Photos from IEB #7

Our grillmaster staying hydrated

This was arguably our best Independence Eve Blast (IEB) in the 7 years we've been doing this.  GREAT turnout, excellent food, and really fun games.  Despite the heat, we stayed refreshed with Water and Gatorade on hand and took long breaks between the 4 games we did.  Another nice surprise was the fun mix of newbies and veterans.  Some of our original founders who haven't been able to come in a few years were able to make it out, so it was great having them there.  Myself and Sundawg had our cameras at the event, so for now I've just got some photos from my camera to share.

I had been working my LTX EF5 (which will be getting a progress update soon) with my friend earlier in the day and ran into a snag that kept me from fielding it for a test run.  Instead, I got my LTX DMR running again and had some fun with that blaster.  Some of our new players were big fans of it, as it usually turns heads in general.  Having modded weapons in the field like the LTX DMR tend to increase interest in what we do, so it's good to have something to hook our new players.

We played well on into the night, right up until the time the park closed.  Fireworks shot off overhead and the thick smell of gunpower filled the air as we played our final games of the evening.  I look forward to this event every year for a reason and this year we just had a really great time.  Good people, lots of turnout, great exposure for our group and for laser tag in general... it was everything I had hoped for!  Just a great way to celebrate our country's independence!!

I'll have more photos from this event as well as that update on the EF5 I promised later!

Happy 4th of July!

Wanted to wish all my US-based readers a happy and safe Independence Day!  Whether it's a cookout with family or lighting off fireworks with your friends, take pride in the country that we celebrate today and remember all those who have laid down their lives in the service of protecting the freedoms we enjoy.  Everyone involved, from our Police and Firemen who protect us at home to the men and women of our armed services both here and abroad, we must never forget amidst it all WHAT we are celebrating.  Thanks to everyone who has made this country what it is today!

The MLTA had a great event last night that I'll be posting up pictures of later and I've got progress on the LTX EF5 coming soon too.  So keep it here for more info!  In the meantime, don't cut your fuses too short!

Retaliator's Etched Camo

So I haven't really seen anyone else mention this, but I've been looking at high-res close-ups of the promotional images for the N-Strike Elite Retaliator and I couldn't help but notice that there's that etched digital camouflage pattern all over it.  I had expected this to be a simple recolor, but it appears they've gone and redone the entire blaster with this effect.

I wasn't expecting this, so it was a neat find for me.  It certainly makes one wonder if all their Elite blasters will have this etched digital pattern in them.  Nifty!

EDIT:  Apparently this isn't true.  I'll take Lasagna678's word for it since he owns one of these... so why then does the promo artwork/box art seeminly feature this effect?  Don't believe me?  Check out Target.com's listing for this blaster.

Inside the LTAR

With the next step in the Lazer Tag line coming to us in less than a month now, I'm loving all the new info coming in from a big event held that had the LTAR and it's creator on site to show off this great blaster.  TagFest Northwest is pretty much the mecca for Laser Tag fans.  It's an annual event that attracts all my tagging heroes and, among them this year, was TagFerret: the mastermind behind the LTTO, LTX, and now the LTAR.  He had units on hand to dig into and play games with and WindJammer got this nice video that gives us insight to the next generation of laser tag.

Shot of the internals.  Very simplistic!  Great for modding!

At 5:45 in the video, TagFerret personally takes you through the LTAR and it's iOS.  A surprising addition?  The "Air Strike".  Watch around 9:00 in the video to see what I'm talking about.  TagFerret also announces that while the LTAR base design will stay the same and the App will be updated with new features and weapon modes, that there will also be new blaster designs in the future that will still be able to work with the iOS cradle and Lazer Tag App.  This is a great sign for the life of the LTAR and it's success on the shelf!

Keep it here for the latest information as well as my personal review of this blaster!

Soaker Sale!

As if on cue for the warm weather, Wal-Mart has most of their Super Soakers on sale!  Prices on most of their larger blasters are cut down pretty good.

Lightning Storm: 19.99 USD
Tornado Strike: 16.97 USD
Thunderstorm: 12.88 USD
Electrostorm: 7.97 USD

I also found a neat pre-production picture of the Tornado Strike.  Looks like they were going to use that "Soaker Wars" logo on the side initially from the 2010 Super Soaker lineup but then axed the idea.  Can't say I'm heartbroken.  It just would've been one more thing to sand off. ;)

Elite Rampage Stock

Not all mods have to require extensive work and ingenuity to get something to look sharp.  While this may not be the most jaw-dropping thing ever, I've made an "Elite" stock for use with the Rampage, Retaliator, and Stockade.  It's really just part swapping thanks to my LTX EF5 project, but it's a simple solution for those who are bummed that A: the Rampage doesn't come with a stock and B: none of the Elite series removable stocks are adjustable.  I've really been a fan of the Raider-style adjustable stocks for the N-Strike line, so I swapped the gray connection on this guy for a white one off of a Super Soaker stock (from the Shotblast or Tornado Strike).

Only a minor modification to the Super Soaker part was needed to fit the Raider stock, just sanding down a part near the end of the support tube.  It means I can use this stock on my Elite blasters (when they get here) and use the gray stock on my LTX EF5 which is getting painted.  The fewer parts I have to paint, the better, so having a gray tube on that stock is one less thing I have to worry about.

So if you've got a Raider Stock, Super Soaker Stock, and an Elite blaster that needs a stock, this idea is a simple way to solve that.  You won't get mentioned on the NM&R site for this easy of a mod, but I like my stuff to match.  If you do too, this'll serve you well!

N-Strike Elite: Sighting!!

An anonymous contributor managed to find this Retaliator at a local Toys R Us in Duluth, GA.  Right now the "Buy one Get one 50% off" Sale is still going on too, so this fan really lucked out!  I've checked my local stores and haven't found any Elite Products accidentally stocked early like this lucky fan, but it's not uncommon for slip-ups like this to happen before the actual release.

For now I guess I'll have to keep using my Elite Longshot to hold me over.  With some folks reporting that the 75ft flat ranges aren't quite true, I'm kind of excited to see how my LS matches up to them.  That, and I'm itching to see if these Blue Darts have solved the problems streamlines have.