Severe Weather follows the Fight Night

It seems like whichever night we choose for any given season of outdoor laser tag, it always ends up being the worst weather of the week.  Whether it's unseasonably hot temperatures (especially last year) or stormy conditions, it always seems to fall on the weeknight that we play.  The Midwest Laser Tag Association (Formerly Omaha Laser Challenge Association) has traditionally held it's weekly games, known as the "Fight Night" on either a Monday or Tuesday night.  This season, we switched to Thursday nights, to better accommodate some of our veteran players' schedules.  

Last week, we still managed to have our Season 8 Opener cookout and games despite sprinkles and light rain.  This week, for the MLTA's second Fight Night, there's a forecast for Severe Thunderstorms.  On days like today, it's up to me to keep a close eye on the forecast to see whether the game needs to be cancelled or not.  Often times, during the day, I'm too busy to play weatherman and just have to check things out an hour or two before game time.

We'll just have to wait and see.  Around here, the saying goes "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes.  It'll change."

Versatility in your Loadout

Last week I talked about the shrinking gap that mid-sized pistols are facing and it seemed to stir up quite a bit of insight from readers.  It got me thinking even more about my own choices of loadouts during games.  I've never really stuck to one blaster to use throughout a series of games on any certain day.  I got to thinking about different choices I've gone with: Primary and Secondary versus using one versatile blaster for the whole game.

Traditionally, I've taken a Primary and Secondary blaster into games.  One main rifle and one small pistol.  I usually only use the pistol in the event that I'm in a bind.  When I'm out of ammo or when I've just jammed a dart in my Primary, I fall back on the pistol until I can get things running on my Primary again.  It's pretty basic.

Then there have been games where I've just gone out with one blaster that I can transform into whatever I need.  Blasters like the Stryfe and Retaliator work quite well as either a sidearm or a main weapon, so there have been instances where I've blurred the lines and used one blaster for both roles.  Instead of switching blasters mid-game, I get rid of or add on accessories as needed.  Often times, carrying my spare darts on the blaster has proved to be more versatile than wearing a sling with darts and clips and a sidearm attached to it.  It becomes sort of a hybrid blaster that allows complete freedom on my part to worry less about what I'm carrying and more about what parts on the blaster are working for me.  I've even used parts of my blaster as decoys to give the illusion that I'm hiding somewhere when I'm really sitting in wait at another point.

Obviously the big thing I lose when I'm using one blaster is that vital backup.  If I'm out of darts or my blaster jams, I'm dead in the water.  Suddenly the versatility and convenience of having all of my equipment on one blaster isn't worth anything.

So what's your take?  Is one versatile blaster able to replace the age-old Primary + Secondary loadout?

CTDYNE: LTX Lens Upgrade

Got an awesome e-mail from my buddies at Custom Tag Dynamics that I'm excited about.  Here's another great project of CTDYNE that's on a roll!  Here's the news along with several detailed photos about what they're up to.

"Hello Mike,
I see in your post to Tactical Tag dated Friday, 5/10 you mentioned that " On my next blaster, I may have to include some kind of sniper module add-on for those instances when I want to reach out and nab some long-range kills". The timing for this type of accessory build is once again proof that great minds think alike.

CTDYNE is currently in the process of building two sniper type accessories for LTX taggers. Our timeline for completion of these CTDYNE customs is to be ready to field them this September. I have some preliminary images to share of the unit for this LTX. It is called the Stinger.

The design goal for both units is the same: To extend the usable range of the tagger and to be able to quickly install and remove these sniper modules with no tools or modifications required to the LTX.

The basic structural components of the Stinger are a Laser Challenge Virtual Paintball lens assembly (the one you provided some time ago), A H&K G-36 front section from an airsoft, and the Hasbro video game module supplied with the original release of the LTX. These three main components are tied together with a custom fabricated aluminum center section. I have attached nine images of the preliminary work completed to date on the structure of the Stinger.

Keep in mind these are preliminary images. Details & finish work to come. You can see the aluminum center section with the optic tube installed. This is the rear mount for the tube. The black screw centered in the mount is what fastens the tube to the mount. The front of the tube is located by the hole I enlarged in the front section of the airsoft part. Fortunately, after I enlarged this hole I found that provision to hold rear of the optic tube centered for windage was already cast in. All I had to do was come up with a way to hold the rear of the tube for height or "elevation".

We are in the process of designing and building two custom boards for both these sniper modules that will work in tandem with the original board from the Shotblast module. As you can imagine the functions of the Shotblast board will be enhanced by this secondary board Duncan is building."

Newsflash: Urban Taggers is Awesome

Oh wait... we already knew that.  Urban Taggers, thanks to their intel, has got the scoop on LOTS of fun goodies, all of which I will weigh in on.  There's no point reporting what they already have reported, so I offer you my 2 cents on each of these awesome articles.

ZOMBIE SHOT
I suppose I've now got one thing to thank the Rebelle lineup for (after I questioned it's purpose in the first place).  The HammerShot in the new ZombieStrike lineup looks like a fun lil tagger.  I always appreciate those kinds of "Futuristic Six-Shooter" blasters that give a Trigun feel, and this one is no exception.  UT has a firing video up of it.  It's smaller than the Strongarm (as evidenced by the picture to the left) and has simple one-handed operation.  With this new blaster, Nerf has obviously aimed for the HvZ crowd, pun intended.  It also shows that all those Pink rebelle blasters may be in the running for "manly" repaints to begin with.

Check out the article on that one here> HammerShot on YouKu

RAPID STRIKE

More pictures have surfaced of the RapidStrike CS-18.  You know, if there's one thing this blaster has continued to do it's been to confuse me with their Naming Schemes with these blasters.  At what point do you decide to put a "CS-" tag on a blaster?  The Retaliator, Strongarm, a dozen other blasters recently developed, none of them have numerical designations.  Now the RapidStrike has the Clip System "CS-18" tag on there.  I suppose it's trivial at this point, but the inconsistency just bugs me.  Does it mean I'm not looking forward to the RapidStrike?  Oh hecks no!  Probably going to be one of my favorite blasters!

Check out the article on that one here> RapidStrike Pictures

CENTURION FIRES!

As if we weren't already excited just to see how this thing works, it appears that Tony Stark has picked one up.  There's finally a firing video of this blaster that answers a lot of questions.  Put in the "NERFER" password and BOOM, firing demonstration.  Sounds like a long prime for it (no surprise there) but it still sounds muffled.  I'm kinda scared to see what this thing can do with it's obvious Air Restrictor removed.  If it's hitting 90-100 ft ranges stock, I can't begin to imagine what it's like with the leash off.
Check out the article on that one here> Centurion Firing Videos

All Your Money are Belong to Us

Courtesy of SG Nerf

If you've missed the Un-boxing photos over at SG Nerf of the Centurion, the Centurion got unboxed at SG Nerf.  (lol)  Go figure, it's massive.  Like, bigger than the Longshot with the Front gun attached awesome.  Lots of interesting info, including listed ranges claiming some factual-looking facts.  One thing is for sure: you can't deny this blaster has PRESENCE.  But will it live up to it's aggressive-looking reputation?

Season 8 off to a Great Start!

Despite the rainy conditions, 12 of us managed to start out the Midwest Laser Tag Association's 8th Summer Season!  It was mainly just sprinkling rain on and off the whole evening, but we still grilled up some great food and played out a bunch of games!  Usually the first few games are a little dismal for turnout, but I'm confident we'll be back to our usual 20+ turnout games once the summer gets rolling.

It was also an awesome night to confirm that my LTX EF5 is complete!
Everything worked great on it and I was going toe-to-toe with some of our notable snipers on a regular basis, as well as picking off other players from across the park.  It's range and accuracy is fantastic and the pump-action reload is nice and quick.  I swapped out the Raider-Style stock for a Super Soaker LightningStorm stock and really appreciated the solid stability it provided, so that'll definitely stay on there.

With the EF5 complete, I can focus on other builds that have been sitting on my workbench.  As much as I enjoy the LTX EF5, the blaster doesn't suit my style of play very well.  I'm usually not the "Sit back and snipe across the field" type, though it has been fun dominating players well outside of normal combat ranges.  On my next blaster, I may have to include some kind of sniper module add-on for those instances when I want to reach out and nab some long-range kills.

Stupid Simple E-Tape Tricks

Over a decade ago when I started fiddling around with Laser Tag modifications, I was in LOVE with Electrical Tape.  It was black, flexible, and it was like an instant paint job with lasting durability.  Although I still don't think I've grown up much (still playing with Nerf and Laser Tag well past age 20) my taste in higher-quality modifications and paint jobs has improved.  But every now and then, e-tape still makes the most sense, especially in High-Traffic areas.

As I prep a new stock for the final version of my LTX EF5, I thought I'd share a few tricks that should help those who are still using e-tape for aesthetic work on their blasters, Nerf OR Laser Tag.