I got a new Nerf gun!

I've got some really exciting news to share! I just got my hands on my long-time favorite nerf gun ever! So now that I finally have one, I can give you a review of the... (drum-roll please)

N-Strike VULCAN!!!!!!!!!!

N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25

I know, it's really old. And I know, it's almost as bad as the notorious Deploy. (I shudder to even say that name.) But look at this thing! It's a monstrous piece of tacticool glory! I mean, can you get much better than a belt-fed, tripod-mounted machine gun designed to look like a freakin' TURRET?

Good: 

• Sheer intimidation factor. If you run this at a nerf war, no one will ever so much as dream of approaching your base. Or you. Or if you're lucky, they'll just surrender. Hey, it could happen. 
• Three tac rails. Count them- one, two, three. Great for putting on that old Recon light, or maybe a Longstrike flip-up sight. 
• Fully automatic. Step 1: pull trigger. No step two.  
• Single-action. If you don't have batteries, or just don't like to spray-and-pray, then you can use the priming bar to fire off a single shot
• Bandolier loops. Yes, you finally have a legitimate application for your old orange and black  N-Strike bandolier.
• Belt box. It comes with a removable box to feed your ammo belt more compactly.
• Cosmetic possibilities.You could repaint this to look realistic, or you could chop it up into a tiny dual-wieldable HMG, or you could stick gears on it for a steampunk look,  or you could beef it up for a cosplay weapon. Your choice.



Belt box

• Did I mention that it looks awesome?

  Bad: (In short, everything else.) 

• Weight. Four feet of plastic ain't too easy to lift.  
• Belt system.The belt, though it looks sweet, is extremely impractical to reload quickly unless you have several. And since they're proprietary, good luck getting more than one.  
• Capacity. Twenty-five darts sounds like a lot until you're shooting them out at full auto. And like I said, that's all you'll have, period. 
• Ranges. For N-Strike, it's not especially sub-par. But it doesn't stack up to modern Nerf guns. 
• Tripod. It's not a simple tac rail attachment- no, that would be too intuitive. It ONLY fits on the Vulcan and its spiritual successor, the Rhinofire. (Which for the price is also crap. Beautiful, beastly crap.) 
• Jams. The biggest issue with the Vulcan is that it jams like nobody's business. I usually jam about three times per reload. 3:25 is a REALLY bad ratio for that.

Basically, the Vulcan EBF-25 is no longer at all practical. But who cares? It's tacticool as all get out! Who wouldn't want to throw foam with a heavy machine gun?

I even drool over the picture, and I own this thing.

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Nerf Strongarm

Nerf N-Strike Elite Strongarm

This pistol is all business. Hasbro decided exactly what they wanted to make, and then made it exactly right. They designed virtually the perfect Nerf war sidearm. The pitch on the box claims it was "designed for quick draws and fast firing… When speed and mobility are essential, this is the ultimate blaster." I was honestly expecting that to just be a bunch of meaningless hype when I bought it. Boy was I wrong.

I don't want to spark a debate about Strongarm vs. Hammershot (yet), but the Strongarm was literally built for Nerf warring. And it does a great job with that. Here's my analysis of the pros and cons.


Good:

• Purpose-built. See rant above.
• Compact. The Strongarm isn't as small as, say, the Doublestrike, but Hasbro didn't waste any space here. And heck, it holds three times as much ammo as the Doublestrike.
• Capacity. Speaking of that, six darts is a nice number for a sidearm.
• Holster-built. The nose of the Strongarm is practically asking for a holster. It was designed to be

  

  Strongarm in
  a holster

  straight and smooth to fit nicely into most generic holsters. And even with limited skill, you could probably build a useable holster for it.
• Quickdraw. If you have it in a holster, it's very easy to grab onto and pull out. The handle easily manipulates your hand into just the right position for a grip.
• Slam-fire. I personally wouldn't use this feature in a war, but I know many people who would. It's nice to know that in a pinch, you can lob darts nice and quick.
• Priming handle. It's very grippy and easy to pull, even with an upgraded spring.
• Ranges. This pistol gets regular Elite ranges, which is pretty good for a pistol. Most pistols sacrifice range for small size. This one doesn't.
• Rotation mechanism. I was initially skeptical about a revolver that rotates, not on the prime or the trigger-pull, but right after firing. Such a system, I theorized, would surely be unreliable under demanding use. But so far, it has continued to operate smoothly, in spite of me dishing out the hardest scenarios I can come up with.
• Sling mounts. They're in a great place, allowing you to intuitively sling the blaster over your shoulder for easily accessible storage.

Bad:

• Handle. I would not recommend this blaster for Nerfers with small hands, as the handle is very large and difficult/uncomfortable to grip with small hands.
• Handle "spike". For those who look closely, there is a small cosmetic bonus, a "spike" at the bottom of the handle. Though not sharp, it could pose a safety hazard in the hands of inexperienced or reckless users.
• A slightly lamentable lack of a tac-rail on the bottom of the front end of the blaster. Not a big deal, but I would have liked to see one there.
• XD claims. I have no idea where Hasbro came up with the idea to repaint a few Elite guns and jack up the range claims, but the whole XD thing is bogus. At least they don't cost any more than the regular Elite guns, but literally the only difference is the paint job.

In summary, I would strongly recommend the N-Strike Elite Strongarm for any Nerfer who would use it for Nerf battles. It's purpose-built and very reliable, with the ability to slam-fire up to six darts, making it nearly the perfect war-practical sidearm. It's also a very fun toy to just play around with, though the handle size can be somewhat alienating to younger Nerfers.

Now for some Tacticool Tips to get more out of your Nerf Strongarm:

Tacticool Tip: For a shotgun-esque double-dart burst, prime Strongarm as usual. Keep grip on priming handle. Pull and hold trigger to fire first dart, then immediately pull priming handle back to slam-fire off a second dart.

Tacticool Tip: If you use it with a sling, you can prime the Srongarm by simply pushing it away from you while the sling is still looped over your shoulder.



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Nerf Zombie Strike Crossfire

Nerf Zombie Strike Crossfire

Hasbro seems to have finally acknowledged the foremost authority on zombie-fighting: AMC's The Walking Dead. In the apocalyptic television show, currently in its sixth season, a main character wields a crossbow against the zombie hordes. And now you can too! Nerf's version is called the Crossfire, and although it's not strictly a crossbow, it has some really cool crossbow styling.

Who wouldn't love that silhouette?

Even better, it looks really sci-fi without the crossbow arms. Since it is fully capable of function with or without the crosspiece attached, you get two choices for what you want your Crossfire to look like -- sci-fi sidearm, or Walking Dead wannabe.

Space-gun vs. zombies.

Good:

• Looks. This is a SWEEEET shell for a nerf gun. It would also make for some awesome cosmetic mods, due to the fact that the shell comes apart into several separate pieces. And that amazing hand-guard, too!
• Sling mounts. You may not want to use a sling with the Crossfire if you use it as a crossbow, but if you've ditched the bow arms, it might be a great candidate. After all, it has two convenient points to attach a sling.
• Handle size. It may look slightly cramped, but it was "just about perfect" for several test subjects who all had different sizes of hands.
• No "cloth wrap".  I rather dislike the fake cloth wrap that is so prevalent in the Zombie Strike line, so I'm happy that the Crossfire doesn't have it.
• Ranges. I was unable to test this particular model, but generally Crossfires do get about 75-90 feet, typical elite ranges.
• Snappy performance. The prime is simple, short, and snappy.
• No locks. I couldn't believe this one, even after playing with it for a while. So I took it apart to check and there are NO LOCKS ANYWHERE! It's just a simple catch-and-release system.

Bad:

• Trigger. It needs some lubrication; it feels rather sticky.
• Handle. It's comfy and grippy, but not quite ergonomic. And since the gun is heavily balanced toward the front, this can be quite a problem.
• Priming handle. To be frank, it's just too small. It's difficult to grab onto. In addition, it's attached to the plunger mech in an inherently weak way, which means it might break if you even slightly increased the spring load.
• Stock attachment. To date, this is the only Zombie strike gun that features this. And it looks really cool with a stock attached. Which is sad, because the attachment point has a very loose fit, making it almost useless. And I got my hopes up, too!
• Capacity. It only holds four darts. Then again, who actually buys this gun to have a practical foam-flinging weapon? So capacity's no big issue.

The Crossfire may not be a practical primary or sidearm because of its limited rate of fire and capacity. And it's risky to modify it because of the priming system. But that doesn't mean it's not a fun, cool-looking toy. And it's got reliable, snappy performance, meaning it'll be a blast to play with. (Get it?)

Stare that down, if you dare.   No really, I dare you.

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One final note: Hasbro's quality control team seems to be slipping up. I have found several minor flaws and blemishes in recent guns I've bought, ranging from a slightly botched paint job to a very crooked dart. And a Nerf YouTuber whom I follow recently reviewed a new blaster that broke the first time he used it. So just look closely before you buy.

MOD: Modulus Blaster Stock

If you read my review of the Strike and Defend expansion pack for the Modulus, you might be wondering how you can improve it. Other than duct-taping a giant piece of cardboard to it, there's sadly not much you can do to improve the shield. But that backup pistol built into the stock? Yeah, that can shoot lasers.

Difficulty: Easy
What you'll need: Phillipshead screwdriver, Nite-Finder EX-3 spring, and wire cutters.

The key to this mod is a simple spring replacement. But it has to be the right spring, because very few will have the ideal combination of features: a) it fits, b) it's stiff, c) it's not too stiff, and d) it can compress enough to be able to catch.

Hmmmm. The real key is not so simple…

But by my magic arts, I have determined that the correct spring can be found in a (drumroll please) Nite Finder! Yes, the 2004 powerhouse, that good old easy-to-find Nite Finder EX-3. Its spring is just about right, but you do need to cut off a quarter to a half-inch of it so it can compress all the way. So without further ado:

1. Open it up
Pull out the screws, take off the top of the shell, and you're left with the mechanism, which looks like this:

Strongly reminiscent of a Jolt, no?

The stock, clamshelled.

Then carefully remove the plunger casing by taking out the two screws in the back, so that you can...








2. Swap springs.
Twist the stock spring off the plunger rod, that twist the new one on. Remember, if you're using a Nite Finder Spring, you should cut off a little from one end so it can compress enough. Whether you do or not, you should put the stock back together without the outer screws and see if you can cock it. If you can, proceed. If not, cut the spring a little shorter and try again.


3. Reassemble.
If you can successfully cock the gun, then you've gotten past the hardest part. The seal is already pretty good on my model, but if it's not on yours (i.e. air escapes out the back), you can throw on one or two wraps of e-tape or teflon tape. But that's probably not necessary, so you can just screw it all back together.


Boom. Nobody will expect the kind of performance you can dish out from your new backup. They'll think you're some sort of Nerf wizard when you use it against them. Your "Blaster Stock" is no longer stock.


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      [˘7˘˘           teehee!

Modulus Stealth Ops Upgrade Kit (Tacticool Stealth Edition)

Modulus Stealth Ops Upgrade Kit

Note: I painted this kit before reviewing it. So you guys instead get the review of the ultra-exclusive "Tacticool Stealth Edition*", which comes in black, rather than white. And certainly not that annoying green trim…  After all, it's for Stealth Ops. Black is much stealthier than white (not to mention cooler).

This kit is almost purely for aesthetics, since a Red Dot Sight doesn't even slightly increase the dart's accuracy, and a Proximity Barrel in no way does anything but look sweet. The Pivot Grip is the one strong point for those who only like functional attachments. But here's the good news- the kit can give almost any N-Strike, N-Strike Elite, or Modulus blaster an extra 1,000 style points! (Especially if you have the "Tacticool Stealth Edition"…)

Good:

• Ease of use. Slide the parts on tac rails. Attach the barrel extension to the barrel nozzle. Done.
• Folding foregrip. The Pivot Grip has a locking mechanism (that orange button on the side), so you can either lock it sturdily in a compact folded position, or unfold it to steady your shot.
• Ergonomic. The handle, when deployed, is very comfortable to hold on to. And when folded, it's also a rather comfortable place to rest your off-hand. It also happens to be in a quite comfortable position on the Modulus' bottom tac rail.
• "Red Dot" Sight. Yes, it has a built-in red LED that shines a dot on the center of the crosshairs. Pretty cool, right?
• Speaking of crosshairs…

• 

  A rather blurry view down the sights.

  Reduced barrel drag. While the Proximity Barrel does add some barrel drag (like all barrel extensions), it will add much less than most other options.

Bad:

• I have to say it here: the Tacticool Stealth Edition isn't real. It's just my own special paint job. Sorry.
• Let's be honest- white, green, and orange is far from stealthy. Once again, sorry if you're one of those who thought this kit would actually make you invisible.
• Red Dot sight. Sadly, it's not made with precision in mind, and the red dot doesn't always land exactly on the middle of the crosshairs.
• Not useful. Really it's only worth it to buy this kit for the style points. The Pivot Grip is cool, but you got a grip that's just as good when you bought the Modulus itself.

The best Modulus foregrip yet.

So overall, the only bad features are things that you would already know about without having to buy it to find out. If you think you would like it, you almost definitely will. If you don't like the concept of style points, you don't have to buy it. Of course, Hasbro might disagree; but who are they to have an opinion?  ;)

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And it even folds!

* Tacticool Stealth Edition comes in exclusive black, grey, and orange paint job with a satin finish for reduced glare. Features the Tacticool Nerfer's signature logo on the Pivot Grip and Red Dot sight. Not available at your local Nerf retailer.

-< Stealth Mode Engaged >-