Double Dart Firestrike "Pro"?

News 'n' news this month... One listing revealed, TRU has put up another Double Dart (and this time they've typed it correctly) offer, the Elite Firestrike Double Dart. The reason I post this probably expected listing is that if you look closely into it, you'll notice the description saying "NER FIRESTRIKE PRO". Typically Toys R us, a typing error (Ner instead of Nerf), but what does the "Pro" mean? Some special blaster edition or an introduction to a new series (or another typing error)? We'll look forward to the revelation of this product mystery.

Lots of new Vortex Discs

Much Nerf news recently, and now this and this was published on the hungarian site "Tulli.hu". First, the uniquely colored discs with the new Vortexes on the Toy Fair, and finally red and blue camouflaged ones. I personally think it makes no sense to produce camo discs, the standard greens are hard to find anyway, but these are in striking colors. Let's keep up to date and look for these on TRU or other sites.

Nerf Strongarm Double Dark revealed!

I've been informed about a picture release of the Nerf Strongarm Double Dark listing, so I looked up again. And there it was! It might actually be a typing error, because there are double the Darts and almost no trace of "dark", except for the grey symbols on the darts. These are special edition darts, as listed on the box. For almost the same price and double the darts, this looks like a good offer, even though I had expected a little more from the name.

Toys R us: Nerf Strongarm Double Dark listing?

This listing recently popped up on the Toys R us Website: Nerf Elite Strongarm Double Dark. Another secret Nerf gun or just a typing error? Is it a repaint in darker colors? "Double Dark" is a strange name for a blaster. However, no image has showed up yet, and I'll keep you up to date about this. You can even order this already. So what do you think it looks like? Drop a comment!

Mod Guide: Basic Voltage modding for everyone

To make some things easier, I've decided to make a basic guide to voltage mods with electronic blasters. I'll tell you what you need and should be careful with.
For all Voltage mods, I use unprotected Lithium-Ion Trustfire 14500 3.7V batteries, which you can get either from here or your local electronics store.

Also be completely sure you have a Lithium-Ion Charger (Yes, they need special ones), otherwise your batteries might even explode. These rechargeable batteries are good, because they have the same size as an AA battery, but higher discharge rate and voltage. With these, you can just replace your AA's in the battery tray with your Trustfires.

Trustfires are not essential, you can just as well use RC-Battery packs or else. 

Sometimes, you want only a little higher voltage (Picture: 8.4V), and not all battery slots filled with Li-Ions. This could be either because you think the motor is too loud with the maximum voltage (which is often my reason) or in stock condition, the Thermistor blocks any higher voltage. In that case, you can just put some connection in the slot to bypass it. I only use isolated copper cables, but for better safety dummy batteries can also fit in.

Full-auto blasters only have space for C size batteries. Then, either battery packs (like in the picture) or AA to C converter shells come into action.

Now that you've been informed about Voltage mods, you're good to go!

The section below is for all questions or comments!

Mod Guide: Nerf Elite Stryfe

This first mod guide is for the Stryfe, one of my favorite Nerf guns. We'll cover lock removals, voltage mods and how to make the motors decelerate faster. Let's start...

1. Preperation
Materials and tools you need:
-Nerf Stryfe
-Screwdriver
-Soldering Iron and filler metal
-Trustfire Li-Ion Rechargeable Batteries

Start by removing all 14 screws.

Open the gun and take a look at the internal mechanisms and how they work.

2. Lock removals
We'll start with this lock. It's the dart tooth, and it prevents you from pulling the trigger when no dart is in your clip. Also, with this lock, most non-Elite clips won't work with the Stryfe. So simply remove it.

This one doesn't let you pull the trigger when the acceleration trigger isn't pulled. Remove it in the following steps.

On to the next lock. This blocks the trigger if no clip is inserted. Unscrew the plate and remove the piece, the switch will be dealt with later.

3. Fast deceleration and Thermistor removal
You might have noticed that by opening the jam door the motor decelerates faster. This is because the switch is directly connected to the motor. You'll need to remove the trigger for the next steps. Unscrew the 2 lower screws and remove the mechanism.

Take all switches out of place and you should end up with something like this.

Sorry, I didn't take a lot of pictures here, but you'll want to have the jam door switch as your main switch. To achieve this, you need to remove the main switch and the clip detector switch. Take off the cables, you'll need them later. Now take off the red cable on the jam door switch and solder the blue, long cable to the end to make it longer. Then place your switch in the place of the main switch, solder the white cable to the bottom pole. Finally, solder the blue cable (which is connected to the red one) to the middle pole. The green cable stays. If you were able to somewhat follow me, your setup should now look like this:

Lastly, the Thermistor has to be removed. This piece doesn't let you use any higher voltage than 12V.

Unscrew and remove it, then take off the black and green cable and just solder it to the pole.

Now slowly start reassembling your internals, until you are finished. Make sure to route the cables neatly and nothing is in the trigger's way.

4. Voltage mod

This one is really easy, just open the battery tray and put in your Li-Ion Batteries. Check out my Basic Voltage modding Guide for this. I use Trustfire 14500 3.6V Lithium Ion batteries, which I get from dx.com. For the mod, I decided to only use 2 of them (8.4V) and put a cable in to bypass the other 2 slots. But now that the Thermistor has been removed, you can use any voltage.

If you've followed the steps correctly, you now have a modified Stryfe! 

Are you experiencing any problems or have a question? Just drop a comment!

Toy Fair 2013: New Nerf blasters: Rebelle, Blazin' Bow and updated Vortex line

Recently, Nerf has introduced some new blasters on the Toy Fair. There will be a new series and a revamped Vortex lineup. Finally, there are Nerf guns for girls, a series called Rebelle. The weapons are colored white and pink and most of them have a bow/crossbow design. So far, 3 blasters have been spotted. According to some photos, you can even insert an iOS device into one of the crossbow-like guns. The Wildshot is an awesome hammer-revolver with a 6 dart barrel. I've wanted something like this for long. Additionally collectible darts in different styles ahve been shown. Next, there seems to be a Big Bad Bow remake carrying the name N-Strike Mega Blazin' Bow, which shoots big arrows pretty far. It is orange with black and has a holster for 2 extra arrows on top. Now to the part which I think is awesome, the new Vortex arsenal. All guns have been repainted white. But each disc-blaster now has a unique color scheme (Praxis: orange; Pyragon: green; Proton: blue; Vigilon: dark red; Diatron: black) on it and matching white discs with a colored middle. There are red discs, too, which were available only with the Pyragon/Diatron before, in a package for separate purchase. I'm very excited about the new Vortex Nerf gun, called the Revonix360. It features an integrated drum (much like a Maverick), a handle like the Pyragon and slamfire. The box advertises for longest Vortex range up to 70ft. I think Nerf did a very good job on these introduced blasters. The Rebelle line is besides the color also very well designed and the unique Vortex discs are a really good idea. I'm looking forward to the store release of these. Stay tuned, it seems like Nerf hasn't yet introduced all 3 promised 75ft weapons and there's more to come.

Source: MyLastDart

Review: Nerf Elite Rough Cut 2x4 & Internals

The Rough Cut 2x4 is a Nerf shotgun-like blaster in the N-Strike Elite series. It shoots 2 darts at once, like the Barrel Break, but there's also a single-fire mode: When the trigger is halfway pulled, only one dart shoots out. The barrel in front holds up to 8 darts. What's a really cool feature, too, is the dart detector. It detects 2 darts, whatever the barrel location, and shoots them. So you can put in the darts wherever you want, it'll always shoot 2.  To cock the gun, a pump handle is located on the bottom. Slamfire is also included in this, with which you can shoot all 8 darts rapidly. But if slamfired too fast, the gun totally jams up and it can take up to minutes to clear the jam. On the tactical rail you'll rather use the Barrel Break dart holder than a scope, because it's hard to aim with a spreadshot gun. Also featuring a direct plunger system, the Rough Cut can fire up to 60ft/18m flat. There is no range difference between single- and doubleshot. In my opinion the Rough Cut 2x4 is the first really good Nerf shotgun with spreadshot and a pump handle, it actually is my favorite gun right now. At only 20$, anyone seeking a very cool-looking Nerf gun with great ranges should really get a Rough Cut. If you have any questions, just drop a comment!

Review: Nerf Elite Stryfe & Internals

The Stryfe is a new blaster in the N-Strike Elite series. It is clip-fed and has a semi-auto flywheel system. The flywheel motors are activated by an acceleration trigger, like the Hailfire.  Compared to other blasters, the Stryfe has a little quieter buzzing flywheel sound. It comes with a 6-dart clip and 6 elite darts. People have been modifying Barricades earlier to take clips, now the Stryfe is the simple solution. In stock condition, this Nerf gun jams up with most other clips due to a dart detector tooth. With connections for a barrel attachment and stock, the Stryfe is fully customizable for any needs. Also featuring 2 tactical rails, one on top and one on the bottom in front for a grip etc., you can make it look like a Retaliator or an SMG. Using 4 AA batteries, this Nerf gun can fire up to 59ft/17m flat, which is quite amazing! The Nerf Stryfe is currently one of my favorite weapons in my arsenal even though I don't like most flywheel guns because of their buzzing sound. But anyone wanting a motorized Nerf gun that can be customized in many ways should definitely buy this one. I'll have the mod guide up very soon, showing how to fix the jam-up with other mags and a volt-mod. Have any questions or opinions? Leave a comment right below!

Review: Nerf Elite Strongarm & Internals

The Strongarm is the elite version of the earlier released Maverick. In terms of size, the Strongarm has gotten a bit longer and now the barrel fully swings out without mods. Still carrying 6 darts in a rotating barrel, this gun has enough capacity. Some other new features are an indicator showing if the gun is cocked and it even has slamfire. You might think that slamfire on a handgun is quite pointless, but it isn't at all. I've found that you can shoot very rapidly at no jams, and it's very useful in battle.

The tactical rail has been improved, too, as it is not on the cocking handle anymore which was annoying on the Maverick.  Also very cool new iron sights were added as you can see in the picture.  The Strongarm uses a direct plunger system and I've seen impressive ranges at 56ft/17m, but some darts drift sideways. 

I strongly recommend the Nerf Elite Strongarm to any Nerfer looking for a good secondary with nice capacity an range on their arsenal. Mod guide coming soon! Don't forget to drop a comment on what you think of the Strongarm or if you have questions.

First Review: Nerf Elite Firestrike & Internals

The Nerf N-Strike Elite  Firestrike is the Elite successor to the popular N-Strike Nitefinder. It has gotten smaller compared to its predecessor, now using AAA size batteries. But Nerf also minimized other areas, thus having a smaller handle and trigger which is uncomfortable. The integrated laser pointer is now activated by a second trigger below the actual one. This is much better than the earlier version's activation, but it requires some force to press and might accidently be released while shooting.

Some things stayed the same, including the 2 dart holders in front, a tactical rail on top and the same cocking handle. In terms of power the Firestrike has a lot more to show by using a direct plunger system and a strong spring. My range tests had results up to 54ft/16m flat with standard elite darts. One more disadvantage of the Firestrike is the tactical rail, which is, compared to other blasters, very wobbly. So if you do fast movements in a fight, your attachment might flip off easily.

In the end, I think this blaster is very good for beginners and because of its small size it can be carried in most pockets. Unfortunately, the handle is small but the ranges are convincing for the Elite Firestrike. Be up to date, I might have a mod guide up for this soon! Also leave a comment on what you think of the Firestrike or a question.

Nerf N-Strike Elite Barrel Break IX-2

Hey, today I was shopping on toysrus.com for some Nerf, when I suddenly saw this among the results (Link: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=18723366). I couldn't believe it and I was just as surprised as you probably are, an Elite Barrel Break?! Most people thought the Rough Cut was the successor of the Barrel Break, but it seems like Nerf wants to surprise people sometimes. It has the blue elite colors, elite darts, however not the elite logo (like the Elite Jolt), just a blue N-Strike one and according to photos the new version is missing the tactical rail dart holder. The box does not promise elite 75ft ranges. Again, it's a Toys R us exclusive and already available for pre-order online.

Welcome to Nexus Nerf

Hello and welcome to my first Blogspot: Nexus Nerf. As the name already says, this Blog is about Nerf, the air-powered softdart toy guns. I am a big fan of shooting, modding and painting these guns. I'll be posting reviews, tutorials and images as often as possible, at least monthly. If you have any questions/suggestions regarding posts or this blog, leave a comment or you can e-mail me at snipacreep@gmail.com.

Thank you and happy reading!