Friday, April 5, 2013

Flywheel blasters: my 5cents(AUS) worth:D

Thanks to a thought provoking piece from out pal Mike of Tactical Tag, there’s much buzz and discussion in the Nerf world regarding flywheel blasters which has prompted me (well various emails and msgs including one from My Last dart) to throw in my 2 cents worth on how I feel about them. Well.. 5 cents worth..cos we don't have 2 cents in Australia anymore:D
Ahh memories. My first Barricade RV-10:)
It’s funny, because I’m actually kinda split over them. There was a clip fed flywheel blaster I had the pleasure to use back in the early 90s that I can’t remember what it was called (Jerm had one from Nerf Mods & Reviews back in the day) but really, it was when I got my hands on the Nerf Barricade RV-10 where I was really exposed to the flywheel blaster. Given that was considered by many in the community as my “first big break” I do have fond memories of the first time I switched on the Barricade and witnessed first hand that hair dryer sounding noise, but to be truly honest.. I actually didn’t really like it.

Let’s consider my own gameplay style for a sec- I’ve never really participated in organised outdoor Nerf battles because I am not a fan of that mentality where everyone is standing on front of one another and just trying to shoot the first person who comes within range. As a casual indoor ‘warrior’, what makes sense to me is the constant ducking for cover, sneaking up on opponents and landing that well placed shot on your target so in turn, when I do have my impromptu indoor style apartment battles, there’s a lot of hiding, waiting and anticipating. The only other way I really play is at work in an office environment across desks and partitions, but we’re quite restricted to very short burst battles and need to minimise disruptions for other teams less inclined to enjoy the foam.

Sooo, from a practical perspective, flywheel blasters make little sense and are a pain in the butt. There’s no sneaking around when your blaster is powering up and sounding like a hairdryer. Sure, I can understand that “intimidation” tilt many flywheel fans have, but if you’re all about cover and hiding, powering up your Barricade is essentially giving away your position. There’s no stealth here, and even if it turns into one of those hell for leather down the line battles where everything’s out in the open and sneaking is all over red rover.. it just gets really noisy- and not in a good way- the sound of hairdryers and milkshake machines invading just DOESN’T appeal to me at all. The time it takes to power up your flywheels also easily gives ‘tangos’ (oh look at me and my harrrrcore military speak:P) the heads up that you’re about to fire therefore allowing them to take cover, respond accordingly or bolt like a crazy person. Either way, they’re ready.
I LOVE this loadout. LOVE it.
And that sucks. BUT…that all being said, there’s also something that screams to me more than just functionality, and that’s the fact that so many of these Flywheel gems look AWESOME:) Aesthetically, the Elite Stryfe with a Retaliator front grip and Pinpoint sight is my favourite blaster of choice. Prior to this, I did love the way the Rayven looked with its mad bull pup design and snubbed nose. And I am a big fan of the Nitron’s chunky tough as guts aesthetics.

Stock performance wise, they easily match their spring-loaded brothers in distance and accuracy, but do some voltage mods to them and HO-LY crap they pump those darts out with gusto ( I remember the first time Neil showed me what happens when you voltage mod a Rayven…madness I tell you!). What’s also cooler is the hum drum annoying buzzing noise of a stock flywheel hairdryer all of a sudden becomes an intense angry motorcross bike sound that is actually almost appealing:D It still grates after a while, but the best part is the power up is much much shorter than a stock flywheel, and that means you’ve got more of a chance of landing that surprise shot than you would with a stock flywheel. And that’s very cool.


To me, flywheel blasters are basically the SMG’s of the Nerf world. Semi automatic means the flexibility of one handed play or close-to-body responsive two handed play. Some argue they’re lazy design (much less inside to consider than a spring powered one) but I think there is a place for them if just for the simple fact they look tough:)  Much will have to depend on your gameplay style if they’re right for you, but for us, an Elite Rayven and Stryfe sits in my apartment in our current living room armory:)

16 comments:

  1. Just curious, in america, the elite rayven doesn't hit elite ranges, what about in Australia?

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    1. It's even worse is Australia mate!

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    2. The Elite Rayven isn't out in Australia yet. As you can see that one has a standard orange trigger, so it's an import.

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  2. "I am not a fan of that mentality where everyone is standing on front of one another and just trying to shoot the first person who comes within range."

    This doesn't happen. If it does at your wars, you need to either get a better field with more cover and options to move forward, or you need players who are willing to move more.

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    1. Or you need to go to wars in the first place:)

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  3. I compensate for flywheel noise/spin-up by attaching a small spring-powered blaster to a tac-rail mount as a fore grip. Gives me an instant first shot while I spin up the flywheels. (My nerfing is almost always Humans vs Zombies and our local game doesn't allow modding of blasters so I can't overvolt it.)

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    1. If you're from the US then you should buy a Triad. 3 stealth shots before the real battle begins. whoeeeee!

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    2. The Strike Fire makes for a great grip, I just got one on ebay, it doesn't have amazing range, but it is very accurate and allows me to hold my hail fire at shoulder height.

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  4. I like the flywheel blasters. They offer the multi-shot function without having to slam fire. Its pretty effective as a primary weapon during Nerf games.

    BTW, I love this photo of your Stryfe. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SbiUhHt-wmw/UN-6Z_YFYZI/AAAAAAAAPQE/B0WUXPTZZs0/s1600/Urban+Taggers-N-Strike+Elite-21.jpg If I could purchase the folding stock and hand grip separately, this would be my primary weapon... until Nerf releases their new version of the Stampede. ;)

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    1. I agree, that's a sick loadout! You can regularly find the folding stock and fore Grip on eBay, i bought a second grip there for $8.

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  5. well, for me flywheel blasters don't mater because i use the barricade as a trap for house wars when all the lights are turned off :) but the rayven will always bee my fav :3

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  6. I don't like flywheeel because they give you away, and even though they shoot pretty fast, they have to charge up for a split second before they shoot the dart more than a foot, and again after every dart.

    I say just make more powerful spring powered guns, and make one similar to the snapfire, which is semi-auto, but without being flywheel.

    Plus, there is already WAY too many flywheel blasters, because Nerf is seeming to start to get lazy and not make as many types of guns.

    I hate flywheels overall :P

    ~DarkDragon

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  7. I own most of the Elite line so far , as well as a Pyragon and Diatron, and man do I love my Stryfe! It's the blaster I just can't put down, It performs so well and just looks so mean. When people want to know why I'm into collecting Nerf blasters, I show them the Stryfe. With the Retal fore grip and a 12/18 dart mag or any drum, it's like an SMG!

    I like direct plunger blasters a lot , but there's something about the rapid rate of fire of flywheel blasters that make me reach for them every time.

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  8. I have thought of getting the Stryfe but the noise of the flywheel just turn me off from getting it.

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  9. i have a few elite guns but i dont want that stryfe
    1 i already have a elite rayven
    2i hate flywheels :0

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  10. I really want to get a stryfe and buy a longstrike barrel so I can put my retal stock and grip on it and an 18 shot mag it would look so muck like an M16A4. I have a sonic barricade and when I put my retal stock on there it puts fear into everyone it the house when I flick it on.

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