Not Quite Nerf

The Story So Far In the few days since I posted my original teardown article , a number of videos have popped up reviewing, discussing issues that folks have found, and even a mod guide.  I will continue updating the original article with thinks to other's reviews as I come across them. Issues Reported There are two more common issues reported with the Accelerator so far.  BuffDaddy and Out of Darts have both found that for batteries more robust than a 2S, the flywheels spin right off the motor shaft. This does not seem to be a breakage issue with 2S or "lesser" batteries. BuffDaddy has already been in contact with Prime Time Toys, and more remarkable, they have responded. As reported here: We were aware of this issue- adjustments are being made. We had tight turnaround time with this item’s development. Retailers moved the item up from a Fall ’18 launch to a Spring ’18 launch; so we are continuing to improve production. The other common issue is the return s...

Overview For today's entry, we are going to take a look at the newly released Adventure Force Tactical Strike Titanium HIR blaster ( Titanium for short ) and do a little comparison between it and its kissing cousin, the Ballistix Powerball.  The Powerball was released in blue last year as a Target exclusive in the US and as Adventure Force blasters for Walmart Canada in blue and Adventure Force green  as the Tactical Strike. I have seen reports that the Target and Walmart blues are different shades, but the websites pictures make them appear the same. It was the first entry by Prime Time toys into a section of the market established and occupied almost entirely by Nerf Rival products. The general buzz was impressed, particularly when you took into account the blaster's ability to use a hopper feed or a Rival stick mag and a price point nearly a third under the entry level Rival blaster. All in all, a solid springer. The Titanium is one of two new Pr...

Today we'll be looking at the eagerly anticipated Adventure Force Tactical Strike Accelerator, produced by Prime Time Toys for Wal-Mart. Last year, Prime Time Toys surprised more than a few folks with their initial entry into the squishy foam orb launcher realm with the Ballistix Ops  Powerball blaster in their Dart Zone branding exclusively at Target . This blaster is also available, in Canadian Wal-Marts . This solid and affordable HIR springer picked up a lot of praise once it made it into players hands. When word appeared that we would soon be seeing another springer and  a flywheel blaster for what looked to be a very solid price, some of us got a wee bit excited. Competition is good. Affordable competition is even better. As of this writing, neither is available online at Wal-Mart and is slowly working its way onto shelves as part of the mid-January toy refresh. Consult your local BrickSeek results for the Accelerator  and Titanium  to see what's mad...

I'm a fan of Five Below.  I enjoy a good treasure hunt. Maybe it's silly, but I have a fun time wandering in and seeing what  shows up. On my most recent trip I had a bit of luck and ran into this line. The line appears to be called, simply, Hero . It consists of four products, colored in both red and blue colors. Blasters come in the smaller Covert and Alpha model pistols, along with color coordinated 40 packs of darts. A somewhat unusual addition, over to the right, paintball style masks with an operational light.  I picked up one of each of the blasters. Here's what I found. Comparative sizes, Covert and Alpha Covert Hero This is a small single shot pistol, about 8" long, similar to the Exact Strike and similar pistols. It primes the top of the tail, like most in this space, and features a spring-back on the pull. The mold features three colors of plastic with the model name and "DART BLASTER" as part of the mold on the left side.  The ...

For our first post, I'm going to be comparing two of Buzz Bee Toys  2017 pistols, the Zenith and the Exact Attack. Overview Both models are six shot, rotate on prime, underhand pump primed blasters. The cylinder rotates on prime, firing out of the top most cylinder. The Zenith is sold in two models, varying by accessory kit. The first is a Target exclusive including Buzz Bee's much talked about Thermal Scope and their new rail adapter. This model is sold as the Thermal Zenith. The "regular" includes a ladder sight. This model should have general release, but I've only found it at K-Mart so far. Both models come with Buzz Bee's new Precision Pro darts in red foam with black tips. The Zenith color scheme is striking. A robust red for the main body with a light grey pump and matching grip cover, two white accent inserts, and a black rail. The only safety orange used here is on the dart barrel and the trigger, The only paint on this blaster is a black tam...