DIY-1 Construction Instructions!

After a long wait, I finally have all the pictures necessary for you to create your own DIY-1 air blaster! This is what you can expect to build out of my DIY blaster kits, without the need of any power tools. At most, you'll need a hammer to assemble some pieces after applying PVC cement, and either wrenches or pliers for twisting and bending parts as needed.

This is my testing model. It's lovely :) But slightly different from the final model.

Complete instructions will be available after the jump!

Purple Heartbreaker Bow!

Thought I'd show this for anyone interested: stock photos have appeared for a new color Heatbreaker Bow, including on Hasbro's website. Interestingly, starting from the Rebelle home site and clicking on the bow for information still brings up the old pictures - I assume Hasbro will make the change sooner or later.

Forget white blasters with bling - solid colors are in!

So, if we're making more recolors of Rebelle (the Heartbreaker Bow, by the way, is #5 in Google searches for Christmas toys this season), does this mean the new product line is doing well enough to see new blasters in the future?

Captain America Stealthfire Shield Internals

As promised; an update on the CA shield: it works exactly as I thought.

THE BLASTER IS A SERIES OF TUBES.

The rear handle operates a large gear mechanism that pops the shield into firing position, and a Snapfire type plunger assembly is used to propel the darts.

Tiny plunger stroke, but wide tube.

The trigger also operates a 5-pronged rotation gear, which alternates air flow between the two tubes (which then uses the air restrictors to select the firing barrel, like a Rough Cut or Triad). The fifth gear pushes a tab on the gear system, releasing the stored potential energy to fold everything back into the normal shield shape.

Note that extra plastic on the rotation gear.

Obvious experiments include a stronger extension spring for the plunger assembly - unlike the Snapfire, you're using all four fingers to pull the trigger, allowing more force to be applied without your fingers tiring out. Efforts to shorten the tubing may also be of interest. In the end, though, I'm still afraid that complete replacement of the internals is required to make this shield really useful in a Nerf War.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Stealthfire Shield Review

While many in the NIC have been finding soft releases of the Mega Magnus, I found a different item! The promotional blaster for the upcoming Captain America sequel was on the shelves at ToysRUs, wating for someone to investigate. Even if these things are usually gimmicks, why not take a peek? The disc launcher from the first movie's toy line was fun, if nothing else.

Twenty feet is a disappointing claim, though.

The back of the box:

The helmet increases ranges by 10 feet, obviously.

See more after the jump!

Pimp My PVC - Fun with Stains!

While browsing the internet for information on painting or dyeing plastics (I've explored dyeing clear blasters, and pSykSG made an excellent tutorial video for that), I looked into colorizing PVC. Fabric dye can do the job given enough time, but the heat needed can potentially warp the plastic if you're not careful. If you prefer actual painting skills to trying to boil large amounts of water, then THIS method seems to do the trick!

LOOK AT THE PRETTY RAINBOW

Combining PVC cleaner with petroleum dye (or any other oil-based dye) allows you to wipe the outside of your PVC of marks and manufacturer imprints, and you're changing the color at the same time. This method can be expensive if you plan on doing many colors, but it would allow some creativity for a decent price if you only do one color. Be that neighborhood kid with a red Pumpsnap!

Another option stains the PVC to emulate wood grain, which can make for even cooler designs. Making a bow-powered blaster? You should stain the bow arms for effect!

Or just make a strange, flexible walking stick. Your choice.

I'm planning on experimenting with these techniques in the future. Has anyone else in the NIC tried this before?