Friday, January 20, 2012

Nerf Vortex Lumitron: Light THIS up..


Well, they have been saying "N-Strike vs Vortex" for quite some time; to accompany/rival the much anticipated N-Strike Rayven CS-18, Nerf have released the new Vortex "Lumitron" as part of their new "Light It Up" series. Unlike the Rayven which was a completely new blaster design, the Lumitron is essentially a repainted Vortex Praxis, only with an all new "Firefly tech" 10 round clip and sans stock. Given we've already reviewed the Praxis, this review will on the whole be a pic spam bar a few comments, but I've gone nuts with the ol' camera, so enjoy the photos!



As far as the actual blaster is concerned, other than the paint job, the blaster is pretty much identical to the Praxis. The only differing part is the name plate, that says "Lumitron" rather than "Praxis"; this is raised and part of the plastic btw so they'd have had to alter the mould slightly to accommodate this. Other than that, we've all examined it carefully and it's the same blaster. That being said, I MUCH prefer the Lumitron's colour scheme- though it's a personal preference thing:)




On to the discs. They pretty much look and feel the same as the traditional XLR green discs, only the centres are a translucent/clear plastic and the discs themselves are a white foam. The foam has been treated with glow in the dark material, but only at the top of the foam, not the full disc. The inner ring can also glow in the dark, but it appears to only glow on the underside rather than the top. 



The main draw card to the Lumitron is the new Firefly tech clip. It's a 10 round clip, but size wise it's similar to the 20 round clip of the Nitron. The reason for the added size is to accommodate the batteries- 4AA batteries to be exact. Just like with the Rayven CS-18, there's a switch on the side of the clip that turns on a blue light that shoots through the tube and exposes the discs to a blue LED.




The interior of the clip uses clear plastic, to allow for the light to shine through up the shaft.

With the four AA batteries, the Firefly tech clip is therefore heavier than a normal Vortex one, but I kind of like the weight.




 Now, just a few pics of various combos because I don't really need to get into performances as they're very much the same as the Praxis:)


Lumitron obviously takes the standard Vortex clips too.
Clip works with all Vortex blasters, making them "Light it up"
The name plate of the Praxis- raised.




Lumitron's are due out in March, but no doubt they'll be out earlier than that. I personally like it over the Praxis because of the colour scheme and the Firefly clip is tough. I also prefer my Praxis sans stock anyway, so this is a good alternative. Depending on the cost, I'd recommend it, although I am a tad disappointed Nerf took the easy way out and did a repaint rather than create something new and awesome. Ahh well.:P

25 comments:

  1. Where the hell do you guys get these? I live in perth and have not seen a single sighting of a Rayven or Lumitron. Not even any of the Dart Tag 2011. But love your guys work.

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  2. Wait--Where does the light originate? Top of the magazine, like the Rayven, or the bottom?

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  3. Man,this is a problem. I don't know whether to get the lumitron or rayven! Vortex is pretty cool but there's just something about the rayven. Which would you recommend?

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    1. RAYVEN PWNS ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

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    2. The Rayven is actually worth the price as it's a semi auto quiet powerful good looking clip fed blaster. The Lumitron is just a butchered Praxis with a fancy clip.

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    3. Get the Rayven, I've used one and it's awesome.

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  4. Can't wait for light it up series to come up.

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  5. woulda been nice to see a new gun over the lumitron, but the color scheme is, as you said, much better. I like to repaint guns though, and prefer stocks, so it would be more worth it to me to just buy a praxis and wait for the firefly clips to come into stores if I wanted glow in the dark discs. From what info I've gathered the lumitron seems to be $5-$10 more depending on what stores are going to sell them. Bazookafied over at the Tactical Tag blog found the price tag on the shelf of a walmart saying $32.88 which is just a few bucks more than I feel is worth it.

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  6. Does the Lumitron come with a stock?

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  7. Indeed I have not seen any of the new Dart Tag stuff in Australia.

    They also state that the Lumitron does NOT come with a stock.

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  8. I guess what dissapoints me the most isn't even that its a repaint, but that it seems somewhat underperforming when compared to the Rayven, with less rounds and a lower rate-of-fire. I guess range and accuracy kinda make up for it, but to me...meh, seems sort of unbalanced when it comes down to the whole N-Strike vs. Vortex thing.

    Then again, I don't see much of a purpose in reinventing something like the Nitron in a smaller package either. I've still got my fingers crossed for a slam-fire style Vortex blaster in the future.

    Also, I had no intention of picking this up, but dangit, this is why I hate your reviews sometimes; they overpower me with want, even if its usefulness is limited. But I gotta admit that those discs look pretty dang cool.

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  9. Portal, it all depends what your into. If you need something that can instantly shoot without any noise, then go lumitron. If you need something that is a rapid fire monster, then go for the Rayven. I have the Rayven and I think that it is amazing. I also have a praxis which is the same. I prefer the Rayven cause of its size and the praxis jams.

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  10. Any drop clip issues with the Lumitron like the Praxis?

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  11. For costing the same price as a Rayven while being uglier, holding less ammo, having a much lower rate of fire, requiring manual priming, and having no stock, I just don't see any reason to get this unless you desperately want the Firefly tech clip.

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  12. Get BOTH!!!! people

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  13. I'm a third party here. I personally don't like the firefly tech stuff and would much rather go back to my Longstrike and Alpha Trooper than sit here and deal with this novelty dealy. Far too gimmicky for my tastes and I don't see the point. Also generally not a fan of the fifth Vortex blaster. I both don't want there to be a fifth one until I can acquire all four of the current models and am unimpressed with the firefly gimmick.

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    Replies
    1. Uhhhh... I have to say Longstrike is far more 'gimmicky' than a Rayven. Lumitron on the other hand...

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  14. That is a BEAST, a cross, licence series tho
    I Like the way Nerf is going

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  15. Alright... so youve convinced me. I think Ill try to get one...

    440

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  16. Wonder if Hasbro will follow up with a dedicated scope and stock for the Lumitron.

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  17. I found one on Amazon.co.uk for less than the praxis although it may have increased in price when you see this comment.

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  18. how many vortex bullets can the lumitron hold? i'm trying to decide what's better, rayven or lumitron?

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  19. how many bullets does a lumitron hold?

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  20. do you know how much disks a lumitron holds?

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