Elite Dart Testing: Flywheels

A few folks have been nipping at my heels for this review, so I decided to quit stalling and get to work on it.  This comprehensive test uses a Nerf Rayven, 12 round clip, 6 Streamlines and 6 Elite Darts to check performance differences between the two types of ammo for clip system blasters.  Previous tests have shown that Elite darts are an improvement over the Streamline dart.  More than enough improvement (in my opinion) to switch over to them.

These tests are not just comprehensive in that I test these darts up against eachother, but I also do 3 different voltages on these.  First stock voltage, then Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries (which have been proven to give a little more punch in electronic blasters) and finally Ultrafires.

See how the Elites matched up against the Streamlines in the video below!

SlyDev: Custom Accessories

How'd that get on there?  Hmmm...

Saw this stuff at Street Tag Warfare a little while back and he's got an update on new stuff from them.  From iron sights to accessory rails and dart holders, I'm becoming increasingly interested in SlyDev.

This Australian-based site has a multitude of accessories for your N-Strike blaster and STW has made excellent use of them already.  Check out his review of some of their products on his blog.

Range Master aims for Elite

So the big thing for the Summer of 2012 was the N-Strike Elite lineup.  At the head of this new lineup was the promise of 75 ft "Elite" ranges.  While this has proved to be a bit of a let-down in terms of delivery (blasters typically get 50 feet flat, 75 ft angled) the Buzzbee Air Warriors line has a contender that's aiming to gain your business.

This is where the Range Master comes in.  It's a "Sniper Rifle" design that actually lives up to it's looks.  The Nerf N-Strike Longstrike CS-6, while it looked the part of a long-range dart-slinger, got the same if not worse ranges when compared to other standard N-Strike clip-fed blasters.  However, to get that range, the Range Master relies on the good ol' air tank... something the Nerf brand seems to have abandoned at this point.

Where most folks will jump at the 60 ft range claims (which are accurate) there's an Achilles heel to the Range Master that still gives the Elite blasters an edge: priming.  With it's manual prime, the Range Master is easily outgunned by anything in the Elite lineup in terms of dishing out foam darts. Manually loading each dart on top of pumping 5-6 times in between each shot kills the Range Master's Rate of Fire.

It's clear that the Range Master was targeted towards the Nerf N-Strike Elite line as far as range goes, and it certainly does that well.  However, when it comes to using these blasters in games, scales tip towards the faster Rate of Fire that the Elite lineup has where this clumsy bolt-action air blaster fails to keep up.

Elite-ists

Upon checking my usual blogs this morning, I saw a link from a not-so-usual contender.  Portal's Portal had taken a closer look at an Ad found by SG Nerf that shows us a nice front-shot of the Firestrike (totally called that layout), the extremely expensive Strongarm, and even the Rampage with that shield we had seen earlier.  I didn't expect so much news swirling around the Elite lineup post-release but here we are still scratching our heads and staying engaged with all the latest news.  Not sure if Hasbro planned it that way or not, but it's certainly making for a fun ride for those of us waist deep in speculation.

Now then, I don't mean to "Toot my own horn", but I'm getting increasingly confident that the massive waste of space inside the Rampage box that I noted in an earlier post is space for that top-rail mounted shield.

So now the Elite Lineup is looking a lot bigger than we thought.  Here's what we've got from what we've seen.

• Retaliator
• Rampage
• Hailfire
• Stockade
• Firestrike
• Strongarm
• Elite Jolt (No name confirmed)

...that's quite the lineup already and it's certainly looking to replace the original N-Strike lineup at this rate.

Still, I'm curious as to your thoughts on this recent influx of information.  There's some crazy stuff out there.  Rampages with shields, Firestrikes with decent-looking Tac Lights, and a Grandma on eBay getting a Strongarm sold for over $1,000.  What's your thoughts on all this Elite-ist-ness?

REMATCH: Battle of the Elites

Recently I pitted my Elite Longshot up against a stock N-Strike Elite Retaliator to see what had the better ranges.  However, now I've lightly modded my Retaliator and it's been surprising me.  I thought it would only be fair for a rematch between the two blasters.

I used the same parameters, even the same range space to test the two from the last time.  6 Elite Darts each, flat ranges.  Hitting that fence is roughly 75 feet, so clearing that fence is even further than that.  The mods in the Retaliator were about as basic as those in my Longshot.  AR is out, better seal, and a stronger spring.

Will my Elite Longshot continue it's reign as champion?  Or will the Retaliator give it a run for it's money?

LTX EF5: Update 7

So far the LTX EF5 has seen two full games.  One was just after Update #6 while it was still unpainted and another just last night at one of the MLTA's events.  This blaster's range and accuracy are it's strongest points.  Unfortunately, I forget these strong points and try to go in gunslinging as if I were using a Shotblast-equipped LTX and end up getting myself into trouble on the battlefield.  It's a mental state that's hard to break, as I've never really been the true "sniper" type.  This blaster, when completed, will likely go to one of my MLTA veterans who can make better use of it's pinpoint accuracy.

That being said, the paintjob on it is looking great.  Just a few other things to finish up as well as completing the power switch and this project is complete!  Below are a few close-up shots of the paintjob so far as well as a video outlining the progress made.

LTAR goes WayBack

Flux at the Auburn Lazer Tag Club (ALTC) made this awesome video for the LTAR.  Though if you haven't seen the original Lazer Tag commercial from "Worlds of Wonder", it might not make as much sense.  So I've listed both the original commercial from the '80s and then Flux's take on it with the new LTAR.