MLTA's 7th Summer Season Concludes

What an awesome way to end the season!  Although Mother Nature still managed to land the hottest day of the week on our game yet again, it's still better than other games we've had this summer.  The extreme heat felt through the midwest certainly fatigued even our most seasoned players, but in the end, it's another successful run that I'm proud to have been a part of.

They've found me. Is that good?

So recently I've noticed that my YouTube channel has been getting exponentially more views, subscribers, and comments.  With this increased exposure, I've also noticed a distinct rise in immature comments ranging from a simple disagreement with a test I've run to flat out cursing for little reason.  It doesn't really phase me much, but it makes me wonder... if this is what happens when you become "famous", why are so many folks seemingly obsessed with the idea of becoming "famous"?

Prepare for a rant!

Wanna Play?

The Midwest Laser Tag Association is wrapping up it's 7th Summer Season of laser tag.  It's been another great year and we've really had a lot of fun with the new LTAR too.  While the summer's heat has been record-setting and... really... REALLY... getting old, the fun we've had this season more than makes up for it.

Most of the combat is much more ranged than what you see here, but since you can't really see it much on the video, I left most of those scenes out.  I might take more footage at our game on Wednesday so you can get a feel for what it's like with our normal 20-30 player turnout games.

Also, the LTX EF5 is nearly complete.  Keep it here for an update on that project.  Enjoy!

Bandolier Comparisons

So someone just asked in a comment on the previous post if the Elite Bandolier was shorter than the original one.  I kinda thought it was a silly question but then thought... you know... it did seem a little odd to have it out a full length and still feel like I should've had more space.  In going through pictures I took, it seemed like the Elite one at full extension was still not quite fitting like I remembered my tried and true Original one.


It was a legitimate question.  Here's the facts:

Raising the Bar

For those who use an iPod Touch, getting 3 bars of Wifi is always good.  For those who use N-Strike blasters that are clip-fed, 3 bars of Elite options is pretty nice!

After about a month or so of fiddling around with the Retaliator, Rampage, and the darts and accessories that go along with them, I'm becoming a bigger fan of the Elite gear by the day.  I especially like the clip size options that we have.  Granted, the only new size pictured is the 12 round clip, but I feel like it really helps round out your options.

Really, other than the new Direct Plunger Systems in the Retaliator and Rampage, there is't a whole lot of "new" concepts in the Elite lineup... so I'm surprised I've taken to them so quickly.  If you haven't caught on by now though, I like blue.  Like... a lot.  And I really think that's been a driving force behind my enthusiasm for the Elite lineup.  Blue darts, blue Bandoleer, Blue blasters... it's just a good time to like Blue and be a Nerf fan.

Elite Dart Testing: Air Tank Blasters

This is my final series on Elite Dart Testing.  I've gone through Plunger blasters, Flywheels, and now I'm finishing strong with one of my favorite blasters at the helm: the Magstrike.  Oddly enough... this is about the ONLY Air Blaster I've really taken a liking to.  It's pretty much the "instant kill" blaster in our games.  Few manage to escape the flurry of 10 darts screaming right at them.

So I've covered the 3 major types of Nerf blaster firing systems and how Elite Darts work with them. The final diagnosis is clear: these Elite darts are the best stock darts you can get for your blaster.

With the completion of this test, I've covered the 3 major blaster types that Nerf uses.

Digging into the Range Master

Got around to opening up my Range Master.  For some reason I'm less afraid of screwing up this blaster as far as mods go... maybe because it's less expensive?  Anyways, here's a shot of internals as well as some external mods I've done.

First things first, I've simplified the loading mech.  Instead of that noisy clunky door that helps you load darts in, I just flat-out removed the whole mechanism.  You get a more reliable seal if you just load the dart in all the way yourself anyways... and speed isn't a factor for the Range Master in the first place.  Also cut out that ridiculously oversized muzzle for it.  I'll probably clean this up a little more.