New Lazer Tag Confirmed!

From engadget, we've got an early glimpse at the newest Lazer Tag-brand system from Hasbro!  This new blaster has teamed up with the popular iPhone and iPod Touch to be the first app-driven blaster!

"The NERF Lazer Tag system is getting an update for 2012 that lets you pair your blaster with an iPhone or iPod touch. The top of the plastic guns now sport a slot for your iDevice which, when loaded with the Lazer Tag app, provides you with an augmented HUD view. While you can play against purely virtual opponents, the real fun is in using to track your battles with fleshy foes. The app will display your gear and power level, and update your progress on a global Lazer Tag leaderboard. As you play, new attacks and gear will be unlocked for you to enhance your gaming experience. The app will even actually show your blasts' trajectory, letting you see exactly where you shot your former friend. The 2012 edition of Lazer Tag will hit shelves on August 1st with individual blasters costing $40 and sets of two $70."

Whiteout Series Spectre

Well, not quite!  But it's probably as close as I'll get to having something like this.  I was originally going to hold off on a repaint of a Nerf Spectre for something like this in the hopes that Wal-Mart's Whiteout Series would include the Spectre, as rumored by the box art that was floating around in the Summer of 2011.  Since the Whiteout Series has filtered its way off of Wal-Mart shelves, I just assume that this was a limited run for the 4 blasters that we got... so it was up to ME to create what I needed for this project.

I love me a good Longshot!

I've kind of been in a Longshot mood recently if you haven't noticed.  From featuring my Red Strike Longshot in the Recasings video to talking about why the LS packed it's bags, I must have it on my mind.  And then I came across a submission for another blog I work on: Universal Nerf that had a nice repainted LS with a few cosmetic mods.  This Black Widow Longshot is made by a frequent reader on here, so I thought I'd promote it on this blog too.  I've seen a LOT of great repaints for the Longshot for props, Nerf, Laser Tag, you name it! So today, it's all about the Longshot!

Here's that Black Widow Longshot from Peter Torres.  I like the Red Dot sight on there too, though I can think of a few better ways to have attached it other than hot glue!  (That NcSTAR Red Dot I reference in this post)

Here's an awesome Longshot Sniper Rifle that's circled the interwebs quite a few times.  And for good reason!  It's an awesome looking sniper rifle job that makes use of both Longshot and Recon accessory parts, plus a bipod and carry handle to make it look legit.  Notice the use of the Recon's Tactical Light as the Muzzle on the end of the barrel!  Built by meandmuch.

This is a prop themed in the Aliens (1986) film.  Nerf Props among Colonial Marines props are common and I stumbled across this one while building my Pulse Rifle and getting ideas and help from other fans of this film.  I REALLY like the stock on this guy!  Makes it stand out!

So if you've got a cool Longshot, link us!  We'd love to see what you've got out there!

OR better yet, if you've got your own customized Longshot (or anything else Foam-shooting) head on over to Universal Nerf and post it there!

"Elite" Blaster Speculation

So in less than 24 hours, rumor of the  N-Strike "Elite" blasters has engulfed Nerf Nation in a flurry of anticipation and criticism/doubt.  For those of you just joining us, I direct you to the source of this information: Urban Taggers.  So far nothing is official, although Nerf Mods & Reviews reported that Nerf would be making a big announcement at ToyFair 2012, scheduled to occur this month.

All we can do at this point is do what any other fan-base would: speculate the pants off of this!

LT Q&A: Recasings

I apologize for the delay in trying to get this last LT Q&A video up, but YouTube apparently insists on turning my Wide-Screen video into full screen, stretching the image.  It's annoying, considering the amount of work and time I put into trying to make this video the best, but until I can figure out what the heck is wrong with it, here we go!

Thanks to everyone who's been commenting and asking questions.  It's THAT kind of activity that was the driving force in getting this series of videos together.  This one covers all the Recasing questions I get.  Hopefully you can glean some more ideas from this video!

Why the Longshot packed it's bags

Alright, Nerf Nation.  While I'm sitting here waiting for a video to upload to YouTube, I thought I'd weigh in on why the Longshot isn't on US shelves anymore.  I'd also ask that, in the future, if you see folks whining about bringing the Longshot back or complaining that they're expensive or questioning why it's gone because it was "The best blaster", kindly redirect them to this little rant of mine.  Knowledge is power!

Soloz1 got a Box of Scraps! What's up for this week?

This week's winner is soloz1!  He's the lucky winner of those springs, rings, and other things in that box-o-goodies I put together last week! In general, I was hoping that whomever this stuff went to that we'd get to see some neat custom/upgraded blasters out of it.  No presure, soloz1, but I'm gonna have my eye on any recent mods you do!

Also, thanks everyone for having the most comments of any giveaway!  I always say that it's fun to read what you've got to say and many of you listed links with your favorite blaster, so it was neat to see what you guys like!

As for this week, the topic is Dual Wielding.  I'm still on the fence about this, as I have observed all sorts of pros and cons to this method of blasting, be it for Nerf or Laser Tag.  On the one hand, I have seen some really impressive players take on two at a time by targeting their opponents with a blaster each, somehow managing to tag them both out.  On the other, I've seen folks just go in guns-a-blazin and just waste ammo up the wazoo or get caught up in trying to reload both at the same time without having a free hand.  So my question is this:  What's your take on Dual Wielding?  It can be your own personal opinion based off of tactics you use or from seeing what others have done.  Whether you're for or against this maneuver, I wanna hear your side of it!

That said, this week's giveaway is not one, but TWO blasters that are popular candidates for dual wielding. I've seen some neat methods of priming these blasters with one hand so that dual wielding is possible.  This blaster is pretty much the most iconic N-Strike Blaster, recently winning the 2011 Boys' Toy of the Year in the UK.  Yes, the Maverick.  But instead of finding that Mav 2-pack at Wal-Mart for a great deal, you can land yourself TWO Maverick REV-6s for free!  You know how this works!  Just answer the question of this week in the comments below!