Variants- Our thoughts

Soo..Gear Up variants- you’ve had your say.. some of you like it and some of you don’t. The question I’ve gotten a lot over the past week is will I pick them up when (or in regards to Australia - if?!) they come out.. I gotta say I’m pretty sure we will. We’d like to think our current Nerf blaster collection is pretty comprehensive; I’m a completionist and have pretty much picked up everything Nerf can bring out (sometimes even 2 or 3 of them), regardless of whether I actually like it:P Other than the Sonic series Deploy and the Clear Vulcan, we’ve done pretty well to acquire the current lineup (emphasis on current- no, no Airtech’s or Crossbows..).

Although I would have liked to see more variety with blasters than just the usual suspects- I do actually like the ‘alert tape’/’construction site’ paint scheme, and I especially am looking forward to the updated Raider even though there is already a clear variant. The Raider is one of my favourite blasters so I don’t mind owning several of them and at least three of the four Gear Up blasters will support a stock attachment so it’ll be nice to coordinate amongst them (.. assuming you DO get all of the range!) I personally believe they would have done a LOT better if they repainted the Stampede, Alpha Trooper, Spectre and Barrel Break- IMHO that would have been a much more suitable “gear up VS the Vortex” line that would probably be enough of a stimulus to get people buying.

Still.. it is what it is. With all the whinging and complaining though, the one thing to remember is ultimately no-one’s forcing you to buy them. Like with the 'Clear the Way's' and the 'Sonic Series', they’re not replacing or discontinuing the existing line, they’re a short burst run that’ll be gone by September/October. 

No doubt there’ll be plenty of repaints in the future.. so how abouts we get in early folks; what blaster and repaint design combination would attract you to buy a variant?

Amazon Japan: images of the Gear Up series

Brought to our attention by 'Mr Racoon'- Some promo images of the upcoming Gear Up N-Strike line- the Recon CS-6 and the Maverick REV-6 on the Japanese Amazon. I am a lil' over the Maverick and Recon and personally think they should rotate the limited edition blaster lines (I mean seriously, HOW many Mavericks do you really want!) but at least there will be a Barricade and Raider as well.

Recon CS-6 on Amazon.co.jp
Maverick REV-6 on Amazon.co.jp

Tactical Tag: Reshelled Lazer Tag LTX

The Lazer Tag Phoenix LTX line has been to date the best home laser tag line I've personally used; Bazookified from Tactical Tag have taken it one step further and reshelled a Phoenix LTX into a Nerf Stampede ECS. The results (especially the reload system) are AWESOME. Check out the blog for more details on this project.

LTX DMR Project via Tactical Tag

Tactical Tag: Amped Vulcan

Bazookified, from Tactical Tag does some pretty mad mods on the motorised range of Nerf blasters; here we have the Vulcan juiced up:)

YouTube: Dart Tag 2011 Commercial

Blue Team. Always wins:) Get yourself some of these! Long fringe and 'Frequent use of slow motion' not included:P

Rant: Vortex shoots discs. Is this really that bad?

It shoots discs. far.

These days most common question in the toy blaster world is ‘what are the ranges’. . Less than a year ago, fans screamed for a new clip based, automatic blaster that came with innovative attachments and utilised a direct plunger mechanism. Nerf answered with the Stampede ECS.. and people still complained due to its “decent but not awesome” performance. Disregard aesthetics, build quality, innovation- ultimately, distance is king- the message now is get a blaster to shoot further and you’ll have everyone lining up with their wallets stocked with cash and a gleam in their eye...or not.

Bluefire's writeup: Vortex Series vid 2

Soo.. you've all had time to watch and absorb the new Nerf Vortex series sneak peak- one of our solid readers Bluefire has put together a pretty indepth analysis of the vid which gives you a decent blow by blow idea of what's on offer. Have a read and interested in your thoughts (Thanks Bluefire!)

Another vid on the new Vortex Series..oooh



Are you excited yet? Or still a critic?:)

"Another awesome feature we can confirm about the new Nerf Vortex line? Most incorporate the same Tactical Rail system as Nerf N-Strike blasters – meaning that your Vortex and N-Strike accessories will be compatible with both lines. Get ready to take your Nerf collection to the next level. Keep your eyes on the page for more official info reveals on the Vortex lineup...there's much more to come."

YouTube: Nerf Barricade RV-10 Commercial

Dual wielding these babies was always inevitable:)

Amazon delivers! Swarmfire + Quick 16 Pic Spam

Whoo hoo, look what arrived in the mail today. My final Amazon.com shipment arrived.. not bad at all. Of course, we've already got these blasters, so we're just showing you..er.. the boxes:) More pics after the jump:)

Nerf Dart Tag 2011 Jerseys: Pic Spam

Picked up some more of these today; been getting into Dart Tag with friends more so the jerseys are great fun for that. There's not really a WHOLE lot I can say about them.. so.. here are some pics!:) (I just wanted a blue jersey in XL so I can be a winner)

Back of the packaging

Attached Tag

Pinky has the Vortex Series figured out

One of our readers, "Pinky" sent us a very informative analysis of the Nerf Vortex teaser vid. We thought we'd publish it, because.. well he's done all the hard work for us:) He's broken down the blasters and matched them up with the names that we published a while ago from the German website we found. All and all, check it out after the jump.

Basic Nerf: Breaking down the Vortex Preview Video

Whoooo..... priddy....

I haven't had time to do it myself, but there's been a lot of analysis and discussions on the new Nerf Vortex series sneak peak vid that was posted yesterday. Basic Nerf have done a pretty incredible write up on it, so do check it out.. it's muchas informative:)

Breaking down the Vortex Preview Video (Basic Nerf Article) « Basic Nerfing

Vortex will meet expectations; N-Strike continues: Nerf Nation

Just a lil tidbit from Nerf's official Facebook page:

"Hey Nerf Nation, we'll be revealing more Vortex collection details & pics here soon! Just know, the performance and power you look for from Nerf blasters holds true with the Vortex line and the N-Strike line isn't going anywhere (get ready for the ultimate Nerf collection). Can't wait for you to test out the Vortex line firsthand, in action! Hope you'll keep up the hype with us until the chance arrives on 9.10.11."


Sooo.. as we said, N-Strike'll still be around.. which makes sense with that whole "N-Strike vs Vortex" thing they were plugging at the Toy Fair..

Vortex Series revealed: Nerf Nation First look

Interesting stuff eh? What do you reckon? "Featuring never before seen XLR Disc Technology?" I'm more impressed by their 'Progressive styles" :P I'm a progressive kinda guy..

Vortex Series via Nerf Nation/Facebook

Urban Taggers + Nerf Mods + Reviews: continued..

packed and ready to go...

And.. arrived in their new home- speaka no Americano?:P

So you'll recall a few weeks ago we sent over some X-Shot blasters over to Nerf Mods + Reviews HQ to see just what they can do with them. Well, we've gotten word that they've made it across the world and arrived safely.. so lets see what Jerm has in store.. :) Watch this space (or theirs!)

Just a quick announcement..

Internally flawless. The ring isn't bad too:P

While not strictly blaster related, I just wanted to let you all know today's an amazing day for me; I just proposed to my gf in epic song and dance manner in a cafe this afternoon. Luckily, she said yes. So I'm pretty happy right about now:)

That is all:)

Speedload 6: still time to enter and win!

Write a caption, make it original, win over the judges, win the speedload 6. Simple:)

Aussie Nerfers, we're keeping the competition open for the weekend to allow you one last chance to enter to win! You need to have Facebook and like our page, mainly so we can identify who's entry goes with who's (it's hard to validate entries on here, anyone could say "that was me!") and just caption the above image.  

Most original entry that appeals to our judges will win our Speedload 6!!  The entries so far have been awesome.. it's gonna be a tough decision!

Review: Nerf Dart Tag Sharp shot 2 Player Starter Pack

Oooh looky here- 2 player Starter Pack from Amazon.

A week ago we posted the great news regarding Amazon.com and their willingness to ship Nerf to Australia. Well as always, we did it ourselves to prove that it's true and lo' and behold, today we've unpacked ourselves a Dart Tag 2 Player Starter Pack, fresh from Amazon in the US to our wondrous lil' town in Australia.

The Sharpshot was the only Dart Tag blaster we didn't have, so we were definitely looking forward to this delivery..

Amazon.com: Barricade with bonus stock

This is probably not the most exciting post in the world, but I just thought this was interesting to see Amazon.com listing the Barricade RV-10 with the bonus yellow stock and actually featuring a picture of the Barricade WITH the stock attached. Looks priddy:)

Nerf Barricade RV-10 with Bonus Stock via Amazon.com

Vortex Series to be revealed: Nerf Nation

Nerf have definitely done a fantastic job in hiding information on their new upcoming Vortex series of blasters; there've been rumours and speculations but actual leaks have been pretty slim. Speculation time is over soon- one of the most heavily guarded secrets in the Nerf world is to be revealed on Monday, 11 April 2011(assume this is US time) on Nerf's official Facebook Page. Today they announced:

"Listen up, Nerf Nation, we know you’re anxious to find out everything you can about the new Nerf Vortex. 9.10.11 is just too far away, and we don’t want to keep you waiting.


Here’s the deal. On Monday April 11th we will reveal information, photos and a video of the entire all-new Nerf Vortex line – exclusive to fans of the Official Nerf Facebook page. Think of it as a huge “THANK YOU” to each and every member of Nerf Nation. RSVP now to get all the latest updates, and be sure to tell all your friends to “Like” the page so they don’t miss out!


Once you see what we have up our sleeves, you’ll be counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds til you can Gear Up for 9.10.11. The latest in Nerf evolution has arrived."

So there you have it folks. Are u pumped? Intrigued? Don't care? Waiting for them to reveal so you can then ask"so when's the next blaster coming out?" :P

More Nerf Dart Tag Promos: Sigh..

Another nifty promo vid for Nerf's new "Action Sport". To be honest, it is a little bit of a slap in the face for Australian Nerf fans to see this amount of promotion and coverage for Nerf's new Dart Tag gear and to not be able to officially get their hands on the stuff. We've known of the new blasters for months now, we've seen all of the promo imagery and updated website (vs the Australian Nerf site that's still flogging off the Raider...).. but the official channels for Australian distribution would suggest "what? Dart Tag? Try the 'New' Furyfire!". Just a 8 hr flight away and you could end up in Singapore, and be greeted with this amazing sight:

Wow. Image courtesy of SG Nerf

Ahhh well. One day, folks!

Nerf Mods & Reviews: Nerf Speedload 6 with Nerf clip mod

More details on the Speedload 6 mod to accommodate an Alpha Trooper drum.You may just say "what's the point" and "just use a Recon", but then given the kind of blog Nerf Mods + Reviews is, I think it was a worthwhile exercise. The first thing most of you ask with new blasters is "what kind of mods can you do", so it's normal for them to push the boundaries and mod where modding is possible first..so you the reader can decide if it's worth while or not.

Nerf Mods & Reviews: Nerf Speedload 6 with Nerf clip mod

Speedload 6: Real Dart Tag action on a Sunday night..

So much for smart casual dining tonight..

Soo.. what to do in a sleepy town on a quiet Sunday night ? Friends ask us out for dinner; I've got other ideas:) 4 jerseys, 2 Speedload 6's, a Swarmfire and Quick 16 later..

It was another case of blue triumphing over orange..AGAIN:)  Speedload 6's are great in close quarters battle though... More pics after the jump:) (anyone else pick up a new jersey yet?)

Nerf Mods & Reviews: Speedload 6 + Alpha Trooper Drum

For those of you who just need your foam externally..

This is pretty cool. It's a very friendly slap in the face to us Aussies, who can't even get a Nerf Dart Tag Speedload 6, and Jerm from Nerf Mods + Reviews goes off and carves his up, bypassing the internal mag and accommodating an AT drum. Looks pretty sweet.This pic is from their Facebook page, but no doubt it'll be on the blog very soon:)