Sneak Preview: Promo Tees!

 

Once again, you ask and we..well see what we can do! We're finalising the prototypes for our new line of promo shirts but we just thought you might wanna have a sneak preview of the basic logo tee. The final version probably WON'T have the Nerf logo on the sleeve, which is a shame but dems da legalities folks!

We've also got a more stylised logo shirt in the works, and of course it wouldn't be an Urban Taggers line without one that's a tad more saucy:) Stay tuned!

Amazon ships Dart Tag to Australia: CONFIRMED

Now I really will have two of everything. I can start my own 4 a side DT league!

AWESOME! Our awesome UT hackers hacked into top e-tailer Amazon to perform a glitch, allowing them to ship valuable Nerf Dart Tag blasters to Australia...

Nah not really. As much as it makes for a better story and better rumours for haters to make up, in reality we got an email from a reader this morning (Thanks, T!) who found links to Amazon sellers that WILL ship to Australia. Remember how Amazon works- it all depends on what seller is providing the stock, so if you try to buy and it won't allow you to ship to Australia..try waiting a week or so. As you can see from the above, I managed to get through the process fine.

Perhaps a little TOO fine, I actually wasn't intending on buying anything, I just wanted to get through the process to prove it could work. Oops:P (I'll deal with the girlfriend's questions later...)

As always folks, prices AREN'T cheap due to shipping, but it's a matter of how much you want 'em.

Model comparison..

Consider Nerf's choice for promo models..

This:

vs Airzone's..

Nuff said:)

An exercise in collaboration: Urban Taggers + Nerf Mods + Reviews..

On their way  to the US of A.. they'll never be the same again:)

Whenever we review a blaster, it's only inevitable that we get comments regarding 'Can you open it up?' and 'what's the modding potential?' Sadly.. it's not something we do, which in turn evokes the response "Jerm from Nerf Mods + Reviews could do it". (For those who are uninformed, Nerf Mods + Reviews is considered to many as the best blog out there for serious performance mods)

Well.. funny you should say that, because you ask, we listen! We've done exactly that; we've stolen Pocket's two X-Shot blasters, chucked them into a box and have just shipped the Stealth and the Thundershot over to Nerf Mods headquarters on the other side of the globe to see just what Dr Frankenstein of the toy blaster world can really do to these interesting, if not underwhelming green blasters. X-Shots are a unique blaster in that they fire both foam dart AND water at the same time; their Stealth model is pretty impressive to be honest whereas the same cannot be said for the better looking, but poorer performing Thundershot.

60 bucks later in shipping (yup, postage is almost double the price of both of these blasters brand new!) and a brand new 9 dollar "extra checking fee" that all packages to the US are now hit with, and these two green and gold pieces are well on their way across the world. If all works out well and customs don't attribute them to being weapons of mass destruction (and really.. if you saw how they perform out of the box.. they're far from..) then they should make it there in the next 2 weeks.. watch this space:)

Rant: Nerf Stampede ECS-50..

Yup. That's Toys R Us prices for ya..

I had an email recently from a reader who has noticed that around the traps in the US, many stores (Such as Walmart, Target etc) are listing the Nerf Stampede as an 'ECS-50'.

At the time of launch, there were lots of crying and whining on the Nerf pages about how "THERE IS NO ECS-50" which, probably made sense given that magic number of "50" didn't actually make sense. Three 18 round clips and a 6 round clip in box doth not maketh 50 rounds?

I went around and had a lil' look see at our stores here in Canberra, and sure enough Toys R Us and K Mart listed their Stampedes as an ECS-50. I wonder why? Speculations, theories and perspectives of mad conspiracies welcome!

Our Speedload 6 gets the girls..

One of our besties. Jersey sz small:)

In case you haven't already noticed, we're really plugging the hell out of the new Nerf Dart Tag Speedload 6. Mainly because its awesome, unavailable in Australia for the time being..and of course we're giving ours away. Soo..we're basically showing it off any which way we can. 6 dart internal clip, decent performances, a newly discovered slamfire functionality and they just look cool. 

You want it? you can have ours. Just head over to Facebook and do what you gotta do:) (it helps that you're living in Australia too.. shipping costs are a killer)

Here's a fact too; of all the Dart Tag blasters, the Speedload 6 is the one girls seem to like the most at UT headquarters. Whereas dudes go straight for the Quick 16 or Swarmfire, the sleeker, smaller 6 is the piece for the ladies. There you go. *nod*

Video: Nerf Dart Tag Speedload 6 in Slamfire mode..

As requested, a short vid demonstrating the 'secretive' slamfire functionality on the new Dart Tag Speedload 6. Cool.

Nerf Speedload 6 Slamfire..psst it's a secret!

Slamfire? It's like a DVD easter egg!

In a previous post I mentioned I was a little sheepish that after all this time I didn't realise my Nerf Dart Tag Speedload 6 had a slamfire functionality; we joked that it's actually worthwhile reading a manual (although who really does that!) for a change even though we didn't actually get a manual with our original pre release unit. Sure enough on testing it out, we confirmed it definitely CAN stand tall in true slamfire glory.

Well.. an interesting note for you all- I now have the official manual that we'll be giving away with our Speedload 6, and I feel a LITTLE better in knowing that it was a valid oversight- we've all gone through the manual with a keen eye and there's absolutely NO mention of slamfire functionality anywhere.

Nope nothing here..

I know, the first thing we did was try this with our Recons and other Nerf blasters (which we already did ages ago when we first got the Raider but of course just HAD to be sure!) and.. nup:P

Speedload 6: "Goes with my bike"

So much hotness in one photo:)

This morning after catching up with one of my best friends for breakfast, I made a comment that her Honda motorbike is the same colour scheme of the new Dart Tag range of blasters.  So I brought out my Speedload 6 and we took a photo:)

That'll be the actual blaster one of you are going to win; it definitely earns its "Speedload" name in our books:)

More pics after the jump. Only cos they turned out awesome!

YouTube - 14.5 volts + Dart Tag Swarmfire = WHOOHOO!!

Our laser tag man in the know, Mike does not just limit himself to laser tag.. check this out.... :)

Caption this pic to win our Speedload 6!

As mentioned earlier, we're giving away our Speedload 6 to one lucky reader! So here it is folks. Head over to Facebook and caption the above photo of our favourite Dart Tag fella; the entry deemed the most original and amusing by our judges will score for themselves the much coveted Dart Tag six shooter!

Only one entry per Facebook profile, so make it count! Entries close midnight, 10 April. Australian residents only (due to the postage costs) Good luck!

Our Facebook competition page

YouTube - Japanese Nerf Promo: not just a re-dubbed American ad

I love Japanese voice over guys; they're always so.. fierce:) Sent to us by one of our Facebook fans, this is a promo vid for the Spectre, Alpha Trooper and Stampede ECS (or..Blazing Burst as it's called there). You don't need subtitles for this one; I'm pretty sure you can work it out:)

Speedload 6: Get ready cos we're giving ours away! (Australian residents)

Oh yes. It could be yours. Really.

So the Dart Tag 2011 line has been officially released, and our US friends are gradually picking them up and gushing about their sheer awesomeness.. but as for us in Australia.. there's not a whole lot of mention m'fraid. We can hope it'll be soon, but given there was no sign of them at the Australian Toy Hobby and Nursery Fair, it might not happen for a while.

So you know what? After heavy negotiations with a 9yo child (who apparently barely used it anyway because it was too bulky/heavy for him and NOT an Alpha Trooper) we got our hands on a Speedload 6.. and given we ourselves have already got our pre-release unit.. we're going to give this new Speedload 6 away. (The plan was originally to get someone to mod it, but because it's such a #$%@ to open we're not going to bother)

One lucky Australian reader will win our Speedload 6 complete with manual and a set of new blue and white tipped dart tag darts. I know, I know. It's not as good as a brand new one in box. But who do you know who's giving one of those away in Australia, hmm?:)

SO how to enter? Well to be honest..we actually haven't worked that out yet:P We know it'll probably be via Facebook, and we'll make it a lil' simpler this time compared to our Christmas giveaway, but we're still ironing out the final details. My friends are still dirty with me for even doing this in the first place (charity starts at home JT says)

We'll officially announce the start of the competition sometime on Sunday this weekend (that'll be the 27th March 2011) We'll give you a whole two weeks to enter. Sound good? Cool. Watch this space. At least on Sunday:)

Neil from Dart Tag Australia: Thursday afternoon banter

Another fine post from my mate Neil from Dart Tag Australia- today's round up is Neil's take on a conversation we had this morning regarding THAT Australian Toy Hobby and Nursery Fair photo we've been posting on all day. It's also regarding the Australian market and why Dart Tag isn't being hyped up here..

Nerf Intel: who do you listen to? Longshot CS-6

From the Australian Toy Hobby and Nursery Fair 2011: Pic courtesy of Mousedroid.com

Over the past year or so, we've heard the well publicised news that the mighty Nerf N-Strike Longshot CS-6 has been discontinued; "get them while you can" was the reaction from our US friends. At the time, they were pretty hard to come by in Australia, so when they did show up occasionally, because of this rumour, we'd snap them up straight away regardless of their cost (around 80 bucks at times!) in fear of never getting one ever again. Whenever someone would say "ooh we have Longshots in Australia!" the doubters would still scoff and suggest they were just old stock from around the world that ended up on our shores. We of course, were not complaining:)

Flash forward several months, and consistently since November last year, we've seen Longshots EVERYWHERE. Almost any toy store that carries Nerf in Australia will at sometime carry the Longshot (including a pokey little toystore I stumbled across in Moss Vale, NSW and also in Kiama.. not the biggest places in the world btw) and the price of them is lower than they've ever been. Which ALSO suggests the stores are constantly getting in new stock, not just old ones that were discovered under behind a water cooler or something.

Now.. here at the Australian Toy Hobby and Nursery Fair 2011; the event to showcase upcoming releases..  the Longshot is clearly considered to be a part of the line up. Notice there's no Alpha Troopers, Spectres or Barrel Breaks visible, in which case, if we were to listen to "official" Australian sources, those blasters don't exist:) The Longshot definitely does though. It's no longer just a "I saw one at Kmart"- it's an official trade show display for the 2011 line up from Hasbro.

When it comes to Nerf Intel, we do our best to be as accurate and factual as possible, but even we can be mislead and make mistakes. Ultimately we think our readers are a smart lot (mostly! :P..) but suggest you'll just have to decide for yourself. As Buddha said:

“Believe nothing.
No matter where you read it,
Or who said it,
Even if I have said it,
Unless it agrees with your own reason
And your own common sense.”

Is this the Vortex series? Really?

In true "I have no life hence I stare at photos for ages" style, there's also talk that these boxes on the left of the photo from the Australian Toy Fair are the upcoming vortex series. Or... they could be a part of the tonka truck line:P What do you reckon?

And... in case you missed it.. 50 round drum anyone?:P

50 round drum? Oooh.. close up of..ballz.

I realise my last post might have been a lil' cryptic, so I thought i'd make it more blatant. A few months ago we discussed the rumour of the 50 round Stampede drum..

There was a lot of speculation and I admit I was a doubter.. mainly because it looked like.. ballz:)

SG Nerf also posted on this and found official sources to debunk this as merely a concept that was never produced. Which would explain the crappy photoshopping:)

However.... this is the image from the Australian Toy Fair from last week, and admittedly my "zoom in..enhance" skills aren't as good as a hacker on a TV series, but I'm thinking that's looking PRETTY DAMN official to me. Unless there was another reason for them to display this box; but then looking around at the company it's keeping around it..why would they?

Stampede ECS-50.. pic courtesy of mousedroid.com

Update: And thanks to a tip from a reader, here's a much clearer pic that definitely shows "Stampede ECS-50". Makes me wonder why show the concept box AND add the bonus darts tab on the right hand side?

SO we'll be buying another Barricade for the stock..and another Stampede for the drum.. Oh Nerf.. how you totally own my bank account!

Australian Toy Hobby and Nursery Fair 2011

The Australian Toy Hobby and Nursery Fair 2011 Nerf Stand. Pic courtesy of Nerf Nation

The Australian Toy Hobby and Nursery Fair sort of snuck up on us, arrived and left this year in Melbourne. Hasbro was there, as displayed on the Nerf Nation Facebook page this morning; if you have a look at the display though you'll see no mention of the Vortex series( edit-ok MAYBE its those boxes on the left?), nor Dart Tag for that matter which is pretty disappointing. Not sure if it's just because they didn't display them in this photo, or if they just didn't want to promote them down under:(

Two things that is promising is to the right of the Vulcan in the middle of the photo: One is a Barricade RV-10 in what LOOKS like it comes with the additional yellow Raider stock. and Two.. check out that Stampede and tell me what you think that is:P

Which is something at least for Aussies:)

Blue Longshot: It's better.. Really? Who says?

Blue vs Yellow Longshot: Pic courtesy of SG Nerf

A friend of mine had recently bought a blue Longshot in box, and finally decided to crack it out over the weekend. He had asked me about rumours of the blue Longshot having better ranges than the conventional yellow one and while I HAD heard the rumour, I personally wasn't convinced.. and so we tested it:)

Super Soaker Hydro Cannon Commercial.

As spotted on Basic Nerf, the commercial for the new Super Soaker Hydro Cannon. It's a cool ad and I love this blaster, but I personally find it a tad deceptive; the vid is filmed it in such a way that it looks like the Hydro Cannon shoots a steady stream.. which it doesn't. It's a big burst of water that goes kapow:)

Speedload 6 has slamfire: yup.. confirmed old news:P

After reading a post on Nerf Mods + Reviews regarding the Speedload 6, I can't believe I ever failed to check to see if my pre-release model had Slamfire or not. SO I went off to check this morning.

Yup. It does. *Dumb* Speedload 6 has Slamfire. Confirmed. :)

Nerf Dart Tag 2011 commercial: Behind the scenes.. ??

Orange team watched in horror as their Mum's served the Blue Team Gatorade..

If you compare the guys in the orange team in this pic to the blue team guys in my previous post from the new upcoming Dart Tag 2011 commercial, you'll see that they're slightly mismatched.. while the Blue guys are the children of captain awesome, the Orange team really do look rather.. dorky.

Not to mention the poor guy on the right who looks like the moment he takes off, he's going to do himself some serious damage..

2011 Nerf Dart Tag Commercial - Behind the Scenes via Nerf Nation/Facebook

YouTube - Estonian Dart Tag Commercial: They mean business

While checking for the new Dart Tag 2011 commercials on YouTube, I found this Nerf Dart Tag commercial from Estonia. Forget Soviet Russia, they got nothin' on how these Estonians do Dart Tag.. and jumping around old barrels? pffft! these guys break into what looks like old haunted crypts for their kicks..

Nerf Dart Tag 2011 commercial: Behind the scenes

The Abercrombie + Fitch models needed to blow off some steam..

Nerf have released some "behind the scenes" pics of their new Dart Tag commercials. Thats right folks, those square jawed teens weren't just the figments of some graphic designer's mind, they're real dudes. Dudes who look like..college frat boys. Or background models from a Pro-Activ commercial.

While I appreciate a strong population of the Nerf world are male and heterosexual and concerned more about the gear these guys are carrying rather than the dudes themselves, I can't help wonder if Nerf might also be attempting to go after the female population somewhat.. or you know what would be really smart? Mums. Mums who buy their boys toys and need some convincing. Mums who want their boys to grow up to bring home friends like THIS. In marketing, nothing is coincidental...

2011 Nerf Dart Tag Commercial - Behind the Scenes via Nerf Nation/Facebook

Super Soaker Tornado Strike: Johnson Arms

The Super Soaker Tornado Strike might be a dorky helix wannabe performance wise, but it's definitely one of the best looking blasters ever made. What's better looking than a Tornado Strike? A Tornado Strike that's been given the Johnson Arms treatment...

Check out his stuff for more drool worthy aesthetic mods here:

bcjfla76 on deviantART

Fake Super Soakers.. Please avoid.

Eeech. Although they say 'imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," I still cringe every time I see a fake Super Soaker- in this instance some very dodgey looking CPS1500 wannabes found in a Toyworld bargain bin. While from first glance they may LOOK similar to the 1500, they're considerably smaller and shoddily built, and I'm pretty sure lack any of the genuine CPS internals that make the CPS1500 a..well CPS. Sure you can pump them up, but small apertures and crap air pressure make these fakes nothing like the blasters they're trying to imitate. Avoid.

X-Shot Sidewinders available: KMart (Aus)

After my experiences with the Thundershot..I'm just not game.

The X-Shot range of blasters shoot both darts and water; the X-Shot Stealth was surprisingly very good, whereas the Thundershot was the worst blaster we'd ever had the "pleasure" of reviewing. In any case, I can't bring myself to buy the Sidewinder, which doesn't feature a trigger and seems to just slide back and forth to fire; however they're $25 bucks from K-Mart if anyone's willing to do the deed and tell me what you think:)

YouTube - Hdingo's Nerf Arsenal Shooting Test

I don't really get into mods that try to make Nerf blasters look more realistic; as I've said many times we're not really into simulating war or killing. That all being said, I do have to appreciate the work "HDingo" has done with his blasters- as far as mods are concerned, they're up there with some of the best we've seen. Lots of vids on his channel, but this one's a nice clip that showcases some of his cooler aesthetic mods.

YouTube - Hdingo's Nerf Arsenal Shooting Test

Random: My favourite Dart Tag dude

Charlie was definitely a lover, not a fighter.

Of all the Dart Tag promo images, this one is DEFINITELY my favourite. Of all the blasters in the Dart Tag 2011 range, the Quick 16 is one the LEAST likely to be used single handed. His Ray Charles-style happy expression while gazing up into the clouds, taking three, soon to be four darts in quick succession to the chest and making NO attempt to dodge (Swarmfire is quick..but not that quick!) is gold.

It just shows you don't have to be any good at shooting to enjoy Nerf. Even though he royally sucks, will forever be known as the only guy in the promo who ever got shot (not just once but four times), didn't fight back and probably just cost his team the match, he doesn't care. He's still. JUST. LOVING IT.

This guy just wins. Awesomeness.

SG Nerf: 2011 Nerf Dart Tag - Singapore Launch!

Crowds were particularly supportive of the 1st annual Blind Man challenge..

Official launch in Singapore set for mid April 2011 which is pretty exciting because that's not that far away, and they're already showing up in stores in the US (and to acknowledge all of the intel sent through from you all, yes available on the US Toys R Us website). It'd be fantastic if Nerf would prove us wrong and bring out an Australian launch soon...

You have to admit this is probably the most amount of hype Nerf's Dart Tag has ever gotten before. In a few months time when you're all out there charging around to commercial punk music tracks from Forever the Sickest Kids and laughing in slow mo' while leaping in the air in your new orange/blue jerseys with your new Dart Tag Swarmfire's, just remember Urban Taggers was where you heard it all first folks! From a pure marketing perspective, this is the power of social media and blogs like us gave Nerf a pretty decent 3-4 months ramp up of free publicity; which we don't mind doing for a good product:)

Other than the fact that the inner graphic designer in me can't stop laughing at all the Photoshop faux pas in this promo pic (and the fact it shows Nerf Dart Tag really isn't about shooting and violence as noone's aiming at anyone) I'm kinda impressed at Nerf's commitment to raising the stakes of Dart Tag. I'd be interested to see if it does ever get genuine arena style coverage but tell me this pic doesn't make you think "man if that ever comes here my team would TOTALLY pwn":) My best mate already came up with a quirky team name for us.. and we don't even war!:P

Read more on the actual launch (sorry I digressed a little!) here:
SG Nerf: 2011 Nerf Dart Tag - Singapore Launch!

Nerf Dart Tag Competition Jersey Packaging.. but I can't try it on.. :P

Jersey in packaging- courtesy of Nerf Mods + Reviews

Browsing Nerf Mods + Reviews, they've got a pic of the new Dart Tag Official Competition Jerseys in packaging. I was always wondering how they were going to appear on shelves; I guess this makes sense:)

One thing I've mentioned before that is interesting, is the fact these jerseys actually fit ADULTS. Someone in Nerf land is definitely noticing that, just like with the video game industry, the target audience of the consumer is often older.. (and definitely bigger!)

Rant: Nerf in Australia-to be fair....

I know we whinge about it a lot, but I have to admit stock levels of Nerf in Australia have never been so good. If you want to get yourself a Stampede, Vulcan, Maverick, Nitefinder or Recon, they're quite common in most toy stores, and adding to that we're doing pretty decent with Longshots, Barricades and Raiders too. Last year we were pretty quick on the Sonic Series variants, but pretty behind on the Clear's, VERY behind on Deploys and the weird scattering of Barrel Breaks, AT's and more recently, Spectres.

I think the issue is more that once the cool stuff gets snapped up, there's such a delay in replenishing new stock that all that happens is stores run out and have to resort to filling their shelves with Mavericks:) While I mockingly give a lot of stick to the die hards who buy 5 ATs on release (although i understand how tempting it is to do so!) leaving the same ol' old blasters collecting dust on shelves for the late adopting parents to sit and stare at them for ages; the argument is it's more about the fact that we just don't get sent enough stock of the good stuff to meet that demand. That being said.. we DO get a LOT of Longshots... (the only reason why we'd think they're discontinued is Americans tell us so- because they're coming out here in droves!)

It's also the lack of knowledge from the stores about the new gear- try asking any staff member at Toys R Us or Target if they know anything about the new Dart Tag 2011 series and watch them give you a glazed look and try to sell you a grip ball (velcro catchy pad ball thingy) set...

Dart Tag Speedload 6: Pic spam

More yellow. Less Mellow:)

A friend of mine's kid came back from Singapore/Malaysia with one of these in tow; after weeks of promising to bring it around to show me, they finally popped over during the week with this Speedload 6. It does look different compared to my original prototype model (or stolen model, or we went thru Nerf's trash model, or we bought it from the Russians/Chinese/North Koreans model :P) with more yellow accents, but otherwise performs the same.

Rant: Where do we get our blasters from?

The shocking truth of how UT gets their blasters... ok it's not that shocking:P

It's almost on a daily basis we get asked the same question: How do we get our blasters so early? We've actually answered this question before, but maybe it was all a little cryptic so I figured I would dedicate a nice big phat post on the whole thing to finally put this question to bed once and for all.

Right off the bat, I have to admit we thought some of the theories our readers came up with were pretty creative and novel, and a part of me wanted to keep the mystery going and fuel the rumour mill for funsies, but then I started hearing of some pretty nasty negative comments from others in the "Nerf community" which suggested I was partaking in illegal activities to acquire our gear.

Are you serious? If I was going to steal something, am I really so stupid that I would post it all over the internet for all to see? Illegal Nerf black market? WTF? (I spoke to one of my close mates about this who's a cop and she laughed at me and told me to come down to the station where all the other cops could hear my tale and laugh in my face) 

Anyway.. so here it is- the anti climatic answer to how we get our blasters early: The truth? We put in significant amounts of effort using Google and email:)

Nerf Mods & Reviews: Modified nerf Sharp Shot

We haven't been able to get our hands on the new Dart Tag Sharp Shot, but they're apparently appearing US side and Nerf Mods + Reviews have not only gotten their hands on one but modified it with some impressive ranges. It looks pretty disappointing stock out of the box compared to our experiences with the Speedload 6 and Quick 16 so I guess modding is justified in this instance:) Head over and take a look for yourselves at what they've managed to do with this lil' wonder..

Nerf Mods & Reviews: Modified nerf Sharp Shot

Super Soaker Bottle Blitz: updated 2011 colours

The new aesthetically improved Bottle Blitz

While not actual "new" gear, I'm still pretty amazed at the amount of 'refreshed' Nerf and Super Soaker gear that is coming out off shore (ie the US!).

Here's the old faithful Super Soaker Bottle Blitz with new updated 2011 colours. I am a fan of the 2011 colour scheme, but I do find it interesting that they still keep the Bottle Blitz around; it's been through at least 3 different paint jobs and isn't really one of the more exciting blasters to date. It also doesn't take any attachments so the new paint scheme isn't really all that neccesary other than for unanimous branding purposes.

Anyway, available at US kmart's. Thanks to Nerf Blaster Reviews for the intel.

Big Bad Bow gets the N-Strike Treatment: Nerf Mods + Reviews

Pic Courtesy of Nerf Mods + Reviews (and some dude named Justin)

I guess one way to keep people hot for new products is to bring out repaints of old products. The Big Bad Bow is now under the "N-Strike" banner and comes in..well N-Strike colours. Priddy:) As featured on Nerf Mods + Reviews

New Yellow Raider stock with Barricade RV-10: Nerf Mods + Reviews

This would be one of those "about time Nerf did this!" moments;  Drac from Nerf Mods + Reviews has gotten his hands on the Barricade RV-10 with the new (and for many, improved) YELLOW paint scheme Raider stock. It's always been the stock favourite, but the mismatched colours took some getting used to. Now it's in yellow and you can coordinate- life has meaning:) I think a whole lot of people will be buying this just for the stock:)

Walmart: Pic courtesy of Nerf Mods + Reviews

Nerf Barricade with new Yellow Raider Stock via Nerf Mods + Reviews

Subway Smoothies: Spot the water blasters

Think you know your water blasters? Subway's new Smoothie ad features a mad crazy water fight between lots of attractive people having a great old time. All of their water blasters have been painted grey, but that doesn't mean they're not unidentifiable:) Check it out and see if you can pick 'em?

Tornado Strike Mod: Sweeeeeet

The Super Soaker Tornado Strike is arguably one of the best looking blasters available, other than the fact it's kinda poxy performance wise and doesn't have a trigger. What it IS though is a very nice looking shell that can be used for other stuff; in this instance from Nerf Mods + Reviews, we've got a very sweet looking Tornado Strike that now fires clip system darts using parts from a Recon. I like.

Nerf Super Soaker Modified via Nerf Mods + Reviews

2011 Nerf Dart Tag.. more official news

Brought to our attention (Thanks Bluefire) on the official Hasbro website; it's a teaser for the Nerf Dart Tag WORLD Championship in Summer 2011 (Winter for us Australians) using updated images of the new blasters/eyewear/jerseys/dudes. Nothing's more official than being on the official website.. even if there isn't a whole lot of content:)

Nerf Dart Tag World Championship via Hasbro.com

2011 Dart Tag Quick 16 line available on Toys R Us.com

Ooooh... you can get one. Now. If you're American.

We've been getting quite a lot of intel from our readers (Thanks guys!) that the Quick 16 is now available from toysrus.com in the US. These blasters were never going to get an official release date; just as they come- we've had word there are place holders on the Kmart US website, and also a few spotted price tags on the shelves. Nice one!

Nerf Quick 16 via Toysrus.com

Quick 16 available: Foam from Above

Whoah! The fellas at Foam from Above have been lucky enough to get their hands on the much coveted Nerf Dart Tag Quick 16, Scatterblast and a pair of Dart Tag Vision Gear from Nerf themselves. We got one over a month ago, but this is a Quick 16 in retail packaging, which does show we should be seeing them on shelves REALLY soon.

Fresh from Toy Fair: Nerf Dart Tag Quick 16 via Foam From Above

Review: X-Shot Thundershot: All show, no go

The X-Shot range of blasters from Zuru is a new concept that utilises a dual ammo system of both foam darts AND water. They look awesome, but given we NORMALLY have a "No Non-Nerf" policy we've been a lil wary; that being said we were surprisingly impressed with the X-Shot Stealth, so we decided to check out its bigger brother, the impressive looking X-Shot Thundershot. It boasts a clip system style banana clip that takes six darts and an air pressure system water blaster all in one sizable package. So how does it stack up? 

Pretty crap really:(