specs to the original Colossus, with a meter added for indicating the range you'll get holding the blaster at an angle. A bit of a gimmick, but I'm sure I'd still end up using it, simply because it's there.


 More releases are shown on the back. Notably, Buzz Bee is releasing a motorized blaster. It's not my cup of tea, but I'd wager it works better than the Super Soaker releases as of late.

Even if this doesn't end up being anything of significance, I think I can see the cosplay community loving this angular blaster. Halo Assault Rifle, anyone?