N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike official- spotted in Philippines

Pics courtesy of Nerf Club Philippines

Spotted on the Nerf Club Philippines Facebook page is evidence of the much anticipated release of the Nerf N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike. Found in various Toys R Us stores in Makati, Greenbelt and Glorietta and in a Toy Kingdom in Makati.

Interestingly enough we found out earlier today the Mega Series Centurion is being released but NOT for the 9/9 date, and with the release of the Rapidstrike early, it shows this probably won't be the flagship blaster either?! More pics after the jump. Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

48hrs till Nerf makes things official...

Nerf posted this image on their Facebook captioned with "We’ve got big blaster news coming soon and we need this much space to reveal it! Who’s pumped?" and on Twitter with "We've got big blaster news coming next week. RT if you can't wait to hear it!" Months of speculation can now be made official? Or maybe a curve ball that takes us all by surprise? (well we can hope- I love new intel!)

Given the colour and font, I'm going with info on the Mega Centurion, but happy to hear your views.. We've conferring with trusted colleagues and tried screwing around with the image to try and make out what those markings are in the background- like an ink blob psych test.. what do you see here?

To be honest- I seem blobs. :P

Kickstarter: Tek Recon halfway there- 16 days to go!

The fan fav new kid on the block, Tek Recon is set to do big things in the blaster world bringing the love to upcoming tech giant show E3 in Los Angeles in a few weeks time. They're seeking crowd-source funding via kickstarter.com and are over halfway there, with 16 days to go but still need your help to make these blasters a reality. We've said before how much of a fan we are of innovation and new gear hitting the market and it's been a while since a new product has excited us as much as Tek Recon.

Do check 'em out here on their official Kickstarter page and get amongst it- it's not like they're asking for something for nothing with the pledge packs being pretty decent to get your hands on this sweet kit.

Rumours: Mission App tactical rail mount

We saw these cradles flagged for the upcoming Rebelle series of blasters, but here's a first look at ones for the N-Strike Elite line courtesy of you guessed it- Baidu:) It's an idea that's been thrown around lately- chuck in an Apple iPhone and you've got yourself a tactical rail mounted 'battle cam' via a free iOS app. I love the idea, but hate the fact they're pinning so much on Apple products (I don't own any Apple products) and will potentially encounter the same issues the Lazer Tag LTAR series had if they don't rectify the physical compatibility issue with devices. Still, if the app IS cool and well done, it does potentially add a new layer to gameplay hat they seem to feel is the "next gen" of Nerfing... 

More pics after the jump.

Rumours: Nerf clip attachments- Now this IS a useful hack

Now THIS is something I've never seen before- a browse on Chinese portal Baidu came up with these images of what looks like a Nerf clip attachment that allows you to carry extra clips via the tactical rails on your blaster. Simple, but they're definitely something that's actually quite useful for a change. Something for the likes of Sly Dev to whip up perhaps?:)

More images after the jump. Cheers to Mad Cow for the intel!

Baidu: More Nerf Zombiestrike Hammershot pics

More pics of the rumoured new Nerf Zombie Strike Hammershot blaster pop up on Baidu- it's the same stuff, only different angles- which I still like looking at anyway:) Check 'em out after the jump:)

Random: 3000 Elite darts for sale for $799..

How many darts would you say you've gone through in your 'foam career?' 100? 500? Well, true veteran battlers know the quality of your darts is almost as important as the blaster itself when partaking in foam battles and alas they DO wear out and require regular refreshing. If you want to spend less time buying new darts and more time raining foam on your opponents, US e-tailer Think Geek has this insane offer of a massive 3000 darts for sale for the grand price of $799US.  THREE THOUSAND. I wonder how much that would weigh?:P

Smaller packs are available too, but where's the fun in that...

Nerf Elite dart ammo packs via Think Geek

Youku: Closed Quarters Nerf battle with Rapidstrike

We've seen a few of these battle videos before; but this time around you'll see one of the players is packing an N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike:)

I love the unfinished/to be demolished building they're battling in, though there's no way a building like that would be allowed to be used in my town for OH+S reasons- guess it's less of an issue in China:)

Video after the jump!

Nerf Mega Centurion: an in-depth vid on Youku

 

I'm not sure if it really the pinnacle of mad investigative reporting when all I'm doing is waiting on Baidu and posting stuff I see on daily, but hey, someone has to do it for the English speaking world I guess:P Thanks to all the emails and msgs about this, but here's a pretty neat vid on Youku from the guy who has the Nerf Mega Centurion (I'm gonna call him Chinese Tony Stark from here on!).

The vid is pretty comprehensive and even if you can't understand Mandarin, you'll still get the gist of what's going on:) Checkit after the jump:)

*Note: we've got a translation sent to us by our main man Black Ops. I've posted it after the vid. Thanks!

More Nerf Zombiestrike Hammershot pics on Baidu

 A few more pics surfaced on Baidu of the upcoming Nerf Zombiestrike Hammershot. Just in case you wanted to see more..  so here's more! After the jump:)

More Rapidstrike internals on Baidu

Naturally, "have blaster will mod" is a common stance for many- even for those who get these blasters way early:) On Baidu there's some form of tutorial to do "something" which alas being in Chinese (and the translation isn't any clearer- I'd probably not understand it anyway even if it was in English) so I have  just posted the pics and you can work it out for yourself:) I'm guessing it's got something to do with increasing the ROF- cos that's what everyone wants to do with battery powered blasters:) 

More pics after the jump! Cheers to Black Ops for the lead.

Random: Designer builds a transforming RC car from a Nerf Vortex blaster

This is actually pretty neat. Industrial designer Patrick Fiori designed a full functioning prototype of a Nerf Vortex blaster that transforms into a radio controlled car for a Hasbro design competition in 2012. Sure it never got made it to production but it actually looks pretty cool; I'm not sure if it fires while in car mode but I think the idea of a firing drone is always appealing:)

Check the link out for more details:) Thanks Jason for the lead.

Design an Nerf Toy that Transforms via Patrick Fiori

Rumours: Nerf Mega Centurion firing vids on Youku

Two videos of the upcoming Nerf Mega Centurion have found their way onto Youku- they are currently password protected but the video author publicised the passwords on Baidu so I guess it's free for all to have a look:)

Password for both of them is NERFER - the rounds look like they're clearing the 80-90 metre mark which is still pretty darn impressive. Thanks to Black Ops for all the leads today!

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTU1OTExMDIw.html
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTU1OTExMTA4.html

Rumours: Nerf N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike- just some more pics

Funny how fast news comes and goes- it seems like so long ago that we were all so excited over the prospect of the Rapidstrike and it was only a few weeks back! Anyway more pics on Baidu surface, so have a look after the jump:)

Rumours: Nerf Zombiestrike Hammershot appears on Youku

More on that "out-of-nowhere"  Nerf 'Zombie Strike Hammershot', here's a video that shows it in all its glory. I gotta say it's gorgeous- the colour schemes and moulds are well done. I'm pretty impressed so far:) Video after the jump:)

Rumours: Nerf Zombiestrike line- Hammershot is Rebelle

If you're a fan of new Nerf blasters but were not sold on Nerf's upcoming new Rebelle line and were already buying sandpaper and paint in anticipation, maybe this'll make you hold out a little. This lil gem has popped up on Baidu and although the specs make it sound a lot like the upcoming Rebelle Wildshot, it's more than just a repaint- at least from the aesthetics with a faux bandaged grip and harder lines than the Wildshot. 

The blaster's featuring badges of this being a part of a new line called "Zombie Strike" and it's apparently called a Hammershot (There's rumours of the full name being called ' Hammershot Orange Cattle' but I'll go with that being a mix up in translation from Chinese to English for now till I see some box art:P) More images after the jump- thanks to everyone who sent me the intel this morning:)

Rumours: Nerf Mega Centurion unboxed.. oooh

Our source for all things Nerf rumoured- Chinese site Baidu has images of an unboxed Mega Centurion. These images do answer many of the questions regarding size, both the blaster itself and the ammo. More images after the jump! (Once again.. it's not mine, I don't own them and the pics weren't taken by me!!)

Rumours: Nerf Mega Centurion box art gives clues

Appearing on Baidu is what looks like an official box art pic of the upcoming Mega Centurion. While the image isn't the sharpest so it's hard to make out the text, it still does give us some more clues about the blaster- mainly that it's BIG, and it comes with 6 oversized whistler darts. You'll also notice the use of the app device cradle that was publicised with the upcoming Rebelle series- we can see it's going to be featured in the "boys" lines too. :P

It's also interesting how on the left they call it the "N-Strike MEGA series" whereas on the right top hand corner is the N-Strike ELITE logo so I do feel it's having a bit of an identity crisis:)

Thanks to Black Ops for the lead!

Tek Recon press release on Kickstarter

There was a lot of interest behind the proposed new "Tek Recon" blaster line from the NY Toyfair 2013; mainly because they looked absolutely incredible aesthetically with real triggers and pump action cocking. They apparently use a new rubber band style ammo that hits over 75ft but they've also taken cues from other augmented reality attachments (such as with Hasbro's current Lazer Tag line and the upcoming new Nerf Rebelle gear) to add a new dimension to your gameplay using an iOS or Android device. We received the official press release this morning regarding Tek Recon's crowdsourcing efforts on Kickstarter.com. 

I for one am pretty keen- more details after the jump:)

Rumours: More Nerf N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike internals AND voltage mod vids?

A few more Rapidstrike internals pics have surfaced- ie "pics of things I have no idea about but figured you the readers might make more sense out of them" :P  More after the jump.

Also after the jump are links to some pretty interesting videos where it sounds like the owner has voltage modded his Rapidstrike AND using it with a rather swanky looking grey drum..

Cheers to all who provided the intel this morning!

Super Soaker: The Numbskull Way

 This one's actually closer to home- Two local Canberra boys and friends of mine Sam and Nick of "Numbskull People" entered a Mofilm film making competition and made this short film for Super Soaker- here we've got Red vs Blue in an ultimate shoot out with water:) This kinda stuff never gets old:D Do check out the vid after the jump:)