Thanks for reading:)

Well it's that time. Rather than just let this fizzle and look like another un-maintained blog without reason, I just wanted to let you all know after a lot of thought, I've decided to call it a day and finish up Urban Taggers.  Much has changed over the past 3 yrs in toy blaster land- when we started out in 2010, toy stores in Australia would dedicate a shelf and a half to toy blasters and the intel was barely trickling in down under at the best of times; since then its been amazing how the market has changed so much and how stores have taken notice with whole walls now dedicated to these awesome toys.

I've done my best to bring you all everything I know about toy blasters from any source I could find on the internet. We hunted and searched, negotiated and paid sometimes ridiculously high prices just to get them and review them open and honestly first so you guys would be able to decide for yourselves if they were a goer or not. We scrutinised official leads and looked for unofficial ones (perhaps not always the smartest idea!) but in light of all of this, I think there's evidence now to suggest things have changed and there's no longer a need to do this anymore. Toy companies are engaging more than ever with their customers, and that's awesome. Information is becoming more readily available and I think that's a good thing and if we were in any way shape or form responsible for influencing even a LITTLE bit of that, then I'm two thumbs up winning right there:)

I've had a few offers to take over the reigns of UT but for now.. I just don't want that to happen. It's been my heart and soul for the past few years and I guess even though I don't have the capacity to continue anymore, I probably am a little too close to my little blog to let it go to someone else just yet.

SO what happens now? There's no reason to "remove" the blog, I just won't really be updating it anymore. (I probably will still admin the comments but that might take a bit of time)  I still love the gear and I still use social media a LOT so I'll probably still keep the Facebook page going too if any of you wanna still say hey. There are plenty of good sources of info out there for this sorta thing, so no doubt you'll be in good hands.

Thank you so much for reading. This really was an amazing experience and I'm chuffed to think I could have been a part of this awesome toy blaster world.

"we don't stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing."

Buzzbee Side winder : That's... some firepower.

Buzzbee doesn't have the greatest presence here in Australia, and their official website does look a little outdated but luckily we get some of our readers on the ball to send us cool stuff to view. From our Facebook page, "Braeburn MLP Fim" uploaded some things they saw at Walmart; There was an Auto Tek 20 (see after the jump) which I've seen before, but this very interesting looking Sidewinder caught my eye in a .. WHAT IS THAT? sort of way?  A quick google search just comes up with photos of the X-Shot Sidewinder (and of that, it's mostly pics of the blaster I sent Jerm from Nerf Mods + Reviews back in the day!) which is a different beast entirely. 

This one from Buzzbee looks interesting. If anything, it's unique, it's something new (somewhat), and it's like a belt fed blaster but in a drum. I'm only speculating but interesting stuff! Anyone got one? Thoughts?

Bankcroft.de: Nerf Zombie Strike Sledgefire vid

Our German friends at Bankcroft.de have gotten their hands on some of the mad new gear- in this particular case they're reviewing the upcoming new Zombie Strike Sledgefire. I'm quite a fan of this blaster from an aesthetic point of view, but what's nice is Bankcroft really break it down on how it works. 

From what the video shows, it 'breaks' in half like the Barrel Break, and is designed to be a "shotgun" so it fires three darts simultaneously (apparently you can't do one at a time but then if you wanted to do that, this wouldn't be the blaster of choice) via a dart holder but luckily it doesn't 'spit' the empty shells out after you've fired like a Buzzbee Doubleshot.  

Another thing I find pretty interesting is another "nod" to aesthetic modders by providing cardboard stencils in the box. It seems like Nerf are actually promoting/urging fans to customise their own blasters with the Zombie Strike logo. Nifty!

Vid after the jump. Thanks Cornelius for the link!

Nerf Zombie Strike SledgeFire via YouTube

Meanwhile, back in China... : Baidu

 

Ahh Baidu; how those Chinese taunt us so. While we all eagerly anticipate the release of all the wonderful new Nerf gear, already people in China are posting photos of the blasters that they already own. There's not really any news here, it's just a pic spam round up of some images I pulled from Baidu just to make us sigh with envy:P More pics after the jump.

Rant: Rebelle line- Enjoy Pepsi?

This girl has really become the face of Nerf for girls. More so than any other model.

The new promo clip for the upcoming Rebelle line of "female friendly" blasters is out, and it's definitely a different approach to Nerf advertising than that in the past. Sure, it's pretty obvious there are a lot of nods to the Hunger Games with the actors running through the forest rather than urban surroundings but there's so much more to this clip that that.

The interesting thing about this clip is because it's now promoting a product that's targeting girls, the message is different. And that's why I find this clip so darn interesting. Because dem marketing peeps over at Hasbro have determined that if you want to appeal to the female market, you can't just throw a mad looking product in their face and expect them to buy. The new Rebelle line seems to not just be about pink blasters; ultimately this is about creating an image or lifestyle.

Which is probably why this clip seems less like a traditional Nerf ad, and more like one for Clearasil daily face wash.

Atamaii: Zombie Strike @ SDCC 2013

 Yes, that IS a Zombie Strike MACHETE. Anime toy blog Atamaii posted this awesome look at the Zombie Strike presence at this year's San Diego Comic Con and it looks amazeballz. There's stuff there that we haven't seen before.. Zombie Strike  Z BOMBS even?:P

So other than the very cool looking Machete (which the tag says will be released next month in the US), we've also got these Z Bombs (not sure if they do anything other than work like throwing a Nerf football, but they also seem to come in varieties like a buzz saw?), A reskined Jolt targeting kit and accessories like bandanas and pouches. Also gives us a look at the Side Strike's holster. All and all a great piece of intel from Atamaii!

Check out the vid after the jump. Cheers JB!

Just how powerful IS the Nerf Centurion?

Naturally, it's not a grey trigger unit:P

Josh Gets Shot In Crotch for Charity from Woodstock Comedy Festival