The Longshot Discrepancy

So the golden rule of Longshots has always been "Blue is better than Yellow", right?  What if I were to tell you that wasn't always the case?  I've got hard evidence suggesting that not all Blue Longshots are as powerful as this generalization claims.  Check out the video below to see what I'm talking about.

Modified Big Bad Bow

This is a BBB I recently finished modifying.  It's a popular blaster to mod for getting insane ranges, and for good reason.  The Big Bad Bow has a Direct plunger system similar to that of the Longshot but has a very strong stock spring.  I double sprung mine, made it accept N-Strike Darts, and made a few other exterior modifications.

While it may look like any other BBB design, the portion I'm most happy with is the integrated dart holder on the bottom where the lower bow portion used to be.  It can accept any N-Strike accessory, but the most useful one is obviously the dart holder from the Barrel Break IX-2.  It works great to quickly reload this blaster from the front.  I also removed the upper Arrow holders and streamlined the look a bit.  I'm pleased with how it turned out and, at 70 feet flat, I'm psyched to see how it does in a game!

If the video isn't working, wait until about 5pm CST, as it is still loading and I'm on my way out the door!  Wanted to have this published to show you!

Combat Bow, coming together

So that Big Bad Bow I was working on earlier got some quick progress today already.  Since I did simple range testing on this thing's power, I kind of dug in a little faster than I had originally anticipated.  Wanted to show you a few of the minor changes I've made to it.

First, I integrated an actual barrel into the BBB's original housing.  It's pretty flawless-looking, so I'm a fan of how it turned out.  It'll fit any N-Strike dart.  Like I said earlier in the video, it's shooting 60 feet flat.  Because the tip is almost identical to the original, it can still fire normal Arrows too.

Here I've taken the lower bow piece and modified it so that N-Strike Rail accessories fit onto it.  While it doesn't seem like anything useful could go there because of the angle, the intent is to have a dart holder from the Barrel Break so that way dart storage is close to the front barrel and can easily be loaded during a game.  Because of the plastic used, I wasn't able to get a clean finish on it, but it'll be covered by the accessory anyways.

I also removed the top sight/arrow holder that used to secure the upper bow portion.  I sanded off the excess and contoured the parts to the rest of the design on top.  Then I covered the hole left over with plastic tape, lightly sanded the whole section, and repainted it in a hammered metallic gray.  I originally thought to just paint it over in black again, but I thought it might look neat with this color instead.  I am pleased with the refined look of this blaster.

I'll likely be finishing this one up quickly and I'll have a video and full pictures up of it once it's done.  There are a few scratches from this being a used blaster before with random stripes of other colors from banging up against other blasters/toys that I'll clean up to prepare it for it's finalized pictures.  If you haven't noticed, these changes aren't really all that ground-breaking, but I've never been a fan of dowsing blasters in CPVC, Hot Glue, PETG, Duct Tape, and Hoppers to make a overpowered beast.  As it is, this blaster functions great for the indoor game settings that it'll no doubt be used for here and I've always been more of a fan of simple mods.  Keep it here for the finalized pictures and video for this blaster!

Projects Projects Projects!

I've had a lot going on as far as the Nerf side of my interests go recently.  Mainly, my focus has been here because of a recent game we've planned that's coming up in a few weeks.  As such, I've got 3 projects I'm focusing on to get ready for this.  The First project you've already seen, my Alpha Trooper Pistol.  I'll be resuming work on that this week.  The other two are a result of a recent deal I nabbed on eBay that includes a Big Bad Bow and a Longshot.

There are 3 main goals for each of these blasters.  The Alpha Trooper Pistol is to be a compact rapid-fire blaster that's small enough that it could be holstered as a sidearm or backup.  It's SlamFire capabilities make it great for those "do or die" situations.  The Longshot CS-6 is obviously a main battle rifle with it's heft and size.  I'll be working on this a little bit, but this blaster will likely see some basic mods until the Immortal Longshot kit can get here, in which case this blaster will likely be the recipient.  I hope to paint my Immortal Longshot to look like the Elite Blasters with a white stripe on it.  The Big Bad Bow is being redesigned for use in games, so it'll be using N-Strike darts instead of arrows.  It's a powerful blaster and I plan to make use of dart holders on the blaster so that it can easily be loaded.  Mounting the dart holder near the front will make it easier for the hand on the forward grip to load new darts quickly.  Here's a quick video I shot of it with a few internal modifications as well as being adapted to use N-Strike Darts.

She wants more ammo!

Threatened over Facetime

So I got my girlfriend a Nerf Jolt to mess around with at her apartment.  Thanks to her crazy-go-nuts boyfriend, she's no stranger to Nerf and Laser Tag, surprising me with a cunning move here and there at games.  She's had this Jolt for awhile and occasionally, if I let my guard down, I get a Sonic Dart to the temple from across the living room.

What does she ask me today?

"Get me more darts."

She's a keeper!

Just wanted to unofficially thank her (since I don't think she reads this blog) for not only accepting my silly hobbies, but for enjoying them too, even when that means I get attacked every now and then!

BullsEyeNerf got it this week? Will you "Light it Up" next?

This modded Tech Target will serve his name well, as the blaster is super accurate!  BullsEyeNerf is our winner this time!  Congrats to him!!  And, as always, thanks to everyone who take part in these Giveaway posts!  I look forward to Friday every week because this is a lot of fun for me, reading through the entries, putting all the names in my Red Sox hat, and picking one at random.  Thanks for all your support!

This week's question is regarding Firefly Tech.  The N-Strike Clip and Vortex Magazine that can fire glow-in-the-dark darts out of any Clip or Magazine fed blaster are pretty cool and have been getting a lot of attention since Nerf's "Light it Up" commercials... regardless of how poorly scripted those may or may not be!  Justin Bieber Abercrombie & Fitch models aside, what's your take on the Firefly Tech?

Nerf should be a SOCIAL event!

So I know there's a lot of folks who are into Nerf modding and the hobby-side of these plastic blasters in general.  I can't blame them, as I'm a tinkerer at heart and modifications is just the name of the game when it comes to what I do here.  However, if there's one thing that I've seen and read a lot about in talking with my fellow Nerfers online is that there are folks who have all these blasters and epic collections but don't get out and actually play the game!  If I didn't have folks to shoot these foam darts at in a social setting, I don't think I'd be nearly as into this hobby as I am.

The common excuse I see is that "Nobody plays Nerf near me" and I don't think that statement could be less true.  Not only does this sport have TONS of fans out there, as evidenced merely by the Nerf Nation Facebook group, but it's not that hard to get folks into this even on a casual level.  Unless you live on a remote island in the middle of nowhere with no access or contact to the outside world (in which case, you probably can't read this blog), I don't really think there's an excuse to not be able to organize some kind of game to play with friends, family, or the kid who lives down the street that has a Titan missile with his name on it after he smashed your mailbox with a baseball bat.

So don't forget the social aspect of actually HAVING games with people when it comes to Nerf!  If you're already having games, be it NIC or just spur-of-the-moment Dorm battles, drop a comment about your stories on how you get folks together!  If you haven't done this, ask some questions and we'll get you flinging foam with your friends in no-time with some good ol' fashioned advice!

OMW: Bolt-Action Worries

See the full reviews of OMW's products at NM&R

Though I can't deny my own personal frustration after placing pre-orders for the OMW Longstrike Massacre kit back in October and the OMW Immortal Longshot kit in November, I have no doubts after seeing what NM&R has posted in their reviews of these highly anticipated products.  I am a bit surprised that they chose do release the Raider and Longstrike Polycarbonate parts in different colors though, as I was expecting that Translucent Orange seen on the Recon's kit.  I think the Green Polycarbonate in the Longstrike would be best suited in the Sonic Series Longstrike and the Blue Polycarbonate parts for the Raider will look fine in the traditional blue scheme for that blaster, but I was hoping for the Orange colors all-around for these kits.  Oh well!  As internals, color is sort of irrelevant unless you've got a Clear or Sonic Series blaster that you're dropping these internals into.