August 31, 2014

Nerf in 2015!

Thanks to Pocket of Urban Taggers fame for posting this on Facebook! Looks legitimate, and has some upcoming blasters shown!


Some of the blaster names you can make out, and their shapes. There's what appears to be a new "sniper rifle", a Strongarm with swapping turrets, and many other surprises. Hopefully we'll hear more in the future!

August 28, 2014

Buzz Bee Gunsmoke Review

Which is better: firing two darts, or one dart with cool effects? That's the basic difference between the classes Buzz Bee Double Shot and their new blaster, Gunsmoke. An extra $5 (for a total of $15 on the price tag at Walmart) means that instead of the second dart, an electronic unit will release a puff of "smoke" whenever darts are fired. Read on to find out what makes this blaster tic, and to see if it's worth your money!


August 26, 2014

Playskool Heroes Marvel Super Hero Adventures Captain America Shield Launcher Review

What a mouthful!

While wandering the aisles of Meijer, I decided to check the preschool toys section for any blasters meant for young kids. Turns out that even though the Koosh ball blasters are long gone from shelves, those round foam projectiles are not!

KAPOW!

August 23, 2014

Zuru X-Shot Zombie Scope Review

Earlier this week, I decided to skip my thrifting and instead check the inventories of several large and small retail establishments. When I stopped at Roses Discount Store (one of the stores under the Variety Wholesalers umbrella), I found a blaster I had never seen anywhere in the US, even though it had been out for quite a while. (Feel free to correct me if you've seen this blaster elsewhere).


For just $10, I got the X-Shot Zombie Scope, plus six darts and six target cans. The box claims ranges of up to 55 ft. Turns out that the box doesn't lie, and this blaster has the potential for even more!

August 19, 2014

Blaster Blogs in the Wild!

I was at Walmart the other day, seeing what items were in stock. Most of the new Rebelle and Buzz Bee toy blasters had yet to appear, although I did find some of the now-abandoned Buzz Bee Splash Darts, which I bought just for the fun of it. Then I came to the R/C section and found this:

"Shoots farther, fires faster, hits harder...Period."
That's right; Skyrocket Toys is quoting the Blasterlabs review on the front of the box! Out of interest, I checked the Skyrocket Toys website to see if anything else was cited - turns out under news, they have a link to the Bay Area Nerf review.

It's pretty awesome seeing reviews from the Nerf Internet Community on packages. Obviously, since this isn't a Nerf product, it doesn't have the name brand recognition, so having a glowing recommendation from a serious site is going to help in the effort to move merchandise. I'm not saying the rest of us aren't serious. I just doubt I'll see "Buffdaddy Nerf" on a box anytime soon. :P

Congrats, Blasterlabs!

August 15, 2014

Buzz Bee Toys "Wingz" Dart Launcher Review

While the Buzz Bee Wingz Long Bow turned out to be a disappointment. it seems the Dart Launcher has far more potential. Based in part on the Stunt Dart launcher concept, it is built more robustly and performs well for a blaster its size. And for $5 at Target, it's a great deal to boot.


August 13, 2014

Buzz Bee Toys "Wingz" Long Bow Review

After sporadic sightings in the wild, I finally came across Buzz Bee's entire girls' blaster line yesterday. Naturally, I bought everything with the intention of testing the new flock. Sadly, our first product, the Wingz Long Bow, is anything but spectacular, even taking the $13 price point into account


More after the jump!

August 11, 2014

Another Prime Time Toys Update - Talon Dart Blaster

Seems these guys aren't done expanding the product line yet! As per the website:

TALON DART BLASTER
 
The Dart Zone Covert Ops Talon holds 5 darts in the Powerstrike® auto-revolver and shoots super darts up to 70 feet! Quick load, pull back hammer and revolver action make this a must have blaster. Includes...
  • 1 Talon Dart Blaster
  • 5 Super Darts
  • One auto-advance rotating cylinder
  • Great for ages 6+

That's three new blasters so far - the Talon, the Renegade (under the Air Zone brand), and the Scorpion. All using their new darts, which are roughly on par with Nerf Elite streamlines.

The handle looks a bit small, but we'll see once we have a blaster in hand!

August 3, 2014

New Things at Toys R Us, and 20% Sale on BoomCo

Yup, it looks like we're finally going to get some discounts on Mattel's new line of blasters. TRU is offering 20% on the entire line this week. For some reason, TRU doesn't have these blasters marked up higher than other stores (like they usually do with Nerf blasters), so take advantage while you can!

Also of note are two items listed on the website for shipping (but aren't on any shelves yet). The first is a new Air Zone revolver, made by Prime Time Toys. The Renegade uses the new Xtreme darts (a great substitute for Elite darts, especially when the 200-pack is on sale) and claims ranges of 70 ft.

The other new item is a new entry in the Nxt Generation line of archery and hunting toys. The Gatlin Bow appears to be the next step after the Maxxforce Compound Bow, with eight darts on a turret for faster rate of fire. I would assume this uses a regular turret that rotates on the draw - Hasbro has control of the patent for "Smart AR", and Buzz Bee has a patent on file for an internal rotation mechanism for shifting the air channel (used in the Air Tek 8).